;)
The Conversation -- October 18, 2023
Katherine Tully-McManus, et al., of Politico: "Opposition to Jim Jordan's speakership bid is increasing, as the Ohio Republican again failed to get the 217 votes he needs to win the gavel. After halting voting for nearly a day in hopes of securing more Republican votes, Jordan instead lost two more votes on the second ballot. The House then went into another recess, at Jordan's request, before a possible third vote. The GOP is expected to hold a conference meeting Wednesday afternoon as it keeps searching for a way out of its speaker mess." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I just heard former Temporary Speaker My Kevin again blame Democrats for GOP dysfunction. Sorry, I didn't listen to hear what his supposed rationale was. ~~~
~~~ Here We Go Again. The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the House of Representatives. "Representative Jim Jordan, the hard-line Republican from Ohio, was battling on Wednesday to pick up the votes to become speaker, a day after a bloc of 20 G.O.P. holdouts handed him a defeat that raised questions about his ability to win the gavel. Mr. Jordan called for a second vote around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, hoping that he would be able to show he has the momentum on the House floor to win the majority he needs to be elected. A few Republicans who opposed him on Tuesday said they would relent and back Mr. Jordan on the second ballot. But other mainstream Republicans vowed to continue opposing Mr. Jordan...." ~~~
Luke Broadwater: "Jordan indicates he will support a vote on a proposal to empower [Patrick] McHenry [R-N.C.] as temporary speaker if he doesn't prevail. He tells reporters: 'People are talking about this resolution. I told leadership: "Call the question. Let's find out."'"
Annie Karni: "That doesn't mean he will stop his campaign for the gavel. If that proposal passes, it means Jordan will most likely try to grind it out as McHenry, in a temporary post, gets the House moving and business back to usual."
Catie Edmondson: "Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a veteran lawmaker and the chairman of the House Rules Committee, has risen to nominate Jim Jordan as speaker. The entire nomination choreography we saw play out Tuesday will be repeated again."
Annie Karni: "Representative Pete Aguilar, the No. 3 House Democrat, gives a nominating speech again for Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader.... Today, Aguilar is going after Jordan as someone with no legislative record. 'Gutting Medicare, gutting Social Security and giving cover to Jan. 6 attackers,' he says of what Jordan stands for. He says 'the country can't afford more delays and more chaos.'"
(Marie: The roll call has begun.)
(Déjà Vu All Over Again. Marie: We're only partway through the roll call, and Jordan has already lost unless some Republicans change their "other" votes.... In the grand finale, Jordan had 22 GOP votes against him; yesterday he had 20 votes against him. As for Hakeem Jeffries, he "won" the day with 212 votes for him over 199 for Jordan. I'll bet Jeffries had received more votes for Speaker of the House than anyone who was never Speaker of the House.)
Closed Until Further Notice. Edmondson: "The final tally: Jordan won 199 votes and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, won 212 votes. Four Republicans who backed Jordan on the first ballot rose to oppose him this time. Two Republicans who voted against Jordan yesterday changed their votes and supported him.... 'A speaker has not been elected,' the acting speaker, Patrick McHenry, says. He announces a recess."
From the New York Times liveblog of developments in the Israel/Hamas war, also linked below:
Peter Baker: "President Biden said on Wednesday that he had urged Israel to allow some humanitarian aid into Gaza as long as it did not go to the Hamas group, and Israel said it would not block deliveries from Egypt, offering the first sign of relief to civilians in the blockaded enclave besieged by days of deadly Israeli airstrikes."
Michael Shear: "President Biden announced $100 million in aid to help civilians in Gaza and the West Bank and said he had secured a commitment from Israel's government to allow food, water and medicine to be delivered to Palestinians in Gaza from Egypt in a humanitarian effort overseen by the United Nations and others."
