The Commentariat -- April 17, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Sad Interlude in the History of the Congressional White Caucus. Daniella Diaz of CNN: "Conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is scrapping the planned launch of her 'America First' caucus after receiving blowback from leaders in her own party, despite confirming through a spokesperson on Friday that the caucus would launch.... 'The Congresswoman wants to make clear that she is not launching anything. This was an early planning proposal and nothing was agreed to or approved,' [Greene's spokesman] said in an email to CNN, referring to a flier promoting the caucus, obtained by Punchbowl News, that used inflammatory rhetoric."
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Anne Gearan & Simon Denyer of the Washington Post: "President Biden was making a point as he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to the White House on Friday, using the first in-person visit by a foreign leader to emphasize that his administration sees Asia as its highest priority. The coveted first invitation was intended to reward a strategic ally who was buffeted by transactional and sometimes capricious treatment under ... Donald Trump, and to send a signal to China that Biden plans to firm up America's Asian alliances. Biden plans to follow up with an invitation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in next month. 'There's no substitute for face-to-face discussions,' Biden said as he and Suga held a news conference in the Rose Garden, Biden's first such event."
Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "The Kremlin said Friday it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and blacklist eight current and former U.S. officials including FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, Susan Rice and John Bolton in response to U.S. sanctions and expulsions. The expected tit-for-tat measures by Russia deepen the strains between the two countries, but Moscow kept its response relatively proportional. The Kremlin also signaled a willingness to consider a summit between President Vladimir Putin and President Biden even as tensions grow." MB: Odd choices of people to blacklist: Although Rice has held important foreign policy positions, she currently is heading the Domestic Policy Council; Wray's job by law is limited to domestic problems, and Bolton doesn't have any government job at all.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "After a backlash from Democrats and human rights activists, the White House abruptly reversed course on Friday on the number of refugees it will allow into the United States, a reflection of President Biden's continuing struggle with immigration policy. At midday on Friday, the administration had said it would limit the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year to the historically low level of 15,000 set by the Trump administration, breaking an earlier pledge to greatly increase that number and let in more than 60,000 people fleeing war and persecution.... [Then] Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and the majority whip, called the administration's admissions target 'unacceptable.' Just hours later, the White House put out a statement saying it expected to increase the cap next month. It did not comment when asked to specify the number." CNN's story is here.
Justice! Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Friday rescinded a Trump administration policy that curbed the use of consent decrees to address police misconduct, as the Justice Department prepared to step up its role in investigating allegations of racist and illegal behavior by police forces amid a nationwide outcry about the deaths of Black people at the hands of officers. Mr. Garland's widely expected decision revives one of the department's most effective tools in forcing law enforcement agencies to evaluate and change their practices. Consent decrees are court-approved deals between the Justice Department and local governmental agencies that create a road map for changes to the way they operate."
Science! Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "The National Institutes of Health on Friday removed restrictions that the Trump administration imposed on research using fetal tissue, allowing university researchers and government scientists freer rein to use material from elective abortions when studying diseases and possible treatments. A brief update for outside scientists from the NIH director's office said the Department of Health and Human Services was reversing a 2019 decision that had required applicants for federal grants and contracts involving fetal tissue to undergo an extra layer of review by an ethics advisory board. In a separate notice emailed Friday, NIH told its internal scientific and clinical directors that it was lifting a Trump-era ban on using federal money to buy human fetal tissue for biomedical studies by government employees."
Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "Several House Republicans, led by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.), are forming a caucus that calls for a 'common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions.' A policy platform for the group, which calls itself the America First Caucus, declares that 'a certain intellectual boldness is needed' in order to 'follow in President Trump's footsteps, and potentially step on some toes and sacrifice sacred cows for the good of the American nation.' The seven-page document, first obtained by Punchbowl News, is explicit in its nativist rhetoric and describes American culture as dominated by 'Anglo-Saxon' and European influences." MB: I wonder if they'll wear pointy white hoods or just go with little KKK lapel pins. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sadly for Greene, she is unlikely to be very Anglo-Saxon herself. Assuming she thinks she's of English heritage (birth name Taylor), only about 30%-38% of Britons are of Anglo-Saxon heritage. Gosar's claim to Saxon heritage is even thinner; his paternal grandparents were Slovenian & maternal grandparents were Basques. As I'm sure you know, identifying with a specific, historical ethnic group is usually impossible, especially for Americans. As for their politics, I don't know what Marge & Paul think "Anglo-Saxon political traditions" are. The Anglo-Saxons in the British Isles established a fairly typical feudal system, with the addition of an active military class who plundered the locals. Come to think of it, that may be what Marge & Paul have in mind. ~~~
~~~ McCarthy Finally Finds His Line in the Sand. Cristiana Marcos of the Hill: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Friday that the Republican Party is not the party of 'nativist dog whistles' in an apparent response to a new right-wing caucus that explicitly calls for promoting 'Anglo-Saxon political traditions.' McCarthy issued a tweet that does not explicitly reference the new 'America First Caucus' ... but came hours after its policy platform began leaking to the media. 'America is built on the idea that we are all created equal and success is earned through honest, hard work. It isn't built on identity, race, or religion,' McCarthy wrote. 'The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln & the party of more opportunity for all Americans -- not nativist dog whistles,' he added." MB: Of course we know he doth protest too much, but at least he's trying to keep up the fiction of an inclusive GOP.
