The Conversation -- October 2, 2024

⭐ Alan Feuer & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: :In a sprawling legal brief partly unsealed on Wednesday, the special counsel, Jack Smith, laid out his case for why ... Donald J. Trump is not immune from prosecution on federal charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. The redacted brief, made public by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the Federal District Court in Washington, adds new details to the already extensive public record of how Mr. Trump lost the race but attempted nonetheless to cling to power." ~~~

     ~~~ Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The filing described what the then-president told key figures in his orbit, including vice president Mike Pence, attorney Rudy Giuliani and senior White House and Republican Party officials, though it shielded some of their names, and how some in his orbit told him his claims of having won the election were false. It also detailed what Trump was doing on Jan. 6, as his supporters stormed the Capitol.... This is a developing story...." ~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "The 165-page document comes from Smith's office and is the fullest accounting yet of evidence in the election subversion case against Trump. Throughout the document, Smith argues that the actions Trump took to overturn the election were in his private capacity - as a candidate -- rather than in his official capacity, as a president.... The filing weaves together what prominent witnesses told a federal grand jury and the FBI about Trump, along with other never-before-disclosed evidence investigators gathered about the former president's actions leading up to and on January 6, 2021."

When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office. -- Motion for Immunity Determinations, p. 3 ~~~

     ⭐~~~ The motion is here. (Via CNN.)

Zach Montague & Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "President Biden on Wednesday took an aerial tour of the devastation from Hurricane Helene and ordered the Pentagon to deploy up to 1,000 active-duty troops to assist with aid efforts as rescue workers continued dangerous rescue missions in remote mountain communities. Mr. Biden's visit to the Carolinas came as the death toll from the storm rose to more than 175 people on Wednesday, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland United States since Katrina, which caused nearly 1,400 deaths in 2005, according to statistics from the National Hurricane Center."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Half an hour into Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate, JD Vance lodged a whiny protest. 'Margaret,' he said to moderator Margaret Brennan of CBS News, 'the rules were that you guys weren't going to fact-check!' It was a lie on top of another lie, supplemented by a pair of other lies, in support of an even bigger lie. There was no 'rule' against fact-checking. And Vance had just told a whopper. He had alleged that, in Springfield, Ohio, 'you've got schools that are overwhelmed, you've got hospitals that are overwhelmed, you have got housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants.'... The senator said Harris 'became the appointed border czar.' She received no such appointment.... There is no 'open border.'..., and the thousands of Haitian migrants ... have legal status.... He said 'over $100 billion' of Iranian assets were unfrozen 'thanks to the Kamala Harris administration.'... Kamala Harris isn't the president.... On health care, he served up the howler of the night when he said that Trump 'saved' the 'collapsing' Affordable Care Act.... In reality, of course, Trump tried his best to kill Obamacare.... Vance capped the night by saying that Trump 'peacefully' surrendered power four years ago."

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Presidential Race

Monica Alba of NBC News: "Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is launching a new digital ad Tuesday slamming the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, as 'extremist' and a 'danger to our democracy.' The spot argues Vance, R-Ohio, 'could be a heartbeat away' from the presidency if Donald Trump wins in November, the first time the Democratic ticket has gone after the former president's age in paid media since she became the Democratic nominee, according to a Harris official." ~~~

New York Times reporters liveblogged the vice-presidential debate, which aired on CBS & elsewhere, beginning at 9:00 pm ET Tuesday. The pinned entry: ~~~

Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota spent most of their only debate aiming not at each other but at their running mates, relitigating the last two administrations and eight years as each promised his ticket would deliver a new direction for the nation. It was a substantive and mostly civil debate between two Midwestern men that laid bare the policy chasm between the two parties on immigration, abortion and foreign policy. But no issue made clearer the size and stakes of the country's current political divide than the final topic of the night, when Mr. Vance refused to concede that ... Donald J. Trump had lost the 2020 election.... Mr. Vance looked polished throughout. Mr. Walz spoke haltingly, especially at the start, taking a series of verbal stutter-steps before getting to his point.... Here are seven takeaways from the debate[.]"

Slick JayDee. Ashley Parker & Caroline Kitchener of the Washington Post: "... [JD] Vance ... used Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate ... to try to reintroduce a smoother, more affable version of himself to the nation.... He also used the prime-time slot to repackage MAGA for the political middle -- offering a softer, more moderate, and often misleading version of Trump's polarizing vision and policy prescriptions. In fact, Vance spewed falsehoods and exaggerations on a host of Trump's core policy positions, ranging from immigration to health care to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.... Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the fall of Roe v. Wade. And Vance ran for Senate in 2022 on a platform that promised to 'end abortion,' saying he would like the procedure to be 'illegal nationally.'... But on Tuesday night, Vance referenced an anonymous friend in an abusive relationship who told him how grateful she was that she had been able to have an abortion, seeming to imply -- but not quite saying -- that he supported her decision to terminate her pregnancy. 'I know she's watching tonight and I love you,' he said, staring directly into the camera, before acknowledging that most Americans feel differently than he does about the issue -- and pledging to earn their trust.... During the debate, [Trump] pledged on Truth Social to veto a national abortion ban 00 after refusing to make that same promise in his own debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last month. Abortion was hardly the only issue on which Vance offered a gauzy -- and at times distorted -- portrait of the Trump-Vance platform."

Video of the debate, via NBC News, is here. The full transcript of the debate, via CBS News, is here.

Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times: "For some 90 minutes, [JD] Vance ... had largely tailored his debate-night message to a mass audience, avoiding most detours into conservative fever swamps, as if determined to deliver a rolling rebuttal to Democrats' longstanding suggestion that he was 'weird' and out of step. But when the debate turned, near its final frames, to the subject of the 2020 election, Mr. Vance ... said of Mr. Trump, 'he said that on January the 6th, the protesters ought to protest peacefully. And on January the 20th, what happened? Joe Biden became the president. Donald Trump left the White House.'... Mr. Vance pivoted jarringly to the subject of censorship. Mr. Walz glanced up at the camera, silent, like a television character breaking the fourth wall. 'Well, I've enjoyed tonight's debate,' Mr. Walz began when it was his turn again, assessing an evening that was sometimes wobbly for him. He was about to enjoy it more." Here's the exchange:

     ~~~ The Last Should Be First. Zack Beauchamp of Vox: "Ultimately, every issue discussed earlier [Tuesday] night comes in second to the fundamental question of whether America's democratic institutions deserve to endure. On that question, Vance truly is radical, and his exposure as such was the only truly important moment of the night.... Vance has been enthusiastic [in support of Trump's lies about the 2020 election]. He has, among other things, fundraised for January 6 rioters and said he would have illegally thrown the 2020 election result to Congress had he been in Mike Pence's position at the time. But what's most distinctive about Vance is the degree to which he has paired 2020 conspiracy theories with a coterie of other anti-democratic positions and ideologies.... Anti-democratic radicalism has been central to Vance's political identity since he began running for Senate in Ohio.... Despite democracy being at the core of the difference between the two candidates onstage..., it was treated as an afterthought. In doing so, the moderators created an illusion of normalcy: allowing the two candidates to civilly discuss issues like housing and the deficit in a basically standard-politician manner, when in fact they disagree on an existential question about the nature of American government itself." ~~~

     ~~~ Will Saletan of the Bulwark: "... there was only one question on which the vice presidency -- the job for which these two men are competing -- really matters. That question was whether they would certify the results of the next presidential election. And on that subject, Vance gave a non-answer that instantly disqualifies him: He refused to acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Certification of elections was a central factor in Vance's audition to become Trump's running mate.... As Thomas Joscelyn has pointed out in The Bulwark, Vance stood out [among the contenders] in one respect: He was the one who signaled most clearly that he was willing to push constitutional boundaries to do Trump's bidding.... Vance was given an opportunity to dispel concerns that he would use the vice presidency to overturn another election. He declined that opportunity.... When democracy is in peril, he will bow to Trump, not to the people or the Constitution."

