The Ledes

Tuesday, February 25, 2025 (02-25-2025)

Some Good News, for a change: ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Astronomers have been carefully watching 2024 YR4, a space rock with a heightened chance of hitting Earth in 2032. But fear not: NASA announced on Monday that it posed a threat no longer — the odds that the asteroid would smash into our planet have dropped to nearly zero.”

New York Times: “Eleven days after the pope was hospitalized, speculation is mounting and prayers for his recovery verge on a vigil.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Monday, February 24, 2025

New York Times: “Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent who leaped onto President John F. Kennedy’s limousine as it came under fire in Dallas and prevented a scrambling Jacqueline Kennedy from falling to the ground, died on Friday at his home in Belvedere, Calif. Mr. Hill, hailed for his bravery but long tormented by his inability to save the president’s life, was 93.”

New York Times: “Roberta Flack, the magnetic singer and pianist whose intimate blend of soul, jazz and folk made her one of the most popular artists of the 1970s, died on Monday in Manhattan. She was 88.”

New York Times: “Pope Francis is suffering from 'initial, mild kidney failure' in addition to the serious respiratory illness that has left the 88-year-old pontiff in critical condition in a Rome hospital, the Vatican said on Sunday. Describing a 'complex' clinical picture, the Vatican said that the kidney ailment was 'at present under control,' and that there had been no repeat of the respiratory crisis that the pope had experienced on Saturday. The pope was 'alert and well oriented,' the Vatican said, and he attended Mass in his suite along with the medical staff caring for him.”

Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

Link Code:   <a href="URL">text</a>

OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Public Service Announcement

Zoë Schlanger in the Atlantic: "Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid." This is a gift link from laura h.

Mashable: "Following the 2024 presidential election results and [Elon] Musk's support for ... Donald Trump, users have been deactivating en masse. And this time, it appears most everyone has settled on one particular X alternative: Bluesky.... Bluesky has gained more than 100,000 new sign ups per day since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. It now has over 15 million users. It's enjoyed a prolonged stay on the very top of Apple's App Store charts as well. Ready to join? Here's how to get started on Bluesky[.]"

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Democrats' Weekly Address

Marie (Feb 23): As far as I can tell, there isn't any. I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like Democrats are so screwed up, they can't even put together a couple of minutes of video to tell us how screwed we are.

Out with the Black. In with the White. New York Times: “Lester Holt, the veteran NBC newscaster and anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News' over the last decade, announced on Monday that he will step down from the flagship evening newscast in the coming months. Mr. Holt told colleagues that he would remain at NBC, expanding his duties at 'Dateline,' where he serves as the show’s anchor.... He said that he would continue anchoring the evening news until 'the start of summer.' The network did not immediately name a successor.” ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “MSNBC said on Monday that Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary who has become one of the most prominent hosts at the network, would anchor a nightly weekday show in prime time. Ms. Psaki, 46, will host a show at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, replacing Alex Wagner, a longtime political journalist who has anchored that hour since 2022, according to a memo to staff from Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president. Ms. Wagner will remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, has been anchoring the 9 p.m. hour on weeknights for the early days of ... [Donald] Trump’s administration but will return to hosting one night a week at the end of April.”

New York Times: “Joy Reid’s evening news show on MSNBC is being canceled, part of a far-reaching programming overhaul orchestrated by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, two people familiar with the changes said. The final episode of Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. show, 'The ReidOut,' is planned for sometime this week, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The show, which features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, has been a fixture of MSNBC’s lineup for the past five years. MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors: Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former Democratic strategist; Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Alicia Menendez, the TV journalist, the people said. They currently co-host 'The Weekend,' which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings.” MB: In case you've never seen “The Weekend,” let me assure you it's pretty awful. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: "Joy Reid is leaving MSNBC, the network’s new president announced in a memo to staff on Monday, marking an end to the political analyst and anchor’s prime time news show."

Y! Entertainment: "Meanwhile, [Alex] Wagner will also be removed from her 9 pm weeknight slot. Wagner has already been working as a correspondent after Rachel Maddow took over hosting duties during ... Trump’s first 100 days in office. It’s now expected that Wagner will not return as host, but is expected to stay on as a contributor. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s former White House press secretary, is a likely replacement for Wagner, though a decision has not been finalized." MB: In fairness to Psaki, she is really too boring to watch. On the other hand, she is White. ~~~

     ~~~ RAS: "So MSNBC is getting rid of both of their minority evening hosts. Both women of color who are not afraid to call out the truth. Outspoken minorities don't have a long shelf life in the world of our corporate news media."

As we watch in horror the rapid destruction of our democratic form of government, it is comforting to remember there is life outside politics. I took a break a while ago to enjoy a brief lesson in the history of the moonwalk: ~~~

But it may go back even further:

And this chronological account is helpful:

New York Times: “Chuck Todd, the former 'Meet the Press' moderator and a longtime fixture of NBC’s political coverage, told colleagues on Friday that he was leaving the network. A nearly two-decade veteran of NBC, Mr. Todd said that Friday would be his last day at NBC.... Mr. Todd, 52, is the latest TV news star to step aside at a moment when salaries are being scrutinized — and slashed — by major media companies. Hoda Kotb exited NBC’s 'Today' show this month, and Neil Cavuto of Fox News and CNN’s Chris Wallace departed their cable news homes late last year.”

CNBC: “ CNN plans to lay off hundreds of employees Thursday [Jan. 23] as it refocuses the business around a global digital audience.... The layoffs come as CNN is rearranging its linear TV lineup and building out digital subscription products. The cuts will help CNN lower production costs and consolidate teams, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes. Certain shows that are produced in New York or Washington may move to Atlanta, where production can be done more cheaply, said the people. For the most part, the job cuts won’t affect CNN’s most recognizable names, who are under contract, said the people. CNN has about 3,500 employees worldwide.... NBC News is also planning cuts later this week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes. While the exact number couldn’t be determined, the job losses will be well under 50....”

 

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Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns

I have a Bluesky account now. The URL is https://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.

Saturday
Nov022024

The Conversation -- November 2, 2024

Marie: I don't do polls, but this one is such a shocker, I'll share it: ~~~

~~~ Brianne Pfannenstiel of the Des Moines Register: "Kamala Harris now leads Donald Trump in Iowa -- a startling reversal for Democrats and Republicans who have all but written off the state's presidential contest as a certain Trump victory. A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows Vice President Harris leading former President Trump 47% to 44% among likely voters.... The results follow a September Iowa Poll that showed Trump with a 4-point lead over Harris and a June Iowa Poll showing him with an 18-point lead over Democratic President Joe Biden, who was the presumed Democratic nominee at the time.... A victory for Harris would be a surprising development after Iowa has swung aggressively to the right in recent elections, delivering Trump solid victories in 2016 and 2020. The poll shows that women -- particularly those who are older or who are politically independent -- are driving the late shift toward Harris." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Des Moines Register poll is considered to be a highly-reliable, "gold-standard" poll. To me, the result doesn't necessarily mean Harris will win Iowa, but it may bode well for Harris's position in battleground states.

PLEASE SEE THE CORRECTION BELOW ON THE OBAMA VIDEO. THANKS.

Marie: As usual, the Gray Lady doesn't tell us the whole, sordid story. In an updated story I linked earlier today, Times reporters write,

"... [Mr. Trump's] closing pitch was derailed by problems with the microphone that seemed to frustrate him during a particularly busy stretch of the campaign.... After members of the crowd began chanting that they could not hear him properly, Mr. Trump yanked the microphone out of its holder. At one point, he pantomimed adjusting the microphone setup and bobbing down toward it, to the laughter of the crowd. But Mr. Trump, standing in front of people waving signs that said 'Trump will fix it,' was visibly irritated by the technical issue. 'Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?' he asked the crowd, on a day when his violent language had already drawn attention." ~~~

