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September 19, 2022
Hey, ‘Gov. Florida Man,’ Martha’s Vineyard is far more than your tired, old stereotype | Opinion
BY ALEXANDRA STYRON UPDATED SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 4:56 PM
Dear Gov. DeSantis,
As the chief executive of your state, and one of its civic boosters, I’m sure you’ve wearied of the Florida Man meme: Florida Man attacked during selfie with squirrel; Florida Man arrested for throwing alligator through drive-thru window; Florida Man trapped in unlocked closet for two days.
The frequency and variety of these headlines is not a good look. The state may be shaped like a gun but, thanks to Florida Man, it sometimes seems more like a funnel, drawing ever southward the hapless, the dangerous, the aggressively dumb.
Of course that’s a gross mischaracterization of Florida’s citizenry. Take you, for instance. Graduate of Yale. J.D. from Harvard. Ten years in elected government office. Even the “legacy media” you so disdain — The New York Times, The New Yorker — have been fulsome in its praise of your intelligence, ambition and cunning. You’re like inverse Florida Man! I imagine you chafe at the jokes about Floridians being stupid. No one likes being reduced to a cliché.
But clichés were surely top of mind for you Wednesday when, without warning, you sent two chartered planes, carrying 50 South American migrants, to Martha’s Vineyard. Your ideas about what these people represent to you can be easily gleaned from your previous anti-immigrant tactics. Sting operations to round up “illegals” whom you falsely accused of trafficking fentanyl. Blaming a summer coronavirus surge — again, without merit — on President Biden letting “COVID-infected migrants pour over our border by the hundreds of thousands.” ...............(more)
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article266035816.html#storylink=cpy
Hey, 'Gov. Florida Man,' Martha's Vineyard is far more than your tired, old stereotype
Hey, ‘Gov. Florida Man,’ Martha’s Vineyard is far more than your tired, old stereotype | Opinion
BY ALEXANDRA STYRON UPDATED SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 4:56 PM
Dear Gov. DeSantis,
As the chief executive of your state, and one of its civic boosters, I’m sure you’ve wearied of the Florida Man meme: Florida Man attacked during selfie with squirrel; Florida Man arrested for throwing alligator through drive-thru window; Florida Man trapped in unlocked closet for two days.
The frequency and variety of these headlines is not a good look. The state may be shaped like a gun but, thanks to Florida Man, it sometimes seems more like a funnel, drawing ever southward the hapless, the dangerous, the aggressively dumb.
Of course that’s a gross mischaracterization of Florida’s citizenry. Take you, for instance. Graduate of Yale. J.D. from Harvard. Ten years in elected government office. Even the “legacy media” you so disdain — The New York Times, The New Yorker — have been fulsome in its praise of your intelligence, ambition and cunning. You’re like inverse Florida Man! I imagine you chafe at the jokes about Floridians being stupid. No one likes being reduced to a cliché.
But clichés were surely top of mind for you Wednesday when, without warning, you sent two chartered planes, carrying 50 South American migrants, to Martha’s Vineyard. Your ideas about what these people represent to you can be easily gleaned from your previous anti-immigrant tactics. Sting operations to round up “illegals” whom you falsely accused of trafficking fentanyl. Blaming a summer coronavirus surge — again, without merit — on President Biden letting “COVID-infected migrants pour over our border by the hundreds of thousands.” ...............(more)
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article266035816.html#storylink=cpy
September 19, 2022
Republicans simply don’t believe that protecting the people of America is a legitimate function of government & they’re strengthened in that belief by far-right billionaires’ money showered on them
Thom Hartmann
20 min ago
Editorials in America’s major newspapers are shocked — shocked, I tell you! — that DeSantis and Abbott would exploit asylum-seekers to rack up votes from their racist base.
Whatever happened to government being the power that helped people, they want to know?
But it was entirely predictable. Even, recently, by actual medical scientists.
The Lancet is arguably the most respected medical journal in the world. Founded in London in 1823, its reputation is impeccable and it only publishes science that’s peer-reviewed and scientifically sound.
Which is why their indictment of the four years of Republican rule under Trump, McConnell, and McCarthy — and the ongoing racism Republicans are today stoking — is particularly worthy of our attention. .............(more)
https://hartmannreport.com/p/lets-just-all-acknowledge-that-cruelty
Let's Just All Acknowledge That Cruelty & Death Is the GOP Brand
Let's Just All Acknowledge That Cruelty & Death Is the GOP BrandRepublicans simply don’t believe that protecting the people of America is a legitimate function of government & they’re strengthened in that belief by far-right billionaires’ money showered on them
Thom Hartmann
20 min ago
Editorials in America’s major newspapers are shocked — shocked, I tell you! — that DeSantis and Abbott would exploit asylum-seekers to rack up votes from their racist base.
Whatever happened to government being the power that helped people, they want to know?
