April 24, 2023

Afternoon/Evening Update:

Richard Fausset & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "The prosecutor leading the investigation of ... Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia said on Monday that she is aiming to announce any indictments by mid-July at the earliest, according to a letter she sent to a top local law enforcement official. In her letter, Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., said that any charges would come during the court term that runs from July 11 to Sept. 1. In January, Ms. Willis said that charging decisions in the investigation were 'imminent.' But her timetable has been delayed, in part because a number of witnesses have sought to cooperate as the investigation has neared an end. Local law enforcement also needs time to prepare for potential security threats, a point that Ms. Willis emphasized in the letter."

It's Cable News Clean Out the Anchor Desks Day.

** So Long, TuKKKums! Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Fox News said Monday that it was parting ways with Tucker Carlson, its most popular prime time host who was also the source of repeated controversies and headaches for the network because of his statements on everything from race relations to L.G.B.T.Q. rights. The network made the announcement less than a week after it agreed to pay $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit in which Mr. Carlson's show, one of the highest rated on Fox, figured prominently for its role in spreading misinformation after the 2020 election. In making its announcement, Fox offered a terse statement of gratitude. 'Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,' it said." ~~~

     ~~~ Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: “In a shocking announcement, Fox News announced Monday that prime-time host Tucker Carlson is leaving the network.... It was Carlson's comments about Fox management, as revealed in the Dominion case, that played a role in his departure from Fox, a person familiar with the company's thinking told The Post.... His Fox News colleagues were stunned by the departure, which seemed out of the blue." CNN's story, by Oliver Darcy & Marshall Cohen is here. MB: I was going to write TuKKKer a nice farewell poem like that beautiful one by W. H. Auden. But I couldn't think of a single word that rhymed with "Tucker." (Well, maybe I thought of two, but then you couldn't read the poem to your children.) ~~~

~~~ SO THEN. Doha Madani of NBC News: "Don Lemon was terminated from his anchor role at CNN, he announced Monday. The news comes after Variety published a story earlier this month on allegations that he mistreated his female colleagues over the course of his career there. And earlier this year, he faced backlash over widely criticized comments he made on-air. Lemon announced the news on Twitter, saying he was informed by his agent that he was being terminated. 'I am stunned,' Lemon wrote. 'After 17 years at CNN I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.' CNN CEO Chris Licht said that the network and Lemon have 'parted ways,' according to a memo provided to NBC News Monday." The New York Times story, by Michael Grynbaum & others, is here. MB: Perfect timing. People will be so thrilled to see the back side of TuKKKer, they'll hardly notice that CNN's Mr. Misogynist has left the building. ~~~

~~~ Theoretically, More Important. Kierra Frazier, et al., of Politico: "Domestic policy adviser Susan Rice is stepping down from her post. Rice, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, helped the Biden administration with expanding the Affordable Care Act, getting his Inflation Reduction Act into law, and passing gun control legislation. The move comes as the White House is facing controversy over its handling of migrant children who crossed the Southern border.... Rice's departure leaves a major hole within the top ranks of the White House right as it gears up for a likely re-election campaign and as it faces a stare down with congressional Republicans over raising the debt limit. Among those being eyed as a replacement for her include Neera Tanden, Biden's staff secretary and a senior adviser, four people with knowledge of the deliberations told Politico. Separately, a top White House official said no replacement had been identified yet. One former administration official said White House aides were talking openly about Tanden's consideration for Rice's job over the weekend, calling her potential appointment 'pretty damn firm.'" ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement is here.

Show Me the Money. Dan Mangan of CNBC: "Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Monday asked GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for a complete list of gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and evidence that the billionaire real estate developer complied with federal tax law in connection with the long-undisclosed largesse to Thomas.... The letter asks for a list of all flights Thomas took on any of Crow's jets, as well as details of those trips. Wyden requested similar details about the justice's trips on the Michaela Rose and information about the Georgia property purchases. He concluded by writing, 'Please list any additional gifts or payments with a value in excess of $1,000 made to Justice Thomas or members of his family since he was sworn into the Supreme Court that would not be captured by' the prior questions."

Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "China moved quickly on Monday to limit damage to its relations with Europe, repudiating the comments of Beijing's ambassador in Paris who had questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet nations like Ukraine in a televised interview. The comments by Lu Shaye on Friday caused a diplomatic firestorm over the weekend among European foreign ministers and parliamentarians, with several countries summoning China's envoys for explanations. His remarks threatened to throw a wrench in China's ongoing efforts to balance courting European leaders with trade while supporting Russia, with which it has declared a 'no limits' partnership.... [Friday, Mr. Lu] said that Crimea was Russian historically and had been handed over to Ukraine, then added: 'Even these countries of the former Soviet Union do not have an effective status in international law, since there is no international agreement that would specify their status as sovereign countries.'... China's Foreign Ministry ... on Monday insist[ed] that it recognized the sovereignty of all the former Soviet republics that have declared independence, including Ukraine."

~~~~~~~~~~

Hillary Clinton, in a New York Times op-ed: "Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is making a ransom demand. His hostage is the economy and America's credibility. Mr. McCarthy has threatened that House Republicans will refuse to raise the federal government's debt ceiling, potentially triggering a global financial crisis, unless President Biden agrees to deep cuts to education, health care, food assistance for poor children and other services. Mr. McCarthy repeatedly invoked the threat of Chinese competition as justification. The speaker is right that this debate has significant national security implications -- just not the way he says.... The world is looking to the United States for strong, steady leadership. Congressional brinkmanship on the debt ceiling sends the opposite message to our allies and our adversaries: that America is divided, distracted and can't be counted on." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Anyone who thinks Republicans are patriotic Americans who want to do what is in the national interest should remove their rose-colored glasses. The Republican party and its right-wing allies are the central challenge not just to democracy but to the general interests of the American people, national security, U.S. economy & U.S. corporations. Corporate bigwigs & wealthy private interests who think those Trumpy tax cuts were good for them are sadly mistaken; we would not have such a huge & threatening debt crisis if not for the free rides Republicans give to the "haves."

Bow Down, Bow Down, to the Lord High Supreme Chief! Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "During an appearance on MSNBC early Sunday morning, the former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics trashed Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for saying nothing and doing nothing about the cloud of scandals hovering over Justice Clarence Thomas. Speaking with host Katie Phang, attorney Walter Schaub expressed dismay with the chief justice, repeatedly saying, 'Shame on him.' With CNN reporting that Roberts is 'punting' on testifying before the Senate about Thomas and his relationship with a conservative billionaire who has been financing the lavish lifestyle the justice and his wife Ginni have been living, Shaub lashed out at Roberts. 'I think it would be positively disgraceful if he refuses to speak - testify in front of Congress,' he told the MSNBC host. 'It would be a real statement that the Supreme Court justices view themselves as rulers instead of public servants.'"

Benjamin Mullin, et al., of the New York Times: "Jeff Shell, the chief executive of NBCUniversal, is leaving the company after an investigation into a complaint about an inappropriate workplace relationship, the company's owner, Comcast, said in a statement on Sunday. In the statement, Mr. Shell said that Sunday would be his last day and that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company.' Comcast's terse statement did not say who would be replacing Mr. Shell at NBCUniversal, which he has led since 2020. But in a note to employees on Sunday, Comcast's chief executive, Brian Roberts, said that Mr. Shell's senior team would report to Michael Cavanagh, Comcast's president, putting Mr. Cavanagh in effective control of NBCUniversal.... [Shell] succeeded Ron Meyer, a longtime Universal executive, who left the company in 2020 after he said he was the victim of an attempt to 'extort' him that was related to a past extramarital affair." The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case you're feeling sorry for Shell, his annual salary was reportedly $21.5 million. Unless he has been spending imprudently -- and can he possibly be imprudent in more ways that one? -- he should have more than enough in savings & investments to retire on.

Jordyn Holman & Lauren Hirsch of the New York Times: "On Sunday, the 52-year-old retailer [Bed Bath & Beyond] said it was filing for bankruptcy protection in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. It said it would start the process of closing the company's 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 Buy Buy Baby locations on Wednesday and seek to sell parts of its business. In its Chapter 11 filing, the company said it expected all stores to close by June 30." CNBC's report is here.

Presidential Race 2024. Ed O'Keefe & Fin Gomez of CBS News: "President Biden is set to name Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior West Wing official and longtime Democratic Party activist, to manage his reelection campaign, three people familiar with the ongoing deliberations tell CBS News.... The president has been spending the weekend at Camp David with First Lady Jill Biden and other senior aides sorting out the finishing touches of the campaign."

Sununu Trashes Trump. Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "'Republicans want someone who can win in November of '24. Donald Trump is a loser. He has not just lost once. He lost us .. our House seats in 2018,' [New Hampshire Gov. Chris] Sununu said [Sunday]. 'He lost everything and '20. We should have 54 U.S. senators right now and we don't because of his message. So, Donald Trump is positioning himself to be a four-time loser in 2024.'... Sununu said that Trump plays the 'victim card,' but Republicans want someone 'who's going to fight for them.' And the governor said the former president did not follow through on his campaign promises, like building a border wall and reforming health care." MB: Yeah, but Trump had a lot of Infrastructure Weeks. Oh, and he and your "fiscally-conservative" Congressional Republicans cut taxes on the wealthy & corporations to increase the debt by almost $7.8 trillion. That's "about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country."

Beyond the Beltway

Iowa, et al. Child Abuse, Inc. Jacob Bogage & Maria Paúl of the Washington Post: "At 4:52 a.m., Tuesday, [Iowa's] Senate approved a bill to allow children as young as 14 to work night shifts and 15 year-olds on assembly lines. The measure, which still must pass the Iowa House, is among several the Foundation for Government Accountability is maneuvering through state legislatures. The Florida-based think tank and its lobbying arm, the Opportunity Solutions Project, have found remarkable success among Republicans to relax regulations that prevent children from working long hours in dangerous conditions. And they are gaining traction at a time the Biden administration is scrambling to enforce existing labor protections for children. The FGA achieved its biggest victory in March, playing a central role in designing a new Arkansas law to eliminate work permits and age verification for workers younger than 16.... In Missouri, where another child labor bill has gained significant GOP support, the FGA helped a lawmaker draft and revise the legislation, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. The FGA for years has worked systematically to shape policy at the state level, fighting to advance conservative causes such as restricting access to anti-poverty programs and blocking Medicaid expansion."

Ohio, et al. Kate Zernicke & Michael Wines of the New York Times: "Voters pushed back decisively after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, approving ballot measures that established or upheld abortion rights in all six states where they appeared. Now, with abortion rights groups pushing for similar citizen-led ballot initiatives in at least six other states, Republican-controlled legislatures and anti-abortion groups are trying to stay one step ahead by making it harder to pass the measures -- or to get them on the ballot at all. The biggest and most immediate fight is in Ohio, where a coalition of abortion rights groups is collecting signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would prohibit the state from banning abortion before a fetus becomes viable outside the womb, at about 24 weeks of pregnancy[, which could pass with a simple majority]. That would essentially establish on the state level what Roe did nationwide for five decades.... But Republicans in the state legislature are advancing a ballot amendment of their own that would raise the percentage of votes required to pass future such measures to a 60 percent supermajority. The measure has passed the Ohio Senate and is expected to pass the House this week."

Idaho. Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "Republicans in Idaho have been criticized for 'glorifying political violence' after the party hosted Kyle Rittenhouse, the American who shot and killed two people at an anti-racism protest and injured another, as a celebrity guest at a fundraiser. The 20-year-old was the guest of honor at a Bonneville county Republican party event, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on 15 April, where an AR-15 style rifle signed by Rittenhouse was auctioned off as part of a fundraiser and people could buy tickets to 'Trigger time': a Rittenhouse-hosted shooting event at a gun range. The event, amid a prolonged spate of mass shootings -- many conducted with AR-15s -- suggests a further embrace by Republicans of the most extreme elements of the gun lobby in the US...." MB: So some people are saying that a homicidal maniac is not really a celebrity? Huh.

Kentucky. AP: "The former Louisville Metro Police officer who fatally shot Breonna Taylor has a new job in law enforcement. WHAS-TV [Louisville] reported that the Carroll County[, Kentucky,] Sheriff's Office confirmed Saturday the hiring of Myles Cosgrove who was fired from the police department in January 2021 for violating use-of-force procedures and failing to use a body camera during the raid on Taylor's apartment.... In November, the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council voted not to revoke Cosgrove's state peace officer certification. This meant he could apply for other law enforcement jobs in the state. A protest in Carroll County has already been planned on Monday in response to his hiring."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine here. The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Monday is here: "Global defense expenditure rose to an all-time high of $2.24 trillion in 2022, with Russia and Ukraine notably hiking their budgets. 'The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,' SIPRI researcher Nan Tian said in a statement.... The Kremlin could end the Black Sea grain deal, which facilitates the export of Ukrainian grain, if the Group of Seven industrialized nations imposes a blanket ban on exports to Russia, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday on Telegram.... The Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group is making aggressive moves to bring together an anti-Western coalition of states in Africa, according to leaked U.S. government documents reviewed by The Washington Post."

AP: "Russia said Sunday that the United States has denied visas to journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's trip to New York, and Lavrov suggested that Moscow would take strong retaliatory measures. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department about the claim of refused visas. The journalists aimed to cover Lavrov's appearance at the United Nations to mark Russia's chairmanship of the Security Council.... The dispute comes in the wake of high tensions with Washington over the arrest last month of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, whom Russia accuses of espionage. The United States has declared him to be 'wrongfully detained.'" MB: Besides, they're not journalists, Vlad; they're state-controlled scribes.

April 23, 2023

