;)
The Conversation -- February 26, 2024
Lauren Herstik & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Alexander Smirnov, the former F.B.I. informant charged with falsely claiming that President Biden and his son Hunter had accepted bribes, will be held in custody indefinitely because he poses a significant flight risk, a judge in California ruled on Monday.... Judge Otis D. Wright II of Federal District Court found fault with a decision by a federal magistrate in Las Vegas who last week released Mr. Smirnov, 43, a confidential informant since 2010, and dismissed the argument by prosecutors that he would try to escape to Russia. Prosecutors working for David C. Weiss, the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden, offered new details about the circumstances of Mr. Smirnov's rearrest last week in the office of his lawyer.... A prosecutor for Mr. Weiss, Leo Wise, explained that the sheer number of guns [officers found during a search of the condo where Smirnov lived] prompted Justice Department officials to make an arrest at [Smirnov's lawyer's] office, rather than Mr. Smirnov's home, which they believed would not be safe."
Here's video of a Jimmy Kimmel segment RAS linked earlier today. The voters interviewed take IOKIYAR to a whole new level:
Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "Manhattan prosecutors on Monday asked the judge overseeing the criminal case against Donald J. Trump to prohibit the former president from attacking witnesses or exposing jurors' identities. The requests, made in filings by the Manhattan district attorney's office, noted Mr. Trump's 'longstanding history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and others involved in legal proceedings against him.'... The gag order in the Manhattan case, if the judge approves it, would bar Mr. Trump from 'making or directing others to make' statements about witnesses concerning their role in the case. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, also asked that Mr. Trump be barred from commenting on prosecutors on the case -- other than Mr. Bragg himself -- as well as court staff members.... In a separate filing..., prosecutors asked that Mr. Trump be barred from publicly revealing [the jurors' identities. And although Mr. Trump and his legal team are allowed to know the jurors' names, Mr. Bragg asked that their addresses be kept secret from the former president." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Obviously, the D.A.'s asks are perfectly reasonable, but it remains stunning that ordinary citizens must be protected from a dangerous former POTUS*. He's a mobster & a monster.
Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Hungary's Parliament voted on Monday to approve Sweden as a new member of NATO, allowing the Nordic country to clear a final hurdle that had blocked its membership and held up efforts by the military alliance to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine. The measure passed after a vote of 188 for and only 6 against in the 199-member Parliament, which is dominated by legislators from the governing Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. On Friday, after his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, made a visit to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, Mr. Orban declared the end of a monthslong spat with Sweden over its membership of NATO."
~~~~~~~~~~
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Congressional leaders have failed to reach a deal on legislation to keep federal funding going past Friday, with Republicans insisting on adding right-wing policy dictates to the spending bills, pushing the government to the brink of a partial shutdown within days. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said on Sunday that despite 'intense discussions' that were continuing among top lawmakers to break the impasse, Republican recalcitrance was raising the prospect of a 'disruptive shutdown' at midnight on Friday.... With no sign of a breakthrough, President Biden summoned congressional leaders to the White House on Tuesday to discuss the spending legislation, as well as the $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel that the Senate passed earlier this month, which Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to take up." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is the one must-do job that the Constitution demands of the Congress, yet Republicans refuse to do it. This is dereliction of duty on the highest. However, these same jamokes are amenable to making sure women (and their partners) have to pay a huge price for enjoying "recreational sex." ~~~
~~~ ** Majority of House Republicans Support Total U.S. Abortion Ban. Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Prominent congressional Republicans are coming out in support of in vitro fertilization days after the Alabama state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are people and therefore that someone can be held liable for destroying them. But many of the same Republicans who are saying Americans should have access to IVF have co-sponsored legislation that employs an argument similar to the one the Alabama Supreme Court used in its ruling. The congressional proposal, known as the Life at Conception Act, defines a 'human being' to 'include each member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization or cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.' The bill would also provide equal protection under the 14th Amendment 'for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.'
