The Commentariat -- September 19, 2021

Late Morning Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

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."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Kathy Gannon of the AP: "A Qatar Airways flight on Friday took more Americans out of Afghanistan, according to Washington's peace envoy, the third such airlift by the Mideast carrier since the Taliban takeover and the frantic U.S. troop pullout from the country. The development came amid rising concerns over the future of Afghanistan under the Taliban. The country's new Islamic rulers on Friday ordered that boys but not girls from grades six to 12, and male teachers but no women teachers return to school and resume classes, starting Saturday." According to an Axios report, the Friday flight carried "28 U.S. citizens and seven lawful permanent residents".

Rick Noack & Sammy Westfall of the Washington Post: "... as the French faced one of their biggest fights among allies in years -- which was prompted at least in part by Britain -- French ire at their neighbors to the north was curiously limited. Paris on Friday recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia for consultations as part of its outrage over a quietly negotiated deal involving the United States and Britain to share technology on nuclear-powered subs with Australia. The pact effectively canceled an earlier agreement by Australia to buy French diesel-powered submarines. But France didn't recall its ambassador to Britain, and officials appeared relatively tight-lipped about London's role even as they lashed out at Australia's 'treason' and compared the U.S. decision to a Trump-era move against an ally.... French diplomats [seem to be] suggesting that Britain is not worth bothering with].]..." ~~~

~~~ We Thinks They Doth Protests Too Much. Rod McGuirk of the AP: "France would have known Australia had 'deep and grave concerns' that a submarine fleet the French were building would not meet Australian needs, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday after the contract's cancellation set off a diplomatic crisis."

Katie Lillis, et al., of CNN: "Just after the US military launched a Hellfire missile to stop a white Toyota Corolla it believed to be an imminent threat to US troops leading the evacuation at the Kabul airport, the CIA issued an urgent warning: Civilians were likely in the area, including possibly children inside the vehicle, according to three sources familiar with the situation. It was too late. The warning on August 29 came seconds before the missile hit the car, killing 10 civilians, including seven children. In the weeks following, the military insisted that it had been a justified strike on a confirmed terrorist target, acknowledging that some civilians might have been killed. But on Friday, after weeks of media coverage casting doubt on the legitimacy of the strike, the military acknowledged no one in the car was affiliated with ISIS-K as originally believed."

Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post: "The most anticipated visit by right-wing activists to the nation's capital since a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 ended with a whimper Saturday, as demonstrators supporting the rioters found themselves far outnumbered by police, journalists and counterprotesters. Although the protesters returned to the scene of a historically grievous attack on American democracy, it was immediately obvious that much had changed. The Capitol grounds -- where poorly prepared police fought a losing, hand-to-hand battle against ... Donald Trump's supporters just over eight months ago -- were secured Saturday with metal fences and hundreds of officers. The halls of Congress were all but deserted. No president, or former president, delivered a bellicose speech urging that his election loss be overturned. Police made just four arrests throughout the day, seizing two weapons." An NBC News report is here.

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Jesse Drucker & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "The largest U.S. accounting firms have perfected a remarkably effective behind-the-scenes system to promote their interests in Washington. Their tax lawyers take senior jobs at the Treasury Department, where they write policies that are frequently favorable to their former corporate clients, often with the expectation that they will soon return to their old employers. The firms welcome them back with loftier titles and higher pay, according to public records reviewed by The New York Times and interviews with current and former government and industry officials. From their government posts, many of the industry veterans approved loopholes long exploited by their former firms, gave tax breaks to former clients and rolled back efforts to rein in tax shelters -- with enormous impact." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: These of course are not benign tax tricks for rich corporations & a few bean counters. What is happening and has happened here means you and I pay higher taxes to make up for what corporations avoided.

Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "The four-person crew of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean Saturday evening, successfully completing the first-ever trip of an all-civilian orbit team into space. Video of the moment showed the SpaceX Dragon capsule parachuting back onto Earth, with people cheering as it officially splashed into the Atlantic off the Florida coast shortly after 7 p.m." The New York Times story is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here: "The extremely transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus, which overtook all other variants in the United States just a few months ago, now represents more than 99 percent of cases tracked in the country, according to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Beyond the Beltway

Pennsylvania Senate Race. Scott Bland of Politico: "A super PAC backing a rival Republican candidate is hitting the airwaves with an ad highlighting two instances when Pennsylvania Senate candidate Sean Parnell's wife sought protective orders against him. The ad, from the pro-Jeff Bartos 'Jobs for Our Future' super PAC, is slated to run on TV on Saturday night during the Penn State University football game against Auburn University.... The 60-second ad opens with a montage of Fox Nation clips featuring Parnell making comments about women, including saying, 'The idea that a woman can live a happy and fulfilling life without a man -- I think it's all nonsense.' (Parnell has previously dismissed the clip as a 'comedy appearance.')... Bartos and Parnell are two of the best-known Republican candidates in the 2022 race...."

Texas. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "A Texas doctor disclosed on Saturday that he had performed an abortion in defiance of a new state law that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, setting up a potential test case of one of the most restrictive abortion measures in the nation. In an opinion essay published in The Washington Post under the headline 'Why I violated Texas's extreme abortion ban,' the doctor, Alan Braid, who has been performing abortions for more than 40 years, said that he performed one on Sept. 6 for a woman who, although still in her first trimester, was beyond the state's new limit. 'I acted because I had a duty of care to this patient, as I do for all patients, and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care,' Dr. Braid wrote."

Way Beyond

Iran/Israel. Ronen Bergman & Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times on how Israel used a killer robot, hidden in a pickup truck left by the side of a rural Iranian road, to murder Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020: "... unlike a drone, the robotic machine gun draws no attention in the sky, where a drone could be shot down, and can be situated anywhere, qualities likely to reshape the worlds of security and espionage.... Iranian investigators noted that not one of [the bullets] hit Mr. Fakhrizadeh's wife,] seated inches away, accuracy that they attributed to the use of facial recognition software."

The Commentariat -- September 18, 2021

Wow! Michael Shear of the New York Times: "France announced on Friday that it was immediately recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in protest of President Biden's announcement of an agreement to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia without consulting French officials. In a statement, the French foreign minister said the decision was made by President Emmanuel Macron. 'At the request of the President of the Republic, I have decided to immediately recall our two ambassadors to the United States and Australia to Paris for consultations,' said Jean-Yves Le Drian, the foreign minister. 'This exceptional decision is justified by the exceptional gravity of the announcements made on 15 September by Australia and the United States.' The decision by Mr. Macron deepened the rift between the two longstanding allies over the submarine deal, which American and Australian officials kept secret from the French until just before the announcement on Wednesday." A BBC News story is here. MB: Freedom fries, anyone? ~~~

