Patterico's Pontifications

3/17/2024

Happy Birthday to My Dad

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 11:42 am



As I have done every March 17 since I started this blog, I am wishing my Dad a Happy Birthday.

It is a tradition to note my previous similar posts on this special day. And so, I am doing it again on this special day.

He would have been 99 today.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I have some Guinness, as well as most of a bottle of Irish whiskey recently supplied to me by JVW, so I am well fortified for the evening.

3/15/2024

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 11:19 am



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

How many times and in how many ways must this be said:

Putin’s strategy is to scare the entire Western world. Putin wants us to be afraid of him.

He wants us to talk about “nuclear threats”. The West, the entire free world, must not allow itself to be frightened.

If Ukraine loses more territory, then the entire West pays the consequences.

We need the weapons to be able to defend ourselves. Support from the USA is crucial for this!

Related:

…[President Emmanuel] Macron was asked about the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine, which he publicly raised last month in comments that prompted pushback from other European leaders who stressed they had no plans to do so.

“We’re not in that situation today,” he said, but added that “all these options are possible.”

Macron said that troops would only be sent in if Moscow provoked it. He declined to expand further, other than to say that” France would not lead an offensive into Ukraine against Russia.”

He also warned that France cannot afford to be weak where Russia is concerned:

“If war was to spread to Europe, it would be Russia’s sole choice and sole responsibility. But for us to decide today to be weak, to decide today that we would not respond, is being defeated already. And I don’t want that,”

Second news item

President Biden being squeezed by all sides over Israel:

More than three dozen Arab, Muslim and Palestinian-American leaders blasted a White House effort to meet with community organizations in Chicago over the administration’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

In a joint letter addressed to the White House, the groups criticized the outreach as a bid to “whitewash months of White House inaction,” arguing there was no point in agreeing to more meetings until President Joe Biden changes his approach to the conflict…The rebuke serves as the latest sign of the challenge that Biden faces in winning back voters alienated by his steadfast support for the Israeli offensive. A campaign urging Democrats to express their discontent with Biden’s position has spread to several states, after roughly 13 percent of Michigan voters chose to vote “uncommitted” instead of for Biden in their primary last month.

Third news item

Delay away:

The Manhattan district attorney’s office is willing to delay Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial for up to 30 days, according to a court filing.

The trial is currently scheduled to start on March 25.

The potential delay throws the date for what’s supposed to be the former president’s first criminal trial into question, a surprise twist that represents a major boost for Trump – whose defense teams have employed a strategy of consistently trying to delay all of his trials past the election.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York sent about 31,000 pages of discovery material Wednesday and will have more to share, the new filing states.

Fourth news item

“Unrealistic demands” by terrorists for a ceasefire:

Hamas has presented a Gaza ceasefire proposal to mediators and the U.S. that includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for freedom for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences, according to a proposal seen by Reuters.

Hamas said the initial release of Israelis would include women, children, elderly and ill hostages in return for the release of 700-1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, according to the proposal. The release of Israeli “female recruits” is included…

Related: Today Netanyahu’s office announced that a ground invasion of Rafah had been approved. Plans include evacuating civilians beforehand.

Fifth news item

Racial realignment in politics hurting Biden:

“As you can see, Biden’s margin against Donald Trump has basically not moved an inch among white voters; he’s losing them by 12 percentage points, as he did in 2020. However, Biden is now only winning Hispanics by 7 percentage points — down from 24 points in 2020 — and Black voters by ‘only’ 55 points, as compared with 83 points in 2020.”

“I’m not going to cover every possible difficulty when surveying non-white voters, who generally have lower response rates to polls than white voters do. I’m just saying this has been a consistent pattern; Split Ticket has been doing the same analysis for months now, and they’re finding the same thing every time. So at the very least, Democrats can’t wish this problem away by complaining about small sample sizes, although that doesn’t mean they won’t try.”

Sixth news item

And therein lies the problem with the modern Republican Party:

Rep. Nancy Mace’s reelection campaign is calling on one of her primary challengers, Catherine Templeton, to drop out of the South Carolina First Congressional District race.