Julian Barnes, et al.: "American officials say they have multiple strands of intelligence -- including infrared satellite data -- indicating that the deadly blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday was caused by Palestinian fighters." ~~~
~~~ Najib Jobain, et al., of the AP: "Israel said Wednesday that it will allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the first crack in a 10-day siege on the territory. Palestinians reeled from a massive blast at a Gaza City hospital that killed hundreds the day before and grew increasingly desperate as food and water supplies ran out. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the decision was approved after a request from visiting U.S. President Joe Biden. It said Israel 'will not thwart' deliveries of food, water or medicine, as long as they are limited to civilians in the south of the Gaza Strip and don't go to Hamas militants. The statement made no mention of badly needed fuel. It was not clear when the aid would start flowing."
Abigail Hauslohner & Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "Jack Lew, President Biden's nominee to become the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, faces a Senate confirmation test on Wednesday as the administration scrambles to prevent the eruption of deadly violence there and in the Gaza Strip from spiraling into a larger regional war. A former treasury secretary under President Barack Obama, Lew has attracted criticism from some Senate Republicans for his defense of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Israel's right-wing government and many in the GOP vehemently opposed, and related efforts by Obama to de-escalate the long-volatile relationship between Washington and Tehran. Lew's hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee opened with a plea from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the chairman, for a speedy approval of the nomination. 'Now,' Cardin said, 'is not the time to play political games.'" The New York Times liveblog, linked above, has a number of posts related to Lew's hearing.
Donald Goes to Court. Jennifer Peltz & Michael Sisak of the AP: "A woman was arrested Wednesday after she stood up at Donald Trump's New York civil fraud trial and walked toward the front of the courtroom where the former president was sitting. The woman, later identified as a court employee, retreated after a court officer told her to return to her seat. A short time later, officers escorted the woman out of the Manhattan courtroom and arrested her. She was charged with contempt of court for disrupting a court proceeding, state court spokesperson Lucian Chalfen said....
"Judge Arthur Engoron warned Trump and others involved in the case to keep their voices down after the 2024 Republican frontrunner conferred animatedly with his lawyers at the defense table during real estate appraiser Doug Larson's second day of testimony. State lawyer Kevin Wallace asked Engoron to ask the defense to 'stop commenting during the witness' testimony,' adding that the 'exhortations' were audible on the witness' side of the room. The judge then asked everyone to keep their voices down, 'particularly if it's meant to influence the testimony.'... Trump grew irritated as Larson testified.... Trump threw up his hands during the exchange.... Trump railed about that exchange during a court break. 'See what's happened? The government lied. They just lie. They didn't reveal all of the information that they had,' Trump said. 'They didn't reveal all the evidence that made me totally innocent of anything that they say.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump doesn't seem to understand that it's up to his own lawyers, not the prosecution, to present any exculpatory information to the judge. AND, since Engoron has already found the Trump Org committed fraud, it's kinda hard to reckon that Trump himself is "totally innocent of anything they say."
Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Donald Trump was interviewed under oath in New York on Tuesday for a lawsuit related to his time as president and the termination of a Russia investigation-era FBI official. The deposition was conducted by attorneys for the FBI official, Peter Strzok, and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page late in the day on Tuesday, sources familiar with Trump's schedule say." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: In the Fulton County, Georgia, conspiracy case, attorney Kenneth "Chesebro's lawyers have argued that his work was shielded by the First Amendment and that he 'acted within his capacity as a lawyer.' They have called for his case to be dismissed, saying he was merely 'researching and finding precedents in order to form a legal opinion, which was then supplied to his client, the Trump campaign.'... But Mr. Chesebro's emails could undercut any effort to show that the lawyers were focused solely on legal strategies.... Mr. Chesebro made clear [in the emails] he was considering politics and was well aware of how the Trump campaign's legal filings could be used as ammunition for Republicans' efforts to overturn the results when Congress met to certify the Electoral College outcome.... Of the chances of success [in court], Mr. Chesebro estimated the 'odds the court would grant effective relief before Jan. 6, I'd say only 1 percent.' But he wrote the filing has 'possible political value.'"
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House of Chaos, Ctd.
