April 8, 2023

Saturday, April 8, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup..

To read an article excerpted in this Roundup, click on its blue title. Each “blue” article is hyperlinked so you can read the whole article.

Please feel free to share.

Invite at least one other person to subscribe today! buttondown.email/AnnettesNewsRoundup

_______________________

Trump appointed anti-abortion federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk halted the FDA's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, which has been approved for over 20 years.

Judge Invalidates F.D.A. Approval of the Abortion Pill Mifepristone.

Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk.

The Texas judge’s ruling was quickly contradicted by another federal judge in Washington State [U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice] who ordered the F.D.A. to keep mifepristone available.

A federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary ruling invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, an unprecedented order that — if it stands through court challenges — could make it harder for patients to get abortions in states where abortion is legal, not just in those trying to restrict it.

The drug will continue to be available at least in the short-term since the judge, Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, stayed his own order for seven days to give the F.D.A. time to ask an appeals court to intervene.

Less than an hour after Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling, a judge in Washington state [U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice] issued a ruling that directly contradicted the Texas decision, ordering the F.D.A. to make no changes to the availability of mifepristone.

The conflicting orders by two federal judges appear to create a legal standoff likely to escalate to the Supreme Court. (New York Times).

The President and Vice President react.

_______________________

The Tennessee 3 may just have upended politics in 2024.

Outrage at G.O.P. Could Propel Expelled Democrats Right Back to House.

NASHVILLE — The expulsion of two young Black lawmakers from the Tennessee House of Representatives has set off a wave of outrage among constituents and colleagues who saw it as a stunning act of political retribution by the state’s Republican supermajority.

And with momentum building on Friday to reappoint the ousted lawmakers, Representatives Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin J. Pearson of Memphis, they could be well on their way to retaking their seats in the State Capitol within days.

In a dramatic legislative session that drew shouts of “Shame on you” from the galleries and garnered national attention, the Republican-controlled House voted on Thursday to expel Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson for interrupting debate last week by using a bullhorn to lead a gun control protest in the chamber. An attempt to expel a third Democratic lawmaker, Gloria Johnson, failed by one vote. (New York Times).

---

This already happened on Friday.

A majority of the Nashville Metro Council plans to vote to reinstate former state Rep. Justin Jones (D) after he was expelled Thursday from the state House over his participation in a protest against gun violence on the chamber floor. 

At least 22 members of the 40-seat city council have tweeted to declare their support for reappointing Jones to his seat since he was removed by the GOP-dominated state House. The members have denounced the effort from Republicans to oust him and asserted that his constituents want him back to represent them. (The Hill).

Responses from Twitter and across the nation on the Tennessee 3.

As Eliza Fawcett and Rick Rojas wrote in the New York Times, “The ousting of Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson set off anger among Democrats well beyond Tennessee. President Biden called the Republicans’ actions “shocking” and “undemocratic…”

Asked Friday about the expulsions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois said, “There is a threat to democracy that is occurring all across this nation and especially in states that are controlled by Republican governors and Republican majority and supermajority legislatures.” (New York Times)

https://twitter.com/vp/status/1644511671644200962?s=61&t=I_Od53CbnPTsbLcD0baXPg

If you haven’t seen it, watch Justin Pearson’s amazing speech before he was expelled by the Tennessee Super-anti-Democracy GOP Majority. If you saw it, watch it again.

_______________________

One year ago yesterday.

Biden won again yesterday.

_______________________

Bob Iger is one smart cookie.

The full details of what Iger did in the article below. 👇

Bob Iger Outsmarting DeSantis Is a Master Class for CEOs.


The Florida troika of cronies Governor Ron DeSantis, activist Nelson Peltz, and former Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter have met their match in Disney’s CEO Bob Iger. In a shot heard around the nation, Iger last week labeled Florida’s ambitious GOP governor “anti-business and anti-Florida”after outmaneuvering the state amid a dispute that began after Disney took a stand against the state’s so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation a year ago, prompting DeSantis to retaliate. Iger’s latest move mirrored the blistering response of Florida-based cruise line CEOs to DeSantis two years ago when he threatened them for requiring standard vaccine passports for their crews and passengers—at the request of those passengers and crews.

