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INAUGURATION 2029

Commencement ceremonies are joyous occasions, and Steve Carell made sure that was true this past weekend (mid-June) at Northwestern's commencement:

~~~ Carell's entire commencement speech was hilarious. The audio and video here isn't great, but I laughed till I cried.

CNN did a live telecast Saturday night (June 7) of the Broadway play "Good Night, and Good Luck," written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, about legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow's effort to hold to account Sen. Joe McCarthy, "the junior senator from Wisconsin." Clooney plays Murrow. Here's Murrow himself with his famous take on McCarthy & McCarthyism, brief remarks that especially resonate today: ~~~

     ~~~ This article lists ways you still can watch the play. 

New York Times: “The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. The multiyear agreement 'will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences,' the news organization said in a statement. Besides news articles, the agreement encompasses material from NYT Cooking, The Times’s food and recipe site, and The Athletic, which focuses on sports. This is The Times’s first licensing arrangement with a focus on generative A.I. technology. In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, for copyright infringement, accusing the tech companies of using millions of articles published by The Times to train automated chatbots without any kind of compensation. OpenAI and Microsoft have rejected those accusations.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no idea what this means for "the Amazon customer experience." Does it mean that if I don't have a NYT subscription but do have Amazon Prime I can read NYT content? And where, exactly, would I find that content? I don't know. I don't know.

Washington Post reporters asked three AI image generators what a beautiful woman looks like. "The Post found that they steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness. Prompted to show a 'beautiful woman,' all three tools generated thin women, without exception.... Her body looks like Barbie — slim hips, impossible waist, round breasts.... Just 2 percent of the images showed visible signs of aging. More than a third of the images had medium skin tones. But only nine percent had dark skin tones. Asked to show 'normal women,' the tools produced images that remained overwhelmingly thin.... However bias originates, The Post’s analysis found that popular image tools struggle to render realistic images of women outside the Western ideal." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters seem to think they are calling out the AI programs for being unrealistic. But there's a lot about the "beautiful women" images they miss. I find these omissions remarkably sexist. For one thing, the reporters seem to think AI is a magical "thing" that self-generates. It isn't. It's programmed. It's programmed by boys, many of them incels who have little or no experience or insights beyond comic books and Internet porn of how to gauge female "beauty." As a result, the AI-generated women look like cartoons; that is, a lot like an air-brushed photo of Kristi Noem: globs of every kind of dark eye makeup, Scandinavian nose, Botox lips, slathered-on skin concealer/toner/etc. makeup, long dark hair and the aforementioned impossible Barbie body shape, including huge, round plastic breasts. 

New York Times: “George Clooney’s Broadway debut, 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' has been one of the sensations of the 2024-25 theater season, breaking box office records and drawing packed houses of audiences eager to see the popular movie star in a timely drama about the importance of an independent press. Now the play will become much more widely available: CNN is planning a live broadcast of the penultimate performance, on June 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The performance will be preceded and followed by coverage of, and discussion about, the show and the state of journalism.”

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. -- Magna Carta ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Bought for $27.50 after World War II, the faint, water stained manuscript in the library of Harvard Law School had attracted relatively little attention since it arrived there in 1946. That is about to change. Two British academics, one of whom happened on the manuscript by chance, have discovered that it is an original 1300 version — not a copy, as long thought — of Magna Carta, the medieval document that helped establish some of the world’s most cherished liberties. It is one of just seven such documents from that date still in existence.... A 710-year-old version of Magna Carta was sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.... First issued in 1215, it put into writing a set of concessions won by rebellious barons from a recalcitrant King John of England — or Bad King John, as he became known in folklore. He later revoked the charter, but his son, Henry III, issued amended versions, the last one in 1225, and Henry’s son, Edward I, in turn confirmed the 1225 version in 1297 and again in 1300.”

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Constant Comments

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolvesEdward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns

I have a Bluesky account now. The URL is https://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.

Sunday
Apr142024

The Conversation -- April 14, 2024

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 14, 2020: "The nation's food supply chain is showing signs of strain, as increasing numbers of workers are falling ill with the coronavirus in meat processing plants, warehouses and grocery stores. The spread of the virus through the food and grocery industry is expected to cause disruptions in production and distribution of certain products like pork, industry executives, labor unions and analysts have warned in recent days."

~~~~~~~~~~

** New York Times: "Iran mounted an immense aerial attack on Israel on Saturday night, launching more than 300 drones and missiles in retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike in Syria two weeks ago, and marking a significant escalation in hostilities between the two regional foes. The strikes caused only minor damage to one Israeli military base, and most of the airborne threats were intercepted, Israeli military officials said. The United States said it had helped to shoot dozens of drones and missiles. But the large-scale attack, aimed at targets inside Israel and the territory it controls, opened a volatile new chapter in the long-running shadow war between Iran and Israel." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Here's today's NYT liveblog. ~~~

