The Conversation -- January 18, 2025

Erica Green & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: “President Biden announced on Friday that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses, the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president. The commutations are for offenders who received harsher sentences for drug crimes than they would under current practices, a move aimed at reversing longstanding criminal justice disparities, Mr. Biden said. Those disparities disproportionately affected Black people and fueled mass incarceration, many experts say.... Mr. Biden said his latest commutations would help those who received sentences based on now-discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, or faced inflated charges for drug crimes. Mr. Biden said in his statement that he was following the lead of Congress, which over the past two decades has passed legislation to remedy decades-long disparities spurred by tough-on-crime laws, such as mandatory minimum sentences.” An NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement, via the White House, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: “President Biden declared on Friday that he believes that the Equal Rights Amendment has met the requirements of ratification and therefore is now part of the Constitution, but he declined to order the government to finalize the process by officially publishing it. 'In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,' Mr. Biden said in a statement. Under the Constitution, however, the president has no direct role in approving amendments and his statement has no legal force by itself. The archivist of the United States, a Biden appointee, has refused to formally publish the amendment on the grounds that it has not met the requirements to become part of the Constitution.... Even so, advocates maintained that Mr. Biden’s imprimatur gave the amendment additional credibility for any future court battle over whether it actually had the force of law. In effect, Mr. Biden and his allies are daring opponents to go to court to argue that women do not have equal rights.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One thing is certain: under a Trump administration, or any time such as now when the government is controlled by Republicans, women do not have equal rights. The underlying rule, as expressed by many a MAGA dude is, "your body, my choice."

Annie Karni & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: relate how Chuck Schumer finally got around to urging President Biden not to run for re-election. “The roughly 45-minute conversation, which took place on [] July 13, 2024, on] a screened-in porch overlooking a pond, was more pointed and emotional than previously known, and helps to explain how Mr. Biden came to the decision just over a week later to end his campaign.It is a central piece of the untold story of how Mr. Schumer and congressional Democrats, who spent years batting away suggestions that Mr. Biden was too old and mentally frail to be president, ultimately led the effort to pressure him to step aside.” Read on. As we all know, it was too little, too late. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Marie: Now I'm having a genuine sad: ~~~

     ~~~ John Santucci & Katherine Faulders of ABC News: "... Donald Trump said he is moving his inauguration indoors Monday due to the freezing weather expected in Washington, D.C. Trump said he'll be sworn in and deliver his inauguration address inside the Capitol Rotunda.... 'We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade, Trump [said]. 'I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In.' Due to this change, the 'vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person,' according to the Joint Inaugural Committee. 'Those with tickets for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person.'" MB: Sadly, the Capital One Arena is an indoor facility, too. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wait, they're having a parade inside the arena? Weird. Here's a list of the groups slated to march around in circles. ~~~

     ~~~ Trumpity-Doo-Dah. The New York Times has live updates of Trump stuff here. The updates include entries about the inauguration. 

⭐Marie: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks suggest he either (a) doesn't give a flying fig about what happens to the country & the world or (b) is aware of his own mortality. If (b), then the plan appears to be that if he must go, he will take millions of people to death with him. Some of those who perish will be the Congressional Republicans who rubber-stamped his plans. ~~~

~~~ Christina Jewett of the New York Times: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr...., Donald J. Trump’s choice to lead the nation’s health agencies, formally asked the Food and Drug Administration to revoke the authorization of all Covid vaccines during a deadly phase of the pandemic when thousands of Americans were still dying every week. Mr. Kennedy filed a petition with the F.D.A. in May 2021 demanding that officials rescind authorization for the shots and refrain from approving any Covid vaccine in the future. Just six months earlier, Mr. Trump had declared the Covid vaccines a miracle.... Estimates had begun to show that the rapid rollout of Covid vaccines had already saved about 140,000 lives in the United States. The petition was filed on behalf of the nonprofit that Mr. Kennedy founded and led, Children’s Health Defense. It claimed that the risks of the vaccines outweighed the benefits and that the vaccines weren’t necessary because good treatments were available, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, which had already been deemed ineffective against the virus.” ~~~

