#sen. chris murphy

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked efforts by Senate Democrats to pass an assault weapons ban and universal background checks legislation after the United States over the weekend broke the record for the most mass shootings in a single year.

Republican Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) objected to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) request for unanimous consent to pass the assault weapons ban, despite the pleas of Democratic senators who took to the Senate floor to cite the harrowing statistics of gun violence in America.

“The scourge of gun violence in America is a national crisis. The American people are sick and tired of enduring one mass shooting after another. They’re sick and tired of vigil and moments of silence for family, friends, classmates, coworkers,” Schumer argued on the Senate floor.

The assault weapons ban, originally sponsored by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), would ban semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips, forward grips and folding or telescoping stocks, as well as rifles outfitted with grenade launchers, barrel shrouds or threaded barrels to allow for noise and flash suppressors to be attached.

But Barrasso argued that the Democratic-drafted bill would infringe on the Second Amendment and deprive law-abiding gun owners of an important liberty.

“Americans have a constitutional right to own a firearm. Every day, people across Wyoming responsibly use their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms,” he said. “Democrats are demanding that the American people give up their liberty.”

He said that Democrats are trying to ban many types of semiautomatic firearms “because of the way they look.”

He asserted that popular rifles such as AR-15s “work the same way as popular shotguns and other rifles used for hunting and personal protection.”

“The Second Amendment is freedom’s essential safeguard. Without it, there can be no liberty and there can be no security. So Mr. President, I object.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) later stood up on the floor to ask for unanimous consent to pass legislation to require universal background checks for firearms purchases.

“We don’t have more mental illness in this country, we don’t spend less money on law enforcement, we don’t have angrier people, we have more guns, and we are much more permissive in this country about allowing felons, dangerous people, to get their hands on guns,” he said.

A Gallup poll conducted in June 2022 found that 92% of Americans favor requiring background checks for all firearm sales.

“This just feels like a test of democracy. It really does. Like, how does democracy survive if 90% of Americans, 90% of Republicans, 90% of Democrats want something, and we can’t deliver it?” Murphy asked before he asked for unanimous consent to pass the background checks bill.

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee took to the floor immediately to object.

“I want to note at the outset we’re not asked to vote in this chamber on polling questions. We vote on legislation,” he said.

He said the legislation to expand background checks “has some real problems with it.”

“This is not solely about transactions involving guns at gun stores. This is about the father who wishes to pass down a hunting rifle to his son or the friend who wants to lend a shotgun to his neighbor who is in need of protection at the time,” Lee said before objecting to Murphy’s request.

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[beardedmrbean]

Centrist Democrats are slamming their far-left colleagues following Election Day, arguing that their emphasis on "identity politics" and other issues handed huge victories to the GOP.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., argued that President-elect Trump has "no greater friend than the far left." Like-minded Democrats say racial politics, anti-police rhetoric and gender hysteria are alienating millions of voters.

"There is more to lose than there is to gain politically from pandering to a far left that is more representative of Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok than it is of the real world," Torres wrote on X. "The working class is not buying the ivory-towered nonsense that the far left is selling."

Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville put it more bluntly in a Sunday interview with the New York Times, calling "defund the police" the "three stupidest words in the English language."

"We could never wash off the stench of it," he said.

Torres is one of several Democratic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate who have called out his party's "nonsense." One centrist House Democrat complained to Axios on Monday that the "identity politics stuff is absolutely killing us."

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., argued on Sunday that Democrats are "out of touch with the crisis of meaning/purpose fueling MAGA."

"We don't listen enough; we tell people what's good for them. And when progressives like Bernie aggressively go after the elites that hold people down, they are shunned as dangerous populists. Why? Maybe because true economic populism is bad for our high-income base," Murphy wrote.

Not all Democrats are ready to make a change, however. When Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., broke with his party to condemn biological males playing in women's sports last week, he faced an avalanche of hate.

"Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face," Moulton said in a New York Times report. "I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that."

