The Conversation -- January 30, 2025

⭐David Sanger of the New York Times: "... [Donald] Trump blamed diversity requirements at the Federal Aviation Administration and his two Democratic predecessors for the midair collision over the Potomac River on Wednesday night, saying that standards for air traffic controllers had been too lax. Mr. Trump cited no evidence, and even admitted when pressed that the investigation had only just begun. Moments later, he blamed the pilots of the Army helicopter that appeared to fly into a passenger jet that was on final approach to Reagan National Airport, across the river from the capital. Mr. Trump went back and forth between blaming diversity goals that he said were created by President Barack Obama and President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and then saying that an investigation was necessary.

"His instant focus on diversity reflected his instinct to immediately frame major events through his political or ideological lens, whether the facts fit or not.... When asked how he could say that diversity hiring was to blame for the crash even though basic facts about the midair collision were still being sought by investigators, he said, 'Because I have common sense.' 'For some jobs, we need the highest level of genius,' he said.... Mr. Trump named a new acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration during the news conference; none had been appointed by him until Thursday. The appointee did not speak at the news conference, nor did the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, who was also in the room." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What's the matter with this guy? We could start with "stupid bigoted buffoon," but I think we might get to "evil" and "absence of empathy" pretty quickly. See linked citation below. I find it appalling that the POTUS* immediately blames women and/or minorities and Democrats for a tragic event that occurred near his own back yard.

GOP Congressional Weenies Cede All Power to Trump. Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Congress passed a law shutting down TikTok, and ... [Donald] Trump flouted it. Congress required advance notification for removing inspectors general, and the Trump administration fired them on the spot. Congress approved trillions of dollars in spending, and Mr. Trump ordered it frozen unless the federal programs receiving it passed his ideological litmus tests.... He has sent up a crop of cabinet nominees who would have never passed muster on Capitol Hill in the past.... The new administration is quickly demonstrating that it does not intend to be bound by legal niceties or traditional checks and balances in its relationship with Congress. That has alarmed Democrats but drawn shrugs and approval from Republicans, who say that Mr. Trump is delivering what he promised even if it comes at the expense of Congress's authority and constitutional status as a coequal branch of government."

The New York Times' live updates of Kash Patel's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee are here. ~~~

The New York Times' live updates of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing before the Senate health committee are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee are here.

You may have to make many "either/or" decisions over the next few years, even where "and" is the most accurate answer. RAS points to one.

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Marie: If you didn't see yesterday's Conversation after, say, 6:00 pm ET yesterday, I posted a number of links beginning at about 4:30 pm ET, when I returned to my onsite workplace with my arsenal of computers in better working order. So you may want to take a gander. Anyhow, plenty of news over two days to make you sick.

Dana Goldstein of the New York Times: "With a series of executive orders..., [Donald] Trump has demonstrated that he has the appetite for an audacious fight to remake public education in the image of his 'anti-woke,' populist political movement. But in a country unique among nations for its hyperlocal control of schools, the effort is likely to run into legal, logistical and funding trouble as it tests the limits of federal power over K-12 education. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Trump signed two executive orders. One was a 2,400-word behemoth focused mainly on race, gender and American history. It seeks to prevent schools from recognizing transgender identities or teaching about concepts such as structural racism, 'white privilege' and 'unconscious bias,' by threatening their federal funding. The order also promotes 'patriotic' education that depicts the American founding as 'unifying, inspiring and ennobling' while explaining how the United States 'has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history.' The second order directs a swath of federal agencies to look for ways to expand access to private school vouchers." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is one of many reports or analyses we have seen & will see in which the writers describe Trump as "testing the limits" of something or other. Trump, IMO, is not so much "testing the limits" as he is flouting the Constitution and/or the law in most cases. And yes indeed, he'll get his little friends on the Supreme Court to reread the Constitution in bizarre ways that serve Trump's interests. ~~~

~~~ The Unitary Executive Theory of Donald J. Trump. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: Donald "Trump abruptly fired dozens of officials in the past few days -- including inspectors general, a member of the National Labor Relations Board and career prosecutors -- in ways that apparently violated federal laws, setting up the possibility of lawsuits.... There is a risk that judges may determine that some of the dismissals were illegal, but any rulings in the president's favor would establish precedents that would expand presidential power to control the federal government. Some legal experts say the purges underway appear to be custom-made opportunities for the Supreme Court's Republican-appointed majority to strike down the statutes any legal challenges would be based on, furthering its trend in recent years of expanding presidential authority." This is a conspiracy of criminals set upon stealing your Constitutional rights while dismissing the president*'s Constitutional limitations.

Andrea Shalal of Reuters: "... Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests. A fact sheet on the order promises 'immediate action' by the Justice Department to prosecute 'terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews' and marshal all federal resources to combat what it called 'the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and streets' since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. 'To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,' Trump said in the fact sheet. 'I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before,' the president said, echoing a 2024 campaign promise." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This order does not "combat antisemitism" as the reporter and Trump say. (For one thing, Palestinians are Semites.) Rather, what it combats is the First Amendment, which guarantees free speech to every legal resident of the U.S., whether or not they're citizens. If non-residents violated other laws -- say, vandalized a college building -- then, yes, they could be legally deported, but not for peacefully protesting what respected world organizations have labelled genocide, or even for expressing sympathy for Hamas, reasonably labelled a terrorist organization. BTW, I don't know what things were like at UPenn when Trump and I were in college, but I promise you that U.S. college campuses back then were "infested with radicalism" (not the way I would put it) to an obviously greater extent than they are today. It's one thing not to know who Frederick Douglass was; Trump doesn't even know anything about the history he experienced.

I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I've come close to defining it: a lack of empathy. It's the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy. ― Gustave M. Gilbert, American psychologist who studied high-ranking Nazis during the Nuremberg trials ~~~

~~~ Marie: Thanks to RAS for the link. I didn't immediately find a reliable source for the citation, but let's assume it's accurate. This takes me back to 2009, when President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor for a seat on the Supreme Court. In so doing, he said, "I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions...." Republicans went nuts. "During their opening statements at the [Senate] confirmation hearings, each [Republican senator on the Judiciary Committee] invoked Sotomayor's supposed penchant for empathy with a sense of alarm normally reserved for estate taxes," John Rollert wrote in the Christian Science Monitor. Robert Alt of the Heritage Foundation (today of Project 2025 infamy) was horrified. I think you see what I'm getting at here.

Paul Waldman in a Substack essay: "For all the articles I and others wrote about Project 2025 and the greater degree of preparation and planning they were engaged in, there was one thing we underestimated: The sheer aggression they would bring to this new Trump term. 'We're going to do things that people will be shocked at,' Trump said on his first day in office, and he wasn't kidding.... Here's how the strategy is designed to work: 1. Make a blatantly illegal policy change. 2. While the opposition gets together its legal challenge, implement the policy change. 3. Use every available tactic to delay the legal process. While that process grinds along, continue deploying the policy change. And who knows, maybe the Supreme Court will back you up in the end." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Jonathan Swan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The explosive Trump administration order that froze trillions of dollars of federal grants and loans this week was published without vetting by key officials in the White House, according to three people with knowledge of what happened. The order was drafted inside the Office of Management and Budget by the agency's general counsel, Mark Paoletta, two of the people said. And it was released without being shown to the White House staff secretary, Will Scharf, or to Mr. Trump's top policy adviser, Stephen Miller.... The White House rescinded the directive on Wednesday after legal challenges and widespread condemnation and confusion, including the interruption of the Medicaid system, which provides health care to millions of low-income Americans.... [Mr.] Trump was angered by the media coverage of the order and its aftershocks.... During a bill signing at the White House on Wednesday, Mr. Trump cast blame on the media for the confusion.: ~~~

~~~ Jeremy Herb, et al., of CNN on "Inside 45 hours of chaos: The brief life and quick death of Trump's federal spending freeze." ~~~