Coral Davenport & Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President Biden's administration is poised to announce limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that could compel them to capture the pollution from their smokestacks, technology now used by fewer than 20 of the nation's 3,400 coal and gas-fired plants, according to three people who were briefed on the rule. If implemented, the proposed regulation would be the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, which generate about 25 percent of the planet-warming pollution produced by the United States. It would also apply to future plants.... The proposed rule is sure to face opposition from the fossil fuel industry, power plant operators and their allies in Congress. It is likely to draw an immediate legal challenge from a group of Republican attorneys general that has already sued the Biden administration to stop other climate policies. A future administration could also weaken the regulation." MB: Because of course what the world needs is assurance that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions continue apace.

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The silencing of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after she called Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas a liar in a hearing has led to a pledge for a more civil House Homeland Security Committee going forward -- a standard lawmakers may struggle to meet as they gear up for the secretary's impeachment.... Greene called the decision to silence her for the rest of the hearing unfair, noting that numerous Republican speakers before her accused Mayorkas of lying to Congress, even if they did not label him as a liar directly... '... I think most Republicans were calling [the] secretary names, belittling him and not allowing him to speak, insinuating that he was lying -- all things which are false,' [Rep. Robert] Garcia [D-Calif.] told The Hill.... Several Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to dismiss the budding impeachment argument from the GOP. 'They can disagree with [Mayorkas] on policy, but that is not a high crime and misdemeanor, nor does it in any way violate the Constitution and has no grounds for impeachment,' Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sorry, but people like Miss Margie have never learned to have any self-control. I believe she would tell the Pope to his face he was an asshole if she disagreed with him about something. And if chastised, she would defend her remark because these people also have no inclination toward self-reflection. They suffer from extreme arrested development; they got stuck in their terrible twos and they can't get out.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "... the Supreme Court's order on Friday night maintaining the availability of a commonly used abortion pill nonetheless sent a powerful message from a chastened court. 'Legal sanity prevailed, proving that, at least for now, disrupting the national market for an F.D.A.-approved drug is a bridge too far, even for this court,' said David S. Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University.... In his concurrence in Dobbs, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the majority had abandoned 'principles of judicial restraint' at the cost of 'a serious jolt to the legal system.' Friday's order avoided a second jolt.... Notwithstanding his pledges that the court was getting out of the abortion business, [Justice Samuel Alito] issued a dissent that packed a lot of grievance into its roughly three pages.... He devoted much of it to accusing the Biden administration of acting in bad faith.... 'Justice Alito, who wrote so passionately [in Dobbs] about returning abortion to the states to be decided by their elected representatives, would have allowed an order to take effect that made abortion less accessible only in states where abortion remained legal,' [University of Pittsburgh law professor Greer Donley said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Note that if "legal sanity prevailed," as Prof. Cohen says, then it follows that Alito's and Thomas's dissents are exercises in "legal insanity." I'll go along with that. ~~~

     ~~~ Alito's Opinion "Reads Like a Fox News Grandpa's Rant." Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post:"In the rush to celebrate the failure of medical zealots (this time) to dredge up an antiabortion activist in robes to countermand the FDA, Alito's dissent shouldn't be ignored, for it perfectly encapsulates the degree to which he's become 'unmoored from reason,' as legal scholar Norman Eisen tells me.... Supreme Court advocates and constitutional experts with whom I spoke ... cite a batch of objectionable arguments and remarks in his dissent.... Alito's dissent begins with an extended, bitter and unnecessary rant about the shadow docket.... It's entirely irrelevant to the matter at hand and, as with so much of Alito's writing, utterly intemperate.... [His] unprecedented attack on the government's obedience to court rulings -- based on nothing -- is out of order.... Moreover, Alito's dissent demonstrates that he does not care one whit about the women affected if the drug were suddenly made unavailable. (At least he's consistent; he also utterly ignored the interests of women in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, giving them no weight in contrast to the seemingly inviolate interest of states in commandeering women's reproductive choices.)" Read the whole column. ~~~

     ~~~ Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times argues that the mifepristone case & several others cases before the courts demonstrate how religious (MB: I would say "Christian fundamentalist") beliefs have informed judicial decisions.

Roberts Punts Again. Ariane de Vogue of CNN: "Chief Justice John Roberts has declined to directly respond [link fixed] to a congressional request to investigate Justice Clarence Thomas' alleged ethical lapses. Roberts instead referred the request from Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin to the Judicial Conference, which serves as the policy-making body of the federal courts. The Illinois Democrat had penned a letter urging Roberts to investigate Thomas after a ProPublica report that found that Thomas had gone on several luxury trips at the invitation of a GOP megadonor. The trips were not disclosed on Thomas' public financial filings.... Durbin has also sent a separate letter to Roberts asking him to testify in an upcoming hearing regarding Supreme Court ethics. Roberts has yet to respond to that letter. The senator said in a statement Saturday, 'It is clear that such an appearance by the Chief Justice may be the only way for the Court to set out with clarity and meaningful and credible reform.' He added that if the "Court does not address shortcomings in its ethical standards," then Congress must. Durbin's statement included a letter from Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the secretary of the Judicial Conference, that said, 'I write in response to the letter of April 10, 2023, from you and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to the Chief Justice of the United States, which has been referred to me.' Mauskopf added that she would send the matter to the conference's Committee on Financial Disclosure." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The headline of de Vogue's article describes Roberts as "punting" Durbin's request. Roberts punts a lot. He wanted to punt on Dobbs, for instance, but he couldn't control the Court's zealots. He did manage to punt on the mifepristone case. In his confirmation hearings, Roberts famously claimed, "My job is to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat. I have no agenda." That baseball analogy of course turned out to be a "misdirection," as Roberts led the Court's sharp right turn. The football analogy is a better fit.

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Anyone expecting that Fox's $787.5 million settlement with Dominion this week would make the network any humbler or gentler is likely to be disappointed. And there probably won't be much of a shift in the way the network favorably covers [Donald] Trump and the issues that resonate with his followers.... After a hiatus from the network that lasted much of 2022, Mr. Trump is back on Fox News.... In Mr. Trump's recent interview with the Fox host Tucker Carlson, he implied that there was good reason to doubt the legitimacy of President Biden's victory, saying, 'People could say he won an election.' Mr. Carlson, for his part, has also dipped back into election denialism recently. 'Jan. 6, I think, is probably second only to the 2020 election as the biggest scam of my lifetime,' he said on the air on March 14.... In the immediate term, [Rupert] Murdoch seems unlikely to make any major changes at any of his Fox properties."

Presidential Race 2024. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Even in a world made crueler by social media and Donald Trump, [Ron] DeSantis seems mean, punching out at Mickey Mouse, imigrants, gays and women; pushing through an expansion of his proposal to ban school discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity to include all grades, as well as a draconian ban on abortion after six weeks. He even admonished some high school kids during the pandemic for wearing masks. On Thursday, DeSantis signed a bill cutting the number of jurors needed to give a defendant the death sentence from 12 to 8."

Beyond the Beltway

Alaska. Sean McGuire of the Anchorage Daily News, via Yahoo! News: "In a landmark decision, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional under the Alaska Constitution's equal protection doctrine. The decision follows a contentious recent reapportionment cycle: The Alaska Redistricting Board was twice found by the state's highest court of having unconstitutionally gerrymandered the state's political maps by attempting to give solidly Republican Eagle River more political representation with two Senate seats. Following a court order, the board approved an interim map last year for November's general election that kept Eagle River intact in one Senate district. The court ruled Friday that the redistricting board would have 90 days to appear before a Superior Court judge and show cause why the interim political map should not be used until the 2032 general election." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If all state supreme courts would recognize the right to equal representation, we would have a different House of Representatives, most likely one with a Democratic majority. (Of course, a few states have only one House member, so on the federal level, there would be no change. But in state houses, forbidding gerrymandering -- as a few states already do -- would make quite a difference.)

Way Beyond

Sudan. The New York Times is live-updating developments in the crisis in Sudan: "The United States military airlifted embassy officials out of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, amid continuing violence as rival military leaders battled for control of Africa's third-largest country, President Biden said late on Saturday. In a briefing for reporters, officials said that just over 100 special operations troops were involved in evacuating under 100 people -- mostly U.S. Embassy employees -- using helicopters that flew in from the nation of Djibouti, about 800 miles away." ~~~

     ~~~ John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The U.S. military completed the evacuation of all American embassy personnel and family members from Sudan early Sunday local time, President Biden said, as rival military factions battled for control of the country amid a sharp uptick in casualties in Africa's third-largest nation. 'I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety,' Biden said in a statement that also thanked the governments of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia for help." CNN's report is here. ~~~

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

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "The Kremlin will expel more than 20 German diplomats from Russia, state media reported, in a move characterized by Moscow as retaliation for a similar move by Berlin. The German Foreign Ministry acknowledged that it had kicked out Russian diplomats as part of an attempt to decrease the number of intelligence agents in the country.... Russia told its citizens to avoid travel to Canada due to alleged incidents of discrimination and physical attacks. It did not substantiate the accusations.... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced new measures targeting 322 companies and numerous other entities. The blacklist includes Russian weapons manufacturers and those who help Russia circumvent punitive measures.

April 22, 2023

Marie: Sorry, my Supremes links that I filed as they were published yesterday got "disappeared." I've sort of reconstructed them here. ~~~

