December 9, 2021
Afternoon Update:
David Li of NBC News: "A Chicago jury Thursday reached guilty verdicts on five of six charges against 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of falsely reporting he was the victim of a disturbing, hate-fueled beating. The panel, deliberating since Wednesday afternoon, weighed six counts of felony disorderly conduct against Smollett for telling police he was brutally assaulted on Jan. 29, 2019, at 2:45 a.m. in the Windy City's Streeterville neighborhood. The offenses are class 4 felonies and could be punishable by up to three years behind bars. But Smollett has a clean criminal record, making any jail time highly unlikely."
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected ... Donald Trump's bid to keep his White House documents secret from a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, potentially setting up an emergency review by the Supreme Court. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a lower court's opinion, which said that in a dispute between a current and past president over whether to release White House records, the sitting president must prevail. Judges Patricia A. Millett, Robert L. Wilkins and Ketanji Brown Jackson denied Trump's request for a preliminary injunction blocking the National Archives and Records Administration from releasing the first roughly 800 pages of disputed Trump papers after President Biden declined to assert executive privilege as requested by his predecessor, setting up the first of its kind constitutional controversy. The court stayed the opinion 14 days for Trump's legal team to appeal to the Supreme Court, as they requested at a Nov. 30 hearing in case of adverse ruling."
Aamer Madhani & Colleen Long of the AP: "President Joe Biden on Thursday opened the first White House Summit for Democracy by sounding an alarm about a global slide for democratic institutions and called for world leaders to 'lock arms' and demonstrate democracies can deliver. Biden called it a critical moment for fellow leaders to redouble their efforts to bolster democracies. In making the case for action, he noted his own battle to win passage of voting rights legislation at home and alluded to challenges to America's democratic institutions and traditions.... 'Here in the United States we know as well as anyone that renewing our democracy and strengthening our democratic institutions requires constant effort,' Biden said.... The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, said in its annual report that the number of countries experiencing democratic backsliding 'has never been as high' as the past decade, with the U.S. added to the list alongside India and Brazil."
Clare Foran, et al., of CNN: "The Senate voted on Thursday to advance a bill to create a fast-track process allowing Democrats to raise the federal debt limit without votes from Republicans, a crucial next step as lawmakers race the clock to avert a catastrophic debt default. A first-ever default would trigger financial disaster and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the debt limit could be reached on December 15, leaving little time left to act.... The first vote to take place in the Senate on Thursday was a cloture vote to break a GOP filibuster, which required 60 votes to succeed. The vote tally was 64 to 36 and 14 Senate Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats...."
Reuters, republished by Yahoo! News: "A casket bearing the remains of former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, a three-time Republican presidential candidate and decorated World War Two veteran, was placed in the Capitol's Rotunda on Thursday as dignitaries gathered there for a memorial service.... President Joe Biden was on hand to deliver remarks. Dole's wife Elizabeth, also a former senator, stood at the top of the Capitol's East Front steps as a military honor guard carried his flag-draped casket up the steep incline to be placed in the building's storied Rotunda for the memorial service. Members of Congress and other invited guests paid their respects to Dole...."
The Old "I Forgot" Excuse. Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "A staffer on Capitol Hill was arrested Thursday morning after he allegedly brought a handgun into a House office building, U.S. Capitol Police said. Officers in the Longworth House Office Building spotted the image of a gun in a bag on an X-ray screen. The bag's owner, identified as 57-year-old Jeffrey Allsbrooks, was tracked down four minutes later and arrested, U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement. He is being charged with carrying a pistol without a license. Allsbrooks, who works for the House Chief Administrative Office, told officers he forgot the gun was in his bag, according to U.S. Capitol Police. It is unclear why officers didn't stop Allsbrooks at the security checkpoint and only later tracked him down."
Drip, Drip. Jamie Gangel & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows provided the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot with text messages and emails that show he was 'exchanging with a wide range of individuals while the attack was underway,' according to a source with knowledge of the communications. The messages on Meadows' personal cell phone and email account, which were voluntarily handed over without any claim of executive privilege, relate to 'what Donald Trump was doing and not doing during the riot,' the source added. These communications offer a window into what people were texting to Meadows on January 6, what he was telling them about Trump in real time, and what the former President was doing for those hours while the Capitol was under attack and rioters were chanting 'Hang Mike Pence,' according to the source."~~~
~~~ Marie: You know other major media are working this story, so I don't think it will be long before we get a fuller account of the tunes Nero was fiddling while the Capitol was breached.