This comes as former President Donald Trump threw his support behind the congresswoman over the weekend, calling her a “strong, conservative voice” for South Carolina.

On Wednesday, Mace’s campaign manager John Mason Long said Trump’s endorsement signals that the campaign is “stronger than ever” and urged Republicans to unite behind her…

“It’s time for Templeton to step aside and support the only candidate supported by our party’s leader and the only candidate who can win in November. To do otherwise would be to oppose the direction our party leader, Donald Trump, has set for us,” he continued.

Seventh news item

One or the other must go:

A Georgia judge ruled Friday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should not be disqualified from prosecuting the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and several co-defendants — with one major condition.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee found the “appearance of impropriety” brought about by Willis’ romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade should result in either Willis and her office leaving the case — or just Wade, whom she’d appointed to head the case.

The choice is likely to be an easy one: If Willis were to remove herself, the case would come to a halt, but having Wade leave will ensure the case continues without further delay.

The judge said the prosecution “cannot proceed” until Willis makes a decision.

Eighth news item

Unsurprising and disappointing:

President Joe Biden on Friday praised the speech delivered by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a day earlier in which he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way” and called for new elections in Israel.

“He made a good speech and I think he expressed a serious concern shared not only by him but by many Americans,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office when asked what he thought about Schumer’s remarks.

Some Democrats are pushing back on Schumer’s comments:

“Although I have disagreements with Israel’s government, I respect the Israelis’ right to decide for themselves when to call elections and whom to choose as their leaders,” Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said in a statement. “I pray that when the time comes, Israelis of all faiths and backgrounds will come together to elect leaders who will strengthen democracy and build on the unbreakable bonds between our two nations, just as I pray we Americans will do in November.”

Former Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., now president of the American Jewish Committee, wrote in a statement that while the organization appreciates Schumer’s defense of Israel, “We do not believe it is appropriate for U.S. officials to try to dictate the electoral future of any ally.”

Note:

Biden has faced ongoing calls from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to exert more pressure on the Israeli government to make greater efforts to curb Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza and to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid into the strip.

I agree that there absolutely needs to be less civilian deaths and more humanitarian aid to those suffering. But there also needs to be the acknowledgement and full understanding that until Hamas is eradicated and the hostages are freed, there will be a war.

MISCELLANEOUS

A couple of good cartoons:

Have a great weekend.

–Dana

3/14/2024

Just a Little Foreign Interference…

Filed under: General — Dana @ 2:42 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Today:

…in a formal address on the Senate floor, [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer delivered a scathing speech, calling for a new election in Israel. Schumer was highly critical of Netanyahu, saying he is an “obstacle to peace” and that he has “lost his way” as Israel bombards Gaza amid a growing humanitarian crisis there.

Schumer made a point of saying not only is he the majority leader in the Senate but also the highest ranking elected Jewish official in the U.S.

“I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu for a long time. While we have vehemently disagreed on many occasions, I will always respect his extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man. I believe in his heart his highest priority is the security of Israel,” he said. “However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel,” he said.

“As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,” he said.

“At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government,” he said.

“I also believe a majority of the Israeli public will recognize the need for change, and I believe that holding a new election once the war starts to wind down would give Israelis an opportunity to express their vision for the post-war future,” he added.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell rebuked Schumer for his comments:

“It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of a democratically elected leader of Israel…This is unprecedented. We should not treat fellow democracies this way at all.”

“Things that upset left-wing activists are not the prime ministers policies they are Israel’s policies. Make no mistake, the Democratic party doesn’t have an anti-Bibi problem, it has an anti Israel problem,” McConnell said.

“Only Israel’s citizens should have a say in who runs their government,” McConnell continued. “This is the very definition of democracy and sovereignty. Either we respect their decisions or we disrespect their democracy.”

Schumer is trying to appease the left-wing base in his party. Complaints have been intensifying that President Biden has not done enough to help the Palestinians (during an obvious humanitarian crisis) as well as pressuring him against providing arms to Israel. After all, there is an election coming up and President Biden will need all the votes he can get. Anyway, if the Israelis want a new PM, let them go about the business of electing one. However, Netanyahu officially started his sixth term at the end of December 2022.