~~~ ** Supremes Punt. Ariane De Vogue of CNN: "The Supreme Court on Friday protected access to a widely used abortion drug by freezing lower-court rulings that placed restrictions on its usage. As a result, the US Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug mifepristone and subsequent actions that made it more easily accessible will remain in place while appeals play out -- potentially for months to come. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented." (Also linked yesterday evening, someplace.) Politico's report is here. ~~~

~~~ You can read the Grant of Stay & dissents here (on the documents cloud, via Politico.) Thomas' dissent is only one line, but Joy Reid describes Alito's dissent as "churlish" & "scathing." In the NYT liveblog linked below, Charlie Savage wrote that Alito "snarked" at liberals. Marie: I'd call it "remarkably whiney" and "inappropriate." Except for the fact that the dissent is literate, it's right down there in Miss Margie territory. What an arrogant, nasty piece of work Alito is, as if you didn't already know that.

     ~~ Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Friday retained full access for now to a key drug that has been taken by millions of women to terminate early pregnancies, its first major abortion-related decision since overturning Roe v. Wade's constitutional guarantee of abortion rights last year. The court put on hold a lower court's ruling in favor of antiabortion groups, which said the Food and Drug Administration was wrong to make the drug mifepristone more widely available. A legal battle over whether to permanently reimpose restrictions, and whether the FDA had properly approved use of the drug more than 20 years ago, will continue. In the only noted dissents, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would not have granted the Biden administration's request for a stay of the lower court decision. The court's order is the latest development in what has been a rapid and at times confusing legal battle over mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug regimen in more than half of the nation's abortion procedures. The second drug, misoprostol, can also be used on its own to terminate early pregnancies, usually with more cramping and bleeding." (Also linked yesterday evening, someplace.) ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story, by Amy VanSickle, is here: "The court's decision is, at least temporarily, a victory for the Biden administration. President Biden welcomed the decision, saying the 'administration will continue to defend F.D.A.'s independent, expert authority to review, approve and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs.' The Texas ruling, he added, 'would have undermined F.D.A.'s medical judgment and put women’s health at risk.'"

     ~~~ The New York Times ran a liveblog here. (Also linked yesterday evening, someplace.) An interesting post in the liveblog comes from Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak who writes,

"A recent study by two researchers, Peter Grossi and Daphne O'Connor, in The Journal of Law and the Biosciences on what it called 'the looming battle over abortion medications' concluded that Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and other conservative members of the court had, in four decisions since 2009, said there should be 'one consistent, national policy for the distribution and regulation of drugs, under the science-based decisions of the F.D.A.' Indeed, even in the context of access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, the Supreme Court has recently affirmed the authority of the F.D.A. In 2021, the court reinstated a requirement that women seeking to end their pregnancies using the pill pick it up in person from a hospital or medical office. A federal judge in Maryland had blocked the requirement in light of the coronavirus pandemic, overriding the agency's determination. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the only member of the majority to set out his reasons, said that the trial judge should have deferred to the F.D.A....

"In 2020, in an earlier encounter with the case, Justice Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, expressed incredulity that 'a district court judge in Maryland took it upon himself to overrule the F.D.A. on a question of drug safety.'... In a dissent in 2009, Justice Alito, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia, praised the agency's expertise, saying 'the F.D.A. has the benefit of the long view.'" MB: Clearly, Clarence & Sam forgot all about their previous opinions, so wrapped up are they in their misogynistic preoccupation.

Fenit Nirappil & Frances Sellers of the Washington Post: “States that have enacted abortion bans saw a 10.5 percent drop in applicants for obstetrics and gynecology residencies in 2023 from the previous year, according to new data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. That decline carries a potential long-term impact on the availability of doctors to care for pregnant people and deliver babies across a large swath of the South and Midwest because medical residents often choose to stay and work where they trained."

Casey Tolan & Isabelle Chapman of CNN: "The federal judge who issued a nationwide ruling blocking the approval of a common abortion medication redacted key information on his legally mandated financial disclosures, [link fixed] in what legal experts described as an unusual move that conceals the bulk of his personal fortune. In his 2020 and 2021 annual disclosures, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk wrote that he held between $5 million and $25 million in 'common stock' of a company -- a significant majority of the judge's personal wealth. The name of the company he held stock in is redacted, despite the fact that federal law only allows redactions of information that could 'endanger' a judge or their family member. CNN obtained a previous financial disclosure for Kacsmaryk ... from 2017, when he was a judicial nominee. On that unredacted form, Kacsmaryk reported owning about $2.9 million in stock in the Florida-based supermarket company Publix. It's not clear whether that's the same holding as the redacted stock.... Redactions are approved by a judicial committee.... The redacted holding accounted for at least 85% of Kacsmaryk's total reported wealth in 2021, and potentially more." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figure out why revealing that he held stocks in Publix would pose a danger to Kacsmaryk or his family. So maybe he sold his Publix stock and dumped the proceeds into what? -- a drug company that makes Covid vaccines? Comet Ping Pong Pizza? George Soros Investments?

** Presidential Race 2024. Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: “President Biden on Friday plans to announce the creation of a White House Office of Environmental Justice, one of several actions to address the unequal burden that people of color carry from environmental hazards, according to the White House. But Mr. Biden, who has indicated that he will run for re-election, is also expected to use the opportunity to portray Republicans as extremists who support the fossil fuel industry at the expense of public health and the planet, said a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly. At a ceremony planned for the Rose Garden, the president plans to sign an executive order making environmental justice a focus of every federal agency and requiring agencies to develop plans to address the disproportionate impact of pollution and climate change on minority and tribal communities, and to report their progress...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Stories about fascist candidates Fatty Short-Fingers & Mini Trump are linked below.

** Wow! Western Intel Agencies Asleep on the Job. Aric Toler of Bellingcat & New York Times reporters, of the New York Times, published by the NYT: "The Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified documents to a small group of gamers had been posting sensitive information months earlier than previously known and to a much larger chat group, according to online postings reviewed by The New York Times. In February 2022, soon after the invasion of Ukraine, a user profile matching that of Airman Jack Teixeira began posting secret intelligence on the Russian war effort on a previously undisclosed chat group on Discord, a social media platform popular among gamers. The chat group contained about 600 members. The case against Airman Teixeira, 21, who was arrested on April 13, pertains to the leaking of classified documents on another Discord group of about 50 members, called Thug Shaker Central....

"It is not clear whether authorities are aware of the classified material posted on this additional Discord chat group.... The additional information raises questions about why authorities did not discover the leaks sooner, particularly since hundreds more people would have been able to see the posts.... The Times learned about the larger chat room from a Discord user. Unlike Thug Shaker Central, the second chat room was publicly listed on a YouTube channel and was easily accessed in seconds." MB: Seriously, WTF are our crack intel agencies doing? This stuff has been up, in full view, for more than a year. ~~~

