Military Leader Worked for Peace Behind Trump's Back

San Francisco CA

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Newsom Proclaimed Victorious in California Recall Election ( Busy news day! If you're in California, I hope you were able to vote without problems. Unfortunately, it's not at all clear whether Democrats will be able to guarantee that right to all nationwide while they still have a Congressional majority. You can blame President Manchin for that. THE BIG NEWS Newsom Proclaimed Victorious in California Recall Election After weeks of mail-in voting, the polls closed in California's gubernatorial recall election at 8 p.m. Pacific time last night. A few hours later, the Associated Press called the race for Gov. Gavin Newsom. An exit poll showed more than half of the 9.5 million ballots returned last night were cast by Democrats, with only one-quarter cast by Republicans. The full vote count could take a month to complete. Judging by the live reports from polling stations, anti-recall voters were motivated by fears of what might happen to the state should Republican front-runner Larry Elder assume the governorship, especially amid the pandemic. Which is eminently rational. As Newsom warned, "Trumpism is still alive, all across this country." The total cost of the recall election was estimated at $280 million, which you'd think would bother some Republicans, if the whole thing wasn't a wild Hail Mary of an attempted right-wing power grab. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., a group of Senators led by conservative Democrat Joe Manchin (WV) have proposed a new, weakened voting rights bill called the Freedom to Vote Act, which abandons key provisions of the For the People Act that passed the House this year. Progressive Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon participated in the negotiations, as did Senate newcomer Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Among the compromises in the Manchin bill, it drops an anti-gerrymandering requirement for states as well as a proposed restructuring of the Federal Election Commission. Fortunately, it does not include a national voter I.D. provision; instead, it sets standards for states that already require identification at the polls. Regardless of its contents, the new bill is not expected to draw Republican support, which calls into question the very concept of a compromise proposal. Military Leader Worked for Peace Behind Trump's Back Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley opened a back channel with the Chinese military to ease their concerns that Donald Trump was preparing an attack, and to assure them that the U.S. government was not about to collapse after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, according to a new book by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. Milley also took steps to prevent Trump, who he believed "had suffered a mental decline," from launching nuclear weapons without his involvement. Frankly I find all this to be a big relief. Prime Minister Implicated in Murder of Haitian President Haiti's top prosecutor is seeking to charge Prime Minister Ariel Henry in the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and to bar Henry from leaving the country. The prosecutor, Bed-Ford Claude, reportedly wants to know why a key suspect called Henry twice in the hours after the killing. For his part, Henry recently vowed to pursue "the real culprits." Union Corruption Cited in Mafia Case Federal prosecutors charged more than a dozen members and leaders of the Colombo crime family yesterday in a racketeering case in Brooklyn. Among the "thriving" mafia family's many alleged crimes was, according to the New York Times, "a two-decade scheme to extort an unnamed labor union that represented construction workers, using threats of violence to secure payments and arrange contracts." Che palle! Global Study Finds Young People Terrified A major new international survey of 10,000 young people in 10 countries found that most of them are fearful about the future and feel betrayed by their governments on the problem of climate change. Fifty-six percent agreed with the statement that "humanity is doomed," with higher percentages in countries where the effects of the climate crisis are being more directly felt. One of the study's co-authors called this anxiety "a completely rational reaction." SOME NUMBER 12 million That's how many Americans were lifted out of poverty by government stimulus payments during the pandemic last year, according to new Census Bureau figures. Sam and Emma host Craig Whitlock, investigative reporter at the Washington Post, to discuss his recent book The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War. Was Rudy Giuliani Wasted During His Embarrassing 9/11 20th Anniversary Speech? - The MR crew reacts to a clip of Giuliani possibly being drunk at a 9/11 Memorial dinner where he recounted how the Queen of England offered him "knighthood" and how he only met with that "questionable" character, Prince Andrew, one time. Florida Gov. DeSantis Silent While Supporter Tells Anti-Vax Lies - Darris Friend, a government employee, is retiring without benefits because of what he believes the vaccine does to RNA. The MR crew dismiss the misinformation and jokingly wonder why their phone reception has gotten worse since the vaccine dropped. PARTING WORDS "I do not intend to die there on the court; I hope not." -- Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, sharing his thoughts on possible retirement