New York Times: “Last fall, the Pentagon’s most senior leaders agreed that two top generals should be promoted to elite, four-star commands. For then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the tricky part was that both of the accomplished officers were women. In 2020 America under President Trump, the two Pentagon leaders feared that any candidates other than white men for jobs mostly held by white men might run into turmoil once their nominations got to the White House. Mr. Esper and General Milley worried that if they even raised their names – Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson of the Army – the Trump White House would replace them with their own candidates before leaving office.”

“So the Pentagon officials agreed on an unusual strategy: They held back their recommendations until after the November elections, betting that if Joseph R. Biden Jr. won, he and his aides would be more supportive of the Pentagon picks than Mr. Trump, who had feuded with Mr. Esper and has a history of disparaging women. They stuck to the plan even after Mr. Trump fired Mr. Esper six days after the election. The strategy may soon pay off. In the next few weeks, Mr. Esper’s successor, Lloyd J. Austin, and General Milley are expected to send the delayed recommendations to the White House, where officials are expected to endorse the nominations and formally submit them to the Senate for approval.”

Federal authorities have charged three North Korean agents for a global cyber campaign to steal or extort $1.3 billion from financial institutions and other businesses, USA Today reports about an indictment unsealed Wednesday.

According to the indictment, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a North Korean military intelligence unit previously known to be responsible for hacking Sony Pictures and AMC Theaters in retaliation for releasing the movie “The Interview” which parodied North Korean leadership, undertook an international campaign to steal cash and crypto-currencies in various attacks.

Assistant Attorney General John Demers, chief of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, described the operation as “a criminal syndicate with a flag,” hiding under a national security banner to undertake criminal activities.

According to the unsealed indictment, a Canadian-American dual citizen, arrested for helping the operation launder millions of dollars, is expected to plead guilty to charges related to the spree.

The chair of the Nelson County (Kentucky) Republican Party has called for the ouster of Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Senator from Kentucky, from GOP leadership because of his comments regarding Donald Trump after the impeachment trial, the Washington Post reports.

In a tweet, GOP County Chair Don Thrasher cites Donald Trump’s statement released Tuesday in which Trump decries McConnell’s leadership, saying that the Republican Party will lose all future elections with “political” leaders like McConnell in charge.

“Given that the county party that I represent supports President Trump overwhelmingly and your complete and total disdain for the will of your constituents here in Nelson County I am formally demanding you immediately resign your leadership position within our party’s caucus in the United States Senate,” Thrasher said.

Donald Trump, whom anchors referred to as “President Number 45” and were careful not to say he was “former president,” called in to Fox News to express his sentiments about how Rush Limbaugh’s death affected him and how unfair the election was as part of the propagandist’s mourning.

Asked about the November election, Trump declared, “Rush thought we won. At 10:30, Rush thought we won. I still think we won. Many professionals do, too. If that happened to a Democrat, you would’ve seen riots all over the place.” Trump apparently did not remember the January 6th domestic terrorist attack at the Capitol. Asked if he talked to Limbaugh about his activities after he was voted out of the presidency, Trump said he didn’t and he hasn’t really thought about it. “I was disappointed with voter tabulation. I was furious about that,” Trump bellowed. “He was furious about that. You don’t know how angry people are about this in this country… He was so happy we rebuilt the military. We cut taxes. We cut regulations.”.

Fox5: “One Washington state woman is dead and another faces murder charges in an incident involving a political sign. It happened in Mount Vernon, Washington on Saturday night. The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home on Big Lake Road about 5:25 p.m. for a report of a fight. A second call came in a few minutes later with a man reporting that his friend had been shot. Deputies found a 32-year-old woman dead in the driveway when they arrived at the home. The couple that lives there came out and spoke to the deputies, according to a news release. Investigators say the victim and shooter didn’t know each other but they determined that the incident began over the theft of a political sign.”