The statement resulted in calls for Moulton to resign, and at least one of his staffers quit in protest.

Massachusetts state Rep. Manny Cruz suggested Moulton's stance was "a betrayal" in a post on X.

"Congressman Moulton, your commitment then was protecting the LGBTQ community, standing up for their rights, and compassion. Now, on a political whim, our Congressman has betrayed the words he signed onto just last year by scapegoating transgender youth in sports for the failures of the national Democratic Party and leaders to win the presidential election. You said you 'would stand with Nagly and with all our community … against all forms of bigotry, discrimination, bullying, and harassment,'" Cruz wrote. 

Salem city Councilor Kyle Davis, another Democrat, called for Moulton to resign. 

"I’m not looking for an apology from [Moulton], I’m looking for a resignation," Davis wrote in a post on X.

Moulton refused to apologize and instead doubled down in a statement late last week.

"I will fight, as I always have, for the rights and safety of all citizens. These two ideas are not mutually exclusive, and we can even disagree on them. Yet there are many who, shouting from the extreme left corners of social media, believe I have failed the unspoken Democratic Party purity test," he said.

"We did not lose the 2024 election because of any trans person or issue. We lost, in part, because we shame and belittle too many opinions held by too many voters and that needs to stop. Let’s have these debates now, determine a new strategy for our party since our existing one failed, and then unite to oppose the Trump agenda wherever it imperils American values."

[time-being]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden had terse words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, and said he didn’t know whether the Israeli leader was holding up a Mideast peace deal in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. “No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None. None. None. And I think Bibi should remember that,” he said, referring to the Israeli leader by his nickname. “And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that.” Biden, in a rare appearance in the White House press briefing room, was responding to comments made by one of his allies, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who told CNN this week that he was concerned Netanyahu had little interest in a peace deal in part because of U.S. politics. “I don’t think you have to be a hopeless cynic to read some of Israel’s actions, some of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions, as connected to the American election,” Murphy said.

This has been obvious for the whole last year of genocide.

Biden has been and still is stupid. He sold out his political party in exchange for genocide. And it's a losing plan from every angle.

His party's voters don't approve of providing endless billions of dollars in planes and bombs.

And Netanyahu will do everything in his power to defeat Biden and Harris.

Biden gave Netanyahu a spectacular gift and I don't think he's done selling out Americans (and the world) yet.

Everyone knew this for a year, but Biden persisted and worked overtime to lie for Netanyahu and keep him in power.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Monica Alba and Julie Tsirkin at NBC News:

The Biden administration is expected to propose a rule Thursday that would accelerate the pace at which certain migrants could be processed and denied asylum after having crossing the southern border, according to two sources familiar with the decision. The regulation, which had been in the works for months and will be published by the Department of Homeland Security, seeks to cut down on illegal border crossings. It would specifically target people who are deemed ineligible for asylum because of criminal records or who are assessed to be national security risks, one of the sources said.  The asylum process sometimes can take years, and the proposed rule will aim to shorten that time substantially for those deemed ineligible. It is not considered the major executive action NBC News has been previewing for months, which could still materialize in the near term. The White House declined to comment.

As the Biden administration weighs more sweeping executive action on the border that could affect the asylum process, up Pennsylvania Avenue, Senate Democrats had an initial closed-door conversation Wednesday about what legislative steps they could take. “I think the starting point for the discussion is the bipartisan deal that was negotiated, so we’ll start there. Do we subtract a little bit, do we add a little bit? We don’t know yet,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told NBC News after the meeting. “Everybody realizes we are going to have a meaningful discussion about it in the coming weeks.” NBC News reported Monday that Democrats in the Senate could force “messaging” votes on immigration and border-related provisions that Republicans would most likely block. Republicans blocked the bipartisan package negotiated by Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., in February at the behest of former President Donald Trump. 

