Shut up, shut up: Yesterday a New York judge set the date of Donald Trump’s first trial for March 25.
This trial involves alleged secret payments the former president paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 and falsified business documents that Trump used to cover up the payments while he was president. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg is the one bringing the charges in this low-level felony case, the first of many that Trump will face in the coming months.
“And as for the stark political optics ahead of Election Day, the hush-hush process that will take place first means a month of intense media attention focused on issues that the public may be less upset about than they would be if the process of federal election subversion in Washington had started first, as expected,” he reports The New York Times. The former president plans to stay in New York during the trial, as he will be needed in court, but also to conduct evening campaign events.
Although this will remove him from the campaign, he is interested in attending many of his court proceedings, even those that are not strictly mandatory; Political analysts say he sees the court appearances as campaign events, demonstrating how beleaguered and persecuted he is.
Another crisis at the border: Yesterday, US Border Patrol Acting Deputy Chief Joel Martinez was suspended following allegations of misconduct reported by The Washington Post. Martinez has not been arrested and it is unclear what he is accused of.
Still, this is a public relations problem for a law enforcement agency already under extreme scrutiny for its handling, or lack thereof, of the massive influx of migrants at the southern border.
Pew survey data released yesterday shows that 78% of Americans believe the influx at the border constitutes a “major problem” (32%) or a “crisis” (45%). But about 70% of Republicans describe the border spill as a “crisis,” while only 22% of Democrats do the same, so the two parties don’t quite agree on how to characterize the current situation.
Just under a quarter of all respondents say they are worried that migrants will put a strain on social services, and similar numbers say they have “safety concerns”.
Pew reports that “a majority of Americans (57%) say the large number of migrants trying to enter the country leads to an increase in crime” and “only 18% say the U.S. government is doing a good job in managing the large number of migrants at a national level”. the border, while 80% say it is doing a terrible job, including 45% who say it is doing a very ugly work.” (They underline theirs.)
Regardless of which word you choose to use, cities like New York, charged with shouldering much of the burden of welcoming migrants, are reeling from the influx while red state governors find their immigration stunts transportation of migrants is a success. Denver officials are telling all other city departments to cut their budgets so the city can support migrant welfare payments. Our politics will surely become more toxic as government actors demonstrate, time and time again, that they cannot create order out of the current chaos, and as residents of blue cities grow resentful that their public services are being cut to pay new arrivals who do not have particular conditions. claim the places from which they seek funds.
Scenes from New York: In case you missed it, Cutting published an incredible article about how their personal finance writer (really!) was duped by a scam and gave away $50,000 of her savings, in cash, to a man who claimed to be a CIA agent.
This is, of course, a very New York story, great for some jokes, and the topic is wonderfully explored here:
Obviously the best comment on the cut article pic.twitter.com/iROJc7dwLn
—leyla (@leylaaa31) February 16, 2024
QUICK SHOTS
- Um, you know the house rules: no more complaining about payments. ARCHIVE.PH, for those who need it. (And make sure you give your girlfriend Liz all the money you’re saving by refusing to sign up Bloomberg AND The New York Times.)
- This morning, Russian state media announced that Vladimir Putin critic Aleksei A. Navalny has died in prison.
- Amazing:
“I think you’re asking for a little more detail than I can provide right now.” — @sarahkateellis After @ErikWemple asked her to explain what exactly was wrong with Emily Bazelon’s story. GLAAD should apologize for this nasty smear campaign against good journalists. https://t.co/gnXRBVpArv
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) February 15, 2024
- OpenAI has released a text-to-video model, Sora:
With the help of AI or not, there’s something so empty about CGI. I’ve never been moved by it. Things shot in real physical space, with real people, objects and nature, are irreplaceable. Terrence Malik’s New World made me believe in God, that makes me believe in Kaczysnki. https://t.co/6yCTFJHc2L
— River Page (@river_is_nice) February 15, 2024
- Why did Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu cancel his shows in Arizona?
- “In the most critical cases, climate anxiety disrupts the ability to function on a day-to-day basis,” he reports Bloomberg. “According to Hickman’s research, children and youth in this category experience alienation from friends and family, distress when thinking about the future, and intrusive thoughts about who will survive. Patients obsessively monitor extreme weather, read studies on climate change, and pursue activism radical. Some, devastatingly, consider suicide as the only solution.”
- “In Munich, [Vice President Kamala] Harris aims to reassure European allies as Trump denigrates NATO,” read a recent headline The New York Times. I’m sorry, but nothing about bumbling cop Harris instills confidence. While I appreciate the idea that the French and Germans can easily be fooled, let’s not fool ourselves.
- Rolling Stone He seems rather unhappy that conservative journalist Bethany Mandel is running for school board as a Democrat:
NEW: Bethany Mandel, the controversial right-wing pundit and prolific social media poster, is running for school board — as a Democrat.
Story: https://t.co/r9Xyy0987Q pic.twitter.com/G2VwiNVcYD
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) February 15, 2024