February 11, 2023

Evening Update:

Paula Newton of CNN: "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that an 'unidentified object' had been shot down over Canadian airspace on his orders. 'I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object,' Trudeau said on Twitter. Trudeau said that he spoke with US President Joe Biden on Saturday and that Canadian forces will lead the object recovery operation. Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand tweeted Saturday that she had discussed the incident with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 'and reaffirmed that we'll always defend our sovereignty together.'" MB: It will be fun to find out just who is giving every world leader a chance to shoot down his very own UFO.

Reality Chex Exclusive. Marie Burns: Case closed. I've identified the UFO: ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

(As far as we know,) the U.S. has shot down its very first UFO: ~~~

~~~ Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The Pentagon shot down an unidentified object over frozen waters around Alaska on Friday at the order of President Biden, according to U.S. officials, less than a week after a U.S. fighter jet brought down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic. John Kirby, a White House spokesman, confirmed the incident at a news conference on Friday. U.S. officials said they could not immediately confirm whether the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft.... A U.S. official said the government did not know who owned or sent the object." CNN is live-updating developments. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP's report is here.

Yasmeen Abutaleb, et al., of the Washington Post: "On Friday, [President] Biden and [Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva] acknowledged their many similarities -- and the similarities between their predecessors -- when they met at the White House in what was intended as an important signal that their democracies are resilient. 'Both of our democracies have been tested of late,' Biden said as he welcomed Lula at the White House, adding that 'democracy prevailed' in both nations.... The two were expected to discuss democracy, including 'their categorical rejection of extremism and violence in politics,' [a] senior official said, as well as climate change and economic development. But there could be tension between the two men when it comes to the war in Ukraine, given their differing views.... Lula ... has said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bear responsibility for the war and has sought to fashion himself a senior statesman who can broker a negotiation between the two countries."

Betsy Klein & Oliver Darcy of CNN: "President Joe Biden has snubbed a Fox News request for a pre-Super Bowl interview on Sunday, as the Democratic president continues to ice out the right-wing channel and decline requests to sit down with its hosts and anchors. Biden is not expected to participate in the annual presidential Super Bowl interview with Fox, the network airing the game this year. The Biden administration attempted a workaround that avoided a sit-down with Fox News, with which the White House has a contentious relationship. Fox has canceled the interview, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet Friday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "Kate Bedingfield, a top adviser for President Biden since 2015, will step down as White House communications director later this month, NBC News has learned. And Ben LaBolt, a veteran of the Obama administration who worked on the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, will step into the role." The Washington Post story, by Michael Scherer, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

John Wagner of the Washington Post: In recent days, President Biden has been hammering Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for his plan that would require Congress to reauthorize even popular programs such as Social Security and Medicare every five years to keep them operating. On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joined in the criticism, suggesting that provisions in Scott's plan could hurt him in his bid for reelection next year in Florida, a state with the greatest share of seniors in the nation. 'That's not a Republican plan. That was the Rick Scott plan,' McConnell told longtime Kentucky radio host Terry Meiners when asked about the provision calling for the sunsetting of Social Security and Medicare every five years. 'The Republican plan, as I pointed out last fall, if we were to [become] the majority, there were no plans to raise taxes on half the American people or to sunset Medicare or Social Security,' McConnell said.... McConnell was alluding to another provision in Scott's broader 12-point plan that would require all Americans to 'pay some income tax to have skin in the game.' As Scott noted, about half of Americans currently pay no federal income tax.... [McConnell's] comments Thursday put him squarely with Biden...." A Yahoo! News story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: On Wednesday morning, Scott doubled down on his plan to sunset everything, but he also tweeted, incongruously & illogically, "I've never advocated cutting Social Security or Medicare and never would."

** Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's legal team turned over more materials with classified markings and a laptop belonging to an aide to federal prosecutors in recent months, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. The Trump attorneys also handed over an empty folder marked 'Classified Evening Briefing,' sources said. The previously undisclosed handovers -- from December and January -- suggest the protracted effort by the Justice Department to repossess records from Trump's presidency may not be done. The Trump attorneys discovered pages with classified markings in December, while searching through boxes at the former president's Mar-a-Lago residence. The lawyers subsequently handed the materials over to the Justice Department. A Trump aide had previously copied those same pages onto a thumb drive and laptop, not realizing they were classified, sources said. The laptop, which belonged to an aide, who works for Save America PAC, and the thumb drive were also given to investigators in January." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, Trump passed out at least one classified document and distributed it to the public. How many other such documents has he given as favors to friends? How many other classified documents have aides casually photocopied or downloaded to their laptops & thumb drives? ~~~

     ~~~ Update: In the first comment today, Akhilleus has a number of perfectly plausible theories about what the Trump Family Slackers are doing with that stack of classified documents they stash in their Trump Tower apartment's linen closet.

