Daily Kos

Daily Kos https://www.dailykos.com News Community Action Copyright - Kos Media, LLC Sun, 21 May 2023 06:20:07 +0000 Sun, 21 May 2023 06:20:07 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Ukraine Update: Bakhmut falls, Russia gains nothing but future misery https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2170516/-Ukraine-Update-Bakhmut-falls-Russia-gains-nothing-but-future-misery?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Ukraine might still have some lingering presence in Bakhmut, but for all practical purposes, Bakhmut has fallen. But don’t worry. As a result, Russia is now in a worse position than before.  rss@dailykos.com (kos) Bakhmut Donetsk Russia Starobilsk Svatove Ukraine War _2170516 Sun, 21 May 2023 04:44:38 +0000 DeSantis campaign in turmoil after Disney refuses to repair candidate https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170086/-DeSantis-campaign-in-turmoil-after-Disney-refuses-to-repair-candidate?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' planned presidential campaign was upended on Thursday when the Walt Disney Company told top campaign staff that Disney engineers would no longer repair or maintain the candidate's animatronic systems. The move comes after Disney announced <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/18/2170060/-Ron-DeSantis-clown-car-drives-Disney-jobs-out-of-Florida">the cancellation of a $1 billion planned Orlando development</a> in the midst of a legal feud between the company and the Florida governor's office. The feud began after Florida lawmakers retaliated against Disney, one of the state's top employers, for statements opposing the Republican-backed "Don't Say Gay" legislation DeSantis signed earlier this year. Disney’s “Imagineering” department, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the special effects and complex moving “animatronics” used in the company’s theme parks, was going to be housed at the planned Florida development known as Lake Nona Town Center. A company source involved with the decision cited the feud with DeSantis, noting that the cancellation of Imagineering's planned relocation of 1,000 employees from California to Florida would make it difficult for current Orlando-based engineers to provide engineering and repair assistance to the DeSantis campaign. "It's hard enough to stay on top of every animatronic figure in every ride in our Orlando parks," said the source. "The company decided it couldn't afford to keep sending imagineers to repair DeSantis every time his campaign hauls him to Iowa or other key campaign states." rss@dailykos.com (Hunter) Disney Florida Republicans RonDeSantis Satire _2170086 Fri, 19 May 2023 15:50:10 +0000 Ukraine Update: Zelenskyy is at the G7, Putin is nowhere https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2170259/-Ukraine-Update-Zelenskyy-is-at-the-G7-Putin-is-nowhere?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <div> <a name="update-1684608880000"></a> </div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1684608880000"> <a class="live-update-link" href="#update-1684608880000"> UPDATE: Saturday, May 20, 2023 · 6:54:40 PM +00:00 · kos </a> <div class="live-update-content">Translated:  <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;A somber celebration by Prigozhin of Bakhmut finally &amp;quot;falling&amp;quot;.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;He and the Russians know at what cost this and all recent advances came. Whether the ruins of the city stay with them for much longer is another question. &lt;a href="https://t.co/dJFe2r7u7z"&gt;pic.twitter.com/dJFe2r7u7z&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Dmitri (@wartranslated) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1659977239893508096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 20, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; "><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A somber celebration by Prigozhin of Bakhmut finally "falling". He and the Russians know at what cost this and all recent advances came. Whether the ruins of the city stay with them for much longer is another question. <a href="https://t.co/dJFe2r7u7z">pic.twitter.com/dJFe2r7u7z</a>— Dmitri (@wartranslated) <a href="https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1659977239893508096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2023</a></blockquote> </div> Mark and I both predicted Prigozhin would hightail it out of Bakhmut the second he could declare victory, and that’s what he says he’s doing right here. Conveniently, he takes credit for the “victory,” and Russia’s armed forces can take the blame when Ukraine inevitably liberates it.  </div> </div> <div><a name="update-1684604870000"></a></div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1684604870000"><a class="live-update-link" href="#update-1684603970000">UPDATE: Saturday, May 20, 2023 · 5:32:50 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner</a></div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1684603970000"> <div class="live-update-content"> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Outside of Pisky, Donetsk Oblast, a disastrous Russian mechanized advance suffers significant attrition when an MT-LB hits a mine, followed soon after by a Ukrainian Javelin strike on another BMP-2. &lt;a href="https://t.co/bNM5U3HgBW"&gt;pic.twitter.com/bNM5U3HgBW&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1659974753212399616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 20, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; "><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Outside of Pisky, Donetsk Oblast, a disastrous Russian mechanized advance suffers significant attrition when an MT-LB hits a mine, followed soon after by a Ukrainian Javelin strike on another BMP-2. <a href="https://t.co/bNM5U3HgBW">pic.twitter.com/bNM5U3HgBW</a>— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) <a href="https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1659974753212399616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2023</a></blockquote> </div> </div> </div> <div><a name="update-1684602432000"></a></div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1684602432000"><a class="live-update-link" href="#update-1684602432000">UPDATE: Saturday, May 20, 2023 · 5:07:12 PM +00:00 · kos </a> <div class="live-update-content"> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The news today is not that Prigozhin claims to control 100% of Bakhmut, up from 98% a week ago. The news is that a depleted Wagner will decamp in a few days, leaving the regular Russian army deal with a Ukrainian counteroffensive on the flanks and possibly inside the city.&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1659925947007549441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 20, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; "><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The news today is not that Prigozhin claims to control 100% of Bakhmut, up from 98% a week ago. The news is that a depleted Wagner will decamp in a few days, leaving the regular Russian army deal with a Ukrainian counteroffensive on the flanks and possibly inside the city.— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) <a href="https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1659925947007549441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2023</a></blockquote> </div> Indeed, Prigozhin declared victory and announced the withdrawal of his troops for redeployment to other worldwide hotspots like Sudan in Africa.  No one in Sudan or anywhere else deserves their brand of misery, but at least for Ukraine, Russia may be losing the only combat group capable of aggressively capturing territory (even if it was just 25 kms in the past year). </div> </div> <div><a name="update-1684599557000"></a></div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1684599557000"><a class="live-update-link" href="#update-1684599557000">UPDATE: Saturday, May 20, 2023 · 4:19:17 PM +00:00 · kos </a> <div class="live-update-content"> Joe Biden <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-f16-biden-a281e3cd1474b2e6f453946075824565" target="_blank">opens up door</a> to providing F-16s to Ukraine, though details are scant.  <blockquote> So far, however, the U.S. has provided no details and said decisions on when, how many, and who will supply the F-16s will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway. Details on the training are equally elusive. </blockquote> Meanwhile, the last Ukrainian troops may have finally left Bakhmut as Wagner Group CEO and founder Yevgeny Prigozhin declares victory. Relegated to a last few city blocks, the might of Russian artillery has been concentrated on that sector, lending its defense likely far more costly than its worth.  <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Take with a grain of salt. Prigozhin says Wagner’s forces have established full control over Bakhmut after a bloody siege that all but destroyed the city. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;His declaration of triumph is a long rant about how Shoigu and Gerasimov were no help and Wagner mostly did it on their own &lt;a href="https://t.co/CVxrQY6p9R"&gt;pic.twitter.com/CVxrQY6p9R&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; max seddon (@maxseddon) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1659906652139601921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 20, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; "><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Take with a grain of salt. Prigozhin says Wagner’s forces have established full control over Bakhmut after a bloody siege that all but destroyed the city. His declaration of triumph is a long rant about how Shoigu and Gerasimov were no help and Wagner mostly did it on their own <a href="https://t.co/CVxrQY6p9R">pic.twitter.com/CVxrQY6p9R</a>— max seddon (@maxseddon) <a href="https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1659906652139601921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2023</a></blockquote> </div> </div> </div> On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dropped in on the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arab-league-saudi-syria-diplomacy-645964f3fa168bf339e3d7a46349d127" target="_blank">Arab Submit</a> in Saudi Arabia, then he travelled to Japan to visit with world leaders at the G7. Totally non-coincidentally, Zelenskyy’s latest visit comes just as the United States signed onto a plan to train Ukrainian pilots in flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon; a plan that would not exist if it wasn’t a precursor to providing Ukraine with some of the fighter jets. When Zelenskyy <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/21/2143090/-Ukraine-update-Zelenskyy-comes-to-Washington-to-fight-another-essential-battle-for-Ukraine" target="_blank">came to Washington D.C</a>. just before Christmas, it was the first time he had left the borders of Ukraine since Russian tanks rolled into that nation on Feb. 24, 2022. Since then, Zelenskyy has made several other trips abroad, that includes a whole string of visits earlier this month that saw him sitting down with the leaders of Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. He also stopped off to visit with the Pope in Vatican City. With the Ukrainian <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/23/2165137/-Ukraine-Update-So-many-counterattack-options-but-here-s-one-that-could-break-Russia" target="_blank">counteroffensive pending</a>, and Russia experiencing both <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/19/2170144/-Ukraine-Update-Russia-s-Bakhmut-collapse-bodes-ill-for-its-future-defenses" target="_blank">losses on the battlefield</a> and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/18/2170032/-Ukraine-Update-Russia-appears-as-fragile-as-a-Faberge-Egg" target="_blank">chaos in its military leadership</a>, there is only one thing that can stand in the way of moving this war in a positive direction: a decline of Western support. Zelenskyy knows that he needs to keep the pipeline for equipment, ammunition, and fiscal support open. Right now, that’s his most important task. He’s not needed on the front lines. His generals can plan the tactical moves. The job at hand for the Ukrainian president is reminding other world leaders that they have an enormous stake in the outcome of events, and their actions are critical to securing a Ukrainian victory. But as Zelenskyy travels across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to cement his nation’s relationship with the rest of the world, one part of that world is conspicuously absent. Russia, and authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin, are nowhere to be found. rss@dailykos.com (Mark Sumner) G7 Invasion Japan Russia Ukraine VolodymyrZelenskyy War _2170259 Sat, 20 May 2023 14:00:36 +0000 A potential 'Florida Man' primary is coming, and we are not ready https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170184/-A-potential-Florida-Man-primary-is-coming-and-we-are-not-ready?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= America is spiraling toward a “Florida Man” primary, and we’re not ready. With Ron DeSantis not yet an official candidate and Donald Trump still flipping through the index cards of potential nicknames for his just-up-the-road opponent, what we’ve seen of the coming storm makes one thing clear: The most extreme right-wing authoritarian candidates ever to hold office in the United States intend to run their primary by finding new ground on the right of their opponents. Both men might hold a finger to the political wind and determine that the center-right, a space now so abandoned that ghost towns feel sorry for it, offers plenty of room to construct a candidacy. A Republican shift to the middle might even give that party the thing that is currently a fading memory—a shot at winning the popular vote. They’re not going to go there. DeSantis is trying to run to the right of Trump. Trump is trying to run to the right of DeSantis. Both may momentarily agree, but only on issues where they can’t think of a more extreme position. But these two guys have a real instinct for the awful, so they won’t be pinned down for long. If America is lucky, the result will destroy the Republican Party for a generation. But no matter what, everyone is going to get hurt. rss@dailykos.com (Mark Sumner) DonaldTrump Election2024 RonDeSantis _2170184 Fri, 19 May 2023 16:36:35 +0000 Trump and Republicans are terrified of their signature issue: Abortion bans https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2170063/-Trump-and-Republicans-are-terrified-of-their-signature-issue-Abortion-bans?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= North Carolina Republicans cemented their legislative supermajority in April when Rep. Tricia Cotham, who ran as a Democrat on a pro-choice platform, unexpectedly switched parties, giving Republicans veto-proof majorities in both chambers. By mid-May, Tar Heel Republicans had unveiled their 12-week abortion ban, passed it, and jammed Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of it, despite the fact that<a href="https://twitter.com/NC_Governor/status/1654285899360870402" title=""> four Republicans who voted yea</a> (including Cotham) had pledged during their campaigns to protect abortion access. Let North Carolina serve as a cautionary tale for the nation: As soon as Republicans have the power to enact an abortion ban, they will, regardless of what they tell voters. (Just as several Supreme Court nominees leapt at the chance to strike down Roe v. Wade despite previously testifying that it was settled law.) After pulling a bait-and-switch, Tar Heel Republicans are<a href="https://www.wral.com/story/just-the-beginning-nc-republicans-say-more-abortion-restrictions-possible-after-2024-elections/20866150/#:~:text=North%20Carolina's%20new%20abortion%20restrictions,are%20in%20the%202024%20elections."> already strategizing</a> about enacting tighter restrictions if they gain legislative seats or reclaim the governor's mansion next year. rss@dailykos.com (Kerry Eleveld) 12-WeekBan 15-WeekBan Abortion Anti-Abortion DonaldTrump nationalabortionban NorthCarolina Pro-Choice reproductivefreedom Republicans SusanBAnthony Zealotry _2170063 Sat, 20 May 2023 15:00:26 +0000 Gun control, then and now: Congress once dealt with gangsters' Tommy guns to save American lives https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2162777/-Gun-control-then-and-now-Congress-once-dealt-with-gangsters-Tommy-guns-to-save-American-lives?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <div style="text-align:start"> This two-part series will explore the history of gun control policy. The first looks at how the government effectively dealt with machine guns in the 1930s to save Americans’ lives. Once upon a time in America, public outrage over gangsters like John Dillinger blazing away with Tommy guns spurred Congress to approve the <a href="https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/national-firearms-act" target="_blank">1934 National Firearms Act,</a> the first serious federal gun control legislation ever passed to protect American lives. The act was even passed with the grudging support of the National Rifle Association. The legislation imposed criminal, regulatory, and tax requirements on the weapons favored by gangsters: machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and silencers. The Thompson submachine gun, better known as the Tommy gun, was originally designed as a weapon of war like the AR-15. Both the Tommy gun and the AR-15 are capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute, but the AR-15 is far more lethal, even though it's semi-automatic. That's because the Tommy gun fired .45 caliber pistol rounds, while the AR-15 uses high-velocity, body-shredding .223 caliber ammunition. It’s been almost 90 years since Congress passed the National Firearms Act, which succeeded in removing machine guns from the hands of gangsters. But despite public outrage over the rising number of mass killings, Congress seems incapable of taking any effective action to stem the carnage caused by assault weapons like the AR-15. That’s because Republican lawmakers remain subservient to the NRA, which now has become little more than an influential lobbying group for gun manufacturers. RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/21/2165015/-America-is-discovering-the-true-meaning-of-an-armed-society-is-a-polite-society">America discovers the true meaning of 'an armed society is a polite society'</a> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Charles Jay) AlCapone AR-15 BonnieandClyde FranklinDelanoRoosevelt gangsters GunRegulations JohnDillinger NationalFirearmsAct NationalRifleAssociation StValentineDaysMassacre Tommygun _2162777 Sat, 20 May 2023 16:30:14 +0000 Surprise! Most medical students surveyed say they won't practice in states with abortion bans https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170299/-Surprise-Most-medical-students-surveyed-say-they-won-t-practice-in-states-with-abortion-bans?