;)
The Commentariat -- May 14, 2021
Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.
Because Republicans Cheat. Ivana Saric of Axios: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNN Thursday that members will still be required to wear masks on the House floor, despite new CDC guidance allowing fully vaccinated people to remove their masks indoors.... Pelosi's spokesperson cited the lack of clarity about which House members and their staffs are fully vaccinated, per Bloomberg."
Nicholas Wu & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "House Democrats on Friday announced plans to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, though it doesn't yet have the backing of the chamber's top Republican. Gridlock over the bill's provisions and partisan sniping had stalled progress on the commission for months after the attack. And while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday he hadn't formally signed off on the agreement, the deal announced Friday by House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and ranking member John Katko (R-N.Y.) does include some key concessions to Republicans. The bill could come to the floor 'as soon as next week,' Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Friday, noting that the panel is modeled after a bipartisan study of events leading up to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That floor vote will likely be followed by a long-awaited emergency funding bill to address security flaws within the Capitol that the siege exposed."
Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "House Republicans chose Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Friday to fill the leadership post recently occupied by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), replacing a harsh critic of ... Donald Trump with a lawmaker who has become one of his staunchest defenders. She received 134 votes while Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) received 46, according to GOP aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the closed meeting. Nine members voted present and three wrote in a person who was not running." An AP story is here.
Liz Unbound. Clara Hill of Yahoo! News: "Representative Liz Cheney ... has called for a criminal investigation into ... Donald Trump for inciting the deadly Capitol insurrection on 6 January. In an interview with Savannah Guthrie on NBC's Today Show on Thursday, Ms Cheney said she was not 'surprised' by her removal as the chair of the Republican conference. She added that the GOP now finds itself in a 'moment where we have to decide whether we as a party whether we are going to embrace the truth.' She described the grip that Mr Trump had on the Republican party as 'dangerous' and 'a cult of personality,' saying it was a 'betrayal' to see him try to burn down the party and American democracy in an attempt to regain power."
Em Steck & Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "During a February 2019 visit to congressional offices at the US Capitol [-- and before she was a MOC --] with associates who include a man who would later enter the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, [Marjorie Taylor] Greene ... can be seen [in a video] taunting [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez's staff outside the congresswoman's locked office by talking through a mailbox slot urging her to come out. In the video, from a since-deleted Facebook Live of Greene's that was saved by CNN's KFile, Greene tells Ocasio-Cortez to 'get rid of your diaper,' referring to the congresswoman's office as a 'day care.' Greene repeatedly indicates throughout her stream that security has been called on them. 'We're going to go see, we're going to visit, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Crazy eyes. Crazy eyes. Nutty. Cortez,' Greene says to the camera on the way to the congresswoman's office, mispronouncing 'Ocasio.'" MB: And you wonder why AOC is concerned for her safety as MTG continues to stalk her.
Yo, Donald, We've Found Some Extreme Voter Fraud. KDVR Fox 31 (Denver): "Prosecutors have filed new charges against Barry Morphew, alleging the man accused of murdering his missing wife submitted a presidential ballot in her name. Morphew was recently arrested on charges of murdering his wife, Suzanne, after she disappeared a year ago. She still has yet to be found.... The ballot didn't contain Suzanne's signature, but it did list Barry as the witness.... On April 22, Barry was asked by FBI agents why he submitted a ballot for Suzanne. 'Just because I wanted Trump to win ... I know she (Suzanne) was going to vote for Trump anyways,' he told investigators. He also said he thought the 'other guys' were cheating so he would 'give him (former president Trump) another vote.'" MB: Trump voters are the best people. This guy allegedly kills his wife, then votes for Trump on her ballot. You can't make up this stuff.
