The Commentariat -- June 11, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "Attorney General Merrick Garland affirmed Friday the expansion of voting rights as a 'central pillar' to American democracy.... He said that within 30 days the department would double the Civil Rights Division's voting rights enforcement staff and committed to working with other agencies to combat voting-related disinformation.... Garland urged Congress to enact [the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act], an unlikely proposition, but added 'we will not wait for that legislation to act.'" ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Riccardi of the AP explains the differences between the two bills.
Felicia Sonmez, et al., of the Washington Post: "Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced Friday that his office is launching a probe following reports that the department had sought the records of journalists and prominent critics of ... Donald Trump on the House Intelligence Committee. In a statement, Horowitz said the review 'will examine the Department's compliance with applicable DOJ policies and procedures, and whether any such uses, or the investigations, were based upon improper considerations.'... Earlier Friday, Senate Democratic leaders on Friday demanded that former attorneys general in the Trump administration testify over secret subpoenas of [California Democrats Adam] Schiff and [Eric] Swalwell." ~~~
~~~ Mary Jalonick & Michael Balsamo have the AP's story: "Senate Democratic leaders immediately demanded that former Attorneys General Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions, who both oversaw Trump's leak probes, testify about the secret subpoenas. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that 'this appalling politicization of the Department of Justice by Donald Trump and his sycophants' must be investigated. They said that Barr and Sessions are subject to a subpoena if they refuse."
Biden Hides Trump Hotel Shenanigans. Jonathan O'Connell & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "For Donald Trump's entire presidency, top congressional Democrats used every tool at their disposal to investigate the Washington hotel he leased from the federal government, issuing subpoenas, holding hearings and filing a lawsuit to try to bring the inner workings of Trump's luxury property to light.... [President] Biden's team has steadfastly defended some of the protections the Trump administration put in place to conceal Trump's financial interests. The Justice Department under Biden is appealing a lower court judgment in favor of the congressional Democrats in their suit, another move by the agency to defend Trump-era legal positions. Biden's General Services Administration, which holds the lease for the Trump International hotel, has provided only a portion of the documents Congress is seeking and asked that none of them be disclosed publicly."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments are here: "Federal regulators have told Johnson & Johnson that about 60 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine produced at a troubled Baltimore factory cannot be used because of possible contamination, according to people familiar with the situation. The Food and Drug Administration plans to allow about 10 million doses to be distributed in the United States or sent to other countries, but with a warning that regulators cannot guarantee that Emergent BioSolutions, the company that operates the plant, followed good manufacturing practices. The agency has not yet decided whether Emergent can reopen the factory, which has been closed for two months because of regulatory concerns, the people said."
Sarah Kliff of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is reminding doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and insurers that it is illegal to bill patients for coronavirus vaccines, a letter obtained by The Times shows. The new warning responds to concerns among unvaccinated Americans that they could receive a bill with their shot. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that about a third of unvaccinated adults were unsure whether insurance covered the new vaccine."
Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Pulitzer Prizes were awarded on Friday to news organizations that provided in-depth coverage of the dramatic turns of 2020, a year dominated by a pandemic that left millions dead and a national conversation on race after the murder of George Floyd. The prize for public service, considered the most prestigious of the Pulitzers, went to The New York Times for its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, an award shared by many departments at the newspaper. The Pulitzer board also recognized journalism that examined law enforcement practices during a year of worldwide street protests inspired, in part, by the murder of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, by a police officer in Minneapolis. The national reporting award went to The Marshall Project, AL.com, IndyStar and the Invisible Institute for a collaborative investigation on police dogs used as weapons, often against innocent citizens, reporting that led to government reforms.... The board also announced that Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed the murder of Mr. Floyd, would receive a special citation." CNN's report is here.
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The New York Times is live-updating Friday's G7 meeting developments.
