August 1, 2022
Afternoon Update:
** Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States killed the top leader of Al Qaeda in a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, over the weekend, according to current and former U.S. officials. Ayman al-Zawahri, who took over the leadership of the group after the death of Osama bin Laden, was killed in the strike, the first attack in Afghanistan since American forces left last year and a significant victory for the Biden administration's counterterrorism efforts. U.S. officials said the strike was not conducted by the military. A former official said the operation was carried out by the C.I.A." ~~~
~~~ Kristen Welker & Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "President Joe Biden is expected to announce Monday night that a U.S. counterterrorism operation over the weekend in Afghanistan killed top Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.... Biden will give remarks about the operation at the White House at 7:30 p.m. ET...."
Arizona. Zach Montellaro of Politico: "Mark Finchem -- a poster child for election deniers following the 2020 election -- is inching closer to becoming the chief election official in one of the most tightly divided battleground states in the country. Finchem, an Arizona state lawmaker, is running with ... Donald Trump's endorsement in Tuesday's Republican primary for secretary of state there. He has support from a coalition of other like-minded candidates running to be election administrators in their own states, which has gained traction in several other close 2020 swing states. And Finchem has a significant edge in a rare public poll of the secretary of state race published Friday."
Michigan. Dave Boucher of the Detroit Free Press: "A court order that sought to bar enforcement of a dormant law criminalizing most abortions in Michigan does not apply to county prosecutors, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The massively consequential ruling means the 1931 law banning all abortions except those done to protect the life of a pregnant person essentially takes effect immediately, said David Kallman, an attorney for Great Lakes Justc Center, a conservative organization representing several Michigan prosecutors who challenged the injunction. The decision could have a sweeping and drastic impact in the state, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and many other pro-abortion rights advocates have fought to maintain legal access to abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in June."
Kathellen Kingsbury of the New York Times: Columnist Nicholas Kristof is returning to the New York Times.
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Hope Yen of the AP: "Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats' most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to endorse Joe Biden if the president seeks a second term in 2024 and refused to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections. In a round of appearances on five news shows, the West Virginia senator also expressed hope that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., will back a Democratic package of climate, health care and tax initiatives that he negotiated.... 'I'm not getting into 2022 or 2024,' he said, adding that 'whoever is my president, that's my president.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Back in the old days, that might have been a prudent remark; today, it is dangerous to express any support for the anti-democracy party.
Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “Although the House Jan. 6 committee has presented evidence of the carnage law enforcement faced at the Capitol that day, it has devoted little time to law enforcement's failure to predict and prevent the attack -- at least not publicly. But behind the scenes, sources tell NBC News, those failures have not been forgotten. As the committee prepares for an additional round of public hearings in September, it's expected to put more focus on the intelligence and law enforcement failures at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security that left police woefully underprepared for the mob that stormed the Capitol. Those failures will also be a key component of the committee's final report on Jan. 6." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Meghan Mistry of ABC News: "Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers may lose his Republican primary for an open state senate seat this week, after he testified to the Jan. 6 committee about the pressure campaign from ... Donald Trump and his associates to undo the presidential election results in the state.... After his testimony, Bowers faced criticism for telling a reporter that he would vote for Pres. Trump in 2024. He told Karl that's absolutely not the case.... 'I'll never vote for him,' Bowers [said]. 'But I won't have to, because I think America's tired....'... In an unusual move for a state legislature race..., Trump has campaigned against Bowers in Arizona. 'Rusty Bowers, he's a RINO ... coward who participated against the Republican party in the totally partisan unselect committee of political thugs and hacks the other day, and disgraced himself, and he disgraced the state of Arizona,' he told a crowd in Prescott Valley, Arizona, on July 22." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jim Jordan Opposed to Legislating. John Dorman of Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: Rep. Jim "Jordan [Rabid-Ohio] recently told Politico that Senate Republicans who join their Democratic counterparts in supporting legislation backed by [President] Biden are 'wrong.'" Since Democrats currently control both houses of Congress, under Jordan's model, no legislation can pass except perhaps the rare bill that Democrats favor & Joe Biden opposes. Which ain't much.