But it was entirely predictable. Even, recently, by actual medical scientists.
The Lancet is arguably the most respected medical journal in the world. Founded in London in 1823, its reputation is impeccable and it only publishes science that’s peer-reviewed and scientifically sound.
Which is why their indictment of the four years of Republican rule under Trump, McConnell, and McCarthy — and the ongoing racism Republicans are today stoking — is particularly worthy of our attention. .............(more)
https://hartmannreport.com/p/lets-just-all-acknowledge-that-cruelty
September 17, 2022
from Slate:
Lindsey Graham
One neat trick to annoy everyone.
Republican leaders and campaign officials are trying their best to keep voter focus on inflation, crime, and immigration—and away from abortion. It came as an unwelcome surprise, then, when South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham held a press conference on Tuesday to introduce a bill that would ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks of pregnancy. (It would also allow any state with more stringent bans to keep them.) Democrats spent the remainder of the week skipping down the halls of Congress, leaping and clicking their heels, telling anyone and everyone about the Republican National Abortion Ban. Republican leaders, meanwhile, are trying to make it known that Graham was freelancing on this, abortion should be a state issue, and, also, (anonymously) that they hate Graham for doing this. He’s not getting a lot of help from the right-wing commentariat, either! So why would Graham, who only a few months ago felt abortion rights was a matter for the states, do this? Maybe he’s trying to stake out what he believes to be a middle ground on the issue, even though it isn’t. But he’s also trying to give something to the Republican base, which has seen its leaders scurrying away from the issue since Dobbs. As we wrote this week, Republicans would have greatly preferred not to have one of their most high-profile senators introduce an abortion ban before the midterms. This “leave it to the states” attitude, though, isn’t going to cut it in Republican primary politics for long.
....(snip)....
Chuck Schumer
A rare election-season show of good faith.
When last we checked on Senate negotiations over a bill to codify same-sex marriage rights, there was some Republican grousing over the finer points of protecting religious liberties and making it extra clear to polygamists that there wasn’t any room on the bus for them. Excuses, excuses—it was just getting close to Election Day, and Republicans were looking for an off-ramp from an issue that presented confusing politics for them. It looked more and more like negotiators wouldn’t be able to secure the necessary 10 Republican votes before the Senate broke at the end of the month. That left Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with a choice: hold a failed vote and campaign against Republicans on the issue, or punt the issue until the lame-duck session later this year when Republican votes would be more readily supplied. In a rare show of pre-election trust between the two sides, Schumer agreed to the latter. There must have been a strong commitment from Republicans to supply enough votes after the election, because Schumer would have loved to pound them for blocking it ahead of the election. Just as the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a signature win for President Barack Obama following Election Day 2010, so could federal protection of same-sex marriage rights be for President Joe Biden following Election Day 2022.
Mehmet Oz
I love same-sex marriage! Vote for me, a moderate!
A little more about the confusing politics of same-sex marriage for Republicans … Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson was receptive to voting for same-sex marriage in a swing state where he’s up for reelection, got some base feedback, and then said, “Blah blah religious liberty” and skedaddled for the exit. In Pennsylvania, though, Mehmet Oz this week said that he supports same-sex marriage rights. Here, his interest in proving to decisive suburban voters that he’s not an unlikable weirdo outweighed his interest in proving to Republican base voters that he’s not an unlikable weirdo. Johnson, on the other hand, is already understood to be an unlikable weirdo but wins every election he runs in anyway, so why change now? The point is: Though they land on different sides in states with similar profiles, both candidates would prefer for same-sex marriage to just not be an issue right now. .............(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/09/the-surge-lindsey-graham-trump-abortion-midterms.html
The Surge: Lindsay Graham Goes Rogue
from Slate:
Lindsey Graham
One neat trick to annoy everyone.
Republican leaders and campaign officials are trying their best to keep voter focus on inflation, crime, and immigration—and away from abortion. It came as an unwelcome surprise, then, when South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham held a press conference on Tuesday to introduce a bill that would ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks of pregnancy. (It would also allow any state with more stringent bans to keep them.) Democrats spent the remainder of the week skipping down the halls of Congress, leaping and clicking their heels, telling anyone and everyone about the Republican National Abortion Ban. Republican leaders, meanwhile, are trying to make it known that Graham was freelancing on this, abortion should be a state issue, and, also, (anonymously) that they hate Graham for doing this. He’s not getting a lot of help from the right-wing commentariat, either! So why would Graham, who only a few months ago felt abortion rights was a matter for the states, do this? Maybe he’s trying to stake out what he believes to be a middle ground on the issue, even though it isn’t. But he’s also trying to give something to the Republican base, which has seen its leaders scurrying away from the issue since Dobbs. As we wrote this week, Republicans would have greatly preferred not to have one of their most high-profile senators introduce an abortion ban before the midterms. This “leave it to the states” attitude, though, isn’t going to cut it in Republican primary politics for long.