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Sunday are here: "Iran launched a massive attack of more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said, adding that 'more than 99 percent' had been intercepted. The ongoing barrage is the first full-scale military assault by Tehran against Israel. President Biden condemned the 'brazen attack,' saying he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and affirmed the United States' 'ironclad commitment' to Israel's security.... Hagari described the attack as a 'major escalation.' Iranian state media said it was retaliation for the Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building this month in Syria that killed seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two senior commanders. Israel and its allies are intercepting the strikes, but a number of Iranian missiles fell inside Israeli territory, causing minor damage to a military base. A young girl was injured in the attack, Hagari said." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Lemire of Politico: "President Joe Biden on Saturday condemned Iranian attacks on the state of Israel and said he would convene fellow world leaders in the day ahead to coordinate a response. In a statement issued after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said that, in conjunction with U.S. forces, Israel was able to 'take down' nearly all 'the incoming drones and missiles' launched by Iran 'and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq.'... Earlier in the day, the president cut short a weekend trip to his Delaware beach home to return to the White House. His arrival roughly coincided with Iran and its proxies launching their drone and missile strikes."

Rebecca Picciotto of CNBC: "Donald Trump on Saturday took aim at two likely witnesses in his upcoming New York hush money trial, testing the boundaries of a gag order that prohibits such public statements. 'Has Mark POMERANTZ been prosecuted for his terrible acts in and out of the D.A.'s Office. Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?' the former president posted on Truth Social. The social media post is the latest challenge to the limits of a gag order that forbids Trump from making public statements about likely witnesses and jurors." ~~~

     ~~~ Dear Justice Merchan: At the end of the day Monday, please remove Mr. Trump from the courtroom to a cell. Regards, Marie

Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Two days before his first criminal trial was set to begin in Manhattan..., Donald J. Trump on Saturday again framed the charges he faces as a broad attempt by Democrats to keep him from the White House, and he criticized a gag order placed on him by the judge in the New York case. 'Two days from now, the entire world will witness the commencement of the very first Biden trial,' Mr. Trump said at a rally in eastern Pennsylvania, alluding to his frequent and false assertion that President Biden orchestrated the New York case. The case, which Mr. Trump also called a 'communist show trial,' was brought by the Manhattan district attorney's office and has nothing to do with Mr. Biden." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump should be a big fan of the "communist show trial" since (a) it's a specialty of Trump's favorite dictator Vladimir Putin and (b) it's the type of fake trial Trump plans to hold against his perceived political enemies during his "retribution" administration.

Marie: Like me, Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times is not impressed that certain Supreme Court justices go on the lecture circuit to tout how famously the justices get along with one another, no matter how strongly they disagree in their court decisions. "What counts is not how the justices treat one another but how they treat the claims of those who come before them."

Tracey Tully & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "When Senator Robert Menendez was charged last year with corruption after investigators found $486,000 in cash stashed around his house in New Jersey, he offered a simple, 'old-fashioned' explanation: It had been his custom to withdraw cash from a personal savings account to keep at home, a habit he learned from his Cuban immigrant parents. But federal prosecutors, in papers filed late Friday, presented fresh details that they suggested undercut Mr. Menendez's claim. Some of the cash was wrapped in bands showing it had been withdrawn, at least $10,000 at a time, from a bank where Mr. Menendez and his wife 'had no known depository account.' This, prosecutors said, indicated 'that the money had been provided to them by another person.'"

Friday
Apr122024

The Conversation -- April 13, 2024

** New York Times: “Iran mounted an immense aerial attack on Israel on Saturday night, launching more than 300 drones and missiles in retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike in Syria two weeks ago, and marking a significant escalation in hostilities between the two regional foes. The strikes caused only minor damage to one Israeli military base, and most of the airborne threats were intercepted, Israeli military officials said. The United States said it had helped to shoot dozens of drones and missiles.” This is the pinned item in a liveblog.

     ~~~ CNN's live updates, also linked below, are here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zach Montague of the New York Times: “President Biden canceled $7.4 billion in student loan debt on Friday as he tries to shore up support with young voters who are disproportionately affected by soaring education costs, but who may be drifting away over his policy on Israel and the war in Gaza. The latest round of relief is part of a strategy by the White House to take smaller, targeted actions for certain subsets of borrowers after the Supreme Court struck down a far more ambitious plan to wipe out $400 billion in debt last year. Mr. Biden said this week that he would make another attempt at large-scale debt forgiveness for about 30 million people, despite Republican opposition and legal challenges. But in the meantime, he has been chipping away at student debt by fixing and streamlining existing programs that have been plagued by bureaucratic and other problems for years.” CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Luke Broadwater & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: “In a major turnaround, the House on Friday passed a two-year reauthorization of an expiring warrantless surveillance law that had stalled this week amid G.O.P. resistance stoked by ... Donald J. Trump. The bill would extend a provision known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that is set to lapse next Friday.... The final vote was 273 to 147, with both parties split. One hundred and twenty-six Republicans joined 147 Democrats in favor, while 88 Republicans and 59 Democrats were opposed.... This week [Trump] directed lawmakers ... to 'KILL FISA,' asserting that it had been used to illegally spy on his 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trump’s contention was incoherent as a matter of law and policy because there are two types of FISA surveillance and the type that is expiring — Section 702 — has nothing to do with the type the F.B.I. used in its investigation into the links between his campaign and Russia amid Moscow’s covert efforts to help him win the 2016 election.” Politico's report is here. (This is an update of a story also linked yesterday.)