Asking the question:

Putting aside that Dems would go nuts if Israeli leaders were openly campaigning for Trump, the thing with the Dems current tantrum meant to appease extremists in their base is they can’t explain what happens if they catch the car?

Israel is currently governed by a coalition government that includes all the big parties. All big decisions are voted on by the war cabinet. Replacing BN as the face will change exactly 0 Israeli policies. So then what happens?

Because the problem those left-wing elements of the base have is with Israel’s existence, not who is the current PM so BN’s removal won’t appease them.

It’s as if the hostages no longer exist or matter and that their freedom is not a priority. It’s as if Hamas is viewed as little more than a pesky group of disgruntled residents, not a vile terrorist group holding a people captive while threatening anyone who opposes their ironclad occupation.

And of course, there’s this. Why is Israel always the most vexing problem?

–Dana

Bernie Sanders Latest Proposal: 4-day Workweek With No Loss Of Pay For Workers

Filed under: General — Dana @ 1:57 pm



[guest post by Dana]

About the bill:

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., held a hearing Thursday on a bill he introduced to reduce the standard U.S. workweek to four days without loss of pay.

The bill, titled the “Thirty-Two Hour Work Week Act,” would reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours over the span of four years, including lowering the maximum hours required for overtime compensation for nonexempt employees. It would also require overtime pay at time and a half for workdays that last more than eight hours and overtime pay that would pay workers double their regular pay if their workday is longer than 12 hours.

Sanders on the details:

“Moving to a 32-hour workweek with no loss of pay is not a radical idea,” Sanders said in a statement. “Today, American workers are over 400 percent more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. That has got to change.”

“The financial gains from the major advancements in artificial intelligence, automation and new technology must benefit the working class, not just corporate CEOs and wealthy stockholders on Wall Street,” he said. “It is time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life. It is time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay.”

Of course the obvious question is: how will this work? Employees will work 8 hours less per week, yet their pay will remain the same (as if they had worked that extra 8 hours). How will Mom & Pop smaller businesses afford this? If they can’t, the costs will be passed on to customers or a reduction in staffing, whether in a restaurant, shop, retail, or any sort of small business. However, when given an opportunity to explain to the public just how it would work, the multi-millionaire Sanders didn’t appear to want to answer the vexing question and instead played politics:

VAUGHN: It seems like Democrats want businesses to be taxed more, pay their workers —

SANDERS: Really? Is that what you think?

VAUGHN: They pay their workers —

SANDERS: Excuse me! Excuse me!

VAUGHN: I didn’t get to ask my question.

SANDERS: Ok, thank you. You wanna — hold it, Ok. We held a hearing on a 32-hour work week because what we have seen is that over the last 50 years, despite a huge increase in worker productivity, almost all of the wealth has gone to the top 1% while 60% of the people living paycheck to paycheck. Many of our people are exhausted. We work longest hours of any people in the industrialized world. I think it is time for a shortened work week.

VAUGHN: Let me ask you a question about that. Seems like Democrats want businesses to be taxed more, pay their workers more, lower prices, and now pay people not to work.

SANDERS: Really? That’s not my assumption. I don’t think so. You know what Democrats — you know what I would like to see?

VAUGHN: How are businesses going to survive that? That’s the question. How can businesses survive that? How can businesses survive all of those proposals?

SANDERS: When Mr. Bezos pays an effective tax rate lower than the average worker, I think we have a real problem in our tax system. I think that billionaires have got to start paying their fair share of taxes. Thank you.

He then turned around and walked into his office.

What a shame because I think a lot of people like the idea of a 32-hour workweek. A shorter workweek would allow families to spend more time together and employees to have more down time. What’s not to like? However, it has to be workable for all parties involved – including those writing the paychecks.

As a congressman observed:

“In reality, there is no free lunch,” Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said of the proposal.

“Workers will be the ones who would pay — not get paid extra. The government mandating a 32-hour workweek requiring businesses to increase pay at least an extra 25 percent per hour, would frankly destroy some employers.”