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "A lawyer for ... Donald J. Trump appeared before a federal grand jury investigating his handling of sensitive government documents that he took to his Mar-a-Lago club and residence after he left office, two people briefed on the matter said on Friday. The lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, a member of Mr. Trump's legal team who handled his responses to the government over its repeated requests for the return of such records, could offer firsthand knowledge of the search the F.B.I. undertook in August and any insights into whether Mr. Trump knew that documents remained at the club."

Evan Perez, et al., of CNN: "A document with classified markings was removed from former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home Friday during a search by the FBI, according to Pence spokesman Devin O'Malley. Six 'additional pages without such markings that were not discovered in the initial review by the vice president's counsel' were also removed, O'Malley said. Pence is currently on the West Coast with his family after the birth of two grandchildren, according to his spokesperson. The FBI is also expected to search Pence's office in Washington, DC, in the coming days, sources told CNN." MB: Gosh, mike pence has not received this much attention since the day Donald Trump tried to get him lynched. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Robert Costa of CBS News, in a tweet: "Source close to Trump legal team says Trump lawyers are expected to CONTEST Pence's grand jury subpoena on executive privilege grounds."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: Sen. John "Fetterman, 53, the 6-foot-8, tattooed and goateed Democrat from Pennsylvania who suffered a near-fatal stroke last May and went on to win one of the most competitive seats in November's midterm elections, was never going to blend in seamlessly in the marbled corridors of Congress. But his adjustment to serving in the Senate has been made vastly more difficult by the strains of his recovery, which left him with a physical impairment and serious mental health challenges that have rendered the transition extraordinarily challenging -- even with the accommodations that have been made to help him adapt.... On Wednesday, Mr. Fetterman was hospitalized after feeling lightheaded while attending a daylong Senate Democratic retreat in Washington. Initial tests showed no sign of another stroke, but he spent two days in the hospital while doctors ran additional tests.... Aides and confidantes describe his introduction to the Senate as a difficult period, filled with unfamiliar duties that are taxing for someone still in recovery: meetings with constituents, attending caucus and committee meetings, appearing in public at White House events and at the State of the Union address, as well as making appearances in Pennsylvania."

Playing It Forward. Soo Rin Kim of ABC News: "The Federal Election Commission is asking embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., to clarify by March 14 if he's running again in 2024, according to a letter sent by the agency. The letter, sent to Santos on Tuesday, noted that his primary campaign committee, Devolder-Santos for Congress, reported raising and spending funds for the 2024 election, triggering a requirement for officially declaring a reelection campaign. The letter comes after the Santos campaign, which lost its longtime treasurer last month amid questions regarding the source and use of his campaign funds, reported in its latest disclosure filing more than a dozen contributions amounting to $28,000 and expenditures amounting to $43,000 that are dated after the November election day and attributed to the 2024 primary and general election." MB: Okay, George Anthony's latest surname is Devolder-Santos. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Every Word He Says Is a Lie, Including 'And' and 'The.' Rebecca Shabad, et al., of NBC News: "Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., said in an interview on Thursday that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., consoled him after his tense exchange this week with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, but Sinema's office says she never spoke to Santos. Santos told Newsmax Thursday evening that after Romney lashed out at him ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union address, Sinema told the congressman to 'hang in there, buddy' as she was walking by. He added that she 'was very polite, very kindhearted,' unlike Romney, who he claims has 'always had prejudice towards minorities.'... Sinema's spokesperson Hannah Hurley..., call[ed] Santos' comment 'a lie.' The two lawmakers never spoke, Hurley said, and Sinema was not aware of the exchange between Santos and Romney until the GOP senator filled her in afterward.... During the same interview with Newsmax, Santos claimed he never lied about his work experience." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Grifters Gotta Grift. Marie: A couple of days ago, we learned from Jacqueline Sweet of Politico that George Santos had been charged with theft in Pennsylvania "in 2017 after a series of bad checks were written in his name to dog breeders.... The charge was dismissed and his record expunged after Santos claimed someone had stolen his checkbook" According to a lawyer who helped him, Santos "told prosecutors that he 'worked for the S.E.C.'..." Well, that's mighty odd, because ~~~

