;)
The Commentariat -- June 3, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will donate 75% of its unused COVID-19 vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program, acting as more Americans have been vaccinated and global inequities have become more glaring. Of the first tranche of 25 million doses, the White House said about 19 million will go to COVAX, with approximately 6 million for South and Central America, 7 million for Asia and 5 million for Africa. The doses mark a substantial -- and immediate -- boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. Overall, the White House aims to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX. But 25% of the nation's excess will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners."
Seung Min Kim & Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "President Biden signaled at a private meeting on Wednesday that he would be open to significant revisions on the size of his infrastructure package and how it would be paid for in order win Republican backing, outlining a plan for about $1 trillion in new spending financed through tax changes that do not appear to raise the top corporate rate. While Biden has not abandoned his support for the tax increase generally, believing profitable companies must pay their fair share, the moves still mark a potential new concession in stalled talks over funding to improve the country's roads, bridges, pipes and ports.... In his meeting with the GOP's top negotiator, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Biden raised the possibility he could take the proposed increase off the table in an attempt to broker a compromise.... The president still intends to seek the tax increase, [a] source said, meaning the White House could pursue the policy outside of infrastructure talks -- or in the case that bipartisan negotiations ultimately collapse." A USA Today story is here.
The Biden Way: Engage the Jackass. Tyler Pager & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "President Biden recently called former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, a Democrat who has been openly critical of his economic agenda, to acknowledge Summers's concerns and ask him to explain his objections.... Summers has engaged in increasingly bitter disagreements with White House aides.... Summers -- a treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, top economic adviser to President Barack Obama and former president of Harvard University -- is a prominent Democratic voice on economic matters. But he has also become a nemesis of the party's left flank, which sees him as representative of a misguided centrism that Democrats have moved beyond. Summers has been warning that Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package is too big and will overheat the economy...."
John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Vice President Harris announced Thursday that the Biden administration is making available $1 billion in grants to improve high-speed Internet on tribal lands and argued that passage of an infrastructure proposal pending in Congress would help many others across the country who lack the benefits of broadband. The event follows President Biden's meeting at the White House on Wednesday with a key Republican negotiator on infrastructure."
Jeanne Whalen & Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is expanding a Trump-era order that banned U.S. investment in Chinese companies that it said support China's military to include those selling surveillance technology, calling the entities a threat to U.S. interests and values. A new executive order set for release Thursday broadens prohibitions that the Donald Trump administration enacted and moves authority for the ban to the Treasury Department, from the Defense Department, to give it stronger legal grounding, senior administration officials said."
Amanda Macias & Christina Wilkie of CNBC: "The Biden administration is urging corporate executives and business leaders to take immediate steps to prepare for ransomware attacks, warning in a new memo that cybercriminals are shifting from stealing data to disrupting core operations. 'The threats are serious and they are increasing,' wrote Anne Neuberger, President Joe Biden's deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, in a June 2 memo obtained by CNBC from the White House. 'The private sector also has a critical responsibility to protect against these threats. All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location,' Neuberger wrote."
Ohio. Local American Legion Cuts Mic so Colonel Couldn't Give Credit to Black Americans for Celebrating the First Memorial Day. Andrea Salcedo of the Washington Post: "Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter was midway through his speech at a Memorial Day ceremony in an Ohio cemetery when he started discussing the role that freed Black enslaved people played in an early event honoring Civil War dead.... The disruption was no glitch. One of the event's organizers later admitted the audio had been deliberately turned down, telling the Akron Beacon Journal that Kemter's discussion of Black history 'was not relevant to our program for the day. We asked him to modify his speech, and he chose not to do that,' Cindy Suchan, president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, told the Beacon Journal.... The Ohio American Legion said it is investigating the incident." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Kemter is 77 years old, served as a medic, and looks white to me. Not the picture of a "radical" BLM "rioter" his censors probably envision. But the very idea that lovely white people had gathered to celebrate a holiday started by Black people was just too much for them to handle. This is racism in its most petty form. I'm sure Cindy there thinks she's the paragon of civic engagement & a great credit to her community. With all due respect, she's an embarrassing pile of crap. ~~~
~~~ "White Fragility." Paul Campos in LG&$: "Just as was the case with the original complaints about PC culture, this is all a massive case of projection by the proponents of the original and still by far most dominant form of political correctness in this country, which is simply white supremacy in all its guises, overt and covert. That form of PC/Cancel Culture is based on the fundamental axiom that making a white person feel bad about being white is the very worst form of racism there is -- in fact it's pretty much the only real form of racism that still exists...." Campos republishes much of the WashPo story.
