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brooklynite
brooklynite's Journal
brooklynite's Journal
April 27, 2022
Michigan Republican resigns from GOP committee citing 'delusional lies'
Detropit NewsLansing — Tony Daunt, a longtime Michigan Republican insider, resigned Tuesday night from the GOP's state committee, saying party leaders had made the coming election a test of "who is most cravenly loyal" to former President Donald Trump.
Daunt, who is one of two Republican members of the Board of State Canvassers, made the comment in an email addressed to Judy Rapanos, chairwoman of the 4th Congressional District Republican Committee. The message was obtained by The Detroit News.
For five years, Daunt has been one of about 100 members of the Republican Party's state committee, a panel that helps guide the party's decisions. But that ended Tuesday with his immediate resignation, three days after a contentious GOP convention in Grand Rapids.
Instead of focusing on Democrats' "myriad failures," Daunt wrote that "feckless, cowardly party 'leaders' have made the election here in Michigan a test of who is the most cravenly loyal to Donald Trump and re-litigating the results of the 2020 cycle."
Daunt, who is one of two Republican members of the Board of State Canvassers, made the comment in an email addressed to Judy Rapanos, chairwoman of the 4th Congressional District Republican Committee. The message was obtained by The Detroit News.
For five years, Daunt has been one of about 100 members of the Republican Party's state committee, a panel that helps guide the party's decisions. But that ended Tuesday with his immediate resignation, three days after a contentious GOP convention in Grand Rapids.
Instead of focusing on Democrats' "myriad failures," Daunt wrote that "feckless, cowardly party 'leaders' have made the election here in Michigan a test of who is the most cravenly loyal to Donald Trump and re-litigating the results of the 2020 cycle."
April 27, 2022
We reported in our PM edition last night that Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t happy with the Biden administration’s handling of Title 42, the pandemic era policy that limited immigration through the U.S.-Mexico border.
House Democratic leaders worry that if reinstating Title 42 came up for a vote as part of a Ukraine aid package, Democrats wouldn’t have the votes to defeat it. Several top House Democrats vented about the administration’s handling of Title 42 during last night’s closed-door leadership meeting.
This, of course, would be a huge embarrassment for the Biden administration. The CDC has decision-making authority on invoking Title 42, but the White House pays the political price for this situation.
With a growing number of House and Senate Democrats breaking with the White House – and pressure from the Hill growing over an expected migrant surge at the border when Title 42 is lifted on May 23 – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is formally unveiling a new plan for dealing with the southwest border.
The full memo outlining Mayorkas’ new plan is here. You should read it. Mayorkas is testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee today and the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will be in front of House Energy and Commerce today as well, and expect him to have to answer lots of questions on this topic too.
Will the Hill buy Mayorkas' border plan?
PunchbowlWe reported in our PM edition last night that Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t happy with the Biden administration’s handling of Title 42, the pandemic era policy that limited immigration through the U.S.-Mexico border.
House Democratic leaders worry that if reinstating Title 42 came up for a vote as part of a Ukraine aid package, Democrats wouldn’t have the votes to defeat it. Several top House Democrats vented about the administration’s handling of Title 42 during last night’s closed-door leadership meeting.
This, of course, would be a huge embarrassment for the Biden administration. The CDC has decision-making authority on invoking Title 42, but the White House pays the political price for this situation.
With a growing number of House and Senate Democrats breaking with the White House – and pressure from the Hill growing over an expected migrant surge at the border when Title 42 is lifted on May 23 – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is formally unveiling a new plan for dealing with the southwest border.
The full memo outlining Mayorkas’ new plan is here. You should read it. Mayorkas is testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee today and the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will be in front of House Energy and Commerce today as well, and expect him to have to answer lots of questions on this topic too.
April 27, 2022
Vance leads Senate GOP primary field in Ohio: poll
The HillOhio GOP Senate candidate JD Vance leads the Republican primary field in a new Fox News poll released Tuesday, an indication that he’s enjoying a boost from a late endorsement from former President Trump.
Vance, the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” led the pack with 23 percent support primary voters, more than doubling the 11 percent support he got in the same poll in March. Former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, Vance’s main primary rival, came in second with 18 percent, a drop from 20 percent in March.
Investment banker Mike Gibbons, state Sen. Matt Dolan and former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken rounded out the top five, with 13 percent support, 11 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Gibbons’s support nosedived from 22 percent in March, while Dolan’s rose from 7 percent and Timken’s dropped from 9 percent.
Those numbers indicated that Vance improvement likely came mostly from voters who previously backed Gibbons.
Vance, the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” led the pack with 23 percent support primary voters, more than doubling the 11 percent support he got in the same poll in March. Former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, Vance’s main primary rival, came in second with 18 percent, a drop from 20 percent in March.
Investment banker Mike Gibbons, state Sen. Matt Dolan and former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken rounded out the top five, with 13 percent support, 11 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Gibbons’s support nosedived from 22 percent in March, while Dolan’s rose from 7 percent and Timken’s dropped from 9 percent.
Those numbers indicated that Vance improvement likely came mostly from voters who previously backed Gibbons.
April 27, 2022
Read more: https://thehill.com/news/house/3466200-house-panel-to-explore-impeachment-judicial-ethics-in-wake-of-ginni-thomas-texts/
House panel to explore impeachment, judicial ethics in wake of Ginni Thomas texts
Source: The Hill
House Democrats on Wednesday will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics and the possibility of impeaching justices, a move that follows the revelation of controversial text messages from Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas.
The texts from Ginni Thomas to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows about the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot have set off a political firestorm in Washington, raising Democratic anger and calls for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from decisions related to the election and former President Trump.
Republicans overwhelmingly have rallied to Clarence Thomas’s defense.
A memo from Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), the chairman of the House Judiciary courts subcommittee, distributed to members ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, and obtained by The Hill, explores codes of conduct for federal judges outside the Supreme Court and summarizes legislative proposals to impose ethics requirements on Supreme Court justices.
The texts from Ginni Thomas to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows about the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot have set off a political firestorm in Washington, raising Democratic anger and calls for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from decisions related to the election and former President Trump.
Republicans overwhelmingly have rallied to Clarence Thomas’s defense.
A memo from Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), the chairman of the House Judiciary courts subcommittee, distributed to members ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, and obtained by The Hill, explores codes of conduct for federal judges outside the Supreme Court and summarizes legislative proposals to impose ethics requirements on Supreme Court justices.
Read more: https://thehill.com/news/house/3466200-house-panel-to-explore-impeachment-judicial-ethics-in-wake-of-ginni-thomas-texts/
April 27, 2022
Matt Gray, Colorado lawmaker arrested on DUI suspicion, will not seek reelection
Denver PostBroomfield Democrat Matt Gray, who was arrested last week on suspicion of driving under the influence, will not seek reelection in Colorado’s 33rd House District, according to the Colorado Democratic Party
Gray, a state representative in his third term, had been the only Democrat on the primary ballot for the 33rd District. He was seeking a fourth and final term. As the district leans heavily Democratic, the person who comes out of that primary is highly likely to win the seat.
The 41-year-old was arrested Thursday after going to pick up his children from a Broomfield school, where employees reported he appeared to be intoxicated and smelled of liquor. Police said Gray refused a breath test of his blood alcohol level and declined to perform a field sobriety test.
The state Democratic Party said that Gray “withdrew his candidacy” for reelection on Tuesday.
Gray, a state representative in his third term, had been the only Democrat on the primary ballot for the 33rd District. He was seeking a fourth and final term. As the district leans heavily Democratic, the person who comes out of that primary is highly likely to win the seat.
The 41-year-old was arrested Thursday after going to pick up his children from a Broomfield school, where employees reported he appeared to be intoxicated and smelled of liquor. Police said Gray refused a breath test of his blood alcohol level and declined to perform a field sobriety test.
The state Democratic Party said that Gray “withdrew his candidacy” for reelection on Tuesday.
April 27, 2022
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/26/biden-to-comply-with-forthcoming-order-to-keep-title-42-in-place-00027904
Biden to comply with forthcoming order to keep Covid border restrictions in place
Source: Politico
The Biden administration said on Tuesday that it will comply with an expected court order from a Louisiana judge that would block the lifting of Title 42, a Trump-era deportation policy used to expel more than one million migrants at the Southern border.
The administration had announced that it would end the use of Title 42, a public health order, by May 23. But a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana announced on Monday that he would side with Republican states to keep the order preserved barring some agreement being reached between them and the administration.
“If and when the court issues the TRO [temporary restraining order] the department is planning to comply with that order,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters Tuesday, announcing the administration’s detailed plan for after Title 42 is lifted.
The official knocked the impending decision, saying “It really makes no sense to us that the plaintiffs would demand and the court would order that [Department of Homeland Security] be stopped in its use in expedited removal, which is going to prevent us from adequately preparing for the aggressive applications for immigration law when public health expires.”
The administration had announced that it would end the use of Title 42, a public health order, by May 23. But a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana announced on Monday that he would side with Republican states to keep the order preserved barring some agreement being reached between them and the administration.
“If and when the court issues the TRO [temporary restraining order] the department is planning to comply with that order,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters Tuesday, announcing the administration’s detailed plan for after Title 42 is lifted.
The official knocked the impending decision, saying “It really makes no sense to us that the plaintiffs would demand and the court would order that [Department of Homeland Security] be stopped in its use in expedited removal, which is going to prevent us from adequately preparing for the aggressive applications for immigration law when public health expires.”
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/26/biden-to-comply-with-forthcoming-order-to-keep-title-42-in-place-00027904
April 27, 2022
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/nyregion/redistricting-court-appeals-ny.html
New York Democrats Make Last-Ditch Bid to Save New Congressional Maps
Source: New York Times
New York Democrats made a last-ditch appeal to the state’s highest court on Tuesday to overturn a pair of lower-court rulings and salvage newly drawn congressional districts that overwhelmingly favor their party.
In oral arguments before the New York State Court of Appeals, lawyers for the governor and top legislative leaders said that Republicans challenging the lines had fallen short of proving that the state’s new congressional map violated a state ban on gerrymandering.
But the arguments turned tense at times, especially as several members of the seven-judge panel scrutinized the constitutionality of the mapmaking process itself.
Voters created a new redistricting commission in 2014 to help wean politics from the mapmaking process, at the same time that they outlawed gerrymandering. But after the commission’s efforts broke down this winter, the Democratic-led Legislature quickly shunted aside the commission’s proposals in favor of more politically favorable maps.
In oral arguments before the New York State Court of Appeals, lawyers for the governor and top legislative leaders said that Republicans challenging the lines had fallen short of proving that the state’s new congressional map violated a state ban on gerrymandering.
But the arguments turned tense at times, especially as several members of the seven-judge panel scrutinized the constitutionality of the mapmaking process itself.
Voters created a new redistricting commission in 2014 to help wean politics from the mapmaking process, at the same time that they outlawed gerrymandering. But after the commission’s efforts broke down this winter, the Democratic-led Legislature quickly shunted aside the commission’s proposals in favor of more politically favorable maps.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/nyregion/redistricting-court-appeals-ny.html
April 26, 2022
The one Republican Trump can't touch
PoliticoIt’s been nearly three months since Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, called for Chris Sununu’s head, boasting he was trying to help find someone to primary New Hampshire’s three-term Republican governor.
He isn’t having much luck.
In state after state, Trump has turned the GOP primaries into a referendum on the party’s loyalty to him, endorsing primary challengers against incumbents who refuse to bend the knee, and driving dissenters into early retirement.
But Sununu, who mocked Trump and referred to him as “fucking crazy” at the roast-style Gridiron Club dinner this month, so far appears to be beyond Trump’s reach, a thorn in the former president’s side that he’s been unable to remove.
He isn’t having much luck.
In state after state, Trump has turned the GOP primaries into a referendum on the party’s loyalty to him, endorsing primary challengers against incumbents who refuse to bend the knee, and driving dissenters into early retirement.
But Sununu, who mocked Trump and referred to him as “fucking crazy” at the roast-style Gridiron Club dinner this month, so far appears to be beyond Trump’s reach, a thorn in the former president’s side that he’s been unable to remove.
April 26, 2022
Read more: Link to source
Twitter employees raise questions about Musk takeover in all-hands meeting
Source: CNN
Elon Musk is officially set to buy Twitter, and the company's employees have questions.
At an all-hands meeting Monday afternoon with CEO Parag Agrwal and Board Chair Bret Taylor, Twitter employees raised questions about everything from what the deal would mean for their compensation to whether former US President Donald Trump would be let back on the platform, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN.
The call comes after Twitter's board announced on Monday that it had reached a deal to sell the company to Musk for $54.20 per share. The deal caps off a stunning news cycle in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO became one of Twitter's largest shareholders, was offered and turned down a seat on its board and bid to buy the company — all in less than a month — and puts the world's richest man in charge of one of the most influential social networks. It also raises big questions about how Musk's proposed changes for the platform, including loosening content restrictions, will take shape.
Agrawal, who has been in charge of Twitter for only four months, told employees not to expect big changes before the deal closes, which is set to happen before the end of this year. He also said that “ there are no plans for any layoffs at this point" and that Twitter's remote work policies will continue until the deal closes.
At an all-hands meeting Monday afternoon with CEO Parag Agrwal and Board Chair Bret Taylor, Twitter employees raised questions about everything from what the deal would mean for their compensation to whether former US President Donald Trump would be let back on the platform, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN.
The call comes after Twitter's board announced on Monday that it had reached a deal to sell the company to Musk for $54.20 per share. The deal caps off a stunning news cycle in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO became one of Twitter's largest shareholders, was offered and turned down a seat on its board and bid to buy the company — all in less than a month — and puts the world's richest man in charge of one of the most influential social networks. It also raises big questions about how Musk's proposed changes for the platform, including loosening content restrictions, will take shape.
Agrawal, who has been in charge of Twitter for only four months, told employees not to expect big changes before the deal closes, which is set to happen before the end of this year. He also said that “ there are no plans for any layoffs at this point" and that Twitter's remote work policies will continue until the deal closes.
Read more: Link to source
April 25, 2022
How the pandemic is changing home design
AxiosThe pandemic has changed what Americans want from their homes, and builders say they expect those changes to last.
The big picture: A ton of pandemic-era adaptations are becoming common fixtures in new homes. The model homes that builders are showing off today are meant for working, living and learning, not just coming home and crashing at the end of the day.
Details: Big pre-pandemic trends — open plans with big kitchen islands — aren't going anywhere. "My verdict is that people really like open floor plans, and they’re here to stay," says Nancy K. Keenan, president of Dahlin Group Architecture and Planning, who helped conduct the America at Home Study of pandemic-era consumer tastes in home design.
But overall footprints are getting bigger as builders add on more smaller rooms, which may need to function as offices, play rooms, home gyms or dens, depending on the family.
Bathrooms are getting bigger, in part because we use them more often when we're home all day. And every room of the house is more wired — builders are adding power outlets and USB ports to accommodate the devices essential to working or attending school from home.
Some homes also feature separate entrances for guests, with easy access to a powder room for hand-washing.
The big picture: A ton of pandemic-era adaptations are becoming common fixtures in new homes. The model homes that builders are showing off today are meant for working, living and learning, not just coming home and crashing at the end of the day.
Details: Big pre-pandemic trends — open plans with big kitchen islands — aren't going anywhere. "My verdict is that people really like open floor plans, and they’re here to stay," says Nancy K. Keenan, president of Dahlin Group Architecture and Planning, who helped conduct the America at Home Study of pandemic-era consumer tastes in home design.
But overall footprints are getting bigger as builders add on more smaller rooms, which may need to function as offices, play rooms, home gyms or dens, depending on the family.
Bathrooms are getting bigger, in part because we use them more often when we're home all day. And every room of the house is more wired — builders are adding power outlets and USB ports to accommodate the devices essential to working or attending school from home.
Some homes also feature separate entrances for guests, with easy access to a powder room for hand-washing.
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Name: Chris BastianGender: Male
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