The Conversation -- May 6, 2024

David Bauder of the AP: "The New York Times and The Washington Post were awarded three Pulitzer Prizes apiece on Monday for work in 2023 that dealt with everything from the war in Gaza to gun violence, and The Associated Press won in the feature photography category for coverage of global migration to the U.S. Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the aftermath produced work that resulted in two Pulitzers and a special citation. The Times won for text coverage that the Pulitzer board described as 'wide-ranging and revelatory,' while the Reuters news service won for its photography. The citation went to journalists and other writers covering the war in Gaza. The prestigious public service award went to ProPublica for reporting that 'pierced the thick wall of secrecy' around the U.S. Supreme Court to show how billionaires gave expensive gifts to justices and paid for luxury travel. Reporters Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, Brett Murphy, Alex Mierjeski and Kirsten Berg were honored for their work." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a full list of winners, via Axios.

From the Washington Post's live updates of developments in the Israel/Hamas war (also linked earlier today): "Hamas informed Arab mediators that it would approve a Qatari-Egyptian cease-fire proposal, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, said in a statement Monday. While there has been no formal response from Israel, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman, said in a briefing later Monday: 'We are considering any response and any answer in the most serious way and are pursuing every possibility for negotiations to return the hostages as quickly as possible.' He added that 'in parallel, we are continuing to maneuver in the Gaza Strip.'"

Yes, Yes, Trump's Friends Seem Like Criminals, Too. David Fahrenthold of the New York Times: "The Conservative Partnership Institute, a nonprofit whose funding skyrocketed after it became a nerve center for... Donald J. Trump's allies in Washington, has paid at least $3.2 million since the start of 2021 to corporations led by its own leaders or their relatives, records show. In its most recent tax filings, the nonprofit's three highest-paid contractors were all connected to insiders.... Donations to the group are tax deductible, like gifts to a food bank or the American Red Cross.... By law, its money must serve the public good rather than private interests. The nonprofit has pushed those limits by entwining itself with only one faction of American politics. It pays high salaries to some of Mr. Trump's former officials, hosts retreats for Republican lawmakers at a rural compound and funds efforts to vet people and ideas for a second Trump term. Legal experts say these insider transactions also raise concerns about self-dealing.... 'There's no checks and balances,' said Michael West, a lawyer at the New York Council of Nonprofits."

It's going to be a Trump day today. New York Times reporters are ready to tell us all about it: ~~~

Maggie Haberman: "Trump is in the courtroom, with his son Eric in tow again. Alina Habba, who represented Trump in his civil fraud trial last year, is sitting next to Eric Trump. Boris Epshteyn, Trump's recently-indicted legal adviser, is sitting behind both, several seats away from Alan Garten, the Trump Organization's general counsel."

Jonah Bromwich: "The judge says he will address the motion for contempt and begins to address Trump and his lawyers. He says that he will find Trump in criminal contempt for the 10th time -- one for each of the violations of his gag order."

Haberman: "Justice Merchan is speaking directly to Trump, in an extraordinary moment. He tells him he's finding him in contempt of the gag order a 10th time, but that the $1,000 per instance fines aren't working and that he has to consider jail. 'The last thing' he wants to do is put Trump in jail, the judge says, adding, 'You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well.'... Justice Merchan tells Trump his ongoing violation of his gag order is a 'direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow that to continue.' He says he wants him to understand he will put him in jail if he has to."

Kate Christobek: "Trump was hunched over at the defense table staring at Merchan as he issued his warning. When the judge concluded, Trump shook his head."

Bromwich: "... the written order leaves Trump a bit of wiggle room — Merchan writes that 'if appropriate and warranted, future violations' of his orders will be punishable by jail. He could have drawn an even brighter red line by saying 'any future violation.' Still, overall, this is a dire situation for the former president."

Haberman: "Defense lawyers suggest they've been told Jeffrey McConney, who was a top Trump Organization official at the time of the Stormy Daniels payout, will be the next witness."

Bromwich: "The judge is now scolding the defense lawyers. He is frustrated because they wish to lodge objections related to the witness, Jeffrey McConney, but that they did not tell him yesterday, when they learned who the witness was, that they would have objections. Justice Merchan has objected to what he sees as efforts from the defense to delay the trial, often by taking action last minute."

