Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Wednesday November 10, 2021
1.) THE DAILY SIGNAL
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3.) DAYBREAK
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4.) THE SUNBURN
Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 11.10.21
Good Wednesday morning.
Redistricting is about to get real.
The Senate Reapportionment Committee staff today will release to the public the first draft maps for congressional and legislative districts. That means a first chance to see the direction lawmakers may take in defining the boundaries governing the 2022 midterms, not to mention the next decade of Florida politics.
Ahead of that, Senate President Wilton Simpson issued a joint statement with Senate President-Designate Kathleen Passidomo and Democratic Leader Lauren Book, a sort of bipartisan clarion call to keep calm and put personal politics aside.
“As Senators, we are frequently presented with situations where we must set aside our personal views and make decisions in keeping with the oath we each took to defend the constitution and laws of this state,” the memo reads.
“Nowhere is this responsibility more challenging than in redistricting, given that some of us may ultimately decide to vote for a map knowing the realities of that map are such that we will never be reelected. Some of us may choose to defer seeking reelection. Still others may decide to run against a current colleague who we know and respect.”
Indeed, the Senate map could well determine whether Book or Passidomo presides over the Senate next November. Passidomo is in line to succeed Simpson in the big office, but only if Republicans win a majority of seats, all 40 of which go up next year once new lines are signed into law.
Expect a host of watchdog groups to feast on the cartography once it reaches the public. The Fair Districts Coalition already has offered failing grades to Florida lawmakers on the transparency of the process thus far. That assessment spurred Sen. Ray Rodrigues, chair of the Senate Reapportionment Committee, to dismiss the feedback as input from a “Democrat-funded partisan entity.”
“It is no surprise they are unhappy with the process we have designed to guard against partisan influence,” he said. Notably, he made those comments after attending a fundraiser for Senate Republicans in Naples.
For its part, leadership from that group said the seriousness of lawmakers to remain politically neutral will face its first great test today. The maps drafted within the Legislature hold the answer to just how fair a process led by politicians with great stakes in the outcome can be.
“The proof is in the pudding,” said Ellen Freidin, CEO and general counsel of Fair Districts Now. “The proof is in the maps.”
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U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist reeled in another $625,000 last month for his bid to return to the Governor’s Mansion.
The new numbers show a steady stream of funds heading to his campaign and committee accounts — he snagged more than $700,000 in August and reported $655,000 raised in September.
“I remain thankful for the outpouring of support I’ve received from Pensacola to Homestead in our mission to make sure every Floridian’s voice is heard in Tallahassee as we build a Florida that works for all,” Crist said.
“Our current Governor spends his time promoting his own political interests, not the interests of Floridians. Florida needs a Governor with a heart, who is focused on creating good jobs, a cleaner environment, better schools and a better tomorrow. I’m running to bring an end to this regime and put the people back in charge.”
With the October haul, Crist has about $3.18 million in the bank as he seeks to make a one-term Governor out of Republican Ron DeSantis, who formally launched his reelection campaign on Monday. The incumbent has more than $58 million on hand in his political committee.
But first, Crist will need to earn the Democratic nomination. That may be a skosh more difficult now that Sen. Annette Taddeo has made it a three-way race.
On Tuesday, Taddeo, who was Crist’s running mate in the 2014 Governor race, touted $650,000 raised in her first report since filing for Governor. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, meanwhile, had about $3 million banked between her campaign and political committee at the end of September. Her October report is due today.
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Florida LGBTQ rights advocates met White House staffers last week about anti-transgender legislation and the impacts it has had on communities in Florida.
Among the staffers tuned into the virtual round table was Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Julie Rodriguez.
She and others heard from Sen. Shevrin Jones, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, Equality Florida TransAction Director Nikole Parker, LGBTQI+ families and equality advocates about anti-trans laws passed in the 2021 Legislative Session.
“Meeting participants expressed the pain and anguish they have felt in recent months and years and detailed the hurt caused by being targeted by their own state’s elected officials,” a White House spokesperson said.
“They also described the courage that many transgender youth and their families have shown advocating for equal rights and fair treatment. White House staff conveyed to the Floridians gathered that the President is on their side and will continue fighting until we reach full equality for all Americans, including the LGBTQI+ community in Florida.”
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Fentrice Driskell named NewDEAL Leader — House Democratic Leader Designate Driskell was one of 20 leaders from across the country selected to join NewDEAL, a national network of state and local elected officials focused on passing progressive policy. Driskel was chosen from a pool of more than 1,750 nominations. The group said she stood out from the pack “because of her approach of bringing common-sense solutions to Florida’s most pressing challenges related to issues like public education, public safety, racial justice, and economic opportunity for all.” Driskell and other NewDEALers will gather for the organization’s annual Leaders Conference Nov. 17-19 to “discuss a forward-looking agenda for state and local Democrats and address simultaneous crises around public health, the economy, racial equity, climate change, and our democracy.”
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@DaveWeigel: Can’t really blame Chris Sununu for wanting to be the god-king of a fun state instead of Vote #51 for some circuit court nominee
—@LPDonovan: My semi-spicy take is that a GOP Senate majority is probably more likely today w/ no Sununu than was evident a week ago with the possibility of Sununu. Macro factors>>silver bullet. Would NRSC prefer to have both? Obviously. But I’d take the environment over the recruit any day.
—@RepJoseOliva: Elected officials, are you advocates of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau? If you don’t know, you are likely acting Rousseau, which is perpetual revolution. Find a foundational belief, ground yourself, and defend it; all else is a cork floating in a river and a grave danger to civil society.
—@ChristinaPushaw: Last week, restaurant in Tallahassee. Drunk man “involved in The Process” tries to explain to me why I need to bribe pay-for-play Florida blogs for positive coverage. Lol have these folks paid any attention to Governor DeSantis at all?
—@JoeMobleyJax: I’ve never been a big trash talker, but I must admit that I’m loving seeing my dear Gator fan friends tweeting about college basketball in early November.
— DAYS UNTIL —
Miami at FSU — 3; Special Session on vaccine mandates begins — 5; ExcelinEd National Summit on Education begins — 8; ‘Hawkeye’ premieres — 14; FSU vs. UF — 17; Florida Chamber 2021 Annual Insurance Summit begins — 21; Jacksonville special election to fill seat vacated by Tommy Hazouri’s death — 27; Steven Spielberg’s ’West Side Story’ premieres — 30; ’Spider-Man: No Way Home’ premieres — 30; ’The Matrix: Resurrections’ released — 42; ’The Book of Boba Fett’ premieres on Disney+ — 49; Private sector employees must be fully vaccinated or tested weekly — 55; CES 2022 begins — 56; NFL season ends — 60; 2022 Legislative Session starts — 62; Florida’s 20th Congressional District Election — 62; Special Elections in Senate District 33, House District 88 & 94 — 62; Florida TaxWatch’s 2022 State of the Taxpayer Day — 63; Joel Coen’s ’The Tragedy of Macbeth’ on Apple TV+ — 65; NFL playoffs begin — 66; XXIV Olympic Winter Games begins — 86; Super Bowl LVI — 95; Daytona 500 — 102; St. Pete Grand Prix — 107; ‘The Batman’ premieres — 114; ’Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 177; ’Top Gun: Maverick’ premieres — 198; ’Platinum Jubilee’ for Queen Elizabeth II — 204; ’Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 240; San Diego Comic-Con 2022 — 252; ’Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 331; ‘Black Panther 2’ premieres — 366; ‘The Flash’ premieres — 369; ‘Avatar 2’ premieres — 401; ‘Captain Marvel 2’ premieres — 464; ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ premieres — 625. ‘Dune: Part Two’ premieres — 709; Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games — 989.
“Senate leaders issue rare bipartisan call for deliberate, fair redistricting” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Senate leaders issued a rare bipartisan message on the redistricting process Tuesday. In short: Stick to the law. In a joint memo from Simpson, Passidomo and Book, the legislative leaders called on Senators to carefully scrutinize and deliberate on proposed boundaries for congressional and House districts, and the lines determining where Senators themselves will run. The message comes a day before Senate Reapportionment Committee staff plans to release the first draft maps generated within the Legislature for the once-a-decade redistricting process.
— STATEWIDE —
“Ron DeSantis announces $481M in water grants, teases ‘strong’ environmental budget” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — DeSantis and top environment officials unveiled $481 million in grants Tuesday to improve water quality and reduce nutrients in Florida waterways. The grants, announced at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Spring Hill, cover 103 projects statewide through the Department of Environmental Protection. The Governor told reporters water quality has been one of his top priorities. “We appreciate the fact that from day one of our administration, we’ve really been proactive,” DeSantis said. The vast majority of the spending, $394 million, is through the Wastewater Grant Program for 72 wastewater treatment improvements, including septic to sewer projects and upgrading for “advanced wastewater treatment.”
“Florida’s share of infrastructure bill is $19 billion, as DeSantis labels it ‘pork’” via Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel — On Monday, DeSantis said the bill seemed to be “a lot of pork-barrel spending.” By Tuesday, his comments were largely about how Florida should have gotten more money. “It seems a disproportionate amount of money is going to New York and New Jersey and Florida is not getting a really significant share out of over a trillion dollars,” DeSantis said. “They’re saying we’re going to get, what? $20 billion? That’s not a lot compared to how big the state is.” DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw said the Governor’s office had not determined yet whether it would decline any specific federal funding, as former Republican Gov. Rick Scott did with a multibillion-dollar Orlando-to-Tampa high-speed rail project in 2011.
“Will DeSantis give Tampa the transportation money it’s seeking?” via Charlie Frago of the Tampa Bay Times — Florida could receive $13 billion in federal funds to improve the state’s aging highways and $2.6 billion over five years to improve public transportation options, according to the White House. “We talked about mass transit options. We talked about the private CSX rail that we’ve discussed for years. And also the possibility of Brightline coming in,” said Kathy Castor, referring to a private rail operator that has announced plans to expand service to Tampa. Florida will be getting 4% of the infrastructure bill, Castor said, adding that a lot of transportation dollars have been spent in recent years in South Florida and Orlando. “We feel it is Tampa’s time. Right now, to get some funding for our transportation solutions,” Castor said.
“Ashley Moody says nearly a half-million dollars was recovered from robocall ‘charity scam’” via Tampa Bay 10 — The state’s attorney general is urging Floridians to look out for scammers posing as charities after nearly half a million dollars was recovered during a deceptive robocall investigation. Attorney General Moody spoke about the alleged scam Tuesday afternoon from her office in Tampa. She explained how she led an effort to redirect funds she says were deceptively taken from generous Floridians. She says the money will now be going to legitimate organizations that will actually help people in need. These robocall scammers promised to give money to causes like helping “cancer patients, homeless veterans, and victims of house fires” when in reality they were keeping $0.90 on the dollar for themselves, the attorney general said.
“Moody breaks with DeSantis, won’t say if ‘midnight flight’ led to Jacksonville killing” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — Moody would not say Tuesday whether an undocumented immigrant charged with a murder in Jacksonville arrived in Florida on a federal flight, breaking with messaging from the Governor’s Office. DeSantis has said murder suspect Yery Noel Medina Ulloa came to America on a “midnight flight” authorized by the Joe Biden administration. However, Moody would not confirm or deny that position while appearing in a nationally televised interview. Instead, Moody offered a “non-answer.” “This is part of our suit where we are demanding that the federal government share this information with us,” Moody said, an answer that would suggest the state ultimately did not know how the accused murderer came to the state. In a follow-up answer, Moody again tried to deflect.
“Is plan to competitively bid HMO coverage in state group health insurance program back in play?” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — The Department of Management Services has floated a proposal that — for purposes of procuring health maintenance organization coverage for state employees — divides the state into nine different regions. The proposed regulation lays the groundwork necessary to move ahead with a 2019 law that allows the state to competitively bid the HMO contracts in the multibillion-dollar state group health insurance program. The 2019 law allows the state to bid the contracts regionally and limit the number of HMOs awarded the contracts in each region. But Sen. Jeff Brandes, who chairs the Senate Governmental Operations Committee, says the state needs to do more than change its contracting practices. “Somebody needs to show me how we would save a bunch of money this way,” he said.
“UF task force to answer 2 questions over professors’ testimony and conflict policies” via the Miami Herald — The University of Florida group tasked to review the university’s conflict-of-interest policies, following a national uproar when the school initially barred three professors from testifying as paid expert witnesses in a voting rights lawsuit against the state, determined Tuesday they will answer two questions: When should UF allow professors to serve as expert witnesses in lawsuits, and what role do faculty have in reviewing these requests? UF President Kent Fuchs appointed the seven members of the task force last week to quell the uproar, which centered on the professors’ First Amendment rights, and examine the school’s policies. He said he needs initial recommendations from the group by Nov. 29. “That’s about 20 days from now, so it’s not a lot of time to work on this, but that’s what it is,” said UF Provost Joe Glover, chair of the task force.
— DATELINE TALLY —
“Fair Districts leaders unimpressed with redistricting so far” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — The Fair Districts Coalition issued a report card Tuesday on Florida’s handling of the once-a-decade redistricting process underway. By the organization’s assessment, lawmakers earn a ‘D’ on some fronts, but fail on most. From transparency on the mapmaking process to public data collection, the letter ‘F’ besmirches the process the most. “We have yet to see any evidence that it’s going to change, though we are hoping to see that,” said Ellen Freidin, CEO and General Counsel for Fair Districts Now. “We keep calling it to their attention and giving suggestions to be more transparent.” Sen. Rodrigues, chair of the Senate Reapportionment Committee, openly expressed irritation at the poor assessment. He labeled them a “Democrat-funded partisan entity.”
Former administrator says leaving OSHA would be costly and complicated — Former OSHA administrator David Michaels said ditching the federal workplace safety regulatory agency is essentially doomed from the start. As reported by Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida, Michaels said it would be more expensive, complicated and time-consuming for the state to leave — a move being considered as a way to shirk the Biden administration’s workplace vaccination mandate. “First off, if the Florida Legislature thinks it can do a state plan to avoid the OSHA [temporary emergency standards] around vaccinations and testing, they have not read the OSHA law very carefully,” he said. “This is a waste of taxpayer dollars. It’s a waste of $1 million. OSHA would never approve a plan it thought was developed to get around protecting workers under regulations OSHA has already promulgated.”
“Bill would require nursing homes to fork over audited financial reports” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — Days after a joint budget committee agreed to allocate another $100 million to Florida nursing homes, a powerful House Republican filed legislation to require skilled nursing facilities to file audited financial reports with state Medicaid officials. House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Jay Trumbull filed a bill Monday that would require nursing facilities to file audited financial statements within 120 days of the end of their fiscal year. While the long-term care industry worried last Session that an audited financial report would drive up costs for nursing homes, this year may be different. In a statement to Florida Politics Tuesday, Florida Health Care Association spokesperson Kristen Knapp said her group supports the bill.
“Conservative activists pressure Pinellas Co. Legislative Delegation to support Special Session bills” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Members of the Pinellas County Legislative Delegation faced pressure from the public Tuesday morning to clear bills proposed in the upcoming Special Session addressing mask and vaccine mandates. The speakers, several representing local fringe-conservative groups, urged lawmakers to pass the Special Session legislation without amendment. The proposed bills include measures to limit federal mandates dealing with COVID-19 vaccinations. One proposal also lays the groundwork for the state to withdraw from OSHA and assert state jurisdiction over occupational safety and health issues.
“Pinellas lawmakers say Eckerd Connects child welfare issues will be legislative priority” via Daniel Figueroa of Florida Politics — It’s been a rough and uncertain week for at-risk youth in Pinellas County. But the county’s legislative delegation promised Tuesday issues will be addressed. First, the Department of Children and Families fired Eckerd Connects last week. It’s a private organization contracted through the state to offer foster and child care in Pinellas and Pasco counties. DCF notified Eckerd it will not renew its contract at the end of the year. Eckerd responded by saying it was quitting and would not seek a contract renewal. It also said it’s pulling out of pending contract negotiations in Hillsborough County. Eckerd accused the state of underfunding the agency for years despite repeated asks for more money.
Happening today — The Palm Beach County legislative delegation holds a joint public meeting with the Palm Beach County League of Cities, the Palm Beach County Commission and the Palm Beach County School Board: Sens. Lori Berman, Gayle Harrell, Tina Polsky, Bobby Powell; Reps. Joe Carollo, Mike Caruso, Omari Hardy, Rick Roth, David Silvers, Kelly Skidmore, Emily Slosberg, John Snyder and Matt Willhite, meetings start at 9 a.m., 10:45 a.m., and 1:30 p.m., Palm Beach Gardens City Hall, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens.
Happening today — The Charlotte County legislative delegation holds a public meeting: Sens. Ben Albritton, Joe Gruters; and Rep. Michael Grant, 9 a.m., Military Heritage Museum, 900 West Marion Ave., Punta Gorda.
Happening today — The Taylor County legislative delegation holds a public meeting: Sen. Loranne Ausley and Rep. Jason Shoaf, noon, Courthouse Annex, 201 East Green St., Perry.