~~~ But Then. There are other stories that provide a different characterization: ~~~

~~~ Ryan Bort of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! News: "The former president was rallying in Milwaukee on Friday night, and amid his usual fear-mongering over crime and immigration, he went on a weird, prolonged rant about the venue's microphone -- which apparently wasn't functioning properly. 'You gotta be kidding,' Trump said. 'Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?... I get so angry, I'm up here seething, seething,' he continued. 'I'm working my ass off with this stupid mic.' Trump complained about the mic for nearly four full minutes, bashing the 'stupid people' responsible, griping about how worn out his throat is, and complaining that it was set up too low. He also threatened to stiff the contractors, something he has a history of doing.... At one point, Trump bizarrely moved his head up and down from the empty mic stand on his podium, presumably to demonstrate how low he needed to bend over to get the mic to pick up his voice. The act resembled something else, though. 'BLOWING IT: TRUMP SIMULATES ORAL SEX ON STAGE!' read a front-page headline from Drudge." AND ~~~

     ~~~ Ben Blanchet of Huffington Post, via Yahoo News: "Trump also complained about the low height of microphone stands at his events and showed how he would work around such issues, bobbing his head up and down in what many observers suggested was an imitation of oral sex." AND ~~~

     ~~~ Kevin Manahan of NJ.com: "Trump, in one of his final rallies on Friday night, simulated sexually stroking and then performing oral sex on his malfunctioning microphone in Milwaukee." (Includes video; the supposed sex simulation part begins at about 2:55 minutes into the video embedded in a tweet.) ~~~

     ~~~ ⭐ UPDATE. In a surprising move, the Times has published a new (12:21 pm ET), stand-alone story by Michael Gold in which Gold describes the whole mic meltdown, including this: "But observers on social media shared a 5-second clip of the moment, suggesting the former president was pantomiming oral sex. Those short clips quickly received millions of views." Marie: This is remarkably similar to what happened two weeks ago: Michael Gold wrote a campaign update item mentioning Trump's Arnold Palmer big-dick remark, but -- according to Gold -- his editor removed the item. When a reader complained to Gold that he had sane-washed Trump's remarks about Palmer, Gold wrote back saying, "I filed something that included the thing you mention as omitted, but I am not given the power to publish what I say." Gold suggesting the reader direct his complaint to a senior editor, and a short while later, the Times published a full story that led with Trump's reflections on Arnold Palmer's big dick. (See Steve M. on this.)

Marie: This is what I was saying was needed. George Clooney, who does the voiceover, apparently agreed: ~~~

Marie: By accident (or diabolical design), my teevee switched itself to Fox "News" this morning. I wasn't watching at the time, but I heard someone -- sounded like Neil Cavuto -- say that everyone agreed Trump would win the election. He might be right. So I switched off the teevee. I've abandoned Twitter since Elon has done what he could to wreck it, but Bill Madden's account is full of TikTok videos that may hearten you. And who knows? These hopeful young people might be the ones who are right. Thanks to RAS for the lead.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Reid Epstein, et al., of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris and ... Donald J. Trump converged on Milwaukee on Friday night during their final scheduled visits to Wisconsin, a battleground state where neither of them has a lead and which is considered particularly essential to a Harris victory. With the election just three days away, Ms. Harris adopted an upbeat tone during an evening of musical performances and urged her supporters in Milwaukee, where early voting lags the balloting in other parts of the state, to 'please get to it when you can.' The rally for Mr. Trump, who was returning to the site of his Republican coronation in July, had an entirely different tone. He employed fear-mongering language about immigration, repeated his 2020 election lies and lobbed insults at his political foes. He also suggested that Milwaukee's Greek-born basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is Black, seemed less Greek than Mr. Trump did, and spent several minutes erupting in frustration over a faulty microphone." This is an update of this report, linked yesterday: ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Gold & Adam Nagourney of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris and ... Donald J. Trump clashed on Friday over violent comments he made suggesting that Liz Cheney, one of his fiercest Republican critics, should be put somewhere 'with nine barrels shooting at her.' Ms. Harris suggested that the remarks should disqualify Mr. Trump from serving as the nation's chief executive, while he tried to clean up his comments by repeating them in marginally softer terms. He also attacked the vice president for campaigning with Ms. Cheney.... Ms. Harris, speaking to reporters in front of Air Force Two after landing in Madison, Wis., said that Mr. Trump had 'increased his violent rhetoric.'... This must be disqualifying.... Anyone who wants to be president of the United States who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified, and unqualified, to be president.'..."

Dave Jamieson of the Huffington Post: "President Joe Biden reminded Pennsylvanians on Friday that he, Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats safeguarded more than 1 million people's pensions without any help from the GOP. Visiting a union hall in Philadelphia, Biden and local union leaders highlighted the American Rescue Plan of 2021 and how it funded union pension plans that were facing insolvency. The pensions of an estimated 1.2 million workers and retirees have been protected from cuts due to the legislation.... Biden made sure anyone listening knew that the pension rescue got no Republican backing when Democrats muscled it through Congress over three years ago as part of a larger, pandemic-era stimulus package. It passed on a party-line vote in the Senate, with Harris casting a tie-breaker at a critical juncture for the bill.... [Biden said,] '... Not a single, solitary Republican in the House or the Senate, not one, voted to help with the pensions. Not one single one.'"

Here's what can happen when a former President goes to exercise his franchise at his local polling place. In today's Comments, NiskyGuy pointed to this video to illustrate a matter unrelated to the gist of the conversation herein, but I think we can all appreciate it on the level CBS News intended: SEE CORRECTION BELOW. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oops! My bad. This video is ten years old. That was President Obama, voting in the November 2014 midterm elections. I apologize.

Ellie Silverman of the Washington Post: "Thousands of people are expected to rally Saturday in Washington and in cities across the country to bring an enthusiastic boost of support to Vice President Kamala Harris just days before Election Day. The Women's March event ... comes at a time when Harris could become the first female president in the nation's history. The Women's March movement launched the day after Donald Trump's inauguration, when hundreds of thousands of women poured into the District and across the country in what is widely considered the largest single-day protest in American history."

Trump's So White. Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump stumped in Michigan on Friday, where he told rally-goers he has 'beautiful white skin' after criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris.... [Trump] griped that the presidential race has prevented him from getting a proper tan: 'I could've been at the great Turnberry in Scotland. I could've been anywhere I wanted to be. I could've had those waves smacking me in the face. That white, beautiful white skin that I have would be nice and tan. I got the whitest skin 'cause I never have time to go out in the sun. But I have that beautiful white, and you know what? It could've been beautiful, tanned, beautiful.'" In another Mediaite post, Luciano quite properly ties Trump's remarks about his beautiful white skin to his questioning of the nationality of Greek-born basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is Black. Trump asked a Milwaukee crowd who was more Greek -- the Greek-speaking Greek citizen Antetokounmpo, or Trump himself (who most likely does not know Greek and who is of German & Scottish heritage). ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Well, sure. This is a legitimate grievance. It's very unfa-a-a-air that campaigning forces Trump to slather on Cheeto-brand orange-face while Harris naturally looks fine wearing far less makeup than Trump does.

Hannah Knowles, et al., of the Washington Post: "Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) said her office is investigating whether Trump's comments [about having a 9-person firing squad shoot Liz Cheney] could have violated state laws involving intimidation of public officials, spokesperson Richie Taylor said.... Trump did not mention Cheney later in the evening at a rally in Milwaukee. He did, however, become preoccupied with his microphone, which he pulled from its stand. Trump told the crowd, 'This mic stinks,' later adding, 'Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?'" An NBC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Only an insane megalomaniac would immediately think the way to react to possibly faulty equipment was to "beat the hell out of" the people who provided it. This is madness. (It's also a Class B felony in Wisconsin. I'm right sorry Milwaukee cops didn't arrest Trump then and there.)

Jess Bidgood of the New York Times: "Trump still can't stop talking about women.... In the past two days, he has vowed to be a protector of women 'whether they like it or not.' He said that if he won the presidential election, he would want Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a man who is a vaccine skeptic, to work on 'health and women's health.' And, speaking with Tucker Carlson [Thursday] night in Glendale, Ariz., Trump imagined a supremely violent fate for Liz Cheney, the Republican former congresswoman who has become a prominent surrogate for [Vice President] Harris.... The remark was graphic even by the standards of Trump.... And it fed right into Democrats' efforts to frame the election ... as a reckoning over bigger questions of freedom, control and women's fundamental place in society.... Harris has responded to Trump's freewheeling provocations with discipline." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, indeed. Here's Harris responding to Trump's vile attack on Liz Cheney in which he suggested Cheney should suffer death by firing squad: ~~~

     ~~~ It strikes me that to some extent, Harris's discipline is performative. That is, she wants voters to know that (a) she is outraged, but (b) she can hold it together no matter how outrageous the conduct she encounters. Notice how she keeps looking at her notes, as if to hold herself back, in her response to remarks that would leave many of us sputtering. With provocative cool, she faces down a madman.

Ha Ha! Via digby: ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Another caption I saw for this photo: "Breaking News: Trump accidentally votes for Harris after copying answers." Thanks to Bill near San Jose for that link. What this photo really does show is that Trump cheats at everything; he doesn't even respect the secret ballot. Then he has the gall to repeatedly accuse Democrats of cheating in elections.

No Sychophantic Deed Goes Unpunished. Manuel Roig-Franzia of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's campaign released a copy of a Federal Election Commission complaint against The Washington Post on Friday, alleging that the newspaper made illegal in-kind contributions to the campaign of his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, through the advertising of its journalism. The six-page complaint, dated Thursday, cites an Oct. 30 article in Semafor that suggests, without citing a source, that The Post purchased advertising to boost readership of negative articles about Trump. Those ads, according to Semafor, were bought following the Oct. 25 announcement by The Post's publisher, William Lewis, that the newspaper would cease issuing presidential endorsements, a decision that prevented publication of a drafted editorial endorsing Harris, the Democratic nominee. Following the announcement, at least 250,000 readers canceled their subscriptions and three members of the 10-person editorial board stepped down from the board in protest. The Semafor article posits that the ad purchases were made in reaction to the cancellations....

"FEC complaints against newspapers are exceedingly rare, according to Mark Tushnet, a Harvard University emeritus law professor. After reviewing the Trump campaign's complaint, Tushnet called it 'ridiculous' and said the First Amendment 'would almost certainly' protect The Post."

Tim Balk of the New York Times: "Nicolle Wallace, who was a White House communications director in George W. Bush's administration, called on Friday for Mr. Bush to have a late-hour 'change of heart' and speak out against ... Donald J. Trump. Speaking on her 'Deadline: White House' program on MSNBC, Ms. Wallace said Mr. Trump's violent language about former Representative Liz Cheney had pushed her to publicly raise the question she gets 'asked more than any other' off the set: 'Where is George W. Bush?'... Ms. Wallace said she had appealed directly to Mr. Bush's office, and had been told that the former president would continue his silence. But she said that it felt 'important' to make her appeal...." (Also linked yesterday.) The Raw Story report is here.

Edward Hellmore of the Guardian: "A New York author and journalist has released audio tapes that appear to detail how Donald Trump had a close social relationship with the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that he has long denied. The tapes, released as part of the Fire and Fury podcast series by Michael Wolff, author of three books about Trump's first term and 2020 bid for a second, and James Truman, former NME journalist and Condé Nast editorial director, include Epstein's thoughts about the inner workings of the former US president's inner circle.... Wolff claims the excerpt tape is a mere fraction of some '100 hours of Epstein talking about the inner workings of the Trump White House and about his longstanding, deep relationship with Donald Trump'.... Wolff claims on the podcast that he became an 'outlet' for Epstein 'to express his incredulity about someone whose sins he knew so well.... Epstein was utterly preoccupied with Trump, and I think, frankly, afraid of him.'... Wolff said: 'Here are these two guys both driven by a need to do anything they wanted with women: dominance and submission and entertainment. And one of them ends up in the darkest prison in the country and the other in the White House.'"

Marie: Woe is me. I am having a sad! ~~~

~~~ Irie Sentner of Politico: "Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt resigned Friday from his columnist position at The Washington Post, he confirmed to Fox News, after walking out on a live interview on the paper's video platform -- the latest blow to the Post after facing widespread blowback over halting presidential endorsements. Hewitt stormed out during a live broadcast of the Post's show 'First Look' during a discussion Friday morning about ... Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to potentially contest the election, leaving host Jonathan Capehart and fellow guest Ruth Marcus stunned." (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Marie: It sounds to me as if Hewitt was criticizing Capehart for a failure of journalistic integrity, which is kinda funny because "journalist" Hewitt frequently hosts Trump on his radio broadcast and allows Trump to spout whatever hoohah he wants, no fact-checking involved.

