Month: December 2022

Kyrsten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party isn’t 12-dimensional chess

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

I’m treating Kyrsten Sinema’s split from the Democrats[1] under the category of Donald Trump’s coup attempt because it affects, retroactively, the 2022 midterm election results by changing the party composition of the U.S. Senate, which in my mind was very much about whether white Christian nationalists could advance what I call their Gilead project, and because I really think this is where Sinema is headed. Yes, I think her resistance to voting rights reform[2] is unquestionably about aiding the competitive authoritarian regime project that would ensure that Republicans never again lose a national election; yes, at the time, this would have benefited Donald Trump; and yes, I believe she’s that malicious.

Aaron Blake thinks—I’ve seen this elsewhere as well—part of this could be is about being primaried:

Like [Arlen] Specter, [Kyrsten] Sinema looked set to face an arduous primary if she sought reelection with her former party, given the maneuvering of Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) to run against her. So the move makes some sense for her personally. . . .

A September poll from AARP showed just 37 percent of Arizona Democrats had a favorable opinion of her, compared to 57 percent who had an unfavorable one. And the limited, very early polling of a Sinema-vs.-Gallego matchup suggests Gallego might indeed be the favorite.

She’s not particularly popular among Republicans or independents, either, but if she were to run as an independent in a three-way race, it might open the door a little wider. That goes particularly if Arizona keeps nominating the kind of far-right Republicans they put up for statewide this year.[3]

But Aaron Blake also writes this:

But everyone has their political prerogatives to mind. And if Sinema views this as freeing her up even a little from needing to appeal to the Democratic base, that could matter in the Senate. Democrats already have to contend with one of their majority-making votes coming from Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who hails from the second-Trumpiest state in the country. Even though they might have an effective 51-49 majority in the chamber, they still need either Sinema or Manchin on most close votes. And Sinema has previously shown she’s plenty willing to buck her party, even to her potential own political detriment.[4]

This is what makes me think it really isn’t about a tough primary. She’s ornery and spiteful without sense. Just like Donald Trump’s supporters.

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Caleb Ecarma, “Republicans Apparently Have No Red Line With Trump—Not Even His Desire to Terminate the Constitution,” Vanity Fair, December 5, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/republicans-trump-terminate-constitution

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Aaron Blake, “4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/takeaways-georgia-runoff-2022-warnock-walker/

Sara Murray, Annie Grayer, and Zachary Cohen, “House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/january-6-committee-criminal-referrrals/index.html

Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff

David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/

Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Items with classified markings found at Trump storage unit in Florida,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/07/trump-tower-bedminster-records-search/

Lloyd Green, “Georgia’s runoff was a resounding rebuke of Trumpism. Will Republicans hear it?” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/07/georgias-runoff-was-a-resounding-rebuke-of-trumpism-will-republicans-hear-it

Debra Cassens Weiss, “3 conservative SCOTUS justices appear to seek middle ground on ‘independent state legislature’ theory,” American Bar Association Journal, December 7, 2022, https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/3-conservative-scotus-justices-appear-to-seek-middle-ground-on-independent-state-legislature-theory

Spencer S. Hsu et al., “Justice Department asks judge to hold Trump team in contempt over Mar-a-Lago case,” Washington Post, December 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/08/trump-contempt-mar-a-lago-records/

Aaron Blake, “The politics of Kyrsten Sinema’s party switch,” Washington Post, December 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/09/what-sinema-party-switch-means/

Burgess Everett, “Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate,” Politico, December 9, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/09/sinema-arizona-senate-independent-00073216

David A. Graham, “Kyrsten Sinema Is Going to Be a Perpetual Pain for Democrats,” Atlantic, December 9, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/12/sinemas-switch-changes-very-little/672413/

Self-driving cars


Fig. 1. Photograph by Mark Doliner, August 1, 2012, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

David Zipper’s story on robotaxis[5] is horrifying, worse than I would have imagined and must be read to be believed. What I infer from it is that autonomous vehicle companies are diminishing bad news in a desperate attempt to demonstrate progress to increasingly dubious investors.[6]

It reminds me of when I sat in on an all-hands meeting at Linuxcare and listened to the chief executive officer rattle on about how everything was wonderful. I thought to myself, wow, this guy really believes his own bullshit, and as it happened, a dubious and ultimately futile attempt to merge with TurboLinux soon followed, and then layoffs hitting the most talented (and expensive) folks first.

To be fair, Linuxcare was destroyed by venture capital; the company was already in trouble when the founders resumed control. To my knowledge, there are no such mitigating factors in evaluating the autonomous vehicle companies.

But because the California Public Utilities Commission has also bought into the bullshit, they’re actually relaxing reporting requirements for companies running robotaxis. So we don’t even know how often the sorts of horrors Zipper reports happen.[7]

David Zipper, “Self-Driving Taxis Are Causing All Kinds of Trouble in San Francisco,” Slate, December 8, 2022, https://slate.com/technology/2022/12/san-francisco-waymo-cruise-self-driving-cars-robotaxis.html

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Christopher Columbus statue


Fig. 1. Christopher Columbus statue in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. Photograph by Darrell Sapp, apparently June 12, 2020, via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,[8] fair use.

Pittsburgh won its battle to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from Schenley Park in October.[9] Philadelphia is having a rather different experience.[10]

Jesse Bunch, “Box around Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia must be removed, Commonwealth Court rules,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 9, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/columbus-statue-box-philadelphia-marconi-plaza-20221209.html