But asked about the administration’s actions during his leadership news conference Wednesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Biden administration and congressional Democrats “agree” that “the best thing to deal with the problem on the border is pass legislation.” “We have strong bipartisan drafted legislation,” Schumer said. “If Republicans are serious about fixing the border, join us — we can only pass it with Republican votes, Democratic votes and Republican votes, and that’s what we should do.”

The Biden Administration is expected to propose a new rule to speed up the processing of asylum seekers of those barred from seeking asylum.

[tomorrowusa]

There was a complex prisoner exchange involving Russia, the US, and several NATO allies. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) throws shade on Weird Donald's typically truth-free comments on this exchange and on previous ones.

Fred Kaplan at Slate explains why Weird Donald HATES this prisoner exchange.

There’s one American who must be angry about the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and 23 other Westerners from prisons in Russia and elsewhere. That angry American is Donald Trump. Trump has bragged, as he has when speaking of many problems, that only he could solve the problem. [ ... ] [T]here might be one more inference to draw from the trade, though for the moment this is hypothetical. It may be that Putin has recalculated the odds of this November’s American presidential election. It could be that Trump was, to some degree, right—that Putin (assuming he wanted to make a deal at some point) was waiting until Trump won so that the two men could resume their beautiful friendship. If that’s the case, this doesn’t falsify my point about leaders and interests; Putin could have calculated that it was in his interest to wait for Trump’s return to power because Trump—who has said he wants to restore good relations with Russia—would view the release as a favor and treat Moscow accordingly.

So this exchange may be happening because Putin has reckoned that Harris will win anyway and that there's little point in delaying this exchange.

Intentionally or not, Putin has undercut Trump's assertion that only the Orange One can deal effectively with Russia.

Some icing on the cake...

Fact check: Trump, who approved multiple prisoner exchanges, falsely claims he gave up ‘nothing’ to get Americans back

President Biden and Vice President Harris greet journalist Evan Gershkovich upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Meanwhile, Weird Donald probably rage tweeted from the bathroom at Mar-a-Lago where he used to store nuclear secrets.

[pscottm]

Sen. Chris Murphy calls SCOTUS "brazenly corrupt"

[plethoraworldatlas]

The Biden administration signaled on December 12 that it is willing to make disastrous—and permanent—changes to asylum and immigration policy to obtain temporary military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

Top White House officials reportedly met with some of the key Senate negotiators, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), as well as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Unfortunately, media reports indicate the White House is willing to resurrect some Trump-era anti-immigrant policies to cut a deal on Ukraine funding. These include the nationwide expansion of a fast-track deportation process known as “expedited removal,” the expansion of mandatory detention, and the immediate expulsion of migrants at the border under a Title 42-like authority.

...

The implementation of Title 42-like authority at the border would be counterproductive at addressing migration and, instead, will result in many individuals being sent back to persecution in their home countries or forced to wait in Mexico indefinitely. Human rights organizations have tracked thousands of incidents of violence against migrants, including murder, rape, and torture, during the Biden administration’s implementation of Title 42.

Reimposing Title 42 would also fail to seriously address border crossings. Analysis from the American Immigration Council shows that these expulsions do not deter migrants from attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. During the Title 42 policy, roughly one in three people apprehended after crossing the border were on their second or higher failed attempt to cross. This is confirmed by a recent analysis of DHS data from the Cato Institute, which revealed that ending Title 42 significantly reduced repeat crossings and halved so-called “gotaways.” As a result, allowing any DHS secretary to simply shut the border to asylum seekers would lead to tremendous harm to both asylum seekers and to basic principles of border management.

Dramatically expanding mandatory immigrant detention

The White House has also reportedly agreed in principle to language that would strip authority from DHS to release migrants who cross the border and are taken into custody. While many of those individuals are currently eligible for release, language currently in H.R. 2,  a Republican-supported bill that passed along party lines in the House earlier this year, would bar DHS from releasing any migrant—regardless of whether they are families or children.

