;)
The Conversation -- January 15, 2024
Trump Urges Iowans to Die for Him. Really. Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Former President Trump encouraged his Iowa supporters to caucus for him at any cost, joking that due to extreme winter weather, 'even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it.'... 'You can't sit home. If you're sick as a dog, you say, "Darling, I gotta make it,"' Trump said at an Indianola rally on Sunday. 'Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it, remember.' Meteorologists warned of 'life-threatening' conditions in Iowa for the weekend as the state prepares to caucus. Trump canceled three of his four in-person Iowa events Sunday due to the freezing cold and snow." MB: Show of hands if you think Trump was "joking."
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, the Pentagon said, ending a two-week hospitalization he had kept secret for days after developing serious complications from a surgery to treat prostate cancer.... 'Now, as I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home, I'm eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon,' [Austin said]. It was not immediately clear how long that may be."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: ";Joseph Tacopina, the trial lawyer on Donald J. Trump's legal team with the most successes defending high-profile clients, will no longer represent the former president in his criminal trial in Manhattan, according to a notice sent to the court on Monday. Mr. Tacopina also withdrew on Monday from another case in which he was still legally representing Mr. Trump: an appeal of the verdict in a lawsuit brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll. Mr. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation last year and was ordered to pay Ms. Carroll $5 million." A Law & Crime story is here.
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Marie: Many people think today is Iowa Caucus day, and many people think it's the day before their estimated taxes are due, and some people will think it's Emmy Awards day, and many people think it's a day off when the weather sucks, but I think it's ~~~
Olivia Alafriz of Politico: "President Joe Biden had a blunt message after voters in Taiwan elected a new president Saturday: 'We do not support independence' for Taiwan. Biden's words, delivered as he departed for Camp David, reinforced the administration's position to Taiwan's new president Lai Ching-te, who has faced strong opposition from China over his calls for independence. The administration has clarified that while it does not support Taiwanese independence, it favors dialogue between Taipei and Beijing and expects differences to be resolved peacefully and without coercion." (Also linked yesterday.)
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Congressional leaders unveiled stopgap legislation on Sunday to avert a partial government shutdown, teeing up a race to pass the bipartisan spending deal into law before a deadline at the end of the week. The bill, which came out of a spending deal negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, would temporarily extend funding for some federal agencies until March 1 and for others through March 8. It would keep the government funded at its current spending levels, without any policy changes or conditions.... In a sign that Democrats were preparing to muster the bulk of the [House] votes to pass the bill, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, signaled his backing of the bill on Sunday night."
Presidential Race 2024
Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: "While Iowa's [caucus] system allows citizens to frequently meet candidates, it also results in lower voter participation. In 2016, the last time there were competitive primaries for both parties, just 15.7 percent of eligible voters attended either Republican or Democratic caucuses. A week later, more than half the eligible voters in New Hampshire cast ballots in that state's primary.... Voters must be at their precincts at 7 p.m. Central time on Monday, where they will hear speeches from representatives of the candidates, fill out ballots and, if they want, observe as the votes get tallied. No early or absentee voting is allowed, except for a tiny number of military service members.... Democrats in Iowa shifted to a mail-in primary after the Democratic National Committee rearranged its nominating schedule." Besides having to contend with January weather, people with disabilities are not protected by federal accessibility laws as are those who participate in primaries.
Lisa Lerer & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Republican presidential hopefuls crisscrossed frozen Iowa on Sunday in the final sprint to the nation's first nominating contest, with ... Donald J. Trump ramping up his attacks on Nikki Haley.... Ms. Haley received a boost earlier Sunday when Larry Hogan, the former Republican governor of Maryland and a prominent Trump critic, used a CNN appearance to urge rivals of Mr. Trump to unite behind her.... In his lone campaign rally of the weekend, Mr. Trump assailed Ms. Haley, [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis and those who 'crave to destroy the MAGA movement.' Framing the caucuses in dark terms, he called the voting on Monday a chance to score 'ultimate victory' over enemies he described as 'liars,' 'cheaters' and 'thugs.'" This is a liveblog. MB: I saw a very short clip of Trump at his supposed rally, and he looked listless and fatigued. I understand now why he is claiming Joe Biden has no energy -- he himself seems to have almost none. ~~~
~~~ NBC News also ran a liveblog of developments Sunday.