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A member of the Oath Keepers militia who was charged in connection with the riot at the Capitol pleaded guilty on Friday and agreed to cooperate with the government -- potentially against other members of the far-right extremist group. The guilty plea by the Oath Keeper, Jon Ryan Schaffer, 53, of Indiana, was the first to be entered publicly by any of the more than 400 people who have been charged so far in the Jan. 6 attack. News of the plea emerged last week after sealed documents in Mr. Schaffer's case were briefly -- and accidentally -- made available on a federal court database.... Though he was not charged as part of ... a separate and much broader ... case, Mr. Schaffer's agreement to assist the government was apparently significant enough that prosecutors said at a court hearing on Friday that they would sponsor him for the witness protection program.... Mr. Schaffer pleaded guilty in Federal District Court in Washington to two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon." The AP's story is here.
Nahal Toosi of Politico: "Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo violated federal ethics rules governing the use of taxpayer-funded resources when he and his wife, Susan, asked State Department employees to carry out tasks for their personal benefit more than 100 times..., the State Department's inspector general's office ... has determined.... Investigators uncovered scores of instances in which Mike or Susan Pompeo asked State Department staffers to handle tasks of a personal nature, from booking salon appointments and private dinner reservations to picking up their dog and arranging tours for the Pompeos' political allies. Employees told investigators that they viewed the requests from Susan Pompeo, who was not on the federal payroll, as being backed by the secretary. Not all of the 100-plus instances were definitively found to constitute a rules violation." MB: I could just kick myself for never asking my husband's secretaries to run my little errands.
Pete Williams & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "The Justice Department on Friday sued Roger Stone, a longtime ally of ... Donald Trump, accusing Stone and his wife, Nydia, of owing nearly $2 million in unpaid federal income taxes and fees. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says the couple underpaid their income taxes by $1,590,361 from 2007 to 2011. It further says Stone, 68, did not pay his full tax bill in 2018, coming up $407,036 short. The couple, the suit alleges, used a commercial entity to 'shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.'" The New York Times' story is here.
Whom Would Jesus Sue? Ruth Graham of the New York Times: "Liberty University sued its former president Jerry Falwell Jr. this week, exacerbating the messy divorce between the Christian university and the leader whose family name has been synonymous with the school since its founding. The suit, which was filed on Thursday and asks for more than $40 million in damages, alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty. It claims that Mr. Falwell withheld scandalous and potentially damaging information from Liberty's board of trustees, while negotiating a generous new contract for himself in 2019 under false pretenses. Mr. Falwell also failed to disclose and address 'his personal impairment by alcohol,' the suit alleges." MB: Well, okay, there is the &"demon rum" thing. The AP's story is here.
Luke O'Neil of the Guardian: "Mike Lindell, the man best known for his internet pillow company My Pillow, as well as for his fierce allegiance to Donald Trump, is set to launch a new free speech platform this week that he thinks will put YouTube and Twitter out of business. But it turns out it will limit what users can say -- by stopping them from, among other things, taking the Lord's name in vain. 'Everyone is going to be able to talk freely,' said Mike Lindell about the platform, called Frank, which is set to roll out on 19 April, in an interview with the conservative host Graham Ledger.... 'When you come over now you are going to be able to speak out and have opinions."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
When Killing Your Own Supporters Is a Way to "Own the Libs." Amanda Marcotte in Salon, summary by RockyGirl, from today's Comments thread: "... the right is deliberately undermining the vaccine effort to slow down the economy and hurt Biden. Well, duh. But her solution is interesting. Basically she says that the time (idiot Jordan's 'WHEN??') to roll back restrictions on gatherings and the like is when vaccine supply outstrips demand. She also says that the CDC needs to dial back its messaging on caution and instead start highlighting the freedom of action that vaccines give you. By denying the right the doom & gloom that they can exploit, we can be celebrating all the good things that the vaxxed can do." An excellent read & a pathetic commentary on so-called "conservatism." Thanks to RockyGirl for the link & summary. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ It's Working! "Poorly Educated" Republicans Less Likely to Be Vaccinated. Danielle Ivory, et al., of the New York Times: "The disparity in vaccination rates has so far mainly broken down along political lines.... Both willingness to receive a vaccine and actual vaccination rates to date were lower, on average, in counties where a majority of residents voted to re-elect ... Donald J. Trump in 2020. The phenomenon has left some places with a shortage of supply and others with a glut.... Vaccine hesitancy is highest in counties that are rural and have lower income levels and college graduation rates -- the same characteristics found in counties that were more likely to have supported Mr. Trump. In wealthier Trump-supporting counties with higher college graduation rates, the vaccination gap is smaller, the analysis found, but the partisan gap holds even after accounting for income, race and age demographics, population density and a county's infection and death rate." Republicans really are killing off their own voters. See also Akhilleus' comment below.