  1. [1]Aaron Blake, “The politics of Kyrsten Sinema’s party switch,” Washington Post, December 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/09/what-sinema-party-switch-means/; Burgess Everett, “Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate,” Politico, December 9, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/09/sinema-arizona-senate-independent-00073216; David A. Graham, “Kyrsten Sinema Is Going to Be a Perpetual Pain for Democrats,” Atlantic, December 9, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/12/sinemas-switch-changes-very-little/672413/↩
  2. [2]Amanda Marcotte, “Kyrsten Sinema’s run out of excuses: Supreme Court leaves Senate Democrats with little choice,” Salon, July 2, 2021, https://www.salon.com/2021/07/02/kyrsten-sinemas-run-out-of-excuses-supreme-court-leaves-senate-democrats-with-little-choice/; Theodore Schleifer, “Silicon Valley’s Doomed Pursuit of D.C. Nirvana,” Puck News, January 18, 2022, https://puck.news/silicon-valleys-manchin-sinema-voting-rights-campaign/; Veronica Stracqualursi, Daniella Diaz, and Ethan Cohen, “Sinema censured by Arizona Democrats over filibuster stance that blocked voting rights legislation,” CNN, January 22, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/22/politics/sinema-censured-arizona-democratic-party/index.html↩
  3. [3]Aaron Blake, “The politics of Kyrsten Sinema’s party switch,” Washington Post, December 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/09/what-sinema-party-switch-means/↩
  4. [4]Aaron Blake, “The politics of Kyrsten Sinema’s party switch,” Washington Post, December 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/09/what-sinema-party-switch-means/↩
  5. [5]David Zipper, “Self-Driving Taxis Are Causing All Kinds of Trouble in San Francisco,” Slate, December 8, 2022, https://slate.com/technology/2022/12/san-francisco-waymo-cruise-self-driving-cars-robotaxis.html↩
  6. [6]Tim Higgins, “Slow Self-Driving Car Progress Tests Investors’ Patience,” Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-are-losing-patience-with-slow-pace-of-driverless-cars-11669576382↩
  7. [7]David Zipper, “Self-Driving Taxis Are Causing All Kinds of Trouble in San Francisco,” Slate, December 8, 2022, https://slate.com/technology/2022/12/san-francisco-waymo-cruise-self-driving-cars-robotaxis.html↩
  8. [8]Jade Campos, “Columbus statue in Schenley Park vandalized,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 2020, https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2020/06/12/christopher-columbus-statue-vandalized-pittsburgh-phipps-schenley-park/stories/202006120120↩
  9. [9]Paula Reed Ward, “Judge: Pittsburgh officials have right to remove Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 3, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/judge-pittsburgh-officials-have-right-to-remove-christopher-columbus-statue-in-schenley-park/↩
  10. [10]Jesse Bunch, “Box around Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia must be removed, Commonwealth Court rules,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 9, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/columbus-statue-box-philadelphia-marconi-plaza-20221209.html↩

President Joe Manchin’s veto power restored

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

I guess we have the results of that arm-wrestling contest between Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema:[1]

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is changing her party affiliation to independent, delivering a jolt to Democrats’ narrow majority and Washington along with it.

In a 45-minute interview, the first-term senator told POLITICO that she will not caucus with Republicans and suggested that she intends to vote the same way she has for four years in the Senate. “Nothing will change about my values or my behavior,” she said.

Provided that Sinema sticks to that vow, Democrats will still have a workable Senate majority in the next Congress, though it will not exactly be the neat and tidy 51 seats they assumed. They’re expected to also have the votes to control Senate committees. And Sinema’s move means Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — a pivotal swing vote in the 50-50 chamber the past two years — will hold onto some but not all of his outsized influence in the Democratic caucus.[2]

Sinema’s “values” and “behavior” were, like Manchin’s, those of a Democrat In Name Only, as indeed she now claims the Democratic Party was never a fit for her.[3] She was, and will remain, one of two excuses for Democratic inaction.[4]

I do not take Sinema at her word. She may not caucus with the Republicans but she is dropping the pretense of being a Democrat.[5] She is surely moving to restore Manchin’s veto power, whether she admits it or not.

Burgess Everett, “Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate,” Politico, December 9, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/09/sinema-arizona-senate-independent-00073216

Competitive authoritarian regime project


Fig. 1. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Mitchell during signing ceremony of the voting rights act. Yoichi Okamoto, August 6, 1965, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Debra Cassens Weiss, “3 conservative SCOTUS justices appear to seek middle ground on ‘independent state legislature’ theory,” American Bar Association Journal, December 7, 2022, https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/3-conservative-scotus-justices-appear-to-seek-middle-ground-on-independent-state-legislature-theory

Cristian Farias, “‘A Theory With Big Consequences’: The Supreme Court’s Gamble With Democracy Appears to Be Veering Away From Extremism—For Now,” Vanity Fair, December 8, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/supreme-courts-election-case-moore-harper-oral-arguments

  1. [1]David Benfell, “Democrats and contradiction,” Not Housebroken, December 7, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/11/18/democrats-and-contradiction/↩
  2. [2]Burgess Everett, “Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate,” Politico, December 9, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/09/sinema-arizona-senate-independent-00073216↩
  3. [3]Burgess Everett, “Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate,” Politico, December 9, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/09/sinema-arizona-senate-independent-00073216↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “Democrats and contradiction,” Not Housebroken, December 7, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/11/18/democrats-and-contradiction/↩
  5. [5]Burgess Everett, “Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate,” Politico, December 9, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/09/sinema-arizona-senate-independent-00073216↩

I am shocked! I tell you, absolutely shocked! to learn that Elon Musk was a hypocrite in his complaints about Apple’s App Store

benfell

Gilead

Twitter


Fig. 1. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[1] fair use.

If, perhaps, it caught your eye that Elon Musk and Tim Cook made up so quickly after their spat, largely Musk complaining about the cut (ahem, anticompetitive behavior, and yes, both Apple and Google are being investigated for this) Apple takes on purchases through apps, and with barely any explanation at all,[2] consider that Musk is a hypocrite. He plays the same game with Tesla.[3] Musk had picked yet another fight, because that’s what Musk does, that he couldn’t win[4] and would lose badly.[5]

The latest on that, by the way, is that Musk might charge iPhone users $11, rather than $8, per month for Twitter Blue.[6] And in case you’re curious, no, I’m no longer a subscriber: So many are now all but gone, that Twitter’s value to me as a social network has dropped precipitously and it is rapidly going the way of Facebook, also toxic, for me. I still have it because I find a lot of news that way, but as journalists migrate to other platforms, I can foresee a day when I’ll close my accounts there altogether.