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "While it was impossible to determine how, when or even if Republicans might emerge from their ongoing chaos, what was clear was that the House G.O.P. is badly stuck and in crisis, unable to settle on a leader at a time of international upheaval.... Mainstream [Republican] lawmakers -- usually the ones trying to cut deals and reach consensus -- have refused to countenance the prospect of [Rep. Jim] Jordan ascending to the job second in line to the presidency.... Mr. Jordan and his allies hoped to work the holdouts through a mix of pleas for party unity, negotiations and a social-media fueled pressure campaign that was already stirring a backlash and could cause more defections in the next round.... With Mr. Jordan at least initially stymied and more voting delayed until Wednesday, Republicans and Democrats were intensifying quiet discussions about a potential solution that would somehow empower Representative Patrick T. McHenry, who has been serving as speaker pro tem since [former Speaker Kevin] McCarthy was toppled, to conduct the business of the House even temporarily.... Representative Hakeem Jeffries [D-N.Y., the House Minority Leader,] went out to the Capitol steps to castigate Republicans for their predicament. He urged them to work with Democrats to find a solution, though he was not specific what that might be."~~~
~~~ Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "The size of the GOP opposition to Jim Jordan's speakership bid has revived serious bipartisan talks to empower acting Speaker Patrick McHenry. And the members pushing it could pull the trigger as soon as Jordan's second failed ballot.... The push by centrist Democrats to work with Republicans to elevate McHenry -- at a certain price -- was first reported by Politico. Those Democrats are all leaders of the Problem Solvers Caucus. The idea has also picked up public support from Democratic leaders, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) pushing for Republicans to work with them to reopen the floor Tuesday evening."
Joan Greve of the Guardian: "The House of Representatives was unable to elect a new speaker on its first ballot on Tuesday, as the hard-right congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio struggled to win the gavel following the historic ouster of the Republican Kevin McCarthy earlier this month. In the first round of voting, 20 Republicans opposed Jordan, while 200 Republicans supported the judiciary committee chair. The result left Jordan far short of winning the speakership, given that he can only afford four defections within his conference and still capture the gavel. All 212 House Democrats supported Hakeem Jeffries of New York, giving the Democratic leader more votes than Jordan.... Before the session began on Tuesday, Jordan indicated Republicans would keep voting until a new leader is chosen, potentially teeing up another lengthy speakership election. But after the first ballot failed to produce a result, the acting speaker, the Republican Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, announced that the House was in recess." (Also linked yesterday.)
The New York Times liveblogged this episode of an American tragedy. Here is a brief selection of entries. See more in yesterday's Conversation & many more, of course, in the linked liveblog: (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Luke Broadwater: "Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio is grasping for the votes he needs to be elected speaker on Tuesday, but the outcome is far from certain as Republicans continue to feud internally over who should lead them.... A number of mainstream Republicans who had said they could not countenance a vote for Mr. Jordan, a close ally of ... Donald J. Trump, fell into line after a pressure campaign by his right-wing allies and a series of one-on-one calls with him."
Catie Edmondson: "Just 10 months ago Elise Stefanik of New York, the conference chairwoman, nominated Kevin McCarthy for speaker. Now she is nominating Jim Jordan of Ohio, kicking off the formal vote." MB: She keeps invoking the Old Testament. That's appropriate.
Broadwater: "When Stefanik quoted the Book of Esther, Democrats in the chamber groaned. When she attacked President Biden, they audibly groaned again. When Stefanik referenced Jordan's success on a wrestling mat, Democrats laughed and jeered."
Carl Hulse: "Representative Hakeem Jeffries now being nominated by Representative Pete Aguilar as the Democratic candidate.... Aguilar is delivering an extremely tough attack on Jordan and his record. Typically the opposition party simply pushes forward their own candidate and doesn't focus on the alternative."
Broadwater: "Aguilar references that Jordan during his 16 years in Congress has not be the lead sponsor of any bill that has passed into law."
Annie Karni: "Aguilar describes Jordan as an architect of a nationwide abortion ban, a vocal election denier and an instigator of an insurrection."