Akhilleus wrote yesterday in an essay discussing the right wing's various sex obsessions, "The invented scary fairy tales [about] ...a tidal wave of sex change operations ... are reminiscent of medieval fables of secret witch covens casting evil spells on decent god-fearing folk in the villages and hordes of scabrous, vengeful demons abroad in the land seeking out virgins to defile and babies to eat." ~~~

     ~~~ But Wait! There ARE vengeful demons, and the demons'll get ya if ya don't watch out. ~~~

     ~~~ Edward Hellmore of the Guardian: "Tucker Carlson ... has said he was 'physically mauled' by a demon a year and a half ago, in an assault that he says left him bleeding and with scars from 'claw marks'. Carlson made the claim while speaking in an upcoming documentary, Christianities? In a preview clip on YouTube, Carlson is asked by John Heers of the non-profit First Things Foundation if he believed that 'the presence of evil is kickstarting people to wonder about the good'. 'That's what happened to me. I had a direct experience with it,' said Carlson. Asked if he was referring to journalism, Carlson responded: 'No, in my bed at night. I got attacked while I was asleep with my wife and four dogs and mauled, physically mauled.'" (Also linked yesterday.)


Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Army criminal investigators are reviewing an 'incident' involving the top U.S. general overseeing military affairs in the Middle East ... Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command..., defense officials said Friday, a potential complication for the Biden administration as it continues to grapple with a region-wide crisis spawned by the war in Gaza.... The news site Military.com reported Thursday night that Kurilla was under investigation for pushing a U.S. airman during a September trip to Israel. Citing an unidentified defense official with direct knowledge of the incident, the report said that Kurilla had become frustrated with his communications access and got into an argument with a member of the flight crew on a C-17, an Air Force transport plane. Army CID's statement stopped short of saying that a criminal investigation has been opened against the general."

~~~~~~~~~~

Georgia. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Two of Georgia's top election officials, both Republicans, called out a video circulating social media this week as 'fake' and an 'obvious lie.'... Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling ... shared a post from RNC national committeewoman Amy Kremer that spread the video which purported to show Haitian migrants claiming they voted illegally for Vice President Kamala Harris.... Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) also released a statement about the clip on Thursday. 'Earlier today, our office became aware of a video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant with multiple Georgia IDs claiming to have voted multiple times. This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we've seen in this and other elections.... In the meantime, we ask Elon Musk and the leadership of other social media platforms to take this down...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kentucky. Orlando Mayorquin of the New York Times: "The former police detective who fired 10 shots through Breonna Taylor's apartment in a deadly raid in Louisville, Ky., in 2020 was found guilty on Friday night of violating her civil rights by using excessive force. But the federal jury earlier in the evening cleared the former officer, Brett Hankison, of violating the rights of Ms. Taylor's neighbors, according to ... the U.S. attorney's office. Mr. Hankison, who is white, was the only officer to be charged for his actions during the botched operation that set off a wave of protests across the country. But his shots did not kill Ms. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who worked as an emergency room technician. Two other officers, also white, fired the fatal shots, but neither was charged."

Maryland Senate Race. Ally Mutnick of Politico: "A new robocall targeting Maryland voters attacks Larry Hogan for acknowledging Joe Biden won the 2020 election. The recording knocks Hogan, the GOP nominee for Senate, for not being MAGA enough and urges support for Libertarian Party candidate Mike Scott, who is 'pro-pardoning President Trump' and 'the only true conservative on the ballot.... A disclaimer on the robocall says it was sent by a mysterious new super PAC called Save Western Culture, which has been spending against GOP House and Senate candidates in several races.... The group filed with the Federal Election Commission in mid-October and will not have to disclose its donors until after Election Day. Hogan, a popular former governor, is battling Democrat Angela Alsobrooks for Maryland's open Senate seat."

Pennsylvania. Nick Corasanti & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "A state judge in Pennsylvania has found that a mail-ballot vendor contracted by the Erie County Board of Elections failed to meet demand and that 13,000 to 17,000 Erie County voters may not have received their ballots in time for the election on Tuesday. The judge, David Ridge, ordered the Board of Elections to keep its offices open on Friday and Saturday, for voters to be able to request and fill out ballots, and to add a printer. Citing a shortfall of extra ballots and provisional ballots, the judge instructed the board to 'ensure that an adequate number' of ballots was available at all polling locations in the county. In addition to the thousands of voters who might not have received ballots, the judge also found that about 1,200 out-of-state voters who are registered to vote in Erie County might not have received mail ballots. And given what the judge described as an 'unknown number' of people who might not have been accounted for, he raised the likelihood that upward of 20,000 ballots could have failed to reach voters.... Erie County is one of the swingiest counties in Pennsylvania and is often considered a bellwether in a critical battleground state."

Pennsylvania. Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday evening cleared the way for some voters in Pennsylvania whose mail-in ballots had been deemed invalid to cast provisional ballots in person, rejecting an appeal by Republicans not to count such votes. The decision was unsigned and gave no reasoning, which is common in such emergency petitions. The decision could affect thousands of mail-in ballots in a state that is crucial to each party's path to victory in the presidential contest and could be consequential in determining control of the Senate. The latest polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and ... Donald J. Trump virtually tied there.... The ruling, which thrust the justices into a hotly contested legal fight in a critical battleground state, was among a flurry of decisions by the court this week related to the presidential election." (Also linked yesterday.) The NBC News story is here.

Pennsylvania. They're Getting Worse. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "A parade float [in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania,] depicting Vice President Kamala Harris chained behind a truck with ... Donald Trump on it drew outrage from residents and officials who compared it to an infamous lynching." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: "... officials in Mount Pleasant[, Pennsylvania,] apologized for a Halloween parade float in which a slow-moving Kawasaki farm truck, carrying what appeared to be a sniper rifle and [a] person in a Trump mask, slowly moved through the annual parade in Mount Pleasant, a community of about 4,200 about 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. People wearing Secret Service agent costumes walked with the vehicle while someone dressed as [Vice President] Harris walked with their hands bound by rope or a chain to the back of the truck.... 'The depiction of Kamala Harris tied to the back of the vehicle and being marched down Main Street seemed very symbolic of the violence and racism against people of color in our country's history,' said [Ashley] Frailey, who lives in Mount Pleasant and ... [recorded the parade entry].... Borough officials, in a statement released Friday, called it an understatement to say that the float was 'appalling.'... On Thursday, the Mount Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department, which sponsored the parade, said it sincerely apologized for the display...."

Texas. Trump, Abbott & the Six Dwarfs kill another young woman: ~~~

     ~~~ Diagnosis: Strep Throat. Lizzie Presser & Kavitha Surana of ProPublica: "It took three ER visits and 20 hours before a hospital admitted Nevaeh Crain, 18, as her condition worsened. Doctors insisted on two ultrasounds to confirm 'fetal demise.' She's one of at least two Texas women who died under the state's abortion ban.... The first hospital diagnosed her with strep throat without investigating her sharp abdominal cramps. At the second, she screened positive for sepsis, a life-threatening and fast-moving reaction to an infection, medical records show. But doctors said her six-month fetus had a heartbeat and that Crain was fine to leave. Now on Crain's third hospital visit, an obstetrician insisted on two ultrasounds to 'confirm fetal demise,' a nurse wrote, before moving her to intensive care. By then, more than two hours after her arrival, Crain's blood pressure had plummeted and a nurse had noted that her lips were 'blue and dusky.' Her organs began failing. Hours later, she was dead." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Israel's wars are here: "U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered additional resources to the Middle East, including ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several B-52 long-range strike bombers, the Pentagon announced Friday.... A person close to Israeli leaders who was briefed on the situation told The Washington Post that intelligence suggests 'Iran is preparing an attack on Israel in coming days.'... Leaders from 15 aid organizations and U.N. agencies described the situation in northern Gaza as 'apocalyptic' after an almost month-long siege and called for U.N. member states to withhold arms transfers 'where there is a clear risk that such arms will be used in violation of international law.' Signatories to the joint statement included Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization."

Russia. A $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Fine -- And Growing. Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "U.S. tech giant Google has closed up shop in Russia, but ... a court there [has] levied] a fine [against it] greater than all the wealth in the world -- a figure that is growing every day. The fine, imposed after certain channels were blocked on YouTube, which Google owns, has reached more than 2 undecillion rubles, Russian business newspaper RBC reported this week. That's about $20 decillion -- a two followed by 34 zeros.... Google's parent company, Alphabet -- one of the five most valuable companies in the world -- is valued at about $2 trillion. The fine is about 10 billion trillion times the company's value. In a case of verbal symmetry, the penalty could soon reach a googol, a 1 followed by 100 zeros, the mathematical term that inspired the name of the search engine. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for ... Vladimir Putin, told reporters Thursday that the figure was symbolic and should be a reason for Google to pay attention to the Moscow Arbitration Court's order to restore access to the YouTube channels."

News Lede

New York Times: "As the death toll passed 200 from floods this week that triggered the deadliest natural disaster in Spain's recent history, southern regions were battered by more heavy downpours on Friday, complicating an already strained rescue effort. Valencia, the region that suffered the worst of the deluge, recorded 202 deaths, regional president Carlos Mazón said at a news conference at the disaster coordination center. Three more people have died in neighboring regions, bringing the total of confirmed deaths to 205, according to the authorities. That toll was expected to rise as rescue workers continued to dig through sodden towns, clogged with mud and debris, making access extremely challenging. Late Thursday and Friday, rains spread to other southern regions."

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Thursday
Oct312024

The Conversation -- November 1, 2024

Michael Gold & Adam Nagourney of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris and ... Donald J. Trump clashed on Friday over violent comments he made suggesting that Liz Cheney, one of his fiercest Republican critics, should be put somewhere 'with nine barrels shooting at her.' Ms. Harris suggested that the remarks should disqualify Mr. Trump from serving as the nation's chief executive, while he tried to clean up his comments by repeating them in marginally softer terms. He also attacked the vice president for campaigning with Ms. Cheney.... Ms. Harris, speaking to reporters in front of Air Force Two after landing in Madison, Wis., said that Mr. Trump had 'increased his violent rhetoric.'... This must be disqualifying.... Anyone who wants to be president of the United States who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified, and unqualified, to be president.'..."

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday evening cleared the way for some voters in Pennsylvania whose mail-in ballots had been deemed invalid to cast provisional ballots in person, rejecting an appeal by Republicans not to count such votes. The decision was unsigned and gave no reasoning, which is common in such emergency petitions. The decision could affect thousands of mail-in ballots in a state that is crucial to each party's path to victory in the presidential contest and could be consequential in determining control of the Senate. The latest polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and ... Donald J. Trump virtually tied there.... The ruling, which thrust the justices into a hotly contested legal fight in a critical battleground state, was among a flurry of decisions by the court this week related to the presidential election."

Trump, Abbott & the Six Dwarfs kill another young woman: ~~~

~~~ Texas. Diagnosis: Strep Throat. Lizzie Presser & Kavitha Surana of ProPublica: "It took three ER visits and 20 hours before a hospital admitted Nevaeh Crain, 18, as her condition worsened. Doctors insisted on two ultrasounds to confirm 'fetal demise.' She's one of at least two Texas women who died under the state's abortion ban.... The first hospital diagnosed her with strep throat without investigating her sharp abdominal cramps. At the second, she screened positive for sepsis, a life-threatening and fast-moving reaction to an infection, medical records show. But doctors said her six-month fetus had a heartbeat and that Crain was fine to leave. Now on Crain's third hospital visit, an obstetrician insisted on two ultrasounds to 'confirm fetal demise,' a nurse wrote, before moving her to intensive care. By then, more than two hours after her arrival, Crain's blood pressure had plummeted and a nurse had noted that her lips were 'blue and dusky.' Her organs began failing. Hours later, she was dead."

