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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Page Links
Friday
Jan192024

The Conversation -- January 19, 2024

Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday signed legislation averting a partial government shutdown, which will fund agencies until early March as Congress continues to wrangle over spending proposals to fund the government for the remainder of the year. The Senate and the House approved the stopgap measure on Thursday; funding was to run out at midnight Friday. The six-week deal was passed over the opposition of hard-right Republicans in the House but with bipartisan majorities in both chambers."

Rebecca Beitsch & Emily Brooks of the Hill: "An attorney for Kevin Morris, a close friend of Hunter Biden, accused House Republicans of misrepresenting his testimony following Morris's Thursday closed-door interview. The pushback from Morris, a Hollywood lawyer who paid off Biden's overdue taxes, came after his lawyer accused GOP leaders of cherry-picking items from his testimony 'not two hours' after he left his meeting with investigators.... Democrats and Republicans offered very different accounts of Morris's Thursday testimony, which reviewed some $5 million in what Morris said were loans to Biden to cover the cost of his tax debts. 'Morris made clear that he loaned money to Hunter when he needed help and never asked, expected, or received anything from the White House, the Administration, the Biden family, nor the President in exchange for his representation, loans, and friendship with Hunter,' said a Democratic source familiar with the interview.... But a statement from Comer said Morris's relationship with Biden 'raises ethical and campaign finance concerns.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Congressman Who Cried Wolf. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Jim Comer (R-Ky.) has so often cherry-picked and misrepresented witness testimony from closed-door depositions that when the attorney for friend-of-Hunter Kevin Morris claimed that's what Comer did after Morris's testimony, the lawyer's accusation was entirely believable. Perhaps a full transcript of the deposition will be released someday, but in the meantime, Comer's version is less believable than is the witness's lawyer's.

Evan Perez, et al., of CNN: "Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview with CNN that he believes there should be a 'speedy trial' in the election subversion case against Donald Trump, while also pushing back on allegations that his department is targeting the former president for political reasons. Garland said he agrees with special counsel Jack Smith's assertion that the 'public interest requires a speedy trial' in the 2020 election currently set for trial in March...."

Jenna Russell of the New York Times: "Maine's top election official said on Friday she intends to appeal the ruling by a state Superior Court judge this week that placed on hold her decision to exclude ... Donald J. Trump from the state's Republican primary ballot. In a statement, the official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, said she welcomed the guidance of the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to hear arguments on a similar case on Feb. 8. But in the meantime, she said, she will seek the input of Maine's highest court.... 'This appeal ensures that Maine's highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.'"

Graham Kates of CBS News: "Combative, angry and prone to grandiose claims -- newly unveiled footage of an April 2023 deposition gives a glimpse into how ... Donald Trump behaves when testifying under oath. The video, released to CBS News on Friday in response to a freedom of information request, shows Trump claiming to have averted a 'nuclear holocaust' and 'saving millions of lives' as president. A transcript of the deposition was previously made public as an exhibit in Trump's New York civil fraud case.... 'I was very busy[,' Trump said in the April 2023 deposition.'] I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives. I think you would've had nuclear holocaust if I didn't deal with North Korea. I think you would've had a nuclear war if I weren't elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth,' Trump said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: By Trump's standards, every modern president except Truman could claim to have saved millions of lives by preventing a nuclear holocaust. So could untold numbers of presidential aides, not to mention the leaders and top military & diplomatic aides of other nuclear-armed countries like Russia and China.

Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "The estranged wife of a special prosecutor accused of having a romantic relationship with Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta district attorney who hired him, offered evidence on Friday that Ms. Willis accompanied him on trips unrelated to their work: leading the Georgia case against ... Donald J. Trump. A court filing from Joycelyn Wade, who is in divorce proceedings with the prosecutor, Nathan J. Wade, included what it said were statements for a credit card account belonging to Mr. Wade. The statements showed that he bought plane tickets for himself and Ms. Willis, including tickets to San Francisco from Atlanta purchased on April 25, 2023, and to Miami from Atlanta purchased on Oct. 4, 2022."