The New York Times' live updates of the armed conflict in Israel are here.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Maskless Joe. Zeke Miller & Michael Balsamo of the AP: "'Today is a great day for America,' President Joe Biden said during a Rose Garden address heralding the new guidance, an event where he and his staff went without masks. Hours earlier in the Oval Office, where Biden was meeting with vaccinated Republican lawmakers, he led the group in removing their masks when the guidance was announced. 'If you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask,' he said, summarizing the new guidance and encouraging more Americans to roll up their sleeves. 'Get vaccinated -- or wear a mask until you do.'... The guidance still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but it will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools and other venues -- even removing the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated." The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~
** Yasmeen Abutaleb & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "Americans who are fully vaccinated can go without masks or physical distancing in most cases, even when they are indoors or in large groups, federal officials said Thursday, paving the way for a full reopening of society. The change represents a huge shift symbolically and practically for pandemic-weary Americans.... More than 117 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, or about 35 percent of the population.... The relaxation of restrictions does not apply to airplanes or health-care settings. Officials also noted that some occupational settings may still require masks. They urged those who are immune-compromised to speak with their doctors before giving up their masks.... Officials cautioned the guidelines could change again if the pandemic should worsen." The story is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here, and this morning it gets the banner headline it deserves. ~~~
~~~ Planes, Trains & Buses. Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "Fully vaccinated people traveling in buses, trains and airplanes must continue to wear a mask, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, even as it said they could go without one in most other indoor settings. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency is continuing to review its travel policies, but she did not explain the reasoning during a briefing Thursday on the new recommendations."
William Wan of the Washington Post: "The White House announced Thursday that it is investing $7.4 billion to hire more public health workers to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and future health crises. The money will come from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which Congress passed in March. The funds could give a much-needed boost to America's crumbling public health infrastructure. After decades of chronic underfunding, U.S. public health departments last year showed how ill-equipped they are to carry out basic functions, let alone serve as the last line of defense against the most acute threat to the nation's health in generations."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.
Tony Romm & Eli Rosenberg of the Washington Post: "More than 1.9 million Americans in Alabama, Mississippi and 14 other Republican-led states are set to have their unemployment checks slashed significantly starting in June, as GOP governors seek to restrict jobless assistance in an effort to force more people to return to work. The cuts are likely to fall hardest on roughly 1.4 million people who benefit from stimulus programs that Congress adopted at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, including one targeting those who either are self-employed or work on behalf of gig-economy companies such as Uber. Beginning next month, many of these workers are likely to receive no aid at all. The looming cliff reflects an emerging campaign on the part of GOP leaders to combat what they consider a national worker shortage.... The reality is more complicated, labor experts say. The slowdown in hiring may instead reflect workers' concern about their safety and difficulty obtaining child care, or their trouble finding suitable positions in hard-hit industries such as tourism on top of mounting frustration about wages they consider too low." ~~~
~~~ Ooh! Ooh! Look What Happens When Businesses Can't Staff Up. Christopher Rugaber of the AP: "U.S. restaurants and stores are rapidly raising pay in an urgent effort to attract more applicants and keep up with a flood of customers as the pandemic eases. McDonald's, Sheetz and Chipotle are just some of the latest companies to follow Amazon, Walmart and Costco in boosting wages, in some cases to $15 an hour or higher.... Restaurants, bars, hotels and stores remain the lowest-paying industries, and many of their workers ran the risk of contracting COVID-19 on the job over the past year while white-collar employees were able to work from home." MB: This, of course, is what Republican governors seek to curb: businesses having to pay workers fair wages.
The Case of the Boy in the Basement. Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A former aide accused U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) of allowing his son to live in a storage space in the basement of the U.S. Capitol for several weeks and recklessly exposing staffers to the novel coronavirus, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday. Former aide Brandon L. Pope accused Lamborn, 66, of Colorado Springs, of consistently disregarding 'ethical rules and guidelines' for lawmakers, including taking a 'reckless' approach to the pandemic and retaliating against Pope when he raised objections. Pope ... asked a federal judge to find that the eight-term member of Congress violated workplace rights under the Congressional Accountability Act and to award compensatory and punitive damages.... Lamborn's office announced Nov. 18 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus." Read on for details of Pope's claims. The New York Times story is here. NBC News has a story here.
Seung Min Kim & Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "President Biden, Democratic lawmakers and congressional Republicans all say they want to do something -- anything -- to upgrade the nation's infrastructure. But they don't yet agree on much else, including what 'infrastructure' actually means. The lingering schisms surfaced anew as Biden hosted Senate Republicans at a closely watched Oval Office meeting on Thursday. Even as both sides stressed their commitment to a bipartisan deal, they acknowledged afterward that they're still haggling over what it should include -- and haven't even touched the fierce debate over how to pay for it. The latest round of infrastructure talks came as the White House inched closer to its self-imposed Memorial Day deadline, a date by which it says it expects progress on advancing Biden's jobs and infrastructure plan." A Politico story is here.
Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Thursday urged motorists not to panic over a severe gasoline shortage in the Southeast and emphasized that a major pipeline would be restoring operations in coming days, part of an effort to quell Republican criticism on an issue long fraught with political peril for the party that controls the White House. After his administration struggled to contain an escalating problem for several days, Biden said Colonial Pipeline was poised to operate normally in affected areas 'beginning this weekend and continuing into next week.' In the meantime, drivers should not hoard fuel, he warned, and should understand that restarting is 'not like flicking on a light switch.'" Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ William Watts of MarketWatch: "Colonial Pipeline paid Eastern European hackers nearly $5 million in an untraceable cryptocurrency last week in response to a ransomware attack, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the transaction." (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story, by Nicole Perlroth, is much more extensive than the MarketWatch item: "A spokeswoman for Colonial declined to confirm or deny that the company had paid a ransom."
Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The Biden administration on Thursday moved to repeal a Trump-era regulation that it said weakened the government's ability to curb air pollution that threatens public health and is driving climate change. Critics said the regulation distorted the costs of reducing air pollution while diminishing the associated benefits. It is one of several Trump administration policies that have been reversed by Michael S. Regan since he became the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in March. Finalized at the end of the Trump administration, the so-called cost-benefit rule was designed to change how the E.P.A. calculated the economic costs and benefits of new clean-air and climate-change rules.... Experts said [the Trump rule] appeared designed to give industries a way to legally block the E.P.A. over future air pollution rules." (Also linked yesterday.)
Dino Grandoni & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post (May 12): "For years..., Donald Trump and his deputies played down the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels and delayed the release of an Environmental Protection Agency report detailing climate-related damage. But on Wednesday, the EPA released a detailed and disturbing account of the startling changes that Earth's warming had on parts of the United States during Trump's presidency. The destruction of year-round permafrost in Alaska, loss of winter ice on the Great Lakes and spike in summer heat waves in U.S. cities all signal that climate change is intensifying, the EPA said in its report. The assessment, which languished under the Trump administration for three years, marks the first time the agency has said such changes are being driven at least in part by human-caused global warming.... EPA Administrator Michael Regan said he wants to make clear to the entire country the dangers of rising temperatures in the United States." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "Mysterious episodes that caused brain injuries in spies, diplomats, soldiers and other U.S. personnel overseas starting five years ago now number more than 130 people, far more than previously known, according to current and former officials. The number of cases within the C.I.A., the State Department, the Defense Department and elsewhere spurred broad concern in the Biden administration. The initial publicly confirmed cases were concentrated in China and Cuba and numbered about 60, not including a group of injured C.I.A. officers whose total is not public. The new total adds cases from Europe and elsewhere in Asia and reflects efforts by the administration to more thoroughly review other incidents amid concern over a spate of them in recent months.... The Biden administration has not determined who or what is responsible for the episodes or whether they constitute attacks.... 'As of now, we have no definitive information about the cause of these incidents, and it is premature and irresponsible to speculate,' said Amanda J. Schoch, the spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence." (Also linked yesterday.)
Daniella Diaz & Annie Grayer of CNN: "The vote to oust Liz Cheney took only 16 minutes. Here's what happened." (Also linked yesterday.)
** Spies Among Us. Adam Goldman & Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times: "A network of conservative activists, aided by a British former spy, mounted a campaign during the Trump administration to discredit perceived enemies of President Trump inside the government, according to documents and people involved in the operations. The campaign included a planned sting operation against Mr. Trump's national security adviser at the time, H.R. McMaster, and secret surveillance operations against F.B.I. employees, aimed at exposing anti-Trump sentiment in the bureau's ranks. The operations against the F.B.I., run by the conservative group Project Veritas, were conducted from a large home in the Georgetown section of Washington that rented for $10,000 per month. Female undercover operatives arranged dates with the F.B.I. employees with the aim of secretly recording them making disparaging comments about Mr. Trump.... Central to the effort, according to interviews, was Richard Seddon, a former undercover British spy who was recruited in 2016 by the security contractor Erik Prince to train Project Veritas operatives to infiltrate trade unions, Democratic congressional campaigns and other targets. He ran field operations for Project Veritas until mid-2018." ~~~
~~~ digby, who republishes a good portion of the report, points out that the wife of a Supreme Court justice is thick with these nuts. I'll leave you to guess which justice, which wife.