Tim Balk of the New York Times: "Nicolle Wallace, who was a White House communications director in George W. Bush's administration, called on Friday for Mr. Bush to have a late-hour 'change of heart' and speak out against ... Donald J. Trump. Speaking on her 'Deadline: White House' program on MSNBC, Ms. Wallace said Mr. Trump's violent language about former Representative Liz Cheney had pushed her to publicly raise the question she gets 'asked more than any other' off the set: 'Where is George W. Bush?'... Ms. Wallace said she had appealed directly to Mr. Bush's office, and had been told that the former president would continue his silence. But she said that it felt 'important' to make her appeal...."

Ha Ha! Via digby: ~~~

Marie: Woe is me. I am having a sad! ~~~

~~~ Irie Sentner of Politico: "Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt resigned Friday from his columnist position at The Washington Post, he confirmed to Fox News, after walking out on a live interview on the paper's video platform -- the latest blow to the Post after facing widespread blowback over halting presidential endorsements. Hewitt stormed out during a live broadcast of the Post's show 'First Look' during a discussion Friday morning about ... Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to potentially contest the election, leaving host Jonathan Capehart and fellow guest Ruth Marcus stunned."

     ~~~ Marie: It sounds to me as if Hewitt was criticizing Capehart for a failure of journalistic integrity, which is kinda funny because "journalist" Hewitt frequently hosts Trump on his radio broadcast and allows Trump to spout whatever hoohah he wants, no fact-checking involved.

Georgia. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Two of Georgia's top election officials, both Republicans, called out a video circulating social media this week as 'fake' and an 'obvious lie.'... Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling ... shared a post from RNC national committeewoman Amy Kremer that spread the video which purported to show Haitian migrants claiming they voted illegally for Vice President Kamala Harris.... Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) also released a statement about the clip on Thursday. 'Earlier today, our office became aware of a video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant with multiple Georgia IDs claiming to have voted multiple times. This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we've seen in this and other elections.... In the meantime, we ask Elon Musk and the leadership of other social media platforms to take this down...."

They're Getting Worse. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "A parade float [in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania,] depicting Vice President Kamala Harris chained behind a truck with ... Donald Trump on it drew outrage from residents and officials who compared it to an infamous lynching."

Akhilleus wrote today in an essay discussing the right wing's various sex obsessions, "The invented scary fairy tales [about] ...a tidal wave of sex change operations ... are reminiscent of medieval fables of secret witch covens casting evil spells on decent god-fearing folk in the villages and hordes of scabrous, vengeful demons abroad in the land seeking out virgins to defile and babies to eat." ~~~

     ~~~ But Wait! There ARE vengeful demons, and the demons'll get ya if ya don't watch out. ~~~

     ~~~ Edward Hellmore of the Guardian: "Tucker Carlson ... has said he was 'physically mauled' by a demon a year and a half ago, in an assault that he says left him bleeding and with scars from 'claw marks'. Carlson made the claim while speaking in an upcoming documentary, Christianities? In a preview clip on YouTube, Carlson is asked by John Heers of the non-profit First Things Foundation if he believed that 'the presence of evil is kickstarting people to wonder about the good'. 'That's what happened to me. I had a direct experience with it,' said Carlson. Asked if he was referring to journalism, Carlson responded: 'No, in my bed at night. I got attacked while I was asleep with my wife and four dogs and mauled, physically mauled.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "Vice President Kamala Harris ... ramped up her campaign's heavy reliance on star power Thursday, as more celebrities took the stage alongside her at rallies in the fiercely contested battleground states of Arizona and Nevada. The vice president appeared in Phoenix with Los Tigres del Norte, a Mexican norteño band famous for anthems portraying the plight of undocumented immigrants. Later on Thursday, she was scheduled to stop in Reno, Nevada, before appearing in Las Vegas alongside the vintage Mexican pop rock band Maná and pop icon Jennifer Lopez. Harris's campaign has stacked her schedule with celebrity surrogates who have huge social media followings, seeking to build up enthusiasm and turnout as early in-person voting comes to an end in several states, including Nevada and Arizona on Friday. Wednesday night in Madison, Wisconsin, more than 13,000 people turned out for Harris's rally-concert that featured performances by Mumford & Sons, Gracie Abrams and the National." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If Harris has a "heavy reliance on star power," it's because her campaign does have star power. Here's what passes for star power in the Trump camp. Sad.

Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris attacked ... Donald J. Trump on Thursday for claiming that he would protect American women 'whether the women like it or not.' Later, her campaign pounced on a new Trump remark that his ally Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would 'work on women's health' in his administration.... Ms. Harris, speaking from Wisconsin on Thursday morning, said that Mr. Trump's comments, made the previous evening at a rally in the state, were 'very offensive' to all Americans.... 'He simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to know what's in their own best interest and make decisions accordingly. But we trust women[,' she said at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, Thursday.]" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The article covers Trump's campaign stops as well as Harris's. Aside from his comment about siccing RFK Jr. on women, I found this remark extremely offputting: "I love Hispanics, and they're hard workers, and boy are they entrepreneurial, and they're great people, and they are warm. Sometimes they're too warm, if you want to know the truth." You couldn't do much more to otherize and stereotype people who may -- or may not -- have a slightly different cultural heritage than your own.

Tania Ganguli of the New York Times: "LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, on Thursday became one of the country's biggest celebrities ... to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, saying: 'When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me.'... Mr. James has campaigned for Democrats in the past and has spoken out against ... Donald J. Trump. Mr. James also posted a video that spliced together civil rights protests and abuses from several decades with comments by Mr. Trump and footage from the former president's recent rally at Madison Square Garden. The video made the argument that Mr. Trump is racist and ended with the written quote: 'Hate takes us back.'"

Tara Suter of the Hill: "The Economist announced Thursday that the outlet is backing Vice President Harris over former President Trump in the upcoming election.... 'While some newspapers refused to back a presidential candidate this year, today The Economist is endorsing Kamala Harris,' Economist editors wrote in the endorsement published early Thursday. 'Tens of millions of Americans will vote for Mr. Trump next week. Some will be true believers. But many will take a calculated risk that in office his worst instincts would be constrained.' The writers added later that if Trump were to win election, 'Americans would be gambling with the economy, the rule of law and international peace.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

More Fallout from ApostropheGate. Aamer Madhani & Zeke Miller of the AP: "White House press officials altered the official transcript of a call in which President Joe Biden appeared to take a swipe at supporters of Donald Trump, drawing objections from the federal workers who document such remarks for posterity, according to two U.S. government officials and an internal email obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. Biden created an uproar earlier this week with his remarks to Latino activists responding to racist comments at a Trump rally made by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to the U.S. island territory of Puerto Rico as a 'floating island of garbage.' Biden, according to a transcript prepared by the official White House stenographers, told the Latino group on a Tuesday evening video call, 'The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters -- his -- his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American.' The transcript released by the White House press office, however, rendered the quote with an apostrophe, reading 'supporter's' rather than 'supporters,' which aides said pointed to Biden criticizing Hinchcliffe, not the millions of Americans who are supporting Trump for president." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I really don't know how "the official White House stenographers" were able to see into the President's heart to determine whether or not an apostrophe was intended. For the alterations to "draw objections" seems rather petty. MEANWHILE, Trump too suffered "more fallout" from the umbrage he feigned over Biden's remark. See video & story linked below. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Oh, but it's all way serious because Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) & Jim Comey (R-Ky.) are going to investigate!

⭐ Trump Says Liz Cheney Should Be Shot by Firing Squad. Eric Bradner of CNN: "Donald Trump said former Rep. Liz Cheney is a 'war hawk' who should be fired upon, as he raged against one of his most prominent intra-party critics while campaigning Thursday night in Arizona. 'She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK?' the former president said at a campaign event in Glendale with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 'Let's see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.' Trump also hurled insults at Cheney, once the third-ranking Republican in House leadership, calling her 'very dumb,' a 'stupid person' and 'the moron.' Trump's suggestion that Cheney be fired upon represents an escalation of the violent language he has used to target his political foes." ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Throughout Thursday night's interview, Mr. Trump's third event of the day, he gave a series of rambling answers in which he flung personal insults at his critics, at one point relived his 2016 presidential campaign and used dark language to make exaggerated claims about immigration. He repeatedly denigrated [Vice President] Harris, used profanity to refer to President Biden and attacked the physical appearance of Representative Adam B.Schiff.... While reminiscing about his 2016 campaign, he gleefully recalled the 'extremely destructive' nicknames he bestowed upon his opponents.... Mr. Trump seemed to use Mr. Carlson's short questions as jumping off points for whatever topic came to mind." ~~~

~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "Liz Cheney shot back at ... Donald Trump's comments from Thursday night, where he darkly floated a scenario where guns were firing at the former Republican Congressional leader turned Kamala Harris supporter.... Cheney wrote, 'This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death. We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant.'"

Tobi Raji of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump sued CBS News on Thursday over an interview with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris that aired on its '60 Minutes' program earlier this month, arguing that the network's edit of the sit-down was 'deceitful' and 'amounts to a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election.' The long-shot claim was filed in the Northern District of Texas courthouse where Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a Trump nominee, is the sole judge. While Trump has complained about the '60 Minutes' interview for weeks, it is standard for television networks to edit interviews for broadcast, especially to fit time restraints. A spokesperson for CBS News called the lawsuit 'completely without merit.'..." The Hill's report is here.

Nick Corasaniti & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, escalated their false attacks about the security of the Pennsylvania elections on Thursday, ramping up baseless accusations about voter fraud that could erode confidence of the results in one of the most critical battleground states. On Thursday Mr. Trump posted on his social media site that Pennsylvania was 'cheating' and breaking the law. He called for prosecutions, though he made no specific allegations. Earlier in the day, Mr. Vance seized on deceptive posts online claiming that Democratic Party volunteers were impersonating election officials at polling sites. The remarks followed a script similar to the final days of his 2020 campaign, when the former president spread dozens of falsehoods about voting before trying to overturn the election. This year, he is focusing most of his false claims on Pennsylvania.... Throughout the past week, election officials in Pennsylvania have been rebutting specious claims of fraud while also reporting when systems flagged suspicious activity, informing voters of issues and enforcing the law where necessary. This is the system working exactly as it should, they have said.... Al Schmidt, Pennsylvania's Republican secretary of state, used his daily news briefing on Thursday to offer a calm yet pointed response to some of the false allegations...." ~~~

