The Conversation -- March 20, 2024
Jeanna Smilek of the New York Times: "Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and continued to forecast that borrowing costs will come down somewhat by the end of the year as inflation eases. Fed policymakers have been battling rapid inflation for two full years as of this month, and while they have been encouraged by recent progress, they are not yet ready to declare victory over price increases. Given that, they are keeping interest rates at a high level that is expected to weigh on growth and inflation, even as they signal that rate cuts are likely in the months ahead. Officials held interest rates steady at about 5.3 percent, where they have been set since July 2023, in their March policy decision."
Marie: Apparently the House held another sham impeachment hearing Wednesday to try to develop some dirt on President Biden. I haven't found a story on it yet, but for Republicans it was, according to on-air MSNBC opinionators, a disaster. I'll look for something overnight.
~~~ Update. Some stories are trickling in. Lisa Mascaro of the AP makes a stab at reporting on whatever Jim Comer thinks he's doing. Comer's star witness testified from jail where he is serving a long term for fraud. Not to be outdone, the Democrats' top witness was Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani's former sidekick who tried in vain to sell fake claims against Biden. Lev, who's been released from jail now, said he and his pals could never find anything on Joe Biden.
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday urged an appeals court not to believe Donald Trump's recent assertion that he is unable to secure a bond for more than $450 million to satisfy the civil business-fraud judgment against him.... On Wednesday, Dennis Fan, a lawyer for James, told the appeals court that Trump's claims of striking out with insurance companies are no reliable because they are based on sworn statements from Gary Giulietti, a personal friend of Trump's, and from Alan Garten, general counsel at the Trump Organization. Fan wrote that New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who oversaw James's civil trial against Trump, decided Giulietti was not a credible witness. He argued that Garten was involved in the conduct at issue and 'has professional interests in this litigation.'" The AP's report is here.
"A Fantastical View of the Law.... Absurd." Devlin Barrett & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "On Monday evening, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon ordered the defense lawyers and the prosecutors in the [Trump documents] case to file submissions outlining proposed jury instructions based on two scenarios, each of which badly misstates the law and facts of the case, according to legal experts.... 'What she has asked the parties to do is very, very troubling,' Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge in Massachusetts, said of Cannon. 'She is giving credence to arguments that are on their face absurd. She is ignoring a raft of other motions, equally absurd, that are unreasonably delaying the case.'... 'The [Presidential Records Act] is just not relevant here in any way it all; it provides no defense. To even allow it to be argued at trial would create confusion for the jury,' said Barbara McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former U.S. attorney.... Cannon's order suggests that she thinks the PRA is critical to the case -- and that parts of the law are open to interpretation. Jason R. Baron, former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration, said that's just not true. He said Cannon seems to continually conflate the PRA with the Espionage Act.... Baron said the judge, who has not previously overseen a major national security trial, seems to be embracing a fantastical view of the law."
Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Biden administration on Wednesday issued one of the most significant climate regulations in the nation's history, a rule designed to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States are all-electric or hybrids by 2032. Nearly three years in the making, the new tailpipe pollution limits from the Environmental Protection Agency would transform the American automobile market. A record 1.2 million electric vehicles rolled off dealers' lots last year, but they made up just 7.6 percent of total U.S. car sales, far from the 56 percent target under the new regulation. An additional 16 percent of new cars sold would be hybrids. Cars and other forms of transportation are, together, the largest single source of carbon emissions generated by the United States, pollution that is driving climate change and that helped to make 2023 the hottest year in recorded history."
Nick Miroff & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The push by Republican-led states to take on a direct role in immigration enforcement -- historically a federal matter -- went before an appeals court Wednesday morning, a day after the Supreme Court briefly allowed Texas to begin arresting and deporting migrants under a controversial new law.... The push by Republican-led states to take on a direct role in immigration enforcement -- historically a federal matter -- went before an appeals court Wednesday morning, a day after the Supreme Court briefly allowed Texas to begin arresting and deporting migrants under a controversial new law.... Whatever the 5th Circuit decides, the status of the law is likely to end up back before the Supreme Court." ~~~
~~~ Here's the New York Times' liveblog of developments.