Happening today — The DeSoto County legislative delegation holds a public meeting: Sen. Albritton and Rep. Melony Bell, 1:30 p.m., DeSoto County Administration Center, 201 East Oak St., Arcadia.
Happening today — The Hardee County legislative delegation holds a public meeting: Sen. Albritton and Rep. Bell, 3:30 p.m., Courthouse Annex, 412 West Orange St., Wauchula.
Happening today — The Nassau County legislative delegation holds a public meeting: Sen. Aaron Bean and Rep. Cord Byrd, 4 p.m., James S. Page Governmental Complex, County Commission Chamber, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee.
Happening today — The Franklin County legislative delegation holds a public meeting: Sen. Loranne Ausley and Rep. Jason Shoaf, 5 p.m., Franklin County Commission Chamber, 34 Forbes St., Apalachicola.
New and renewed lobbying registrations:
Rebecca Ajhar: Department of Lottery
Sebastian Aleksander, The Aleksander Group: Meta Platforms
Brian Ballard, Jeff Atwater, Mathew Forrest, Ballard Partners: Village of North Palm Beach
Kevin Cabrera, Mercury Public Affairs: Impact Health Biometric Testing
Elizabeth Dudek, Samantha Ferrin, Greenberg Traurig: findhelp
Jennifer Green, Adam Potts, Liberty Partners of Tallahassee: City of Chipley, National Coalition for Public School Options
James Peluso: VyStar Credit Union
Crystal Stickle, Magnolia Advocacy: Florida Solar Energy Industries Association
— CORONA FLORIDA —
“UCLA sources: Joseph Ladapo did not treat COVID-19 patients” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — Ladapo did not treat COVID-19 patients at UCLA as he has asserted, charges a report that aired on MSNBC. The liberal show’s host, Rachel Maddow, said the show’s staff spoke with four UCLA sources, whom she did not identify, who disputed Ladapo’s statements that he was a front-line doctor there treating COVID-19 patients during the coronavirus crisis. The 12-minute segment began with Maddow recapping the controversies surrounding the right-wing “America’s Frontline Doctors” group, of which Ladapo was a member, as well as some of his other controversies, including refusing to wear a mask in the office of Sen. Tina Polsky, a cancer patient.
“These are the COVID-19 signs that Floridians need to watch for this winter” via Cindy Krischer Goodman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — The U.S. has dropped the pandemic travel ban, which means international travelers can come to Florida, but they will need to show proof of vaccination and a recent negative COVID-19 test. In previous waves, Florida, which attracts international travelers, saw new mutations before most other states. Zucai Suo, a professor of Biomedical Sciences at FSU College of Medicine, said while there are no variants as infectious as delta, visitors who get sick after arrival will need to be tracked. Suo said Florida health officials will need to be aggressive in sequencing positive test results to catch a new variant or more infectious sublineages of a variant in Florida. Because of Florida’s high volume of visitors, Suo said residents cannot rely on herd immunity.
“Leon Schools pulls out of DOAH appeal challenging DeSantis ban on mask mandates” via Ana Goñi-Lessan of the Tallahassee Democrat — In an abrupt about-face, Leon County Schools is withdrawing from an appeal to a judge’s order last week that upheld a Florida Department of Health emergency rule, which banned all mask mandates. Leon County was one of five Florida counties that filed a notice with the 4th District Court of Appeal after Administrative Law Judge Brian Newman with the Division of Administrative Hearings said decisions to opt-out of student mask requirements are at the “sole discretion” of parents or guardians. In a tweet Tuesday morning, before the district sent out the statement, school board member Alva Striplin said she was against the appeal.
“Escambia County will offer kids 5 and older Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine starting next week” via the Pensacola News Journal — The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County will begin offering the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine to children 5 years and older beginning Nov. 15. FDOH-Escambia will continue to offer Moderna and Johnson and Johnson for residents ages 18 and up. Vaccines are available through FDOH-Escambia at its COVID-19 vaccine clinic located at 1295 W. Fairfield Drive in Pensacola. Walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, are available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“‘We lost nine.’ Broward Sheriff’s Office honors employees who fell victim to COVID-19” via Eileen Kelley of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — To date, nine employees of the Sheriff’s Office have died of COVID-19. Everyone, though, has been impacted in some way. Well over half the 5,600-strong workforce has been exposed to the virus and 32%, a staggering 1,800 employees, have contracted it, Sheriff Gregory Tony said as he stood on the stage of a megachurch in Sunrise and told the family members of the nine who died that their loved ones are greatly missed. “We didn’t lose one, two, three — we lost nine,” Tony said. Tuesday’s memorial service for the three sworn law enforcement officers and six civilians who died of COVID-19 drew several hundred Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies, correction workers, firefighters, paramedics, 911 dispatch workers.
“The cruise line boss who is challenging Florida’s vaccine passport ban” via WLRN — Norwegian sued over the state’s ban on so-called vaccine passports. A law championed by DeSantis prohibits companies from requiring customers to document their vaccine status to receive services. Norwegian is doing just that. Every cruise passenger and crew member on a Norwegian vessel must prove being vaccinated against COVID-19 and be tested for the virus before boarding. In early April, when the vaccines had still only received emergency authorization by the FDA, Norwegian announced its 100% vaccination policy. It would still be months before the company would sail from Florida with paying passengers.
— 2022 —
“Rick Scott promises NRSC will fight for ‘election integrity,’ revisits 2018 recount gripes” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Scott promised the National Republican Senatorial Committee will help defend so-called “election integrity” laws in Florida and elsewhere. He also accuses Democratic election officials of trying to illegally count too many ballots in counties favoring his opponent in Florida’s 2018 Senate race. “The RNC and the NRSC are doing a lot. We’re defending lawsuits in Georgia, Florida, Iowa,” Scott said. Scott, this election cycle, chairs the NRSC, which will support Republican Senate campaigns in electoral battlegrounds nationwide. It’s a critical cycle for the GOP as it aims to retake the majority in a chamber evenly split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote giving Democrats control.
DeSantis committee snags $200K check from DeVos family — Four members of the DeVos family sent DeSantis’ political committee a combined $200,000 last week, bringing its 2022 cycle total to $240,000. Dixon and Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida reported that the Michigan-based GOP megadonors and staunch school choice advocates sent four $50,000 checks to the committee. They came from Amway founder and family patriarch Dick DeVos and his children Doug, Dan and Suzanne DeVos. The committee previously received checks from Doug DeVos’ wife, Pamella, and Dick DeVos Jr., who is married to former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. DeSantis has raised more than $50 million for his political committee this year and had $58.3 million in the bank as of Sept. 30.
“‘Embodiment of the American dream’: Donna Shalala endorses Annette Taddeo for Governor” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics — Sen. Taddeo’s 2022 run at the Governor’s Mansion gained another endorsement Tuesday, when former Miami Congresswoman Shalala announced her support. “Annette is a lifelong Democrat, community leader, an activist and a state Senator who has always fought for us,” Shalala said in a written statement. “I know she will be a Governor who works to improve the lives of all Floridians, and I am proud to support her.” Shalala, a former president of the University of Miami who served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under former President Bill Clinton, pointed to Taddeo’s background as evidence of her strong, determined spirit.
“Poll shows Rebekah Jones within striking distance of Matt Gaetz” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — New survey results show Gaetz’s popularity slipping to its lowest point in two years. Just under 50% of likely voters in Florida’s 1st Congressional District still view Gaetz favorably, marking the first time he’s dropped below 50% on the Pensacola polling outfit’s trendlines in the past two years. Just over 30% view the incumbent unfavorably or very unfavorably. Pollsters found if the election were held today, about 34% of voters would vote for Jones, and fewer than 42% would vote for Gaetz. That puts the Democrat within eight percentage points of unseating the three-term incumbent, with more than 24% of voters still undecided.
Donald Trump endorses Gus Bilirakis for reelection — U.S. Rep. Bilirakis has Trump’s support in his bid for another term in the House. “Congressman Gus Bilirakis has been a tremendously effective lawmaker for the wonderful State of Florida. He is an incredible advocate for Energy Independence, Healthcare, and the American Worker,” the former President said in an email from his political committee. “He will always Protect and Defend our Second Amendment. Gus fights so hard for our brave Military and Veterans, and is very Strong on Border Security. Gus Bilirakis has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Bilirakis represents Florida’s 12th Congressional District, a solidly Republican seat that covers parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.
Well, OK — “Teen Vogue spotlights Maxwell Alejandro Frost as a candidate to watch” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — Frost is getting some national press, at least within the youth market. Frost, 24, is running for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings. Initially, the crowded field of Democrats vying for the Democratic stronghold looked topped by three or four others, until Frost pulled off the best fundraising effort of the bunch during the third quarter reporting period last month. Now Teen Vogue is spotlighting Frost as one of seven candidates nationwide to watch in the 2022 elections. In a piece posted on the magazine’s website, “2022 Midterms: Charles Booker and Other Candidates to Watch,” Teen Vogue says it picked them for being “some of the most exciting candidates running for local, state, and federal office.”
“Gayle Harrell ramps up fundraising operation with $88K haul in October” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Sen. Harrell posted her highest monthly fundraising total of the 2022 election cycle last month, adding more than $88,000 between her campaign and political committee. Harrell, who first won election to the Senate in 2018, has not yet courted an opponent for her 2022 reelection bid. But she’s been increasingly focused on bringing in cash, adding $18,500 in September as well. In October, Harrell brought in the bulk of her fundraising total through her campaign account, adding nearly $77,000.
“Shevrin Jones adds, spends $50K in October for unopposed SD 35 defense” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics — Jones spent nearly as much as he raised last month in his bid to defend his seat representing Senate District 35. With less than a year to go before Election Day, the Democrat from West Park is rebuilding his war chest while still running unopposed. Since winning his Senate seat in November, Jones has raised more than $290,000 between his campaign and political committee, Florida Strong Finish. Of that, he has about $75,000 remaining. Jones faces a quick turnaround; Florida Senators typically serve four-year terms, but all will be on the ballot in 2022 because of redistricting to reflect the 2020 Census. In October, Jones raised $53,500 and spent about as much.
Happening tonight:
— CORONA NATION —
“Informers key in enforcing Joe Biden vaccine mandate” via Paul Wiseman of The Associated Press — To enforce Biden’s forthcoming COVID-19 mandate, the U.S. Labor Department is going to need a lot of help. OSHA doesn’t have nearly enough workplace safety inspectors to do the job. So, the government will rely on employees who will presumably be concerned enough to turn in their own employers if their co-workers go unvaccinated or fail to undergo weekly tests. What’s not known is just how many employees will be willing to accept some risk to themselves — or their job security — for blowing the whistle on their employers. Without them, though, experts say the government would find it harder to achieve its goal of requiring tens of millions of workers to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 or be tested weekly and wear a mask on the job.
“Pfizer and BioNTech ask federal regulators to authorize their boosters for all adults.” via Sharon LaFraniere of The New York Times — Pfizer and BioNTech asked federal regulators on Tuesday to expand authorization of their coronavirus booster shot to include all adults, a move that could significantly expand the number of recipients who are eligible for booster shots. The FDA is considered likely to grant the request, perhaps before Thanksgiving, according to people familiar with the situation. If it does so, all adults who have been fully vaccinated with shots made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson would all be eligible for a Pfizer booster. The federal government intends to broaden the categories of people eligible for additional injections since the first booster shots were authorized for emergency use in late September.
“The U.S. is relying on other countries’ data to make its booster shot decisions” via Betsy Ladyzhets of FiveThirtyEight — In the U.S., vaccine research is far more complicated. Rather than one singular, standardized system housing health care data, 50 different states have their own systems, along with hundreds of local health departments and thousands of hospitals. Israel has a universal health care system for all citizens and permanent residents. So does the U.K., another country that the U.S. looks to for COVID-19 data. When every person in the country is plugged into the same health care system, it’s very easy to standardize your data. That’s why one of the first presentations to the FDA featured scientists from Israel’s Ministry of Health and Weizmann Institute. The Israelis shared their findings from the country’s Pfizer booster shot campaign.
“No widespread COVID-19 school backlash” via Margaret Talev of Axios — Most Americans, including more than two-thirds of Republicans, give their local schools good marks for balancing public health and safety with other priorities. Other findings from our national survey suggest Americans are less worried about COVID-19 risks and largely feel the Delta variant is behind them. That’s a potential path to redemption for Biden after months of sinking approval numbers. Asked how schools in their community had done in terms of balancing health and safety with other priorities since the start of the pandemic, 71% of U.S. adults, and 75% of parents, said schools had done a good job as opposed to a poor job.
“COVID-19 hospitalizations rising in parts of California, a potentially ominous sign” via Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II of the Los Angeles Times — Health officials have been warning about a potential new rise in COVID-19 in California as seniors who got their shots last winter — and haven’t received a booster shot — may start to see their immunity wane, leaving them exposed to greater risk for infection and hospitalization, and as people gather indoors more as the weather cools and the holidays approach. Demand for booster shots has fallen below expectation in California. And each infected Californian is increasingly spreading the coronavirus to more people; as of Saturday, computer models estimated that every infected Californian was spreading the virus on average to 0.96 other people; if that number rises above 1, that will set the stage for further growth of the pandemic.
—“Texas research: Unvaxxed 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19” via Asher Price of Axios
—“A Vermont college says Halloween parties fueled a COVID-19 outbreak.” via Alyssa Lukpat of The New York Times
— CORONA ECONOMICS —
“The Biden economy is doing pretty well by the measures Donald Trump used to evaluate his own” via Philip Bump of The Washington Post — During his first year in office, Trump repeatedly emphasized two metrics as he touted his success in turning the economy around: jobs and stock prices. By those two metrics, his successor Biden is doing a pretty good job himself, even despite employment numbers being consistently adjusted upward after initial news reports. I will note at the outset that this is not actually a very good way to evaluate a presidency. Presidents have some connection to the health of the economy, certainly, and it’s safe to say that the passage of a major stimulus bill early in Biden’s tenure meant his footprint was slightly larger than normal. Beyond that, though, politicians often like to take more credit for the economy than they deserve.
— MORE CORONA —
“The bewildering ordeal of getting billed for a coronavirus vaccine” via Ashley Fetters Maloy of The Washington Post — Raising three kids, Heather Christena Schmidt has learned a lot about emergency rooms. “Kids are always, you know, getting into stuff,” she says. So, when the first puzzling bill arrived, she knew it wouldn’t be the last. Still, Schmidt, a 39-year-old stay-at-home parent and blogger, felt especially angry over this one. Schmidt’s daughter, Ava, got her second dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine on June 22. After her first dose, administered in May at a CVS, Ava fainted. The reason remains elusive. So, her primary care doctor recommended she get the second dose at an emergency room, where she could be treated immediately if anything went wrong.
— PRESIDENTIAL —
“‘Free Biden’: Sean Maloney on how Democrats can get back on track“ via Trip Gabriel of The New York Times — In the days since Democrats were battered in elections across the country last week, criticism of the party’s policies and electoral strategies has rained down, alongside dire forecasts of its prospects in the 2022 midterms. Reasons put forward for the party’s losses included Biden’s slipping approval in polls, impressions of a party that is incompetent at governing after months of infighting in Congress, rising inflation and crime in big cities, and tin-eared Democratic campaigns. One of the least envied jobs in politics at the moment belongs to Rep. Maloney of New York, who as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee must steer his caucus through the extremely choppy midterm waters. Biden’s approval numbers are lower than President Barack Obama’s were at the same point in his first term.
“Biden denounces efforts to strip Republicans who supported infrastructure of committee standing” via Claire Rafford of POLITICO — Biden on Tuesday condemned House Republicans who are considering retaliation against the 13 members who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, speaking to the growing partisan divide in American politics. “I’ve never seen it before. It’s got to stop — for the sake of America,” Biden said in a virtual town hall. Punchbowl News initially reported Tuesday that some “rank-and-file” Republicans were considering stripping the 13 House Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Friday of their committee assignments. “The very people who voted for it initially because it looked like the Democrats were going to be given credit on something are being threatened with their chairmanships,“ he said. “It’s just not right. We’re going to change it, though.”
“The serendipity of ‘let’s go, Brandon’” via John McWhorter of The Atlantic — The anti-Biden euphemism is of a meaner tone. This is not your grandfather’s darn, heck, shoot, or fudge. Those are polite terms, expressed without the teeth-baring ardor of the words they stand in for, imaginable as things that characters played by Edie McClurg might say in ’80s movies such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “Let’s go, Brandon” springs from the mangier, madder place of euphemisms such as SNAFU, which during World War II everyone in the American military knew was an acronym for “situation normal, all fucked up” or right-wingers’ dismissal of conservatives who do not toe the party line as cuckservatives, rooted in the word cuckold.