....(snip)....
Chuck Schumer
A rare election-season show of good faith.
When last we checked on Senate negotiations over a bill to codify same-sex marriage rights, there was some Republican grousing over the finer points of protecting religious liberties and making it extra clear to polygamists that there wasn’t any room on the bus for them. Excuses, excuses—it was just getting close to Election Day, and Republicans were looking for an off-ramp from an issue that presented confusing politics for them. It looked more and more like negotiators wouldn’t be able to secure the necessary 10 Republican votes before the Senate broke at the end of the month. That left Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with a choice: hold a failed vote and campaign against Republicans on the issue, or punt the issue until the lame-duck session later this year when Republican votes would be more readily supplied. In a rare show of pre-election trust between the two sides, Schumer agreed to the latter. There must have been a strong commitment from Republicans to supply enough votes after the election, because Schumer would have loved to pound them for blocking it ahead of the election. Just as the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a signature win for President Barack Obama following Election Day 2010, so could federal protection of same-sex marriage rights be for President Joe Biden following Election Day 2022.
Mehmet Oz
I love same-sex marriage! Vote for me, a moderate!
A little more about the confusing politics of same-sex marriage for Republicans … Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson was receptive to voting for same-sex marriage in a swing state where he’s up for reelection, got some base feedback, and then said, “Blah blah religious liberty” and skedaddled for the exit. In Pennsylvania, though, Mehmet Oz this week said that he supports same-sex marriage rights. Here, his interest in proving to decisive suburban voters that he’s not an unlikable weirdo outweighed his interest in proving to Republican base voters that he’s not an unlikable weirdo. Johnson, on the other hand, is already understood to be an unlikable weirdo but wins every election he runs in anyway, so why change now? The point is: Though they land on different sides in states with similar profiles, both candidates would prefer for same-sex marriage to just not be an issue right now. .............(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/09/the-surge-lindsey-graham-trump-abortion-midterms.html
September 17, 2022
Temporary changes to rail schedules on certain routes will allow the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to provide more reliable service; the authority reports in an update to its efforts to deliver on its post-pandemic “Meeting the Moment” transformation plan.
CTA says one of customers’ most frequent comments is the unpredictability of wait times. To address this, CTA wants to see its schedule optimization that aligns scheduled service with its available workforce, provides more consistent intervals between trains and reduces instances of large or inconsistent service gaps.
The rail schedule optimization changes took effect in mid-August on the Red, Blue, Orange, Purple and Brown lines. Trains that were scheduled, but that could not be covered due to staffing challenges, were removed and the remaining trains spaced out at more consistent intervals until additional personnel are available to operate the temporarily removed trains. CTA says it continues to pursue aggressive hiring strategies and notes scheduled rail service has had more even service throughout the day since schedule optimization was implemented.
The authority reports early results include a 64 percent drop in large service gaps on the Blue Line during weekday service and a 40 percent decrease in large gaps on the Red Line. ....................(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/article/21280851/cta-reports-on-rail-service-optimization-progress
Chicago: CTA reports on rail service optimization progress
Temporary changes to rail schedules on certain routes will allow the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to provide more reliable service; the authority reports in an update to its efforts to deliver on its post-pandemic “Meeting the Moment” transformation plan.
CTA says one of customers’ most frequent comments is the unpredictability of wait times. To address this, CTA wants to see its schedule optimization that aligns scheduled service with its available workforce, provides more consistent intervals between trains and reduces instances of large or inconsistent service gaps.
The rail schedule optimization changes took effect in mid-August on the Red, Blue, Orange, Purple and Brown lines. Trains that were scheduled, but that could not be covered due to staffing challenges, were removed and the remaining trains spaced out at more consistent intervals until additional personnel are available to operate the temporarily removed trains. CTA says it continues to pursue aggressive hiring strategies and notes scheduled rail service has had more even service throughout the day since schedule optimization was implemented.
The authority reports early results include a 64 percent drop in large service gaps on the Blue Line during weekday service and a 40 percent decrease in large gaps on the Red Line. ....................(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/article/21280851/cta-reports-on-rail-service-optimization-progress
September 17, 2022
They have him surrounded: Trump now faces legal troubles in three states, plus D.C.
No one can promise Trump won't get away. But he's sweating — and he wakes up every day faced with huge legal bills
By LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT IV
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 8:00AM
(Salon) If you just count the number of cellphones seized over the past few months from Trump cronies, you would have to conclude he's in deep doo-doo. Trump is known for eschewing emails and texts — and fuhgeddaboudit when it comes to putting his name on actual sheets of paper, unless they're executive orders banning Muslims and ripping immigrant children from the arms of their mothers.