Iger’s words this week were matched by a brilliant set of strategic actions which took the wind from DeSantis’ sails even more than did the cruise line captains. A top Trump campaign official commenting on Iger blowing away the governor’s bluster said that “Governor DeSantis just got out-negotiated by Mickey Mouse.”

A 1955 satirical political novel by Leonard Wibberley entitled the Mouse that Roared was later adapted for state, film, and TV productions with no link to Disney. But that brave motif was brought to life this week by Mickey Mouse’s guardian, Iger. Iger decided he had enough of the corrosive political grandstanding of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis using Walt Disney World as a political foil for his own presidential ambitions and scolded the ambitious governor for his divisive demagoguery.

Bullies thrive when they see weakness. Iger’s predecessor Bob Chapek unwittingly provided that opportunity and DeSantis pounced. Chapek vacillated on the company’s position on the Don’t Say Gay legislation, ultimately joining 130 companies opposing the bill. DeSantis’ attempt to strip the company’s self-governing powers granted 56 years ago by the state for Disney’s 42 acres of parks in central Florida was an unparalleled governmental intrusion into private sector business decisions.

DeSantis attempted to seize control of the public safety, sewage and water service, roadways, and other municipal-type services that Disney funded, and then decide how much to charge Disney for these services. To make matters worse, a five person politically-driven board was to be given the oversight of this municipal district, including the wife of the state GOP chair—who is a longstanding critic of race relations history—a Christian nationalist, and a person who believes that tap water can turn people gay.

Most would not expect Florida’s governor to target a major corporate constituent like Disney. It is already among the largest employers in DeSantis’ state with more than 70,000 Florida employees and the largest taxpayer by far. In the next few years, Disney plans to invest another $17 billion and add 13,000 additional jobs.

Highlighting this Florida commitment in Disney’s annual shareholder meetingthis week, Iger explained, “We love the state of Florida. That’s reflected in not only how much we’ve invested over the last 50 years, but how much we have given back in the form of jobs and community service, taxes, tourism, and other responsible business practices. We’ve also always respected and appreciated what the state has done for us.”

Iger’s strong words were matched by smart, nimble actions. Before the governor’s plan could take effect, Iger had already finalized a legal agreement with the soon to be dissolved prior oversight board which transferred the key powers DeSantis tried to seize, directly to Disney for 30 years. Leaving the governor’s new oversight board largely powerless, the pact provided approval to build another theme park and restrictions that bar the successor DeSantis-controlled oversight board from making changes to Disney’s properties without securing company approval. All this followed required public hearings and proper notification. (Time).

_______________________

Will Clarence Thomas’s statement 👇 get him out of the hole he is in? You decide.

Justice Thomas addresses report he accepted luxury travel from GOP donor for years.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday he had been advised “by colleagues and others in the judiciary” that luxury trips financed by a close billionaire friend and conservative activist should be considered personal hospitality that did not have to be disclosed.


Thomas’s statement came more than 24 hours after a ProPublica report revealed that he had accepted luxury trips around the globe for more than two decades, including travel on a superyacht and private jet, from Harlan Crow, a Dallas business executive and influential donor to causes related to the law and judiciary.


In the statement issued through the court’s public information office, Thomas said Harlan and Kathy Crow were among the “dearest friends” of the justice and his wife Virginia “Ginni” Thomas.

“As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them,” Thomas said in the statement. “Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”


Federal law mandates that top officials from the three branches of government, including the Supreme Court, file annual forms detailing their finances, outside income and spouses’ sources of income, with each branch determining its own reporting standards.
Judges are prohibited from accepting gifts from anyone with business before the court.

Until recently, however, the judicial branch had not clearly defined an exemption for gifts considered “personal hospitality.”


Thomas noted that just last month, a committee of the Judicial Conference, the courts’ policymaking body, revised those rules to provide a fuller accounting.


Gifts such as an overnight stay at a personal vacation home owned by a friend remain exempt from reporting requirements. But the revised rules require disclosure when judges are treated to stays at commercial properties, such as hotels, ski resorts or other private retreats owned by a company, rather than an individual. The changes also clarify that judges must report travel by private jet.


In his statement, Thomas noted this “new guidance.”
“And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future,” he said. (Washington Post).

_____

Here is Thomas in a Painting - Painting- with his “close friends.”