…Cassidy said many jobs would be shipped overseas or replaced with automation, or businesses would be incentivized to hire more part-time employees to avoid penalties associated with requirements for full-time workers.

“If this policy is implemented, it would threaten millions of small businesses operating on a razor-thin margin because they’re unable to find enough workers…Now they’ve got the same workers, but only for three-quarters of the time, and they have to hire more.”

The bill summary is here.

The bill is here.

–Dana

3/11/2024

Constitutional Vanguard: Legal Commentators (Looking at You, Sarah Isgur): Please Learn the Basic Theories of the Bragg Prosecution

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:22 am



My latest newsletter identifies two errors by Sarah Isgur in analyzing the Bragg prosecution that starts in two weeks. Excerpt from the free portion:

In the March 1, 2024 Dispatch Podcast, Isgur says of the falsification of records felony that it becomes a felony only when you can “attach” another crime to it (i.e. provide a crime that was perpetrated or concealed by the falsification of business records), and “the only other crime they could attach to it is a federal crime that the Department of Justice decided not to prosecute Trump for.”

As I will explain in detail below, that appears to me to be inaccurate. There are at least two other potential crimes—both state crimes—that Bragg has stated in writing that he intends to use as underlying crimes for the falsification of records charge. These include 1) a violation of New York tax fraud laws, and 2) a violation of New York state election law. The trial judge has ruled that these are both viable theories that Bragg’s prosecutors can argue to the jury.

In addition, even when it comes to the federal campaign finance charge that Isgur is referencing in the quote above, it’s not true that Bragg is necessarily relying on a charge DOJ declined to bring. Because—as I have said many times before, and as Isgur has previously acknowledged—Bragg could be relying on the campaign finance violation by Michael Cohen.

Second, Isgur says that the reason the Department of Justice did not charge Donald Trump with a federal campaign finance violation “is because it’s not a federal crime.” I don’t believe that could possibly be the reason DOJ did not charge Trump—because DOJ did charge Cohen with that crime. And Cohen pled to it. Now, reasonable people can disagree about whether the federal campaign charge that Cohen pled to is really a crime, and the importance we should attach to Cohen’s guilty plea. But however you come down on those issues, we all should be able to agree that DOJ believed that the crime they charged Cohen with . . . was a crime. If DOJ didn’t think it was a crime, they wouldn’t have charged Cohen. So it appears incorrect for Isgur to say that the reason DOJ didn’t charge Trump is because “it’s not a federal crime.”

I hope Isgur issues clear corrections on these two apparent errors—or explains why they are not errors, despite all appearances.

In the portion for paid subscribers, I discuss the ethics of making corrections, noting that Isgur has sometimes issued cheerful and forthright corrections, but elsewhere has failed to make corrections in every relevant venue, or has issued a stealth sub silentio correction which provides the accurate information but does not admit error. As for the cheerful and forthright corrections, I said this:

By the way, I think Isgur beats herself up a little too much when making these forthright corrections. As I have said before, everyone gets stuff wrong. And when you’re talking all the time for a living, as Isgur does, the pitfalls only grow. I know Isgur cares deeply about getting things right, and it clearly upsets her when she realizes she hasn’t. But, speaking myself as someone who has had to issue countless corrections over the decades, may I suggest that there’s no need for self-flagellation. Again: it happens. To everybody. On this Substack, I’ve even caught Justice Neil Gorsuch making a substantive mistake in one of his opinions. And of course, when the media picked up on the error, some outlets incorrectly described the nature of the error.

To err is human. To correct an error is divine. (Gorsuch, by the way, never corrected his error.)

Here’s hoping this newsletter results in a more accurate analysis of the Bragg prosecution. It’s important.

Read the newsletter here. Subscribe here.

3/8/2024

An Editorial at The Dispatch Paraphrases P.J. O’Rourke But Misses His Point

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 12:58 pm



The editors of The Dispatch have published one of their rare editorials. This one is titled The American People Should Demand Better.