Haberman: "Jeffrey McConney testifies that he worked for the Trump Organization beginning in 1987. For context, that's just a few years after Trump Tower opened, and the same year that Trump made a feint at running for president the first time with a trip to New Hampshire as his book 'The Art of the Deal' was being published.... He is now describing the intricate lacing of more than 500 entities that comprise the Trump Organization.... For context on how the Trump Organization worked, Jeffrey McConney's son Justin was the person who basically ran Trump's Twitter feed before Trump learned how to do it himself, a moment that Justin described to Politico as like the moment the dinosaurs learned to open doors in 'Jurassic Park.'"

Jonathan Swan: "Jeffrey McConney, who no longer works for the Trump Organization, says the company is still footing his legal bills."

Bromwich: "For those of us who covered the Trump Organization's trial in 2022, hearing Jeffrey McConney's testimony is like experiencing deja vu. At that trial, too, McConney testified about his old boss, Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, who is currently in jail. McConney and Weisselberg had been close, having lunch every day, as McConney just testified. In this trial filled with fascinating witnesses and compelling testimony, McConney's appearance may mark a turn, as we begin to hear about the financial documents at the heart of the case." ~~~

~~~ Susanne Craig: "During that trial, the Trump Organization was convicted of tax fraud and other crimes."

Bromwich: "Jeffrey McConney just told a story that is emblematic of Trump's management style. He says about a year into his employment, he walked into Trump's office. The boss, who was on the phone, said to him: 'Jeff, you're fired.'... McConney wasn't actually fired, but Trump warned him that it was a problem that his 'cash balances went down last week' and urged him to 'focus on my bills.' It was, McConney says, a 'teaching moment.' And it's helpful for prosecutors seeking to illustrate how closely Trump was focused on the outflow of cash." [MB: Not at all clear in Bromwich's telling, but according to analysts on MSNBC, the point here was that Trump wanted McConney not to pay his bills, but to negotiate them down first.]

Haberman: "The prosecutor just asked Jeffrey McConney: 'Are you familiar with' Michael Cohen? This is going to introduce key conversations between Allen Weisselberg, the former top financial official at the Trump Organization, and Cohen, a key witness for the prosecution.... McConney is being fairly mocking of Cohen. Asked about his role, McConney says, 'He said he was a lawyer.'"

Bromwich: "McConney says that in 2017, his boss, Allen Weisselberg, told him that Cohen needed some money. Some of it was related to Cohen's bonus, McConney testifies, and adds, 'And then there was some other money he was owed.' Cohen was owed $130,000 for the hush-money payment."

Bromwich: "Jeffrey McConney is testifying about hugely important documentary evidence, only barely disguised by the financial documents and handwritten notes on screen. We just now learned that the payment came from Trump's personal bank account. It appears we are about to see that the invoices Michael Cohen sent for the payment were prompted by Cohen's conversation with Allen Weisselberg, in an arrangement, again, that Cohen will testify was confirmed with Trump." [Emphasis added.]

Bromwich: "Matthew Colangelo, a prosecutor, ends his direct questioning by asking Jeffrey McConney a series of questions about a financial disclosure publicized in 2018 in which Trump reported to the government that he had repaid more than $100,000 to Mr. Cohen the previous year. This form is further documentary evidence of the hush-money reimbursement, and as our colleagues reported then, raised many questions when it was first made public."

Swan: "In his cross-examination, Trump's lawyer Emil Bove is trying to establish some distance between Trump and the actions of his accounting department. Trump has opened his eyes for this section and is paying close attention. He smiled as Jeffrey McConney said he never discussed accounting software with Trump."

Craig: "McConney said he never gave Trump a tour of the company's accounting software. But it's important to remember the government's lawyers need not prove that Trump personally falsified the records, only that he orchestrated their falsification."

Craig: "Jurors are seeing a lot of notes scribbled by Jeffrey McConney. It looks more like how someone might track their personal taxes on the fly, not something coming out of a company."

Jesse McKinley: "We're seeing a bank statement from Michael Cohen's shell company, Essential Consultants, marked with a handwritten notation by Allen Weisselberg.... It outlines the reimbursement to Cohen, which included a bonus and monies to cover a tax burden. Weisselberg's handwriting is a scrawl but Jeffrey McConney seems to be able to read it."

Bromwich: "This evidence helps to counter one of the arguments that the defense made in its opening statement, asking the jury to consider why, if Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,000, he was paid so much more than he would have been owed. But Jeffrey McConney just walked us through the disparity in the amounts, which includes both a bonus for Cohen and tax considerations."

