The Conversation -- December 1, 2024

All in the Family. Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: :... Donald Trump said Sunday that he would nominate Massad Boulos, a Lebanese American businessman and the father-in-law of his daughter Tiffany, as a senior adviser covering Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.... The advisory White House post doesn't require Senate confirmation.: CNN's report is here. So far, I haven't seen any information that Boulos is a criminal, but he's a billionaire international businessman with ties to Hezbollah, so we'll see what journalists develop.

Holly Bailey, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's announcement that he wants to replace FBI Director Christopher A. Wray with Kash Patel, a staunch loyalist who has vowed to fire the agency's leadership and dramatically reshape its mission, was met with bipartisan concern that his appointment could undermine the agency's independence.... FBI directors typically have 10-year tenures, unique among appointments in the executive branch. That span ... was imposed in 1976 as a post-Watergate government reform effort after it became clear that Richard M. Nixon's pick to serve as FBI director, L. Patrick Gray, destroyed documents related to the bureau's investigation of the Watergate scandal and gave Nixon's administration briefings on the investigation. The term limit is meant to assert the independence of FBI directors from any political leader or party." MB: The Republicans cited who supposedly expressed "concern" about Patel sound a lot less "concerned" than Susan Collins does about the lowlifes she ultimately votes to seat. Indeed, the Senators' "concerns" strike me as performance art: "Look at me! I'm a Senator! I'm doing my very senatorish thing." In fact, ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Several Republican lawmakers fell in line on Sunday behind ... Donald J. Trump's plan to choose Kash Patel to lead the F.B.I., defending the incoming president's right to install a loyalist who has vowed to use the position to exact revenge on Mr. Trump's adversaries. Mr. Trump's announcement on Saturday that he intends to replace Christopher A. Wray ... who still has three years left on his 10-year term, with Mr. Patel has stunned Democrats and many in the national security establishment. Mr. Patel has said he would launch a sweeping campaign of retribution against F.B.I. agents, journalists and others."

New York Times Notices the Most Obvious Dangers Trump Poses: Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump's determination to crash over traditional governmental guardrails will present a fundamental test of whether the Republican-controlled Senate can maintain its constitutional role as an independent institution and a check on presidential power. With Mr. Trump putting forward a raft of contentious prospective nominees and threatening to challenge congressional authority in other ways, Republicans who will hold the majority come January could find themselves in the precarious position of having to choose between standing up for their institution or bowing to a president dismissive of government norms. The clearest and most immediate point of tension is likely to be Mr. Trump's efforts to skip the Senate's traditional confirmation process to install loyalists, including some with checkered backgrounds, in his cabinet. But the president-elect has also signaled he expects Republicans on Capitol Hill to accede to his wishes on policy, even if that means ceding Congress's control over federal spending. Both are powers explicitly given to the legislative branch in the Constitution."

Adam Rasgon, et al., of the New York Times: "A former Israeli defense minister has accused Israel of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, a rare critique from a member of the security establishment at a time of war. The comments by Moshe Yaalon came amid mounting criticism of the Israeli military's conduct in Gaza. They were swiftly denied and condemned by allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, saying that they would hurt the country and help its enemies. Mr. Yaalon served as the Israeli military's chief of staff during the second intifada and as Mr. Netanyahu's defense minister during the 2014 war in Gaza, the longest conflict between Israel and Hamas before the current war. But he broke with Mr. Netanyahu in 2016 and has since become a critic of the Israeli leader.... 'The path they're dragging us down is to occupy, annex, and ethnically cleanse -- look at the northern strip,' he said. He also said Israel was being pulled in the direction of building settlements in Gaza, a notion that is supported by far-right politicians in Mr. Netanyahu's government."

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⭐Trump Nominates Crazy Man to Head FBI. Devlin Barrett & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: :... Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that he wants to replace Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, with Kash Patel, a hard-line critic of the bureau who has called for shutting down the agency's Washington headquarters, firing its leadership and bringing the nation's law enforcement agencies 'to heel.' Mr. Trump's planned nomination of Mr. Patel ... could run into hurdles in the Senate, which will be called on to confirm him, and is sure to send shock waves through the F.B.I., which Mr. Trump and his allies have come to view as part of a 'deep state' conspiracy against him. Mr. Patel has been closely aligned with Mr. Trump's belief that much of the nation's law enforcement and national security establishment needs to be purged of bias and held accountable for what they see as unjustified investigations and prosecutions of Mr. Trump and his allies. Mr. Patel 'played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability and the Constitution,' Mr. Trump said in announcing his choice in a social media post....