Jimmy Kimmel analyzes the debate & adds some color: ~~~

Melanie Mason of Politico: "... There was no decisive winner in the first-and-only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election. Asked who won Tuesday's debate, voters were split 50-50 over whether it was JD Vance or Tim Walz, according to a Politico/Focaldata snap poll of likely voters conducted just after the two faced off in a studio in New York City."

Aaron Pellish, et al., of CNN: "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on Tuesday he 'misspoke' when he previously said he'd visited Hong Kong in the spring of 1989 during protests in China's Tiananmen Square but insisted he 'was in Hong Kong and China' during the pro-democracy protests. His comments during Tuesday night's vice presidential debate followed the unearthing of reports that contradict previous claims he made about his travel to China, including a claim that the Democratic vice presidential nominee was in Hong Kong preparing for a teaching position in 1989 during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests that ended in hundreds of protesters killed by the Chinese government.... Walz regularly organized and chaperoned trips to China during his time as a teacher prior to entering politics." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Walz's nonresponse-response to the moderator's question was just awful, IMO. He had to know this question was coming, so why he wouldn't directly answer, until pressed, is beyond me. ~~~

     ~~~ Here is a transcript of the Minnesota Public Radio Broadcast that raised the issue if Walz's misstatements about his experiences in China.

Aaron Rupar & Noah Berlatsky of Public Notice: "Across two campaign events in Wisconsin on Tuesday..., [Donald Trump] reiterated a truth that is much more important than who won the debate: namely, that he's morally and intellectually unfit for office. Both Trump events were packed with outrageous defamations and lies.... Vance's slick lying and election denialism is even more ominous given the possibility that he may end up as the country's leader in a second, nightmarish, Trump term." The writers run down a litany of weird. shocking Trump rants. In one, he accused Kamala Harris of murder.

Michael Gold of the New York Times: "In unfocused remarks that frequently veered into tangents..., Donald J. Trump responded on Tuesday to Iran's launching a missile attack against Israel by insisting that the world was nearing global devastation, criticizing President Biden's leadership and falling back on his frequent hypothetical that he would have prevented the crisis in the Middle East had he won in 2020.... Mr. Trump..., during a speech in Waunakee, Wis..., did not provide any details of how he might quell the war in Gaza or otherwise address the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran that has heightened tensions throughout the region. He falsely claimed Iran went broke under sanctions that were imposed while he was president....

"But Mr. Trump's remarks about Iran's attack against Israel were characterized more by his digressions than by his response to world events. As he insisted that he would restore global stability and criticized 'a nonexistent president and a nonexistent vice president,' Mr. Trump departed from his prepared remarks in order to criticize San Francisco, attack Vice President Kamala Harris's response to Hurricane Helene, stoke fears around immigration, blast the prisoner swap deal with Russia that freed Brittney Griner, repeat his false claims of widespread election fraud and relitigate whether the 1987 film 'Full Metal Jacket' should have won Academy Awards." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Hmm. Unless Kamala Harris weighs in with a specific, detailed analysis of the artistic merits & cultural impact of "Full Metal Jacket," I don't think she has my vote.