"The measure has no provisions for processes like IVF, meaning access to the procedure would not be protected. It would ban nearly all abortions nationwide. The legislation is co-sponsored by 125 Republicans in the House, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who, in the wake of the Alabama ruling, said in a statement ... that he supports efforts to allow IVF treatments because he believes 'the life of every single child has inestimable dignity and value.'" Emphasis added. ~~~
~~~ Sabrina Malhi of the Washington Post: "A cancer diagnosis often comes with a host of difficult decisions, including what to do about the impact of treatment on a person's fertility. Many individuals grappling with this dual burden turn to in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a way to preserve their reproductive options. That's why cancer patients and oncologists are expressing shock and anxiety about the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered children under the law.... Cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, can have a significant impact on fertility in both men and women. Chemotherapy drugs are designed to kill rapidly dividing cells, including cancer cells, but they can also harm healthy cells in the body, including those involved in reproductive functions [of both women and men].... Many physicians today say that egg and embryo freezing can be used as safety nets for people with cancer in case they decide to have a family in the future." ~~~
~~~ Sam Levine of the Guardian: "California's governor, Gavin Newsom, is launching a series of new advertisements in Republican states targeting Republican efforts to criminalize having an abortion and 'a war on travel' for reproductive care. The first advertisement by Campaign for Democracy, Newsom’s political action committee (Pac), will air this week in Tennessee, where lawmakers are considering legislation that would make it illegal for anyone who helps a minor obtain an abortion without permission from their parents. Anyone found guilty of the offense could face between three and 15 years in prison.... The Pac plans to air them in other states like Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma that are considering similar measures." ~~~
Tools or Traitors? Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "Are Republicans easy marks or willing participants in Russian anti-Biden operations? That's a troubling question raised by the Feb. 14 grand jury indictment of a former FBI informant, Alexander Smirnov, on charges of concocting a tale about President Biden's supposed involvement in his family members' business dealings.... [House Republicans] championed him as their star witness [against Biden].... They're vowing to plow ahead on this cock-and-bull mission that never got off the ground. Not only did multiple witnesses testify that Biden had no involvement with his son's business dealings, but previous allegations that Biden acted on his son's behalf had also already been thoroughly repudiated.... 'DOJ must investigate whether and when Grassley, Comer or Jordan knew that Smirnov was spreading Russian disinformation,' Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) warned." ~~~
~~~ Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "Former CIA Director John Brennan pounced on the House GOP leadership for using a now-indicted Russian purveyor of lies about President Joe Biden to be their central witness in their bid to impeach the president. During an appearance on MSNBC's 'The Weekend,' Brennan said it doesn't matter if they knew they were being played or not by their informant Alexander Smirnov who is now in custody for lying to the FBI.... 'I think it's unclear whether they knew or not, quite frankly.... Based on what I've seen, they really don't care if these things are true or not. They will just try to use them to advance their efforts to undermine the integrity of President Biden, as well as to advance their impeachment process.... So, therefore, they seized upon something that was clearly on un-evaluated information, it was raw, it was obtained by the FBI. Director Christopher Wray initially tried to resist them being provided to the Hill, but then the pressure increased and it was eventually shared with them.'"
David Edwards of the Raw Story: "U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan declined a request to grant a stay after a jury ordered Donald Trump to pay writer E. Jean Carroll over $83 million for defamation. 'Twenty-five days after the jury verdict in this case, and only shortly before the expiration of Rule 62's automatic stay of enforcement of the judgment,' Kaplan noted. 'Mr. Trump has moved for an "administrative stay" of enforcement pending the filing and disposition of any post-trial motions he may file. He seeks that relief without posting any security.... The Court declines to grant any stay, much less an unsecured stay, without first having afforded plaintiff a meaningful opportunity to be heard,' the judge wrote in his one-page order. Kaplan said Carroll must file a motion by Thursday. Trump will also have a chance to respond." ~~~
~~~ Jonathan O'Connell, et al., of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump, who built his business and political identities around boasts of financial savvy, now faces an immediate cash crunch of more than a half-billion dollars -- the combined cost of two legal battles that will now test the limits of his personal wealth. According to state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's final judgment, entered Friday, Trump now owes New York at least $454 million -- the $355 million penalty plus interest, which is now accruing at a rate of $112,000 per day. Separately, he faces an $83.3 million judgment in a federal defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.... To keep both judgments from being enforced while he appeals, he must put up the entire amount in either cash or bonds, according to legal experts.... Most of Trump's wealth is tied up in real estate, and it's not clear whether he has enough cash on hand to cover what he now owes." The article goes on to outline some of the obstacles Trump faces in putting up the cash or bonds to cover the judgments.
Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "... Donald Trump's lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.... The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election. A primary aim for Trump's legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can't start a trial before Election Day. 'Meaning, ice her,' said a person familiar with Trump's trial schedule strategy. 'Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.'... A gradually shifting calendar could ... [shield] Trump from other trials through the summer, multiple sources familiar with the former president's legal strategy told CNN."
Presidential Race
Michigan. Anjali Huynh of the New York Times: "Two days before the Michigan Democratic primary, speakers at a rally on Sunday in Dearborn, Mich., urged voters to withhold their support from President Biden over his policy on the war in Gaza -- and said that only Mr. Biden and Democrats who support his Israel policies would be to blame if the protest vote helped ... Donald J. Trump win in November. 'You all know Trump is an existential threat to our democracy,' said one of the speakers, Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, 'and President Biden is risking another Trump term over his support for the most right-wing government, most extremist government in the history of Israel.'" ~~~
~~~ Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Arab Americans, irate over [President] Biden's support for Israel, are pushing Democrats to select 'uncommitted' on the state's primary ballot on Tuesday. Several recent general election polls show Mr. Biden running behind ... Donald J. Trump in Michigan, while another shows Mr. Biden leading. Prominent Democrats in Detroit and Lansing say they are worried not just about losing Arab Americans, but also about Black men and union workers and young people. That leaves [Gov. Gretchen] Whitmer, one of eight national co-chairs of Mr. Biden's campaign, who is seen by many Democrats as a future contender for the presidency, facing perhaps the biggest electoral test of her career even though her name is not on the ballot. Ms. Whitmer is particularly strong with moderate voters and suburbanites, and has forged deep ties with Black leaders in Detroit. But it remains to be seen whether she can help much with those most frustrated with Mr. Biden, including voters further to the left and Arab Americans." MB: The Michigan primary is Tuesday.
Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News: "Steve Kramer, a veteran political consultant working for a rival candidate, acknowledged Sunday that he commissioned the robocall that impersonated President Joe Biden using artificial intelligence, confirming an NBC News report that he was behind the call. In a statement and interview with NBC News, Kramer expressed no remorse for creating the deepfake, in which an imitation of the president's voice discouraged participation in New Hampshire's Democratic presidential primary. The call launched several law enforcement investigations and provoked outcry from election officials and watchdogs.... Kramer said he has received a subpoena from the Federal Communications Commission, suspected he might get sued by a half dozen people and said he could even face jail time.... Kramer said ... it had nothing to do with his client, Biden's long-shot primary challenger, Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. Phillips had paid Kramer over $250,000 around the time the robocall went out in January, according to his campaign finance reports. Phillips and his campaign have denounced the robocall, saying they had no knowledge of Kramer's involvement and would have immediately terminated him if they had known."
Shane Goldmacher & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The political network created by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers announced on Sunday that it was suspending its support for Nikki Haley in the presidential primary after her latest defeat in South Carolina. The group, Americans for Prosperity Action, had spent tens of millions of dollars trying to elevate Ms. Haley and prevent the renomination of Donald J. Trump, but it had already slowed its spending in the G.O.P. race dramatically after Ms. Haley fell short in the New Hampshire primary last month. The organization made its decision official on Sunday." Politico's story is here.