Jonathan Franklin of NPR: "Local officials in Washington, D.C., have passed a bill that will name a portion of the street outside the Saudi embassy after slain Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The 'Jamal Khashoggi Way Designation Act,' which passed unanimously on Tuesday, will serve as a reminder of the dangers faced by journalists across the world, noting that a free press is 'fundamental to our democracy,' said D.C. councilmember Brooke Pinto in a statement."
Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "Federal regulators Thursday authorized booster shots of Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, a step that could bolster protection against delta, the dominant variant in the United States, and the emerging omicron version. The Food and Drug Administration's decision came the day after new data from the companies suggested that boosters may play a critical role in helping control the omicron variant by raising virus-fighting antibodies to block the pathogen, which echoed a finding by leading scientists in South Africa released earlier this week. The FDA's authorization is expected to be reviewed and endorsed by Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, perhaps as soon as Thursday. The clearance means 16- and 17-year-olds who received the initial two-shot series of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be able to get a booster six months after the second dose. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are not authorized for anyone under 18."
New York, New York. Katie Glueck & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, announced on Thursday that she was dropping out of the governor's race and running instead for re-election. Her decision upends the high-profile race for governor and further solidifies Gov. Kathy Hochul's standing as the early front-runner." ~~~
~~~ New York, New York. Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "The New York State attorney general, Letitia James, is seeking to question ... Donald J. Trump under oath in a civil fraud investigation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, an unusual move that comes at a critical juncture in a parallel criminal investigation into the former president. Ms. James, whose office is also participating in the criminal investigation being run by the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., is seeking to question Mr. Trump on Jan. 7 as part of her separate civil inquiry into his business practices. If Ms. James finds evidence of wrongdoing, she could file a lawsuit against Mr. Trump, but she could not file criminal charges. But her request comes as Mr. Vance is pushing to determine whether Mr. Trump or his family business, the Trump Organization, engaged in a pattern of criminal fraud by intentionally submitting false property values to potential lenders. Mr. Vance, a Democrat, did not seek re-election and is leaving office at the end of the year."
AND New York. Robin Pogrebin of the New York Times: "In the wake of growing outrage over the role the Sacklers may have played in the opioid crisis, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Sackler family jointly announced on Thursday that the Sackler name would be removed from seven exhibition spaces, including the wing that houses the Temple of Dendur."
Arkansas. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Josh Duggar, a onetime star of the TLC reality show '19 Kids and Counting,' about a large family guided by conservative Christian values, was convicted on Thursday in federal court in Arkansas of downloading child sexual abuse imagery. A jury returned the verdict in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, Ark., one day after it began its deliberations in a case that drew widespread attention. Mr. Duggar, 33, was found guilty on one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines." The AP's report is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Joe Biden Gives a Holiday Gift to America's Children. Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President Biden on Wednesday set in motion a plan to make the federal government carbon neutral, ordering federal agencies to buy electric vehicles, to power facilities with wind, solar and nuclear energy, and to use sustainable building materials. In a series of executive orders, Mr. Biden directed the government to transform its 300,000 buildings, 600,000 cars and trucks, and use its annual purchases of $650 billion in goods and services to meet his goal of a federal government that stops adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2050.... Unlike most executive orders that undergo a lengthy and sometimes fractious regulatory process before they are enacted, procurement rules can take effect almost immediately, said Richard L. Revesz, a professor of environmental law at New York University. He called the executive orders 'very significant.'"
