Monday, May 31, 2021
Power of the Purse
I don't even know precisely what this means in practical terms, but when people ask "WHAT CAN THE DEMOCRATS DOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!" the answer is, always, they control the presidency, the House, and the Senate, and at the very least can get some bills through with reconciliation. You know, the ones with ALL THE MONEY. When you control that, there are a lot of things you can do.Abbott says he’ll veto funds for the Texas legislature until it restricts voting based on Trump’s lies https://t.co/lw7PmBjyCu
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 31, 2021
I WILL FIGHT FOR YOOOOOOOOOOU
Probably Mothra!
I can't stand it, I know you planned it
As the clock got closer to the midnight deadline, Democratic lawmakers in Texas decided it was time for dramatic action to block passage of a massive overhaul of the state’s election laws. The measure had seemed all but certain to pass, but with a little more than an hour to go before the deadline Democrats staged a walkout, depriving their Republican colleagues of the 100-member quorum needed to pass the measure.
I Am Not Beautiful And Cool Anymore, Burn It All Down
Sad and a bit funny when they retired by 70 and couldn't, necessarily, burn it all down.
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Not Cowardice
.@RepDonBeyer: "Senate Republicans took political cowardice to a new level today.... Mitch McConnell admitted behind closed doors that his motivation for obstructing this measure was entirely political calculation."
— Brandi Buchman (@BBuchman_CNS) May 28, 2021
Vaccine Machine Still Too Slow
The real problem in the US isn't the overall speed, which is probably fine if not as good as it could be, but the local problems. Only 35% have a first dose in Louisiana.
More Guns, More Guns
While gun sales have been climbing for decades — they often spike in election years and after high-profile crimes — Americans have been on an unusual, prolonged buying spree fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, the protests last summer and the fears they both stoked.In March last year, federal background checks, a rough proxy for purchases, topped one million in a week for the first time since the government began tracking them in 1998. And the buying continued, through the protests in the summer and the election in the fall, until a week this spring broke the record with 1.2 million background checks.
Saturday, May 29, 2021
Happy "Suck On This" Day!
I think it [the invasion of Iraq] was unquestionably worth doing, Charlie.
...
We needed to go over there, basically, um, and um, uh, take out a very big stick right in the heart of that world and burst that bubble, and there was only one way to do it.
...
What they needed to see was American boys and girls going house to house, from Basra to Baghdad, um and basically saying, "Which part of this sentence don't you understand?"
You don't think, you know, we care about our open society, you think this bubble fantasy, we're just gonna let it grow?
Well Suck. On. This.
Okay.
That Charlie was what this war was about. We could've hit Saudi Arabia, it was part of that bubble. We coulda hit Pakistan. We hit Iraq because we could. That's the real truth.
iPhone Rumors
Minor functional improvements are good! But no mindreading. Or, specifically, not the kind of optimism which makes people think the mindreading might be coming.
Almost Miss The Dumb TechnoUtopianism
Now it's just surveillance and shitcoins.
Friday, May 28, 2021
In The Beginning
Schumer on GOP blocking of 1/6 commission: "I hope this is not the beginning of an effort from Senate Republicans to prevent this chamber from debating reasonable, common-sense legislation"
— Sam Brodey (@sambrodey) May 28, 2021
Feature
Progress!When the president says the goal is labor markets so tight that employers are competing for workers, and wages rise at the expense of profits - if you've followed macroeconomic debates over the past however many years, that's a big deal. https://t.co/s845cZ1Yxb pic.twitter.com/hRWNkQTAXt
— JW Mason (@JWMason1) May 28, 2021
The Film Is A Saddening Bore
Who Wants To Bet
(procedural votes relating to the bill do not count as voting on the bill)Schumer, in letter to colleagues, says:
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) May 28, 2021
"in the last week of the June work period, the Senate will vote on S.1, the For the People Act"
What Do Words Even Mean
An investigation...by another authority... which the DOJ is staying out of, remaining above of the fray, so to speak...Dear NYT: Staying OUT of properly predicated investigations is the definition of "remaining above the political fray," which is what Merrick Garland promised. You have turned it into the opposite. https://t.co/eDf4OFAStZ pic.twitter.com/uU583NWDY6
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) May 28, 2021
Vote For Us - We Promise To Work With The Very Fine People You Don't Vote For
The analysis — which was done by the group Way to Win and was provided to me — suggests large TV-ad expenditures on emphasizing bipartisan outreach do not appear to have paid dividends for House Democrats in the 2020 elections.People are trained to say, "bipartisan is good," because they've had 40 years of TV news and NPR telling them that, but they basically think it's necessary to get things done, and that what's stopping things from getting done is "partisanship."
So, you know, get things done. Also it's hard to make a compelling case that team D is better if you're running around saying how great team R is.
Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, the vice president of Way to Win, said that, in sum, Democrats in 2020 sent mixed messages: They touted their willingness to work with Republicans, even as Republicans called them socialists and extremists.Who wants to vote for people who won't even stick up for themselves? Who are these great Republicans you want to work with? The one who just ran an ad saying you love to kill babies?
A lot of people who earn a lot of money running campaigns, and their friends, were quick to blame "DEFUND THE POLICE" and similar for the less than stellar House performance. And, hey, maybe they're right that it didn't help, but that's in the category of "things I, a person with a $5 million campaign budget, cannot control, unlike these ads calling my opponents noble patriots, which I commissioned and ran."
