The Commentariat -- December 29, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Alexandra Jaffe of the AP: "President-elect Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration Tuesday for the pace of distributing COVID-19 vaccines and predicted that 'things will get worse before they get better' when it comes to the pandemic. 'We need to be honest -- the next few weeks and months are going to be very tough, very tough for our nation. Maybe the toughest during this entire pandemic,' Biden said during remarks in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday."

Mike DeBonis & Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked consideration of a House bill that would deliver $2,000 stimulus payments to most Americans -- spurning a request by President Trump even as more Senate Republicans voiced support for the dramatically larger checks. McConnell's move was just the beginning of a saga that is likely to engulf the Senate for the rest of the week. Democrats are pushing for an up-or-down vote on the House bill, while more Republicans acknowledge a need for larger stimulus checks. Tension within the Republican party spilled into public view on Tuesday, with Trump leveling pointed attacks at GOP leaders for failing to act, accusing them of being 'pathetic' and suggesting they had a 'death wish.'... 'WE NEED NEW & ENERGETIC REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP,' he wrote. New proponents of the $2,000 checks include Georgia's two embattled Republican senators -- David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler...." The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, the Third Branch Weighs in. Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "A senior U.S. District judge called Donald Trump a 'criminal' during a phone call with the Associated Press as he discussed the 45th president's recent pardons of political allies who were convicted in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert W. Pratt, a Bill Clinton appointee who had been the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa before assuming senior status in 2012, said..., 'It's not surprising that a criminal like Trump pardons other criminals.'" The AP story is here."

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "Colorado officials on Tuesday reported the first known case in the United States of a person infected with the mutation-laden coronavirus variant that has been circulating rapidly across much of the United Kingdom and has led to a lockdown of much of southern England. The case involves a male in his 20s who is currently in isolation ... and has no travel history, according to a tweet from the office of Gov. Jared Polis."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "Dozens of research papers published over the past few months have found that people whose bodies were teeming with the coronavirus more often became seriously ill and were more likely to die, compared with those who carried much less virus and were more likely to emerge relatively unscathed.... The results suggest that knowing the so-called viral load -- the amount of virus in the body -- could help doctors...."

Whiney-Prez* Knocks Congressional Republicans. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday sharply criticized Republican leaders for allowing a vote to override his veto of a must-pass defense policy bill, calling them'weak' and 'tired' and accusing them of a 'disgraceful act of cowardice.' The House on Monday evening voted 322-87 to override Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), teeing up what may be the first and only veto override of Trump's presidency. 'Weak and tired Republican "leadership" will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass,' Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, apparently referring to GOP Senate leadership."

~~~~~~~~~~