So earlier Tuesday we learned this: ~~~

Libby Cathey of CBS News: "In a move intended to troll ... Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, ahead of the first and only vice presidential debate of 2024, the Democratic National Committee on Monday night is digitally projecting various phrases... onto Trump Tower in New York City. [Some of] the DNC's projections are ... aimed at the former president for saying he won't again debate Vice President Kamala Harris.... 'Trump is a chicken!' says [a] message...." ~~~

~~~ Now we hear this: ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "CBS News said on Tuesday that ... Donald J. Trump had declined to participate in an interview with '60 Minutes' that would have been broadcast during a prime-time election special next week. The election special, a quadrennial tradition for the program, will move ahead on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern, and feature interviews with Vice President Kamala Harris and ... Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. In a statement, the network said Mr. Trump had initially accepted an invitation to be interviewed by one of the show's correspondents, Scott Pelley. But on Tuesday, CBS was told that Mr. Trump's campaign 'has decided not to participate.'" Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Apparently the campaign has been paying attention to the sort of nonresponsive responses Trump gave in the interviews Jon Stewart highlighted in the clips embedded here yesterday afternoon. Trump's staff knows he's out of it, and they're trying to hide him away.

Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump swings wildly from topic to topic at his rallies, veering from tariffs to immigration policy to the problems with electric vehicles. But he tends to return to the same apocalyptic message. 'You won't have a country anymore,' Mr. Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas last month.... It is a forecast Mr. Trump has made repeatedly over the last year in speeches and interviews and on social media.... Although he has long used fear as a tool to stir up his conservative base and sway undecided voters, Mr. Trump has taken his doomsday prophesying to a new extreme, increasing both its frequency and scope. He regularly predicts that if he loses to Vice President Kamala Harris in November, America will be ruined. World War III will break out, most likely prompting a global nuclear catastrophe. There will no longer be an America. Israel will cease to exist. Murderous immigrant gangs will overrun cities, small towns, the state of Colorado and the entire country. Factories will shutter. Farmers will lose their farms. The United States will face an economic 'blood bath.'"

Steve Benen of MSNBC: "When it comes to hurricanes, Donald Trump's record is an embarrassment. Indeed, some of the low points of the Republican's failed presidency were directly related to his bizarre reactions to brutal storms: From 'Sharpiegate' to 'big water,' from his odd unfamiliarity with Category 5 hurricanes to lobbing paper towels as if he were having fun shooting free throws, the GOP candidate's background is tough to defend.... But that doesn't mean his record can't get worse... [After make numerous false accusations against President Biden's & Vice President Harris's responses to Hurricane Helene,] when NBC News asked the Republican to substantiate his aid-related conspiracy theories, he walked away.... What kind of would-be leader lies about a deadly natural disaster?"

Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Olivia Nuzzi, the star political writer for New York magazine who was placed on leave after she disclosed her personal relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has accused her former fiancé of a campaign of harassment and blackmail, according to court filings. In a complaint filed in Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Ms. Nuzzi accused the former fiancé, Ryan Lizza, a top political reporter at Politico, of hacking her devices and stealing a device to surveil her and collect materials to pressure her back into a relationship with him. She accused Mr. Lizza of bringing 'damaging information' to the attention of her employer and of distributing materials to the media that she said she believed to be doctored. She also claimed in the complaint that Mr. Lizza had threatened her with violence to coerce her into assuming his financial responsibility in a joint book contract, and 'explicitly threatened to make public personal information about me to destroy my life, career and reputation -- a threat he has since carried out.'... Mr. Lizza said the allegations ... were not true."~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "On Tuesday night, Politico said Lizza was taking a leave of absence from the publication while it conducts an investigation into the matter." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is not the first time Ryan Lizza has found himself in trouble because of a relationship with a woman gone awry. In 2017, the New Yorker fired him because of allegations he had sexually harassed a woman. According to Lizza's Wikipedia entry, the New Yorker said "he engaged in 'improper sexual conduct.' Lizza called The New Yorker's characterization a 'terrible mistake' that had been 'made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts.' His alleged victim['s] ... attorney ... said, '[I]n no way did Mr. Lizza's misconduct constitute a "respectful relationship" as he has now tried to characterize it.'"

Anne Branigin & Herb Scribner of the Washington Post: "A team of lawyers announced Tuesday that it would be filing more than 100 sexual assault lawsuits against Sean Combs, a massive legal action that appears to have few if any precedents in the #MeToo era. The lawsuits would exponentially increase the number of sexual abuse accusations against the embattled music producer, commonly known by his stage name Diddy."

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Florida. Jiselle Lee of the Washington Post: "A former congressional candidate in Florida has been charged after allegedly threatening to send 'the Russian mafia' after his opponent. William Robert Braddock III, 41, was charged Thursday in federal court with threatening now-Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R). Braddock and Luna were rivals during the 2021 Republican primary election for Florida's 13th Congressional District, which includes the Tampa area." During a phone call with a friend of Luna's, Erin Olszewski, Braddock also threatened to have Olszewski killed if she support Luna's candidacy.

Georgia. Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "... the opinion [striking down Georgia's six-week abortion ban] by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, is worth paying attention to even if it is destined to be overturned. It offers one of the most compelling and straightforward defenses of the right to abortion that I have encountered in decades of writing about this issue.... As a legal matter, 'Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote,' McBurney wrote. 'Forcing a woman to carry an unwanted, not-yet-viable fetus to term violates her constitutional rights to liberty and privacy, even taking into consideration whatever bundle of rights the not-yet-viable fetus may have.' As a practical matter, McBurney was even clearer about the implications of requiring women to 'serve as human incubators for the five months leading up to viability.'" McBurney wrote,