Lost Causes 2024. Tom Sullivan in Hullabaloo: "Nikki Haley hopes to be lying around when the GOP finds its nominee convicted and facing jail. It is her only path forward.... What strikes me is the parallel magical thinking on the Democratic side. Digby wrote last week (agreeing with Josh Marshall), 'The brouhaha over Ezra Klein's article agitating for [President] Biden to drop out at this late date has been overwhelming and it's not helpful. The idea of choosing a new candidate at the conventions is downright fanciful. Not gonna happen.' But on this point, Haley and her supporters are thinking along the same lines as Klein and his. Klein's article promotes yet another Lost Cause." ~~~
~~~ Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times explains why Ezra Klein's bright idea of dumping President Biden at the Democratic National Convention would be a big mistake: "... an attempt to hold an open, brokered convention would immediately run into the basic issue that no candidate would be able to claim any kind of democratic legitimacy, especially if the delegates were free agents unaccountable to the public. The nominee who would come out of this process would have little basis, given the norms since 1968, to say that he or she was any better or more viable than any other candidate. The odds of alienating large parts of the Democratic Party coalition would be just as large as the odds of finding an able and competent nominee.... It would be difficult for the Democratic Party to win the November election with an unpopular incumbent at the top of the ticket. It would be even more difficult to do so with a divisive nominee -- who had neither earned the votes of Democratic voters nor weathered the vetting process of a primary campaign -- and a fractured coalition." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The only way, IMO, that a brokered convention would work for either party is if the nominee voters chose in primaries & caucuses around the country (1) dropped out of the race & supported the process of nominating a candidate at the convention or (2) was completely incapacitated or (3) dead.
Former Intel Officials Sound the Alarm. Erin Banco & John Sakellariadis of Politico: "Former top officials from Donald Trump's administration are warning he is likely to use a second term to overhaul the nation's spy agencies in a way that could lead to an unprecedented level of politicization of intelligence. Trump, who already tried to revamp intelligence agencies during his first term, is likely to re-up those plans -- and push even harder to replace people perceived as hostile to his political agenda with inexperienced loyalists, according to interviews with more than a dozen people who worked in his administration.... An overhaul of the type Trump is expected to attempt could undermine the credibility of American intelligence at a time when the U.S. and allies are relying on it to navigate crises in Ukraine and the Middle East. It could also effectively strip the intelligence community of the ability to dissuade the president from decisions that could put the country at risk."
Kaitlan Collins & Avery Lotz of CNN: "Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel will officially step down from her position on March 8, days after Super Tuesday."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The most important First Amendment cases of the internet era, to be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday, may turn on a single question: Do platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X most closely resemble newspapers or shopping centers or phone companies? The two cases arrive at the court garbed in politics, as they concern laws in Florida and Texas aimed at protecting conservative speech by forbidding leading social media sites from removing posts based on the views they express. But the outsize question the cases present transcends ideology. It is whether tech platforms have free speech rights to make editorial judgments." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, but what did the Founders say about Facebook? Since the Federalist Papers were first published in New York newspapers, and not on Facebook or Twitter, won't the Supreme originalists have to conclude that social media are not protected by the First Amendment? But as Liptak reports, "'It is not at all obvious how our existing precedents, which predate the age of the internet, should apply to large social media companies,' Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote in a 2022 dissent when one of the cases briefly reached the Supreme Court." Oh, Sam, Sam, what a quandary!
Denise Chow & Evan Bush of NBC News: "Climate change is throwing the water cycle into chaos across the U.S. The water cycle that shuttles Earth's most vital resource around in an unending, life-giving loop is in trouble. Climate change has disrupted that cycle's delicate balance, upsetting how water circulates between the ground, oceans and atmosphere. The events of 2023 show how significant these disruptions have become. From extreme precipitation and flooding to drought and contaminated water supplies, almost every part of the U.S. faced some consequence of climate change and the shifting availability of water." See also Mexico City water crisis; story linked below.
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Florida Man! Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: A St. Ausgustine, Florida podcaster, Pete Melfi, has launched a Florida Man Games competition "with a series of zany events: A mullet contest. A 'mud duel' with pool noodles. An 'evading arrest' obstacle course, with real sheriff's deputies pursuing the contestants.... If ... the rest of the world is going to make Florida the punchline, then those who call it home might as well be in on the joke.... The phrase has entered the political lexicon, transforming from a generic term for a nonpublic person -- Florida Man as John Doe -- to a stand-in for ... Donald J. Trump.... The first-ever Florida Man Games were held at the fairgrounds of a historic district [in St. Augustine -- the oldest continuously settled city in the nation --], with tickets going for $55 a pop on Saturday. Sponsored by a Florida apparel company and others..., the competition awarded $5,000 to one winning team, based on its performance in events throughout the day."
