The Biden administration faces an increasingly-thorny geopolitical calculus as Russia's war on Ukraine continues to intensify.  

Monday, October 24, 2022
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- Georgia Senate GOP nominee Herschel Walker ([link removed]) , inspiring confidence in everyone

The ever-shifting landscape of Russia’s war against Ukraine has proved immensely challenging for both civilians and international diplomats alike to navigate, and tensions seem to run higher every week.

* Russia’s use of Iranian-made drones beginning last week has put Ukrainian civilians across the country, as well as the international community, on high-alert. But Ukrainian authorities tried to assuage public fears today by claiming increasing success in shooting them down ([link removed]) . Ukrainians are bracing for less electric power this winter after sustained Russian attacks on their infrastructure. The head of Ukraine’s intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Ukrainian forces have shot down more than two-thirds of the approximately 330 Shahed drones that Russia has fired through Saturday. Both Iran and Russia deny the supplying and usage of these drones.

* According to the Kyiv School of Economics, Russia has caused an estimated $127 billion in physical damage to Ukraine ([link removed]) , destroying about 120,000 houses and 16,000 apartment buildings by the end of September. The World Bank, the E.U. and the Ukrainian government estimate the recovery costs will clock in at a staggering $350 billion. And as the conflict continues, the greatest challenge, winter, is quickly approaching. Officials in one Ukrainian city said that the government will only be able to repair central heating for one-third of the city’s apartment complexes following Russia’s occupation and barrage of the damage Russia inflicted upon infrastructure and power sources.

* Officials in Kyiv and several Western countries rejected claims fabricated by the Kremlin that the Ukraine is planning to use a “dirty bomb” ([link removed]) (an explosive designed to scatter radioactive material) on its own territory. They characterized this accusation as an attempt by Russia to create a spurious pretext for further escalating the war, calling it a “transparently false allegation.” The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, announced that it is preparing to send inspectors in the coming days to two Ukrainian sites at Kyiv’s request, to prove the hollowness of the accusations ([link removed]) . The IAEA Director General said that the agency had expected one of the two locations Russia singled out in its accusation last month and all of their findings were consistent with safeguard
declarations, meaning no undeclared nuclear activities or material were found there.

The rapidly-escalating violence has caused Congress and the Biden administration to respond quickly.

* House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back against the accusation from many GOP goons that the United States has given Ukraine a “blank check” for humanitarian aid ([link removed]) . Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy signaled that if Republicans win back the House in midterms, they will cut off aid to Ukraine despite its geopolitical importance. Additionally, bills authorizing billions of dollars in U.S. military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine have received bipartisan, bicameral support thus far. Even old Rumpelstiltskin himself, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back on the increasingly isolationist view held by his congressional GOP colleagues.


* On the other side of the aisle, a group of 30 representatives from the progressive wing of the Democratic party sent a letter to President Biden today calling on his administration to dramatically shift his approach to the war in Ukraine ([link removed]) , and instead directly pursue negotiations with Russia. The letter, which was led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), urged Biden to pair the unprecedented economic and military support the United States has provided Ukraine with a “proactive diplomatic push, redoubling efforts to seek a realistic framework for a ceasefire.” The Progressive Caucus is specifically concerned that the United States is not engaging in regular dialogue with Russia as part of its effort to end the war that has displaced 13 million people and killed thousands. The progressive members of congress made sure to differentiate their concerns about Biden’s approach to Republicans, who are either trying to set
him up to fail, or actively siding with Russia in the war.

The war in Ukraine poses the greatest U.S.-Russian diplomatic knot since the Cold War. The Biden administration cannot afford any cracks in the coalition supporting Ukraine, especially as millions of Ukrainians stare down the barrel of a brutal winter.

From reproductive rights to voting rights to the future of elections in our country, some of the biggest issues at stake in this election will be determined in races that don’t always get the attention they deserve. We need to change that, so we’re calling in some outside help. Vote Save America, in partnership with Impactual
([link removed]) , is thrilled to present Get Down For Democracy: An Evening of Music & Midterms
([link removed]) , hosted by the one and only Questlove. Join us Thursday, October 27 at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT, for a virtual 90-minute DJ set featuring some amazing guests including The Hon. Stacey Abrams, Nevada
Attorney General & Democratic Association of Attorneys General Co-Chair Aaron Ford, Nevada Secretary of State candidate Cisco Aguilar – and more to be announced soon! – to hear about what's at stake in the November 8th midterm elections and how we can get involved in this final stretch to elect Democratic governors, Attorneys General, and Secretaries of State across the country.
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Following weeks of antisemitic comments from rapper Kanye West, a well-known hate group traveled to Los Angeles this weekend for a Nazi demonstration on a freeway overpass ([link removed]) , raising suspicion and alarm that Ye’s rhetoric is inspiring more public bigotry and threatening the safety of Jewish Americans. On Saturday, demonstrators from the Goyim Defense League (which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group) gave Nazi salutes as they stood behind a large banner on the overpass that read “Kanye is right about the Jews.” Major Hollywood talent agency CAA announced it dropped Ye this month ([link removed]) . Some have called for Apple and Spotify to stop streaming his music and for the owners of right-wing
social-media network Parler not to sell their company to him. Something tells me the folks at Parler won’t be dissuaded by antisemitism. Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian tweeted a condemnation of hate speech and said she “stand[s] together with the Jewish community,” and called for the violence and hateful rhetoric “to come to an immediate end,” without naming Kanye explicitly.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has temporarily blocked enforcement of a subpoena to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) from the Fulton County, GA, grand jury ([link removed]) investigating interference in the state’s 2020 election results.