— D.C. MATTERS —
“Billions of dollars coming to Florida once Biden’s infrastructure bill becomes law” via Alex Daugherty of the Miami Herald — The White House estimates that $13.1 billion would be spent to rebuild and modernize Florida’s highways with an additional $245 million for bridge replacement and repairs. The White House cited data from the American Society of Civil Engineers that said 3,584 miles of highway and 408 bridges in Florida are in poor condition. The White House also said Florida expects to receive $2.6 billion over five years to improve public transit. And the state would get $198 million over five years to expand an electric vehicle charging network, with an opportunity to apply for $2.5 billion more in grants. Florida would get $100 million to expand broadband internet coverage across the state.
“Federal dollars coming to Florida for road fixes” via Ashleigh Mills of Spectrum News 9 — The Sunshine State is set to receive money to fix roads and fund several other projects as part of the $1 trillion federal infrastructure plan Congress just passed. A White House memo reflects some of the dollars flowing to Florida, including $13.1 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs, $245 million for bridge replacement and repairs, $2.6 billion for public transportation option improvements, and $198 million to support electric vehicle charging. Much of this funding will come over five years. There are 408 bridges and more than 3,564 miles of highway in poor condition across Florida. In its infrastructure bill memo, the White House goes on to say that driver commute times in Florida have risen by 11.6% on average since 2011; also, that each driver pays $425 on average each year for car repairs due to poor roads.
—“Marco Rubio discusses voting no on trillion-dollar infrastructure bill” via Greg Fox of WESH 2
—“What the infrastructure bill means for South Florida” via NBC Miami
Assignment editors — Sen. Scott will join Congressman Carlos Giménez to present the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery to a member of the Miami-Dade Police Department, 3:15 p.m., Miami-Dade Police Department, 9105 NW 25th St., Doral. RSVP to press@rickscott.senate.gov.
Happening today — The Republican National Committee will host an economic roundtable with Chair Ronna McDaniel, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and local small-business owners to discuss the impact of the Biden administration on Florida small businesses, 10:45 a.m., RNC Hispanic Community Center, 7379 NW 36 St., Doral. RSVP to Julia Friedland at jfriedland@gop.com.
Assignment editors — Rep. Crist will host a news conference announcing the introduction of the Guardians Aren’t Above Prosecution (GAAP) Act, legislation that would fill a gap in the guardianship prosecutorial system by clarifying that those who are designated as a guardian or conservator are still subject to criminal consequences for abusive or fraudulent behavior, noon. Zoom link here. RSVP to grace.wright@mail.house.gov.
“A secret tape made after Columbine shows the NRA’s evolution on school shootings” via Tim Mak of NPR — One day after the shootings, the NRA’s top executives, officials, lobbyists and public relations strategists all scrambled on to a conference call to deal with the crisis. Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre is on the line, as is longtime NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer and advertising strategist Angus McQueen, among others. Hammer weighs in with an unyielding view: “You have to go forward. For NRA to scrap this and the amount of money that we have spent …” “We have meeting insurance,” LaPierre replies. “Screw the insurance,” says Hammer. “The message that it will send is that even the NRA was brought to its knees, and the media will have a field day with it.”
— CRISIS —
“The man who made Jan. 6 possible” via Jonathan D. Karl of The Atlantic — The Presidential Personnel Office is a normally under-the-radar group responsible for the hiring and firing of the roughly 4,000 political appointees in the Executive Branch. During the final year of the Trump administration, that office was transformed into an internal police force, obsessively monitoring administration officials for any sign of dissent, purging those who were deemed insufficiently devoted to Trump and frightening others into silence. The office was run by Johnny McEntee. McEntee and his enforcers made the disastrous last weeks of the Trump presidency possible. They backed the President’s manic drive to overturn the election and helped set the stage for the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.
“Trump makes — and loses — overnight bid to block Jan. 6 investigators” via Kyle Cheney of POLITICO — Trump filed an emergency request to a federal judge late Monday night to prevent the National Archives from sending sensitive records to Jan. 6 committee investigators by Friday. And just after midnight, Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected it, contending the request itself was legally defective and “premature.” The unusual exchange, which happened over two hours, comes as Chutkan is already considering an earlier request by Trump to prevent Congress from peering into his White House’s records about his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
“New Jan. 6 subpoenas increase pressure on Merrick Garland to set an example with Steve Bannon” via Stephen Collinson of CNN — The House select committee probing the Jan. 6 insurrection placed its credibility and legal clout deeper into the hands of Attorney General Garland with a new flurry of subpoenas targeting cronies of Trump. For the committee to retain hopes of compelling testimony from the group, it may need the Justice Department to initiate a prosecution against Bannon, who has already defied a subpoena. The former President’s populist alter ego earned a rare contempt of Congress citation for his intransigence. The department has yet to say whether it will act on that gambit and indict Bannon through the Washington, U.S. Attorney’s office. Without such a move, the committee’s enforcement capacity looks in serious doubt.
“Donors threatened to shun the GOP after Jan. 6. Now, Republicans are outraising Democrats.” via Josh Dawsey, Isaac Stanley-Becker and Michael Scherer of The Washington Post — One day after rioters ransacked the Capitol in a bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Republican lobbyist Geoff Verhoff sent a searing email to top GOP officials. Verhoff, a bundler who works at the lobbying firm Akin Gump, wrote on Jan. 7 that he was appalled by Trump and the rioters, and he was resigning as co-chair of the Republican National Committee’s finance committee. But when Trump spoke to some of the party’s top donors last month, at a retreat convened at the Breakers resort in Palm Beach, , by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Verhoff was one of the attendees.
“Desperate, angry, destructive: How Americans morphed into a mob” via Rachel Weiner, Spencer S. Hsu, Tom Jackman and Sahana Jayaraman of The Washington Post — Thomas Sibick was a star lacrosse player at his military boarding school. While court records show he has struggled with drugs and engaged in reckless and disorderly conduct, he pulled himself together, found a career in elder care and recently got a master’s degree in business administration. During the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, prosecutors allege, he ripped the badge and radio from a D.C. police officer who had been pulled into a frenzied crowd, which assaulted the officer until he passed out.
—“Guns, knives, flagpoles, and a skateboard: A guide to the weapons at the Capitol riot” via Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News
— EPILOGUE TRUMP —
“Judge tosses D.C. A.G.’s claim that Trump inaugural committee ‘wasted’ $1 million at President’s hotel” via David A. Fahrenthold of The Washington Post — A D.C. judge on Monday threw out part of a lawsuit that the District’s Attorney General filed against Trump’s 2017 Inaugural Committee, ruling that the committee had not wasted its money when it rented ballrooms at Trump’s own hotel. But D.C. Superior Judge José M. López refused to throw out another allegation from D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine that the nonprofit inaugural committee had misused assets for the Trump family’s private gain. Racine filed his lawsuit in early 2020, alleging that the inaugural committee had misused its money by spending about $1 million on ballrooms and meeting spaces at Trump’s D.C. hotel. Racine said that the inaugural committee was offered rented spaces at other venues at lower costs, or even free.
“At least 13 Trump officials illegally campaigned while in office, federal investigation finds” via Lisa Rein of The Washington Post — At least 13 senior Trump administration officials illegally mixed governing with campaigning before the 2020 election, intentionally ignoring a law that prohibits merging the two and getting approval to break it, a federal investigation released Tuesday found. A report from the office of Special Counsel Henry Kerner describes a “willful disregard for the law” known as the Hatch Act that was “especially pernicious,” given that many officials abused their government roles days before the November election. The report says that Trump allowed them to illegally promote his reelection on the job despite warnings to some from ethics officials.
—“Trump’s taxpayer-funded political machine” via Lachlan Markay of Axios
“Reuters unmasks Trump supporters who terrified U.S. election officials” via Linda So and Jason Szep of Reuters — Reuters was able to interview nine people who made threats to election officials. All admitted they were behind the threats or other hostile messages. Eight did so on the record, identifying themselves by name. All nine harassers interviewed by Reuters said they believed they did nothing wrong. Just two expressed regret when told their messages had frightened officials or caused security scares. The seven others were unrepentant, with some saying the election workers deserved the menacing messages. Seven of the nine harassed officials in other states. Some targeted election officials in states where Trump lost by substantial margins, such as Colorado or even Vermont, where Biden won by 35 percentage points.
“Trump talks up DeSantis as 2024 running mate: ‘He’s a good man’” via Darragh Roche of Newsweek — Former President Trump has called Gov. DeSantis a “good man” in response to a question about the Governor serving as his running mate in 2024. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News ahead of an annual dinner held by the National Republican Congressional Committee, where the former President was speaking. Trump told Fox News he would “probably” wait until after the 2022 midterm elections before announcing a potential fourth run for the White House. “A lot of great people who are thinking about running are waiting for that decision because they’re not going to run if I run.”
— LOCAL NOTES —
“No answers yet at feds’ first public hearing on Champlain Towers collapse probe” via Aaron Leibowitz of the Miami Herald — The federal investigation into the cause of the catastrophic collapse at Champlain Towers South is “well underway,” officials said Monday during their first formal update on the probe. But four-plus months after the tragedy, there is no official word yet on what might have caused it or a timeline of when that answer could come. The deliberate pace is not unusual for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a sub-agency of the Department of Commerce whose mission includes investigating a select few major building failures. But it’s a source of frustration for some family members of the 98 dead. Initial findings likely won’t be coming at the next hearing, which is tentatively set for next June.
“Donna Deegan announces “change for good” bid for Jacksonville Mayor” via David Bauerlein of The Florida Times-Union — Deegan launched her campaign for Jacksonville Mayor in an announcement Tuesday loaded with calls for a new approach at City Hall that she says will bring “change for good.” “We suffer not so much from a poverty of wealth but from a poverty of will and imagination,” she said in a speech in front of the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Springfield. Deegan is seeking to become the first woman elected Mayor in Jacksonville history and only the second Democrat in the past 30 years. Several dozen supporters cheered her speech as she entered the race for Mayor in the spring 2023 election.
“State, Jacksonville lawyers ask judge to dismiss lawsuit targeting Confederate monuments” via Steve Patterson of The Florida Times-Union — A Jacksonville-area civil rights activist’s lawsuit over using tax money to maintain Confederate monuments should be thrown out of court, lawyers for the state and city are telling a federal judge. Earl Johnson Jr., who organized the nonprofit Take It Down Inc. to champion removing the monuments from public land, argued in a suit filed in July that using taxpayer money for tributes to the Confederacy violated the U.S. Constitution’s 13th and 14th Amendments. Johnson sued DeSantis and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry in their roles as elected leaders, asking for a court order barring the use of public money to maintain or preserve any public tribute to Confederates, from statues to street signs.
“Hillsborough County GOP in open revolt against itself” via Daniel Figueroa of Florida Politics — The Hillsborough County Republican Party is in the midst of an identity crisis that is splitting the party’s organizational and fundraising arm. It’s also causing local Republicans to flee leadership. Yet by the latest ruling from statewide Republican leadership, the Hillsborough Republican Executive Committee is likely to remain unchanged. Toledo has been calling for Hillsborough GOP Chair Jim Waurishuk’s removal at least since last year when he made explosive and derogatory comments about the Black Lives Matter movement. He also used the party as a platform to promote Trump’s “stop the steal” efforts. Myriad members have been calling for Waurishuk to step down for well over a year as well.
“Citrus Commissioners: Voters off the hook for bigger road resurfacing price tag” via Mike Wright of Florida Politics — Citrus County spends about $4 million a year to resurface residential streets and officials say it needs more than twice that to keep pace with repaving needs. Commissioners don’t know how they’re going to pay for that, but they agreed Tuesday to drop one source: Voters. During a workshop Tuesday morning, Commissioners acknowledged details of a report from County Administrator Randy Oliver that the county has hundreds of miles of crumbling neighborhood roads, and miles more of roads that will become that way if not placed into a regular 20-year repaving cycle. But the idea of asking voters for a penny sales tax increase to cover the cost, as Board Chair Scott Carnahan had predicted in September, was quickly shut down by Commissioners who said the referendum would never garner public support.
Park wars scoop — Former Universal exec claims Disney swiped Rise of Resistance idea” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics — Raven Sun Creative sued Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for patent infringement Tuesday in the U.S. District Court’s Orlando Division. Louis Alfieri, the former Universal creative director, is the chief creative officer for Raven Sun Creative. In the lawsuit, Raven Sun says it has a patent for technology that coordinates a vertical-moving rider trolley with videos on a screen. The movement on the tower is synced with the video screen and the seat’s movements, making the theme park ride experience feel more immersive and real. The lawsuit alleges Disney used that same technology in the Rise of Resistance scene when theme park-goers feel like they are jettisoning out of an escape pod during the ride’s controlled-drop finale.
“SeaWorld still feels pandemic pain, but making progress” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics — SeaWorld Entertainment bought back about $83 million worth of its stock this quarter and spent money on capital projects at its parks, the company’s CEO said Tuesday, as the theme park industry continues to rebound from the costly pandemic crisis. Fueled by 7.2 million visitors for the third quarter, the parks generated about $521 million in total revenue, a 10% jump compared to a pre-pandemic 2019 third quarter. CEO Marc Swanson said that bad weather and no international tourists, who normally make up 10% of the annual attendance, hurt the parks for the quarter. Swanson said that season pass sales are booming, saying the pass base rose by 25% this October compared to October 2019. SeaWorld Entertainment, which operates 12 theme parks across the country, is also opening a slew of new rides next year.
— TOP OPINION —
“If Thanksgiving costs are up, you can thank Biden’s disastrous economic policies” via Ronna McDaniel for the Miami Herald — As Floridians gather to count their blessings this Thanksgiving, an affordable turkey won’t be on the list. This Thanksgiving is on track to be the most expensive in holiday history. For this, you can thank Biden’s disastrous economic policies. Biden has already spent $1.9 trillion and is on track to spend trillions more on his radical agenda. Americans across the country are feeling it in their paychecks and pocketbooks, with inflation remaining at its highest rate in over a decade. While Americans pay more, they’re getting less. Our supply chain crisis is causing empty shelves in grocery stores across America. Shipping delays may prevent families from receiving Christmas gifts on time. Even more concerning, they’re unable to get the essential medicine and prescriptions they need.
— OPINIONS —
“Jan. 6 rioter said her ‘white skin blond hair’ meant no jail. Wrong, but not totally” via Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald — Two months after posting a video of herself in the mob of right-wing thugs who stormed the U.S. Capitol, Jenna Ryan tweeted, “Definitely not going to jail. Sorry, I have blonde hair white skin, a great job, a great future, and I’m not going to jail.” Last week, Ryan was sentenced to 60 days in prison. Was Ryan proven wrong? Or did she simply put the court in a position where it had no other choice? Yes, she got 60 days for invading the U.S. Capitol. But Sean Worsley got 60 months for possession of legally-prescribed medical marijuana. Yes, she got 60 days for attempting to overthrow the government. But Fair Wayne Bryant got life for stealing hedge clippers.
“After apologies and pardons, give a final exoneration to the Groveland Four” via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board — From the outset in 1949, the saga of the Groveland Four was a lynching disguised as a criminal case. History has vindicated them. This ugliest chapter in Florida legal history can finally be closed when a judge grants a new prosecutor’s pending motion to set aside their ancient indictments and convictions, restoring their presumption of innocence. State Attorney William Gladson’s motion is more than a formality. It teaches lessons, if we can learn from them. In this case, they show how easily justice can be perverted, especially when race is involved; why it is wrong for some politicians to try to erase such history from the American record; and the importance of electing Governors who will commute death sentences when guilt is in doubt and Cabinet members who will support them.
— ON TODAY’S SUNRISE —
JT Burnette is sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a corruption probe at Tallahassee City Hall.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— Political observers note the probe likely played a big role in helping to elect Gov. DeSantis over then-Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum.
— As the Senate prepares to give a first look at draft redistricting maps, advocates for Fair Districts give the entire process a failing grade.
— Two Sunrise interviews! The first features longtime Tallahassee reporter Mike Vasilinda, who covered the sentencing of Burnette after an expansive corruption at City Hall that might’ve led to tanking Gillum.
— Freiden, the CEO and General Counsel for Fair Districts Now, discusses the failing grade to Florida’s redistricting process. She’s here to break down why.
To listen, click on the image below:
— ALOE —
Florida home to 8 ‘of the best Christmas towns in the USA’ — If you need a boost in Christmas spirit, head to Fernandina Beach. Dating reviews website MyDatingAdviser.com ranked the 152 best Christmas towns in the USA and Nassau’s County Seat is the most Christmassy place in the Sunshine State. The ranking considered metrics such as festive activities, weather, dining, hotels, transport and other key ingredients for a merry Christmas. With a little Christmas magic, MyDatingAdviser.com condensed reams of data into a ‘Christmas Town Index Score.’ Fernandina Beach earned a 61 by excelling in traditional fare, such as readily available hot cocoa, plenty of shopping, and of course, Christmas lights. Also on the list: St. Augustine at No. 40, Naples at No. 50, Key West at No. 52, Delray Beach at No. 94, Seaside at No. 122, Orlando at No. 126 and Santa Rosa Beach at No. 138.