Jason Morris & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "A Georgia judge on Wednesday greenlit an effort by ... Donald Trump and his co-defendants to appeal the decision to allow Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue to prosecute the 2020 election subversion case there. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who ruled last week against the defendants' efforts to disqualify Willis, has issued a certificate of immediate review, allowing the case to be revealed by a Georgia Appeals Court.... The move doesn't pause the prosecution but allows appeals on the disqualification effort to play out before trial."
https://t.co/XW2oVEACnz pic.twitter.com/LfbowsmEDe
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) March 20, 2024
~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.
Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump's long fixation on mental fitness followed years of watching his father's worsening dementia -- a formative period that some associates said has been a defining and little-mentioned factor in his life, and which left him with an abiding concern that he might someday inherit the condition. While much remains unknown about Alzheimer's, experts say there is an increased risk of inheriting a gene associated with the disease from a parent.... Trump's father's condition also drove a wedge into his family, which fell into years of lawsuits that alleged in part that Donald Trump sought to take advantage of his father's dementia to wrest control of the family estate -- litigation that introduced reams of medical records detailing Fred Trump Sr.'s condition.... (A White House spokesman, Andrew Bates, told The Post via email that neither of [President] Biden’s parents had dementia.)"
Ireland. Megan Specia of the New York Times: "Leo Varadkar, Ireland's barrier-breaking taoiseach or prime minister, said on Wednesday that he would step down as the country's leader, days after the defeat of two referendums that the coalition government had championed and after years of waning public support for his political party, Fine Gael. Ireland is scheduled to hold a general election early next year, and his decision will not trigger an earlier election, he said.... Citing reasons both 'personal and political,' Mr. Varadkar said he would step down from the party leadership effective immediately and would continue to serve as prime minister until his party elects a new leader.... There had been little indication of his decision just days earlier when he visited the White House and met with President Biden for St. Patrick's Day.... Mr. Varadkar, who is gay and whose father is of Indian heritage, broke a number of barriers when he became the country's youngest-ever leader in 2017."
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Primary Races
Chris Cameron & Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "It was the biggest primary night since Super Tuesday, and there were few surprises in the results. Bernie Moreno won the Republican Senate primary in Ohio, wielding the powerful endorsement of ... Donald J. Trump to become the Republican nominee in perhaps the most consequential race in the battle for the Senate this November.... Two incumbent Democratic representatives in Illinois faced significant challengers in Tuesday's primary, and survived -- demonstrating the power of incumbency. Representative Danny Davis won by a wide margin in the Democratic primary for the Seventh Congressional District.... Representative Jesús García, a progressive Democrat known as Chuy, won by a wide margin in the Democratic primary in the Fourth Congressional District in Chicago, beating his opponent, Raymond Lopez, in a landslide.... Another race featuring an incumbent, the Republican primary in the 12th Congressional District, was still undecided early Wednesday morning. Representative Mike Bost is nobody's idea of a moderate Republican, and had Mr. Trump's endorsement, but he was nevertheless challenged from his right by Darren Bailey, an ardent pro-Trump Republican who lost the governor's race to J.B. Pritzker by a wide margin in 2022....
"Vince Fong, a Republican state assemblyman, advanced in a special primary in California to complete the term of [Kevin] McCarthy, a Republican who was ousted from his role as speaker of the House and resigned soon after. Mr. Fong did not hit the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff, and two other candidates were running close for second place, with votes still outstanding.... Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump, the presumptive presidential nominees of their parties, swept to near-total victories in the states that held primaries on Tuesday: Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio.... Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the [Republican] race after Super Tuesday, took notable minorities of the vote in each primary. Her best showing was in Arizona. Mr. Biden took an even larger percentage of the vote in the Democratic primaries, winning at least 83 percent of the vote in each state as of early Wednesday. But some voters still registered their discontent with his candidacy." This is the pinned item in a liveblog.