~~~ Jonathan O'Connell, et al., of the Washington Post: "The farmer whose complaint sparked the theft charge" spoke to the Washington Post, and said Santos had come to his farm to buy puppies, first offering $5,000 which he would wire-transfer. But when the farmer discovered the wire transfer had not gone through to his bank, Santos reducing the amount and "paid" with a bad check, after which Santos drove off with four puppies. After Pennsylvania police found Santos in New York in 2020, he reimbursed the farmer $1,850 to settle the matter. Three other breeders with whom Santos exchanged bad checks for puppies in 2017 "said they did not file police reports and were never paid.... Shown photographs of Santos, the farmer in York County and another of the breeders The Post contacted identified him as the man they said wrote the checks." Days later, a Staten Island chain called Pet Oasis sold puppies at auction which Santos told the company he had "rescued from an Amish puppy mill." The puppies were the same breeds as those Santos had "purchased" in Pennsylvania. Pet Oasis wrote a check to Santos' supposed charity, but Santos crossed out the charity's name on the check and changed the name to his before cashing it.

Aaron Katersky & Anne Flaherty of ABC News: "Dozens of states on Friday waded into a Texas lawsuit on the abortion pill, with Republican attorneys general calling for a nationwide ban on the drug even in states where it's legal. Democrats said doing so would be a public health disaster. The dueling legal briefs, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, represent an escalation in a heated court battle over access to the drug mifepristone, which is used to end early pregnancies and accounts for at least half of all abortions in the US. 'Blocking access to this safe and effective medication is a dangerous attack on reproductive freedom and public health,' said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed a brief on behalf of 22 Democratic attorney generals.... According to the FDA, mifepristone is safe and effective if used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. The drug was sold in Europe and China before becoming available in the U.S. in 2000, and federal officials say no serious safety concerns have emerged since then.... The Trump-appointed judge ruling on the lawsuit, Matthew Kacsmaryk, is expected to make a decision in coming weeks after extending the deadline in the lawsuit to Feb. 24."

News You Can Use. Tara Bernard of the New York Times: "The Internal Revenue Service said on Friday that most taxpayers who received one-time, state-issued payments last year to alleviate the pain of higher inflation would not need to report them as income on their federal income tax returns. But some taxpayers in four states may need to claim the special payments. Last week, the agency told taxpayers to hold off on filing their returns until it could provide further guidance on how to treat the payments, which affected millions of people in nearly two dozen states.... Taxpayers in Georgia, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Virginia ... who claim the standard deduction will not need to report the state payments as income, but taxpayers who itemize will -- if the payment provides an extra tax benefit."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Florida lawmakers passed a bill Friday expanding a program used to fly migrants to Democratic-led cities and states. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration will now be able to relocate migrants elsewhere from any state in the country, not just from Florida. The bill formally creates the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program, building out a program enacted by DeSantis last year that enabled government officials to fly migrants to destinations in blue states that have sanctuary policies in place.... Democrats and human rights advocates have decried expansion of the program, which some have compared to human trafficking. And in floor debate on Thursday, Democratic legislators also wondered why Florida taxpayer money should be used to transport migrants from other states." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida gained control on Friday of the board that oversees development at Walt Disney World, a move that restricts the autonomy of Disney, the state's largest private employer, over its theme-park complex and strips some perks enjoyed by the company for 56 years. The changes are the result of a bill that the Florida Legislature approved at the urging of Mr. DeSantis, who fought with Disney last year over an education law that limits the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The State House passed the bill on Thursday, and the State Senate followed suit on Friday. Mr. DeSantis claimed victory earlier in the week: 'There's a new sheriff in town.' It was not a total victory for Mr. DeSantis, who originally wanted to eliminate more of Disney's privileges by revoking Disney World's designation as a special tax district." MB: Trumpolini 2.0 is way worse than Trumpolini 1.0; 2.0 is just as dictatorial & much more effective.

Idaho. Mike Baker & Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "The Ph.D. student charged with murdering four University of Idaho undergraduates displayed such troubling behavior in the weeks around th killings that the university investigated his conduct around women, counseled him over a verbal altercation with a professor and ultimately fired him from his job as a teaching assistant, according to interviews and a university record.... The faculty's concerns with [Bryan] Kohberger grew in the weeks after the Nov. 13 killings, though he had not yet been identified as a suspect. They culminated in the criminal justice department's unusual decision to terminate Mr. Kohberger from his teaching assistant role in December, shortly before his arrest...." Kohberger's first meeting with university staff concerned about his behavior took place eleven days before the murders of the four students.