More News from the Most Corrupt Administration Evah: ~~~
~~~ Louie, Louie, Oh No. Matt Zapotosky & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "The FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with campaign fundraising activity involving his former business, according to people familiar with the matter and a spokesman for DeJoy. FBI agents in recent weeks interviewed current and former employees of DeJoy and the business, asking questions about political contributions and company activities, these people said. Prosecutors also issued a subpoena to DeJoy himself for information, one of the people said.... in early September, The Washington Post published an extensive examination of how employees at DeJoy's former company, North Carolina-based New Breed Logistics, alleged they were pressured by DeJoy or his aides to attend political fundraisers or make contributions to Republican candidates, and then were paid back through bonuses. Such reimbursements could run afoul of state or federal laws, which prohibit 'straw-donor' schemes meant to allow wealthy donors to evade individual contribution limits and obscure the source of a candidate's money." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times story is here. As Katie Benner makes clear in her lede, DeJoy is being investigated for a crime, not a civil offense. Politico's story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Joe Goes Nuclear. Lara Seligman, et al., of Politico: "President Joe Biden ran on a platform opposing new nuclear weapons, but his first defense budget backs two controversial new projects put in motion by ... Donald Trump and also doubles down on the wholesale upgrade of all three legs of the arsenal. The decision to retain a low-yield warhead that was outfitted on submarine-launched ballistic missiles in 2019, and to initiate research into a new sea-launched cruise missile, has sparked an outcry from arms control advocates and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which is vowing a fight to reverse the momentum.... [Rep. Ro] Khanna [D-Calif.] and other Democrats are spoiling for a fight over nuclear funding in the coming months, including slashing money for a new fleet of intercontinental ballistic missiles and the new sea-launched missiles."
Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Nearing a self-imposed deadline for a bipartisan infrastructure deal, President Biden met again on Wednesday with the lead Republican negotiator to try to resolve major differences over the size, structure and financing of an expansive public-works plan. The roughly hourlong meeting in the Oval Office between Mr. Biden and Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, did not end with any public breakthroughs, but they agreed to continue their discussions on Friday."
Amanda Marcotte of Salon: President Biden "had some harsh words [Tuesday] for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, whose support for the filibuster is preventing Senate Democrats from passing bills that would block Republican efforts to dismantle fair election systems.... As much as political Twitter would like to believe otherwise, shaming is not, in fact, an effective persuasion technique.... The only real hope that it works lays in the fact that Manchin and Sinema have spent months getting attention for being the holdouts. This likely means they can no longer bask in the ego boost from having the president and others cajole and plead for them to do the right thing.... But it's a troubling sign that Democrats are at the end of the line, seemingly short on strategies to save American democracy. Everything now depends on two people, both who seem unbelievably pigheaded and egotistical, to grow up and start acting like they care about the people who got them elected." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Psaki Says a Very Spicer Thing. Molly Nagle & Libby Cathey of ABC News: "White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday denied President Joe Biden was criticizing Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., during remarks the day before in Tulsa, when he jabbed that two Senate Democrats vote more with Republicans than they do their own party.... [In explaining why he could get his proposed legislation passed, Biden said,] 'Well, because Biden only has a majority of, effectively, four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends.'" MB: C'mon, Jen, you can do better.
Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has effectively ruled that only one more automatic budget reconciliation is permissible this year, dealing a blow to Democrats who previously thought they would have two more chances to sidestep Republicans in advancing President Biden's agenda. MacDonough ruled that a revision to the 2021 budget resolution cannot be automatically discharged from the Senate Budget Committee, meaning Democrats would need at least one Republican on the 11-11 panel to vote with them." MB: Change the rule, ladies & gentlemen. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Charlie Savage & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Trump Justice Department secretly seized the phone records of four New York Times reporters spanning nearly four months in 2017 as part of a leak investigation, the Biden administration disclosed on Wednesday. It was the latest in a series of revelations about the Trump administration secretly obtaining reporters' communications records in an effort to uncover their sources. Last month, the Biden Justice Department disclosed Trump-era seizures of the phone logs of reporters who work for The Washington Post and the phone and email logs for a CNN reporter. Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, condemned the action by the Trump administration.... Last month, after the disclosures about the seizures of communications records involving Post and CNN reporters, President Biden said he would not allow the department to take such a step during his administration...." Trump's DOJ seized phone records fro January 14 to April 30, 2017, "for four Times reporters: Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt. The government also secured a court order to seize logs -- but not contents -- of their emails, it said, but 'no records were obtained.'" ~~~
~~~ MB: It's odd Jefferson Beauregard Sessions didn't know about the First Amendment. I checked, and freedom of the press appears in the Confederate Constitution, too. So JeffBo should have known about it.
To the Moon Venus, Alice. Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "... on Wednesday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the space agency would set its sights on a world that has not received much attention in decades: Venus, the fiery mystery of a planet that is Earth's closest planetary neighbor. In an address at NASA headquarters, Nelson said the agency would send not one but two missions there in an effort hailed by scientists as long overdue. NASA has not sent a probe to Venus in more than 30 years.... Though Venus is 'hot, hellish and unforgiving' in NASA's words, it has 'so many characteristics similar to ours.'" MB: "Hot, hellish & unforigiving"? I predict the probes will discover that Venus once had a thriving humanoid culture, but the Venusites ignored climate change and it killed them all off.
Marc Caputo of Politico: "Federal prosecutors are examining whether Rep. Matt Gaetz obstructed justice during a phone call he had with a witness in the sex-crimes investigation of the Florida congressman, according to two sources familiar with the case. The witness in question was one of a handful of women who entered Gaetz's orbit via his one-time 'wingman,' former Seminole County, Fla., tax collector Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty last month to a host of crimes, including sex-trafficking a 17-year-old in 2017. The obstruction inquiry stems from a phone call the witness had with Gaetz's ex-girlfriend. At some point during the conversation, the ex-girlfriend patched Gaetz into the call, sources said. While it's unknown exactly what was said, the discussion on that call is central to whether prosecutors can charge Gaetz with obstructing justice, which makes it illegal to suggest that a witness in a criminal case lie or give misleading testimony. The witness later spoke with prosecutors...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: For Matt, lying seems to be a way of life. So it's hardly surprising he might encourage others to lie for him, too. In his defense, if you lie every day as a matter of course, it's hard to notice when those lies might cross a line into criminality. Such nuance, you may know, is not Matt's thing.
Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post names "the 139 Republicans who lied, fueled an insurrection and then voted to cover it up.... Why would any U.S. senator or member of Congress oppose an independent commission to investigate what led to a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol ― one aimed squarely at undermining American democracy and the peaceful transfer of power?... Most of these Republicans lied about the presidential election being stolen from Donald Trump. That lie helped motivate a white supremacist mob of Trump's supporters to smash their way into the Capitol ― some with plans to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Vice President Mike Pence and others ― to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's electoral win. Republicans >don't want a respected panel of experts publicly connecting these dots heading into the 2022 elections. They also don't want to get on Trump's bad side by supporting a commission that would show, in detail, how his lie incited an attack on democracy that left five people dead, hundreds of police officers injured and countless others traumatized. It gets uglier. Their party is counting on people to keep believing the lie."
Ben Leonard of Politico: "Former special counsel Robert Mueller will take part in a University of Virginia law school class covering his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential ties to the Trump campaign, the school announced Wednesday. Mueller, who graduated from the school in 1973, will lead "at least one class" of the course, which is being taught by three former senior Mueller team members, including deputy special counsel Aaron Zebley, according to a release from the school. The 'short' class, called 'The Mueller Report and the Role of the Special Counsel,' will be taught in person this fall." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Remember the Olive Oil! Chandelis Duster & Barbara Starr of CNN: "The US military has issued an apology after soldiers accidentally stormed a factory in Bulgaria that produces processing machinery for olive oil during a training exercise last month.... Bulgarian President Rumen Radev condemned the incident and said he expects there will be an investigation, CNN affiliate Nova TV reported Monday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Shocking News! Trump Subpoenaed for Misplaced Comma. Elizabeth Dye of Above the Law: Eric Trump confirmed the existence of investigations into the Trump Organization, which he "runs," when he appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox "News" show Tuesday night: "'Listen, I'm on the receiving end of it every single day,' he said, almost tearing up in righteous indignation. 'My father gets subpoena after subpoena. We do as a family.'... 'They look for any single comma that's out of place.... Every single day my family is attacked.'" And, so, forth. MB: Oops! Now I'll be subpoenaed, too. Damned commas.
