October 10, 2021
Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "... as the national [Democratic] party starts to create a new calendar for the 2024 presidential nomination that could remove Iowa from its privileged [first-in-the-nation] position for the first time since 1972, when candidates started flocking to the state for an early jump on the race to the White House. The caucuses' reputation has been damaged by high barriers to participation, a dearth of racial diversity, the rightward drift in the state's electorate and a leftward drift in the Democratic participants. The state party's inability to count the results in 2020 only deepened dismay in the party.... '... Iowa is not representative of America,' [former DNC Chair Tom] Perez said Friday in an interview. 'We need a primary process that is reflective of today's demographics in the Democratic Party.'"
Shah Baloch & Julian Borger of the Guardian: "A senior US official visiting Islamabad has made clear to Pakistan that the Biden administration has downgraded the bilateral relationship. On the eve of her arrival, the deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, used a public event in Mumbai to lay out in blunt terms the new parameters of US-Pakistan relations, stressing there would be no equivalence with Washington's deepening ties to India. The Islamabad trip was for 'a very specific and narrow purpose', Sherman said, to talk about Afghanistan and the Taliban. 'We don't see ourselves building a broad relationship with Pakistan, and we have no interest in returning to the days of hyphenated India-Pakistan,' she added."
Manchinema & Republicans Don't Care about Children. Claire Miller of the New York Times: "In the developed world, the United States is an outlier in its low levels of financial support for young children's care -- something Democrats, with their safety net spending bill, are trying to change.... The U.S. spends ... about $200 a year for most families [with children under age two], in the form of a once-a-year tax credit for parents who pay for care.... Denmark, for example, spends $23,140 annually per child on care for children 2 and under." ~~~
~~~ Marie: In yesterday's Comments thread, Forrest M. noted that crooked, richy-rich Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) had advice for how the peons should weather tough times: "Most families in this country survive by not being wasteful, but by clipping coupons, by buying necessities when they are on sale, by cutting their own grass and by reusing aluminum foil." Akhilleus translated: "What Ricky means is that the vast majority of Americans should expect no help from him and his rich confederate pals. They're too busy helping themselves."
Daniel Hemel in a Washington Post op-ed: "The Pandora Papers ... shine a light on South Dakota's role as an offshore financial center. For the most part, the revelations relate to the Mount Rushmore State's status as a magnet for foreign wealth, including money derived from international drug smuggling and exploitative labor practices. But it's not just foreigners who are moving assets to the 'little tax haven on the prairie': High-net-worth Americans also are shifting billions to South Dakota and a handful of other domestic havens, shortchanging federal and home-state tax collectors in the process. The rise of domestic tax havens marks a troubling new chapter in the history of American federalism.... The biggest loser in all this is the U.S. Treasury. Carefully designed, a South Dakota dynasty trust can operate as a perpetual estate-tax-avoidance machine." Congress could and should close the loopholes that allow South Dakota and other states to shield tax evaders.
Washington Post Editors: A new (Democratic) Senate Judiciary Committee report "details how [Donald] Trump tried persistently to enlist the Justice Department in his scheme to overturn the 2020 election results.... Senate Republicans played down these revelations.... But ... Mr. Trump ... was not exercising reasonable skepticism [as GOP senators claimed]; he was trying to hold on to power against the wishes of the American people, based on widely debunked mistruths about the 2020 vote. Anyone seeking to play down that fact today is complicit in his plot to undermine U.S. democracy.... Congress must reinforce elements of the nation's democratic infrastructure vulnerable to exploitation by bad actors such as Mr. Trump. It should revamp the ancient Electoral Count Act to limit partisan interference in presidential vote tallying, and it should impose federal election standards that insulate state election officials from political pressure. Republicans who still respect the Constitution should be willing to join in this effort."