Joe Burn, “Twitter HQ Bedrooms Investigated by SF Officials After Complaint,” San Francisco Standard, December 6, 2022, https://sfstandard.com/business/twitter-hq-bedrooms-investigated-by-sf-officials-after-complaint/

Andrew Orlowski, “Elon Musk and Apple quickly made up. We should be worried,” Sydney Morning Herald, December 6, 2022, https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/elon-musk-and-apple-quickly-made-up-we-should-be-worried-20221205-p5c3m6.html

Faiz Siddiqui, “Amazon, Uber ads appear on Twitter pages of white nationalists restored by Musk,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/06/twitter-ads-elon-musk/

Sebastian Tong and Kurt Wagner, “Musk Spars With San Francisco Over Probe of Bedrooms at Twitter,” Bloomberg, December 6, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-07/musk-slams-san-francisco-mayor-for-probe-of-bedrooms-at-twitter

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 2. Department of Justice photograph of seized materials, reportedly partially redacted, via the Washington Post, August 31, 2022,[7] public domain.

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Caleb Ecarma, “Republicans Apparently Have No Red Line With Trump—Not Even His Desire to Terminate the Constitution,” Vanity Fair, December 5, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/republicans-trump-terminate-constitution

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Aaron Blake, “4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/takeaways-georgia-runoff-2022-warnock-walker/

Sara Murray, Annie Grayer, and Zachary Cohen, “House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/january-6-committee-criminal-referrrals/index.html

Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff

David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/

Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Items with classified markings found at Trump storage unit in Florida,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/07/trump-tower-bedminster-records-search/

Lloyd Green, “Georgia’s runoff was a resounding rebuke of Trumpism. Will Republicans hear it?” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/07/georgias-runoff-was-a-resounding-rebuke-of-trumpism-will-republicans-hear-it

Debra Cassens Weiss, “3 conservative SCOTUS justices appear to seek middle ground on ‘independent state legislature’ theory,” American Bar Association Journal, December 7, 2022, https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/3-conservative-scotus-justices-appear-to-seek-middle-ground-on-independent-state-legislature-theory

Spencer S. Hsu et al., “Justice Department asks judge to hold Trump team in contempt over Mar-a-Lago case,” Washington Post, December 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/08/trump-contempt-mar-a-lago-records/

Ukraine


Fig. 3. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[8] fair use.

We have no idea how well the price cap on Russian oil will work.[9]

Julia Ioffe, “Putin’s Shadow Fleet,” Puck News, December 6, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-shadow-fleet/

Peter Stone, “Top US conservatives pushing Russia’s spin on Ukraine war, experts say,” Guardian, December 6, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/us-conservatives-pushing-russian-spin-ukraine-war

Paola Tamma, “Hungary vetoes Ukraine aid, EU seeks alternative solution,” Politico, December 6, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-vetoes-ukraine-aid-eu-seeks-alternative-solution/

Isabelle Khurshudyan, “On east front with Ukrainian troops: Constant shelling, no heat or coffee,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/07/kremmina-luhansk-eastern-front-ukraine/

Andrew Roth, “Vladimir Putin says Russia’s war in Ukraine could be ‘long-term process,’” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/vladimir-putin-says-russias-war-on-ukraine-could-be-long-term-process

Illiberalism


Fig. 4. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

The fund freeze is one chapter of a broader tussle between Brussels and [Viktor] Orbán. He’s vetoing key decisions by the EU in order to get his recovery plan under the bloc’s post-pandemic fund approved. He needs a majority of countries to approve that before the end of the year or risks losing 70 percent of the €5.8 billion in grants connected to it.[10]

Among the things Viktor Orbán is vetoing? Ukraine aid and a minimum corporate tax rate.[11]

As for that plot to overthrow the German government?[12] A day later, Matthew Karnitschnig is treating it as farcical.[13] While I can’t tell you Karnitschnig is wrong, I don’t feel nearly so cavalier.

The alleged ringleader was Prince Heinrich XIII Reuß, the long-haired scion of an 800-year-old aristocratic line, who police said organized conspiratorial meetings at his hilltop Schloss in rural Thuringia.

The 71-year-old prince and his alleged co-conspirators, a number of them retirees, assembled a formidable arsenal that, according to police, included at least one crossbow, a slingshot, swords, as well as hunting rifles of unclear vintage and pistols. . . .

Reuß’s motley crew included a former MP with the far-right Alternative for Germany party and a retired German special forces commander (who left the service in 1996 and never actually saw combat), as well as an opera singer (tenor), a roofer and a gourmet cook. After throwing over the government (at one point the group considered making Queen Elizabeth’s death the trigger day, but was unprepared when she passed away) the conspirators planned to establish a political “council” to run the country under Prince Heinrich.

Many in the group are adherents of a fringe movement known as the “Reichsbürger,” who maintain that the German republic is an illegitimate state and demand a return of the monarchy. Authorities put the total number of Reichsbürger, who often get arrested for not paying taxes and have a history of shooting at police officers, in Germany at about 20,000.

Others in the alleged conspiracy are rooted in Germany’s antivax movement, the so-called Querdenker.[14]

Probably a better approach to this is to wonder to what extent this plot is the tip of an iceberg. And in this frame, we then may wonder if there are others, similarly inclined, but less delusional.

Paola Tamma, “Hungary vetoes Ukraine aid, EU seeks alternative solution,” Politico, December 6, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-vetoes-ukraine-aid-eu-seeks-alternative-solution/

Kate Connolly and Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state,” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement

Alice Speri, “‘We’re Coming for You’: Italy’s Neofascists Target Journalists as They Assume Power,” Intercept, December 7, 2022, https://theintercept.com/2022/12/07/italy-giorgia-meloni-journalists/

Paola Tamma, “Council pushes Commission to think again about Hungary funds-freeze,” Politico, December 7, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/council-pushes-commission-to-give-hungary-a-second-chance/

Matthew Karnitschnig, “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” Politico, December 8, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-republic-monarchy-rechsburger-michael-gotschenberg-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdow/

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Gentrification


Fig. 5. The old Hazelwood library branch. It has been replaced with a new branch on Second Avenue. Photograph by author, May 1, 2020.

Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh streamlines process to convert unused Downtown office space into housing,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 8, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-streamlines-process-to-convert-unused-downtown-office-space-into-housing/

Infrastructure


Fig. 4. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Northbound Highland Park Bridge ramp to Sharpsburg reopens,” December 8, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2022/12/08/highland-park-bridge-pittsburgh-sharpsburg-ramp/stories/202212080097

  1. [1]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩
  2. [2]David Frum, “It’s apparently pro free speech when Elon Musk charges you $8 for access to his platform, but anti free speech if Apple charges him $2 for access to theirs,” Twitter, November 28, 2022, https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1597332772687085569; A. J. McDougall, “Elon Musk Declares Feud With Apple Over After Tim Cook Gives Him a Campus Tour,” Daily Beast, November 30, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musk-declares-twitters-feud-with-apple-over-after-tim-cook-gives-him-a-campus-tour; Sarah E. Needleman and Tim Higgins, “Elon Musk Claims Apple Is Threatening to Remove Twitter From App Store,” Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-attacks-apple-tim-cook-over-advertising-and-censorship-11669662024; Naomi Nix, “Twitter needs Apple more than Apple needs Twitter,” Washington Post, November 30, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/30/apple-musk-tim-cook/; Clint Rainey, “Why Apple and Google could be the biggest threats to Elon Musk’s anything-goes version of Twitter,” Fast Company, November 21, 2022, https://www.fastcompany.com/90815181/why-apple-and-google-could-be-the-biggest-threat-to-elon-musks-anything-goes-version-of-twitter↩
  3. [3]Andrew Orlowski, “Elon Musk and Apple quickly made up. We should be worried,” Sydney Morning Herald, December 6, 2022, https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/elon-musk-and-apple-quickly-made-up-we-should-be-worried-20221205-p5c3m6.html↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “Elon Musk, groan, again,” Not Housebroken, November 30, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/03/22/elon-musk-groan-again/↩
  5. [5]Andrew Orlowski, “Elon Musk and Apple quickly made up. We should be worried,” Sydney Morning Herald, December 6, 2022, https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/elon-musk-and-apple-quickly-made-up-we-should-be-worried-20221205-p5c3m6.html↩
  6. [6]Jody Serrano, “Elon Is Thinking of Changing His Twitter Blue Sales Pitch for iPhone Users to ‘Pay $11,’” Twitter, December 8, 2022, https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-twitter-iphone-apple-app-store-price-11-1849869146↩
  7. [7]Devlin Barrett, “Justice Dept. says Trump team may have hidden, moved classified papers,” Washington Post, August 31, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/31/trump-documents-removed-storage-room/↩
  8. [8]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
  9. [9]Julia Ioffe, “Putin’s Shadow Fleet,” Puck News, December 6, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-shadow-fleet/↩
  10. [10]Paola Tamma, “Council pushes Commission to think again about Hungary funds-freeze,” Politico, December 7, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/council-pushes-commission-to-give-hungary-a-second-chance/↩
  11. [11]Paola Tamma, “Hungary vetoes Ukraine aid, EU seeks alternative solution,” Politico, December 6, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-vetoes-ukraine-aid-eu-seeks-alternative-solution/↩
  12. [12]Kate Connolly and Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state,” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement↩
  13. [13]Matthew Karnitschnig, “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” Politico, December 8, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-republic-monarchy-rechsburger-michael-gotschenberg-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdow/↩
  14. [14]Matthew Karnitschnig, “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” Politico, December 8, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-republic-monarchy-rechsburger-michael-gotschenberg-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdow/↩

The ‘independent state legislature’ theory gains some—only some—traction at the U.S. Supreme Court

benfell

Gilead

Competitive authoritarian regime project


Fig. 1. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Mitchell during signing ceremony of the voting rights act. Yoichi Okamoto, August 6, 1965, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

The ‘independent state legislature’ seeks to remove the jurisdiction of state courts on state legislative attempts to regulate elections, including gerrymandering. Three U.S. Supreme Court justices seem to be on board with the idea, the usual suspect three ‘liberals’ are opposed, and three others seem to want to allow jurisdiction for state supreme courts.[1]

Debra Cassens Weiss, “3 conservative SCOTUS justices appear to seek middle ground on ‘independent state legislature’ theory,” American Bar Association Journal, December 7, 2022, https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/3-conservative-scotus-justices-appear-to-seek-middle-ground-on-independent-state-legislature-theory

Donald Trump

There is a new blog post entitled, “Revisiting Philip Slater’s Chrysalis Effect in the post-Donald Trump era.”

Finances


Fig. 1. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, “Trump Organization found guilty on all counts of criminal tax fraud,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/trump-organization-fraud-trial-verdict/index.html

Greg Walters, “Trump’s Criminal Nightmare Officially Begins,” Vice, December 7, 2022, https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pjpj/trump-organization-convicted-tax-fraud-case-criminal-nightmare-begins

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Tierney Sneed, “Appeals court halts special master review of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in major defeat for Trump,” CNN, December 1, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/politics/mar-a-lago-special-master/index.html

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Caleb Ecarma, “Republicans Apparently Have No Red Line With Trump—Not Even His Desire to Terminate the Constitution,” Vanity Fair, December 5, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/republicans-trump-terminate-constitution

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Aaron Blake, “4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/takeaways-georgia-runoff-2022-warnock-walker/

Sara Murray, Annie Grayer, and Zachary Cohen, “House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/january-6-committee-criminal-referrrals/index.html

Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff

David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/

Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Items with classified markings found at Trump storage unit in Florida,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/07/trump-tower-bedminster-records-search/

Lloyd Green, “Georgia’s runoff was a resounding rebuke of Trumpism. Will Republicans hear it?” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/07/georgias-runoff-was-a-resounding-rebuke-of-trumpism-will-republicans-hear-it

Greg Walters, “Trump’s Criminal Nightmare Officially Begins,” Vice, December 7, 2022, https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pjpj/trump-organization-convicted-tax-fraud-case-criminal-nightmare-begins

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[2] fair use.