~~~ Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "The FBI has been interviewing members of a private Discord server where a 21-year-old National Guardsman is alleged to have shared classified documents, an indication that law enforcement officials are trying to understand how potentially dozens of people may have had access to highly sensitive information before it circulated on the internet and was obtained by journalists.... In at least one instance, the FBI has seized the electronic devices of a former member of the server, according to people familiar with the matter." MB: Yeah But. Thanks to the revelations in the NYT story above, now we know the investigators may be looking in the wrong place. They have 600 more guys to interrogate.

Grace Ashford & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: :... as federal and local prosecutors examine the web of deceit [Rep. George] Santos [R-N.Y.] spun on his way to winning a closely contested House seat last November, they appear to be focused on a trail of financial dealings that suggests possible campaign finance violations or outright fraud.... No one may be more central to that inquiry than [Santos' former campaign treasurer Nancy] Marks, who was, until now, an unheralded cog in New York politics.... She helped him meet donors and signed off on nearly every campaign invoice and financial filing.... Battling for self-preservation, Mr. Santos has sought to blame Ms. Marks for his financial troubles.... Ms. Marks, in turn, has told at least two associates in recent months that she, like others, was duped by Mr. Santos. In late January, amid growing interest from the Federal Election Commission about financial irregularities, she resigned.... A review by The New York Times ... shows that even as her stature grew over two decades, Ms. Marks waded into ethically and legally murky territory.... The Times found that Ms. Marks's accounting and business practices repeatedly drew suspicion." The report details some of Marks' shady dealings with shady Republicans & her mismanagement of her personal finances. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jonathan Easley of Politics USA: "Jim Jordan and House Judiciary Republicans got caught editing witness interviews to smear the Sec. of State and push their Hunter Biden laptop scandal.... [They tweeted] 'Testimony Reveals Secretary Blinken and the Biden Campaign Were Behind the Infamous Public Statement from Former Intel Officials on the Hunter Biden Laptop' [and released what purported to be copies of testimony by Mike Morell, former acting CIA director].... House Judiciary Committee Democrats provided PoliticusUSA with the unedited testimony where Mike Morell testifies that he was never asked by now Sec. Blinken to write a letter about Hunter Biden’s laptop[.]... In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, a spokesperson for the House Judiciary Democrats said: 'To smear Secretary Blinken and sensationalize a three-year-old tabloid story, Jim Jordan has released cherry-picked excerpts of a transcribed interview. To be clear, no part of that interview demonstrates that Tony Blinken or any other Biden campaign official asked Mike Morell to write a letter about Hunter Biden's laptop.'" MB: I don't often link Easley's posts because he's a hyper-partisan liberal, but he sure seems to have the goods on Jordan here.

