;)
The Commentariat -- March 29, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
The New York Times is liveblogging Derek Chavin's murder trial. Video of the trial appears on the front page of the Times (so it's free to nonsubscribers). The Washington Post's liveblog with video is here. The Post also has video in its front page. CNN & MSNBC are covering most of the proceedings live. NBC News has live updates here, along with video. NBC News also has video on its front page.
Juliet Eilperin & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "The White House announced on Monday an ambitious plan to expand wind farms along the East Coast and jump-start the country's nascent offshore wind industry, saying it hoped to trigger a massive clean-energy effort in the fight against climate change. The plan would generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of the decade -- enough to power more than 10 million American homes and cut 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. To accomplish that, the Biden administration said, it would speed permitting for projects off the East Coast, invest in research and development, provide low-interest loans to industry and fund changes to U.S. ports. 'We are ready to rock-and-roll,' national climate adviser Gina McCarthy told reporters in a phone call Monday. She framed the effort as being as much about jobs as about clean energy."
James Dickson of the Detroit News: "Three men accused in an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will not face false report or threat of terrorism charges, a Jackson County judge ruled Monday. Judge Michael Klaeren of 12th District Court in Jackson dismissed the charge against Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico, both of Munith, and declined a request by prosecutors to add it to the charges against Paul Bellar, of Milford.... Klaeren on Monday ordered Bellar, Morrison and Musico to stand trial on three remaining charges, gang membership and providing material support for terrorism, both punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as well as felony firearm, punishable by up to two years in prison."
Dan Diamond of the Washington Post has a new report on CNN's interviews of top Trump administration Covid-19 response officials."... the finger-pointing and portrayals of some episodes prompted critics to say that former Trump administration officials who managed the pandemic response have turned to a new project: managing their legacies.... Some of those officials also have compared notes and aligned their recollections, a dynamic detailed by Politico last week, as they work to rehabilitate their reputations and shape future perspectives on the pandemic."
Isabel Debre & Samy Magdy of the AP: "Salvage teams on Monday set free a colossal container ship that has halted global trade through the Suez Canal, bringing an end to a crisis that for nearly a week had clogged one of the world's most vital maritime arteries. Helped by the peak of high tide, a flotilla of tugboats managed to wrench the bulbous bow of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given from the canal's sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged since last Tuesday. After hauling the fully laden 220,000-ton vessel over the canal bank, the salvage team was pulling the vessel toward the Great Bitter Lake, a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south end of the canal, where the ship will undergo technical inspection, canal authorities said." See Victoria's comment in today's thread. Funny.
Ken Moritsugu & Jamey Keaten of the AP: "A joint World Health Organization-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is 'extremely unlikely,' according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press. The findings offer little new insight into how the virus first emerged and leave many questions unanswered, though that was as expected. But the report does provide more detail on the reasoning behind the researchers' conclusions. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis."
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Biden's Big ... Deal. Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "The biggest expansion of the federal government in a generation is underway, a pandemic-inspired shift in resources and responsibilities that will challenge President Biden and the Democrats to demonstrate that they can make government work.... For liberal Democrats, Biden's early initiatives represent the fulfillment of a long-sought goal, which is to marshal the full resources of the federal government to attack big problems, from the threats posed by climate change, income and wealth inequality, the country's aging infrastructure and the cost of higher education. Add to that his intention to tackle immigration and voting rights, and it adds up to the most expansive and ambitious agenda in half a century.... Now, the party's liberal wing is cheering a president whom many of them criticized as too centrist, too moderate and too temperate during the 2020 Democratic nominating contest." Balz credits Sen. Bernie Sanders with shifting the party leftward. MB: Oh lordy, we are all socialists now. Eat your hearts out, Republican Scrooges.