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= In survey results that should surprise exactly no one, most third and fourth-year medical students planning to practice in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYNs) as well as prospective surgeons and specialists in internal medicine say they do not plan to practice in states that have banned or restricted abortion. As reported by Erika Edwards for <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/states-abortion-bans-young-doctors-survey-rcna84899" target="_blank">NBC News</a>, the survey of 494 medical students in 32 states was conducted by third-year medical student Ariana Traub, currently attending Emory University’s School of Medicine. 57.9% of respondents “were unlikely or very unlikely to apply to a single residency program in a state with abortion restrictions,” while over 76% said that access to abortion care would influence their decision on where they would pursue their residencies. As Edwards reports: <blockquote> The reluctance to be a medical resident — young doctors who train in hospitals or clinics after graduating medical school — in states with abortion bans could further strain health care shortages in many parts of the country. </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Dartagnan) Abortion Doctors NBC OBGYN Pro-Choice Recommended RepublicanParty SupremeCourt _2170299 Fri, 19 May 2023 23:59:25 +0000 Big Liar Kari Lake got humiliated in court, but elections are still endangered https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170036/-Big-Liar-Kari-Lake-got-humiliated-in-court-but-elections-are-still-endangered?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= It’s hard not to picture Arizona gubernatorial dopeful Kari Lake sitting at a mall Chili’s bar four years from now with the last soldier who doesn’t know World War II is over and the most popular REO Speedwagon tribute band on MySpace as she whines and reminisces in equal measure about the good old days.  Lake remains in thrall to her delusions, including that she won her election in November and that Donald Trump is simply too stable and genius-y to have possibly lost in 2020. She is currently in court challenging her loss. And—well, gee, you never could have predicted this—<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/17/2153573/-Kari-Lake-loses-again-in-Arizona" target="_blank" title="">it’s not going well</a>. <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/16/2169661/-Kari-Lake-headed-to-trial-on-last-remaining-claim-in-suit-over-loss-in-Arizona-governor-s-race" target="_blank">At all.</a> RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/16/2169661/-Kari-Lake-headed-to-trial-on-last-remaining-claim-in-suit-over-loss-in-Arizona-governor-s-race" title="">Kari Lake headed to trial on last remaining claim in suit over loss in Arizona governor’s race</a> rss@dailykos.com (Aldous J Pennyfarthing) Arizona DonaldTrump Election2020 KariLake Midterms Recommended TheBigLie _2170036 Thu, 18 May 2023 18:45:13 +0000 Jamaal Bowman: Marjorie Taylor Greene 'put a target on my back' https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170040/-Jamaal-Bowman-Marjorie-Taylor-Green-put-a-target-on-my-back?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Wednesday was a vintage Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene day. After <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/17/2169842/-Watch-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-get-humiliated-by-an-actual-expert">embarrassing herself and the Republican Party during a House committee hearing</a>, Greene got into a verbal argument with Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman outside of the Capitol—in front of a lot of cameras. It amounted to being mostly political theater, and Bowman made sure to keep a consistent distance as he ribbed Greene and her party’s support of indicted New York Rep. George Santos. The one-minute interaction ended with Greene departing as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walked past Bowman, patted him on the shoulder and said, “She’s ain’t worth it, bro. She ain’t worth it.” During a Thursday press conference, Greene brought up her interactions with Bowman—one in March in New York City, and the one on Wednesday—and leaned into one of the oldest, most dangerous racist tropes in American history: She said she felt “threatened” by Bowman because his “physical mannerisms are aggressive.” Greene proceeded to unleash 90 seconds of racist drivel. She began by saying that Bowman “has a history of aggression” against her and others. She then claimed Bowman had screamed that she was a “white supremacist” (though video of both interactions show he does not), and also claimed that being called a white supremacist is the same thing as hurling a racial epithet at a Black person. Greene then said Bowman “shoved” Rep. Thomas Massie a few weeks earlier (he didn’t—also on video), and warned that people should be “concerned” and “watch out” for Bowman. RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/17/2169842/-Watch-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-get-humiliated-by-an-actual-expert">An expert on domestic terrorism leaves MTG in the dirt</a> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) BLM Censorship History jaamalbowman MarjorieTaylorGreene mtg politicaltheater Politics PressConference Race Racism RepublicanHypocrisy Video WhiteSupremacy _2170040 Thu, 18 May 2023 21:00:21 +0000 Biden proposal would let conservationists lease public land much as drillers and ranchers do https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2169426/-Biden-proposal-would-let-conservationists-lease-public-land-much-as-drillers-and-ranchers-do?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= The Biden administration wants to put conserving vast government-owned lands on equal footing with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-billings-climate-and-environment-government-politics-e2d9bb381672f26ea985c65407c728ae">oil drilling</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/52a89c211a7c4ecbb1eec5d528b5347a">livestock grazing</a> and other interests, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-environment-and-nature-business-biden-cabinet-montana-9dd0423b5fce780aa77520d08b117002">a top administration official</a> who defended the idea against criticism that it would interfere with industry. The proposal would allow conservationists and others to lease federally owned land to restore it, much the same way oil companies buy leases to drill and ranchers pay to graze cattle. Companies could also buy conservation leases, such as oil drillers who want to offset damage to public land by restoring acreage elsewhere. Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the proposed changes would address rising pressure from climate change and development. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation in limited cases, it has never had a dedicated program for it, she said. “It makes conservation an equal among the multiple uses that we manage for,” Stone-Manning said. “There are rules around how we do solar development. There are rules around how we do oil and gas. There have not been rules around how we deliver on the portions of (federal law) that say, ‘Manage for fish and wildlife habitat, manage for clean water.’” The pending rule also would promote establishing more areas of "critical environmental concern” due to their historic or cultural significance, or their importance for wildlife conservation. More than 1,000 such sites covering about 33,000 square miles (85,000 square kilometers) have been designated previously. By comparison, about 242,00 square miles of bureau land are open to grazing livestock. But more than a century after the U.S, started selling oil and gas leases, the conservation idea is stirring debate over the best use of vast government-owned property, primarily in the West. Opponents including Republican lawmakers are blasting it as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-billings-a3a37acf2fce55449b704b01badc1f67">a backdoor way</a> to exclude mining, energy development and agriculture from land controlled by the BLM. The bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies for the 380,000 square miles (990,000 square kilometers) it oversees, an area more than twice the size of California. It also regulates publicly owned underground minerals, including oil, coal and lithium for renewable energy across more than 1 million square miles. Those holdings put the 10,000-person agency at the center of arguments over how much development should be allowed. On Monday night, senior agency officials were scheduled to host the first virtual public meeting about the conservation proposal. Another virtual event is slated for June 5 and public meetings are planned for May 25 in Denver; May 30 in Reno, Nevada; and June 1 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who tried to block <a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-joe-biden-lifestyle-business-environment-and-nature-46552c29a0168be0fb6d9baa2ae11c57" title="">Stone-Manning’s 2021 Senate confirmation</a>, says the proposed rule is illegal. Earlier this month he berated Interior Secretary Deb Haaland over it during an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, saying she was “giving radicals a new tool to shut out the public.” “The secretary wants to make non-use a use,” said Barrasso, the ranking Republican on the committee. “She is ... turning federal law on its head.” Stone-Manning said critics are misreading the rule, and that conservation leases would not usurp existing ones. If grazing is now permitted on a parcel, it could continue. And people could still hunt on the leased property or use it for recreation, she said. Former President Donald Trump tried to ramp up fossil fuel development on bureau lands, but President Joe Biden suspended new oil and gas leasing when he entered office. Biden later revived the deals to win West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin's support for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-technology-science-oil-and-gas-industry-climate-environment-28df40ad9ebb33f4447815b6593673b3">last year's climate law</a>. Biden remains under intense pressure from Manchin and many Republicans to allow more drilling. Such companies currently hold leases across some 37,500 square miles of bureau land. Environmentalists have largely embraced the idea of conservation leases, characterizing the proposal as long overdue. Joel Webster with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a coalition of conservation groups and hunting and fishing organizations, said the administration's plan would set up a process to ensure landscapes are considered for conservation without forcing restrictions. He cautioned, however, that administration officials must ensure a final rule doesn't have unintended consequences. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) BLM BureauOfLandManagement JoeBiden resourcescommittee _2169426 Sat, 20 May 2023 22:30:06 +0000 AI presents political peril for 2024 with threat to mislead voters https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2169431/-AI-presents-political-peril-for-2024-with-threat-to-mislead-voters?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Computer engineers and tech-inclined political scientists have warned for years that cheap, powerful artificial intelligence tools would soon allow anyone to create fake images, video and audio that was realistic enough to fool voters and perhaps sway an election. The synthetic images that emerged were <a href="https://apnews.com/article/media-us-news-ap-top-news-mark-zuckerberg-ca-state-wire-8f68040962074a3ab2f9634d8fcd0a3b">often crude</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/media-nancy-pelosi-ap-top-news-politics-technology-e810e38894bf4686ad9d0839b6cef93d">unconvincing</a> and costly to produce, especially when other kinds of misinformation were so inexpensive and easy to spread on social media. The threat posed by AI and so-called <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-artificial-intelligence-21fa207a1254401197fd1e0d7ecd14cb">deepfakes</a> always seemed a year or two away. No more. Sophisticated generative AI tools can now create <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-fires-artificial-intelligence-misinformation-26cabd20dcacbd68c8f38610fec39f5b">cloned human voices</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-images-rights-1c6d9e0e260e2d135a3e3bf98d5493df">hyper-realistic images</a>, videos and audio in seconds, at minimal cost. When strapped to powerful social media algorithms, this fake and digitally created content can spread far and fast and target highly specific audiences, potentially taking campaign dirty tricks to a new low. The implications for the 2024 campaigns and elections are as large as they are troubling: Generative AI can not only rapidly produce targeted campaign emails, texts or videos, it also could be used to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-business-artificial-intelligence-afb4618ff593db9e3e51ecbd91dc3eef">mislead voters</a>, impersonate candidates and undermine elections on a scale and at a speed not yet seen. “We’re not prepared for this,” warned A.J. Nash, vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm ZeroFox. ”To me, the big leap forward is the audio and video capabilities that have emerged. When you can do that on a large scale, and distribute it on social platforms, well, it’s going to have a major impact.” <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-danger-superintelligent-chatgpt-hinton-google-6e4992e7a87d5bcae787ad45545757db">AI experts</a> can quickly rattle off a number of alarming scenarios in which generative AI is used to create synthetic media for the purposes of confusing voters, slandering a candidate or even inciting violence. Here are a few: Automated robocall messages, in a candidate's voice, instructing voters to cast ballots on the wrong date; audio recordings of a candidate supposedly confessing to a crime or expressing racist views; video footage showing someone giving a speech or <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-bill-gates-interview-661059591134">interview</a> they never gave. Fake images designed to look like local news reports, falsely claiming a candidate dropped out of the race. “What if Elon Musk personally calls you and tells you to vote for a certain candidate?” said Oren Etzioni, the founding CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, who stepped down last year to start the nonprofit AI2. “A lot of people would listen. But it’s not him.” Former President Donald Trump, who is running in 2024, has shared AI-generated content with his followers on social media. A manipulated video of CNN host Anderson Cooper that Trump shared on his Truth Social platform on Friday, which distorted Cooper's reaction to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cnn-town-hall-things-to-know-7be863292956dd2663537880dfbd8c3f">CNN town hall</a> this past week <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-republican-president-cnn-2024-69921c48683f26c02eb799513e8e5754">with Trump</a>, was created using an AI voice-cloning tool. A dystopian campaign ad released last month by the Republican National Committee offers another glimpse of this digitally manipulated future. The online ad, which came after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-election-2024-president-democrats-trump-9c72115656855da89a41cac3f79aa65b">President Joe Biden announced his reelection campaign</a>, and starts with a strange, slightly warped image of Biden and the text “What if the weakest president we’ve ever had was re-elected?” A series of AI-generated images follows: Taiwan under attack; boarded up storefronts in the United States as the economy crumbles; soldiers and armored military vehicles patrolling local streets as tattooed criminals and waves of immigrants create panic. “An AI-generated look into the country’s possible future if Joe Biden is re-elected in 2024,” reads the ad’s description from the RNC. The RNC acknowledged its use of AI, but others, including nefarious political campaigns and foreign adversaries, will not, said Petko Stoyanov, global chief technology officer at Forcepoint, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, Texas. Stoyanov predicted that groups looking to meddle with U.S. democracy will employ AI and synthetic media as a way to erode trust. “What happens if an international entity — a cybercriminal or a nation state — <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-elections-artificial-intelligence-social-platforms-us-news-7c9fd798212cac63925d205142e811ea">impersonates someone</a>. What is the impact? Do we have any recourse?” Stoyanov said. “We're going to see a lot more misinformation from international sources.” AI-generated political disinformation already has gone viral online ahead of the 2024 election, from a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-fires-artificial-intelligence-misinformation-26cabd20dcacbd68c8f38610fec39f5b">doctored video of Biden</a> appearing to give a speech attacking transgender people to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-satanic-kids-libraries-415653916064">AI-generated images of children</a> supposedly learning satanism in libraries. AI images <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-mug-shot-fact-check-2a57de9b109fa95f833c62e5509b9e45">appearing to show Trump’s mug shot</a> also fooled some social media users even though the former president didn’t take one when he was booked and arraigned in a Manhattan criminal court for falsifying business records. Other AI-generated images showed <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-NYPD-stormy-daniels-539393517762">Trump resisting arrest</a>, though their creator was quick to acknowledge their origin. Legislation that would require candidates to label campaign advertisements created with AI has been introduced in the House by Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., who has also sponsored legislation that would require anyone creating synthetic images to add a watermark indicating the fact. Some states have offered <a href="https://apnews.com/article/deepfake-minnesota-pornography-elections-technology-5ef76fc3994b2e437c7595c09a38e848">their own proposals</a> for addressing concerns about deepfakes. Clarke said her greatest fear is that generative AI could be used before the 2024 election to create a video or audio that incites violence and turns Americans against each other. “It’s important that we keep up with the technology,” Clarke told The Associated Press. “We’ve got to set up some guardrails. People can be deceived, and it only takes a split second. People are busy with their lives and they don’t have the time to check every piece of information. AI being weaponized, in a political season, it could be extremely disruptive.” Earlier this month, a trade association for political consultants in Washington <a href="https://theaapc.org/american-association-of-political-consultants-aapc-condemns-use-of-deceptive-generative-ai-content-in-political-campaigns-2/">condemned the use of deepfakes</a> in political advertising, calling them “a deception” with “no place in legitimate, ethical campaigns.” Other forms of artificial intelligence have for years been a feature of political campaigning, using data and algorithms to automate tasks such as targeting voters on social media or tracking down donors. Campaign strategists and tech entrepreneurs hope the most recent innovations will offer some positives in 2024, too. Mike Nellis, CEO of the progressive digital agency Authentic, said he uses <a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-chat-gpt-ac4967a4fb41fda31c4d27f015e32660">ChatGPT</a> “every single day” and encourages his staff to use it, too, as long as any content drafted with the tool is reviewed by human eyes afterward. Nellis’ newest project, in partnership with Higher Ground Labs, is an AI tool called Quiller. It will write, send and evaluate the effectiveness of fundraising emails –- all typically tedious tasks on campaigns. “The idea is every Democratic strategist, every Democratic candidate will have a copilot in their pocket,” he said. ___ rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) 2024 AI Voting _2169431 Sat, 20 May 2023 21:00:30 +0000 LGBTQ+ group suspends Bud Light maker's rating over handling of backlash to transgender influencer https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2170295/-LGBTQ-group-suspends-Bud-Light-maker-s-rating-over-handling-of-backlash-to-transgender-influencer?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= The country's largest advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights has suspended its benchmark equality and inclusion rating for Anheuser-Busch, citing the beer company's handling of the hate-filled and transphobic backlash to its <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bud-light-transgender-dylan-mulvaney-nike-2fe1425ba09a3f0e271fda0ae4b67434">partnership with transgender influencer</a> Dylan Mulvaney last month. The Human Rights Campaign informed the Bud Light maker that it suspended the company's 2022 Corporate Equality Index score — a tool that measures corporate policies, practices and benefits related to the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees — on May 9, according to a letter shared with the The Associated Press on Friday. The suspension of Anheuser-Busch’s CEI score means that the company “no longer has the right to use the ‘Best Places to Work’ distinction,” HRC’s letter says. Prior to the suspension, Anheuser-Busch had a CEI score of 100, the group's top rating. “What we're seeing play out here is an example of companies making a decision to have and construct inclusive marketing, which is great — but a business should be standing by those decisions,” Eric Bloem, HRC’s senior director of programs and corporate advocacy, told The Associated Press. “The Anheuser-Busch (case) is a textbook example of what not to do.” On April 1, as part of a March promotional contest for the beer brand, Mulvaney posted a Instagram video of herself cracking open a Bud Light. A cascade of criticism and hate surrounding the video soon erupted, notably among conservative figures — with Kid Rock posting a video of himself shooting cases of Bud Light and others calling for a boycott of the brand. In the following weeks, the beer brand's sales also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bud-light-beer-dylan-mulvaney-transgender-d489fb60d04ebd02486f80169cfc4474">fell slightly</a> and two marketing executives at Anheuser-Busch <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bud-light-transgender-influencer-partnership-marketing-executive-234ac7cf05d2124ed6ff7162e4771a43">took a leave of absence</a>. In an April 14 statement, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said that the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer." Anheuser-Busch's actions and Whitworth's statement did not not signal clear support for Mulvaney, however, or directly address the transphobic rhetoric perpetuated during the backlash — sparking concerns among the LGBTQ+ community and activists. Meaningful solidarity is especially important in a time where dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ bills are signed into law across the country, Bloem added. In an April 26 letter, also seen by the AP, HRC called on Anheuser-Busch to issue a public statement expressing support for Mulvaney as well as transgender customers, shareholders and employees. The group also asked the company to hold a “meaningful conversation” with LGBTQ+ employees about their concerns and recommended actions for leadership and conduct a workplace transgender inclusion training for executives. HRC said it received no response from Anheuser-Busch, the advocacy group said, prompting the May 9 letter informing the company of its CEI score suspension. To date, Bloem said Friday, HRC has still not heard from the company — but the organization's goal is to work with the company and “discuss strategies to show up and reaffirm that support for the LGBTQ+ community.” Anheuser-Busch said Friday that the company remains “committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations to drive economic prosperity across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.” The Bud Light maker, which is part of the Belgium-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, did not address HCR's letters. Mulvaney took a few weeks before commenting publicly on the backlash — but posted a video to her Instagram page at the end of April thanking supporters, but did not mentioning Bud Light by name in the post. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/05/18/bud-light-loses-lgbtq-score-after-dylan-mulvaney-transgender-campaign/70229893007/">USA TODAY</a> first reported the Anheuser-Busch’s CEI score suspension on Thursday. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) Anheuser-Busch BudLight DylanMulvaney HumanRightsCampaign LGBTQ _2170295 Sat, 20 May 2023 19:30:20 +0000 Texas militia member sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for attacking police during Capitol riot https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2170290/-Texas-militia-member-sentenced-to-nearly-5-years-in-prison-for-attacking-police-during-Capitol-riot?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= A Texas militia member was sentenced Friday to nearly five years in prison for attacking police officers at the U.S. Capitol, seriously injuring one of them during a mob's attack on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss sentenced Donald Hazard to four years and nine months in prison followed by three months of supervised release for his role in <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">the riot at the Capitol</a>, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia. The sentence matched what federal prosecutors had recommended for Hazard, who pleaded guilty to an assault charge in February. Hazard, 44, of Hurst, Texas, was a member of a militia called the Patriot Boys of North Texas. Lucas Denney, the group's self-proclaimed president, appointed Hazard as its sergeant-at-arms. Denney also encouraged Hazard to stock up on weapons and protective gear and recruit others to join them in Washington, D.C., prosecutors said. Hazard was “eager for violence” on Jan. 6, wearing a tactical vest and a helmet adorned with the image of the Confederate battle flag, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.241964/gov.uscourts.dcd.241964.40.1.pdf">Justice Department prosecutor Benet Kearney wrote in a court filing.</a> After marching to the Capitol, Hazard clashed with officers who were trying to hold off the mob near scaffolding on the northwest side of the building. Hazard grabbed a Capitol police officer and pulled him down a set of concrete steps, knocking him unconscious. That officer was treated for a concussion and foot injuries that required multiple surgeries, according to prosecutors. Hazard also fell on another Capitol police officer whose head hit the concrete. Hazard and Denney, both wielding what appeared to be canisters of pepper spray, confronted other officers on the west side of the Capitol. Hazard briefly entered the Capitol before police pushed him and other rioters out of the building. “When he reached the exterior steps, Hazard raised his arms in a gesture of victory,” Kearney wrote. In the days after Jan. 6, Hazard bragged on Facebook about storming the Capitol and fighting with police. “The only regret Hazard expressed was that he no longer had the photographs and videos he took that day,” Kearney wrote. Defense attorney Ubong Akpan said Hazard had no plan to attack officers. “His actions were more of a reaction to what he saw that day, as opposed to a plan to attack law enforcement, a group he thought he was similarly situated with,” <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.241964/gov.uscourts.dcd.241964.46.0.pdf">Akpan wrote in a court filing.</a> Video shows that Hazard didn't forcibly assault the officers in the scaffolding, his lawyer argued. “His conduct was more consistent with impeding officers and his impeding led to bodily injuries of the officers,” Akpan wrote. Hazard was charged with Denney, who pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was sentenced last September to four years and four months in prison. More than 100 police officers were injured at the Capitol on Jan. 6, as rioters disrupted Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory over Republican incumbent Donald Trump. <a href="https://interactives.ap.org/jan-6-prosecutions/">Over 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot.</a> Approximately 500 of them have been sentenced, with more than half receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to over 14 years. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) DonaldHazard Insurrection Jan6 Militia _2170290 Sat, 20 May 2023 18:00:08 +0000 Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Banning books and impeaching Biden Cabinet members https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/20/2170280/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-Banning-books-and-impeaching-Biden-Cabinet-members?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <a href="https://america.substack.com/p/banning-books-suppressing-thought?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">Steven Beschloss</a>/”America, America” on Substack: <blockquote> Banning Books, Suppressing Thought and The Rejection of Empathy A new PEN America report finds that the right wing's systematic effort to block reading, learning and thinking is spreading Among the most frequently banned books this school year is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gender-Queer-Memoir-Maia-Kobabe/dp/1549304003?">Gender Queer: A Memoir</a> by Maia Kobabe. Banned in 15 school districts, this autobiographical story with comic illustration is a sensitively written and touching portrayal of Kobabe’s journey of gender identity—the kind of thoughtful rendering that can provide a struggling young person light in the darkness as they search to better understand themselves. Also topping the list: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Flamer-Mike-Curato/dp/1250756146/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PFEDJY3GOZWS&keywords=flamer&qid=1682289050&s=books&sprefix=flamer%2Cstripbooks%2C172&sr=1-1">Flamer</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Flamer-Mike-Curato/dp/1250756146/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PFEDJY3GOZWS&keywords=flamer&qid=1682289050&s=books&sprefix=flamer%2Cstripbooks%2C172&sr=1-1"> </a>by Mike Curato (banned in 15 districts), <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tricks-Ellen-Hopkins/dp/148149824X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Z219T4QE7FFK&keywords=tricks+hopkins&qid=1682289315&s=books&sprefix=tricks+hopkins%2Cstripbooks%2C143&sr=1-1">Tricks</a> by Ellen Hopkins (banned in 13 districts) and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Handmaids-Tale-Graphic-Novel/dp/038553924X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JF69ZN851JXL&keywords=handmaid%27s+tale+graphic+novel&qid=1682289434&s=books&sprefix=handmaids+tale+graphic+novel%2Cstripbooks%2C129&sr=1-1">The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel</a> by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault (banned in 12 districts). </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Greg Dworkin) AbbreviatedPunditRound-up AbbreviatedPunditRoundUp APR _2170280 Sat, 20 May 2023 10:59:20 +0000 Ukraine Update: Russia's Bakhmut collapse bodes ill for its future defenses https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170144/-Ukraine-Update-Russia-s-Bakhmut-collapse-bodes-ill-for-its-future-defenses?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <div> <a name="update-1684509872000"></a> </div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1684509872000"> <a class="live-update-link" href="#update-1684509872000"> UPDATE: Friday, May 19, 2023 · 3:24:32 PM +00:00 · kos </a> <div class="live-update-content">The U.S. will support allied efforts to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/19/politics/biden-g7-f-16-ukraine/index.html" target="_blank">train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16</a> fighter jet. At this time, it does not seem interested in actually providing any aircraft.  I remain skeptical that the jet’s incredibly complex logistical footprint is worth operating in an environment in which neither side is flying much out of fear of both countries’ layered air defense systems. Indeed, air defense is the one thing Russia appears to have gotten right this war. That makes sense, since it directly counters NATO’s high prioritization on air superiority. Still, kinda shocking that it works given how nothing else has. In addition, Ukraine is operating their Soviet-era jets out of dispersed highways. The F-16, with its air intake close to the ground, is far more fragile and needs clean airfields. The U.S. position is clearly that the finite money available and effort would be better spent on training and supporting other weapons systems, and I’d guess that more M1 Abrams tank brigades would ultimately be more effective in ending this war. The Brits have already sent mid-range cruise missiles, and it looks like the French will follow suit. Those fulfill a big unmet role in pushing Russian logistics and command and control hubs even further away from the front lines. If they’re provided with the means to take out the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, that would be the icing on the cake.  I get that this is a controversial take, and there’s fierce debate around this. In a world of infinite resources, then sure, F-16s would be great. But not only do we have a fixed budget to work with, and that is almost exhausted, and President Joe Biden will have to go back to Congress and ask for more money with a skeptical Republican House. Resources are finite, and they need to be spent where they have the great bang for the buck.  Oh, and speaking of finite resources, I wouldn’t mind some more <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pentagon-accounting-error-overvalued-ukraine-aid-by-3-billion-sources-2023-05-18/" target="_blank">creative accounting</a> to send more aid to Ukraine.  <blockquote> The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around $3 billion, a Senate aide and a defense official said on Thursday, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defense against Russian forces. </blockquote> I don’t mean to imply that this is gimmickry, but much of our aid is old, obsolete equipment. Seems that there’s a great deal of subjectivity in valuing much of it. If an old M113 or Humvee is costing us to keep in storage, maybe donating it to Ukraine should offer a credit. Right?  </div> </div> Bakhmut has been an interesting story of late—nearly a year of non-stop Russian attacks against the strategically insignificant city (Ukraine’s 58th largest), tens of thousands of Russian lives lost as they (literally) inched forward, measuring their monthly progress in hundreds of meters. Yet just as Russia is mere city blocks from conquering Bakhmut, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/16/2169618/-Ukraine-Update-So-what-the-heck-is-going-on-around-Bakhmut">all hell has broken loose on its flanks</a>, with a surprisingly small-scale localized counter-offensive by Ukraine taking back significant chunks of land. What Bakhmut tells us today is that Ukraine’s forthcoming counteroffensive may not be as difficult as we’ve feared. rss@dailykos.com (kos) Avdiivka Bakhmut Russia Ukraine War _2170144 Fri, 19 May 2023 14:32:55 +0000 CNN should fire Chris Licht and put Christiane Amanpour in charge https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170292/-CNN-should-fire-Chris-Licht-and-put-Christiane-Amanpour-in-charge?