~~~ David Sanger of the New York Times: "The United States and Australia went to extraordinary lengths to keep Paris in the dark as they secretly negotiated a plan to build nuclear submarines, scuttling France's largest defense contract.... [French] President Emmanuel Macron's ... decision [to withdraw France's ambassadors to the U.S. & Australia] was a stunning and unexpected escalation of the breach between Washington and Paris, on a day that the two countries had planned to celebrate an alliance that goes back to the defeat of Britain in the Revolutionary War. Yet it was driven by France's realization that two of its closest allies have been negotiating secretly for months. According to interviews with American and British officials, the Australians approached the new administration soon after President Biden's inauguration and said they had concluded that they had to get out of a $60 billion agreement with France to supply them with a dozen attack submarines. The conventionally powered French subs, the Australians feared, would be obsolete by the time they were delivered. '[The Australians] told us they would take care of dealing with the French,' one senior U.S. official said.... The Australians, by all accounts, never made clear to the French that they were preparing to cancel the deal, which had taken years to negotiate. And in meeting after meeting with their French counterparts -- some including Mr. Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken --; the Americans did not give France a heads-up about their plans to step in with their own designs, the officials said.... It was a classic case of diplomatic avoidance."

Robert Burns of the AP: "The Pentagon retreated from its defense of a drone strike that killed multiple civilians in Afghanistan last month, announcing Friday that a review revealed that only civilians were killed in the attack, not an Islamic State extremist as first believed. 'The strike was a tragic mistake,' Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, told a Pentagon news conference. McKenzie apologized for the error and said the United States is considering making reparation payments to the family of the victims. He said the decision to strike a white Toyota Corolla sedan, after having tracked it for about eight hours, was made in an 'earnest belief' -- based on a standard of 'reasonable certainty' -- that it posed an imminent threat to American forces at Kabul airport.... For days after the Aug. 29 strike, Pentagon officials asserted that [the strike] had been conducted correctly, despite 10 civilians being killed, including seven children.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a written statement, apologized for what he called 'a horrible mistake.'" The New York Times story is here.

Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post: "The Interior Department will summon the far-flung headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management back to Washington from the mountains of western Colorado, reversing a move by the Trump administration that caused upheaval within the agency and led to nearly 90 percent of the former headquarters staff to retire, quit or leave for other jobs. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland broke the news to BLM staffers on a phone call Friday afternoon, before the announcement was made public in a statement shortly afterward. Haaland said the agency will create a new 'Western headquarters' in Grand Junction, Colo.... Of the 328 positions that ... [Trump] slated to move out of Washington, 287 employees either retired or quit for other jobs, Haaland noted during a visit to Grand Junction in July. Just three people ultimately ended up relocating to Grand Junction, she told reporters at the time, and the headquarters ended up with more than 80 vacancies."

