Imperialism
Israel
Palestine
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.
The Democrat, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely, said that [Joe] Biden’s current policy stance on Gaza wasn’t sustainable going forward. Particularly among young progressive activists, feelings on the issue “are still incredibly intense,” the Democrat said, and Biden’s efforts to bring about another temporary ceasefire hadn’t assuaged them. In 2020, Biden’s “genius” had been to build a broad Democratic coalition, by inviting in many of Bernie Sanders’s supporters, but that hadn’t happened in this instance. The person went on: “I think they have been hoping that Biden’s considerable achievements on the economy will carry them through with young progressive voters, but I am concerned that it won’t.”
Before the votes came in, the Biden campaign had done some preëmptive spinning, pointing out that Democrats voting uncommitted is nothing new in the Wolverine State. In each of the past three primaries—2012, 2016, and 2020—about twenty thousand people did it. And yet, in the 2012 election, Barack Obama carried Michigan by nearly ten points, and in 2020 Joe Biden carried the state by a narrower margin of 2.8 points. (In 2016, Donald Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton.) . . .
[A]s the night went on, it also became clear that the uncommitted vote was larger than expected, and that the antiwar Democrats had issued a powerful message to Biden and his political advisers. Statewide, the final tally of uncommitted voters was slightly more than a hundred thousand, about 13.3 per cent of the total. In Dearborn, it was fifty-six per cent, and in Ann Arbor it was nineteen per cent. Andy Levin, a former Democratic congressman from Michigan, who backed the uncommitted effort, pointed out that Biden’s winning margin over Trump in 2020 was a hundred and fifty-four thousand votes, and he called Tuesday’s result “historic.” Layla Elabed, the campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, which encouraged Democrats to vote uncommitted, said, “Our movement emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations.” She added: “We don’t want a Trump Presidency, but Biden has put Netanyahu ahead of American democracy.” Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who represents Michigan’s Sixth District, and is a supporter of Biden, said that the large uncommitted vote didn’t surprise her. “It’s not just the Arab American and Muslim community,” Dingell told CNN. “It’s young people who want to be heard and have the same concerns.”[2]
Ibrahim Dahman, “Palestinian Authority prime minister and government resign,” CNN, February 26, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/middleeast/palestinian-authority-prime-minister-resigns-intl/index.html
Nina Lakhani, “Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says,” Guardian, February 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/27/un-israel-food-starvation-palestinians-war-crime-genocide
Ishaan Tharoor, “Netanyahu’s ‘day after’ plan for Gaza is unviable,” Washington Post, February 27, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/02/27/post-war-gaza-plan-netanyahu-israel-day-after-future-abbas/
Kelsey Ables and Andrew Jeong, “Over 100,000 Michigan primary votes were ‘uncommitted.’ What does that mean?” Washington Post, February 28, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/02/28/uncommitted-votes-meaning-michigan/
Aaron Blake, “Four takeaways from the Michigan primary,” Washington Post, February 28, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/27/4-takeaways-michigan-primary/
Eric Bradner, “Biden and Trump will easily win Michigan primaries, CNN projects,” CNN, February 28, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/27/politics/biden-trump-michigan-primaries/index.html
John Cassidy, “Michigan’s “Uncommitted” Democrats Send a Message to Biden,” New Yorker, February 28, 2024, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/michigans-uncommitted-democrats-send-a-message-to-biden
Tony Diver, “Michigan primary results: Joe Biden wins but young and Arab Democrats rebel over Israel,” Telegraph, February 28, 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/02/28/michigan-primary-results-polls-vote-republicans-trump-haley/
Lauren Fedor and James Politi, “Joe Biden faces dissent over Gaza as he wins Michigan Democratic primary,” Financial Times, February 28, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/4dbd9253-5147-4bbd-9e09-276e48e3f799
Ron Kampeas, “‘Uncommitted’ campaign protesting Biden’s Israel support nets 100,000+ votes in Michigan primary,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 28, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/02/27/politics/campaign-protesting-bidens-support-for-israel-celebrates-as-tens-of-thousands-vote-uncommitted-in-michigan-primary
Illiberalism
Gilead
Donald Trump
Finances
Fig. 2. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
On Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers asked an appeals court judge to stay Engoron’s judgment, which they assailed as “unprecedented and punitive.” His attorneys also sought to post a $100 million bond rather than the fuller amount, which they suggested could top $500 million, and suggested that if a stay was not granted, the defendants could be forced to sell properties.