Trump is a phone guy, and his favorite thing to do as president was to get on the phone and swap gossip and plot with his close associates. One of them was My Pillow Guy Mike Lindell, a frequent visitor to the Trump White House and a longtime supporter. Lindell's cellphone was seized by the FBI on Wednesday. Lindell appeared at Trump's Jan. 6, 2021, rally on the Ellipse and has been used regularly this year to warm up crowds at Trump rallies in Illinois, Florida, Arizona and other states. Lindell's phone was taken as part of a DOJ probe into the theft of voting data and voting machines in several states, including Michigan, Georgia and Colorado. Lindell published private voter data stolen from a voting machine in Colorado on his website, Frank Speech.
Another cellphone seized by the FBI as part of its criminal investigation into Trump belonged to former law school professor John Eastman, the author of the infamous memo planning the submission of slates of fake electors to Congress from battleground states lost by Trump. The FBI also took possession of the cellphone of Scott Perry, the Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who introduced Jeffrey Clark to Trump. Clark was an acting assistant attorney general whom Trump considered appointing to the top post as part of his plan to overturn the election results in Georgia. Just this week, the FBI took the cellphones of Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who now serves as an in-house counsel coordinating the handling of Trump's various legal woes, and Mike Roman, who was the Trump campaign's director of Election Day operations and is now an aide to the former president. Both Epshteyn and Roman are suspected of being part of the scheme to name fake electors from states Trump lost in 2020.
....(snip)....
It is not known which of the two Washington grand juries issued the subpoenas concerning the Trump super PAC, but sources told the AP that some of the subpoenas and search warrants issued recently sought information about Trump's fund-raising activities.
So in Washington alone Trump is under investigation for the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, for his mishandling of classified and other government records, for his involvement in the fake elector scheme and for his fund-raising with the Save America PAC.
....(snip)....
As for Trump himself, well, your guess is as good as mine. But right now, he's looking a lot like Custer at Little Bighorn – surrounded on all sides with no way out. He's been there before when he faced two impeachments, but many of the people who defended him then, including his former White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, have already testified before grand juries investigating Trump and cannot be counted on to have his back this time. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/17/they-have-him-surrounded-now-faces-legal-troubles-in-three-states-plus-dc/
They have him surrounded: Trump now faces legal troubles in three states, plus D.C.
They have him surrounded: Trump now faces legal troubles in three states, plus D.C.
No one can promise Trump won't get away. But he's sweating — and he wakes up every day faced with huge legal bills
By LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT IV
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 8:00AM
(Salon) If you just count the number of cellphones seized over the past few months from Trump cronies, you would have to conclude he's in deep doo-doo. Trump is known for eschewing emails and texts — and fuhgeddaboudit when it comes to putting his name on actual sheets of paper, unless they're executive orders banning Muslims and ripping immigrant children from the arms of their mothers.
Trump is a phone guy, and his favorite thing to do as president was to get on the phone and swap gossip and plot with his close associates. One of them was My Pillow Guy Mike Lindell, a frequent visitor to the Trump White House and a longtime supporter. Lindell's cellphone was seized by the FBI on Wednesday. Lindell appeared at Trump's Jan. 6, 2021, rally on the Ellipse and has been used regularly this year to warm up crowds at Trump rallies in Illinois, Florida, Arizona and other states. Lindell's phone was taken as part of a DOJ probe into the theft of voting data and voting machines in several states, including Michigan, Georgia and Colorado. Lindell published private voter data stolen from a voting machine in Colorado on his website, Frank Speech.
Another cellphone seized by the FBI as part of its criminal investigation into Trump belonged to former law school professor John Eastman, the author of the infamous memo planning the submission of slates of fake electors to Congress from battleground states lost by Trump. The FBI also took possession of the cellphone of Scott Perry, the Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who introduced Jeffrey Clark to Trump. Clark was an acting assistant attorney general whom Trump considered appointing to the top post as part of his plan to overturn the election results in Georgia. Just this week, the FBI took the cellphones of Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who now serves as an in-house counsel coordinating the handling of Trump's various legal woes, and Mike Roman, who was the Trump campaign's director of Election Day operations and is now an aide to the former president. Both Epshteyn and Roman are suspected of being part of the scheme to name fake electors from states Trump lost in 2020.
....(snip)....
It is not known which of the two Washington grand juries issued the subpoenas concerning the Trump super PAC, but sources told the AP that some of the subpoenas and search warrants issued recently sought information about Trump's fund-raising activities.
So in Washington alone Trump is under investigation for the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, for his mishandling of classified and other government records, for his involvement in the fake elector scheme and for his fund-raising with the Save America PAC.
....(snip)....