"Before leaving office in early 2021, Mr. Trump floated the idea of making Mr. Patel deputy director of either the C.I.A. or the F.B.I. William P. Barr, the attorney general at the time, wrote in his memoir that Mr. Patel would have become deputy F.B.I. director only 'over my dead body.'... [Mr. Patel] has vowed to investigate and possibly prosecute journalists once he is back in government.... 'Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections -- we're going to come after you,' he said last year." ~~~

     ~~~ Eric Tucker & Alan Suderman of the AP: "... Donald Trump says he will nominate Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, turning to a fierce ally to upend America's premier law enforcement agency and rid the government of perceived 'conspirators.' It's the latest bombshell Trump has thrown at the Washington establishment and a test for how far Senate Republicans will go in confirming his nominees. The selection is in keeping with Trump's view that the government's law enforcement and intelligence agencies require a radical transformation and his stated desire for retribution against supposed adversaries. It shows how Trump, still fuming over years of federal investigations that shadowed his first administration and later led to his indictment, is moving to place atop the FBI and Justice Department close allies he believes will protect rather than scrutinize him."

~~~ Elaina Calabro in the Atlantic (August 26, 2024): "This was what seemed to disturb many of [Patel's] colleagues the most: Patel was dangerous, several of them told me, not because of a certain plan he would be poised to carry out if given control of the CIA or FBI, but because he appeared to have no plan at all -- his priorities today always subject to a mercurial president's wishes tomorrow.... But in the officials' warnings about the various catastrophic ways the rise of an inexperienced lackey to the highest levels of government might end, all Patel seemed to detect was the panic of a 'deep state' about to be exposed.... 'A lot of people say he's crazy,' Trump once said of Patel, according to the longtime adviser. 'I think he;s kind of crazy. But sometimes you need a little crazy.'" Thanks to laura h. for this gift link.

How to Insult France: Name a Sleazy Ex-con as Ambassador. Zach Montague of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump announced on Saturday that he would name Charles Kushner, the wealthy real estate executive and father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France.... Mr. Kushner received a pardon from Mr. Trump in the final days of his first term for a variety of violations and then emerged as a major donor to Mr. Trump's 2024 campaign.... Mr. Kushner, 70, pleaded guilty in 2004 to 16 counts of tax evasion, a single count of retaliating against a federal witness and one of lying to the Federal Election Commission in a case that became a lasting source of embarrassment for the family. As part of the plea, Mr. Kushner admitted to hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, a witness in a federal campaign finance investigation, and sending a videotape of the encounter to his sister.... Mr. Kushner served two years in prison before his release in 2006." MB: The post requires Senate confirmation. The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'd say Trump couldn't stand the positive attention Emmanuel Macron received for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral, so he decided to poke the French President in the eye. Macron should refuse to accept Kushner's credentials, but he won't. The great news for Charles Kushner is that he can crime with impunity while he's in France because he'll have diplomatic immunity. More on France linked below.

David Ovalle & Anumita Kaur of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Saturday tapped Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, replacing Anne Milgram. In picking the Florida sheriff to lead the DEA, Trump has selected a law enforcement professional with three decades of experience working for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office but seemingly little time in the national spotlight." The ABC News report is here.

Only One President at a Time? -- What a Quaint Idea. Maegan Vazquez, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Saturday demanded that the BRICS nations, a group of nine countries..., commit to not creating a new currency or back any other currency to replace the U.S. dollar, threatening to impose punitive duties on their imports if they do not comply. 'We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,' Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.... 'They can go find another "sucker!" There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.' The forum includes Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The group has a stated purpose of building up an international finance system that is less dependent on the United States and the European Union." An AP story is here.

Trump Sends Trudeau Packing. Rob Gillies & Fatima Hussein of the AP: "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned home Saturday after his meeting with Donald Trump without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks 'productive' but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. After the leaders' hastily arranged dinner Friday night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trudeau spoke of 'an excellent conversation' and said in a post later Saturday on X, accompanied by a photo of the two men seated a table and smiling, that he looked forward to 'the work we can do together, again.' Trump said earlier on Truth Social that they discussed 'many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I told Justin not to go there. An obvious element of Trump's retribution program is humiliation, and the bigger the world leader he can humiliate (and insult) the better. So Trudeau, Macron -- Good Lord! they both speak French! And English! Trump hates the well-educated.

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Hunter Biden's legal team is launching an assertive public defense of the president's son just weeks before federal judges in Delaware and California prepare to sentence him..., and as his father faces a diminishing window to pardon him if he chooses to do so despite previously ruling it out. In a 52-page paper titled 'The political prosecutions of Hunter Biden' released Saturday, Hunter Biden's lawyers criticize the foundation of the investigations into their client, arguing that he was prosecuted for crimes that an ordinary citizen would not have been. Hunter Biden is likely to face further unfair threats when ... Donald Trump takes office, the lawyers contend. The document at times seems aimed directly at President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly said that he will not pardon or commute the sentences of his son.... [The report] cites comments that Trump has made about targeting his opponents, along with remarks from congressional Republicans who for years have investigated Hunter and other Biden family members."