Some people have been wondering how Donald Trump would profit off Ivana Trump's death. Well, here's one rather macabre way:
Fore! Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert & Isabella Zavarise of Business Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: "The location of Ivana Trump's grave -- near the first hole of the golf course at Trump National Golf Club -- may have tax implications for the business owned by the former president. Tax documents from the Trump Family Trust, published by ProPublica, show the trust sought to designate a property in Hackettstown, New Jersey, as a non-profit cemetery company, though the course itself is 20 miles away in Bedminster. Ivana Trump..., Donald Trump's ex-wife, is the first person known to have been buried at the Trump-owned golf course. Under New Jersey state tax code, any land that is dedicated to cemetery purposes is exempt from all taxes, rates, and assessments." The has modified his cemetery proposal several times. The latest-known plan is for "a 284-plot cemetery, which would have gravesites available for sale." MB: Nice. I wonder if Donald will charge Ivana's estate for the lovely plot. Thanks to Bobby Lee & Akhilleus for the lead. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE, TMZ picked up a photo of Ivana's grave, and, well, it's a hole in the ground labeled with a small, possibly slate slab engraved with Ivana's name & dates of birth & death. MB: In fairness to the Trumps, it is common practice to place a simple marker on a grave while a more elaborate one is being designed & made. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) In yesterday's thread, some commentators had some solemn thoughts on the final resting place of the first and former Mrs. Donald Trump -- assuming the first hole is indeed the final resting place. I can't help but think Ivana's remains may become a Traveling Corpse as the outcomes of various lawsuits somewhat temporarily place them hither & yon. She will not R.I.P. ~~~
~~~ Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert of Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: "... Donald Trump's 2007 plans to build a mausoleum with four obelisks on his golf course in New Jersey were rejected by city officials.... The mausoleum would have included 'four imposing obelisks surrounding its exterior and a small altar and six vaults inside,' according to NJ.com. But, after encountering opposition from city officials who called the design 'overwhelming and garish,' Trump floated the idea of redesigning the structure as a 'mausoleum/chapel,' The Washington Post reported." MB: Of course the Trump Memorial Cemetery & Shrine would be replete with phallic symbols. Remember, this was 2007, well before Trump became president*. Imagine what-all he has in mind now. And he'll get away with it. Bedminster is about 33 miles as the crow flies from Manhattan, but you'll be able to see the Shrine de Trump from Trump Tower.
Ann Marimow, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court's three liberal justices, in denouncing their colleagues' decision to eliminate the nationwide right to abortion, warned last month that returning this polarizing issue to the states would give rise to greater controversy in the months and years to come. Among the looming disputes, they noted: Can states ban mail-order medication used to terminate pregnancies or bar their residents from traveling elsewhere to do so?... It is possible, if not probable, that one or both of these questions will eventually work its way back to the high court." The authors relate some matters that already have arisen. MB: Those smug misogynists have created a 50-state legal morass that wont' be settled, well, ever. So besides depriving women of their rights, women -- as well as medical professionals --- don't and won't know just what options are left for pregnant people. And the federal courts, already clogged as John Roberts points out pretty much every year, will be overwhelmed.
Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "At least 29 states allow individuals other than police or security officials to carry guns on school grounds, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. As of 2018, the last year for which statistics were available, federal survey data estimated that 2.6 percent of public schools had armed faculty.... In the weeks after the Uvalde shooting, lawmakers in Ohio made it easier for teachers and other school employees to carry guns.... The law in Ohio has been especially contentious because it requires no more than 24 hours of training, along with eight hours of recertification annually.... The strategy is fiercely opposed by Democrats, police groups, teachers' unions and gun control advocates, who say that concealed carry programs in schools -- far from solving the problem -- will only create more risk."
Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "The nation's biggest oil companies -- ExxonMobil and Chevron -- saw their profits roughly triple in the second-quarter as Russia's war in Ukraine upended global energy markets and left consumers stretching to cover record high pump prices.... The blockbuster results come a day after Europe-based Shell also posted record profits: The three, plus France's TotalEnergies, collectively earned nearly $51 billion in the most recent quarter, nearly twice what they brought in during the same three months in 2021, according to Reuters.... President Biden, facing criticism from the right over his handling of inflation and the economy, called out Exxon for making 'more money than God' in a June address.... Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth responded with a sharply worded letter admonishing the administration for its attempts, 'to criticize, and at times vilify, our industry.'"
Beyond the Beltway
Massachusetts Clear Witch. Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "Elizabeth Johnson Jr. is -- officially -- not a witch. Until last week, the Andover, Mass., woman, who confessed to practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, was the only remaining person convicted during the trials whose name had not been cleared. Though she was sentenced to death in 1693, after she and more than 20 members of her extended family faced similar allegations, she was granted a reprieve and avoided the death sentence. The exoneration came on Thursday, 329 years after her conviction, tucked inside a $53 billion state budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. It was the product of a three-year lobbying effort by a civics teacher and her eighth-grade class, along with a state senator who helped champion the cause."
New York. Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A man was arrested on Friday after he was found with a loaded AK-47 assault rifle outside the Brooklyn home of an Iranian American journalist who was the target of an international kidnapping plot said to be orchestrated by an Iranian intelligence network last year, according to the journalist, a court document and a person briefed on the matter. The journalist, Masih Alinejad, 45, has been outspoken in her criticism of the Iranian government, writing two years ago that Iranian officials had unleashed a social media campaign that called for her abduction. In a federal indictment unsealed a year ago in Manhattan, four Iranians were charged with conspiring to kidnap her and forcibly return her to Iran." The particulars of the perp's suspicious behavior are, well, mighty suspicious.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates on developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The key Black Sea port of Mykolaiv was hit by 'one of the most brutal shellings' since the war began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as dozens of Russian rockets destroyed homes, schools and infrastructure. Among those killed in the city was one of Ukraine's richest business executives, who founded an agriculture company that helped facilitate the country's grain exports. Finger-pointing continues over the attack on a detention center in Russian-occupied Donetsk that killed 50 Ukrainian prisoners. Russia claimed that it invited international monitors to investigate the Olenivka prison site, but the International Committee of the Red Cross says its request to do so has not been granted. 'Granting ICRC access to POWs is an obligation of parties to conflict under the Geneva Conventions,' it tweeted."
Dalton Bennett & Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: "The first ship carrying grain departed a Ukrainian port [at Odessa] early Monday under a United Nations-brokered deal to ease a global food crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine."
Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: The city of "Nikopol, controlled by the Ukrainians, lies on the west bank of the Dnipro River. On the opposite bank sits a gigantic nuclear power plant -- Europe's largest -- that the Russian Army captured in March. The Russians have been firing from the cover of the Zaporizhzhia station since mid-July.... It is, in effect, a free shot. Ukraine cannot unleash volleys of shells in return using American-provided advanced rocket systems, which have silenced Russian guns elsewhere on the front line. Doing so would risk striking one of the six pressurized water reactors or highly radioactive waste in storage."
News Lede
New York Times: "One round of rainstorms after another blew through eastern Kentucky on Monday, deepening the misery of an already desperate region. Floodwaters again swallowed the roads that had recently reopened to allow emergency workers to scour the remote hills and valleys for survivors; creeks once again swelled into the streets of small towns where people had just begun the gloomy work of emptying houses of their waterlogged contents. Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky confirmed on Monday that the death toll from last week's floods had risen to 37, but warned that countless people were still missing."