~~~ William Broad of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump has picked Brandon Williams, a former Navy officer and one-term congressman, to become the keeper of the nation’s arsenal of thousands of nuclear bombs and warheads. Mr. Trump’s selection is a shift from a tradition in which the people who served as administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration typically had deep technical roots or experience in the nation’s atomic complex. What’s unknown publicly is the extent of Mr. Williams’ experience in the knotty intricacies of how the weapons work and how they are kept reliable for decades without ever being ignited. Terry C. Wallace Jr., a former director of the Los Alamos weapons laboratory in New Mexico, expressed surprise at Mr. Trump’s pick. Dr. Wallace ... characterized [Mr. Williams] as having 'very limited experience' with the N.N.S.A.’s missions.... The credentials and credibility of whoever becomes N.N.S.A.’s new leader may face close scrutiny because advisers to Mr. Trump have suggested that the incoming administration may propose a restart to the nation’s explosive testing of nuclear arms. That step, daunting both technically and politically, would end U.S. adherence to a global test ban....”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: “The incoming Trump administration intends to carry out 'post-inauguration' immigration raids in Chicago next week, according to two people familiar with the planning and correspondence reviewed by The New York Times, an opening step in ... Donald J. Trump’s goal to oversee the largest deportation operation in American history. The plan ... would start on Tuesday, the day after Mr. Trump is inaugurated, and last until the following Monday.... The dates were still being finalized, however, and could change.”

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court ruled against TikTok on Friday, rejecting the social media company’s First Amendment challenge to the law that effectively bans it in the United States starting on Sunday. The unanimous decision may deal a death blow to the U.S. operations of the wildly popular app, which serves up short-form videos that are a leading source of information and entertainment to tens of millions of Americans, especially younger ones.... The Biden administration has said that given the timing, it would fall to the incoming administration to enforce the law.... Donald J. Trump, who has signaled his support for the app, had explored the possibility of an executive order that could allow TikTok to keep operating despite the pending ban. It is unclear whether the tactic would withstand legal challenges or even how such an order would work.” This is a liveblog. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, don't worry, kids. Pam Bondi, Trump's choice for AG, who is most likely to be confirmed, would not say in her confirmation hearing yesterday whether or not she would enforce a TikTok ban. And as we know, the Supremes do not have their own enforcement arm. ~~~

~~~ Update. As the Clock TikToks. David McCabe of the New York Times: “Tiktok ... said in a statement [late Friday] that 'unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19' unless the Biden administration assures Apple, Google and other companies that they would not be punished for delivering TikTok’s services in the United States. The statement was TikTok’s latest attempt to pressure the administration to grant it a reprieve from a law, upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday, that would effectively ban its service starting Sunday. The law says that app stores and major cloud computing providers cannot deliver TikTok to U.S. consumers unless the company is sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to a non-Chinese owner.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel's Wars. The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Israel's wars are here: “Israel’s cease-fire agreement with Hamas will go into effect on Sunday, according to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry and the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. A ministry spokesman said the truce would begin at 8:30 a.m. local time.... The Israeli security cabinet approved the deal on Friday morning, two days after it was announced, and the full cabinet followed with final approval during a meeting that continued into the Jewish Sabbath. Israeli civilians will have a short window to file objections, but the courts are widely expected to allow the agreement to go forward.... The Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency service organization, said Friday that Israeli strikes had killed more than 100 people since the cease-fire deal was announced, a figure that could not be independently verified.” ~~~

~~~ Patrick Kingsley, et al., of the New York Times: “The truce that was ultimately announced ... hours after Israel’s [latest] demand, was little different to versions promoted for most of the past year by mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the Biden administration, whose representatives met frequently with the warring parties in Cairo, Doha and several European capitals throughout 2024.What pushed the deal over the line this past week was the unlikely partnership between the envoys of America’s current and future presidents, working in tandem with the Qatari prime minister in marathon late-night meetings. While Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump have competed for credit, the reality is that their representatives were both crucial to the final push, each using different approaches to push the Israeli leadership toward a deal while [the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani,] focused on Hamas.... The delegations, which do not speak directly to each other, sat in different rooms on different floors, with Qatari and Egyptian officials passing messages between the two sides.”

The Conversation -- January 17, 2025

Marie: Now I'm having a genuine sad: ~~~

     ~~~ John Santucci & Katherine Faulders of ABC News: "... Donald Trump said he is moving his inauguration indoors Monday due to the freezing weather expected in Washington, D.C. Trump said he'll be sworn in and deliver his inauguration address inside the Capitol Rotunda.... 'We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade, Trump [said]. 'I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In.' Due to this change, the 'vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person,' according to the Joint Inaugural Committee. 'Those with tickets for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person.'" MB: Sadly, the Capital One Arena is an indoor facility, too. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wait, they're having a parade inside the arena? Weird. Here's a list of the groups slated to march around in a circle.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court ruled against TikTok on Friday, rejecting the social media company’s First Amendment challenge to the law that effectively bans it in the United States starting on Sunday. The unanimous decision may deal a death blow to the U.S. operations of the wildly popular app, which serves up short-form videos that are a leading source of information and entertainment to tens of millions of Americans, especially younger ones.... The Biden administration has said that given the timing, it would fall to the incoming administration to enforce the law.... Donald J. Trump, who has signaled his support for the app, had explored the possibility of an executive order that could allow TikTok to keep operating despite the pending ban. It is unclear whether the tactic would withstand legal challenges or even how such an order would work.” This is a liveblog. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, don't worry, kids. Pam Bondi, Trump's choice for AG, who is most likely to be confirmed, would not say in her confirmation hearing yesterday whether or not she would enforce a TikTok ban. And as we know, the Supremes do not have their own enforcement arm.