Bluesky, Nothin' But Bluesky From Now On. Kat Tenbarge of NBC News: "Journalists are finding more readers and less hate on Bluesky than on the platform they used to know as Twitter.... Since Elon Musk bought Twitter, [he] has turned the platform into an increasingly difficult place for journalists, and many had come to suspect that the platform had begun to suppress the reach of posts that include links to external websites. On Sunday, Musk confirmed the platform has deprioritized posts including links, which was how journalists and other creators historically shared their work. But four journalists told NBC News that after millions of users migrated to Bluesky, an alternative that resembles a pared-back version of X, after the election, they are rebuilding their audiences there, too.... Numerous studies and analyses have found that after Musk took over the platform, use of hate speech increased. Over time, the platform became a bastion of the right-wing internet.

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China. Edward Wong of the New York Times: "The State Department has denounced a Chinese court's sentencing of a prominent journalist, Dong Yuyu, to seven years in prison and said it stood with his family in calling for his 'immediate and unconditional release.' A court in Beijing announced the sentence on Friday for his conviction on charges of espionage. Mr. Dong, 62, a former Harvard Nieman fellow, has been held since February 2022, when officers from the Ministry of State Security, China's main intelligence agency, detained him and a Japanese diplomat while they ate lunch in a restaurant. The officers released the diplomat after an interrogation, but prosecutors put Mr. Dong on trial behind closed doors in July 2023. He is the most prominent journalist imprisoned in mainland China.

"Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, said in a statement on Friday that Mr. Dong's 'arrest and today's sentencing highlight the P.R.C.'s failure to live up to its commitments under international law and its own constitutional guarantees to all its citizens.' He used the initials of the formal name of the country, the People's Republic of China.... Senator Marco Rubio, Mr. Trump's pick for secretary of state, has crafted legislation that would punish China for its human rights abuses. Mr. Rubio is a former co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which lists Mr. Dong as a prisoner 'of priority concern' and urges action on his case by the White House."

France. Adam Nessiter of the New York Times: The political life of France's Prime Minister Michel Barnier "could even be over this week, or possibly before Christmas, a prospect prompting ghoulish speculation about financial chaos, American-style government shutdown and unpaid salaries for the fifth of France's work force on the public payrolls. That the country might soon be without a government is adding to the French malaise -- a soup of industrial layoffs, strikes, demonstrating farmers, anemic growth and a yawning deficit.... The woman in control of the [government's fate] is Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right populist National Rally, which has more seats in the lower house of the French Parliament than any other party.... That the Donald J. Trump-friendly National Rally calls the shots in France, which has so far resisted the pull of crony populism, is only half-acknowledged by the news media and by a political class that greeted the American election largely with alarm. Ms. Le Pen is currently on trial with her associates for misusing European Parliament money, and risks being convicted and barred from running for office."

     ~~~ Zach Montague of the Times wrote in the story linked above, "As president, Mr. Trump also expressed support for Mr. Macron's far-right challenger in the 2017 French presidential election, Marine Le Pen, whose hard-line stance against immigration Mr. Trump praised"

Syria. The Washington Post's live-updates of developments Sunday in Syria's civil war are here: "Syrian rebel fighters are advancing southward toward Hama after seizing control of most of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, posing the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years amid the country's civil war, which began in 2011. The rapid assault over the weekend is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist rebel group based in northwestern Syria's Idlib province. Government forces, supported by Russia and Iran, appeared to have withdrawn from some areas. Images from Aleppo and a military base in Idlib showed several captured Syrian army soldiers."

Muhammad Kadour & Raja Abdulrahim of the New York Times: "Rebels had seized most of Syria's largest city, Aleppo, as of Saturday, according to a war monitoring group and to fighters who were combing the streets in search of any remaining pockets of government forces. The antigovernment rebels said they had faced little resistance on the ground in Aleppo. But Syrian government warplanes responded with airstrikes on the city for the first time since 2016, according to the war monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Aleppo came to a near standstill on Saturday, with many residents staying indoors..., witnesses said. Others did venture out into the streets, welcoming the fighters and hugging them. Some rebels tried to reassure city residents and sent out at least one van to distribute bread. The rapid advance on Aleppo came just days into a surprise rebel offensive launched on Wednesday against the autocratic regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The developments are both the most serious challenge to Mr. al-Assad's rule and the most intense escalation in years in a civil war that had been mostly dormant."

News Lede

New York Times: "More than two feet of snow blanketed western New York and Pennsylvania on Saturday, with some parts getting more than three feet, as a lake-effect snowstorm disrupted post-Thanksgiving travel and stranded dozens of vehicles on highways. The storm threatened to bring up to six feet of snow to some areas by Tuesday morning. More than five million residents across eight states -- Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia -- were under winter weather advisories as of 2 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.... The Weather Service said snowfall on Saturday was heaviest along Interstate 90, which hugs Lake Erie from Buffalo through Pennsylvania and on to Cleveland. Erie and parts of northern Michigan, eastern Ohio and western New York received around 30 inches of snow or more, the agency said. National Guard troops were dispatched in New York and Pennsylvania."

The Conversation -- November 30, 2024

RFK Jr., International Scourge. Salem Gebrekidan, et al., of the New York Times: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is in line to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in the next Trump administration..., has ... spent years working abroad to undermine policies that have been pillars of global health policy for a half-century, records show. He has done this by lending his celebrity, and the name of his nonprofit group, Children's Health Defense, to a network of overseas chapters that sow distrust in vaccine safety and spread misinformation far and wide. He, his organizations and their officials have interfered with vaccination efforts, undermined sex education campaigns meant to stem the spread of AIDS in Africa, and railed against global organizations like the World Health Organization that are in charge of health initiatives. Along the way, Mr. Kennedy has partnered with, financed or promoted fringe figures -- people who claim that 5G cellphone towers cause cancer, that homosexuality and contraceptive education are part of a global conspiracy to reduce African fertility and that the World Health Organization is trying to steal countries' sovereignty.... These people, more than leading scientists and experienced public health professionals, have existed in Mr. Kennedy's orbit for years." ~~~