Lindsey Walter Mitty Graham. Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "As Democrats push again to ban assault weapons after mass shootings in Boulder, Colo., and Atlanta this month, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday reiterated his opposition -- and said he has a personal reason for doing so. He needs his own AR-15, he said, in case disaster strikes and he needs to defend his home against a roving 'gang.' 'I own an AR-15,' Graham told Fox News host Chris Wallace. 'If there's a natural disaster in South Carolina where the cops can't protect my neighborhood, my house will be the last one that the gang will come to because I can defend myself.'" MB: Lindsey, who rose to the rank of colonel as an Air force JAG, was apparently not fully satisfied with his prestigious desk job. Instead, he imagines himself as a soldier or fighter pilot strafing the bad guys. ~~~
~~~ MB: Hmm, I think I know what color the "gang" is. Lindsey Jim Crow Graham. Evan Semones of Politico:"Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday accused President Joe Biden of playing the 'race card' by slamming Republican efforts to suppress voting across the country.... Graham went on to disparage Democrats and a package of election and government reforms, known as H.R. 1, that passed the House earlier this month and which seeks to counter Republican efforts to stymie voting, calling the sweeping legislation 'the biggest power grab in the history of our country.' It awaits action in the Senate. 'Every time a Republican does anything, we're a racist. If you're a white conservative, you're a racist. If you're a Black Republican, you're either a prop or Uncle Tom'; Graham said. Democrats 'use the racism card to advance a liberal agenda, and we're tired of it. H.R. 1 is sick, not what they're doing in Georgia.'" MB: You know, Lindsey, the term "playing the race card" implies that racism was not actually a factor but was invoked as a pretense. There's no pretense here. Your team is working overtime to ensure that people of color have minimal access to the vote.
Robert McCartney of the Washington Post: "Opponents of D.C. statehood have at most three arguments that deserve any respect. They involve the Founders' intent, retrocession to Maryland and the 23rd Amendment. But none stands up to scrutiny, as I'll discuss below. It's hard to accept that Republicans and other critics believe that these arcane constitutional claims count for more than respecting the nation's founding rallying cry of 'no taxation without representation.' Instead, as GOP leaders are increasingly willing to admit publicly, they care primarily about preventing the deep-blue District from sending two additional Democrats to the Senate and one to the House. Many of the objections raised at last week's House hearing on statehood were plainly laughable." MB: Oh yeah? Among the arguments McCartney calls "laughable": D.C. residents have the advantage of being able to post yard signs that Congressmembers will see; D.C. doesn't have a landfill; D.C. doesn't have enough car dealerships. Strangely, the great majority of states were admitted to the U.S. without any car dealerships at all. Now, Hawaii & Alaska, those are real states. Virginia and Illinois, for instance, not so much.
Ha Ha. Matt Binder of Mashable: After boasting that it "referred violent content and incitement from Parler's platform over 50 times before January 6th" to law enforcement agencies, right-wing social media platform Parler got so much blowback from its base of "Constitutionalist" and "free speech" users that it had to try to explain the First Amendment to them.
Brenna Smith, et al., of USA Today: "Defendants accused in the Capitol riot Jan. 6 crowdfund their legal fees online, using popular payment processors and an expanding network of fundraising platforms, despite a crackdown by tech companies. The Capitol riot extremists and others are engaging these companies in a game of cat-and-mouse as they spring from one fundraising tool to another, utilizing new sites, usernames and accounts. In one case, a crowdfunding website set up in late 2020 has been adopted by a defendant charged with storming the Capitol, who used it to raise almost $180,000. His was one of eight fundraisers on the site as of last week, and his donations accounted for 84% of the money raised on the platform.... In the wake of the insurrection, the popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe said it banned fundraising for travel to political events that have a 'risk for violence.'"
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "In interviews broadcast on CNN Sunday night..., Donald J. Trump's pandemic officials confirmed in stark and no uncertain terms what was already an open secret in Washington: The administration's pandemic response was riddled with dysfunction, and the discord, untruths and infighting most likely cost many lives. Dr. Deborah L. Birx, Mr. Trump's coronavirus response coordinator, suggested that hundreds of thousands of Americans may have died needlessly, and Adm. Brett P. Giroir, the testing czar, said the administration had lied to the public about the availability of testing.... Admiral Giroir said that the administration simply did not have as many tests as top officials claimed at the time.... The comments were among a string of bombshells that emerged during a CNN special report that featured the doctors who led the government's coronavirus response in 2020." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The former and current officials described a federal government [ostensibly run by Donald Trump] in such disarray that hundreds of thousands of people may have needlessly died as a result. Much of the administration's dysfunction played out in the open, but the insider accounts provided additional confirmation of the chaos and underscored the devastating effects the political polarization had on public health measures."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "After weeks of decline followed by a steady plateau, coronavirus cases are rising again in the United States. Deaths are still decreasing, but the country averaged 61,545 cases last week, 11 percent more than the average two weeks earlier. Scientists predicted weeks ago that the number of infections would curve upward again in late March, at least in part because of the rise of variants of the coronavirus across the country. The variant that walloped Britain, called B.1.1.7, has led to a new wave of cases across most of Europe. Some scientists warned that it may lead to a new wave in the United States. The rise in infections is also a result of state leaders pulling back on mitigation measures, and large social interactions, like spring break gatherings in Florida, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Biden administration's chief science adviser, said on the CBS program 'Face the Nation' on Sunday." (Also linked yesterday.)
Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials -- often referred to as 'vaccine passports' -- that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as businesses try to reopen. The effort has gained momentum amid President Biden's pledge that the nation will start to regain normalcy this summer and with a growing number of companies -- from cruise lines to sports teams -- saying they will require proof of vaccination before opening their doors again.... The passports are expected to be free and available through applications for smartphones, which could display a scannable code similar to an airline boarding pass. Americans without smartphone access should be able to print out the passports, developers have said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Georgia. Michelle Au, a Georgia state senator, in a Washington Post op-ed, describes the scene as the state Senate was debating the voter suppression bill: most Republican senators could not be bothered to even show up to hear the debate, but in a "small, clubby" anteroom off the chamber, GOP senators could be heard laughing & chortling among themselves. MB: May the people have the last laugh. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
Egypt. A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats. The New York Times (Monday) is liveblogging the progress of dislodging the cargo ship stuck in the sand of the Suez Canal: "The mammoth cargo ship blocking one of the world's most vital maritime arteries was wrenched from the shoreline and set partially afloat again early Monday, raising hopes that traffic could soon resume in the Suez Canal and limit the economic fallout of the disruption. Salvage teams, working on both land and water for five days and nights, were ultimately assisted by ... the moon and the tides. As water levels swelled overnight, the hours spent digging and excavating millions of tons of earth around the Ever Green paid off as the ship slowly regained buoyancy, according to officials. While shipping officials and the Egyptian authorities cautioned that the complicated operation was still underway, they expressed increasing confidence the ship would soon be completely free. The stern was now some 300 feet from shore, according to the Suez Canal Authority." ~~~
~~~ Slowly, Slowly, She Turns. The New York Times (Sunday) liveblogged the progress of the attempts to move a huge Japanese cargo ship that has been grounded for nearly a week in the Suez Canal and is completely blocking the vital international shipping lane. "Late Saturday, tugboat drivers sounded their horns in celebration of the most visible sign of progress since the ship ran aground late Tuesday. The 220,000-ton ship moved ... just two degrees, or about 100 feet...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Sudarsan Raghavan & Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi ordered preparations to be made for the unloading of the Ever Given cargo carrier that is blocking the Suez Canal, the head of the canal authority said Sunday. Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told Egyptian television that officials were preparing for the 'third scenario' of unloading containers from the massive ship so it can be refloated, opening up one of the world's busiest waterways. The canal has been blocked since Tuesday, leaving more than 300 ships waiting to pass through. Unloading some of the 18,000 containers from the towering ship would require special equipment, so the president authorized its acquisition even as dredging continued, Rabie said. So far, 27,000 cubic feet of sand have been removed from around the vessel to a depth of 18 meters, or about 59 feet." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
News Lede
AP: "Sarah Obama, the matriarch of former U.S. President Barack Obama's Kenyan family has died, relatives and officials confirmed Monday. She was at least 99 years old. Mama Sarah, as the step-grandmother of the former U.S. president was fondly called, promoted education for girls and orphans in her rural Kogelo village. She passed away around 4 a.m. local time while being treated at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital in Kisumu, Kenya's third-largest city in the country's west, according to her daughter Marsat Onyango."
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Reader Comments (9)
In a WaPo article about Sen. Lindsey (Aunt Pittypat) G's TV words defending possession of AR15s, he is quoted:
"... Graham also has long opposed any efforts to reintroduce a ban on assault weapons after Congress allowed the previous ban to expire in 2004 — a move that Graham endorsed at the time, calling the ban a “violation of the constitutional rights of responsible Americans.” ... "
Despite his error in thinking an AR15 is superior to a pump shotgun for home defense, what do we think of his last thought above? That "responsible Americans" have constitutional rights, implying that "irresponsible Americans" don't have those rights?
