FRI 1/28/22
•A bridge in a Pittsburgh park collapsed early Friday morning, where President Biden will appear today to tout his bipartisan infrastructure bill and the latest economic growth figures, and talk up his agenda for the year ahead. Two injuries have been reported, so far, NPR reports.
•Read Stephen Macaulay's commentary, "Tucker Carlson Probably Doesn't Like Borscht, Either" on our Substack page, at https://thehustings.substack.com.
Russia Amps Up the Arrogance -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Russian radio said that if the NATO countries don’t stop the expansion of NATO membership — a.k.a., keep Ukraine from getting in — Russia would “retaliate,” The Washington Post reports. Presumably that retaliation would have something to do with the more than 100,000 troops on the eastern border of Ukraine as well as the Russian warships in the Black Sea, which is located to the south of Ukraine.
Note: Remember when there was Communist propaganda that showed well-fed capitalists forcing their will on weaker countries and how Marxism-Leninism would make everything a paradise? Here we have the Russians threatening a free country because, well, it wants to be free. NATO isn’t out there trying to collect nations. Countries essentially file to join NATO which, last we checked, was not an organization meant to go on the offensive. But what is more offensive than a bully, which the Russian government clearly is?
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Race to Replace Breyer is On – As Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer announced at the White House his retirement at the end of the court’s term in late June, President Biden reiterated his promise to nominate its first Black woman, promising to reveal his choice in February. The Washington Post reports the administration wants to complete the confirmation process with the Senate in as little as four weeks.
The Key is Timing: Since 1975, the average number of days from nomination to Senate confirmation is 68 days, says USA Today, citing the Congressional Research Service. Nomination to confirmation for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, ex-President Trump’s last of three nominees, took just 27 days.
Note: Even if the Biden administration finds it can solidly count on the necessary support of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) in confirming his nominee, look for GOP Senate leadership to do what it can to slow the process. For the record, Breyer says he will stay on past the current SCOTUS term if necessary until his replacement is seated on the bench. Can Senate Republicans put the brakes on well into the midterm election campaigns?
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WARNING: Unvaccinated Palin Sighting – Unvaccinated, COVID-19-infected former vice-presidential candidate and ex-Alaska governor Sara Palin was spotted dining outdoors at a New York City restaurant Wednesday, The New York Timesreports. Palin had tested positive for the coronavirus earlier in the week, and was required to isolate for at least five days, according to federal guidance.
But the guidance does not impose any penalties on individuals, the Times says. Rather, her alleged violation could result in a $1,000 fine for the business owner.
A manager for the Upper East side restaurant, Elio’s, said in a statement that Palin returned Wednesday to “apologize for the fracas around her previous visit,” which was the previous Saturday, when she reportedly signed autographs, unmasked. But the apology apparently came with breadsticks, because she supped again at that restaurant. According to the Gothamist, Palin dined Tuesday night at Campagnola.
Note: It is interesting to note that while Palin clearly has a taste for Italian food, it is a good thing for her that New York City has it because she would have a problem with Italy. According to the U.S. State Department:
•Beginning on December 25, 2021 until January 31, 2022 the use of masks outdoors is mandatory on the entire Italian territory.
•From December 25, 2021 until March 31, 2022, the use of more protective FFP2/KN95 masks is mandatory to participate in all indoor and outdoor cultural and recreational events, and on all transportation.
•The Italian government extended the Covid-19 state of emergency until March 31, 2022.
•From January 8, 2022 until June 15, 2022, all individuals above 50 years of age, including foreigners resident in Italy, will be required to be vaccinated. (Palin is 57.)
--Edited by Gary S. Vasilash and Todd Lassa
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THU 1/27/22
•Just when you thought it was safe to take off the mask, there are reports of a new omicron variant of COVID-19 spreading across Asia and Europe (NPR).
Rebound vs. Omicron – Real gross domestic product grew at the annual rate of 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021, after a 2.3% increase in the third quarter, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. This marks the greatest national growth since 1984, and it overcame the COVID-19 omicron variant that put the brakes on economic growth late in the quarter.
Real GDP grew 5.7% for all of 2021, compared with a 2.3% increase for 2020, and the highest since 1984, President Reagan’s fourth year in office.
Note: Continuing this level of growth after the omicron variant diminishes could go a long way to raise President Biden’s poll numbers from the basement. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank yesterday indicated plans to raise interest rates from near-zero by March.
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Breyer to Announce Retirement Today – All that’s left is for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to reveal the rhetoric he will use to try to stymie President Biden’s nominee to replace Justice Stephen G. Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court. Breyer, 83, was to formally announce his retirement Thursday to commence with end of the current session June 30.
Still, Senate Democrats have a thin upper hand in the matter. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is said to plan a quick Senate approval process in the form of Republicans’ seating just before the November 2020 presidential election of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in roughly one month, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.
After word of Breyer’s impending retirement Wednesday, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, evoked the “elections have consequences” chant, saying Democrats “will have the power to replace Justice Breyer without one Republican vote in support,” according to the New York Post.
Democrats have been lobbying Breyer to retire while they have a majority, however thin, in the Senate. Breyer, who is otherwise known for his ability to push the court toward reaching consensus on major cases has been frustrated on that front over the past year, according to NPR’s Nina Totenberg.
Top candidates: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, is a former clerk to Breyer on the Supreme Court who was confirmed last June to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the D.C. Circuit. Jackson is a former federal public defender who would be the first defense attorney on a court with four former prosecutors, Totenberg noted on NPR’s All Things Considered.
California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger is a former Department of Justice official representing the government before SCOTUS as deputy solicitor general, according to The Washington Post. Kruger, 45, has the advantage, perhaps, of being appointed to the Justice Department during the administration of President George W. Bush, and stayed on during the Obama administration.
Either choice would fulfill Biden’s promise to appoint the first Black woman to SCOTUS.
Wacky Right-Wing scenario – Fox News first floated the following moderate conservative fantasy Wednesday, soon after repeated, seriously, by The Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol: Court overturns Roe v. Wade June 30, Biden names Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Breyer, and names Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) her replacement.
The consequences: Given that people get lifetime appointments to the Court, were Jackson or Kruger to be approved and then stayed on the bench until they were 83, they would be there until 2054 or 2060, respectively.
BTW: Happy birthday to Chief Justice John Roberts, who turns 67 today.
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Cold War Update – The U.S. and its Western allies responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands Wednesday regarding the Kremlin’s aggression near the Ukraine border, but didn’t agree to his demand of reassurance that Ukraine be kept out of NATO, The Washington Post reports. A Kremlin spokesman responded by warning that tensions would be “seriously complicated” if the demand over NATO is not met.
--Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash