The Conversation -- December 28, 2024
Here We Go Again. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen informed Congress on Friday that if lawmakers do not act to raise or suspend the nation's debt limit as soon as Jan. 14 she would most likely need to begin using 'extraordinary measures' to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt.... Ms. Yellen in 2021 called the debt limit 'destructive' and said it should be eliminated. Her immediate predecessor as Treasury secretary, Steven T. Mnuchin, expressed similar sentiments in 2017 when he described it as a 'somewhat ridiculous concept' that did not limit spending." The AP report is here.
Meryl Kornfield, et al., of the Washington Post: "Homelessness in the United States surged by 18 percent from January 2023 to January 2024, climbing to the highest level on record, according to an estimate published Friday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of an annual count.... The report attributed the historically high number to several factors, including a multiyear surge in home prices and fast-rising rent costs, a reduction in covid-era assistance, stagnating wages and overburdened homeless service systems -- the latter at times exacerbated by influxes of migrants." The AP story is here. MB: Now who thinks Donald Trump, his billionaire/multi-millionaire entourage & his Congressional lackeys will be mitigating the circumstances that have got us here? ~~~
~~~ Thom Hartmann: has an idea of one thing we could do to alleviate the chasm of lifestyles of the rich and poor: "We are literally the only developed country in the world with an entire multi-billion-dollar for-profit industry devoted to parasitically extracting money from us to then turn over to healthcare providers on our behalf. The for-profit health insurance industry has attached itself to us like a giant, bloodsucking tick.... I found two major barriers to our removing that tick from our backs. The early opposition, more than 100 years ago, to a national healthcare system came from southern white congressmen (they were all men) and senators who didn't want even the possibility that Black people could benefit, health-wise, from white people's tax dollars. (This thinking apparently still motivates many white Southern politicians.)... [The other major reason: health insurance executive who get rich] from saying 'No!' to people who file claims for payment of their healthcare costs.... Medicare For All, like Canada has, would save American families thousands every year immediately and do away with the 500,000+ annual bankruptcies in this country that happen only because somebody in the family got sick. But it would kill the billions every week in profits of the half-dozen corporate giants that dominate the health insurance industry."
AND we could stop allowing/encouraging police throughout the country to abuse the unfortunate: ~~~
David Nakamura of the Washington Post: Police abuses of vulnerable people "are documented in exhaustive Justice Department reports that followed sweeping police misconduct investigations in ... [Worcester, Massachusetts; Phoenix, Arizona; Lexington, Mississippi;] Minneapolis; Louisville; Memphis; Trenton, New Jersey; and Mount Vernon, New York.... Beyond the most shocking examples of police violence, the reports have highlighted ... the pernicious ways that other patterns of unlawful policing can disrupt and cause deep harm to local communities. Investigators detailed how officers sexually assaulted women, mistreated the homeless, exploited poor people, threatened and abused minors, taunted and arrested people suffering from mental and behavioral health episodes and punished protesters exercising their constitutional rights to free speech -- especially those who denounced police violence....
"Federal authorities said the findings provide a road map for police accountability plans that could help reduce abuses and improve community trust. But the Justice Department has nearly run out of time to enter legally binding consent decrees that would require jurisdictions to change use-of-force policies, officer training, disciplinary procedures, data collection and public disclosure. Members of the incoming Trump administration have vowed to reverse federal oversight of local policing, and some cities have aggressively opposed the Justice Department's intervention."
One Hundred Years of Soli ... d Waste. Dennis Overby of the New York Times: "It took roughly four billion years for the first living bit of protoplasm, bred perhaps in an undersea volcanic vent or a warm pond, to grow and evolve into the 1.1 trillion tons of biomass that inhabit Earth today. But all of that is outweighed by the plastic, concrete and other material that humans have produced in the last century alone in the form of everything from roads and skyscrapers to cars, cellphones, paper towels and bobblehead dolls.... There are now 1.3 trillion tons of man-made stuff on the planet, almost all of it built in the 20th century. The biggest portion of it is more than 600 billion tons of concrete, followed by about 400 billion tons of sand, gravel and other aggregate materials used in construction.... Humans use 100 times their own mass in plastic." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm happy to say I've never owned a "non-stick" pan (stainless steel, IMO, is as easy to clean as "non-stick"), and the dishes I'll have dinner on today have been in my family for more than 100 years. But I confess I do have too much stuff, much of which will wind up in a landfill. In fairness to Republicans, there is an upside to the poverty & hardship they impose upon the hoi polloi: people who can't afford too much stuff often don't buy it.
Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "In early 2000, scientists at 3M, the chemicals giant, made a startling discovery: High levels of PFAS, the virtually indestructible 'forever chemicals' used in nonstick pans, stain-resistant carpets and many other products were turning up in the nation's sewage.... The data suggested that the toxic chemicals, made by 3M, were fast becoming ubiquitous in the environment. The company's research had already linked exposure to birth defects, cancer and more. That sewage was being used as fertilizer on farmland nationwide, a practice encouraged by the Environmental Protection Agency. The presence of PFAS in the sewage meant those chemicals were being unwittingly spread on fields across the country. 3M didn't publish the research, but the company did share its findings with the E.P.A. at a 2003 meeting, according to 3M documents reviewed by the The New York Times. Today, the E.P.A. continues to promote sewage sludge as fertilizer and doesn't require testing for PFAS, despite the fact that whistle-blowers, academics, state officials and the agency's internal studies over the years have also raised contamination concerns." (Also linked yesterday.)
President Trump alone possesses the consummate deal-making expertise, the electoral mandate and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform.... President Trump is one of the most powerful, prolific and influential users of social media in history. Consistent with his commanding presence in this area, President Trump currently has 14.7 million followers on TikTok with whom he actively communicates, allowing him to evaluate TikTok's importance as a unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech. -- From a brevis in braggadocio (new Latinish legal term), filed by Donald J. Trump, in one of the goofiest screeds ever submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States ~~~
~~~ Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump filed an unusual brief on Friday asking the Supreme Court to block a law that requires TikTok to be sold or shut down by Jan. 19. The deadline falls a day before Mr. Trump is to be inaugurated, and the brief asks the justices for the delay so that he may address the matter. 'President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture,' the brief said, 'and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.' The brief took no position on the legal question that the justices are set to consider when they hear arguments in the case next month: whether Congress violated the First Amendment by effectively banning TikTok. Adopting a distinctive tone at odds with the sober and measured arguments more typical in Supreme Court advocacy, the brief instead touted Mr. Trump's expertise." ~~~
~~~ Here's a very fine example of Trump's incomparable social media expertise: ~~~
~~~ Aaron Pellish & Alayna Treene of CNN: "In a message that appeared to be intended as a private communication to Elon Musk..., Donald Trump said in a social media post Friday that Microsoft founder Bill Gates had asked to meet with him. 'Where are you? When are you coming to the "Center of the Universe," Mar-a-Lago. Bill Gates asked to come, tonight. We miss you and x! New Year's Eve is going to be AMAZING!!! DJT,' Trump wrote in the Truth Social post." MB: Pathetic. On the same day he makes a legal declaration that he's a social media expert, he shows he doesn't even know how to send a private message (DM) over his own failing social media platform. Moreover, his pining for Elon is grotesque and sad.
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: Donald Trump's "fitness regimen: a grueling circuit of backpedals, climbdowns and walkbacks.... The next event in Trump's backpedaling decathlon: his beloved tariffs. His pick for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has already called Trump's oft-threatened tariffs a mere 'bargaining chip' to start negotiations. 'When you're running for office, you make broad statements so people understand you,' Lutnick told CNBC. And Trump, after a campaign of China-bashing, is back to exalting Xi Jinping. 'He's an amazing guy,' Trump said of the Chinese dictator.... [Trump's] allies are apparently shocked to discover that Trump does not always keep his word.... The $2 trillion in annual spending cuts promised by Elon Musk, the replacement of renewable energy with 'drill, baby, drill,' and Trump's call for the biggest tax cut in history simply aren't going to happen. At the same time, it's a safe bet that Trump won't shock the economy by deporting millions of people, nor will he launch a trade war with across-the-board tariffs of 100 percent.... The menace of Trump is less in the policies he has announced than in the impulsive and inexplicable things he will do, without forewarning or any apparent forethought." Milbank also lists some of Trump's "ordinary, day-to-day outrages of the past couple of weeks." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ian Austen & Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Two top Canadian ministers met on Friday with members of ... Donald J. Trump's circle in Florida about a border security plan that Canada hopes will ward off Mr. Trump's threats to impose economically damaging tariffs on imports from the country. But the ministers returned home without any assurances." ~~~
~~~ Marie: O Canada, O Canada, Stop Doing This, Canada. You're a proud nation. You've got, like, maple syrup and crude oil and Mounties and hockey players -- and Medicare for All. Quit humiliating your people with your repeated pilgrimages to bow & scrape before the Count of Mar-a-Lardo. Show some diplomatic dignity and tell him to fuck off.