Mike DeBonis & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "The state of the [Republican] party was put into focus this week with the sudden retirement announcement of Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), a onetime rising GOP star who became one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump after the riot, which earned him a Trump-backed primary challenger. He cited a 'chaotic political environment' and 'the toxic dynamics inside our own party' for his decision.... 'Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election,' Trump said in a statement Thursday.... On Friday, Trump hailed Gonzalez's retirement, saying 'Good riddance to Anthony' and '1 down, 9 to go!'... Trump's willingness to not only sweep the Jan. 6 riot under the rug, but to embrace its perpetrators as political martyrs, has been met with silence by GOP congressional leaders.... House Republican leaders have yet to fully denounce the 'Justice for J6' rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.... None of the top six Republican congressional leaders offered a fresh rebuke of Trump after he issued his Thursday statement of solidarity with the rioters."

The "Great Replacement Theory"Isn't Just About Race. Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "More and more Republicans have been signing on to 'great replacement theory.'... Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) ... unleashed ... a particularly vile 'great replacement' rant ... on Fox News.... 'The revolution has begun,' Patrick told host Laura Ingraham. Speaking about the president, Patrick added: 'A silent revolution by the Democrat Party and Joe Biden to take over the country.' Patrick blasted the Biden administration for 'allowing' in one or two million migrants this year. In 18 years, Patrick railed, if 'every one of them has two or three children, you're talking about millions and millions and millions of new voters. Who do you think they are going to vote for?' Patrick seethed. 'So this is trying to take over our country without firing a shot.' Patrick added this flouted the Constitution's guarantee of republican government and protection against 'invasion.' The specific situation triggering Patrick is that thousands of Haitian migrants have crossed the Rio Grande, creating an emergency for federal officials.... As a substantive matter, Patrick's claims are ludicrous." Sargent explains why. ~~~

~~~ Uh, Here's One Reason. Eric Gay & Elliot Spagat of the AP: "The Biden administration plans the widescale expulsion of Haitian migrants from a small Texas border city [-- Del Rio --] by putting them on flights to Haiti starting Sunday, an official said Friday, representing a swift and dramatic response to thousands who suddenly crossed the border from Mexico and gathered under and around a bridge. Details are yet to be finalized but will likely involve five to eight flights a day, according to the official with direct knowledge of the plans who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. San Antonio, the nearest major city, may be among the departure cities. Another administration official speaking on condition of anonymity expected two flights a day at most and said all migrants would be tested for COVID-19." MB: So there's a bit of a flaw in a plot to import supposedly Democratic voters that involves deporting them back to their home country. On the other hand, maybe Biden officials are testing the would-be refugees not only for Covid-19 but also for their political inclinations.

Colleen Long, et al., of the AP: "The Capitol police are taking no chances as they prepare for Saturday's rally at the U.S. Capitol in support of rioters imprisoned after the violent Jan. 6 insurrection.... Persistent attempts to rewrite the narrative of the violence and panic of the day, and the increasing volatility behind the lie that the 2020 election was stolen have made it impossible to predict what may happen this weekend.... Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said at a news conference Friday it was difficult to say whether threats of violence for the Saturday event are credible, but 'chatter' online and elsewhere has been similar to intelligence that was missed in January. A permit for the protest allows 700 people. Manger said he believes the most likely possibility for for violence Saturday will involve clashes between the protesters and counter-protesters who are expected to show up. Police are also preparing for the possibility that some demonstrators may arrive with weapons." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no problem with protests about real issues, even when I vehemently disagree with the protesters' cause: anti-abortion, for instance. However, I do resent having to spend resources & possibly endanger people in a protest where the "cause" is rooted in a Big Lie.

Carol Leonnig & Aaron Davis of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Capitol Police chief formally asked for 100 armed National Guard members to be on standby for a rally this Saturday at the Capitol in case it turns violent, but he withdrew the request at the urging of a top Senate security official who said he had not followed protocol. Days later, Chief J. Thomas Manger instead asked for unarmed Guard members after conferring with the official, Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson and the Pentagon, according to internal correspondence and three people familiar with the discussions. The Guard members would be armed only with batons and would be accompanied by armed police. On Friday morning, the Defense Department approved the request for support, saying unarmed soldiers will be stationed at the D.C. Armory and will deploy only if necessary. It's highly unusual for armed National Guard members to respond to protests, and strict rules must be followed in such cases."