Alex Horton & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Army on Wednesday said it has approved Purple Heart awards for an additional 39 soldiers wounded in an Iranian ballistic missile strike nearly two years ago in western Iraq, a significant victory for troops whose brain injuries were downplayed by their commander in chief at the time..., Donald Trump. The announcement is official acknowledgment that the attack, a dramatic escalation by Tehran after a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, was far more serious than Washington was willing to concede initially even though no fatalities occurred. More than 30 Purple Hearts were awarded previously to U.S. soldiers forced to take cover when 11 missiles ... slammed into Ain al-Asad air base on Jan. 8, 2020.... Trump responded to the lack of American fatalities by declaring on Twitter that 'All is well!' A few days later, he said some of the troops involved had 'headaches.' but that the situation was 'not very serious,' prompting a rebuke from veterans groups.... Alyssa Farah, a former Pentagon spokeswoman, said in a September podcast that the Trump White House leaned on the Defense Department to downplay the attack." The Army Times' report is here.
A "Colossal Waste of Resources." David Winkie of the Army Times: "For much of 2021, more than 4,000 [Army National] Guard personnel from 20 states helped monitor the U.S.-Mexico border alongside Customs and Border Protection personnel.... Most returned home in October, when a new Guard task force took over. This is the story of a task force that left soldiers at isolated observation posts for hours on end without the night vision goggles they needed. They ... fell asleep on the job while awaiting shipments of equipment for months, and only assisted in less than one in every five apprehensions. Legal restrictions on the use of Guardsmen left them with little more than watching as a mission.... When troops weren't on duty, most were at hotels in remote locations. Alcohol and drug abuse became so widespread that senior leaders issued breathalyzers and instituted alcohol restrictions that tightened as the misconduct incidents piled up.... At least 16 soldiers from the mission were arrested or confined for charges including drugs, sexual assault and manslaughter." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) offered a forceful warning to Republican colleagues during a private lunch on Wednesday, saying former President Trump will come down hard on any GOP senators who vote for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) deal to set up a special pathway to raise the debt limit. In blunt remarks to the Senate Republican Conference, Graham harshly criticized McConnell for putting Senate Republicans in position to get 'shot in the back' over the deal.... Trump issued a blistering statement Wednesday evening that slammed McConnell for agreeing to a special process for raising the debt limit with a simple majority." MB: For Trump so loved his country that he was outraged at an effort to secure its full faith & credit -- because he thought international financial chaos might give him some small political advantage. And it looks as if Lindsey, whose presidential ambitions fell flat, is now eying McConnell's job.
** Jacqueline Alemany & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol said it is preparing to hold Mark Meadows, who served as ... Donald Trump's chief of staff, in criminal contempt for not complying with the panel's subpoena as it ramps up efforts to force former Trump administration officials to cooperate with its inquiry. Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a letter sent Tuesday evening to Meadows's attorney, George Terwilliger III, that the panel's patience has run out.... In the letter, Thompson outlined some of the documents that Trump's former chief of staff has already provided to the committee, including a Nov. 7, 2020, email 'discussing the appointment of alternate slates of electors as part of a "direct and collateral attack" after the election.' Also mentioned in the letter is a Jan. 5 email 'regarding a 38-page PowerPoint briefing titled "Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 JAN" that was to be provided "on the hill"' and a Jan. 5 'email about having the National Guard on standby.' ~~~
"Meadows provided the committee last week with 'certain relevant messages' from 'saved and backed up phone data' from his personal cellphone, according to Thompson's letter. The text messages produced by Meadows include a Nov. 6, 2020, correspondence 'with a Member of Congress apparently about appointing alternate electors in certain states as part of a plan that the Member acknowledged would be "highly controversial" and to which Mr. Meadows apparently said, "I love it."'" MB: You can download the letter from Thomson (via the committee) by clicking on the link. I thought maybe Meadows -- I won't appear, I will appear, I won't appear flipflops were a form of delay, but it looks as if he really did change his mind again -- after Trump dissed his book. Some of the docs Meadows provided before deciding he was unable to lunch today would seem to be fairly incriminating. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows ... filed suit on Wednesday against Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in an attempt to persuade a federal judge to block the committee's subpoenas.... His lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, accuses the committee of issuing 'two overly broad and unduly burdensome subpoenas' against him, including one sent to Verizon for his phone and text data."
