The Commentariat -- September 20, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "House and Senate Democrats on Monday unveiled a measure that would fund the government through December while staving off a potential default on U.S. debts into next year, setting up a last-minute scramble ahead of key fiscal deadlines on Capitol Hill. The plan could face immediate political headwinds since Republicans previously have pledged to vote against an increase in the country's borrowing limit, even if it is attached to a measure preventing a shutdown -- part of a broader GOP effort to scuttle President Biden's economic agenda. As they presented their plan, Democrats on Monday once again sounded dire warnings about consequences of failure, which they said could destabilize global markets, shutter critical federal services during a pandemic and hold back assistance to millions of Americans in the aftermath of storms that battered the Gulf Coast and parts of the Eastern Seaboard. They urged Republicans to join them in adopting the measure, arguing that the debt ceiling helps cover prior spending...."
Getty Image.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. -- Emma Lazarus ~~~
~~~ Ellen Green of Vice: "Border Patrol officers on horseback swinging whips in the faces of Haitians. Families with toddlers scrambling across the Rio Grande back into Mexico to avoid being deported. Haitian parents crying as they faced the prospect of being deported home to a social and political crisis that seems to see no end. Those were among the scenes in the town of Del Rio, Texas, over the weekend as the U.S. government took a hard-line stance against thousands of newly-arrived Haitian migrants seeking protection. The situation is becoming a public relations and humanitarian challenge for U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, as images of Border Patrol agents on horseback screaming at and chasing desperate Haitians reverberated across the internet. 'This is why your country's shit, because you use your women for this,' one officer on horseback shouted at a group of Haitian women who were crossing the Rio Grande with bags of food, showed one report by Al Jazeera." ~~~
~~~ Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "White House press secretary Jen Psaki expressed dismay on Monday at images that appeared to show Border Patrol agents using whips on migrants seeking asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border. Psaki said that administration officials were aware of the situation and that 'it's horrible to watch.' She also said people were 'understandably' outraged at the possibility that law enforcement used whips or similar objects against those gathered near Del Rio, Texas, many of them from Haiti."
Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions starting in November on foreigners who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, reopening the country to thousands of people, including those who have been separated from family in the United States during the pandemic. The foreign travelers will need to show proof of vaccination before boarding and a negative test for the coronavirus within three days before coming to the United States, Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator, said Monday." An AP story is here.
Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: In early January, both Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) & Mike Lee (R-Utah) personally investigated fraud claims Trump & his team made. Both Senators were unimpressed, according to a book by Bob Woodward & Robert Costa. "Graham and Lee, both of whom ultimately voted to certify the results, took the claims of election fraud seriously enough to get briefed on the details, involve their senior staff and call state officials throughout the country. But privately, Graham gave the arguments a withering assessment, according to the book, saying they were suitable for 'third grade.' The episode illustrates how strenuously the president's legal team sought to nullify the results of the election; how flimsy even their more serious claims were; and what little stock the president's own allies placed in his objections, even as they stood steadfastly with their standard-bearer."
Tierney Sneed, et al., of CNN: "Allen Weisselberg -- the former Trump Organization CFO who has been charged by Manhattan prosecutors for an alleged tax evasion scheme -- is expecting that more indictments will be filed in the case, his lawyer said in court Monday.... Weisselberg faces 15 state counts, including grand larceny, which were unveiled by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance in July.... The former president's namesake business was also charged in the indictment, but Donald Trump himself has not been charged."
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Tyler Pager, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden is pressing to set up a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron in coming days, U.S. officials said Sunday, hoping to end a frantic stretch of public snubs and behind-the-scenes exchanges between the two allies.The two leaders have not spoken since French leaders erupted last week at Biden's announcement that the United States was forming a new defense alliance with Australia and the United Kingdom focused on the Indo-Pacific. As part of the deal, the United States will share nuclear submarine technology with Australia, prompting the Australians to drop a $66 billion submarine contract with France. U.S. officials acknowledged Sunday that they have been surprised by the strength of France's reaction, which included abruptly recalling its ambassador from Washington last week. They privately attributed the spat largely to internal French politics as Macron seeks reelection...." Politico's story is here.