Much Ado About Nothing. Washington Post Editors: "After more than two years and the persistent goading of ... Donald Trump, special counsel John Durham, the lawyer Trump-era attorney general William P. Barr tapped to probe the Justice Department's 2016 Russia investigation, finally did something on Thursday. He indicted attorney Michael Sussmann for lying to the FBI. This, to put it mildly, is not the confirmation of some broad 2016 deep-state conspiracy against Mr. Trump that the former president apparently desired. The danger of special counsel investigations is that, given unlimited time and resources, they often find some bad action tangentially related to their original inquiry that may have had little or no substantial negative impact. Mr. Durham has uncovered alleged wrongdoing that has little to do with whether federal officials tried to sabotage the Trump campaign. The case against Mr. Sussmann is iffy.... Even if true, the Sussmann episode is far less alarming than the case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, whom Mr. Barr moved to protect from punishment and Mr. Trump later pardoned.... If Mr. Durham has nothing more compelling coming, he should bring an end to this long-running exercise." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, John, when Ken Starr went fishing in the White River rapids, at least he found the hapless Monica Lewinsky under the desk. You got a boring lawyer who may have been evasive about his motives in bringing a matter to the attention of the FBI? Whoopty doo.

Letter from a Mar-a-Lardo Suite. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump on Friday sent a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he asked him to start the process of 'decertifying' the 2020 election.... Trump went on to say that 'people do not understand why you and Governor Brian Kemp adamantly refuse to acknowledge the now proven facts." MB: This is not a parody. Trump actually had the letter typed on very presidenty stationery, and he signed it. His spokeswoman tweeted a copy of the letter, which is embedded in the Raw Story post. It has been more than 10 months since the AP declared the election for Joe Biden and almost 8 months since Biden's inauguration. And an insane man who back then had his finger on the nuclear codes (and the Diet Coke buzzer) still thinks he won the election and that soon, everyone will demand his return to office. ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post unpacks the charge Trump made in his letter to Raffensperger that "Large scale Voter Fraud continues to be reported in Georgia." Trump doesn't even point to anything that amounts to actual fraud, Bump writes: "It's like showing up on the field the day after the Super Bowl and loudly complaining that your opponent was offsides."

Apple & Google Are Working for Putin's Political Campaign. Craig Timberg, et al., of the Washington Post: "Apple and Google removed an opposition voting app from their online stores Friday just as balloting began in Russia's parliamentary election, bowing to pressure from President Vladimir Putin's censorship office in a move digital rights activists blasted as Silicon Valley's latest act of capitulation to an authoritarian government. The app, built by associates of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was intended to help Russian voters opposed to Putin cast ballots in a way that would prevent splitting opposition support among multiple candidates and handing victory to the Putin candidate. But Roskomnadzor, the Russian censorship agency, accused Apple and Google of meddling in Russia's political affairs by allowing voters to download the app and demanded that it be removed from their online stores. It threatened fines and possible criminal prosecutions while calling Navalny supporters 'extremists.'" The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ And This. From the UK Times News (which doesn't seem to be a real thing; however, the linked story is consistent with what Rachel Maddow reported last night): "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has taken his millionaire mistress abroad more than 60 times on 'diplomatic missions' and financed her luxury lifestyle, a new revealed a report by the team of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Actress and restaurateur Svetlana Polyakova, who has held a post at the Russian Foreign Ministry since 2014, has a 'long-standing and very close' relationship with Lavrov. She has traveled with the Lavrov, who is married and has one daughter, to France, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Portugal and Greece, and has frequently used the Foreign Ministry plane during of the past seven years. Some of the trips included luxury vacations and visits to opulent homes and yachts -- among them a ship owned by oligarch Oleg Deripaska -- with the couple, in some cases joined by Polyakova's mother, daughters and niece. Lavrov's mistress also organized appointments to senior positions for friends and family in the Foreign Ministry, appeared publicly alongside President Vladimir Putin and was appointed from among his elite entourage, according to the Minister." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Deripaska seems to have his finger in every pie, Deripaska apparently was a conduit between the 2016 Trump campaign -- via intermediaries Paul Manafort (who owed Deripaska money) & Russian agent Konstantin Kilimnik -- & Russian intelligence. Trump's Treasury later sanctioned Deripaska, among other Russian oligarchs & entities, and then more-or-less desanctioned him, to the collective consternation of Congress.

Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "The global average temperature will rise 2.7 degrees Celsius by century's end even if all countries meet their promised emissions cuts, a rise that is likely to worsen extreme wildfires, droughts and floods, the United Nations said in a report on Friday. That level of warming, measured against preindustrial levels, is likely to increase the frequency of deadly heat waves and threaten coastal cities with rising sea levels, the country-by-country analysis concluded. The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said it shows 'the world is on a catastrophic pathway.' Perhaps most starkly, the new report displayed the large gap between what the scientific consensus urges world leaders to do and what those leaders have been willing to do so far."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

** Carolyn Johnson, et al., of the Washington Post: "Expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously Friday to recommend that the agency authorize a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine six months after vaccination for people 65 years and older or for those who are at risk for severe illness. The vote is not binding, and Peter Marks, the FDA official overseeing coronavirus vaccines, indicated that the final decision could be slightly different, including people who are at higher risk of infection because of their professions, such as health-care workers and front-line employees, including teachers. The advisory committee members were polled about whether they would agree with making boosters available to people who were at risk of infection because of exposure from their jobs, and they all said yes." ~~~