“A+ in beer: FIU students brew for credit and you can try it at this North Miami festival” via Carlos Frías of the Miami Herald — Florida International University’s 2021 North Miami BrewFest is back for its ninth year, its first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, with all of the things that make this unique among beer festivals. Educational seminars are hosted by FIU faculty and industry experts. And FIU students who put on the event are getting college credit by, yes, learning to make beer. It’s even held at the plaza in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art. More than 100 different kinds of beer made by South Florida breweries and local beer brewers will be there, along with food by local restaurants made specifically to pair with the beer. Proceeds of the Nov. 13 event go to the FIU Chaplain School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.
“‘I love my job’: Female engineer turns love of math into TECO career” via Fox 13 — Lori Wilson knows she doesn’t exactly fit the engineer mold. “The stereotypical Poindexter, like, I should have glasses or a pocket protector,” she said with a laugh. Lori is a project engineer for Tampa Electric. She improves efficiency within a company serving over 800,000 homes and businesses. In college, she found her accounting courses to be a little mundane, so an adviser suggested a change to engineering. “As soon as I started, I said, ‘This is where I need to be,” she recalled. “I was probably one of two female students. There was not very many,” she explained. But she noticed a shift when she returned to the classroom almost a decade later to get a second engineering degree at the University of South Florida. “It was really awesome to see these females,” she recalled.
— HAPPY BIRTHDAY —
Happy birthday to our friend, Samantha Sexton Greer; Mark Herron, an attorney with Messer Caparello, P.A.; Aimee Sachs and Rafael Yaniz. Belated best wishes to Macy Harper.
___
Sunburn is authored and assembled by Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Renzo Downey and Drew Wilson.
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13.) AXIOS
Axios AM
🐪 Happy Wednesday. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,157 words … 4½ minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu.
🎖️ At 12:30 p.m. ET today, Axios’ Russell Contreras will host a virtual event exploring Latino veterans’ service. Guests include Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Hispanic Veterans Leadership Alliance board member Col. Lisa Carrington Firmin. Register here.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Republicans — reshaped, controlled and defined by Donald Trump since 2015 — are slowly but surely charting a post-Trump ideology and platform.
- Why it matters: Other than conservative courts, toughness on immigration and hostility toward modern liberalism, it’s been impossible to specify the core and connective ideology of Republicans under Trump.
Now, Republicans are rallying around a plan to break up with corporate America and oppose Big Business, Big Tech, Big Media, Big Education — and big government:
- Quit corporate America: A new breed of Republicans — led by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who last week called on the party to divorce Big Business — is championing the working class against the party’s traditional boardroom allies. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a plan to “Bust Up Anti-Competitive Big Businesses.”
- Pound parental rights: Terry McAuliffe’s debate remark dissing parents allowed Virginia Republicans to mainstream an issue that was already burning up Fox News. The day after Glenn Youngkin’s victory, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said the party will soon unveil a “parent’s bill of rights.” Democrats are now playing defense on education — an issue they used to own.
- Terrorize tech: If Republicans win back the House and/or Senate majorities, curbs on Big Tech — including new taxes — will be a Day 1 priority. Cries of censorship — real or manufactured — are one of the surest GOP applause lines, milking the party’s cultural gulf with Silicon Valley. J.D. Vance, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author running for Senate in Ohio, is pushing to dismantle the “Big Tech Oligarchy.”
- Malign mandates: President Biden’s plan to require COVID vaccination or testing for employers of 100+ people beginning Jan. 4 has been a huge gift in the eyes of Republican governors. Florida’s Ron DeSantis was among the first of several GOP governors to sue Biden over the mandate: “[T]he federal government cannot unilaterally impose medical policy under the guise of workplace regulation.”
- Fan fear: House Republicans are building their regain-the-majority strategy around the trifecta of rising inflation, illegal immigration and crime. The GOP blames all those troubling trends on Democrats, since they’re in charge. The fear factor has a receptive audience with the big prize in next year’s midterms — suburban swing voters.
The big picture: Trump will probably run in 2024 and make the GOP about his various grievances. In that case, Republican candidates will try to smuggle these ideas to voters without offending the party leader.
Screenshot: MSNBC
It turns out it’s not OK to use the White House as a stage for the Republican National Convention:
- A top watchdog found that 13 senior Trump officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, violated ethics law and helped create “a taxpayer-funded campaign apparatus within the upper echelons of the executive branch.”
- A federal judge last night rejected Trump’s request to block the National Archives from turning over documents sought by the House select committee investigating Jan. 6.
- The committee has subpoenaed 16 former Trump aides over the past two days, including former senior adviser Stephen Miller, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and campaign adviser Jason Miller.
- A second grand jury has been empaneled in New York’s criminal investigation of the Trump Organization (NBC News).
- An Atlanta district attorney is moving toward convening her own grand jury in an investigation of Trump’s attempts to overturn the election in Georgia (N.Y. Times).
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
The Biden administration is set to announce today that it has brokered a deal to get more doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine into conflict zones around the world, a senior White House official tells Axios health care editor Tina Reed.
- Why it matters: J&J doses could previously only be used for official government vaccination programs due to liability concerns. But in many humanitarian settings and conflict zones, there’s no government entity to administer the doses and accept that liability.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken is expected to announce the deal as part of a virtual meeting with foreign ministers today.
- He will also announce that the U.S facilitated a deal to make an additional 300,000 doses of J&J available for humanitarian, UN peacekeeping, and other frontline workers around the world.
These satellite images show glaciers on Mt. Kilimanjaro — the highest mountain in Africa, and one of Tanzania’s main tourism attractions — in 2016 (left) and this year.
- Kilimanjaro has lost about 90% of its glacial ice to melting and to sublimation, a process in which solid ice transitions directly to vapor without becoming a liquid first, AP reports.
Why it matters: From the southern border of Germany to the highest peaks in Africa, glaciers are moneymaking tourist attractions, and beacons of beliefs for indigenous groups.
Elon Musk has lost $50 billion this week as Tesla shares plunged — the biggest two-day decline in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bloomberg reports.
What’s happening: The rout started after Musk asked Twitter whether he should sell 10% of his stake in Tesla. His brother, Kimbal, sold shares. And Insider quoted Michael Burry of “Big Short” fame saying Musk may want to sell shares to cover personal debts, per Bloomberg.
The tight labor market is producing a Santa shortage as malls try to return to real-life wonderlands after last year’s virtual workarounds, The Wall Street Journal writes (subscription):
- “Working Santas are capitalizing on their scarcity value, bumping up hourly rates and packing their schedules.”
“Concerns about the virus are still high among a group of workers that skews toward older, heavier-set men,” The Journal notes.
Via Twitter
MSNBC President Rashida Jones announced in an internal email last night that after 28 years with NBC, Brian Williams, 62, “has informed us he would like to take the coming months to spend time with his family. He will be signing off from ‘The 11th Hour’ at the end of the year.”
- “The 11th Hour” (11 p.m. ET on MSNBC), which just celebrated five years, became a refuge for the proud New Jersey native after he lost his “NBC Nightly News” chair in a fabulism scandal.
Williams said in a note to colleagues: “28 years, 38 countries, 8 Olympic games, 7 Presidential elections, half a dozen Presidents, a few wars, and one SNL. … This is the end of a chapter and the beginning of another. There are many things I want to do, and I’ll pop up again somewhere.”
Bella, staffed by Axios congressional reporter Andrew Solender, drops by the House Rules Committee in a star turn for the Dogs on the Dais Instagram feed.
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14.) THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
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15.) THE WASHINGTON POST MORNING HEADLINES
16.) THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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17.) THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
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18.) ASSOCIATED PRESS
19.) FORT MYERS (FLORIDA) NEWS-PRESS
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20.) CHICAGO TRIBUNE
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21.) CHICAGO SUNTIMES
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22.) THE HILL MORNING REPORT
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23.) THE HILL 12:30 REPORT
24.) ROLL CALL
Morning Headlines
ANALYSIS — Political analysis over the last couple of decades shows that, even a year out from the election, it’s possible to accurately identify the direction of an election cycle. That’s great news for Republicans, who are looking at a good to great 2022, and bad news for Democrats, CQ Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales writes. Read more…
People who study campaigns have sounded the alarm about voters’ faith in future U.S. elections. Last week’s gubernatorial elections pointed to potential upheaval in next year’s midterms but may also have offered some solace, as losing candidates mostly conceded swiftly. Read more…
Democrats can’t blame ‘huge bummer’ in Virginia on turnout
OPINION — While turnout matters in an election, what matters just as much is who turns out. The breakdown of the Virginia electorate by both party ID and ideology shows no change from 2020. But Joe Biden won and Terry McAuliffe lost. So what changed? The candidates and the issues, which translated into voter preference. Read more…
Click here to subscribe to Fintech Beat for the latest market and regulatory developmentsin finance and financial technology.
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‘Mayor Pete’ looks inside a political marriage
“Mayor Pete,” a documentary about Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign, premieres Friday on Amazon Prime Video. Amid the balloon drops, strategy sessions and rope lines, it depicts the highs and lows of a political marriage filled with moments of grace and tension. Read more…
Max Cleland, injured in Vietnam, described ‘anxiety and depression’ after brutal 2002 race
Former Sen. Max Cleland, who died Tuesday at age 79, became a symbol of the country’s ongoing era of bitter, win-at-all-costs partisanship. The Georgia Democrat’s reelection loss in 2002 featured one of the most controversial political ads in U.S. history — and signaled so much of what was to come. Read more…
Defense policy amendments pour in ahead of floor action
With the Senate expected to consider its version of the annual defense policy bill as soon as next week, senators have already filed hundreds of amendments. Many reflect increased anxiety over China’s military capabilities and regional ambitions, while others represent an effort to preempt a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Read more…
Biden administration cracks down on ransomware group
The Justice Department on Monday announced a series of measures aimed at cracking down on one of the world’s largest ransomware criminal groups, arresting a perpetrator and seizing a portion of ransom payments the group had obtained from victims. Read more…
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25.) POLITICO PLAYBOOK
POLITICO Playbook: New reminders that this is not normal
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
BREAKING TUESDAY NIGHT — “Trump cannot shield White House records from Jan. 6 committee, judge rules,” by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein … Judge TANYA CHUTKAN: “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.”
Related: “At the Willard and the White House, the Jan. 6 Panel Widens Its Net,” by NYT’s Luke Broadwater and Mark Mazzetti
THE DANGERS LURKING BENEATH — We spend a lot of time in the weeds of congressional negotiations on the major legislation President JOE BIDEN, with some bipartisan help, is slowly moving through the system. At times it has all seemed pretty normal: 69 votes for an infrastructure package in the Senate that was hailed by Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL, a less tidy but still pretty typical process of wrangling Democrats together for the much more partisan climate and social welfare reconciliation bill. Even Tuesday’s results in the off-year election in Virginia, which sent a message to the new president about overreach, were perfectly in line with recent history.
But there were two stories Tuesday that reminded us of how, outside of the (relatively) routine sausage-making on Capitol Hill, some enormously worrisome undercurrents remain in American politics:
1) Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.), speaking in New Hampshire, issued this warning about DONALD TRUMP:
“At this moment, when it matters most, we are also confronting a domestic threat that we’ve never faced before: a former president who’s attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic, aided by political leaders who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man.
“Just last night, former President Trump was invited by House Republican leaders to be the keynote speaker at our annual large fundraising dinner. At the dinner, he reportedly said once again that the ‘insurrection was on Nov. 3,’ and that the events of Jan. 6, when a violent mob invaded the Capitol in an effort to overturn the will of the American people and stop the constitutional process of accounting of electoral votes — that those events were a ‘protest,’ that they were justified.
“Political leaders who sit silent in the face of these false and dangerous claims are aiding a former president who is at war with the rule of law and the Constitution.”
2) Speaker NANCY PELOSI took to Twitter to ask House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY to join her “in condemning” a “horrific video” circulated by Rep. PAUL GOSAR (R-Ariz.) that shows him killing Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.). The speaker called “on the Ethics Committee and law enforcement to investigate.”
Like others, we reached out to McCarthy’s office for comment about this but did not hear back.
PEW PEW — The Pew Research Center’s latest political typology report doesn’t answer all the questions about what underlies this ugliness. But it does reveal why Democratic leaders have had so much trouble uniting to pass the reconciliation bill and why Republican leaders can’t quit Trump.
Here’s how Pew breaks down the Republican and Democratic Party coalitions — and some big-picture takeaways about what keeps them united vs. what divides them …
The Republicans:
Faith and Flag Conservatives: 23% (staunchly conservative, older, very active politically, overwhelmingly Christian, love Trump)
Committed Conservatives: 15% (educated, voted for Trump but not sure they want him back, RONALD REAGAN is their touchstone)
Populist Right: 23% (anti-immigration, pro-taxing the rich, rural, less educated, love Trump)
Ambivalent Right: 18% (younger, less religious, more moderate, don’t want Trump back)
Stressed Sideliners: 15% (mixed ideological views, financially stressed, not very politically engaged)
— “Areas of agreement within the GOP coalition: Support for limited government, belief in an individual’s ability to succeed and rejection of White privilege”
— “Issues that divide the GOP coalition: Corporate profits, same-sex marriage, compromise with U.S. allies, expanding the production of oil, coal and natural gas”
— Most ominous finding in the report: “Six-in-ten Populist Right and a nearly identical share of Faith and Flag Conservatives (59%) say they like political leaders who assert that Trump is the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, despite official counts showing that Biden was the legitimate winner.”
The Democrats:
Progressive Left: 12% (BERNIE SANDERS and ELIZABETH WARREN fans with very liberal views, mostly white, young, highly educated)
Establishment Liberals: 23% (solidly liberal, highly educated, racially and ethnically diverse, favor compromise)
Democratic Mainstays: 28% (self-identify as moderate, biggest group in the Dem coalition, older, very diverse racially and ethnically)
Outsider Left: 16% (young and very liberal but don’t really like either party)
Stressed Sideliners: 13% (mixed ideological views, financially stressed, not very politically engaged)
— “Areas of agreement within the Democratic coalition: Support for strong government safety net, higher taxes on corporations, greater progress toward racial equality”
— “Democratic typology groups differ on government performance, policies to address racial equality, the environment and police funding” … Read the whole thing
Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.
SUPPORT FOR VACCINE MANDATES SOFTENS — Our latest POLITICO-Morning Consult poll, out this morning, finds that voter sentiment for Biden’s vaccine mandates has dropped a bit but still has majority backing:
— 55% support requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to mandate Covid-19 vaccinations or weekly testing (down 3 percentage points since September).
— 54% support requiring most U.S. health care workers to get vaccinated without an option to opt out through regular testing (down 6 points since September).
— 51% support requiring federal workers and contractors to get vaccinated without an option to opt out through regular testing (down 6 points since September)
— Independents becoming more libertarian: When asked if government mandates to receive a Covid-19 vaccine violate or protect the rights of Americans, 44% thought they violate rights (+3 points since September) while 45% thought they protect the rights of Americans (-1 point since September).
These views held relatively steady for Democrats and Republicans, but there was a 10-point jump since September in independent voters feeling these mandates violated rights.
— Biden’s vaccine mandate for large companies was blocked by a federal appeals court in Louisiana on Saturday, and the issue may end up at the Supreme Court before it’s scheduled to kick in Jan. 4. Toplines … Crosstabs
WaPo’s Ann Marimow and Eli Rosenberg note, “The legal battle over the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccination or testing requirements for private businesses is falling along the country’s sharp political fault lines, with Republican-led states, conservative legal groups and sympathetic employers lining up most forcefully to try to block the rules.”
BIDEN’S WEDNESDAY:
— 9 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
— 10 a.m.: Biden will meet with European Commission President URSULA VON DER LEYEN in the Oval Office.
— 11:40 a.m.: Biden will leave for Milford, Del., arriving at 12:25 p.m.
— 1 p.m.: Biden will attend the funeral of former Delaware Gov. RUTH ANN MINNER.
— 2:20 p.m.: Biden will leave Milford for Baltimore, arriving at 3:15 p.m.
— 3:40 p.m.: Biden will get a briefing on the Port of Baltimore.
— 4:10 p.m.: Biden will speak to tout the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
— 5:40 p.m.: Biden will leave Baltimore for D.C., arriving back at the White House at 6 p.m.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ WEDNESDAY (Eastern times):
— 7:40 a.m.: The VP and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial.
— 12:20 p.m.: Harris will hold a bilateral meeting with French President EMMANUEL MACRON.
— Overnight: Harris and Emhoff will stay in Paris.
The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 11 a.m.
THE SENATE and THE HOUSE are out.