He’s doing about as good as you’re going to do. -- Donald Trump, in an assessment of Mike Johnson's performance as Speaker

And congrats to Trump himself, who made a grammatical error, employed an awkward construction and used an ambiguous colloquialism in a ten-word sentence. -- Marie ~~~

~~~ Michael Gold of the New York Times: “... on Friday, [Speaker Mike Johnson] flew to Florida, where the man who has contributed to many of his challenges threw him a crucial lifeline in his hour of need. 'I stand with the speaker,' ... Donald J. Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago ... as Mr. Johnson stood behind him and nodded along. It was a message the speaker needed at a tenuous moment in his leadership, when he faces the threat from one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal allies, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, of a motion to oust him.... 'He’s doing a really good job under really tough circumstances,' said Mr. Trump, who has helped undermine Mr. Johnson’s legislative agenda by voicing opposition to some of his efforts.... Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly railed against providing more aid to Ukraine, did not fully back Mr. Johnson’s effort to provide additional U.S. military assistance to the nation as it continues to fight against Russia’s invading forces. But he moderated his stance on Friday, saying that the two had discussed the issue and that he believed they might find common ground in offering aid 'in the form of a loan,' an idea the former president has pushed for months.” Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Certainly the first time in history that a Speaker of the House has had to negotiate legislation with the leader of a foreign adversary, in this case, Vladimir Putin.

Don & Mike's Excellent Voter Suppression Bill. Jane Timm of NBC News: "... Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson pitched new legislation to crack down on noncitizen voting on Friday, despite the fact the practice is already illegal and occurs rarely. Johnson said House Republicans would introduce a bill to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, speaking at Mar-a-Lago next to Trump as he seeks to fend off threats from his right flank.... Requiring documentary proof of citizenship could disenfranchise millions of Americans who do not have access to passports or birth certificates. Several states have tried to require documentary proof of citizenship in the past, but federal law currently prohibits it in federal elections.... For Trump, however, the proposal fuses two of his favorite talking points: immigration and voter fraud." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For most Americans, obtaining documentary proof of their citizenship is somewhere between an inconvenience and an impossibility. If you haven't already obtained a copy of your birth certificate for some other purpose, then you'll have to figure out to get a copy and you'll probably have to pay for it. What if your name has changed? (More likely if you're a woman.) What if there's a mistake on your birth certificate? (There's one on mine.) What if your parents were in the military and you were born outside the U.S.? What if you're adopted? What if you're really old (and likely poor) and your birth was never properly registered? What if your state or local agency is too slow in getting the necessary document(s) to you? What if the elections officials question the documentation you provide? ("Hmm, this is just a copy; the certificate must have an embossed seal.") What Don & Mike cynically call "election integrity" is actually a massive disenfranchisement project. Especially affected would be Americans who are poor, who are women, who have moved recently or temporarily (say, for college), or who were born in other countries and naturalized; IOW, more likely Democratic voters.

Merchan Calls Out Trump Chutzpah. Jennifer Peltz & Michael Sisak of the AP: “The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal case on Friday turned down the former president’s request to postpone his trial because of publicity about the case. It’s the latest in a string of delay denials that Trump has gotten from various courts this week as he fights to stave off the trial’s start Monday with jury selection.... Pointing to Trump’s two federal defamation trials and a state civil fraud trial in Manhattan within the past year, [Judge Juan] Merchan wrote that the ex-president himself 'was personally responsible for generating much, if not most, of the surrounding publicity with his public statements' outside those courtrooms and on social media.... Trump, meanwhile, said Friday that he planned to testify at the trial, calling the case a 'scam.' 'All I can do is tell the truth,' Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. 'And the truth is, they have no case.'”

Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: “Lawyers for ... Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira..., co-defendants of ... Donald J. Trump, argued in federal court in Florida on Friday to dismiss charges of aiding in the obstruction of efforts to recover classified documents.... Judge Aileen M. Cannon considered the defense lawyers’ arguments in her Fort Pierce, Fla., courtroom but ended the two-hour hearing Friday without making a decision on whether the charges against the two men should be dismissed.... Judge Cannon ... suggested that some of their arguments for dismissing the charges were better suited for the jury to consider during the trial.”

Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: “Donald Trump on Friday urged his followers to support his social media app Truth Social, as its parent company’s stock continues to sink lower. Trump in a post on that app said he believes Truth Social embodies the political 'movement' behind his 'Make America Great Again' presidential campaign slogan, adding that 'it shows the Spirit and Love of our Country.'... Trump Media’s share price on Friday morning dipped below $30, a decline of more than $40 from its roaring start. It ended the trading day up 0.6%, but failed to offset an almost 20% decline on the week. Shares are down nearly 50% so far in April. Trump is nevertheless poised to reap a financial windfall from the company.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This strikes me as a violation of campaign finance laws. Trump is asking people to effectively go around these laws by making their "contributions" to one of his failing businesses instead of to his campaign. And of course people can "contribute" any amount they want. One could argue that the purchase of stocks in Trump Media is similar to buying a MAGA mugshot mug. But a mug is something of value: you can't drink Kool-Aid out of it. Worthless stock is, well, just worthless. As Trump would say, "Nobody's ever seen anything like it."

Presidential Race

“MAGA Mike.” Alex Gangitano of the Hill: “President Biden’s reelection campaign unveiled a video Friday linking former President Trump with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in an attempt to highlight their views on reproductive rights issues. In the video 'MAGA Mike,' first shared with The Hill, the Biden campaign complied remarks from both Republicans about reproductive rights.... The video was released days after Trump said he would not sign a national abortion ban if reelected and such a bill passed Congress, a comment that the Biden campaign quickly dismissed as a lie, citing his record on the issue.” Ad embedded yesterday afternoon. (Also linked yesterday.)

Priscilla Alvarez & Michael Williams of CNN: “Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that banned abortions in almost all cases an 'inflection point' in the fight over abortion rights and pointed the blame at Donald Trump. Harris headed to Arizona to mobilize voters who see November’s election as a referendum on women’s rights, one of the Biden campaign’s key issues in the upcoming election. The vice president has become a go-to voice for the campaign on abortion rights and quickly announced a trip to Tucson after Tuesday’s ruling.” (Also linked yesterday.) A Washington Post story is here.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: “There is definitely something weird about Donald Trump and his supporters constantly asking Americans whether they were better off four years ago. Almost no one in America was better off four years ago in April than they are now....” Bump helpfully advises Trump on how to better frame the question. ~~~