~~~ Matthew Perrone & Lauren Neergaard of the AP: "Dealing the White House a stinging setback, a government advisory panel overwhelmingly rejected a plan Friday to give Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots across the board, and instead endorsed the extra vaccine dose only for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. The twin votes represented a heavy blow to the Biden administration's sweeping effort, announced a month ago, to shore up nearly all Americans' protection amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant."

Another Stupid Vaccine Know-It-All Gets a Covid Surprise. Rachel Scully of the Hill: "Far-right political activist Laura Loomer announced Thursday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus.... Loomer, a strong Trump supporter, also said in the post that she has not received the coronavirus vaccine and will not do so, falsely claiming 'it is unsafe and ineffective.'... Last year, Loomer ... said she wished she could get the coronavirus to show everyone that it is not a dire matter.... However, her latest messages indicated that she was suffering from severe symptoms of the virus. 'Just pray for me please,' Loomer wrote on Telegram..., according to The Daily Beast. 'Can't even begin to explain how brutal the body aches and nausea that come with COVID are. I am in so much pain.' However, she continued to promote vaccine conspiracy theories, according to the outlet, saying the government 'doesn't want you to know what it really does.'"

Alabama. Tandra Smith of al.com: "A married Alabama couple known for their reselling videos on YouTube under the name 'Alabama Pickers' have both died of COVID. Dusty and Tristan Graham lived in Huntsville, where they would often post videos about various tips and tricks to reselling vintage items like clothes and home decor.... One of the last videos the married couple posted on their now deleted YouTube channel was about how they wouldn't get the vaccine.... 'I've got my own passport. It's called the "Bill of Rights,"' Dusty said in the video." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I am surprised that the Covid "hoax" has not morphed into a "Democrat virus war" to kill off innocent Trump voters.

New York. Ashley Wong, et al., of the New York Times: "A hostess at a popular Italian restaurant on Manhattan's Upper West Side asked three would-be customers for proof that they had been vaccinated as required for those seeking to dine indoors. But the encounter quickly escalated, as the customers, women from Texas, became irate and refused to provide the proof needed to enter the restaurant, Carmine's, the police and a restaurant spokesman said. The hostess offered to seat them outdoors, where such proof is not required.... The tourists began to punch the hostess, who is 24, leaving her bruised and scratched and breaking her necklace. She was evaluated at a hospital and is now resting at home[, according to the CEO of the restaurant chain].... The tourists ... were arrested and charged with assault and criminal mischief.... Restaurant workers said in interviews that they felt they had been unfairly saddled with the burden of enforcement and that they, rather than the city, had been forced to become the first line of defense."

Oregon. Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "An Oregon doctor who continuously defied COVID-19 guidelines and spread false information about face masks has had his license revoked, Newsweek reports. Steven Arthur LaTulippe was issued an order from the Oregon Medical Board earlier this month for 'dishonorable or unprofessional conduct; repeated negligence in the practice of medicine; and gross negligence in the practice of medicine.' He was also fined $10,000. This is LaTulippe's second suspension. The first one, which occurred this past December, came after the board found that his family practice, Southview Medical Arts in Dallas, operated in such a way that it constituted an 'immediate danger' to the public and presented a 'serious danger' to public health and safety. He also told his patients that masks are a source of carbon dioxide." The Newsweek story is firewalled.

Beyond the Beltway

Alabama. Howard Koplowitz of al.com: "MyPillow founder and Donald Trump adviser Mike Lindell plans to conduct 'tests' on Alabama's voter rolls after purchasing the list, said Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, who along with Gov. Kay Ivey met with Lindell on Friday. Lindell, the founder and CEO of MyPillow who is Trump's main attack dog in the former president's battle contending the 2020 presidential election was stolen, is going to comb through the list of Alabama voters to determine whether the state has any ineligible people on it, including deceased residents. Merrill said he doesn't expect Lindell to find evidence that Alabama's voter list, which is available for purchase by anyone, is tainted.... But Lindell 'still believes there's a potential to hack some equipment, even though we assured him none of our equipment is connected to the Internet,' the secretary of state said."