Alan Feuer & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Ali Alexander, a prominent organizer of Stop the Steal rallies with ties to far-right members of Congress who sought to invalidate the 2020 election results, is cooperating with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, pledging to deliver a trove of documents that could shed light on the activities that preceded the attack. The participation of Mr. Alexander, who is scheduled to be deposed by the panel on Thursday, could provide insight into the nature and extent of the planning by ... Donald J. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress for their bid to overturn the election on Jan. 6. It could also help clarify whether and to what degree the prospect of violence was discussed or contemplated before or during the rampage." The article includes background on Alexander's participation in events & publishes snippets of his planned testimony before the committee, so it's worth a read.
A Trumped-up Case Gets Trumpier. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "When a special counsel accused a prominent cybersecurity lawyer of lying to the F.B.I. during a September 2016 meeting about Donald J. Trump's possible links to Russia, the indictment presented a lengthy narrative but the direct evidence appeared lean. The indictment said the lawyer, Michael A. Sussmann, had made a false statement by telling an F.B.I. official that he was not representing a client in presenting the information. Mr. Sussmann, who has pleaded not guilty, has denied saying that. No one else was present and their conversation was not recorded, so the direct and clearly admissible evidence appeared to boil down to one witness. This week, additional pieces of evidence emerged into public view that were not in the indictment -- one of which appears to dovetail with the accusation against Mr. Sussmann by the special counsel, John H. Durham, who was appointed during the Trump administration, while several others appear to conflict with it."
Jonathan Swan & Andrew Solender of Axios: "Donald Trump and his associates are systematically reshaping the Republican Party, working to install hand-picked loyalists across federal and state governments and destroy those he feels have been disloyal, sources close to the former president tell Axios.... If most or all of Trump's candidates win, he will go into the 2024 election cycle with far more people willing to do his bidding who run the elections in key states.... Trump is tapping his national network of allies to identify Republicans who were 'weak' in 2020 because they refused to go along with his efforts to overturn the election. No office has proven too small." ~~~
~~~ Lawrence Norten & Derek Tisler of the Brennan Center: "Election officials were some of the biggest heroes of the 2020 election. After a grueling year that saw a pandemic, unprecedented disinformation efforts, and the highest turnout in over a century, they stood up to pressure from political actors seeking to overturn or cast doubt on the election results in key states. This collective, bipartisan effort helped avoid a constitutional crisis last year. But the effort to sabotage our elections has only intensified, which is why Congress and state and local governments must take critical steps to protect against insider threats.... Following the threats, harassment, intimidation, political pressure, disinformation, and general exhaustion that election officials faced in 2020, many are choosing to leave the election administration field altogether.... And in many cases, the people seeking to fill these open positions are those who have been most activated by the conspiracies surrounding the 2020 election and the most determined to abuse their authority to ensure a different outcome in 2024.... States and counties should take the following actions (and, where appropriate, provide the funds necessary to support such mandates)[.]" Lead via Rachel Maddow.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed ready to take another step in requiring states to pay for religious education, with a majority of the justices indicating that they would not allow Maine to exclude religious schools from a state tuition program. The court has said that states may choose to provide aid to religious schools along with other private schools. The question in the new case was the opposite: Can states refuse to provide such aid if it is made available to other private schools?" MB: I sure hope the Pastafarians start up a school as soon as the Supremes decide in favor of these discriminatory religious schools.
Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "A pharmaceutical company formerly owned by Martin Shkreli will pay as much as $40 million to resolve price-gouging allegations brought by federal regulators and seven states. Vyera Pharmaceuticals, known as Turing when Shkreli ran the operation, acquired the rights to Daraprim, an anti-parasitic medication used to treat HIV patients and others with immunocompromised conditions, and raised the price of a pill from $17.50 to $750 -- more than 4,000 percent. It also blocked competitors from producing a generic version of the drug by restricting access to key ingredients, according to charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from California, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Under the settlement filed in the Southern District of New York, Vyera and its parent company, Phoenixus AG, will pay $10 million up front and as much as $30 million over 10 years if their financial condition improves. They are required to make Daraprim available to generic competitors. Kevin Mulleady, who succeeded Shkreli as CEO, will be banned from owning, working or consulting for a pharmaceutical company for seven years."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Thursday are here: "The new omicron variant could increase the likelihood that people will need a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose earlier than expected, executives at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Wednesday. Boosters are likely to help control the variant, according to the company, which said early lab experiments suggest the standard two-dose regimen still provides some protection against severe illness from the variant."
Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that laboratory tests suggest a booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine offers significant protection against the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus. The companies said that tests of blood from people who had received only two doses found much lower levels of antibodies protecting against Omicron than against an earlier version of the virus. That suggests that two doses 'may not be sufficient to protect against infection' by the new variant, the companies said.... President Biden went out of his way to draw attention to Pfizer-BioNTech's findings on Wednesday, calling them 'very, very encouraging' and saying they showed that the vaccines remain a bulwark against the virus.... [But] scientists say it could take a month or more to really understand the new variant's threat."
Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday voted narrowly to roll back President Biden's vaccine and testing mandate for large employers, taking mostly symbolic action as Republicans escalate their protest of the administration's push to immunize Americans against a deadly pandemic. The vote was bipartisan, as two centrist Democrats -- Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana -- joined all 50 Republicans in voting to overturn the regulation, which has already been blocked amid a wave of litigation by large employers and Republican-controlled states. But the House is not expected to take up the measure, and administration officials said Mr. Biden would veto it should it reach his desk. For Republicans who forced the action, it was a prime opportunity to paint the administration's efforts to increase coronavirus vaccinations as federal overreach, a central component of their campaign message going into the midterm elections next year." The NBC News story is here.
Vaccine? No, Listerine. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) recommended mouthwash as a treatment for the coronavirus during a town hall meeting Wednesday, immediately drawing criticism for suggesting gargling would offer protection. The senator has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and has promoted the use of drugs that have shown little to no evidence that they are effective in treating covid-19. YouTube this year suspended his account for violating the company's medical misinformation policies. He has also expressed skepticism about the efficacy of coronavirus vaccine mandates and doses, which have undergone vigorous health testing. His latest remarks run up against medical advice from a major producer of mouthwash and health experts. 'Standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus,' Johnson said.... Though mouthwash can partially kill off parts of the coronavirus in a person's mouth, most infections occur through the nose, health experts said."
Charles Blow of the New York Times: "I am disappointed, and I am angry ... with all the people who are choosing not to get vaccinated. There was a point, earlier on in the pandemic, when vaccines were still scarce, when I tried to be tolerant with the holdouts.... But that time has long since passed for me.... I will not coddle willful ignorance anymore. I will not indulge the fool's errand of 'I'm still doing my own research' anymore, either. This virus has already killed nearly 800,000 Americans and infected nearly 50 million. We are now averaging about 120,000 new cases a day.... The only way out of this situation, for our country and the world, is through the vaccines." MB: Blow speaks for me. And I'm even angrier at people in positions of authority or high-status for spreading conspiracy theories that persuade the numbnuts to forego vaccination. Like Stupidest Sen. Ron Johnson & teevee ratings-whore TuKKKer.
Finland. PM Partying Like It's 2019. Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "It was Saturday evening when Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin learned that a cabinet colleague and close contact had tested positive for the coronavirus. That information, however, did not derail her weekend plans, and the leader proceeded to party at a Helsinki nightclub until the wee hours, with photos showing her maskless in a crowd. Marin, who is fully vaccinated, later apologized for what she described as an indiscretion, yet images from that night have since gone viral.... The 36-year-old Social Democrat did not violate the country's public health rules, as Finland does not require vaccinated people to quarantine. But guidance does 'strongly recommend that you voluntarily avoid contact with people outside your household' while waiting for [test results].... [Marin] She tested negative for the virus Sunday, she said, and did so again Monday."
U.K. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "For a week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain has denied damaging claims that his staff broke lockdown rules by holding a party last Christmas when such festivities were banned under government-imposed coronavirus restrictions. Late Tuesday, the government's story weakened when a video surfaced of senior staff members joking about just such a party four days after they had reportedly gathered to eat snacks, drink wine and play party games in Downing Street. The revelations have shaken Mr. Johnson's government, coming just as Britain and the rest of the world enter a second holiday season battered by the emergence of a new variant and faced by anger and frustration from exhausted citizens." ~~~
~~~ Guy Davies of ABC News: "U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls to resign over reports that members of his staff attended a Christmas party last year while the country was in lockdown."