~~~ How Is the New Trump Like the Old Trump? Well, He's Still a Screw-up. Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: The "chaotic story that unfolded eight years ago with Trump's ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries repeated itself in his second term with anabruptclampdown on federal spending this week that spiraled into a quasi-government shutdown. By the time the White House rescinded the freeze on Wednesday, the scare had briefly disrupted Medicaid payments, senior meals, special education and housing stipends. It also punctured the sense of accomplishment among Trump officials eager to take the levers of power in a more orderly and effective manner than last time.... Trump blamed the [reversal??] on media coverage. But Republican lawmakers said a surge of constituent concerns created pressure for the reversal. And Democrats -- who spent their first week locked out of power struggling to keep up with the onslaught of executive actions and upheavals -- declared victory for dealing the new president his first setback."

~~~ Oh, and He's Still an Embarrassment. This is less than half of Rachel Maddow's opening segment last night, which ran almost 30 minutes without interruption. ~~~

Trump Just Made $25MM on the Insurrection. Mike Isaac & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Meta said on Wednesday that it had agreed to pay ... [Donald] Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit he filed over the suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.... In a call with investors on Wednesday for Meta's quarterly financial results, [Meta CEO Mark] Zuckerberg praised the Trump administration for supporting American tech companies and 'defending our values.' He added, 'This is going to be a big year for redefining our relationships with governments.'"

Donnie's Boy. Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has decided to remove retired Gen. Mark A. Milley's security detail, suspend his security clearance, and order an inspector general inquiry into his behavior as the Pentagon's top officer, senior defense officials said Tuesday, taking extraordinary action against a frequent target of ... Donald Trump.... Hegseth's plan ... is part of the new defense secretary's effort to reestablish 'warfighter culture' in the Pentagon, one senior defense official said.... The official portrayed Milley as a political operator while in the chairman role and said there is a desire to 'take a star' from him, meaning administration officials want to see Milley demoted in retirement."

Elon Takes Control. Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post: "Billionaire Elon Musk's influence over a traditionally nonpartisan agency that oversees the federal workforce culminated in the government's stunning proposal Tuesday offering employees an inducement to resign, according to four people familiar with the situation.... The proposal, emailed late in the day to many of the nation's 2.3 million federal workers, blindsided some advisers to ... Donald Trump, including officials in the budget office.... Musk has moved quickly to exert control over the Office of Personnel Management, the small independent agency that acts as a kind of human resources department for the federal government.... several of [Musk's] longtime surrogates ... have been installed in senior leadership roles at its offices in downtown Washington, the people said.... In addition to the personnel office, Musk allies are now running the U.S. Digital Service, a White House office that a Trump executive order renamed the U.S. DOGE Service.... Meanwhile, at least one of Musk's private business associates has joined the General Services Administration, which oversees federal buildings." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Musk isn't even letting Trump sign the orders, although it's obvious that dramatically signing executives orders is one of the few day-job duties that Trump enjoys. How long ya gonna let Elon grab the Sharpie right out of your hand, Donnie boy? BTW, Judd Legum must be right (see yesterday's Conversation); the WashPo has considerably softened it's description of the offer to employees; Davies, et al., never refer to it as a "buyout." ~~~

     ~~~ Wait, Wait! Update. Here's what Krugman writes: "It's a Scam! It's a Purge! It's a Scam *and* a Purge[.]... On paper, it isn't exactly a buyout; those who accept the offer will be placed on administrative leave but supposedly continue to be paid until September. But being told that you can stop working while receiving eight months' salary is just a buyout by another name. There are five things you should know about this plan: 1. It's illegal[.] 2. It's almost surely a scam: workers who take the offer probably won't see the money they've been promised[.] 3. To the extent that workers actually take up the offer, they'll be the workers we can least afford to lose[.] 4. The move will cost, not save money[.] 5. What this really amounts to is a purge, replacing professional civil servants with political loyalists." Definitely read on.

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "Three of ... [Donald] Trump's most contentious picks to lead government agencies will appear in Senate confirmation hearings on Thursday, with the fate of their nominations hanging on the votes of a handful of Republican senators. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ... will face his second hearing before a Senate vote, after a grilling on Wednesday on his views on vaccines and abortion. Kash Patel, Mr. Trump's F.B.I. pick, has promised to reshape the bureau by firing its top officials and has published a list of Trump enemies. And Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who left her party and embraced Mr. Trump, has been nominated to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: These aren't "contentious picks" so much as they are patently unqualified picks. Bobby Jr., in his hearing yesterday, denied nearly everything he has ever said, and he claimed Medicaid recipients were complaining bitterly about the high cost of Medicaid insurance premiums, a weird assertion inasmuch as there are no premiums for Medicaid. Kash Patel is a conspiracy theorist & the nation's top résumé-inflator. Tulsi Gabbard is a Russophile with a fondness for Middle East dictators, too.