California. Charles Bagli of the New York Times: "Robert A. Durst, the enigmatic real estate scion who evaded criminal suspicion for half his life only to become a national sensation after damaging admissions were aired in a 2015 documentary on HBO, was convicted on Friday in the execution-style murder of a close confidante more than 20 years ago. The verdict, which came after about seven and a half hours of deliberations, was the latest act in a case that spanned almost four decades. It began in the wealthy precincts of New York with the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Durst's first wife, Kathie, in 1982 and concluded with his conviction for the 2000 killing of Susan Berman, a friend who prosecutors said helped him cover up his wife's disappearance and death. Mr. Durst, a frail 78-year-old millionaire who sat through the trial in a wheelchair, was convicted of first-degree murder. A judge is scheduled to sentence him at later date."

Why Louisiana's Power Grid Failed. Peter Eavis & Ivan Penn of the New York Times: "On the last Sunday in August, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana and dealt a catastrophic blow to Entergy's power lines, towers and poles, many of which were built decades ago to withstand much weaker hurricanes. The company had not upgraded or replaced a lot of that equipment with more modern gear designed to survive the 150 mile-an-hour wind gusts that Ida brought to bear on the state.... Some energy experts said Entergy was clearly unprepared for the Category 4 storm despite what executives have said about efforts to strengthen its network.... Lawmakers and regulators require utilities to ensure safe, reliable service at an affordable cost. The grid failure after Ida is the latest display of how power companies are struggling to fulfill those obligations as climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather.... Had Entergy invested more in its transmission and distribution lines and solar panels and battery systems, some green energy activists argued, the city and state would not have suffered as widespread and as long a power outage as it did after Ida."

North Carolina. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "A North Carolina court struck down the state's voter identification law on Friday, citing 'persuasive evidence' that a Republican-dominated state legislature had rushed it to passage at least in part to make it harder for Black voters to cast ballots. It was the second time in five years that a court had invalidated a North Carolina voter identification law as racially discriminatory. In 2016, a federal appeals court ruled against a different version of the law, saying it had targeted Black voters 'with almost surgical precision.' The ruling on Friday, by a three-judge panel of the state Superior Court in Raleigh, effectively makes permanent a temporary ban on the law that a court had imposed after its passage in 2018." The AP's story is here.

Texas. Women Who Don't Want to Get Pregnant Will Quit Having Sex or Go to California. Stephanie Kirchgaessner & Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "The legal architect of the Texas abortion ban has argued in a supreme court brief that overturning Roe v Wade, the landmark decision which guarantees a right to abortion in the US, could cause women to practice abstinence from sexual intercourse as a way to 'control their reproductive lives'. Former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell, who played a pivotal role in designing the legal framework of the state's near-total abortion ban, also argued on behalf of anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life that women would still be able to terminate pregnancies if Roe was overturned by traveling to 'wealthy pro-abortion' states like California and New York with the help of 'taxpayer subsidies'. 'Women can 'control their reproductive lives' without access to abortion; they can do so by refraining from sexual intercourse,' Mitchell wrote in the brief." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, this is not a weird remark Mitchell accidentally let slip during a right-wing radio talk show; he actually wrote it in a publicly-available document. (You may have to go through a second step to get to the brief.) They really don't care -- or don't know -- what stupid things they say.

Virginia Gubernatorial Race. Gregory Schneider, et al., of the Washington Post: "Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are locked in a tight race for Virginia governor, with McAuliffe standing at 50 percent to 47 percent for Youngkin among likely voters in a Washington Post-Schar School poll. Among registered voters, McAuliffe has a 49 percent to 43 percent edge over Youngkin &-- but neither lead is statistically significant. The smaller margin among people likely to vote, combined with a low percentage of voters who say they plan to vote early, suggests that Democrats could face an enthusiasm gap and a challenge boosting turnout to the high levels of the past four years."

The Commentariat -- September 17, 2021

Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "President Biden's announcement of a deal to help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines has strained the Western alliance, infuriating France and foreshadowing how the conflicting American and European responses to confrontation with China may redraw the global strategic map. In announcing the deal on Wednesday, Mr. Biden ... appears to have alienated an important European one and aggravated already tense relations with Beijing. France on Thursday reacted with outrage to the announcements that the United States and Britain would help Australia develop submarines, and that Australia was withdrawing from a $66 billion deal to buy French-built submarines. At its heart, the diplomatic storm is also a business matter -- a loss of revenue for France's military industry, and a gain for American companies. Jean-Yves Le Drian, France's foreign minister, told Franceinfo radio that the submarine deal was a 'unilateral, brutal, unpredictable decision' by the United States, and he compared the American move to the rash and sudden policy shifts common during the Trump administration.... The deal also seemed to be a pivot point in relations with China, which reacted angrily." MB: Hey, as long as the U.S. military-industrial complex is happy. I do wonder whose bright idea this was. ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear & Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "The United States acknowledged on Thursday that it only gave France a few hours; notice of its deal to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, a move that French officials have denounced as a major betrayal by one of its closest allies. France had been trying to strike its own, multibillion dollar deal with Australia, and French officials said that the new agreement ... was an affront.... 'This is not done between allies,' Jean-Yves Le Drian, the foreign minister, said in an interview with Franceinfo radio, calling the deal a 'unilateral, brutal, unpredictable decision.':