As for Trump himself, well, your guess is as good as mine. But right now, he's looking a lot like Custer at Little Bighorn – surrounded on all sides with no way out. He's been there before when he faced two impeachments, but many of the people who defended him then, including his former White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, have already testified before grand juries investigating Trump and cannot be counted on to have his back this time. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/17/they-have-him-surrounded-now-faces-legal-troubles-in-three-states-plus-dc/
September 16, 2022
Ron DeSantis tries to trump Trump with cynical, sadistic migrant flights
There's an ugly history behind this week's Martha's Vineyard atrocity — even if Trump thinks it was all his idea
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 9:56AM (EDT)
(Salon) There were so many scandals during the Trump years that it's hard to remember all. Some stand out, of course, like his blatant obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation and his attempted extortion against the Ukrainian government in hopes of smearing Joe Biden. And of course Trump went out with a bang, attempting a coup and inciting an insurrection. Those things got him impeached — and may end up getting him indicted. But there was so much more.
You certainly recall the horrific family separation policy at the border, which caused an international outcry and was finally reversed under pressure. Trump eventually did build segments of his silly wall, but did not get the sharp spikes on top or the alligator moat, ideas he actually raised at various points. He asked whether the Border Patrol or National Guard could shoot undocumented immigrants at border crossings (OK, maybe just in the leg) and he campaigned on the idea of reviving the hideous 1950s policy "Operation Wetback," which rounded up immigrants (and sometimes U.S. citizens as well) and dropped them off in the Mexican desert with no food, water or money. Luckily, American law has evolved enough to prevent such inhumane practices, which I'm sure disappointed him. (These days he's proposing a similar approach with unhoused citizens in American cities, so the idea has stuck with him.)
....(snip)....
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott apparently saluted smartly and got right to work. By early August he was sending busloads of asylum-seekers to New York and Washington, D.C., "as part of the Governor's response to the Biden Administration's open border policies," as an official statement from his office put it. (Never mind that the Biden administration has no such policies.)
....(snip)....
Not to be outdone by Abbott's stunt, the GOP's current troll king, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, decided this week to take Carlson's advice to send asylum seekers to Martha's Vineyard, the affluent resort island off the coast of Massachusetts. Even though Florida is not a border state, DeSantis has already had the state legislature appropriate millions for the purpose of sending migrants out of state. (His lieutenant governor made a major gaffe, however, when she suggested the state might use that money to send the recent influx of Cuban refugees back to that island, a huge political no-no in Florida.)
Since DeSantis didn't have any refugees readily available to expel this week, he used his forced deportation money to charter a couple of jets and coerce migrants who were in Texas — halfway across the country — to board them, claiming they were being sent to Boston with promises of resources and support. Instead the migrants were dropped off on Martha's Vineyard, a famous summer resort with a year-round population of around 15,000. No one there knew they were coming, and they were essentially dumped at the island's tiny airport like cargo. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/16/ron-desantis-tries-to-with-cynical-sadistic-migrant-flights/
Ron DeSantis tries to trump Trump with cynical, sadistic migrant flights
Ron DeSantis tries to trump Trump with cynical, sadistic migrant flights
There's an ugly history behind this week's Martha's Vineyard atrocity — even if Trump thinks it was all his idea
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 9:56AM (EDT)
(Salon) There were so many scandals during the Trump years that it's hard to remember all. Some stand out, of course, like his blatant obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation and his attempted extortion against the Ukrainian government in hopes of smearing Joe Biden. And of course Trump went out with a bang, attempting a coup and inciting an insurrection. Those things got him impeached — and may end up getting him indicted. But there was so much more.
You certainly recall the horrific family separation policy at the border, which caused an international outcry and was finally reversed under pressure. Trump eventually did build segments of his silly wall, but did not get the sharp spikes on top or the alligator moat, ideas he actually raised at various points. He asked whether the Border Patrol or National Guard could shoot undocumented immigrants at border crossings (OK, maybe just in the leg) and he campaigned on the idea of reviving the hideous 1950s policy "Operation Wetback," which rounded up immigrants (and sometimes U.S. citizens as well) and dropped them off in the Mexican desert with no food, water or money. Luckily, American law has evolved enough to prevent such inhumane practices, which I'm sure disappointed him. (These days he's proposing a similar approach with unhoused citizens in American cities, so the idea has stuck with him.)
....(snip)....
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott apparently saluted smartly and got right to work. By early August he was sending busloads of asylum-seekers to New York and Washington, D.C., "as part of the Governor's response to the Biden Administration's open border policies," as an official statement from his office put it. (Never mind that the Biden administration has no such policies.)
....(snip)....
Not to be outdone by Abbott's stunt, the GOP's current troll king, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, decided this week to take Carlson's advice to send asylum seekers to Martha's Vineyard, the affluent resort island off the coast of Massachusetts. Even though Florida is not a border state, DeSantis has already had the state legislature appropriate millions for the purpose of sending migrants out of state. (His lieutenant governor made a major gaffe, however, when she suggested the state might use that money to send the recent influx of Cuban refugees back to that island, a huge political no-no in Florida.)
