Patterico's Pontifications

7/1/2022

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 1:53 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Cheney: Wiped the floor with the competition but on track to lose election. Not a good look, Wyoming:

Pre-emptive strike: You can watch the debate in its entirety here.

Second news item

In Madrid, President Biden answers the question while ignoring some critical reasons why:

Q : The war [in Ukraine] has pushed [oil] prices up. They could go as high as $200 a barrel, some analysts think. How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay that premium for this war?

THE PRESIDENT: As long as it takes, so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world. Here we are. Why do we have NATO?

In a nutshell:

This is a terribly ineffective way to get the president off the hook for his policies that are generally hostile to oil companies and seek to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, and an inadvertently effective way to get Americans to doubt the value of supporting Ukraine against Russia.

Third news item

Emmett Till relatives say arrest her, seventy years later:

A team searching a Mississippi courthouse basement for evidence about the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till has found the unserved warrant charging a white woman in his 1955 kidnapping, and relatives of the victim want authorities to finally arrest her nearly 70 years later.

A warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham — identified as “Mrs. Roy Bryant” on the document — was discovered last week by searchers inside a file folder that had been placed in a box, Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

…

The search group included members of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation and two Till relatives: cousin Deborah Watts, head of the foundation; and her daughter, Teri Watts. Relatives want authorities to use the warrant to arrest Donham, who at the time of the slaying was married to one of two white men tried and acquitted just weeks after Till was abducted from a relative’s home, killed and dumped into a river.

Fourth news item

“Accidentally,” you say??:

The government of California inadvertently made public the names, birthdates, and addresses of hundreds or perhaps thousands of licensed concealed-carry permit holders who live in the state.

California’s Firearms Dashboard Portal was launched earlier this week by Attorney General Rob Bonta. Its purpose…was to “improve transparency on the fraught topic.” Bonta’s office wanted residents to use the portal to obtain details on the number and locations of concealed-carry permit holders.

But on Wednesday, the government acknowledged that the dashboard had accidentally leaked some specific information on Californians who obtained—or were denied—permits between 2011 and 2021.

“Information exposed included names, date of birth, gender, race, driver’s license number, addresses, and criminal history,” said the California Department of Justice in a statement. “Social Security numbers or any financial information were not disclosed as a result of this event.”

Fifth news item

Despite increasing economic isolation, a new Iron Curtain comes down:

A new Iron Curtain is descending between Russia and the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

“From now on, we will trust neither the Americans nor the EU,” Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Vladimir Makei. “We will do everything necessary not to depend on them in critically important industries.”

Lavrov was concurring with comments made by Makei, regarding the appearance of a new Iron Curtain that was “being erected by Westerners themselves.” In echoing the Belarusian diplomat, Lavrov warned Western countries to “behave carefully.”

Sixth news item

President Biden says let’s nuke the fillibuster:

It’s almost like Democrats have never been in a majority position and could’ve possibly codified Roe v. Wade …Anyway, Americans aren’t necessarily on board with his plan:

A new YouGov poll, conducted June 27 – 30, indicates that Americans are split on the Senate’s current filibuster rule. About one-third (36%) oppose it, while 34% support it. About three in 10 adults (29%) are not sure. Americans are also split (41% to 38%) on whether legislation related to abortion should take a 60-vote majority or a 51-vote majority.

About half of Americans (51%) disapprove of Roe v Wade being overturned, with 34% approving — a greater margin for disapproval than was found in the latest Economist/YouGov survey, which began a few days earlier. Fewer are unsure (6%) or say they neither approve nor disapprove (9%) of the Supreme Court ending the constitutional right to abortion. When asked whether Biden and Congress have the power to ensure abortion access for Americans, Americans are much more likely to say that Congress (49%) could do anything as to say President Biden could (29%).

Even if Congress could act, many who believe the legislative branch has that power say it is unlikely to use it. By 45% to 23%, people who believe Congress could ensure abortion access for all Americans say Congress “definitely will not” or is “unlikely” to try to ensure abortion access for all Americans. One-third (32%) of this group say there is a 50% chance of it happening.

Both Sens. Manchin and Sinema have reiterated their opposition to such a move.

Seventh news item

Side-benefit of Jan.6 hearings: Deep-pocket donors backing off Trump:

Support from some of the Republican Party’s biggest donors for a 2024 White House run by former President Donald Trump is dwindling, especially after damaging new details of his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, were revealed at a hearing Tuesday by the House select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Republican financiers and their advisors have been privately meeting since the committee started to release the initial findings of its probe in a series of public hearings earlier this month, according to interviews with top GOP fundraisers who have helped the party raise millions of dollars. Most of the people asked not to be named because they didn’t want to provoke retribution from Trump or his allies.

Eighth news item

Hm:

Ninth news item

What’s that you say:

Tenth news item

While redacted transcripts, videos, and footage of the Uvalde massacre were released last week, the heartache and frustration of Uvalde’s parents grinds on:

On Thursday, the people the residents of Uvalde elected to represent them had no answers for their constituents.

“The one thing I can tell you is, we don’t know anymore,” Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said at the meeting, adding that he, too, was frustrated at the lack of transparency from investigators.
“We’re not trying to hide anything from you,” the mayor insisted.

Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee has said it “will take time” to complete investigative reports of the shooting and response, and she doesn’t expect that information for a while.

Relatives of the victims say they’re tired of excuses.

Have a peaceful weekend.

–Dana


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