A Florida Man Lost His Job, His Home & His Mind. Josh Dawsey & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump remains relentlessly focused on the false claim that the November election was stolen from him and is increasingly consumed with the notion that ballot reviews pushed by his supporters around the country could prove that he won, according to people familiar with his comments. Trump has rebuffed calls from some advisers to drop the matter, instead fixating on an ongoing Republican-commissioned audit in Arizona and plotting how to secure election reviews in other states, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Georgia, according to advisers.... Trump's interest has been fueled by conversations he has had with an array of figures who have publicly touted false claims of election fraud.... Trump has become so fixated on the audits that he suggested recently to allies that their success could result in his return to the White House this year...." ~~~
~~~ Uneasy Lies the Head that Wore a Crown. My Pillow Guy Takes Credit for Trump's Soft Head. Will Sommer & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "Donald Trump now has the notion in his head that he could return to the White House in August. But the twice-impeached former president isn't getting that idea from constitutional scholars or his attorneys. Instead, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell apparently inspired him. 'If Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it publicly,' Lindell told The Daily Beast on Wednesday.... In the past few weeks..., [Trump has] claimed that a lot of 'highly respected' people -- who[m] Trump did not name -- have been saying it's possible [he'll be the sitting president by August]."
Donald Dumps Desk. Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "Former President Donald Trump's blog -- a webpage where he shared statements after larger social media companies banned him from their platforms -- has been permanently shut down, his spokesman said Wednesday. The page 'From the Desk of Donald J. Trump' has been scrubbed from Trump's website after going live less than a month earlier." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Drew Harwell & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Upset by reports from The Washington Post and other outlets highlighting its measly readership and concerns that it could detract from a social media platform he wants to launch later this year, Trump ordered his team Tuesday to put the blog out of its misery, advisers said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Nicole Perlroth, et al., of the New York Times: "The perpetrators of a ransomware attack that shut down some operations at the world's largest meat processor this week was a Russian-based cybercriminal group known for its attacks on prominent American companies, the F.B.I. said Wednesday. The group, known as REvil, is one of the most prolific of the roughly 40 ransomware organizations that cybersecurity experts track and has been identified as responsible for a coordinated strike against operations in almost two dozen Texas cities in 2019. The group is among dozens of ransomware groups that enjoy safe harbor in Russia, where they are rarely arrested or extradited for their crimes. REvil, which stands for Ransomware Evil, is known as a 'ransomware as a service' organization, meaning it leases its ransomware to other criminals, even the technically inept.... Production began to resume at nine JBS beef plants in the United States on Wednesday.... Union officials said Wednesday that beef plants were operational but were not at full capacity yet."
Christina Goldbaum & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "A hacking group believed to have links to the Chinese government penetrated [New York City's] Metropolitan Transportation Authority's computer systems in April, exposing vulnerabilities in a vast transportation network that carries millions of people every day, according to an M.T.A. document that outlined the breach. The hackers did not gain access to systems that control train cars and rider safety was not at risk, transit officials said, adding that the intrusion appeared to have done little, if any, damage."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here.
NEW. Libby Cathey of ABC News: "President Joe Biden on Wednesday declared June a 'national month of action' to mobilize even more Americans to get vaccinated by July Fourth, in order to enjoy what he called 'a summer of freedom.' With the help of vaccinations, Biden said, Americans are headed into a summer vastly different from last year.... He also sent a warning. 'For all the progress we're making as a country, if you're unvaccinated, you are still at risk of getting seriously ill or dying or spreading disease to others,' he continued." Includes video.