You Gotta Show Pluck, Chuck. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "A group of six Democratic governors pressed Senator Chuck Schumer of New York during a tense call on Wednesday night to be more aggressive in fighting back against ... [Donald] Trump's nominees and agenda, all but begging the minority leader to persuade Senate Democrats to block whatever they could. The call ... revealed the growing tensions among Democrats about how forcefully they should oppose Mr. Trump. Mr. Schumer convened the call to discuss a collective response to the Trump administration's attempt to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans, which was pulled back on Wednesday."

Freddy Brewster, et al., of the Lever: "Months before Wednesday night's fatal midair collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter in Washington, lawmakers brushed off safety warnings amid midflight near-misses and passed an industry-backed measure designed to add additional flight traffic at the same D.C. airport where the Jan. 29 disaster unfolded. Soon after a March 2023 near collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, House lawmakers considered a provision to increase the number of flights allowed at the facility. It is one of only two airports in the country owned by the federal government, giving Congress unique authority over its operations. The legislation was supported by lawmakers seeking more direct flights to their home states and airlines eager for expanded routes. It was opposed by lawmakers who asserted that the airport was already overstressed by flight volume in the capital region's busy airspace." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know of only one of the journalists on the byline; that's David Sirota. He's something of a left-wing alarmist, but he has a high profile and plenty of creds. I don't know of a reason to doubt the facts & assertions in the linked article. I invite anyone wishing to correct me to do so. I certainly don't want to mislead anyone with unsubstantiated stories, but I also don't want to be so cautious that I pass up credible reporting because of my own lack of knowledge.

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Florida. Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics: "The Florida Senate passed an immigration crackdown developed in consultation with ... Donald Trump.... It now heads to the House, but from there heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has called the bill 'weak.'... The legislation would put in statute a number of stiffer penalties for crimes if committed by undocumented immigrants. That includes mandatory death sentences for any undocumented immigrant convicted of a capital offense, such as murder or rape, as well as reclassification of criminal penalties when a deported individual returns to Florida and commits a crime." DeSantis may veto the bill, MB: because, you know, he's tougher than Trump. Thanks to Bobby L. for the link.

New York. A Catch with a Catch. Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "When an upstate New York salmon farm went out of business, nonprofits had days to find a way to catch, refrigerate and clean more than 13,000 fish."

Oklahoma. Nuria Martinez-Keel of the Oklahoman: "Oklahoma's top education official said he would support immigration enforcement raids in schools to assist with the White House's promise of mass deportations. This week..., Donald Trump threw out a federal policy that had been in place since 2011 that discouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making arrests in 'protected areas' like schools, medical centers and places of worship. Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said in a TV interview posted Friday that he would help the Trump administration in 'any way they see fit' to carry out immigration enforcement, including ICE raids in schools.... Walters has proposed a rule at the state Education Department, which he leads, that would require schools to ask for students' proof of citizenship or legal immigration status during enrollment. His proposal would not prohibit any students from attending public schools, but districts would have to report to the Education Department the number of undocumented children they enroll." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although he's lying, Trump claims agents are prioritizing the deportation of bad-assed criminals who are striking fear in the hearts of law-abiding Americans. I suppose if ICE agents raided all the schools in Oklahoma, they might find a few teenagers who have violated some laws, but any educator should know that the ICE raids would disrupt schools and frighten little children. This disruption & fear would far outweigh the benefit of catching a few teenaged lawbreakers on school campuses. Walters clearing does care about the students he is supposed to be protecting.

