Fridays with Nicole Sandler

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69 replies
  3. Boycurry says:

    “We talked about the Jan6 pardons and other shit.”

    lol it’s been a week hasn’t it? It will continue to be a week for some time. Hang in there!

    • dopefish says:

      I was treating Trump’s Greenland obsession as one of the less-important “distraction” things.

      But perhaps Donald Trump is as deranged as he appears?
      Consider this story today at FT:
      Donald Trump in fiery call with Denmark’s prime minister over Greenland

      The US president spoke to Mette Frederiksen, the Danish premier, for 45 minutes last week. The White House has not commented on the call but Frederiksen said she had emphasised that the vast Arctic island — an autonomous part of the kingdom of Denmark — was not for sale, while noting America’s “big interest” in it.

      Five current and former senior European officials briefed on the call said the conversation had gone very badly.

      They added that Trump had been aggressive and confrontational following the Danish prime minister’s comments that the island was not for sale, despite her offer of more co-operation on military bases and mineral exploitation.

      “It was horrendous,” said one of the people. Another added: “He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.”

        • dopefish says:

          Not to belabor this point, but: Trump’s call with PM Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, took place five days before the inauguration.

          In other words, private citizen Trump threatened the leader of a foreign government, while the Biden administration had 5 days left to run.

          Surely that was a violation of the Logan Act? If the U.S. still exists in 4 years, I hope the next president’s DoJ will prosecute this? (ha ha)

        • wa_rickf says:

          @dopefish
          Reagan violated the Logan Act when his team arranged for the 1979 hostages release and he wasn’t in power. Trump violated the Emoluments Clause (among many other laws) during his first term.

          What’s the point of having laws if politicos are not held accountable? What’s the point of judicial punishment if the punished crime is simply presidential pardoned (…or commuted) away?

          Voters, both past and present, and who they vote for, are the responsible party for what happens in our country.

  4. may_08DEC2011_1137h says:

    you guys have got to see this.

    abc.net.au/news/2025-01-25/why-do-stingrays-jump-out-of-water-marine-mystery-for-scientists/104837300

    show it to Digby.

    she’ll love it.

    yes i know i have to do some sort of ambiguous stuff about being posted.

    but it’s your blog, you sort it out.

    [Welcome back to emptywheel. THIRD REQUEST: Please choose and use a unique username with a minimum of 8 letters. We have adopted this minimum standard to support community security. Because your username is far too short it will be temporarily changed to match the date/time of your first known comment until you have a new compliant username. Thanks. /~Rayne]

  5. BRUCE F COLE says:

    Just another data point related to the differences between this Trump administration and Biden’s: Trump, today, is 6 months older than Biden was at the beginning of his term.

  6. greenbird says:

    today was like those old-fashioned “Friday Dump Documents” blizzards …
    except they were thermobaric.
    however, i’m suspecting rapid recovery and conquering duels.
    being nefarious is a weight not long carried, whether or not shoes were banged on the table … Niki.

      • dopefish says:

        In what world is that a major crack? Only 3 senate R’s could defect, and only 3 did. McConnell is in his DGAF phase now.

        Until one of the 50 other R senators grows a spine, Trump is going to get whatever he wants through the senate. (non filibuster, of course)

        • BRUCE F COLE says:

          This is only the second time in history that the VP has been required to break a confirmation vote tie. The previous one was Betsy DeVos at the beginning of Trump’s first term, and the Senate at that time was one vote weaker on the GOP side, 52/48, so this vote was the weakest for an incoming POTUS cabinet appointee ever. And it was for arguably the most important position in the Cabinet at this point in history.

          The point is that, yes, Trump could only afford 3 defections for Hegseth to begin destroying the DoD, but this isn’t Education Sec’y, it’s the nation’s external security at a time when the world is in deep, uncertain flux on just about every front imaginable, especially ally-relations (thus the tie in with your Greenland point). And it’s also at the inflection point of Trump threatening to use the US military for deporting immigrants, an issue that will drive a wake-up spike into much of Trump’s cognitively-dissonant Hispanic voting base. Hegseth will ride that missile like Slim Pickens, if he isn’t passed out on a gurney somewhere with alcohol poisoning.

          The major crack is that Mitch McConnell, the former Majority Leader who still commands full media attention when he wants it, is on record that Hegseth is incompetent, and he will not be shy making that point going forward when Hegseth inevitably screws up — indeed, the media will go to him when the Hegseth shit inevitably hits the fan

          And it may not even be a Defense catastrophe that McConnell will get to wag his finger in Trump’s face about: the most likely scenario to come about first will probably involve alcohol.

          As to evidence that the crack that’s beginning to widen: Trump’s “honeymoon” is already looking more like the beginning of an annulment in progress:
          https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/donald-trump/

        • BRUCE F COLE says:

          Sidebar: McConnell better have his security detail on high alert going forward, now that Trump has busted his militia out of prison.

      • Critter7 says:

        I believe the way this works – certain close votes by the Senate Rs – is to create a bit of theater while making sure the the Republican position (in this case, Hegseth’s appointment) wins.

        They work it out behind the scenes. Certain Republican Senator have images back home that are based on the fact that they don’t always vote with the party line – they are somewhat independent. Collins and Murkowski are the prime examples. They are still Republicans, but they need to maintain that image if they are to run again. So when an important vote comes up, certain Rs get a “pass” from the majority leader – who will only give out enough passes to ensure that Republican position wins.

        McConnell presided over this theatrical game when he was majority leader, so he knows it well. And McConnell has a lot to answer for as we all experience the Trump 2.0 travesty – and he knows it, that’s could be why he wanted the pass.

        Those who backed off at the end – e.g. Thom Tillis, for example – did not get the pass, so they voted the party line and Hegseth squeaked by.

        Other evidence: When was the last time Susan Collins voted against the Republican position when it mattered, when her vote caused the Republican position to lose? Or Murkowski?

        I do not know for a fact that this how things work in the Republican-majority Senate. But I’ve read it and observed the pattern consistently over the years.

        So I’ll need to see a whole lot more before interpreting a close Senate vote as a crack in the edifice.

        • BRUCE F COLE says:

          My point is that we’re in uncharted territory. Yes, this kind of dance is often conducted during votes for bills and appropriations, when one or two Senators have polling back home that indicates the need to cast a meaningless “nay,” but not for a critical cabinet position at the onset of their leader’s term, and not by a member whose constituency isn’t the least bit chary of being fully in the bucket for Trump.

          To me, it feels right now like those videos you see of an ice- or debris-dam letting go, and the churning debris is passing under a bridge, and before you know it the bridge is collapsing and the person shooting the scene has to scramble for higher ground.

          Trump is unhinged, and he’s taking out the infrastructure of our government the Constitution itself. This is fundamentally different than votes for constituent services, or even something as consequential as an AUMF.

  7. earlofhuntingdon says:

    SecDef Pete Hegseth! Come on Down! The bar’s open!

    Sad that you promised to stop drinking, once you were confirmed. Ah, tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creep the delays in meeting that promise, to the last orders recorded at Duffy’s, Dupont Circle. To complete the thought, with apologies to the Bard:

    Out, out, brief career!
    The new SecDef is but a walking shadow; a poor player,
    That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
    And then is heard no more: his is a tale
    Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
    Signifying nothing.

    • BRUCE F COLE says:

      And Vance was forced to cast the tie breaker by McConnell’s nay. This is not a small deal.

      Just a little nip, no one will notice…

  9. missinggeorgecarlin says:

    Thank you Ms. Sandler and Dr. Wheeler!
    The world needs you now more than ever.
    Keep up the good work! :)

  10. xyxyxyxy says:

    For real?
    From Reuters
    Trump fires 17 independent inspectors general at federal agencies, source says
    By Nandita Bose and Chandni Shah
    January 25, 2025 2:18 AM EST

  11. wa_rickf says:

    Years and years of hard-fought advances to make America better for EVERYONE are being erased in one stroke of the pen: Trump signed an EO repealing President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 executive order banning racial discrimination in hiring for the federal government.

    Another EO Trump signed this week proclaims that our sex identity begins at “fertilization” when, in fact, sexual development doesn’t begin to start until at least the sixth week after fertilization. While the EO is a direct attack on transgender individuals and setting them up for rank persecution – the intent of the EO – this EO also a way of laying the groundwork for fetal personhood, a doctrine that will ultimately lead to a total ban on abortion and several methods of birth control.

    Benjamin Franklin, ever the optimist even at the age of 81, gave what was for him a remarkably restrained assessment in his final speech before the Constitutional Convention: “…when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views.” He thought it impossible to expect a “perfect production” from such a gathering, but he believed that the Constitution they had just drafted, “with all its faults,” was better than any alternative that was likely to emerge.

    Upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

    Who knew our Republic’s hard fought advances could all be destroyed in one week.

  12. wa_rickf says:

    DEI is conservative code for black Americans and transgender folks. Both groups raise the ire of conservatives. There is a trend in American business right now of rolling-back corporate policy measures that are a counterweight to discriminatory practices. Conservatives argue that education, government and business programs which single out participants based on factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation are unfair.

    Emboldened by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions, conservative activists have used the courts and social media to target workplace programs. They’ve targeted corporate sponsorships, employee-led affinity groups, and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups. Among the companies rolling back their counterweight programs are: Walmart, John Deere, Meta, McDonald’s, Target, Ford, Boeing, Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply.

    Bucking this trend, Costco shareholders this week voted at the annual stock holder’s meeting on TH 01/23/25, strongly against a proposal from a right-wing organization requesting a report on the risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion initiatives, by a 98% margin.

    Costco says its DEI efforts help the company attract and retain a wide range of employees and improve merchandise and services in stores. Costco also said its Members want to interact with a diverse employee base. Costco has had this policy in effect for its entire 41-year existence.

    Many conservatives on Fox News comments are angry at Costco for this stating they’ll cancel their Memberships and/or sale their Costco stock. I say this: If you are a Member of Costco and/or have Costco stock, why are you not aware of Costco’s long-standing 41-year policy? This shows you are not a very smart consumer or wise investor and that you did not do your homework. That you publicly admit your failure to do you homework is awesome.

    • Rayne says:

      DEI programs also ensure equity for women and disabled workers and suppliers. Ditching DEI means ditching equity for a majority of Americans to serve a single minority’s interests.

      So long as DEI is misrepresented as serving only a couple minority groups *and not a majority of Americans*, shareholders will ignore it just as MAGA voters went against their own interests.

      • wa_rickf says:

        One-hundred percent agree with you Rayne. These programs ensures equal treatment in the work place for EVERYBODY. Conservatives argue that these programs discriminate against white, Christian males in hiring and promoting.

        With respect to Costco, Costco bulk-hires groups of people in the fall for the busy holiday season as seasonal hires. This ensures a well-rounded group of new employees. The employees who preform well in the busy season, are offered permanent jobs in January.

        Costco promotes from within and not off-the-street. That is why most employees have been at Costco 10+ years and their employee turnover rate is really low compared to other companies. Costco’s home office is staffed by former warehouse employees. Ron Vachris, current CEO, is a former fork lift driver from one of Costco’s warehouses. Costco has only had three CEOs in its 41-year history and all are former warehouse employees.

        The 41-year old policy referenced above that Costco has in effect, IS geared towards suppliers as well their employees.

      • Thomas_H says:

        I think DEIA is a good name for a political party. It’s at the heart of all the economic and social/civil rights progress since the New Deal.

    • harpie says:

      Yea COSTCO and their shareholders!

      One other thing about anti DEI…
      TRUMP’s executive orders included the “A” [Accessibility]

      Trump’s crackdown on DEIA programs within the federal government is underway https://www.npr.org/2025/01/22/nx-s1-5270721/trumps-crackdown-on-deia-programs-within-the-federal-government-is-underway January 22, 2025

      Federal agencies had a Wednesday deadline to place employees of DEIA offices on paid leave — and to take down any of mention of DEIA programs and initiatives from agency websites and social media. […]

      • nord dakota says:

        Whoa, I wondered what the A was about. Seriously? I know Trump hates to have to look at people in wheelchairs, but–
        what happens when the Texas Gov wants to visit?

      • dopefish says:

        Of course. Newsom has to get federal aid for the Californians devastated by these wildfires, and the Orangelord is so vindictive and transactional that the only way to get that federal aid is to publically stroke Trump’s ego and say how great he is.

        No previous American president has refused disaster aid to Americans, or tried to condition it on political concessions (such as California imposing new voter ID rules that Trump wants).

        It would be pretty funny if it wasn’t so sickening.

    • RJames0723 says:

      Newsom’s walking a tightrope on this one. Californians don’t like governors who negotiate with terrorists, as Gray Davis found out.

      • BRUCE F COLE says:

        Yup. On top of the raising of the Carter-memorial flag for the inauguration, this will not bode well for his POTUS run prospects.

        He’s between a rock and a hard place to be sure, and his devastated citizenry are more important than his political future, but it does have the smell of groveling.

  14. harpie says:

    Before the IG purge:

    Ken Dilanian: [see screenshot at Bower link below]
    January 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM

    News: Several senior DoJ officials, including the head of the Public Integrity Section, have been removed from their jobs and re-assigned to a new effort targeting sanctuary cities, multiple sources tell me.

    Responding to ^^^:
    https://bsky.app/profile/annabower.bsky.social/post/3lgjamfug4s2o
    January 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM

    Several section chiefs within the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division have similarly been notified that they are being reassigned to the newly-established Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group, per sources.

      • emptywheel says:

        I’m planning a post on this in days ahead: they also moved the person in charge of international flows and another in charge of crypto crime.

        Put them together and you’ve got Trump’s own grift.

    • harpie says:

      https://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3lgkzozzexk2c
      January 25, 2025 at 8:35 AM

      This [IG] purge is bone-chilling and unprecedented. It’s straight out of the authoritarian’s playbook. Inspectors General are a vital, independent check on misconduct and abuse within the executive branch. Trump is ousting them so he can break the law with zero oversight.
      [THREAD with screenshots and links]
      One way to look at this: A bunch of Republican senators made it VERY clear that they didn’t want Trump to purge Inspectors General. Chuck Grassley urged him not to.
      By firing them anyway, Trump is testing whether he’ll face ANY real pushback from Senate GOP.

      • thequickbrownfox says:

        Republican politicians are terrified by him and his followers. I predict the Senate will not, and that he will continue out of control, and that it’s going to get much worse as Project 2025 comes to fruition.

    • Scott_in_MI says:

      No doubt the hope is that they’ll be so disgusted with their new assignment that they’ll quit. Loyalty purge with bonus unnecessary cruelty.

  17. Savage Librarian says:

    I’m still of the mind that Franklin Graham is a strong contender for the “religious leader” component of the compilation found in Molly Michael’s desk at Mar-a-Lago. And I still think Mike Huckabee could be the “book author.”

    Like everyone else here, I’m disturbed at how the documents’ case has been subverted. So much so that I’m channeling my inner bmaz and wishing Jack Smith had followed 18 U.S.C. § 3237 to have the jurisdiction and venue in DC or NJ instead of FL. Of course, I know the tactical and legal reasons why he didn’t. But I really think it was not written in stone that he had to take the course he did.

    https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/18-usc-sect-3237/

    “18 U.S.C. § 3237 – U.S. Code – Unannotated Title 18. Crimes and Criminal Procedure § 3237. Offenses begun in one district and completed in another”

  18. zscoreUSA says:

    For a good analysis of Elon Musk, which gets into the post truth information space, I recommend a recent QAA podcast episode.

    Episode Elon’s Crusty Gamer Sick is a Premium episode, so behind a paywall, but IMHO well worth it

    They break down the Adrian Dittman character and Elon’s faltering relationship with the gamer community. Exposing some of his character flaws and a potential wedge to take advantage of in the information space.