Kyle Cheney & Olivia Beavers of Politico: "As congressional investigators accelerate their probe of Donald Trump's 2020 election challenges that culminated on Jan. 6, one thing is clear: All roads run through a handful of their GOP colleagues.... The House select committee ... has so far avoided directly roping in fellow lawmakers, even as it homes in on Trump's inner circle. Yet each of its investigative steps so far has further underscored the roles that Trump's staunchest House GOP allies played in his bid to throw out the election results. Those Republicans connected the former president to willing partners in the Justice Department who might fuel inflated claims of fraud. They huddled with Trump to deliver counsel. And they spoke with Trump by phone on Jan. 6 as he watched his own 'Stop the Steal' rally morph into a violent riot that overtook the Capitol."
Jim Acosta & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Former Trump aide Dan Scavino has been served a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, bringing an end to the panel's struggle to physically locate him. A process server brought the subpoena to ... Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday, the source said. While Scavino was home in New York at the time, he asked a staff member to accept the subpoena on his behalf." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Pelosi & the Pope. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Pope Francis on Saturday met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a private audience at the Vatican, amid ongoing criticism of Pelosi by conservative Catholics in the United States over her support for abortion rights. Pelosi, who is Catholic, described the meeting as 'a spiritual, personal and official honor' and praised the pope for his attention to climate change and for his work lifting up the underprivileged. 'His Holiness's leadership is a source of joy and hope for Catholics and for all people, challenging each of us to be good stewards of God's creation, to act on climate, to embrace the refugee, the immigrant and the poor, and to recognize the dignity and divinity in everyone,' Pelosi said in a statement.... Pelosi's meeting with the pope comes a few months after Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco said in May that prominent Catholics who support abortion rights should be denied Holy Communion. The archbishop also ... has since launched a '"Rose and Rosary for Nancy' campaign to push for Pelosi to change her stance on abortion.&"
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Ordinarily staid and silent Supreme Court justices have become whirling dervishes of late, spinning madly to rebut the idea that Americans are beginning to regard the court as a dangerous cabal of partisan hacks.... Many of us have thought that for a long time.... The Least Dangerous Branch, as the court was once known, has become the Most Dangerous Branch.... And please, Justice Breyer, skedaddle. You're playing a dangerous game. You need to get out of there because it looks as if the midterms are going to be bad, and if the Democrats lose the Senate majority, there's no guarantee that Mitch McConnell will let any Biden nominee onto the court, even with two years left on the president's term." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Matt Schudel of the Washington Post: "Raymond T. Odierno, a four-star Army general who was a key architect of the 'surge' in U.S. forces during the Iraq War that was credited with reducing violence and increasing stability in the country and who later became the Army's chief of staff, or highest-ranking general, died Oct. 8 at age 67."
The Week in Review:
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Fed Misunderestimated Delta Variant. Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The weak September jobs report offered the latest sign of the coronavirus pandemic's hold on major sectors of the economy, conflicting with the type of recovery the Federal Reserve forecast back when the nation was entering its recent surge in cases. A growing number of economists and experts acknowledge that the nation's top economic policymakers underestimated the delta variant's threat to job growth, inflation, global supply chains and people's own comfort levels going into the fall. In recent months, the delta variant of the coronavirus tore through communities with low vaccination rates, spurred sweeping new workplace rules from the Biden administration and rattled consumer sentiment."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "Moderna, whose coronavirus vaccine appears to be the world's best defense against Covid-19, has been supplying its shots almost exclusively to wealthy nations, keeping poorer countries waiting and earning billions in profit. After developing a breakthrough vaccine with the financial and scientific support of the U.S. government, Moderna has shipped a greater share of its doses to wealthy countries than any other vaccine manufacturer, according to Airfinity, a data firm that tracks vaccine shipments.... Of the handful of middle-income countries that have reached deals to buy Moderna's shots, most have not yet received any doses, and at least three have had to pay more than the United States or European Union did...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Russia/Serbia/Croatia. Russians Bring Vaccine Tourism to Serbia. Jovana Gec & Daria Litvinova of the AP: International health authorities have not recognized Russia's Covid-19 vaccine, so ... "Serbia, which is not a member of the European Union, is a convenient choice for vaccine-seeking Russians because they can enter the allied Balkan nation without visas and because it offers a wide choice of Western-made shots. Organized tours for Russians have soared, and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, at hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics.... Serbia ... offers the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Chinese Sinopharm shots. By popular demand, Russian tourist agencies are now also offering tours to Croatia, where tourists can receive the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, without the need to return for a second dose."