Texas. David Goodman of the New York Times: "The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, agreed to pay $3.3 million in a settlement with four former senior aides who said he had retaliated against them after they accused him of corruption and other crimes. Mr. Paxton agreed not only to the payment -- which would come from state funds -- but also to the text of an apology to the men, conservative lawyers who had once been in some of the state's top legal positions.... The mediated settlement agreement still must be finalized, and notes that it is contingent on 'necessary approvals for funding,' which must still come from the Texas Legislature.... [In 2020,] the aides accused Mr. Paxton of using the attorney general's office to serve the interests of a wealthy real estate investor in Austin, Nate Paul, who was a friend and political donor.... [The aides] brought their concerns to the F.B.I. and the Texas Rangers.... According to legal filings in the case, the aides had also relayed their concerns to the attorney general's office; several weeks later, they were all fired.... In addition to the lawsuit by the aides, Mr. Paxton still faces a separate criminal indictment in a securities fraud case from 2015."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Russian missiles rained down in Ukraine on Friday, striking civilian infrastructure and stripping much of the country of power and heat. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the 'mass missile strike' across the country involved more than 100 rockets, as well as seven Shahed-type drones. Ukrainian forces destroyed 61 missiles, it added.... Ukraine was without 44 percent of nuclear generation and 75 percent of thermal power capacity after the Russian attacks on Friday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said, according to Reuters.... In the wake of the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be banned from competing in next year's Paris Olympics.... President Biden will visit Poland on Feb. 20 ahead of the first anniversary of the invasion, the White House announced Friday, where he will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda to discuss collective support for Ukraine."

Canada. Vjosa Isai of the New York Times: "Toronto's mayor resigned unexpectedly on Friday night after admitting to a relationship with a staff member. John Tory made the announcement at a news conference several hours after receiving questions from The Toronto Star, which broke the story, about the relationship with a woman the newspaper said was a former employee of his office. The relationship began during the pandemic and 'ended by mutual consent earlier this year,' Mr. Tory said, calling the episode 'a serious error in judgment.'" A Huffington Post story is here.

Moldova. Suzanne Lynch & Nicolas Camut of Politico: "Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Friday nominated a new prime minister to keep her country on a pro-EU trajectory after the previous government fell earlier in the day, following months of rising Russian pressure amid the war in Ukraine. She named Dorin Recean, a noted pro-EU figure and current national security adviser, to replace Natalia Gavrilița, as the new head of government. The Moldovan parliament, where Sandu's party holds a comfortable majority with 63 out of 101 seats, will vote to confirm the nomination next week." Related story linked at the bottom of today's page. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Hmmm…so…MORE classified documents in Trump’s possession, and a laptop belonging to an aide to federal prosecutors!? And a thumb drive with more classified materials? Copied by some Trump dweeb who couldn’t see “CLASSIFIED” stamped on the pages? WTF?

Has the FBI searched all of Fatty’s other properties? How about his gaudy New York penthouse? For all we know, Melanie uses top secret docs as coasters for her nightly cocktails. Barron could be making paper airplanes out of reports on foreign nuclear capabilities. Classified documents might be framed and hanging up on the walls of one or more of his golf clubs next to the phony Time Magazine covers.

Junior might be tearing up top secret papers, rolling them up and using them to snort his nightly eight ball.

How much more does Neville Chamberlain Garland need before slapping the cuffs on this fucking criminal for jeopardizing national security and hoarding top secret documents like a kid collecting baseball cards? Except in this case, instead of batting averages, these cards show the numbers of ICBMs in Russian launch silos.

Jesus.

[Akhilleus]

And what exactly is on that laptop? How—and why— does Trump have something with information connected to the work of federal prosecutors? Maybe receipts for one of Barr and Durham’s phony junkets to Europe looking for…I dunno, who killed OJ’s wife? A map showing the actual location of King Solomon’s Mines? A recipe for Italian sausage delight? Or maybe more fantasy bullshit from Dis-Barr “proving” the Big Lie.

What a fucking clown show of an operation.