Maybe you don't want to defund the police, but you should run on "defunding" the Republicans.
MISTER MCCONNELL SIR I AM DISAPPOINT
Not, OH NO I AM SO SAD.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
Why Do They Do This
For those in the back that didn’t hear me last time:
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) May 27, 2021
There were 33 hearings on Benghazi.
I don't know why many Demcocrats keep trying to equate Benghazi with 1/6. The Republicans didn't need the permission of the Democrats to hold hearings. They just held them. The problem with the Benghazi committees was that they were mostly bullshit (my memory is that the Senate issued a real report, and the House just did extended bits of performance art). Is that something to emulate or not? Are all committees the same? Do only Democrats need permission? I don't understand any of this.
The Latest Bullshit
Now progressive justice reformers, who apparently run everything now, are responsible for a nationwide spike in crime.
Do not deal with bad faith actors as if they are acting in good faith. This applies to Republicans and the centrist commentariat.
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
The Tyranny Of Cancel Culture
But “Sinclair Jenkins,” HuffPost has now confirmed, is really a pseudonym for Benjamin Welton, a 33-year-old Boston University history PhD candidate who, until this week, taught English, social studies and computer science at Star Academy, an elementary school in Massachusetts. When HuffPost contacted the school for comment, Welton was put on leave, and was fired shortly before this article was published.For years, he has also worked as a freelance writer for major media outlets, including The Atlantic and Vice, for whom he published articles about esoteric spy and detective novels. He also wrote pieces for the The Daily Caller and The Weekly Standard, which let him make his racist sympathies clear in print.
He was meanwhile using multiple pen names to secretly author fascist screeds online, in some cases advocating violence to establish a whites-only ethnostate.
Sat On A Fence But It Don't Work
Can't deal with people getting upset because people are harshing their West Wing mellow by attempting to put mild pressure on the people with power to do what they said they were going to do. The rich men in expensive suits are in the room where it's happening. Constantly.
And Who Is This Message For
I want stuff I think is good to pass because I think it's good, I also know that we're one fairly likely death away from losing the Senate before that can happen, and one or two elections away from losing the whole damn country. B-b-but not OUR fault is probably not the 2022 campaign slogan I'd go with.
America's Worst Pennsylvania State Senator
But video recently uncovered by amateur online sleuths appears to show that Mastriano — widely seen as a leading Republican contender for Pennsylvania governor in 2022 — stuck around longer and advanced closer to the Capitol building than he has previously acknowledged.Lock him up!The footage appears to depict Mastriano — wearing a ball cap and a green scarf — and his wife among a crowd passing through breached barricades set up by Capitol Police to keep rioters at bay. A man in the frame is seen dragging the barriers aside and tossing them out of the way.
Rotating Villains
We're hitting the stage of "silly people complaining just Don't Understand How Things Work." And, well, amazingly, how things work is the president and the party leadership have a lot of ways to make their priorities happen. If they are their priorities.This is a friendly reminder that, if there is a bill you really like that passed the House, that Biden supports, but that only has 48 supporters in the US Senate, then your beef is not with "The Democrats." Your beef is with Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) May 26, 2021
Also, how things work is their lickspittles fan out into the media and attack those who criticize, or try to use what little power they might have to make things happen, as being naive and stupid and counterproductive. Complainers are always doing the wrong thing. If only they would do this, instead of that, but oh well, nothing the people in power can do!
"Focus your anger on Manchin and Sinema" will be followed up with "whoa whoa, they are sensitive flowers, and if you criticize them they might wilt. Don't make them sad and mad!"
Activists Are Always Doing It Wrong And Are Really To Blame is the one constant criticism. It's less ridiculous now than it was in 2009, but I've seen this movie before, and it sucked the first time.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Lock Him Up
NEW YORK — Manhattan's district attorney has convened the grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict former president Donald Trump, other executives at his company or the business itself should prosecutors present the panel with criminal charges, according to two people familiar with the development.
We Want To Believe
Bring up Chuck Todd, and a bunch of people get tear up with nostalgia over the "great" Tim Russert. Longtime readers of this very fine blog know that Tim Russert was not, in fact, great, and certainly not "on our side." People want to believe That Fucking Newspaper is on our team, and NPR, also, too. "On our side" doesn't mean Team D, or Team Expand Social Security, but it does at least mean Team Humanity and Team Fairness Team Not Super Racist and Team Maybe We Can All Have Some Nice Things Even If We Don't Quite All Agree On How. And, well, I'm sorry, but...
When They Slow They Stop
I am losing track of congressional Dems uneasy w/ Biden tax plans. So far:
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) May 25, 2021
-- Head of DCCC warning of 22 impact
-- SALT crew
-- Manchin, others oppose 28% rate
-- Menendez, Warner disapproval of cap gains hike on +$1 million
-- Axne, others, now Tester worried about heirs tax https://t.co/fosOSyrYRD
Fun With Etymology
As I was finishing a run yesterday, an easier pain free run, I was musing to myself, "Last summer I was really hamstrung by my hamstri... hey, wait a minute."
Probably everybody knows this, but the obvious connection between "hamstrung" and "hamstring" had never occurred to me. For those who don't know, being hamstrung is the result of hamstringing.