The following passage from the editorial caught my eye:

In 2016, Trump ran on trade protectionism, an isolationist foreign policy, and a crackdown on both illegal and legal immigration—policy ideas with which we may have disagreed but which, to paraphrase the late P.J. O’Rourke, were wrong within normal parameters. Watch a Trump rally today, though, and it immediately becomes clear that policy—of any kind—couldn’t be further from his mind.

Bold emphasis is mine.

I thought their paraphrasing of P.J. O’Rourke was an odd choice, given that his actual quote about “normal parameters” was a description, not of Trump or his policies, but of Hillary Clinton — whom O’Rourke had announced he was endorsing because, and I quote, “She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”

I left the following comment over there under the Dispatch editorial, and thought I would share it with you here:

To me, it is ironic that you paraphrase P.J. O’Rourke’s quote about “normal parameters” to argue that Trump’s policies in 2016 were within normal parameters. Of course, O’Rourke never described Trump or his policies as being within normal parameters. On the contrary. O’Rourke was speaking about Hillary Clinton, and explaining why he was endorsing her. His actual quote: “She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”

You guys should be following O’Rourke’s example and endorsing the Democrat who is wrong about everything, but within normal parameters.

You accurately describe Biden as someone who has pursued ineffective and even stupid policies; who has demagogued issues; and who has behaved in an extreme and stubborn manner. In other words: a standard Democrat politician who is wrong about everything, but wrong within normal parameters.

By contrast, you accurately describe Trump as a frightening authoritarian who, among other atrocities, tried to steal an election, wanted to start an unjustified nuclear war, and sought to order our troops to shoot American citizens for protesting his policies. (I don’t think you even mentioned his crimes.) In other words, someone decidedly far outside normal parameters.

And then you throw up your hands and say “gee, it’s a bad choice!”

Yes, it is. But when faced with a bad choice between a standard-issue dumb, ineffective, extreme politician who is wrong about everything within normal parameters, and someone who commits 91 felonies and two impeachable offenses and tries to steal elections and wants to use nuclear weapons on a whim and shoot protestors … you should follow P.J. O’Rourke’s example.

Hold your nose and endorse the Democrat.

I have heard it said that killing a man is tough the first time, but it gets easier. Well, I can tell you the same is true of voting for a Democrat for President. I did it for the first time in 2020 (having cast a protest vote in 2016). It was hard. It will be easier this time.

It’s hard as a conservative media outlet to endorse a Democrat. But you guys have done tough things before because you knew you were doing the right thing. I hope you come to see that the same is true here. The right thing is to endorse the decrepit incompetent guy who has screwed up for the last four years.

Biden is terrible. He really is.

But within normal parameters.

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:57 am



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Today is International Women’s Day. These unbelievably courageous women lay it all on the line, no matter the risk and consequences. I am so humbled by their determination:

This too:

While the women of Iran face torture and imprisonment as they work to end gender apartheid and Israeli women remain held hostage by Hamas, the AP answers the vexing question of whether it is appropriate to send women flowers and chocolates today:

It depends on the time and place.

Women in Eastern Europe have long received flowers on March 8 — and sometimes even gotten the day off from work. But chocolates and candy can come across as a belittling gestures, showing a lack of understanding of the struggles driving women to protest, particularly in regions where protests have been combative.

Yeah, about those women in Eastern Europe:

Second news item

Donald Trump last night before the SOTU speech:

“I am pleased to inform you that tomorrow night we will be doing a LIVE, Play by Play, of Crooked Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address. I will correct, in rapid response, any and all inaccurate Statements, especially pertaining to the Border and his Weaponization of the DOJ, FBI, A.G.s, and District Attorneys, to go after his Political Opponent, ME (something never done before in this Country!). We did this once before to tremendous success – Beating All Records. It is important for the Country to get the TRUTH!”

Unfortunately for the man who would be king president and had promised to live blog the President’s speech, his Truth Social website suffered any number of outages minutes after President Biden began speaking. Sad!

Third news item

President Biden correctly identifies the killer of Laken Riley:

President Joe Biden mentioned the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley during his State of the Union address on Thursday and referred to the Venezuelan man accused of killing her as an “illegal.”

