;)
The Commentariat -- May 7, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Biden on Friday defended his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan after a disappointing jobs report, arguing that the new data prove the necessity of the legislation and that it would take more time for the economy to recover. 'When we came into office, we knew we were facing a once-in-a-century pandemic and a once-in-a-generation economic crisis. And we knew this wouldn't be a sprint, it would be a marathon,' Biden said in remarks from the East Room of the White House. 'It was designed to help us over the course of a year. Not 60 days, a year,' he said of the coronavirus relief passed earlier this year. 'We never thought after the first 60 days that everything would be fine.'"
Some were wondering in today's Comments thread if this story was true. It is. Hannah Rabinowitz & Marshall Cohen of CNN: "Alleged US Capitol rioter Anthony Antonio was hooked on Fox News and developed 'Foxitis,' his lawyer said Thursday in a virtual hearing interrupted multiple times by another defendant's profane outbursts. Antonio, his lawyer Joseph Hurley said, had lost his job at the beginning of the pandemic and for the next six months watched Fox News constantly. Antonio developed what his lawyer called 'Foxitis' and 'Foxmania,' and believed the lies about the 2020 election from Fox News and ... Donald Trump." The Washington Post's story is here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "Pfizer and the German company BioNTech have become the first companies to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for full approval of their Covid-19 vaccine for use in people 16 and older. The vaccine is currently being administered to adults in America under an emergency use authorization granted in December. The approval process is likely to take months. The companies said in a statement on Friday that they had submitted their clinical data, which includes six months of information on the vaccine's safety and efficacy, to the F.D.A. They plan to submit additional material, including information about the manufacturing of the vaccine, in the coming weeks."
Minnesota. Amy Forliti & Michael Balsamo of the AP: "A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's arrest and death, accusing them of willfully violating the Black man's constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air. A three-count indictment unsealed Friday names Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao."
Virginia Governor's Race. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Larry J. Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the Republican candidates for governor this year fit into three categories: 'Trumpy, Trumpier, Trumpiest.'... One candidate brands himself a 'conservative outlaw.' Another boasts of her bipartisan censure by the State Senate for calling the Capitol rioters 'patriots.' A third, asked about Dominion voting machines -- the subject of egregious conspiracy theories on the right -- called them 'the most important issue' of the campaign. These are ... three of the leading contenders in a race that in many ways embodies the decade-long meltdown of Republican power in Virginia, a once-purple state that has gyrated more decisively toward Democrats than perhaps any in the country."
Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post: "On Friday, the State Department and the professional association and union representing Foreign Service officers will unveil 71 more names [honoring Foreign Service officers who have died on duty] after an exhaustive search through the archives to find forgotten or overlooked people who qualify. Included are three envoys who died of yellow fever in the Republic of Texas, then an independent country; a Black diplomat who was born enslaved and died an ambassador to Liberia; and [F.R.] Engdahl, who died in an accidental fall while he was a Japanese prisoner of war."
Arkansas Executed the Wrong Man. Heather Murphy of the New York Times: "For 22 years, Ledell Lee maintained that he had been wrongly convicted of murder. 'My dying words will always be, as it has been, "I am an innocent man,"' he told the BBC in an interview published on April 19, 2017 -- the day before officials in Arkansas administered the lethal injection. Four years later, lawyers affiliated with the Innocence Project and the American Civil Liberties Union say DNA testing has revealed that genetic material on the murder weapon -- which was never previously tested -- in fact belongs to another man. In a highly unusual development for a case in which a person has already been convicted and executed, the new genetic profile has been uploaded to a national criminal database in an attempt to identify the mystery man.... The Innocence Project and the A.C.L.U. ... pushed for additional DNA testing ... on the eve of Mr. Lee's execution. The request was denied. A federal judge rejected Mr. Lee's request for a stay of the execution, saying that he had 'simply delayed too long,' according to a complaint filed by [Mr. Lee's sister]."