Ben Berkowitz & Zachary Basu of Axios: "A MAGA-world civil war erupted over Christmas when a social media post on American culture turned into a pitched battle over race, immigration and billionaires versus the working class.... The fight exposes one of the MAGA movement's deepest contradictions: It came to prominence chiefly via the white, less-educated, working class but is now under the full control of billionaire technologists and industrialists, many of them immigrants.... The skirmishes started Sunday when Trump named venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as his adviser on AI policy. Krishnan's appointment triggered an anti-Indian backlash on social media, particularly given his past advocacy for lifting caps on green cards. Vivek Ramaswamy escalated the conflict into a full-blown war Thursday morning with a post on X blaming an American culture that 'venerated mediocrity over excellence' for the growth in foreign tech workers." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Funny, but none of these feuding MAGA folks seems to be mentioned all the undocumented & documented workers the Trump Organization hires to work on its properties -- and most of them are not highly-skilled engineers who necessarily hail from lands Vivek would describe as having "superior cultures." ~~~
~~~ Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Several conservative critics of billionaire Trump surrogate Elon Musk were stripped of their verification badges on X after publicly challenging Musk's stance on immigration. Trump ally Laura Loomer, New York Young Republican Club president Gavin Wax, InfoWars host Owen Shroyer, and the pro-Trump ConservativePAC were all stripped of their verification badges after criticizing Musk's controversial remarks about American workers and foreign H-1B visa holders.... Several of the affected accounts appear to be affiliated with the pro-Trump ConservativePAC, which also expressed opposition to Musk's remarks on immigration." (Also linked yesterday.) MB: Wait, wait! I thought X was supposed to be Free Speech Central. Apparently, "free speech" does not include criticism of the Petit Billionaire.~~~
~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "... Steve Bannon came down hard against tech billionaire Elon Musk in the battle that flared up this week between right-wing businessmen and the MAGA activist class, The New Republic reported on Friday. Bannon, who lauded Musk for helping Trump win the election but just a year prior was blasting him as selling 'snake oil,' made it clear which side he is on in a new tirade in his 'War Room' show on Friday. 'H-1B visas? That's not what it's about. It's about taking American jobs and bringing over essentially what have become indentured servants at lower wages,' said Bannon. 'This thing's a scam by the oligarchs in Silicon Valley to basically take jobs from American citizens, give them to what become indentured servants from foreign countries, and then pay 'em less. Simple....'" ~~~
~~~ Ahmad Austin of Mediaite: "... Bannon has been critical of Musk for similar issues in the past. Back in 2023, he ... [said of Musk,] '... You're a war profiteer. You're sleeping with the enemy, brother, and you've been doing it because all you -- you're not an American nationalist. You're not even an American. All you are is a globalist, OK, a globalist; and you will go where everybody -- anybody writes you a check and you would take it from Adolf Hitler himself because you're taking it from people that are as bad as Adolf Hitler -- the murderous regime of the Chinese Communist Party, which you praised on their 100th anniversary.'" ~~~
~~~ Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Elon Musk hit back on Friday at the 'contemptible fools' that he argued must be removed from the Republican Party amid a MAGA civil war over immigration."
Larry Neumeister of the AP: "A federal judge is signaling that Rudy Giuliani's contempt hearing next Friday might not end so well for ... [him] as two Georgia election poll workers try to collect a $148 million defamation award they won against him. Judge Lewis J. Liman in Manhattan issued an order Friday in which he was dismissive of what he described as attempts by Giuliani and his lawyer to dodge providing information to the election workers' lawyers. And he said the litigants should be ready at the contempt hearing to explain why he should not grant a request by lawyers for the two election workers that he make adverse inferences from evidence in the case that would put Giuliani's Palm Beach, Florida, condominium in danger of being surrendered to satisfy the defamation award."