~~~ Marie: It's getting more & more difficult to exaggerate how much trouble we are in. ~~~

~~~ Cashing In. Kipp Jones of Mediaite: "Cheryl Hines, the TV star wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shared a partially nude video of the controversial nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services on her Instagram page Friday. Hines was promoting a line of 'MAHA' or Make America Healthy Again candles for her self-care products company Hines + Young...." MB: Fortunately, it's the Trump administration, so no ethics problem at all.

Christine Fernando of the AP: "... an emboldened fringe of right-wing 'manosphere' influencers ... have seized on Republican Donald Trump's presidential win to justify and amplify misogynistic derision and threats online. Many have appropriated a 1960s abortion rights rallying cry, declaring 'Your body, my choice' at women online and on college campuses. For many women, the words represent a worrying harbinger of what might lie ahead as some men perceive the election results as a rebuke of reproductive rights and women's rights.... The phrase 'Your body, my choice' has been largely attributed to a post on the social platform X from Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and far-right internet personality who dined at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida two years ago.... Fuentes' post had 35 million views on X within 24 hours, according to a report by Frances-Wright's think tank, and the phrase spread rapidly to other social media platforms. Women on TikTok have reported seeing it inundate their comment sections. The slogan also has made its way offline with boys chanting it in middle schools or men directing it at women on college campuses...."

Playwright Sarah Bernstein in a New York Times op-ed: "Hundreds of years after the Brothers Grimm published their version of that classic rags-to-riches story ['Cinderella'], our cultural narratives still reflect the idea that a woman's status can be elevated by marrying a more successful man -- and a man's diminished by pairing with a more successful woman. Now that women are pulling ahead, the fairy tale has become increasingly unattainable. This development is causing both men and women to backslide to old gender stereotypes and creating a hostile division between them that provides fuel for the exploding manosphere.... It's little wonder Americans are experiencing surging loneliness, declining birthrates and -- as evidenced by Donald Trump's popularity with young men -- a cascade of resentment that threatens to reshape our democracy.... Letting go of the male breadwinner norm is not an instant fix for our culture, but we can't move forward without that step."

Constant Méheut of the New York Times: "Russian troops in eastern Ukraine have seized at least 10 villages and settlements in roughly as many days, according to a group with ties to the Ukrainian Army that maps the battlefield, as Moscow presses on with slow but steady advances that have heightened pressure on Ukraine's authorities to start cease-fire talks. The situation looks particularly precarious for Ukrainian forces in Donetsk, in Ukraine's east, where Russian forces are closing in on their last two strongholds in the southern part of the region, according to the analysis by the group, DeepState. The fall of the strongholds, Kurakhove and Velyka Novosilka, could pave the way for a Russian takeover of the area, experts say. Russia, which annexed Donetsk in 2022 and controls about two-thirds of the region, is seeking to consolidate power over the whole territory." See related story, below.

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No, Justin, No! Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada went to Florida on Friday night to see... Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, two officials with direct knowledge of the visit said, after a threat by Mr. Trump to impose across-the-board tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico on Day 1....Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Trump dined together on Friday evening, one official said, along with a delegation of senior Trump allies poised for top trade and security positions in his new administration. Mr. Trudeau was accompanied on his visit by Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister of public safety. The Canadian prime minister was staying in the area overnight, but not at Mar-a-Lago." Here's a CBC News story.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Erica Green of the New York Times: "During the campaign..., Donald J. Trump swore he had 'nothing to do with' a right-wing policy blueprint known as Project 2025 that would overhaul the federal government, even though many of those involved in developing the plans were his allies. Mr. Trump even described many of the policy goals as 'absolutely ridiculous.' And during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he said he was 'not going to read it.' Now..., Mr. Trump has recruited at least a half dozen architects and supporters of the plan to oversee key issues, including the federal budget, intelligence gathering and his promised plans for mass deportations.... Mr. Trump disavowed the 900-page manifesto when polls showed it was extremely unpopular with voters. Now that he has won a second term, [his critics] say, he appears to be brushing those concerns aside."

