July 16, 2023
Afternoon Update:
Jasmine Wright of CNN: "The US will allow European countries to train Ukrainians on F-16 fighter jets, a top Biden administration official confirmed Sunday, a potential boon for Ukraine's efforts to counter Russia's air superiority. 'The president has given a green light and we will allow, permit, support, facilitate and in fact provide the necessary tools for Ukrainians to begin being trained on F-16s, as soon as the Europeans are prepared,' national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's Jake Tapper on 'State of the Union.' The decision cements a stark turnaround for President Joe Biden, who said earlier this year that he did not believe that Ukraine needed the F-16s. One of the main issues Kyiv's ground forces have faced as their counteroffensive gets underway is Russian air power holding them back."
Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Since his indictment last month on charges of withholding classified documents..., Donald Trump has publicly called special counsel Jack Smith 'deranged' and a 'psycho' and said he 'looks like a crackhead.' In response, Smith and the federal judge overseeing his pending criminal trial have said ... nothing.... Trump's broadsides on social media against the Justice Department, the FBI, and Smith in particular have not gone unnoticed. The government spent $1.9 million for U.S. Marshals to provide security to Smith and other officials between November 2022 and March, according to officials.... 'Trump has bought for himself more latitude than other litigants would have. He's campaigning for office, and the scope of things that are said in campaigns are often far out and unsupported,' [attorney Bruce] Rogow said.... 'These are the kind of comments that might provoke some judges to issue a gag order,' said Ken White, a former federal prosecutor.... Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at New York University, said that the calculus for a gag order could change if Trump starts talking about witnesses or evidence...." ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump praised the judge overseeing his classified documents case as his legal team seeks a postponement of his trial in Florida.... 'I know it's a very highly respected judge. A very smart judge, and a very strong judge,' Trump said. When host [Fox 'News host] Maria Bartiromo noted that Trump appointed the judge in the case, Trump said, 'I did, and I'm very proud to have appointed her.'... We need judges that love our country so they do the right thing.'" MB: I'm just overwhelmed by Trump's sincerity.
New York. Hurubie Meko & Erin Nolan of the New York Times: In 2011, profilers compiled lists of the characteristics they expected the Gisco Beach serial killer had. There are similarities between the profiles and the suspect arrested late last week for three of the murders.
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Presidential Race 2024
What to do when you're a lousy, obnoxious, losing candidate? Blame your staff: ~~~
Maggie Haberman & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times:"Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has started cutting campaign staff just months into his presidential bid, as he has struggled to gain traction in the Republican primary and lost ground in some public polls to ... Donald J. Trump. The exact number of people let go by the DeSantis team was unclear, but one campaign aide said it was fewer than 10. The development was earlier reported by Politico." But Ronnie the Also-Ran has more problems at home; see link under "Beyond the Beltway."
Daily Check-up: Is RFK, Jr. Still Crazy? Yes, Yes, He Is. Lucy Hodgman of Politico: "Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. denied allegations of racism and anti-Semitism Saturday after he reportedly suggested Covid-19 could have been genetically engineered to reduce risks to Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. Kennedy -- a longtime vaccine skeptic who is running a longshot primary campaign against President Joe Biden -- said during a Tuesday night press event that Covid-19 was 'targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people.' He went on to say that 'the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.' After a broad backlash to his comments, first reported by the New York Post, Kennedy took to Twitter to defend himself[:]... 'I have never, ever suggested that the Covid-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews.'..." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jonathan Weisman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times write about the No Labels party. Blah-blah. Here's the punch line, buried way down the story: "'We like puppies and kittens and pie,' said Rick Wilson, a former Republican and a founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. 'They think they can be tapioca vanilla pudding as long as possible, to keep up the message,"Hey, we're just centrist do-gooders. What could possibly go wrong?" And the thing that could go wrong is the election of Donald Trump.'"
Pence Shows What a Cruel, Careless SOB He Is. Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Former Vice President Mike Pence said abortions in the case of nonviable pregnancies should be banned, taking a hard stance on abortion policy, which has served as an emphasis of his campaign.... 'I just have heard so many stories over the years of courageous women and families who were told that their unborn child would not go to term or would not survive. And then they had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy delivery.'... Pence is the only GOP presidential candidate to publicly support a national abortion ban at six weeks." Pence's anecdotal "evidence" is pure conjecture.