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= It looks like the turmoil inside CNN will continue for a good long while yet, after company heads poisoned the airwaves with an alleged "town hall" promoting indicted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the first U.S. president in history to attempt a coup rather than give up power. rss@dailykos.com (Hunter) ChrisLicht ChristianeAmanpour CNN ConservativeMedia DavidZaslav Fascism Media Propaganda Sedition _2170292 Fri, 19 May 2023 22:45:06 +0000 Giuliani goes ballistic on woman suing him for rape ... then quietly backtracks https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170291/-Giuliani-goes-ballistic-on-woman-suing-him-for-rape-then-quietly-backtracks?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Just days after facing a 70-page lawsuit accusing him of rape and numerous other sexual abuses, disgraced former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani made several explosive claims about the woman on a right-wing conspiracy blog site. A few hours later, he (or his legal team) seems to have quietly backtracked. This was the original Giuliani quote in the Gateway Pundit blog (run by the <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/jim-hoft?page=3">dumbest man on the internet</a>): <blockquote> I dated Noelle for approximately 2 months in early 2019. I found out she was kicked out of several luxury hotels for suspicion of prostitution. I also found out that she scammed, elderly men by claiming rape. I broke up with her, and she continued to try to reach out to me. Even following me to several events and asking to take pictures. She was absolutely never employed. She illegally taped me and illegally went in my email. </blockquote> A few hours later, that was changed to this: <blockquote> I dated Ms. Dunphy for several months in early 2019. I ended the relationship because she continued to reach out and attempt to make contact with me. I discovered she was banned from several luxury hotels and also found out that she brought forward two prior cases, but never submitted a police report. I look forward to full vindication. </blockquote> Can you spot the difference? RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/16/2169562/--10M-lawsuit-claims-Giuliani-is-racist-sexually-abusive-drunk">Giuliani assistant says he demanded oral sex, spewed racist tirades</a> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Abuse Accusation Dunphy giuliani Justice Legal MAGA Rape SexualAssault TedGoodman _2170291 Fri, 19 May 2023 23:30:18 +0000 Even Fox News' Neil Cavuto wouldn't accept this Republican's racism https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170246/-Even-Fox-News-Neil-Cavuto-wouldn-t-accept-this-Republican-s-racism?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= During a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing partly focused on the DEA budget, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said, “Without the people of America, Mexico, figuratively speaking, would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback.” This was tied to Kennedy’s suggestion that the United States invade Mexico to destroy drug cartels. His statement was received with robust condemnation from all over the Americas: Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary called Kennedy <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/14/senator-john-kennedy-mexico-drug-cartels" title="">“a profoundly ignorant man</a>;” Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma, released a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvIBisp22CE">video</a> in which he reads the letter he sent to Kennedy, seeking to “enlighten” the Senator on the mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Mexico. Specifically, the tens of billions of dollars in trade Louisiana has in surplus from Mexico, and the approximately tens of thousands of people it employs. <blockquote> I don't think that people of Louisiana field represented by the vulgar and racist words you used you are obliged to offer an apology to your citizens because what you asserted is not worthy of the state of Louisiana known for being a cultural Melting Pot giving the moral standards expressing your unfortunate statement. </blockquote> Kennedy has spent the last couple of weeks dodging questions about his statement, and is refusing to apologize for his choice of words. But Kennedy’s statements were so racist and backward that even Fox News host Neil Cavuto tried to finesse some kind of apology out of him. RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/10/1976449/--I-m-not-going-to-let-you-do-this-CNN-anchor-shuts-down-Republican-s-attempt-to-dodge-Trump-s-lies" title="">‘I’m not going to let you do this’: CNN anchor shuts down Republican's attempt to dodge Trump's lies</a> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Cavuto Hearing Immigration JohnKennedy Mexico Race Racism Senate Senator Video _2170246 Fri, 19 May 2023 20:21:52 +0000 Earth Matters: Lake Powell and Lake Mead are rising, but experts warn water crisis is far from over https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2169704/-Earth-Matters-Lake-Powell-and-Lake-Mead-are-rising-but-experts-warn-water-crisis-is-far-from-over?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= A few weeks ago, Lake Powell fell to levels it hadn’t seen since the Colorado River was dammed to create it in 1963. At the same time downstream, Lake Mead, the largest U.S. reservoir by capacity, fell lower than it had been since 1937 when the Hoover Dam began backing up the river. The alarm bells scientists and some officials had been ringing since 2000 have gotten a lot louder in the past couple of years because the lakes and the hydroelectric dams that enclose them are the lifeblood of farmers, Indigenous tribes, and cities in seven states. By late 2021, some of the talk about the region’s two-decade-long megadrought had become positively apocalyptic, with disaster perceived as imminent. But then came this winter’s stunningly wet weather throughout much of the West, adding high levels—record levels in parts of southern Colorado—to the Rocky Mountain snowpack that melts each spring and summer to feed the river. Levels of both lakes have risen substantially in the spring run-off, and the big melt has only just gotten underway with the arrival of warmer temperatures. Consequently, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a division of the Department of Interior that oversees the dams, has revised upward its projections for what lake levels will look like at the water-year’s end on Sept. 30. Expectations now are that Lake Powell will reach 70 feet higher than it was at the end of last September. Already, the rising water has allowed managers at the lake to release more water than usual faster than usual in an experiment to see whether such surges can help rehabilitate wildlife and ecosystems along the Grand Canyon. The release, of course, also raises water levels at Lake Mead, which is already<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytvj6g9ipd4" target="_blank"> making recreational visitors happy</a>. While the change is a welcome relief, experts warn that the crisis isn’t over and improvement this year is likely to be temporary. Bart Leeflang, the Colorado River program manager for the Central Utah Water Conservancy District,<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/11/lake-powell-water-levels-rising-drought/" target="_blank"> told </a>Scott Dance at The Washington Post, “It’s maybe a year’s worth of breathing room. The crisis is still very real and very much in front of us.” At best, that 70-foot rise would mean raising the lake’s current level from 20% of its capacity to 30%, he said. “It’s not massive gains.” The bureau forecasts that at the end of July the lake will hit 39% of capacity. Right now, both lakes together are at 26%. rss@dailykos.com (Meteor Blades) CarbonCapture Climate EarthMatters ElectricVehicles Environment FossilFuels Pigs Proposition12 Recommended SeaBirds Solar Texas Ukraine Water Wind _2169704 Fri, 19 May 2023 00:11:35 +0000 Anti-immigrant hoax exposed and a Republican actually admits it https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170222/-Shocker-House-GOP-and-Fox-News-spread-an-anti-immigrant-lie?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <div> <a name="update-1684528897000"></a> </div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1684528897000"> <a class="live-update-link" href="#update-1684528897000"> UPDATE: Friday, May 19, 2023 · 8:41:37 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill </a> <div class="live-update-content"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/19/new-york-prosecutors-hotel-veterans-migrants-00097886" target="_blank">Good.</a> <blockquote>  The state Attorney General’s Office said Friday it is looking into reports that a nonprofit organization in the Hudson Valley erroneously claimed that homeless veterans placed in hotels were kicked out last week by migrants bused there from New York City. </blockquote> </div> </div> Another week, another Republican hoax. Earlier this week, Rupert Murdoch's New York Post pushed a story with a blaring frontpage headline "VETS KICKED OUT FOR MIGRANTS: Outrage as upscale hotels tell 20 homeless veterans to leave." It was based on an unverified claim from the head of a veteran's nonprofit, and whether the Post bothered to do even the most minimal fact checking on any of those claims is, ahem, unknown. The story was everywhere in conservative circles. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-admin-ny-officials-slammed-homeless-veterans-booted-migrant-hotels-slap-face">Fox News screamed about it</a>, of course, with a Republican state assemblyman calling it a "slap in the face to veterans" who are "being cast aside to allow for asylum seekers to come here." The story was picked up by all of the conservative outlets you can think of but are embarrassed to know about, and we ain't linking them here. rss@dailykos.com (Hunter) ConservativeMedia Conservatives FakeNews Hoaxes Media RepublicanHoaxes Republicans _2170222 Fri, 19 May 2023 17:54:50 +0000 '98% likelihood' that Earth will soon be hotter than ever https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170236/--98-likelihood-that-Earth-will-soon-be-hotter-than-ever?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= In January, the<a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/past-eight-years-confirmed-be-eight-warmest-record#:~:text=GENEVA%2C%2012%20January%202023%20%2D%20The,by%20the%20World%20Meteorological%20Organization."> World Meteorological Organization</a> reported that the last eight years were confirmed to be the eight warmest on record. Considering the<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/climate/climate-changes-hurricane-intensity.html"> growing strength of hurricanes</a>, massive expansion of <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-wildfires#:~:text=Multiple%20studies%20have%20found%20that,wildfire%20frequency%2C%20and%20burned%20area.&text=The%20wildfire%20season%20has%20lengthened,and%20drier%20soils%20and%20vegetation.">wildfires</a>, and general increase in<a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/extreme-weather-events-have-increased-significantly-in-the-last-20-years"> extreme weather events</a>, it may seem that things are already pretty bad. They are. But they’re about to get worse. Because as the WMO looks at<a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/global-temperatures-set-reach-new-records-next-five-years"> the next five years</a>, they not only expect more record heat, but also more of the associated disasters. They also expect Earth to move past an important political and psychological milestone regarding the climate crisis. <blockquote>There is a 66% likelihood that the annual average near-surface global temperature between 2023 and 2027 will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year.  There is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years, and the five-year period as a whole, will be the warmest on record.</blockquote> That 1.5°C was the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement. The goal was to stay permanently below that line. Now that barrier could be about to fall. rss@dailykos.com (Mark Sumner) Climate ClimateCrisis Disaster ElNio Weather _2170236 Fri, 19 May 2023 19:37:23 +0000 DeSantis is learning that attacking LGBTQ Americans is bad for a campaign https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170062/-Can-DeSantis-survive-his-war-with-Disney?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis premised his entire still-unannounced 2024 presidential bid on being “Trump without the baggage.” But with Walt Disney Co. now<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/18/2170060/-Ron-DeSantis-clown-car-drives-Disney-jobs-out-of-Florida"> pulling the plug on a $1 billion investment</a> in the Sunshine State amid a feud with the GOP hopeful, DeSantis is looking a lot more like “not-Trump with the baggage.”' rss@dailykos.com (Kerry Eleveld) 2024 anti-LGBTQ anti-trans bathroombills DanPatrick Discrimination Disney Florida Indiana lgbtqamericans MikePence NorthCarolina PatMcCrory Presidential RonDeSantis Texas TransAmericans _2170062 Fri, 19 May 2023 13:27:15 +0000 Nevada takes first key step toward joining pact to elect president by popular vote https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2165007/-Nevada-takes-first-key-step-toward-joining-pact-to-elect-president-by-popular-vote?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Nevada Democrats <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/10288/Overview" target="_blank">just passed a constitutional amendment</a> that would add the state's six electoral votes to a multistate compact that would elect the president according to the national popular vote, with the ultimate aim of sending the measure to voters for their approval. By referring an amendment to the ballot, Democrats can avoid what would be an all but certain veto from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. However, they'll also have to pass the same amendment again after the 2024 elections and then persuade voters to back it in a 2026 referendum before it could become law in time for the 2028 presidential election. rss@dailykos.com (Stephen Wolf) DailyKosElections Elections ElectoralCollege NationalPopularVoteInterstateCompact Nevada npv NVBallot _2165007 Thu, 18 May 2023 21:05:34 +0000 Desperate to win transphobic bigots back, Bud Light bottles are going (Army) green https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170218/-Desperate-to-win-transphobic-bigots-back-Bud-Light-bottles-are-going-Army-green?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= You may recall the mighty backlash Bud Light suddenly faced after its manufacturer, Anheuser-Busch, sent a custom can to trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April. Kid Rock was so incensed that he bought a bunch of Bud Light to shoot at. Fox News suddenly decided the only thing worse than drinking Bud Light is drinking Bud Light in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKurQ8B04AA" target="_blank">tan suit</a>. One guy started selling his own beer—which is definitely not fermented yak piss sourced from remote settlements in the Nepalese highlands, because that would have been at least twice as expensive—for about <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/15/2163970/-Buy-35-beer-to-make-woke-libs-mad-The-sad-state-of-the-conservative-culture-war" target="_blank" title="">$6 per can</a>. And millions of red-blooded American males were morally outraged enough to stop drinking Bud Light during their Wednesday afternoon strip club excursions and fortnightly backyard cockfights. And so Anheuser-Busch’s high suzerains of subpar suds found themselves scrambling to dig themselves out from the avalanche of delicate snowflakes—all bigoted in their own unique, special ways—that rumbled into town after the company treated a trans woman like any other human being with infinite worth, dignity, and sh*t taste in lagers. And they’re using camouflage to cover up their past marketing campaigns. Literally. Anheuser-Busch, aware that even MAGAs can remember what they’re angry about for more than a couple of days in a row, issued a <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/anheuser-busch-ceo-issues-statement-after-partnership-with-trans-influencer/" target="_blank">mealy statement that said virtually nothing</a>. And now the company is pulling out all the stops to bring those lost lamb-brains back into the fold. By issuing a camo bottle. Yes, really. RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/13/2163624/-Murdoch-s-Fox-News-empire-has-launched-an-all-out-war-against-the-makers-of-Bud-Light" title="">Murdoch's Fox News empire has launched an all-out war against the makers of Bud Light</a> rss@dailykos.com (Aldous J Pennyfarthing) Anheuser-Busch BudLight DylanMulvaney LGBTQ MillerLite MolsonCoors Trans TransRights _2170218 Fri, 19 May 2023 20:25:31 +0000 Guardsman Jack Teixeira, Pentagon leak suspect, to remain jailed as he awaits trial https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170302/-Guardsman-Jack-Teixeira-Pentagon-leak-suspect-to-remain-jailed-as-he-awaits-trial?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/leaked-documents-pentagon-justice-department-russia-war-d3272b34702d564fe07a480598bcd174" title="">Massachusetts Air National Guard member</a> charged with leaking highly classified military documents will remain behind bars while he awaits trial, a federal magistrate judge ruled Friday. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy said releasing 21-year-old Jack Teixeira would pose a risk that he would attempt to flee the country or obstruct justice. The judge cited Teixeira’s “fascination with guns,” disturbing online statements and admonitions by Teixeira's military superiors about his handling of sensitive information before his arrest. The ruling comes after prosecutors revealed that Teixeira <a href="https://apnews.com/article/leaked-documents-air-national-guardsman-jack-teixeira-d7c8dbaeb3b7a5ae69faeab04ede2ab0" title="">had a history of violent rhetoric</a>, and was caught by fellow military members months before his arrest taking notes on classified information or viewing intelligence not related to his job. Teixeira is accused of sharing classified military documents on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games. The stunning breach exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments on Russia’s war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues. The judge said the case represented “a profound breach of the defendant's word that he would protect information related to the security of the United States.” “Who did he put at risk? I mean, you could make a list as long as a phone book,” Hennessy said, including military personnel, medical workers overseas and Ukrainian citizens. The judge indicated that he found persuasive prosecutors' arguments that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could facilitate his escape. “Foreign countries know that this defendant was disloyal to the United States," the judge said. “It doesn’t seem implausible at all that a foreign government would make an overture to this defendant to get information." Teixeira appeared to show no emotion as he was lead out of the courtroom in handcuffs and orange jail clothes. He smiled at his father sitting in the front as he walked into the hearing in Worcester, Massachusetts, federal court. Teixeira can appeal the judge's ruling, and Hennessy told him “another judge could come to a different conclusion." The judge said the support of Teixeira's family — who have attended every court hearing — is a compelling reason to release the man, but his concerns outweigh that. The high-profile case is being prosecuted by the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office, whose leader — U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins — <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-attorney-rachael-rollins-inspector-general-investigation-ad0afce4b0f4a1fc86987e76d2112c85">is expected to resign on Friday</a> after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/massachusetts-us-attorney-rachael-rollins-justice-department-7ff37567c0d8f7e906ffd1f609a404f3">two federal watchdog agencies</a> found she committed a slew of ethical and legal violations. Teixeira <a href="https://apnews.com/article/leaked-documents-massachusetts-air-national-guardsman-25662c578db25802907a70c40cce16c4">has been behind bars</a> since his April 13 arrest on charges, under the Espionage Act, of unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. He has not yet entered a plea. Prosecutors had urged the judge to keep Teixeira jailed, in part because of his arsenal of weapons and history of online statements, including one social media post from last November saying that, if he had his way, he would like to kill a “ton of people” because it would be “culling the weak minded.” His lawyers had pressed the judge to release him to his father, saying he has no criminal history and strong family support to ensure he shows up in court. His lawyer said last month that he has “nowhere to flee” and “will answer the charges” against him. Prosecutors have detailed a troubling history going back to high school, where Teixeira was suspended in 2018 when a classmate overheard him discussing Molotov cocktails and other weapons as well as racial threats. His initial application for a firearms identification card that same year was denied due to police concerns over those remarks. He regularly made statements about violence and murder on social media, and also used his government computer to research past mass shootings and standoffs with federal agents, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said he also kept his gun locker within reach of his bed and in it were handguns, bolt-action rifles, shotguns, an AK-style high-capacity weapon and a gas mask. Teixeira’s father told the judge that he removed all the guns from his home and would ensure that his son followed his pretrial conditions if he were released. Teixeira’s lawyer argued that despite the statements highlighted by prosecutors he was not a danger to the community or a flight risk. Prosecutors revealed in court papers filed this week that Teixeira’s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jack-teixeira-national-guard-massachusetts-leaked-documents-788b28daf6504eaac02df5844d7a2c01">superiors had raised concerns</a> in the months before his arrest about his mishandling of classified information. He was twice admonished by superiors in September and October, and was again observed in February viewing information “that was not related to his primary duty and was related to the intelligence field,” according to internal Air National Guard memos filed in court. The revelations have raised questions about why Teixeira continued to have access to military secrets after what prosecutors described as “concerning actions” related to his handling of classified information. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh was questioned Thursday about why Teixeira’s leaders did not take action after the concerns were raised. Singh referred to the Justice Department and Air Force investigations, and said those concerns and the potential lack of response to them were among the areas the inquiries would examine. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) JackTeixeira MassachusettsAirNationalGuard _2170302 Fri, 19 May 2023 23:34:02 +0000 Cheers and Jeers: Rum and Coke FRIDAY! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2169927/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Rum-and-Coke-FRIDAY?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Late Night Snark: Spring 2013 Flashback Edition With the late-night shows on hiatus during the writers strike (Boooo, evil studio heads. Booooo!!!), C&J pries open the time capsule circa 10 years ago, when the second half of the Obama-Biden era was in full swing. Here’s what was happening... <blockquote> "The NRA this week elected a new president, choosing Alabama lawyer Jim Porter, who recently referred to Attorney General Eric Holder as 'rabidly un-American,' and still calls the Civil War the 'war of northern aggression.' He's known around the NRA as Reasonable Jim." —Seth Meyers “According to a new survey, white Americans are more likely to see President Obama as angry than black Americans. After hearing about it, Obama got really angry, according to white Americans.” —Conan O'Brien </blockquote> Continued... rss@dailykos.com (Bill in Portland Maine) CheersandJeers _2169927 Fri, 19 May 2023 23:28:50 +0000 Cartoon: Box office bombs https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170125/-Cartoon-Box-office-bombs?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Follow me on <a href="https://mastodon.social/@mcfadden" target="_blank">Mastodon</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BrianMcFaddenCartoonist/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brianmc_fadden/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, or at <a href="https://brianmcfadden.org/" target="_blank">my website</a>. rss@dailykos.com (BrianMcFadden) Comics MarkZuckerberg Media metaverse Movies Police Transit Urbanism _2170125 Fri, 19 May 2023 21:50:19 +0000 Why Democrats think they have a chance at Paul Ryan's old House seat https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170220/-Why-Democrats-think-they-have-a-chance-at-Paul-Ryan-s-old-House-seat?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= While Republican Rep. Bryan Steil had no trouble winning reelection last year in a southeastern Wisconsin seat that only narrowly backed Donald Trump, one prominent Democrat thinks that 2024 could be very different―and he may be right, especially if the incoming progressive majority on the state Supreme Court strikes down the state's gerrymandered congressional map. A notable Democrat is also mulling a campaign to the northeast against Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher around Green Bay, but as we’ll discuss, his 8th District would likely be a tough lift even with new boundaries. We’ll start in the 1st District, where Steil was elected in 2018 to succeed none other than Speaker Paul Ryan. Following the most recent round of redistricting, the new map dropped Trump’s 2020 margin of victory <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/9/29/2055001/-Daily-Kos-Elections-2020-presidential-results-by-congressional-district-for-new-and-old-districts">from 54-45 to just 50-48</a>, but the incumbent <a href="https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=980038">won his third term last year</a> by a comfortable 54-45 spread against an underfunded foe. Liberals fared considerably better here, though, in last month’s officially nonpartisan Supreme Court race, as analyst Drew Savicki calculated that progressive Janet Protasiewicz <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewSav/status/1644177418150707200">carried the district 53-47</a> as part of her 56-44 statewide rout. rss@dailykos.com (Jeff Singer) BryanSteil CoryMason GretaNeubauer KristinLyerly MarkPocan MarkSpreitzer MikeGallagher RebeccaMason TipMcGuire WI-01 WI-08 WIRedistricting Wisconsin _2170220 Fri, 19 May 2023 19:58:19 +0000 All-time NFL great running back, social activist Jim Brown dead at 87 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170272/-All-time-NFL-great-running-back-social-activist-Jim-Brown-dead-at-87?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, the unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s, has died. He was 87. A spokeswoman for Brown’s family said he passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side. One of the greatest players in football history and one of the game’s first superstars, Brown was chosen the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1965 and shattered the league’s record books in a short career spanning 1957-65. Brown led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964 before retiring in his prime after the ’65 season to become an actor. He appeared in more than 30 films, including “Any Given Sunday” and “The Dirty Dozen.” An unstoppable runner with power, speed and endurance, Brown’s arrival sparked the game’s burgeoning popularity on television. As Black Americans fought for equality, Brown used his platform and voice to advance their cause. In 1967, Brown organized a meeting in Cleveland of the nation’s top Black athletes, including Bill Russell and Lew Alcindor, who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to support boxer Muhammad Ali’s fight against the war in Vietnam. In later years, he worked to curb gang violence in LA and founded Amer-I-Can, a program to help disadvantaged inner-city youth and ex-convicts. On the field, there was no one like Brown, who would blast through would-be tacklers, refusing to let one man take him down before sprinting away from linebackers and defensive backs. He was also famous for using a stiff arm to shed defenders in the open field or push them away like they were rag dolls. “My arms were like my protectors and weapons,” Brown said during an interview with NFL Films. Indeed, Brown was unlike any back before him, and some feel there has never been anyone better than Cleveland’s incomparable No. 32. At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, he was dominant, relentless and without mercy, his highlight reels featuring runs around and right through opponents, fighting for every yard, dragging multiple defenders along or finding holes where none seemed to exist. After Brown was tackled, he’d slowly rise and walk even more slowly back to the huddle — then dominate the defense when he got the ball again. Off the field, Brown was a contentious character. While he had a soft spot for those in need, and his generosity changed lives, he also was arrested a half-dozen times, mostly on charges of hitting women. In June 1999, Brown’s wife, Monique, called 911, saying Brown had smashed her car with a shovel and threatened to kill her. During the trial, Monique Brown recanted. Jim Brown was acquitted of a charge of domestic threats but convicted of misdemeanor vandalism. The Los Angeles judge sentenced Brown to six months in jail when he refused to attend domestic violence counseling. He also feuded with Browns coach Paul Brown and later with the team’s management, although he played his entire career with Cleveland. When his playing days ended, Brown set off for Hollywood and eventually settled there. Brown advised Cleveland coach Blanton Collier of his retirement while the team was in training camp and he was on the set of “The Dirty Dozen” in England. Among his films were “100 Rifles,” “Mars Attacks!” Spike Lee’s “He Got Game,” Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday,” and the satire “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” in which he parodied the blaxploitation genre. In 2002, Brown was the subject of Lee’s HBO documentary “Jim Brown: All-American.” In recent years, Brown’s relationship with the Browns was inconsistent. He served as an adviser to owner Randy Lerner and was hired to counsel the team’s younger players. However, in 2010, Brown parted ways with the team after having his role reduced by incoming team president Mike Holmgren. Brown felt slighted by the perceived demotion — when the club unveiled a “Ring of Honor” inside its downtown stadium, Brown didn’t attend the ceremony in protest. Brown was an eight-time All-Pro and went to the Pro Bowl in each of his nine years in the league. When Brown walked away from the game at age 30, he held the league’s records for yards (12,312) and touchdowns (126). And despite his bruising style, Browns never missed a game, playing in 118 straight. “He told me, ‘Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts,’” said Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey. “He lived by that philosophy and I always followed that advice.” A two-sport star at Syracuse — some say he is the best lacrosse player in NCAA history — Brown endured countless racist taunts while playing at the virtually all-white school at the time. Still, he was an All-American in both sports, leading the nation in scoring, and lettered in basketball. Brown was the sixth overall pick of the 1957 draft, joining a team that routinely played for the title. He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year that season. Running behind an offensive line featuring Hall of Fame tackles Lou Groza and Mike McCormack, Brown set a league mark with 1,527 yards and scored 17 TDs on his way to the league’s Most Outstanding Player award — a precursor to the MVP — in 1958. Over the next three seasons, he never ran for less than 1,257 yards before picking up just 996 in 1962. He led the NFL in rushing eight times, gaining a career-best 1,863 yards in 1963. He averaged 104 yards per game, scored 106 rushing touchdowns and averaged an astonishing 5.2 yards per carry. A dangerous receiver as well, Brown finished with 262 catches for 2,499 yards and another 20 TDs. “I’ve said many times, and I will always say, Jim Brown is the best,” Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers once said, “and he will still be the best long after all his records are broken.” Packers great Paul Hornung felt Brown was unstoppable. “Give me Jim Brown over anybody — at anything,” he said. Brown’s No. 32 was retired by the Browns in ’71, the same year he entered the Hall of Fame. But he rarely visited Cleveland during the 1970s and ’80s. He and Cleveland owner Art Modell were at odds over his sudden retirement; the two later patched up their differences and remained good friends. Brown supported Modell’s decision to move Cleveland’s franchise to Baltimore in 1995. It was both a reflection of his loyalty to Modell and another sign of his fierce independence. Brown was one of the few former Browns players not angry with Modell for moving the team. Many of the modern players couldn’t appreciate Brown or his impact on American sports. “They have grown up in a different era,” former Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s one of the greatest players in NFL history and what he was able to accomplish in his time was tremendous. I don’t know that anybody could do what he did, the way he did it, under the circumstances that he had to operate and the things that he had to endure. And for him to go out on top, that’s something that not many guys are able to appreciate either.” Born on Feb. 17, 1936, in St. Simons, Georgia, Brown was a multisport star at Manhasset High School on Long Island. He averaged 14.9 yards per carry in football and once scored 55 points in a game. Brown later took up golf, and while playing with Jack Nicklaus in the 1963 Cleveland Pro-Am, he shot a 79. Brown is survived by his second wife, Monique, and their child. He was divorced after 13 years of marriage from Sue Brown, with whom he had three children. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) Activist ClevelandBrowns JimBrown NFL _2170272 Fri, 19 May 2023 19:44:37 +0000 San Francisco officials are investigating if Elon Musk's 'Twitter Hotel' plan broke laws https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170257/-San-Francisco-officials-are-investigating-if-Elon-Musk-s-Twitter-Hotel-plan-broke-laws?