Amy Wang & Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday accused President Trump and his political appointees of obstructing the transition of power to his incoming administration, particularly on national security issues, an escalation in tone after reports of isolated difficulties in the transition process last week. In remarks from Wilmington, Del., Biden specifically called out the Office of Management and Budget and the Defense Department as agencies where his transition team had encountered 'roadblocks' from political leadership. Biden's remarks came shortly after he attended a briefing with nearly two dozen of his national security advisers. '... It's nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,' Biden said.... He warned that such delays could allow enemies of the United States to take advantage of vulnerabilities, citing a massive cybersecurity breach that compromised several U.S. agencies earlier this month.... Biden was careful to distinguish between political appointees in the agencies and the career professionals who he said had cooperated fully.... Biden opened his remarks by addressing the Christmas Day explosion in Nashville...." MB: Trump, BTW, is too busy golfing to remark on the Nashville explosion. The Guardian's story is here. The New York Times' story is here. More on this linked under "Last Days...."~~~

     ~~~ MB: The audio is low on all the videos of Biden's remarks, so this is the best I could do.

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The House mustered enough votes Monday to reject President Trump's veto of a $741 billion defense authorization bill, setting up the first congressional override of his presidency just days before he exits office.... The bill now heads to the Senate, which must also pass the measure with a two-thirds majority in order for it to become law. That vote could happen as soon as Wednesday." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.) CNBC's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Then, Along Comes Bernie. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Bernie Sanders will filibuster an override of ... Donald Trump's defense bill veto unless the Senate holds a vote on providing $2,000 direct payments to Americans. 'McConnell and the Senate want to expedite the override vote [on the defense bill] and I understand that. But I'm not going to allow that to happen unless there is a vote, no matter how long that takes, on the $2,000 direct payment,' Sanders said in an interview on Monday night.... Under Senate rules, Sanders has the ability to keep the chamber in during the holiday week and likely mess with the campaign schedules of Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.)." ~~~

     ~~~ David Dayen in the American Prospect: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), with the backing of the Senate Democratic caucus, is prepared to make life miserable for Senate Republicans if they do not put a clean vote on the floor to increase one-time emergency payments to most Americans approved in the recent COVID relief package from $600 to $2,000. Sanders has the procedural means at his disposal to keep the Senate in session all the way to New Year's Day, inconveniencing Senators of both parties, particularly the incumbent Republicans from Georgia, who are in their final full week of campaigning for runoff elections...." Dayen explains how the maneuver would work. More on the Covid bill linked under "Last Days..." & "The Trumpidemic" below.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Michael Shear & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "For five days, starting before Christmas, Mr. Trump virtually held the nation hostage, delaying the extension of unemployment benefits for millions of out-of-work Americans, holding up the delivery of $600 checks, and dangling the possibility of a total government shutdown even as officials raced to distribute a coronavirus vaccine.... As an exercise in raw presidential power, it was a flop. As a political tactic, it backfired. And as a coda to his final weeks in office..., [it] merely underscored his tumultuous tenure in the Oval Office.... The veto threat was the latest attention-getting maneuver by a president who appears unwilling to accept the reality that Washington is moving on without him." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Part of the report reveals how Lindsey Graham & Kevin McCarthy had to engage in hours of "handholding ... to assuage the president's concerns." Aw, too bad. Lindsey & Kevin didn't make the Trumpenstein monster, but they were eager & able lab assistants. ~~~