Although a correct description of Riley’s killer, we are instructed about the “outdated” language:

By calling the suspect an “illegal,” Biden was using outdated language often preferred by Republicans – but long abandoned by Democrats and social justice advocates – when referring to people who have entered the country illegally.

Of course, the larger issue is the humanitarian crisis at our Southern border and the need for border security. Remember too, the it was the GOP’s decision to walk away from the $118 billion border deal.

President Biden was asked today about his use of the word “illegal” last night:

REPORTER: Do you regret using the word illegal to describe immigrants last night, sir?

BIDEN: Well, I probably, uh, I don’t regret…it, uh, technically he’s not supposed to be here.

Fourth news item

President Biden should focus on the most difficult part of the problem, and the one with the most severe consequences:

President Biden in his State of the Union address lashed out at Israel for not allowing more aid into Gaza, and announced a harebrained scheme to have the U.S. military build a port to facilitate the delivery of more aid.

Biden’s focus has been on getting food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza, not on the real challenge of protecting it and making sure that it gets to those in need once it gets in.

So even if the port project goes perfectly (and the U.S. military is capable of some amazing things) and more aid flows in, it doesn’t really solve what happens to the aid once it hits the shore. Who is preventing it from getting looted, hoarded by Hamas, and sold on the black market for prices that are unaffordable to those most in need?

What the author doesn’t provide readers with is a possible solution to the problem of protecting the aid once it lands on the ground.

Fifth news item

Trauma and the hope for tomorrow:

…Samer Sinjilawi…is a Palestinian born and bred in East Jerusalem. Samer is 52 years old, a political activist who spent five years in Israeli prison from the age of 15 for throwing stones at Israelis during the first intifada. He defines himself as part of the leadership of the opposition to Mahmoud Abbas within the Fatah movement. Samer tells audiences that he has lived his whole life without being the citizen of any country. His lives in the city of his birth, which is the capital of the State of Israel, where there are almost 400,000 Palestinians, about 40% of the population of Jerusalem, but the State of Israel does not want him as a citizen. The State of Israel also does not allow him to be a citizen of the State of Palestine, which Israel does not recognize. Samer is a politician but has never been able to run for national office…When Samer is asked how he deals with the trauma of this war and of the whole conflict he responds by saying that when he sees an Israeli Jew who hates Palestinians and even wants to kill them, he understands them. He says “we did terrible things to the Jews and the Jews did terrible things to us. I used to think that we were the good guys and they were the bad guys. Now I know that the reality is much more complex and we have done terrible things to each other.”

Samer went to visit Kibbutz Kfar Aza after October 7. He was filmed there by a documentary film maker and he said that he came because he wanted to see with his own eyes the atrocities committed by Hamas. He said “I have to take responsibility for this because it was done in my name as a Palestinian, by my own people, and we are all responsible.” He also now says that he hopes that someday Israelis will be able to go to Gaza and stand up and say “I take responsibility as an Israeli because the atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza were done in my name.” Confronting trauma begins with compassion and taking responsibility.

Sixth news item

Keeping it in the family:

At the Republican National Committee’s spring meeting here Friday, members elevated Trump’s endorsed candidates – North Carolina GOP chairman Michael Whatley and the former president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump – to serve as the organization’s new chair and co-chair, respectively…Neither faced any challengers Friday…[P]eople close to the former president and at the RNC describe the shift as a more of a takeover. Trump is looking to sync the RNC closely with his presidential campaign, building out a team that will indulge in his focus on election fraud and improve its fundraising prowess – at a time when the committee finds itself in dire financial straits.

Seventh news item

By a wide margin, San Franciscans say enough is enough!:

Proposition E was passed by San Francisco voters Tuesday night. The proposition pertains to police department policies and procedures. Prop E limits the amount of time a patrol officer may spend on administrative tasks and allows the use of drones along with, or instead of vehicular pursuits…In addition to expanding the use of drones and limiting desk time for officers, Prop E allows for use of body camera footage to satisfy reporting requirements and allows the installation of surveillance and facial recognition cameras without approval from the police commission or board of supervisors.