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Christine Hauser of the New York Times: "Global headlines reflected the anger of death camp survivors and others after The Guardian published documents showing [Arizona] planned to return to the use of hydrogen cyanide, a gas associated with what the Nazis called Zyklon B."
California. Stanford U. Law School Suddenly Learns about First Amendment. Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "A 3L at Stanford Law sent out this very funny satirical flyer after the Trump/Hawley/Cruz/McCarthy Sedition Riots[.]... Alas, some dipshits in the [Standford Federalist Society] took some time off their complaints about CANCEL CULTURE to write a long whiny email to the authorities falsely claiming that the satirical poster was defamatory, which is currently preventing the student from graduating[.]... The real villains here are the Stanford administration for materially punishing a student for expressive acts protected by both California law and basic principles of free speech.... UPDATE: Stanford ultimately did the right thing, but for the Stanford Federalist Society the disgrace is permanent[.]" Stanford Law will now allow Nicholas Wallace, the student with the sense of humor, to graduate. Lemieux's post includes Wallace's flyer and extensively sites Slate stories on this immensely stupid incident.
Florida. Marisa Iati of the Washington Post: A Florida man in Palm Beach County is invoking the state's infamous "stand your ground" law to defend torturing and murdering ... an iguana. "Circuit Judge Jeffrey Dana Gillen on Friday rejected [the] argument, the South Florida Sun Sentinel first reported.... Green iguanas are considered an invasive species in Florida. State law allows people to 'humanely' kill them on private property -- a guideline generally interpreted to mean that the animal must die instantly and without suffering, the Sun Sentinel reported." The Florida man allegedly allegedly kicked, tossed and stepped on the iguana until it was near death. And no, this particular Palm Beach area Florida man is not the mass murderer you maybe thinking of.
Minnesota. Chauvin Murdered George Floyd Because "Broken System." Blake Montgomery of the Daily Beast: "Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer convicted of the murder of George Floyd, has requested a judge reduce his sentence to time served or probation. In a motion filed Wednesday, Chauvin's lawyers wrote, 'Mr. Chauvin asks the Court to look beyond its findings, to his background, his lack of criminal history, his amenability to probation, to the unusual facts of this case, and to his being a product of a "broken" system."'" MB: Uh, yeah, the system is broken, and Derek there was the system. You may have heard of "systemic racism," Derek. Whatever made you think it was okay to murder a Black man in broad daylight in front of numerous witnesses because the man might have committed a petty crime is no doubt a piece of systemic racism.
New Mexico. Running for Public Office Is Difficult. AP: "A New Mexico sheriff who is running for mayor of Albuquerque was interrupted while on stage at a campaign event by a flying drone with a sex toy attached to it and a man who punched him.... The Albuquerque Journal reported that a video posted on Facebook shows [Bernalillo County (includes Albuquerque) Sheriff Manuel] Gonzales [D] answering questions from the audience while standing on a stage at an events center when the drone bearing the sex toy started buzzing near the stage. A sheriff's office report said ... 20-year-old Kaelan Ashby Dreyer unsuccessfully tried to grab [the drone.] The report said Dreyer then turned his attention to Gonzales, swinging his fist and calling him a 'tyrant.' A deputy wrote that Dreyer punched Gonzales' hands and was then removed from the event by deputies."
New York. Marina Villeneuve of the AP: "Taxpayers are set to foot the bill for a $2.5 million contract for lawyers representing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office in an ongoing federal investigation over his administration's handling of COVID-19 data in nursing homes, the governor said Wednesday.... The Department of Justice and state Attorney General's office have launched probes of such allegations, while the state Assembly judiciary committee's separate investigation is also considering whether there are grounds to impeach Cuomo."
South Dakota. Rae Yost of KELO (Sioux Falls): "A federal court has ruled there will be no Fourth of July fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Judge Roberto A. Lange said [Wednesday] in the ruling that ... the state did not meet requirements for him to rule in [Gov. Kristi] Noem [R] and the state’s favor. In a post on her Governor's Twitter Account, Noem said 'The Biden Administration cancelled South Dakota's Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration on completely arbitrary grounds. I am disappointed the court gave cover to this unlawful action with today's decision.'... Noem said in the Twitter post that her legal team will appeal in the pursuit of fireworks in 2022."