Since DeSantis didn't have any refugees readily available to expel this week, he used his forced deportation money to charter a couple of jets and coerce migrants who were in Texas — halfway across the country — to board them, claiming they were being sent to Boston with promises of resources and support. Instead the migrants were dropped off on Martha's Vineyard, a famous summer resort with a year-round population of around 15,000. No one there knew they were coming, and they were essentially dumped at the island's tiny airport like cargo. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/16/ron-desantis-tries-to-with-cynical-sadistic-migrant-flights/
September 16, 2022
Two teams were named as preferred proponents on two contracts associated with the Ontario Line; a 15-station, 15.6-kilometer (9.7-mile) rail line that will stretch across Toronto and will be built using a mix of above ground and below ground rail infrastructure.
The Ontario Line rail project is being delivered through staged procurement packages in coordination with other significant transit projects. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have selected preferred proponents for two of these packages: the Ontario Line South Civil, Stations and Tunnel (South) and Ontario Line Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (RSSOM) contracts.
Ontario Transit Group has been named as the preferred proponent for the Ontario Line South contract. Ferrovial Construction Canada Inc. and VINCI Construction Grands projets will serve as the applicant lead. The design team consists of AECOM Canada Ltd., COWI North America Ltd., GHD Limited and SENER Group. The construction team includes Ferrovial Construction Canada Inc. and Janin Atlas Inc.; and the team’s financial advisor will be Agentis Capital.
The scope of work for the Ontario Line South contract includes 6.7 kilometers (4.2 miles) of rail infrastructure, including six kilometers (3.7 miles) of tunnels and seven stations—six of which will be underground. ..............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/article/21280983/preferred-proponent-teams-selected-for-two-contracts-associated-with-the-ontario-line
Toronto: Preferred proponent teams selected for two contracts associated with the Ontario Line
Two teams were named as preferred proponents on two contracts associated with the Ontario Line; a 15-station, 15.6-kilometer (9.7-mile) rail line that will stretch across Toronto and will be built using a mix of above ground and below ground rail infrastructure.
The Ontario Line rail project is being delivered through staged procurement packages in coordination with other significant transit projects. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have selected preferred proponents for two of these packages: the Ontario Line South Civil, Stations and Tunnel (South) and Ontario Line Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (RSSOM) contracts.
Ontario Transit Group has been named as the preferred proponent for the Ontario Line South contract. Ferrovial Construction Canada Inc. and VINCI Construction Grands projets will serve as the applicant lead. The design team consists of AECOM Canada Ltd., COWI North America Ltd., GHD Limited and SENER Group. The construction team includes Ferrovial Construction Canada Inc. and Janin Atlas Inc.; and the team’s financial advisor will be Agentis Capital.
The scope of work for the Ontario Line South contract includes 6.7 kilometers (4.2 miles) of rail infrastructure, including six kilometers (3.7 miles) of tunnels and seven stations—six of which will be underground. ..............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/article/21280983/preferred-proponent-teams-selected-for-two-contracts-associated-with-the-ontario-line
September 15, 2022
Uncle Joe believes: Behind the scenes, Democrats clearly now think they can win
A puzzling White House event this week sent a clear signal under the surface: Democratic confidence is soaring
By BRIAN KAREM
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 9:03AM
(Salon) The gathering on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday was billed as a celebration of the Inflation Reduction Act — a bill President Biden signed a month ago.
On the very day of the event, ironically enough, the latest economic numbers make clear that inflation is still with us. Never mind: Biden plunged into the event with gusto. Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Harris spoke before Levette Jacobs, an IBEW apprentice from Boston, took the stage and introduced the president.
It was a mixed-bag event with a variety of messages. Perhaps because of the news that morning, the warm-up acts celebrated organized labor, the president's accomplishments on infrastructure and his purported bipartisan appeal, and also addressed continuing problems with climate change and the continuing domestic threats against democracy.
....(snip)....
Then a very energetic Joe Biden took the stage. He spoke for nearly 30 minutes in the heat, after taking off his jacket, and then spent another 30 minutes shaking hands and meeting with supporters in the typically hot and humid D.C. weather. While his detractors say he's lost a step, the only step he actually lost on stage was when he stepped on his own suit jacket and apologized for that — noting that it was a good thing his mother wasn't around to give him grief for it. None of this will be acknowledged by Biden's political opponents, of course, who continue to purposely cast his lifelong problem with stuttering as evidence of dementia. Nor will they acknowledge that he can handle himself for an hour with a throng of people on a sticky day, with a dexterity and humor that should make most of them jealous.
....(snip)....
