... OR, as RAS puts it ~~~
Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: “A suicide note purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein in a Manhattan jail has been kept secret for nearly seven years, locked up in a New York courthouse. A cellmate said he discovered the note in July 2019, after Mr. Epstein was found unresponsive with a strip of cloth around his neck. Mr. Epstein survived that incident but weeks later was found dead in the jail. The note was eventually sealed by a federal judge as part of the cellmate’s own criminal case, according to documents and interviews.... On Thursday, The New York Times petitioned the judge to unseal the note, which said it was 'time to say goodbye,' the cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, recalled. While Mr. Tartaglione mentioned the note on a podcast last year, the scrawled message has remained hidden from public view.... The Times has not seen the note and could not find it in the Epstein files. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency had not seen it. But a cryptic two-page chronology in the records describes how the note became tangled up in Mr. Tartaglione’s messy legal case. The chronology says that Mr. Tartaglione’s lawyers authenticated the note, though it does not explain how.” The link is a gift link.
New York Times Editors: In the Iran war, “the weaker nation is in the stronger negotiating position. That reality exposes the vulnerabilities in the American way of war. Tactical success has not yielded victory. Mr. Trump’s recklessness in conducting the war is one reason. But the problem is bigger than any single commander in chief. The United States has left itself unprepared for modern war. America has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on ships and planes that are good at defeating competitors’ ships and planes but ineffective against cheaper, mass-produced weapons. The American economy does not have the industrial capacity to produce enough of the weapons and equipment it does need. And the country has struggled to fix these problems because of a sclerotic government and a consolidated defense industry that resists change.”
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: “The House on Thursday passed stalled legislation reopening the Department of Homeland Security, ending a record shutdown at the agency and resolving uncertainty over whether thousands of federal security workers would be paid in May. The voice vote after a brief debate brought to a close a bitter partisan fight spurred by ... [Donald] Trump’s immigration crackdown and the tactics of federal immigration officers who fatally shot two U.S. citizens during immigration roundups in Minneapolis earlier this year. Negotiations between Democrats and the White House over new restrictions went nowhere, leading to an impasse that cut off funding on Feb. 14. But it was a dispute among Republicans that has kept the department shuttered for nearly a month, and the G.O.P. had to bypass its own right flank to push through the bill.... Mr. Johnson was forced to resort to a maneuver that sped it to the floor, limiting debate and requiring a two-thirds supermajority for passage.”
The Chaos Starts at the Top. Jack Detsch, et al., of Politico: “... Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday that he was considering pulling some U.S. troops out of Germany stunned defense officials, who scrambled to figure out if the president was serious about following through on his threats this time. Trump’s social media post was the first that many had heard of a potential new push to take hundreds, if not thousands, of American troops out of Germany, according to three defense officials. It strongly contrasts a recently concluded monthslong review of the Pentagon’s global troop footprint, which did not call for major pullbacks from Europe.”
Lauren Weber, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump announced a new pick for surgeon general, Nicole Saphier, putting an end to Casey Means’s nomination process that had stretched nearly a year.... Saphier is Trump’s third choice to serve as the nation’s top doctor. Trump first selected Janette Nesheiwat to be surgeon general last year before the White House withdrew her nomination and put Means forward. A health products entrepreneur and popular online personality, Means had seen her nomination stall as some Republicans questioned her stance on vaccines, her medical credentials and her pushes against the medical establishment. Means appeared before the Senate Health Committee in February after an earlier hearing was postponed after she went into labor.”
Wow! Maine Senate Race. Lisa Lerer, et al., of the New York Times: “Gov. Janet Mills of Maine, the Democratic establishment’s choice to run for the Senate seat long held by Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, suspended her campaign on Thursday, saying she no longer had the financial resources to compete against Graham Platner, a progressive political newcomer. Her exit paves the way for Mr. Platner, an oysterman who has led her in polls, to become the Democratic nominee in one of the most important Senate races in the country.... Her exit is a blow not only to the two-term sitting governor but also to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and the Democratic Party establishment that he leads. Mr. Schumer, the minority leader, has for almost two decades chosen his party’s Senate candidates with little internal opposition.” Thanks to RAS for the link. Politico's story is here.