~~~~~~~~~~
Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: “Backdropped by a dilapidated bridge that has outlived its expected working life by two decades, President Biden sought to define the debate on his $2 trillion infrastructure plan as a question of priorities: overdue investments that would benefit a wide swath of Americans vs. tax cuts that would help a wealthy few. 'In my view, it's an easy choice between giving tax breaks to corporations and the super wealthy and investing in working families,' Biden said in front of the Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, La. Biden, speaking in a red state he lost by nearly 20 points in November, nonetheless pitched his agenda in contrast with Republicans' most prized policy achievement of the Trump era[:] The 2017 tax cuts.... 'I'd be willing to break bread with anyone who's willing to help,' said Nic Hunter, Lake Charles's mayor, a Republican who introduced Biden. 'Every day that goes by without disaster relief is a day that Washington fails the people of southwest Louisiana.' Hunter was Exhibit A for Biden's argument that addressing the nation's infrastructure has bipartisan support across the nation.... Louisiana's Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards also spoke before Biden.... Biden also toured the Carrollton Water Plant in New Orleans, a city whose water system has pipes that are in some cases more than a century old."
Sarah Kaplan & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "Months after President Biden set a goal of conserving 30 percent of the nation's land and waters by 2030, the administration Thursday laid out broad principles -- but few details -- for achieving that vision. The new 22-page document from the Commerce, Interior and Agriculture Departments highlights one of the Biden administration's central challenges: Having committed to bold environmental goals during their early days in power, officials now face the more uncertain and contentious task of figuring out how to follow through on those ambitions. The 'America the Beautiful' report outlines steps the U.S. could take to safeguard key areas on land and in the sea to restore biodiversity, tackle climate change and make natural spaces more accessible to all Americans."
Darryl Fears of the Washington Post: "Months after the Trump administration weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, allowing industry and individuals to unintentionally kill any number o birds, the Biden administration proposed a new rule Thursday that would revoke that change. The proposal announced by the Interior Department would restore protections under the 102-year-old law that governed incidental take, or accidental killings of birds by people and organizations such as oil and gas companies that fail to take proper precautions to not harm the animals."
Who Are These People? Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "'With Donald Trump out of the White House -- not a joke -- you will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends,' Joe Biden said during a May 14, 2019, trip to New Hampshire.... But on Wednesday..., Biden offered a more flummoxed, less confident assessment: 'I don't understand the Republicans.'... Biden has watched as post-Trump Republicans, far from reverting to their previous identity, have instead embraced the ex-president with increased fervor.... His rhetoric now has almost a 'bless their hearts' tone, professing to speak more in sorrow than anger.... A new tone of doubt has crept into Biden's assertions about the Republicans/ path."
Missy Ryan & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Pentagon leaders signaled an openness Thursday to altering military rules that govern the prosecution of sexual assaults, as support builds behind congressional initiatives that would take those decisions out of the chain of command. Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said his decision to drop his opposition to changing the military's system for prosecuting such crimes was based in part on data suggesting that 20,000 service members were sexually assaulted last year. 'We can't tolerate that level of divisiveness in our force. These are blue-on-blue assaults,' he said. 'It cannot stand. It has to be resolved. So, yes, my mind is very open.'"
John Hudson of the Washington Post: “Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Ukraine's leaders in Kyiv on Thursday that the country's future is threatened by a two-front war: the battle against Russian aggression at its border and the fight against corruption within Ukraine. The top U.S. diplomat pledged to increase U.S. security assistance to Ukraine after what he called Russia's 'reckless and aggressive' buildup of troops along its border with Ukraine, and he condemned Kyiv's notoriously corrupt political system after the firing of an energy official.... 'There's clearly a need for more progress on things like corporate governance, on judicial reform, on making sure that the anticorruption bureau is truly independent,' said Blinken, who ... met with [Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, lawmakers,] civil society leaders, members of the news media and virtually with anticorruption activists." An ABC News story is here.
Hypocrites on Parade. Steve Peoples of the AP: "Every Republican in Congress voted against the sweeping pandemic relief bill that President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. But since the early spring votes, Republicans from New York and Indiana to Texas and Washington state have promoted elements of the legislation they fought to defeat.... Polling suggests the Biden stimulus is overwhelmingly popular." (Also linked yesterday.)