But it is Joe Biden who perhaps best understands the tone-deaf quality of the GOP and people like Graham. Though the press has preempted his speeches, never takes them live, downplays the daily briefings and otherwise gives him short shrift on many occasions, he perseveres — often getting ahead of the press and even his own communications staff (which is not hard to do). ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/15/uncle-joe-believes-behind-the-scenes-democrats-clearly-now-think-they-can-win/
Uncle Joe believes: Behind the scenes, Democrats clearly now think they can win
Uncle Joe believes: Behind the scenes, Democrats clearly now think they can win
A puzzling White House event this week sent a clear signal under the surface: Democratic confidence is soaring
By BRIAN KAREM
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 9:03AM
(Salon) The gathering on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday was billed as a celebration of the Inflation Reduction Act — a bill President Biden signed a month ago.
On the very day of the event, ironically enough, the latest economic numbers make clear that inflation is still with us. Never mind: Biden plunged into the event with gusto. Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Harris spoke before Levette Jacobs, an IBEW apprentice from Boston, took the stage and introduced the president.
It was a mixed-bag event with a variety of messages. Perhaps because of the news that morning, the warm-up acts celebrated organized labor, the president's accomplishments on infrastructure and his purported bipartisan appeal, and also addressed continuing problems with climate change and the continuing domestic threats against democracy.
....(snip)....
Then a very energetic Joe Biden took the stage. He spoke for nearly 30 minutes in the heat, after taking off his jacket, and then spent another 30 minutes shaking hands and meeting with supporters in the typically hot and humid D.C. weather. While his detractors say he's lost a step, the only step he actually lost on stage was when he stepped on his own suit jacket and apologized for that — noting that it was a good thing his mother wasn't around to give him grief for it. None of this will be acknowledged by Biden's political opponents, of course, who continue to purposely cast his lifelong problem with stuttering as evidence of dementia. Nor will they acknowledge that he can handle himself for an hour with a throng of people on a sticky day, with a dexterity and humor that should make most of them jealous.
....(snip)....
But it is Joe Biden who perhaps best understands the tone-deaf quality of the GOP and people like Graham. Though the press has preempted his speeches, never takes them live, downplays the daily briefings and otherwise gives him short shrift on many occasions, he perseveres — often getting ahead of the press and even his own communications staff (which is not hard to do). ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/15/uncle-joe-believes-behind-the-scenes-democrats-clearly-now-think-they-can-win/
September 14, 2022
Several public transit service providers throughout the United States marked positive ridership milestones this past week. The gains were driven by students returning to class for the fall term, promotional fares and a deliberate, gradual return to service.
In California, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has achieved 100,000 average weekday riders for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. OCTA says it has put an emphasis on the gradual, safe restoration of bus service, along with the implementation of programs that make riding the bus free for students and youth throughout Orange County.
“During the height of the pandemic, we saw a sharp decline in bus ridership,” said OCTA Chairman Mark A. Murphy, also the Mayor of Orange. “Now, it’s highly encouraging to see this steady climb, which is only possible through thoughtful planning, the hard work of coach operators and OCTA staff, and good relationships built with the community.”
Prior to the pandemic, the OC Bus system saw an average of nearly 120,000 riders per day. That number dropped in March and April 2020 to approximately 33,000 daily riders at its lowest. The recently reported 100,000 average weekday riders represents 88 percent of pre-pandemic ridership levels. ...............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/article/21280563/ridership-milestones-on-octa-mta-and-colorado-transit-systems
Ridership milestones on OCTA, MTA and Colorado transit systems
Several public transit service providers throughout the United States marked positive ridership milestones this past week. The gains were driven by students returning to class for the fall term, promotional fares and a deliberate, gradual return to service.
In California, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has achieved 100,000 average weekday riders for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. OCTA says it has put an emphasis on the gradual, safe restoration of bus service, along with the implementation of programs that make riding the bus free for students and youth throughout Orange County.
“During the height of the pandemic, we saw a sharp decline in bus ridership,” said OCTA Chairman Mark A. Murphy, also the Mayor of Orange. “Now, it’s highly encouraging to see this steady climb, which is only possible through thoughtful planning, the hard work of coach operators and OCTA staff, and good relationships built with the community.”
Prior to the pandemic, the OC Bus system saw an average of nearly 120,000 riders per day. That number dropped in March and April 2020 to approximately 33,000 daily riders at its lowest. The recently reported 100,000 average weekday riders represents 88 percent of pre-pandemic ridership levels. ...............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/article/21280563/ridership-milestones-on-octa-mta-and-colorado-transit-systems
September 14, 2022
Just how bad was DOJ under Trump and Bill Barr? Former New York prosecutor tells all
Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman dishes dirt on Trump regime: Bill Barr was a henchman, not a hero
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 9:29AM (EDT)
(Salon) In June of 2020, the country was still in the throes of the COVID pandemic, and dealing with the prospect of a wild presidential campaign being waged in the middle of it. We were all glued to the TV watching doctors explain what happens when you go on a ventilator and looking at graphs that showed skyrocketing cases and death rates. There were a lot of important stories in that strange time that sort of passed under the radar. One of them was Attorney General Bill Barr's firing of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Now Berman has written a book about his time working under the Trump administration, "Holding the Line," and it's fascinating. The corruption of the Department of Justice under Barr was worse than we thought.