Texas Man. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "A Texas man pleaded guilty to insider trading after he was accused of making $1.7 million in illegal profits by purchasing and selling stocks based on his wife's work conversations, which he had overheard while she was working remotely at home, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. The man, Tyler Loudon, of Houston, bought 46,450 shares of stock in the truck stop and travel center company TravelCenters of America after he heard his wife discuss her employer's proposed acquisition of it, according to a complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Loudon's wife, who is not named in court documents, was a mergers and acquisitions manager at BP, a British oil and gas company, the complaint said."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israeli media reported that an Israeli delegation is expected to head to Qatar to move forward discussions over a potential cease-fire and hostage deal, following negotiations in Paris last week.... Officials involved in ongoing negotiations agreed to the 'basic contours of a deal,' White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday. He added that the United States hoped to firm up a final agreement 'in the coming days.'... On CBS's 'Face the Nation,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel wants a deal to free the hostages held in Gaza, and he said he hopes Hamas will abandon what he called 'crazy demands.'... 'Very little' aid has entered the Gaza Strip in February, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said, noting a 50 percent reduction in delivered supplies compared with January."
Thomas Fuller & Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces would push into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah regardless of the outcome of talks to pause the fighting that appear to have been making some progress in recent days.... Mr. Netanyahu did say that if a cease-fire deal was reached, the move into Rafah, which during 20 weeks of war has served as a last refuge for hundreds of thousands of Gazan families forced from their homes, would be 'delayed somewhat.'"
Ali Sawafta of Reuters: "Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday he was resigning to allow for the formation of a broad consensus among Palestinians about political arrangements following Israel's war against the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza. The move comes amid growing U.S. pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas to shake up the Palestinian Authority as international efforts have intensified to stop the fighting in Gaza and begin work on a political structure to govern the enclave after the war."
Mexico. Laura Paddison, et al., of CNN: "Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis of nearly 22 million people and one of the world's biggest cities, is facing a severe water crisis as a tangle of problems -- including geography, chaotic urban development and leaky infrastructure -- are compounded by the impacts of climate change. Years of abnormally low rainfall, longer dry periods and high temperatures have added stress to a water system already straining to cope with increased demand. Authorities have been forced to introduce significant restrictions on the water pumped from reservoirs.... Some experts say the situation has now reached such critical levels that Mexico City could be barreling towards 'day zero' in a matter of months -- where the taps run dry for huge swaths of the city." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Russia. Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "Negotiations were underway on a prisoner exchange that would have involved swapping Alexei Navalny and two Americans for a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany, when the Russian opposition leader died in prison, one of his associates said Monday. Maria Pevchikh, who chairs Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a video address on YouTube that negotiations were in their final stages on Feb. 15 just before his death in the 'Polar Wolf' prison colony in the Yamalo-Nenets region of northern Russia. She alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin, having gained Germany's agreement to include Vadim Krasikov in a prisoner swap, then decided to 'get rid of the bargaining chip,' by having Navalny killed, so that the agent imprisoned for murder could be exchanged for someone else." The Guardian's story is here.
Ukraine, et al.
Carlotta Gall & Constant Méheut of the New York Times: "Some 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia's full-scale invasion began two years ago, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, acknowledging for the first time in the war a concrete figure for Ukraine's toll.... But he declined to disclose the number of wounded or missing, saying that Russia could use the information to gauge the number of Ukraine's active forces."
Ivana Kottasová & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Former US President Donald Trump will be 'against Americans' if he chooses to support Russia over Ukraine, the war-torn country's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday. Speaking to CNN's Kaitlan Collins in Kyiv, Zelensky said he 'can't understand how Donald Trump can be on the side of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.' 'It's unbelievable,' he added."
Stephanie Halasz & Ivana Kottasová of CNN: "'Millions' could die in Ukraine's war with Russia if US lawmakers don't approve President Joe Biden's $60 billion aid request for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN on Sunday. Asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins about a claim made by the US Senator J.D. Vance that the outcome of the war would not change even if Ukraine receives the money, Zelensky said he wasn't sure Vance 'understands what is going on here.'"