Erica Green & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: “President Biden announced on Friday that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses, the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president. The commutations are for offenders who received harsher sentences for drug crimes than they would under current practices, a move aimed at reversing longstanding criminal justice disparities, Mr. Biden said. Those disparities disproportionately affected Black people and fueled mass incarceration, many experts say.... Mr. Biden said his latest commutations would help those who received sentences based on now-discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, or faced inflated charges for drug crimes. Mr. Biden said in his statement that he was following the lead of Congress, which over the past two decades has passed legislation to remedy decades-long disparities spurred by tough-on-crime laws, such as mandatory minimum sentences.” An NBC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement, via the White House, is here.

Annie Karni & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: relate how Chuck Schumer finally got around to urging President Biden not to run for re-election. “The roughly 45-minute conversation, which took place on [] July 13, 2024, on] a screened-in porch overlooking a pond, was more pointed and emotional than previously known, and helps to explain how Mr. Biden came to the decision just over a week later to end his campaign.It is a central piece of the untold story of how Mr. Schumer and congressional Democrats, who spent years batting away suggestions that Mr. Biden was too old and mentally frail to be president, ultimately led the effort to pressure him to step aside.” Read on. As we all know, it was too little, too late.

~~~~~~~~~~

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: “President Joe Biden is ending his time in office as he began, with a burst of executive actions meant to differentiate him from the man who preceded him and will succeed him: ... Donald Trump. Biden’s actions have been far-reaching, touching nearly every area of government, and are likely to continue up until his final hours in office, according to administration officials.... When Biden convened his Cabinet in September, he urged department heads to take actions that would burnish his legacy, while preventing a potential future Trump administration from chipping away at it. 'This Cabinet meeting comes at a time when we have four months left in the administration,' he said that day. 'And we’re going to keep running through the tape, because the vice president and I are determined to keep making sure that the democracy delivers what the American people are asking for and what we provided.'”

~~~ Trump Wants to Look Like a Movie Villain. He Succeeds. Rachel Raposas of People: "Donald Trump's new official White House portrait bears a striking resemblance to his historic mug shot taken in August 2023. The president-elect's transition team shared the inaugural portrait for his second term on Thursday, Jan. 16, ahead of his swearing-in ceremony on Monday."

Marie: It's 10 degrees here as I write this, but here's the sort of forecast I was hoping for: ~~~

     ~~~ Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: “Before the coldest air of the season arrives on Inauguration Day, a fresh coating of snow is possible in the D.C. area. A storm system may develop along the Arctic cold front that will pass through the area Sunday.... Then, the coldest air of the season will barge into the area, resulting in the coldest Inauguration Day since President Ronald Reagan’s in 1985.” MB: May the billionaires freeze their asses off.

⭐Implementing the Oligarchy, Ctd. Bessent: Tax Cuts for the Rich Are Our Number One Priority. Jennifer Bahney of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump's pick for Treasury chief, billionaire Scott Bessent, received blowback on social media after claiming that Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy would prevent 'economic calamity.'... 'This is the single most important economic issue of the day — this is pass/fail,' Bessent said. 'If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity and, as always with financial instability, that falls on the middle and working-class people.'" ~~~