Sharon LaFraniere & Julie Tate of the New York Times: "The mother of Pete Hegseth..., Donald J. Trump's pick for secretary of defense, wrote him an email in 2018 saying he had routinely mistreated women for years and displayed a lack of character. 'On behalf of all the women (and I know it's many) you have abused in some way, I say -- get some help and take an honest look at yourself,' Penelope Hegseth wrote, stating that she still loved him. She also wrote: 'I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.' Mrs. Hegseth, in a phone interview with The New York Times on Friday, said that she had sent her son an immediate follow-up email at the time apologizing for what she had written.... In the interview, she defended her son and disavowed the sentiments she had expressed in the initial email.... 'It is not true. It has never been true,' she said.... She said that publishing the contents of the first email was 'disgusting.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No, Mrs. Hegseth, it's not "disgusting," it's journalism. Sure, this revelation is going to give your "disgusting" son more creds with Trump because he thinks mistreating women is manly and cool, but the American people need to know what kind of lowlife is running a Defense Department made up of men and women. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the full text of the email from Penelope Hegseth to her son Pete. Via the New York Times. (It's also linked in the body of the story; click on "wrote" above.)

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "Scott Gottlieb, who led the Food and Drug Administration during the Trump administration, on Friday warned that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could 'cost lives' if confirmed as the next secretary of Health and Human Services. 'You're going to see measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates go down,' Gottlieb said on CNBC, referencing Kennedy's longtime criticism of federal recommendations for childhood immunizations, and noting a recent decline in childhood vaccination rates. The nation is approaching a 'tipping point,' Gottlieb said, where a continued decline in childhood vaccines could soon lead to measles outbreaks and deaths of children. 'We're going to start seeing epidemics of diseases that have long been vanquished, and, God forbid, we see polio reemerge in this country,' he said. Gottlieb said he had been warning senators against confirming Kennedy.... He added that Kennedy, who founded one of the country's most prominent antivaccine groups, had 'smart people' around him who could take immediate steps to affect Americans' access to vaccines, such as changing federal vaccine recommendations."

Rachel Leingang of the Guardian: "Mike Johnston, the mayor of Denver..., said [earlier this month] he would protest deportations -- even being willing to go to jail for it.... Donald Trump's 'border czar', Tom Homan, said that's one area where he and Johnston agree. 'He's willing to go to jail, I'm willing to put him in jail,' Homan told Fox on Tuesday.... For his second term, Trump and his appointees have threatened a more forceful and broad deportation plan, though they have not offered details on what it will look like. Trump has said he will activate the military to carry out deportations, and there are likely to be flashy raids in Democratic cities that defy him.... Trump's team is reportedly figuring out ways the president could unilaterally remove federal resources from Democratic cities that don't go along with deportation plans.... Around the country, mayors and city councils are discussing how they can protect local immigrants from a mass deportation campaign. Cities cannot stop federal authorities from deporting people, but depending on state laws, they can refuse to use local resources or voluntarily provide information to assist in these operations."

Noah Bookbinder & Gregg Nunziata, respectively Democratic & Republican counsels to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a New York Times op-ed: "We know how the confirmation process is supposed to work and how important F.B.I. vetting is to that process. That's why we're appalled by reports that the new Republican-led Senate and the incoming Trump administration may dispense with it.... Efforts to bypass F.B.I. background checks and even Senate confirmation itself via mass recess appointments, made by the president when the Senate is not in session, never would have flown with past iterations of the Judiciary Committee, regardless of which party was in charge. The Senate shouldn't stand for it now." The writers also nixed the Trumpy idea of having a private firm do the vetting.