Beyond the Beltway
California. Azi Paybarah of the New York Times: "The pipeline that spilled at least 126,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast may have been damaged up to a year earlier, according to preliminary results of an ongoing investigation, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Officials have said the leak occurred three miles off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif., and involved a failure in a 17.5-mile pipeline connected to an offshore oil platform called Elly that is operated by Beta Offshore.... Investigators are 'fairly certain' that an anchor from a 'large vessel' struck the pipeline's concrete casing, and dragged the pipeline more than 100 feet from its original location...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
Afghanistan. Kathy Gannon of the AP: "The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the United States to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, staking out an uncompromising position on a key issue ahead of the first direct talks between the former foes since America withdrew from the country in August. Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives are to meet Saturday and Sunday in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials from both sides have said issues include reining in extremist groups and the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country. The Taliban have signaled flexibility on evacuations. However, Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press there would be no cooperation with Washington on containing the increasingly active Islamic State group in Afghanistan." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Austria. Loveday Morris of the Washington Post: "Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned Saturday amid a corruption probe that had triggered moves to oust him, the latest dramatic twist in the turbulent career of a leader once touted as Europe's conservative wunderkind. In a televised address, the 35-year-old premier denied the allegations against him but recommended leadership be handed to Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. He said he would stay on as head of his party, and take the position of leader of his conservative bloc in parliament. 'My country is more important to me than my person,' he said. 'I want to make space to prevent chaos and ensure stability.'" Politico's story is here.
China/Taiwan. Adela Suliman of the Washington Post: "China's President Xi Jinping on Saturday vowed to achieve peaceful 'unification' with Taiwan, just days after a record number of Chinese military jets conducted drills close to the island, escalating tensions between the two sides.... Xi's tone took a more conciliatory approach than that of a speech he made in July, when he vowed to 'smash' any attempts at Taiwan independence.... Nearly 150 warplanes were flown into Taiwan's air defense identification zone over the past week -- prompting Taiwan's defense minister to say Wednesday that military tensions with Beijing were at their worst point in more than four decades."
Czech Republic. Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "In a blow to Europe's once surging populist politicians, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, a pugnacious businessman who has compared himself to Donald Trump and railed against migrants, suffered a surprising defeat in a parliamentary election that ended on Sunday. After two days of voting, near-final results indicated that a center-right coalition of parties led by a button-down former academic had won the largest share of votes, narrowly ahead of a party led by the scandal-singed prime minister, Andrej Babis." A UPI story is here. ~~~
~~~ digby: "We don't hold our right wing leaders accountable for breaking the law here in America because it might make someone mad. But it's good to see that other countries still have some standards[.]"
News Ledes
New York Times: "A passenger whose erratic behavior prompted pilots to make an emergency landing at La Guardia Airport on Saturday afternoon was not charged after the authorities determined that he 'did not make a verbal threat' and was not carrying a suspicious item, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. The man, who was not identified by the Port Authority Police Department, was briefly detained and questioned by the authorities, including the F.B.I., and then released, the spokesman, Thomas Topousis, said on Sunday."
New York Times: "A mysterious boom jolted New Hampshire and at least one adjoining state on Sunday morning, rattling homes, spooking pets and prompting several hundred amateur sleuths to go online to try to find out what possibly could have caused all the commotion." MB: Didn't hear the mysterious boom in my neck of the woods; we did have a boom here that jolted my neighbor and me a few weeks ago, but that was caused by a tree falling in the forest -- which, of course, we heard.
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A sermon, with parts proudly recycled from RC.
(Now that I think of it, haven't heard an entirely original sermon for a long time, if ever....Oh, maybe when I was around ten...)
"As the Supreme Court begins another session, speculation is rife about how it will decide the abortion, guns, and religious issues now before it.
Will the Court expand or limit a woman’s right to choose? How about access to guns? Will it again decide religious belief can justify socially destructive behaviors like it did when it upheld the right of churches to serve as Covid super-spreaders during the pandemic (nytimes.com)?