Jordain Carney, et al., of Politico: "Jim Jordan's allies attempted to badger House Republicans into making him speaker. Those tactics backfired on Tuesday.... The Ohio Republican's most vocal GOP defectors during Tuesday's failed speaker vote said they were pressured to back Jordan by party bosses back home and national conservatives with big megaphones. Most of those skeptics viewed it as a coordinated push with a threatening theme: Vote for Jordan -- or else. The arm-twisting campaign, which in many cases included veiled threats of primary challenges, ... has put the Judiciary chair's bid on life support and threatened to plunge House Republicans deeper into turmoil.... 'Jim's been nice, one-on-one, but his broader team has been playing hardball,' Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Politico about Jordan's network of supporters, adding that he's been getting calls from party chairs back in Nebraska. He added that his wife even received multiple anonymous emails and texts saying: 'your husband better support Jim Jordan.'" ~~~
~~~ Charlie Nash of Mediaite has the receipts, via Olivia Beavers of Politico: screenshots of some of the anonymous text messages Bacon's wife received.
Donald Trump Is a Very Old Man. Eva Surovell of the Messenger: "... Donald Trump said Tuesday he thinks Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will be successful in his bid to become speaker.... 'He's a fantastic young man,' Trump said. 'He's pretty young still and very strong....'" MB: Jordan is 59 years old. You need a geriatric mindset to think 59 is "pretty young."
The Party of Fox. Sarah Ellison & Will Sommer of the Washington Post: Fox host Sean "Hannity's effort to personally whip up votes for [Jim] Jordan highlights the central role that right-wing media has played in the weeks-long drama engulfing Capitol Hill over who will wield the speaker's gavel. At each turn, conservative media figures such as Hannity and former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon have injected high-profile disruption into a process that normally plays out quietly behind the scenes in Capitol Hill corridors.... Some members have been unusually outspoken in blasting their colleagues for playing to the cameras. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) tweeted last week that his fellow members were making decisions based on 'egos and TV time.'"
The Party of Utter Incompetence. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "For years, it has been evident that the Republican Party can't govern. When Donald Trump was in office, it was revealing to see the extent to which Republican majorities in Congress struggled to write and pass any legislation of consequence. To wit, after an unsuccessful herculean lift trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act and a successful effort to cut taxes (the lowest hanging fruit on the conservative menu), congressional Republicans essentially stopped legislating until they were dislodged from control of the House in the 2018 midterms. What's become clear of late, in the midst of the chaos that has left the House without a speaker at a particularly fraught moment in foreign and domestic affairs, is that Republicans are as unable to organize themselves as they are incapable of leading the affairs of state."
The Trials of Trump, Ctd.
Charlie Savage & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Judge [Tanya] Chutkan released the formal written [gag] order [against Donald Trump] on Tuesday. She detailed in three brief pages how Mr. Trump has now been barred from making public comments targeting the members of her court staff, the special counsel Jack Smith and any members of his staff, as well as 'any reasonably foreseeable witnesses' in the sprawling federal criminal case in which the former president stands accused of seeking to overturn the 2020 election. But the order left unanswered the hardest questions involved in gagging Mr. Trump. Judge Chutkan will still have to determine on a case-by-case basis which, if any, of the former president's statements violate her ruling. And she will have to decide how to punish him if they do. Mr. Trump's legal team swiftly gave notice on Tuesday that he was appealing the order.... In federal court, judges cannot unilaterally impose a fine or order someone imprisoned for criminal contempt. Rather, such an allegation is treated as a new offense that requires the appointment of a prosecutor and another trial -- including a right to a decision by a jury." ~~~
~~~ Judge Chutkan's order, via Axios, is here. CNN's story on the written order is here. (The CNN article also includes a link to the order.)