Proposition F, another city ballot initiative that would require drug screening for certain beneficiaries of county assistance, also passed…

Eighth news item

One of the unintended consequences of AI:

Five Beverly Hills eighth-graders have been expelled for their involvement in the creation and sharing of fake nude pictures of their classmates.

The Beverly Hills Unified School District board of education voted at a special meeting Wednesday evening to approve stipulated agreements of expulsion with five students. According to a source close to the investigation, the expelled students were attending Beverly Vista Middle School. Under a stipulated agreement, the students and their parents do not contest the punishment and no hearing was held.

According to Supt. Michael Bregy, the five students who were the focus of its investigation were the “most egregiously involved” in the creation and sharing of the images, which superimposed pictures of real students’ faces onto simulated nude bodies generated by artificial intelligence. The victims, the district said, were 16 eighth-grade students.

Note: California’s laws against possessing child pornography and sharing nonconsensual nude pictures do not specifically apply to AI-generated images, which legal experts say would pose a problem for prosecutors.

MISCELLANEOUS

I realize it’s a thankless job, but still…

Have a great weekend!

–Dana

3/7/2024

State of the Union Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:22 pm



[guest post by Dana]

This is President Biden’s third SOTU address. Per CNN, this is what to expect:

Biden’s speech is expected to be heavy on economic populism, aides said, with calls for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. He also plans to take a swipe at former President Donald Trump, vow to restore Roe and acknowledge his age

Additionally, the President will announce that the “U.S. military will lead an emergency mission to build a new pier on the Mediterranean coast of Gaza to allow large ships to deliver food, water, medicine and temporary shelters to the territory.”

U.S. troops will not need to set foot on land in Gaza.

Despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s admonition for decorum, it appears that Marge has other plans for tonight:

Here’s what’s inappropriate – $34 trillion in debt. Laken Riley was murdered… I’ll argue that decorum has been destroyed here in Washington D.C. and in Congress. So, I think calling out the president if he’s lying to the American people is completely appropriate.

Should be fun.

—Dana

News Idiots: Schiff Used Garvey to Clobber Porter

Filed under: General — JVW @ 6:44 am



[guest post by JVW]

Progressive darling Katie Porter (D-Irvine) was walloped in Tuesday’s night California Senate Primary Election, finishing a distant third to fellow Representative Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and to the 1974 National League MVP, former Los Angeles Dodger and San Diego Padre Steve Garvey (.294/.329/.446). Because Rep. Porter was beloved by the young and insufferable woke left who is reflexively disdainful of capitalism and worships at the altar of the regulatory bureaucracy, her media acolytes are incapable of contemplating that she was a smug, phony, self-important, and dishonest clone of her mentor Elizabeth Warren (minus the made-up exotic background) and instead are insisting that their heroine got done in by patriarchical collusion. Here are some stellar examples (bolded emphasis by me):

Jill Cowan at The New York Times
Had there been screens blaring the news, supporters would have seen a Democratic rival, Representative Adam B. Schiff, advance to California’s general election runoff in November. And shortly thereafter, they would have watched Steve Garvey, a Republican and former baseball player, take the other spot — in no small part because of a stratagem by Mr. Schiff that sidelined Ms. Porter at the earliest opportunity.

Daniela Altimari at Roll Call
But Porter’s ability to raise campaign cash lagged behind Schiff’s, who brought in $32.8 million to Porter’s $28 million. Schiff’s gambit to run ads focusing on Garvey boosted the Republican’s underfunded campaign and effectively blocked Porter from winning one of the November ballot slots.

Ryan Bort at Rolling Stone
The real race was between Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.). Schiff, who burnished his profile by leading Trump’s first impeachment, enjoyed a fundraising apparatus so formidable that he and his allies were able to spend $11 million to boost Garvey, the Republican, in order to ensure he didn’t have to square off with Porter in the general election.

Christopher Cadelago and Melanie Watson at Politico
Schiff advanced to the general election in November. He also managed to boost Republican Steve Garvey into the race with him and box out Democrat Katie Porter.

[. . .]

The most robust advocate for Garvey was Schiff, who blanketed the state with ads portraying the Republican as too conservative — a clear signal to the state’s GOP voters to back him. Schiff, a despised figure among Trump fans for his role in the former president’s first impeachment, motivated his biggest critics into picking the opponent he wanted for the fall.