~~~ Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday lodged claims of voter fraud in Pennsylvania, a state critical to his election prospects. But Democratic officials and voting rights advocates said that Trump's allegations are wildly exaggerated and that the problems he and Republicans are focused on are not only common, but also proof that election safeguards are working as intended. For months, Trump has been using misinformation to lay the groundwork to claim a stolen election if he loses, just as he did in 2020.... Experts and officials say the Pennyslvania claims are in keeping with his insistence that the only way he can lose this year is if the other side cheats...." Read on for details. The ABC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

More fallout from the garbage-truck stunt. Trump nearly slips on the pavement, has trouble opening the truck door & more trouble getting into the cab: ~~~

     ~~~ Marie P.S. I know this is performance art and Trump is wearing a costume, but does he have to wear so much orange makeup? I am not aware of many orange-hued sanitation workers. Trump's application of orange-face seems inappropriate to the character he's trying to play. ~~~

     ~~~ Katie Hawkinson of the Independent: Gov. Tim "Walz, speaking in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on Thursday, slammed the septuagenarian after he flew to Wisconsin, donned a bright orange safety vest, and got into a garbage truck in an attempt to troll Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. 'Look, this dude's nearly 80 years old,' Walz said. 'He d*** near killed himself getting into a garbage truck.'"

They said, "Sir, I just think it's inappropriate for you to say." I pay these guys a lot of money. Can you believe it? I said, "Well, I'm going to do it. Whether the women like it or not, I'm going to protect them." -- Donald Trump, remarks at a rally Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Without apparently meaning to -- but without being able to help it -- Trump with that line distilled the wide gender gap that's defining the 2024 presidential contest.... While Trump has a well-established reputation for dishonesty, there are moments when he speaks with an unexpected clarity. His offhand remark about being indifferent to what women might want from his presidency was just such a comment.... Others[, too,] have leaned into a paternalistic and chauvinistic approach to getting Trump elected. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson recently promised a cheering Trump audience that Trump would return to the White House like an abusive father, ready to dispense corporal punishment to get his children -- that is, Americans who deviate from how Trumpworld thinks they should act -- back in line. Jesse Watters, the Fox host who filled Carlson's slot, said on a different show that he would view his wife voting for Harris as an act of marital infidelity." ~~~

     ~~~ Kathleen Culliton of the Raw Story: "Jesse Watters on Wednesday night shocked even his own co-hosts with his reaction to Vice President Kamala Harris ads informing conservative women they do not have to disclose for whom they voted -- and that the information cannot be accessed by the public. 'If I found out Emma was going into the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that's the same thing as having an affair,' Watters said. 'That violates the sanctity of our marriage. What else is she keeping from me? Why would she be lying? It's over, Emma....That would be D-Day'... 'I don't care what type of marriage you have -- traditional, modern, whatever -- that's not healthy,' replied Mike Nellis, a former Harris adviser and organizer of White Dudes for Harris. 'And it's weird.'" Others piled on. ~~~

~~~ Charles Davis of Salon: "Women, it turns out, do not care for [Trump's indifference to their wants and needs] -- a large majority of them, at least. While millions will still vote for the Republican candidate, perhaps hating immigrants more than they love reproductive rights, the only certainty at this point is that many millions more will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. In the latest ABC News/Ipsos national poll, the Democrat enjoyed a 14% advantage with women over Trump; among women with a college degree, that number rose to 23%; among women voters under 40, it rocketed to 34%.... That, in turn, is causing some MAGA commentators to break from their usual posture of feigned confidence to outright panic.... Speaking with former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, [Turning Points USA head Charlie] Kirk seemed genuinely upset that women could be voting for Harris in massive numbers -- and lying to their controlling husbands about it. 'It is so repulsive. It is so disastrous. It is the embodiment of the downfall of the American family. I think it's so gross. I think it's just so nauseating,' Kirk said, set off by a new ad, produced by a liberal Christian organization, that features Julia Roberts reminding women that how one votes need not be shared with any emotionally-stunted man who would throw a fit." ~~~

~~~ Perhaps you're a normal person familiar with normal relationships, so you naturally wondering why such an ad is necessary. ~~~

     ~~~ Rebecca Solnit of the Guardian explains: "... a lot of households are not democracies; they're dictatorships. This may impact public life, in that it seems to generate a meaningful amount of voter intimidation and suppression. As in previous election cycles, people doing door-to-door outreach to voters are encountering men who prevent their wives from even conversing at the door or who believe their registered-Democrat wives are Republicans and women fearful of speaking or of disclosing their party and chosen candidates." ~~~

~~~ Thank goodness we have that paragon of virtue Newt Gingrich to turn us back to the path of righteousness: ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "'These people are dishonest,' Gingrich [told Sean Hannity]. 'And so, for them to tell people to lie is just one further example of the depth of their corruption. I mean, how do you run a country where you're walking around saying, "Wives should lie to their husbands, husbands should lie to their wives"?' The former speaker of the House, who cheated on his second wife,* then blasted Democrats for their amorality. 'I mean, what kind of a totally amoral, corrupt, sick system have the Democrats developed?' he went on. 'If you think about it at that level, it is astonishing, the decay.'" ~~~

     ~~~ * Marie: As I recall, Gingrich cheated on his first AND second wives. But who's counting?

Paul Krugman of the New York Times outlines how Donald Trump, Elon Musk & Mike Johnson will make life much more difficult and costly for most of us.

⭐ David Sanger of the New York Times: "... should Mr. Trump prevail [in the election], it will almost certainly mark a return to an era of foreign policy decrees, untethered to any policy process, at a moment of maximum international peril.... To read the memoirs of Trump officials who tried to manage foreign-policy-by-declaration is to page through a litany of anger-management incidents and decisions made without benefit of any real policy process or consultation of allies. But perhaps the most striking is how Mr. Trump's aides -- or at least those whom he later fired -- recount story after story of keeping a naïve president from being manipulated by authoritarians, from Kim Jong-un of North Korea to Vladimir V. Putin of Russia." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sanger's analysis is a stark and deeply frightening reminder that our fellow Americans, in their astounding stupidity, may put an insane, unstable monster not just in a position to ruin this country but also to destroy what currently passes for the world order. ~~~

~~~ "A Very Fragile Situation." Peter Baker of the New York Times: President "Biden's [last] foreign visitor [before the election] happened to be President Nikos Christodoulides of the Republic of Cyprus, a small island nation ... that could play an important role for whoever is the next president. Cyprus, once a financial haven for Russians, has been a key focus of the effort to sever Moscow from the West while also serving as an important conduit for humanitarian aid to Gaza. The two leaders 'had an in-depth discussion on a range of foreign policy issues of mutual interest,' including the Russian war on Ukraine and Israel's war against Hamas and Hezbollah, according to the summary released by the White House. Mr. Biden praised Cyprus for its 'support for the maritime humanitarian corridor' delivering thousands of tons of food and other aid to Gaza. In an interview after the session, though, Mr. Christodoulides expressed the same concern heard often in Europe and other parts of the world about what he expects to be a volatile period to follow Tuesday's vote and what it would mean for the international order. 'There is always a fear that you could have an America stepping back, a kind of seclusion and isolation,' Mr. Christodoulides said.'We've seen it in the past. That's the main concern because the region is in turmoil right now. It's extremely dangerous.... In a way, there's a vacuum.... You don't know in two months what is going to happen. It's a very fragile situation.'"

Tatum Hunter of the Washington Post: "... young people are encountering the ['Access Hollywood'] tape for the first time on TikTok, where users are sharing videos of their reactions and, in some cases, reaching large audiences. Many first-time voters were young teens in 2016 when The Washington Post first reported the incident, in which the former president seemed to endorse sexual assault during a behind-the-scenes conversation on an 'Access Hollywood' set when he didn't realize his microphone was on.... This week, many said on the social network they were shocked by the former president's words and confused why the episode wasn't a dealbreaker in 2016." The article includes the full video. You can also find it here, if you want to send it to someone who may not remember it. And here it is, via CBS News.

Emily Davies & Joe Heim of the Washington Post: "The mysterious tiki torch statue, part of a series of artworks popping up across the country apparently meant to mock ... Donald Trump, fell Wednesday evening at the hand of a man wielding his skateboard as an ax, according to authorities. The incident occurred about 6:15 p.m. in D.C.'s Freedom Plaza, where the torch once stood about eight feet tall. By the time the skateboarder was done with it, according to charging documents, it was broken into multiple pieces.... Prosecutors charged a man named Balarama-Dasa Adebisi with destruction of property and possession of cocaine. A Park Police officer in charging documents said a 'white powdery substance' was found in Adebisi's pocket after he was detained on charges of destroying the statue....