The Haitians Under the Bridge. Arelis R. Hernández & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "Thousands of Haitian migrants who have crossed the Rio Grande in recent days are sleeping outdoors under a border bridge in South Texas, creating a humanitarian emergency and a logistical challenge U.S. agents describe as unprecedented. Authorities in Del Rio say more than 10,000 migrants have arrived at the impromptu camp, and they are expecting more in the coming days. The sudden influx has presented the Biden administration with a new border emergency at a time when illegal crossings have reached a 20-year high and Department of Homeland Security officials are straining to accommodate and resettle more than 60,000 Afghan evacuees."

Charlie Savage & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The special counsel appointed by the Trump administration to scrutinize the Russia investigation [-- John Durham --] obtained a grand jury indictment on Thursday of a prominent cybersecurity lawyer, [Michael Sussmann,] accusing him of lying to the F.B.I. five years ago during a meeting about Donald J. Trump and Russia.... [Sussmann] is accused of falsely telling a top F.B.I. lawyer that he was not representing any client at the meeting about those suspicions. Prosecutors contend that he was instead representing both a technology executive and the Hillary Clinton campaign.... Mr. Sussmann's defense lawyers, Sean Berkowitz and Michael Bosworth, have denied the accusation, insisting that he did not say he had no client and maintaining that the evidence against him is weak. They also denied that the question of who Mr. Sussmann was working for was material, saying the F.B.I. would have investigated the matter regardless. 'Michael Sussmann was indicted today because of politics, not facts,' they said on Thursday." Politico's story is here.

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Calling ... Donald J. Trump 'a cancer for the country,' Representative Anthony Gonzalez, Republican of Ohio, said in an interview on Thursday that he would not run for re-election in 2022, ceding his seat after just two terms in Congress rather than compete against a Trump-backed primary opponent. Mr. Gonzalez is the first, but perhaps not the last, of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to retire rather than face ferocious primaries next year in a party still in thrall to the former president."

Former President* Endorses Violent Insurrection. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump voiced solidarity Thursday with people being prosecuted in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, issuing a statement ahead of a rally planned Saturday in Washington to protest their treatment. 'Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election,' Trump said in a statement.... In an interview with the Federalist on Thursday, Trump ... [said], 'On Saturday, that's a setup.'... 'If people don't show up they'll say, "Oh, it's a lack of spirit." And if people do show up, they'll be harassed.'"

Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "The relationship between Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Donald Trump is so frayed that the Senate GOP Leader hopes he will never again have to talk to the former president.... After McConnell congratulated Joe Biden from the Senate floor on December 15th, Trump reportedly called McConnell and 'spewed expletives.' 'Mr. President, the Electoral College has spoken. That's the way we pick a president in this country,' McConnell explained[, according to a new book by Bob Woodward & Robert Costa]. 'You lost the election, the Electoral College has spoken,' was reportedly the last thing McConnell said." The story, first reported in Business Insider (firewalled) is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: According to the Woodward-Costa book, "then-CIA Director Gina Haspel reportedly discussed Trump's plans and state of mind on November 10th. 'We are on the way to a right-wing coup. The whole thing is insanity. He is acting out like a six-year-old with a tantrum,' Haspel reportedly said. Based on a Business Insider firewalled report, which is here.

Karen Hao of the MIT Technology Review: "In the run up to the 2020 election, the most highly contested in US history, Facebook's most popular pages for Christian and Black American content were being run by Eastern European troll farms. These pages were part of a larger network that collectively reached nearly half of all Americans, according to an internal company report, and achieved that reach not through user choice but primarily as a result of Facebook's own platform design and engagement-hungry algorithm. The report, written in October 2019 and obtained by MIT Technology Review from a former Facebook employee not involved in researching it, found that after the 2016 election, Facebook failed to prioritize fundamental changes to how its platform promotes and distributes information. The company instead pursued a whack-a-mole strategy that involved monitoring and quashing the activity of bad actors when they engaged in political discourse, and adding some guardrails that prevented 'the worst of the worst.'" Emphasis added.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Friday are here.