~~~ Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago? Top News in the NYT, April 13, 2020: “President Trump publicly signaled his frustration on Sunday with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, after the doctor said more lives could have been saved from the coronavirus if the country had been shut down earlier.... The tweet came amid a flurry of messages blasted out by the president on Sunday defending his handling of the coronavirus, which has come under sharp criticism, and pointing the finger instead at China, the World Health Organization, President Barack Obama, the nation’s governors, Congress, Democrats generally and the news media.” ~~~

~~~ Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago? Top News in the NYT, April 12, 2020: “Behind Trump's Failure on the Virus: ... Throughout January, as Mr. Trump repeatedly played down the seriousness of the virus and focused on other issues, an array of figures inside his government — from top White House advisers to experts deep in the cabinet departments and intelligence agencies — identified the threat, sounded alarms and made clear the need for aggressive action. The president, though, was slow to absorb the scale of the risk and to act accordingly, focusing instead on controlling the message, protecting gains in the economy and batting away warnings from senior officials. It was a problem, he said, that had come out of nowhere and could not have been foreseen.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Matt Viser & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: “The Democratic National Committee has helped cover some of the legal fees that President Biden incurred over the last year amid a special counsel probe into his handling of classified documents, according to recent federal records.... It is unclear whether all the recent payments are related to the Hur investigation [or to other work the attorneys have done for the DNC].... The funds spent on Biden’s legal bills amount to a small fraction of the amount raised so far by the DNC this election cycle, unlike the Trump operation, where about a fourth of the money raised has gone to pay legal bills.”


Glenn Thrush
of the New York Times: “The federal judge presiding over Hunter Biden’s gun case in Delaware on Friday rejected Mr. Biden’s claim that he was being subjected to selective prosecution, saying it was 'nonsensical' that the Biden Justice Department would target the president’s son. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, has filed a flurry of motions in the Delaware gun case and a separate indictment in California on tax charges, accusing the government of unfairly singling out his client at the instigation of Republicans and seeking to dismiss the charges. None of those challenges have been successful so far. Judge Maryellen Noreika, who scuttled a plea deal reached between prosecutors and Mr. Biden last summer, said that Mr. Lowell failed to provide evidence that prosecutors had been motivated by animus against Hunter Biden.” The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Judge Noreika is being too cute by half. She knows full well that David Weiss -- the special counsel who brought the charges against Hunter -- was a Trump appointee. Weiss became special counsel only when (a) she herself laid waste to the plea deal, and (b) Weiss asked Merrick Garland to make him special counsel. Of course Merrick obliged. (As special counsel, Weiss is not subject to the usual AG supervision.) Oh, and did I mention that Noreika is a Trump appointee, too? All the while these shenanigans were going on, Congressional Republicans publicly (in at least one hearing and who-knows-how-many-times on Fox "News") raked Weiss over the coals for cutting the plea deal with Hunter.

So a Trump appointee cuts a plea deal with Hunter, Trump's Congressional allies complain about it, then a Trump judge blows up the deal, and the Trump prosecutor gets himself made special prosecutor so he can charge Hunter. It is not "the Biden Justice Department" targeting Biden's son. It is the Trump "Justice" Department. Since nearly all Republicans are now Trump lackeys and Trump promises "retribution" against his political rivals, it's pretty fair to say this is very "selective prosecution." Have I mentioned Republicans don't play fair?

Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: “A former United States ambassador accused of working for decades as a secret agent for Cuba in one of the biggest national security breaches in years pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Manuel Rocha, 73, pleaded guilty to two charges — conspiring to defraud the United States as a foreign agent and failing to register as a foreign agent — as part of an agreement with the federal government. He also faces three years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine.... In an unusual turn of events, Judge ... Beth Bloom of Federal District Court in Miami ... expressed deep frustration with prosecutors for not seeking more penalties for Mr. Rocha, such as forfeiture of his assets. She demanded changes to the plea deal from the bench and pressed prosecutors to reveal more about when the government learned that Mr. Rocha had become 'an enemy of the United States government.' Prosecutors said details beyond those made public in the indictment were classified.” A CBS News story is here.

Shaila Dewan & Julie Bosman of the New York Times: O.J. Simpson's “dramatic trial, which prompted national conversations about race, celebrity, policing and discrimination, also served as a landmark moment in America’s evolving understanding of domestic violence. Media coverage of domestic abuse surged afterward, and the fervent attention encouraged many abuse survivors to reach out for help, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Donations to women’s shelters poured in.... Before her death, [Nicole] Brown Simpson had tried to get the police to intervene multiple times, but they rarely took substantive action. In 1989, officers found her badly beaten and arrested Mr. Simpson. He was convicted of spousal abuse, but was let off with a fine and probation.... Shortly after Ms. Brown Simpson’s death, the Violence Against Women Act gained final approval in Congress and became law, and her sister, Denise Brown, helped save it from budget cuts the following year.” ~~~