Camp Topridge is an Adirondack Park Great Camp bought in 1920 and substantially expanded and renovated in 1923 by Marjorie Merriweather Post, founder of General Foods and the daughter of C. W. Post. The "camp", near Keese Mill, in the U.S. state of New York, was considered by Post to be a "rustic retreat"; it consisted of 68 buildings, including a fully staffed main lodge and private guest cabins, each staffed with its own butler. It was one of the largest of the Adirondack great camps and possibly the most elaborately furnished.

It is now owned by Texas real estate magnate Harlan Crow, who has substantially restored the buildings and added several new ones. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

There once was a documentary in which Thomas said he preferred another type of vacation. 👇

Rhode Island’s Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s opinion.👇

Senator Whitehouse and 22 other members of the House and Senate wrote to Chief Justice Roberts on this subject.

_______________________

Kind and gentle nation. Yes, that is ironic.

What kind of people allow such cruelty to happen? I guess the same kind of people that allow children to be shot so the grownups can have all the guns they want.

Assisted-living homes are rejecting Medicaid and evicting seniors.

Shirley Holtz paid private rates for 26 months at an assisted-living facility before qualifying for Medicaid. She lived there for another two years at the Medicaid rate before being evicted.

_______________________

Shirley Holtz, 91, used a walker to get around. She had dementia and was enrolled in hospice care. Despite her age and infirmity, Holtz was evicted from the assisted-living facility she called home for four years because she relied on government health insurance for low-income seniors.


Holtz was one of 15 residents told to vacate Emerald Bay Retirement Community near Green Bay, Wis., after the facility stopped accepting payment from a state-sponsored Medicaid program. And Emerald Bay is not alone.

A recent spate of evictions has ousted dozens of assisted-living residents in Wisconsin who depended on Medicaid to pay their bills — an increasingly common practice, according to industry representatives.


The evictions highlight the pitfalls of the U.S. long-term care system, which is showing fractures from the pandemic just as a wave of 73 million baby boomers is hitting an age where they are likely to need more day-to-day care. About 4.4 million Americans have some form of long-term care paid for by Medicaid, the state-federal health system for the poor, a patchy safety net that industry representatives say pays facilities too little.

Residents of assisted-living facilities — promoted as a homier, more appealing alternative to nursing homes — face an especially precarious situation. While federal law protects Medicaid beneficiaries in nursing homes from eviction, the law does not protect residents of assisted-living facilities, leaving them with few options when turned out.

In Wisconsin, residents who entered facilities on Medicaid, as well as those who drained their private savings after moving in and subsequently enrolled in Medicaid, have been affected.


“It’s a good illustration of how Medicaid assisted-living public policy is still in its Wild West phase, with providers doing what they choose in many cases, even though it’s unfair to consumers,” said Eric Carlson, a lawyer and director of long-term services and support advocacy at the nonprofit group Justice in Aging. “You can’t just flip in and out of these relationships and treat the people as incidental damage.”

But evictions have become so common that some states, including New Jersey, have enacted policies to curb them. Nationally, state ombudsman programs for long-term care received 3,265 complaints related to evictions from assisted-living facilities in 2020, the latest data available.

That data does not detail the reason for evictions, though ombudsmen said most complaints arose after operators declared that a resident’s needs had become too great to be handled at the facility.
Emerald Bay did not explain why it stopped participating in Medicaid. But advocates, family members and the nonprofit that managed the facility’s Medicaid contract contend the motivation was financial: Medicaid reimbursement is lower than full private pay rates. (Washington Post).

_______________________

Michael Steele, former Chair of the Republican National Committee, has already gone rogue and now he has gone witty.👇

https://twitter.com/ourshallowstate/status/1644160346406682627?s=61&t=I_Od53CbnPTsbLcD0baXPg

_______________________

Remembering the New York Times Restaurant Critic and Food Writer Mimi Sheraton.

Mimi Sheraton, Innovative New York Times Food Critic, Dies at 97.

Ms. Sheraton, who worked for many publications in a six-decade career, was the first restaurant reviewer to wear a disguise in order to get a normal diner’s experience.

The food writer Mimi Sheraton at her home in Greenwich Village in 2004. She calculated in 2013 that she had eaten 21,170 restaurant meals professionally in 49 countries.