Beyond the Beltway
Georgia. Perdue Says He Would Have Broken Law to Help Trump Overturn 2020 Election Results. Emma Hurt of Axios: Trump-backed "Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue wouldn't have signed the certification of the state's 2020 election results if he had been governor at the time, the former Senate Republican told Axios.... When Gov. Brian Kemp signed the state's election certification, he pointed out that state law required him to do so.... Georgia's law does not offer the governor or the secretary of state the ability to not certify an election. Any challenge to an election's integrity must happen through the courts."
Illinois. Julia Jacobs & Mark Guarino of the New York Times: "The jury tasked with deciding whether Jussie Smollett falsely told the police that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic assault began deliberations on Wednesday and started to grapple with the two differing narratives of what happened on a freezing Chicago night in 2019. Prosecutors have accused Mr. Smollett of orchestrating the attack himself by instructing two brothers, Abimbola Osundairo and Olabinjo Osundairo, to punch him just hard enough to create bruises, pour bleach on his clothing and place a rope around his neck like a noose while yelling racist and homophobic slurs. But the defense, which relied on more than seven hours of testimony by Mr. Smollett himself, has argued he was the victim of a real attack, perpetrated by the brothers, who then lied to investigators to avoid being prosecuted themselves."
North Carolina. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "The North Carolina Supreme Court ordered a two-month delay in the state's 2022 primary elections on Wednesday, giving critics of the state legislature's gerrymandered political maps additional time to pursue a legal battle to redraw them. The unsigned ruling was a setback for the Republican-controlled General Assembly, which created the maps and had argued that a delay in the primaries would sow chaos among both candidates and voters. The court ordered the March 8 primary elections for all offices postponed until May 17, citing 'the importance of the issues to the constitutional jurisprudence of this state, and the need for urgency' in deciding the maps' legality. New boundaries for state legislative districts and for North Carolina's 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives face three lawsuits filed by Democrats and voting-rights advocates in a state court in Raleigh. In a state split almost evenly between Republican and Democratic voters..., the new House map, for example, would all but ensure victory for G.O.P. candidates in 10 of the 14 districts, with a decent shot at winning an 11th seat."
Way Beyond
France. Rick Noack & Sarah Dadouch of the Washington Post: "The arrest of a man previously believed to have been a suspect in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, the Paris prosecutor's office said Wednesday. The man was released from detention after 'thorough checks,' authorities said. The announcement came almost 30 hours after French authorities detained the man at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris."
Germany. Katrin Bennhold & Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "After 16 years as leader of Germany and unofficial leader of Europe, [Angela] Merkel on Wednesday left the office she first took over when President George W. Bush was still in the White House in a characteristically understated way. 'Congratulations dear Mr. Chancellor, dear Olaf Scholz,' Ms. Merkel told her successor in a small gathering at the chancellery.... Ms. Merkel was the central political figure in Germany and Europe through four U.S. presidents and five British and eight Italian prime ministers. Her steady accretion of authority drew admirers and detractors alike, but she remained a singular source of stability for the continent through repeated crises." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
AP: "The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in 52 years, more evidence that the U.S. job market is recovering from last year's coronavirus recession. Unemployment claims dropped by 43,000 to 184,000 last week, the lowest since September 1969, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell below 219,000, lowest since the pandemic hit the United States hard i March 2020."
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Reader Comments (16)
Who says Republicans don't care about infrastructure?
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/georgia-republicans-purge-black-democrats-county-election-boards-2021-12-09/
When it comes to who counts the votes they sure do...
"a former Pentagon spokeswoman, said in a September podcast that the Trump White House leaned on the Defense Department to downplay the attack". Do you think Michael Flynn's brother, the general, was "leaned on" or voluntarily behaved traitorously for his Turd and Chief? I hope Joe B keeps that (https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/ex-d-c-guard-official-michael-flynn-s-brother-lied-to-congress-about-jan-6-128064069660) Turd-lover far away from power. Charley Flynn is the Deep State. Much more chillingly is you KNOW that he conducted an After Action Report to review how he and his fascists failed this time. Charley Flynn would make a fine vice-president in 2024...if only poor Charley could wear shorter skirts to catch the eye of the former commander and chief.