Injustice Follows a Judge. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: President Obama nominated D.C. Judge Todd Edelman to the U.S. District Court, but Mitch McConnell's blockade of Obama's nominations put the kibosh on that. President Biden renominated Edelman, but "Republicans struck again, this time with an ugly, Willie-Horton style smear campaign. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) fabricated an outrageous lie, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that a man Edelman released in a pretrial hearing 'went on to murder -- to murder -- an 11-year-old.' In reality, the man in question hadn't murdered anyone, but Blackburn badly distorted the facts of a case to suggest that Edelman was to blame for a child's death." Some Democrats eventually stood up for Edelman but not enough to get him a vote out of committee, and the White House refused to renominate him for the new sessions of Congress. Edelman & Milbank are longtime friends.

Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: "A grand jury in New Mexico indicted Alec Baldwin on Friday on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, reviving the criminal case against him in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the film 'Rust' more than two years ago when a gun he was rehearsing with went off. The indictment, which came exactly one year after the first involuntary manslaughter case against him was announced, was the latest reversal of fortune for Mr. Baldwin. The local district attorney's initial case fell apart and the initial charge against Mr. Baldwin was dismissed in April. But a new prosecution team, Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J Lewis, decided to present the case to a grand jury, which indicted Mr. Baldwin on Friday."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jacob Bogage & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "Congress on Thursday passed legislation to keep the federal government open into March, approving the third stopgap spending bill in four months as lawmakers struggle to agree on long-term government funding plans. The bill extends deadlines to March 1 and March 8. Money for roughly 20 percent of the government -- including the Transportation Department, some veterans' assistance and food and drug safety programs -- had been set to expire just after midnight Saturday morning. The remainder -- which funds the Defense and State departments, among other critical functions -- would have expired on Feb. 2 without the new extension. The Senate passed the legislation, 77-18, early Thursday afternoon. The House followed suit, 314-108, hours later, after GOP hard-liners launched a last-minute pressure campaign to attach partisan border security measures to the funding package. The votes send the legislation to President Biden to sign into law and avert a partial shutdown ahead of the deadline." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Maybe you think it's great that Congress didn't wait till Friday -- the very last day parts of the government could "stay open" -- to pass the stop-gap legislation. But the reason they didn't wait till the literal eleventh hour: Washington, D.C. weather forecasts suggest bad weather might ground flights, and some members were afraid they couldn't get out of town.

House Republicans Plan Fake Impeachment. Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "House Republicans wrapped up impeachment hearings against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, on Thursday, a little more than a week after the proceedings began, racing to charge him with failing to enforce the nation's immigration laws. The Republicans are moving ahead without evidence that Mr. Mayorkas has committed high crimes or misdemeanors, the constitutional standard for impeachment.... They plan to bring charges against Mr. Mayorkas as early as the end of this month, without having featured testimony from him or any other witness from the Biden administration to publicly answer for his conduct, or a single constitutional expert to support their argument that he is guilty of impeachable offenses.... The push to impeach Mr. Mayorkas has coincided with his participation in a high-stakes set of bipartisan talks in the Senate to reach a border enforcement compromise that would set new policies on asylum and detention." MB: This really is extraordinary. ~~~

     ~~~ A CNN story, which doesn't mention that the committee has produced no evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors, is here.

The Nihilists. Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "Bipartisan Senate negotiators and the White House say they are close to a deal on legislation to alleviate what everyone agrees is an emergency. It would give Republicans much of what they want regarding the southern border -- beefed-up security against illegal crossings, tightened asylum rules, provision for more detentions and expulsions, perhaps even limits on President Biden's authority to 'parole' certain groups of immigrants.... The package would also approve billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine.... But ... on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) immediately threw doubt on the very idea of an agreement that addresses both the border and Ukraine.... Partisanship is one thing, but what Republicans are practicing ... is political nihilism. It's not about enacting policies or fulfilling responsibilities but, rather, about accentuating voters' fears, anxieties and resentments -- and doing whatever Trump wants them to do."