Paul Waldman: "... Donald Trump leads a movement that is obsessed with projecting strength, yet is made up of the weakest, whiniest little babies who ever walked the corridors of Washington.... Because Trump is a baby, he is enraged that [James] Comey mocked him on social media. Because they are spineless toadies, his appointees mobilize to action, drawing up what that absurd indictment. And because they too are pathetic lickspittles, congressional Republicans rush to the media to defend the indictment.... Every appointee who comes before the Senate for a confirmation hearing is asked by Democrats whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, and every one hems and haws and refuses to answer, because in admitting that simple fact they would anger the man to whom they have turned over their integrity and their dignity.... Their weakness makes them ... more [dangerous], because they will always try to compensate for their weakness with brutality. A bunch of feeble, frightened men with the powers of the state at their disposal is a terrifying thing; just look at how that played out in Minneapolis." ~~~
~~~ So This Is Surprising. Jordain Carney of Politico: Senator “Thom Tillis took on ... Donald Trump’s administration in a monthslong battle to quash the criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — and won. Now he’s urging those around the president to take his latest ultimatum seriously — that he won’t confirm for attorney general anyone who excuses the events of Jan. 6, 2021.... 'Hopefully they’ll take me at my word when I say anybody who equivocated on the Jan. 6 rioters, I just can’t support,' the North Carolina Republican said about Justice Department nominees. Tillis has major leverage as a member of the Judiciary Committee, where Republicans have a one-vote advantage and he can exercise an effective veto.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't know how this is going to affect Donald Dimento. During this monthslong battle, he insisted to Maria Bartiromo, even after she corrected him, that Tillis had quit the Senate. He even seemed to imply that Tillis had quit precisely because he had somehow lost his battle over the Powell investigation.
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Dan Diamond & Scott Clement of the Washington Post: “Americans reject ... Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, and they appear largely unmoved by the intensified calls from the president and his allies in Congress to allow the project to go forward.... There is also a notable enthusiasm gap: Nearly three times as many people “strongly” oppose the project as strongly support it, the poll found.... Trump has also pursued other building projects, including a planned 250-foot triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. He has sought to put his name on government buildings and visible symbols, including a plan for the U.S. Treasury to print Trump’s signature on paper money instead of the treasury secretary’s. The public rejects those ideas, too, the Post-ABC-Ipsos poll finds.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump's major pitch for needing a gigantic ballroom is that it is necessary for national security reasons. He used the latest assassination attempt against him to emphasize the point. Of course one way to cut down on murders is to limit access to guns. Trump rejects this idea: ~~~
~~~ Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a sweeping rollback of gun regulations, prompting criticism from gun control advocates who called the moves misguided and dangerous.... The changes include rescinding a 2024 regulation from the Biden administration that sought to end what gun control advocates call the “gun show loophole.” That exemption allowed unlicensed dealers to sell firearms without performing a background check to see if the prospective buyer was prohibited by law from owning a gun. The administration also plans to rescind a 2023 rule that restricted pistol braces, an attachment that enables the shooter to hold the weapon against their shoulder like a rifle. A federal court had already struck down that rule.”
The only thing they have is history. -- Donald Trump, December 2025, comparing his proposed Arc de Trump with the Arc de Triomphe ~~~
~~~ Mark Landler of the New York Times: Donald “Trump is pressing ahead with a plan to construct a triumphal arch in Washington that he envisions, among other things, as one-upping the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital. That has prompted jaded reactions in France, a land that is no stranger to political leaders afflicted with edifice complexes. It has also cast a fresh light on the Arc de Triomphe and its tangled history, which could serve as a reminder to Mr. Trump of both the ephemeral nature of power and the contested legacy of monuments. Conceived in 1806 by Napoleon as a tribute to military glory after the Battle of Austerlitz, the Arc de Triomphe has come to symbolize very different things in modern France. Sacred tomb for France’s unknown soldier. Jubilant destination for soccer fans after France won the World Cup in 2018. Reviled target for the 'yellow vest' protesters, who vandalized it later that year.” A bit more on Trump's edifice complex below.
Gregory Schmidt of the New York Times: “Oil prices hit a fresh wartime high on Thursday, surging to a four-year high above $120 a barrel, before pulling back in volatile trading on concerns that the war in Iran could escalate, leading to a longer disruption of fuel supplies from the Middle East.... [Donald] Trump maintained his stance that the naval blockade of Iran’s ports would persist until Tehran gives up its nuclear program. His remarks to Axios on Wednesday suggested that the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital trading route for oil and natural gas supplies, was not nearing a resolution.” ~~~
~~~ Barak Ravid of Axios: Donald "Trump told Axios he's going to keep Iran under a naval blockade until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses U.S. concerns about its nuclear program.... Trump is rejecting an Iranian proposal to first open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the blockade, while postponing nuclear talks to a later stage.... U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has prepared a plan for a 'short and powerful' wave of strikes on Iran in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three sources with knowledge said."