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Israel's Wars. The New York Times' liveblog of developments Thursday in Israel's wars are here: "Israel's prisons authority said on Thursday that it was delaying the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners after a Hamas-led hostage handover in Gaza devolved into chaotic scenes, with crowds mobbing Israeli and Thai hostages who were being freed after a year in captivity.... A spokesman for the Israeli prison service, said the Israeli government had suspended the prisoners' release until further notice. The prisoners were to be freed as part of the third hostage-for-prisoner swap in the ongoing cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. Hamas released eight Israeli and Thai hostages on Thursday, including one in a tightly choreographed ceremony in northern Gaza that went relatively smoothly. But in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the handover quickly devolved into tumult."

News Lede

Washington Post: "Rescuers are combing the Potomac River in search of survivors of American Eagle Flight 5342, which collided midair Wednesday evening with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport, sending both aircraft crashing into the water. No survivors have been found, and police have pulled bodies from the water -- even as the deep, ice-cold water and lack of light complicate search efforts. The PSA Airlines-operated American Airlines aircraft was flying from Wichita to National Airport with 60 passengers and four crew members, and the helicopter was on a training flight with three service members on board. U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that several members of its community were on the plane." This is a liveblog. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times liveblog is here. CNN's liveblog is here.

January 29, 2025

Like General MacArthur, Marie shall return. In the meantime, traitors never sleep, so have at it! ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Update: And I have returned, computers at the ready! Fortunately, nothing happened while I way away -- except Trump & Vought illegally shut down the federal government, then maybe rescinded the shutdown order (but don't count on it because they really don't know what they're doing). P.S. Many thanks to Akhilleus for keeping you-all in the loop and providing a place for you to keep everyone up-to-date on the latest hoo-hah.

New York Times live updates on whatever Trump thinks he's doing are here:

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al.: "The White House rescinded a directive on Wednesday that froze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans after the order sparked mass confusion and legal challenges that accused the Trump administration of violating the law. The order, which was sent out on Monday night, was an attempt to purge the government of what ... [Donald] Trump has called a 'woke' ideology. A federal judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked it on Tuesday afternoon, but the lack of clarity sent schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others scrambling to understand if they had lost their financial support from the government."

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Erica Green: "... Trump signed a bill on Wednesday to require the detention of migrants who enter the country without authorization and are arrested or charged with certain crimes, the first legislation of his new presidency and an early victory in his effort to deliver a sweeping crackdown on immigration. The new Republican-controlled Congress passed the legislation last week with some breakaway Democratic support, a sign of how the politics of immigration have moved to the right."

Peter Baker: "Did the U.S. government send $50 million in condoms to Gaza, as Trump just claimed at the White House? Not according to media reports that point to this 2024 report showing that USAID sent $60.8 million in contraceptives worldwide, but none to Gaza. The vast majority went to Africa; only $45,681 worth of contraceptives went to the Middle East as a whole, all of them to Jordan." MB: Trump also said Hamas used the condoms to make bombs. ~~~

~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump threw the nation into chaos once again on Monday night with his order declaring a 'pause' of indefinite length on $3 trillion in federal grants and loans. Among the government programs facing an immediate cutoff: Meals on Wheels, Head Start, school lunches, child-care help, student loans, disaster relief, crime-fighting assistance and Medicaid, which provides health care to 82 million Americans. The day after Trump's bombshell, and just four hours before the funding was set to cease, Karoline Leavitt, the 27-year-old White House press secretary, strode onto the podium to give her first briefing. It quickly became apparent that she had no clue about the crisis her boss had created.... In just eight days on the job, Trump has taken a wrecking ball to the federal government, and he and his aides apparently couldn't be bothered to give any thought to the damage and chaos that would ensue.... It's not just the spending freeze. It's the willy-nilly, and probably illegal, firing of federal employees, the federal hiring freeze, the moratorium on foreign aid, the threats and bullying unleashed on allies, and the moves to muzzle government agencies to eliminate accountability.... As the scene in the briefing room illustrated on Tuesday, reality is already beginning to catch up with Trump."~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As usual with Milbank's columns, you'll likely want to read on. This is supposed to be a gift link from laura h., and I think it is. But I had to "create an account to redeem [my] free article.'" The link is very long, but don't ditch the extension because I suspect that therein lies the freebie. ~~~