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= San Francisco officials are investigating Twitter after six former employees allege that owner Elon Musk's leadership team broke laws by turning the company's headquarters into a “Twitter Hotel” for workers who were pushed to stay up late to transform the social media platform. The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said Friday that it has opened a new complaint and will be conducting an investigation into the new allegations. <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/s-f-opening-new-twitter-investigation-ex-workers-18107633.php">The San Francisco Chronicle earlier reported</a> on the city's latest investigation into the company that Musk <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-sports-d9217e91f876794bd7816013fbbc8cbb">took over late last year</a>. That's after the ex-employees, including a former vice president of real estate, alleged in a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Delaware that Twitter didn’t pay them promised severance. Twitter is seeking to have the case dismissed. The ex-workers also allege that Musk’s team ordered numerous changes to the company's headquarters in a 1930s Art Deco building in downtown San Francisco that violated building codes. Those changes included disabling lights and adding locks that wouldn't open during an emergency, according to the lawsuit. One of the plaintiffs is Tracy Hawkins, Twitter’s former vice president of real estate and workplace, who was responsible for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-business-san-francisco-173194eff0b8f70e6d2d3ff6f1f082f9">managing the company’s physical offices and leases</a>. The lawsuit says Hawkins wasn’t initially opposed to Musk’s takeover but “was forced to resign when Elon Musk and his transition team insisted that she violate her professional ethics by causing Twitter to intentionally breach its leases and other contracts.” The lawsuit claims Musk refused to pay rent on the building. This is not the first time San Francisco officials have tussled with Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October and gutted much of its workforce as he converted a part of the company's headquarters into bedrooms. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-san-francisco-business-1c067f26852384d48a56f11fadda7142">Earlier this year</a>, San Francisco building inspectors gave Twitter’s construction contractor two weeks to submit a corrected building use permit if the company wanted to keep using two conference rooms as bedrooms. The city launched an investigation in December after Forbes reported on the beds, prompting Musk to lash out at San Francisco Mayor London Breed, even though there is no evidence she was involved in the inspection. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) California ElonMusk SanFrancisco TracyHawkins Twitter _2170257 Fri, 19 May 2023 18:33:04 +0000 Diplomatic tour by Ukraine’s Zelenskyy highlights Putin’s stark isolation https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170248/-Diplomatic-tour-by-Ukraine-s-Zelenskyy-highlights-Putin-s-stark-isolation?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= While the world awaits <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Ukraine’s spring battlefield offensive,</a> its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has launched a diplomatic one. In the span of a week, he's dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and Britain to shore up support for defending his country. On Friday, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arab-league-saudi-syria-diplomacy-645964f3fa168bf339e3d7a46349d127?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=RelatedStories&utm_campaign=position_02">he was in Saudi Arabia</a> to meet with Arab leaders, some of whom are allies with Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the meantime, was at home, facing unprecedented international isolation, with an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/putin-arrest-warrant-ukraine-war-crimes-court-93bfa0eb81dd2abe5edb008b78df568d" title="">International Criminal Court arrest warrant</a> hanging over his head and clouding the prospects of traveling to many destinations, including those viewed as Moscow's allies. With his invasion of Ukraine, “Putin took a gamble and lost really, really big time,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Brussels-based Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies. “He is an international pariah, really.” It was only 10 years ago when Putin stood proudly among his peers at the time -– Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Shinzo Abe – at a Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. Russia has since been kicked out of the group, which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, for illegally annexing Crimea in 2014. Now it appears to be Ukraine’s turn in the spotlight. There were conflicting messages from Kyiv whether Zelenskyy <a href="https://apnews.com/article/g7-japan-hiroshima-ukraine-biden-kishida-3ac64076f63786490a1b062f9a408408">would attend the G7 in Japan</a> on Sunday. The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said on national television the president would be there, but the council later walked back those remarks, saying Zelenskyy would join via video link. The president’s office would not confirm either way for security reasons. But whether in person or via video, it would be of great symbolic and geopolitical significance. “It conveys the fact that the G7 continues to strongly support Ukraine,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “It’s a visible marker of the continued commitment of the most highly industrialized and highly developed countries in the world.” It also comes at a time when the optics are just not in the Kremlin’s favor. There’s uncertainty over whether Putin can travel to Cape Town in August for a summit of the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Moscow has long showcased the alliance as an alternative to the West’s global dominance, but this year it is already proving awkward for the Kremlin. South Africa, the host of the summit, is a signatory to the ICC and is obligated to comply with the arrest warrant on war crimes charges. South Africa has not announced that Putin will definitely come to the summit but has been planning for his possible arrival. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an inter-ministerial committee, led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, to consider South Africa’s options with regard to its ICC commitment over Putin’s possible trip. While it is highly unlikely the Russian president would be arrested there if he decides to go, the public debate about whether he can is in itself “an unwelcome development whose impact should not be underestimated,” according to Gould-Davies. Then there are Moscow’s complicated relations with its own neighbors. Ten days ago, Putin projected the image of solidarity, with leaders of Armenia, Belarus and Central Asian states standing beside him at a Victory Day military parade on Red Square. This week, however, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan flocked to China and met with leader Xi Jinping at a summit that highlighted the erosion of Russia’s influence in the region as Beijing seeks to make economic inroads into Central Asia. Xi is using the opportunity “of a weakened Russia, a distracted Russia, almost a pariah-state Russia to increase (China’s) influence in the region,” Fallon said. Putin’s effort this month to shore up more friends in the South Caucasus by scrapping visa requirements for Georgian nationals and lifting a four-year ban on direct flights to the country also didn’t appear to go as smoothly as the Kremlin may have hoped. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-georgia-flights-tbilisi-protest-airport-e4fafd250f420a768558a8eaa891d74f" title="">first flight that landed Friday in Georgia was met with protests</a>, and the country’s pro-Western president has decried the move as a provocation. Zelenskyy’s ongoing world tour, in the meantime, can be seen as a success on many levels. European leaders promised him an arsenal of missiles, tanks and drones, and even though no commitment has been made on fighter jets – something Kyiv has wanted for months – a conversation about finding ways to do it has begun. His appearance Friday at the Arab League summit in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port on the Red Sea, highlighted Kyiv’s effort to spread its plight for support far and wide, including in some countries whose sympathies are with Russia. In addition to Zelenskyy, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad at the summit after a 12-year suspension – something analysts say aligns with Moscow’s interests. Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute who focuses on Russia’s policy in the Middle East, called it “another testament to the fact that Russia is not isolated globally for its invasion of Ukraine, that the Middle East is one part of the world where Russia is able to find avenues to avoid global isolation – both ideological isolation but also economic isolation.” She added that Zelenskyy and his government deserve credit for “in recognizing that they need to reach out more to improve their diplomatic efforts in this part of the world and other parts of the world where the Russian narrative resonates.” Kyiv could expect that “this is the beginning of a larger shift in perception that could eventually translate into potential support,” Borshchevskaya said. Similarly, the Ukrainian president’s participation in the G7 summit is “a message to the rest of the world, to Russia and beyond, and the so-called Global South,” Gould-Davies believes. There is a concern in the West over the extent to which some major developing economies – Brazil, South Africa and, to a degree, India – “are not criticizing, not condemning Russia and indeed in various ways are helping to mitigate the impact of sanctions on Russia,” he said. “Collectively, economically, they matter. So there is, I think, this felt need for a renewed diplomatic campaign to bring some of these most important states into the kind of the Western way of looking at these things,” Gould-Davies said. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) France Germany Russia SaudiArabia Ukraine Vatican VladimirPutin VolodymyrZelenskyy _2170248 Fri, 19 May 2023 17:35:10 +0000 'This is defund the police on steroids': Rep. Stacey Plaskett takes Republicans to task https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170161/-Rep-Stacey-Plaskett-takes-Republicans-to-task-This-is-defund-the-police-on-steroids?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= U.S. Virgin Islands Congressional Delegate Stacey Plaskett did not mince words in her opening statement Thursday to the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. She called out the farce being enacted by “MAGA Republicans” and meticulously dissected everything that is anti-democratic about the clown show that is the subcommittee chaired by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.  Many Americans may remember Plaskett from her work prosecuting Donald Trump in the House impeachment hearings. Her remarks in yesterday’s hearing are well worth a listen. She calls the subcommittee what it is: a dangerous waste of time and taxpayer money that’s essentially a “clearinghouse” for potential conspiracy theories Donald Trump can use on the 2024 campaign trail. RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/18/2170078/-Democrats-expertly-dissect-Jim-Jordan-s-farce-of-a-weaponization-committee">Jim Jordan unable to stop Democratic lawmakers from dissecting his farce hearing</a> rss@dailykos.com (Denise Oliver Velez) Recommended SelectSubcommitteeontheWeaponizationoftheFederalGovernment StaceyPlaskett _2170161 Fri, 19 May 2023 10:06:14 +0000 Prosecutor suggests any indictments in Trump election investigation would likely come in August https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170210/-Prosecutor-suggests-any-indictments-in-Trump-election-investigation-would-likely-come-in-August?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= The Atlanta prosecutor <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-georgia-a66edf8ccbf51924b76d7a4e7fcd1e16">investigating</a> whether then-President <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> and others broke the law while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia seems to be suggesting that any grand jury indictments in the case would likely come in August. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter Thursday sent a letter to county Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville indicating that she plans to have much of her staff work remotely for most days during the first three weeks of August and asking that judges not schedule trials and in-person hearings during part of that time. Copied in on the letter are 20 other county officials, including Sheriff Pat Labat, the court clerk and top leaders. “Thank you for your consideration and assistance in keeping the Fulton County Judicial Complex safe during this time,” Willis wrote in the letter, first reported by The New York Times. Willis last month <a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-trump-election-probe-willis-cc817a200b6d55cdc7b56d0d6ca247f2" title="">wrote local law enforcement leaders</a> advising them that she intended to announce charging decisions in the case between July 11 and Sept. 1. Thursday's letter seems to narrow that window. In the earlier letters she advised law enforcement to prepare for “heightened security," noting that the announcement of charges “may provoke a significant public reaction.” For more than two years, Willis and her team have been scrutinizing actions Trump and others took as they tried to overturn his narrow loss in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden. She wrote in the letter to Glanville that she plans to reduce the staffing in her office by about 70% on most Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays — the days when grand juries meet in Fulton County — between July 31 and Aug. 18. But she said her “leadership team, all armed investigators” and some other staff would continue to be on site during the remote work days. Willis noted that most judges will be attending an annual state judicial conference from July 31 to Aug. 4, and she asked that they not schedule trials or in-person hearings the weeks of Aug. 7 and Aug. 14. But she said her office will be present and ready to go for any in-person proceedings during that time. If in-person hearings are scheduled when most of her staff is working remotely, she wrote, they would be handled by senior leadership. The Georgia <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-maralago-classified-documents-justice-department-fe1447c284a4af9b3d1fb9b8068da408">investigation is one of several</a> that threatens the former president as he <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-2024-updates-cd5339d48064a149527e8f9a1aa7614e">campaigns to regain the White House</a> in 2024. A Manhattan grand jury in March <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-what-to-know-f79b5c148e0164a803673ad80dfc02bc" title="">indicted him on 34 counts</a> of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential election. Federal grand juries in Washington are investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and the potential mishandling of classified documents by Trump at his Florida estate. A federal jury in New York recently <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db">found Trump liable</a> for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) BigLie DonaldTrump FaniWillis FultonCounty Georgia _2170210 Fri, 19 May 2023 15:04:52 +0000 Police officer charged with lying about leaks to Proud Boys leader https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170197/-Police-officer-charged-with-lying-about-leaks-to-Proud-Boys-leader?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= A police officer was arrested Friday on charges he lied about leaking confidential information to a leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group and obstructed an investigation after group members destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner in the nation's capital. An indictment alleges that Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond, 47, of Stafford, Virginia, warned former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio that law enforcement had an arrest warrant for Tarrio related to the banner's destruction. Tarrio was arrested in Washington two days before Proud Boys members joined a mob in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Earlier this month, Tarrio and three other members of the group were convicted of seditious conspiracy charges for what prosecutors said was a plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 election. A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Lamond on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Friday. Jurors who convicted Tarrio heard testimony that Lamond frequently provided the Proud Boys leader with internal information about law enforcement operations in the weeks before other members of his group stormed the Capitol. Less than three weeks before the Jan. 6 riot, Lamond warned Tarrio that the FBI and U.S. Secret Service were “all spun up” over talk on an Infowars internet show that the Proud Boys planned to dress up as supporters of President Joe Biden on the day of the inauguration. In a message to Tarrio on Dec. 25, 2020, Lamond said police investigators had asked him to identify Tarrio from a photograph. Lamond warned Tarrio that police may be seeking a warrant for his arrest. Later, on the day of his arrest, Tarrio posted a message to other Proud Boys leaders that said, “The warrant was just signed.” rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) EnriqueTarrio Insurrection shanelamond _2170197 Fri, 19 May 2023 14:24:04 +0000 Ohio board approves August ballot question meant to thwart abortion rights push https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170186/-Ohio-board-approves-August-ballot-question-meant-to-thwart-abortion-rights-push?