"The people who obtained a permit from the National Park Service to temporarily display the tiki torch statue and a replica of Rep. Nancy Pelosi's desk topped by a giant swirl of fake poop on the National Mall near the Capitol last week have also claimed responsibility for two statues of Trump that appeared in Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon. Those statues had plaques on them reading 'In Honor of a Lifetime of Sexual Assault.' They quoted from Trump's 2005 remarks to 'Access Hollywood' host Billy Bush about being able to kiss women without asking them and grab them by their genitals. Both of the Trump statues were placed next to prominent female nude sculptures." ~~~

~~~ digby finds another statue "honoring" Trump, this one for his "lifetime of sexual assault." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Betsy Swan of Politico in Politico Magazine: "As a mob of Donald Trump's supporters ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Rita Katz was sickened but not surprised. She runs a company called SITE Intelligence Group which tracks online extremism, and she'd been seeing rising chatter suggesting the Electoral College certification could turn violent, with far-right extremists discussing plans to rush police officers, bring guns to Capitol Hill and storm the chambers of Congress.... Now, Katz tells Politico Magazine the threats in the 2024 election season are different than they were four years ago -- and, in some ways, worse. 'How proactive and organized the far right has become -- that is very, very alarming for me,' she said." The article includes Swan's interview of Katz.

Chris Cameron, et al., of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio criticized what he called 'gender transition craziness,' spoke dismissively of women he claimed were 'celebrating' their abortions and said that studies 'connect testosterone levels in young men with conservative politics' during a three-hour episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' that was released on Thursday. Mr. Vance criticized transgender and nonbinary people at length during the conversation, saying that he would not be surprised if he and ... Donald J. Trump won what he called 'the normal gay guy vote.' And he suggested that children in upper-middle-class white families saw becoming trans as a way to improve their odds of getting into Ivy League colleges." Read on. Even Joe Rogan pushed back on some of this nonsense.

Will Oremus & Trisha Thadani of the Washington Post: "An attempt by Philadelphia's district attorney to block Elon Musk and his pro-Trump super PAC from continuing a $1 million daily giveaway to registered swing-state voters was put on hold Thursday morning. A hearing on the motion ended without a ruling, after lawyers for the billionaire and his America PAC filed late Wednesday to have the case moved to federal court. Lawyers for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner signed an order Wednesday compelling Musk to appear at City Hall on Thursday for the hearing, but the billionaire, who has become a key backer of ... Donald Trump, did not attend. Musk's attorneys argued that the proceeding was moot since the case was no longer in the judge's jurisdiction.... The case now moves to federal court, where Krasner said he will push for it to be speedily remanded to the district court...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Erik De La Garza of the Raw Story: "... Elon Musk faces the possibility that his United States citizenship could be revoked if authorities discover he lied on immigration forms, according to a new report that said the world's richest man might have worked in the country without authorization. Legal experts told the news magazine WIRED in an article published Thursday that Musk, who has been floated as a possible Trump cabinet official and poured more than $100 million in support of the former president, could be exposed to criminal prosecution 'if he lied to the government as part of the immigration process.'" MB: The possibility that U.S. officials would revoke any billionaire's citizenship are right around zero.

Voter Suppression: Incompetent, Partisan Judges Edition. Ian Millhiser of Vox: "On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down an astoundingly poorly reasoned opinion claiming it is illegal for a state to count a ballot mailed before Election Day but that arrives for counting afterward. Eighteen states, plus the District of Columbia, currently count at least some late-arriving ballots. The opinion in Republican National Committee v. Wetzel is difficult to parse. Important sections of it appear to be missing several paragraphs, as the decision makes logical leaps without explaining key concepts. It reaches some of its central conclusions without citing a legal authority ... to support those conclusions. If this opinion were submitted as part of a law school exam, the student would risk a failing grade.... The one good thing about the Wetzel opinion is that the Fifth Circuit didn't give it immediate effect, so it is very unlikely to impact the current election. Still, there are two good reasons to be troubled that a federal appeals court handed down such a cocamamie decision. One, is that Wetzel is emblematic of the many bad election decisions we can expect to be handed down in the coming days.... [The other is that] the three judges involved in the case, Kyle Duncan, James Ho, and Andy Oldham, are widely viewed as potential Supreme Court nominees if Trump becomes president again --; certainly, the three of them have all auditioned very hard for such a promotion." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Cheese Stands Disbarred. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer who was a key architect of the idea to use false slates of pro-Trump electors to overturn the 2020 election results, was indefinitely barred by a state appellate court on Thursday from practicing law in New York. The disciplinary action was the latest instance of Trump-aligned lawyers losing their licenses over their efforts to help the former president try to subvert the 2020 election.... In an eight-page opinion, the court focused on [Mr. Chesebro's] felony conviction in Georgia, concluding that it was sufficiently serious and similar to a felony in New York to bar him from practicing law 'effective immediately.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Texas. How Donald Trump & Greg Abbott are protecting women, whether they like it or not: ~~~

     ~~~ Cassandra Jaramillo & Kavitha Surana of ProPublica: "Josseli Barnica is one of at least two pregnant Texas women who died after doctors delayed emergency care. She'd told her husband that the medical team said it couldn't act until the fetal heartbeat stopped.... Neither [woman] had wanted an abortion, but that didn't matter. Though proponents insist that the laws protect both the life of the fetus and the person carrying it, in practice, doctors have hesitated to provide care under threat of prosecution, prison time and professional ruin." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Thursday
Oct312024

The Conversation -- October 31, 2024

Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal.Marie: The last couple of days, contributors to the Comments section have suggested several articles and essays that sound like important, worthwhile reads. I have not been able to get to the recommended stories on accounta going half-blind these last few days. Anyway, I recommend that you give the suggestions a look-see.

How Donald Trump & Greg Abbott are protecting women, whether they like it or not: ~~~

Cassandra Jaramillo & Kavitha Surana of ProPublica: "Josseli Barnica is one of at least two pregnant Texas women who died after doctors delayed emergency care. She'd told her husband that the medical team said it couldn't act until the fetal heartbeat stopped.... Neither [woman] had wanted an abortion, but that didn't matter. Though proponents insist that the laws protect both the life of the fetus and the person carrying it, in practice, doctors have hesitated to provide care under threat of prosecution, prison time and professional ruin."

Tara Suter of the Hill: "The Economist announced Thursday that the outlet is backing Vice President Harris over former President Trump in the upcoming election.... 'While some newspapers refused to back a presidential candidate this year, today The Economist is endorsing Kamala Harris,' Economist editors wrote in the endorsement published early Thursday. 'Tens of millions of Americans will vote for Mr. Trump next week. Some will be true believers. But many will take a calculated risk that in office his worst instincts would be constrained.' The writers added later that if Trump were to win election, 'Americans would be gambling with the economy, the rule of law and international peace.'"

Voter Suppression, Incompetent Judges Edition. Ian Millhiser of Vox: "On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down an astoundingly poorly reasoned opinion claiming it is illegal for a state to count a ballot mailed before Election Day but that arrives for counting afterward. Eighteen states, plus the District of Columbia, currently count at least some late-arriving ballots. The opinion in Republican National Committee v. Wetzel is difficult to parse. Important sections of it appear to be missing several paragraphs, as the decision makes logical leaps without explaining key concepts. It reaches some of its central conclusions without citing a legal authority ... to support those conclusions. If this opinion were submitted as part of a law school exam, the student would risk a failing grade.... The one good thing about the Wetzel opinion is that the Fifth Circuit didn't give it immediate effect, so it is very unlikely to impact the current election. Still, there are two good reasons to be troubled that a federal appeals court handed down such a cocamamie decision. One, is that Wetzel is emblematic of the many bad election decisions we can expect to be handed down in the coming days.... [The other is that] the three judges involved in the case, Kyle Duncan, James Ho, and Andy Oldham, are widely viewed as potential Supreme Court nominees if Trump becomes president again -- certainly, the three of them have all auditioned very hard for such a promotion." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link.

Will Oremus & Trisha Thadani of the Washington Post: "An attempt by Philadelphia's district attorney to block Elon Musk and his pro-Trump super PAC from continuing a $1 million daily giveaway to registered swing-state voters was put on hold Thursday morning. A hearing on the motion ended without a ruling, after lawyers for the billionaire and his America PAC filed late Wednesday to have the case moved to federal court. Lawyers for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner signed an order Wednesday compelling Musk to appear at City Hall on Thursday for the hearing, but the billionaire, who has become a key backer of ... Donald Trump, did not attend. Musk's attorneys argued that the proceeding was moot since the case was no longer in the judge's jurisdiction.... The case now moves to federal court, where Krasner said he will push for it to be speedily remanded to the district court, perhaps as soon as Thursday afternoon."

Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday lodged claims of voter fraud in Pennsylvania, a state critical to his election prospects. But Democratic officials and voting rights advocates said that Trump's allegations stare wildly exaggerated and that the problems he and Republicans are focused on are not only common, but also proof that election safeguards are working as intended. For months, Trump has been using misinformation to lay the groundwork to claim a stolen election if he loses, just as he did in 2020.... Experts and officials say the Pennsylvania claims are in keeping with his insistence that the only way he can lose this year is if the other side cheats...." Read on for details. The ABC News story is here.

digby finds another statue "honoring" Trump, this one for his "lifetime of sexual assault." Thanks to RAS for the link.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

MJ Lee & Samantha Waldenberg of CNN: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday distanced herself from President Joe Biden's comments that seemingly referred to Donald Trump's supporters as 'garbage,' setting off a political firestorm a week before Election Day.... Asked if she has spoken to the president about his comments, Harris said that Biden called her Tuesday evening but that the president's comments 'didn't come up.' 'Listen, I think, first of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career. I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people whether they support me or not,' Harris said on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews. The vice president also repeated what she has said on the trail, including that she will 'represent all Americans' if elected." ~~~