     ~~~ BUT. Taylor Giorno of the Hill: “Scott Bessent ... said Thursday that he would not support raising the minimum wage. Bessent, if confirmed, would not have the authority to raise wages, which would require an act of Congress. But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who introduced a bill in the 117th Congress to raise the minimum wage to $15, asked Bessent, a hedge fund manager, to work with him and other lawmakers who want to implement a 'living wage.' 'I believe that the minimum wage is more of a statewide and regional issue,' Bessent said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. 'So you don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour?' Sanders asked. 'No, sir,' Bessent responded.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: These people see nothing wrong with letting the peasants starve while billionaires skate. Pitchforks required.

~~~ New York Times: “Senate confirmation hearings for the Trump cabinet have resumed. They include Doug Burgum for interior secretary, Scott Turner for housing secretary, Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, and Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary. Mr. Bessent, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee, called for extending the expiring 2017 tax cuts and for tougher sanctions on Russia.” This is a liveblog. (Also linked yesterday.)

Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times: “As Mr. Trump’s pick for ambassador to Denmark, [tech investor Ken] Howery is expected to be central to what Mr. Trump hopes will be a real-estate deal of epic proportions. The only hitch is that Denmark, which counts Greenland as its autonomous territory, says the island is not for sale.... Mr. Trump has been explicit about his expectations for his new ambassador filling a once-sleepy post. When he announced Mr. Howery for the role, which requires Senate confirmation, he reiterated his designs on Greenland for the first time since winning the presidency.”

Andrew Solender of Axios: "House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is staring down surprise and frustration from lawmakers in both parties for removing Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as chair of the House Intelligence Committee....The ouster of Turner, a staunch foreign policy hawk and defender of the intelligence community, was a blow to the large bipartisan bloc of national security-minded lawmakers in Congress. Turner's replacement is Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who is closer to MAGA world on issues like Ukraine, Axios' Hans Nichols reported." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Former Rep. Dave Jolly (R-Fla.) has a theory for why Trump wanted Turner removed from the Intel Committee (Johnson removed Turner from not just the chair but also the entire committee). The chair of the House Intel Committee is a member of the Gang of Eight, who are briefed on high-level intelligence matters. Jolly said on MSNBC yesterday that Turner probably knew more than Jack Smith did about Trump's little coup plot. Jolly's theory, which makes a lot of sense to me, is that Trump doesn't want someone like Turner, whom he deems insufficiently loyal to him, to be privy to any of Trump's future extra-Constitutional antics.

Earlier this week, PBS found out what Americans think of Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Bobby Kennedy, Jr. & Elon Musk. As Ken W. noted, they do seem to like Bobby Junior the most. MB: In fairness to these opinionated Americans, I would posit that a substantial percentage who have expressed their favorable opinion of Junior think he is RFK Sr. One way or another, these people are not very bright. (Also linked yesterday.)

Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: “The seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket failed on Thursday as the vehicle’s upper stage experienced a catastrophic malfunction as it headed upward to space. SpaceX was able to achieve some success by repeating the feat of catching the gargantuan Super Heavy booster back at the launchpad.... Videos posted on the social media site X appeared to show debris raining down from the sky over the Caribbean, likely parts of a disintegrated rocket. In his own post on X, Mr. Musk shared video footage of the debris and wrote 'Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!'” MB: Falling rocket shards that could kill are so entertaining, Elon.

Stefanos Chen & Sean Piccoli of the New York Times: “Rudolph W. Giuliani has reached a settlement with two Georgia election workers who he repeatedly, and falsely, claimed had helped to steal the 2020 election. The former mayor of New York was at risk of losing millions of dollars worth of personal mementos, valuables and real estate that he had gathered over his decades practicing law and then in public office. He had previously been ordered to pay down some $11 million of a $148 million judgment he owed the election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, who he claimed had manipulated ballots. The full details of the settlement have yet to be released, but a letter signed by both sides in the case said that, once certain conditions were met, it would result 'in the conclusion of all litigation.' Mr. Giuliani declared victory and said he was going to hang onto all of a treasure trove of items that included a 10-room apartment on the Upper East Side, a vintage Mercedes-Benz convertible and a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey.” A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This seriously saddens me, because I really wanted to see those two women tooling around Georgia in Rudy's old Mercedes convertible. With the top down, of course.

Know Thy Neighbors. The New York Times has a detailed map of how voters voted in the 2024 presidential election, and how that compared to the vote in the 2020 election. MB: I'm happy to say that where I live, Kamala Harris beat Trump by 27 points & only a little less than the percentage by which Biden beat Trump in 2020. Thanks to laura h. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Florida. Matt Dixon of NBC News: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, setting her up to fill the seat of Sen. Marco Rubio, whom ... Donald Trump tapped to be secretary of state.... he will have to run in a 2026 special election to keep the seat for the final two years of Rubio's term.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

New York. Mayor Adams Does the Mar-a-Lardo Knee-Bend. Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: “Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, his re-election chances in doubt and a federal indictment looming over him, flew to Florida on Thursday to meet with ... Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago just four days before the inauguration. The mayor, a Democrat, made the trip with no advance announcement. His aides said only that the two men would discuss 'New Yorkers’ priorities' when they meet on Friday. Mr. Adams joins a diverse roster of leaders from around the world who’ve made the trip to Mar-a-Lago since the election, and he is not the first Democrat. John Fetterman, the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, met with Mr. Trump last week. Other recent visitors have included Viktor Orban, the authoritarian prime minister of Hungary, and Justin Trudeau, the liberal prime minister of Canada, who is leaving office soon. The mayor requested the meeting, according to two people with knowledge of the trip. The city is funding the trip because it has a 'city purpose,' the mayor’s spokeswoman said.” Politico's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Canada. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: “A couple in Canada were [was!] returning home from walking their dogs some months ago when they found a burst of dusty debris on their walkway. They turned to their security-camera footage for answers and found it showed a mysterious puff of smoke appearing on the tidy walkway where the mystery splotch was. The source of the splotch was officially registered on Monday as the Charlottetown meteorite, named after the city on Prince Edward Island, in eastern Canada, where it landed.... 'To the best of my knowledge, it’s the first time that a meteorite hitting the surface of the Earth has been recorded on video with sound,' said Dr. [Chris] Herd [of the University of Alberta], who identified the space rock after the couple sent the video to the University of Alberta’s meteorite reporting system.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah, or maybe it was some of Elon's entertaining SpaceX debris.

Israel's Wars. The New York Times' liveblog of developments Friday in Israel's wars is here: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a meeting of Israel’s political security cabinet on Friday to vote on the Gaza cease-fire deal after Israeli and Hamas negotiators worked out their remaining differences.” ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here.

The Conversation -- January 16, 2025

New York Times: “Senate confirmation hearings for the Trump cabinet have resumed. They include Doug Burgum for interior secretary, Scott Turner for housing secretary, Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, and Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary. Mr. Bessent, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee, called for extending the expiring 2017 tax cuts and for tougher sanctions on Russia.” This is a liveblog.

Matt Dixon of NBC News: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, setting her up to fill the seat of Sen. Marco Rubio, whom ... Donald Trump tapped to be secretary of state.... he will have to run in a 2026 special election to keep the seat for the final two years of Rubio's term.”

Know Thy Neighbors. The New York Times has a detailed map of how voters voted in the 2024 presidential election, and how that compared to the vote in the 2020 election. MB: I'm happy to say that where I live, Kamala Harris beat Trump by 27 points & only a little less than the percentage by which Biden beat Trump in 2020. Thanks to laura h. for the link.

Yesterday, PBS found out what Americans think of Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Bobby Kennedy, Jr. & Elon Musk. As Ken W. noted, they do seem to like Bobby Junior the most. MB: In fairness to these opinionated Americans, I would posit that a substantial percentage who have expressed their favorable opinion of Junior think he is RFK Sr. One way or another, these people are not very bright.

Marie: I'm not sure, but it looks like RAS is wondering why Republicans are so opposed to what they like to call "DEI hires" when they're so enthusiastic about a DUI hire.

Unwashed's favorite local bartender has some new house rules.