MEANWHILE. Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump tested the boundaries of a gag order imposed by a judge overseeing his New York fraud trial by sharing an article that appears to show the home address of New York Attorney General Letitia James. The former president was prohibited earlier this month from commenting publicly about court staffers by state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron after Trump disparaged a clerk on Truth Social, but MeidasTouch Network noticed he shared a post by right-wing activist Laura Loomer that appeared to expose the attorney general's home address. James is not a court staffer and the court order did not refer to her directly -- but as the person who filed the lawsuit against Trump and her associate, she is a central player." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: "Special counsel Jack Smith has withdrawn a subpoena seeking records about fundraising by the political action committee Save America -- a group that is controlled by ... Donald Trump and whose activities related to efforts to block the results of the 2020 presidential election have come under investigation, people familiar with the matter said. The withdrawal of the subpoena earlier this month indicates Smith is scaling back at least part of his inquiry into the political fundraising work that fed and benefited from unfounded claims that the election was stolen, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation."
** Haroun Siddique of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's decision to declassify evidence given by a former British spy about the former US president's alleged links with Russia led to the disappearance of two Russian sources, according to a court document. Christopher Steele, who used to run MI6's Russia desk, compiled the notorious 'Steele dossier' investigating Trump's connections to Russia. In a witness statement released on Tuesday, Steele said publication of his testimony to the Mueller investigation on the matter, originally classified secret, was an 'egregious and reckless act' that 'served no purpose other than to expose me and Orbis [Steele's company], our sources and our methods'.... In his witness statement, Steele said the decision to declassify his testimony, taken on Trump's last day in office, resulted in several Russian sources being exposed and suffering 'varying consequences'. He said: 'Two of the named Russian sources have not been seen or heard of since. The publication of this document did serious damage to the US government's Russian operations and their ability to recruit new Russian sources. The claimant's [Trump's] actions in this regard were truly shocking and arguably constitute one of the most egregious breaches of intelligence rules and protocol by the US government in recent times.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Read on. If Steele can provide evidence of his allegation, this seems to be more fodder, of a gravely serious nature, for Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump in the documents case. Oh, and there's an Ivanka angle to the story.
GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Sentenced to 60 Day's Jail Time. Daniel Barnes & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A former Republican candidate for Michigan governor was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days in prison for committing a federal crime during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ryan Kelley, who was arrested during the Michigan gubernatorial primary in 2022, pleaded guilty this July to a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining on restricted grounds, admitting he 'rushed past U.S. Capitol police officers' and 'used his hands to support another rioter who was pulling a metal bike rack onto the scaffolding.' Prosecutors also said he ripped a tarp on the inauguration stage." (Also linked yesterday.)
Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: "Prosecutors will convene a grand jury to consider whether to refile an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer who was killed on the set of the film 'Rust' in 2021, New Mexico prosecutors said on Tuesday.... Mr. Baldwin was rehearsing on a New Mexico film set with a gun that was not supposed to contain live ammunition when it suddenly fired a live round, killing the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins."
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Colorado. Ee-www. Rebecca Carballo of the New York Times: "The number of bodies found at a rural Colorado funeral home has grown to at least 189, officials said Tuesday, two weeks after they reported that a foul odor had led investigators to the decaying remains of 115 people there. Teams removed the remains of at least 189 individuals from the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, a facility about 100 miles south of Denver that provides green burial services, and transported them to the El Paso County Coroner's Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said in a news release on behalf of Sheriff Allen Cooper of Fremont County and Randy Keller, the county coroner.... No one had been arrested or charged in the matter.... The funeral home offered 'green' burials, environmentally sensitive alternatives to funerals, which typically require embalming fluids and elaborate coffins."
North Carolina. Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) sued Republicans over a state Senate bill that changed election rules in the state. Cooper's lawsuit, filed against President Pro Tempore Phillip Berger, Speaker of the House Timothy Moore and the state of North Carolina, said they showed a 'flagrant disregard' for constitutional principles that establish separation of powers in state government and the executive powers granted to him as Governor.... The bill in question, SB 749, overhauled the state's elections by establishing bipartisan election boards. State and county elections boards will now be controlled by an equal group of appointed Democrats and Republicans, which could create gridlock when deciding early-voting locations or certifying election results. The governor's office previously oversaw who sat on the board."