Elizabeth Spiers of the New York Times is surprised Nikki Haley learned about slavery in the second and third grade, as she claims, because "Haley attended a segregation academy, a type of private school established in the years after the Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education by white parents who did not want their children attending school with Black children." Spiers describes her own education at a segregation school in Alabama. For example, "My fifth-grade teacher told us that if Jesus were alive in Alabama he would have been a white Dixiecrat, that God frowns on what she called race mixing and that children who are the products of interracial marriages are to be pitied because they're mistakes.... If you want to understand why evangelical conservatives are waging war on public libraries and universities, it's precisely because they expose kids to facts that undermine the kind of indoctrination I received."
Everybody Running Against Biden Wants to Ditch the Constitution. Brittany Gibson ofPolitico: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday defended his family's role in authorizing government surveillance of Martin Luther King, Jr.... [In Atlanta,] Kennedy [told Politico] that his father, Robert F. Kennedy -- who authorized the wiretapping of King as attorney general -- and President John F. Kennedy permitted the eavesdropping because they were 'making big bets on King, particularly in organizing the March on Washington.... They were betting not only the civil rights movement but their own careers. And they knew that Hoover was out to ruin King,' said Robert Kennedy Jr., referring to J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director at the time.... 'My father gave permission to Hoover to wiretap them so he could prove that his suspicions about King were either right or wrong,' he continued. 'I think, politically, they had to do it.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Nice way to honor MLK: "It's okay to violate a civil rights leader's civil rights if it's in your own political interest to do so."
Rick Rojas & Sean Keenan of the New York Times: "Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., pushed back on Sunday against the criticism and questions about her judgment that have followed a court filing accusing her of being romantically involved with an outside lawyer she hired to lead the racketeering case against ... Donald J. Trump. Ms. Willis emerged from almost a week of silence to address the congregation at one of the oldest Black churches in Atlanta, which had invited her to be the keynote speaker for a service dedicated to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She did not address the allegation that she was in a relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired in 2021, who has earned more than $650,000 in the job to date. Instead, what Ms. Willis detailed were the frustrations and struggles that she said she has faced not only as a prosecutor, but also as a Black woman taking on the most powerful figure in the Republican Party. She said the scrutiny of her hiring of Mr. Wade reflected the racism directed at her, adding that he had 'impeccable credentials' that were being questioned only because both she and Mr. Wade were Black." The Huffington Post's report is here.
Herb Scribner of the Washington Post: "Business Insider and its parent company, Axel Springer, said Sunday that they stand by their reporting that a prominent former MIT professor committed plagiarism in her work, an allegation that ignited a storm of social media criticism from her billionaire husband, Bill Ackman.... Early this month, Business Insider published two stories that alleged that Neri Oxman, a former MIT professor, had plagiarized some of her work.... The stories came after her husband, the hedge fund manager Ackman, pushed Harvard University to oust then-President Claudine Gay over concerns that she had mishandled student protests and committed plagiarism in her career.... In a social media post on Jan. 7, Ackman said Business Insider's investigations editor was an anti-Zionist who had targeted Oxman because she's Israeli. Axel Springer, in response to Ackman's criticisms, said last week that it would conduct an internal review to find out what happened before the Oxman stories were published."
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Iowa. Livia Albeck-Ripka of the New York Times: "A principal shot earlier this month in a school shooting in Perry, Iowa, has died from his injuries, the funeral home handling the services confirmed on Sunday. The principal, Dan Marburger, 56, was shot on Jan. 4 by a 17-year-old student at Perry High School, who opened fire at the school in the early morning as students were returning from winter break. The gunman, Dylan Butler, shot Mr. Marburger and five students, killing one of them, Ahmir Jolliff, a sixth-grader.... A a website raising funds for [the principal's] family ... noted that the principal, who had served the school since 1995, had 'endured significant injuries' on Jan. 4, 'putting himself in harm's way to ensure as many students and staff could safely exit the building.'" Politico's story is here.