Peter Stone, “Top US conservatives pushing Russia’s spin on Ukraine war, experts say,” Guardian, December 6, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/us-conservatives-pushing-russian-spin-ukraine-war

Isabelle Khurshudyan, “On east front with Ukrainian troops: Constant shelling, no heat or coffee,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/07/kremmina-luhansk-eastern-front-ukraine/

Andrew Roth, “Vladimir Putin says Russia’s war in Ukraine could be ‘long-term process,’” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/vladimir-putin-says-russias-war-on-ukraine-could-be-long-term-process

Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

If I understand correctly, the plot in Germany meant to restore the ‘legitimacy’ of the Nazi regime that was defeated in World War II with some cooperation from Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The latter denies involvement. It’s all weird with a prince from an old German monarchy was among the ringleaders. The prospects for success of the plot are unclear.[3]

Kate Connolly and Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state,” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement

Alice Speri, “‘We’re Coming for You’: Italy’s Neofascists Target Journalists as They Assume Power,” Intercept, December 7, 2022, https://theintercept.com/2022/12/07/italy-giorgia-meloni-journalists/

  1. [1]Debra Cassens Weiss, “3 conservative SCOTUS justices appear to seek middle ground on ‘independent state legislature’ theory,” American Bar Association Journal, December 7, 2022, https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/3-conservative-scotus-justices-appear-to-seek-middle-ground-on-independent-state-legislature-theory↩
  2. [2]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
  3. [3]Kate Connolly and Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state,” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement↩

More classified documents found and turned over, this time by Donald Trump’s own lawyers

benfell

Look for me on Post as “benfell.” I’m still finding my way around there, but they’ve let me in. I am also on Tribel as “n4rky” and Mastodon as @Benfell@hcommons.social. Both Post and Mastodon appear promising, Tribel somewhat less so.

Tribel seems mostly to be memes posted by “Vote Blue No Matter Who” folks. I’m finding a number of academics on Mastodon. And I can see that Post has a few interesting folks. As Twitter continues on a full-throttle nosedive to doom,[1] its users seem to be flocking to the latter two; despite relentless hype for Tribel, I don’t think it’s catching on.

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Donald Trump’s lawyers have now handed over more classified documents that Trump had absconded with, pursuant to a search ordered by a federal judge in response to Department of Justice arguments that Trump and his team had not fully complied with a May subpoena for the return of all such documents.[2]

Tina Nguyen, “Has Trump Already Lost ’24?” Puck News, November 30, 2022, https://puck.news/has-trump-already-lost-24/

Tierney Sneed, “Appeals court halts special master review of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in major defeat for Trump,” CNN, December 1, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/politics/mar-a-lago-special-master/index.html

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Caleb Ecarma, “Republicans Apparently Have No Red Line With Trump—Not Even His Desire to Terminate the Constitution,” Vanity Fair, December 5, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/republicans-trump-terminate-constitution

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Aaron Blake, “4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/takeaways-georgia-runoff-2022-warnock-walker/

Sara Murray, Annie Grayer, and Zachary Cohen, “House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/january-6-committee-criminal-referrrals/index.html

Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff

David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/

Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Items with classified markings found at Trump storage unit in Florida,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/07/trump-tower-bedminster-records-search/

Lloyd Green, “Georgia’s runoff was a resounding rebuke of Trumpism. Will Republicans hear it?” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/07/georgias-runoff-was-a-resounding-rebuke-of-trumpism-will-republicans-hear-it

So-called ‘ridesharing’

Drivers


Fig. 1. “Clarkdale Classic Gas Station, Clarkdale, Arizona,” Photograph by Alan Levine, October 28, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Since I noticed I was that my operating net (akin to earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) had dropped to somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 to $40 per day and I responded by refusing any trip for which Uber would pay me less than $10, I’ve been trying to be more observant of the pay on the trips I accept.

There is now no question in my mind that Uber has cut the pay by at least a quarter and by possibly by a third from what it was a few weeks ago. This, before you consider the cuts in their incentive scheme, which means they no longer serve as an incentive: I might now earn an extra $20 for 40 trips, for example, on their incentive scheme, which doesn’t even begin to make up for what I fail to make when I accept trips for less than $10.

It’s still pretty bad. Winter is consistently the worst time of year in this business anyway, so the pay cut is a double blow.

I’ve been in this business on and off now over a period of three decades and this is shaping up to be far and away the worst winter yet. Honestly, I did better at Yellow Airport Shuttle when I first started, when the dispatchers were all burning me and burning me hard because I didn’t yet understand about tipping.

  1. [1]David Benfell, “Elon Musk’s Achilles’ heel,” Not Housebroken, December 2, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/07/10/elon-musks-achilles-heel/↩
  2. [2]Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Items with classified markings found at Trump storage unit in Florida,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/07/trump-tower-bedminster-records-search/↩

Republican self-immolation

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Perhaps, to borrow a phrase, [Herschel Walker, a former football star] got tired of winning, because today he is known for his humiliating campaign for U.S. Senate from Georgia. The debacle — which featured allegations of his abandoned children, terrorized mates, brandished firearms, fictionalized achievements and secret funding of girlfriends’ abortions — ended on Tuesday [December 6] with Walker’s opponent, Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D), reelected in a runoff.[1]

David Von Drehle summarizes Herschel Walker’s loss, writing, “It’s one thing for a deeply flawed person to accept admiration for his former athletic magnificence, but it’s quite another for him to seek a role in leading the country.”[2] Aaron Blake weighs in, writing,

[Herschel] Walker now becomes the fourth [Donald] Trump-backed candidate to lose a very winnable Senate race, next to Arizona’s Blake Masters, Nevada’s Adam Laxalt and Pennsylvania’s Mehmet Oz. Masters also performed worse than any other statewide Arizona Republican, while Laxalt lost despite a Republican winning the governor’s race. Oz did better than the GOP gubernatorial candidate but still lost a battleground state. (And that list doesn’t include New Hampshire’s Don Bolduc, whom Trump did not back in the primary but who ran a very Trump-y campaign and lost, even as Republican Gov. Chris Sununu was cruising to reelection.)

In the end, candidates Trump backed in the primary lost in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, while winning in another swing state, North Carolina. They also won in Ohio, but it was a big night for Ohio Republicans generally, and Senate candidate J.D. Vance far underperformed other Republicans.[3]

In multiple ways, what Blake writes, apart from the bit about Democratic control of the U.S. Senate, boils down to one point, that the result “reinforced everything we already knew about Trump and the 2022 election, which is that the former president and Trump-y candidates cost the GOP — including the Senate majority.[4]

I understand that Donald Trump’s backers comprise a significant portion of the Republican electorate. But it does absolutely zero good for a candidate to win the primary if they can’t win the general.