~~~ We Shall Coddle Him on Palm Beach, We Shall Grovel on the Golf Course, We Shall Flatter in the Beast.... Mike DeBonis & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post write a story on how intrepid Lindsey rushed to Palm Beach to help negotiate Trump's "complete surrender."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "As of Monday, three days after authorities identified the [Nashville] bomber as a 63-year-old Nashville-area resident, Trump still had not commented personally on the event. He spent the day at Trump International Golf Club.... Trump's silence has offered another example of a president who, since his election defeat last month, has been consumed by his own political troubles and detached from the duties of his office as he wages a baseless assault on the integrity of the U.S. election system. But it is also consistent with a commander in chief who has, over nearly four years, quickly sounded alarms about violence he has connected to Muslim groups, foreigners or left-wing social movements in the United States --; but been slower to denounce attacks from right-wing actors or others who do not serve his political agenda." More on the bombing linked under "Beyond the Beltway."

Stupid Crazy People Have Another Stupid Crazy Plan. Justin Rohrlich of the Daily Beast: "A group of Republicans including Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Kelli Ward of Arizona is suing Vice President Mike Pence in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Electoral College is scheduled to certify the win on Jan. 6, a procedural task overseen by the sitting vice president.... In the lawsuit, details of which reporter John Kruzel of The Hill posted on Twitter, Gohmert, Ward, and 10 other plaintiffs such as Students for Trump COO Tyler Bowyer, Arizona Republican Party Executive Director Greg Safsten, and Maricopa County Republicans Second Vice Chair Nancy Cottle, are asking federal Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee, to declare Pence legally authorized to pick pro-Trump electors on Jan. 6." Here's Kruzel's story in the Hill. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and ... Donald Trump's defeated electors from Arizona may force Vice President Mike Pence to publicly pick a side in Trump's bid to overturn his 2020 election loss.... Though the lawsuit itself is unlikely to gain legal traction, it does put Pence in the position of having to either contest the suit -- putting him on the opposite side of Trump and his GOP defenders -- or support it and lay bare the intention to subvert the will over the voters in the 2020 election. Pence has engaged with GOP lawmakers seeking to reverse the election results but has avoided publicly taking a side in the matter, and he has given no indication how he intends to handle his role presiding over the Jan. 6 session of Congress set to certify Biden's victory. Though Biden was the certified winner in states like Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan and others, the Republicans who would have been Trump's electors met anyway and purported to cast their votes for Trump's reelection. They're counting on Pence and congressional Republicans to treat those informal votes as equal to the slates certified in those states where Trump was defeated." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), appearing on MSNBC, said the suit was nonsense & predicted it would be thrown out of court like the other 80-some nonsense election-results suits. ~~~

~~~ Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Republican-leaning pollster Rasmussen invoked a quote attributed to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in a Twitter thread Sunday suggesting Vice President Pence could attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election. 'Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything. -- Stalin,' the pollster tweeted, before going on to outline a scenario in which Pence refuses to certify the results in swing states." Constitutional scholars say the veep is authorized only to open envelopes & report votes, not to strike the totals he doesn't like.

>The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "The House on Monday voted to beef up stimulus checks set to go out to American households in the coming weeks from $600 to $2,000. The chamber acted swiftly after President Trump demanded the larger payments in the last week.... Forty four Republicans joined the vast majority of Democrats on Monday in passing the bill on a 275-134 vote. The measure's fate is much less certain in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. Approving stimulus checks of $2,000 would add several hundred billion dollars to the price of an aid bill that congressional Republicans had sought to keep under $1 trillion." An NBC News story is here.

William Feuer of CNBC: "President-elect Joe Biden plans to invoke the Defense Production Act after he takes office next month to boost production of coronavirus vaccines, a member of his Covid-19 advisory team said Monday. 'You will see him invoking the Defense Production Act,' Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of Biden's Covid-19 advisory board, said ... on CNBC's 'Squawk Box.' 'The idea there is to make sure the personal protective equipment, the test capacity and the raw materials for the vaccines are produced in adequate supply.' The wartime production law, which allows the president to compel companies to prioritize manufacturing for national security, could help the U.S. secure components and specialized products that manufacturers need to produce the Covid vaccines.... The New York Times reported last week that Pfizer ... began asking the Trump administration in September to help the pharmaceutical giant obtain some supplies needed for production but was disappointed by a lack of response.... The Times ... reported that as part of [a] deal, [struck last week], the U.S. government agreed to invoke the Defense Production Act to 'help Pfizer get better access to around nine specialized products it needs to make the vaccine.'"

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