David Sanger & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain signed a new version of the 80-year old 'Atlantic Charter' on Thursday, using their first meeting to redefine the Western alliance and accentuate what they said was a growing divide between battered democracies and their autocratic rivals, led by Russia and China. The two leaders unveiled the new charter as they sought to focus the world's attention on emerging threats from cyber attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic that has upended the global economy, and climate change, using language about reinforcing NATO and international institutions that Mr. Biden hoped would make clear< that the Trump era of America First was over." A BBC News story is here.
The New York Times' live updates of President Biden's European trip Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Patrick Wintour of the Guardian: "Senior US embassy diplomats in London, backed by the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, have directly warned the UK's Brexit negotiator, Lord Frost, that he will inflame tensions in Northern Ireland if he does not compromise over border checks. A meeting between the US charge d'affaires Yael Lampert, currently America's most senior diplomat in London, and Frost led to an urging by the US for Britain to come to a negotiated settlement with the EU, according to an internal UK government note.... Sullivan told a briefing on Air Force One before Joe Biden landed in the UK on Wednesday evening: 'Any steps that imperil or undermine the Good Friday agreement will not be welcomed by the US.'... The US tone suggests the Biden administration is taking close interest in details of the talks, given it has a formal role to uphold the Good Friday deal." (Also linked yesterday.)
Lisa Rein & Eric Yoder of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration on Thursday told federal agencies that more employees can return to their offices as the threat of the coronavirus pandemic ebbs, but it also laid out a permanent work-from-home expansion that will drastically alter the federal government's workplace culture.... The 20-page memo to federal agencies ... maintains what started as an experiment in March 2020 to contend with the public health crisis -- for the immediate future and potentially the long term. As they make plans for a post-pandemic workplace, agencies across the government will be allowed to offer employees flexible schedules and remote work, depending on their needs.... The new policy comes a day after the administration told agencies they should not require their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to return to the office or require them to disclose whether they are vaccinated." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm all for this change, but in "government towns," this is a serious, probably fatal, blow to downtown business districts that rely on lunchtime walk-in trade -- especially restaurants of course, but also gift shops, bookstores, etc., where workers with nearly an hour to kill would drop in to browse & buy.
Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A bipartisan group of senators announced on Thursday that they had reached an agreement on a framework to invest in the nation's aging public works system.... By early evening, five Democrats and five Republicans issued a joint statement announcing an agreement that would be fully paid for, albeit without any specific details about funding.... The preliminary agreement faces steep headwinds on Capitol Hill...." MB: Don't get your hopes up. Besides the hitches Cochrane mentions, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said the proposal was a non-starter if, as Mitt Romney -- one of the gang of ten -- said, the proposal was not centered on (or didn't even include) climate-change considerations.
Scott Wong of the Hill: "With a rare joint statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her entire leadership team on Thursday sought to quell a growing controversy over Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) remarks equating war crimes committed by the U.S. and Israel to those by the Taliban and Hamas terrorist groups. The joint statement by Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Vice Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) came after Omar responded to a request from a dozen Jewish House Democrats to 'clarify' what she meant in her original remarks.... '... drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all,' the statement adds. In her clarification, Omar, a progressive Minnesota Democrat and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, explained that her original comments had focused on ongoing International Criminal Court probes -- 'not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel.'"
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Democrats and Republicans lobbed withering questions at the FBI as Director Christopher A. Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday, though their concerns diverged significantly along partisan lines. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) blasted Wray for the bureau's failure to detect in advance and respond to the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, while ranking Republican Jim Jordan (Ohio) accused the bureau of intruding on Americans' civil liberties in an eclectic mix of circumstances." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: In his presumably-prepared opening statement, Jim Jordan claimed that when the FBI aided Rudy Giuliani's home, officers "kicked in his door." This was news to me, so I looked it up. According to Rudy himself, agents wakened him at 6 am with a "bang, bang, bang" on his door. So that was a lie, Jim. "Wray repeatedly declined to answer questions about ... the search involving Giuliani." Oh, and Matt Gaetz, whom the FBI is investigating, showed up for the committee hearing & asked questions about the origins of the coronavirus. ~~~
~~~ Alan Feuer & Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors filed a wide-ranging conspiracy indictment on Thursday accusing six California men said to be connected to a radical gun rights movement called the Three Percenters with plotting to assault the Capitol on Jan. 6, in the first charges lodged against anyone involved with planning any of the political events held the week of the attack. The 20-page indictment was also the first to be brought against a group of alleged Three Percenters, a loosely organized movement that takes its name from the supposed 3 percent of the U.S. colonial population that fought against the British. The new charges, filed in Federal District Court in Washington, came on the same day that Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, testified in front of a House committee that prosecutors were pursuing additional conspiracy charges against some of the rioters who stormed the Capitol....