Haberman: "This also underscores the prosecution's argument that top officials in the Trump Organization were involved in making Cohen financially whole. And McConney just walked through how closely Trump, historically, has paid attention to his bottom line."

Bromwich: "We are seeing important evidence right now, of the instructions Weisselberg gave to McConney as related to paying Cohen, in part to reimburse the hush-money payment. This fulfills several important functions: Cohen is expected to testify that he spoke with Trump about being repaid, and that Trump asked Weisselberg to handle the specifics. So here, we see paper evidence of what prosecutors will say is the aftermath of that conversation, and the blueprints for the repayment."

Haberman: "On screen is an email from Allen Weisselberg to Jeffrey McConney saying that it was okay to pay the money to Michael Cohen, “per agreement with Don and Eric." Eric Trump is sitting in the courtroom as this takes place.... Notably, McConney testifies that he didn't send the invoice from Cohen to the legal department for review. He acknowledges he typically would do so with invoices."

Bromwich: "We are beginning to see the roots of what prosecutors say are false about the documents at issue in this case. Jeffrey McConney told Deborah Tarasoff, who dealt with the details of payroll at the Trump Organization and who is also expected to testify, to record the payments to Michael Cohen as 'legal expenses.' He also told her to say they were being made as part of a 'retainer' agreement between Cohen and Trump, which prosecutors say did not exist. Prosecutors say that was a way to disguise the hush-money reimbursement to Cohen. To find Trump guilty, jurors will have to agree that these documents were indeed falsified."

Christobek: "Matthew Colangelo, the prosecutor, asked McConney if he ever saw a retainer agreement. He responded: 'I did not.'"

Bromwich: "The last 10 minutes or so have consisted of a slow procession of invoices from Michael Cohen and related emails between Jeffrey McConney, Deborah Tarasoff and Allen Weisselberg being shown on the video monitors in the courtroom. These, prosecutors say, are the false documents. They don't look like much, and despite their centrality to the case, the room has taken on a relaxed atmosphere as we make our way through them.... We've concluded looking at the series of 11 invoices that prosecutors say were falsified. With that testimony, we take our morning break."

Bromwich: "Matthew Colangelo, the prosecutor, questioned Jeffrey McConney again during a brief re-direct. He leaned into the arguments the defense was making, and only really asked McConney if he later learned that there were things going on to which he had not been privy to. This takes advantage of Emil Bove, Trump's lawyer, not having an alternative explanation for the documentary evidence. Bove argued that McConney didn't know what he was talking about when it came to the transactions that Allen Weisselberg directed him to make. But not only was Colangelo fine with that -- he thought it was helpful for the prosecution's case."

Haberman: "Watching Emil Bove's largely hard-to-follow cross examination of Jeffrey McConney, the challenge facing Trump's lawyers again becomes clear. They're basically doing a version of: 'He didn't do it, and even if he did it's not a crime.'... But ... [there is] a lot of pretty clear evidence that Michael Cohen made a payoff to Stormy Daniels that he was reimbursed for after discussions involving top Trump financial officials. Since the client here -- Trump -- never wants his lawyers to cede any ground as to whether he did anything questionable, the defense lawyers are left with this jumble." [Lunch break.]

Bromwich: "Christopher Conroy, a prosecutor, just told the judge that the next witness would be Deborah Tarasoff, who has run the Trump Organization's books for years."

Haberman: "Todd Blanche, one of Trump's lawyers, complains to Justice Merchan that the defense only learned who the prosecution's next witness would be 30 minutes ago. The prosecutors' lack of trust toward the defense team is underscored here.... Deborah Tarasoff [testifies] she still is employed by the Trump Organization, and the company is paying for her lawyers.... Tarasoff is walking the court through the very mundane way in which Trump would sign checks, down to the black Sharpie he would use. She is underscoring that, for all of Trump's emphasis on the size of his company, Hope Hicks was correct when she testified that the company functioned like a family business. Things take place on a small and almost parochial level."

Christobek: "Deborah Tarasoff says that Trump had to sign all the checks from his personal account, even after he became president and was living in Washington, D.C. She says they were sent by FedEx. She added that after Trump signed the checks, she would eventually get them back."

Haberman: "As a side note, Trump's campaign is fundraising off the judge's warning to him this morning about possible jail time if he does not stop violating his gag order, and attacking witnesses and others connected to the case."

McKinley: "We are seeing a series of checks made out to Michael Cohen, signed by Trump."

Bromwich: Todd Blanche is doing the cross of Tarasoff. "The cross-examination concludes, very quickly."

Marie: In case you're feeling sorry for Hope Hicks because those mean prosecutors drove her to tears when they forced her to testify against her Dear Ole Boss, remember that her Dear Ole Boss was Donald Trump and that Hicks conspired with him time and again to mislead the public, as this WashPo story demonstrates in regard to some of Trump's scandalous past. Hope Hicks knew what Donald Trump was and she aided & abetted him anyway.