Daniel Dale of CNN: "The top candidate to replace [Liz] Cheney [in the House GOP 'leadership'] is New York Rep. Elise Stefanik -- who promoted some of those election lies and sought to get the outcome of the election overturned. Stefanik, whom Trump endorsed Wednesday for the job of House Republican conference chair, supported a lawsuit that tried to get the Supreme Court to invalidate Joe Biden's victory. On January 6, after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, she voted to reject some of President Joe Biden's electoral votes. Both before the riot and immediately afterward, Stefanik made false claims about the conduct of the election in some of the states Biden won. And in previous remarks, she amplified baseless claims that there were major 'irregularities' with both voting and election software. Stefanik did not match Trump's incendiary language about the election being 'rigged' or 'stolen.' But using slightly more artful rhetoric, she aided his damaging campaign to undermine confidence in the result. Here's a look at some of Stefanik's election-related words and actions between early December and early January." MB: But, see, that's exactly why Stefanik is the top candidate. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ AND, as Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post points out, Stefanik is still standing by a three-part whopper she told on January 6 about Georgia's election count. Kessler awarded her four Pinocchios.
~~~ Catie Edmondson & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "... on Thursday, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the Republican whom leaders have anointed as [Liz] Cheney's replacement in waiting, loudly resurrected his false narrative, citing 'unprecedented, unconstitutional overreach' by election officials in 2020 and endorsing an audit in Arizona that has become the latest avenue for conservatives to try to cast doubt on the results. 'It is important to stand up for these constitutional issues, and these are questions that are going to have to be answered before we head into the 2022 midterms,' Ms. Stefanik told Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump's former strategist, in the first of a pair of interviews on Thursday with hard-right acolytes of the former president.... While Ms. Stefanik avoided claiming outright that the election was stolen, she praised the Arizona audit, a Republican-led endeavor that critics in both parties have described as a blow to democratic norms and a political embarrassment, as 'incredibly important.'" A CNN story is here. ~~~
~~~ Tina Nguyen of Politico: "Within minutes of [Donald] Trump's endorsement of [Elise Stefanik] for GOP conference chair on Wednesday, top MAGA voices erupted in anger -- a rare break with the former president. The invective aimed at Stefanik, who was perceived to be insufficiently conservative and a relative newcomer to the Trump cause, continued to zoom through the MAGA-sphere on Thursday." MB: Of course none of this matters to Trump, whose only requirement is that a person show him slavish fealty.
Pete Williams of NBC News: "Four months after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, FBI agents maintain a steady pace of arresting people accused of taking part, as one of the largest criminal investigations in American history keeps growing. 'We're not done rounding up the worst of the worst,' said one law enforcement official. 'We're not slowing down.' More than 440 people have been charged with taking part in the Capitol siege.... Men outnumber women among those arrested by 7 to 1...."
Peter Hermann of the Washington Post: "A D.C. police officer injured battling pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 is seeking more recognition for those on the front lines and says he is angered by people who 'continue to downplay the events of that day.' The officer, Michael Fanone, who joined the force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and has been on leave since the riot, wrote of his misgivings in a letter he said he sent on Wednesday to members of Congress, the D.C. Council and the mayor's office.... Fanone was part of a group of officers trying to hold off thousands of rioters trying to break through a door on the west terrace of the Capitol. He was pulled into the crowd, beaten with poles, hit multiple times on the neck with a stun gun, rendered unconscious and suffered a mild heart attack. He was stripped of his badge and radio, and said someone tried to grab his firearm. He said he heard someone yell, 'Kill him with his own gun.' Three suspects have been arrested in connection with his attack." ~~~
~~~ A WUSA story is here. It includes a facsimile of Fanone's letter.