What compels a person to shower in gasoline and light up a cigar? In [Herschel] Walker’s case, it is a familiar story. He came into the orbit of that serial destroyer of other people’s reputations, Donald Trump.[5]

As Von Drehle alludes, we can’t just say this of Walker.[6] We can say it, rather, of far too many Republican politicians.[7]

Tina Nguyen, “Has Trump Already Lost ’24?” Puck News, November 30, 2022, https://puck.news/has-trump-already-lost-24/

Tierney Sneed, “Appeals court halts special master review of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in major defeat for Trump,” CNN, December 1, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/politics/mar-a-lago-special-master/index.html

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Caleb Ecarma, “Republicans Apparently Have No Red Line With Trump—Not Even His Desire to Terminate the Constitution,” Vanity Fair, December 5, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/republicans-trump-terminate-constitution

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Aaron Blake, “4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/takeaways-georgia-runoff-2022-warnock-walker/

Sara Murray, Annie Grayer, and Zachary Cohen, “House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/january-6-committee-criminal-referrrals/index.html

Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff

David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/

Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Trump team searches two of his properties amid court battle with DOJ,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/07/trump-tower-bedminster-records-search/

Twitter


Fig. 2. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[8] fair use.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Sixth and Market Streets in San Francisco, where Twitter’s headquarters are located. I remember it as far from a desirable neighborhood—indeed, I considered the two blocks of Sixth Street between Market and Howard as likely the two worst blocks in The City. Apparently, Elon Musk has installed bedrooms there and this might be in violation of building codes.[9]

As I recall, there are a number of single room occupancy “residential hotels” in the area. Perhaps Musk could take up residence in one of those.

Joe Burn, “Twitter HQ Bedrooms Investigated by SF Officials After Complaint,” San Francisco Standard, December 6, 2022, https://sfstandard.com/business/twitter-hq-bedrooms-investigated-by-sf-officials-after-complaint/

Faiz Siddiqui, “Amazon, Uber ads appear on Twitter pages of white nationalists restored by Musk,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/06/twitter-ads-elon-musk/

COVID-19 Pandemic


Fig. 3. Photograph by author, November 8, 2022.

Would we, on account of religious belief, sacrifice virgins? No, because there can be no legitimacy whatsoever to any belief or ideology that allows adherents to harm others.

We do not permit them to take child brides. We do not permit them to abuse their children. We do not permit them to kidnap people for indoctrination. We don’t even permit them to take multiple wives.

The lawsuit [filed by Pittsburgh Regional Transit employees and ex-employees against the agency] includes claims for religious discrimination, violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and wrongful termination.

It alleges that 75 employees were terminated for failing to be vaccinated and that their requests for religious or medical exemptions were summarily denied.[10]

Assuming the veracity of the complaint that Pittsburgh Regional Transit (then the Port Authority[11]) summarily dismissed requests for medical exemptions,[12] I, too, would view such requests with extreme prejudice. I’ve seen quacks. I know that they somehow manage to get medical degrees and licenses to practice medicine. And no, I do not trust a storefront doctor in Pennsylvania to issue such an exemption. A more rigorous policy was amply warranted.

For very much the larger part, we can take vaccine refusal 1) as a sign of white Christian nationalism and 2) as a danger to white Christian nationalists and others in multiple ways. Padded cells and straitjackets pending frontal lobotomies for the lot of them.[13] My patience with this shit was blown long ago.[14]

Katy Stech Ferek and Lindsay Wise, “Lawmakers Agree to Rescind Military’s Covid-19 Mandate in Defense Deal,” Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmakers-spar-over-marijuana-energy-permits-in-defense-bill-talks-11670355641

Paula Reed Ward, “Pittsburgh Regional employees sue over covid-19 vaccine mandate,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 6, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-regional-employees-sue-over-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/

Christian Shepherd, “China eases covid testing and health code rules in wake of protests,” Washington Post, December 7, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/07/china-covid-easing-restrictions/

  1. [1]David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/↩
  2. [2]David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/↩
  3. [3]Aaron Blake, “4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/takeaways-georgia-runoff-2022-warnock-walker/↩
  4. [4]Aaron Blake, “4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/takeaways-georgia-runoff-2022-warnock-walker/↩
  5. [5]David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/↩
  6. [6]David Von Drehle, “The tragedy of Herschel Walker,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/↩
  7. [7]David Benfell, “Republican politicians out of touch?” Not Housebroken, December 7, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/06/republican-politicians-out-of-touch/↩
  8. [8]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩
  9. [9]Joe Burn, “Twitter HQ Bedrooms Investigated by SF Officials After Complaint,” San Francisco Standard, December 6, 2022, https://sfstandard.com/business/twitter-hq-bedrooms-investigated-by-sf-officials-after-complaint/↩
  10. [10]Paula Reed Ward, “Pittsburgh Regional employees sue over covid-19 vaccine mandate,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 6, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-regional-employees-sue-over-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/↩
  11. [11]Ed Blazina, “Goodbye Port Authority, hello Pittsburgh Regional Transit: Agency unveils new name, branding,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 9, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2022/06/09/port-authority-allegheny-county-new-name-pittsburgh-regional-transit-prt-pat-buses-t-light-rail/stories/202206090131↩
  12. [12]Paula Reed Ward, “Pittsburgh Regional employees sue over covid-19 vaccine mandate,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 6, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-regional-employees-sue-over-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/↩
  13. [13]David Benfell, “It might be time to bring back frontal lobotomies,” Not Housebroken, October 27, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/10/25/it-might-be-time-to-bring-back-frontal-lobotomies/↩
  14. [14]David Benfell, “Lock up the anti-vaxxers,” Not Housebroken, August 7, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/27/lock-up-the-anti-vaxxers/↩

Raphael Warnock wins in Georgia. Now Joe Manchin and Kyrstin Sinema will have to arm wrestle for veto power.