~~~ Andrew Howard of Politico: "Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz brushed aside President Joe Biden's 'garbage' comment from Tuesday, stressing in a pair of interviews that a Harris administration will be inclusive. 'The vice president and I have made it absolutely clear that we want everyone as a part of this,' Walz told George Stephanopoulos on 'Good Morning America.' 'Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric is what needs to end.... Walz ... emphasiz[ed] that Biden clarified his remarks after the fact on Tuesday. And he made a point to emphasize that Vice President Kamala Harris, not Biden, is on the ticket." ~~~

~~~ It's the Punctuation, Stupid. Marie: C'mon, people, it's not that hard. Biden is reported to have said, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters." The reporters made an error in punctuation. Biden did not disparage Trumpbots (Okay, "Trumpbots" is a slur, and I don't retract it.) What Biden meant was, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter's." That is, "supporter[apostrophe]s." Or in a Spanish construction, "la basura de su partidario" -- "the garbage of his his supporter". Oh, lookie there. The fake scandal just went poof. I am the punctuation magician. English is a difficult language. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: I thought I conjured up "supporter's." Oops! Turns out the White House got there first. ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "In the final days of a coin-toss election..., [President] Biden has twice caused headaches for his vice president with ill-timed gaffes.... The president, whose career-long blooper reel is extensive enough that he once called himself a 'gaffe machine,' suggested last week during a brief stop at a New Hampshire campaign office that he wanted to imprison Mr. Trump. 'We got to lock him up,' he said. Catching himself, he quickly added, 'Politically lock him up.' But the damage was done.... Keeping Mr. Biden in the White House did not keep him from tripping up.... During his video call with Latino supporters on Tuesday..., [he said,] 'The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters -- his, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American.'... The White House later released a transcript rendering Mr. Biden's comment with an apostrophe, meaning 'his supporter's' demonization....

"[Vice President] Harris has already been trying to stand apart from Mr. Biden and present herself as an agent of change. She did not include Mr. Biden in her Tuesday night rally even though she held it on what amounts to his own backyard.... Mr. Trump's complaints may ring hollow to many since he has practiced the politics of division for years, regularly disparaging his opponents as 'vermin' and the 'enemy from within' and threatening to use the military to round up liberal opponents. Just last month, he said Ms. Harris was surrounded by terrible people.... 'They're scum...,' he said. 'They are absolute garbage." ~~~

     ~~~ AND Aaron Blake of the Washington Post caught it, too: "It may come down to the placement of an apostrophe, and it's worth a parse.... [That Biden's reference was only to Hinchcliffe] is entirely plausible. The context is clearly Biden talking about Hinchcliffe's remark. Biden often speaks in non sequiturs, failing to finish his thoughts and shifting course midsentence, including in the Delaware comments that preceded his 'garbage' remark. It's basically the entire premise of Dana Carvey's Biden impersonation on 'Saturday Night Live.'... It's also plausible that Biden did step in it here.... If there's a lesson in all of this, it's that Democrats should probably be glad the guy who keeps stepping in it like this isn't actually leading their ticket anymore." MB: Exactly what I thought the moment I heard about Biden's comment.

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, saying that Donald J. Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election were disqualifying and that electing Ms. Harris was the only way to reduce division and anger among Americans. Mr. Schwarzenegger, the actor and bodybuilder who served as governor of California as a Republican from 2003 to 2011, said in a lengthy statement on social media that he hated what United States politics had become and was tempted to 'tune out,' and echoed the sentiments of many voters in writing that he didn't like either party at the moment."

⭐ On Halloween Eve, the Sadist Issues a Warning. Nicholas Nehamas & Erica Green of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump said at a rally on Wednesday that he would protect American women 'whether the women like it or not.'.... Speaking near Green Bay, Wis., Mr. Trump told the crowd that his advisers had urged him to stop using a well-worn rally line about his desire to protect women, saying they had called it 'inappropriate.' In recent months, Mr. Trump has boasted on social media and in his speeches that he would protect women in America by making their communities safer and by making sure they won't 'be thinking about abortion.'... On Wednesday, he delivered similar remarks but added a new twist as he described onstage what he had told his advisers: 'I said, well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I am going to protect them.'...

"The former president's remarks on Wednesday mean that, for many voters, his closing message is being defined, in part, by racist jokes about Puerto Rico told by a comedian at his rally in New York this week and, now, a striking display of machismo.... [Vice President Harris's campaign] sent out a news release that blared: 'In Wisconsin, Trump reminds women how little he values their choices.'... Over the course of the campaign, Mr. Trump and his allies have made a series of misogynistic, sexualized attacks against Ms. Harris.... Mr. Trump has been accused by roughly two dozen women of sexual misconduct." The NBC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Don't kid yourself: "whether the women like it or not" is meant to be menacing. It is meant to frighten, to threaten. Trump gives women no choice; he will use the power of his office to force us to submit. It's a threat of rape; it's sadistic. Overturning Roe v. Wade was just the beginning, he warns. This is the equivalent of the rapist telling his victim, "Just lie back and enjoy it." ~~~

     ~~~ The photo accompanying the NYT article shows Trump wearing an orange traffic-safety vest at the Green Bay rally. I didn't get the signficance of that; in fact, I thought the vest would make him an easier assassin's target, so not too smart. Well, it seems he was pretending to be a sanitation worker because he was so upset by Biden's "garbage" remark. Trump's trick-or-treat outfit is even less convincing than his McDonald's apron was last week. (At least with the apron, he was wearing as much makeup as Ronald McDonald does.) Man of the People? I don't think so. ~~~

     ~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Wednesday climbed into a campaign-themed garbage truck in his motorcade in Wisconsin in an effort to draw attention to comments made by President Biden in which he seemingly called Trump supporters 'garbage.' 'How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden,' Trump said from the passenger seat of the truck, which was adorned with a Trump campaign sticker and Trump flag."

Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: "Last month..., Donald J. Trump was still promising to reinstate what he called his 'famous travel ban' on some Muslim countries. He falsely claimed over the summer that Vice President Kamala Harris 'wants to deposit thousands of jihadist sympathizers in Minnesota.' And he said Democrats have a plan to 'turn the Midwest into the Middle East.' The anti-Muslim scaremongering is a cornerstone of Mr. Trump's political identity, dating back at least to his 2016 campaign when he said he would create a registry of Muslims and embraced an apocryphal story about Gen. John J. Pershing executing Muslim rebels in the Philippines with bullets dipped in pig fat. But in the final stretch of the presidential race, Mr. Trump is trying to persuade a potentially decisive group of Arab and Muslim voters that they should vote for him, even though he has spent years insulting and demonizing them.... Mr. Trump is exploiting Democrats' weakness among Arab and Muslim Americans because of the Biden administration's support for Israel's assault in Gaza."

Everything Will Go Very Smoothly. Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told supporters on an online organizing call this week that ... Donald J. Trump had 'promised' him 'control' of the nation's public health agencies, should Mr. Trump win the election next week. The Trump campaign, however, would confirm no such commitments. 'President Trump announced a Trump-Vance transition leadership group to initiate the process of preparing for what comes after the election," Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement. 'But formal discussions of who will serve in a second Trump Administration is premature.'"

Chris Cameron & Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times: "Nicky Jam, a Puerto Rican musician who endorsed ... Donald J. Trump last month, withdrew that endorsement just days after racist remarks against Puerto Rico and Latinos made by a speaker at Mr. Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday drew widespread outrage. The reggaeton star had stood by Mr. Trump's side at a campaign event in Las Vegas in September as he endorsed the former president. Before Nicky Jam took the stage, Mr. Trump praised the musician's looks, apparently believing him to be a woman. 'Do you know Nicky?' he asked the crowd. 'She's hot. Where is Nicky?' When Nicky Jam came to take the stage, Mr. Trump looked a bit befuddled. In a video posted on social media on Wednesday, Nicky Jam said he had supported Mr. Trump because he believed that he would be best for the economy." The CBS News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sorry, Nicky Jam, your endorsement was stupid from the git-go.

Jimmy Kimmel wants you to send this along to any friends who might be contemplating voting for Trump. The URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy0zq8YzY9w  But watch the video yourself, too; it's pretty good: ~~~

Tributes to Trump. Gabe Cohen of CNN: "Two political statues have mysteriously popped up in Washington, DC, drawing crowds of onlookers.... Last week, an unknown artist placed a bronze replica of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk -- topped with an emoji-like poop, the size of a basketball -- along the National Mall near the US Capitol. 'This memorial honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021 to loot, urinate and defecate throughout those hallowed halls in order to overturn an election,' a plaque below the statue reads. 'President Trump celebrates these heroes of January 6th as "unbelievable patriots" and "warriors." This monument stands as a testament to their daring sacrifice and lasting legacy.'... On Monday, a bronze statue of a tiki torch appeared in Freedom Plaza, just a couple of blocks from the White House. The statue [is] called 'The Donald J. Trump Enduring Flame.'... 'This monument pays tribute to President Donald Trump and the "very fine people" he boldly stood to defend when they marched in Charlottesville, Virginia,' a plaque below it reads. 'While many have called them white supremacists and neo-Nazis, President Trump's voice rang out above the rest to remind all that they were "treated absolutely unfairly." This monument stands as an everlasting reminder of that bold proclamation.'" With photos.

Oliver O'Connell of the Independent: "A former pageant queen has claimed that Donald Trump 'jumped' on her 'grabbing her body everywhere' in an incident at a New York hotel in 1993. Beatrice Keul, 53, told the Daily Mail that the former president and current Republican nominee invited her up to his suite at the Plaza Hotel for a 'private talk'.... 'He kissed me on the lips and on the neck. He tried to lift my dress. He was grabbing and touching my body everywhere he could,' Keul said.... At 6'1" tall, she believes it was only because of her height and strength that she could fight him off.... Keul worked at a Swiss bank in Zurich and modeled part-time when she won second place in the Miss Switzerland 1992 pageant going on to participate in the final round of the Miss Europe competition in Istanbul that same year. She then received an invitation from the Donald J Trump American Dream Pageant to compete, including an all-expenses-paid trip to New York and Atlantic City. Keul came forward with the story now after finding all the documentation concerning her trip to New York in a box as she prepared to move.... Keul's story is backed up by her friend Pascal Claivaz, a Swiss writer, who said she told him about the incident around 2004." There's a Jeffrey Epstein element to the story, too.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Dan Froomkin of Press Watch: "The Washington Post has no future as an independent news organization as long as Jeff Bezos owns it. Bezos's decision to kill an editorial endorsement of Kamala Harris last week led to a massive reader revolt ... and raised new doubts about how the paper would handle the centibillionaire's extraordinary conflicts of interest in the future.... Clearly, the once-widely-held view that billionaire ownership could be the salvation of great newspapers is no longer operative. Bezos has to go and so do his hand-picked lickspittles.... Bezos must relinquish ownership of the Post to a nonprofit organization, devoted to journalistic independence. There are several excellent precedents for this...." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in yesterday's thread. ~~~

~~~ Steven Waldman in the Columbia Journalism Review: "Bezos is simply too financially compromised to be the owner of one of the most important news outlets in America, especially one operating in the nation's capital. Just this morning, the Post reported that ... Donald Trump asked Amazon's CEO in August for a corporate contribution, saying he was going to win and that it was in Amazon's best interest to help him. (No contribution was made.)... There is a way he could quickly regain admiration and strengthen democracy: donate the Washington Post to a public charity dedicated to maintaining its quality and independence.... This would also provide a model for others --adding more proof that local news can be viable with the proper ownership structure."

