In the storm.

September 30, 2022

[No audio version due to travel.]

          I am traveling and have limited bandwidth and internet coverage, so I will be brief(er).

          The full extent of the damage from Hurricane Ian will take days to come into focus. President Biden said on Thursday that the loss of life may be “substantial.” Although I suspended political coverage yesterday because of Hurricane Ian, some readers felt that was the wrong judgment call. Several noted that Ron DeSantis voted against relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy when he was in Congress. They were not suggesting that New York and New Jersey vote against relief for Hurricane Ian victims. Rather, they were making the point that Ron DeSantis is a self-promoting hypocrite. Although that proposition needed little additional support, DeSantis’s double standard is not something that should be held against the victims of Hurricane Ian.

          Other readers noted that, like school shootings, the time to talk about the cause of a disaster is when it is unfolding—before it disappears from the headlines. Vox covered the climate change aspects of Hurricane Ian in its article, How did Hurricane Ian get so powerful so quickly? Climate change may be to blame. In short, Ian was a “rapidly intensifying” storm system that made predicting its path and destructive force more difficult. Per Vox,

          According to a recent analysis of hurricane data by the Associated Press, there were about 25 percent more rapidly intensifying storms in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific in the last 10 years compared to 40 years ago. Some past scientific studies have also shown that hurricanes are intensifying more rapidly in parts of the Atlantic in recent years.

          Rapidly intensifying storms are driven by higher sea temperatures—both at the surface and at depth.

          You may have noted that some aspects of Ian are being described as “once-in-a-thousand -year” events. That description was also applied to aspects of Hurricanes Matthew, Harvey, and Florence—all occurring in the last decade. With four “once-in-a-thousand-year” hurricane events in the last decade, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” or to make an educated guess that something abnormal is occurring with the climate. Computer models say the cause is “anthropogenic warming” caused by burning fossil fuels. Climate crisis deniers say that it is perfectly normal to have four once-in-a-thousand-year events in a single decade. At some point, the loss of life and destruction of cities and infrastructure will eliminate the skeptics. But we can’t wait for that to happen. We cannot afford to suffer any more “once-in-a-thousand-year” events this millennium. We have exhausted our quota for the next four thousand years.

          As victims of Hurricane Ian contend with its aftermath, my Managing Editor and I continue to hold you in our thoughts.

Russia annexation of portions of Ukraine.

          In the face of nearly universal condemnation by the international community, Putin will recognize the results of sham referendums to annex 40,000 square miles of Ukraine into Russia. The move is equal parts desperation, internal public relations, and misguided mysticism. Whatever Putin hopes to gain by the annexation, it won’t work. Indeed, the move appears to be attenuating support from China and India.

          It is worth noting that Putin still enjoys support among many MAGA-ists and Fox News entertainers posing as journalists. Putin claimed he would not invade Ukraine. He did. He claimed he would not attack civilians. He did. He claimed he would not engage in territorial expansionism. He did. Putin is a menace to world peace. Much more on this in future editions.

The ongoing scandal of Clarence and Ginni Thomas damages the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.

          Justice Clarence Thomas is single-handedly accelerating the destruction of the last vestiges of Supreme Court legitimacy. Ginni Thomas told the January 6th Committee that she still believes the 2020 election was stolen. Worse, she testified to the J6 Committee that she never discusses her activism with her husband. That claim is demonstrably false. In a text with Mark Meadows commiserating about the apparent failure of efforts to prevent Biden from taking office, Ginni Thomas said that she discussed those efforts with her “best friend.” Per The Week,

When Meadows wrote Thomas on Nov. 24 to "not grow weary" in this "fight of good versus evil," and said he has "staked my career" on overturning Biden's win, Thomas replied: "Thank you!! Needed that! This plus a conversation with my best friend just now." She did not say who that "best friend" was, but Clarence Thomas has repeatedly referred to his wife as his "best friend."

          Justice Thomas failed to recuse himself from a case in which the J6 Committee sought Mark Meadows’s texts—which included dozens of communications with Ginni Thomas. Justice Thomas was the only justice to vote in favor of denying the J6 Committee access to the texts.

          But it gets worse. The LA Times reports that Justice Thomas failed to report more than $600,000 in income earned by Ginni Thomas. See Above the Law, Oh Look! Another Clarence Thomas Ethics Scandal! and LA Times, Clarence Thomas failed to report wife's income, watchdog says.

          Per the LA Times,

Between 2003 and 2007, Virginia Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, earned $686,589 from the Heritage Foundation, according to a Common Cause review of the foundation’s IRS records. Thomas failed to note the income in his Supreme Court financial disclosure forms for those years, instead checking a box labeled “none” where “spousal noninvestment income” would be disclosed.

          Chief Justice Roberts needs to step in to repair the damage to the Court. Justice Thomas and his wife are making a mockery of the “appearance of impartiality” in proceedings before the Supreme Court.

Join me for a fundraiser with AIRLIFT FUND.

          I will be joining Airlift fund next week for its Airlift Fall Event Series: Live From the Frontlines on Thursday, October 6, 2022 at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET. Airlift is an all-volunteer fundraising organization that believes in year-round grassroots organizing. We raise money from generous donors like you and give those funds directly to Airlift’s curated Partner Groups. The non-profit grassroots organizations its support are primarily located in battleground states. Register here.

Concluding Thoughts.

          There is much more, including Judge Aileen Cannon’s atrocious decision relieving Trump from the special master’s order to “put up or shut up.” But I have nine minutes to publish this newsletter or it won’t get sent! More on Judge Cannon’s decision tomorrow.

          Thanks to all who will be joining me on Monday, October 3rd  at 8:30pm Eastern /5:30pm Pacific as I interview Mandela Barnes and John Fetterman. It’s not too late to join. The link is here: Meet Mandela Barnes & John Fetterman & Truly Flip the US Senate. 

We are literally and metaphorically “in the storm.” We must keep our wits about us and recognize that we will make it through this period of chaos. It is up to us to bring order from chaos through our level-headed constancy and determination. If we can be leaders in the midst of a storm, others will gratefully follow us to safe harbor.

          Talk to you tomorrow!