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "A former prosecutor who once helped lead an investigation of Donald J. Trump will testify before Congress next month, ending for now a legal dispute between Republican lawmakers and Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, who had sought to block the testimony. The former prosecutor, Mark F. Pomerantz, is now scheduled to testify under oath to representatives of the House Judiciary Committee in a closed-door deposition on May 12.... A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said in a statement that the resolution would allow the office's general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, to be present for the questioning of Mr. Pomerantz. A lawyer for Mr. Pomerantz is also expected to be present, and Mr. Pomerantz may decline to answer questions that he is not authorized to discuss. Congressional Republicans may contest his right to remain silent in future proceedings." CNN's story is here. MB: From what I heard on the teevee, which might not be correct, Dubeck will be able to prevent Pomerantz from answering certain questions.

** Oh, Look: Fat Little Fingerprints. Richard Faucett & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump took part in a discussion about plans to access [by seizure!] voting system software in Michigan and Georgia as part of the effort to challenge his 2020 election loss, according to testimony from former Trump advisers. The testimony, delivered to the House Jan. 6 committee, was highlighted on Friday in a letter to federal officials from a liberal-leaning legal advocacy group [Free Speech for People]. Allies of Mr. Trump ultimately succeeded in copying the elections software in those two states, and the breach of voting data in Georgia is being examined by prosecutors as part of a broader criminal investigation into whether Mr. Trump and his allies interfered in the presidential election there. The former president's participation in the discussion of the Georgia plan could increase his risk of possible legal exposure there. A number of Trump aides and allies have recounted a lengthy and acrimonious meeting in the Oval Office on Dec. 18, 2020, which one member of the House Jan. 6 committee would later call 'the craziest meeting of the Trump presidency.'" MB: The plan to seize the machines was so crazy even Rudy Giuliani opposed it.

Trump Conspirators Undeterred by Insurrection. Zachary Cohen of CNN: "In mid-January 2021, two men hired by ... Donald Trump's legal team discussed over text message what to do with data obtained from a breached voting machine in a rural county in Georgia, including whether to use it as part of an attempt to decertify the state's pending Senate runoff results. The texts, sent two weeks after operatives breached a voting machine in Coffee County, Georgia, reveal for the first time that Trump allies considered using voting data not only to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, but also in an effort to keep a Republican hold on the US Senate. 'Here's the plan. Let's keep this close hold,' Jim Penrose, a former NSA official working with Trump lawyer Sidney Powell to access voting machines in Georgia, wrote in a January 19 text to Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, a firm that purports to run audits of voting systems.... In the text..., Penrose references the upcoming certification of Democrat Jon Ossoff's win over Republican David Perdue. The plot to breach voting systems in Coffee County, coordinated by members of Trump's legal team including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, is part of a broader criminal investigation into 2020 election interference led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "With or without [Donald] Trump in control, the Republican Party has a clear, well-articulated agenda.... Republicans have a vision for intrusive government, aimed at the most vulnerable people in our society.... The crown jewel of the Republican effort to build a more intrusive, domineering government is the set of laws passed to ban or sharply limit abortion, regulate gender expression and otherwise restrict bodily autonomy. These laws, by their very nature, create a web of state surveillance that brings the government into the most private reaches of an adult's life, or a child's.... Not everyone is subject to the Republican vision of intrusive government. There are vanishingly few limits in most Republican-led states on the ability to buy, sell, own and carry firearms.... When it comes to the demands of capital or the prerogatives of the right kind of Americans, Republicans believe, absolutely, in the light touch of a 'small' government.... But when it comes to Americans deemed deviant for their poverty or their transgressions against a traditional code of patriarchal morality, Republicans believe ... that the only answer is the heaviest and most meddlesome hand of the state." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Dana Milbank of the Washington Post reprises some of Marjorie Taylor Greene's most recent outrageous remarks, then writes, "extremists such as Greene can't be dismissed as gadflies. They are central to the new majority.... Chairman [Mark] Green [R-Tenn.] opened [a Homeland Security committee hearing] with a bit of Great Replacement theory. 'You have not secured our borders, Mr. Secretary, and I believe you've done so intentionally,' he alleged, [speaking to Homeland Security Secretary [Alejandro Mayorkas] saying the administration policy is all about 'moving people into the country,' to welcome 'illegal aliens' and 'settle them into the interior of our country.' Epithets flew: 'Reckless.' 'Insult.' 'Insane.'.... 'Not only have you lied under oath, you just admitted your own incompetence!'... [House Judiciary Committee] Chairman Jim Jordan took his House Judiciary Committee on a field trip to Manhattan this week in his capacity as unofficial cheerleader for Trump's legal defense.... Rep. Troy Nehls (Tex.) recommended that people use deadly force if they fear for their lives. 'I would encourage residents ... to defend yourself. You are given that God-given right, and that means pulling out a weapon and put two at center mass,' he said, pointing at his chest.... There really is no bottom." A column worth reading. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Proud Boys' Self-defense Continues Apace. Alan Feuer & Zack Montague of the New York Times: "A defendant in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case lashed out at prosecutors from the witness stand on Thursday, attacking them for conducting what he described as a 'corrupt trial' marred by 'fake charges.' The outburst by the defendant, Dominic Pezzola, came during testimony that was meant to humanize him for the jury but seemed instead to expose his combative nature." Related WashPo story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marshall Cohen of CNN: "A top lawyer for Smartmatic, the voting technology company whose [$2.7BB] defamation lawsuit against Fox News is still pending, said Thursday that he won't accept any settlement smaller than the $787 million Fox agreed to pay Dominion, and that his client needs a 'full retraction' from the right-wing network disavowing the lies it spread about the 2020 presidential election.... That is something Dominion Voting Systems wasn't able to extract from Fox as part of its historic $787 million settlement...." The case is being tried in New York. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Patrick Greenfield of the Guardian: "Denis Hayes, the American environmental activist who coordinated the first Earth Day in 1970, denounced the 'appalling' environmental messaging by oil, gas and other extractive companies and said he hoped it did not distract attention from the threats posed by the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, which he compared to the threat of nuclear conflict during the cold war. Protests and events have been planned across the globe for this year's Earth day, with millions of people expected to take part today. Hayes was hired to organise a national teach-in about environmentalism by the US senator Gaylord Nelson [D-Wis.] while at Harvard in 1970, and helped transform it into the largest environmental movement in history."