The expansion of detention raises serious human rights concerns and would represent a complete break from the promises President Biden made as a candidate and while in office. Within the confines of the already expansive immigrant detention landscape, there are numerous complaints of negligent medical care, unsafe conditions, unfair and discriminatory treatment of detained migrants, and excessive use of force. Barring the release of migrants seeking protection to deter migration would only increase these abuses.

In addition, the United States simply does not have, and has never had, sufficient detention capacity to detain all migrants crossing the border, so releases would have to continue anyway. But by barring DHS from releasing migrants, Congress would also likely force the administration to restart family detention centers, leading to children suffer in detention centers for months or longer

Heightening the Standard for an Initial Asylum Screening

Negotiators are contemplating heightening the standard used for initial asylum screenings at the border. Currently, migrants must show that there is a “significant possibility” that they are eligible for asylum or similar protections, including under the Convention Against Torture. The standard was established in 1996 as a safeguard to prevent the U.S. government from breaking its international humanitarian agreements by erroneously deporting someone back to danger. If the migrant fails to show a significant possibility, they can be swiftly deported through the expedited removal process.

As we’ve seen under the Biden administration, making the standard more difficult will have not have a significant impact on newly arriving migrants. Since May, the Biden administration has been implementing a heightened standard in this initial screening process under its Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule. Despite this, border apprehensions have risen significantly since this rule went into effect, which suggests that it has not been a deterrent.

Migrants often don’t know the nuances of immigration policy and arrive at our border simply hoping to find safety. This means that raising the standard will only result in the deportation of migrants who may have viable asylum claims but can’t immediately prove their case to an asylum officer at the border.

Third Country Transit Asylum Ban

Though the specifics are not yet known, an asylum ban for people who travel through a third country before arriving to the United States can have devasting consequences for U.S. foreign policy and for immigrants arriving in this country on visas. For example, under a bill passed along party-lines in June, an untold number of individuals could lose access to asylum for simply having an international layover on a flight to the United States. This means that even an Afghan national evacuated from Kabul via a U.S. military base in Germany could not apply for asylum for failing to apply in Germany first. A Ukrainian national whose flight stopped in London before arriving to the United States would be similarly barred.

Such a proposal ignores that many people may pass through a country where applying for asylum is impracticable or which is not safe for them, and they would be barred from asylum as a result. In addition, this proposal will not have any impact on reducing migration. Under the Biden administration’s asylum restriction, roughly 90% of migrants who cross the border between ports of entry are already banned from seeking asylum. Imposing a statutory transit ban would most heavily impact individuals who enter legally through ports of entry or who fly into the country on visas.

Expansion of Fast-Track Deportations Nationwide

On December 8, news broke that the White House would be willing to support a nationwide expansion of “expedited removal,” a fast-tracked deportation process.

Currently, expedited removal is applied to noncitizens who present themselves at a port of entry without proper entry documents, or who enter without permission within the last 14 days and are apprehended within 100 miles of the border. This process severely limits due process by allowing low-level immigration officials (not judges) to immediately order deportations without the right to an attorney.

A nationwide expansion, like previously occurred under the Trump administration, could mean that immigrant parents, children, and spouses of U.S. citizens living in the United States for years could be swept up for swift removal with little legal recourse. Due to the expedited nature of this process, migrants with pending applications for relief could be removed and Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities could be unfairly targeted. This would also require significantly more resources for immigration enforcement, as interior enforcement of expected removal would involve significant operational complexities.

Crucially, expanding expedited removal to the interior would not reduce border crossings, as the policy is already in effect at the border. It would, however, provide a powerful tool for a future administration that aimed to carry out mass deportations of recently arrived migrants.

What’s Next?

It’s still unclear whether any of these concessions can make it through both chambers of Congress. The House GOP has indicated that they want significantly broader changes to asylum and border policy, and hardline GOP senators have reportedly said that even these policies are “not nearly enough.” With the clock ticking on holiday recess, the chance that Congress can hammer out a deal and make it law by the end of December is increasingly slim.