Americans Celebrate the Birth of the Baby Jesus by Condemning Themselves & Others to Death. Brittany Shammas & Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "Despite weeks of increases in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, U.S. air travel hit a pandemic record this weekend as Americans crisscrossed the country for the holidays -- a sign, some public health experts warn, that yet another surge could be on the horizon. The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that it had screened 1,284,599 passengers Sunday. Travel is down 55 to 65 percent compared with before the coronavirus pandemic, but Sunday marked the highest number of travelers since mid-March and the sixth time in 10 days the daily volume exceeded 1 million."

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted an attack on Dr. Anthony Fauci, accusing Fauci of lying about the efficacy of masks & distorting information about herd immunity. "As usual, the real answer is a little more nuanced than Rubio seems capable of understanding or he's the one who's outright lying to Americans about the facts to score political points. As for the 'elites' Rubio [accuses of tricking the American people], is one of the 'elites' who has already received the vaccine." Burris includes tweeted criticisms of Rubio. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Tennessee. Rick Rojas, et al., of the New York Times: "Anthony Warner had a solitary job as an information technology specialist.... He was 63. He was not married. His neighbors barely knew him. He sent an email to one of his clients three weeks ago to say he was retiring. He started shedding possessions: He told his ex-girlfriend that he had cancer and gave her his car. Records show that he signed away his home on the day before Thanksgiving. But he made sure to hold on to ... his R.V., a Thor Motor Coach Chateau that he kept in his back yard. He parked the vehicle around 1:22 a.m. Christmas morning on Second Avenue North in downtown Nashville, in the heart of a district of honky-tonks, restaurants and boot shops that would often be packed but was quiet in the small hours of a holiday morning. The R.V. had been rigged with explosives and a speaker set to play a warning and a song: 'Downtown' by Petula Clark, a hit released in 1964 celebrating the bright lights and bustle of a vibrant city.... Just before dawn, the R.V. exploded, its concussion reverberating for blocks." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede:

New York Times: "Pierre Cardin, the visionary designer and licensing pioneer who invented the business of fashion as it is conducted today, has died in France. He was 98.... He clothed the famous -- artists, political luminaries, tastemakers and members of the haute bourgeoisie -- but he was also a merchant to the masses with an international brand...."

The Commentariat -- December 28, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted an attack on Dr. Anthony Fauci, accusing Fauci of lying about the efficacy of masks & distorting information about herd immunity. "As usual, the real answer is a little more nuanced than Rubio seems capable of understanding or he's the one who's outright lying to Americans about the facts to score political points. As for the 'elites' Rubio [accuses of tricking the American people], is one of the 'elites' who has already received the vaccine." Burris includes tweeted criticisms of Rubio.

Clare Foran, et al., of CNN: "The House of Representatives will vote on Monday on a measure to increase stimulus checks for Americans under a certain income level to $2,000 after President Trump signed a sweeping coronavirus relief bill into law Sunday evening."

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The House is primed to vote Monday evening to reject President Trump's veto of a $741 billion defense authorization bill, setting up the first congressional override of his presidency just days before he exits office. Trump made good on repeated threats to veto the legislation last week, when he sent the bill back to Congress with a laundry list of objections. Among the president's complaints were that it ordered the Pentagon to change the names of military installations commemorating Confederate generals; restricted his ability to pull U.S. troops out of Germany, South Korea and Afghanistan; and did not repeal an unrelated law giving certain liability protections to technology companies. His veto led some of his stalwart supporters, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), to announce that they would not cross the president's veto, even though they had voted for the defense bill. But despite those gestures of solidarity, the president has never had the numbers to sustain a veto, according to congressional officials." The AP has a related story here.

Stupid Crazy People Have Another Stupid Crazy Plan. Justin Rohrlich of the Daily Beast: "A group of Republicans including Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Kelli Ward of Arizona is suing Vice President Mike Pence in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Electoral College is scheduled to certify the win on Jan. 6, a procedural task overseen by the sitting vice president.... In the lawsuit, details of which reporter John Kruzel of The Hill posted on Twitter, Gohmert, Ward, and 10 other plaintiffs such as Students for Trump COO Tyler Bowyer, Arizona Republican Party Executive Director Greg Safsten and Maricopa County Republicans Second Vice Chair Nancy Cottle, are asking federal Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee, to declare Pence legally authorized to pick pro-Trump electors on Jan. 6." Here's Kruzel's story in the Hill.

Tennessee. Rick Rojas, et al., of the New York Times: "Anthony Warner had a solitary job as an information technology specialist.... He was 63. He was not married. His neighbors barely knew him. He sent an email to one of his clients three weeks ago to say he was retiring. He started shedding possessions: He told his ex-girlfriend that he had cancer and gave her his car. Records show that he signed away his home on the day before Thanksgiving. But he made sure to hold on to ... his R.V., a Thor Motor Coach Chateau that he kept in his back yard. He parked the vehicle around 1:22 a.m. Christmas morning on Second Avenue North in downtown Nashville, in the heart of a district of honky-tonks, restaurants and boot shops that would often be packed but was quiet in the small hours of a holiday morning. The R.V. had been rigged with explosives and a speaker set to play a warning and a song: 'Downtown' by Petula Clark, a hit released in 1964 celebrating the bright lights and bustle of a vibrant city.... Just before dawn, the R.V. exploded, its concussion reverberating for blocks."