And there you have it, folks. That Machiavellian genius Adam Schiff plucked from out of nowhere this obscure retired ballplayer who played nineteen seasons in California, won a World Series title with the Dodgers, was the two-time NLCS MVP, and was selected to ten MLB All-Star Games, and introduced him to the general public. Never mind the fact that Mr. Garvey won 32.2% of the vote in a state where Republicans and No Party Preference registrants together account for 46.2% of registered voters. Never mind the fact that Donald Trump, as odious as he is to California progressives, took 31.6% of the vote in the Golden State in the 2016 election and then 34.3% in the 2020 election. Never mind the fact that the worst showing for a GOP nominee for Governor of California in recent times has been 38%. No, according to the dominant news narrative, Mr. Garvey was the creation of the Schiff campaign and if not for that $11 million spent by Team Schiff on his behalf then Katie Porter — who incidentally spent $28 million dollars on her own campaign — would likely have swapped out her anemic 13.9% showing for something much closer to Mr. Garvey’s current total which amounts to twice that of her own, 1.2 million votes to 550,000 thousand votes.

It’s simply impossible for the media left to acknowledge that Katie Porter is generally unlikeable outside of their shared parochial echo chamber, even to fellow Democrats. She is given credit for flipping her Congressional district from red to blue, but that ignores the fact that she was fortunate to run during the Trump Era and that her margin of victory was narrowing. Moreover, it would seem that most Democrats who live outside of California’s 45th Congressional District — a district which boasts the seventh highest median income among all California Congressional districts and the thirteenth highest median income in the entire United States Congress — find her to be the typical tiresome academic scold who games the system for her own benefit then criticizes anyone else who dares to do the same. Her base also consists of younger voters, who are traditionally unreliable and who apparently did not bother to get out and vote in this primary election. Lieawatha Light can head back to her cushy sinecure in Irvine, teaching impressionable Millennials that the system is rigged against them, that capitalism is a shell game, that every social problem can be fixed so long as educated bureaucrats are empowered to enact change, the money supply is infinite, and those pesky legislators and voters stay in their lane.

But cheers to getting one of the more obnoxious characters out of Congress. In November I will unenthusiastically vote for Steve Garvey, who turns 76 years old three days before Christmas. He’ll lose anyway, and Adam Schiff will vote in the Senate probably 98% the same way that Katie Porter would have voted, but I’ll be slightly glad that it is he and not she casting those votes.

– JVW

3/6/2024

Mitch McConnell Endorses Trump

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:39 pm



[guest post by Dana]

I’m just saying: if my husband endorsed a lunatic for the presidency after he had publicly humiliated me by making racist comments about me, he would find himself living in a house, a cold house, divided. And yet, this is what Mitch McConnell did today:

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday he will support Donald Trump for the presidency, a move that comes more than three years after they have last spoken and after the Kentucky Republican pointedly blamed Trump for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States,” McConnell said in a statement. “It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support.”

It is the ‘Party First’ mentality that has led us to this awful moment. We’ve watched elected officials and Republican leaders sell their souls in order to remain in the good graces of the man who controls the Republican Party. As it has always been, what matters is keeping Trump happy, despite him trying to illegally overturn a legitimate election and trash the Constitution. The Republican Party no longer bears any resemblance to that which most of us once knew. It has morphed into a gross sideshow with very few visible reminders of saner days.

But back to McConnell. He has already announced his end-of-the-year retirement and thus has nothing to lose, so why not, on behalf of his wife and the nation at large, stand against the corrupt individual that he blamed for the insurrection on Jan. 6. Instead of endorsing a grifter who sexually assaults women, be the bigger man and just say that, in good conscience, he cannot endorse him. Maybe “good conscience” is the problem, maybe pragmatism wins the day. I don’t know. But it would sure be a stellar parting gift to Americans at such a critical time in our democracy.

I say all of this because I believe wholeheartedly that: We can survive bad policy, we cannot survive a president who torches the Constitution.

—Dana

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