Into the Weeds We Go. David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "An obscure New York state election law that has rarely been prosecuted over five decades has been dusted off by Manhattan prosecutors and elevated to a prominent role in Donald Trump's criminal trial over allegedly falsifying documents related to a hush money payment during the 2016 election campaign. The law -- Section 17-152 of the state's election code -- makes it a misdemeanor for two or more people to 'conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means.' Trump is not being charged under that statute, which apparently has been used only a few times in cases related to state or local elections, though it is a key factor in his case.... In bringing the felony charges, prosecutors are required to prove not just that Trump doctored records, but that he did so to commit or conceal another crime.... '... The entire case is predicated on the idea that there was a conspiracy to influence the election in 2016, [prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan during Trump's trial on April 23.... Prosecutors do] not have to prove Trump violated the statute but merely demonstrate that he was falsifying internal Trump Organization records as part of a broader scheme to improperly influence the 2016 election."

** Gaby Del Valle of the New York Times profiles Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) (Also linked yesterday.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The White House on Sunday slammed former President Trump after he compared the Biden administration to the Gestapo police force in Nazi Germany. 'Instead of echoing the appalling rhetoric of fascists, lunching with Neo Nazis, and fanning debunked conspiracy theories that have cost brave police officer their lives, President Biden is bringing the American people together around our shared democratic values and the rule of law...,' deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement."

Nick Robertson of the Hill: "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) emphasized the stakes of the 2024 election in a '60 Minutes' interview on Sunday, warning that much more than abortion rights are at risk if former President Trump gets a second term.... 'If Roe v. Wade can fall, anything can fall,' he [said]. 'Social Security can fall. Medicare can fall. Voting rights can fall. And God help us all, but democracy itself can fall....'"

Veepstakes. digby: "Kristi Noem went on Face the Nation and poured gasoline on her dumpster fire of a political career this morning[.]... [According to the Daily Beast,] 'At one point in the book, titled No Going Back, Noem recalled meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, claiming he "underestimated" her. However, experts have called into question whether such a meeting could have ever taken place. "Did you meet Kim Jong Un?" [host Margaret] Brennan directly asked the governor, who avoided answering the question and instead said she's "met with many, many world leaders" and has "made some edits" to the book. "I'm not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders...," [Noem replied]....' And here's the coup de grâce....She ended the book by saying that she wanted to shoot Biden's dog. I'm not kidding." The New York Times story is here. At the end of the NYT story, we find out that Noem believes in doggie heaven and doggie hell.

Photo aspirational. Trump is not that good.Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the New York Times, May 6, 2020: An exposé of how Jared Kushner mucked up the procurement and distribution of critically-needed medical supplies needed to battle the coronavirus by fobbing off the job to a group of inexperienced volunteers who prioritized input from Friends of Trump. "The fumbling search for new supplies -- heralded by Mr. Trump and Mr. Kushner as a way to pipe private-sector hustle and accountability into the hidebound federal bureaucracy -- became a case study of Mr. Trump's style of governing, in which personal relationships and loyalty are often prized over governmental expertise, and private interests are granted extraordinary access and deference." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now just think how well the kleptocracy would work in a second Trump term, when Trump's flaks would institute this same level of corruption and incompetence all across the federal government. It is not only democracy that is at stake (you know, free & fair elections & so on), it is also the luxury of living in a country with a functioning government that serves public needs. Trump is not Mussolini incarnate; Mussolini made the trains run on time.