[Akhilleus]

It’s clear to not very precocious second graders that Kitara Santos is not only a pathological liar*, but a crook and a con man. But My Kevin can’t see it. How is this mook still in congress?

Oh. I know. He’s a Republican. He fits right in with the rest of the pathological liars, crooks, and con artists.

Never mind.

*No one but a pathological liar makes up shit that’s so easy to verify. “She invited me up to her office and made passionate love to me!”

“Who? Never met the guy.”

[Akhilleus]

Pack your bags, Mickey

Last week I mentioned a thought experiment developed by the philosopher Simone Weil in which a mathematician tasked with solving difficult problems was beaten if he turned in an answer the overlords didn’t like, even if it was true, the correct answer.

This is DeSantolini. You say something he doesn’t want to hear, even if it’s true, and you get a beating.

Weil’s initial solution for the mathematician was to depart. Just leave rather being forced to knuckle under to a dictatorial power who requires everyone to bow to his whims.

Disney should take her advice. Right now, they should set up a committee to begin talks with other states to move the whole thing out of DeSantolini Land. Fuck him and his sieg heiling traitor pals.

It’s highly unlikely, but it might give that fascist fuck something to think about, losing the millions (billions?) Disney brings in to the state. Let him open his own alligator park where three tooth R tourists can pay through the nose to watch him toss black history books to the gators.

I’m sure there are other states that would love to reap the benefits of Disney’s financial rewards.

[Akhilleus]

Look for the traitors to start screaming about Biden shooting down this latest high flying object. “He’s ruining foreign relations!”

The real problem will be that he did it without their permission or opportunistic prodding.

Gym Jordan to open an investigation, just as soon as he’s finished fucking up the other 75 investigations going on now.

[Forrest Morris]

I hope those FBI agents checked out little mikey's and mother's
bible collection. They're probably stuffed full of classified docs.

I have a friend who was the administrator of something in Indiana
called Arts Indiana. The object being to introduce disadvantaged and
handicapped kids to the art world with painting, sculpting, etc ,classes
paid for by the state of Indiana.
Mike Pence became governor about 10 years ago and guess what?
Kids don't need no art or instruction. Classes are cancelled.
I'm surprised he didn't replace that program with bible study.

[Akhilleus]

Forrest,

It says something about a person or group that not only don’t value the arts but that see art education as an unnecessary and wasteful pursuit.

A big reason is the arts do not foster a culture of lockstep obedience. Artists tend not to be very big on things like theocratic totalitarianism of the sort favored by little mikey.

This tendency also shows up in DeSantolini’s antipathy toward the study of anything that cannot be immediately turned into useful capitalist advantage. Mustn’t waste time and resources studying literature or the arts or social work. Must develop skills valued by Wall Street so as to 1.) keep the money flowing to the “right people”, and 2.) not encourage young people to think critically or creatively. Both are anathema to fascists.

In the case of the half pence’s antipathy, there’s an even harsher, nastier aspect because he killed a program aimed at providing arts instruction to handicapped and under privileged children. To a mean spirited charlatan like pence, those things must be earned. Only he and his kind are allowed unearned privileges.

And he wants to be president.

[Forrest Morris]

The aide with classified info on her laptop was Chamberlain Harris
who has worked for Jared Kushner & Stephen Miller's 'Office of
American Innovation', the Heritage Foundation, and Turning Point
USA.
Just before becoming trump's aide, she studied in St. Petersburg
Russia.
She was also the aide responsible for receiving and signing for the
classified material at Mar-a-Lago.
Sounds suspicious. Even more so than Hunter's laptop.
Sorry, I lost the link but the article sounded on the up and up. Time
will tell, hopefully.

[Bobby Lee]

As to the lede to todays column: What do we do if it was an honest to the gods UFO?

[Akhilleus]

Depends on what UFO means. Unilaterally Fucked up Object could refer to pretty much any R traitor in Congress, in state legislatures, on traitor supporting TV, or traitor commentators in the media, including MSM both siders.

Now if it were an actual spaceship, piloted by aliens, we’d have to worry about two things. First, they see the fascist traitors as evidence of an evil regressive, dangerously backward, violent and hateful society, in which case they decide to blow us all up, a la “Day the Earth Stood Still”. Or they’re just as regressive and violent and decide they’ve found a race of fellow thugs and decide to move here to be with their slimy fuckface soulmates.

The only good possibility is that they see violent, lying supporters of evil as deleterious to a moral universe, and wipe them all out.

I’m hoping for option three.