PLAYBOOK READS
(IR)RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES
STRAIGHT FROM THE CBO — The Congressional Budget Office released a statement Tuesday saying that some cost estimates for the Build Back Better legislation “will be released this week. Other estimates will take longer, particularly for provisions in some titles that interact with those in other titles. When we determine a release date for the cost estimate for the entire bill, we will provide advance notice.” The statement
THE WHITE HOUSE
SUPPLY AND DEMAND — The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled a plan “expanding the capacity of U.S. ports and inland waterways, as persistent supply chain congestion slows goods deliveries and fuels rising prices,” WaPo’s David Lynch writes. The plan would “award $243 million in new port and marine infrastructure grants” in the next 45 days.
— Biden talked supply chain with several top executives Tuesday: Walmart’s DOUG MCMILLON, UPS’ CAROL TOME, FedEx’s FRED SMITH and Target’s BRIAN CORNELL. Per the White House, “The executives told the president that store shelves will be well stocked for the holiday season,” reports Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove.
ALL POLITICS
THE PRICE OF BIPARTISANSHIP — Michigan Rep. FRED UPTON, one of a handful of House Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, has gotten multiple death threats and more than 1,000 calls over his vote, reports The Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke. “It’s just a polarized, toxic environment. Worse than I’ve ever seen before,” said Upton, who added that the calls began after Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) called him and the other Republicans who voted yes “traitors” and posted their names and phone numbers.
SUNUNU SIDE-EYED — Republican New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU surprised members of the party with his Tuesday announcement that he will not run against Sen. MAGGIE HASSAN in 2022, a blow to GOP hopes of taking over the chamber. But on top of snubbing the party’s Senate takeover plans, Natalie Allison writes that he used the announcement “to tease a potential presidential run.”
Key blind quote from the story: “The takeaway was this was handled so poorly,” said one Republican operative familiar with how Sununu’s announcement was received by McConnell’s team. “He publicly flirted with it. He hyped it up as this big announcement to the national press, and then bailed in a way that hurts the party’s momentum after a big week in Virginia last week.”
FIGHTING THAT EARLY SUNSET — There is a very bitter feud raging over time. On one side: JAY PEA, who wants to keep standard time. On the other: SCOTT YATES, who is pushing for daylight saving time to become permanent. “That these two men could be at such bitter odds is both a microcosm of the current bare-knuckled nature of politics and an illustration of how even the debate over switching the time on the clock has become more mainstreamed and polarizing in recent years,” Hailey Fuchs writes.
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
GAVIN FINALLY SURFACES — California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM made his first public appearance since Oct. 27 on Tuesday and explained why he canceled his appearance at the COP26 climate conference in Scotland. He said he stayed to spend Halloween with his kids: “Mom and dad missing Halloween, for them it’s worse than missing Christmas. And I woke up that next morning with something that’s probably familiar to a lot of parents, that knot in your stomach. I had no damn choice: I had to cancel that trip.” More from Jeremy White
JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH
MORE SUBPOENAS — The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 issued 10 more subpoenas to former Trump officials Tuesday, including adviser STEPHEN MILLER, personnel director JOHN MCENTEE, press secretary KAYLEIGH MCENANY, deputy assistant to the president BEN WILLIAMSON, personal assistant NICHOLAS LUNA and Oval Office operations coordinator MOLLY MICHAEL. “Investigators are accelerating their efforts to compel testimony from key Trump aides who had visibility into the chaotic final weeks of his presidency, as he worked feverishly to overturn the results of the election,” Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle report.
TRUMP CARDS
TRUMP’S LATEST NOD — Trump endorsed Idaho Republican Lt. Gov. JANICE MCGEACHIN in her primary campaign against incumbent Gov. BRAD LITTLE, Zach Montellaro reports. The former president did “not mention or even allude to Little, who first won the office in 2018. Instead, Trump praises [McGeachin] as ‘a true supporter of MAGA since the very beginning’ who has his ‘Complete and Total Endorsement.’”
VALLEY TALK
A WARNING FOR POLITICAL ADMAKERS — Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is planning to “place further limits on ad targeting on its platform, eliminating the ability to target based on users’ interactions with content related to health, race and ethnicity, political affiliation, religion and sexual orientation,” Elena Schneider reports. The new restrictions are set to go into effect Jan. 19.
MEDIAWATCH
MSNBC and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor BRIAN WILLIAMS announced he’s leaving the company after 28 years. He wrote in a note to staff that his departure by year’s end “is the end of a chapter and the beginning of another … There are many things I want to do, and I’ll pop up again somewhere. For the next few months, I’ll be with my family, the people I love most and the people who enabled my career to happen. I will reflect on the kindness people have shown me, and I will pay it forward.” Variety’s Brian Steinberg has more
Related: CNN’s Brian Stelter writes about the “talent problem” he says MSNBC is facing.
PLAYBOOKERS
Dr. Oz “is preparing to jump into the Pennsylvania Senate race on the Republican side,” per The Free Beacon’s Eliana Johnson.
CPAC announced its next conference will be in Orlando, Fla., from Feb. 24-27.
Jennifer Gosar thinks her brother, Paul Gosar, is a sociopath.
Matthew McConaughey, speaking at NYT’s DealBook Online Summit, “said he believes that politics can be art — and he happens to be an artist.” At the same event, Meghan Markle talked up the benefits of family leave.
Jeff Bezos and Leonardo DiCaprio are pals, Page Six clarifies.
Twitter rolled out its new subscription service for power users, dubbed “Blue.”
Prince Harry said he warned Twitter chief Jack Dorsey that the platform was being used to plot the Jan. 6 attack.
Malala Yousafzai got married.
Adam Schiff had an unfortunate slip of the tongue.
OUT AND ABOUT — The National Academy of Social Insurance held its annual Robert M. Ball award event at the Reach at Kennedy Center, where Robert Greenstein and acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi were honored. Also SPOTTED: William Arnone, Wendell Primus, Gene Sperling, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Chris Jennings, Deb Whitman, Bob Blancato, Earl Pomeroy and Ramsey Alwin.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Antonio García Martínez is joining the Lincoln Network as a senior fellow on its policy team. He currently writes a newsletter on Substack called “The Pull Request,” and is a Facebook, Wired, Twitter, Goldman Sachs and Apple alum.
— Rhonda Bentz is joining the Consumer Brands Association as EVP of public affairs. She most recently was VP of paid media and strategic initiatives at the American Petroleum Institute.
— Marisol Garibay, a comms strategist, is joining Invariant to advise financial services clients. She most recently was VP of comms and media relations at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, and is a CFPB, OMB, Treasury and Hill alum.
WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Michael Czin has taken a leave of absence from SKDKnickerbocker to serve as senior adviser to the White House Counsel’s Office.
TRANSITIONS — Analilia Mejia and DaMareo Cooper are joining the Center for Popular Democracy as co-executive directors. Mejia most recently was deputy director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau and is a Bernie Sanders 2020 alum. Cooper previously was national organizing director of BlackPAC. More from Holly Otterbein … Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has been appointed chair of the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics’ Senior Advisory Committee. … Saron Olkaba is now SVP of digital advertising at Do Big Things. She previously was a partner at Break Something. …
… Michael Zetts will be a director of strategic comms at Bully Pulpit Interactive. He previously was comms director and senior adviser for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). … Prashanth Rajan has joined Mastercard as a director of public policy. He was previously a director of public affairs at APCO Worldwide.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Ryan Guthrie, head of government relations at Chipotle Mexican Grill and a Baron Hill alum, and Alisa La, multicultural stakeholder engagement officer at McDonald’s and a Nancy Pelosi and Hillary for America alum, welcomed Jones Wiley Guthrie on Tuesday morning. Pic
— Justin Melvin, chief of staff to Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), and Lindsay Melvin welcomed Lyla Kennedy Melvin on Friday. She was born at Sibley Memorial Hospital and came in at 6 lbs, 11 oz. Pic … Another pic
— Fara Sonderling, manager for government affairs at the American Forest & Paper Association, and Keith Sonderling, commissioner at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, welcomed Baron Parker Sonderling on Monday. He came in at 7 lbs, 11 oz and 20.5 inches. Pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) … Washington Examiner’s Tiana Lowe … NPR’s Sue Davis … Jim Kuhnhenn of WaVe Communications … WaPo’s Mary Jordan … Amanda Ashley Keating of Finsbury Glover Hering … Geoff Brewer of Gallup … Elizabeth Greener of the American Forest Foundation … Kate Gould of Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-Calif.) office … LaRonda Peterson … Florida International University’s Carlos Becerra … POLITICO’s Ben Pauker, Brianna Crummy and Jeff Daker … CBS’ Alan He … Jennifer Curley of Curley Company … ABC’s Josh Margolin … Harry Giannoulis of the Parkside Group … Misty Marshall of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) office … Ellen Bredenkoetter … Brian Romick … Andy Diaz … Robyn Patterson … Andy Blomme of NeighborWorks America … Nate Treffeisen … Christina Brown … Andrew Mims … Blake Deeley … Miranda Lilla … Zachary Enos … Tom Cosgrove … Howard Marks (77) … former Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) … Howard L. Rosenberg … former Reps. Brad Ashford (D-Neb.) and Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas)
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26.) AMERICAN MINUTE
27.) CAFFEINATED THOUGHTS
28.) CONSERVATIVE DAILY NEWS
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29.) PJ MEDIA
The Morning Briefing: Please Democrats, ‘Race Card’ Yourselves Into Oblivion
Top O’ the Briefing
Happy Wednesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. I spend a lot of time wondering just how much the Beatles were deliberately lying to us. A yellow submarine…please.
It would appear that the Twitter glitch from yesterday has worked itself out, so we can have nice things again.
So, I don’t know if other conservatives are aware of this but Democrats insist that we’re all racists.
NO. REALLY.
The overwhelmingly noticeable symptom of the collective mental disease that is 21st-century American leftism is the habit of calling everyone on the other side of the political aisle a racist. These poor, addled beings actually believe it, largely because they themselves are too bigoted to ever meet anyone who thinks differently. They operate on assumptions made based on fictional accounts of conservatives that they’ve written.
It’s wearisome, it’s small-minded, and it’s obviously what they think is a winning political strategy.
Rather than engaging in any introspection that might tell them why they got their you-know-whats handed to them in Virginia last week, Democrats and their flying monkeys in the media decided to go with the “It’s because Republicans are racists!” route, and they’re sticking to it.
Since a lot of what really happened in that election involved a righteous backlash against the woke cancer that’s eating away at this great country, they’ve decided that we’re racist for even saying “woke” now.
Rather than opt for a road map to sanity, we now have our alleged VEEP flapping her idiot gums about racist tree patterns or something, while Mayor Pete Supply Chain FAIL has been going on about infrastructure racism and bridges.
I, for one, would like to encourage the Democrats to keep this up. It’s a message that isn’t accomplishing anything that they think it is. The only people who buy it made their purchases a long time ago. They’re not winning over any new hearts and minds with this tired, pathetic line of attack. Last Tuesday was ugly for them, and anyone with eyes to see can knows that it was probably a precursor to what will be an absolute slaughtering at the polls next November.
If they keep blaming a racist Republican bogeyman that doesn’t exist rather than formulate a sane political strategy, Republicans might not even have to work very hard during the 2024 cycle.
Keep barking “RACISM!” like a bunch of trained seals, Democrats. Let your bigotry and hatred back you into a corner of political irrelevance.
The rest of us will be over here enjoying reality.
VIP Week Highlight
We’re celebrating the second anniversary of the launch of our VIP program all week. Many of us will be writing nostalgia pieces that I’ll share snippets of here for the rest of the week. Today we’re featuring a column that comes straight from the top. America Is Hanging on by a Thread was written by Townhall Media’s (aka “The Mothership”) general manager, Jonathan Garthwaite. Here’s a bit of it:
Every day, our folks hustle like no other team, taking on these leftist liars and crooks, absurd COVID lockdowns and mandates, and the daily bullsh*t coming out of the White House and Capitol Hill.
Stephen Kruiser unmasking the hypocrisy and outright disdain liberals hold for real America. Victoria Taft documenting Antifa’s path of destruction along the West Coast. Stacey Lennox leveraging her medical background to tell the truth about COVID-19 and the vaccines. Stephen Green relentlessly mocking leftists who are working overtime to destroy our way of life. J. Christan Adams exposing election fraud. And much, much more.
All we do here day in and out is made possible by our VIP members directly supporting us. Thanks to them, PJ Media stayed strong during one of the most uncertain times in our 16 years.
That’s why we need you to join the fight.
Trust me, dear readers, you will never have so much fun being in an important fight.
All week long we’re offering a 40% discount — our largest ever — when you sign up using the promo code 2022.
There will be a lot of margarita action for me on the other side of the paywall this week. I’d love to have you drop by.
Everything Isn’t Awful
PJ Media
VodkaPundit: Insanity Wrap: Prof Canceled for Not Having the Real Feelz About Fake Hate
WHADDYA KNOW. Despite Mandates Aplenty, California’s COVID Rate Now Doubles Florida’s
Are There Any Patriots Left in the FBI?
Hey, Joe Biden! This Man Lost His Son Doing What You Asked and He Gets NOTHING
It’s Okay to Laugh: Political Persecution of Kyle Rittenhouse Self-Destructs
Meet ‘Grandbo,’ the Star of the First Day of Defense Case in Kyle Rittenhouse Trial
Liberal Media Chases Away Black Cops, Complains There Aren’t Enough Black Cops
Wait, they think we’re racists? It’s Now Racist to Say ‘Woke’ if You’re Not Black…or Something
#LockHimUp. Biden Abandoned U.S. Military Families in Afghanistan
Ridiculous AND Ominous: You Won’t Believe What Kamala Harris Thinks Is Racist Now
Republicans’ Chances of Reclaiming U.S. Senate Take a Hit
State Farm Stands By Aaron Rodgers Despite Hysteria Over His Vaccine Stance
Californians Left Wondering As Rumors Swirl Over the Whereabouts of Gavin Newsom
Someone Was Caught Taking Secret Video of Rittenhouse Jury Following Threat
Townhall Mothership
The Durham Probe Just Reached into the Biden White House
Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy Is Showing the Left He Cannot be Canceled
Why Congress Is Troubled by the Saule Omarova Nomination
Poll: Cruz Most Popular Politician in Texas but Biden Is Another Matter
Edward Durr Nears ‘Legend’ Status With Spot-on Response to Gov. Phil Murphy’s ‘Dangerous’ Attack
Ted Cruz Has Words for the Lincoln Project After They Bring His Kids up During MSNBC ‘Interview’
Florida Democrats Want A Ban On Home-Built Firearms
Cam&Co. Why NY Public Defenders Are Siding With The Second Amendment
Ohio Republicans Revive Armed School Staff Legislation
Make it stop. Can we talk about the first patient diagnosed with “climate change” please?
Should Howard Stern run for president?
Democrats are slowly coming around to nuclear power
VIP
Kruiser’s (Almost) Daily Distraction: The Worst Thing to Happen to Liquor Since Fireball
Vaccine Horror Stories Should Make Us Wonder What Else We Don’t Know
‘Autotune King’ Travis Scott Belongs in Jail for Capital Murder: Change My Mind
My Most Ridiculous Experience Yet With Mask Mandates
CDC Contradicts Studies on Vaccine Immunity
Debate Over Vaccine Mandate Arrives in Dr. Fauci’s Backyard
The Biden Administration Thinks It Can Ignore The Courts
GOLD I Wish They Would Stop Making My Books Come True
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Scott Bakula Remembers ‘Quantum Leap’ Co-Star Dean Stockwell: “He Made Me A Better Human Being”
Netflix’s gaming push could be its secret sauce for continued domination
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PJ Media senior columnist and associate editor Stephen Kruiser is a professional stand-up comic, writer, and recovering political activist who edits and writes PJ’s Morning Briefing, aka The Greatest Political Newsletter in America. His latest book, Straight Outta Feelings, is a humorous exploration of how the 2016 election made him enjoy politics more than he ever had before. When not being a reclusive writer, Kruiser has had the honor of entertaining U.S. troops all over the world. Follow on: Gab, Parler, MeWe
30.) WHITE HOUSE DOSSIER
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Editor
Cut to the News
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31.) THE DISPATCH
The Morning Dispatch: Pfizer’s Promising New COVID-19 Treatment
Health officials hope oral antiviral drugs will usher in a return to greater normalcy.
| The Dispatch Staff | 2 |
Happy Wednesday! If NASA can delay its next trip to the moon by a whole year, it’s probably fine for you to hit the snooze button one more time.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- New Hampshire Republican Chris Sununu announced yesterday he will run for a fourth gubernatorial term in 2022 rather than challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan as many national Republicans had hoped. “I’d rather push myself 120 miles an hour delivering wins for New Hampshire than to slow down, end up on Capitol Hill debating partisan politics without results,” he said. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte—who lost to Hassan in 2016—also announced Tuesday she would not run for her old seat.
- Wholesale prices in October increased 0.6 percent month-over-month and 8.6 percent year-over-year, according to Producer Price Index data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. The 8.6 percent figure ties September for the largest annual increase since at least 2010.