~~~ Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "For now, the freeze is, well, frozen. But however this ends, it should be emphasized that Trump has done more than spark a fiscal and political crisis; he has sent us headlong into another constitutional crisis. The president of the United States has no legal authority to place a blanket hold on congressional appropriations.... To upset this balance of power -- to give the president, in effect, the power of the purse -- is to unravel the constitutional system in its entirety.... [The president] is a servant of the Constitution, bound by its demands.... Trump ... sees no distinction between him and the office.... The freeze, then, is Trump's attempt to make [his] fanciful claim [that Article II gives him the right to do whatever he wants] ... a reality.... He wants to make the Constitution a grant of absolute and unchecked authority. He wants to remake the government in his image. He wants to be king."

Nick Miroff & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said he will order the construction of a mass detention camp that can hold 30,000 deportees at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, outlining plans Wednesday for the largest U.S. facility of its kind. Speaking at the White House before signing the Laken Riley Act, a bill that is expected to expand the number of immigrant detainees held in U.S. custody for minor property crimes, Trump said the massive camp would 'detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people' and be 'a tough place to get out of.'... As Trump rushes to try to deport 'millions' of migrants, one obstacle U.S. authorities face is that some countries block or limit U.S. deportation flights. Trump said he would overcome their opposition." The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Maybe you think it's great we're sending these hardened criminals to Guantanamo, but there's this: the other day I watched an NBC reporter (I think it was Jacob Soboroff) interview one of the Guatemalan deportees whom Trump had sent back to her home country. This woman did indeed have a criminal record: several years ago, while babysitting a grandchild, she discovered she needed some items at the local grocery store, so she put the small child in her car without a child carrier and took the child to the store. Yes, since child carriers are now required by law, this woman broke the law and possibly risked the child's safety (my children did not have child carriers of the quality now required by law). But am I afraid of this woman? Is she the "worst criminal"? Is she "threatening" me? I don't think so.