Associate Justice Anil C. Singh in the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division swiftly rejected the attempt to delay the judgment. Singh did not directly address the request to let Trump post the $100 million amount, but his brief decision declined to delay “the enforcement of monetary judgment,” which appears to mean Trump has to pay the full amount.
Singh granted a temporary stay to Engoron’s directive that blocked Trump and his company from seeking loans from financial institutions in New York for three years, which Trump’s attorneys had suggested was a hindrance to posting the full bond.
Singh’s actions Wednesday could be altered or undone in the coming weeks. A full panel is expected to review the case and issue a decision on March 18.[3]
Jonathan O’Connell, Shayna Jacobs, and Josh Dawsey, “Clock is ticking for Trump to post bonds worth half a billion dollars,” Washington Post, February 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/02/26/trump-money-bonds-engoron-carroll/
Jacob Gershman, Corinne Ramey, and James Fanelli, “Trump Appeals $355 Million Civil-Fraud Ruling,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/us-news/donald-trump-appeals-new-york-fraud-lawsuit-ruling-307cd30c
Philip Bump, “This time, Trump’s going to have to pay his own bills,” Washington Post, February 27, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/27/trump-trials-money-fundraising/
Tori Otten, “Trump Has a Hilarious New Excuse for Why He Can’t Put Up Bond,” New Republic, February 27, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/179308/trump-excuse-cant-post-bond-e-jean-carroll
Shayna Jacobs and Mark Berman, “Judge won’t delay Trump financial penalty but lets sons remain atop company for now,” Washington Post, February 28, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/28/trump-new-york-supreme-court-judgment-appeal/
Coup attempt
Fig. 3. Cartoon by Ben Jennings, January 24, 2024, via the Guardian,[4] fair use.
It’s hard to read any tea leaves into whether [the delay in accepting the case] makes the [Supreme Court] more likely to side with former President [Donald] Trump when it finally resolves his immunity claim, but it certainly means that, even in the worst-case scenario for Trump, the January 6 prosecution will be delayed for at least another 3-5 months. That’s a pretty big win for Trump even if he ends up losing this case.[5]
John Fritze, “Supreme Court to decide Trump immunity claim, further delaying election subversion trial,” CNN, February 28, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/28/politics/trump-supreme-court-immunity/index.html
COVID-19 Pandemic
Fig. 4. Cartoon by Peter Brookes, October 3, 2020, via the Times, fair use.
The recommendation [for a second dose of the latest COVID-19 vaccination booster] applies only to those 65 and older. The additional dose should be given at least four months after a previous dose for healthy older adults, or at least three months after a coronavirus infection. It’s unclear whether those getting a second shot now will also need another shot for the 2024-2025 fall and winter season.
David Kaslow, a representative of the Food and Drug Administration who was sworn in as a temporary voting member for the meeting, said there may be a new vaccine approved for the 2024-2025 winter season. In that case, he said, it would not be optimal for people to get a second dose of a current vaccine later than June.[6]
So let’s see here. I’m not yet 65. Medicare doesn’t become effective for me until April 1 and I am uninsured until then but I won’t be 65 until April 29. I got my last dose on September 23, 2023, so the four month minimum has in fact, for me, already elapsed. So I guess I know what I’m doing for my birthday.[7] Yay.
Lena H. Sun, “CDC recommends older adults get 2nd updated coronavirus shot,” Washington Post, February 28, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/28/covid-vaccine-booster/
- [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
- [2]John Cassidy, “Michigan’s “Uncommitted” Democrats Send a Message to Biden,” New Yorker, February 28, 2024, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/michigans-uncommitted-democrats-send-a-message-to-biden↩
- [3]Shayna Jacobs and Mark Berman, “Judge won’t delay Trump financial penalty but lets sons remain atop company for now,” Washington Post, February 28, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/28/trump-new-york-supreme-court-judgment-appeal/↩
- [4]Ben Jennings, “Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s progress along the Republican nomination trail – cartoon,” Guardian, January 24, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/jan/24/ben-jennings-on-donald-trumps-progress-along-the-republican-nomination-trail-cartoon↩
- [5]Steve Vladeck, quoted in John Fritze, “Supreme Court to decide Trump immunity claim, further delaying election subversion trial,” CNN, February 28, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/28/politics/trump-supreme-court-immunity/index.html↩
- [6]Lena H. Sun, “CDC recommends older adults get 2nd updated coronavirus shot,” Washington Post, February 28, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/28/covid-vaccine-booster/↩
- [7]Lena H. Sun, “CDC recommends older adults get 2nd updated coronavirus shot,” Washington Post, February 28, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/28/covid-vaccine-booster/↩