Widlore Merancourt & Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: Many of the deportees from the Mexico-U.S. boarder whom the Biden administration is sending to Haiti have not been in Haiti for years, some since the earthquate of 2010. Many speak "Spanish or Portuguese better than Haitian Creole. Several families told The Washington Post that they were never told they were being deported back to Haiti. They began landing Sunday in a ... failed state suffering a humanitarian emergency that critics say is too dangerous and unstable for the thousands being deported. Recognition of the conditions led the Biden administration as recently as May to grant temporary protected status to tens of thousands of undocumented Haitians in the United States.... Since then, conditions in Haiti have deteriorated sharply.... In comments to CNN on Sunday, however, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the deportations, saying ... that an analysis of the situation on the ground had determined that 'country conditions' allowed for the repatriations. A DHS official told The Post on Friday that the deportations would start with up to three flights per day."
Rule by Prima Donna
** Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "Joe Manchin, the powerful West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate energy panel and earned half a million dollars last year from coal production, is preparing to remake President Biden's climate legislation in a way that tosses a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry -- despite urgent calls from scientists that countries need to quickly pivot away from coal, gas and oil to avoid a climate catastrophe.... Mr. Manchin is ... closely associated with the fossil fuel industry.... West Virginia is second in coal and seventh in natural gas production among the 50 states. In the current election cycle, Mr. Manchin has received more campaign donations from the oil, coal and gas industries than any other senator, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets.... He profits personally from polluting industries: He owns stock valued at between $1 million and $5 million in Enersystems Inc., a coal brokerage firm which he founded in 1988.... Mr. Manchin does support some climate measures proposed by Mr. Biden, but is working to ensure they protect and extend the use of coal and natural gas."
Washington Post Editors: "A group of Democrats has released the Freedom to Vote Act, a substantially pared-down version of the major voting legislation that Republicans successfully filibustered over the summer. Stripped of controversial provisions such as nationwide public campaign financing, the act would ensure access to the ballot box, promote impartial vote-counting and limit partisan gerrymandering. This bill is an outstretched hand to Republicans -- indeed, to anyone who claims to care about democracy. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) immediately trashed it. Not a single Senate Republican appears interested in seriously engaging with Democrats in their effort to write compromise federal voting legislation.... There is no creditable argument against [the' provisions [of this bill], at least not for anyone committed to majority rule.... Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised a procedural vote on the compromise bill 'very soon,' even as early as next week. If, as expected, Republicans unite against it, Democrats must stop negotiating with themselves on an issue as fundamental as voting. They should reform the Senate filibuster rule, which has shifted from an extraordinary procedure to a routine blocking maneuver, and try again."
Laura Barron-Lopez of Politico: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-ish-Az.) "is opposed to the current prescription drug pricing proposals in both the House and Senate bills, two sources familiar with her thinking said. They added that, at this point, she also doesn't support a pared-back alternative being pitched by House Democratic centrists that would limit the drugs subject to Medicare negotiation."
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The Senate parliamentarian dealt a major setback on Sunday to Democrats' plan to use their $3.5 trillion social policy bill to create a path to citizenship for an estimated 8 million undocumented immigrants. Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian, who serves as the chamber's arbiter of its own rules, wrote that the 'policy changes of this proposal far outweigh the budgetary impact scored to it and it is not appropriate for inclusion in reconciliation.'... Democrats had been seeking to grant legal status to undocumented people brought to the United States as children, known as Dreamers; immigrants who were granted Temporary Protected Status for humanitarian reasons; close to one million farmworkers; and millions more whom are deemed 'essential workers.'" The AP's story is here. MB: Of course we all know there's an easy fix here, but it requires getting Joe & Kyrsten on board.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Monday are here.
** Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be safe and highly effective in young children aged 5 to 11 years, the companies announced early Monday morning. The news should help ease months of anxiety among parents and teachers about when children, and their close contacts, might be shielded from the coronavirus. The need is urgent: Children now account for more than one in five new cases, and the highly contagious Delta variant has sent more children into hospitals and intensive care units in the past few weeks than at any other time in the pandemic. Pfizer and BioNTech plan to apply to the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month for authorization to use the vaccine in these children. If the regulatory review goes as smoothly as it did for older children and adults, millions of elementary school students could be inoculated before Halloween." The AP's story is here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "The average U.S. daily death toll from Covid-19 over the last seven days surpassed 2,000 this weekend, the first time since March 1 that deaths have been so high, according to a New York Times database." (Also linked yesterday.)
Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "... dozens [of people] flocked to the opening on Friday morning of 'In America: Remember,' an art installation of hundreds of thousands of flags planted along the [National Mall in Washington, D.C.,] that honor the more than 670,000 people in the United States who have died from the coronavirus. The secretary of the interior, Deb Haaland, and the mayor, Muriel E. Bowser, were in attendance as visitors walked among the rows of white flags covering 20 acres of federal park land bordering the White House, the Washington Monument, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the World War II Memorial.... The artist behind the installation, Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, planted 267,000 flags in Washington last fall to recognize what was then the death toll of the coronavirus in the United States. Almost a year later, that figure has more than doubled. In the last week alone, more than 13,000 Americans have died -- more than four times the number of people who died during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."
Unequal Coverage Under the Law. Christopher Rowland of the Washington Post: "In 2020, as the pandemic took hold, U.S. health insurance companies declared they would cover 100 percent of the costs for covid treatment, waiving co-pays and expensive deductibles for hospital stays that frequently range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. But this year, most insurers have reinstated co-pays and deductibles for covid patients, in many cases even before vaccines became widely available. The companies imposed the costs as industry profits remained strong or grew in 2020, with insurers paying out less to cover elective procedures that hospitals suspended during the crisis. Now the financial burden of covid is falling unevenly on patients across the country, varying widely by health-care plan and geography.... The lack of uniformity in covid insurance practices across the country this year is striking."
Mississippi. James Downie of the Washington Post: "When naming the poster child for irresponsible leadership on covid-19..., Tate Reeves [R] of Mississippi, [hasn't] gotten nearly enough attention. Until, that is, a disastrous appearance Sunday on CNN's 'State of the Union.'" You'll have to read on for the Q&A. MB: I don't know why Reeves agreed to go on Jake Tapper's show, as he could not have thought his evasions would hold up to Tapper's questions. Perhaps Tate thinks refusing to answer any questions is a "win" that makes him look as if he's standing up for the freedumbs of Mississippians.
Beyond the Beltway
South Carolina. Marie: There was yet another killing I missed in the Carolina gothic saga, which may or may not be related the Murdaugh family: ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "In June, a few weeks after the death of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced that it was opening a new inquiry into the death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old man who was found on a road about 10 miles from the Murdaugh home [in 2015]. His death has never been fully explained, and no arrests were made.... The police have not accused the Murdaugh family of wrongdoing in the case, and they have not said what -- during their Murdaugh investigation -- led them to open an investigation into Mr. Smith's death." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: It seems to me, besides looking at all the slaughter that is happening right around Alex, the authorities might want to look at the cases he prosecuted. According to the Island Packet, "The 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office says it plans to bar Alex Murdaugh, whose family ran the agency for nearly a century, from prosecuting cases on its behalf. The office, which prosecutes cases for five counties, said it is drafting a letter to formally notify Murdaugh that he is no longer authorized to volunteer for the Solicitor's Office, according to spokesperson Jeff Kidd." A volunteer prosecutor? Oh, sign me up. There are a few reprobates in South Carolina I hereby volunteer to prosecute for something, starting with Lindsey Graham.
News Ledes
CNBC: "U.S. stocks began the week deeply in the red as investors continued to flock to the sidelines in September amid several emerging risks for the market. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 760 points, or 2.3%, set for its biggest one day drop since October 28, 2020. At its session low, the 30-stock stock was down 971 points. The S&P 500 fell 2.3% with every sector declining at least 1%, also on pace for its worst daily performance in nearly 11 months. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.8%. There were a number of reasons for the sell-off: Investors fear a contagion sweeping financial markets from the troubled China property market.... Investors are worried the central bank will signal it's ready to start pulling away monetary stimulus amid surging inflation and improvement in the job market. Covid cases because of the delta variant remain at January levels as colder weather approaches in North America.... Investors are also concerned about brinkmanship in DC as the deadline to raise the debt ceiling approaches." The New York Times story is here.