~~~ Rachel Snyder of the New York Times: “For years now, I’ve had advocates who work with survivors of domestic violence tell me that two events in 1994 changed entirely the landscape for victims’ services in their field: the passage of the Violence Against Women Act and the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.... Ms. Brown Simpson’s murder thrust onto the national stage the idea that even beauty, wealth and whiteness could not offer protection from an enraged and estranged spouse. Her murder, along with Ron Goldman’s — for a time, at least — shook an entire nation into some kind of recognition that domestic abuse crosses all bounds of race, class, sexual identity, ethnicity, age. But if the murders brought a sudden shock of awareness of the problem, the trial also illustrated how hard it is for victims to obtain justice, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Florida, Where Cruelty & Abuse Meet Bullying the Vulnerable. Alejandra Borunda of NPR: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a law that prevents cities or counties from creating protections for workers who labor in the state's often extreme and dangerous heat. Two million people in Florida, from construction to agriculture, work outside in often humid, blazing heat. For years, many of them have asked for rules to protect them from heat: paid rest breaks, water, and access to shade when temperatures soar. After years of negotiations, such rules were on the agenda in Miami-Dade County, home to an estimated 300,000 outdoor workers.... The loss of the local rule was a major blow to Miami-Dade activists and workers who had hoped the county heat protection rules would be in place before summer.... Heat risks have grown dramatically in recent years.... The U.S. experienced its hottest-ever summer in 2023, and Florida recorded its hottest-ever July and August." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When is the American Psychiatric Association going to accept Republicanosis as a psychiatric disorder and list it in the DSM?

~~~~~~~~~~

Europe. Lorne Cook of the AP: “Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Friday an investigation into suspected Russian interference in June’s Europe-wide elections, saying that his country’s intelligence service has confirmed the existence of a network trying to undermine support for Ukraine. 'Belgian intelligence services have confirmed the existence of pro-Russian interference networks with activities in several European countries and also here in Belgium,' said De Croo, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.... He said [a Czech] probe showed that members of the European Parliament were approached and offered money to promote Russian propaganda.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sure makes me wonder if Trump, Miss Margie & their cohort are getting cash payments from Russia in addition to the less direct assistance Russia has been serving up all along.

Israel/Palestine, et al.

CNN's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The US currently expects that Iran will carry out strikes against multiple targets inside Israel and that Iranian proxies could also be involved in attacks, according to a senior administration official and a source familiar with the intelligence.... Israel said its warplanes targeted 'military buildings' used by Hezbollah fighters in parts of southern Lebanon on Friday. Hezbollah subsequently fired about 40 rockets toward northern Israel.... At least one Palestinian was killed after hundreds of armed Israeli settlers stormed a village in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to homes and cars in one of the largest attacks by settlers this year, according to local officials.

Eli Stokols, et al., of Politico: “President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel 'sooner rather than later,' delivering a pessimistic assessment even as he warned Tehran against taking such an action. Answering questions from reporters after delivering remarks to a convention of civil rights leaders, Biden said his grim outlook was based on intelligence reports that he was not at liberty to describe further. Asked what he would say to Iran about a potential attack, Biden was terse. 'Don’t,' he replied. Expectations for a retaliatory attack have risen in the days since an Israeli strike on an Iranian embassy in Syria killed a number of senior commanders on April 1. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had said that Israel 'must be punished' for the embassy attack though Israel has not claimed responsibility for it.”

Friday
Apr122024

The Conversation -- April 12, 2024

Marie: Circumstances forced me to listen to a few minutes of a Trump presser. where he informed me that there would have been peace and prosperity, health and happiness throughout the world if he had been president* these last several years. So why this? ~~~

~~~ Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago? Top News in the NYT, April 12, 2020: "Behind Trump's Failure on the Virus: ... Throughout January, as Mr. Trump repeatedly played down the seriousness of the virus and focused on other issues, an array of figures inside his government -- from top White House advisers to experts deep in the cabinet departments and intelligence agencies -- identified the threat, sounded alarms and made clear the need for aggressive action. The president, though, was slow to absorb the scale of the risk and to act accordingly, focusing instead on controlling the message, protecting gains in the economy and batting away warnings from senior officials. It was a problem, he said, that had come out of nowhere and could not have been foreseen."