Heavily laden with conservative justices as the Court is, such questions are understandable; and while prediction is most often a mugs game, this Court’s recent history does offer some hints of things to come.
The Court’s conservative majority has already eviscerated the Voting Rights Act, knocked more bricks out of the wall separating church and state by requiring states to fund scholarships for students in private religious schools (theconversation.com), and recently allowed the newly-minted Texas anti-abortion law to stand.
The two words commonly applied to conservative Constitutional jurisprudence, “textualism” and “originalism,” imply a close reading of a constitution first ratified in 1789 answers all questions raised by life in 21st century America.
But many forget that our constitution was forged in a society where voting rights were limited to propertied white men, then about six percent or the population (wikipedia.com).
In an era when women and people of color are also full-fledged participants in the democratic process, it’s no wonder we can often hear the social fabric rip when the Supreme Court Originalists hand down one of their retrograde decisions.
Holding to such a simplistic vision of an eighteenth-century judicial Eden, when our new nation was a mere toddler first rising to its feet, the Supreme Court’s conservatives have already proven they make very poor tailors for our vastly more developed, populous, diverse, intricate and, yes, democratic twenty-first".
Stephanie Grisham has doubled down on her confessional while promoting her book on life in the White House Poop Palace saying she was part of something "unusually evil." And I got to thinking how many women have come forward who sing the same song:
Trump's niece
Trump's Vice assistant
Trump's press secretary
Trump's wife's handmaid
Where are the men?
Meanwhile yesterday at an Apple Store in Manhattan a deranged and outraged heavy set man twice stabbed a store guard (who will live according to hospital report) because guard would not let him enter store without a mask. It has come to this. Fury unleashed like rabid dogs –-their bites bitter and deep––--and their beef? Being asked to save themselves and others from a virus. It's almost –––––incomprehensible–––––until it isn't anymore.
Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi!
Just imagine what would have happened if Hillary would have
refused to answer a subpoena and refused to sit through hours of
grilling.
She would have been drawn and quartered, then handcuffed and let
to the guillotine, then paraded through town as a warning.
Republicans would have come up with a new law stating that no
woman can ever be pardoned, guilty or not, unless she's married to
a Republican.
I think that any past president* who advises those who are subpoenaed
should be charged with something. Oh, I forgot, he's claiming
executive privilege. (Or stupidity, take your pick).
PD,
What happened to the men?
They’re still being “unusually evil”. Most of ‘em are damn good at it too.
@PD: The men are hiding from subpoenas.
On South Dakota:
"While not all tax haven states vote Red, there is a pattern here.
All know that Red states are the nation's real "takers." They always have been, their hands out, begging for more than they contribute to the national treasury, all the while bleating self-righteousness.
What is often missed is how with their policies they also lead the nation in a race to the an economic and moral bottom. Parasites to begin with, they champion and enact policies like Right to Work (for less), demeaning drug testing and work requirement policies for the poor and schemes to defraud the nation's treasury of the resources they themselves have come to depend on:
Greedy, nasty and ultimately self-defeating.
No wonder most of those states preferred that other guy...and they still so."
A potential map of the world after global warming. Where are all the people going to live on our desert world and were are we going to produce all the food to feed them all. It also made me think of all the covid BS. How many people will refuse to move as the places they live become uninhabitable? We have seen how self destructive people are during covid and I don't see them changing their ways anytime in the future.
And a cartoon about why we haven't already made some of the changes we need to prevent this catastrophe, "how do we make money on them"
I'm constantly amazed at the refusals in the military over vaccination. I don't remember anyone asking me if I had any objections to getting a shot for anything. In basic training they just lined us up and ran us through the line. Later on in service it was an order to report for a booster.
"Iowa is not representative of America,' [former DNC Chair Tom] Perez said Friday in an interview." How much more stupider can the Dems get? We lived in Iowa City for a decade ('74-'85) and knew many folks from east to west. At least half of Iowans certainly are representative of America. Some will be enough offended by that statement to stay home or vote third party or, at the edge, for Trump.