"The two top defendants in the indictment -- Alan Hostetter, 56, a former police chief turned yoga instructor; and Russell Taylor, 40, a wealthy graphic designer with a taste for red Corvettes -- were already under scrutiny by the government after the F.B.I.... Mr. Hostetter and Mr. Taylor were leaders of a group called the American Phoenix Project, which was founded to fight the 'fear-based tyranny' of coronavirus-related restrictions. The group later embraced ... Donald J. Trump's lies about a stolen election, and helped organize a well-attended rally outside the Supreme Court on Jan. 5, where the speakers included Roger J. Stone Jr...." Politico's story is here.
Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "Finding a Proud Boys member's complaints of inadequate medical care behind bars 'without merit,' a federal judge [Royce Lambeth] issued a scathing ruling on Wednesday explaining why he kept him in jail -- and highlighting his vulgar Facebook tirades against the 'pu**y ass bitch' he believed 'ratted' him out following an FBI visit. 'Believe I know who ratted,' Christopher Worrell, 49, told an unidentified user on Jan. 18, the day the FBI interviewed him, according to the ruling. Then, prosecutors quote him indiscreetly posting publicly on his Facebook page: 'SO WHOMEVER [sic] CALLED THE "FEDS" ON ME REST ASSURED I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THIS SOON!! The best part is you have NOTHING accept [sic] empty accusations!! You are the piece of shit I knew you were!!'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Scott Allen of the Washington Post: "U.S. Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who has been hailed as a hero for protecting lawmakers and facing down a wave of rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park before Washington's game against the New York Mets on June 18, the team announced Thursday."
** This Was a Witch Hunt. Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: "As the Justice Department investigated who was behind leaks of classified information early in the Trump administration, it took a highly unusual step: Prosecutors subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, aides and family members. One was a minor. All told, the records of at least a dozen people tied to the committee were seized in 2017 and early 2018, including those of Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, then the panel's top Democrat and now its chairman, according to committee officials and two other people briefed on the inquiry.... Ultimately, the data and other evidence did not tie the committee to the leaks.... But William P. Barr revived languishing leak investigations after he became attorney general a year later. He moved a trusted prosecutor from New Jersey with little relevant experience to the main Justice Department to work on the Schiff-related case and about a half-dozen others...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: As Rachel Maddow said, this fishing expedition "profoundly threatened the separation of powers." ~~~
~~~ Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: "Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, another Democrat on the [House Intelligence C]ommittee, told CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday evening that he was notified that his data had been seized as part of the probe as well." ~~~
~~~ Myah Ward of Politico: "Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, called for an inspector general investigation of the Trump Justice Department on Thursday after a report said that his phone records, along with those of aides and another member of the committee, had been seized — what he condemned as a 'terrible abuse of power.' 'It also makes the Department of Justice just a fully owned subsidiary of the president's personal legal interests and political interests,' the California Democrat told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow."
Azi Paybarah of the New York Times: "Zahid N. Quraishi, a federal magistrate judge and the son of Pakistani immigrants, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a federal judgeship in New Jersey on Thursday, becoming the first Muslim Federal District Court judge in the nation's history. Judge Quraishi acknowledged his history-making status after President Biden announced his intention to nominate him in March. 'Candidly,' the judge said, 'I would prefer to be the hundredth, if not the thousandth.' He added, 'I understand what it means to the community.'"