“Police did not release information about the sign but other residents, reacting to the crime on a local message board, say the woman had a Trump sign in the yard and the victim tried to take it. 55-year-old Angela Marie Conijn was booked into the county jail on 2nd-degree murder charges. It was unclear if she had a lawyer who could speak on her behalf. A 58-year-old man, who was reported to be Conijn’s husband, was arrested on assault charges.”

At the beginning of Wednesday’s Rush Limbaugh Show, fourth wife Kathryn announced that her husband Rush Limbaugh had died of lung cancer at the age of 75, KPEL 96.5 reported.

Limbaugh, who once said he smoked multiple cigars a day and appeared on the cover of magazines like Cigar Aficionado and Smoke, announced in February 2020 that he was fighting advanced cancer.

He also had significant drug addiction issues, including abusing oxycontin to the point that he lost his hearing and had to get a cochlear implant to hear out of one ear.  He was also charged in 2006 for having illegally obtained Viagra.

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis threatened to pull a vaccine distribution site from Manatee County after media reported he gave special favor to a local wealthy development exclusive access to the location, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

https://youtu.be/Dz7C4VUBH9Y

DeSantis and Manatee County Commission Vanessa Baugh limited access to the distribution to residents of two wealthy ZIP codes, raising the ire of people in the surrounding neighborhoods, which include Tampa and Sarasota. 

#1: It’s a once in a century weather event. California has constant energy problems and high prices.

#2: The reason for blackouts is complex, but in summary: Texas took too many lessons from Cali, over-subsidized renewables, & pushed out baseload energy like natural gas.

— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) February 16, 2021

Wall Street Journal: “A hacker claims to have stolen files belonging to the global law firm Jones Day and posted many of them on the dark web. Jones Day has many prominent clients, including former President Donald Trump and major corporations. Jones Day, in a statement, disputed that its network has been breached. The statement said that a file-sharing company that it has used was recently compromised and had information taken. Jones Day said it continues to investigate the breach and will continue to be in discussion with affected clients and appropriate authorities. The posting by a person who self-identified as the hacker, which goes by the name Clop, includes a few individual documents that are easily reviewed by the public, including by The Wall Street Journal. One memo is to a judge and is marked ‘confidential mediation brief,’ another is a cover letter for enclosed ‘confidential documents.’ The Journal couldn’t immediately confirm their authenticity.”

“The Journal was able to see the existence of many more files – mammoth in size – also purported to belong to Jones Day, posted by the hacker on the so-called dark web. Hackers typically post such stolen information after the hacked entity fails to pay a ransom. The Journal was able to contact the hacker using an email on its blog. ‘We have over 100 gigabytes of data,’ the hacker wrote in response to an email from the Journal. The hacker, in the Journal’s correspondence, said it first reached out to Jones Day management on Feb. 3 and informed the firm that its network had been hacked and that data had been stolen. As of Tuesday, the hacker said Jones Day management hasn’t responded but that it believes the law firm received its letters about the attack. The hacker said ransom negotiations haven’t begun.”

“First, the education of the American people will go on for months and possibly years, as civil litigation and possible criminal cases wind their ways through the court system. Second, the cost of the defense may well bankrupt groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers; that’s the point. It may also put a considerable financial burden on Giuliani and even his client, who seems to have difficulty finding competent counsel. “One advantage of civil enforcement is the standard of proof of preponderance of the evidence instead of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” former prosecutor Barbara McQuade told me. ‘Civil enforcement was used to hold O.J. Simpson accountable when criminal enforcement fell short. Although the penalty is money damages and not imprisonment, for some defendants, that punishment hurts them more than any prison time could.'”

“Third, civil suits provide for discovery – documents and live testimony from third parties can be required. The former president may be forced to testify under penalty of perjury (unless he invokes his Fifth Amendment rights). John Paredes, counsel at Protect Democracy, observed that ‘if discovery here – or in any other congressional or judicial proceeding for that matter – turns up evidence that certain individuals knew that there would be a storming of the Capitol but didn’t take any action to prevent it from happening, they too may soon find themselves called to account for their actions in federal court.’ No doubt, there are a host of attorneys delighted to take up cases against the former president and his accomplices pro bono or on a contingency. We may see a cottage industry of such lawsuits related to the Jan. 6 attack. It may prove to be an extremely effective way to hold the former president accountable” – Jennifer Rubin.