It Wasn't Only the Spectacular Rocket Explosion. Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "... when [SpaceX's Starship] lifted off Thursday, the nearly 400-foot-tall Starship scattered debris for hundreds of yards like mortar fire, leaving a crater under its launch mount, dents in nearby storage tanks and questions about the extent of the repairs and when SpaceX might be able to attempt to launch again.... Videos shared on social media showed a piece of debris slamming into a van several hundred feet away from the launch site.... They also showed shrapnel striking the nearby beach and pummeling the shoreline, making it seem like a war zone.... As a result [of keeping people on land and see miles away], the FAA said that no one was hurt and no public property was damaged.... Leading up to Thursday's launch, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said success would be measured by a simple metric: 'Just don't blow up the launchpad.'" ~~~

~~~ AND. Livia Albeck-Ripka of the New York Times: "As the most powerful rocket ever built blasted from its launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday, the liftoff rocked the earth and kicked up a billowing cloud of dust and debris, shaking homes and raining down brown grime for miles. In Port Isabel, a city about six miles northwest where at least one window shattered, residents were alarmed.... Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starship exploded minutes after liftoff and before reaching orbit. Near the launch site, the residents of Port Isabel ... were left to deal with the mess. Virtually everywhere in the city 'ended up with a covering of a rather thick, granular, sand grain that just landed on everything,' Valerie Bates, a Port Isabel spokeswoman, said in an interview. Images posted to social media showed residents' cars covered in brown debris."

Julia Jacobs & Graham Bowley of the New York Times: "As [Alec] Baldwin returned to the set of 'Rust,' [which has relocated to Montana,] prosecutors in New Mexico filed court papers formally dismissing, at least for now, the involuntary manslaughter charges he had been facing in the shooting of the film's original cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, who was killed outside Santa Fe, where the movie was initially filmed.... The prosecutors held out the possibility that new charges against Mr. Baldwin could still be filed, writing that 'the investigation is active and on-going.'"

Presidential Race 2024

"I Think He's an Asshole." Eugene Daniels of Politico: "Ron DeSantis' popularity problem on Capitol Hill is getting worse. The latest in a growing string of anecdotes about DeSantis' lack of a personal touch during his six years in the House comes via former Rep. David Trott(R-Mich.). He sat next to DeSantis for two years when they both served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The then-Florida lawmaker 'never said a single word to me,' Trott said in an email this week to Politico Playbook. 'I was new to Congress, and he didn't introduce himself or even say hello.... I think he's an asshole,' Trott added in a phone interview. 'I don't think he cares about people.'... While the Florida governor made a much-anticipated trip to Washington this week, [Donald] Trump collected a wave of endorsements from Sunshine State lawmakers.... In an interview with Playbook earlier this week, [Rep. Greg] Steube [R-Fla.] recalled that Trump was the first person to call after the lawmaker suffered significant injuries that landed him in the ICU after in a tree-trimming accident earlier this year. 'To this day, I have not heard from Gov. DeSantis,' Steube said." Steuebe has endorsed Trump. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) More on Mr. Personality linked below. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If he was an asshole when he was one little guy among the 435 members of the House, think what an insufferable boor he would be with the trappings of the presidency pumping his ego. ~~~