It is not for a legislator, a judge, or a Commander from The Handmaid's Tale to tell these women what to do with their bodies during this period when the fetus cannot survive outside the womb any more so than society could -- or should.... When someone other than the pregnant woman is able to sustain the fetus, then -- and only then -- should those other voices have a say in the discussion about the decisions the pregnant woman makes concerning her body and what is growing within it. (Also linked yesterday.)

See also the New York Times report on McBurney's ruling linked under "Georgia" yesterday as well as Akhilleus's commentary in yesterday's thread. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now compare McBurney's reasoned opinion with that of Donald Trump, who after repeatedly bragging about overturning Roe, realized the Alito-led decision was extremely unpopular. Trump then considered a 16-week national abortion ban because, "It's even. It's four months." (It isn't. On average, 16 weeks is 3.68 months. Sixteen weeks is four months only if you count only Februarys that are not in leap years.)

Georgia. Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Tens of thousands of Georgia voters updated their registration after Kamala Harris took over the Democratic campaign from president Joe Biden. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had removed thousands of voter registrations for a variety of reasons, but 40,000 voters have already updated their registration ahead of the Oct. 7 deadline -- and about a fourth of those did so on the day Harris rallied in Atlanta, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the voter roll." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kentucky. David Chen & Kendra Sanchez of the New York Times: "Video of the fatal shooting of a judge in Kentucky was played in court on Tuesday, as prosecutors presented evidence of their case against the ex-sheriff charged with carrying out the killing on Sept. 19. In the footage, a man is seen opening fire on the judge, Kevin Mullins, who is pictured in his robes, sitting in his chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg. When the judge tumbles out of his chair, the gunman walks around the desk and fires additional shots.... Prosecutors say that Shawn Stines, who had been the Letcher County sheriff for several years, was the shooter.... He pleaded not guilty last week during a virtual arraignment.... After his arrest, Mr. Stines, who is known as Mickey, announced through his lawyers that he was retiring, at age 43, 'to allow for a successor to continue to protect his beloved constituents while he addresses the legal process ahead of him.'"

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Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Israel's wars are here: "Israel has vowed to retaliate after Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at it on Tuesday evening, putting the region on edge for fear of an all-out war between the longtime adversaries. Israeli officials said the missiles had mostly been intercepted by air defenses and with the help of Western allies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Iran had 'made a big mistake tonight -- and it will pay for it,' leaving neighboring countries and international observers on alert for Israel's potential response." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here.

Vatican. They Don't Need to Discuss Much. Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "... when bishops and lay people convene Wednesday at the Vatican to talk about its future, one of the most contentious -- whether women can be ordained as deacons -- has already been taken off the agenda.... For many Catholics who are demanding a more egalitarian church, the synod -- as meetings of bishops are known -- was seen as an opening to address major issues considered taboo until recently, including the question of female deacons, the requirement that priests be celibate and the place of L.G.B.T.Q. people in the church."

The Conversation -- October 1, 2024

Georgia. Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Tens of thousands of Georgia voters updated their registration after Kamala Harris took over the Democratic campaign from president Joe Biden. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had removed thousands of voter registrations for a variety of reasons, but 40,000 voters have already updated their registration ahead of the Oct. 7 deadline -- and about a fourth of those did so on the day Harris rallied in Atlanta, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the voter roll."

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "... the opinion [striking down Georgia's six-week abortion ban] by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, is worth paying attention to even if it is destined to be overturned. It offers one of the most compelling and straightforward defenses of the right to abortion that I have encountered in decades of writing about this issue.... As a legal matter, 'Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote,' McBurney wrote. 'Forcing a woman to carry an unwanted, not-yet-viable fetus to term violates her constitutional rights to liberty and privacy, even taking into consideration whatever bundle of rights the not-yet-viable fetus may have.' As a practical matter, McBurney was even clearer about the implications of requiring women to 'serve as human incubators for the five months leading up to viability.'" McBurney wrote,

It is not for a legislator, a judge, or a Commander from The Handmaid's Tale to tell these women what to do with their bodies during this period when the fetus cannot survive outside the womb any more so than society could -- or should.... When someone other than the pregnant woman is able to sustain the fetus, then -- and only then -- should those other voices have a say in the discussion about the decisions the pregnant woman makes concerning her body and what is growing within it.

See also the New York Times report linked under "Georgia" below as well as Akhilleus's commentary in today's thread. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now compare McBurney's reasoned opinion with that of Donald Trump, who after repeatedly bragging about overturning Roe, realized the Alito-led decision was extremely unpopular. Trump then considered a 16-week national abortion ban because, "It's even. It's four months." (It isn't. On average, 16 weeks is 3.68 months. Sixteen weeks is four months only if you count only Februarys that are not in leap years.)

No, there is no greater nincompoop than Donald Trump. (Although, in fairness, the GOP has produced very, very close contenders.) Thanks to RAS for the link:

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Ian Philbrick of the New York Times: "... Jimmy Carter ... is set to celebrate his 100th birthday on Tuesday, the first president in American history to hit the centennial mark. The last chapter of Mr. Carter's already remarkable life story is turning out to be one of astonishing resilience. The peanut farmer turned global statesman has over the years beaten brain cancer, bounced back from a broken hip and outlived his political adversaries. And now he is setting a record for presidential durability that may be hard to break. Though frail and generally confined to his modest ranch house in Plains, Ga., Mr. Carter has not only refused to surrender to the inevitability of time, he has perked up in recent months, according to family members. He has become a little more engaged again, telling his children and grandchildren that he has a new milestone he wants to reach -- not his birthday, which he professes not to care that much about, but Election Day, so that he can vote for Vice President Kamala Harris." ~~~