David Sanger of the New York Times: Donald “Trump declared on Wednesday evening that he is 'studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany,' in what appears to be retaliation for comments by Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, that Iran has 'humiliated' the United States. Even before Mr. Merz made his comments to a group of German students, the United States had hinted that it may review its troop levels in Europe, despite the continuing concerns that Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, may attempt to test whether NATO would truly come to the aid of one of its smaller, newer members, like Estonia or Latvia. Germany is the hub of the American presence in Europe, with about 35,000 American troops based there. It is also the center for medical treatment, aircraft arming and maintenance, and the headquarters for American forces in Europe.”
Marie: Once again, it appears to me that Trump's advisors are trying to explain things in terms simple enough for him to understand, but he still is not bright enough to comprehend what they are saying. Also too, the advisors are catering to his toddler-like thrill of the moment when "Everything goes ka-boom!" ~~~
~~~ Evan Halper of the Washington Post: “After weeks of unsuccessfully pressuring Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz..., Donald Trump spent recent days arguing that its closure had brought Tehran to the brink of an explosive plumbing problem.... 'If they don’t get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode,' Trump told reporters at the White House last Thursday, touting the success of a U.S. blockade on the waterway that ordinarily ferries about 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas. He said during a Fox News appearance Sunday that Iranian oil pipelines 'both mechanically and in the earth' would 'explode from within' if the country did not start exporting through the strait soon. 'They say they only have about three days left before that happens. And when it explodes, you can never rebuild it the way it was,' Trump said.... Energy industry officials and analysts warn that scenario is unlikely. Iran has weeks or even months before it risks running out of places to store oil, experts told The Washington Post.” ~~~
~~~ So today, Trump is to get another briefing for dummies: ~~~
~~~ Barak Ravid of Axios: Donald "Trump is slated to receive a briefing on new plans for potential military action in Iran on Thursday from CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper.... The briefing signals that Trump is seriously considering resuming major combat operations either to try to break the logjam in negotiations or to deliver a final blow before ending the war.... Cooper gave Trump a similar briefing on Feb. 26, two days before the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran. One source close to Trump said that briefing contributed to Trump's decision to go to war."
Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday castigated members of Congress in both parties for questioning the war in Iran, during a contentious Capitol Hill hearing dominated by a conflict that the Pentagon said had cost $25 billion and 14 American lives so far. Appearing at what had been scheduled as a routine hearing to review the Defense Department’s nearly $1.45 trillion budget request for the coming year, Mr. Hegseth spent much of his time lashing out at lawmakers whose approval would be needed to provide that funding. 'The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,' the defense secretary declared in his prepared remarks to the House Armed Services Committee, before members had asked a single question. The statement set a hostile tenor for the secretary’s first public testimony on Capitol Hill since the war began, coming after Republicans had for weeks refrained from exercising any public oversight of an operation undertaken without congressional authorization, and which polls indicate is unpopular.” ~~~
~~~ Greg Jaffe of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday defended his decisions to fire or sideline nearly 30 generals and admirals over the past year with little explanation by falsely comparing his record to that of President Barack Obama. 'I would also note that under Barack Obama, 197 general officers were removed,' Mr. Hegseth said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. 'So this is not something specific to this administration.' The number Mr. Hegseth gave has no basis in fact. It originated with an unsigned 2018 editorial in Investor’s Business Daily, which cites the right-wing news site 'Breitbart.com’s Facebook page' as its source.... When challenged on the figure’s origins, Kingsley Wilson, the press secretary for the Pentagon, asked The Times not to publish the statement. Ms. Wilson then sent a new statement, which did not include the 197 figure.... Mr. Hegseth’s actions to fire senior military leaders are without precedent in recent decades and have come with little explanation. On Wednesday, lawmakers pressed him to justify his decisions, including his move this month to remove Gen. Randy A. George, the Army chief of staff.”