I don't think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. I think that is all over with. We're sitting here with the president today, so, from that point of view, I don&'t think that's a problem. -- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Wednesday ~~~
~~~ "A Refresher for Kevin McCarthy." Salvador Rizzo of the Washington Post: "When a reporter asked a thorny question about the baseless claim, promoted by many Republicans and right-wing media personalities, that Donald Trump really won the 2020 election rather than Biden, McCarthy described it as a thing of the past. It's more like an ongoing dumpster fire.... The claim is incredible, so here's a (non-exhaustive) list of those who are still hawking the idea that the election was tainted by irregularities." In his non-exhaustive list, Rizzo names Trump, "Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)..., Arizona Republicans..., more than 100 retired generals..., large segments of the right-wing media..., Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)..., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)..., Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Az.)...," and more.
Mary Jalonick of the AP: "Flouting all evidence and their own first-hand experience, a small but growing number of Republican lawmakers are propagating a false portrayal of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, brazenly arguing that the rioters who used flagpoles as weapons, brutally beat police officers and chanted that they wanted to hang Vice President Mike Pence were somehow acting peacefully in their violent bid to overturn Joe Biden's election. One Republican at a hearing Wednesday called the rioters a 'mob of misfits.' Another compared them to tourists. And a third suggested the sweeping federal investigation into the riot -- which has yielded more than 400 arrests and counting -- amounts to a national campaign of harassment. It's a turn of events that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, another target of the rioters, called 'appalling' and 'sick,' and it raises the possibility that the public's understanding of the worst domestic attack on Congress in 200 years -- an attack that was captured extensively on video -- could become distorted by the same kinds of disinformation that fueled ... Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election. It was the lie about the election that motivated the rioters in the first place."
** Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "Surrounded by rioters who had dragged him down the U.S. Capitol steps, beaten him and Tasered him, D.C. police officer Michael Fanone screamed in pain. 'I got one!' one of the rioters yelled triumphantly. As the crowd pushed in, grabbing at his head, Fanone screamed again and then pleaded for help. 'I got kids!' he yelled.The intense scene plays out in body-camera footage of the attack broadcast by CNN on Wednesday evening, casting new light on Fanone's struggle to escape a clash he later described as 'the most brutal, savage hand-to-hand combat of my entire life.' Fanone suffered a mild heart attack and a concussion in the melee. The vivid violence in the clip stands in stark contrast to claims by some Republicans on Wednesday, who sought to downplay the severity of the deadly insurrection -- with one GOP lawmaker even describing the attack as a 'normal tourist visit.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Alex Horton & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A Marine Corps officer was arrested Thursday for alleged crimes during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, becoming the first known active-duty service member charged in the violent attempt to thwart the certification of Joe Biden's election as president. Maj. Christopher Warnagiris, 40, stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico, was charged with five counts, including assaulting and obstructing police during a civil disorder and obstructing an official proceeding of Congress, federal prosecutors said.... His current assignment includes training to 'improve the warfighting skills' of senior commanders." The AP's story is here.
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "A Florida politician who is central to the investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz for possible sex trafficking of a minor signaled Thursday that he will plead guilty in his own federal case, a court entry shows, a troubling development for the congressman as it suggests prosecutors have secured a potentially important witness against him. Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla., had since last year been outlining to prosecutors how he and Gaetz (R-Fla.) would pay women for sex using cash or gifts as he tried to negotiate a plea deal to resolve his own legal woes, according to a person familiar with the matter. Gaetz has adamantly denied paying for sex. On Thursday, a federal court in Orlando scheduled a 'change of plea hearing' in Greenberg's case for Monday, indicating he has reached such a deal." Politico's story is here.
Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "State prosecutors in Manhattan investigating ... Donald J. Trump and his family business are examining the extent to which Mr. Trump handed out valuable benefits to some of his executives [like paying private-school tuition for a grandchild of longtime Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg] and whether taxes were paid on those perks, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The scrutiny of how the Trump organization handled what are known as fringe benefits is a growing aspect of the broader investigation." ~~~
~~~ Joseph Choi of the Hill: "Officials in Palm Beach, Fla., are reportedly considering a course of action should former President Trump be indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. while he is staying at Mar-a-Lago. According to Politico, law enforcement officials in the town have discussed how to handle a possible extradition if Trump is indicted by authorities investigating whether he committed banking and tax fraud. The news outlet notes Trump's location would affect potential extradition proceedings, as Florida's extradition statute gives Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) the ability to intervene and determine whether someone should be surrendered to out-of-state law enforcement. 'The statute leaves room for interpretation that the governor has the power to order a review and potentially not comply with the extradition notice,' Joseph Abruzzo, circuit court clerk of Palm Beach County, told Politico." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Rachel Maddow imagined Trump's building a moat around his Mar-a-Lago "castle" & holing up there in a stand-off against the authorities. But, um, Trump's Palm Beach abode is already on an island. ("Mar-a-Lago" means "sea-to-lake.") I thought there was a helipad on the grounds, so the sheriff could swoop in on a chopper, but the helipad was demolished in February. So if DeSantis' state police fill in as sort of Praetorian Guard, maybe the Caesar can hold out!
Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "The son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani went on Russian TV to push conspiracy theories about the federal investigation of his father. Andrew Giuliani accused the American government of hacking his father's iCloud account (the feds reportedly gained access via a warrant). '... [People] don't want to live in a country where you're going to have a Justice Department that is going to politicize something to the point where a former president's personal counsel is going actually be spied on by the Justice Department,' he claimed." MB: You do have to wonder why kind of country Andy thinks Russia is. ~~~
~~~ C'mon, Andy, it's a great country. Look what Daddy's friend Sidney can do in the U.S.A. Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "Former Trump attorney ... Sidney Powell has told prospective donors that her group, Defending the Republic, is a legal defense fund to protect the integrity of U.S. elections. But the company suing Powell over her baseless claims of a rigged presidential election says the true beneficiary of her social welfare organization is Powell herself. Dominion Voting Systems claims Powell has raided Defending the Republic's coffers to pay for personal legal expenses, citing her own remarks from a radio interview.... The dispute shines a light on how Trump allies continue to support, spread and allegedly profit from lies about fraud in the 2020 election. Although the election is settled, and all major court challenges have been dismissed, Powell's legal defense fund continues to raise money, with help from conspiracy-minded supporters like QAnon adherents."
Voter Suppression with a "Grassroots Vibe." Ari Berman & Nick Surgey of Mother Jones: "In a private meeting last month with big-money donors, the head of a top conservative group boasted that her outfit had crafted the new voter suppression law in Georgia and was doing the same with similar bills for Republican state legislators across the country. 'In some cases, we actually draft them for them,' she said, 'or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.' The Georgia law had 'eight key provisions that Heritage recommended,' Jessica Anderson, the executive director of Heritage Action for America, a sister organization of the Heritage Foundation, told the foundation's donors at an April 22 gathering in Tucson.... Those included policies severely restricting mail ballot drop boxes, preventing election officials from sending absentee ballot request forms to voters, making it easier for partisan workers to monitor the polls, preventing the collection of mail ballots, and restricting the ability of counties to accept donations from nonprofit groups seeking to aid in election administration. All of these recommendations came straight from Heritage's list of 'best practices' drafted in February."
** Michael Harriot of the Root: "... when Mitch McConnell and 38 Republican senators sent a letter to the secretary of education decrying the ghastly prospect of white students having to learn actual facts about slavery, it was not unexpected. For centuries, this country's schools have perpetuated a whitewashed version of history that either erases or reduces the story of Black America.... The Root decided to see what some of the signatories to Mitch McConnell's Strawberry Letter knew about slavery and Black history. We dug through state curriculum standards, yearbooks and spoke with teachers to see which interpretation of history the white tears-spewing politicians learned when they were in elementary and high school." MB: This is fascinating reading. (You have to click on the "Continue reading" bubble for the details.) Although Harriot concentrates on the Senators' objections to the 1619 project, their school "learning" sheds light on their white-worldview of race and the Confederacy. As Harriot points out, the "history" outlined in the textbooks required the approval of groups like the Daughters of the Confederacy & education departments under the thumbs of racists governors like segregationist Dixiecrat Ross Barnett of Mississippi. Thanks to Anonymous for the link.