~~~ Tim Craig & Casey Parks of the Washington Post: "Jimmy Carter turns 100 Tuesday, and his hometown [of Plains, Georgia,] is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the milestone -- even if the former president himself isn't expected to be attending. The birthday bash for the first U.S. president to reach 100 will include a military jet flyover, a naturalization ceremony and a concert. Carter, who is in hospice care, has not attended a major event since his wifes memorial in November 2023. Throughout Plains, locals are excited to honor the man they know simply as 'Mr. Jimmy.' Many residents here have stories about running into Carter at the pharmacy or the peanut shop that sells the flavor of ice cream he enjoys. And even though Plains leans Republican, some houses with yard signs supporting ... Donald Trump also have signs commemorating Carter."

Presidential Race

Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday tried to taunt ... Donald J. Trump into participating in another debate as she rallied supporters in Nevada.... 'The American people have a right to hear us discuss the issues. And as you say here in Las Vegas, I'm all in. I'm all in. Even if my opponent is ready to fold.'... [Mr. Trump] has said he will not participate in another debate...." (Also linked yesterday.)

New York Times Editors declare Kamala Harris "The Only Patriotic Choice for President." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tonight is Veep Debate Night.

Katie Glueck, et al., of the New York Times assess Tim Walz's past debate performances: "Mr. Walz and his allies have tried to set expectations high for Mr. Vance, emphasizing his Yale Law School credentials. And Mr. Vance is a practiced verbal pugilist who seems to delight in combative exchanges on cable news and Sunday morning shows. But a review of a half-dozen recorded debates over Mr. Walz's career makes clear that while the camo-wearing, car-tinkering man from Mankato may not be his party's most stirring speaker, he is in fact a seasoned debater himself. He is capable of both delivering punchy criticisms and exuding the Everyman appeal that helped propel him to the Democratic ticket.... At times, though, Mr. Walz has been knocked off-kilter, too." ~~~

Michael Bender, et al., of the New York Times assess JD Vance's past debate performances: "JD Vance loves debates.... Mr. Vance, a best-selling author with a rebellious streak, brings a similarly distinct style to his debates. He is aggressive and bold in his assertions. His pugnacity often leads to over-the-top claims, but he is also careful to present as more polite and thoughtful than the caricature of him portrayed by opponents.... He is quick on his feet.... He has some Trumpy moves."

Marie: Man, am I glad I have Jim Comer (R-Ky.) protecting me from Commie Tim Walz. If not for Jim, the next thing you know, all the kidz would be speaking Mandarin. ~~~

     ~~~ Emily Brooks of the Hill: "House Oversight ... Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday for information relating to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), the Democratic nominee for vice president, and a vague alleged connection to the Chinese Communist Party. Comer said in a letter accompanying the subpoena -- issued on the day before the vice presidential debate between Walz and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance -- that his committee received whistleblower disclosures about 'serious concern among Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel regarding a longstanding connection between' Walz and China." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lisa Rein & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "At least a dozen employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs improperly accessed the medical records of vice-presidential nominees JD Vance and Tim Walz this summer, VA investigators found, in a violation of federal health privacy laws that is under criminal investigation. VA officials notified the Vance and Walz campaigns about the breaches after discovering the unauthorized viewing by employees at the agency's massive health-care arm, the Veterans Health Administration, according to people familiar with the investigation.... VA Inspector General Michael Missal's office has shared evidence with federal prosecutors on the actions of several employees in the health system, includinga physician and a contractor...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Open Mouth, Spout Lies. Maya King, et al., of the New York Times: Minutes after" touching down in storm-ravaged Valdosta, Ga..., Donald J. Trump made an elaborate false claim about the Biden administration's response to Hurricane Helene. 'The governor's doing a very good job,' Mr. Trump said of the state's Republican governor, Brian Kemp. The problem, the former president insisted, was that Mr. Kemp was 'having a hard time getting the president on the phone.' Mr. Trump ... added: 'I guess, uh, they're not, they're not being responsive. The federal government is not being responsive. 'But earlier on Monday, Mr. Kemp himself told a different story. He said that he and [President] Biden had spoken the night before, and made clear he appreciated the president's responsiveness. 'He just said, Hey, what do you need?' Mr. Kemp said. 'And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We'll work through the federal process.' Mr. Kemp said that Mr. Biden offered 'that if there's other things we need, just to call him directly -- which, I appreciate that.'...

"[Mr. Trump] repeatedly said that he had come bearing gifts to help the disaster response: semitrailer trucks filled with relief supplies and a tanker of gas, distributed by the evangelical Christian humanitarian aid group Samaritan's Purse.... Shortly before he repeated his false claim that Mr. Biden had been unreachable by phone, the former president said he would refrain from talking about the politics arching over his visit....

"As president, [Mr. Trump] viewed federal aid through the prism of his personal politics, threatening to withhold money from governors of blue states whom he saw as enemies, and promising 'A-plus' treatment for his allies. The Trump administration proposed cutting the budget of the agency responsible for disaster relief, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and his top officials diverted money away from FEMA to deal with immigration enforcement. FEMA was understaffed throughout Mr. Trump's presidency and, until the coronavirus pandemic, he ... viewed the Homeland Security Department, which oversees FEMA, solely as an immigration enforcement agency." The article also reprises a few specific Trump relief-fund stunts. ~~~

     ~~~ OR, as the Associated Pressed put it in its lede: ~~~

     ~~~ Adriana Licon, et al., of the AP: "Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia. The former president and Republican nominee claimed upon landing in Valdosta that President Joe Biden was 'sleeping' and not responding to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who he said was 'calling the president and hasn't been able to get him.' He repeated the claim at an event with reporters after being told Kemp said he had spoken to Biden. 'He's lying, and the governor told him he was lying,' Biden said Monday. The White House previously announced that Biden spoke by phone Sunday night with Kemp and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, as well as Scott Matheson, mayor of Valdosta, Georgia, and Florida Emergency Management Director John Louk. Kemp confirmed Monday morning that he spoke to Biden the night before." ~~~

~~~ S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Just before flying to Valdosta..., [Donald Trump] posted on social media about western North Carolina: 'I'll be there shortly, but don't like the reports that I'm getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas. MAGA!' He then posted an even more inflammatory claim, again with zero evidence of malfeasance: 'They have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South.'... Trump, as he was leaving Valdosta, was confronted by a reporter about whether he had any evidence that assistance was being withheld from Republican areas. Trump did not provide any. 'Just take a look,' he said. The accusations, which have been amplified in right-wing, pro-Trump media, appear to have been invented out of whole cloth.... Trump's accusations that [President] Biden is intentionally withholding assistance from areas where residents are largely critical of him, however, do mirror his precise behavior as president when he withheld $20 billion in congressionally approved aid to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017 and threatened to withhold federal assistance to California to deal with wildfires." ~~~