Priscilla Alvarez & Michael Williams of CNN: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that banned abortions in almost all cases an 'inflection point' in the fight over abortion rights and pointed the blame at Donald Trump. Harris headed to Arizona to mobilize voters who see November's election as a referendum on women's rights, one of the Biden campaign's key issues in the upcoming election. The vice president has become a go-to voice for the campaign on abortion rights and quickly announced a trip to Tucson after Tuesday's ruling."

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "President Biden canceled $7.4 billion in student loan debt on Friday as he tries to shore up support with young voters who are disproportionately affected by soaring education costs, but who may be drifting away over his policy on Israel and the war in Gaza. The latest round of relief is part of a strategy by the White House to take smaller, targeted actions for certain subsets of borrowers after the Supreme Court struck down a far more ambitious plan to wipe out $400 billion in debt last year. Mr. Biden said this week that he would make another attempt at large-scale debt forgiveness for about 30 million people, despite Republican opposition and legal challenges. But in the meantime, he has been chipping away at student debt by fixing and streamlining existing programs that have been plagued by bureaucratic and other problems for years." CNN's report is here.

Luke Broadwater & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The House took a critical first step on Friday toward reauthorizing a law extending an expiring warrantless surveillance law that national security officials say is crucial to fighting terrorism, voting to take it up two days after a previous attempt to pass it collapsed. Grasping to salvage the measure before the law expires next week, Speaker Mike Johnson put forward a shorter extension -- two years instead of five -- in a move that appeared to win over hard-right Republicans who blocked the bill earlier this week. On a party-line vote of 213 to 208, the House agreed to take up the new version of the legislation, which would extend a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as Section 702. That cleared the way for a debate Friday on proposed changes to the bill before a final vote on passage. The preliminary vote on Friday suggested that the measure was back on track after ... Donald J. Trump implored lawmakers this week to 'kill' FISA, complaining that government officials had used it to spy on him. Should it pass the House, the Senate would still have to clear it, sending it to President Biden for his signature." ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated: "In a major turnaround, the House on Friday passed a two-year reauthorization of an expiring warrantless surveillance law that had stalled this week amid G.O.P. resistance stoked by ... Donald J. Trump. The bill would extend a provision known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that is set to lapse next Friday.... The final vote was 273 to 147, with both parties split. One hundred and twenty-six Republicans joined 147 Democrats in favor, while 88 Republicans and 59 Democrats were opposed.... This week [Trump] directed lawmakers ... to 'KILL FISA,' asserting that it had been used to illegally spy on his 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trump's contention was incoherent as a matter of law and policy because there are two types of FISA surveillance and the type that is expiring -- Section 702 -- has nothing to do with the type the F.B.I. used in its investigation into the links between his campaign and Russia amid Moscow's covert efforts to help him win the 2016 election." Politico's report is here.

Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "Donald Trump on Friday urged his followers to support his social media app Truth Social, as its parent company's stock continues to sink lower. Trump in a post on that app said he believes Truth Social embodies the political 'movement' behind his 'Make America Great Again' presidential campaign slogan, adding that 'it shows the Spirit and Love of our Country.'... Trump Media's share price on Friday morning dipped below $30, a decline of more than $40 from its roaring start. It ended the trading day up 0.6%, but failed to offset an almost 20% decline on the week. Shares are down nearly 50% so far in April. Trump is nevertheless poised to reap a financial windfall from the company."

"MAGA Mike." Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "President Biden's reelection campaign unveiled a video Friday linking former President Trump with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in an attempt to highlight their views on reproductive rights issues. In the video 'MAGA Mike,' first shared with The Hill, the Biden campaign complied remarks from both Republicans about reproductive rights.... The video was released days after Trump said he would not sign a national abortion ban if reelected and such a bill passed Congress, a comment that the Biden campaign quickly dismissed as a lie, citing his record on the issue." ~~~

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Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "The sale of firearms on the internet and at gun shows in the US will in future be subject to mandatory background checks, the justice department said on Thursday as it announced a 'historic' new action to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals. The closing of the so-called gun show loophole, which exempts private transactions from restrictions that apply to licensed dealers, has long been a goal of the Biden administration.... The White House estimates that 22% of guns owned by Americans were acquired without a background check and that about 23,000 more individuals will be required to be licensed as a dealer after the rule's implementation.... [Attorney General Merrick] Garland presented the rule as a hardening of the 2022 bipartisan Safer Communities Act.... 'The regulation expands the definition of who must obtain a license and conduct a background check before selling guns,' Garland said. 'It will close the gun show loophole, and it closes the fire-sale loophole by clarifying how firearms dealers who go out of business must go about liquidating their inventory.'... The new rule is the latest in a series of unilateral steps the Biden administration has taken to tighten gun laws, while at the same time highlighting the difficulty of getting legislation through Congress." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This seems like a pretty big deal to me, and I'm not sure why it hasn't received more media attention.