Beyond the Beltway
Minnesota. Matt Furber of the New York Times: "The trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd has been delayed several months to allow for a federal case against them to move forward. The decision was announced Thursday by Judge Peter A. Cahill during a pretrial hearing for the three former officers, and comes weeks after another former officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of two counts of murder and one of manslaughter for kneeling on Mr. Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. The three other former officers, who were scheduled to face trial on Aug. 23, will now be tried in March, Judge Cahill said. They face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter."
South Carolina. Christina Morales of the New York Times reports that Robert Caslen, a retired Army lieutenant general (& former West Point president) has resigned as president of the University of South Carolina after delivering a commencement speech last week in which he plagiarized a commencement speech given by retired Admiral William McRaven at UT-Austin a few years back. Caslen also inexplicably congratulated the kids for being "the newest alumni from the University of California." MB: What gets me about Caslen's plagiarism, is that he stole a passage that is not particularly outstanding. Rather, it's boiler-plate "uplifting" pablum that we routinely hear at such events:
Know that life is not fair, and if you're like me, you'll fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the cowardly bullies and lift up the downtrodden, and never, never give up -- if you do those things, the next generation and the generations to follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today. And what started here, today, will indeed change the world for the better.
When I plagiarize, I steal from the best, like Abe Lincoln & MLK, Jr.
Way Beyond
Israel. Josef Federman & Fares Akram of the AP: "Israel on Thursday said it was massing troops along the Gaza frontier and calling up 9,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory, as the two bitter enemies plunged closer to all-out war. Egyptian mediators rushed to Israel for cease-fire efforts but showed no signs of progress. The stepped-up fighting came as communal violence in Israel erupted for a fourth night, with Jewish and Arab mobs clashing in the flashpoint town of Lod. The fighting took place despite a bolstered police presence ordered by the nation's leaders." ~~~
~~~ Steve Hendrix, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Israeli military escalated its campaign against the Hamas militant group in Gaza late Thursday as artillery, tanks and war planes combined in a withering assault on the Palestinian enclave, and the Israeli military readied at least three brigades of troops for action, raising the prospect of a ground invasion. Just after midnight, the Israeli military announced that air and ground forces were attacking in the Gaza Strip, but the extent of the operation remained unclear. A military spokesperson initially said that ground troops were inside Gaza, but another spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces later clarified that statement, saying, 'There are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza Strip.'Residents of Gaza City said intense, almost continuous airstrikes began to pound the northern Gaza Strip around midnight in the most intense attacks over four nights of aerial bombardments and lasted for about half an hour." ~~~
~~~ Update. Declan Walsh of the New York Times: "Israeli ground forces carried out attacks on the Gaza Strip early Friday in an escalation of a conflict with Palestinian militants that had been waged by airstrikes from Israel and rockets from Gaza. It was not immediately clear if the attack was the prelude to a ground invasion against Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza."
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Reader Comments (9)
The acknowledgment at last! And life among the one percenters...
The Fat Fascist has finally given in to reality, a tacit admission that his Big Lie is, in fact, just a big ol’ nasty lie after all.
Marie links an item in the Rich People’s Alert newspaper, aka the Palm Beach Daily News, which reports that the presidential helipad at Sloppy Joe’s Hump-Hump Bar, aka Marred-a-Lardo, is being demolished. No request was made to the town to allow this thing to remain in place, according to local officials which, if he truly believed he was still president*, would be expected. Fatty’s saying “Ah, fuck it. Blow it up” is about as clear an admission as we’re likely to get that the Orange Monster has thrown in the towel on his latest failed scam.
Yay. I guess.
On the other hand, just imagine if the most pressing concern in your life was the down draft from Marine One, the stated concern of Palm Beach neighbors. Jeeez.
A ground swell indeed!!!! We have known for a long time that Ginny, wife of that Pin Point Georgia man that managed by hook and crook to be confirmed years ago to sit his fanny on the Supreme Court, was involved in a conservative whatch-ama-callit that pushed out screeds of righty-wingy bullpocky. But now we learn that she heads a conservative activist network called Groundswell. Holy Mother of Mary! as Akhilleus might say, how in blazes is this condoned?
"Groundswell has been around for a long time. And they are the looniest of right wing loons. The wife of a Supreme Court Justice involving herself in this kind of “activism” is outrageous. And Ledeen is a hard-core character assassin from way back. These people are always crawling around in the dark, scurrying when the lights come on." Digby
But hey––it's just another tale of the Tubbies–-those creatures that look like humans but lack a heart and a brain.