~~~ The Idiot Know-It-All. Ellie Houghtaling of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: "... it's not impossible to predict a storm's scale, timing, and general path. Somehow, that information isn't obvious to Donald Trump, who, after surveying some of the storm's devastation in Georgia, told reporters Monday that 'nobody' could have forecast Helene.... Trump said during a presser in Valdosta, Georgia. 'It's so extensive, nobody thought this would be happening, especially now it's so late in the season for the hurricanes.' It is, of course, not late in the season for hurricanes: September tends to be the most active month in the calendar year for the superstorms." As S.V. Date pointed out in the HuffPost report linked above, the National Hurricane Center & FEMA issued numerous warnings about the likelihood of inland flash-flooding while Helene was still in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, FEMA had already deployed multiple incident teams bound for inland areas before the storm made landfall. ~~~

     ~~~ Rolling Stone's headline, BTW, is "Trump Says No One Could Have Predicted Hurricane at Peak of Hurricane Season." Perfect. ~~~

~~~ Kevin Brueninger of CNBC: "... Donald Trump traveled to hurricane-blasted Georgia to deliver remarks and help hand out supplies, one day after he leveraged the devastating storm as a political attack against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.... [Trump's] short-notice trip to Georgia came as Harris scrapped planned campaign stops in Las Vegas to return to Washington, D.C., for a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. [President] Biden, meanwhile, said earlier Monday that he and Harris hope to travel to hurricane-damaged areas once they can be sure their presence will not disrupt emergency response efforts. He later said he expects to make a trip Wednesday o Thursday....

"'They raise a lot of money from bad people, fundraising events with their radical left lunatic donors, when big parts of our country have been devastated by that massive hurricane, and is underwater with many, many people dead,' Trump said at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania. 'She ought to be here. She ought to be down in the area where she should be. That's what she's getting paid for, right? That's what she's getting paid for,' Trump said.... Trump in Valdosta also said he had recently spoken with billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, about using Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, to help restore communication in the region. The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that it had already provided 40 Starlink satellite systems to aid communications and recovery in North Carolina."

     ~~~ Marie: As I'm sure you know, visits from high-profile individuals are disruptive, and thoughtful big shots like Biden and Harris routinely choose not to disrupt areas already in deep distress. Rather, they wait to survey damaged areas & console victims when local officials and personnel have more time to attend to poobah visits. Trump of course is oblivious to these standard forms of sense and sensibility.

Marshall Cohen & Daniel Dale of CNN: "... Donald Trump has escalated his long-running assault on the integrity of US elections as the 2024 presidential campaign enters its final stretch using a new series of lies about ballots, vote-counting and the election process to lay the groundwork to challenge a potential defeat in November. Nonpartisan democracy experts say they're seeing many of the same warning signs that were blinking red before Election Day four years ago, when Trump flooded the zone with election lies and conspiracy theories that he amplified after losing to Joe Biden.... Trump has made at least 12 distinct false claims over the last two months that raise baseless doubts about the validity of a potential victory by Vice President Kamala Harris." (Also linked yesterday.)

Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: A Springfield, Ohio, owner of a metals manufacturing plant & his family have to take measures, including purchasing guns, to protect themselves from credible threats after the businessman praised his company's Haitian employees in national media outlets. See Patrick's commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)

Lori Rozsa & Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "The man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Monday morning during a brief appearance in federal court. Authorities say Ryan Routh, 58, lurked near Trump's golf course here armed with a rifle while the former president -- also the Republican nominee in this year's election -- was playing on Sept. 15."

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration will expand asylum restrictions that have made it much more difficult for migrants who cross the border illegally to request protection in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday. Illegal crossings will now have to remain below a daily threshold of 1,500 for 28 days, up from seven days, before people who enter the country illegally may request asylum. The amended measures, which will take effect Tuesday, will begin counting unaccompanied minors in the daily number of crossings, the department said. Since the emergency procedures were implemented in June, they have helped reduce illegal crossings at the southern border to about 1,800 a day, the lowest level in four years, according to the latest enforcement data. The number of children and teenagers crossing without a parent has been about 200 per day in recent months."

⭐ Peter Eavis of the New York Times: "For the first time in nearly 50 years, longshoremen on the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday, a move that will cut off most trade through some of the busiest U.S. ports and could send a chill through the economy. Members of the International Longshoremen's Association union, which represents roughly 45,000 workers, started setting up pickets after 11th-hour talks failed to avert a work stoppage.... The United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port employers, declined to comment early Tuesday. The two sides were not able to agree on wage increases, and the use of new technology in the ports was a sticking point for the union.... Before the strike, [President Biden] said he was not going to use a federal labor law to force an end to a port shutdown -- something President George W. Bush did in 2002 -- but some labor experts said he might use that power if the strike started to weigh on the economy. White House officials had pressed both sides to reach a deal before the strike."

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Southeastern U.S. Jeffrey Collins of the AP: "Widespread devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene came to light Monday across the South, revealing a wasteland of splintered houses, crushed cargo containers and mud-covered highways in one of the worst storms in U.S. history. The death toll topped 130. At least 133 deaths in six Southeastern states have been attributed to the storm that inflicted damage from Florida's Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia. The toll steadily rose as emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding. During a briefing Monday, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall suggested as many as 600 people hadn't been accounted for as of Monday afternoon, saying some might be dead.... Government officials and aid groups worked to deliver supplies by air, truck and even mule to the hard-hit tourism hub of Asheville and its surrounding mountain towns. At least 40 people died in the county that includes Asheville."

Georgia. David Chen of the New York Times: "A Georgia judge on Monday struck down a state law effectively prohibiting abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy. The ruling, by Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court, is unlikely to be the final word because of the expectation that the case will ultimately be decided by the Georgia Supreme Court. Still the ruling means that women seeking abortions in Georgia will have greater access, at least temporarily, to a procedure that has become mostly inaccessible in the South since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Judge McBurney found that the six-week abortion ban, which was passed in 2019, violated Georgia;s Constitution, and his ruling returns the state to allowing the procedure up until about 22 weeks of pregnancy.:

New York. William Rashbaum & Dana Rubinstein of the New York Times: "One of Mayor Eric Adams' closest aides and confidants resigned on Monday, less than a week after the mayor was indicted on corruption charges -- and nearly a month after federal agents seized the aide;s phones in a separate corruption inquiry, according to a resignation letter his lawyer said had been sent to the mayor. The aide, Timothy Pearson, had a broad portfolio that included dealing with contracts for migrant shelters and focusing on public safety. He is the fifth senior member of the mayor;s administration to announce his departure in the past three weeks.:

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in Israel's wars are here: "Israel said early Tuesday that its forces had crossed into southern Lebanon in an operation aimed at Hezbollah targets in the border region, as the first Israeli ground invasion of the country since 2006 heralded an uncertain new phase of its decades-long conflict with the Iranian-backed militia. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that one army division -- which typically numbers more than 10,000 soldiers -- was involved in conducting 'limited, localized and targeted raids' along the border....:

Vivian Yee of the New York Times: "Hezbollah, the Iran-funded Shiite Muslim militia that doubles as a major political party and social services organization, does not run Lebanon in any official sense. But under [Hassan] Nasrallah, it sometimes seemed as if it was the only force that mattered: a state within a state with its own military, schools, hospitals and youth programs. Now his death [during a targeted Israeli bomb attack] has come as the latest thunderbolt to jolt Lebanon, a Mediterranean country of 5.4 million people already stuck in a dejected state of nonstop emergency.... Lebanon has gone nearly two years without a president and has only a caretaker government. The state provides barely any electricity, leaving everyone dependent on generators, if they can afford the fees." Read on.

Climate Change Moves an International Border. Italy/Switzerland. Kelsey Baker & Kasha Patel of the Washington Post: "Italy and Switzerland are set to redraw part of the mountainous border separating the two countries due to melting glaciers in the Alps. The change, which impacts an approximately 330-foot-long segment of the border, is happening near one of Europe's most popular skiing destinations, Zermatt, and the iconic Matterhorn mountain. One of the biggest glaciers near Matterhorn, the Theodul Glacier, retreated almost 1,000 feet between 1990 to 2015. The melting, which has been attributed to climate change, revealed new topographical details that raised new questions about the dimensions of the border between the two countries. In 2022, the jurisdiction of a glacial Italian mountain lodge there came under question when melting ice revealed the refuge was actually straddling the border. 'Significant sections of the border are defined by the watershed or ridge lines of glaciers, firn or perpetual snow,' the Swiss government said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg. 'These formations are changing due to the melting of glaciers.'"