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/constitutional-access-ohio-house-abortion-ballot-95cae24b996ce943c976dbf06d7d9867">ballot question</a> seeking to make it more difficult to amend the Ohio Constitution was cleared for an August ballot on Thursday, and teams of Republican and Democratic lawmakers assigned to write pro and con arguments, respectively, to be presented to voters. The process before the Ohio Ballot Board followed the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/democracy-ballot-initiatives-abortion-republicans-ohio-missouri-c48033311370f071ccece0da975818cb">raucous legislative floor session</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-gun-rights-vaccines-constitution-ohio-4e3443dfafd071c94a72204606723a47">months of drama</a> leading up to approval of the measure, which is aimed at thwarting an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ohio-state-government-michigan-health-7758b37b35cbb87f3185877fcbfc2139">effort to enshrine abortion rights</a> in the state's constitution this fall. Abortion is currently legal in Ohio, up to 20 weeks' gestation, as a lawsuit against a near-ban <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ap-top-news-us-news-ohio-john-kasich-0b1deb8c1f5d41d8ab4c9e32446a55ce" title="">enacted in 2019</a> is argued. On this August's ballot, voters will be asked whether or not they support raising the threshold for passing future constitutional amendments from the simple majority Ohio has had in place since 1912 to a 60% supermajority. As a constitutional amendment itself, the 60% question will only need to pass by a simple majority of 50%-plus-one. The bipartisan panel, chaired by Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, voted along party lines to certify the ballot language, which Democrats attacked as unfair and inaccurate. The arguments that voters see on their ballots are due to LaRose's office by Monday. Issue 1's Republican backers are expected to characterize the effort as a constitutional protection act aimed at keeping deep-pocketed special interests out of Ohio’s foundational documents. Among groups supporting the higher bar are anti-abortion, pro-gun rights and business groups opposed to a burgeoning amendment that would raise Ohio's minimum wage. Democrats will use their arguments to paint the 60% threshold as an assault on Ohio's long history of direct democracy. Some Democratic lawmakers led a “one person, one vote” chant and march after last week's vote from the floor of the Ohio House — echoing cries of a large crowd of protesters gathered outside. Should either side object to the others' phrasing, they could file suit in the Ohio Supreme Court, which holds exclusive power to settle disputes in cases where lawmakers forward an ballot question straight to voters. Democratic lawyer Don McTigue, representing the One Person One Vote Campaign, disagreed with the title LaRose's office gave to the issue, which describes it as “elevating the standards” to qualify constitutional amendments of Ohio's ballot. McTigue suggested “modifying” as more neutral, noting that it's against Ohio law for ballot language to bias voters in one way or another. It was too soon to say Thursday whether his client will file a legal challenge, McTigue said. McTigue and Democrats on the board also argued for including the current 50%-plus-one standard in the ballot language, so that voters know what they're changing, but the board rejected that idea. The proposal also calls for doubling the number of Ohio counties — from 44 to all 88 — where backers of future initiative petitions would need to gather signatures in order to qualify for the ballot. As phrased by LaRose’s office, the question also appears to significantly raise the percentage of voters needed in each county, from 5% of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election to 5% of “all eligible voters.” LaRose said his intention was to keep the ballot language simple, which Democratic state Sen. Bill DeMora said was disingenuous. “It's sneaky and it's illegal,” he said. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) Ohio onepersononevote _2170186 Fri, 19 May 2023 13:52:19 +0000 Rhode Island governor signs bill to fund abortion coverage for state workers and Medicaid recipients https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170183/-Rhode-Island-governor-signs-bill-to-fund-abortion-coverage-for-state-workers-and-Medicaid-recipients?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee signed a bill into law Thursday that would let state funds be used to pay for health insurance plans that cover state workers and Medicaid recipients seeking abortions. The signing ceremony was held almost immediately after the state Senate approved the measure, also Thursday, on a 24-12 vote following less than an hour of debate in the chamber. McKee, a Democrat, said he was proud to sign the bill into law and include related funding in his state budget proposal. “Here in Rhode Island, we will always protect a woman’s right to choose and ensure equal access to these crucial health care services,” he said. An identical version of the measure <a href="https://apnews.com/article/rhode-island-abortion-access-bill-expand-f2ef5f8603fe18783d956fe8455c434a" title="">cleared the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives</a> on April 27 by a 49-24 vote. Democratic state Sen. Bridget Valverde, one of the bill’s sponsors, said that despite a vote by Rhode Island lawmakers four years ago to enshrine the right to safe, legal abortion in the state, the work to help guarantee access to abortions was unfinished. “For so many the right has remained illusive,” she said. “That’s because a right to a health care service is useless if we intentionally prevent people’s health insurance from covering it.” Medicaid patients and state workers deserve to have the same access to care as people enrolled in private health insurance plans, she said. With the new law, doctors will no longer have to tell their low-income patients that their health insurance won't cover their abortion, she added. Opponents said the state shouldn't require state taxpayers, including those with moral objections to the procedure, to cover the cost of abortions. “For decades, the consensus has maintained that regardless of one's view on the legality or appropriateness of abortion, taxpayers should not be forced or encouraged to pay for abortions,” said Republican Sen. Jessica de la Cruz. About a quarter of Rhode Islanders are covered by Medicaid, and another 30,000 are covered by state employee plans, backers of the new law said. They have had to pay out of pocket for the full cost of abortions. In his <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-rhode-island-state-government-10400d452973c1d7900986109fc0938b">budget plan</a> for fiscal year 2024, McKee includes funding to add abortion coverage to Rhode Island’s Medicaid program and to the insurance coverage for state employees, at a projected cost of $622,000. The legislation repeals a section of state law banning Rhode Island from including any provision that provides coverage for induced abortions in any health insurance contracts with state employees. The current law exempts instances when the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Other critics, including Democratic House Labor Committee Chair Arthur Corvese, have said it’s one thing to end a pregnancy because of rape, incest or the health of the mother, and another to do so because it was unplanned. The Rhode Island measure <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-divide-republican-democratic-states-fd2e6fffffec2fdcf328d7bca1e6fd78">follows a pattern</a> that has emerged during the first legislative sessions in most states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Republicans are moving to make abortion restrictions tougher, while Democratic-dominated states are moving to protect access for their residents and residents of other states arriving for care. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) Abortion DanielMcKee Medicaid RhodeIsland SCOTUS _2170183 Fri, 19 May 2023 13:22:13 +0000 Morning Digest: North Carolina Democrats have a long but plausible path to retaking Supreme Court https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170089/-Morning-Digest-North-Carolina-Democrats-have-a-long-but-plausible-path-to-retaking-Supreme-Court?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from Daniel Donner, David Jarman, Steve Singiser, James Lambert and David Beard. <a href="https://thedownballot.captivate.fm/">Subscribe to The Downballot, our weekly podcast</a> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder dk-x-embed" href="#" data-src="//player.captivate.fm/show/b049910f-1c6e-4b96-8ecd-480b1764cb75/latest/" data-height="185">Embedded Content</a></div> <h4>Leading Off</h4> <a href="#1" name="1">●</a> NC Supreme Court: Longtime jurist Mike Morgan, one of the last two Democratic justices on North Carolina's Supreme Court, <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article275549226.html">announced on Thursday</a> that he would not seek reelection when his current eight-year term is up next year. His decision leaves open a critical seat that Democrats must defend as part of a long-term plan that represents their only realistic path toward rolling back the GOP's iron grip on state politics. rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos Elections) AndyBeshear CharlesStenholm CharlieStenholm DailyKosElections DKEMorningDigest Elections ElissaSlotkin GlennGeissinger KY-Gov LA-Gov MI-Sen mikemorgan NCSupremeCourt NorthamptonCountyPADistrictAttorney PamelaPugh StephenWaguespack VoteVets _2170089 Fri, 19 May 2023 12:00:22 +0000 Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: The fallout from the CNN town hall continues https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2170037/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-The-fallout-from-the-CNN-town-hall-continues?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/media/christiane-amanpour-trump-town-hall-reliable-sources/index.html" target="_blank">Oliver Darcy</a>/CNN: <blockquote> Christiane Amanpour voices dissent over Trump town hall, says she had ‘very robust exchange’ with CNN chief “Be truthful, but not neutral,” Amanpour urged. “Bothsidesism is not always objectivity. It does not get you to the truth. Drawing false moral or factual equivalence is neither objective or truthful. Objectivity is our golden rule and it is in weighing all the sides and hearing all the evidence, but not rushing to equate them when there is no equating.” “There is a 100% connection,” she said, “between a robust, independent, free and fair press and a functioning democracy and the advance of human rights and justice.” </blockquote> Oliver Darcy was himself a target of CNN boss Chris Licht’s annoyance, prior to this piece.  rss@dailykos.com (Greg Dworkin) AbbreviatedPunditRound-up AbbreviatedPunditRoundUp APR _2170037 Fri, 19 May 2023 10:59:04 +0000 Jim Jordan unable to stop Democratic lawmakers from dissecting his farce hearing https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170078/-Democrats-expertly-dissect-Jim-Jordan-s-farce-of-a-weaponization-committee?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= America got another chance to watch Rep. Jim Jordan’s circus act that he calls a House hearing on Thursday as he wasted the universe’s time on the “weaponization” of the FBI. To make their case, Republicans <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/politics/whistleblower-hearing-jim-jordan/index.html">invited</a> three former agents and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/politics/whistleblower-hearing-jim-jordan/index.html" target="_blank" title="">“self-described FBI whistleblowers”</a> to testify, as well as a lawyer who worked in the Office of the Special Counsel under former president Donald Trump. The three agents have had their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/us/politics/fbi-security-clearance-jan-6.html">security clearances suspended</a> by the FBI because of Jan. 6 conspiracy-mongering. Only one of them, former agent Stephen Friend, had his previous testimony available to Democratic lawmakers. Jordan refused to allow Democratic members of the committee to see any of these tales of whistleblowing. Ranking Democratic committee member Rep. Stacey Plaskett, along with Reps. Dan Goldman, Gerry Connolly, Linda Sanchez, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz proved that brains and not brawn can win the day, successfully exposing what all Jordan-chaired hearings are: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/28/2166240/-Get-this-man-a-mirror-Jim-Jordan-wonders-who-the-extremist-politicians-are" title="">attacks on our democracy</a> and attempts to justify MAGA-world’s crimes and grievances. RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/28/2166240/-Get-this-man-a-mirror-Jim-Jordan-wonders-who-the-extremist-politicians-are" title="">Tough guy Jim Jordan turns outrage on teachers, unions</a> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) allen dangoldman Democracy GerryConnolly Hearing History Jan6 JimJordan kash Patel Sanchez StaceyPlaskett Video weaponization Whistleblower _2170078 Fri, 19 May 2023 01:37:58 +0000 Ukraine Update: Russia appears as fragile as a Faberge Egg https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170032/-Ukraine-Update-Russia-appears-as-fragile-as-a-Faberge-Egg?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Between 1885 and 1917, the jewelry firm Fabergé, then headquartered in St. Petersburg, presented a series of fabulously detailed and intricately formed <a href="https://www.faberge.com/the-world-of-faberge/the-imperial-eggs">golden eggs</a> to the Tsars of Russia. They are genuinely exquisite objects, involving looping traceries of metal, shells of rare minerals, and hundreds of jewels, large and small. Some include tiny figurines, miniature portraits, or even Lilliputian vehicles. A total of 69 were produced. Most were sold off in the 1920s on the orders of cash-strapped Joseph Stalin. A dozen have been lost. In 2013, Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg paid $100 million to bring nine of the eggs back to Moscow. At this moment, Russia seems to have a lot in common with those eggs. The majority of its past glory has been lost. Despite enormous expenditures directed by uber-oligarch Vladimir Putin, very little of it seems poised to return. Its military, its economy, and its standing in the world are all growing more miniscule by the day. And, like those eggs, Russia appears to be extremely fragile. rss@dailykos.com (Mark Sumner) Invasion Russia Ukraine War _2170032 Thu, 18 May 2023 19:55:39 +0000 MAGA victimhood schtick bites Republicans in the ass https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170061/-MAGA-victimhood-schtick-bites-Republicans-in-the-ass?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= It's another day, so that means a fresh new set of battles over “wokeness” from conservatives, who just can't seem to stop whining no matter how many wins they rack up. They will turn on each other at the slightest hint of a moral red line when it comes to racism and bigotry. Today's story starts in St. George, Utah, the seat of Washington County, where Utah's famed Zion National Park is located. The population is<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2022/12/30/st-george-is-booming-heres-who/#:~:text=Washington%20County%20is%20about%2092,members%20of%20the%20predominant%20faith."> 92% white, 61% Mormon</a> and went for Donald Trump 74-23 in the 2020 election. It is as conservative as they come. So conservative, in fact, that it wasn't until 2019 that the city got<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/08/28/st-george-getting-stand/"> its first-ever stand-alone bar approved.</a> It’s no wonder this deep red electorate has an all-Republican city council. But even with total control, local MAGA conservatives, like their national brethren, are perpetually aggrieved. Here, they’re taking it out on their fellow Republicans on the city council. rss@dailykos.com (kos) Anheuser-Busch Conservatism ElonMusk KevinMcCarthy LindaYaccarino MAGA MitchMcConnell RepublicanParty SupremeCourt Twitter Utah _2170061 Thu, 18 May 2023 21:35:07 +0000 Voters can make North Carolina Republicans pay for abortion betrayal https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2169990/--We-re-motivated-North-Carolina-Democrats-rally-around-abortion-rights?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= When Tricia Cotham ran for the North Carolina House last year to represent Mecklenburg County, she did so as a<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/16/2169468/-Blame-GOP-gerrymandering-for-North-Carolina-s-new-abortion-restrictions"> veteran Democratic lawmaker</a> on a promise to protect abortion rights. "Now, more than ever we need leaders who will be unwavering and unapologetic in their support of abortion rights,"<a href="https://twitter.com/triciacotham/status/1521452477475917825"> Cotham tweeted</a> on May 3, 2022, the day after the Supreme Court's draft opinion<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473"> overturning Roe v. Wade leaked</a>. Cotham promised to "fight to codify Roe" and pledged in a Planned Parenthood questionnaire to "oppose any legislation that restricts abortion access." Not only did Cotham ultimately renege on every one of those promises, she also provided House Republicans with the power to make sure Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper couldn't block the GOP's 12-week abortion ban. rss@dailykos.com (Kerry Eleveld) Abortion AbortionBan AbortionRights AndersonClayton JoshStein MarkRobison NorthCarolina reproductivefreedom Republicans RoyCooper triciacotham _2169990 Thu, 18 May 2023 16:45:30 +0000 Trump's lawyer quits just as shoe drops in classified documents case https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170066/-Another-Trump-lawyer-flees-as-special-counsel-zeroes-in?