You Had One Job
SDNY prosecutors investigating Giuliani have seized wider array of materials than previously disclosed, including email/iCloud accounts of Yuriy Lutsenko & ex Ukrainian Fiscal Service head Roman Nasirov, per redacted court doc that CNN could read by copy/pasting. w/ @KaraScannell
— erica orden (@eorden) May 25, 2021
America's Worst Economist
Adding, economists like Larry spent decades essentially setting the Fed up to be the sole necessary stewards of the economy, and their latest line is, "AKSHUALLY, the Fed is completely incompetent."
The Man Who Can Work With Republicans
With the trifecta, you don't have to work with Republicans. You do have to work with Manchin and Sinema and a few House Dems who will start causing problems very soon.
Monday, May 24, 2021
Bipartisan
Whatever the practical reasons for wanting bipartisanship (50+1 senators makes things hard because some of those senators suck!), it's just inane that "we" don't kill dead the idea that bipartisanship is, in general, "good."
Mitch is the one doing the right thing here. The opposition party should oppose.
The NAFTA Superhighway
There are believers, of course, but also people who just profess to believe in order to remain members in good standing.
If Only They'd Listened To Atrios
The wizards of Silicon Valley said people would be commuting to work in self-driving cars by now. Instead, there have been court fights, injuries and deaths, and tens of billions of dollars spent on a frustratingly fickle technology that some researchers say is still years from becoming the industry’s next big thing."Wizards."Now the pursuit of autonomous cars is undergoing a reset. Companies like Uber and Lyft, worried about blowing through their cash in pursuit of autonomous technology, have tapped out. Only the most deep pocketed outfits like Waymo, which is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, auto industry giants, and a handful of start-ups are managing to stay in the game.
Actually Old
The Traveling Wilburies were presented as a bunch of dinosuars+Tom Petty, but Dylan was "only" 48 then. Plenty of "newer" bands with 50ish performers who might not be the favorites of The Kids Today, but they aren't really portrayed as dinosaurs, either. Natalie Maines is 46. Billie Joe Armstrong is 49. Matt Berninger is 50. Carrie Brownstein is 46. Thom Yorke is 52.
On the other end, Robert Plant is 72. Sammy Hagar is 73. Tina Turner is 81. Paul McCartney is 78. Pete Townsend is 76. Grace Slick is 81. Ray Davies is 76.
First Question
Steven Kim, director of operations for Zenshin at the South Point and Island Sushi &Grill on Eastern Avenue, said he, like Meyer, still is seeing people who can make more from enhanced unemployment benefits than he can pay them.The obvious story is that every restaurant in the country is hiring at once in the (hopefully) end stage of a 14 months and counting pandemic. But, sure, it's unemployment benefits.“ ‘How much do you pay?’ that’s one of the first questions out of their mouth,” he said. “When they opened the economy, they should have decreased the amount of unemployment.”
Maybe It's Going To Be Ok
Of Course I Would Say That
For all the ambition of President Biden’s infrastructure proposal — massive spending boosts on trains and buses and a push to get Americans into electric cars — its priority for the nation’s road network is more basic: Fix them.Not going to finally learn this until Chuck Schumer's invisible friends are dead (not putting anything on Schumer, just the mythical "people from Long Island" have ruled these issues forever).
It's one thing to fix a bottleneck here and there, but...
Sunday, May 23, 2021
When You're A Star, They Let You Do It. You Can Do Anything.
Which is to say, it isn't really mysterious, it just isn't always about money, or even mostly about money, which is what too many people annoyingly claim any time you bring up anything having to do with (especially) TV journalism. It's just ratings they say, wisely. No need to say anything else!
Nah. It's about the elite protecting their own, defining the club membership. The club's perks include "no consequences."
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Slipped On The Santorum
CNN has terminated its contract with senior political commentator Rick Santorum after racist, inaccurate remarks he made about Native Americans, HuffPost has learned.
America's Worst News Agency
My statement on my termination from The Associated Press. pic.twitter.com/kf4NCkDJXx
— emily wilder (@vv1lder) May 22, 2021
Still Going
Knowing what I do know about this person, I'd guess if he wasn't vaccinated, it wasn't because he was a MAGA anti-vax nutter, but more the numerous small reasons why people don't manage to get around to it, including fear of bills which aren't supposed to happen but somehow still do. With eligibility wide open and the increased availability of walk in clinics (everything varies by location, availability is still better some places than others), that's less of a reason, but "we" are at the "drive the ice cream truck around and knock on doors" stage.
Reasonable to be optimistic in the "big picture" sense. Cases are declining and a lot of people have been vaccinated. But despite over a year of telling people otherwise, young adults, teens, and children do get Covid, and even if fairly asymptomatic, they can still get long Covid.
Friday, May 21, 2021
PizzaGaetz
Washington (CNN)Federal authorities investigating alleged sex trafficking by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz have secured the cooperation of the congressman's ex-girlfriend, according to people familiar with the matter.The woman, a former Capitol Hill staffer, is seen as a critical witness, as she has been linked to Gaetz as far back as the summer of 2017, a period of time that has emerged as a key window of scrutiny for investigators. She can also help investigators understand the relevance of hundreds of transactions they have obtained records of, including those involving alleged payments for sex, the sources said.
I Am So Tired Of Arguing With You People
PizzaGaetz
Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg was already under investigation when he had a private exchange with his one-time sports radio co-host, “Big Joe” Ellicott. In that exchange, conducted over the encrypted messaging app Signal and obtained by The Daily Beast, Ellicott expressed fear that others in their group of friends faced legal jeopardy for having sex with a 17-year-old girl.Ellicott wrote that a mutual friend, a woman who figures prominently in Greenberg‘s Venmo transactions, “knew [the minor] was underage the whole time, had sex with her, and they both went [to] see other guys.”