However, in the past few days, the Senate negotiations have moved us closer to potentially seeing these Trump-era like policies becoming law. We need real policy solutions that don’t throw the immigrant community under the bus

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Dianne Feinstein, the woman who represented California in the US Senate and was the longest-serving female senator in history, “blazed trails for women in politics and found a life’s calling in public service”, Hillary Clinton said.

The former New York Senator and Secretary of State, who in 2016 was the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major US party, paid tribute to her fellow Democrat shortly after the announcement of her death. At the time of her death, Feinstein was 90 and still in office.

Clinton added: “I’ll miss her greatly as a friend and colleague.”

From the White House, Joe Biden saluted “a pioneering American.”

The President added: “Serving in the Senate together for more than 15 years, I had a front-row seat to what Dianne was able to accomplish. It’s why I recruited her to serve on the Judiciary Committee when I was chairman – I knew what she was made of.”

“… Often the only woman in the room, Dianne was a role model for so many Americans … she had an immense impact on younger female leaders for whom she generously opened doors. Dianne was tough, sharp, always prepared, and never pulled a punch, but she was also a kind and loyal friend.”

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California, will select Feinstein’s replacement. Calling Feinstein “a political giant”, he said she “was many things – a powerful, trailblazing US Senator; an early voice for gun control; a leader in times of tragedy and chaos.”

“But to me, she was a dear friend, a lifelong mentor, and a role model not only for me, but to my wife and daughters for what a powerful, effective leader looks like.”

Feinstein’s “tenacity”, Newsom said, “was matched by her grace. She broke down barriers and glass ceilings, but never lost her belief in the spirit of political cooperation. And she was a fighter - for the city [San Francisco, where she was the first woman to be mayor], the state and the country she loved.”

There was some discord among the praise. David Axelrod, formerly a senior adviser to Barack Obama, pointed to recent controversy over whether, given her evidently failing health and absences which affected Democratic Senate business, Feinstein should have retired.

“How sad that the final, painful years will eclipse in the memories of some a long and distinguished career,” Axelrod said⁩. “RIP, Senator Feinstein.”

Many users cited a recent piece in New York magazine by the writer Rebecca Traister, about Feinstein’s declining years, which asked: “She fought for gun control, civil rights and abortion access for half a century. Where did it all go wrong?”

John Flannery, a former federal prosecutor turned commentator, was among those who had a rejoinder: “I hope some of those who hounded her in her dying days will remember her contributions.”

Many tributes highlighted Feinstein’s contributions to attempts to combat the problem of gun violence.

Though Feinstein “made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties”, Biden said, “there’s no better example of her skillful legislating and sheer force of will than when she turned passion into purpose, and led the fight to ban assault weapons.”

Chris Murphy, a Democratic Senator from Connecticut and a leading voice for gun control reform, said Feinstein would “go down as a heroic, historic American leader … an early and fearless champion of the gun safety movement as author of the monumental Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.”

“For a long time, between 1994 and the tragedy in Newtown in 2012 [in which 20 young children and six adults were killed], Dianne was often a lonely but unwavering voice on the issue of gun violence.”

“The modern anti-gun violence movement – now more powerful than the gun lobby – simply would not exist without Dianne’s moral leadership.”

From the US House, Maxwell Frost of Florida, one of the youngest congressional progressives, called Feinstein “a champion for gun violence prevention that broke barriers at all levels of government.”

“We wouldn’t have had an assault weapons ban if it wasn’t for Senator Feinstein and due to her tireless work, we will win it back. May her memory be a blessing.”

From outside Congress, Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a pro-gun control group, pointed out that Feinstein was “one of the first among her colleagues to support gun safety – including Democrats”.

Inside Congress, as a government shutdown loomed, Feinstein’s desk in the Senate was draped in black cloth, a vase of white roses placed to mark her death.

From the other side of the political aisle, the Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins called Feinstein “a strong and effective leader, and a good friend.”