- The January 6 select committee announced Tuesday it had issued subpoenas to ten additional Trump administration officials, including Stephen Miller, Kayleigh McEnany, John McEntee, and Keith Kellogg. Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Tuesday that former President Donald Trump cannot block the committee from accessing White House records related to his attempt to overturn the election. Unless another court weighs in, the National Archives is set to begin transferring documents to the committee on Friday. Trump appealed the decision shortly after it was announced.
- General Electric—the industry titan founded in the 1890s that has struggled in recent years—announced Tuesday it plans to split what remains of the business into three public companies by 2024: GE Aviation, GE Healthcare, and GE Energy.
- Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. Senator from Georgia Max Cleland died on Tuesday at the age of 79.
Is Our COVID-19 Toolbox Complete?
Since COVID-19 first began spreading in the United States last spring, public health officials have warned that there won’t be any one silver bullet that brings the pandemic to an end, but rather a suite of tools that, when deployed in combination, will allow society to gradually return to something approaching normalcy. “There isn’t an on/off switch that’ll flip one day,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said just days after the first lockdowns went into effect. “We’ll secure a better toolbox to deal with this threat.”
The number of tools in that toolbox has grown exponentially since March 2020, when our only means of preventing COVID-19 deaths were lockdowns, social distancing, and, eventually, masking. Over the past 20 months, we’ve picked up mass testing, ventilator use, remdesivir, monoclonal antibodies, air filtration systems, and, of course, three incredibly effective vaccines. A month or so ago, we wrote to you about a new oral antiviral drug from Merck, molnupiravir, that would have “huge ramifications” for treating those with COVID-19 because it was shown in clinical trials to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by up to 50 percent.
Pfizer blew those numbers away late last week in announcing clinical trial data for an oral antiviral drug of its own: PAXLOVID was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by a whopping 89 percent when taken within three days of the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
That’s an astounding figure, so it’s worth breaking down in detail how it is calculated. Between July 16 and September 29—well after the Delta variant emerged—Pfizer enrolled 1,219 high-risk adults who had contracted COVID-19 in the study. (In a statement provided to The Dispatch, a Pfizer spokeswoman defined “high-risk” in this context as a person being unvaccinated and having “at least one characteristic or underlying medical condition associated with an increased risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 such as chronic lung disease, hypertension, or diabetes.”) About half of the trial participants (607) were treated with PAXLOVID within five days of symptom onset, and the remainder (612) were given a placebo. After 28 days, nobody treated with the antiviral had died, and only six had been hospitalized. In the control group? Ten deaths and 41 hospitalizations.
Worth Your Time
- In the wake of Donald Trump’s (ongoing) campaign to discredit and overturn the results of the 2020 election, harassment of election officials has skyrocketed. Seeking to better understand the phenomenon, Reuters reporters Linda So and Jason Szep tracked down nine supporters of the former president who have made threats against secretaries of state, county officials, and voting system company employees, finding seven of them to be totally unrepentant—and proud of their actions. Ross Miller, a real-estate investor in Forsyth County, Georgia “left a Dec. 31 voicemail for Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron, saying he ‘better run’ and that he’ll be tarred and feathered and executed unless ‘ya’ll do something’ about voter fraud,” they write. “In an interview, Miller acknowledged making the call. ‘I left the message because I’m a patriot, and I’m sick and tired of what’s going on in this country,’ he said. ‘That’s what happens when you commit treason: You get hung.’” So and Szep were met with similar sentiments throughout their reporting. “These cases provide a unique perspective into how people with everyday jobs and lives have become radicalized to the point of terrorizing public officials,” they write. “They are part of a broader campaign of fear waged against frontline workers of American democracy chronicled by Reuters this year. The news organization has documented nearly 800 intimidating messages to election officials in 12 states, including more than 100 that could warrant prosecution, according to legal experts. The examination of the threats also highlights the paralysis of law enforcement in responding to this extraordinary assault on the nation’s electoral machinery.”
- In an essay for American Purpose, Andy Smarick argues that American governance is actually working pretty well—if you know where to look. “The successes in American public life generally happen without fanfare,” he writes. “They are the result of decent people behaving civilly—people more concerned about responsibility, service, and problem-solving than clicks and self-promotion. They are civil servants in Washington agencies, career military, federal prosecutors, and many more. You’ll never know their names, because they don’t seek fame; they do accomplish immeasurable good for our nation. But much of America’s best public service takes place at the state and local levels. That’s where budgets are balanced, transportation projects completed, health systems improved, and libraries renovated. This work is seldom even mentioned by those who lead discussions of public affairs.”
Presented Without Comment
One man called @RepFredUpton a “f—ing piece of s— traitor” for voting for a **bipartisan infrastructure bill.** “I hope you die. I hope everybody in your f—ing family dies,” he said. Upton’s gotten more than 1,000 calls 
Also Presented Without Comment
Toeing the Company Line
- The House on Friday approved about $550 billion in new infrastructure spending over the next five years, and if you’re wondering where all that money is going, be sure to check out yesterday’s Uphill. From bridges and electric vehicles to public transit and electrical grid resiliency, there’s a lot to unpack.
- Sarah and Chris Stirewalt have now had a week to pore over the results of last Tuesday’s elections, and there’s a lot to discuss. “Youngkin certainly deserves credit for whatever behind-the-scenes management he did to keep Trump from stealing the limelight in Virginia, but ultimately it was Trump who tried self-control for a change,” Chris writes in yesterday’s Sweep. “That was very good news for Republicans last week, but certainly does not represent any kind of a strategy that the party can follow into midterms.”
- David’s Tuesday French Press (🔒) focuses on the $8 billion diversity training industry. “As a practical matter, I think right and left make the same mistake about diversity training,” he writes. “They both believe it matters far more than it does. Advocates on the left hope it’s helping change society. Advocates on the right fear it’s changing society. In fact, it does virtually nothing to society at all, except divide us and distract us from the reforms and policies that truly matter.”
Reporting by Declan Garvey (@declanpgarvey), Andrew Egger (@EggerDC), Charlotte Lawson (@lawsonreports), Audrey Fahlberg (@AudreyFahlberg), Ryan Brown (@RyanP_Brown), Harvest Prude (@HarvestPrude), and Steve Hayes (@stephenfhayes).
32.) LEGAL INSURRECTION
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33.) THE DAILY WIRE
34.) DESERET NEWS
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35.) BRIGHT
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36.) AMERICAN THINKER
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37.) LARRY J. SABATO’S CRYSTAL BALL
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KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE— Republicans are still looking for a challenger to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) after Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) surprisingly passed on running against her next year. — Sununu’s decision to run for reelection means Republicans are heavy favorites to hold onto the New Hampshire governorship. Table 1: Crystal Ball gubernatorial rating change
The Sununu falloutRepublicans basking in the afterglow of their strong election showings last week got a rare piece of bad political news Tuesday morning, when Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) — arguably the party’s most important Senate recruit — surprisingly decided not to challenge first-term Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) in next year’s Senate election. WMUR reported later on Tuesday that national Republicans’ likely second choice for the nomination, former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), also was not going to run. Ayotte lost to Hassan by just 1,017 votes in 2016. Additionally, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) has also indicated he isn’t likely to run. Brown, who credibly challenged Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in 2014 after losing his reelection bid to now-Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in 2012, said his family’s focus is on the congressional bid of his wife, Gail Huff Brown (R), who is one of several contenders for the Republican nomination in the state’s 1st Congressional District. As of now, the only prominent Hassan challenger is retired Army Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc (R), who lost a primary for the GOP Senate nomination in 2020. We do not believe national Republicans view him as a top-tier challenger. Sununu’s surprise announcement is a reminder that we shouldn’t assume someone is running for an office until that person actually clearly indicates that he or she is in fact running. We had telegraphed for months our intention to move our rating in New Hampshire from Leans Democratic to Toss-up if Sununu entered the race, but we were waiting for an announcement. That’s why we kept New Hampshire at Leans Democratic last week even while we moved 3 other Democratic-held Senate seats, those in Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada, to Toss-up. With Sununu out, and with Ayotte and Brown remaining on the sidelines, we are going to keep New Hampshire at Leans Democratic for now. Candidate quality is likely more important for Republicans in the Granite State than it is in Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada simply because New Hampshire is a more Democratic state at the federal level: Joe Biden won the state by 7 points in 2020, while he only won the other 3 states by 0.3, 0.2, and 2.4 points, respectively. However, the political environment next year could be bad enough for Democrats that it may not take a Sununu-level challenger to beat Hassan. There is still a ton of time for more candidates to emerge in the Granite State. The candidate filing deadline is not until next June in advance of a Sept. 13 primary — one of the latest in the nation. We can’t rule out the possibility that one of the heavy hitters mentioned above (Sununu, Ayotte, or Brown) will change their minds and decide to run after all, although because Sununu is running for reelection as governor we have to assume he has fully closed the door on a Senate bid. Meanwhile, a bad development for the National Republican Senatorial Committee is a good development for the Republican Governors Association. Sununu’s decision to run for another term likely takes that race off the board for next year, and we’re moving the New Hampshire gubernatorial race from Leans Republican to Safe Republican. While Sununu’s approval rating isn’t as strong lately as it’s been previously, he ran way ahead of Donald Trump last year (see Map 1) and is likely strong enough to dissuade a credible Democratic challenge. Map 1: New Hampshire statewide results in 2020 Meanwhile, Map 1 is also a reminder that New Hampshire is a state where voters still can split their tickets, and the state has frequently proven to be swingy historically. Hassan is still vulnerable next year, but she’s one of the few Democrats who has seen her prospects for next year actually improve in recent days. |
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| “Common Grounds” Project Brings Students Together Despite Political Differences | ||||||||
| By Anne E. Bromley UVA Today |
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Even though the political color of Virginia’s executive leaders switched from blue to red in last week’s statewide elections, the political arena was just as divided as last year when Democrat Joe Biden won the White House and after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. That’s when a group of five University of Virginia students interning at the Center for Politics came up with the idea of making a documentary film to see if they could encourage their peers to bridge political divides. “We started the semester in a tense national political climate,” said fourth-year foreign affairs student Raed Gilliam, who directed the group’s film project, “Common Grounds,” that is culminating in the documentary’s premiere Thursday. The students started the spring 2021 semester enrolled in center associate director Ken Stroupe’s internship course without being able to do a lot of in-person activities due to the pandemic, so they brainstormed other possibilities. “Our idea was to have people do individual interviews, sharing their honest opinions on free speech, civility, ‘cancel culture’ and similar topics, and then get them together in a group to see if they could talk it out and have a good conversation,” Gilliam told UVA Today earlier this year, after students painted Beta Bridge with a message, “There is common ground on our Grounds.” “The interns that are chosen to work for the programs area of the Center for Politics are usually able to work on something they already feel passionate about,” said Glenn Crossman, the center’s director of programs, who supervised the students. Projects in the past have included outreach to public and private schools, and daylong programs hosted on Grounds, such as voter registration and other education programs. The free premiere event will be held in-person and virtually Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Rotunda Dome Room. Masks are required for in-person attendance. Afterward, the filmmakers will discuss their project. Registration is required. The 30-minute documentary includes individual interviews with students of widely differing political beliefs; a small-group discussion bringing six of those students together; and the scene at Beta Bridge that became a kind of “grand finale,” an idea sparked by students in the film to bring together those who participated. Click here to view the trailer (which starts with footage from the August 2017 Unite the Right riots, when white supremacist groups descended on UVA and Charlottesville). UVA Today checked in with the interns, who answered a few questions via email. In addition to Gilliam, who describes himself as a centrist politically, the interns are Molly Hayes, who calls herself a progressive and assisted in directing the documentary; Thomas Driscoll, a moderate Democrat who worked on social media; Sean Piwowar, a government major who worked on production and describes himself as a conservative Republican; and Miranda Hirts, who describes herself as liberal and also worked on production as well as the Common Grounds Challenge, the next phase of the project. Said Driscoll, also a participant: “I hope viewers will come out with a sense of hope about the future of our country in spite of its present challenges.” Q. How do you think the documentary turned out? Gilliam: It really came together! We were really able to get a feel for where students were at when it comes to a whole range of issues. … Whether it was contrasting different students’ opinions in individual interviews or the group dialogue, people will come away from this with a better idea of the range of opinions, backgrounds and perspectives that college students have. The filming and editing was finished before the elections were really a major issue for most students. However, with the release of the documentary coming little over a week after the state government elections, it could definitely influence the reception this film gets. How so, I’m not entirely sure, but it will be interesting to see people’s reactions to the film and how much it has to do with the state of local politics. Piwowar: I was so thrilled with our participants’ openness and honesty; it’s intimidating to say your unfiltered political beliefs to strangers, let alone to do that on camera. The whole project hinged on finding people from a range of perspectives who were excited to share their opinions, and fortunately we found them. Q. And the project’s goal, to get people to talk about their different views — how did that work out? Driscoll: While the filmmakers could have easily picked a group of participants who were relatively close to one another on the political spectrum or with whom they were friends, they instead selected the most politically active and vocal people on Grounds. To illustrate this point, we literally had the presidents of both YAF [Young Americans for Freedom, described on its website as “advancing the conservative movement on Grounds”] and YDSA [Young Democratic Socialists of America, whose website stresses learning to “be empowered to fight against the most pressing social justice issues impacting our communities”] — the two most diametrically opposed political clubs on Grounds — participate. As a result, simply having a civil conversation was by no means guaranteed, and yet this is precisely what ended up happening. Gilliam: People definitely didn’t hold back. Some students were diplomatic and maybe chose their words carefully, but the difference in views was evident for all to see — even in the in-person group discussion. There was also a real uniqueness to a lot of people’s answers. We tend to make a lot of assumptions about people based on what they post on social media or how they look, but people are a whole lot more complex than a label! Hirts: We got people to openly talk about their views, but I am not sure we were successful in changing anyone’s mind. I think that we did expose participants to opinions that they might not have otherwise considered, so in that regard we were successful. In terms of the climate now, I believe it is still just as polarized and tense as ever. Trump holds lots of influence over big and small-scale elections. What brought people together, or made them feel togetherness? Hirts: I think that realizing that even though they all had different beliefs or opinions, they had things in common, too. Many shared a liking for the same TV shows or music, and finding that commonality brought people together. Hayes: I think humor was the thing that I most saw bring the participants together. Whether it be humor at the dysfunction that arose from setting up camera equipment, or humor related to everyday UVA happenings, it allowed the participants to have a point of shared experience. Piwowar: I think the sheer fact of being physically together, in the same room, in the middle of the pandemic, actually played an enormous role in creating a sense of togetherness. So much division is manifested online, where we are physically apart from one another and don’t experience the fullness of human interaction, and it makes debates nasty and unproductive. Q. What was the most surprising thing that came out of the discussions? Gilliam: The level of respect, friendliness and almost a sense of camaraderie was definitely surprising. Several of these students are the heads of some of the most vocal political groups on Grounds, and yet they couldn’t have been more poised and respectful to each other, across some radical differences. Hayes: For me, the most surprising thing that came out of the discussion was the way in which participants interacted with each other off camera. Of course, there was tension and hesitation, but on a human level it seemed that the participants were enjoying the company of the other participants. Driscoll: Everyone featured in the film was very vocal about their opinions, but when it came time to actually sit down together in a room, they were all gracious and respectful toward one another. For me, being a part of that conversation and speaking with people who I very strongly disagree with was incredibly rewarding. I honestly did not expect for the conversation to be quite nearly as civil and substantive as it ended up becoming, and it honestly gave me a sense of hope about the future of politics in our country. Q. How do you compare the political climate then and now? Driscoll: I would argue that the 2020 presidential election and indeed the entire Trump presidency really defined the political climate on Grounds, both when we were filming as well as now. When watching the film, it’s important for viewers to remember the fact that Charlottesville was the site of unspeakable violence just four short years ago. The Unite the Right rally was truly a watershed moment for our country, and yet for those of us who worked on and participated in this project, it was — and still remains — deeply personal. Charlottesville is our home and to have something like this happen here has really had a deep and lasting impact on the way in which we look at the world and, by extension, form our own political perspectives. To have students from across the political spectrum sit down together while the memory of Unite the Right remains so visible fresh really speaks, in my mind, to so much of the significance behind this project. Piwowar: The filming was all done before the state elections, but I think the state elections are a new link in a chain of other events (which we briefly touch on in the film) that affected the climate at UVA and therefore the experiences of our participants. The tense political climate in this country is unfortunately something we are going to have to deal with for a while, which is why we tried to do something about it in making this film. Q. What comes next? Hirts: We are soon launching the “Common Grounds Campus Challenge.” We will be encouraging other schools and universities from around the country to do what we did: bring together students of varying political backgrounds and beliefs and engage in a conversation covering an array of topics. Driscoll: This campaign will encourage high school and college students from across the country to come together and try to find common ground themselves. We believe that this campaign will be especially relevant given the enormous amount of attention that politics in schools and on campuses has received. While the premiere is coming up this week, our work promoting political dialogue amongst young people has only just started. Read the fine printLearn more about the Crystal Ball and find out how to contact us here. Sign up to receive Crystal Ball e-mails like this one delivered straight to your inbox. Use caution with Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and remember: “He who lives by the Crystal Ball ends up eating ground glass!” |
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| © Copyright by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia |
This message was sent to rickbulow1974@gmail.com from goodpolitics@virginia.edu
Larry J. Sabato
UVA Center for Politics
PO Box 400806
Charlottesville, VA 22904
38.) THE BLAZE
39.) THE FEDERALIST
40.) REUTERS
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41.) NOQ REPORT
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42.) ARRA NEWS SERVICE
43.) REDSTATE
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Jimmy Kimmel Has Figured out Why Kamala Harris Is as Popular as Spoiled Milk
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44.) WORLD NET DAILY
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45.) MSNBC
 November 10, 2021 THE LATEST
The Jan. 6 committee has been on a subpoena spree lately, dishing out more than a dozen in the last two days. Tuesday’s batch were aimed squarely at the Trump White House staff, including former senior advisor Stephen Miller and former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. But they may be the least interesting of the people called to testify, Hayes Brown writes, compared to the other, lower-level staffers. “The fact that nobody reading this has likely heard any of these names before is what makes them so fascinating,” Brown writes. “None of them has the star power of Miller or McEnany. They’ll likely struggle to raise the kind of legal defense fund money that’s being raised in support of other Trumpworld denizens. And, crucially, all of them had access to the exact same information as their bosses.”