~~~~~~~~~~

President-elect Joe Biden & Dr. Jill Biden spent Sunday being normal people, going about their lives preparing to move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue & doing ordinary things. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE ~~~

Kate Bennett, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump has signed the massive $2.3 trillion dollar coronavirus relief and government funding bill into law Sunday night, according to multiple sources, averting a government shutdown that was set to begin on Tuesday, and extending billions of dollars in coronavirus aid to millions. Aides had prepared for the President to sign the bill as early as Christmas Eve, when it arrived at Mar-a-Lago for his signature. But the plan was scrapped at the last minute, two sources with knowledge of the circumstances told CNN.... In anticipation of the [planned December 24] signing, the smaller of Mar-a-Lago's two ballrooms was prepped for a 7 p.m. ceremony, complete with a desk and chair for Trump to sit, and his customary pens at the ready, according to the source. However, as the hour approached, aides were informed the President would not be signing the relief bill that evening. One source told CNN that Trump had 'changed his mind.' The country, Congress and many of Trump's closest aides and advisers had remained in the dark as to what he intended to do." ~~~

~~~ Self-described "Dealmaker" Drops Big Bluff without Getting Demanded Concessions. Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "... on Sunday evening after days of being lobbied by allies, Trump decided to sign the bill and not leave office amid a maelstrom of expired benefits and a government shutdown. He said he will insist on reductions in spending in parts of the bill, though Congress does not have to go along. 'I will sign the omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed. I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill,' Trump said on Sunday night. The president also said the Senate would soon begin work on ending legal protections for tech companies, examining voter fraud and boosting the check size for direct payments. The current Congress ends in six days." ~~~

While it's a huge relief that the bill is being signed, Donald Trump's tantrum has created unnecessary hardship and stress for millions of families. -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon ~~~

~~~ Emily Cochrane, et al., of the New York Times: "The enactment ... came after two critical unemployment programs lapsed, guaranteeing a delay in benefits for millions of unemployed Americans.... The delay also jeopardized the time frame for distributing the $600 direct payments to most American adults, which Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, had initially promised could be distributed as early as this week.... Even as he acquiesced to bipartisan pleas to sign the legislation, the president issued a series of demands for congressional action, though lawmakers showed little immediate eagerness to embrace them with just six days left in the session." ~~~

~~~ Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump unexpectedly capitulated Sunday night and signed the stimulus bill into law, releasing $900 billion in emergency relief funds into the economy and averting a Tuesday government shutdown.... Trump signed the bill while vacationing in Florida and on a weekend when he had allowed unemployment benefits for 14 million Americans to expire.... White House officials didn't explain why the president decided to suddenly back down and sign into law a bill he had held up for nearly a week and had referred to as a 'disgrace' just days earlier." MB: The real disgrace is Trump, who is crueler than Scrooge & more self-centered that Scarlett O'Hara. This is an update of a story linked Sunday evening.

Jill Lawrence of USA Today: "It should never be shrugged off when a president flies to his luxury Florida golf club to hit the links after single-handedly upending months of painful negotiations for COVID-19 relief. Marie Antoinette had nothing on Trump.... It should never be shrugged off when a commander in chief offers pardons and clemency to convicted war criminals and white-collar criminals, cronies and allies and crooks with friends in high places.... It should never be shrugged off when the leader of a great nation abandons his people in a pandemic, leaving them to disease and death and turning his brilliant, wealthy country into a global role model for failure.... It should never be shrugged off when an entire political party betrays an entire country. Republicans elected and then kept in office a president they knew from the start was incapable of handling an emergency, protecting the general welfare of his fellow citizens, using his vast powers judiciously and nobly, or simply meeting a bare minimum standard of ethical behavior." ~~~

~~~ Fintan O'Toole of The Irish Times: "It is not just that Trump really was not interested in governing. It is that he was deeply interested in misgovernment. He left important leadership positions in government departments unfilled on a permanent basis, or filled them with scandalously unqualified cronies.... [T]here was a duller but often more meaningful agenda: taking a blowtorch to regulation, especially, but by no means exclusively, in relation to the environment. This right-wing anarchism extended, of course, to global governance.... [T]he replacement of political institutions by personal rule was precisely the point.... In this nexus, the madder the better. Power is proven, not when the sycophants have to obey reasonable commands, but when they have to follow and justify the craziest orders.... Trump's wild swings of position were all about this delight in the command performance of utter obedience.... This is his legacy: he has successfully led a vast number of voters along the path from hatred of government to contempt for rational deliberation to the inevitable endpoint: disdain for the electoral process itself." Read the whole post. --s

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "CNN's Jake Tapper said he won't interview certain pro-Donald Trump people because they've established themselves as liars for the president with 'no value' being aired on TV. Tapper joined Brian Stelter for 2020's final episode of Reliable Sources, which was a look-back on Trump's war with the media throughout his presidency.... Stelter noted that he used to speak with Trump boosters like Kellyanne Conway on the network, but he felt like those conversations grew less valuable and substantial with every interview.... 'Well, there are some people that are so mendacious, I just wouldn't put them on air,' Tapper [said]. 'Kayleigh McEnany, I never booked her. Jason Miller from the Trump campaign, I would never book him. These are just people who tell lies the way that most people breathe. There was no value in that.'"