Texas, Where the Cruelty Is the Point. Sneha Dey of the Texas Tribune: "A woman and two children drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande, near the Eagle Pass park that Texas troopers have taken control over, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed on Saturday. State officers and National Guard members have been denying federal Border Patrol agents entry to the 47-acre Shelby Park since early this week. When Border Patrol agents received a call Friday evening from the Mexican government about the migrants in distress, Texas officials barred the federal agents from entering the area and providing aid, according to a DHS spokesperson. The Border Patrol officers made unsuccessful attempts to contact the Texas Military Department, National Guard and Department of Public Safety via telephone about the distress call. When the officers went to the park entrance to verbally notify the state, Texas Military Department personnel denied them entry, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said in a written statement. 'Texas Military Department soldiers stated they would not grant (Border Patrol) access to the migrants -- even in the event of an emergency -- and that they would send a soldier to investigate the situation,' Cuellar said in the statement on X.... U.S. Custom and Border Protection condemned the state actions in a statement to The Texas Tribune." Thanks to RAS for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Devan Cole of CNN: "Texas officials told the Supreme Court early Saturday that the state is 'working promptly' to ensure US Border Patrol agents have access to a boat ramp used to launch patrol boats into the Rio Grande, a day after the Biden administration complained to the court that the state had effectively blocked agents' access to a key part of the US-Mexico border." Texas claimed it had no idea Border Patrol needed the boat ramp for "surveillance, patrol, and humanitarian rescue." MB: Really? Why not? Why, it's almost as if Greg Abbott didn't for one moment consider the consequences of his order to block federal access to a state park that borders the Rio Grande. As for "working promptly," I'd say not promptly enough. People died. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News: "The Biden administration on Sunday demanded that Texas officials stop preventing federal Border Patrol agents from entering a section of the U.S. southern border commandeered by state National Guard soldiers last week, calling the actions 'clearly unconstitutional.'... If the Texas National Guard does not heed the Biden administration's demand and cease its efforts to block Border Patrol's access to a public park in the border town of Eagle Pass, the Department of Homeland Security will refer the matter to the Justice Department and explore other options, Jonathan Meyer, the top lawyer at DHS, warned in his letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton."
Cruelty Is the Point, Ctd. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "State and city officials in Chicago are scrambling to adapt their plans for sheltering asylum seekers as Texas's governor disregards pleas to suspend migrant transports as dangerously low winter temperatures bring new urgency to the city's ongoing humanitarian crisis. Chicago continues to receive new arrivals sent north by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) even as the area experiences its coldest temperatures in half a decade, with wind chills bottoming out at minus-32 degrees on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.... [Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), said Sunday,] '... when we've asked [Abbott] to stop sending people because of the weather, because of the dangerous nature of this winter storm that we're experiencing now, he's refused to stop sending them. So he does not care about people. He doesn't care about the migrants.'" MB: From the Abbott Immigration Policy Handbook: If you can't drown them, freeze them.
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Denmark. Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Denmark welcomed a new king on Sunday in a ceremony that didn't feature crowns or scepters or multiple robes -- but it did have huge crowds, a tearful balcony moment, and a celebration of hygge, a fuzzy Danish word that captures the country's more relaxed style. Denmark reinvented tradition on Sunday when 83-year-old Queen Margrethe II, Europe's longest-serving monarch, gave up her throne, and her 55-year-old son became King Frederik X. Royal successions are usually prompted by a death. But this one was different -- with the outgoing queen playing a starring role.... A sea of Danes braved freezing temperatures ... and waved their country's flag and sang their national anthem. 'My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow,' Frederik said from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace in central Copenhagen, the seat of the Danish government. He wiped away tears. He kissed his wife, now Queen Mary, who was born in Australia. The crowd -- waving Danish and some Australian flags -- roared with delight."
Israel/Palestine, etc.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "A U.S. fighter jet shot down a missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen toward a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Red Sea, Central Command said, adding that there were no reported injuries or damage. Israel has made clear in recent discussions that its high-intensity military campaign in Gaza will continue throughout January, U.S. officials told The Washington Post, despite pressure from the Biden administration for restraint as civilian casualties soar.... The missile fired toward the USS Laboon on Sunday afternoon appears to be the first attack from Houthi-controlled areas against a U.S. vessel since American-led forces started striking the militant group's infrastructure in Yemen last week in retaliation for assaults on commercial ships in the Red Sea." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here. CNN's live updates are here.
Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The Navy SEALs lost at sea after a ship-boarding operation went awry near Somalia last week were dispatched to look for suspected Iranian weapons bound for militants in Yemen, which has become a staging ground for repeated attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, two U.S. officials familiar with the incident said Sunday. The two service members who went missing were preparing to board the ship in rough seas when one of them slipped from a ladder. The second sailor, seeing their comrade fall into the water, dove in to help.... The incident occurred Thursday in the Gulf of Aden."
News Lede
CNN: "About 79% of US to see below freezing temperatures: Over 140 daily cold records could be broken Monday and Tuesday from Oregon to Mississippi, as temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville are expected to stay below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours. The coldest Iowa caucuses on record are forecast Monday, with below-zero high temperatures and wind chills in the minus 30s expected. Dangerous Monday morning commutes: Combined with the cold, the slick wintry precipitation won't melt on untreated surfaces for the Monday morning commute in places like Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana, making travel more dangerous. Accumulating ice is expected from Texas through the Lower Mississippi Valley into parts of the Tennessee Valley and Southern Appalachians. 'Have a cold survival kit if you must travel,' the National Weather Service said."
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Reader Comments (10)
Might this be the ultimate in political selfishness?
Not even the rightly famous Kennedy reversal of what the country can do for you, or the standard stump speech of what I can do to make your life better but what you can do for me so I can "score 'ultimate victory' over enemies ... described as 'liars,' 'cheaters' and 'thugs.'"
In other words, my enemies. It's still about me....
Again, will the MAGAs ever notice?
Anyone else feel it's time to call Abbott's bluff?
A gentle first step perhaps like withdrawing the border agents stationed along the Texas-Mexican border to Texas' border with other states and setting up their check points there.
The next step? Special passports required for all Texas Republicans to cross that new border...
Wait…there’s a Texas Military Department? They have their own army? But of course. Sure. Why not? It’s fucking Texas.
And I guess they have their own state department too, right? Because the Constitution gives the federal government, through the state department, complete control of borders and immigration. States don’t make their own immigration policies, hand out their own passports, green cards, and work visas…
Unless, I guess, it’s Texas. Where immigrants can be shot, drowned, cut up by barbed wire, kidnapped and bussed thousands of miles away and dropped off on a street corner, and otherwise serve as MAGA props. Gee, it’s almost like slavery. Guess they never really got over losing the Civil War.
Abbott is not the president. Texas does not get to set its own immigration policies. Oh, but that’s only if you believe in the Constitution, which, in MAGA world, only exists to protect guns.
With the passing of each new day, it becomes obvious that the core value of Trumpism, as it spreads its darkness across the land, is evil. There’s no other word that adequately encompasses all the hatred, harm, desperation, paranoia, and violence embraced wholeheartedly by the MAGAts.
Just wondering how many Iowans are preparing to go out and die for Trump today, as he has ordered them to do.
Even as a joke, who says such things?
Evil, or stupid? I’m gonna say both. Which is far worse.
Here's Lauren Boebert using her hands again. It's actually a stand-in,
but probably quite accurate.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1c_paaSAyH/
Marie: As for what day it is, Sadly I'll say it's one of two finalists for most ignored federal holiday. The only other that seems to even come close is Juneteenth. Could there possibly be a reason?
Bobby Lee: Yes.
I have not tuned in for the Frozen Caucuses. (Carcasses, maybe?). It means my teevee plays endless silly movies and Hallmark schlock. It seems even MSNBC is pretending times are normal and so are primaries. I don't wanna hear the serious discussion about this POS event, where Democrats won't even tread. "Both sides," I guess. ICK.
The GQP can't get enough of insurrections at home so they are getting their fix by supporting them around the world.
NY Times editors petitioned PoT voters to not choose a crook, a liar, a traitor, and a charlatan.
Guess they don’t read the Times. Either that or they prefer to have a crook, a liar, a traitor, and a charlatan in the White House. But why am I surprised?
It’s the Party of Traitors.
Never mind.