Good to know that the Supremes may require the states to pay for
religious education, namely, the Pastafarians as Marie points out.
Their leader is the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but some sects believe
the Monster is actually 3 separate beings, the Pasta, the Meatballs, and
the Holy Sauce.
Then, some sects believe that Macaroni, not Spaghetti is the true
form of the god of Pastafarianism.
Spaghetti-os are barred from services, and being well sauced is not
a negative with Pastafarianism.
It's time for my breakfast of Spaghetti-os. I'm an Atheist.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/dozens-camels-barred-saudi-beauty-contest-botox-touch-ups-rcna8149
Didn't know the Arab world was rife with Republicans...
Back in 2016 Jane Mayer wrote a long piece for the New Yorker that introduced us to Tony Schwartz, the ghost writer for "The Art of the Deal" whose supposed author facing a crowd in the lobby of Trump Tower was saying, "We need a leader that wrote "The Art of the Deal." If that was so, Schwartz thought, that person should be ME!"
Trump appeared to have convinced himself that he HAD written the book but not one word was written by him. Hmmm, mused Tony, if Donald could lie about that on Day One––when it was so easily refuted, he is likely to lie about anything.
The problem for Schwartz was that he knew he had sold his soul––had created a charming entrepreneur with an unfailing knack for business–-a mythical image that he himself had created. He tells Mayer he has to live with that for the rest of his life. Be that as it may, I bring all this up again because what Tony told us about Trump at that time was what those Republicans running for president, and others like Pompeo voiced themselves. Here's a partial list from Schwarz:
Trump's personality: pathologically impulsive and self centered
A ham fisted thug
Obsessed with publicity
Trump only takes two positions: either you're a scummy loser, liar, whatever or you're the greatest.
He has no attention span
He "played people" all the time
Lying is second nature to him––he lied strategically. He had a complete lack of conscience about it.
And so it was; . Other voices were warning us that if Trump got elected President, the millions of people who will vote for him will believe that he represents their interests but will learn that Trump only represents himself; THAT DID NOT HAPPEN! Those millions of people loved the guy who lied to them––-and now this liar has snared the lot of them in his lair.
I find all this mind-blowing –– with all those that sold their souls and those that are just too dumb or too much in love to face the facts that Fatty is full of it. If only we could find this amusing instead of realizing that what this man has unleashed in this country is dangerous and damaging and the truly pathetic thing is we let it happen.
@Forrest Morris: Ha ha ha ha ha. I'm afraid I'm a worse heretic than you are. At least Spaghetti-os for breakfast are made out of some kind of flour, tho not likely semolina. On my forever diet, I've taken to eating fake pasta; that is, pasta made out of lentil flour or other legume flours. I think the Pastafarians -- unlike some right-wing Christians -- are nonviolent, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could scarcely refrain from beating me with huge wet spaghettoni whips.
Thanks for all the kind wishes. I’m waiting now to get an antibody infusion. The recommendation is to get it as quickly as possible after diagnosis (which, for me was two days ago) and in any event, inside a week from the onset of symptoms (last Thursday). But then I was told that they couldn’t schedule me until Friday. The reason? So many unvaccinated people are clamoring for this procedure that it’s impossible to get a quick appointment. You see, they don’t want the vaccine, but when they get sick, they demand immediate treatment.
In the meantime, I’m hearing yet another wingnut conspiracy theory (none of these things constitute anything close to an actual theory, it’s fairer to just label them outright lies).
The reason it’s hard to get an appointment for antibody infusions, according to those on the right, is that the government (ie, Biden) is clamping down on the supply for political reasons. No one has explained how denying sick people treatment benefits Biden, but then again, their hero, the Fat Fascist, actually DID allow people to get sick and die, for political purposes, so maybe they think, well, our guy did it. Biden must be doing the same thing.
This is apparently a real thing around here, the idea that Biden is trying to kill people.
I’ll just send him a little note telling him that I voted for him, and I'm sure he personally will escort me to the hospital for treatment.
Unbelievable.