Go Go Go
Punchbowl News: Senate Democrats are readying their options to move ahead with a fast-track reconciliation infrastructure package if no agreement is reached between Biden and Republicans.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 21, 2021
Aides to Schumer and Sanders met with Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Thursday.
Spying On The Pentagon
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department under the Trump administration targeted the phone and email records of a prominent CNN journalist who covers the Pentagon as part of an investigation into the apparent disclosure of classified information, the network revealed on Thursday....
Federal prosecutors secretly obtained the records, which covered a two-month period beginning in June 2017. In a letter to CNN, prosecutors acknowledged they not only sought records for Barbara Starr’s work and personal email accounts, but also phone records for her offices at the Pentagon and at home, as well as for her cellphones.
Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It
Something I find incredibly grating is when "the voters" or random activists are blamed. It's your job to get them on board, and once in power, your job to keep them on board.
People with power have power. Most people don't have much power. If you need them on board, find a way to do it. Expecting the powerless to shut up about their concerns even as we know rich assholes have seats at the table constantly, and them blaming them when things don't go right, is childish and absurd.
Politicians (yes, The Democrats) do unpopular things all the time, and certainly fail to do obviously popular things [this is a weed post]. They have most of the power and agency. There are plenty of things they can control, even as they love to fault the people they can't.
Thursday, May 20, 2021
Time For Another Blogger Ethics Panel
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo advised his brother, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and senior members of the governor’s staff on how to respond to sexual harassment allegations made earlier this year by women who had worked with the governor, according to four people familiar with the discussions.CNN says it's cool because lol nothing matters....
Cuomo, one of the network’s top stars, joined a series of conference calls that included the Democratic governor’s top aide, his communications team, lawyers and a number of outside advisers, according to the people familiar with the conversations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private sessions.
PizzaGates
A “combo of things” led Bill and Melinda Gates to end their marriage of 27 years, but they are not likely to reveal their differences in divorce court or in the court of public opinion.But wow rich people is weird....
Their reasons for uniting behind the foundation aren’t entirely altruistic, a source close to the couple told People magazine. They have one specific aspiration in mind: the Nobel Prize.
“They were really interested in trying to win a Nobel Prize,” the source says. “So one thing that was part of this is, if it gets worse, then it ends that. It seems as if that was on the agenda, and that’s for both of them.”
But the Microsoft mogul may have been angling for another perk by networking with Epstein: Gates hoped the well-connected pervert could help him secure the Nobel Peace Prize, one former Gates Foundation employee told The Daily Beast.They knew he wasn't "squeaky" clean because he had already been convicted of "procuring a child for prostitution!"This person said members of the foundation’s communications team were alerted to Gates’ relationship with Epstein and were told it “was a maneuver to try to get himself a Nobel Peace Prize.” They said the tech mogul had even kept some employees on call on prize day in years past just in case he was awarded the distinction.
“We were aware of things that were potential reputational risks for the foundation and the co-chairs, Bill and Melinda,” said the former employee. “Even back then, people knew this guy wasn’t squeaky clean,” the person said, referring to Epstein.
People like to pass around all those photos of Epstein with various VIPs, but I think it's missed that quite often these photos were taken post-conviction!
Blue Trump
Federal prosecutors have been looking into whether Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration granted special access to rapid coronavirus test results for the governor’s family and other influential people, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.
Gaming Things Out
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Improper Inference
(Starmer is the Labour leader, Chapman, er, the Baroness Chapman of Darlington, is his senior aide)A personal statement: pic.twitter.com/bNyetI043X
— Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) May 19, 2021
Regular Reminder
Krasner Victory
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner easily defeated Democratic primary challenger Carlos Vega on Tuesday, taking a giant step toward winning a second term after campaigning on his record of criminal justice reform.Cops hate him, love to blame him because they don't do their jobs, but a few thousand cop families switching their voter registration to vote against him wasn't going to do it.The Associated Press projected Krasner as the winner over Vega late Tuesday night. With 22% of the projected votes counted, Krasner held a wide advantage, 65% to 35%. In a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to one, Krasner is now very likely to win November’s general election. He won the 2017 general election with 75% of the vote.
Would like an honest explanation from journalists why there was so much "KRASNER ON THE DEFENSIVE" coverage when this was the extremely likely outcome.
2. This same piece was pretty much everywhere. Was no real evidence for any of it, other than “shit the police union was saying.” pic.twitter.com/z6u4qN5na8
— David Menschel (@davidminpdx) May 19, 2021
A lot of this was white journalists pretending that people in black communities were going to come out against Krasner because gun violence (somehow Krasner's fault and not the responsibility of the shitty cops) impacts them, but, lol, no, the white racists in NE Philly and deep South Philly were the ones who voted for his opponent.Read a lot of pieces about the “backlash” to progressive prosecutors. Read very few that reflected a reality in which Krasner would get 2 out of every 3 votes cast
— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) May 19, 2021
Morning Thread
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Happy Hour Thread
I Won't Just Give Up And Let Go
Mitch McConnell, emerging from a Senate Republican meeting, says the caucus is “willing to listen to the arguments” about whether a 1/6 commission is needed. He wants to read the fine print. “I’m not saying that we have decided that this cannot go forward,” but wants it balanced. pic.twitter.com/5GYrMp2nNy
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 18, 2021
The Vast [International] Right Wing Conspiracy
It’s not just Ukraine. Justice Department investigators have asked questions about Rudy Giuliani’s work connected to Romania, according to two people familiar with the probe into former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer....