Michael Wayland of CNBC: "The immediate past president of the United Auto Workers was sentenced Thursday to 28 months in prison for his part in a scheme with other leaders to steal as much as $1.5 million in union funds for lavish trips, golfing, alcohol and other luxuries. Gary Jones is the second UAW president to be sentenced as part of a multiyear corruption probe into the prominent American labor union. He is one of 15 people to have been charged, including three Fiat Chrysler executives and his predecessor, Dennis Williams, who was sentenced last month to 21 months in prison. His sentencing is among the last in the investigation, which has tarnished the union's reputation, created mistrust among its members and led to federal oversight of the UAW." MB: These guys are such cliches. (Also linked yesterday.)
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: As part of a plea deal, Emma Coronel Aispuro, "the wife of Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, the infamous drug lord known as 'El Chapo,' pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Washington to helping his multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise smuggle at least 100 tons of marijuana, cocaine and heroin into the United States." (Also linked yesterday.)
"The Trump Coast." Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: Donald Trump "basks in a 'biosphere' of adoration at [Mar-a-Lago], where he rub elbows with members and guests who posts photos and videos of the twice-impeached one-term president at engagement parties, memorial services and other events, reported Bloomberg.... 'At every moment of his day, Trump is bathed in adulation,' reported Bloomberg's Joshua Green. 'When he enters the dining room, people stand and applaud. When he returns from golf, he's met with squeals and selfie requests. When he leaves Mar-a-Lago, he often encounters flag-waving throngs organized by Willy Guardiola, a former professional harmonica player and anti-abortion activist who runs weekly pro-Trump rallies in Palm Beach.... A steady stream of Republican lawmakers has visited Trump at his club, and his children Ivanka and Donald Jr. have bought multi-million-dollar homes nearby, as have Fox News broadcasters Sean Hannity and Neal Cavuto.... 'It's like if Rachel Maddow and the Pod Save America guys all bought condos in Chicago because they wanted to be close to Barack Obama,' [said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale]." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is what I mean when I cast Trump as a third-rate "celebrity." His biggest fans seem to be Hannity and "a former professional harmonica player."
Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "Prices rose by 5 percent in May compared with a year ago, the largest increase since the Great Recession, continuing a steady climb in inflation even as policymakers insist on staying the course. Price spikes often coincide with downturns, and officials from the White House and Federal Reserve have predicted that prices will climb over the coming months, especially compared to a year ago, when the economy was reeling from coronavirus pandemic shutdown. However, the move adds new fuel to the Republican criticism that the Biden administration is spending too much, which could lead to an overheated economy. The most recent inflation figures, released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are not rattling the Biden administration nor the Fed. Both predict that prices will continue to rise until supply chains and consumer demand recalibrate and the economy has time to heal." (Also linked yesterday.)
Zoom, Zoom. Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Brian Stelter & Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Jeffrey Toobin returned to CNN as the network's chief legal analyst on Thursday, eight months after he exposed himself during a Zoom call with colleagues at The New Yorker. Toobin was interviewed by anchor Alisyn Camerota ... about that incident, and about recent legal news.... Toobin described himself as a 'flawed human being who makes mistakes' and said his conduct was 'deeply moronic and indefensible.' He added, 'I didn't think other people could see me,' but he admitted that was no defense. In the interview, Toobin expressed apologies to his wife and family, to the people who were on the Zoom call that day, and to his colleagues.... People familiar with the matter said that Toobin exposed himself when he began masturbating during the Zoom, apparently as part of a different video call.... The New Yorker suspended Toobin and fired him a month later, after its internal investigation had been completed." Includes video of the Camerota interview. MB: Maybe old-timers just shouldn't try to multi-task, especially where there's technology involved.
Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: "CNN anchor Jim Acosta is utterly unsparing in his criticism of rival network Fox News -- dismissing the network as a 'bullshit factory' and going hard at one of their lead hosts. Speaking with Mediaite's Aidan McLaughlin for this week's episode of The Interview podcast, the CNN anchor bashed Fox News for what he deemed to be an increasing trend towards outrage content.... '[Tucker Carlson] has these moments where he just sounds like a race-baiting tyrant,' Acosta said. '... It's ginning up anger, and rage, and frustration in a certain segment of the American public. And I do think it does just a great deal of harm to this country.'"