Mexico. Emiliano Mega of the New York Times: "Claudia Sheinbaum will take office on Tuesday, the first woman and Jewish person to lead Mexico in the country's more than 200-year history as an independent nation. A former climate scientist and Mexico City mayor, Ms. Sheinbaum won in a landslide in general elections in June, and is succeeding her mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, as president of the world's largest Spanish-speaking nation -- and the United States' top trading partner. Ms. Sheinbaum, a leftist, campaigned on a vow to continue the legacy of her predecessor, and her win was seen by many as a clear vote of confidence in Mr. López Obrador and the party he started, Morena.&: ~~~

     ~~~ Mary Beth Sheridan & Valentina Castillo of the Washington Post: "The incoming president, Claudia Sheinbaum, will govern with a cabinet that is half female and a Congress evenly divided between men and women. Women head the supreme court and central bank, and run top federal ministries. Mexico has become a global leader in gender parity thanks to aggressive laws establishing quotas for women in politics and government. They have had dramatic impact. Mexico's legislature ranks fourth in the world for female representation, while the United States is No. 70 -- just behind Iraq -- according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union."

⭐ U.K. William Booth of the Washington Post: "If you are looking for a signal event, a real ping, to mark humanity's journey to slow global climate change, this is a thing. On Monday, the very last coal-powered electricity plant in Britain is closing. The coal age is over in the country that sparked the industrial revolution 200 years ago.... This was a country powered by coal -- dug by a million miners, used to make cheap energy, to generate heat, then steam, then electricity. Coal heated the homes, ran the trains and made the steel and cement. The first coal-fired electric plant in the world was built in England in 1882. The term 'smog' was coined here, too. Now Britain is the first in the global club of wealthy countries to quit coal -- relying instead on natural gas, nuclear power and a combination of renewable energy sources." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Ledes

Washington Post: "John Amos, a running back turned actor who appeared in scores of TV shows -- including groundbreaking 1970s programs such as the sitcom 'Good Times' and the epic miniseries 'Roots' -- and risked his career to protest demeaning portrayals of Black characters, died Aug. 21 in Los Angeles. He was 84." Amos's New York Times obituary is here.

New York Times: "Pete Rose, one of baseball's greatest players and most confounding characters, who earned glory as the game's hit king and shame as a gambler and dissembler, died on Monday. He was 83.

The Conversation -- September 30, 2024

Marie: Man, am I glad I have Jim Comer (R-Ky.) protecting me from Commie Tim Walz. If not for Jim, the next thing you know, all the kidz would be speaking Mandarin. ~~~

     ~~~ Emily Brooks of the Hill: "House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday for information relating to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), the Democratic nominee for vice president, and a vague alleged connection to the Chinese Communist Party. Comer said in a letter accompanying the subpoena -- issued on the day before the vice presidential debate between Walz and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance -- that his committee received whistleblower disclosures about 'serious concern among Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel regarding a longstanding connection between' Walz and China."

     ~~~ Marie: I'm a little slow, so it just dawned on me what Trump means when he says that Kamala Harris was "mentally impaired," and she was "born that way." "Born that way" translates to an assumption that all non-white people are mentally deficient.

Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday tried to taunt ... Donald J. Trump into participating in another debate as she rallied supporters in Nevada.... 'The American people have a right to hear us discuss the issues. And as you say here in Las Vegas, I'm all in. I'm all in. Even if my opponent is ready to fold.'... [Mr. Trump] has said he will not participate in another debate...."

New York Times Editors declare Kamala Harris "The Only Patriotic Choice for President."

Marshall Cohen & Daniel Dale of CNN: "... Donald Trump has escalated his long-running assault on the integrity of US elections as the 2024 presidential campaign enters its final stretch, using a new series of lies about ballots, vote-counting and the election process to lay the groundwork to challenge a potential defeat in November. Nonpartisan democracy experts say they're seeing many of the same warning signs that were blinking red before Election Day four years ago, when Trump flooded the zone with election lies and conspiracy theories that he amplified after losing to Joe Biden.... Trump has made at least 12 distinct false claims over the last two months that raise baseless doubts about the validity of a potential victory by Vice President Kamala Harris."

Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: A Springfield, Ohio, owner of a metals manufacturing plant & his family have to take measures, including purchasing guns, to protect themselves from credible threats after the businessman praised his company's Haitian employees in national media outlets.

Lisa Rein & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "At least a dozen employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs improperly accessed the medical records of vice-presidential nominees JD Vance and Tim Walz this summer, VA investigators found, in a violation of federal health privacy laws that is under criminal investigation. VA officials notified the Vance and Walz campaigns about the breaches after discovering the unauthorized viewing by employees at the agency's massive health-care arm, the Veterans Health Administration, according to people familiar with the investigation.... VA Inspector General Michael Missal's office has shared evidence with federal prosecutors on the actions of several employees in the health system, including a physician and a contractor...."

⭐ William Booth of the Washington Post: "If you are looking for a signal event, a real ping, to mark humanity's journey to slow global climate change, this is a thing. On Monday, the very last coal-powered electricity plant in Britain is closing. The coal age is over in the country that sparked the industrial revolution 200 years ago.... This was a country powered by coal -- dug by a million miners, used to make cheap energy, to generate heat, then steam, then electricity. Coa heated the homes, ran the trains and made the steel and cement. The first coal-fired electric plant in the world was built in England in 1882. The term 'smog' was coined here, too. Now Britain is the first in the global club of wealthy countries to quit coal -- relying instead on natural gas, nuclear power and a combination of renewable energy sources."

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Presidential Race

Stephanie Murray of the Arizona Republic: "Former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris because of his conservative values -- not in spite of them -- he said Saturday in an interview announcing his support for the Democratic presidential nominee. Flake, R-Ariz., is crossing party lines to endorse a Democrat for the second presidential election in a row. He backed President Joe Biden over ... Donald Trump in 2020 and voted third-party rather than cast a ballot for Trump in 2016. 'I'm a conservative. I believe in the rule of law,' Flake said during an interview at The Nile Coffee Shop in Mesa on Saturday afternoon. 'First and foremost, I want to support a presidential candidate that respects the rule of law, somebody who, if they lose an election, wouldn't try to use the presidential powers to overturn that election.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Greta Reich of Politico: "Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will again not be voting for ... Donald Trump, despite Trump's endorsement of Hogan's bid for Senate in June. 'I didn't vote for him in 2016 or 2020,' Hogan said on CBS' 'Face the Nation' to guest host Robert Costa on Sunday, without saying who he would vote for. Hogan didn't vote for Democratic candidates ... in those years either. In 2016, he wrote in his own father, former Maryland Rep. Lawrence Hogan. In 2020, he wrote in former President Ronald Reagan.... Hogan, a Republican, is running against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, the current county executive of Prince George's County." Hogan also said Trump's attack of Kamala Harris as "mentally unstable" was "outrageous and unacceptable": "I think that's insulting not only to the vice president, but to people that actually do have mental disabilities." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kipp Jones of Mediaite: "The editorial board for The New Yorker endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential bid on Sunday in a piece in which President Joe Biden's 'nationally televised disintegration' in his debate with Donald Trump was hailed as a 'gift' for Democrats. Sunday's endorsement of Harris was a notable pivot from a piece published by the outlet in March in which Biden was praised for remaining 'defiant' amid concerns about his mental acuity and age.... [In March,] The New Yorker praised Biden for remaining mentally sharp even if he appeared frail after he had sat down for an interview with [New Yorker] journalist Evan Osnos."

Talyler Mitchell of the Huffington Post: "At a rally on Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump casually seemed to suggest that one day of violence would put an end to crime. Trump declared that Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) should be put in charge for 'one really violent day.' 'One rough hour. And I mean real rough, the world will get it out and it will end immediately. End immediately. You know, it will end immediately,' he added without sharing any logistics.... His dangerous remark Sunday came on the heels of his saying that crime is skyrocketing, a false claim that the far right uses to fearmonger. He also echoed the lie that the supposed rise in crime is the fault of migrants." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I think Mitchell misunderstands Trump's alarming suggestion. She writes, "The concept mirrors a fictional film series called 'The Purge,' in which all crime is legal for 12 hours on a single day of the year." BUT ~~~

     ~~~ Adam Wren of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Sunday called for 'one real rough, nasty' and 'violent day' of police retaliation in order to eradicate crime 'immediately.'... 'One rough hour -- and I mean real rough -- the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately,' Trump said.... Trump has a long history of endorsing police violence...." His campaign said Trump's suggestion was not a policy proposal but a "joke." MB: That is, Trump is not proposing that people be allowed to commit crimes for 12 hours but that the police be allowed to violently brutalize suspected criminals for 24 hours.