Washington Post: "Authorities said Sunday that they may have found Gabby Petito's body near the Wyoming site where they were searching for the 22-year-old woman whose disappearance on a cross-country van trip with her fiance attracted national attention. Many questions remain in the case of the young couple who once documented a seemingly idyllic 'van life' on social media. Petito's fiance is still missing after refusing to speak with authorities upon returning home alone, officials said. The body recovered Sunday resembles Petito's description, but a cause of death has yet to be determined, FBI agent Charles Jones said at a Sunday evening news conference. Jones said that Petito's family had been notified, but that authorities could not fully confirm that the body is hers until a forensic analysis is completed.... Petito disappeared shortly after she contacted her family from Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming in August, authorities said. Then, her 23-year-old fiance, Brian Laundrie returned to their home in Florida on Sept. 1 without her, and later, on Sept. 11, Petito's family filed a missing-person report with police in Suffolk County, N.Y., where the couple is from. Then Laundrie vanished, too. Over the weekend, the police and the FBI announced that they were looking for him in a nature preserve [near North Port, Fla.]..."
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Reader Comments (9)
A cousin, who still lives in the little burg where we were born,
tells me the next big battle in the Texas legislature will be over
same sex marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman and,
by crackies, she's gonna have those babies whether she wants to
or not.
Two friends recently moved to Houston for work. I'll have to let
them know that they should get divorced or they might end up in
same sex prison.
What's next? Don't answer that.
Forrest,
Hey, I’m hoping Texas, followed slavishly by other Trump Nation states, institutes all kinds of illegal, unconstitutional, Talibanny type crap. They’re handing Democrats issues they can use to (legitimately) rile up voters and get them to turn out in the midterm.
At the top of my wish list is a scenario in which Fossil Fool Manchin desperately needs the president’s help for something, at which point Biden reminds him about the difficulties of residents of the sulfurous abyss in obtaining ice water.
Back in the sixties, Newton Arvin, a brilliant professor and critical literature writer ( his paper on Henry Adams is outstanding) was sitting in his apartment finishing his breakfast when armed police stormed in and arrested him. What was his crime? Homosexuality( lewd porno had been seized at the post office) He was forever known as "the Scarlett Professor."
So to answer your question, Forest, this scenario in Texas, after they add homosexuality to their list of negatives might very well be in the offing. These bastards will try and stretch their rubber bands as far as they can and then SNAP–-they've got you. Who knows? they may even mandate no skirts above the knee along with arm bands you can see––if you are Christian or not.
I see that the French tail continues to wag the US dog. The South Spratley islands are much farther from France than the US and China wants the South China sea. Our rich people/military sell out for much less than $65b.
As for Texas (or Wisconsin) think polluted ground water and dementia. "Meat consumption and risk of incident dementia: cohort study of 493,888 UK Biobank participants" is one study. We have successfully shit in our own nests and all that is coming home to roost. My simple point: protection of the environment is simply leaving the campsite cleaner when we left than when we arrived.
Ha! citizen–– "My simple point: protection of the environment is simply leaving the campsite cleaner when we left than when we arrived." is exactly what my mother always reminded us to do–-whether it be a guest at someone's abode, a motel stay or a picnic in the park –-she always had a small rake in the trunk of the car. If she was alive and could see what we have done to the environment she'd be mortified.
The Republican rejection of vaccinations and embrace of Covid's ravages might seem surprising because their dire consequences are so obviously directed at themselves, but looked at over time, it is little more than a culmination of that party's established dalliance with destruction and death.
What do the R's stand for? A Hobbesian polity, purely and simply nasty, brutish and short. I can think of few (this morning, none) R initiatives that benefit the country, its peoples or the planet.
Not only are Republicans giddy over Covid, they have long slavered over guns, supported the fossil fuel and military weapons industries, desired tax and race policies that rip the nation asunder, and with their silly abortion stance, torn men from women.
Combine the party's policy choices with its rapid drift toward authoritarianism and you have a party that must reject fact and rational thinking in all their forms, for fact and rational thinking make unmistakably clear exactly who and what they are.
Just a sad note that the NYTimes says world is reporting a 7-day average of 8,787 Covid deaths yesterday, and the US makes up 2,011 of those. Yes, the land of free-flowing vaccines is reporting almost 1/4 of the world's deaths from Covid. Too sad to make any sort of quip.
Republican govenors get paid by the tax payers. That means that they are getting paid to make sure more of their constituents die of preventable deaths (vaccines, gun control, pollution, ect) and take away the rights of their people. That is certainly money not well spent.