Jury selection began today in the tax-fraud trial of the Trump Organization, with the org ready to accuse its longtime chief financial officer of lying in a case in which the business is accused of awarding scores of off-the-books benefits to senior executives ([link removed]) . Pull up a chair, this is gonna be good!


Unaffiliated voters are on the rise in battleground states, especially among young voters ([link removed]) . DNC, u up??


At a Texas rally over the weekend, disgraced former president Donald Trump advocated for throwing reporters in jail where the threat of being raped will force them to give up their sources ([link removed]) . You know, because he loves free speech!!


Opening statements began today in the Los Angeles trial of Harvey Weinstein, charged with four counts of rape and seven counts of sexual assault ([link removed]) , separate from his New York trial at which he was found guilty and sentenced to 23 years in prison.


Federal court documents filed today show that the largest private Hasidic Jewish school in New York State stole millions of dollars from a variety of government programs in a yearslong fraud scheme ([link removed]) . The school agreed to pay $5 million in fines on top of the $3 million in restitution it had already paid as part of a deal to avoid prosecution.


The Republican National Committee has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging the company has been suppressing its email marketing campaigns ([link removed]) . (Spoiler: Republican fundraising emails are highly scammy and thus trigger email spam filters.)


A jury heard closing remarks in the trial of three men alleged to have orchestrated a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). ([link removed])


A new Rolling Stone investigation details disgraced former president Trump’s plans to challenge the results of midterm elections ([link removed]) , especially in the event that GOP Senate nominee and puppy killer Dr. Mehmet Oz doesn’t win in Pennsylvania.


Russian runner Natalya Antyukh was stripped of her 2012 Olympic medal for doping. ([link removed])


Test scores across the United States show historic learning setbacks caused by the pandemic ([link removed]) that spared no state or region.


In an unusual turn of events, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK), the first Alaska Native elected to congress, crossed party lines to endorse each other ([link removed]) in their

re-election campaigns.

Political turbulence continues in the United Kingdom, where residents by now surely have their knickers in a twist. Following speculation that he would show up again like a bad penny (or a bad one-pence coin, I guess) former Prime Minister Boris Johnson removed himself from leadership consideration in the Conservative Party ([link removed]) , paving the way for former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak to become Britain’s first non-White prime minister ([link removed]) . The challenges Sunak will face are steep, as the country is still reeling from the damage Prime Minister Liz Truss did to the economy before resigning last week after a truly embarrassing 44 days in office. Sunak was runner-up to Liz Truss after Boris Johnson resigned this summer
amid myriad ethics scandals. At 42, he will also be the youngest prime minister in more than 200 years ([link removed]) . Dishy Rishi may have grown up middle class, but he went to an elite prep school, then on to Oxford, then Stanford, then worked for Goldman Sachs as a hedge fund manager in the United States, where he met his wife who is, you guessed it, the daughter of a billionaire. He won a seat in parliament in 2015 and was an early supporter of leaving the European Union, which even in the Conservative party at the time was heterodox. So when Leave won in 2016, his political career took off. I’m sure a man who is richer than most members of the Royal Family will handle kitchen-table issues facing average Britons perfectly! Can’t wait!
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Crooked x Cariuma: Double the brands, double the impact.

A limited-edition collab with our favorite shoe brand is here.

You know we’re all about voting: doing it, registering people to do it, and of course giving a portion of the proceeds from the Crooked Store to VoteRiders to help inform citizens of their state’s voter ID requirements and secure them the documents they may need to vote.

Why not add wearing shoes that support voting to that list?

Just in time for canvassing season, we’re excited to announce that Crooked and Cariuma have collaborated to launch our own co-branded OCA low-tops, in two designs that we think you’ll really love.

Choose from a clean white sneaker with the words “No Steps Back,” or our patented “I voted” sticker print. They’re both perfect for peaceful protests, voter registration drives, and/or grabbing bagels (heroes have to eat, too).

These shoes don’t just support VoteRiders (and your arches). Like all Cariuma shoes, they’re ethically and sustainably made from organic cotton canvas, natural rubber, cork, and recycled plastics, and your pair plants two trees in the Brazilian rainforest through Cariuma’s in-house Ecological Restoration program.

What A Day readers can get 15% off at checkout with code WHATADAY, so be sure to snag your pair now ([link removed]) before they sell out!

With just over two weeks until election day, the state of Georgia continues shattering early voting records. ([link removed])


The IRS announced today the largest-ever increase to 401(k) contribution limits ([link removed]) , allowing millions of Americans to save thousands of more dollars in tax-advantaged plans.

Former president Barack Obama has been hitting the campaign trail hard for Democrats in the final weeks before midterms (including sitting down with our own Pod Save America ([link removed]) last week), introducing himself to new Gen Z voters ([link removed]) as “the 44th president of the United States and I have the best jump shot in White House history,” in a new PSA.
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