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Reader Comments (22)
“The bill would also provide equal protection under the 14th Amendment 'for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.'”
Hey…looks like the traitors and white Christian nationalists have found a use for the 14th Amendment after all. Whadaya know. Too bad it doesn’t include protection for the rights of women.
Well, gotta run. We’re taking a busload of embryos to Disneyworld. Don’t wanna get indicted for not properly providing for the “preborn”. Do they have cell sized Mickey Mouse ears? Just wondering.
It should be fun to watch how the “originalists” (a completely bullshit canard on its face: as if anyone living today, never mind ideologically blinkered, results oriented SCOTUS traitors, could fathom the absolutely incontrovertible original intent of writers working 250 years ago) hopscotch around their usual finger-wagging assuredness to help their Nazi and white Christian nationalist pals ratfuck the American public by deeming social media platforms free from any oversight.
Here’s the thing. In October of 1787, when the first Federalist Paper was published (in one newspaper, the New York Independent—later entries would also be published in the New York Packet) there were about 340,000 people in that state. The Federalists were only published in New York. Let’s say half were of voting age, so 170,000. We’ll even include women, who were still 130 years or so from getting the vote.
Various accounts put literacy rates at the time anywhere from 60 to 100 percent. 100 seems a bit optimistic, but in big cities it was certainly higher. So let’s say 80 percent in New York State. That’s about 126,000. Now, of that group, how many were likely to have been regular newspaper readers? Let’s be generous and say 100,000.
So it’s possible that 100,000 or maybe 120,000 citizens could read the Federalist Papers, people whose opinions would make a difference (not counting children and slaves).
A single tweet by Elon Musk about how democracy is terrible, or from Charlie Kirk about secession, or some religious nutjob about how the Bible trumps the Constitution, reaches 100 to 200 million people in seconds. And let’s not even take into account the tens or hundreds of thousands of comments from like minded monsters, and the reprinting of all of this in hundreds of media outlets and websites, something completely impossible back in 1787.
Plus social media offers the visceral (and often false, through AI) addition of video to support the worst entries, creating a virtual tsunami of fake, inflammatory, nihilistic, theocratic, fascist and/or authoritarian propaganda. On a minute by minute basis, 24 hours a day, to hundreds of millions of people across the globe.
How does that compare with 100,000 in one state alone, taking maybe a week or more to read through a single entry by Publius?
But ohhh, they’ll find a way to make it the same. Alito probably already has his supporting material, maybe a prediction by Nostradamus from 1550 (the Inquisition was still going on, so pretty forward thinking time, plus…Inquisition…right in Alito’s wheelhouse).
Who could argue with that?
A new Missouri (Misery) law says that a pregnant woman can't get
a divorce, even if her husband beats the crap out of her every day
or mentally abuses her.
Tx, Az., and Ar. have similar laws.
Wonder is she's allowed to change hair color, or get a different job.
https://fox4kc.com/news/misouri-law-says-pregnant-women-cant-get-
divorced/
Jimmy Kimmel asks South Carolina voters about the candidates.
Look, I get that people are upset about war criminal Netanyahu and his quest for a Carthaginian Peace in Gaza. And they’re right to be upset. It’s horrible. But trying to kneecap Joe Biden unless he ends all support for Israel by getting people to hold off their votes in Michigan is barking mad.
I’m with Marie on changing my mind about Tlaib. This is ridiculous. She and her group promise to keep this up right through to November. Guys…this is not the only issue we have to worry about. Yes. The carnage in Gaza is terrible, but the situation here will be pretty fucking dire if you hand the election to Donald Trump.
You think that asshole is going to stop Bibi? He’ll be sending him cluster bombs. One of Trump’s biggest supporters, that idiot, Kid Rock, went on that other idiot Joe Rogan’s show the other day and demanded that 40,000 Gazans be murdered every day until all the hostages are released by Hamas. Rogan had to point out that this would be a war crime. When Joe fucking Rogan is the voice of reason, we’re way around the bend on this.
But fine, let’s give people like that the reins of power because Joe Biden won’t do what you tell him right away.
Madness.
@RAS: There's a reason we call them "Trumpbots." Pathetic! But thanks, I guess.