Newsom has pledged to pick a Black woman to replace Feinstein until the midterm elections next year.

On Friday, Barbara Lee, a Black Democratic congresswoman running for the seat, said: “This is a sad day for California and the nation. Senator Feinstein was a champion for our state, and served as the voice of a political revolution for women.”

Among commentators, the MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan highlighted what will to many prove a complicated political legacy.

“The high point and low point of … Feinstein’s long and storied career as a US senator both relate to the ‘War On Terror’,” Hasan said. “Low point: voting for the Iraq invasion. High point: going against the CIA to expose their torture programme.”

In his statement, Newsom said: “Every race [Feinstein] won, she made history, but her story wasn’t just about being the first woman in a particular political office, it was what she did for California, and for America, with that power once she earned it. That’s what she should be remembered for.”

“There is simply nobody who possessed the poise, gravitas, and fierceness of Dianne Feinstein.”

Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of political rhetoric at Texas A&M University, put the case for Feinstein perhaps most simply of all.

“Dianne Feinstein was on the right side of history,” she said.

[cleoselene]

https://wapo.st/3UdnrZy

"I think the Republican conference is going to make a decision in the next 24 hours as to whether they actually want to get something done or whether they want to leave the border a mess for political reasons," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn), the lead Democratic negotiator. "If Republicans blow this up, Vladimir Putin will win the war and Europe will be at risk."

(gift link as always, free to you)

I cannot fathom that these spineless Republican fucks in Congress are going to let Ukrainians who have fought so valiantly for two years go down like this. Ukrainian soldiers are rationing bullets now because Republicans are all subservient to Donald fucking Trump and refuse to behave like adults. They claim to care deeply about border security, but when offered everything they want on it, decline to take it because they would rather use it as a political cudgel to win elections.

I'm so sorry, Ukraine. I'm so sorry that these people are my fellow countrymen.

Putin's puppet Donald is doing everything he wants for him. There is so much at stake this year.

Republicans have no real values or political goals. They just obstruct. That's why it seems like they're so much better at getting what they want. It's easy to prevent things from getting done. A lot harder to get things done.

[progressivepower]

Sen. Chris Murphy Says Republican Party Is ‘Addicted To Chaos’. The Connecticut Democrat said that the GOP's handling o... http://dlvr.it/SpqXhL

[beardedmrbean]

A coalition of 30 mayors representing communities along the New Jersey coast are calling on federal lawmakers and officials to implement a moratorium on offshore wind development in response to a spate of whale deaths.

The mayors, who collectively represent 359,168 residents and communities with beaches that welcome millions of visitors, requested that federal and state agencies conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact offshore wind construction and surveying equipment may have on marine wildlife. They argued such development should only continue if it is conclusively proven to not harm wildlife.

"The 30 undersigned mayors of New Jersey coastal communities stand united in their concern about the unprecedented number of whales that have washed ashore recently and call for an immediate moratorium on all offshore wind activities until an investigation is held by federal and state agencies that confidently determines these activities are not a contributing factor in the recent whale deaths," they wrote in a letter Tuesday.

"While we are not opposed to clean energy, we are concerned about the impacts these projects may already be having on our environment," they continued. "We again urge you to take action now to prevent future deaths from needlessly occurring on our shorelines."

UPTICK IN DEAD WHALES ALONG EAST COAST SPARKS INTENSE DEBATE AMONG ENVIRONMENTALISTS OVER OFFSHORE WIND

The letter was addressed to New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone and Republican Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, all of whom represent coastal districts. It was also sent to Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez. Copies of the letter were additionally sent to President Biden and Gov. Phil Murphy.

NJ CONGRESSMAN DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO WHETHER OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS ARE KILLING WHALES

While Van Drew and Smith have echoed calls for a moratorium and investigation into the cause of recent whale deaths, Pallone, Booker and Menendez have largely been silent on the issue.

