NEW THINGS: @7:10, , 3/23/22

Russia and Far-Right Americans Find Common Ground With Ukraine War

Some conservatives have echoed the Kremlin’s misleading claims about the war and vice versa, giving each other’s assertions a sheen of credibility. read more

Sheera Frenkel and Stuart A. Thompson have made a case for the facts.

NYT > U.S. > Politics6 hours ago

Pledging to ‘Stay in My Lane,’ Jackson Defends Her Record

As Republicans suggested she was soft on crime, particularly when it came to child sexual abuse, and an extremist on matters of race, the Supreme Court nominee pushed back. read more

"Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday pushed back on Republican attacks on her record, defending her work representing terrorism detainees and sentencing child sex abusers as she presented herself as a firm believer in judicial restraint fit to be confirmed to a seat on the Supreme Court."

She is holding her own.

NYT > U.S. > Politics7 hours ago

What to Watch For on Day 3 of Jackson’s Confirmation Hearing

Senators will get their final shot at questioning the Supreme Court nominee, but it is unclear whether any new ground will be broken. read more

Republicans rarely break new ground.

NYT > U.S. > Politics9 hours ago

Project Veritas Says Justice Dept. Secretly Seized Its Emails

In a court filing, the conservative group assailed prosecutors for concealing the action in a proceeding from the investigation of how it acquired Ashley Biden’s diary. read more

There should be a warrant if the emails are to be presented in court.

If so they are not secret. If not Project Veritas has hacked into places they shouldn't or is lying.

NYT > U.S. > Politics9 hours ago

Disney Employees Walk Out Amid Furor Over Florida Anti-LGBTQ Bill

Hoping to avoid controversy, the company initially shied away from taking a public stance on the anti-L.G.B.T.Q. bill. Now, an internal outcry has stretched into its third week. read more

Sex is what people do.

Disney tries to ignore sexuality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_DeSantis

The government of Florida wants only two sexes and one sexual relationship.

NYT > U.S. > Politics10 hours ago

Biden Plans Sanctions on Russian Lawmakers as He Heads to Europe

A chief goal of the meetings this week is to show that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will not lead to sniping and disagreement among the United States and its allies. read more

Complete Russian withdrawal from Ukraine without nuclear war is the goal.

NYT > U.S. > Politics10 hours ago

U.S. and Britain Reach Trade Deal on Metals, Whiskey, Jeans and More

The step, announced as U.S. and British officials met in Baltimore, removed trade barriers erected under former President Donald J. Trump. read more

International trade is recovering from Trump.

NYT > U.S. > Politics10 hours ago

Victor Fazio, Longtime Democratic Leader in the House, Dies at 79

Known for his ability to work across the aisle, he represented the Sacramento area from 1979 to 1999 and rose to become chairman of the House Democratic caucus. read more

He was twenty one years out of office.

Organizations have become stronger.

The aisle is wider than it was.

NYT > U.S. > Politics11 hours ago

Ukraine War and Pandemic Force Nations to Retreat From Globalization

Conflicts among the U.S., Russia and China — and endless Covid-19 outbreaks — strain the interdependent economy and Western ideas of post-Cold War stability. read more

National security concerns are the actual drivers of reduced globalization.

Macroeconomic ignorance amplifies those concerns.

NYT > U.S. > Politics11 hours ago

Rival Sept. 11 Victims Near Potential Deal to Divide Afghan Central Bank Assets

But another group opposes it. A court has not yet decided wheyther $3.5 billion in Afghan central bank funds can be used to pay Taliban debts. read more

George W. Bush made a mistake.

Afghanistan should not be made to pay more for it.

NYT > U.S. > Politics11 hours ago

Judging a Judge on Race and Crime, G.O.P. Plays to Base and Fringe

Grilling Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, conservative senators painted her as a jurist who had coddled criminals and embraced “woke” education. read more

Misogynistic racists need no other excuse.

NYT > U.S. > Politics12 hours ago

Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Ms. Psaki said that she had two meetings with President Biden on Monday but that they had been socially distanced. read more

There is a pandemic still active.

Desire does not change facts.

NYT > U.S. > Politics12 hours ago

Ted Cruz and Ketanji Brown Jackson Spar Over Antiracism Curriculum

A question about whether or not infants were racist drew an audible sigh from the nominee for the Supreme Court. read more

Ted Cruz is a racist.

NYT > U.S. > Politics12 hours ago

Adam Laxalt, Senate Candidate, Says He’s Already Gearing Up to Fight Election Fraud

In an audio recording obtained by The New York Times, Adam Laxalt, a Republican running for Senate in Nevada, said he’s already gearing up to fight election fraud. read more

Adam Laxalt is chasing a phantasm.

NYT > U.S. > Politics14 hours ago

Jackson Rejects Accusations of Leniency in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee. read more

Republicans are seeing things.

NYT > U.S. > Politics15 hours ago

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Exchanges on War Crimes

Two Republicans asserted during the second day of confirmation hearings on Tuesday that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson had called former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and former President George W. Bush “war criminals.” But she never used that phrase. read more

Ketanji Brown Jackson "was one of several lawyers who in 2005 signed four essentially boilerplate habeas corpus petitions on behalf of detainees at Guantánamo Bay that claimed the United States government had tortured the men and that such acts “constitute war crimes.”"

NYT > U.S. > Politics16 hours ago

Two Religious Conservatives and a Marxist Walk Into a Journal

Compact, a new online magazine edited by two religious conservatives and a Marxist proponent of “labor populism,” aims to challenge both “a libertine left and a libertarian right.” read more

"Lets you and him fight"

There is little hope for editorial stability at this journal.

NYT > U.S. > Politics20 hours ago

G.O.P. Questions to Judge Jackson Give Preview of November Attack Lines

G.O.P. senators are pressing Judge Jackson on critical race theory and transgender rights, teeing up their attacks on Democrats as extremists. read more

The polls indicate that racism is not a winning strategy.

NYT > U.S. > Politics23 hours ago

What to Watch For on Day 2 of Jackson’s Confirmation Hearing

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will answer her first questions from senators on Tuesday. read more

Conservatives do not change their opinions.

Learning is prohibitively painful.

NYT > U.S. > Politics1 day ago

The Rise of the Tucker Carlson Politician

Two Republican Senate candidates field-test a new message honed in the cable-news studio. read more

Tucker Carlson confirms the unthinking.