We are ordering an investigation into ERCOT and immediate transparency by ERCOT. pic.twitter.com/Mt2GPlaFuE

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 16, 2021

“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won’t say who paid for him to travel to Washington, D.C., where he spoke at the Jan. 6 rally that preceded a mob of Donald Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol. Paxton and his second in command were both in Washington that day, according to calendars and travel documents The Dallas Morning News obtained through public records requests. The state paid for First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster to travel to Washington for ‘meetings with senior White House officials.’ It’s not clear whether he attended the Jan. 6 rally with Paxton. The attorney general’s office said it did not coordinate or pay for Paxton’s trip. His campaign spokesman did not respond to questions about who financed the travel.”

“The lack of information comes as the embattled attorney general faces mounting pressure to account for a series of contentious decisions in recent months. A Republican and staunch Trump supporter, Paxton unsuccessfully sought to overturn the presidential election results in four key battleground states after Joe Biden’s win. The lawsuit was drafted by lawyers close to Trump, The New York Times has reported. The FBI, meanwhile, is investigating Paxton for allegedly abusing his office to help a friend and campaign donor, according to The Associated Press. A conservative Christian who built his career on fighting for family values, he is accused of trading political favors for the donor’s help remodeling his home and a job for a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair” – Dallas Morning News.

Tampa Bay Times: “Bypassing the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ question, Florida Senate Republicans agreed Tuesday that Florida’s vote-by-mail process worked smoothly in the last election cycle but still needed a change. They want to erase all standing requests for mail-in ballots in 2022 and require voters to start over. ‘It’s not that big of a change. Some people are nervous about change,’ said Sen. Dennis Baxley, a Republican from Ocala who sponsored the bill. ‘Why not try this? It may invigorate participation.’ After a record 4.8 million Floridians voted by mail in November, the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee approved SB 90 along party lines to limit vote-by-mail applications to one election cycle and require everyone who signed up for mail ballots in 2020 to reapply to get them in 2022. Current law allows voters who ask for a mail-in ballot to have their request remain current for two general election cycles unless they opt out.

“The bill also moves up the starting time for counting vote-by-mail ballots from 22 days before an election to 35-40 days before an election, putting into statute a portion of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order from 2020. The change to the mail-in ballot dates was opposed by both Democrats and Florida’s non-partisan elections supervisors, who last week warned lawmakers about tinkering with Florida’s election laws after the state conducted the first election in years that wasn’t marred by problems.”

The Trump Plaza Casino building in Atlantic City, New Jersey is scheduled to be demolished at 9:00 AM EST on Wednesday. Watch here as this spectacular failure ends in spectacular destruction.

This isn’t any sort of metaphor for anything. The casino – which closed in 2014 due to sparse attendance from gamblers – was a completely separate failure from Trump’s disastrous presidency and the timing – nearly a month after he left office in defeat and disgrace – is mere coincidence.

“Texas residents said the storm – and ensuing partial collapse of the state’s power system – sapped what mental reserves they had left after eleven months of a global health crisis that has cost thousands of jobs and claimed more than 40,000 lives in the state. ‘To go through all of that and then also to have stuff like this happen, it’s like, ‘One more historical event, and I’m going to develop PTSD,’’ said Brianna Blake, 31, a mother of two sons. ‘I cannot do this.’ Officials with the state’s energy grid operator said it is still struggling with balancing supply and demand to the Texas power grid – and could not project when long-lasting outages would end.”

“Meanwhile, Oncor, the largest electricity provider in the state, tweeted Tuesday night that the state’s power grid operator had directed more reductions in the electric load, and residents should ‘please be prepared for additional outages.’ Austin Energy issued a similar warning to its customers in Central Texas and said customers who have been without power the longest could continue to be affected. Energy experts, local leaders and residents said energy and state officials failed to properly prepare people for the mass outages coinciding with dangerous weather that’s already led to at least 10 deaths” – Texas Tribune.