Pennsylvania. Marie Albiges & Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA: "Since the passage of Act 77, the 2019 law that made sweeping changes to voting in Pennsylvania, at least 21 election directors and deputy directors from more than a dozen of the state's 67 counties have left or will soon leave their posts.... 'Mail-in voting has become like a second election that we have to run, that we never had to run before,' Lycoming County Elections Director Forrest Lehman said. 'It has almost doubled the workload, and you know, nobody's salaries have doubled at the same time.'... Despite these challenges, Election Day went smoothly.... Still, the people tasked with running elections are drained from dealing with regular verbal attacks from angry voters, confused or suspicious of the process this year.... There is no formal training for the high-stakes, complex work of elections administration.... Most directors assume the role after learning from their predecessor, making the departure of so many at once a major loss of institutional knowledge." --s ~~~

~~~ Marc Levy of NBC News Philadelphia: "Republicans who control the [Pennsylvania] state Legislature could use the first weeks of 2021 to fast-track a constitutional amendment that would remake the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court after Republicans and President Donald Trump accused the court of acting illegally or, baselessly, conspiring to steal the election..., stoking fears of an expensive public campaign fueled by dark money for control of the battleground state's highest court. As early as May 18's primary election, Pennsylvania voters could be asked to overhaul how they elect state Supreme Court justices and appellate court judges.... Such a change almost assuredly would cut short the high court's 5-2 Democratic majority that might otherwise last well beyond 2030.... It is a Republican power grab that smacks of payback, some opponents say, and a takeover of one independent branch of government by another." --s

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New Yorker dedicates most of the magazine's issue this week to a long article by Lawrence Wright titled, "The Plague Year." To give you an idea of the length of the essay, the audio of the story runs for more than 3-1/2 hours. It will not, of course, take that long to read unless, like Donald Trump, you must read with your lips moving & your finger pointing to each word of the text.

Lauren Wolfe & Andrea Kannapell of the New York Times: "... a significant number of Americans traveled, and uncounted gatherings took place [over the Christmas holiday], as they will over the New Year holiday. And that, according to ... Anthony S. Fauci, could mean new spikes in cases, on top of the existing surge. 'We very well might see a post-seasonal -- in the sense of Christmas, New Year's -- surge,' Dr. Fauci said on CNN's 'State of the Union.'... U.S. case numbers are about as high as they have ever been. Total infections surpassed 19 million on Saturday, meaning that at least 1 in 17 people have contracted the virus over the course of the pandemic. And the virus has killed more than 332,000 people -- one in every thousand in the country."

** Peter Maass of The Intercept: "As COVID-19 tore through the United States in the spring, a senior official in the Trump administration quietly reinforced a set of guidelines that prevented journalists from getting inside all but a handful of hospitals at the front line of the pandemic.... The onerous guidelines were issued on May 5 by Roger Severino, who worked at the conservative Heritage Foundation before Donald Trump appointed him to direct the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. The guidelines made it extremely difficult for hospitals to give photographers the opportunity to collect visual evidence of the pandemic's severity. By tightening the circulation of disturbing images, the guidelines fulfilled, intentionally or not, a key Trump administration goal: keeping public attention away from the death toll, which has surpassed 300,000 souls.... Severino's guidance, little known outside the health care industry, may help solve one of the mysteries of the pandemic: Why have Americans seen relatively little imagery of people suffering from Covid-19?" --

Kerry Picket of the (right-wing) Washington Examiner: "Now in his waning days as a House member, [Rep. Steve] King [R-IowaCrazy] says he plans to leave Washington. But without any resentment. King's first step is the publication of his book, Walking Through the Fire, the departing lawmaker told the Washington Examiner." ~~~