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

The Democrats have increased their putative margin of control in the U.S. Senate by one vote with Raphael Warnock’s win against abortion hypocrite Herschel Walker in the Georgia runoff.[1]

[Raphael] Warnock’s victory means Senate Democrats — as long as they vote in unity — will no longer need to rely on Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tiebreaking votes. It also lessens the ability of moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to block or soften legislation, as they’ve done in the current Congress.[2]

But Democrats have a new demon to blame for inaction: a Republican-led House of Representatives,[3] albeit with what sure looks like an unworkable majority, which might mean that even less gets done.[4] There’s always, always, always an excuse. Always.[5] As for Donald Trump,

This is [Brian] Kemp’s party in Georgia, not Trump’s party in Georgia. The message has been sent to Donald Trump by Republicans that we don’t need you. We don’t want you. We’re going to move forward without you.”[6]

This sounds like hubris. You can’t imagine how it provokes my contrarian instincts. It persuades me I’m going to regret saying that as near as I can tell, it’s a more realistic attitude toward Trump than I’m seeing from a vast majority of Republican politicians.[7]

Tina Nguyen, “Has Trump Already Lost ’24?” Puck News, November 30, 2022, https://puck.news/has-trump-already-lost-24/

Tierney Sneed, “Appeals court halts special master review of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in major defeat for Trump,” CNN, December 1, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/politics/mar-a-lago-special-master/index.html

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Caleb Ecarma, “Republicans Apparently Have No Red Line With Trump—Not Even His Desire to Terminate the Constitution,” Vanity Fair, December 5, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/republicans-trump-terminate-constitution

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Sara Murray, Annie Grayer, and Zachary Cohen, “House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/january-6-committee-criminal-referrrals/index.html

Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff

Twitter


Fig. 2. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[8] fair use.

Faiz Siddiqui, “Amazon, Uber ads appear on Twitter pages of white nationalists restored by Musk,” Washington Post, December 6, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/06/twitter-ads-elon-musk/

COVID-19 Pandemic


Fig. 3. Photograph by author, November 8, 2022.

Katy Stech Ferek and Lindsay Wise, “Lawmakers Agree to Rescind Military’s Covid-19 Mandate in Defense Deal,” Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmakers-spar-over-marijuana-energy-permits-in-defense-bill-talks-11670355641

  1. [1]Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff↩
  2. [2]Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff↩
  3. [3]Hannah Knowles, Marianna Sotomayor, and Colby Itkowitz, “Republicans narrowly win House, ending full Democratic control of Congress,” Washington Post, November 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/16/republicans-win-house-majority/↩
  4. [4]Marianna Sotomayor et al., “Congressional Republicans panic as they watch their lead dwindle,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/11/senate-republicans-mcconnell-midterms/↩
  5. [5]David Benfell, “Democrats and contradiction,” Not Housebroken, September 2, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/11/18/democrats-and-contradiction/↩
  6. [6]Buzz Brockway, quoted in Jenny Jarvie, “Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority,” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-12-06/sen-raphael-warnock-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff↩
  7. [7]David Benfell, “Republican politicians out of touch?” Not Housebroken, December 6, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/06/republican-politicians-out-of-touch/↩
  8. [8]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩

Trump organization, but no humans, found guilty of criminal tax fraud

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Finances


Fig. 1. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Manhattan jury has found two Trump Organization companies guilty on multiple charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records connected to a 15-year scheme to defraud tax authorities by failing to report and pay taxes on compensation for top executives.

The Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp. were found guilty on all charges they faced.

Donald Trump and his family were not charged in this case, but the former president was mentioned repeatedly during the trial by prosecutors about his connection to the benefits doled out to certain executives, including company-funded apartments, car leases and personal expenses.[1]

Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, “Trump Organization found guilty on all counts of criminal tax fraud,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/trump-organization-fraud-trial-verdict/index.html

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure


Fig. 1. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

I guess when you don’t really have a solution to the problem of snow plowing in Pittsburgh,[2] you just throw money at it. Lots and lots of money, in this case, on dubious technology that may sometimes hinder rather than help.[3]

Charlie Wolfson, “Gainey pledged to overhaul Pittsburgh’s bridges. His 2023 budget barely starts the process,” Public Source, December 5, 2022, https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-bridge-collapse-condition-fern-hollow-mayor-gainey-budget/

Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh council approves $220K annual snow removal technology contract,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 6, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-council-approves-220k-annual-snow-removal-contract/