IOKIY Trump. Otherwise, You Go to Jail. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "The Federal Election Commission said on Thursday that it had formally dropped a case looking into whether ... Donald J. Trump violated election law with a payment of $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election to a pornographic-film actress by his personal lawyer at the time, Michael D. Cohen. The payment was never reported on Mr. Trump's campaign filings. Mr. Cohen would go on to say that Mr. Trump had directed him to arrange payments to two women during the 2016 race, and would apologize for his involvement in a hush-money scandal. Mr. Cohen was sentenced to prison for breaking campaign finance laws, tax evasion and lying to Congress.... While Mr. Cohen has served time in prison, Mr. Trump has not faced legal consequences for the payment.... The election commission -- split evenly between three Republicans and three Democratic-aligned commissioners -- declined to proceed in a closed-door meeting in February. Two Republican commissioners voted to dismiss the case while two Democratic commissioners voted to move forward. There was one absence and one Republican recusal. That decision was announced on Thursday.... Two of the Democratic commissioners on the F.E.C., Shana Broussard, the current chairwoman, and Ellen Weintraub, objected to not pursuing the case after the agency's staff had recommended further investigation." The Hill's story is here.
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "An Air Force veteran who prosecutors allege worked with Stephen K. Bannon ... to defraud donors to a fundraising campaign for a U.S.-Mexico border wall has been indicted on new tax charges. Brian Kolfage, a conservative activist who lost three limbs in Iraq and was the founder and public face of the 'We Build the Wall' fundraising campaign, was charged in federal court in Florida with filing a false tax return. In an indictment, prosecutors alleged that Kolfage claimed to the IRS in his 2019 tax return that he had a total income of just over $63,000 and did not report hundreds of thousands of dollars deposited into his personal bank account from 'We Build the Wall' and other sources. Federal prosecutors in New York last year charged Bannon, Kolfage and two others with defrauding donors to the campaign, which was publicly supported by several of Trump's allies and raised more than $25 million from hundreds of thousands of donors." A CNN story is here.
Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Twitter suspended an account on Thursday that appeared to be circumventing its ban on ... Donald Trump by posting messages he shared on his own website.... On Thursday morning, a Twitter accounts with the handle '@DJTDesk' appeared on Twitter. The account's bio section stated that the handle would be featuring 'Posts copied from Save America on behalf of the 45th POTUS; Originally composed via DonaldJTrump/Desk.' Within hours, the account was suspended."
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. (Also linked yesterday.)
Joel Achenbach & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Coronavirus infections could be driven to low levels and the pandemic at least temporarily throttled in the United States by July if the vast majority of people get vaccinated and continue with precautions against viral transmission, according to a strikingly optimistic paper released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report comes as administration officials and leaders in many states are sounding more confident that the country can return to a degree of normalcy relatively soon. President Biden on Tuesday announced a new vaccination goal, saying he wants 70 percent of adults to have had at least one dose by July 4. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday the modeling results give Americans a road map out of the pandemic -- so long as they continue to get vaccinated and maintain certain mitigation strategies until a 'critical mass of people' get the shots." The article is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday.)
Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: On Thursday night, Tucker Carlson "told his millions of viewers that he was pro-vaccine and insisted that he was not saying the vaccines were dangerous, but then immediately launched into a rant about 'the apparent death rate from the coronavirus vaccines,' citing data from VAERS (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). As many people noted, the disclaimer that is literally on the VAERS website, written in clear language: 'As an early warning system, VAERS cannot prove that a vaccine caused a problem....'" Reaction was swift. "Even Fox News' own medical expert subtweeted Carlson for his profoundly flawed take." Rumpf goes into detail about Tucker's mistakes. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Remember Emily Litella, Gilda Radner's character who ranted about things she had misheard? Emily was comically dimwitted, to be sure, but well-meaning. We should think of Tucker as an evil-minded Emily Litella, someone who reads or hears stuff he doesn't understand, then goes on the teevee and rants about it. I would urge Fox "News" to end each Tucker Carlson show with a disclaimer: "Never mind!" ~~~
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "The scene playing out in [the] Arizona [fake recount] is perhaps the most off-the-rails episode in the Republican Party's escalating effort to support ... Donald J. Trump's lie that he won the election.... The review is proving to be every bit as problematic as skeptics had imagined." The article recaps issues covered in stories we linked yesterday.
