Monday, January 17, 2022

@13:20, 1/15/22

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1

With Voting Bills Dead, Democrats Face Costly Fight to Overcome G.O.P. Curbs
Party officials now say they are resigned to spending and organizing their way around the new voting restrictions passed in Republican-controlled states. read more 
 
There is no causal relationship. 
The cost of the next election has not increased.

2
Frustrated Democrats Call for ‘Reset’ Ahead of Midterm Elections
Democrats already were expecting a rough election year. But their struggle to advance priorities has some calling for a course correction. read more
 
The Democrats have never been unified and will not start now.
The party is liberal and progressive.
It must win big in this midterm.
 
3
Ian Welsh14 hours ago
Open Thread
[image: Open Thread] Use this to discuss topics unrelated to recent posts. No Covid. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp LinkedIn read more
 
Live negotiations are a start.
Sooner is better.   As soon as you can is best.
 
4
U.S. Says Russia Sent Saboteurs Into Ukraine to Create Pretext for Invasion
The Biden administration said the operatives were trained in urban warfare and explosives and could try to stage an incident. read more\
 
Ukraine must not take this bait.
 
5
U.S. Names Official to Counter Foreign Election Interference
The director of national intelligence appointed a C.I.A. veteran to the post amid delays in congressional approval of money for a new office to oversee threats to American politics from abroad. read more
 
Good luck with that.
Interference can be done remotely.
The election state laws are interference.
 
6
Democrats Face a Dilemma on Voting: Compromise or Keep Pressing?
With their broad voting rights push nearing a dead end, Democrats must soon decide whether to embrace a far narrower bipartisan effort to protect vote counting and administration. read more
 
Bipartisanship does not exist.
The parties will rig elections any way they can.
Make the Republicans own their unwillingness to compromise.
 
7
‘Attempted Security Threat’ Disables Software at Some New York Schools
The outage in a platform used by teachers and students has caused another disruption for a system that has had its share amid the pandemic. read more
 
View it as a kind of an anonymous bomb threat.. 

8
Frustrated Democrats Call for ‘Reset’ Ahead of Midterm Elections
Democrats already were expecting a rough election year. But their struggle to advance priorities has some calling for a course correction. read more
 
This is a struggle inside the Democratic party.
 
9
U.S. Government Launches Website to Distribute Free Covid Tests
The tests will take up to 12 days to arrive, which may be after the peak of the current surge of cases in some parts of the country. read more
 
A "do something" gesture.
 
10
Members of Congress Weigh Re-Election Bid Ahead of Midterms
For members of Congress weighing if another run is worth the hassle, the time to decide is fast approaching. read more
 
It is a constant consideration.
 
11
Ohio Supreme Court Strikes Down Republican Gerrymander of Map
The congressional map would have given Republicans an advantage of 12 seats to three in elections for the House of Representatives. read more
 
Democrats must consider such maps unfair.
 
12
 
The sooner Trump goes to prison the better.
Tax evasion has been a good charge in the past.
 
13
North Korea Fires 2 Ballistic Missiles After Lashing Out
The launches came after the country threatened “stronger and certain reaction” if the United States helped imposed more sanctions over the North’s recent missile tests. read more
 
North Korea is a sovereign nation
 
14
U.S. Considers Backing an Insurgency in Ukraine
Conversations about how far the United States would go to subvert Russia in the event of an invasion have revived the specter of a new Cold War. read more
 
Planning must continue.
Diplomacy is a better way.
 
15
Ohio Supreme Court Strikes Down Republican Gerrymander of Map
The congressional map would have given Republicans 12-to-3 advantage in elections for the House of Representatives. read more
 
"Mapmakers in Ohio are not allowed to unduly favor one party in redistricting, after voters overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the Ohio Constitution in 2018." 

The Ohio Republican party started late on their permanent dominance.
The Republican party must own their economic disaster.

16

New Sanctions for Russian Gas Pipeline Fall Short in Senate

The measure pitted Ukraine’s president, who was pushing for the penalties, against the Biden administration, which successfully lobbied Democrats to oppose them.

By Catie Edmondson and Kenneth P. Vogel

 The diplomats need material to negotiate with.

17 
Russia, at an Impasse With the West, Warns It Is Ready to Abandon Diplomacy
In a third round of talks on Eastern European security this week, both Kremlin and American officials sounded an increasingly pessimistic note. read more
 
Keep people talking.
It will not matter who starts the nuclear war.
There will be no winners.
 
18
Anti-Trump Republicans Diverge on 2022 Midterms
Disaffected conservatives broke with their party to oust a sitting president. Some still hope to have a say in the G.O.P.’s future. read more
 
The Democrats have not broken the Republican united front in the senate.
The problem is existential for either party. 

19
Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenas Twitter, Meta, Alphabet and Reddit
The panel investigating the attack on the Capitol is demanding information from Alphabet, Meta, Reddit and Twitter. read more
 
The 1/6/21 committee has the power to get the information it seeks.
 
20
Businesses are whipsawed again as the Supreme Court blocks OSHA’s vaccine mandate.
Companies must now decide whether to proceed with planned mandates without cover from the federal government. read more
 
Work places should be vaccinated.  
The Supreme Court had to stretch hard to strike down the work place mandate.
 
 
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1
Senate Panel OKs Califf Nomination for F.D.A. Chief
A split committee vote revealed concerns about the opioid epidemic and abortion policies, foreshadowing a likely close vote on confirmation by the full Senate. read more
 
Presidents get their cabinets.
 