~~~ No Resentment, Steve? Amber Mohmand of The Des Moines Register: "U.S. Rep. Steve King filed an ethics complaint against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday, objecting to the manner in which he was stripped of all of his House committee assignments last year.... The nine-term congressman from Kiron was removed from the House Judiciary and Agriculture committees shortly after an interview with the New York Times in Jan. 2019, in which he told a reporter, 'White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization -- how did that language become offensive?'" --s

Beyond the Beltway

Nashville. Christina Maxouris, et al., of CNN: "Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake named Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, of Antioch, Tennessee, as a key person in the investigation into the explosion of a recreational vehicle in Nashville early Christmas morning. 'That is a person of interest -- still there could be several more,' Drake said. Authorities believe Warner's remains were found at the blast site, according to several law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the investigation, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs & Giulia Nieto del Rio of the New York Times: "Federal agents said on Saturday that they did not yet know who carried out the Christmas Day explosion that ripped through the city's downtown, mangling storefronts, injuring three people and leaving the city mystified as to the motive. Investigators were tracking down more than 500 leads, working to piece together what happened before an R.V. -- apparently rigged with explosives and parked on a street in the tourist district -- detonated in the early hours of Christmas. The blast devastated the neighborhood, which regularly draws thousands of people each night, and officials said the city was lucky no one was killed. Douglas Korneski, the F.B.I. special agent in charge of the Memphis office, said at a news conference that more than 250 F.B.I. employees were working the case, but that they still had many unanswered questions.... Mr. Korneski and other officials indicated at the news conference that it was still unclear how many people were involved in the crime." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated several times. Newest Lede: (as of 8 pm ET Saturday) "DNA tests conducted on human remains found in the wreckage of the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville match a 63-year-old man who had been identified as a person of interest in the investigation, law enforcement officials said on Sunday. Officials said that the man, identified as Anthony Quinn Warner, died in the explosion."

Way Beyond

** Russia. Ivan Sascha Sheehan of Yahoo!: "In November, Russia gained a slice of somebody else's country.... Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh preceded the annexation.... Two months later came a peace deal, with Russia the winner: It mediated a ceasefire that placed the Kremlin's ostensibly peacekeeping boots on the ground. America watched idly as this happened. As Armenia's traditional protector, Russia held the only leverage to convince Armenia to sign this ceasefire.... In return for securing for its ally a marginally smaller humiliation, Moscow gained a present and a presence. In reality -- unless America is prepared to engage fully in the peace process -- Nagorno-Karabakh is now Russia's indefinitely. The Kremlin ostensibly controls the territory for five years, with an automatic rollover for an additional five should none of the three parties to the ceasefire object six months before the end of the mandate." --s

The Commentariat -- December 27, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Christina Maxouris, et al., of CNN: "Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake named Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, of Antioch, Tennessee, as a key person in the investigation into the explosion of a recreational vehicle in Nashville early Christmas morning. 'That is a person of interest -- still there could be several more,' Drake said. Authorities believe Warner's remains were found at the blast site, according to several law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the investigation, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity."

     ~~~ Marie: In a news conference held at 5 pm ET, authorities confirmed that they had been able to match DNA samples from Warner's home to DNA in tissue found at the scene.

~~~ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs & Giulia Nieto del Rio of the New York Times: "Federal agents said on Saturday that they did not yet know who carried out the Christmas Day explosion that ripped through the city's downtown, mangling storefronts, injuring three people and leaving the city mystified as to the motive. Investigators were tracking down more than 500 leads, working to piece together what happened before an R.V. -- apparently rigged with explosives and parked on a street in the tourist district -- detonated in the early hours of Christmas. The blast devastated the neighborhood, which regularly draws thousands of people each night, and officials said the city was lucky no one was killed. Douglas Korneski, the F.B.I. special agent in charge of the Memphis office, said at a news conference that more than 250 F.B.I. employees were working the case, but that they still had many unanswered questions.... Mr. Korneski and other officials indicated at the news conference that it was still unclear how many people were involved in the crime." ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated with a new byline & new lede: "Preliminary tests conducted on human remains found in the wreckage of the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville match a 63-year-old man who had been identified as a person of interest in the investigation, according to a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation."