"Reactions Were Mixed." Madeline Marr of the Miami Herald: "'Today, I got the shot!' ... [Ivanka Trump] announced on Twitter and Instagram, with two pics of her behind a screen at a South Florida CVS. 'I hope that you do, too!'... While some followers commended Trump for taking her health seriously during a worldwide pandemic that has killed over 500,000 Americans, others went on the attack." Thanks to Bobby Lee for the lead.
Beyond the Beltway
Illinois. Richard Luscombe & Gloria Oladipo of the Guardian: "Hundreds marched through the streets of Chicago on Friday to protest the police shooting of Adam Toledo, a day after police released of body-cam video showing the deadly shooting of the 13-year-old boy with his hands in the air. About a thousand people gathered on Friday evening in a park on Chicago's north-west side, some holding signs that read 'Stop killing kids' and 'CPD can't be reformed'. A brass band played music as the crowd chanted: 'No justice, no peace.'"
New York. Sarah Nir & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Over the course of 45 hours, the grand jury convened in the case of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died after being detained by the police in Rochester, N.Y., last year, heard from more than 30 witnesses -- including police officers, medical experts, a tow-truck driver and Mr. Prude's brother, according to minutes of the proceedings released on Friday. In the end, the records show, the jury voted overwhelmingly not to charge three officers with criminally negligent homicide in Mr. Prude's death. Fifteen jurors voted not to indict the officers; five disagreed. The transcripts provide a rare glimpse inside judicial proceedings that are usually kept secret.... Seven officers who were on the scene of Mr. Prude's arrest were later suspended, and the police chief was fired for his involvement in obscuring what had happened. After the footage of Mr. Prude's death was made public, New York's attorney general, Letitia James, convened a grand jury to review evidence in the case. The minutes unsealed Friday show that the attorney general's office asked the grand jury to consider charges against only three of the seven officers; the names of the officers and all other witnesses and jurors are redacted."
Way Beyond
Cuba. Andrea Rodriguez of the AP: "Raul Castro said Friday he is stepping down as head of Cuba's Communist Party, ending an era of formal leadership that began with his brother Fidel and country's 1959 revolution. The 89-year-old Castro made the announcement in a speech at the opening of the eighth congress of the ruling party, the only one allowed on the island. He said he was retiring with the sense of having 'fulfilled his mission and confident in the future of the fatherland.'... Castro didn't say who he would endorse as his successor as first secretary of the Communist Party. But he previously indicated he favors yielding control to 60-year-old Miguel Díaz-Canel, who succeeded him as president in 2018 and is the standard bearer of a younger generation of loyalists who have been pushing an economic opening without touching Cuba's one-party system."
U.K. The Guardian is liveblogging Prince Philip's funeral. The New York Times liveblog is here.
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Reader Comments (12)
One more thought about the childish, selfish, and incredibly ignorant confederates refusing to get vaccinated because “Hmph! No guvmint librul’s gonna tell them what to do”. These are the types who, had they lived in London during the blitz, would have been holding well lit block parties at night with bonfires and spotlights, declaring Nazi bombing raids a hoax.
FINDING YOUR ROOTS: is a PBS program headed by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Henry and his crew dig deeply and are able to go back centuries. I still remember Paul Ryan's jaw dropping when he discovered he had some Jewish ancestors. Last week John Lithgow leaned that he shared DNA with Gates:
"My brother!" John cried, taking Gate's hands in his.
Which brings me back to that nifty team of Greene and Gosar who are angling for white, Anglo-Saxons to be in this country's majority with Fatty as their leader. As egregious as I find this, I am more worried that these two are actually serving our country in Congress. They are representing people who cotton to the same sick ideas? Evidently.
Marjorie and Paul should definitely have their DNA tests.
Last Christmas, a neighbor who we help out with chores, gave us
DNA test kits.
My maternal grandmother had always insisted that her ancestors
were dutch, and that one of them had married a Cherokee woman
after emigrating to the U.S.
My tests came back as England, Wales, Belgium, Ireland, Scotland,
Germany, and a small percentage Romanian/Russian (those darned
gypsies went west, I presume).
So all those years of my doing a rain dance during droughts were
for nought.