The Kimmel interviews are funny but also frightening. You can see the cultish lizard brains in action in real time.
Here’s how it goes:
“Joe Biden said A, B, and C! What do you think?”
“That just proves he is demented and not an American!”
“Oh, sorry, I had my papers mixed up. It was Trump who said A, B, and C.”
“Well, he’s a great American and a genius, and there are always two ways of looking at things.”
And even worse? They say this shit without the teensiest sliver of self awareness. It’s like a switch gets thrown and they slide right into Trump worship.
“Joe Biden claimed bone spurs to stay out of Vietnam.”
“Traitor!”
“Sorry, it was Trump who did that.”
“Well, of course, he saved lives by doing that!”
Wow. Just…wow.
Never occurred to me that during my lifetime one of our two major political parties would be swearing fealty to Russia.
But I guess it makes some sense.
In the 1950's and 60's that party was foursquare against the old Soviet back when it was avowedly godless and anti-capitalist.
Now that Russia embraces mafia-style capitalism, employs outright thuggery, and enfolds the entire enterprise with aggressive Christian homophobia, Russia has met Republicans more than half way.
Russia has become Republicans' wet dream and democracy's nightmare.
Here's a nice gift for those Kimmel interviewed.
ProPublica
"Inside the Internal Debates of a Hospital Abortion Committee
Under threat of prison time and professional ruin, they are finding their personal interests pitted against their patients’ and are overriding their expert training for factors that have nothing to do with medicine, like political perceptions and laws they aren’t qualified to interpret. As a result, some patients are forced to endure significant risks or must travel out of state if they want to end a pregnancy. Sometimes, their doctors aren’t even giving them adequate information about the dangers they face.
Osmundson and 30 other doctors across nine states in which abortion is banned or restricted described to ProPublica the impossible landscape they must navigate in the nearly two years since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade."
@RAS: Very funny, but I don't think the puzzle would be a big seller even on the Everything Trump website. Even lacking self-awareness as they do (and as Akhilleus points out), they are smart enough to know they can't complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in their lifetimes.
Thom Hartmann on stock buy backs.
Re: Stock buybacks and other plundering of corporations to enrich
the few.
From Forbes:
Wealth of Elon Musk:
2012: $2,000,000,000
2024: $204,500,000,000
Wealth of Jeff Bezos:
2012: $18,400,000,000
2024: $196,000,000,000
Federal minimum wage 2012: $7.25 per hour
Federal minimum wage 2024: $7.25 per hour
(my wealth 2012 $80.00; my wealth 2024 $40.00)
Question??? How will the Alabama high court members with their pipeline to God know the difference between a fertilized egg of one of the giant ape’s and the human’s immediately after fertilization? I’m truly fed up! I guess i have to add this to my list of protests besides gun violence. What would these male “Christians” have done with my grandmothers after 1916 and my mother after 1947 for using a diaphram (available to those who could afford it)?? Dede C
Jen Rubin writes that the DOJ must investigate the Russian acolytes spreading Putin’s anti-Biden propaganda through their incessant impeachment flailings and failings.
Hang on…
Hahahahaha…
Creampuff Merrick Garland? Investigate PoT liars and traitors for doing Putin’s dirty work?
Never. Why, that wouldn’t be faaaaiir. Tellya what. He’ll appoint a special prosecutor to do that job because it might look “political” for him to do his job.
There are plenty of candidates. He could pick Rudy Giuliani. Or that nice Robert Hur. He did such a good job screwing Joe Biden with unsubstantiated claims he was totally unqualified to make. That certainly could not have been interpreted as Merrick being Pah-liticle, right? Oh, wait. What’s Ken Starr doing these days? Sidney Powell is still a lawyer, isn’t she?
There must be SOMEONE who can do Merrick’s job for him.
@Dede: I was going to write that back in the good ole days, Roman Catholic women I knew had to use the rhythm method, so I would guess the "Christians" didn't approve of your mother's and grandmothers' use of diaphragm.
But my memory of this was a little hazy, so I thought I'd better check to see if my memory comported with historical Catholic teachings. Ha! What I found out was way worse than I thought.