Read Hayes Brown’s full analysis here and don’t forget to check out the rest of your Wednesday MSNBC Daily. TOP STORIES
Bannon’s potential indictment is taking a while to materialize. That just means our justice system is working. Read More The MAGA movement has a new, watered-down battle cry. Read More The more radicalism Kevin McCarthy tolerates, the worse the problem becomes. Read More He testified that he saw Arbery laying in a pool of blood when he arrived at the scene but chose not to perform CPR. Read More TOP VIDEOS
MORE FROM MSNBC
 Sunday, MSNBC Films presents “In the Dark of the Valley.” The new feature documentary explores the decades-long cover up of a nuclear accident in the Los Angeles area, the families that suffered and one mother’s journey to activism after watching her own daughter fight cancer – twice.
Watch ‘In the Dark of the Valley,’ Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
 How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this all happening? Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night every week on his podcast, aptly titled, “Why Is This Happening?”
In the newest episode, New York Times opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang joins Chris to talk about assimilation amid a wave anti-Asian violence, increasing wealth gaps, limited representation and the need for more solidarity in pursuit of upward mobility. His new book, ‘The Loneliest Americans,’ probes what it means to be Asian American at this moment. Listen to the new episode now. Follow MSNBC
Check out the MSNBC channel on Apple News
Download the NBC News Mobile App and watch MSNBC
 
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48.) NBC MORNING RUNDOWN
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To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts  Today’s Top Stories from NBC News WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2021 Good morning, NBC News readers.
Former President Donald Trump has lost his bid to keep hundreds of pages of White House records from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot. Longtime anchor Brian Williams is leaving NBC News. And you’ll never guess who People magazine named the “Sexiest Man Alive.”
Here’s what we’re watching this Wednesday morning.
 A federal judge on Tuesday night rejected an effort by former President Donald Trump to keep secret scores of White House documents related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The ruling from Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia cleared the way for the release of government records requested by the House select committee investigating the riot. The first batch of disputed documents is set to be turned over by Friday.
In a blistering 39-page opinion, Chutkan called the events of Jan. 6 an “unprecedented attempt to prevent the lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next.” “For the first time since the election of 1860, the transfer of executive power was distinctly not peaceful,” she added.
Trump’s lawyers quickly filed an appeal.
Read our full story on the decision from NBC News’ Justice Correspondent Pete Williams here. Wednesday’s Top Stories
 Williams will sign off at the end of the year with “28 years, 38 countries, 8 Olympic games, 7 presidential elections, half a dozen presidents, a few wars and one SNL” under his belt.  As many as 1 in 10 tenants facing eviction in Detroit say they’ve been duped by con artists who’ve sold or rented out houses they didn’t own.  “The toxicity of benzene has been known for over 120 years. It’s directly linked with causing leukemia in humans,” said the CEO of a lab that found the contamination.  New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision to forgo a Senate bid dealt a blow to Republican hopes of flipping a Democratic-held seat.  OPINION Despite the artist’s center-stage role in the performance, he is not necessarily the most responsible party — or maybe even one of them, MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos writes in an opinion piece. Also in the News
Editor’s Pick
 Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Simon Kofe took a novel approach to the COP26 climate summit: Show, don’t tell how climate change is impacting the Pacific island nation. Select
With Cyber Monday approaching, retailers are beginning to offer early holiday deals. One Fun Thing
 Paul Rudd has been crowned 2021’s Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine.
The charming actor, known for his many comedic roles from “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” to “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” was revealed as the winner on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Tuesday night.
The honor was bestowed at the end of an elaborate prerecorded scene in which Colbert acted as a “sexiness adjudicator” before finally announcing Rudd’s new title.
In his cover story interview with People, Rudd joked he is “going to lean into” his coveted new title. “I’m going to own this,” he said.
Read our full story here. FOLLOW US
Want to receive NBC Breaking News and Special Alerts in your inbox?
Get the NBC News Mobile App   
30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112  |
49.) NBC FIRST READ
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From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Ben Kamisar
FIRST READ: Sununu decision underscores how Trump has reshaped battle for the GOP Senate
New Hampshire’s Republican governor, Chris Sununu, said no to a Senate bid. So did the state’s former U.S. senator, Kelly Ayotte.
But look at who IS running – or who might run.
Here’s Blake Masters, a GOP Senate candidate in Arizona: “I think Trump won in 2020,” he says in a campaign video.
Here’s Republican Sean Parnell, who’s running for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat: “Parnell’s estranged wife, Laurie Snell, with whom he shares three children, has accused him of multiple forms of abuse, including strangling her and hitting one of their children so hard he left a fingerprint-shaped welt on the child’s back,” the Washington Post writes of the candidate’s custody battle. Sean Parnell has denied the allegations.
And guess who’s also thinking about running for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat? Dr. Oz.
This is how Donald Trump – one year after losing office – has fundamentally changed the Republican Party by altering the kinds of candidates running for Congress and Senate.
Holly Ramer/AP
As our colleagues Sahil Kapur, Alex Seitz-Wald and Henry J. Gomez write, Republicans missing out on a Chris Sununu in New Hampshire, and maybe winding up with a Sean Parnell or Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania, matters.
“Arguably, Republicans lost five seats between 2010 and 2012 because of bad general election candidates,” said GOP strategist Brian Walsh, who worked at the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2012 cycle. “I’m not saying that’s necessarily going to happen here. We don’t know that yet. But broadly, candidates matter.”
But so does a political environment.
And as we saw in 2016, sometimes an environment – along with our polarized politics – can propel even a very flawed nominee to high office.
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Sununu’s rationale
By the way, here’s Sununu’s rationale for deciding to run for re-election as New Hampshire governor instead of for the Senate.
“I’d rather push myself 120 miles per hour delivering wins for New Hampshire than to slow down, end up on Capitol Hill debating partisan politics without results,” he said, per the Washington Post.
And after Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., got death threats for voting for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, as well as after Rep. Paul Gosar’s, R-Ariz., incendiary video, does anyone blame him?
The environment on Capitol Hill isn’t one that would attract America’s best and brightest.
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Tweet of the Day: “A domestic threat that we have never faced before”
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You’re just my type
Speaking of the political parties and their composition, there isn’t just one type of Democrat. Ditto a particular type of Republican. And there are several key issues that unite – and divide – individuals in each political party.
That’s the takeaway from the latest Pew Research Center “Political Typology” study, which categorizes Americans into nine different political types.
The different types of Democrats:
- The Progressive Left (representing 6% of the public and 12% of the Dem coalition), who are mainly white, non-Hispanic, have liberal views on almost every subject and who mainly backed Sanders/Warren in the 2020 primaries. Avatar: Elizabeth Warren.
- Establishment Liberals (13% of public, 23% of Dem coalition), who are liberal but don’t believe in sweeping change. Avatar: Nancy Pelosi.
- Democratic Mainstays (10% of public, 28% of Dem coalition), who are the oldest, most diverse Dems and who have more moderate views. Avatar: Jim Clyburn.
- The Outsider Left (10% of public, 16% of Dem coalition), who are mainly young, very liberal (especially on climate and race) and very frustrated with the political system. Avatar: Greta Thunberg.
The different types of Republicans:
- Faith and Flag Conservatives (10% of public, 23% of GOP coalition), who are incredibly conservative on all matters. Avatar: Marjorie Taylor Greene.
- Committed Conservatives (7% of public, 15% of GOP coalition), who are conservative but with a softer edge, especially on immigration. Avatar: Paul Ryan.
- The Populist Right (11% of public, 23% of GOP coalition), who are mainly rural, less educated and oppose immigration and US corporations. Avatar: Edward Durr (the truck driver who just won office in New Jersey).
- The Ambivalent Right (12% of public, 18% of GOP coalition), who are the youngest and least conservative Republicans, with majorities favoring abortion and legalized marijuana. Avatar: former GOP strategist Tim Miller.
And in the middle are Stressed Sideliners (15% of public, 15% of GOP coalition, 13% of Dem coalition), who have a mix of liberal and conservative views and are united in having minimal interest in politics.
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Biden goes to Baltimore
President Biden begins his day at the White House meeting with the president of the European Commission, then attends former Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s funeral in Delaware, and then he travels to the Port of Baltimore, where he’ll promote the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
Biden’s remarks in Baltimore are scheduled for 4:10 pm ET.
Coinciding with Biden’s visit to Baltimore, the DNC has been displaying projection highlights touting the infrastructure bill the president will soon sign into law.
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Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
13: The number of top Trump-era officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who a government watchdog says violated the Hatch Act.
2.5: How many degrees, in Celsius, that presenters at the COP26 summit warn the Earth is on track to warm this century.
46,712,70: The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 84,941 more since yesterday morning.)
760,894: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News. (That’s 1,731 more since yesterday morning.)
433,156,393: The number of total vaccine doses administered in the U.S., per the CDC. (That’s 1,044,533 more since yesterday morning.)
25,368,545: The number of booster vaccine doses administered in the U.S., per the CDC. (That’s 573,448 more since yesterday morning.)
58.5 percent: The share of all Americans who are fully vaccinated, per the CDC.
70.2 percent: The share of all Americans 18-years and older who are fully vaccinated, per the CDC.
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ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?
The Jan. 6 committee has issued new subpoenas, including for Stephen Miller and Kayleigh McEnany.
A federal judge ruled against former President Trump as he tries to stop the National Archives from turning over records to the Jan. 6 committee.
Republicans are divided about whether they should be working with Democrats on deals like the bipartisan infrastructure bill, or if those who do should be punished.
Pfizer is applying for Covid-19 booster shots to be approved for everyone at least 18 years old.
The Black principal of a majority-white high school in Texas has been forced to resign amid controversy over critical race theory.
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Of all the places I’d expect to see Rep. Adam “My Neck Isn’t Made of Pencils” Schiff called out on the fraudulent Steele Dossier report, I wouldn’t expect to see it on “The View”. Maybe Joy Behar was … MORE 
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this is huge! he FBI on Sunday raided the home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe as part of a federal investigation into the 
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Did a friend forward this? Subscribe here. Hello! Every Wednesday, our internet culture staff discusses the world of streaming entertainment in this newsletter. In today’s Insider: TODAY:
 BREAK THE INTERNET ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ is still the best show on TV The TV landscape such been a vast treasure trove lately, so I’ve been spending a lot of time playing catchup. Over the past few weeks, I’ve finished What If…?, HBO’s Scenes from a Marriage miniseries, all of Squid Game, and a rewatch of Ted Lasso season 2. But no show has made me laugh harder or more consistently lately than What We Do in the Shadows, which recently concluded its third season. (The show airs on FX, but all three seasons are streaming on Hulu.)
A Staten Island-tinted spin on the 2014 mockumentary from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, FX’s WWDITS didn’t take long to step out of the proverbial shadow of its predecessor.
The motley vampire crew—Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry), Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou), energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), and vampire familiar (with familial ties to Abraham Van Helsing) Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén)—weren’t simply stand-ins for the original cast.
Modern-day Staten Island (the borough of New York that most people tend to forget about) proved to be fertile ground for a group of vampires who had absolutely no idea how to function in a modern world, and Colin’s unique abilities as an energy-sucking vampire provided plenty of great comedic moments. It consistently has one of the best guest casts and gags on TV, and watching Guillermo accidentally kill vampires aplenty (outside of his own found family) never gets old. Plus, Jackie Daytona!
It’s easy for a show that’s already hit its stride to get comfortable or lazy. But over the course of its 10-episode season, WWDITS expands its world. The vampires of Staten Island are given more power, leading to lots of amusing friction. Colin attempts to discover where he comes from as he’s about to turn 100; Guillermo tries to gain some power in a relationship that’s all about the power imbalance; Nadja tries to maintain her stake as a leader; Laszlo cultivates a friendship; and Nandor attempts to find love and falls into an existential crisis.
There are some familiar faces, but the joy also arrives with new characters both supernatural and human. And it launches an emotional slow-burn involving the two of WWDITS’s unlikeliest characters, which very much pays off by the season’s end. Although WWDITS is a critical hit and enough of a success that FX already renewed it for season 4—which, considering how season 3 ends, is very much a relief—it always felt like it’s flown under the radar. But that just means that some of the funniest moments of the year—for me, it involves a ghost and an inflatable union rat—are right there waiting to be discovered.
Staff Writer  SPONSORED Get the best sleep of your life—the natural way! Meet Woven Earth, the premium organic CBD brand that offers the best solution to your sleepless nights. Its full-spectrum hemp extract capsules are formulated to soothe aches, inflammation, stress, and restlessness, so you can fall asleep easier and stay asleep longer. Trusted and recommended by doctors. Make Woven Earth a part of your night routine and save 20% on your order with code DAILYDOT20.  REVIEWS ‘Spencer’ offers a tense, unnerving portrait of Princess Diana Pablo Larraín’s Spencer is closer to psychological horror than a traditional biopic. Set at Christmas in the early 1990s, we see Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) join the British royal family at their chilly Sandringham Estate, where she’s surveilled at every turn by disapproving servants. Her marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) is a disaster, and every moment of the holiday is rigidly scheduled with events she’d prefer to avoid. The only thing Diana can control is her diet, with Larraín placing her bulimia at the center of the story.
This is an unofficial sister movie to Larraín’s brilliantly tense Jackie Kennedy drama Jackie, which starred Natalie Portman in a thematically similar role: A glamorous and high-strung celebrity wife, privately breaking down while spectators dog her every move. Like Jackie, Spencer is full of claustrophobic handheld camera shots chasing its protagonist down palatial hallways. And like Jackie, it’s dominated by unsettling music—in this case, written by the brilliant Jonny Greenwood (Phantom Thread). Greenwood’s score ratchets up the tension with jazzy, off-tempo percussion and repetitive orchestral riffs, surrounding Diana as she repeatedly tries and fails to escape the restrictions of palace life.
Stewart is an unabashedly weird casting choice for Diana; an edgy American star playing an icon of sentimental British nostalgia. She also arrives in the midst of a renewed interest in Diana as a public figure, thanks to The Crown (a more straightforward style of biopic), the much-derided Diana: The Musical, and the recent buzz of attention around Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s separation from the royal family. Spencer is now playing in theaters.
—Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, staff writer
DAILY DOT PICKS
 CULTURAL OBSESSIONS Are Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson Hollywood’s funniest feud? Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson have the best kind of Hollywood feud. It’s petty. It’s ego-driven. And since neither of them is necessarily in the wrong, you’re free to take sides with impunity. Almost as if this whole thing was partially orchestrated by a former professional wrestler!
The feud may stem from both actors wanting to be the top dog of the Fast and Furious franchise. An unsolvable conundrum, because while Vin Diesel is the producer and first-billed star, Dwayne Johnson is probably more famous outright.
Johnson joined the franchise in Fast Five (2011), but by Fate of the Furious (2017) the two actors were openly feuding, with Johnson calling out unnamed “candy asses” and “chicken shits” among his male co-stars. Johnson’s character Hobbs then moved over to his own spinoff, leaving the main Furious crew behind. But according to Diesel’s latest Instagram post, Diesel wants to build bridges and invite Johnson back for the 10th movie.
While allegedly an attempt to make peace, this post carries some obvious callbacks to the ongoing feud. Let us first take a look at the photo. It’s a shot from Fast Five, but it’s not a high-quality screenshot. It looks kind of warped, making Vin Diesel appear larger than the Rock. This seems to be a recurring insecurity for Diesel, as proven by an infamous scene that was filmed to make Diesel look bigger when the two are standing face to face.
Read the full analysis here. —G.B.W.