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Congressional leaders said on Tuesday morning that they had reached an agreement on the final package of spending legislation to fund the federal government through the fall, though it was unclear whether they would be able to pass it in time to avert a brief partial shutdown over the weekend.... It will take congressional staff time to draw up text of the bill.... House Republicans, Senate Democrats and the White House had been at loggerheads over funding levels for the Department of Homeland Security. For days, they had been litigating disagreements that threatened to imperil the spending package that also funds the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies. They are facing a midnight deadline on Friday to pass the measure and avert a lapse in funding. A breakthrough on Monday night, in which Democrats and Republicans were able to agree to homeland security funding levels for the rest of the fiscal year, allowed negotiators to finalize their deal." (Also linked yesterday.)
Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "Former President Trump argued Tuesday he would have to take extreme measures in order to pay a $464 million bond due next week in his New York civil fraud case, such as selling some of his properties for cheap 'fire sale' prices. Trump blasted New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who ruled against the former president in the fraud case, in a Truth Social post objecting to having to post the bond.... 'I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!' Trump added." (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race
Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "A group of more than 100 Democratic donors and activists on Monday sent a letter to President Biden's campaign warning that progressive anger over Israel's war in Gaza is 'increasing the chances of a Trump victory.'"
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is preparing to bring back into his campaign fold [Paul Manafort,] a man convicted of multiple crimes and whom a bipartisan Senate report labeled a 'grave counterintelligence threat' because of his ties to a Russian spy.... Trump pardoned Manafort after losing the 2020 election, claiming he had been treated unfairly and sparing him years more in confinement after his convictions for money laundering, obstruction and foreign lobbying violations. And Trump has broadly dismissed the Russia probe that ensnared Manafort as a 'hoax.'" Blake goes into details of the Senate report; Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) chaired the committee that investigated and wrote the report. (Also linked yesterday.)
Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "During a campaign event in Nebraska, second gentleman Doug Emhoff criticized former President Trump for his recent comments about Democratic Jewish voters, saying he should be 'condemned' for his 'disgusting, toxic and antisemitic remarks.'... Emhoff was responding to Trump's recent interview with conservative radio host Sebastian Gorka, where he said Democrats 'hate Israel' and that Jewish voters who back Democrats hate their religion."
Timothy Snyder on Substack on the Bloodbath Candidate: "... right at the beginning, Americans at the [Trump] rally [Saturday] are told to identify themselves with people who tried to overthrow an election by force, who are celebrated as 'unbelievable patriots.' That is perhaps the most essential element of context to Trump's later reference to a bloodbath. He has already made clear, in a the collective performance, that violent insurrection is the best form of politics. Well before he actually used the word, he had instructed his audience that bloodbaths are the right form of politics.... Right at the beginning of his Vandalia speech, Trump referred to the convicts as 'hostages' and promised to pardon them 'the first day we get into office.' That pardon pledge is a second essential context for Trump's later reference to a bloodbath. Trump is saying that, as president, he will have the power to protect violent criminals who help him get into office." Read the whole essay. (Also linked yesterday.)
The Trials of Trump & the Trump Gang
Trump Urges Supremes to Declare Him Exempt from U.S. Law. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to rule that he is absolutely immune from criminal charges stemming from his attempts to subvert the 2020 election.... The brief, Mr. Trump's main submission to the justices before the case is argued on April 25, continued to press an expansive understanding of presidential immunity, one that it said was required by the very structure of the Constitution. Legal experts said Mr. Trump was unlikely to prevail but added that how and when the court rejects his arguments will effectively determine whether and when Mr. Trump's trial, which had been scheduled to start March 4, will proceed." A CBS News report is here.