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Reader Comments (10)
This morning's cursory review of the last ten days' news left me with the impression that while the losers haven't gone away and are still up to their old headline-grabbing tricks--Greitens, Jordan and the Pretender among them--generally things were pretty calm, if we discount a war or two, and the Biden administration, in the midst of turmoil, is actually getting things done.
That, I find remarkable and do hope voters notice.
@Ken Winkes: Izzatso? I would note that the moment you went away, President Biden got Covid. So Post hoc ergo propter hoc. I see no fallacy at all.
Ken: In my opinion, the mainstream press has fully bought into the perception of Biden as a washed-up, loony, confused, pathetic old man, despite the things that have gotten done in spite of the cult and its cadre of media repeaters of propaganda. I have stopped watching Colbert, as his way of cracking old befuddled Biden jokes is patently offensive, especially since the cult goes with that perception 24/7. The idea that nothing gets done is, in my opinion, because of Democrats themselves. I am fed up with it. The monster in the oval from the last administration got only the "things done" his handlers from the GQP for the last 40 years deemed their hearts' desires. Prime minister Mansion may yet tank the big bill, assisted by assistant PM and sad fashion screamer Sinema. (They still think they are Dems, the epitome of DINOs.) I think the AP is the biggest offender, as well as the headline writers at the WaPo and the NYT. Those DINOs are among those I mute as soon as I see them on tv...well, Mansion at least. The other one hasn't been seen in months. She continues to draw a salary...
Marie,
Sorry I left. (Not really. The swimming in the the warmish waters of the Georgia Strait was delightful.)
BTW, saw a black cat cross the back yard this AM. No telling what that will portend.
A Donald Trump design “overwhelming and garish”? Unpossible! Why not a 1,000 ft tall fake gold-plated pyramid? In fact, that would be perfect for such a pharaonic phony. Plus!! When he dies, before being mummified and sealed in an appropriately gaudy casket, his entire retinue, viziers, retainers, lawyers, and chiseling hangers-on, would be ceremoniously killed and sealed in with him to spend all eternity serving the Dear Leader’s every post mortem whim. Sounds perfect to me! Oh Rudyyyy! Oh Gym! Come see the nice high priest. He has a surprise for you!
I was living in NYC when the Orange Monster’s high rise mausoleum was built. I checked it out one day after it opened. Pretentious and garish beyond belief. I rode up the famous escalator, looked around, made no attempt to repress a laugh, and departed quickly back out into the real world. The place was a cluster of shiny, showy, surfaces and gaudily arranged gewgaws.
It was a cartoonists idea of what an overly self-obsessed Richie Rich type asshole required as an extension of his own phony and narcissistic personality. In fact, the whole place was phony, from the ground up. I remember reading, a short time later, a review of the place in the Times. It might have been by Ada Louise Huxtable, the Grande Dame of American architecture critics, but I can’t recall for certain now. Anyway, the article revealed that Fatty’s fatuous, phallicized construction was actually 10 floors short of what Trump was bragging. Apparently, the residential area started at the 20th floor, but Trump called it the 30th in order to pretend his building was that much bigger. Pure Trump, all the way.
The only adjustment I’d make to the assessment “overwhelming and garish” would be to change the first adjective to underwhelming. The phony Trump Tower is a spoiled rich kid’s idea of what truly impressive architecture should be. A Frank Lloyd Wright broom closet has more authenticity and panache.
AK, I pictured something like this.
RAS,
Seems about right. We’ll rename him the Pharaoh Ozymandias.
Let him build a gold-plated necropolis in NJ.
Keep him out of Arlington.
Thinking of whether they allow traitors into Arlington, I’m reminded that the National Cemetery was originally an estate owned by one of the biggest traitors, Robert E. Lee. I understand some confederate soldiers are interred in their own corner of the cemetery, but once the new crop of confederate traitors start kicking, they should be planted somewhere else.
Here is a Trump monument that seems fitting for TFG.