Florida. Ron DeSantis: Bad for Business. Taylor Dolven of the Miami Herald: "If Florida won't allow Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for passengers and crew, the company's CEO says it will take its ships elsewhere. CEO Frank Del Rio made the threat during an earnings call Thursday, just days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature that bans businesses, schools and government entities in Florida from asking anyone to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is the world's third largest cruise company, parent to cruise brands Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas. Miami-Dade County spent $263 million building a terminal for Norwegian at PortMiami that finished construction last year." ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Editors: "... thanks to the cynical calculations of Florida's Republican governor, voters in the state's 20th Congressional District --; primarily Black, primarily Democratic -- will have to wait until next year to be represented in Congress. Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D) died last month, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has set the general election for Jan. 11, with primaries in November.... It is clear from the experience of other states that it doesn't take months and months for candidates to emerge and qualify for the ballot.... About 800,000 Floridians will be deprived of representation for nine months apparently worries him not one bit. In fact, it meshes neatly with his larger agenda of suppressing the vote whenever possible for anyone but Republican voters. The thread running throughout is a disdain for democracy." ~~~
~~~ Florida. Amy Gardner & Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed broad legislation Thursday morning that imposes new rules on voting and new penalties for those who do not follow them.... Critics said the new law curtails poll access in a variety of ways that will intimidate, confuse and otherwise make it harder for people to vote by mail, which is popular in Florida." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ As Corasaniti & Epstein note in the NYT story linked below, "... on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, with great fanfare, signed his state's new voting bill, which passed last week. Held at a Palm Beach hotel with cheering supporters in the background, the ceremony showcased Mr. DeSantis's brash style; the governor's office barred most journalists and provided exclusive access to Fox News, a nose-thumbing gesture of contempt toward a news media he viewed as overly critical of the bill." Thanks to Bobby Lee for pointing out, in yesterday's Comments, DeSantis's move to ban the real press from covering an official act. ~~~
~~~ Hey, Republicans. Here's a Real First Amendment Issue. Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times: "When Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new bill Thursday morning to change mail-in voting in Florida, the only television cameras allowed to capture the moment belonged to Fox News. Outside, reporters and videographers from local news outlet were told the ceremonial bill signing was an 'exclusive' for Fox & Friends, the conservative network's morning show.... Fox never asked for the special treatment.... Later, the network clarified that its producers there weren't aware that DeSantis was going to sign the bill on camera.... Aside from the optics, there's also a question of whether DeSantis violated the First Amendment by shutting members of the press out of a public event, experts told the Times. A federal court in Ohio upheld that a public official cannot discriminate against journalists based on perceived bias.... People who don't have a cable subscription or who don't watch that network ... wouldn't have seen it." ~~~
Texas. Nick Corasaniti & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Hours after Florida installed a rash of new voting restrictions, the Republican-led Legislature in Texas pressed ahead on Thursday with its own far-reaching bill that would make it one of the most difficult states in the nation in which to cast a ballot. The Texas bill would, among other restrictions, greatly empower partisan poll watchers, prohibit election officials from mailing out absentee ballot applications and impose strict punishments for those who provide assistance outside the lines of what is permissible. The State House of Representatives was scheduled to debate the measure late into the evening with the possibility that it would pass it and send it to the Senate. Gov. Greg Abbott is widely expected to sign the bill into law." ~~~
~~~Update. Acacia Coronado of the AP: "Texas Republican lawmakers advanced a sweeping elections bill early Friday following hours of discussion that would put America's biggest red state closer to imposing a raft of new voting restrictions in the face of growing warning from corporations. The key vote at 3 a.m. in the Texas House followed hours of debate as Democrats, who had little means of stopping the bill in the GOP-controlled state Capitol, deployed technical challenges and hours of questioning that the bill's author, Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain, appeared unprepared at times to answer. Finally, an agreement was reached between Republicans and Democrats leaving the bill with 20 amendments that significantly watered down some of what advocates called the most problematic aspects of the bill as it passed the key vote 81-64."