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Denise Lu of the New York Times: "More than half of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and it's the remaining unvaccinated population that is driving the lingering deaths, experts say. After the first vaccines were authorized for emergency use in December, with priority given to senior populations before younger groups, the share of those dying who were 75 or older started dropping immediately. In turn, younger populations began to make up higher shares of Covid-19 deaths compared with their shares at the peak of the pandemic -- a trend that continued when vaccine eligibility opened up to all adults. While the number of deaths dropped in all age groups, about half of Covid-19 deaths are now of people aged 50 to 74, compared with only a third in December." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: If I were a person who for some reason was afraid to receive the vaccine, this report would make me afraid not to. However, I doubt the vaccine-shy read the lying' librul NYT.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jenny Gross of the New York Times: "... companies are legally permitted to make employees get vaccinated, according to recent guidance from the federal agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Here's the latest about the rules in the United States on vaccinations in the workplace." (Also linked yesterday.)
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post got the coronavirus vaccine and now he's magnetized. He relates some of the upsides & downsides of his altered state. For instance, the morning after he got his first shot, "... as I was eating my oatmeal, my spoon stuck to the roof of my mouth. I might have choked, but fortunately the spoon was jarred loose when the magnetic force slammed me against the refrigerator...."
Beyond the Beltway
Oregon. Mike Baker of the New York Times: "Lawmakers in Oregon ejected one of their colleagues from office for the first time in state history late Thursday night, voting 59 to 1 to oust Representative Mike Nearman for his role in helping a far-right crowd breach the State Capitol in December. Mr. Nearman, who was the only no vote, had faced rising pressure from his Republican colleagues to resign from office this week, days after newly surfaced video showed him apparently coaching people on how they might get inside the closed Capitol. Previous security footage had showed how Mr. Nearman exited the building where protesters had gathered, allowing them inside and setting off a confrontation with law enforcement officers. Mr. Nearman, who faces misdemeanor charges for his actions, said on Thursday that legislative leaders should have never excluded the public from the Capitol -- a decision that was a coronavirus precaution."
Texas. Trumpity-Trump-Trump. Heidi Pérez-Moreno of the Texas Tribune: "Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that Texas will build a border wall along the state's boundary with Mexico -- but provided no details on where or when. Abbott declared his plans during a press conference in Del Rio. He said he would discuss the plans next week. The Biden administration issued a proclamation that stopped border wall construction on his first day of office. Abbott announced the news while discussing a slew of border initiatives...."
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Milbank, again.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/06/10/covid-vaccine-made-me-magnetic-i-love-it/
Say what you will about them, but those R's sure do provide opportunity aplenty for sport.
In the category Tilting At Windmills, a new YouTube and podcast news commentary program, "Breaking Points with Krystal & Saagar", debuted this week. On day two, they replaced NYT as the #1 most listened to news podcast on Spotify and Apple, #3 overall. They offer an alternative to what I call CCCM (Carefully Curated Corporate Media). They are easy to find on most podcast players; YT algorithms are less forthcoming. For an alternative to the so called, otherwise powerfully dominate MSM, I recommend them.
Here's the URL for the Breaking Points main YouTube page for those interested in checking it out.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDRIjKy6eZOvKtOELtTdeUA
Two stories in WaPo Travel section this morning on cruise ships, one in the Mediterranean and one in the Caribbean both with cases of C-19 on board.
I wonder if our Gov DeSantis will have anything to say on this.
Pardon embarrassing typo: dominant, not dominate..:)
@Crgr: We're very tolerant of typos here. These are comments, not Ph.D. theses.
Good news:
It's a small step, but it's a step.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/11/amazon-apple-facebook-and-google-targeted-in-bipartisan-antitrust-reform-bills.html
Note: The internet giants are not the only monopolies running rampant, just the easiest target. In the Klobuchar book on anti-trust I'm reading I learned that all those travel sites that pretend to compete are owned by only two (three?) holding companies. Competition in 2020 is a sham, often an appearance created by but limited to advertising...