David Kurtz in TPM: "U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has unlocked new achievements in weirdness and incompetence. On Monday, she issued an order directing Special Counsel Jack Smith and Donald Trump to each come up with a set of proposed jury instructions based on two hypothetical interpretations of the Presidential Records Act. Both of her interpretations are wrong as a matter of law and favorable to Trump, putting Smith in an extraordinary bind. If this is confusing, trust me, it's not you. This is a strange and unusual place to be at this stage in a criminal case. Cannon clearly doesn't understand her role or the law at issue. She is casting about for help, but doing so in a way that is not going to be helpful to her or to the case." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "Lawyers were left scratching their heads over the Mar-a-Lago trial judge's Monday order asking the prosecution and defense to propose jury instructions under the assumption that the Presidential Records Act (PRA) allowed ... Donald Trump to unilaterally decide that classified documents were personal." Includes numerous lawyerly reactions, including a reprise of the Weissmann-Moss dialog mentioned yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Zach Montague & David Adams of the New York Times: "Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, reported to federal prison in Miami on Tuesday, becoming the first senior Trump administration official to serve time over his role in the effort to subvert the results of the 2020 election. Mr. Navarro, 74, who helped engineer Mr. Trump's plans to stay in power after his electoral defeat in November 2020, was sentenced to four months in prison in January for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot. At a hastily organized news conference shortly before he was set to check into the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, a low-security prison next to the Miami-Dade zoo, Mr. Navarro reprised familiar denunciations of the Justice Department and the Biden administration." MB: "Hastily organized," I surmise, because Navarro was planning to be elsewhere this morning. Alas, Supreme Court CJ John Roberts did not catch Navarro's late-in-the-4th-quarter Hail-Mary pass; story linked below. (Maybe Balls-and-Strikes Roberts prefers baseball to football.) The Guardian's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Luckily for Sneaky Pete, he has a prison consultant, who is advising Navarro how to make his term in the hoosegow shorter and more pleasant. CNN's story is here. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. And you won't want to miss his commentary in yesterday's thread.
John Fritze of CNN: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Texas to immediately begin enforcing a controversial immigration law that allows state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally. The court's three liberals dissented. Legal challenges to the law are ongoing at a federal appeals court, but the decision hands a significant -- yet temporary -- win to Texas, which has been in an ongoing battle with the Biden administration over immigration policy. The court had been blocking the law from taking effect, issuing an indefinite stay on Monday, which was wiped away by Tuesday's order.... As is often the case in emergency applications, the court did not explain its reasoning. However, a concurring opinion written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, explained that the appeals court had only handed down a temporary 'administrative' order.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Ah, but it's only temporary. Temporary as in, "Greggers, you can forget the Constitution & destroy the lives of quite a few migrants -- but only for a little while." ~~~
~~~ Tom Levenson of Balloon Juice: "We've just entered a new phase, in which the Supreme Treason caucus just decided that states do have what we fought the Civil War to deny: the right to ignore federal rule at will[.]... Actual lawyers should weigh in, but there is little or no other area of law in which the issue is as clear and as settled as who gets to run immigration policy in the US. Spoiler: it ain't the individual states.... The legal regime the Supreme radicals are imposing on us is, in essence and in my not-a-lawyer humble opinion, a direct attack on the entire idea and edifice of Constitutional gov't."
~~~ UPDATE. David Goodman, et al., of the New York Times: "The State of Texas late Tuesday was once again prevented from enforcing a strict new immigration law that gives local police agencies the power to arrest migrants who cross the border without authorization. The order, issued by a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel before midnight, capped a day of legal whiplash and came just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the law to temporarily go into effect. The justices' ruling created confusion along the border, outraged immigration advocates and led to a show of defiance by the Mexican government. Hours later that was all moot, except the confusion.... Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court justices had kicked the case back to the Fifth Circuit, which is based in New Orleans and had been considering the Biden administration's challenge of the law." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. Here are some of the other entries: ~~~
Edgar Sandoval: :Migrants newly arrived in Texas were already expressing worry on Tuesday over whether they could face arrest by state authorities under the state's new immigration law.:
Jack Healy: "The Supreme Court's decision on Tuesday allowing Texas to arrest and deport migrants resonated deeply in Arizona, which passed its own divisive crackdown against illegal immigration more than a decade ago.... It sparked boycotts and angry protests. A political backlash removed the law's Republican architect from office. Legal challenges gutted major provisions of the law.... The Supreme Court struck down portions of Arizona's law in a 2012 decision declaring that the federal government, and not states, had the power to set immigration policy." [Yeah, well, so much for precedent, human rights & the U.S. Constitution.]
Emiliano Mega: "Mexico will not accept deportations made by Texas 'under any circumstances,' the country's foreign ministry said on Tuesday in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow Texas to arrest migrants who cross into the state without authorization. The ministry condemned the state law, known as Senate Bill 4, saying it would separate families, violate the human rights of migrants and generate 'hostile environments' for the more than 10 million people of Mexican origin living in Texas. Mexico's top diplomat for North America, Roberto Velasco Álvarez, rejected the ruling on the social media on Tuesday, saying that immigration policy was something to be negotiated between federal governments."
Mitch Smith: "Iowa lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that would make it a crime to enter the state after being deported or denied entry into the United States. The passage puts the Midwestern state on track to join Texas in enforcing immigration outside the federal system."
Miriam Jordan: "A new state law that would allow Texas to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border without authorization has raised concerns from critics that those seeking protection from persecution in their homelands could be deprived of their right to apply for asylum."
Daniel Victor: "Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, said in a statement that the Supreme Court had undermined its credibility by allowing the law to take effect and 'has opted to allow for a trial run of a constitutional crisis.' He called the law 'an alarming state overreach that will likely lead to massive civil rights violations across our state.'"
Victor: "Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican, briefly responded to the court ruling on social media, calling it 'clearly a positive development.' U.S. Senate Republicans responded more forcefully, declaring the decision 'a big win for those who believe in the rule of law and secure borders.'"
Victor: "Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said in a statement that 'we fundamentally disagree' with the Supreme Court order. The state law 'will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement, and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border,' she said." ~~~
~~~ CNN's report on the Fifth Circuit's midnight hold is here.
Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "New FBI data confirms [confirm!] previous indications that crime in the U.S. declined significantly in 2023, continuing a post-pandemic trend and belying widespread perceptions that crime is rising. The new fourth-quarter numbers showed a 13% decline in murder in 2023 from 2022, a 6% decline in reported violent crime and a 4% decline in reported property crime. That's based on data from around 13,000 law enforcement agencies, policing about 82% of the U.S. population, that provided the FBI with data through December."
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Alabama. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Alabama Republicans pushed through a sprawling measure on Tuesday that would not only ban state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities, local boards of education and government agencies, but also limit the teaching of 'divisive concepts' surrounding race, gender and identity. The bill passed with broad support in the State Legislature, but faced vehement opposition from student groups, civil rights advocates and Democrats who said it was a chilling attempt to undercut free speech and diversity efforts, especially given Alabama's history of educational segregation and racism. The bill also forbids public universities and colleges from allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity."
Arizona. Praveena Somasundaram of the Washington Post: "On Monday, [Arizona state senator Eva Burch] shared her [abortion] story in a 10-minute speech on the Senate floor. Voice shaking, Burch told her colleagues that she'd visited a clinic on Friday where she was given an invasive ultrasound and counseling on alternatives to abortion, despite already knowing her pregnancy was not viable. Required under Arizona law, those experiences, Burch said in the speech, were 'cruel.'... 'There's no one-size-fits-all script for people seeking abortion care, and the legislature doesn't have any right to assign one,' she said Monday.... She said she could see some GOP senators leaving the chamber.... Before she was elected to the Arizona Senate, Burch spent more than a decade working as a nurse at a women's health clinic." The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: How about those gutless Republicans who are willing to put women's health at risk but don't have the guts to even listen to a colleague describing first-hand experience with the consequences of the cruel, dangerous laws they so blithely and sanctimoniously pass. It's fine and dandy to hurt women, their families and their healthcare providers, but please have the decency not to confront me with facts that might make me "uncomfortable."