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Israel/Palestine
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Protests broke out in cities across the Middle East in response to the explosion ... at a hospital in the Gaza Strip that killed hundreds and left Palestinians and Israelis trading blame.... And [President] Biden's scheduled meeting with Arab leaders was canceled, as key allies in the region condemned the explosion. Mr. Biden will now meet only with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who faces growing pressure from global leaders to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza.... Shortly before taking off for Israel on Air Force One on Tuesday, Mr. Biden said he was 'outraged and deeply saddened' by the explosion.... Hamas said its head of military intelligence was killed in an Israeli strike, the first time that the group acknowledged the death of one of its military leaders since it assaulted Israel.... Hundreds of thousands of people have heeded Israel's call to flee to southern Gaza, but Israel carried out strikes in southern cities, including Khan Younis and Rafah."
Peter Baker: "President Biden hugged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog and chatted briefly before getting into the motorcade."
Baker: “President Biden has arrived at the Kempinski hotel in Tel Aviv, where he is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Baker: "President Biden appears to endorse Israel's denial of responsibility for the explosion at the Gaza hospital. 'Based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,' he said. 'But there's a lot of people out there not sure.'"
Najib Jobain, et al., of the AP: "The Health Ministry run by Hamas said an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds of people. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008. The health ministry said at least 500 people had been killed. Photos and video purportedly from al-Ahli Hospital on social media showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital's grounds strewn with torn bodies, many of them young children. Around them in the grass were blankets, school backpacks and other belongings. The images could not immediately be independently verified.... Hamas called Tuesday's hospital strike 'a horrific massacre.'... In protest at the reported strike, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cancelled his participation in a meeting with [President] Biden, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egypt's president set for Wednesday in Amman, Jordan to discuss the war." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update from the New York Times liveblog (Tuesday), also linked yesterday: "Hundreds of people were reported killed by a strike at a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday night where thousands of civilians reportedly had been sheltering. The Gazan health authorities said the blast had been caused by an Israeli airstrike; the Israel Defense Forces said it was caused by a rocket fired by a Palestinian armed group that malfunctioned after launching. The health ministry in Gaza said the number of casualties was expected to rise. Many civilians were sheltering at Ahli Arab Hospital, better known as Al-Ma'amadani, before it was hit. In the past, rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups have occasionally malfunctioned and hit civilian neighborhoods. The Civil Defense in Gaza said medical teams were overwhelmed and unable to respond adequately because the hospital was so badly damaged." (Also linked yesterday.)
Times of Israel: "A group of Chicago-area rabbis attended the funeral of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the six-year-old Palestinian American who was killed in his Illinois home by his landlord in what police are investigating as a hate crime. Al-Fayoume was killed [Monday] and his mother was seriously injured by 71-year-old Joseph Czuba who witnesses said was screaming, 'You Muslims have to die' when he barged into their apartment and began to attack them unprovoked. In a Facebook post published after attending Wadea's funeral, Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue Rabbi Ari Hart writes, 'We met with the Imam, heard from the father and stood with the boy's community as they mourned this horrific loss. We witnessed the pain. We expressed our shock and condemnation of the attack. We wept.... The murder of a six-year-old because of his faith and his identity is not complicated. It is a heinous crime. And that's why we went today, he says." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: Glad to see senators have taken my advice! ~~~
No (Alleged!) Spies for Egypt Allowed. Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) will not be attending an all-senators classified briefing on Israel on Wednesday, after some of his colleagues aired concerns that his presence would risk national security. The former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee faces federal charges of bribery and conspiring to act as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.... 'Hey, I have a question for a friend,' [Sen. John] Fetterman [D-Pa.] asked reporters Tuesday. 'If someone has been accused of being a foreign agent for Egypt, should they be allowed to attend a classified briefing on Israel tomorrow?' The answer, apparently, is no. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday that Menendez will not attend the briefing that will include Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other top administration officials. Schumer's office would not say whether the leader had asked Menendez not to attend or whether Menendez is barred from all such gatherings in the future."