The Atlantic: “The events of January 6 were the actions of only a few thousand of the most rabid Trump supporters, and in the days immediately afterward, some observers, including Trump allies, were quick to point out that they did not represent the mass of Trump faithful. But in the weeks since, the two factions have converged. During the Senate hearings, Trump’s attorneys argued that his impeachment was somehow a slap in the face of the 74 million Americans who’d voted for him to be reelected. Conflating the two groups might seem like a cynical ploy and unfair to those who merely voted for Trump, if not for the fact that polling shows this larger group has mostly come to accept and even applaud the insurrection.”

“Lining up behind a man who fomented this assault on the country’s government would require a sort of political nihilism – and in fact such a thing is common among Republicans. Two-thirds of Trump voters said that the 2016 election was ‘the last chance to stop America’s decline.’ In September, 83 percent of Republicans in a YouGov poll said the American way of life was under threat. Driving through eastern North Carolina this summer, I saw billboards that read SAVE AMERICA. VOTE REPUBLICAN. Trump’s incessant false claims since November 3 that the election had been stolen only reinforced this apocalyptic thinking, by seeming to confirm that what rightly belonged to Trump and his backers had already been seized from them. A group of voters that believes the fate of the country sits in the balance is a group that will be willing to countenance attacking the bedrock of the nation – democratic elections and peaceful transfers of power – in order to defend it. They will also be more likely to subscribe to far-flung conspiracy theories like QAnon, which offers the illusory hope that there is a shadowy plan afoot that will save the country from whatever they perceive as a threat.”

“A big problem with modern GOP politics is that it just doesn’t revolve around policy or solving problems. On the Democratic side, AOC is further left, sure, but she’s laser-focused on policy solutions. The pro-Trump right isn’t. It’s victimhood, grievance, culture wars. Instead, Republican politics is about entertainment. Politicians are characters. Will they dunk on someone on Twitter? Will they be hilarious at a frenzied rally? Will they deliver a blistering line on Fox News? Trump has made voters lose sight of what politics is for.”

“When Republicans engage with policy, it’s not about fixing problems. Defund the WHO. Okay, who, precisely will that help who urgently needs it right now? Attack Fauci over masks. Again, who, precisely does that help right now? Meanwhile, Americans really need help right now. When politics is entertainment, loyalty to a character becomes paramount. Republicans currently identify as Trump supporters more than as Republicans. But democracy requires people to be passionate about ideas, not people; solutions, not characters” – Brain Klaas.

Molly Jong-Fast: “You might be surprised to learn this, but the Capitol riot was actually all Democrat Nancy Pelosi’s fault. Yes, you might think this is completely insane, and that’s because it is. But despite its complete insanity, some Republican elected officials have decided that the real guilty party isn’t the ex-president who shopped the Big Lie, tweeted about violence, and gave an incendiary speech that morning at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally.”

“Lindsey Graham, perhaps inevitably, was one of the first to float the idea that perhaps this might be actually the Democratic speaker’s fault, asking on Twitter ‘whether Speaker Pelosi, due to optics, refused requests by the Capitol Hill Police for additional resources like the National Guard?’ It’s like blaming Hillary for Bill’s affairs – not the first time a woman has been blamed for something a man did, and likely not the last.”

“The Biden administration, in concert with Hill Democrats, is preparing to unveil legislation this week that seeks to provide a pathway to citizenship to the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. For decades, lawmakers have tried to reform the US immigration system and fallen short. The latest effort will similarly be a big lift, as Democrats only narrowly hold the House and Senate and face a Republican Party that’s moved further to right on the issue since the 2013 bipartisan bill. Biden’s bill will also likely join a series of other immigration measures that are narrowly focused on undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children, are in the US under a form of humanitarian relief, and are working in agriculture – setting up a dizzying number of attempts to provide legalization to the undocumented population” – CNN.