Mississippi. Emma Tucker, et al., of CNN: "Hunter Elward, a former Mississippi sheriff's deputy who faced the most serious of federal charges against him and five other officers in the torture of two Black men last year, was sentenced to 20 years in priso๏ปฟn in a highly emotional hearing Tuesday. Elward pleaded guilty in August to federal charges of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy against rights, deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice related to the January 2023 incident. The former officer was also ordered to pay $79,500 in restitution to the victims. Details from the January 24, 2023, incident in Braxton, just southeast of Jackson, eventually came to light after the victims -- Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker -- filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in June. They alleged the officers illegally entered their home and handcuffed, kicked, waterboarded and tased them and attempted to sexually assault them over nearly two hours before one of the deputies put a gun in Jenkins' mouth and shot him.... Some of the officers called themselves 'The Goon Squad' because of their willingness to use excessive force and not report it, federal prosecutors said." (Also linked yesterday.) The story has been updated to reflect the sentencing of a second former deputy. ~~~
~~~ David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Former Rankin County sheriff's deputies Hunter Elward, 31, who shot one of the victims in the face, was sentenced to just over 20 years in prison, and Jeffrey Middleton, 46, was sentenced to 17½ years. Both men and four other officers, all of them White, pleaded guilty last summer to federal civil rights charges that included conspiracy and deprivations of rights. U.S. District Judge Tom Lee called the crimes 'egregious and despicable.'... Though [Michael] Jenkins was bleeding [after Edward shot him in the mouth], the officers failed to provide medical aid and instead concocted a coverup story that included planting a gun on Jenkins and destroying evidence, authorities said."
Nebraska. Maya King of the New York Times: "A Republican state lawmaker in Nebraska wanted to make a point about explicit content in school-sanctioned books. But his decision to name two Democrats during his reading of a graphic rape scene has led to calls for his resignation. During a debate on Monday about legislation that would tighten restrictions on the content of books used in schools, the lawmaker, State Senator Steve Halloran, read a passage from a book that he said could be found in more than a dozen public libraries across the state.... Mr. Halloran stood on the floor of the State Capitol in Lincoln and interjected the names of two of his Democratic colleagues -- Machaela Cavanaugh and her brother, John -- into the text as he read it aloud. At one point, he inserted 'Senator Cavanaugh' while reading a section in which Ms. Sebold described a man demanding oral sex from her.... Shortly after Mr. Halloran finished reading the passage with his interjections, Ms. Cavanaugh responded, tearfully calling his altering of the passage unnecessary harassment that diminished the integrity of the legislation they were debating." ~~~
~~~ Update. Annie Gowen & Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: "Nebraska state Sen. Steve Halloran apologized Tuesday for reading a sexually graphic passage during debate over an obscenity bill and inserting a colleague's name into the text...." MB: The only way to interpret Steve's extemporaneous rewriting of a graphic scene is to assume that he had fantasized about violently abusing his colleague. Had he phoned in what he said on the statehouse floor (where even violent sexual remarks are likely protected speech), law enforcement would have come after him for threatening a public official.
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
CNN's live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.
Louisa Loveluck, et al., of the Washington Post: "On Jan. 7, the Israeli military conducted a targeted missile strike on a car carrying four Palestinian journalists outside Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Two members of an Al Jazeera crew -- Hamza Dahdouh, 27, and drone operator Mustafa Thuraya, 30 -- were killed, along with their driver. Two freelance journalists were seriously wounded. They were returning from the scene of an earlier Israeli strike on a building, where they had used a drone to capture the aftermath. The drone -- a consumer model available at Best Buy -- would be central to the Israeli justification for the strike.... The Washington Post obtained and reviewed the footage from Thuraya's drone, which was stored in a memory card recovered at the scene and sent to a Palestinian production company in Turkey. No Israeli soldiers, aircraft or other military equipment are visible in the footage taken that day -- which The Post is publishing in its entirety -- raising critical questions about why the journalists were targeted. Fellow reporters said they were unaware of troop movements in the area.... The Post found no indications that either man was operating as anything other than a journalist that day." (Also linked yesterday.)