More on Bomb Threats against Democrats. Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said bomb threats and swatting incidents were made against Democratic lawmakers, their families and law enforcement personnel, shortly after the FBI said several similar threats were aimed at people ... Donald Trump has chosen for his incoming administration. The threats, Jeffries said Friday, were 'all signed with "MAGA" at the conclusion of the message.'... Jeffries, who did not name the targeted lawmakers, said law enforcement reacted swiftly and that no devices were found. Democratic Reps. from Connecticut Rosa DeLauro, Jahana Hayes and Jim Himes said in separate statements on Thursday that they were targeted with bomb threats. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-Rhode Island) said on Friday he was notified that he and his family were the targets of a bomb threat at their home.... Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) also received a bomb threat similar to those 'made against other Democrats on Thanksgiving,' his office confirmed on Friday."

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France. Aurelien Breeden of the Washington Post: "The world got its first glimpse on Friday of the newly renovated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron of France took viewers on a live televised tour of the cathedral's dazzlingly clean interior and rebuilt roofing, five years after a devastating fire that was followed by a colossal reconstruction effort.... The French president and his wife, Brigitte, gushed with admiration and craned their necks as they entered the 12th and 13th-century Gothic monument alongside the mayor and archbishop of Paris. More than 450,000 square feet of cream-colored limestone inside the cathedral have been meticulously stripped of ash, lead dust and centuries of accumulated grime, leaving its soaring vaults, thick columns and tall walls almost startlingly bright." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The cathedral certainly doesn't look as it did in our lifetimes; Notre Dame is a different experience now.

Syria. Raja Abdulrahim of the New York Times: "Syrian rebels breached the major city of Aleppo on Friday, according to the fighters and a war monitor, reigniting the country's long-running civil war with an intensity not seen in years. The rebels, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, took control of 'more than half of Aleppo' within hours on Friday without resistance from Syrian government forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group based in Britain.'

⭐Ukraine/Russia, et al. Sky News: "Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken 'under the NATO umbrella' - allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later 'in a diplomatic way'. In an interview with Sky News's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president was asked to respond to media reports saying one of ... Donald Trump's plans to end the war might be for Kyiv to cede the land Moscow has taken to Russia in exchange for Ukraine joining NATO. Mr Zelenskyy said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country in order to end the 'hot phase of the war', as long as the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally recognised borders. He appeared to accept occupied eastern parts of the country would fall outside of such a deal for the time being."

News Lede

Washington Post: "Great Lakes communities were pummeled with snow Friday as unusually warm weather plunged into a lake-effect snow event that is expected to continue into Monday. More than 20 inches had fallen in places along Lake Erie]s shore in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, with the highest total, 2.5 feet, in the Pennsylvania city of Erie as of 10:30 p.m. local time. Erie County declared a snow disaster Friday night, urging residents and visitors to 'please stay home, stay safe, and allow plow crews and first responders to do their work.' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared a state of emergency Friday for parts of the state's north and west, including the city of Buffalo, and said the National Guard was on standby. Road closures in the region included a stretch of Interstate 90 in Pennsylvania, which connects Cleveland and Buffalo, disrupting motorists on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year."

The Conversation -- November 29, 2024

Thanksgiving Messages from Our Leaders. Ivana Saric of Axios: "'Happy Thanksgiving, America. May we use this moment to take time from our busy lives and focus on what matters most: our families, our friends, our neighbors, and the fact that we've been blessed to live in America, the greatest country on Earth,' [President] Biden wrote on X Thursday. In a separate video message, he said he and First Lady Jill Biden were 'grateful for the trust you put in us these past four years.... It's been the honor of our lives to serve you in the White House,' he added. Gosh, that's sweet and heartening. ~~~