** Edgar Sandoval & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A Justice Department investigation released on Thursday found that a near-total breakdown in policing protocols hindered the response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 people dead -- but the gravest error was the reluctance of officials to confront the killer during the first few minutes of the attack. The department blamed 'cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy and training' for the delayed and passive law enforcement response that allowed an 18-year-old gunman with a semiautomatic rifle to remain inside a pair of connected fourth grade classrooms at Robb Elementary School for 77 minutes before he was confronted and killed. The 'most significant failure,' investigators concluded, was the fateful decision by local police officials to classify the incident as a barricaded standoff rather than an 'active-shooter' scenario, which would have demanded instant and aggressive action regardless of the danger to those responding or the lack of appropriate weapons to confront the gunman." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The AP's report is here. CNN's report is here. Update: CNN has a facsimile of the full DOJ report here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Trials of the Trump Mob

AP: "The federal judge [Tanya Chutkan] overseeing the 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump on Thursday rejected his lawyers' bid to hold special counsel Jack Smith's team in contempt for actions prosecutors took after the judge put the case on hold. But the judge said no further 'substantive' court filings should be submitted without permission. The former president's lawyers had accused prosecutors of 'outrageous conduct' for turning over to the defense thousands of pages of evidence and filing a motion after the judge paused the case while Trump appeals his presidential immunity claim." ~~~

     ~~~ BUT. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The judge overseeing the federal criminal case against Donald Trump for attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election indicated Thursday that the March 4 trial date is unlikely to hold. In a six-page order, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan barred special counsel Jack Smith from filing substantive new motions without advance permission while Trump is seeking to have the case thrown out on 'presidential immunity' grounds."

Amy Gardner & Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "A state judge overseeing the election-interference case against ... Donald Trump in Georgia has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 15 to hear evidence regarding accusations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) and her lead prosecutor engaged in an improper relationship and mishandled public money. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee also wrote in his order that Willis must respond to the accusations in writing by Feb. 2. The accusations first came to light in a filing from one of Trump's co-defendants, former campaign aide Mike Roman. The order, which is not yet on the case docket, was obtained by The Washington Post." At 1:15 pm ET Thursday, this was a developing story. (Also linked yesterday.) The NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Fani T. Willis, the district attorney prosecuting the Georgia election interference case against ... Donald J. Trump, is trying to quash a subpoena seeking her testimony in the divorce proceedings of a special prosecutor she hired to manage the case. A court filing last week accused Ms. Willis of having a romantic relationship with the prosecutor, Nathan J. Wade.... On Thursday, Ms. Willis responded [to the subpoena] with a filing stating that she 'lacks personal knowledge of any matter that is relevant' to the divorce. She did not directly acknowledge the allegation, but said there was no reason for her to testify because both Mr. Wade and his wife had declared their marriage to be 'irretrievably broken.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Kate Brumback of the AP: "Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is accusing the estranged wife of a special prosecutor she hired of trying to obstruct her criminal election-interference case against ... Donald Trump and others by seeking to question her in the couple's divorce proceedings.... A lawyer for Willis wrote in a filing Thursday that lawyers for [Nathan] Wade's wife, Joycelyn Wade, served a subpoena to the district attorney last week. The filing says that the subpoena is being sought 'in an attempt to harass and damage' Willis' professional reputation and accuses Joycelyn Wade of having 'conspired with interested parties in the criminal Election Interference Case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass, and oppress' the district attorney."