Way Beyond
Iran.
** Israel. Josef Federman of the AP: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents on Wednesday announced they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the ouster of the longtime Israeli leader. The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came shortly before a midnight deadline and prevented the country from plunging into what would have been its fifth consecutive election in just over two years.... The agreement still needs to be approved by the Knesset, or parliament, in a vote that is expected to take place early next week. If it goes through, Lapid and a diverse array of partners that span the Israeli political spectrum will end the record-setting 12-year rule of Netanyahu. Netanyahu, desperate to remain in office while he fights corruption charges, is expected to do everything possible in the coming days to prevent the new coalition from taking power." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments in Israel's power struggle: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled early Thursday that he would not go down without a struggle. He called on lawmakers to oppose 'this dangerous left-wing government.'"
U.K. David Pegg & Rob Evans of the Guardian: The Queen's courtiers banned 'coloured immigrants or foreigners' from serving in clerical roles in the royal household until at least the late 1960s, according to newly discovered documents that will reignite the debate over the British royal family and race. The documents also shed light on how Buckingham Palace negotiated controversial clauses -- that remain in place to this day -- exempting the Queen and her household from laws that prevent race and sex discrimination.... The Queen has remained personally exempted from those equality laws for more than four decades. The exemption has made it impossible for women or people from ethnic minorities working for her household to complain to the courts if they believe they have been discriminated against." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
News Lede
New York Times: "F. Lee Bailey, the theatrical criminal lawyer who invited juries into the twilight zone of reasonable doubt in defense of Patricia Hearst , O.J. Simpson, the Boston Strangler, the army commander at the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam and other notorious cases, died on Thursday in Atlanta. He was 87."
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Reader Comments (9)
THE THREE BUFFOONS :
Bibi, Butthead & Boris: Isn't it queer that we have/had three leaders that so resemble each other all at the same time. The first two are out to pasture and both are kicking and screaming all the way, while the last one's shelf life is coming to a close––I hope ( food distribution is only one problem with Brexit).
And this is what drives me crazy!!! We Democrats have been told over and over we just ain't good fighters–-the Republicans on the other hand play rough, play dirty and win the rounds. SO when Biden mentions two democrats–-doesn't name them–-doesn't have to–-that are preventing the passage of an important bill we get Marcotte from Salon instructing us that "shaming is not, in fact, an effective persuasion." technique." Shaming?? good lord! But then Amanda takes a left turn and ends with this:
" But it's a troubling sign that Democrats are at the end of the line, seemingly short on strategies to save American democracy. Everything now depends on two people, both who seem unbelievably pigheaded and egotistical, to grow up and start acting like they care about the people who got them elected."
We are NOT at the end of our line–-we are just beginning and if something like the filibuster can't be outed then change the rule and have those naysayers stand up in Congress for hours /days spouting their reasons for. Someone last night on MSNBC who knows the right wingers well said none would want to do that.
And the question that hangs by a thread and needs to be answered:
".... Why would any U.S. senator or member of Congress oppose an independent commission to investigate what led to a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol ― one aimed squarely at undermining American democracy and the peaceful transfer of power?.."
Lets ask them–-one by one---!!!!!!
@PD Pepe: Yes, let's do ask them. And include the question, "Were you afraid a commission would expose your complicity in the insurrection?" "No? Why not?"
I hope Democratic challengers have the sense to call out their Republican opponents' lies that incited an insurrection designed to overturn the legitimate results of a presidential election. I would hammer any of the 139 who are running in 2022 & beyond.
The 139 will answer with the current line that Jan 6 was just a trespass and maybe B&E and is being handled by cops and courts, nothing for the leg to deal with.
Pretending there was no sedition and no incitement to treason.
So the campaign question to the 139 has to preclude that BS. Perhaps: "Even though the magistrates will deal with the charges against individuals who broke property and assault laws Jan 6, do you believe that their purpose was to Stop the Steal by intervention in the counting of votes? And if so to prevent the orderly transfer of national executive authority? Do you support that effort?"