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 Wednesday 11.10.21 Today is Call to Earth Day, a time to raise awareness of environmental issues and engage with conservation education. How can you participate? Just do something positive for the environment today! Pick up trash, recycle, reduce your consumption or learn about something new. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.   Capitol riot
New subpoenas continue to flow from the committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. The panel announced 10 more subpoenas yesterday, following six on Monday. These new subpoenas affect a range of high-profile officials close to Donald Trump during his presidency, including senior adviser Stephen Miller and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. (Here’s a breakdown of why each person is being called.) Meanwhile, a federal judge denied Trump’s attempt to withhold records from the committee, allowing it to access hundreds of pages of documents from his time in office. The National Archives is scheduled to deliver a trove of call logs, video logs, schedules and notes to the House on Friday.
Climate
Despite ongoing climate promises from world powers, Earth is on track for at least 2.4 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels by 2030, according to a new climate watchdog analysis. Climate Action Tracker also found that while the net-zero goals of 40 countries account for 85% of global emissions cuts, only 6% of those were backed up by concrete plans. Still, climate talks in Scotland continue. COP26 delegates are now negotiating the details of a Glasgow Agreement to try to limit the global warming goal to 1.5 degrees. A separate global deal on electric vehicles was expected today but is getting pushback from the US, China and Germany.
Infrastructure
The 13 Republicans who voted for President Biden’s $1.2 infrastructure bill are facing retaliation from their own party. Some conservative House Republicans have discussed booting their colleagues from committee spots, though they are unlikely to succeed. Trump also criticized the group, calling them RINOs (“Republicans In Name Only,” a common GOP insult), and saying in a statement that all who “voted for Democrat longevity should be ashamed of themselves.” Biden chastised GOP retaliation efforts, saying he hopes to get back to “civility.” While it may take years for some of the projects covered in the bill to get underway, initial funds could be released over the next six months, providing a jolt to a backlog of projects across the country.
Coronavirus
As expected, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they are seeking an amendment to the FDA’s emergency use authorization for their Covid-19 vaccine that would allow booster shots for everyone 18 and older. Federal health officials have repeatedly expressed concern about waning immunity as the US enters the winter months. The public is facing another dangerous pandemic obstacle as well: misinformation. Nearly 80% of Americans have been exposed to false claims about Covid-19, according to survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, with the most common claim being that the government is exaggerating Covid-19 death counts. About 3 in 10 respondents believed or weren’t sure about common vaccine misinformation regarding side effects.
China
Chinese President Xi Jinping says Beijing is willing to “enhance exchanges and cooperation across the board” with the US ahead of a virtual meeting with Biden planned for as soon as next week. Xi’s statements bring hope for slightly warming relations between the two powers, which have often been at odds. Domestically, China is facing its own challenges. Inflation is raging there, and the cost of goods leaving China’s factories surged by another record rate last month. Last week, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce directed local governments to encourage families to stock up on food and daily essentials in case of supply disruptions. Chinese consumers aren’t the only ones feeling the price pinch, either. China’s role as the “world’s factory” means higher inflation there could lead to higher inflation worldwide.
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People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Paul Rudd is People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’
Nobel laureate and human rights activist Malala Yousafzai got married
Anchor Brian Williams is leaving MSNBC and NBC News
Even hot dogs, burgers and deli meats will soon get more expensive
Honeybees make a chilling warning noise when attacked by hive-destroying murder hornets
855,000 That’s about how many people became naturalized US citizens in fiscal year 2021. That’s the highest number in more than a decade and a massive rebound from 2020’s pandemic-impacted tally. 
As you lay your flower, we at Arlington encourage you to reflect on the meaning of the Tomb. By the simple act of laying a flower, you are not only honoring the three unknowns buried here but all unknown or missing American service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.
Tim Frank, Arlington National Cemetery historian. For the first time in nearly 100 years, members of the public can walk on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier plaza and lay flowers before the sacred memorial site before Veteran’s Day tomorrow.
Brought to you by CNN Underscored  The best bidets of 2021 If you’re one of the many adopting a bidet for the first time, it can be a confusing process to find the right one. That’s why we spent more than three months testing 18 of the most popular bidets on the market to find the very best. Here are four we love.
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Daily Digest |
- Pete Buttigieg’s slush fund
- Winsome Sears pushes back
- The New York Times does inflation
- Loose Ends (143)
- Vax You, Part Two
| Pete Buttigieg’s slush fund
Posted: 09 Nov 2021 05:12 PM PST (Paul Mirengoff)Some of the $1.2 trillion to be spent pursuant to the bipartisan infrastructure bill will be devoted to true infrastructure. That portion of the money presumably would have been appropriated had Donald Trump ever gotten around to presenting, and been able to enact, an infrastructure bill. But a goodly portion of the $1.2 trillion is pork. That money will be directed to groups favored by Democrats and in many cases will have little to do with actual infrastructure. John Fund identifies one aspect of this problem in an article called “Pete Buttigieg’s new slush fund.” He writes:
Fund answers his own question:
The reference to “critical race theory” has to do, I assume, with the view that “past transportation projects” caused “inequities.” Spending money to combat these inequities is a form of reparations. Buttigieg supports his claim of past inequities at least in part by citing Robert Caro’s biography of Robert Moses:
But according to Fund, this story is a myth. He cites Thomas Campanella, who wrote:
I don’t doubt that there were cases in the 1950s in which low income neighborhoods, some of them Black, were designated for destruction or serious alteration by highway planners because they were easy targets. But, as Fund says, that doesn’t mean the transportation system is built on widely racist terms. Moreover, how will Buttigieg’s slush fund repair whatever inequities might have resulted from past transportation projects? Assume that Moses had harmed Blacks in New York by not providing bus service to the Rockaways. Do Blacks have a problem getting there now, almost 70 years later? Or is Buttigieg just trying to compensate modern-day Blacks for days at the beach their ancestors, or those who simply share their skin color, may have missed? Suppose a federally funded highway did wreck a particular black neighborhood in the 1950s. The victims mostly are no longer with us. Their children and grandchildren are not necessarily worse off than they would have been had their ancestors’ neighborhoods not been targeted. Indeed, how would one quantify even the harm the direct victims suffered in the 1950s? It looks to me like the notion of “past transportations inequities” is just an excuse to spend a disproportionate amount of “infrastructure” money to benefit one racial group — Blacks. And I’m pretty sure that Buttigieg, who was unable to gain any traction with African-American voters in 2019-20, will use the fund aggressively and discriminatorily, in the hope of improving his image with these voters in case he runs for office again. |
| Winsome Sears pushes back
Posted: 09 Nov 2021 11:39 AM PST (Paul Mirengoff)Winsome Sears, Virginia’s lieutenant governor elect, is the latest black conservative to be slandered by black race hustlers. She has come under attack from the likes Joy Reid and Michael Eric Dyson. Dyson, a fast-talking professor, says that when Sears speaks, “there is a Black mouth moving but a white idea running on the runway of the tongue of a figure who justifies and legitimates the white supremacist practices.” Give the man style points for this racialist gibberish. As Bernard Goldberg says, “if there’s anything that liberal elites, especially Black liberal elites, hate more than white rednecks, it’s Black conservatives.” They especially hate black conservatives who enjoy major success. These conservatives are walking rebuke to the race-mongering left’s slanderous narrative of America. The thing I like most about Sears is that she pushes back. Of Joy Reid, Sears says:
(Emphasis added) I bolded the part about not doing “anything special” because I suspect this is what the race hustlers hate most — the truth that the success (or failure) of African-Americans in this country is largely in their hands. They succeed based on what they do — e.g. stay in school and study — and don’t do — e.g. take drugs, have kids out of wedlock in their teens, and commit crimes. This formula isn’t enough to elevate a Black (or a White) to lieutenant governor. Sears is being modest. But it is enough to live a good life in America. This is the heart of the alleged “white supremacist” message that the left tries to suppress through name-calling. |
| The New York Times does inflation
Posted: 09 Nov 2021 10:01 AM PST (Paul Mirengoff)My friend the New York Times reader calls my attention to this article called “Americans Are Flush With Cash and Jobs. They Also Think the Economy Is Awful.” The suggestion is that Americans are too dumb to realize how prosperous they are. The author cuts Americans some slack, though. He blames our misperception of how we’re doing on inflation. His thesis is that when prices are rising, we’re misled into thinking there’s a problem with the economy. The Times-man bases this argument on one truth about inflation — that inflation, in and of itself, doesn’t take money out of the economy. It just redistributes money:
(Emphasis added) The left favors income redistribution providing the winners are from the right class of people. When old, mostly white people on fixed incomes lose out to fast food workers, for example, leftists are apt to be pleased. But the other main truth about inflation is that it’s disruptive. Rising prices make it difficult for people to plan. Low income, middle income, and even some upper income households operate on a budget. They need to know what they will spend on food, for example, each month. Inflation thwarts that goal. Manufacturers also need to know what the things they use to make stuff are going to cost. So do others who invest capital. They also want to know what the interest rates are likely to be going forward. When they don’t know these things, they may hesitate to invest or make inefficient investments and other poor decisions. Thus, at a certain level, inflation doesn’t just redistribute money, it is also a drag on the economy. This may be why the Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell, in an article along the same lines as the Times’, concedes that “that inflation is real [and] it’s painful. . .for businesses, consumers and workers.” Thus, she concludes that it’s “unhelpful — both economically and politically — to pretend” that inflation isn’t harmful. Rampell claims that Biden isn’t pretending this. She presents evidence that he’s starting to give lip service to the problem of inflation, as well he might given a poll in which 60 percent of Americans said the president isn’t paying enough attention to inflation. But actions speak louder than words, and pumping trillions of dollars into the economy is likely to accelerate, not stem the inflationary tide. UPDATE: This just in from AP:
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| Loose Ends (143)
Posted: 09 Nov 2021 09:11 AM PST (Steven Hayward)• Just when you think the Climatista Cult can’t get any crazier (like just yesterday), naturally it does:
Chaser: More and more leftists cite climate change and other fashionable paranoias as reasons not to have children. I want to reinforce this view. Much better for the future of humanity if leftists don’t reproduce. • Speaking of cultists, news out of Hollywood is that Leo diCaprio is close to signing on to play one-time Bay Area Democratic Party favorite Jim Jones in a movie about Jones and Jonestown. If the deal does come to pass, the casting is perfect, since diCaprio has already drunk the climate change Kool Aid. • Where’s Gavin? California’s governor, the winsome Newsom, has disappeared. He abruptly canceled plans to attend the Glasgow Gas Grope over climate change at the end of last month, and hasn’t been seen for more than 10 days. His office initially said that he was attending to some “family matters,” and now claims that he was working in the capitol several of the last few days, but the media seems uninterested in corroborating that claim, or staking out the French Laundry. For that matter, has anyone checked the Appalachian Trail? • Someone else who seems to be in the Democratic Party’s Witness Protection Program is Vice President Harris. She’s off to Paris this week “for a series of fence-mending meetings and high-profile, symbolic events,” as the Washington Post describes it. “Symbolic events” is perfect for our symbolic V.P. Maybe the French will keep her? A nation that swooned over Jerry Lewis movies just might like her giggle-cackle act. Meanwhile, “progressives” are said to be unhappy with the Harris-Biden Administration. You just hate to see this happen (according to Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times):
Poor lonely progressives. It breaks your heart to hear such tales of unrequited love. This paragraph is also interesting:
Finally, this bit at the end offers more confirmation of the hypothesis that “progressivism” is simply the dominant form of status consciousness on the left these days:
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| Vax You, Part Two
Posted: 09 Nov 2021 08:12 AM PST (John Hinderaker)I wrote here about the fact that, unfortunately, the anti-covid vaccines do not reliably stop those who get them from either contracting or spreading covid. This negates the argument in favor of vaccine mandates and passports, since the real benefit of a vaccine is in reducing the severity of infection, not in preventing its spread to others. But data released yesterday by the Minnesota Department of Health cast doubt on the effectiveness of the vaccines, even as to those who receive them. For the week ending November 8, 111 out of 168 newly announced “covid deaths”–66%–were among the fully vaccinated. Likewise, 347 out of 883 hospital admissions for covid (or with covid)–39%–were of the fully vaccinated. (Via Healthy Skeptic.) There is nothing unique about Minnesota, so I assume that these numbers are being replicated, more or less, elsewhere. Here in Minnesota, our state government is relentlessly pressing everyone to be vaccinated, including small children. The state is offering $200 to kids who get vaccinated, and entering them in a lottery to win $100,000 in college scholarships. Given how little effect covid has on children–possibly less, in some cases, than the vaccines themselves–this is madness. But the machine of state rolls on, demanding that all of us be vaccinated even as the case for mandatory vaccination has fallen apart, and the prudential case for vaccination grows weaker. A final point: watch for leftists like Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to tell us that the number of vaccinated “covid deaths” should be disregarded because the vast majority of those people didn’t actually die on account of covid. They died of cancer, fatal accident, etc., and coincidentally tested positive for covid. The same with hospitalizations. Now they tell us! It has been true all along that the number of “covid deaths” has been grossly exaggerated, both because of liberal interpretations of covid death and on account of the cash bonus the federal government pays under Medicare if the covid box is checked, regardless of the actual cause of death. But this overcount of covid deaths is presumably the same for vaccinated and non-vaccinated persons, and therefore does not alter the fact that vaccination is proving not to be a reliable safeguard. |
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85.) THE POLITICAL INSIDER – WAKE UP EDITION
86.) THE PATRIOT POST
87.) DECISION DESK HQ
88.) DIGG
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89.) THE POLITICAL INSIDER – LUNCH BREAK
90.) CONSERVATIVE TRIBUNE
91.) USA TODAY
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92.) THE DAILY BEAST
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93.) JUST THE NEWS
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94.) SHARYL ATTKISSON
95.) RIGHTWING.ORG
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96.) NOT THE BEE
97.) US NEWS & WORLD REPORT
98.) NEWSMAX
99.) MARK LEVIN
November 9, 2021
On Tuesday’s Mark Levin Show, President Biden attempted to silence free speech by nominating Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to control the airwaves and destroy conservative talk radio. Sohn says she will shackle broadband providers and censor Fox News by preventing cable providers from carrying the network. If confirmed, Sohn will likely end free speech on the airwaves unless patriots speak up. Then, in March of 2017 when this program deduced from publicly available reports that candidate Trump had been spied on, we were attacked yet it turned out to be true. Despite the top intelligence and law enforcement officials being aware of these false claims they still injected them into their spheres of influence. Newly declassified memos show that current National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan delivered some of this false information to then-President Obama and others in the White House. This whole scheme was hatched by Hillary Clinton, the Obama Administration, and the Democrat National Committee and truly is the greatest insurrection in American history. Later, columnist Julie Kelly calls in with an update on the pretrial detention of the January 6th political prisoners. It’s nonsensical to think that the FBI was not involved since the FBI had so many informants inside of these various groups. It’s interesting to note that AG Garland wouldn’t comment on this when questioned in Congress. Was this attack actually instigated by the feds? Meanwhile, it seems abundantly clear that Kyle Rittenhouse did not murder anyone. In fact, the government’s star witness (a communist sympathizer) made the self-defense case for the prosecution. Afterward, former White House Press Secretary and author Sean Spicer joins the show to discuss his new book “RADICAL NATION: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s Dangerous Plan for America.” Spicer added that America can become radicalized right under our noses if citizens don’t pay attention and take action.
THIS IS FROM:
Wall St Journal
A Media Censor for the FCC?
The Federalist
DNI Declassifies Handwritten Notes From John Brennan, 2016 CIA Referral On Clinton Campaign’s Collusion Operation (October 2020)
NY Post
Biden NSA Jake Sullivan’s future questioned over Russia hoax ‘role’
Rumble
Morgan Ortagus Confronts Adam Schiff About Debunked Steele Dossier: You Spread Disinformation
American Greatness
Where Are the Neon-Hatted Proud Boys?
NY Post
Obama seems to confuse countries, refers to Scotland ‘Emerald Isles’
The podcast for this show can be streamed or downloaded from the Audio Rewind page.
Image used with permission of Getty Images / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
100.) WOLF DAILY
101.) THE GELLER REPORT
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102.) CNS
103.) RELIABLE NEWS
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104.) INDEPENDENT SENTINEL
105.) DC CLOTHESLINE
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106.) ARTICLE V LEGISLATORS’ CAUCUS
107.) BECKER NEWS
108.) SONS OF LIBERTY
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109.) STARS & STRIPES
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110.) RIGHT & FREE
111.) UNITED VOICE
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112.) THE DAILY SHAPIRO
113.) INSURGENT CONSERVATIVES
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The terrible election results for Democrats are going to lead to some terrible conclusions. One may be the assumption that these bad results reflect a media…
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Apparently the man had been arrested for a separate charge only two days prior.
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‘It’s astonishing he can’t find his voice on this.’
Insurgent Conservatives
PO Box 8161 Greenwood, IN 46142
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114.) WAKING TIMES
115.) UNCOVER DC