What I'm reading today... January 24, 2025
Only 1,457 days to go...
I embarrassed to admit it, but I am a bit fascinated by the drama of the British royal family. While living in the UK, I found, that unlike most Americans, my British colleagues never discussed or even thought much about the Windsors. To them, they were simply there, part of the fabric of their country, and utterly irrelevant to their daily lives. For the first time, I understood, who this dynasty was and how odd their lives were living in a goldfish bowl going from one ribbon-cutting ceremony to another; patronizing charities, stores and designers; and attending Wimbledon/Ascot/Chelsea Flower Show/movie premiers, etc. Despite their relevancy (or lack there of), I find their drama somewhat entertaining. Will Andrew have to vacate Royal Lodge? Will William and Harry reconcile? Will Anne snub Andrew again by not inviting him to her next lavish dinner? Hum.
Lately I’ve been following Harry’s trial against Rupert Murdoch. It seemed a bit like Don Quixote chasing windmills to me, but Harry was determined to take it all the way to London’s High Court. Under English law, Harry would have been required to pay the legal costs of both sides unless the court awarded him an amount equal to what News Group offered him in the settlement. One good thing about the British system is that it favors settlements out of court, so litigation costs are more modest and ambulance chasers are uncommon.
This week, despite his determination for accountability, Harry settled his long-running lawsuit with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers over unlawful information gathering, winning a multimillion dollar payout and, perhaps more significantly, an admission of “unlawful” conduct. News Group gave Harry an “unequivocal apology,” admitting for the first time to unlawful activities at The Sun and agreeing to pay what it called substantial damages. The settlement spared Harry from heavy financial risk, regardless of how he fared in court.
Must say, I’m pretty pleased that this was the outcome, since Murdoch has destroyed the Wall Street Journal and has spread massive disinformation with Fox (aka, Faux) News. (You may remember, Murdoch’s Fox News paid $787.5 million in April 2023 to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over the cable network’s promotion of false claims about Dominion’s voting machines in the 2020 election.)
One can only hope that these lawsuits and financial hits continue. Here is the current status of the Smartmatic lawsuit.
“Today (January 9, 2025), the New York Supreme Court rebuffed Fox Corporation’s latest attempt to escape responsibility for the defamation campaign it orchestrated against Smartmatic following the 2020 election. Fox Corporation attempted, and failed, to have this case dismissed, and it must now answer for its actions at trial. Smartmatic is seeking several billion in damages for the defamation campaign that Fox News and Fox Corporation are responsible for executing.”
This ruling affirms Smartmatic’s position and paves the way for a trial where Smartmatic will demonstrate the extent of Fox Corporation’s liability and seek justice for the defamation it suffered.
#TruthMatters
On another note, about 20% of U.S. adults favored pardoning most people who participated in the January 6th attack, according to the AP-NORC poll. A larger share — about 60% — opposed it, including half who were strongly opposed. Republicans are divided on the the issue. About 4 in 10 Republicans favor pardoning many of the Jan. 6 participants, while about 3 in 10 are opposed. Americans should never forget What Trump Did to Police Officers. Sadly, the so-called party of “law and order” is now officially the party of lawlessness and vigilantly justice.
While I know, that I am the one now chasing windmills, I registered my displeasure with Senators Tillis and Budd. One can hope they’ll show some backbone and do the right thing by voting against Trump’s dangerously, horrendous cabinet picks… but I suppose that’s a naive thought. (Although Tillis did have enough gumption to make a comment about the pardons: “I think it was a bad idea.” Really, you think?)
As David Axelrod always says, “There’s a reason that JFK’s book, Profiles in Courage, is so thin.”
Thought for the day in honor of her birthday….
“In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.”
~ Edith Wharton
What I’m reading today….
Feeling political distress? Here are coping strategies a psychologist shares with his clients
…political distress is a bipartisan mental health problem. It is based on a belief that, because the country is in the hands of bad leaders, awful things might happen. Many people experience intense fear about what the other side might do. Both Republicans and Democrats have experienced this anguish, but it peaks at different times for the two parties, depending on who won the last election.
The dreams of our forefathers and mothers and our collective wills are being tested, strained, and torn. But they can withstand this test and be mended. Please keep in mind that four years of our 250-year history is just 1.6%. What’s happening now will not break our great historical commitment to freedom and democracy. But the only way to the other side of where we are right now is through. We will get through together.