Discuss amongst yourselves. Abjure commenting on LG's personal style choices.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/29/lindsey-graham-ar15-defense-disaster/
Marie,
You nailed the pretense part but I do believe Lindsay is genuinely "tired of it." Of that race card thing. And he and his cohort have very good reason to be. I imagine that being called a racist, no matter how justifiably, for a couple of hundred years does get tiresome.
But the race card is not a joker, even if the R's like to pretend it is. It is something real, not a card for Republicans to keep up their sleeves to be deployed in the frequently desperate straits their own fumbling approach to racial issues, an area where their hand gets weaker every year, leads them into.
It works, as you say, Marie, only when race really is the issue, and in an increasingly diverse and integrated nation, it is effective only in the limited confines of a schoolyard contretemps, an empty "so are you" riposte that convinces fewer every year.
That is why, Lindsey, I am, and it appears the nation outside of the Faux News bubble is, very tired of it, too.
Fox corp has it's ta-tas in a tangle over VP Harris not camping out down on the southern border. Apparently they've forgotten that the VP does have other responsibilities and that our communication network can be used for purposes other than propaganda dissemination.
Also three months after inauguration the VP is still living in temporary quarters. If this had happened four years ago VP Pence would have been in a top flight suite in the old post office building, with daily billing to the government.
While the attention is focused on Georgia and the new voter suppression law let's not forget that just to the South the Florida legislature is working hard to ensure that those 29 electoral votes stay in the Red column. A little commentary here:
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/opinion/editorials/2021/03/29/three-pieces-trickery-should-had-lawmakers-working-fix/7013369002/?utm_source=news-journalonline-Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_headline
Have you heard?
The Ever Given Has so completely blocked passage in the Suez canal that they've renamed the ship The McConnell.
yuk.yuk.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA:
In 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson, in the waning days of the Sixty-fourth Congress, sought a bill to arm American merchant ships, progressives were the ones who filibustered. This decent was led by Wisconsin senator Robert LaFollette who ran out the clock on the session which prompted Woody's famous remark:
"A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible."
Hmmm–-sounds like exactly what we gots here in River City–-lots of horn blowing steam and rusty old instruments that need to be discarded.
The malarky from our favorite Southern Graham Cracker of long standing and short memory, makes one wonder whether he's become addled and befuddled in his advancing age and fancies himself in not too dim a future, standing on his front porch, his AK something or other gun in hand, ready to ward off throngs of intruders out to do him in. No wonder he always looks so tired– he's not sleeping well–--one eye always open for the Biden brigade.
By the way wasn't it our own M.B. who suggested that they remove the cargo from the Ever Given in order to make it lighter to move? I suggest she hot foot it down to the Suez and take charge.
"Aunt Pittypat" is perfect, Patrick. I have wondered myself what in the world made Auntie P detach himself from the mouldering grave of John McCain and attach himself to a lying conman who is so incompetent he has no idea about anything in the world. Auntie must lie awake at night, running everything over in his mind and wondering where the hell everything went wrong, how he ended up in a camp with the most hated man in the Senate. I sound like I care a lot more than I do. The Senate is an insane asylum...
Jeanne,
Pittypat is an obsequious, cowardly liar who will bow before whomever he believes can help him keep his prestigious seat in the Senate. He attached himself to McCain hoping he too could be perceived as a no nonsense, tough guy maverick (who, let’s not forget, once called his wife a c**t in front of a gaggle of reporters).
But then along comes an ignorant racist prick who has a following McCain could never command (remember as well, that McCain tamped down supporters who were screaming about Obama after McCain lost—that sort of thing doesn’t sit well with the never give an inch haters). Pittypat (Otto Correct keeps trying to change that to “potty patrol”...maybe he’s not just a dumb program after all...) needed protection, both from Trump’s wrath, and his mob of thugs, who were never big on McCain anyway, so he bent over and assumed the position.
And make no mistake, Ted Cruz is the same sort of opportunistic coward. There are plenty of them in the “tough guy” GQP. They might not need the smelling salts as often, is all.
Two good cognomens today. Thanks to Patrick and PD for Pittypat and Graham Cracker.