Always Look on the Bright Side. Patrick Wintour of the Guardian: "Jared Kushner has praised the 'very valuable' potential of Gaza's 'waterfront property.'... [Kushner] made the comments in an interview at Harvard University on 15 February. The interview was posted on the YouTube channel of the Middle East Initiative ... earlier this month. Kushner was a senior foreign policy adviser under Trump's presidency and was tasked with preparing a peace plan for the Middle East. Critics of the plan, which involved Israel striking normalisation deals with Gulf states, said it bypassed questions about the future for Palestinians.... 'Gaza's waterfront property could be very valuable ,,, if people would focus on building up livelihoods,' Kushner told his interviewer.... 'It's a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel's perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,' Kushner said.... Kushner also said he thinks Israel should move civilians [MB: presumably Palestinians] from Gaza to the Negev desert in southern Israel.... Responding to a question about whether the Palestinians should have their own state, Kushner described the proposal as 'a super bad idea' that 'would essentially be rewarding an act of terror'." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, yes, Jared, it is "a little bit of an unfortunate situation there," but under your direction I'm sure it would be easy enough to halt the pesky relief boats that are pulling up on that valuable waterfront property to feed starving Palestinians. Certainly the peasants would thrive in the ever-so-hospitable Negev, what with its near-zero rainfall and extreme temperatures. In fairness, Jared does raise some serious practical, philosophical and ethical questions. Like, "Nature or nurture? What's the matter with Jared?" And "Can a young man who was reared by a criminal and associates with known criminals learn to think like a human being with normal affective behavior?" And "How did Harvard fail Jared Kushner?" Or, "Should Harvard drop its policy of admitting the unqualified offspring of big donors?" Or maybe, "Should Harvard develop a study-abroad program for the Negev?" From great failure can come great knowledge.
The New York Times' live updates of Tuesday's developments in the Israel/Hamas war are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Ukraine. David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukraine manufactured practically no weapons before Russia invaded in February 2022, but the local arms industry is now booming. Factories spit out shells, mortar rounds, military vehicles, missiles and other items crucial to the war effort. Production tripled in 2023 and is expected to increase sixfold this year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a Ukrainian government meeting in January. Local production is not sufficient to make up for a loss of international support, especially weapons from the United States. But with a $60 billion aid package stalled in Congress, domestic manufacturing is more critical than ever."
U.K., Sort of. Seb Starcevic of Politico: "Prince Harry could be deported from the U.S. if he lied about taking drugs on his American visa application, according to ... Donald Trump. In a preview of an interview with GB News that's set to air Tuesday evening, Trump weighed in on the visa drama enveloping Prince Harry, saying the royal, who now lives in California, shouldn't receive special treatment. 'We'll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they'll have to take appropriate action,' Trump said.... Prince Harry's visa status has been at the center of a legal row since an American conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, last year sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for access to his immigration records. Applicants for certain American visas typically must disclose whether they have ever taken drugs, and doing so can result in their application being denied. Other public figures have run into issues entering the U.S. over their reported drug use. In his memoir 'Spare,' Harry admitted to using various drugs and psychedelics including cocaine, marijuana and magic mushrooms, but it's unclear whether he declared this on his visa application." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Wait! Doesn't Harry have, like, royal immunity? Like Trump's Article II "I can do whatever I want" immunity? Only better because it's a birthright. Seriously, Trump must love the idea of lording it over a British royal, especially a royal who is a friend of the Obamas. Update: Akhilleus has some practical advice, at the top of today's Comments, to help Trump answer thorny questions like this one. And others!
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