_______

Mimi Sheraton, the food writer and restaurant critic who chronicled culinary scenes in New York and around the world with a discriminating palate and deft prose that captured the nuances of haute cuisine and plumbed the mysteries of chicken soup, died on Thursday in Manhattan. She was 97.

Her death, at NYU Langone Medical Center, was confirmed by her son, Marc Falcone.

In a six-decade career, Ms. Sheraton was The New York Times’s food and restaurant critic from 1976 to 1983; worked for Vanity Fair, Time, New York, Condé Nast Traveler and other magazines; and wrote 16 books, including restaurant guides, cookbooks, a memoir and a farewell of sorts, “1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die” (2015). She calculated in 2013 that she had eaten 21,170 restaurant meals professionally in 49 countries.

An adventurer with a passion for offbeat experiences, an eclectic taste for foods and the independence to defy pressures from restaurateurs and advertisers, Ms. Sheraton was the first woman to review restaurants for The Times. She pioneered reviewing-in-disguise, dining in wigs and tinted glasses and using aliases for reservations, mostly in high-end places where people would have otherwise known her from repeat visits and lavished their attentions on her.

Colleagues and other restaurant critics described her reviews as tough but fair and scrupulously researched. The Times required three visits to a restaurant before publishing a review; she dined six to eight times before passing judgment. For an article on deli sandwiches, she collected 104 corned beef and pastrami samples in one day to evaluate the meat and sandwich-building techniques.

Ms. Sheraton wrote a review for New York magazine in 1972 after tasting all 1,196 items being sold in the Bloomingdale’s food department. The task took 11 months. “I brewed 97 pots of tea and turned over one bathtub just to the jars of jellies and jams,” she recalled.

Hungry for more? Mimi Sheraton’ Obituary continues here.

Remembering Mimi Sheraton’s Writing and Cooking.

A look back at some of the most delicious prose (and recipes) by the former New York Times restaurant critic. 👇

Mimi Sheraton, the food writer and former New York Times restaurant critic who died Thursday at 97, was a true omnivore, deeply curious about everything on the dinner table and well beyond. For fans of her writing and readers new to it, here’s a sampling of her Times work that attests to her wide range, sharp eye and delectable prose. (Ms. Sheraton was also an accomplished home cook, and links to some of her most popular recipes on New York Times Cooking are at the end of this article.)

“In the Village, 50-Year Affair for a Walker Still in Love”

Ms. Sheraton was a completist, fond of sweeping surveys and ambitious projects. In 1997, she chronicled a yearlong mission in which she walked “every street, avenue, alley, court, place, lane, mews and square in Greenwich Village,” where she had lived for a half-century.

… is Greenwich Village what it was? Considering that nothing else is what it was, myself included, I answer, yes. Relatively, the Village is exactly what it has always been: contentious, young-spirited, leisurely, historic, romantic, diverse, generally tolerant if now wary of being exploited with more than its share of social facilities, and above all human and possible.

“The Pepper Routine Can Annoy a Diner”

As drawn as Ms. Sheraton was to the big picture, few details of dining were too small to elude her critical gaze. In 1981, she inquired into the origins of a tableside rite that had quickly gone from grinding to grating:

Even the best of ideas, carried to extremes, can deteriorate into absurdity. As evidence of that possibility, consider freshly ground black pepper — surely a lively, savory and superior alternative to the faded, ready-ground variety. But in too many restaurants, the ritual surrounding the use of the pepper mill can be considered only ridiculous and totally in opposition to the basic tenets of connoisseurship. … One almost suspects that the chef has deliberately left pepper out of his preparation so that the captain has a chance to give evidence of service and earn a generous tip.

“Ups and Downs of Sunny Side Up”

With the same attention to granular detail, she walked readers through her precise instructions for making one of her favorite dishes, fried eggs — from the size of the eggs to the preferred type of pan to the proper way of eating them:

Some break yolks over whites, a method as unattractive as another in which whites are eaten first and then whole yolks are consumed intact. The neatest and most efficient method is to place the eggs over lightly buttered toast, so the yolk can be absorbed as it is cut and can be eaten neatly with fork and knife. Eggs-over-easy seem desirable only when a fried-egg sandwich is the ultimate goal, but that is another subject for another time.

For more of ‘La Sheraton,’ click here.

_______________________