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Texas. Molly Hennessey-Fiske of the Washington Post: "A quarter century ago, prompted by a spate of abandoned babies in Houston, this state became the first in the country to pass a safe haven law allowing parents to relinquish newborns at designated places -- without questions or risk of prosecution. Yet 'Baby Moses' surrenders remain rare in Texas, and another series of abandoned infants since spring in the Houston area has prompted much soul-searching.... Statewide, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, at least 18 babies have been abandoned this year.... They're happening in a state with one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bans -- with no exceptions for rape or incest -- and one of the highest birth rates.Critics argue that's no coincidence. Texas is ranked next to last for women's health and reproductive care, according to the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund...."
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Russia, et al. Mary Ilyushina & Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "Evidence suggests the Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day was brought down by Russia, the White House said Friday.... National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters ... the evidence went beyond widely circulated images of the wreckage but did not provide details." (MB: Would a Trump White House make a similar report implicating Russia? I doubt it.) (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Max Boot of the Washington Post: "Russia has a history of downing passenger planes -- and covering it up.... It makes eminent sense that Flight 8243 could have been downed by Russian air defenses at a time when the Grozny region was under attack by Ukrainian drones. It's easy to imagine a Russian air-defense crew mistaking the civilian aircraft for a drone and opening fire. Such accidents, admittedly, happen in wartime everywhere.... But when civilized nations commit such offenses, they apologize and make reparations. They don't refuse to admit what they did or try to blame someone else for their actions. That, however, has been the Kremlin's reprehensible pattern dating from the 1983 downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 -- making its protestations of innocence in Wednesday's case all the more dismissible." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ukraine, et al. Lolita Baldor & Matthew Lee of the AP: "The United States is expected to announce that it will send $1.25 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Friday, as the Biden administration pushes to get as much aid to Kyiv as possible before leaving office on Jan. 20. The large package of aid includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the HAWK air defense system. It also will provide Stinger missiles and 155 mm- and 105 mm artillery rounds, officials said."
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Reader Comments (8)
Inauguration day this year will be a federal holiday. Being on the third Monday in January which is also the designated observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
What a combination.
@Bobby Lee: Well, ain't that something. I'm looking forward to hearing Donald devote his inaugural speech to the memory of Dr. King & the civil rights movement.
$100k Prayers
"At Trump’s inauguration, reports of a pay-to-pray
(RNS) — According to a report, you can pray with Trump and Melania. It'll only cost you $100,000.
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly planning an interfaith prayer service the day before his inauguration, where participants can worship alongside the businessman and his wife, Melania.
But those who want to join need to weigh the price of prayer: Tickets to the service will be awarded only to those who donate at least $100,000 to Trump’s inaugural ceremonies, or who raise $200,000."
CFPB
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday it filed a complaint against three of the country’s largest banks and the operator of Zelle, the most widely available peer-to-peer payment system, “for allowing fraud to fester” on that network.
CFPB alleges that, as a result, hundreds of thousands of customers of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo have lost more than $870 million since Zelle launched seven years ago. Zelle disputes that estimate.
CFPB notes that customers who filed fraud complaints “were largely denied assistance, with some being told to contact the fraudsters directly to recover their money.”"
Re: Pay to pray (prey?).
If Donald & Melania send me $100,000.00, I'll go and pray with
them. Cash only. No checks or credit cards.
I'll even pay for my own transportation.
The Fat out of shape, can’t move without my golf cart, waddling, quacking, pretentious pile of flabby faux tough guy goo fascist loves him a good rasslin’ match!
Oh, not that honest to god, tip-top physical condition Greco-Roman style of wrestling, with fair play, rules, and sportsmanship. He loves him the phony, rigged, cheap-ass bread and circus for the drooling morons, Vince and Linda McMahon shirt tearin’, sexual assault perpetratin’ kind of rasslin’, where the juiced up steroidal play actors have stoopid names like Hulk and Head Crusher, and Bone Breaker, where rules are for losers and chaos reigns, where the show is all and reality never intrudes.
So now we’re about to see Fatty Fuckwit vs. Gazillionaire Gestapo Boy in the Narcissus Ring, watched intently by tomato throwing MAGA dunces, going belly to belly to see who will emerge vainglorious.
Let the stoopid begin!
Just one question…how hard is it to rassle with marionette strings attached?
Git yer popcorn, kids!
Gee, maybe if the weather is too bad for the "Florida Man" he'll ask for the ceremonies to be held at Mar a Lago. Afterwards he could offer a NCAA football Championship watching party at special inflated rates with rooms extra.
You can forget about consumer protection when Fatty and the DOGEs and the billionaire oligarchs take over. The name will be changed to consumer predation.