Jake Lahut of Wired: "Workers say they were tricked and threatened as part of Elon Musk's get-out-the-vote effort.... In Michigan, canvassers and paid door knockers for the former president, contracted by a firm associated with America PAC, have been subjected to poor working conditions: A number of them have been driven around in the back of a seatless [and seatbeltless] U-Haul van, according to video obtained by WIRED, and threatened that their lodging at a local motel wouldn't be paid for if they didn't meet [steep] canvassing quotas.... The video from inside the van shows a bumpy ride, with a cage separating the mostly Black door knockers from their driver.... One door knocker alleges that they didn't even know they were signing up for anything having to do with Musk or Trump.... 'Then, after I signed over an NDA, is when I found out we are for Republicans and with Trump,' [the worker said]." MB: The story is firewalled.

Dan Mangan & Lora Kolodny of CNBC: "Elon Musk must attend an emergency court hearing in Philadelphia on Thursday morning to address a bid by the city's top prosecutor to stop the Tesla CEO and his political action committee from continuing to award $1 million prizes to registered voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania, a judge ordered Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, attorneys for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner revealed in a court filing that his lawsuit against Musk, who is an ally of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and the America PAC had 'triggered an avalanche of [social media] posts from Musk&'s followers,' many of whom 'made antisemitic attacks on Krasner.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Unless a story specifically involves ethnicity, a normal person doesn't stop and think, "Gosh, I wonder if that person is Jewish" or "maybe that guy is Black." Clearly, Trump backers & Elon bros are not normal. The potentially-unlawful prize story has nothing whatever to do with anybody's ethnicity. So someone might say the particular backers who "made antisemitic attacks on Krasner" are "garbage."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department's ability to monitor local jurisdictions for voting rights irregularities on Election Day, already curtailed by the Supreme Court, is facing a new hurdle: opposition from Republicans who are seeking to block federal authorities from polling sites.... While the Justice Department has the legal right to request access to polling sites, inflamed partisanship and ideological extremism have contributed to greater resistance to such activities in some GOP-controlled states, legal experts said. Those states have attempted to politicize the process and cast federal monitors as partisans from the Biden administration who cannot be trusted. Republican leaders in Missouri and Florida, which flatly banned federal monitors in the 2022 midterm elections, said in recent interviews that their positions have not changed and that Justice officials likely would be rebuffed again if they request access to voting locations for Tuesday's presidential election."

Here's bad news for democracy & voting-rights advocates and anyone who fears the corrupt Supreme Court will find a way to hand over the presidency* to Donald Trump:~~~

~~~ Mark Sherman of the AP: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Virginia to resume its purge of voter registrations that the state says is aimed at stopping people who are not U.S. citizens from voting. The justices, over the dissents of the three liberal justices, granted an emergency appeal from Virginia's Republican administration led by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The court provided no rationale for its action, which is typical in emergency appeals. The justices acted on Virginia's appeal after a federal judge found that the state illegally purged more than 1,600 voter registrations in the past two months. A federal appeals court had previously allowed the judge's order to remain in effect.... Trump had criticized the earlier ruling, calling it 'a totally unacceptable travesty' on social media.... The Justice Department and a coalition of private groups sued the state earlier in October, arguing that Virginia election officials, acting on an executive order issued in August by Youngkin were striking names from voter rolls in violation of federal election law.... Court records indicated that at least some of those whose registrations were removed are U.S. citizens." ~~~

     ~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "This is a misreading of the underlying law, a departure from the court's usual standards in deciding when to intervene -- and a chilling signal about what else the conservative justices might do in the event of other election disputes that reach the high court.... The purge was conducted with minimal protections to ensure accuracy.... And that, not surprisingly, resulted in what appear to be clear errors.... If the justices were willing to step in here, where intervention was so unnecessary, so unwise and so out of the ordinary, where else will they interfere in this election? Tuesday's order is a troubling omen in troubling times."

Kelly Rissman of the Independent: "Rudy Giuliani's sexual assault case hearing spiraled into chaos for two hours that ended with the former New York City mayor being muted by the judge.... At one point, Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian businessman and former Giuliani associate-turned-critic, tried to be admitted to the virtual meeting -- a move that the ex-mayor vocally objected to. The judge didn't let Parnas in. Justin Kelton, [plaintiff Noelle] Dunphy's lawyer, said he was a potential witness in the case.... The judge asked whether Giuliani ... was representing himself in the case or whether [Adam] Katz was.... Giuliani replied: 'Can I talk to Mr Katz about it? I am confused.' [Giuliani at one point said Katz represented him, but he asked the judge to allow him to make remarks himself. Judge Nicholas Moyne relented but said,] 'Please do not go on a soliloquy....,' and urged him to avoid 'personal attacks.' That's when the hearing went off the rails. The former Trump lawyer made a series of salacious attacks against Dunphy.... Moyne directed his staff to mute Giuliani. Even with his sound turned off, Giuliani kept talking." ~~~

     ~~~ Mind you, the guy who doesn't know how to behave in a courtroom is the same guy Trump invited to speak at his Nazi rally this past weekend: ~~~

     ~~~ Alex Galbraith of Salon: "Rudy Giuliani claimed that Hamas trains toddlers to kill Americans during an unhinged speech in support of Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.... 'Hamas isn't there for us,' Giuliani said, suggesting without evidence that ... Kamala Harris wants to resettle Gazan refugees in the U.S. 'The Palestinians are taught to kill us at two-years old.'... 'She wants to bring them to you,' Giuliani continued. 'They may have good people. I'm sorry I don't take a risk with people who are taught to kill Americans at two.'"

Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "A father and son from New Jersey have been charged with taking part in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, during which, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday, the older of the two hit a police officer with a chair thrown through a window and also shoved an officer's head. The men, Richard Andrews of Brick Township and Keith Andrews of Howell, were arrested in New Jersey on Tuesday, prosecutors said. Richard Andrews, 72, was charged with the felony offenses of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. He was also charged with several misdemeanors. Keith Andrews, 49, faces misdemeanor charges that include disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.”


Grace Ashford & Benjamin Oreskes of the New York Times: "A House subcommittee has referred former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York to the Justice Department for potential prosecution, accusing him of lying to Congress about his involvement in a state Covid report on nursing home deaths. Mr. Cuomo was accused of engaging in a 'conscious, calculated effort' to avoid accountability for his handling of nursing homes where thousands of people died of Covid, according to the referral from the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The referral, which was sent Wednesday night to the Justice Department, was signed by the subcommittee chairman, Representative Brad Wenstrup, Republican of Ohio. No other committee member, including the ranking Democrat, Representative Raul Ruiz of California, signed the referral letter, in a potential sign of political partisanship. The referral centers on closed-door testimony Mr. Cuomo gave to the committee, when he asserted that he had not reviewed a State Health Department report that deflected blame for the deaths of people in New York nursing homes in early 2020....

"Hours before the panel sent its referral, Mr. Cuomo's legal team sent its own letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation into the subcommittee for potential abuse of power." Politico's report is here.

Lola Fadulu & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper and the winner of several Pulitzer Prizes, will stop publishing its print edition early next year, ending a lengthy run as a dominant source of print news in the region, its owners announced on Wednesday. The shuttering of The Star-Ledger's printing plant will cause its sister publication, The Jersey Journal, a Jersey City-based newspaper with a storied, 157-year history, to cease publication altogether. Its demise will leave Hudson County, N.J., a densely populated region that is as well known for political corruption as it is for being the birthplace of Frank Sinatra, without a daily newspaper.... In addition to The Star-Ledger, at least three other newspapers that are produced in Montville, The Times of Trenton, The South Jersey Times and The Hunterdon County Democrat, will also phase out their print editions in February. Advance Local, which owns NJ Advance Media and NJ.com, home to the publications' news sites, said they would remain available online."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Florida. Just Your Typical Trump Backers. Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "An 18-year-old man was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for threatening two supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris with a machete outside an early-voting site, the latest in a series of threats or attacks surrounding early and mail voting. The episode happened around 4 p.m. in Neptune Beach, Fla., a small city east of Jacksonville. The man, whom the police identified as Caleb James Williams, arrived at a voting site at the city's Beaches Branch Library with seven companions. The group carried flags supporting ... Donald J. Trump and confronted people holding Harris signs outside the library. After exchanging words with a 54-year-old woman and a 71-year-old woman, Mr. Williams brandished a machete at them, according to the Neptune Beach police chief, Michael J. Key Jr. Police officers responded quickly to a 911 call." ~~~

~~~ And let us pause to congratulate local GOP officials for what could be the winning entry in the national Worst Whataboutism contest: "The county Republican Party released a statement referring to the assassination attempts against Mr. Trump in July and September, criticizing Democrats for describing some Republicans as Nazis and concluding, 'We urge calm.' It did not address Mr. Williams's and his companions' Trump paraphernalia."

Say, the Harris campaign should have thought of this to deal with boss and gaffe machine Joe Biden: ~~~

~~~ Ohio Senate Race. Abby Vesoulis of Mother Jones: Bernie Moreno, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, has boasted at least half a dozen times "about his dedication to transparency[. But] his campaign also uses a machine at his events that renders voice recordings and videos taken by everyday voters inaudible as his race against incumbent three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown narrows to a slim margin.... The so-called 'anti-recording devices' are available on Amazon for $399.99 and work by emitting white noise and ultrasonic waves that recording devices pick up but people present in person generally do not."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al.

Christiaan Triebert, et al., of the New York Times: "Satellite imagery and videos show widespread destruction in six villages along Lebanon's southern border with Israel, revealing 1,085 buildings that have been leveled or badly damaged since its Oct. 1 invasion aimed at crippling the militant group Hezbollah. Earlier this month, The New York Times, using satellite imagery, verified the destruction of scores of buildings in two other villages. The images offer only a glimpse at the situation in southern Lebanon. There has been little access to the area since the invasion began and the extent of the damage is unclear."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Walker Buehler spread his arms wide and waited for his teammates to engulf him, the most fitting symbol of a season defined by persistent resilience. Called into emergency relief, Buehler closed out the World Series and shut the door on the New York Yankees as the Los Angeles Dodgers captured a 7-6 victory in a heart-stopping Game 5.... [Buehler's] scoreless frame stunned the crowd at Yankee Stadium and incited a mid-field jubilee from the Dodgers."

New York Times: "At least 95 people have died and others were missing after devastating flash floods hit eastern Spain, according to the local authorities, in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country in recent years. The catastrophic floods, fueled by an unrelenting deluge that began on Monday, washed away cars, inundated homes and knocked out power across eastern Spain. Rescuers waded through neck-high waters to reach some residents."

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