China/Russia. Christian Shepherd & Lyric Li of the Washington Post: "Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday laid out a vision for a revamped version of his signature 'Belt and Road' investment initiative and promised continued economic support for nations that sign on to China's remade world order. With guest of honor Russian President Vladimir Putin, who shares his discontent with the Western-led world order, Xi presented the plan as an alternative route to riches than that offered by the United States and other industrial democracies, which he accused of holding back developing nations with trade sanctions and demands for political reform."
Ukraine, et al. David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "Ukraine's forces used newly supplied American long-range missiles against Russia for the first time on Tuesday after President Biden overcame his longstanding reluctance to providing the weapons, permitting the Pentagon to deliver them covertly in the last few days, American officials said. The decision to send the missiles represented a shift by the Biden administration at a time when the Ukrainian military is struggling in a counteroffensive in the country's south and east.... Ukraine used the missiles, called ATACMS, to strike two air bases in Russian-occupied territory on Tuesday, according to an American official familiar with the assault. Ukraine's special operations forces said the attack damaged runways and destroyed nine helicopters, an ammunition depot, an antiaircraft missile launcher and military equipment." Politico's story is here.
A Boost for Vlad. Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin, increasingly isolated over the war against Ukraine, met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in China on Tuesday. The meeting was Putin's first with a European Union leader since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March, accusing him of war crimes in the forced deportations of Ukrainian children. Orban, a self-proclaimed proponent of 'illiberal' Christian democracy, has a cozy relationship with Putin and Tuesday declared his determination to maintain his ties with Moscow, despite the tensions between Europe and Russia over the nearly two-year-old war. Orban has irritated other NATO members by slow-walking Sweden's accession to the alliance and his refusal to fully support Ukraine. Putin quickly crowed about the significance of the encounter, in which the two men shook hands and then held private talks ahead of a summit in Beijing marking the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative, a giant global infrastructure program."
Russia. Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared at a court hearing without legal representation Tuesday after three of his lawyers were arrested on extremism charges and two others left the country.... Navalny only learned of the arrest of the three lawyers Monday from journalists, and Tuesday he found out that a fourth lawyer, Alexander Fedulov, had fled the country. A fifth, Olga Mikhailova, was not in Russia when the others were arrested, but her offices were raided and a search warrant was issued."
News Lede
AP: "The chief suspect in Natalee Holloway's 2005 disappearance in Aruba admitted he killed her and disposed of her remains, and has agreed to plead guilty to charges he tried to extort money from the teen's mother years later, a U.S. judge said Wednesday[.] The disclosure came during a plea and sentencing hearing for Joran van der Sloot, 36, in a federal courtroom in Alabama -- just a few miles from the Birmingham suburb where Holloway used to live." The New York Times story is here.
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Authoritarian crooks out in Poland!
Some good news for a change.
The far-right “Law and Justice” party which has ruled Poland for the last eight years is outta here.
Don’t you just love how all these right-wing scumbags describe themselves in terms completely antithetical to their actual aims and goals? Whenever you hear righty-right extremists yapping about justice, law, patriotism, democracy, what they’re really about is injustice, lawlessness, treason, and fascism.
Hey, it’s a win for the good guys. I’ll take it.
(You just know were the Orange Monster still in power, he’d be ripping the election in Poland that tossed his authoritarian buddies as rigged, stolen, unfair, yadda, yadda, yadda, the usual pablum puking prevarications.)
So here’s how it works in traitor land. On Monday, when a fat liar is in power, they say “Oooh the president should never be criticized!”
On Tuesday, when Fatty is gone, it’s “Biden is evil!“
A far right pastor, Robert Henderson, who demanded Trump be acknowledged as chosen by god, had this to say in 2020:
“People may not like his mannerisms, they may not like the way he does things, they may question his motives, but here’s the reality: He sits in the seat of the president of the United States of America, and because of that, he should never be reviled, he should never be spoken evil of, he should never be criticized.”
Never be criticized. Got that?
But now…
“All the Biden administration is doing, everything that they’re seeking to accomplish, it is all designed to weaken America. They’re either the most ignorant people that’s ever been in power, or they have an agenda to bring America down. That is what’s going on because the ultimate agenda is to bring a one-world government into place. That’s what they want to do.”