~~~ David McAfee of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump on Sunday admitted that he refused to pay his workers overtime.... Trump said, 'I hated to give overtime. I hated it. I shouldn't say this, but I'd get other people in. I wouldn't pay.'... The ... AFL-CIO said..., 'This isn't a gaffe and he didn't just misspeak -- Trump said this in Michigan on Friday and Pennsylvania today. Trump cut overtime for millions of Americans as President -- and his Project 2025 agenda will do it again.'"

~~~ Meryl Kornfield & Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump, in a speech that repeatedly painted a dark caricature of immigrants, seized on a recent report to claim falsely that thousands of immigrants with homicide records had been allowed to go free by the Biden administration. 'They're coming into our cities and our small towns, here in Pennsylvania and all over the country,' Trump said in a speech that meandered widely and made several other unsupported assertions. 'These towns are petrified. Even if they're not there yet, they will be there.'... Trump spent much of his two-hour speech on elaborate descriptions of the individuals purportedly roaming the nation, calling them 'stone-cold killers,' 'worse than any of our criminals,' 'monsters,' and people who ... 'don't care who they kill.'...

"Trump cited a new letter from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to falsely suggest that more than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide had been let into the United States on President Joe Biden's watch and then released. But allies of Vice President Kamala Harris and nonpartisan experts say Trump is badly misrepresenting the data. The people he cited entered the United States over several decades, including during the Trump presidency. And while they are listed as 'non-detained,' that means only that ICE is not detaining them; in many cases, they are being held by another agency, and are often serving prison sentences."

Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "... Mr. Trump and those around him have plied the plots against his life for political benefit.... Mr. Trump plans to return to Butler[, Pa. where a gunman winged him] for a rally on Oct. 5, and he relives these attempts on his life at nearly every campaign stop. Lately he has taken to saying that he has one of the most dangerous professions in the world.... He has bragged about the mortal danger in which he finds himself ('they only go after consequential presidents'); used it as evidence of divine intervention ('God has now spared my life -- it must have been God, thank you -- not once, but twice') and as inspiration for set design (he decorated the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee with images of his bloodied face).... If he really is the most marked man in the world, why was he wandering around a football stadium [Saturday] in the Deep South [-- Tuscaloosa, Ala. --] in a state he does not need to campaign in, tossing out poultry [-- boxes of chicken --] and posing for selfies?" ~~~

     ~~~ Arrested Development. Marie: One of the few Democrats at the Alabama-Georgia game, a lawyer named Thomas Radney had a theory about why Trump went to the game: "'Alabama is going to vote for him by huge numbers,' he [told the Times], 'so the fact that he is here just proves what he wants is accolades and people waving, that's his whole deal. I want people to cheer for me.'" I suspect that when he was a boy, little Donnie saw the Leni Reifenstahl film "Triumph of the Will," which includes a scene of 700,000 Germans cheering Hitler at Nuremburg. The boy Trump -- perhaps with encouragement from papa Fred -- decided then and there that Hitler was a great man and one to be emulated. Trump is an old man now, but he never got past childish perceptions, so he is not that hard to figure out. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Looks as if Colin Jost & I are on the same wavelength. Watch to the end: ~~~

Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "At a rally Friday in Walker, Mich., Trump said he was thinking of those in Alabama and other states hit by the storm, saying, 'We're with you all the way, and if we were there we'd be helping you. You'll be okay.' KamalaHQ, the Harris campaign's X account, immediately shared the video clip with its roughly 1.3 million followers, suggesting that the former president was downplaying a deadly disaster and showing a lack of empathy. 'You'll be okay,' the tweet read, along with the parenthetical note, '(Dozens of deaths have already been reported)'. On and off social media, the campaign and its supporters also hammered Trump for denying human-caused climate change, which scientists say is allowing hurricanes such as Helene to rapidly intensify. In addition, Harris allies highlighted that Project 2025 -- the road map for a second Trump administration drafted by conservative think tanks in Washington -- would privatize weather forecasting now done by federal agencies." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What Trump was "thinking of" was "Will I still be able to get to the Alabama-Georgia game so thousands of fans can cheer for their favorite president*, me?"

Edward Helmore of the Guardian: "Senior Republicans distanced themselves Sunday from comments made by Donald Trump at campaign stops over the weekend that opponent Kamala Harris was born 'mentally disabled' and had compared her actions to that of 'a mentally disabled person'. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican..., said on CNN. 'I'm not saying she's crazy, her policies are crazy.'" ~~~

     ~~~ According to Joe DePaolo of Mediaite, what Lindsey actually said was, "I'm not saying she's crazy. I'm saying your party, your policies are batshit crazy." MB: I think I'll adopt DePaolo's citation.

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "A day after ... Donald J. Trump met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, criticized the Ukrainian president Saturday during a campaign stop in [Newtown,] Pennsylvania.... Mr. Vance opened his speech by criticizing Mr. Zelensky for having toured an ammunition factory in Scranton with the state's governor, Josh Shapiro, a Democrat. 'He came to campaign with the Democratic leadership of this country,' Mr. Vance said in Newtown. 'We spent $200 billion on Ukraine. You know what I wish Zelensky would do when he comes to the United States of America? Say thank you to the people of Pennsylvania and everybody else.'

     ~~~ Marie: Uh, JayDee, you ignorant sofa-slut, President Zelensky did say thank you to the people of Pennsylvania -- precisely when he was speaking in that ammo factory in Scranton, Joe Biden's hometown. Why, even the New York Times sez so. Cameron again: "In fact, Mr. Zelensky did use his visit to the plant to thank the United States for its support, as well as to thank the workers in Scranton for manufacturing artillery shells to support Ukraine. Mr. Zelensky told the 400 workers churning out shells to support the war effort that they 'have saved millions of Ukrainians.' He added in a message on social media that 'it is in places like this where you can truly feel that the democratic world can prevail." And when President Zelensky went to NYC to "campaign" with Donald Trump a/k/a the Republican "leadership" of this country, Trump heaped insults upon him and the people of Ukraine who have suffered & died under Putin's war of aggression. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: How to combine (a) projection, (b) conspiracy theory & (c) xenophobia, and come out the other side with (d) a sort of "reasoned" prediction ~~~

     ~~~ Kipp Jones of Mediaite: "Elon Musk claimed Sunday that electing former President Donald Trump in November is the 'only way' to save the country from the tyranny of Democrats and illegal migrants. The billionaire SpaceX, Tesla, and X CEO claimed the Democratic Party would naturalize enough non-citizens as voters during a Kamala Harris presidency to turn the US into a 'one-party state.' 'Democracy is over' if Trump is not elected to a second term, Musk claimed." Remarkable. Just remarkable.

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Eduardo Medina & Tim Arango of the New York Times: "Raging floods and mudslides unleashed by the remnants of Hurricane Helene have dealt an 'unprecedented tragedy' in the mountains of western North Carolina, leaving at least 37 people dead in the region and communities struggling to cope without water, food, power, gasoline and cellphone service. Hundreds of miles from where it made landfall as a powerful hurricane, Helene has continued to wreak havoc across several states, with an overall death toll reaching more than 90 on Sunday. That total is expected to rise as rescue workers reach stranded communities. Some of the worst devastation was in the towns and cities nestled between the forested mountains of western North Carolina, with roads, power lines and water treatment facilities heavily damaged throughout the region. Local and federal officials along with the National Guard raced to deliver supplies to paralyzed areas, and repair and restore what they could, while dozens of other teams searched for people who fell victim to the raging floodwaters or were still looking to escape."

California. Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday vetoed a California artificial intelligence safety bill, blocking the most ambitious proposal in the nation aimed at curtailing the growth of the new technology. The first-of-its-kind bill, S.B. 1047, required safety testing of large A.I. systems, or models, before their release to the public. It also gave the state's attorney general the right to sue companies over serious harm caused by their technologies, like death or property damage. And it mandated a kill switch to turn off A.I. systems in case of potential biowarfare, mass casualties or property damage. Mr. Newsom said that the bill was flawed because it focused too much on regulating the biggest A.I. systems, known as frontier models, without considering potential risks and harms from the technology. He said that legislators should go back to rewrite it for the next session."~~~

     ~~~ Lara Korte & Jeremy White of Politico: "Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a sweeping California bill meant to impose safety vetting requirements for powerful AI models, siding with much of Silicon Valley and leading congressional Democrats in the most high-profile fight in the Legislature this year."

New York. Love in the Time of Corruption ... Can Be So Convenient! Alyce McFadden & Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: "A day after [New York City Mayor Eric] Adams pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including bribery and fraud, Sheena Wright, Mr. Adams's first deputy mayor, and David C. Banks, the schools chancellor, married on [Martha's Vineyard], according to three people familiar with their plans. Their marriage was said to have been planned for some time, and it followed a yearslong relationship during which they shared a home. But it might also allow Mr. Banks and Ms. Wright to claim spousal privilege, which gives them the right to decline to testify against each other in court, should that become necessary, legal experts said. The couple's home in Harlem was visited by federal authorities in early September. Both Mr. Banks's and Ms. Wright's phones were seized by investigators, who appeared to be conducting a separate inquiry from the one that resulted in Mr. Adams's indictment." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Austria, "Fortress of Freedom." Christopher Schuetze of the New York Times: "Austrian voters handed the Freedom Party of Austria a solid win in national elections on Sunday, rebuking establishment parties and notching another victory for a xenophobic party in Europe as the tide of far-right populism rises on the continent. But despite the nearly 30 percent who voted for the far-right Freedom Party and its pugilistic leader, Herbert Kickl, the victory in national parliamentary elections could turn out to be merely symbolic, as mainstream parties have promised to form a coalition government without him. Still, on Sunday Mr. Kickl, who campaigned on making Austria a 'fortress of freedom,' insisted he has a clear mandate to form a government and announced that he would be open to conversations about possible coalitions with all other parties in Parliament."

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Israel's wars are here: "Hamas on Monday said that its leader in Lebanon had been killed during an airstrike in the southern part of the country. The attack appeared to be the latest in a series of moves by Israel targeting the leadership of militias backed by Iran across the Middle East. Fatah Sherif al-Amin was killed with his family in a refugee camp for Palestinians, Hamas said in a statement." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates Monday are here: "Israel is continuing its bombardment in Lebanon, hitting an apartment building in Beirut's Cola neighborhood early Monday -- the first time it has targeted the capital's city limits with an airstrike since hostilities with Hezbollah escalated almost a year ago. The Lebanese Health Ministry said the airstrike killed at least four people and injured four others. Israel's military has not commented on the strike, which came after it hit Hezbollah targets across Lebanon and Houthi infrastructure in Yemen on Sunday."

News Lede

New York Times: "Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions infused country music with rarely heard candor and depth, and who later had a successful second career in movies, died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday. He was 88."