Did I miss this story or is this a new revelation. Trump EPA official blocked warning about carcinogenic pollution in Illinois.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-wehrum-epa-blocked-ethylene-oxide-warnings-inspector-general_n_607a0786e4b0eac4813d9b85
Forrest,
Sorry, dude, you missed out on some big bucks. Apparently with each passing census, more and more white people claim Native American ancestry and the vast majority of those self identify as Cherokee.
And unlike Elizabeth Warren, whose DNA test proved her claim of a Cherokee connection (a claim, even if true, which was disparaged by some current Cherokee tribal members who stated, reasonably, that Cherokee heritage lies more in a real connection to tribal culture and customs than in a DNA marker) others have been using their uncorroborated claims to pull in hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts as “minority contractors”. One of those was William Wages, brother in law of House “minority” leader (ha) Kevin McCarthy, who scarfed up a $7.6 million no-bid federal contract with such a claim.
Not sure if he did a rain dance.
Which is interesting considering that McCarthy is now going around saying that the party he helps run is not really chock full of white supremacists and nativists. But I guess they’re not above claiming native heritage if it will line their pockets.
Even though all my grandparents are from Ireland (I still have many relatives there), I wouldn’t be surprised to find a few other unexpected markers in my DNA. Like my mother, I have (or had) jet black hair, very light skin, and blue eyes (hair hasn’t been black in some time now), a combination which, I was always told, is called Black Irish. There are many stories of Black Irish being descended from Spanish sailors who washed up on the Irish coast after surviving the Armada disaster.
Then again, I’m thinking that some of those sailors might have been Cherokee. I’m gonna go out and try that rain dance, see what happens.
https://www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-how-pretendians-undermine-the-rights-of-indigenous-people
If you can trace your ancestry to William the Conqueror -- and millions of Americans can -- you've got a whole lot of cousins. One of mine is Barack Obama.
BTW, Mr. & Ms. Fake Anglo-Saxons of 2021, there's a good chance Barack is your cousin, too. Oh my.
How about a campaign of "Put it in Your arm, or they will give it
to one of Them for free". Maybe we can get them to do the right thing if they think they are taking it away from others, use their racism to protect the rest of us.
NYT headline: “Another Mass Shooting...Brings Disbelief”
There is no disbelief. All there can be is “Thank goodness it wasn’t me, this time.” It will continue to happen throughout the country as long as guns are everywhere.
Marie,
Could be that Mr and Mrs Anglo-Saxon might be surprised with a DNA test. I would guess that ol’ Marge is a fan of National Socialism, whose big man, Hitler, based on the DNA tests of 39 of his relatives, had markers from Ashkenazi Jews as well as Berbers and other African groups. How big of a head explosion would ensue were these stalwart butt warts to discover black and/or Jewish ancestry?
And what is this mishegas about “Anglo-Saxon political traditions” anyway? Do they have a fucking clue what that means? I’m guessing they think they know: white Christians rule. But let’s give them a history quiz and see how well they do.
@Akhilleus: Quite right. Reminds me of New Hampshire's GOP legislators who about ten years ago introduced a bill that required that all new laws be based in the Magna Carta & quote directly from it. I don't know if those lamebrains had actually read the Magna Carta, but they would have had to pass certain banking laws that specified, “If anyone who has borrowed a sum of money from Jews dies before the debt has been repaid, his heir shall pay no interest on the debt for so long as he remains under age.”
I didn't realize it at the time, but now I'm thinking those yahoos were the precursors to Margie & Paul. They fancied themselves to be Anglo-Fucking-Saxons and the only law that mattered had to come down from their ostensible whitey-white ancestors (who, being the top dogs at the time, probably were more Norman than Saxon).
I couldn't care less what my DNA test would reveal. I, like everyone else, had no choice as to who my parents would be. We're all just products of conception (h/t John Irving, Cider House Rules). Some live, some don't.
Is it not possible the MTG the wing nut from Georgia had like 3 people who were going to attend? One of whom was Rep. Gosar's wife? I don't believe anything they say. In the "I don't believe anything they say category": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rnc-chairwoman-ronna-mcdaniel-comes-under-pressure-to-show-more-independence-from-trump/2021/04/16/0b6647ea-9dfe-11eb-8a83-3bc1fa69c2e8_story.html". If the Sunday morning audience for the political shows demanded they hold the politicians feet to the fire, things would change. If you watch James Baldwin disembowel Yankee white man (big teeth) during their debate at Cambridge Union, you realize we've lost the art of holding to account. (Buckley). Ronna McDaniel is an amateur and similarly nepotistic Haley Barbour's relation is just floating shit for a passing audience leading into Sunday shows. I'm following the Benjamins. Definately don't talk about IRS funding. Or Roger Stone. Or those hard working folks in Vance's office.