Trump has canceled Biden’s ethics rules. Critics call it the opposite of ‘drain the swamp’
“Trump is opening the floodgates for conflicts of interest and exploiting his power in office in the hopes of making billions of dollars on the backs of taxpayers. Instead of focusing on the needs of the American people, Trump’s only interest is to secure a next deal to line his pockets.” ~ Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen
Trump has moved to ramming speed: shutting down civil rights cases; gagging the nation’s health agencies, accelerating his campaign of retribution, and demanding the shutdown of critical media outlets. The response to all of this? Largely tepid handwaving, navel-lint picking, and performative whinging disguised as outrage. ….For all his bravado, and testosterone-themed bluster, Donald Trump remains, at his core, a thin-skinned man-child unable to handle even the mildest of criticisms.
The unholy pact between Trump and America’s richest and most influential tech entrepreneurs marks a significant difference from his first term, when prominent business leaders mostly kept him at arm’s length (or outright opposed him). But partnerships of this sort are far from unprecedented … German industrialists, for instance, played a key role bankrolling and legitimizing Hitler as he consolidated his dictatorship.
The Dangers of Deploying the Military for Domestic Operations
Now the administration is considering deploying the military inside the United States for the mass deportation campaign that will wreck the American economy. The plan would be to send as many as 10,000 troops to the border and use Department of Defense bases to hold migrants awaiting expulsion. Where are the front-page debates and discussions on our most watched cable news shows about the costs and consequences of this giant change? Are we simply accepting this new role for the military because Trump wants it?
Heather Cox Richardson - Letters from an American - January 22
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order to block Trump’s executive order that sought to end the birthright citizenship established in 1868 by the Fourteenth Amendment… Coughenour, who was appointed to the bench by Reagan in 1981, told Trump’s Department of Justice attorneys, “I have been on the bench for over four decades. I can't remember another case where the question presented is as clear as it is here. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order….I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar can state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It boggles my mind. Where were the lawyers when this decision was being made?"
What you can do - Ten ways to resist Trump II
Spread the truth. Get news through reliable sources, and spread it. If you hear anyone spreading lies and Trump propaganda, including local media, contradict them with facts and their sources…Urge friends, relatives, and acquaintances to avoid Trump propaganda outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, X, and, increasingly, Facebook and Instagram…. Keep the faith. Do not give up on America. Remember, Trump won the popular vote by only 1.5 points. By any historical measure, this was a squeaker. In the House, the Republicans’ five-seat lead is the smallest since the Great Depression. In the Senate, Republicans lost half of 2024’s competitive Senate races, including in four states Trump won.
Britain will not recognise Trump’s new name for Gulf of Mexico
A source said the gulf’s name cannot be universally changed by a single country and that the new name ordered by Mr. Trump will not apply to UK products.
Pritzker, Chicago officials vow to protect immigrant communities
Pritzker said it’s been a long-standing U.S. policy to deport undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes, but he added that deporting law-abiding immigrants who work, pay taxes and raise families causes more harm than good. According to Pritzker, there has been no communication with ICE officials on timing for any potential Chicago raids. He said there’s been talk about the federal government targeting about 2,000 undocumented individuals in Chicago alone.
North Carolina Supreme Court passing for now on ruling if ballots in close race are valid
The North Carolina Supreme Court dismissed on Wednesday a request by the trailing candidate in an extremely close race for a seat on this same court to rule now on whether well over 60,000 ballots should be removed from the tally. Instead, the justices ordered that the appeals of Republican Jefferson Griffin seeking to reverse decisions by the State Board of Elections to keep counting the ballots should be held first in the local trial court, as state law directs appeals of board decisions to begin.
Current Asheville floodplain rules make city 'vulnerable' to losing federal flood insurance
If a series of floodplain ordinance amendments are not adopted by the city of Asheville, the city's status in the National Floodplain Insurance Program — which provides insurance to property owners who otherwise would not be able to obtain it and reduces government costs after floods — could be in jeopardy, city leaders say.
Got a flood prone property? FEMA is funding buyouts and elevations
Anyone in North Carolina with property at risk of flooding is eligible to apply.
This week I heard the director of Riverlink speak. She is encouraging any individuals/businesses, who qualify for this buyout, take advantage of it. Rebuilding in a flood plain puts your property at risk in the future.
Quote of the day:
“No ‘national injustice’ occurred here, just as no outcome-determinative election fraud occurred in the 2020 presidential election. No ‘process of national reconciliation’ can begin when poor losers, whose preferred candidate loses an election, are glorified for disrupting a constitutionally mandated proceeding in Congress and doing so with impunity. That merely raises the dangerous specter of future lawless conduct by other poor losers and undermines the rule of law.” ~District Judge Beryl Howell