~~~ Marie: I want to give Pete credit for one thing. Pam Bondi did her best to play an out-of-control harpy during Congressional hearings, but she just never pulled off that foaming-at-the-mouth mad-dog look that is a Hegseth specialty. Here he is at yesterday's hearing: ~~~
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| Photo: Getty Images. |
~~~ The photo, BTW, came from an article about how my own Congressperson, Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) got the better of Drunk Pete during the hearing. ~~~
~~~ John Ismay & Megan Mineiro of the New York Times report their takeaways from the hearing.
~~~ How Gay Is Trump? Yesterday, a panelist on MSNOW or CNN asked if Trump hadn't fired the grossly incompetent Hegseth because Trump has a crush on him. The other panelists laughed off the comment, but it strikes me that Trump quite often does let his inner gay man show. Remember how he was "in love" with Kim Jong Un during his first term? The other day he remarked on how "handsome" the agents were who stormed the Hilton ballroom. (If I were in danger of being shot, I probably would not think much about the good looks of a man who might protect me.) Trump is known to choose his Cabinet members because they look the parts; he was so obsessed with the appearance of the men on his Cabinet this term that he bought them new (and often ill-fitting) Florsheim shoes. He reportedly spends 45 minutes a day fixing his hair. He slathers on makeup every day. He even makes up his hands. Yesterday, in meeting the Artemis II crew, he spoke about their physical prowess and his. "... you ... have to do a lot of things physically good. So I would’ve had no trouble making it [as an astronaut.] I’m physically very, very good." The only theater he enjoys are Broadway musicals. Most members of the group who sing his anthem "YMCA" are gay. He is fussy about home decoration and goes for over-the-top rococo. He boasts about his knowledge of interior design and picks out curtains and wallpaper himself. You can probably think of more stereotypical gay stuff Trump does or says. Easing himself out of the closet could be his one endearing quality.
Kelly O'Donnell & Tim Stelloh of NBC News: "Investigators believe the man charged with the attempted assassination of ... Donald Trump shot a Secret Service officer who was wearing a ballistic vest, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the case. Investigators have determined that the Secret Service Uniformed Division officer was not struck by friendly fire from another member of law enforcement, the sources told NBC News on Wednesday."
⭐Yunior Rivas of Democracy Docket: "Newly obtained documents show a clear paper trail of Trump administration officials planning to share sensitive voter data with an outside political group trying to overturn elections, as part of a secret agreement.... The documents provide the clearest evidence to date that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) personnel engaged with an outside political group seeking to analyze voter rolls in an effort to challenge election results. Earlier court filings stated the group’s goal was to find evidence of voter fraud and overturn election results in certain states.... Despite the new disclosures, major questions remain unanswered. The government has redacted the names of most individuals involved and has not publicly identified the outside group that signed the agreement. The documents come as part of a broader legal battle over DOGE’s access to Social Security data...."
Colby Smith of the New York Times: “Jerome H. Powell capped off his eight-year tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve with the most divisive policy meeting in decades, as three officials suggested the central bank should more directly signal that the Fed’s next move could just as likely be a rate increase as a cut. Adding to the drama was an announcement by Mr. Powell that he would remain as governor at the central bank after his term as chair ends May 15 and ... [Donald] Trump’s handpicked successor, Kevin M. Warsh, takes over. That decision will deny Mr. Trump the opportunity to appoint another governor to the Fed’s seven-member board until Mr. Powell leaves. Mr. Powell’s decision to stay, which he can do until January 2028, breaks with tradition. But he pegged it to the numerous broadsides that Mr. Trump and his administration had launched against the Fed in the last year, which he warned put the central bank’s independence 'at risk.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Jerome Powell looks like a ordinary milquetoast 'n eyeshades kinda guy. He is soft-spoken, and in comparison to Trump, he does not carry a big stick. But appearances are deceiving; he has shown extraordinary spine in standing up to a pompous bully. And apparently he won't back down soon. Oh, and this is rich: “Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, told Fox Business that it was a 'highly unusual' move and a 'violation of all Federal Reserve norms.' He added that it was an 'insult' to Mr. Warsh.” There is, of course, no president* in the history of the nation who has done more to “violate norms” than Bessent's boss. Trump is norms-crushing us right out of our democracy.
Michael Gold of the New York Times: “The House on Wednesday narrowly adopted a Republican budget blueprint that would allow the G.O.P. to blow past Democratic opposition and pour an additional $70 billion into immigration enforcement through the remainder of ... [Donald] Trump’s second term. The measure is a crucial step in Republicans’ plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, ending a shutdown that has lasted for nearly 11 weeks. Republicans pushed through the plan, which the Senate adopted last week, on a party-line vote of 215 to 211, with one independent lawmaker voting “present.” That set the stage for the G.O.P. to begin working on a special budget measure, shielded from a filibuster in the Senate, to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the two agencies charged with carrying out the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.”