  1. [1]Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, “Trump Organization found guilty on all counts of criminal tax fraud,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/trump-organization-fraud-trial-verdict/index.html↩
  2. [2]Marcie Cipriani, “Maintenance issues with Public Works trucks creates challenges when treating roads,” WTAE, January 25, 2022, https://www.wtae.com/article/pittsburgh-snow-plow-issues-treating-roads/38888584; Rick Earle, “Pittsburgh Public Works launches internal investigation following snow response issues,” WPXI, January 7, 2022, https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/pittsburgh-public-works-launches-internal-investigation-following-snow-response-issues/3ZAYYSR5WNCD5H5KE67WJ6SKBU/; Julia Felton, “Plowing continues on snow-covered Pittsburgh streets,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 7, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/plowing-continues-on-snow-covered-pittsburgh-streets/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh officials say snow response will be better ahead of Sunday storm,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 14, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-officials-say-snow-response-will-be-better-ahead-of-sunday-storm/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh officials say they expect to have streets cleared for Tuesday commute,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 17, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-officials-say-they-expect-to-have-streets-cleared-for-tuesday-commute/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh officials say 50 trucks still cleaning snow and ice,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 20, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-officials-say-50-trucks-still-cleaning-snow-and-ice/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh crews working to clear city streets after Sunday’s snow,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 24, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-crews-working-to-clear-city-streets-after-sundays-snow/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh looks to add more plows to address concerns about snow, ice removal,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 7, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-looks-to-add-more-plows-to-address-concerns-about-snow-ice-removal/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh to add 12 snowplows to city fleet for rest of winter,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 8, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-to-add-12-snow-plows-to-city-fleet-for-rest-of-winter/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh sets goal to clear roads within 24 hours of snowfall,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 15, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-officials-share-citys-plans-for-snow-removal-say-goal-is-to-clear-streets-within-24-hours-of-snowfall/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburghers skeptical of mayor’s snow removal goals,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 17, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburghers-skeptical-of-mayors-road-snow-removal-goals/; Ross Guidotti, “Road Conditions In Pittsburgh: Morning After 2 Days Of Storms Sees Streets Both Good And Bad,” KDKA-TV, February 5, 2022, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2022/02/05/road-conditions-pittsburgh/; KDKA-TV, “Pittsburgh Councilman Publicly Criticizes ‘Unacceptable’ State Of Roads After Snowfall,” December 27, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/12/27/pittsburgh-councilman-publicly-criticizes-unacceptable-state-of-roads-after-snowfall/; Nick Matoney, “Snow-covered roads in the Pittsburgh area,” WTAE, March 12, 2022, https://www.wtae.com/article/snow-covered-roads-in-the-pittsburgh-area/39415760; Taylor Spirito, “Pittsburgh residents frustrated after city side streets left unplowed,” WPXI, January 18, 2022, https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/pittsburgh-residents-frustrated-after-city-side-streets-left-unplowed/NLUWU6RFFBCKBCYKDEMU7Y3FWQ/; Kylie Walker, “Pittsburgh Public Works releases statement in response to snow removal concerns,” WTAE, January 18, 2022, https://www.wtae.com/article/pittsburgh-public-works-releases-statement-in-response-to-snow-removal-concerns/38803017; Kylie Walker, “City of Pittsburgh updates snow removal process after Monday’s storm,” WTAE, January 25, 2022, https://www.wtae.com/article/pittsburgh-snow-removal-update-after-monday-storm/38883671; WTAE, “Residents in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood frustrated with snow response,” January 24, 2022, https://www.wtae.com/article/residents-in-pittsburghs-brookline-neighborhood-frustrated-with-snow-response/38876127↩
  3. [3]Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh council approves $220K annual snow removal technology contract,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 6, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-council-approves-220k-annual-snow-removal-contract/↩

January 6 committee will send criminal referrals to the Department of Justice

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

There is a new blog post entitled, “Republican politicians out of touch?”

Spencer S. Hsu, Tom Jackman, and Rachel Weiner, “Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy,” Washington Post, November 29, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/29/rhodes-oathkeepers-sedition-verdict-jan6/

Tina Nguyen, “Has Trump Already Lost ’24?” Puck News, November 30, 2022, https://puck.news/has-trump-already-lost-24/

Tierney Sneed, “Appeals court halts special master review of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in major defeat for Trump,” CNN, December 1, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/politics/mar-a-lago-special-master/index.html

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Caleb Ecarma, “Republicans Apparently Have No Red Line With Trump—Not Even His Desire to Terminate the Constitution,” Vanity Fair, December 5, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/republicans-trump-terminate-constitution

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Sara Murray, Annie Grayer, and Zachary Cohen, “House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says,” CNN, December 6, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/january-6-committee-criminal-referrrals/index.html

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure


Fig. 2. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Charlie Wolfson, “Gainey pledged to overhaul Pittsburgh’s bridges. His 2023 budget barely starts the process,” Public Source, December 5, 2022, https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-bridge-collapse-condition-fern-hollow-mayor-gainey-budget/

Ukraine


Fig. 3. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[1] fair use.

Peter Stone, “Top US conservatives pushing Russia’s spin on Ukraine war, experts say,” Guardian, December 6, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/us-conservatives-pushing-russian-spin-ukraine-war

  1. [1]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩

Even at a hearing which could result in his law license in Washington, D.C., being revoked, Rudy Giuliani doubles down on stolen election falsehoods

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

There is a new blog post entitled, “To condemn a delusional raging narcissist or to ignore incitement to rebellion. That is the question.”

Rudy Giuliani is continuing to insist that the 2020 election was stolen, even in a hearing which could result in him losing his license to practice law in Washington, D.C.[1]

“Lawyers are not permitted to file any case without a basis in fact,” Fox said in his opening statement to the hearing committee. “It was an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the presidential election.”

Specifically, the charges against [Rudy] Giuliani center on the Trump campaign’s primary legal challenge in the state [Pennsylvania], which contained no specific allegations — let alone evidence of — fraud yet asked a judge to set aside millions of votes. Court rules require attorneys to offer specific allegations from the outset of a lawsuit that they intend to later back up with evidence.

Instead, Giuliani — during a wildly stumbling November 2020 court hearing before U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport — lobbed unsupported conspiracy theories of a nationwide cabal of Democratic leaders plotting to steal the election that bore little relation to anything campaign lawyers had previously laid out in their filings.[2]

This is the thing: It isn’t just Donald Trump. It isn’t just Kanye West. It’s the entire lot of them. And all of it is complete madness.

Spencer S. Hsu, Tom Jackman, and Rachel Weiner, “Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy,” Washington Post, November 29, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/29/rhodes-oathkeepers-sedition-verdict-jan6/

Tina Nguyen, “Has Trump Already Lost ’24?” Puck News, November 30, 2022, https://puck.news/has-trump-already-lost-24/

Tierney Sneed, “Appeals court halts special master review of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in major defeat for Trump,” CNN, December 1, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/politics/mar-a-lago-special-master/index.html

Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters

Karoun Demirjian and Toluse Olorunnipa, “White House rebukes Trump’s suggestion to suspend Constitution over 2020 election,” Washington Post, December 3, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/trump-constitution-truth-social/

Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html

Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/

Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud

Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/

Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html

Pennsylvania

Marijuana

Kris B. Mamula, “Stirring the pot: Legality of Pennsylvania’s cannabis industry ‘labor peace agreements’ challenged,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 5, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/healthcare-business/2022/12/05/pennsylvania-cannabis-industry-labor-peace-agreements-legality-challenged-trulieve/stories/202212040012

  1. [1]Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html↩
  2. [2]Jeremy Roebuck, “Rudy Giuliani doubles down on false Pennsylvania election fraud claims in disciplinary hearing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/rudy-giuliani-dc-disciplinary-board-hearing-bar-pennsylvania-election-20221205.html↩