~~~~~~~~~~

Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.... The powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we’ve taken to tackle the climate crisis, to serve their own interest for power and profit. We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must keep pushing forward and push faster. -- President Biden, farewell address to the nation, Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: “President Biden on Wednesday warned that an 'oligarchy' of the ultrawealthy was emerging in America, sounding the alarm about unchecked power as he gave a farewell speech to the nation just days before he surrenders office to a man he disdains. In an address from the Oval Office, Mr. Biden expressed concern about the 'dangerous concentration of power' and issued a plea for the preservation of democratic ideals and institutions under the administration of ... Donald J. Trump.... Mr. Biden’s warning of an unelected oligarchy taking shape echoed a similar one by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who spoke about the military-industrial complex in his farewell address. The Biden version  referred to the 'tech-industrial complex,' in which he warned of the erosion of truth itself, brought forth by unchecked social media platforms — a reference to Meta doing away with fact-checkers this week — and artificial intelligence. 'Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power,' Mr. Biden said.” (This is an update of a story also linked yesterday.) Politico's report is here. NPR's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The transcript of President Biden's address is here, via the New York Times. MB: I'll look for a copy from a "free" site later; couldn't find one early this morning.

Today's New York Times liveblog of developments in Israel's wars is here. ~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: “The long-sought, tortuously negotiated Gaza cease-fire deal announced on Wednesday came about in part through a remarkable collaboration between President Biden and ... Donald J. Trump, who temporarily put aside mutual animosity to achieve a mutual goal. The two presidents directed their advisers to work together to push Israel and Hamas over the finish line for an agreement to halt the fighting that has ravaged Gaza and release hostages who have been held there for 15 months. The deal is set to start on Sunday, the day before Mr. Biden turns over the White House to Mr. Trump.... The dramatic development, just five days before the transfer of power in the United States, cut against the natural grain in Washington, where presidents of opposing parties rarely work in tandem during a transition, even in the face of a major crisis.