Charlie Savage & Michael Gold of the New York Times: “The House voted on Wednesday to extend a high-profile warrantless surveillance law for three years, but its fate remained uncertain ahead of a midnight expiration on Thursday after the Senate said it would not move ahead with the measure. Bipartisan approval in the House capped a chaotic struggle in that chamber, where Speaker Mike Johnson just barely overcame a rebellion by a libertarian-leaning faction of Republicans who had blocked the legislation as they demanded a chance to add privacy protections. But just hours later, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, said his chamber would instead attempt to push through a 45-day extension, punting a debate on renewing a key section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, until mid-June.... The surveillance law, known as 702, is set to lapse after midnight on Thursday, and members of the Senate in both parties want to make changes to the extension the House passed....” ~~~
~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times on how dysfunctional the House is. Even John Thune, the Senate majority leader, seems openly frustrated that House Republicans can't do their basic job.
Welcome Back, Jim Crow. Akhilleus saw the handwriting on the wall a few days ago, and it looked like Alito's. He was right: ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein & Andrew Howard of Politico: “The Supreme Court significantly narrowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in a 6-3 ruling Wednesday, further eroding the impact of the landmark civil rights-era law. For decades, Section 2 — a provision that broadly outlawed discrimination in voting on the basis of race — has been interpreted to allow, and sometimes demand, the use of race-conscious data in redistricting, to protect the voting power of minorities. But the court’s new opinion, which split the justices along ideological lines, throws into question exactly how states can utilize race in their mapmaking process. The case involves a challenge to two majority-Black districts in Louisiana.... Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said evidence of racial disparity in the drawing of earlier maps was too weak to justify the use of race to draw the new map.... All three liberal justices joined a dissent by Justice Elena Kagan, who read portions of her opinion aloud from the bench — a sign of profound disagreement with the majority.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Louisiana’s voting map, finding that lawmakers had illegally used race when drawing up a new majority-Black district and potentially setting off a scramble in the middle of primary season as states consider drawing new maps. The decision was 6 to 3, split along ideological lines. The conservative majority asserted that the opinion was a limited ruling that preserved a central tenet of the Voting Rights Act, but the court’s liberal wing, in dissent, argued that the justices had taken the final step to dismantle the landmark civil rights law.” ~~~
~~~ MB: I'll be darned if can figure out what Alito is talking about, but I'll take Kagan's word for it: “... she said what the majority billed as mere updates actually 'eviscerate the law' and amount to the 'demolition of the Voting Rights Act.'” Ken W. asked (rhetorically) in yesterday's Comments, "So a 'racial gerrymander' to protect Black voting power is 'unconstitutional' but a gerrymander that protects White vote is not?" Evidently. ~~~
~~~ Nick Corasaniti, et al., of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act in the middle of a heated primary season could create a chaotic scramble among states that are considering drawing new congressional maps ahead of November. The decision is likely to modestly improve Republicans’ fortunes ahead of the midterm elections, giving them a slight edge in the redistricting wars.... And the ruling all but guarantees that the redistricting arms race will stretch into the 2028 election, with both Republican and Democratic states likely to redraw their maps yet again to eke out a partisan advantage. The court’s ruling declared Louisiana’s congressional map to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: It strikes me that the Louisiana ruling is worse than some of the other rulings that have been part of John Roberts' project to free the White people. The most infamous ruling -- Shelby County v. Holder -- for instance, determined that the Voting Rights Act formula requiring states to "preclear" voting law changes was outdated. That is, it was a ruling that Congress could "correct," at least in theory. But Congress can't "correct" the fault the confederate Supremes found in yesterday's ruling because anything Congress -- or the states -- try to do to create majority Black (or Latino) districts would be "discriminating against the White people." So this ruling, it appears to me, affects liberal states, too. If California tries to massage a new majority-Latino district in Los Angeles County, for instance, that would be unconstitutional. ~~~
"The Supreme Court itself has shown itself to be the enemy of democracy. If and when Democrats retake control of the political branches, it will be incumbent on them not only to write new voting legislation protecting minority voters and all voters in the ability to participate fairly in elections that reflect the will of all the people; they will also have to consider reform of the Supreme Court itself, a conclusion I had been resisting until the court made this unavoidable." MB: I don't have a subscription to Slate; I clicked on Hasen's column by mistake, so I guess Slate allows a few freebies.