Alexandra Hutzler, et al., of ABC News: "Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday addressed a joint meeting of Congress, where he praised U.S. leadership on the world stage as 'indispensable.' Kishida is in Washington this week as the U.S. looks to strengthen relationships with allies in the Indo-Pacific amid the mutual threat from China, North Korea and Russia. During his speech to lawmakers, Kishida warned..., 'Without U.S. support, how long before the hopes of Ukraine would collapse under the onslaught from Moscow?... Without the presence of the United States, how long before the Indo-Pacific would face even harsher realities?'... Kishida's remarks toward Ukraine skeptics come as U.S. aid to the war-torn ally as it fights Russia's invasion is stalled in a political fight on Capitol Hill."

Besties! Clare Foran, et al., of CNN: "Speaker Mike Johnson is making an effort to emphasize close ties to ... Donald Trump as the Louisiana Republican faces the threat of a vote to strip him of the speaker's gavel. Johnson and Trump are set to appear together at Mar-a-Lago on Friday to deliver joint remarks and make an announcement on 'election integrity.' The event, which sources say was the speaker's idea, comes as ... GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia dangles the possibility of forcing a vote to oust him from the top leadership post."

Benjamin Weiser & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine Menendez, will be tried separately in a federal bribery case, a Manhattan judge ruled on Thursday. The trial of Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, will go forward as scheduled on May 6, but Ms. Menendez's case will be delayed until the summer. The judge, Sidney H. Stein, issued his ruling after Ms. Menendez's lawyers told him that she had a 'serious medical condition' that would require surgery and a potentially extended period of treatment and recovery."

Tobi Raji of the Washington Post: "The Senate Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena Thursday to conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo as part of a months-long inquiry into undisclosed gifts to Supreme Court justices and he promptly rejected it, calling the move 'politically motivated.' 'I am not capitulating to his lawless support of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the left's dark money effort to silence and cancel political opposition,' Leo said of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee's chairman, in a statement to The Washington Post.... With Leo's refusal, Democrats would be forced to hold a Senate vote if they wanted to seek enforcement of the subpoena in court -- a nearly impossible task in a narrowly split chamber with 60 votes needed to break a filibuster." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. CNN's report is here.

Alan Feuer & Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "... Trump's two co-defendants [in the documents case], Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira..., [will try on Friday] to have the charges they are facing dismissed.... In written filings, [their lawyers] have already told Judge Aileen M. Cannon ... that even though their clients may have been following orders from Mr. Trump, they could not have joined him in a plot to hide classified materials they knew nothing about or in obstructing an investigation they never knew existed.... Prosecutors have argued that motions to dismiss, like those to be discussed on Friday, are meant to raise legal issues, not to question the sufficiency of the evidence in an indictment. They have suggested that the arguments advanced by Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira are better handled as disputes at trial." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, this appears to be another matter where Judge Aileen either doesn't know what she is doing or is pretending she doesn't know what she is doing, because -- as the prosecution argues -- the matters are of an evidentiary nature and should be decided by a jury, not by the judge in a pretrial ruling. Joyce Vance said on MSNBC this morning that it was "remarkable" that Cannon was holding a hearing on the motions, which should have been dismissed out of hand. ~~~

     ~~~ Tierney Sneed & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "The transcript of an FBI interview made public late Thursday details how [Walt Nauta,] an aide to ... Donald Trump, characterized the boxes of sensitive documents that are now at the center of the special counsel's case into the mishandling of classified documents from the Trump White House.... [In the interview,] the former president's valet repeatedly claims that he believed Trump stored news clippings, hairspray, shampoo, picture frames and other miscellaneous materials in the boxes.... US District Judge Aileen Cannon granted Nauta permission to file a version of the transcript with minor redactions ahead of a hearing Friday where he will argue that special counsel Jack Smith's charges against him should be thrown out." Includes interview transcript.

Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Evan Corcoran, an attorney for Donald Trump who became a critical witness in the classified documents case against the former president, no longer represents him.... According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Corcoran left Trump's legal team in recent months, a notable departure as the criminal case remains in limbo in south Florida. Corcoran's quiet exit from Trump's orbit could pose a significant issue for the former president, with the potential for prosecutors to call him as a key witness if the case goes to trial."

Calling a Crook a Crook. Filip Timotija of the Hill: "Former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner engaged in a 'level of corruption that we've just never seen' when talking about [Kushner's] firm's recent investments overseas.... The New York Times's [recently reported] that ... 99 percent of his investment fund's money came from foreign sources.... 'This is a guy, Jared Kushner, who had no expertise, no qualification whatsoever to be in the White House while he was there. He made it his account to work in the Gulf Arab states. He basically helped lead the cover-up for [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud]. Get him in from the cold after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.' Rhodes said Kushner securing a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia six months after leaving the White House is a way for Salman to exert influence on U.S. foreign policy if Trump returns to the Oval Office after the November election.... 'He chose to work on issues in the Middle East, and he chose to work with the Gulf Arab states, knowing that the payout would be on the back end,' Rhodes said...."

Presidential Race

No, Republicans Do Not Play Fair. Ever. Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "Democratic officials are looking at their options after Republican secretaries of state in Ohio and Alabama warned them that President Biden might not appear on their ballots in November because of the timing of his expected nomination at the Democratic National Convention..... The situation has created new headaches for Democrats and stoked distrust with election officials over what has long been considered an apolitical process. The chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, Randy Kelley, this week accused the GOP secretary of state, Wes Allen, of 'partisan gamesmanship,' noting that accommodations had been made for Republicans in the past when their national conventions were later in the summer.... The Biden campaign has said a possible solution is 'provisional' certification.... But Allen has rebuffed that idea, and Democrats are also exploring legislative remedies. On Thursday, a Democratic state senator in Alabama, Merika Coleman, introduced a bill that would move that state's deadline back to Aug. 23, the Friday after the Democratic National Convention ends [and would leave the decision to the whims of the GOP-controlled legislature]." ~~~

     ~~~ Ben Kamisar, et al., of NBC News: "It's not the first time a convention has been held in late August -- but it would be a first if any related ballot access questions weren't solved easily, without fanfare or much controversy.... The Biden campaign is resolute: It believes he'll be on every state's presidential ballot no matter what, pointing to a long history of similar issues getting solved without any fight -- including in 2020, in Alabama, Oklahoma, Illinois, Washington and Montana.... [But] John Wahl, [Alabama's] Republican Party chair, gave no indication he'd suggest Republicans work to help the Democrats. Instead, he released a statement attacking Democrats for holding their convention outside of the deadline, claiming it showed 'shocking disregard for Alabama's electoral process.'"

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "The Republican National Committee sent out a scripted robocall on behalf of its new co-chair Lara Trump, falsely claiming Democrats were guilty of 'massive fraud' in the 2020 election.... 'No photo IDs, unsecured ballot drop boxes, mass mailing of ballots and voter rolls chock full of deceased people and non-citizens are just a few examples of the massive fraud that took place. If Democrats have their way, your vote could be canceled out by someone who isn't even an American citizen.'"

Aaron Pellish of CNN: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign manager said on Wednesday that New York campaign staff member Rita Palma was fired after she told GOP voters in a meeting last week that preventing President Joe Biden's victory was her 'number one priority' and encouraged them to volunteer for ... Donald Trump in Pennsylvania."


Marie
: I had the teevee news on during the day yesterday, and it was pretty much all-O.J. all the time. Yet it was not until mid-afternoon that a reporter who originally covered parts of the story -- Marika Gerrard -- mentioned what I thought was a central element of the double-murder story: that it was the ultimate result of continual spousal abuse: "According to Lenore Walker, the Simpson-Brown marriage was a 'textbook example of domestic abuse.'... [Nicole] Brown described an incident in which Simpson broke her arm during a fight.... She wrote about him beating her in public, during sex, and even in front of family and friends.... Of the 62 incidents of abuse, the police were notified eight times, and Simpson was arrested once." It is not likely an accident that abuse by Black men -- Clarence Thomas, Simpson & Bill Cosby -- has done so much to advance the rights of women. The Great White Majority is still more afraid of Black men than of equally-abusive White men. Yet they don't seem to think abuse-less-than-murder is a worthy subject for teevee discussion. But the thrill of the slo-mo Bronco chase? Absolutely!

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Colorado. Oops! Left My Loaded Glock in the Bathroom. Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "A Colorado Republican state representative issued an apology after he left his loaded gun in a bathroom in the state's Capitol building. State Rep. Don Wilson (R) posted a statement dated Wednesday on the social platform X, apologizing for 'briefly' leaving his firearm unattended after the building was closed to the public.... Police said they reviewed surveillance footage of the building and saw Wilson exiting the restroom about half an hour before the gun was found [by a janitor].... Members of the public may have been in the building during the [time the gun was in the restroom].... The Colorado state Legislature is debating Senate Bill 131, which would expand the list of places prohibiting people from carrying a firearm, both concealed and open carry, to include the Capitol building. The bill was passed in the state Senate last week."

Maine. Summer Conception of NBC News: "Two Maine lawmakers are facing possible censure after one said the deadliest mass shooting in the state, in Lewiston in October, was a sign of retribution from God over the passage of a law expanding abortion access by the Democratic-led state Legislature and other 'immoral laws.'... [The] remarks drew condemnation from state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.... The Maine House is set to hold a vote on censuring [Michael] Lemelin and [Shelley] Rudnicki for their comments." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As usual, I don't think much of a screwed-up god who would murder innocent people because of the separate and supposedly immoral acts of others.

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Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin complained directly to his Israeli counterpart that Israel did not notify the United States before conducting a strike on an Iranian site in Syria this month, which the Pentagon sees as increasing risks to American forces in the Middle East, U.S. officials ... told The Washington Post. A U.N. team visiting Khan Younis following the withdrawal of Israeli troops reported destruction 'disproportionate to anything one can imagine,' World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.... Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, was in Israel on Thursday, a Pentagon spokesperson said, as the allies coordinate on preparing for Iran's threatened retaliation."

Russia. Alexandra Alter of the New York Times: "During the years leading up to his death in a Russian prison, Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was writing a memoir about his life and work as a pro-democracy activist. Titled 'Patriot,' the memoir will be published in the United States by Knopf on Oct. 22, with a first printing of half a million copies, and a simultaneous release in multiple countries."