“But the political planets quickly returned to their normal orbits as both sides argued over who deserved credit for resolving the standoff.While Mr. Biden waited for official word to come from the region, Mr. Trump got the jump on him by disclosing the deal himself in an all-caps social media post. 'This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November,' he added soon afterward. By the time Mr. Biden appeared before cameras at the White House later in the afternoon, he was more gracious, noting that the two teams spoke with one voice. But he bristled when asked who merited credit, he or Mr. Trump. 'Is that a joke?' he asked.” Read on. CNN's report is here. ~~~

~~~President Biden delivered remarks Wednesday afternoon about the Gaza peace agreement:

~~~ ⭐New York Times: “Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza after more than 15 months of devastating war, officials said on Wednesday. The agreement needs to be formally ratified by the Israeli cabinet, two senior Israeli officials said. In the run-up to the deal, officials said there was last-minute wrangling over the Egypt-Gaza border, which Israeli forces currently control. The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement that a number of clauses in the agreement still remained unresolved, but that it was hoped that they would be worked out on Wednesday night. The cease-fire would take effect immediately, according to a White House official. Its first phase will last six weeks, and hostages will start being released during that phase, though it was not clear when that could begin.” This is a liveblog. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Aaron Boxerman: “The current outline of a cease-fire deal in Gaza is broadly similar to a three-phase framework publicized by President Biden in late May, according to several officials familiar with the talks. Negotiators have yet to confirm the start date and other technical issues, officials said, and the agreement could still be derailed.”

Maggie Haberman: “... Donald J. Trump got ahead of the the Biden White House announcement about a cease-fire deal. 'WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!' he wrote. But Trump’s win in the election and coming return to Washington, as well as his team’s work, was according to multiple people a factor in the deal getting done.” ~~~

~~~ Empty Threats → Horrors. Brett Murphy of ProPublica: “Early reports suggest the deal [reached Wednesday] looks similar to what has been on the table for months, raising the possibility that if the Biden administration had followed through on its tough words, a deal could have been reached earlier, saving lives.... Time and again, Israel crossed the Biden administration’s red lines without changing course in a meaningful way.... Authorities in and outside government said the acquiescence to Israel as it prosecuted a brutal war will likely be regarded as one the most consequential foreign policy decisions of the Biden presidency. They say it undermines America’s ability to influence events in the Middle East while 'destroying the entire edifice of international law that was put into place after WWII,' as Omer Bartov, a renowned Israeli-American scholar of genocide, put it.” This is quite a long article. MB: The bits of it I read seemed fair to me, but a more expert & thorough analysis than mine would be helpful.

Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: “President Joe Biden’s administration is considering ways to keep TikTok available in the United States if a ban that’s scheduled to go into effect Sunday proceeds, according to three people familiar with the discussions.... If the administration moves forward with any such plan, it would mean the popular app’s going down would not define his last full day in office, and it would defer the issue to Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated Monday. Mike Waltz, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, told Fox News on Wednesday that Trump is ready to intervene to preserve access to the Chinese-owned video app in the American marketplace. And Pam Bondi, his pick for attorney general, refused to commit to enforcing the ban when she was asked about it at her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. The moves represent parallel efforts by the rival presidents to execute an end-run around Congress and the Supreme Court, which is teed up to rule on the ban at any time. Still, a White House official insisted that not enforcing the ban, if it is upheld, is not an option.” ~~~

I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok. -- Donald Trump, last month ~~~

(I would have said Trump has no heart, much less a warm spot in it, metaphorically speaking, of course. -- Marie) ~~~

~~~ AND/BUT. Drew Harwell & Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump is considering an executive order once in office that would suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban-or-sale law for 60 to 90 days, buying the administration time to negotiate a sale or alternative solution — a legally questionable effort to win a brief reprieve for the Chinese-owned app now scheduled to be banned on Sunday nationwide.... Trump has expressed a keen interest in being seen as rescuing a platform on which he’s been told he’s widely admired, leading political aides and business allies to scramble for options that would allow him to deliver on his campaign promise to 'save TikTok,' as he has said repeatedly on his more than 14 million-follower TikTok account.” More on TikTok linked below.