As most readers likely know, the Southern District of New York amounts to a sort of super-office within the Justice Department because it handles most of the big white-collar crimes emerging from Wall Street and the financial industry, and many national security and organized crime cases.. For better or worse, it's known to operate with a great deal of independence from DOJ leadership in Washington. On a Friday night in late June of 2020, Barr released a statement saying that Berman was stepping down as U.S. attorney for the SDNY and would be replaced by Jay Clayton, then-chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who had no prosecutorial experience. Since that appointment must be confirmed by the Senate, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Craig Carpenito, would step in on a temporary basis.
All this came as a surprise to nearly everyone involved — but no one as much as Berman himself, who had absolutely not resigned. He issued this statement of clarification:
https://twitter.com/SDNYnews/status/1274178732476059650
....(snip)....
There was a lot of speculation at the time about why Barr wanted Berman out. His office had pursued a number of cases involving Trump associates and Trump himself, including the prosecution of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and of two associates of Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, which led to investigations of Giuliani himself. Berman had also investigated Trump's endlessly corrupt inaugural committee along with a number of Trump-connected people involved with the Turkish state bank. Trump had been purging the DOJ of people he felt to be disloyal for some time, starting with his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions. He'd also fired Sally Yates, the acting attorney general who preceded Sessions, FBI Director James Comey and then Acting Director Andrew McCabe, as well as FBI general counsel Dana Boente and a bunch of inspectors general. It wasn't mysterious why Barr believed Berman had to go. Trump had been complaining that the New York office was "filled with Democrats out to get him" and Barr (at that point) was eager to serve as his hatchet man.
Berman's book pretty much confirms all that speculation and more. He refreshingly names names and declines to canonize those who only had their "come to Jesus" moment after Trump lost the election, especially Barr but other Jan. 6 committee witnesses as well, such as former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/14/just-how-was-doj-under-and-bill-barr-former-new-york-prosecutor-tells-all/
Just how bad was DOJ under Trump and Bill Barr? Former New York prosecutor tells all
Just how bad was DOJ under Trump and Bill Barr? Former New York prosecutor tells all
Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman dishes dirt on Trump regime: Bill Barr was a henchman, not a hero
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 9:29AM (EDT)
(Salon) In June of 2020, the country was still in the throes of the COVID pandemic, and dealing with the prospect of a wild presidential campaign being waged in the middle of it. We were all glued to the TV watching doctors explain what happens when you go on a ventilator and looking at graphs that showed skyrocketing cases and death rates. There were a lot of important stories in that strange time that sort of passed under the radar. One of them was Attorney General Bill Barr's firing of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Now Berman has written a book about his time working under the Trump administration, "Holding the Line," and it's fascinating. The corruption of the Department of Justice under Barr was worse than we thought.
As most readers likely know, the Southern District of New York amounts to a sort of super-office within the Justice Department because it handles most of the big white-collar crimes emerging from Wall Street and the financial industry, and many national security and organized crime cases.. For better or worse, it's known to operate with a great deal of independence from DOJ leadership in Washington. On a Friday night in late June of 2020, Barr released a statement saying that Berman was stepping down as U.S. attorney for the SDNY and would be replaced by Jay Clayton, then-chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who had no prosecutorial experience. Since that appointment must be confirmed by the Senate, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Craig Carpenito, would step in on a temporary basis.
All this came as a surprise to nearly everyone involved — but no one as much as Berman himself, who had absolutely not resigned. He issued this statement of clarification:
https://twitter.com/SDNYnews/status/1274178732476059650
....(snip)....
There was a lot of speculation at the time about why Barr wanted Berman out. His office had pursued a number of cases involving Trump associates and Trump himself, including the prosecution of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and of two associates of Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, which led to investigations of Giuliani himself. Berman had also investigated Trump's endlessly corrupt inaugural committee along with a number of Trump-connected people involved with the Turkish state bank. Trump had been purging the DOJ of people he felt to be disloyal for some time, starting with his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions. He'd also fired Sally Yates, the acting attorney general who preceded Sessions, FBI Director James Comey and then Acting Director Andrew McCabe, as well as FBI general counsel Dana Boente and a bunch of inspectors general. It wasn't mysterious why Barr believed Berman had to go. Trump had been complaining that the New York office was "filled with Democrats out to get him" and Barr (at that point) was eager to serve as his hatchet man.
Berman's book pretty much confirms all that speculation and more. He refreshingly names names and declines to canonize those who only had their "come to Jesus" moment after Trump lost the election, especially Barr but other Jan. 6 committee witnesses as well, such as former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/14/just-how-was-doj-under-and-bill-barr-former-new-york-prosecutor-tells-all/
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