What Giuliani didn’t mention in the letter was that he wrote it on behalf of the Freeh Group, a consulting firm started by former FBI director Louis Freeh, which paid the former mayor a retainer to work on the Romania project. In 2018, Giuliani declined to reveal the amount, and his letter is the only Romania-related work he did that is known to the public. Gabriel “Puiu” Popoviciu, a Romanian property mogul who was sentenced to seven years in prison in a real estate fraud case, had hired Freeh in 2016 to review the evidence against him. The Freeh Group found “numerous factual and legal deficiencies” in the legal case that led to his conviction. A spokesperson for the Romanian president told POLITICO that Iohannis never replied to the letter.
Madness
And it wasn't just Trumpkins. All the glibertarian nerds like Nate Silver have been Getting Very Mad about people wearing masks, and it all probably helped lead to the CDC decision.I’m in DC today and just saw a group of girls on the Potomac rowing—outside in the sunshine—all of them with masks on. Just totally insane.
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) May 18, 2021
Outdoor masking was probably never had more than an marginal overall benefit, though of course individuals have their own idiosyncratic risk concerns, but, also, who gives a shit? Most younger people aren't vaccinated yet, and what's the harm.
The Law Protects But Does Not Bind
Prove me wrong!
Monday, May 17, 2021
America's Most Corrupt Attorney General
Poor America's Mayor
In the weeks since the feds raided Rudy Giuliani’s apartment and office in late April, close allies have tried to ferry a slew of emergency requests to former President Donald Trump and his advisers.I am no Bob Loblaw, but what is being asked of Trump seems fairly trivial from the perspective of actually being of any cost to Trump, so he's just being petty. I had no idea!But according to three people familiar with the matter, Trump, as well as several of his legal advisers and longtime confidants, have been hesitant about swooping in to help the embattled Giuliani, who for years worked as Trump’s personal lawyer, a political adviser, and attack dog. Giuliani also served as a major player in the Trump-Ukraine scandal and as a key driver in the former president’s efforts to nullify Joe Biden’s clear victory in the 2020 election.
Among Giuliani allies’ pleas, the three sources said, have been for Trump to issue a strong verbal or written statement saying Giuliani’s work during the Trump-Ukraine saga was done on behalf of then-President Trump—and therefore not part of an illegal foreign lobbying effort. In other words, Trump’s corroboration would be more than good public relations for Giuliani, it would back up a key pillar of Giuliani’s legal argument that he wasn’t lobbying and is innocent of the allegations.Aside from the "give me money" part. Lol of course not.Other asks have included having the ex-president sign on to a legal motion to have federal investigators throw out any seized communications that Giuliani and his lawyers argue are covered by attorney-client privilege. Further, there have been repeated requests that Trump and his team financially aid Giuliani’s ballooning legal defense and help cover the mounting, sizable expenses.
PizzaGaetz
More:JUST IN: Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg has entered “guilty” plea to 6 federal charges including sex trafficking of minor. Former Florida tax collector, has been in jail, appeared in court today in a dark jumpsuit, with his hands restrained by a thick chain around his waist. @CNN
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCNN) May 17, 2021
Appearing in court Monday, Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla., repeatedly said, “I do” in response to questions from the judge, affirming what he had already admitted in a written plea agreement made public last week. His plea and deal to cooperate is a potentially ominous sign for Gaetz, as it signals prosecutors have lined up a critical witness as they continue to investigate the congressman.
Masking
Would have been very easy to say, "Yes we think people who have been vaccinated are safe, but in shops and other places where the general public is present, for a variety of reasons we would like people to continue to wear masks for a few more weeks."
Puppy Power
AYFKMhttps://t.co/CJx7SXlQfh pic.twitter.com/6AdVq87rkq
— Matt Duss (@mattduss) May 17, 2021
PizzaGates
And the answer is... she's fucking pissed off.
Three somewhat different stories in the Post, WSJ, and NYT, and the kicker in the Daily Beast.
The billionaire met Epstein dozens of times starting in 2011 and continuing through to 2014 mostly at the financier’s Manhattan home—a substantially higher number than has been previously reported. Their conversations took place years before Bill and Melinda Gates announced this month that they were splitting up.chelor sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein gave Bill Gates advice on ending his marriage with Melinda after the Microsoft co-founder complained about her during a series of meetings at the money manager’s mansion, according to two people familiar with the situation.That's a PR push!Gates used the gatherings at Epstein’s $77 million New York townhouse as an escape from what he told Epstein was a “toxic” marriage, a topic both men found humorous, a person who attended the meetings told The Daily Beast.
The billionaire met Epstein dozens of times starting in 2011 and continuing through to 2014 mostly at the financier’s Manhattan home—a substantially higher number than has been previously reported. Their conversations took place years before Bill and Melinda Gates announced this month that they were splitting up.
I don't really care about this as celebrity gossip, but as with any rich white guys who dabble in big philanthropy and as "public intellectuals," Bill was (and is) granted so much authority every time he opened his mouth.
Sunday, May 16, 2021
Cornered Rats
Underground Railroad
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Local Boy Done Bad
A week before the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, top leaders of the Proud Boys convened a video chat to discuss the organization’s plans for Washington that day. And Zach Rehl, president of the group’s Philadelphia chapter, took a leading role in guiding that conversation, federal prosecutors now say.