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= On Wednesday, another member of Donald Trump’s legal team resigned. According to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/17/trump-lawyer-in-classified-documents-probe-resigns-00097355">Politico</a>, attorney Tim Parlatore announced that he was leaving for “purely personal” reasons. It seems a lot of attorneys find a sudden longing to see more of their families after spending any time with Trump. In this case, Parlatore’s decision to invest more time at home happens to align with another big announcement. Parlatore was one of the attorneys defending Trump over his appropriation and mishandling of government documents. That includes not just hundreds of classified documents—with some classified at the highest possible level—but also crates of letters, files, gifts, and various items that fall firmly under the Presidential Records Act. This is one of the two areas being investigated by special counsel Jack Smith, and considering Trump’s obvious lies, obfuscation, and failed attempts to deflect the investigation, defending him on this can’t have been high on any attorney’s to-do list. On Thursday evening, within hours of Parlatore’s resignation, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/politics/trump-letter-archives-special-counsel-declassification">CNN</a> reported that the National Archives had sent a letter to Trump informing him that it was sending information to Jack Smith showing that Trump’s advisers were aware that he had not taken proper steps to declassify documents. rss@dailykos.com (Mark Sumner) ClassifiedDocuments Documents DonaldTrump Mar-a-Lago PresidentialRecordsAct TimParlatore _2170066 Thu, 18 May 2023 22:38:46 +0000 Ron DeSantis just cost Florida 2,000 jobs https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170060/-Ron-DeSantis-clown-car-drives-Disney-jobs-out-of-Florida?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has gotten some weird mileage by feuding with one of his state’s biggest employers and global ambassador: Walt Disney and their eponymous resort in Orlando. With billions in business on the line, Disney made it clear to DeSantis that if the governor didn’t back off his <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/2/2167142/-DeSantis-wrote-his-own-confession-to-the-delight-of-Disney-lawyers">culture war attacks on the company</a>, it wouldn’t just rely on<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/4/26/2166026/-Disney-files-suit-against-DeSantis-Mickey-Mouse-operation"> the courts</a>—it would take its business elsewhere. The first show of that threat has now taken place, with The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/business/disney-ron-desantis-florida.html">reporting</a> that Disney has canceled a nearly $1 billion office project near the resort. rss@dailykos.com (kos) California Campaign Disney Florida GavinNewsom RonDeSantis _2170060 Thu, 18 May 2023 19:01:42 +0000 Marjorie Taylor Greene's plan to impeach everyone reaches Merrick Garland https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170045/-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-s-summer-impeachathon-event-sponsored-by-Fox-News?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= A House Republican is now introducing articles of impeachment against Attorney General Merrick Garland, but before anyone gets too worked up about that, just know that the House Republican is <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/2/14/2152942/-Here-s-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-connecting-Flight-93-on-9-11-to-Chinese-spy-balloon-in-Idaho">walking medical-grade conspiracy theory dispensary</a> Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, that she's got a loooong history here, that it's just the warmup to her again vowing to<a href="https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/05-18-2023/gops-first-biden-impeachment-move/"> write up similar articles against President Joe Biden</a>, and that her "new" articles of impeachment are all plucked directly from of the Fox News Extended Universe of lore and characters and subplots. You cannot understand any of Greene's documents unless you are nigh on addicted to Fox shows from the likes of Maria Bartiromo or The Artist Formerly Known As Tucker. Greene is that addicted, and she's going to make sure we're all going to hear about it. Our story today comes to us from Fox News (<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-puts-merrick-garland-sights-impeachment-articles">link</a> grumblingly provided). "In a press release exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, Greene accused Garland of"—all right, stop. Hold up right there. rss@dailykos.com (Hunter) Conservatives Fascism HouseRepublicans MarjorieTaylorGreene MerrickGarland Republicans _2170045 Thu, 18 May 2023 18:32:09 +0000 The Air Force has some explaining to do about Jack Teixeira's document theft https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2169999/-The-Air-Force-has-some-explaining-to-do-about-Jack-Teixeira-s-document-theft?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Republicans have not just tried to make Air National Guard document leaker Jack Teixeira into a right-wing hero, they’ve also called him a whistleblower. As it turns out, there really were whistleblowers in this case. Members of Teixeira’s unit repeatedly caught him carrying notes out of classified meetings or accessing classified information unrelated to his job. Other than a series of memos warning Teixeira to stop, nothing appears to have happened. He didn’t lose his top-secret clearance, and he never stopped posting what he learned to an online group of at least 150 people, including numerous foreign nationals. Teixeira has a scheduled court appearance on Friday. He is facing two counts of retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents. If convicted, those charges could result in a maximum of 25 years in prison. Prosecutors have indicated that additional charges are likely and are arguing that he should be denied bail as investigators continue to look into his actions.<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67189492/united-states-v-jack-douglas-teixeira/"> Filings</a> before the federal district court on Wednesday provided additional details about both the scope of Teixeira’s leak and the multiple times he was caught breaking the rules on handling classified information. As<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/17/leak-suspect-jack-teixeira/"> The Washington Post</a> report makes clear, Teixeira knew exactly what he was doing when he took classified information—including documents detailing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Ukrainian efforts to defend their nation—and shared it on the racist “Thug Shaker Central” discord channel. As administrator of that channel, Teixeira knew how many people were listening. He also knew that many of them were from eastern Europe, but he reveled in his ability to provide them all with classified materials that contained vital information about the war. “Knowing what happens more than pretty much anyone is cool,” wrote Teixeira as he shared his classified information. rss@dailykos.com (Mark Sumner) AirNationalGuard Discord JackTeixeira Leaker MarjorieTaylorGreene Russia Ukraine _2169999 Thu, 18 May 2023 15:36:55 +0000 Cartoon: SCOTUS Gift Cards https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/19/2169929/-Cartoon-SCOTUS-Gift-Cards?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder vimeo dk-embed" href="//vimeo.com/827793560" data-frameborder="0" data-height="360" data-src="//player.vimeo.com/video/827793560?h=4d4ed5279b&color=fc7a08&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" data-width="640">Vimeo Video</a></div> If you’ve been enjoying my cartoons, <a href="https://substack.com/profile/3455940-mark-fiore">consider subscribing to my free newsletter</a> or joining <a href="http://bit.ly/InkSpotClub">the Ink Spot Club</a>, where you can find more writing, sketches and exclusive videos! From <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow">free private jet travel to access to a free luxury superyacht</a>, Clarence Thomas has redefined what it means to be a public servant. Sure, a salary of $285,000 isn’t bad, but why stop there? Since it is becoming a little difficult to keep track of all the perks showered on Justice Thomas by Harlan Crow (and another guy who <a href="https://twitter.com/ddayen/status/1654129967226290179">bought him tires a while back</a>), I thought gift cards may be a better way to go. But it’s not just Thomas, keep in mind that Chief Justice John Roberts (the guy who decides whether behavior in his court warrants an ethics investigation) is the same guy whose <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/29/justices-spouses-conflict-of-interest-disclosures-00059549">wife made $10 million as a legal recruiter</a> . . . for firms with business before the court. And, yes, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/06/scotus-justices-rack-up-trips/">awarded a prize</a> in Israel and her tab was picked up by an Israeli billionaire (which she disclosed). But receiving a prize ain’t exactly the same as getting a $500,000 vacation, <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-school-tuition-scotus">free tuition</a> and a real estate deal out of a Republican political heavyweight. And here we thought Donald Trump being above the law was all we had to worry about. rss@dailykos.com (Mark Fiore) Animation AntoninScalia ClarenceThomas Corruption Ethics GinniThomas janeroberts JohnRoberts JudicialConference MarkFiore PoliticalAnimation PoliticalCartoons PoliticalSatire RBG RuthBaderGinsburg Satire SCOTUS SupremeCourt _2169929 Fri, 19 May 2023 11:00:15 +0000 Caribbean Matters: Inside the efforts to protect the sperm whales of Dominica https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2169648/-Caribbean-Matters-Inside-the-efforts-to-protect-the-sperm-whales-of-Dominica?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Here at “Caribbean Matters,” we most often deal with the region’s people, politics and culture. When dealing with the environment, we tend to focus on disasters, and there have been far too many them. It is a rare and pleasant change to report on the work being done to protect marine life. I was elated to see<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sperm-whale-conservation-dominica-caribbean-60-minutes-transcript-2023-05-14/" target="_blank"> a “60 Minutes” feature</a> this week about efforts to preserve the sperm whales who live year-round in the waters around the island nation of Dominica. Let’s dive in. RELATED STORY: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/10/21/2058821/-Caribbean-Matters-Sorry-Columbus-You-didn-t-discover-anything-The-Caribbean-was-already-occupied">Caribbean Matters: Sorry, Columbus. You didn't discover anything. The Caribbean was already occupied</a> <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/CaribbeanMatters" target="_blank">Caribbean Matters</a> is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/9/28/2052768/-Caribbean-Matters-Getting-to-know-the-countries-of-the-Caribbean">Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean</a>. rss@dailykos.com (Denise Oliver Velez) CaribbeanMatters Dominica PristineSeasProject Recommended spermwhales _2169648 Thu, 18 May 2023 12:29:13 +0000 White House expected to withdraw federal appeals court nomination, in judicial defeat for Biden https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170053/-White-House-expected-to-withdraw-federal-appeals-court-nomination-in-judicial-defeat-for-Biden?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= In a rare judicial defeat for President Joe Biden, the White House is expected to soon withdraw the nomination of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-judicial-nominee-delaney-abortion-new-hampshire-68f2a0ed839c743873a16924a8bce148">Michael Delaney</a> for the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a person familiar with his confirmation process. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/judges-feinstein-judiciary-committee-senate-a238ef9ba6ec7d13faa4f746fe433ab6">Delaney’s nomination lacks the needed votes</a> in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been made public. The White House declined to comment. Democrats' inability to secure the necessary votes both in the committee and on the floor is partly due to concerns over a legal brief on abortion that Delaney signed as deputy attorney general in New Hampshire. The brief defended a parental notification law in the state. Delaney also faced scrutiny of his representation of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/d4948a19ad5244bbbf85b8f618c21841">St. Paul’s School</a>, a private boarding school in New Hampshire that was sued in connection with a <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/sexual%20assault">sexual assault</a>. Delaney said in written testimony to senators that he did not write the 2005 abortion brief and otherwise had “extremely limited involvement” in the case that was brought while he was deputy attorney general in New Hampshire. But he was never able to gain the support of enough Democrats to win approval in the committee, on which Democrats have a narrow one-vote margin. Delaney's nomination was held up for months as California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was absent and Democrats could not move any party-line nominees through the committee. But it became clear last week, upon Feinstein's return, that Delaney did not have enough Democratic votes to move forward. The committee chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., declined to hold a vote on Delaney’s nomination as the panel considered other nominees. He then skipped over Delaney again this week when the committee met on Thursday. After last week's meeting, Durbin said the votes weren’t yet there. “It wasn’t the right moment,” Durbin said last week of Delaney. “We’ll see.” Delaney would be the first of Biden’s judicial nominees to fail due to a clear lack of support from the full Senate. The White House has continued to back him despite the scrutiny, as did New Hampshire's senators, Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan. But other Democrats had expressed concerns. Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Cory Booker of New Jersey had all indicated that they were undecided in recent months. “For me personally, reproductive rights is a fundamental, core issue,” Blumenthal told The Associated Press in March. “And I think I’d want to know why he put his name on the brief and what it reflects in his personal view.” At issue is a New Hampshire law, passed in 2003 but repealed in 2007, that required minors to tell their parents before they obtained an abortion. As the state’s deputy attorney general, Delaney was among those who signed a brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court that defended the law because it “does not present a substantial obstacle to any woman’s right to choose an abortion.” The law, according to the brief filed in the case, Ayotte vs. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, “promotes compelling state interests, not the least of which is protecting the health of the pregnant minor by providing an opportunity for parents to supply essential medical history information to the physician.” Biden nominated Delaney for the appeals court in January, almost a year after Shaheen’s office first contacted him to discuss filling the vacancy. Since then, Shaheen and Hassan have been Delaney’s biggest patrons, despite a rocky confirmation hearing that even Democrats say did not go well for him after he faced repeated questions from Republican senators who attacked his handling of the St. Paul’s case. At Thursday's committee meeting, Durbin was quiet on Delaney's nomination and faced criticism from some Republicans. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the committee, said the parents of the victim involved in the boarding school litigation had come to the committee “continuously" and that Delaney had not sufficiently answered questions about that case. “I understand and share their concerns,” Graham said. "I urge the Biden administration to withdraw Mr. Delaney’s nomination.” Delaney told the committee that he had had “limited involvement” as a lawyer in the criminal case, in which a former student was eventually sentenced to a year in prison for sexually assaulting another student. Delaney said he was instead part of a team of “advocates for the school” who responded to civil claims filed by the family. The expectation of Delaney's withdrawal was first reported by Bloomberg Law. rss@dailykos.com (Associated Press stories chosen by Daily Kos staff) 1stU.S.CircuitCourtofAppeals Boston JoeBiden MichaelDelaney SenateJudiciary _2170053 Thu, 18 May 2023 23:19:03 +0000 One of the last two Democrats on North Carolina's Supreme Court announces retirement https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/5/18/2170080/-One-of-the-last-two-Democrats-on-North-Carolina-s-Supreme-Court-announces-retirement?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= Longtime jurist Mike Morgan, one of the last two Democratic justices on North Carolina's Supreme Court, <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article275549226.html">announced on Thursday</a> that he would not seek reelection when his current eight-year term is up next year. His decision leaves open a critical seat that Democrats must defend as part of a long-term plan that represents their only realistic path toward rolling back the GOP's iron grip on state politics. Morgan's 54-46 victory over Republican incumbent Robert Edmunds in 2016 gave Democrats control of the court for the first time <a href="https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/politics/2016/10/10/nc-supreme-court-race-could/25231181007/">since the late 1990s</a>, putting it in a position to finally impose some curbs on GOP lawmakers. Those same lawmakers, however, reacted to Morgan's win by transforming what had previously been nonpartisan elections into partisan contests, meaning that Supreme Court candidates would be identified by their party labels on the ballot. But that change failed to achieve the outcome Republicans wanted as Democrat Anita Earls flipped a second GOP seat in 2018. And thanks to the resignation of the Republican chief justice the following year, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was able to appoint a replacement, extending Democrats' majority to 6-1. Under Democratic leadership, the court handed down rulings in many areas that clamped down on Republican power-grabs and efforts to undermine democracy, including <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/19/2142295/-Morning-Digest-It-was-an-incredible-election-We-d-be-grateful-for-your-support-for-the-next-one#2">a critical decision just last year</a> holding that partisan gerrymandering violated the state constitution. rss@dailykos.com (David Nir) DailyKosElections Elections mikemorgan NCSupremeCourt NorthCarolina SupremeCourts _2170080 Thu, 18 May 2023 21:07:18 +0000