Georgia. Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Keisha Lance Bottoms, the first-term Atlanta mayor who rose to national prominence this past year with her stern yet empathetic televised message to protesters but has struggled to rein in her city's spike in violent crime, will not seek a second term in office, Ms. Bottoms announced on Twitter on Thursday night.... The news shocked the political world in Atlanta, the most important city in the Southeast.... " The Hill's story is here.
New York. Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "New York Attorney Letitia James wants two right-wing provocateurs to pay up to $2.7 million in penalties for thousands of robocalls allegedly aimed at suppressing the Black vote ahead of the 2020 election. James said Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman 'used misinformation to try to disenfranchise Black communities ahead of the election, in a clear attempt to sway the election in the favor of their preferred presidential candidate.' Wohl and Burkman, conservative political operatives known for smearing political opponents with transparently false accusations, are already facing criminal charges in Michigan and Ohio for the scheme."
New York. Ed Shanahan & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Sheldon Silver, who dominated New York State politics for years as the Democratic Assembly speaker before being convicted on federal corruption charges, was ordered back to prison on Thursday, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the matter. Mr. Silver, 77, was in federal custody at a Lower Manhattan hospital on Thursday afternoon and was expected to be returned to the prison in Otisville, N.Y., later in the day, one of the officials said. The move came just two days after prison officials let Mr. Silver return home on a furlough while he awaited a decision on his request that he be allowed to serve the balance of his prison term under home confinement. At that point, he had served less than a year of his six-and-a-half-year sentence. That Mr. Silver was going back to prison so quickly suggested that his request had been denied, but a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on any aspect of his status."
Way Beyond
China/Space/Earth. Steven Myers & Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: "Part of China's largest rocket, the Long March 5B, is tumbling out of control in orbit after launching a section of the country's new space station last week. The rocket is expected to fall to Earth in what is called 'an uncontrolled re-entry' sometime on Saturday or Sunday. Whether it splashes harmlessly in the ocean or impacts land where people live, why China's space program let this happen -- again -- remains unclear. And given China's planned schedule of launches, more such uncontrolled rocket re-entries in the years to come are possible.... The country's space program ... continues to create danger, however small, for people all over the planet by failing to control the paths of rockets it launches.... The chances [of your being hit by debris are extremely low, but they] are not zero." NPR's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Okay, Nothing to Worry About. AP: "China says the upper stage of its Long March 5B rocket that launched the core module of its space station will mostly burn up on re-entry, posing little threat to people and property on the ground. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbing said Chinese authorities will release information about the -re-entry of the rocket, expected over the weekend, in a 'timely manner.' Wang said China 'pays great attention to the re-entry of the upper stage of the rocket into the atmosphere.'"
China. Steven Mufson & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "China's greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 surpassed those of the United States and the developed world combined, according to an analysis published Thursday by the research firm Rhodium Group. China's share of global emissions rose to 27 percent of the world's total, while the United States remained the second-largest emitter at 11 percent. India's share came third at 6.6 percent, edging the 27 nations in the European Union, which account for 6.4 percent, the report found. China, India and other developing nations have lon noted that over the past century, the United States and Europe grew their economies while generating massive amounts of greenhouse gases, and that requiring the developing world to clamp down on emissions as they industrialize and bring millions of citizens into the middle class is unfair." MB: That's sort of a ridiculous argument; when the West industrialized, the technology to reduce greenhouse gases had not been invented, AND -- although there was no question that air particles were negatively affecting health -- people didn't understand climate change & how greenhouse gases accelerated it. (Also linked yesterday.)
Share Article
Reader Comments (13)
Regarding all those lies Stefanik (GQP latest Trumpenstar, soon to replace Liz Cheney in the latest Trumpenputsch) has been spreading about election fraud: they wouldn’t pick if she wasn’t a liar. They wouldn’t shove her in unless they could count on her goosestepping along with the rest of the mindless Trump morons. There isn’t even the pretense of an interest in the United States, the Constitution, rule of law, or competence in governing. There is only fealty to the Dear Leader and his lies.