~~~ Joshua Douglas in the Washington Monthly: "The best way to think about this week’s momentous Supreme Court decision dismantling the Voting Rights Act is to consider it alongside four previous voting rights cases from the past 13 years. Each time, the Court’s majority claimed it was taking incremental or technical steps. The collective project, however, shows the evisceration of the VRA, the crown jewel of the civil rights era. American democracy will be much weaker as a result." ~~~
~~~ Robert Reich: "Alito knew precisely what he was doing today — making it seem as if he’s not gutting the Voting Rights Act through legal and technical gibberish, while turning it on its head. Alito’s mission has long been to favor the white Republicans he seems to think he represents, rather than all Americans. His five Republican-appointed colleagues on the court appear to believe the same thing. Shame on them." ~~~
~~~ Sherrilyn Ifill begins her analysis with this wry anecdote: “The night before the six conservative justices on the Supreme Court issued their decision in a case that betrays the sacrifices, determination, and demand of generations of Black people in this country for political voice and representation, they feasted. Decked out in tuxedos and formal gowns, they assembled for a State dinner held in a White House controlled by the most explicitly and destructively racist President to serve in 150 years. They dined on Dover Sole 'expertly prepared and bathed in a nutty brown butter,' 'tender' spring ramps, and potatoes pave. They raised glasses in toast to the British King, Charles. One justice, Clarence Thomas was, it appears, the only Black guest in the room.” [MB: BTW, Trump didn't invite Sotomayor, Kagan & Jackson.] ~~~
~~~ Andrew Howard, et al., of Politico: “The court blew a hole in the Voting Rights Act on Wednesday, triggering immediate calls from Republicans to redraw a slew of southern congressional maps as soon as possible to improve their chances of holding the House this fall and boost their power for years to come. Top GOP candidates, elected officials and party chairs across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina — as well as rafts of Republican lawyers and MAGA allies — called for special sessions in their states to dismantle minority-majority districts and create more aggressive gerrymanders benefitting their party."
~~~ Dan Merica & Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: “Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) told Republican House candidates Wednesday that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so state lawmakers can pass a new congressional map first.... The [Supreme Court] ruling positions Republicans to gain one or two seats in the midterms as they fight to hold their narrow majority in the House.... Most states are unlikely to be able to redraw districts in time for the November midterm elections, but Louisiana could be one of the exceptions.”
Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: “King Charles III of Britain fed chickens in Harlem. His wife, Queen Camilla, visited with Winnie-the-Pooh at the New York Public Library. In the morning, the royal couple laid a bouquet at the Sept. 11 memorial, and by evening, they were hobnobbing with the city’s cultural and artistic elite at Rockefeller Center. After a day of politics and diplomacy in Washington, the king and queen spent Wednesday taking in different parts of what New York City has to offer. It was the third day of a four-day visit to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and the royal couple escaped the politically awkward moments from their trip to the nation’s capital and returned to tightly choreographed photo opportunities, keeping reporters at bay.” The link is a gift link. MB: I remember former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R) talking about how busy he was "meeting with kings and queens." This article gives you a good picture of how kings and queens spend their work days. It saves your having to meet with them to find out.