Sounds a teensy-weensy bit like criticism to me. Well, I guess Jesus hates consistency.
Nice to see that at least a few R House members aren’t willing (yet) to hand over power to a gutter rat like Gym Jordan. But before we start waving flags and shooting off fireworks, it’s worth remembering that every one of those holdouts will get in line behind the King of Gutter Rats come 2024.
Hey kids, it’s almost time to break out the Cheese and Krakens!
Jury selection in the trials of Ken “The Cheese” Chesebro and Sidney “Release the Kraken” Powell starts on Friday, meaning these two treason birds will be in court next week!
“It should be noted that they are charged with very different aspects of the case. Powell's charges relate to her role in a conspiracy to break into Coffee County Georgia voting machines and illegally download data from them. Chesebro is charged for his roll in putting together fake electors, forging fake electoral college certificates, and presenting them to Congress as authentic.”
Both Cheese and Kraken demanded the judge let them go because, hang on, they committed no crime! Hahahaha. Also, that they didn’t benefit financially (I guess, if there actually was criming going on).
The judge said “Hahahahaha”. Or something like that.
Cheese and Krakens for everyone next week.
On the road:
We looked at the news this morning. My wife asked me how things have gotten so crazy. What happened to respect for the law? I had no answer.
Did think maybe I should have brought along on this trip to our 55th college reunion that compendium of Western Civ readings I still have on my shelf.
But then, my university no longer teaches Western Civ..... Maybe the whole notion of any Civ anywhere is old hat.
Sure seems to be for the R's.
I'm sure this went well for TFG.
"Trump deposed in Peter Strzok and Lisa Page lawsuit"
Kansas
"Computer systems for almost all of Kansas’ courts have been offline for five days because of what officials call a “security incident,” preventing them from accepting electronic filings and blocking public access to many of their records.
Judicial branch officials still don’t know the extent of the problem or how long the computer systems will remain offline, spokesperson Lisa Taylor said Tuesday. The problem, discovered Thursday, meant the systems haven’t been able to accept electronic filings, process payments, manage cases, grant public access to records, allow people to file electronically for protection-from-abuse orders and permit people to apply electronically for marriage licenses."
This was an interesting statement: "as McHenry, in a temporary
post, gets the House moving and business back to usual."
Should have been "and business back to usual, blocking everything
Dems or President Biden tries to get passed that would aid the
American people."
McHenry's first act in charge was to take petty revenge on the Democrats. He kicked Pelosi out of her office and gave her a day to move her things as she was on the other side of the country attending funeral services for a fellow lawmaker. Though I'm sure given extra responsibilities he will rise to the moment and put petty politics aside, lol.
Not my fault!!!
Marie points out MyKevin’s latest jettisoning of responsibility for Party of Traitors’ incompetence.
“Waaahhh! Democrats are to blame! Waaahhh!”
How exactly is this the case? This is like saying the guy telling you and your hoodlum friends not to steal a car is responsible for your incarceration when you get caught.
So there’s this guy in the NFL, Justin Fields, a talented and highly touted QB for the Chicago Bears. Fields has some serious skills but also some huge holes in his skill sets (tons of fumbles and interceptions). But after just a couple of games (losses) this year, Fields went before the media and blamed the coaches for all his problems. “They’re not letting me be me!” he whined, even though “being me” often means fumbles and interceptions, in addition to some great running.
But here’s the difference. Fields has a point (sort of), even though it’s pretty asshole of him to blame the coaches for his failings, because the coaches DO create the game plan he’s tasked with carrying out.
Is MyKevin suggesting that Democrats are coaching Party of Traitors Jamokes to do stuff they can’t do? Like be competent legislators?
No. Full stop.
A hatred of being held responsible for their fumbles, interceptions, losses, and laughable game plans cannot be blamed on the Democrats. You wake up still drunk, stumble out the door, and faceplant into the rose bushes, you don’t get to blame the neighbors.
Assholes.