Trump Can Dance! Watch Him Do the Walkback Shuffle. Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: “Donald Trump made lots of big promises on the campaign trail.... But in the weeks since he won the election, Trump and his transition team have been quietly walking back some of his most significant commitments — a reflection of how unrealistic they were to begin with.... Trump repeatedly bragged that he was uniquely positioned to resolve Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In March 2023, he said he could 'fix' the war before he was even inaugurated. 'I would fix that within 24 hours, and if I win, before I get into the office, I will have that war settled,' the president-elect said in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity. '100% sure.'... In another vow that was central to his campaign, Trump said he would magically halt inflation and bring down the costs of everyone’s groceries.... But shortly after the election, Trump was already moving the goal posts, conceding it would be impossible for him to single-handedly lower the costs of consumer goods.... Vice President-elect JD Vance is lowering expectations for Trump’s repeated but vague plans to release his supporters from prison who were convicted for their roles in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021....”

Whaddaya Mean, Oligarchy and “Tech-Industrial Complex”?? Steve Overly of Politico: “Google CEO Sundar Pichai will join the growing list of tech executives sitting on the dais as ... Donald Trump is sworn into office on Monday, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans who was not authorized to speak publicly.Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close confidant of the incoming president, is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony, along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook, according to media reports.” ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Sapna Maheshwari of the New York Times: “The chief executive of TikTok plans to attend ... Donald J. Trump’s inauguration and has been invited to sit in a position of honor on the dais, where former presidents, family members and other important guests traditionally are seated, two people familiar with the plans said Wednesday. The invitation to the executive, Shou Chew, went out from the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss Monday’s inauguration. Mr. Chew will join tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at the event; Jeff Bezos has also been invited. Mr. Trump’s support for TikTok ​marks ​a stunning reversal from 2020, when he tried during his first term to block the app in the United States and force its sale to American companies.... Mr. Trump publicly ​c​hanged his stance on TikTok last year, soon after he met with Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor who owns a significant share of ByteDance[, TikTok's owner] .... ​The Supreme Court is set to rule ... in the coming days [on a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it doesn't sell to a non-Chinese company].” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's just remarkable. On the day President Biden warns of a tech-industrial oligarchy, we learn that Trump has invited another tech oligarch to his inauguration, and yet another tech oligarch, the second one only because yet another oligarch persuaded/bribed Trump to reverse his position on what he and Congress considered to be a potential national security danger. Update: It's not about the money; it's about the warm spot in Trump's heart.

Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “Pam Bondi..., Donald J. Trump’s pick for attorney general, refused to explicitly say that she would defy Mr. Trump’s pressure during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, but she offered a blanket promise that 'politics will not play a part' in deciding who to investigate.... But the daylong hearing had its contentious moments as Democrats repeatedly accused her of dodging basic yes-or-no questions about election denialism, the potential prosecution of Mr. Trump’s political enemies — and how she would deal with attempts by Mr. Trump to influence the department’s actions. 'Politics has to be taken out of this system,' said Ms. Bondi, who repeatedly circled back to her argument that the Justice Department had been misused and misdirected under the Biden administration. 'This department has been weaponized for years and years and years, and it has to stop.'” An AP report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Bondi, paraphrased: “I'm totally impartial. Jack Smith is 'horrible.' Also not gonna enforce Supreme Court order.” Marie: These people can't hear themselves. ~~~

~~~ The New York Times liveblogged the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing of Pam Bondi, whom Donald Trump named as his second choice for attorney general after his first nominee Matt Gaetz flamed out. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: “Oil executive Chris Wright..., Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Energy Department, has argued that climate change has not fueled more frequent and severe wildfires — a claim at odds with the scientific consensus. Wright’s arguments drew scrutiny from Senate Democrats during his confirmation hearing Wednesday, as deadly wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 25 people.... Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) slammed Wright’s comment [that] 'hype' [over 2023 Canadian wildfires was used to justify 'harmful' climate policies] in a tense exchange during the confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.... Yet Republicans, who have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, remain confident they can confirm Wright to helm the Energy Department, which oversees the nation’s energy policy but not wildfire response efforts.” MB: Okay, so not Wright's problem, right? The Guardian's report is here.

Trump's Loyal House Pet Rolls Over Again. Karoon Demirjian & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: “Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday removed Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio from the helm of the House Intelligence Committee, in a shake-up that signaled he intends to align the pivotal national security panel more closely with ... Donald J. Trump. Mr. Turner, who emerged from a meeting with the speaker on Wednesday afternoon looking furious, has told people that Mr. Johnson informed him his ouster was the result of a request from Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with those conversations.... In jettisoning a Republican seen as insufficiently loyal to Mr. Trump, Mr. Johnson appeared to be paving the way for the president-elect to have tighter control over the committee that oversees intelligence matters. Mr. Turner, a mainstream conservative who has represented southwestern Ohio in the House for more than two decades, has at times been critical of Mr. Trump’s actions. He broke with the majority of his party on Jan. 6, 2021, and voted to certify Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s 2020 election. He has also been a leading proponent of supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, breaking with the 'America First' stance of the president-elect and many others in his party.” Politico's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Good boy, Mikey! Did I mention that Trump hates puppy dogs & other house pets?

Marita Viachou of the Huffington Post: “Democratic senators on the upper chamber’s Judiciary Committee on Monday asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to ensure the preservation all existing and future records and materials related to the Justice Department’s prosecutions of ... Donald Trump as he prepares to return to the White House later this month.... The letter signed by 10 Democratic senators cites Trump’s threats against special counsel Jack Smith, who recently resigned from his role, as well as pledges made by Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick to lead the DOJ, to take action against those who were involved in Trump’s prosecutions.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The AG's office has a fireplace. I don't see how a former AG can ensure that a current AG won't send up docs in smoke, so to speak.

Here's a pretty good discussion of Jack Smith's report on Trump's leadership of the insurrection of 2021: ~~~

Andrew Jacobs & Teddy Rosenbluth of the New York Times: “The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday banned the use of Red Dye No. 3 in food, beverages and drugs, more than three decades after the synthetic coloring was first found to cause cancer in male laboratory rats.... Although the dye is still used in hundreds of products, many companies have been switching to other food colorings, a move that accelerated after California in 2023 became the first state to ban Red 3 along with three other food additives that have been linked to disease. The dye has also been linked to health concerns for children. In announcing the ban, the agency downplayed the risks to humans, saying that researchers had not found similar cancer risks in studies involving animals other than male rats.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Georgia. Cheating Is Irresistible. David Fahrenthold of the New York Times: “A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat, admitted on Wednesday that it had violated state law by concealing the fact that it had campaigned for her during her 2018 run for governor. At the time of that campaign, the group was led by Raphael Warnock, who was later elected to the Senate as a Democrat from Georgia. At a meeting of the state’s ethics commission, the nonprofit New Georgia Project conceded that it had paid for fliers and door-to-door canvassers telling voters to support Ms. Abrams and other Democrats. Under federal law, tax-exempt charities like this one are forbidden to campaign for candidates, but this case was about a violation of state law.... A related nonprofit, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, admitted the same. As a result, the two nonprofits agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty. David Emadi, the executive director of the commission, said it was the largest fine in its 38-year history....

“A spokesman for Ms. Abrams said in a statement that 'Stacey hasn’t been involved in the organization’s work since she departed in 2017.' Mr. Warnock’s Senate staff issued a statement saying that, while he was the leader of the New Georgia Project in 2018, 'compliance decisions were not a part of that work.' The ethics commission’s charges were aimed at the nonprofits. It did not seek to punish Ms. Abrams or Mr. Warnock personally.” The AP story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Canada Strikes Back. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: “The Canadian government is preparing billions of dollars in retaliatory measures on U.S. exports to Canada if ... Donald J. Trump makes good on a threat to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, setting up a potential showdown between two countries that are each other’s largest trading partners.... But the government made clear that it will wait to see what Mr. Trump might do before responding. 'Everything is on the table,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa, flanked by senior members of his government and the leaders of most of Canada’s provinces and territories. Mr. Trudeau spent most of Wednesday discussing with provincial leaders how to best prepare for potential U.S. tariffs.... Any tariffs would violate a trade agreement among the United States, Mexico and Canada, originally known as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), which was renegotiated during Mr. Trump’s first presidency.... In ... recent weeks..., [Mr. Trump] has repeatedly spoken about Canada becoming another U.S. state, even threatening economic force to annex the country.”

South Korea. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: “After [President] Yoon [Suk Yeol] was detained Wednesday morning, he was taken to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, south of Seoul. Prosecutors questioned him for more then 10 hours. Yoon refused to cooperate. Yoon was then taken to the nearby Seoul Detention Center around 10 p.m. Yoon, a former prosecutor, was allowed to sleep in his clothes and not forced to don prison garb. This was not because he’s president, but because he is not a felon, said Lim Wanseob, a spokesman for the center.... The cell Yoon stayed at in the detention center measures about 100 square feet, Lim said. Cells usually contain thick blankets that can be laid on the floor to serve as a makeshift bed, according to Lim, who declined, on security grounds, to confirm details or elaborate on Yoon’s quarters.... Lawmakers impeached Yoon last month, suspending his powers as president. But he technically remains in office while the Constitutional Court reviews the impeachment.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, if only Donald Trump were sleeping on the cold floor of a 100-sq.ft. cell. Unfortunately, if Trump got a cell like Yoon's, he also would get a teevee. And that's really all he needs, though I suppose he might throw his breakfast against the wall. Yoon's morning fare is cereal, boiled eggs, nuts and milk.