I’m not sure there has ever been a time in our history when so many lies and egregious, willful misinformation have been so rampant. You’d probably have go back to the Middle Ages to find a period so beset by stunning ignorance. Ron Johnson would have felt right at home.
Forrest,
Spaghetti-Os, eh? Does that make Chef Boyardee a kind of Antichrist for the Pastafarians? After all, the real guy, Chef Ettore Boiardi, was an Italian immigrant—not even a real ‘merican! Aieee!
AK, you keep talking about how you live in a blood-red die-hard Trump state, and so the question I keep asking is WHY?? Is it family? Job/profession? You seem to be way too intelligent to want to live in a shithole part of the country. I know that people’s reasons for living where they do are complex, but maybe you should consider moving to a more civilized location. My state of Virginia would surely welcome you - though our own backsliding into shithole-dom remains a distinct possibility in light of the recent election.
Rockygirl,
This is my wife’s home state. She wouldn’t want to move away from family and friends, plus her job is a big concern. In addition, we really don’t have the money to pull up stakes and move somewhere else to start over. I’m 67, so forget about going to a new state and looking for a good paying job, and my son has a lot of friends and connections here as well, in addition to cousins he’s very attached to. I’m pretty much stuck here. I lived most of my life in big northeastern cities (Boston and New York), so I know exactly what I’m missing. At least I have a connection to sanity through all of you in RC world, for which I’m very grateful.
It wasn’t quite this bad when I first moved here. The Obama election really jumped up the crazy, and the Trump election pushed the insanity to galactic levels.
But at this point, moving is out of the question.
We should all be more like the H's that we met on the last trip to
San Miguel de Allende.
Mrs. H said to us--We just finished our 7th house. It's in Morocco.
You must visit us there. There's a jet field nearby. Sorry, we don't
have a jet, not even a jet ski. Well, we have an extra that we use to
pick up guests who don't own jets.
Sorry, this is our only vacation time. Work awaits until next year.
So that's what we all have to do. When the neighbors get annoying
or there are too many unvaccinated in one area, you just fly to another.
P.S. The H is the middle name in DHL. They later sold the company
to Germany and got a divorce. Don't know who got the jets. We
didn't keep in touch.
AK, I get it about home. As much as I joke about wanting to move to Portugal, in my heart I know it ain’t gonna happen. I read a Substack (hate ‘em but there are a few good ones out there) by Lucian Truscott IV this morning that said essentially “this is my country too and I’m not leaving.” Yup.
Pastafarianism might be interesting, and amusing, but to be really effective it should be a real Rastafarian school, plus a madrasa or two in a deep red state, and they should limit them to Rastas (and mandating ganja) Muslims. Wisconsin or Georgia would be a good testing ground.
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-de54f9ad6c6123dbe85cf86d31b45df1
So far, so good.
Ak: I hope you're feeling better. What struck me was the unfortunate loss for your child to attend the christmas party. The lack of respect that the anti-vaxxers have for everyone else is The Great Backsliding of Turd and his followers. Reputation is something some Republican fascists don't think or care about.
Rocky: the thing about moving to where the 'good folks' live is it's complicated. The Uiyghers didn't choose to have Xi commit genocide on them; they were there first. Fascists are always superior with dividing the opposition to fight and weaken themselves. Trump mastered that skill at his daddy and mommy's knees. One of the graces of my life is that in all the different places and countries I've worked and visited, most communities of people adhere to my 85% and 15% rule: that most people are mostly decent most of the time. Unfortunately, some people only respond to brute force and they inevitably try for leadership positions. The ability to respond to brutes in leadership is why I've long said that Martin Luther King was the greatest American of the last half of the 20th century.
Oh no! AK—. I must not have read RC yesterday and I missed your announcement. I am so sorry but I have great hope you will prevail and feel snappy and verbose SOON. I know how angry you must be. The deaths are up in our area and I don’t even care anymore. I figure there are fewer crazy voters with every death. Brutal, I know, but there is no excuse possible anymore. Anyhow, we are all mad on your behalf and pulling for you. Sorry about the boy and his party but chances are there will be other parties. Disappointing, though. Take good care of yourself, slurp up some antibodies if you find them, and get your booster ASAP. Bless you all the way to full recovery.