  19. BRUCE F COLE says:

    Here’s a good post that dives into the similarities between the current Democratic Party and the Whigs of Andrew Jackson’s time. Well worth the read, imo:
    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/25/2299115/-A-Historian-s-Perspective-Living-in-Fear-What-can-the-Whigs-teach-us-about-the-next-four-years

    It has seemed to me for a while that the drift of the Dems into the clutches of the neoliberal mindset (aided by Citizen’s United, of course) has clouded both our messaging and the trajectory of our governance. If we can’t shed what’s been foisted on us by those who play both sides of the aisle for their own benefit, we may be entering a wasteland as toxic and dehumanizing as the era between Jackson’s election and the end of the Civil War.

    The good news: Trump has assembled a bonafide, easily defined, and identifiable oligarchic power structure, and they are outright bragging about it. That, and the other half of the Trump cabal, Dominionist theocrats, give us massive polemic targets that literally write our attack ads for us.

    That article I linked to notes that the Whigs were stymied by their own inability to understand the nature of the political landscape that had morphed practically before their eyes. That’s a mistake we must avoid if we’re going to turn the Trump Titanic around, bring her to port and dismantle her.

  21. wa_rickf says:

    Inside the mind of a MAGAt J6’er who turned down Trump’s pardon this week.
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/january-6er-left-trumpism-130000539.html

    I find his self-reflection interesting, and his explanation of how he was swept up into MAGAtdom. (Spoiler alert: Alcohol is involved)

    “There was this aggression. I think I really enjoyed it. You go, you know, bond with these strangers [at Trump rallies]. I spent all my time in those comments [sections] on social media, arguing with strangers. It was all about proving someone wrong. That would make me feel good about myself.”

    • harpie says:

      Transcript:

      TRUMP: Talking to General Alsisi [sp?] tomorrow, sometime Monday, and ah, I’d like Egypt to take people, and I’d like Jordan to take people. I mean, you’re talking about probably a million and a half people. And we just clean out that whole thing. It’s, you know, over the centuries it’s had many, many conflicts that site. And, I don’t know, it’s something has to happen, but, ahh, it’s, it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace. [unclear questions] Could be in either. Could be temporarily, could be long term.

      He’s talking about it like some piece of real estate he’s eyeing …. probably is.

  23. harpie says:

    https://bsky.app/profile/sahilkapur.bsky.social/post/3lgnk4nh5vk22
    January 26, 2025 at 8:34 AM

    NEW: White House warns reticent Senate Republicans to support all of Trump’s nominees—or face a “well-funded consortium of outside groups and political actors” that’ll “exact consequences.”

    + inside the Senate GOP dynamic with more controversial noms coming up. [link]

    Links to NBC News:
    White House tells Republicans to get behind Trump’s nominees – – or face political ‘consequesnces’ More Trump nominees with potentially rocky paths to confirmation face hearings in the Senate this week, including Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Kash Patel.

    • thequickbrownfox says:

      At this point, with a ‘high degree of confidence’, I predict that they all will be confirmed. As I posted above, the R’s are terrified of him, because a word from him and their lives, and the lives of their families, will be turned into a hell. It’s control by threat and vindictiveness, not government by discussion and compromise. “Step out of line, and we’ll come for you”

      I’d love to be proven wrong

  24. MsJennyMD says:

    “Decades ago, George Orwell suggested that the best one-word description of a Fascist was “bully,”
    ― Madeleine K. Albright, Fascism: A Warning

  25. chrisanthemama says:

    Here’s Charlie Pierce on Ed Martin (since you mentioned it in your podcast):
    “…Back in December 2020, when the undermining of the election was gaining full power, a group gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court to plead the case for the court’s parachuting in to rescue the incumbent administration from the verdict of all those inconvenient voters. They represented a quasi-religious cult called the Rod of Iron Ministries, which is led by the son of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the famous Korean cult leader who was quite in vogue during the 1970s and 1980s. The Ministries consider the AR-15 to be an essential part of their various liturgies. On the steps of the court that day, the founder of the Stop the Steal movement addressed this crowd of gun-crazy maniacs. His name was Ed Martin, and he went on to advocate for a number of the vandals at the heart of the eventual insurrection.

    “Guess what Ed Martin is doing now?

    “He’s the interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia…”

    Thanks for all you and Nicole Sandler do, Marcy.

    https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a63510973/trump-attorney-general-ed-martin-jan-6/

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