I’m not crying for Liz Cheney. In too many ways she is an abomination (just like dear old dad), but her defenestration removes any doubt as to what the GQP is about (if any existed). The will to power. At all costs. Fascism, white supremacy, the hobbling of democracy, the emboldening of armed thugs, the cementing of hatred, fear, and dull ignorance as guy wires of the party, all supporting the tent pole, treason.
She’s just another cog in the fascist machine. Mendacity is her ID badge.
Kinda looks like they are “canceling” Liz Cheney.
The Secret Papers, now revealed, of Lee Atwater, who invented the scurrilous tactics that Trump normalized:
"The Republican Party...doesn't need to study Atwater's lessons. It's still using his playbook." Jane Mayer
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-secret-papers-of-lee-atwater-who-invented-the-scurrilous-tactics-that-trump-normalized
By the way: Trump, probably over a dozen times, told us he was going to reign in BIG FARMA–-bragged about how B.F. didn't like him one little bit, no sirree, and he was gonna get them to do his bidding; he never did. But Biden has and the stock market shows the results. Ha!
From today's Doonesbury link:
"Fox television played constantly. He became hooked on what I call 'Foxitis'...and started believing what was being fed to him."
-- attorney explaining to judge how his client ended up storming the Capitol
PD: I think you are the victim of autocorrect or something-- shouldn't it be "rein in?" I think it might be a sinister plot, as I have seen it numerous times in the last several weeks... Maybe there was a directive I missed, as "reign" is what Idiot Orange would like to be doing.
On a different note, I am enraged by the lawyer you quoted turning his seditious, treasonous, violent Faux-watching yahoo into a victim. Oh, poor thing, misled by innocent broadcasts of Faux, totally not his fault for storming the Cap and beating up police people. So now, they are defending these criminals by blaming his television watching, without which he just NEVER would have done such a thing... Just charge him already. These people are an abomination. I read somewhere that absolutely none of the 440 morons charged have been charged with treason. Boggles my mind.
On the other hand, if it was Doonsbury, maybe it was a joke??
He was eating Twinkies AND watching Faux. Lethal.
And speaking of Faux: " ... (Fox network) clarified that its producers there weren’t aware that DeSantis was going to sign the bill on camera."
Which must be why they brought in the camera and mic.
Fauxitis=the new Twinkie defense
Is the bill legal if DeSantis didn't show a valid ID before he signed
it?
I guess I hoped that was parody...but sadly, it has been reported elsewhere that the poor man suffers from Fauxmania. Must be contagious, as so many showed up on January 6, so there were TWO pandemics abroad that day. How can we condemn these poor victims of the media slobbering over The Former Guy? How, I ask you...? Maybe set up a GoFundMe account so they can fleece sympathizers and vacation in Hawaii...
"... How can we condemn these poor victims ... ?"
I think you just put twelve people in a room and they reach a verdict.
--- :) ------
Aging is tough: https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/2021-05-Dianne-Feinstein-Stephen-Breyer-retire-US-16157453.php. I've got a former friend 20 years younger than Diane: same problem. Compare that with Jen Psaki's remarks about giving someone else the view from the front seat: https://www.businessinsider.com/jen-psaki-step-down-as-biden-press-secretary-next-year-2021-5. Diane, Moscow Mitch, Chuck Grassley, my former ...is they all think they have the best ideas and are not willing to bring in new blood, new thinking, or new education. Sad.
Re: the wrong man put to death in Arkansas. There is no statute of limitation for murder but there clearly is for valid proof of a black man’s innocence in red states like Arkansas.
Despite DNA evidence proving that someone else committed the crime, the Arkansas AG (R-natch) wasn’t having any of it. But she was “prayerful” about the wrongful execution, and it was perfectly okay I guess, because Jesus. And, oh yeah, because the guy they killed was black. A judge said “Well, he waited too long. Kill him.” rather than allowing a simple DNA test that would have provided evidence one way or the other. But no. Black guy. Kill him.
Oh, he was innocent? Well, never mind.
There’s also no statute of limitation on lethal racism in America. I’m prayerful about that.