Marcy Wheeler writes that Donald Trump's bad behavior in court is a pre-planned attack on the rule of law and that Trump is willing to pay millions extra in damages and/or face contempt-of-court charges to advance his plan. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While I agree with Wheeler's general point, she faults the media for "serially fall[ing] into Donald Trump's trap of reporting on his courtroom tantrums rather than the evidence of his fraud and crime presented therein." I don't totally disagree with her here, either, but I do think it's important to showcase Trump's lack of self-control. Everyone (except Nikki Haley -- see Mediaite item linked below) knows that Trump has already been found liable for raping & defaming E. Jeanne Carroll, for instance. The public's interest in the extent of the damages she deserves is more limited, I think, than the public's interest in Trump's conduct. We cannot do anything about how much a jury awards Carroll, but we can do something about Trump; i.e., deprive him of regaining the presidency* & wriggling out of every civil and criminal action against him.

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors asked on Thursday night for a sentence of six months in prison for Peter Navarro, a former White House adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Prosecutors said they were seeking a sentence at the top end of the guidelines because of his 'bad-faith strategy' of 'sustained, deliberate contempt of Congress.... The defendant, like the rioters at the Capitol, put politics, not country, first, and stonewalled Congress's investigation,' they wrote in their sentencing memo. 'The defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law.'... Mr. Navarro was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress in September...." CNN's report is here.

Presidential Race

Samantha Waldenberg & Michael Williams of CNN: "White House chief of staff Jeff Zients called Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday morning to apologize for a statement issued by the Democratic National Committee's press secretary that mocked Hutchinson's withdrawal from the presidential race. The statement came after the former Arkansas governor dropped out of the 2024 presidential race following his sixth-place finish in the Iowa Republican caucuses. It read: 'This news comes as a shock to those of us who could've sworn he had already dropped out.' President Joe Biden has a 'deep respect' for Hutchinson, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during Wednesday's press briefing, 'and admires the race that he ran.' 'This morning, the chief of staff here, Jeff Zients, called the governor to convey this and apologized for the statement that did not that did not represent the president's views,' she said. Hours after the call, Hutchinson told CNN that while he didn't 'pay much attention' to the DNC's statement, he appreciated Zients reaching out to him." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So we could choose a second term for a classy president or for a president* who constantly denigrates his opponents & others.

Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "... Nikki Haley, who -- to gain ground on Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primary -- has sharpened her pitch against him by doubling down on questioning his age and cognitive abilities.... [So on Wednesday night, Trump] bragged that he correctly identified a whale on a cognitive test when he was president." MB: Bear in mind that it's been about four years since Trump has had the acuity to ID a cartoon of a whale, and a lot can change in that period of time. Plus this: ~~~

     ~~~ According to Meidas Touch (a very anti-Trump site prone to exaggeration), "Moments after bragging that he "aced" a screening test meant to detect signs of dementia, Donald Trump appeared confused and disoriented while delivering remarks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire." Transcript of Trump's remarks: "But we're also going to place strong protections to stop banks and regulators from trying to de-bank you. From your -- you know, your political beliefs, what they do. They want to de-bank you, and we're going to de-bank -- think of this. They want to take away your rights. They want to take away your country. The things they're doing, all-electric cars. Give me a break." MB: So maybe not perfectly coherent. Thanks to Forrest M. for the link.

A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE FULL IMMUNITY, WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM/HER TO PROPERLY FUNCTION. -- Donald Trump, in a post Thursday morning

President Biden, invoking full immunity, should immediately order the Army to take Donald Trump into custody, remove him to an undisclosed location (say, Guantanamo) and incarcerate him there for the rest of his natural life, rendering Trump unable to ever assume any political office in which he might enjoy any form of immunity. If questioned about Trump's mysterious disappearance, Biden should respond, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You're welcome. -- Marie Burns