The New York Times' liveblog of developments Monday re: U.S. college campus protests is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The Israel Defense Forces is calling for civilians in parts of Rafah to 'evacuate immediately' to a humanitarian zone, saying they will operate with 'extreme force' in those areas. Israel's determination to invade Rafah remains a sticking point in cease-fire negotiations that appear to be at an impasse, with a Hamas delegation leaving the ongoing negotiations in Cairo to consult its leadership in Qatar.... The U.N. agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, said it was not evacuating Rafah and would 'maintain a presence' in the city for 'as long as possible' to continue providing aid. An Israeli offensive would be 'devastating' for the more than 1 million people sheltering there, it said." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Michael Schwartz, et al., of CNN: "Israel has ordered the closure of Al Jazeera in the country, a move the Qatar-based news network called a 'criminal act.' Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X: 'The government headed by me unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel.'... In a post on X, [Netanyahu's spokesman] said that the network's 'broadcast equipment will be confiscated, the channel's correspondents will be prevented from working, the channel will be removed from cable and satellite television companies, and Al Jazeera's websites will be blocked on the Internet.' Israeli cable providers ceased carrying the Al Jazeera networks by late Sunday afternoon.... Several of the network's journalists working in Gaza have been injured or killed since October 7." (Also linked yesterday.)

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Maybe the Gnome will ask her pal Kim Jong Un to kill Biden’s dog.

What is it with Republican pols and easily debunked self-aggrandizement? Youse guys may recall former Mass. senator, Scott Brown, who when questioned about his distinct lack of achievements claimed to be in “secret meetings every day with kings and queens”. Neither Brown nor Gnome are in the George Santos class of liars, but they all share an abysmal level of substantive accomplishment combined with outsized fantasies of their own importance.

Maybe Brown can dig up a monarch or two to off the Biden dog if Kim is too busy sinking multiple holes-in-one at some North Korean putt-putt golf club.

[Akhilleus]

Oh…of COURSE we support women’s right to control their own bodies (but we’re giving actual money to the people who don’t. ).

Yup. The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.

“Comcast, Boeing, Chevron, JP Morgan Chase and Deloitte, all of which pledged to pay for employee travel costs to obtain abortions in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, have donated more than $90,000 to the Florida lawmakers who voted in support of the state’s six-week abortion ban since the bill’s passage last year.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health decision overturning Roe v Wade, dozens of corporations stepped forward, publicly committing to covering employee travel costs for abortions, identifying reproductive autonomy as a cornerstone of employee health and well-being. It was a gesture that seemed to align with their stated commitment to principles like access to reproductive healthcare.

Yet many of the same companies professing a commitment to their employees’ rights to access abortion are funding the very elected officials seeking to limit or end abortion access.”

I for one would like to know if any of these corporations helped a single woman with travel expenses to get an abortion.

But we know for a fact, now, that they’re putting money in the pockets of pols who want to put those same women in prison for seeking medical care.

Go figure.

[Marie Burns]

@Akhilleus: I do recall Scott Brown's quaint, hilarious claim of having secret meetings with kings and queens. First of all, the "secret" meetings likely would have been public receptions so not-so-secret. Second, the kings and queens would not have been having as much fun as Scott was. Meeting scads of people is something royals have to do to get their countries to pay their room and board. I'm sure any kings or queens Scott might have met would have been happier to have been someplace else. Third, except for your occasional tinpot dictator-type kings and queens, the royals generally have no power, so meetings with kings and queens are as impressive as meetings with cardboard cutouts of your favorite president.

Within the context of those qualifications, I still took Scott at his word: He had "secret meetings with kings and queens." My mistake. What I didn't pick up on at the time was that Brown's spokesperson first that when Brown said "secret," he really meant "private." So he "misspoke." Okay. But then. Greg Sargent, then of the WashPo, reported, "Brown spokesman [Colin] Reed adds: "He misspoke when he said kings and queens."

So had Brown made an accurate statement, it would have been, "I've had private meetings with some people." Yeah, me too. And you too. And everybody.

[Marie Burns]

@Akhilleus writes, "I for one would like to know if any of these corporations helped a single woman with travel expenses to get an abortion."

No, not the expenses. BUT they will be happy to make money off the extra expenses women must incur in order to get abortions. Boeing & Chevron, directly; others indirectly.

[Ken Winkes]

Anyone who thinks large corporate businesses care a whit for right and wrong has not been paying attention since WWII, and were they alive, not before.

Marx laid out a description of capitalism's inevitable demise, only some elements of which have come to pass. Capitalism is more likely to rot from within, as self-dealing and generalized corruption become its only goals.

Vide: Boeing's long slide.

And when it comes to dealing with any long term physical realities, like climate change and environmental degradation, capitalism has never cared. It was never designed for caring.

[RAS]