The DCCC should develop variations of that Q and follow-ups to force those 139 to confront treason, rather than be able to say "the police are handling it" as Moscow Mitch does now.
I'm not a betting person, however I'll bet that My Pillow Guy and
trump are planning something for August 22nd.
August 22nd is a full moon, so that means the trumpers can go out
with their beers and magahats and howl at the moon. I'll be
sitting on my front porch listening for any in the hood.
When I had my annual checkup a few days ago, we conversated
about Covid and the future. My doctor thinks it will be similar
to how we handle the flu, yearly vaccination. She said
that there will possibly be a pill by the end of the year that can be
prescribed for those who have been vaccinated. She also
believes in the Darwin theory. Survival of the fittest (vaccinated.)
A view from a distance. An unplugged distance, that is, which I've been living in for much of the last month.
Check out the old RC's when I get home, of course, and will share this brief impression. The daily news is not so bad as it was for the previous five years or so but not so good as I might have wished it would be by this time.
Glad to see the progress on Covid in spite of all the dunderheads who continue to lower the national IQ, but socially and economically, not as much as I would like.
The result? Less eagerness to follow every story as it breaks, an eagerness that for the Pretender years certainly had its unhealthy component, so I'm now gifted me with more time to read and think a bit about things I'd put aside during the years of Pretender fascination.
So here I am, not so riveted to all the details of the political scene, traveling a bit more, and on our return rescuing gardens that didn't get the attention they needed when we were gone, and wondering what I might take up this summer to fill the minutes the Pretender's departure has provided.
Probably won't be writing a mystery, like Marie, but will recommend "Homeland Elegies” by Ayad Akhtar, which I just finished. Wonderful, sharp and perceptive I thought.
Good, very readable story about what it's like to be a Pakistani, born in America but never quite part of it, enclosing little essays on the state of the nation as a sparkling bonus. Nuggets of wisdom, they were.
I even learned something from it about Robert Bork which has prompted me to pick up Amy Klobuchar’s book on anti-trust.
Now that I have the time.
After I meet a contractor and mow the lawn.
The LTC whose mic was squelched was on topic, talking about the origins of Memorial Day (Decoration Day), despite the opinion of Mrs. Whoozit that "... Kemter’s discussion of Black history “was not relevant to our program for the day.”"
And you can argue whether that Charleston event in 1865 was the "first decoration day," but the events the LTC described did occur as he related. Some butt-hurt Charlestonians (Chuckies? Chazzes? whatever) at the time were unhappy to lose the use of their racecourse for longer than they had anticipated, but soon found that night riding was more thrilling than racing.
And the LTC's uniform says he was an enlisted combat medic, because he is wearing a Combat Medic Badge (which is a Medic Badge surrounded by a wreath). Officers can't get them and it is awarded only to medics who are integrated into infantry units engaged in actual combat, i.e. walking along with them. It is one of the harder badges to earn, like the Combat Infantry Badge. You have to be where people shoot at you, personally.
His hat band and sleeve band are the colors of the Medical Service Corps (and of Army Docs, Nurses, Veterinarians) but his lapel branch insignia look like Engineer Corps.
His uniform tells you he started out at the bottom and worked his way around and up. He seems like a solid guy.
And that CMB tells me I would trust him with my life.
Unlike Mrs. Whoozit.
Thank you, Ken. I recall our conversation where you felt, because of the insular life we had to live because of Covid, how you were bemoaning the way your life was taking on a ritualistic organized way of operating and because of this you felt a sense of loss. But I see now you are experiencing the joy–-if I can use that word–-of having the time to indulge in all that reading––something that we love–- and get outside and tend to our gardens or grass cutting, as the case may be.
Anyway–-this is just to say I'm glad you've taken a bigger breath and can now stretch out and touch a bit of that freedom.
PD,
Thanks.
But politics does remain front and center.
Thought while mowing that Biden may have a grander plan then proving he can work with Republicans on infrastructure.
Trim it, get half of what he wants, look like the deal maker the Pretender was most definitely not, then use the remaining reconciliation card in his deck this year to raise taxes where they should have long ago been levied.
Looks like Greg Sargent didn't have to mow a lawn for his inspiration.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/06/03/gop-working-class-scam-infrastructure-child-tax-credit/