Sara Boboltz of the Huffington Post: "A Washington [state] judge ruled Thursday that ... Donald Trump can be listed on state presidential primary ballots after he encouraged supporters to stage an insurrection in his last days in the Oval Office.... After hearing arguments on Thursday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson dismissed the case. Wilson said the secretary of state had acted 'consistent with his duties' by placing Trump on the state primary ballot."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to reverse a ruling barring him from the primary ballot in Colorado and to declare him eligible to seek and hold the office of the presidency. Mr. Trump's brief, his main submission in an extraordinary case with the potential to alter the course of the presidential election, was a forceful recitation of more than half a dozen arguments about why the Colorado Supreme Court had gone astray in ruling him an insurrectionist barred from office by the Constitution.... The case will be argued on Feb. 8, and the court will probably decide it quickly...." CNN's report is here.~~~

~~~ Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "Nearly 180 congressional Republicans signed on to an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Donald Trump's legal battle to remain on the primary election ballot in Colorado. The long list of signatories to the brief includes someone who has largely steered clear of the 2024 race and who previously said the former president is responsible for provoking the 2021 insurrection: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).... The list of signatories does not include several moderate Republicans, nor does it include any of the House Republicans who hold seats won by Joe Biden in 2020." The Hill's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Florida. Brendan Farrington of the AP: "A bill advanced by Florida Republicans on Wednesday would ban teachers and other government employees from displaying a rainbow flag -- even wearing one as a lapel pin for a day -- but they could hang the full-size flag of any 'recognized nation' as long as they want, according to the bill's sponsor. Flag displays that depict a 'racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint' would be banned from any state or local government building, including public schools and universities, under the bill authored by GOP Rep. David Borrero.... The ban wouldn't apply to students, or to government employees when they're not at work or in public buildings, Borrero said." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Obviously, this is a homophobic, racist bill. Borrero seems to have tried to stay within First Amendment bounds, but if it becomes law, attempts to enforce it may prove otherwise, particularly since race & sexual orientation are protected categories and gender is, well, gender. If a teacher wears a necklace with an "XX" pendant, isn't she breaking Borrero's proposed law? On the other hand, if Borrero is just trying to call attention to what a jerk he is, well, mission accomplished.

Missouri. Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "A coalition of reproductive-rights groups in Missouri kicked off a campaign on Thursday to establish a right to abortion in the state constitution, setting up the nation's next big test of public support for legalized abortion. Missouri was the first state to officially outlaw abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade 18 months ago. A successful ballot measure there could make it the first state where a citizen-led initiative reverses a near-total ban. Abortion-rights supporters have prevailed on all seven ballot measures put before voters since Roe was overturned, and groups in roughly 10 other states are attempting to pass similar abortion-rights measures this year. In Missouri, though, they face a tight timeline, fierce opposition from the Republicans who control state government, and a long tradition of anti-abortion politics." (Also linked yesterday.) The Hill's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, etc. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday surrounding the Israel/Gaza war are here: "Iranian-backed Houthi militants targeted a tanker in the third such attack on commercial shipping in three days, U.S. Central Command said, as President Biden acknowledged that U.S. strikes have not deterred the Yemen-based group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he 'told our American friends' that he opposes Palestinian statehood after the war, despite the United States emphasizing the importance of a two-state solution.... Netanyahu said that under 'any future agreement, Israel must have security control over the entire territory from the sea to the Jordan River,' even though it 'clashes with the ideas of sovereignty' for Palestinians. [White House National Security Council spokesman John] Kirby responded that the United States and Israel 'obviously see it differently,' noting that 'were not going to stop working' toward a two-state solution." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Friday are here.

Comments Off

Reader Comments (16)

It's so much easier (and safer) to mount a fake impeachment than to craft and pass legislation that might actually deal with immigration problems.

Once again, Republicans prove they are too lazy and cowardly to govern.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/18/mcconnell-trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot/

More in the Republican courage department:

The obvious irony here is that the same congress critters who had two chances to take care of the Pretender and failed to do so now argue that keeping him off the ballot anywhere is their sole responsibility.

What utter BS.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Ken,

You left out “inept”. Lazy, cowardly, and inept.

In their defense, I suppose it’s no different than a four year old child who holds a tea party…without the tea. Of course, the invitees, Teddy Bear, Bunny Rabbit, and Baby Doll don’t mind. They’ve got nothing better to do.

Pretense and fantasy are great things. If you’re a little kid. Pretense and fantasy, as essential aspects of an adult’s life and work are generally a sign of mental infirmity.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

A PRESIDENT MUST HAVE TOTAL IMMUNITY IN ORDER TO FUNCTION!

Natch. If you’re a serial law breaker, crook, liar, and traitor.

Fatty left out the real reason he needs TOTAL IMMUNITY!!!!

I WANNA DO THE CRIME, BUT I DON’T WANNA DO THE TIME!!!

WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Russia
"Russia has burned through almost half of the liquid reserves in its national wealth fund as it bleeds money amid the war in Ukraine

The liquid assets in Russia's national wealth fund fell 44% from January 2022 to December 2023.
Total holdings in the fund tumbled 12% over the same period amid the war in Ukraine, per Bloomberg.
Liquid assets in the fund could last just another year or two if Russia's oil export price falls below $50 a barrel, per Bloomberg Economics."

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Political victimhood. All the cool kids are doing it.
Telling people not to help elect a fascist dictator is the real crime.

"No Labels, a political group that's preparing a potential independent presidential ticket in 2024, filed a Justice Department complaint requesting an investigation into some organizations led by Democrats and their allies that the group alleges are trying to interfere in its efforts to gain ballot access in all 50 states and Washington D.C.

No Labels leader and lawyer Dan Webb announced the complaint in a press conference in Washington Thursday and said the filing alleged an "unlawful conspiracy to subvert Americans voting rights, and shut down the organization's effort to secure ballot access in the 2024 presidential election."

"We have set forth substantial evidence and allege that based on that evidence, there is a group of activists and artists and party officials who have participated in alleged illegal conspiracy to use intimidation, harassment and fear against representatives of no labels, its donors and as potential candidates," Webb said."

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/01/19/soot-pollution-rule-biden-epa/

If I were Mr. Biden, I wouldn't sacrifice myself on this altar at this time.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

@Ken Winkes: I dunno. Are you familiar with the Great Smog of London of 1952, which perhaps caused 4,000 Londoners to die & another 100,000 to come down with respiratory ailments? I take those particulates seriously.

January 19, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Marie,


As do I.

Like many political decisions, though, it's a judgement call. Right now I take Biden's re-election chances even more seriously.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

@Ken Winkes: Hard to argue with that.

January 19, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

So let me get this straight:

Donald Trump's lawyers just told the U.S. Supreme Court that
removing him from ballots for violating the Constitution's insurrection
clause would "unleash chaos and bedlam."

Even thouth the only reason they"re at the Supreme Court in the first
place is because the last time he was in office, Trump unleashed
chaos and bedlam.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

@Forrest Morris: As far as I can discern, you have that right. And if you can see the logic in that argument, maybe we should check to see if you can identify a cartoon whale on a cognitive test.

January 19, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Marie: So far I've been able to pass every cognitive test when I
have my annual physical.
Last time, I suggested to the nurse that I try one on her. She didn't
think that was funny. Some people have no sense of humor, unlike my
former doctor when I asked about those veiny things on my leg and she
said "I guess your modeling days are over."
My reply: "Well, at least I had some modeling days, but look at you."
She hit me (gently).

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

Whales are the ones with a hole in the head, right?

And they're bigger than porpoises.

It must be hard to discern them from all of the non-cetaceans, like big sharks, but those have dorsal fins and vertical caudal fins. And let's not even talk about zebras, crocodiles, etc. Too confusing.

But a big-brained mammal can do it, if he tries.

Hole in the head, horizontal tail fin, no arms or legs, lives in water only. Got it. Oh, yeah, really big. Most of them. Not all of them. Minke whales are kind of small. Do Minke whales have fur? Just asking. Many people say they do.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

@Patrick: Methinks he was looking in a full length mirror when
he identified a whale. And with a tiny dorsal fin, so they say.

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

A report only a MAGA or a Pretender could hate:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-sentiment-rises-solidly-january-2024-01-19/

January 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes
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