Alayna Treene & Piper Blackburn of CNN: "Federal workers who don't want to return to the office are being offered buyouts, according to a memo posted to the US Office of Personnel Management's website Tuesday night.... Workers who accept the buyout will need to resign by February 6 and would receive severance paid through September 30.... The National Treasury Employees Union sent a message to workers Tuesday saying the buyout offer was a scare tactic and urging them not to resign.... The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers union, argued Tuesday that the buyouts were part of larger plan to get rid of civil servants." ~~~

     ~~~ ⭐Update: According to Judd Legum, whose writings I've followed for more than a decade, this is not a "buyout" at all, even though it's been widely reported as such. Legum writes, "The deal is if you agree to resign in September you can continue working remotely until then. There is no buyout or severance." A buyout, according to Merriam & Webster (whose work is being recognized more and more) is "a financial incentive offered to an employee in exchange for an early retirement or voluntary resignation." But Legum, who I would peg as a reliable source, says the only "benefit" associated with this "offer" is that the employee will be allowed to continue to work from home if s/he promises to quit by September. Obviously, for many people that is a sort of financial incentive as they can avoid the costs of driving to work as well as other ordinary expenses associated with on-site work: childcare, meals out, maintaining/purchasing work-appropriate clothing, etc. But it is not a "buyout" in the commonly-understood sense of the word because the employee who agrees to the terms of this agreement does get a dime more in her paycheck. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: During his confirmation hearing Wednesday, "Democrats blistered [Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr.] with questions that he struggled to answer, such as whether he stood by his most controversial claims appearing on podcasts and in books and interviews, and how he would oversee the Department of Health and Human Services if confirmed as its secretary. They pushed him to defend his shifting stance on abortion and whether he would simply rubber-stamp ... Donald Trump's agenda, or if he would use his perch to continue raising doubts about vaccines -- often quoting Kennedy's own words back at him.... A Washington Post review identified dozens of times in recent years in which Kennedy disparaged vaccines, such as his claims that vaccines 'poisoned an entire generation of American children.'... Republicans countered that Kennedy had reassured them of his qualifications and tried to keep the focus on America's high rate of chronic disease, which Kennedy has vowed to bring down. Several praised him as a would-be reformer.... If confirmed, the longtime anti-vaccine activist would oversee the nation's vaccine supply. The avowed critic of agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration would be empowered to remake them." ~~~

~~~ Adam NaGourney & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "For decades, Caroline Kennedy kept silent.... That has meant that Ms. Kennedy has said little as her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spread false health information during a pandemic, challenged a Democrat for president, endorsed Donald J. Trump for the White House and then lobbied for a place in his cabinet. She was largely silent as he used his family's name -- and the likeness and memory of her father -- to advance his campaign while, in the view of many of the Kennedys, defying what the family has stood for across generations.... But ... on the eve of his Senate confirmation hearing, Ms. Kennedy described Mr. Kennedy as not just unqualified to run the Department of Health and Human Services, the position that President Trump has nominated him to fill, but also a 'predator' and a hypocrite." MB: You will want to hear Ms. Kennedy's message, though perhaps not on a full stomach. ~~~

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors moved on Wednesday to drop their last remaining efforts to prosecute ... [Donald] Trump's two co-defendants in the classified documents case brought by the former special counsel Jack Smith. In a single-page filing, prosecutors asked a federal appeals court in Atlanta to dismiss an appeal that had been filed before Mr. Trump took office seeking to reinstate criminal charges against the two men, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. If the appeals court agrees to drop the government's challenge, it would be the formal end of the case in which Mr. Trump was accused of illegally holding onto classified materials after he left office in 2021. He was also charged with conspiring with Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira to obstruct the government's repeated efforts to retrieve them.... In their filing on Wednesday, prosecutors gave no explanation for why they had decided now to dismiss the appeal against Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira. But it was widely expected that Mr. Trump or the Justice Department would take some sort of action to have the case against the men dropped. Mr. Nauta, in particular, remains close to Mr. Trump and still serves as one of his top personal aides in the White House." ~~~

     ~~~ MB: Bear in mind that this is not the real DOJ. It's the Trump DOJ. Or DOI (Department of Injustice), for those who wish to be a bit more accurate in their description. And if they're un-prosecuting, then they're not really prosecutors, are they? There are a number of reasons to drop charges against indicted people, but "Trump Crony" ought not to be one of them. ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Senior Justice Department officials under ... [Donald] Trump have held discussions with federal prosecutors in Manhattan about the possibility of dropping their corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams of New York, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. The officials have also spoken to Mr. Adams's defense team since Mr. Trump took office, the people said. The defense team is led by Alex Spiro, who is also the personal lawyer for Elon Musk.... Mr. Adams was indicted in September on charges including bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions after an investigation that began in 2021. He has pleaded not guilty ... and contended that he is being prosecuted because he criticized the Biden administration." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Tracey Tully & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Robert Menendez, New Jersey's disgraced former senator who was once one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington, was sentenced on Wednesday to 11 years in prison after being convicted of being at the center of an audacious and yearslong international bribery scheme. The courtroom in Lower Manhattan was packed but silent as the judge imposed one of the longest sentences ever issued for a federal official in the United States.... Mr. Menendez, a skilled orator known for holding forth on the Senate floor, wept intermittently as he addressed the court before the sentence was announced. He has said that he planned to appeal the jury's guilty verdict, but told [Federal District Judge Sidney] Stein that he stood before him a 'chastened man' who had suffered the ignominy of a guilty verdict and the resignation of his Senate seat.... Two of Mr. Menendez's co-defendants -- the businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes -- were also sentenced on Wednesday. Mr. Daibes received a seven-year prison sentence and a fine of $1.75 million. Mr. Hana was sentenced to slightly more than eight years in prison and fined $1.3 million." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bob Menendez is a crook, and that is a shameful betrayal of the public trust. But he's not as big a crook as Donald Trump, IMO.

~~~~~~~~~~

Syria. Christina Goldbaum of the New York Times: "The rebel coalition that seized control of Syria last month appointed its leader, Ahmed al-Shara, as president of the country to preside over a transitional period, Syrian state media reported on Wednesday. A spokesman for the coalition ... also declared that the Constitution had been nullified and the legislature and army formed under the country's deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad, were dissolved, according to Syria's state news agency, SANA. The declarations amounted to the country's first official steps toward establishing a new government after the rebel coalition, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or H.T.S., swept into the capital, Damascus, last month in a lightning offensive that toppled Mr. al-Assad. Mr. al-Shara, who led that coalition, has since been serving as the country's de facto leader."

January 28, 2025

Marie is NOT on the way to Guantanamo, her computer(s) are down. She will be back to light a fire under Fat Hitler's flabby butt asap. Do not worry.