Perhaps some of those spies fit the bill here––sleeping with the enemy and while you whisper sweet nothings in my ear I'm taking notes that will be delivered to the King who will then banish you from his kingdom for badmouthing him.
Have we finally come to the conclusion or are we still dithering about the fact that Fatty and his Farts ran a corrupt administration, destroyed much of government largesse, ran foul on the environment, destroyed people's lives–––the list is long. If the party on the other side of the aisle continues to embrace HIM and the contents within will they implode or take over the house and paint it a whiter shade of pale.
Under the “Spies Among Us” lede, Marie offers us a chance to guess which wife of which Supreme Court justice has made a cottage industry of playing footsie with far right-wing loons and their dangerous, sedition loving pals.
Hold on...lemme think...
Oh, oh, oh. I know! I know. The justice is...could it be?...is it?...that well known connoisseur of big peenie porn and finder of nasty stuff on Coke cans...? Yes! Clarence Thomas, and the wife, of course, the lovely Ginni, as steadfast a whack job confederate conspiracy monger as you’re likely to find in official Washington. Gin-Gin sent love and kisses to the Trump thugs who stormed the Capitol looking to murder those considered insufficiently loyal to the Orange Monster. She routinely spreads the most heinous and bigoted lies about those she considers enemies (Americans who believe in the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy).
Here again, we see that R’s get away with dangerous crackpot shit, a tiny percentage of which would destroy any left leaning person. Just imagine the outrage if the spouse of a justice appointed by a Democrat were to engage in the same sort of activist conspiracy mongering. There’d be calls for arrest and imprisonment, and for that justice to recuse themself from all cases except those involving jay walking or parking meter violations.
But in today’s climate where wingers are allowed to run wild, people like Ginni Thomas are lauded.
Disgusting.
Rashisda Tlaib on House floor points to Palestinians "killed as the world watches."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rashida-tlaib-democratic-congress-members-house-floor-palestinians-israelis_n_609dc605e4b0daf2b59f404a
and I have a question–-the same one I've had for decades but I never get an answer that I can get my mind around:
WHY ARE WE STILL GIVING MONEY TO ISRAEL EVERY BLOODY YEAR? (they have their own nuclear weapons but that's kept on the back bench, so to speak.)
This article about the Floridian Rebekah Jones, https://news.yahoo.com/rebekah-jones-covid-whistleblower-wasn-103039488.html, aligns well with the theme of "spies among us". The British author of the story seems to have the CV of a mole. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_C._W._Cooke.) Or of Piers Morgan's protege. The preference of Banana-Republican fascists to talk about Jones versus Ginni is informative.
PD: Soooo agree-- why our unwavering support for Israel, and constantly being told "they have a right to exist...?" I seriously wonder why Palestinians DON'T have a right to exist except in prison-like conditions. These Israel residents/people are NOT my relatives or ancestors or anything, so why don't we give money to OTHER beset nations who struggle just as much? Why do we kowtow to BN, who is an ogre? And the group in the US who holds everyone hostage to their own ideas? I forget the name/initials of the group...
It is all so awful.
I have nothing to say about the insane orange cult and I am just about ready to quit listening to stories about them. I don't give a good goddamn about Lizard or her replacement, the MAGAwoman. And Greene needs to fall off the face of the earth. Someone yesterday said her eyes are too close together and another person says they are misaligned which can be a sign of schizophrenia! Oh please, I hope...
Fatty was right! Dead people DID vote in the 2020 presidential election. What he left out was that those people were killed by his followers who then turned in an illegal ballot under the murdered person’s name.
All the best people.
Uh oh, 46 GOP traitors voted for non-Don approved Chip Roy and another 12 also defied voting for their savior's choosen. Sounds like at least 58 Republicans are going to need to find other jobs next election cycle. I know Republicans are stupid, but the whole reason Liz is getting run out of town is because she refused to obey Donnie's every utterance. But it's sad that Trump couldn't even get 70% of the GOP House to do what he told them.
If Trump gets indicted while down in Florida he may want to keep an eye on his Secret Service protection. The news that he was trying to get rid of agents that didn't look the part may encourage some agents to toss him in a trunk and drive him to DC or NYC themselves.