Marie: While I devoted some space to King Charles' remarks during his Washington, D.C., visit, I paid no attention to what the Count of Mar-a-Lardo had to say. Luckily, someone was listening: ~~~
~~~ Heather Cox Richardson: “... in his speech welcoming [Charles & Camilla] to the White House yesterday, Trump redefined the United States from a nation based on the principles of the Enlightenment..., to one based in the white nationalist ideas of blood and soil. 'Long before Americans had a nation or a constitution, we first had a culture, a character, and a creed, Trump said. 'For nearly two centuries before the Revolution, this land was settled and forged by men and women who bore in their souls the blood and noble spirit of the British. Here on a wild and untamed continent, they set loose the ancient English love of liberty and … Great Britain’s distinctive sense of glory, destiny, and pride.' Weirdly, Trump’s speech then turned the American Revolution ... into a celebration of unity between the Patriots and their English countrymen. 'The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776 were the heirs to this majestic inheritance. Their veins ran with Anglo-Saxon courage. Their hearts beat with an English faith in standing firm for what is right, good, and true,' Trump said.... 'The American founding was the culmination of hundreds of years of thought, struggle, sweat, blood, and sacrifice on both sides of the Atlantic.'...” ~~~
~~~ Update: Richardson was not the only one listening to Trump: ~~~
~~~ Jonathan Chait of the Atlantic: “Trump’s speech stamped his imprimatur on an ascendant view of American history and politics — one that is controversial even on the American right, and that walks up to the edge of white nationalism. The analysis Trump endorsed is that America is defined not by its founding values but by its Anglo-Saxon cultural and genetic heritage. This idea has radical consequences, some of which have already manifested under the administration.... A faction on the right known as the national conservatives ... believe that America is the product of white, European settlers; that Americanness is a genetic inheritance and therefore an identity immigrants cannot obtain (an idea conveyed by Trump’s reference to Anglo-Saxon veins); and that, most controversially, the values articulated by the founding documents are less important than the natural rights of what the natcons call 'heritage Americans' to rule the land in perpetuity.... Trump gave [the natcons] a boost by selecting J. D. Vance, an enthusiastic natcon, as his vice president....” Thank you to akaWendy for this gift link.
Marie: It is impossible not to see the connection of Trump's speech to Alito's decision in Louisiana v. Callais. The irony is that the only one of the "justices" who decided to gut the VRA is Neil Gorsuch, and even he is only half English. His other half is Irish, and no Irish need apply. The other justices on the opinion are Italian or Irish or African or Slovakian. Nevertheless, they all want to get back to this, and they like to pretend they're as one with the CIA official Matt Damon plays, not Joe Pesci's mobster: ~~~
Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "LIV Golf, the controversial golf league propped up by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, is on the brink of collapse, the Wall Street Journal reported — and it comes as Trump's golf clubs, that have hosted their events at exorbitant sums, continue to try to promote them. The problem, reported the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, is that the Saudi funding is going away. 'LIV plans to tell players and staff by Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will no longer bankroll the circuit after this season, according to people familiar with the matter. The move sounds the death knell for the upstart that sowed chaos in professional golf by plowing billions into the sport and poaching A-list players,' said the report."
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Florida. Bill Barrow of the AP: “The Florida Legislature approved a new congressional map intended to maximize Republicans’ advantage in the state as part of the national redistricting battle that ... Donald Trump launched ahead of this year’s midterms. The vote came just two days after Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his proposal and the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The decision could make it harder for Democrats to challenge Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts in ways that limit the influence of nonwhite voters. DeSantis’ map could increase Republicans’ advantage in Florida’s House delegation to 24 to 4, up from the current split of 20 to 8.... Florida’s new districts are certain to face lawsuits as well, especially because the state constitution prohibits redistricting for explicitly partisan purposes. DeSantis and his aides believe those provisions will not be a legal barrier because they have been weakened previously by the Florida Supreme Court and again by Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling.”
Ukraine-Russia, et al. Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: “Russia’s Victory Day, its foremost national holiday, in commemoration of its defeat of Nazi Germany at unthinkable cost, also serves as a showcase of its military might.... Russia is scaling back its upcoming Victory Day parade, to be held without a spectacle of armaments for the first time in nearly 20 years, amid fears of long-range Ukrainian strikes. The May 9 event will proceed in a reduced format, with a smaller number of participants — several military schools and cadet corps are not to take part 'due to the current operational situation,' the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.... The parade and the broader symbolism of the Soviet toll in World War II have long formed the backbone of the ultraconservative, militaristic identity President Vladimir Putin has worked to forge....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: So what does Trump do? He decides to help his pal Vlad out of a predicament. ~~~
Valerie Hopkins of the New York Times: “In a lengthy phone call on Wednesday..., [Donald] Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia agreed that there should be a brief cease-fire in Ukraine in the coming days, according to both Mr. Trump and a top adviser to Mr. Putin. The cease-fire would coincide with the May 9 Russian holiday marking the end of World War II, said Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s chief foreign policy adviser, but he did not give precise timing. Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House: 'I suggested a little bit of a cease-fire and I think he might do that. There’s so many people being killed, it’s so ridiculous.' Mr. Ushakov did not say explicitly who had suggested a truce, but said that Mr. Putin 'informed his American counterpart of his readiness to declare a cease-fire for the duration of the Victory Day celebrations.' Mr. Trump 'actively' supported the idea, Mr. Ushakov said.”