Afternoon Thread
America's Worst Ex-Supreme Court Justices
Just a reminder that McCollum was once name-checked by Antonin Scalia as the sort of ruthless, cold-blooded killer for whom the death penalty is righteous and appropriate. https://t.co/4oRAbrIVEe
— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) May 15, 2021
Everybody Gets Old
Zuckerberg isn't really a good example of this, as I don't know him, but the dude is getting old, too.
More generally, there are lots of really young people I know from Ye Olden Days of Blog who are over 40 now. It's funny!
And, similarly, some "old" people who are now... actually old.
What About The Pedophile Dungeon In The Basement Of The Pizza Place
It isn't just mainstreaming right wing "concerns," it's embedding dubious (at best) assumptions and "facts" into the discourse.
Morning Thread
Blogger had a problem last night, unrelated to the disqus problem, which threw up a scary red security screen for people. Supposedly fixed.
Had more reports that fixing/switching the DNS has solved the problem for people. Use your ISP's default, or if that is the problem, try switching it to one of the public ones (google, opendns, cloudflare). Here's some help for windows.
I managed to get a response from disqus which was a nonresponse (EVERYTHING IS FINE). Anyway pretty sure what happened is they made some switch at their end which didn't get propagated to all the DNS servers correctly. All this is a bit above my pay grade.
Friday, May 14, 2021
Pizzagaetz
A former confidant of Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, admitted in court papers on Friday to an array of federal crimes — including sex trafficking of a minor — and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigations, handing prosecutors a potential key witness as they decide whether to charge Mr. Gaetz.Joel Greenberg, who was a tax collector in the Orlando area until he was indicted last year, did not implicate Mr. Gaetz by name in papers filed by prosecutors in Federal District Court in Orlando.
But Mr. Greenberg admitted that he and unidentified others had paid a 17-year-old girl for sex and that he had provided her with drugs. He admitted that he “introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts” with her, according to the documents, and that he was sometimes present. The others were not named.
You Know What To Do, Mr. President, Sir!!!
Senate Republicans dramatically changed their party rules to take a hard line on the debt limit in the coming months. Democrats don't care.Learned a lot from Obama.In fact, the Democratic majority says it has no intention of negotiating with Republicans bent on slashing spending as a condition for avoiding default after the July 31 deadline. Democrats say they won't haggle with the minority party over the faith and credit of the United States, citing lessons from the presidency of Barack Obama.
Fuck Trump
Proud Boy leader Ethan Nordean lashed out at Trump on Jan. 20, when it dawned on him that he’d likely be going to jail for the ex-president, according to new messages revealed by prosecutors last night. pic.twitter.com/JX1MvvsGR2
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 14, 2021
Scout's Honor
I don't know where exactly the failure is, but the perceived inability to explain something even slightly complicated has led to a lot of bad decisions.
This one should be:"Yes if you are vaccinated you aren't at risk or a risk to others, HOWEVER, [this is the really tricky bit], because, for example, it is impossible for store workers to determine who is and isn't vaccinated, for their safety and peace of mind we would like people to continue masking in these types of situations."
Thursday, May 13, 2021
These People Ain't Right
A former staffer is suing U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), accusing the congressman of taking a “reckless” approach to COVID-19, exposing his staff and himself to the virus.The suit alleges the congressman flouted U.S. House safety rules, ignored warnings about unsafe conditions, and required staff to provide personal favors and tasks for the congressman’s family.
...
The lawsuit also said the congressman allowed his son to live in a storage space in the basement of the Capitol for weeks when his son was relocating to Washington.
Major Major
BREAKING: Active-duty Marine Major Christopher Warnagiris, based at Quantico, was arrested in Virginia for assaulting federal officers at the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/vh7TdReT4d
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) May 13, 2021
Pizzagaetz
A Florida politician who is central to the investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz for possible sex trafficking of a minor signaled Thursday that he will plead guilty in his own federal case, a court entry shows, a troubling development for the congressman as it suggests prosecutors have secured a potentially important witness against him.
Serviced By Sean Hannity
Yes, I know, they separate the deserving from the undeserving in their minds, but that failgrandson probably is having a hard time finding decent work at the moment.
Where's Vicky?
Politicians - We Just Want To Be Liked
To some extent: politicians, they're just like us. Who do they want to be liked by? The people they spend time with. Who do they spend time with? Mostly not the median constituent.
Sometimes you hear about politicians who received, say, FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS in campaign money from some industry, offered up as a corrupt explanation for votes they take. I'm not dismissing that entirely, but I also suspect it's basic peer pressure a lot of the time.
Wanna be the cool kid at the parties you go to.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
Morning Thread
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Disqus Solution
I couldn't replicate the problem by switching mine to google's, but give it a try!
Every Man For Himself
Plenty of ways to sensibly ration things temporarily. Maybe they aren't entirely easy to implement quickly, but it barely occurs to anyone to try.
GAS PANIC
*stop people from panic buying.
Disqus
It isn't that I'm asking you to fix my problem for me, it's that if they respond they'll want you to answer specific questions about your setup that I can't answer since I can't duplicate the problem myself.
Otherwise check if it's an ISP problem (Try on your phone using cell data, not wifi).
Influential
More than 100 influential Republicans plan to release a call for reforms within the GOP alongside a threat to form a new party if change isn't forthcoming, a person familiar with the effort said.Feeling so influenced by all the influencers, maybe it's their instagram selfies.