The letter comes amid an uptick in whale deaths in New Jersey and other states along the Atlantic coast including New York, Maryland and Virginia. At least 10 dead whales have beached in New Jersey and New York alone since December.

Last week, a 35-foot humpback whale washed up on a beach along the New Jersey coastline. Days later, a 25-foot whale was found dead in Rockaway Beach, New York. And three whales were discovered dead in southeastern Virginia in close proximity to an offshore wind farm within the span of seven days.

"Today, the whales are sending us a tragic message that demands transparency and accountability — both of which has been sorely missing from Governor Murphy’s plan to use New Jersey’s coast as the prime location for the offshore wind industry in the U.S.," Smith said on Sunday.

"Questions and concerns raised by me and many others have gone unanswered concerning the unexplained deaths of at least 10 whales."

The Republican congressman delivered the remarks at a rally held in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, in opposition to offshore wind development until the whales' deaths were better understood. Hundreds of locals attended the rally to express their concerns.

Federal officials, meanwhile, have thrown cold water on claims that offshore wind is causing whale deaths. During a press briefing in January, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noted there has been an unusual mortality event in relation to whale deaths along the East Coast dating back years and that recent whale deaths couldn't be attributed to energy operators.

[tomorrowusa]

Democrats pick up House seat in special election in NY-03!

I ❤️ NY-03!

Democrats have not won a major election in suburban Nassau County since Biden took the area in 2020. NY-03 is mostly in Nassau County and was famously won by Republican fabulist George Santos in 2022. It was Santos's ouster from the House which led to this special election.

So Democrat Tom Suozzi easily defeated his GOP opponent Mazi Pilip on Tuesday by a margin similar to Biden's win in 2020.

Republicans sought to use immigration against Democrats in this election – and failed.

William Kristol and Andrew Egger observed at The Bulwark:

Republicans pummeled Suozzi on immigration with waves of hyperbolic border-invasion ads. But in his three terms in Congress Suozzi had been, for a Democrat, something of a border hawk. And he had plenty of money to portray himself as that. Indeed, he did so aggressively. When Republicans in Congress torpedoed the border bill, Suozzi attacked them for doing so and lamented that it would not now be able to expel “eighty percent” of asylum seekers and to stop migrants from flooding New York.

Yep, Republicans have been demanding border reform. When a viable bipartisan plan became a possibility in the US Senate, they shot it down on orders from adjudicated sex offender Donald Trump.

So now we have a Republican border crisis which Trump hopes will catapult his demented self back into the White House. But indications from NY-03 are that it probably won't work out for them.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut was one of the senators who worked on the Senate bipartisan immigration reform which Trump sabotaged. Murphy sees the MAGA GOP flip-flop on the border as something which can be used against Republicans nationally.

Sen. Chris Murphy urges Democrats to follow Tom Suozzi and go on the offensive on the border

“Suozzi messaged aggressively on the issue, running ads that highlighted his support for a secure border and legal pathways to citizenship,” Murphy wrote. “He flipped the script on his Republican opponent, successfully painting her as unserious about border security because of her opposition to the bipartisan border bill, and turned what could have been a devastating political liability into an advantage.” Murphy acknowledged his frustration that after months of negotiating the bipartisan border security bill, Republicans in the Senate ultimately knifed it in a matter of days. But he said the GOP’s rejection of the bill provides Democrats with a way to counter GOP talking points on the border.

Back in NY-03, some Republican apologists tried to blame the 7.8% defeat of their candidate on the weather. The official NWS weather station at La Guardia Airport in Queens, next to NY-03, reported a grand total of 3.3 inches [8.38 cm] of snow on Tuesday. And the snow was over by 3 PM. In New York, polls are open until 9 PM. There was plenty of time for Republicans to sweep away the minor amount of snow from their sidewalks and get to their polling places. Don't let the GOP give you a snow job about their loss of a swing district.

Anyway, with the victory of Tom Suozzi, Republicans are one step closer to losing their majority under Speaker "MAGA Mike" Johnson.