~~~ Déjà vu All Over Again. Eric Daugherty of Florida's Voice: "As a potential announcement for president in 2024 from Gov. Ron DeSantis nears..., Donald Trump's campaign has ramped up attacks against the governor. After a blitz of endorsements from representatives in DeSantis' home state, Trump's campaign Friday released 'The Real Ron DeSantis Playbook,' which contains a long list of reasons Florida 'continues to tumble into complete and total delinquency and destruction.' 'The real DeSantis record is one of misery and despair,' [Trump] campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said." ~~~

~~~ Isaac Arnsdorf & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump has steadily begun outlining his vision for a second-term agenda, focusing on unfinished business from his time in the White House and an expansive vision for how he would wield federal power.... Trump ... is proposing to apply government power, centralized under his authority, toward a vast range of issues that have long remained outside the scope of federal control. Experts called some of Trump's ideas impractical, reckless, self-defeating, potentially illegal and even dangerous." The reporters outline some of the elements of Trump's fascist "vision," which somebody in his campaign is developing. ~~~

~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "As much as I abhor Donald Trump's opponents, I'm desperate for one of them to prevail. Trump might be easier for Joe Biden to beat, but anyone who gets the Republican nomination has a chance of being elected, and the possibility of another Trump term is intolerable. So it's harrowing to see Trump abetted, again, by the cowardice of his opponents.... If Republicans want a non-Trump candidate in 2024, they're going to have to find someone willing to tear him down.... As House speaker, Nancy Pelosi managed to repeatedly emasculate Trump not because she imitated him, but because she treated him like a petulant child."

Beyond the Beltway

Here's even more evidence Ron DeSantis doesn't know WTF he's doing: ~~~

Florida. Ship of a Fool. Frances Robles of the New York Times: In January, when a migrant crisis hit Key West, Gov. Ron DeSantis stepped in, and among other measures, commissioned "a cruise ship to house what [his] administration hoped would become a local army of state employees to help handle the migrant surge. But there was a problem: The $1 million cruise ship contract was signed before anyone realized that the vessel had nowhere to dock.... The hasty state emergency program, including the ill-fated cruise ship contract, highlights the problems that can develop when state officials intervene to help manage the borders, a role traditionally reserved for the federal government. The Florida Division of Emergency Management acknowledged that it was forced to terminate the ship contract, but blamed the Biden administration for failing to authorize the use of U.S. Navy waterways..., but the state never submitted an official request [for access] in writing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Missouri. Gun-Assisted Grocery Shopping. John Schmidt of Ozarks First: "On April 18, Republic[, Missouri,] Police Department officers were called to a Price Cutter to respond to a call about a robbery in which a man held an employee at gunpoint so that he would be served meat. Larry Gene Gay, 70, of Springfield, is charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon and a felony count of armed criminal action.... [A Price Cutter] employee said he received a call from the meat department about a man packing his own meat. The employee approached Gay and told him that [the meat department was closed and] he could not be there.... The employee said he was not going to help him with the meat. 'Once he held the gun to my throat -- pushed it into my throat -- I decided to comply,' the employee told police." Police said Gay's gun was loaded. Gay told police he had no idea why store staff called the police. MB: Because, you know, if a store won't sell you what you want when you want it, the normal thing to do is press a gun into a clerk's neck. It's your Second Amendment right, i'nit?

Montana. Amy Hanson & Matthew Brown of the AP: "The latest high-profile example of state legislative leadership deciding who can be heard during statehouse debates is playing out in Montana where a transgender lawmaker was silenced by Republican leaders for a second day Friday. Rep. Zooey Zephyr [D], who was deliberately referred to using male pronouns by conservative colleagues, says she won't apologize for telling lawmakers they would have 'blood on their hands' if they voted for a bill banning gender-affirming care. The measure has passed and is in the hands of the governor, who has indicated he will sign it."

Tennessee. Maria Paúl of the Washington Post: "On Thursday morning, Tennessee state Rep. Scotty Campbell (R) was walking to the Capitol in Nashville when a reporter [-- Phil Williams of Nashville's News Channel 5 --] stopped him to ask about allegations of harassment brought against him by an intern. Campbell told NewsChannel 5 he 'had consensual, adult conversations with two adults off property.' Six hours later, the lawmaker -- who two weeks ago voted to expel three Democratic colleagues over decorum violations -- submitted a letter of resignation, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) announced Thursday afternoon. According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, a bipartisan ethics subcommittee reported to Sexton on March 29 that it found Campbell had violated the Tennessee General Assembly workplace policy on discrimination and harassment after reviewing the results of an internal investigation." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I still think Sexton should go for living in Nashville, far outside his district, & charging taxpayers for fake travel expenses to & from his district. I wrote to the Tennessee Democratic party about Sexton, and their response was ... nothing.

Texas. Steven Monacelli of the Texas Observer: "After an Austin jury unanimously convicted Sergeant Daniel Perry of murder, it took Governor Greg Abbott less than one full day to call for his pardon. Legal experts and lawmakers have described it as an unprecedented move that has injected politics into the parole and pardon system.... 'I think it clearly demonstrates that the conservatives have, by and large, abandoned the idea that they support law and order,' former Travis County Criminal Court Judge David Wahlberg told WFAA.... In the days following Abbott's public pledge to pardon Perry, unsealed documents from the case, including Perry's web searches and text messages, would reveal that he had made racist comments, previously considered killing people involved with racial justice protests, and most inconveniently for Republicans who have jumped on the 'anti-groomer' bandwagon, had inappropriate text exchanges with an apparent 16-year-old girl after searching for 'good chats to meet young girls.'"

West Virginia Senate Race. Holly Otterbein & Ally Mutnick of Politico: "Gov. Jim Justice is planning to launch a long-awaited campaign against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) next week, handing Republicans a well-funded and popular recruit in their best opportunity to flip a Senate seat." MB: Not that I'm a fan of Joe Manchin, but I do think he can beat Justice (who is a former Democrat). Whether or not Manchin will remain a Democrat, I think is still a question.

Way Beyond

Belgium. Emily Heil of the Washington Post: "... Belgian authorities destroyed a shipment of Miller High Life beer at the urging of the Comité Champagne, an organization devoted to protecting its namesake bubbles. Belgian customs in February seized 2,352 cans of the American beer brand -- which has long marketed the suds as 'the Champagne of Beers' -- that were headed from Antwerp to an unnamed buyer in Germany.... The cans bearing that slogan were emptied and crushed after the organization complained that they violated the European Union's 'designation of origin' rules governing various agricultural products. For a bottle of sparkling wine to be labeled as champagne, it must be made in Champagne, France, and produced using the traditional méthode champenoise.... In a statement, Molson Coors noted that it has used the tagline for more than a century." MB: There seems to be something lost in translation here. Calling beer "the champagne of beers" is not claiming the beer is champagne. And I'm a bit confused about Heil's making fun of Christopher Walken's pronouncing champagne "sham-pan-ya" in an SNL skit, because that's more-or-less the way champagne is pronounced in, you know, French.

France. Constant Méheut of the New York Times: "Forty-three years ago, a bombing outside a Paris synagogue killed four people and stunned France, prompting huge crowds to protest antisemitism and exposing the country to violence it thought had disappeared with the end of World War II. On Friday, after decades of false leads, a lack of evidence and legal wrangling, a verdict finally came. The defendant, Hassan Diab, a Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor, was convicted in the bombing and sentenced to life in prison. Judges also issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Diab, who lives in Canada and was tried in absentia. Mr. Diab has long denied any involvement in the attack. In an earlier investigation into the bombing, charges against him were dropped." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Ukraine is preparing new brigades that will 'show themselves at the front,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, without revealing when and how many fresh units would be deployed.... Nine new mechanized Ukrainian brigades are ready for combat, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters after the 11th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.... NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will eventually join the alliance, [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg said Friday.... Fierce fighting continues in Bakhmut, Ukraine's military said early Saturday.... There is still constant shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the U.N. nuclear agency said." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Ukrainian troops will begin training on American M1 Abrams tanks in Germany in the next few weeks, U.S. defense officials say, in what would be a major step in arming Kyiv as it seeks to seize back territory from Russia.Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announced the timeline on Friday during a meeting with allies at Ramstein Air Base. Defense officials said that about 31 tanks were expected to arrive in Germany to begin a training program for Ukrainian troops that is expected to take 10 weeks. Combat-ready tanks could reach the battlefields in Ukraine by the fall, said the officials.... But the United States stood firm in its refusal to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Ukraine's air-defense system had worked effectively for more than a year and kept Russian warplanes 'cautious' for fear of being shot down."

News Lede

New York Times: "Barry Humphries, the Australian-born actor and comic who for almost seven decades brought that divine doyenne of divadom, Dame Edna Everage, to delirious, dotty, disdainful Dadaist life, died on Saturday in Sydney. He was 89." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You can bet that some of the same old farts who voted to ban drag performances forevah laughed their heads off at Dame Edna skits & performances.