~~~~~~~~~~

A Slow Gnus Day

Evan Semones of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday took ... Donald Trump to task over his refusal so far to sign a coronavirus stimulus package with unemployment benefits for millions set to expire and government funding in limbo. In a statement, Biden slammed Trump for holding up the roughly $900 billion in aid for Americans suffering from economic damage caused by the pandemic, calling the delay an 'abdication of responsibility' on the president's part. 'It is the day after Christmas, and millions of families don't know if they'll be able to make ends meet because of President Donald Trump's refusal to sign an economic relief bill approved by Congress with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority,' Biden said. 'This bill is critical. It needs to be signed into law now.'" ~~~

~~~ Alexandra Olson & Jill Colvin of the AP: "Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet lapsed overnight as ... Donald Trump refused to signed an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections. The fate of the bipartisan package remained in limbo Sunday as Trump continued to demand larger COVID relief checks and complained about 'pork' spending. Without the widespread funding provided by the massive measure, a government shutdown would occur when money runs out at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday."

~~~ Peter Wade of Rolling Stone: "Trump's attempt to upend the bipartisan compromise by leadership in the House and Senate, insisting on $2,000 stimulus checks instead of the current $600 in the bill, is as fraudulent as his rigged election claims. It's important to remember that although Trump is now saying, 'Give our people the money!' his administration was involved in the negotiations, and it's his party that is insisting on keeping payments to Americans low."

David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "... the United States will be in the danger zone until the formal certification of Joe Biden's election victory on Jan. 6, because potential domestic and foreign turmoil could give President Trump an excuse to cling to power. This threat, while unlikely to materialize, is concerning senior officials, including Republicans who have supported Trump in the past but believe he is now threatening to overstep the constitutional limits on his power. They described a multifaceted campaign by die-hard Trump supporters to use disruptions at home and perhaps threats abroad to advance his interests." Ignatius goes on to describe a number of possible scenarios Trump might be planning. MB: They sound far-fetched. But it's Trump. Besides, I don't see January 6 as the fail-safe day. Until Trump is actually out the door (whether of his own volition or in a manner depicted in the video in the upper-right column), he remains a clear & present danger.

Zachary Petrizzo of Mediaite: "Roger Stone said he plans to file a lawsuit against the Department of Justice and former Attorney General William Barr, following his presidential pardon from ... Donald Trump. The longtime informal adviser to Trump listed a number of figures he said would be targets of his suit in a post on Parler. The terms of my pardon allow me to sue the Department of Justice, Robert Mueller, James Comey, John Brennan, Rod Rosenstein, Josnathan Kravis (sic), Aaron "Fat Ass" Zelinsky, Jeanie Rhee (sic), and Michael Morando," Stone said on the social media platform Thursday."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

Nicole Winfield & Vanessa Gera of the AP: "Doctors, nurses and the elderly rolled up their sleeves across the European Union to receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine Sunday in a symbolic show of unity and moment of hope for a continent confronting its worse health care crisis in a century. Even though a few countries started giving doses a day early, the coordinated rollout for the 27-nation bloc was aimed at projecting a unified message that the vaccine was safe and Europe's best chance to emerge from the pandemic and the economic devastation caused by months of lockdown. For health care workers who have been battling the virus with only masks and shields to protect themselves, the vaccines represented an emotional relief as well as a public chance to urge Europe's 450 million people to get the shots for their own health and that of others."

Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "The highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus first detected in England had by Saturday been documented in several European countries, as well as Canada, Japan, Australia and Lebanon, despite efforts to curb its spread through massive global disruptions in travel and movement.... Scientists do not think the British variant is more deadly or resistant to the current coronavirus vaccines. The variant has also been detected in France, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy."

Beyond the Beltway

Tennessee. Kimberlee Kruesi, et al., of the AP: "Federal agents converged Saturday on the home of a possible person of interest in the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville as investigators scoured hundreds of tips and leads in the blast that damaged dozens of buildings on Christmas morning. More than 24 hours after the explosion, a motive remained elusive as investigators worked round-the-clock to resolve unanswered questions about a recreational vehicle that blew up on a mostly deserted street on a sleepy holiday morning and was prefaced by a recorded warning advising those nearby to evacuate. The attack, which damaged an AT&T building, continued to wreak havoc Saturday on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states."