According to the Googles, EVEN TODAY "The Catholic position on contraception was formally explained and expressed by Pope Paul VI's Humanae vitae in 1968. Artificial contraception is considered intrinsically evil, but methods of natural family planning may be used, as they do not usurp the natural way of conception." AND "The Catholic position on contraception was formally explained and expressed by Pope Paul VI's Humanae vitae in 1968. Artificial contraception is considered intrinsically evil, but methods of natural family planning may be used, as they do not usurp the natural way of conception."
Good grief!
@Akhilleus: I nominate Bill Barr. He may be on a Trump-washing tour at the moment, but I'll bet he would take time off to absolve Republicans of collusion with Russians, just as he did in 2019 when he lied about the findings of the Mueller report. Maybe he'll even go on a fact-finding tour of European capitals where he'll learn that the "real collaborators" were Jamie Raskin & Dan Goldman.
Marie,
Unh-unh-unh, sorry. Rhythm method is right out. If sex crazed women are using it to have sexy time fun without conceiving babies, then, according to the latest Heritage Foundation Christian control policy, that’s a big no-no.
See, sexy time fun is fine for MEN, because…well, because they’re MEN! But that stuff is strictly verboten for floozies who try to sneak around behind god’s back.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/26/ftc-kroger-albertsons-merger-lawsuit/?
Good luck with that. The momentum of money (see Hartmann above) is all on the other side.
Kudos to the Biden administration, nonetheless.
I tell ya, every time we relax even a little bit, the heat is turned up and the inmates of GQP Prison Farm/Magacongress rise up and froth it up some more. Somehow, we are all supposed to "woman up" and roll with the punches.
Rep. Tlaib has turned into a particular breed of filth robed in classic victim robes. She pretends to be for the entire middle east, and can't seem to interpret nuance or thinking/balancing, and has no idea what to do with her hatred of Israel, so lands on blaming Joe Biden for the entire ugly mass of snakes that has been a mess at least since 1947. I will never support her again. Previously, I had felt she has been a victim in congress ever since elected, but this time she can't seem to what to do with her disgust, so she is sharing it with people who are powerless to stop the carnage in Gaza. Sorry, but obtaining Fatso as president will cause an earthquake here she apparently doesn't see. Since she seems to think this is small potatoes, I will assume she is small potatoes. Tlaib, we hardly knew ya-- wonder how the rest of the "squad" feels about this. This could upend Michigan. Glad I don't live there.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/opinion/constitutional-law-crisis-supreme-court.html
A liberal takes on the SCOTUS.
I had been wondering how I'd teach con law these days without marinating the instruction in a bath of skepticism.
I added this to the discussion:
I'd mention two changes in our polity that our current SCOTUS reflects.
First, its obvious corruption. You cannot talk about the Court without talking about Thomas' venality. Nor can any honest account of the Court ignore the activities of his wife and his failure to distance himself from them.
While Court appointees have always has their political learnings, one moving from the Presidency to the Court (Taft) and another (Douglas) with ambitions to be VP, for the period between FDR and the Bush II's election by one SCOTUS vote, there was a rough consensus that issues of equality and fairness for the entire American population, including their racial and gender minorities, still needed some work, that the ideals we inherited from our founding still fell short of realization.
Secondly, with the current conservative SCOTUS a new consensus has emerged. In its mind racial justice has been achieved. There is no more work to do there. Rights to other minorities have been overextended. Religious beliefs (often those of a minority), even when they trample on the rights of others, have been given precedence everywhere from cake decorating to women's wombs.
And behind it all is the power of money. The wealthy are also a minority, it is their rights the current court protects and extends. It is the monied interests this SCOTUS hurries to protect. If they have a favored minority, it's the monied class.
When it comes to a former president's claimf absolute immunity, no hurry there.
Ken, I am so afraid this whole thing will blow up in our faces. None of the judges are hurrying anything along, nothing will get done before the election and we will get Agolf Shitler for president, courtesy of people like those idiot women for Jimmy Kimmel, and we can kiss it all goodbye and goodnight. He will pardon himself and all of this will have been for naught. It is a nightmare. Oh, and Putin will annex Alaska as the cherry on top.