~~~ Oh, Wait, There's More. "... Trump took time in his Thanksgiving message to boast about his 'landslide victory' in November. 'Happy Thanksgiving to all, including to the Radical Left Lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our Country, but who have miserably failed,' Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. He also offered a separate Thanksgiving post of a photo of himself with a law enforcement officer."

     ~~~ Marie: It's not much consolation, I know, but at least we can assure ourselves that -- as miserable as Trump may make the country -- he is a perpetually-angry, joyless person. If you enjoyed a happy Thanksgiving, be assured that Trump did not. Happiness is something he has never experienced. Cruelty is his only pleasure, and I sense that cruelty is not much fun and the small satisfaction it may bring is shortlived.

Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "After months of wrangling over the legitimacy of a plea deal in the Sept. 11 case, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has stripped a senior official running the war crimes court of her authority to reach settlements in any cases at Guantánamo Bay. Mr. Austin's decision comes as government lawyers are trying to nullify a plea agreement in the Sept. 11, 2001, case. On July 31, Mr. Austin's appointee in charge of the court, Susan K. Escallier, approved a settlement that was reached by prosecutors across years of negotiations. But Mr. Austin said he was surprised by it and moved to rescind the deal, saying he strongly believed that the men accused of plotting the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people should face a trial. Now, in a memo dated Monday and obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Austin stripped Ms. Escallier of the authority to approve deals in the U.S.S. Cole and Bali bombing cases, 'effective immediately.' In doing so, he has given himself the sole power to approve plea deals in the terrorism cases in the final months of the Biden administration.... The move comes at an uncertain time for the 30 remaining detainees at Guantánamo Bay, a third of whom have been convicted or charged by military commission."

Andrew Solender of Axios: "Multiple U.S. House and Senate Democrats from Connecticut including the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee said Thursday they were the targets of bomb threats.... 'This morning, I was notified of a bomb threat targeting my home where I was celebrating Thanksgiving with my family,' top Intelligence Committee Democrat Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said in a statement.... Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also had his home targeted by a bomb threat on Thursday morning in what 'appears to be part of a coordinated effort involving multiple members of Congress and public figures,' his spokesperson said." Others targeted were Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.). No evidence of bombs was found.

Ah, a quaint headline to kick off the official holiday season: "Trump Team's Rejection of a Transition Deal Adds a Wrinkle to Its Transparency Pledges." ~~~

     ~~~ Simon Levien of the New York Times: "The refusal by ... Donald J. Trump's team to sign a transition agreement with the General Services Administration means that, despite the team's pledges to abide by several transparency customs of presidential handovers, it isn't legally bound to follow through on its promises. Presidential transitions abide by a series of laws and norms that enable the outgoing administration to brief incoming officials with nonpublic information and to fund transition operations. Mr. Trump's transition team, after forgoing the $7.2 million in government funds that the G.S.A. would have provided if they had reached an agreement, has promised to be transparent by disclosing the names of its donors and said it would not accept donations from foreigners. In an agreement with the White House, the transition team also released an ethics pledge, but the pledge may not be compliant with transition rules.... Mr. Trump has continued to refuse to sign an agreement with the Justice Department that would allow the F.B.I. to run security checks for transition staff." ~~~

     ~~~ No, no, people. We are not looking at "a wrinkle." These are in-your-face pledges not to adhere to old-fashioned codes of ethics. When you're a dictator, they let you do it. Take a look at this story, linked yesterday: ~~~

     ~~~ Betsy Klein, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's team submitted an ethics plan guiding the conduct of its members throughout the transition period [with one notable omission].... 'There does not appear to be a provision addressing the requirement for the president-elect to address his conflicts of interest,' said Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.... In 2016, Trump took some nominal steps toward alleviating ethical concerns before entering the White House.... He has made no such assurances this time. Rather, Trump lately has added potential conflicts of interest with some of his latest business dealings.... The ethics agreement, posted late Tuesday to the General Services Administration's website, otherwise 'does appear to comply with most of the requirements in the Presidential Transition Act,' a law governing the protocols around transition activities, said Boyd."

     Marie: Every network news department must hold regular meetings with their full reporting staffs, some Zooming in from distant lands, where some suit gets up and tells them, "Now team, we're going to pretend this is politics as usual. The good news for us: there may be a few glitches that will catch eyeballs! Any honest reporter would be running from the room with her hair on fire. But these reporters are realists. They need their jobs, so unlike Trump and Co.,they follow the rules the bosses lay out for them, rules so concisely described by Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondents' Dinner of 2006:

... let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

~~~ The only thing that will save Trump's presidency, that will allow us to forever pretend everything was more or less normal and presidenty, would be that he chokes on a Big Mac while having lunch in the Oval Office and dies with a face plant on the Resolute Desk.

Stephanie Saul, et al., of the New York Times: Linda McMahon, whom Donald Trump has nominated to be Secretary of Education, for years ran World Wrestling Entertainment with her husband Vince. "Allegations surrounding the company under their management included promoting steroids, a culture of rampant sexual harassment, intimidation and assault. There have been several out-of-court settlements involving the company or Mr. McMahon personally.... [Over the years, the company has been] criticized for promoting violence, steroid use and sexualized content. In the early 2000s, Ms. McMahon would go so far as to engage in the W.W.E.'s theatrics herself. She kicked her husband ... in the groin in one routine. In another, she appeared to slap her daughter, Stephanie, and knock her to the floor.W.W.E.... [And] scientific studies ... found watching wrestling was correlated with violent behavior among children." ~~~

     ~~~ Lest you think that Linda McMahon doesn't have an interest in education, oh, she does: "She went on to help lead the American First Policy Institute, a little-known right-wing organization formed in 2021. The group's education agenda would steer schools decidedly to the right, by promoting increased spending for charter and private schools, reducing the influence of teachers' unions, and expanding 'parental rights' by giving parents more direct control over many aspects of public education, including curriculum and school library books. In higher education, the group has opposed permitting transgender players in women's sports; demanded the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and argued in favor of eliminating college degree requirements for some public-sector jobs." But don't worry about that: "(With Mr. Trump pledging to dismantle the Department of Education, experts in the field have suggested that if she is confirmed, her primary task may be to fire people.)"

Kit Maher, et al. of CNN: "Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied proposing to ... Donald Trump that Mexico will close its border with the United States as he claimed in a post on Truth Social. 'Everyone has their own way of communicating, but I can assure you, I give you the certainty that we would never -- and we would be incapable of it -- propose that we would close the border,' Sheinbaum said during her regular morning news conference Thursday. 'It has never been our approach and of course we don;t agree with that.' Sheinbaum;s remarks came after Trump said Wednesday that the pair had a 'productive conversation' during their first talks since Trump announced tariffs against Mexico earlier this week that would slap a 25% tariff on all products from that country and from Canada. He claimed the move would be in retaliation for illegal immigration and 'crime and drugs' coming across the border. '... She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border....' Trump posted on Truth Social." ~~~

~~~ Yo, Trumpbots: That Pick-'em-Up Truck You Drive Es Hecho en México. Sarah Morland, et al., of Reuters (Nov. 27): "Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday Mexico would retaliate if ... Donald Trump followed through with his proposed 25% across-the-board tariff, a move her government warned could kill 400,000 U.S. jobs and drive up prices for U.S. consumers. 'If there are U.S. tariffs, Mexico would also raise tariffs,' Sheinbaum said during a press conference, in her clearest statement yet that the country was preparing possible retaliatory trade measures against its top trade partner. Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, speaking alongside Sheinbaum..., noted that 88% of pickup trucks sold in the U.S. are made in Mexico and would see a price increase. These vehicles are popular in rural areas that overwhelmingly voted for Trump. 'Our estimate is that the average price of these vehicles will increase by $3,000,' Ebrard said.... Analysts at Barclays said they estimate the proposed tariffs "could wipe out effectively all profits" from the Detroit Three automakers."

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in Israel's wars are here: "The Israel Defense Forces carried out attacks in Lebanon on Thursday, but the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect early the previous day mostly appeared to hold. The Israeli air force conducted a strike in southern Lebanon targeting suspected militants who had returned to a site from which projectiles had been fired at Israel during the war, the IDF said. Israeli troops also 'operated to prevent' militants from 'advancing' in southern Lebanon, it added. The Lebanese army said the IDF had violated the cease-fire agreement, while the IDF said it was responding to Hezbollah violating the cease-fire agreement. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Herzi Halevi said in a statement that 'any deviation from this agreement will be enforced with fire.' A Hezbollah lawmaker also accused Israel of violating the cease-fire, Reuters reported."

Ukraine/Russia et al. Daryna Mayer & Alexander Smith of NBC News: "More than 700,000 homes and businesses were without power across a frigid Ukraine early Thursday after Russia launched a widespread missile and drone attack on the country's energy sector. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the 'complex strike' was a retaliation for Ukraine's using American-made ATACMS missiles to strike inside Russia. Despite the widespread civilian impact, he claimed, without evidence, that the assault targeted military sites.... The power grid was targeted just as cold weather begins to bite, a tactic that Ukrainian officials and Western analysts say Russia deliberately deploys." ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement: "Overnight, Russia carried out a horrific aerial attack against Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities report that Russia launched nearly 200 missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, depriving Ukrainian civilians of access to electricity. This attack is outrageous and serves as yet another reminder of the urgency and importance of supporting the Ukrainian people in their defense against Russian aggression." Read the President's full statement at the link.