Arlette Saenz of CNN: "The US government is buying more doses of monoclonal antibody treatments for Covid-19, and the Biden administration is taking over distributio in order to avoid shortages of the key therapeutics. The moves come as demand for monoclonal antibodies has increased as cases surged due to spread of the Delta variant and low vaccination rates in some areas of the country. Monoclonal antibodies are lab-engineered immune system proteins that kickstart an immune response against an infection. The US Department of Health and Human Services says that as of September 10, 2.17 million doses of monoclonal antibodies have been shipped to all sites, and 938,000 doses have been used since December. About 43% of the distributed doses have been used as of September 3. An HHS spokesperson said seven states have accounted for 70% of orders for the therapy. Those seven states are Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. 'Given this reality, we must work to ensure our supply of these life-saving therapies remains available for all states and territories, not just some,' the HHS spokesperson said." ~~~

~~~ Florida. Which Raised DeSantis' Dander. Arek Sarkissian of Politico: "On Thursday, [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis ripped into [President] Biden's plan to distribute doses of monoclonal antibody treatments to states across the nation. Florida and six other Southern states ... took up 70 percent of the orders in early September. That lopsidedness prompted the Biden administration to start redistributing the more than 158,000 doses made available this week -- and provoked DeSantis to attack the president for taking the therapies away from Floridians. 'We've been handed a major curveball here, with a really huge cut from HHS and the Biden administration,' DeSantis said at a press conference in Broward County.... White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday defended Biden's plan to cut Florida's allotment of the antibody treatments, saying the administration is increasing the distribution of antibody treatments in September by 50 percent."

Marie: Sorry, I have not been paying enough attention to what Celebrities-I've-Never-Heard-of are saying. But I do belatedly want to award the Stupid Prize to anybody who decided not to get a Covid-19 vaccine because a rapper called Nicki Minaj tweeted that a friend of her cousin became impotent AND his balls swelled up AND his fiancee called off their wedding -- after he got a Covid vaccine. (Prizes first awarded yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: As Akhilleus pointed out in yesterday's Comments thread, TuKKKer -- who until this week probably couldn't name a single rapper -- got such a hard-on from this story that he asked on-air for the Big-Balls Guy from Trinidad to call him for a possible appearance on Fox "News" prime-time.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Idaho. Rebecca Boone of the AP: "Idaho public health leaders on Thursday expanded health care rationing statewide amid a massive increase in the number of coronavirus patients requiring hospitalization. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare made the announcement after St. Luke's Health System, Idaho's largest hospital network, on Wednesday asked state health leaders to allow 'crisis standards of care' because the increase in COVID-19 patients has exhausted the state's medical resources. Idaho is one of the least vaccinated U.S. states, with only about 40% of its residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Only Wyoming and West Virginia have lower vaccination rates. Crisis care standards mean that scarce resources such as ICU beds will be allotted to the patients most likely to survive. Other patients will be treated with less effective methods or, in dire cases, given pain relief and other palliative care." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This doesn't affect only Covid patients. If you need immediate health care in Idaho, no matter what the reason, your chances of survival will be depend on a triage worker. If your chances look bad, you're dead. This is third-word-country-style health care. And the immediate cause is freeedumb. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Hannah Knowles of the New York Times: "Leaders of Idaho's most populous county were deluged with constituent emails last month as they prepared to choose the newest member of a once-obscure regional health board. A doctor who served on the board for 15 years had just been let go over his support for pandemic restrictions. Hundreds wrote in for Ryan Cole, a doctor -- backed by the Ada County Republican Party -- who has called coronavirus vaccines 'fake.' The Republican commissioners of the county -- which encompasses the state capital, Boise -- said they welcomed Cole's 'outsider' perspective and willingness to 'question' established medical guidance. They appointed him over the protests of their lone Democratic colleague." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It used to be annoying to live in an area dominated by Republicans. Now it's life-threatening.

Beyond the Beltway

New York. What Could Possibly Be Wrong with That? Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "New York Attorney General Letitia James has been talking with her advisors and supporters about potentially running for governor next year, according to people familiar with the matter. In the weeks since James' investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo ended early last month, she and her political advisors have been testing the waters...." MB: Let's see: you order a report that determines the governor is guilty of wrongdoing, forcing him to resign. After getting him out of the way, you run for his job. (Also linked yesterday.)

South Carolina. Southern Gothic, Ctd. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "The prominent South Carolina lawyer whose life has unraveled in the months since his wife and son were fatally shot was arrested on Thursday after he admitted to trying to stage his own murder earlier this month, but he maintained that he had no involvement in the killing of his family. Alex Murdaugh, the lawyer, was charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report, all felonies, in connection with the suicide scheme, which his lawyers said was meant to ensure that his other son could collect on a $10 million life insurance policy."

News Lede

New York Times: "Jane Powell, whose pert good looks and lyrical soprano voice brought her Hollywood stardom before she was out of her teens -- but whose movie career peaked when she was still in her 20s with a starring role in one of the last great MGM musicals, the 1954 extravaganza 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' -- died on Thursday at her home in Wilton, Conn. She was 92."