2
New Rule Makes Thousands of Federal Inmates Eligible for Release
The Justice Department issued guidelines that allow more prisoners to participate in a program to earn shorter terms under the 2018 bipartisan criminal justice law. read more
 
Good move.
 
3
Spike in Inflation Reignites Debate on Price Controls
A discussion over whether price controls would work to stem inflation is sweeping progressives. So far, it has little political acceptance. read more
 
Price controls have been a bad idea.
 
4
Sinema Rejects Changing Filibuster, Dealing Biden a Setback
Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s comments came after the House approved a set of voting rights measures on a party-line vote of 220 to 203. read more
 
The filibuster is excessively powerful as presently written.
Make the opposition try to talk bills to death.
 
5
Supreme Court Blocks Biden’s Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers
But the justices allowed a vaccination requirement for health care workers at facilities that receive federal money. read more
 
The supreme court has issued a deeply partisan ruling.
 
6
Oath Keepers Leader Stewart Rhodes Arrested in Jan. 6 Inquiry
The F.B.I. arrested Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right militia, in a major step forward in the investigation into the attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald J. Trump. read more
 
There is an opportunity for a plea bargain.
Trump should be in prison.
 
7
Biden Announces 500 Million More Tests Will be Purchased for Americans
President Biden also announced the allocation of 1,000 medical personnel to six states would carry out a pledge the president made last month on quashing Omicron. read more
 
Testing is always late.
 
8
RNC Signals a Pullout From Presidential Debates
The Republican National Committee says it will require candidates to pledge to not participate in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates. What would replace them, if anything, was unclear. read more
 
The RNC wants votes for "a pig in a poke".
 
9
Jan. 6 Inquiry Weighs a Major Escalation: Subpoenaing Colleagues
A standoff between the committee investigating the attack and Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, as well as other Republicans, raises tricky legal and political issues. read more
 
Congressional investigating committees have the power to learn the facts.
 
10
Lael Brainard predicts that the Fed will engineer a soft economic landing.
Ms. Brainard, nominated to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chair, expects workers will come back as the economy chugs along, she told a Senate committee. read more
 
She was asked and she answered.
 
11
NATO Won’t Let Ukraine Join Soon. Here’s Why.
Ukraine, with Russian troops on its borders, is pressing for membership. But President Biden and European leaders are not ready for that step. read more
 
A  war between NATO and Russia would soon be nuclear.
There are no winners in a nuclear war.

Keep talking.

12
Sinema Says She Will Not Support Changing Filibuster
Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s comments came after the House approved a set of voting rights measures on a party-line vote of 220 to 203. read more
 
The Democrats must break the Republican line.
 
13
US Refines Tool to Evaluate 'Havana Syndrome' Cases
The tool, essentially a standardized battery of questions and medical tests, can help determine the kind of care needed by people affected by the “anomalous health incidents.” read more
 
Write a contract with Draper Labs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draper_Laboratory
 
14
Oath Keepers Leader Stewart Rhodes Arrested in Jan. 6 Investigation
The F.B.I. arrested Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right militia, in a major step forward in the investigation into the attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. read more
 
There is now an opportunity to plea bargain.
Trump belongs in prison.
 
15 
Ian Welsh2 days ago
Calling My Shot On Letting Omicron Rip
[image: Calling My Shot On Letting Omicron Rip] In a few years, we’re going to read a lot of op-eds and articles about how it was a mistake and “no one could have known.” Like with the Iraq War, or the housing bubble, Afghanistan, Climate Change and everything else of importance, there are always people who got it right and those people are generally the people who got other things right that those in the bubble don’t. When you’re in the bubble, which includes the media, the most important thing is to not leave the pack. If you get something wrong, but almost everyone inside is wr... read more
 
Ian Welsh may be correct.
 
16
NATO Won’t Let Ukraine Join Soon. Here’s Why.
Ukraine, with Russian troops on its borders, is pressing for membership. But President Biden and European leaders are not ready for that step. read more
 
A nuclear war will always have no winners
 
17
The Mood in the Capitol Was Already Dark. Then Came Omicron.
Congress, always a reflection of the country, is in a testy mood, as the latest coronavirus variant looms over the Capitol and schadenfreude is in full swing. read more
 
The Republican party has been relying on faith.
 
18
Gaetz’s Ex-Girlfriend Testifies Before Federal Grand Jury
The development suggests that the Justice Department may have secured a key witness in its child sex trafficking investigation of Representative Matt Gaetz. read more
 
It does not sound good for
College Enrollment Dropped Again in Fall 2021, Despite Vaccines
Total undergraduate enrollment has dropped by about 1.2 million students since the fall of 2019, researchers say. read more
 
Many people have not been earning.
 
20
Ian Welsh4 days ago
Mass Democratic Legitimacy Loss From Mass Disabling
[image: Mass Democratic Legitimacy Loss From Mass Disabling] The figures I have seen for Long Covid start at about 10%. You can have Long Covid without knowing it: there can be organ damage, including brain damage, without it having symptoms, but that damage will affect your future health and lifespan. Ironically, it may create a co-morbidity if you get Covid again and it will be considered you were part of a vulnerable population. For some it is very severe. One acquaintance had enough brain damage to cause aphasia, and needs speech therapy. Others go from fit to out of breath wa... read more
 
Ian Welsh may be correct.
 
I would like confirmation from another source.
 
 
 
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