Marie: If, like me, you blame Hitler & the Nazis for the Holocaust, this Washington Post report by Gordon Sander, may give you another think, because the U.S. and the rest of the world -- except the Dominican Republic -- effectively collaborated with the Nazis. And they did so, in great part, because our representatives -- and our people -- were antisemites.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Frances Robles of the New York Times: "Early last summer, complaining that Washington had failed to provide adequate staffing for Florida's National Guard, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that for the first time in 75 years he was activating the State Guard, a force of volunteers that could respond to hurricanes and other public emergencies. But the deployment this spring has been mired in internal turmoil, with some recruits complaining that what was supposed to be a civilian disaster response organization had become heavily militarized, requiring volunteers to participate in marching drills and military-style training sessions on weapons and hand-to-hand combat. At least 20 percent of the 150 people initially accepted into the program dropped out or were dismissed, state officials acknowledged, including a retired Marine captain who filed a false imprisonment complaint against Guard sergeants with the local sheriff after he got into a dispute with instructors and was forcibly escorted off the site." The Guardian's story is here.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here. The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
News Ledes
New York Times: "Jane Birkin, who helped define chic female sexuality of the 1970s as an actress in arty and erotic European movies and in her relationship -- equal parts romantic and artistic -- with the singer Serge Gainsbourg, died on Sunday in Paris. Ms. Birkin, who later became known for inspiring one of the best known lines of luxury handbags, was 76."
Weekend in Guns America. New York Times: "At least four people were dead and three others remained missing on Sunday morning after severe floods on Saturday swept through areas of Pennsylvania. In a news conference Sunday morning, Tim Brewer, the fire chief of Upper Makefield in Bucks County, said that 11 vehicles were trapped by rising waters on the flooded Washington Crossing Road on Saturday afternoon. 'The flash flood occurred some time after that,' Mr. Brewer said. 'We believe approximately 11 cars were on the road. Three were confirmed swept away.'" ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Update: "A gunman who police said fatally shot four people in an Atlanta suburb Saturday before going on the run was killed Sunday afternoon in a police shootout that left two officers injured, authorities announced Sunday."
New York Times: "A 25-year-old woman in Alabama who was reported missing on Thursday night after telling a 911 dispatcher that she saw a toddler walking along the side of an interstate and would pull over to help was found late Saturday, according to the police. The woman, Carlee Russell, showed up at her family's front door on Saturday night, knocked and was greeted by her stunned relatives, said Nicholas Derzis, the police chief in Hoover, a suburb of Birmingham.... The case began on Thursday night when Ms. Russell told the dispatcher about the child around 9:35 p.m., called a family member to report the same details, and then pulled over on I-459 South near mile marker 11 to check on the toddler, the Hoover Police Department said.... The Hoover Police Department said it had not received any calls of someone missing a child."
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Reader Comments (5)
Is RFK, Jr. still crazy?
Can a person be highly educated and still be crazy? Evidently so.
RFK, Jr's. education:
Harvard University (BA)
London School of Economics
University of Virginia (JD)
Pace University (LLM)
Before that, he was kicked out of various boarding schools for drug
use.
It would be interesting to read some of the many books he has
written but I don't have the time, and they were probably ghost
written anyway, like the Donald's.
He will probably be the first candidate to crash and burn.
Not a Sunday Sermon.
A book review with an implied sermon instead.
https://www.populist.com/29.13.Winkes.html
It appears America has sprung another big leak.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/16/fondomonte-arizona-drought-saudi-farm-water/
Marc Reisner's "Cadillac Desert" comes to mind. Of course, the warnings go back to John Wesley Powell...
Trump brays that we need judges who “love our country so they do the right thing”.
No.
It’s nice that a judge loves our country, but nationalistic fervor is not what makes a good judge, or prompts a judge to “do the right thing”. Those are qualifications for chauvinist and fascist judges.
Love of justice and rule of law are what directs judges to “do the right thing”.
Trump, however, equates himself with the country, which means “doing the right thing” is whatever’s good for him.
How such basic concepts are so easily warped and accepted as true by the MAGAts is yet another example of the perverting and iniquitous influence of the most corrupt politician in American history.
I seem to have lost the first comment, but I am so sorry you are not going to be doing this anymore!! It was always my first stop on the internet in the morning.
Enjoy your retirement. You have earned it.