The move was first reported by Reuters, which cited some of the people involved: former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, the first secretary of homeland security; former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters; and former GOP Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Reid Ribble of Wisconsin and Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma. Evan McMullin, a former CIA agent who ran for president as an independent in 2016, is also involved.Tom Ridge and Whitman!
Influential enough to get journalists to call them "influential," I guess.
Sure Why Not
UPDATE: 30% of metro Atlanta gas stations are without gasoline.
— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) May 11, 2021
Random Observation
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Thoughts and Prayers
New York (CNN)A federal judge has dismissed the National Rifle Association's petition for bankruptcy, saying it was filed in "bad faith" in order to avoid litigation by the New York Attorney General's Office, which has sued to dissolve the NRA for allegedly misusing charitable funds.The decision from Judge Harlin Hale came after a month-long trial in which NRA attorneys and officials argued that their bankruptcy case should move forward in Texas. New York Attorney General Letitia James' office intervened in the case and asked to dismiss the petition, saying the NRA's decision to file for bankruptcy in Texas and ask to be reincorporated there was a way to "remove the NRA from regulatory oversight."
Student of Trump
A judge slammed the founder of Students for Trump as a “cold blooded fraudster” before sentencing him to 13 months in prison for posing as a lawyer.Not even much of a haul.John Lambert, 25, pretended to be Eric Pope, of the Manhattan-based firm Pope & Dunn. He falsely claimed to be a graduate of NYU Law School with a finance degree from University of Pennsylvania and 15 years of experience in corporate and patent law.
The baby-faced scammer from Tennessee admitted to running the racket from 2016 to 2018, which targeted people who had little or no experience seeking legal advice. Victims sought Lambert’s help through the freelancing website Upwork. He earned at least $46,654 through the legal advice he was totally unqualified to give.
Kick Their Ass And Take Their Gas
The timing estimates point to the challenges that lie ahead for shippers on Colonial’s system -- including the nation’s largest oil companies -- to replenish markets from Louisiana to Virginia and the New York and New Jersey area with fuel after a cyberattack on Friday shuttered operations. Gas stations have already run dry as motorists rush to fill tanks, with one Washington, D.C.-area fuel distributor warning that “catastrophic” shortages are looming. Without the Colonial system, many cities and airports are forced to seek alternative supplies.
Disq Sux
Refusing President Trump's Wonderful Vaccine That He Invented Himself To Own The Libs
Petulant enough to not make the effort, but show up with vaccines in the ice cream truck, and free ice cream, and they'll grudgingly submit.
Over/Under On A "Rahm Doing A Racism" Incident?
Joe Biden has picked former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to be his ambassador to Japan.6 days, probably
Cough Bullshit Cough
Voters love it. The people who fund the candidates and their opposition don't.NEW: The head of the DCCC is privately warning the WH’s tax plan could hurt vulnerable Dems in 2022, sources tell me and @tylerpager.
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) May 11, 2021
Don’t look now - but there’s real (if quiet) agita among Hill Dems to much of Biden tax hikes on rich and corporationshttps://t.co/PU0CsOFJoc
Monday, May 10, 2021
Vaccinate The World
World Health Organization official said Monday it is reclassifying the highly contagious triple-mutant Covid variant spreading in India as a “variant of concern,” indicating that it’s become a global health threat.
Over
Sure "we" get accustomed to things as being the new normal, but this is just head in the sand stuff.
Yes the trends are good! But...
Cancel Culture
Bob Baffert blamed "cancel culture" after his horse, Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby, failed its post-race drug test.
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 10, 2021
"We live in a different world now. This America's different." pic.twitter.com/bsQeiV7oXi
Good Job, Mr. Biden, Sir!!!
The Biden administration said Monday it would provide protections against discrimination in health care based on gender identity and sexual orientation, reversing a policy of its predecessors that had been a priority for social conservatives and had infuriated civil liberties advocates.On the side of people who don't hate America and Americans!
The Very Popular Joe Biden
In the fourth month of his presidency, Biden’s overall approval rating sits at 63%. When it comes to the new Democratic president’s handling of the pandemic, 71% of Americans approve, including 47% of Republicans.
We're In A Guild Not A Union
Sunday, May 09, 2021
Does Seem A Bit Worrying
The split between Bill and Melinda Gates, announced last week, has been in the works for a long time.Ms. Gates consulted with divorce lawyers roughly two years before she filed for divorce from Mr. Gates, saying their marriage was “irretrievably broken,” according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
...
The couple hasn’t said what prompted the split. One source of concern for Ms. Gates was her husband’s dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the people and a former employee of their charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ms. Gates’s concerns about the relationship dated as far back as 2013, the former employee said.
Lazy Sunday
Saturday, May 08, 2021
Blue Trump
"I don't think you've had a governor who has spent more time in the subways than I have," said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who lives in Albany and hasn't resided in NYC more than a decade.
— Jimmy Vielkind (@JimmyVielkind) May 5, 2021
Then: "I'm there when you're not there. I'm there 1 o'clock in the morning."
Resign Blue Trump
ALBANY, N.Y.—The state attorney general’s office has expanded its investigation of sexual-harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo to look at whether one of his top advisers linked access to Covid-19 vaccines to support for the governor, according to people familiar with the matter.