I saw someone point out that Noem did the audio version of her book herself. That means she read her book and the lies and thought to herself that they sounded believable enough despite knowing they were all BS. But you can't be a Republican without a truck full of manure.

[Marie Burns]

@Ken Winkes: The irony is that as much as capitalists hate government regulators, regulation does a good deal toward keeping corporations -- if not honest -- vibrant, creative & competitive. One thing Marx seemed to have missed (I think) is that any monopoly -- whether it's controlled by "titans of industry" or by a totalitarian government -- will fast become leaden and unimaginative.

The trick of course is to get close to the right balance between business and regulation. There will always be a push & pull, and the tension usually is out of balance. But with sensible regulators and a reasonable Congress (okay, ha ha), it is possible to strike near the mark.

[RAS]

USA Today

"Congress voted against funding a cure for cancer just to block a win for Biden
Some Republicans, refusing to give President Joe Biden a 'win,' voted against the renewal of funding for cancer research.

Initially funded in 2016 at $1.8 billion for seven years, with the aim to reduce cancer deaths by half by 2047, the program has made strides in expanding access to cancer detection screenings, especially to veterans, increased support for programs aimed at preventing cancer in the first place and provided funding to groundbreaking cancer cure research."

[RAS]

"‘We deserve more’: US workers’ share of the pie dwindles

According to BLS, this income share has declined for non-farm workers from about two-thirds, 64.1% in the first quarter of 2001, to 55.8% in the first quarter of 2024.

“We have an incredibly corrupt corporate governance structure,” said Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy research. “CEOs in the US get paid way more than their counterparts in other wealthy countries.”

He cited other contributing factors, such as the fallen corporate tax rate, patent and copyright monopolies that enable industries such as pharmaceuticals to price-gouge medications that are cheap to manufacture, industries such as Wall Street that are not taxed properly and are heavily subsidized, and policies that are unfriendly to labor unions.

From 1979 to 2022, wages for the top 1%of wage earners in the US rose by 171.1% compared to 32.9% for the bottom 90% of wage earners. In the same period, the share of total earnings for the bottom 90% declined 8.8% while it increased for the top 0.1% of earners by 4.6%.

Billionaires alone have gained $2.7tn since March 2020. According to a 2020 report published by the Rand Corporation, the wealthiest 1% in the US have taken $50tn from the bottom 90% in recent decades.

Productivity has failed to keep up with wage growth; from 1979 to 2019, net productivity for US workers increased by 59.7%, while typical compensation for a worker only grew by 15.8% in the same period. The median worker would have made an extra $9 an hour if the rates had grown together."

[RAS]

Salon

"Who believes the most "taboo" conspiracy theories? It might not be who you think
White men with graduate degrees, a new study finds, are highly likely to hold especially noxious beliefs

Specifically, Roscigno writes, “approximately a quarter of those who hold a graduate degree agree or strongly agree” that school shootings like those at Sandy Hook and Parkland “are false flag attacks perpetrated by the government,” which is “around twice the rate of those without graduate degrees.” Results are similar for the proposition that the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust “has been exaggerated on purpose.”

Roscigno’s findings don’t refute previous formulations so much as reframe them by adding greater nuance. For example, he finds that conspiracy beliefs are more common both among the less educated and less affluent, on the one hand, and the more educated and more affluent on the other."

[RAS]

Jonathan Alter

"Well, this is an unlikely thing to happen, but I have proposed that what he do is what city judges sometimes do and sentence Trump to some brief community service in the parks or on the highway, wearing an orange jumpsuit and picking up trash for a day or two. I think that would be a good punishment for him right now, but I doubt that Judge Merchan will use it."

[Akhilleus]

Hamas accepts ceasefire deal; Israel balks.

Too addicted to the war or simply distrustful of Hamas’s intentions?

“Hamas says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal to halt seven-month war with Israel.

It issued a statement Monday saying its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had delivered the news in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister...An Israeli official said no ceasefire agreement had been reached despite the Palestinian militant group Hamas saying on Monday it had accepted a proposal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.”

According to the Guardian, an “Israeli official suggests acceptance ‘a ruse’”

[Ken Winkes]

"'There’s no checks and balances,' said Michael West, a lawyer at the New York Council of Nonprofits.”

And that's exactly the way the corrupt R's who live in the cookie jar like it...

[Bobby Lee]

ARAS: That's an excellent idea, and I saw it suggested as an opinion piece in the NYT.

It would really rain on his martyrdom parade and get a little use out of Captain Cheeto as well, not to mention giving him some exercise and get him used to an orange jumpsuit.