Friday, May 07, 2021
Shocked Face
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been overstating the capabilities of the company’s advanced driver assist system, the company’s director of Autopilot software told the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The comments came from a memo released by legal transparency group PlainSite, which obtained the documents from a public records request.It was the latest revelation about the widening gap between what Musk says publicly about Autopilot and what Autopilot can actually do. And it coincides with Tesla coming under increased scrutiny after a Tesla vehicle without anyone in the driver’s seat crashed in Texas, killing two men.
Precisely Right, Mr. President, Sir!!!
Still impressed everyone ran with "On the jobs report, President Biden says, "Some critics said we didn't need the American Rescue Plan — that this economy would just heal itself. Today's report just underscores, in my view, how vital the actions we're taking are...We're still digging out of an economic collapse."
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 7, 2021
The Story Of The Day
Journalist surplus. That's the story.If counterfactual you would have interpreted a strong payrolls report as evidence that labor demand was running ahead of labor supply stoking concern about a ‘labor shortage,’ then you shouldn’t also be in the business of seeing a weak payrolls report and yelling ‘labor shortage’
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) May 7, 2021
Rudy
One of the most vocal is Giuliani's son Andrew, who worked in the Trump White House and told CNN,"The nut may crack in the next 36 hours." He called on Trump to "take the lead on this one," adding: "He can be the hero."Also everyone is casually like "yes, everyone knows things that can put Donald in jail, so perhaps he needs to make sure that doesn't happen" and it's just left hanging there."Once President Trump actually understands that his lead counsel was not indemnified, he's going to resolve this very quickly," Andrew Giuliani said on Wednesday.
Andrew Giuliani said his father was reimbursed for travel-related expenses incurred after the 2020 election, when he visited Arizona and other states to argue election fraud lawsuits in court. He said his father has not, however, been paid for legal services.
Jerbs
Bad number! It's a "moderate growth in normal times" not "recovery growth."
All the ghouls will be out blaming expanded UI, even though the labor force is growing faster than the number of jobs.
Thursday, May 06, 2021
Trouble Down At The Hipster Coffee Shop
New York State Attorney General Letitia James moved Thursday to slap a pair of pro-Trump trolls with massive fines for a voter suppression scheme targeting Black people in New York and elsewhere.Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were already in deep legal trouble for the robocalls during the 2020 election that reached around 5,500 New Yorkers. If Manhattan Federal Judge Victor Marrero allows James’s office to join an ongoing suit over the scheme, she’ll seek $500 per violation of the state’s civil rights law. That means Wohl and Burkman could face a bill of $2.5 million.
Entourage
Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer for ex-president Donald Trump, has reduced the size of his personal entourage, according to three people familiar with the matter.Giuliani laid off several staffers and independent contractors in the last few weeks, according to one of the people, who said the ousted employees had been told that the former New York mayor was seeking to cut costs.
Jerbs
The reality is obviously still bad, but any "green shoots" will convince every ghoul that Americans have it too easy now and inflation is about to destroy Miami.
Wednesday, May 05, 2021
Playing A Role
Many people don't like the pessimism. I get that. But something to realize is that when "maybe they're going to do the wrong thing" is leaked to the press, it's likely because someone inside wants them to do the right thing and is trying to get very important people like me to yell about it. Because other people inside don't want to do the right thing.
Or maybe not? Who knows! But I don't think yelling at them hurts.
Another Step Towards Full Communism
SCOOP: The U.S. will support a proposal to waive IP protections for Covid-19 vaccines, @AmbassadorTai tells @EMPosts and me. The U.S. will now participate in negotiations on text at the WTO.
— Jenny Leonard (@jendeben) May 5, 2021
Story on @TheTerminal
Rudy's Taint Team
Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to appoint an outside lawyer to review the records seized from Rudolph W. Giuliani — echoing the Justice Department’s pursuit of a criminal case against a previous attorney for former president Donald Trump, Michael Cohen....
It is not that unusual for authorities in a case involving lawyers’ records to use a “filter” or “taint” team to review seized material and decide what information is relevant to the warrant and keep separate any information that is covered by attorney-client privilege.
Getting Bigger
These are estimates, not the Census counts (which might be garbage so I'll take the estimates).City of Philadelphia:
— Christopher Mulroy (@TopherDominic) May 5, 2021
2010: 1,526,006
2020: 1,578,487 (+3.3%!)
🚨The City's highest 10-year growth rate since the 1940s🚨
Decennial population peaked at 2,071,605 in 1950. Trough at 1,517,550 in 2000.
Innovations In Human Resource Management
As March drew to a close, Klavon's Ice Cream Parlor in the Strip District found itself without enough workers for the upcoming spring and summer rush, and it certainly did not have enough workers to open the shop to its desired seven days a week schedule.Any time I think about the math for hospitality jobs, it makes no sense that an extra few bucks an hour for labor (one of many inputs) is going to put all these places out of business.Then, on March 30, the parlor announced it would more than double the starting wage for the roles, going from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, a scoop that seemed to captivate workers throughout the region and one that earned a significant amount of local media coverage.
"It was instant, overnight. We got thousands of applications that poured in," Maya Johnson, general manager of Klavon's, said. "It was very overwhelming, very. People were coming in by the next day that it broke on the news, they were coming in, filling out paper applications. I was doing on-the-spot interviews."
My long belief is that labor costs are the one things managers have any control over - especially with chain and franchise operations where everything else is 100% controlled by The Brand - and so they're insane about it. A good manager is a manager who minimizes labor costs. That's all they can do.