The Ledes

Friday, February 28, 2025

New York Times: “Boris Spassky, the world chess champion whose career was overshadowed by his loss to Bobby Fischer in the 'Match of the Century' in 1972, died on Thursday in Moscow. He was 88.”

New York Times: “The actor Gene Hackman was found dead in a mud room in his New Mexico home and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead on the floor of a bathroom on Wednesday, according to a search warrant affidavit. An open prescription bottle and scattered pills were discovered near her body on a counter in the bathroom. A dead German shepherd was found between 10 and 15 feet away from Ms. Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom, the affidavit said. There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home, it said, and the Fire Department did not find signs of a carbon monoxide leak. The maintenance workers who found them said they had not been in contact with the couple for two weeks. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that 'there were no apparent signs of foul play.'... The causes of their deaths had not been determined.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Thursday, February 27, 2025

CNBC: “Initial filings for unemployment benefits hit their highest level of the year last week in another potential signs of weakness in the labor market. Jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 22 totaled a seasonally adjusted 242,000, up 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 225,000, according to a Labor Department report Thursday. The level of claims matched the highest since early October 2024 and comes amid questions over broader economic growth and worrying signs in recent consumer sentiment surveys.”

CNBC: “High mortgage rates and elevated home prices combined to crush home sales in January. Pending sales, which are based on signed contracts for existing homes, dropped 4.6% from December to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric in 2001. Sales were down 5.2% from January 2024. These sales are an indicator of future closings.”

New York Times: “Gene Hackman, who never fit the mold of a Hollywood movie star, but who became one all the same, playing seemingly ordinary characters with deceptive subtlety, intensity and often charm in some of the most noted films of the 1970s and ’80s, has died, the authorities in New Mexico said on Thursday. He was 95. Mr. Hackman and his wife were found dead on Wednesday afternoon at a home in Santa Fe., N.M., where they had been living, according to a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies of Mr. Hackman; his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64; and a dog, according to the statement, which said that foul play was not suspected.” ~~~

     ~~~ Update. New York Times: “An investigation was underway on Thursday after the prolific actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead along with their dog at a house in New Mexico, the local authorities said. The bodies of Mr. Hackman, 95, and Ms. Arakawa, 64, were found by sheriff’s deputies in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Santa Fe on Wednesday afternoon, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The couple had lived in the Santa Fe area for years. Sheriff Adan Mendoza of Santa Fe County said in a phone interview that an associate of Mr. Hackman and his family had placed an emergency call on Wednesday afternoon after discovering the bodies of the actor and his wife.”

New York Times: “Michelle Trachtenberg, a touchstone of millennial youth culture who grew up onscreen, rising to fame as a troubled teenager on the supernatural 1990s series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and as a conniving young socialite on 'Gossip Girl,' was found dead on Wednesday in Manhattan. She was 39. The New York Police Department said in a statement that officers, responding to a 911 call just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, found Ms. Trachtenberg unconscious and unresponsive in a Manhattan apartment. She was pronounced dead by emergency medical workers, who had also responded.”

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....”

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Monday
Aug192024

The Conversation -- August 19, 2024

Grace Ashford, et al., of the New York Times: "George Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman from New York whose penchant for lying led to one of the oddest sideshows in modern U.S. politics, pleaded guilty on Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. While Mr. Santos's plea will allow him to avoid a trial on a total of nearly two dozen charges -- including money laundering and stealing public funds -- it all but ensures he will face at least two years in prison and as long as two decades. The trial was set to begin next month.... Mr. Santos repeatedly insisted that he would defend his innocence in court, only to reverse course as the opportunity approached."

Rhona Tarrant of CBS News: "... Donald Trump shared AI-generated images of women wearing 'Swifties for Trump' t-shirts to his Truth Social account on Sunday, including a satirical post that claimed Taylor Swift fans were turning to Trump after security concerns forced the cancellation of her Vienna concerts earlier this month. Trump captioned the post 'I accept!' and shared screenshots of four X posts that show women wearing 'Swifties for Trump' t-shirts, as well as a fabricated image of Taylor Swift that reads, 'Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.' Swift has not endorsed a presidential candidate in this election but endorsed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2020 race." ~~~

     ~~~ You can see Trump's post here. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: Of the 10 photos posted, it appears 8 are A.I.-generated. Two, of the same young woman, are real.

The Bluff Cannot Hold. Michael Bender of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio on Monday accused Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota of misleading the public about their records and taking relatively few questions on the campaign trail. But Mr. Vance's attacks, made to supporters at an appearance in Philadelphia, also trained the spotlight on his own less-than-direct answers to specific questions, including whether he and ... Donald J. Trump would support an increase in the federal minimum wage and whether his own opinions have changed on the need for a federal abortion ban."

Jamie Gangel & Gregory Krieg of CNN: "Retired federal appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative legal scholar put on the bench by President George H.W. Bush, is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris over ... Donald Trump, whose candidacy he describes as an existential threat to American democracy. It will be the first time Luttig, a veteran of two Republican administrations, has voted for a Democrat. 'In the presidential election of 2024 there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America's Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law,' Luttig wrote in a statement obtained exclusively by CNN. 'As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party's candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.'"

The New York Times is live-updating news of the Democratic convention. (Copies & partial copies of some entries after about 6:45 pm ET, when the convention was gaveled in, appear in Tuesday's Conversation.) ~~~

Neil Vigdor: "Democratic National Committee operatives projected a series of messages onto the facade of Donald Trump's 92-story condo-hotel tower in Chicago last night, a move that was intended to goad the former president on the eve of the party's convention. Some of the messages read 'Trump-Vance "Weird as Hell"' and "Project 2025 HQ."'..."

Maggie Astor: "Several organizations focused on combating climate change joined forces on Monday for a $55 million advertising campaign in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, embracing what they describe as the economic upside of the Democratic Party's environmental efforts. The campaign will include ads in at least six swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin."

Nicholas Fandos: "Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a leader of the Democratic party's progressive wing, will speak tonight in prime time from the convention floor, according to an aide to the congresswoman. The high-profile speaking slot is a sharp contrast to 2020, when she was allotted just 90 seconds to symbolically nominate Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont."

Jazmine Ulloa: "In Chicago, the Hispanic Caucus meeting at the D.N.C. this morning opened with a video of Vice President Kamala Harris speaking about her immigrant mother and how she was overlooked because of her accent.... The room breaks into applause for Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, as he drops in to make brief remarks."

Chris Cameron: "Delegates representing Democratic voters who cast 'uncommitted' ballots in the party's primaries held a news conference this morning, reiterating their calls for Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party to call for an arms embargo against Israel, and an end to its deadly military campaign in Gaza."

Cameron: "The Democratic party platform, released last night ahead of the nominating convention, has a few sections that are out of date: It erroneously mentions a 'second term for President Biden 19 times, nearly a month after ... Vice President Kamala Harris took over the top of the ticket."

Ernesto Londoño: "Demonstrators marching in Chicago said they remained hopeful that Vice President Kamala Harris would come out in favor of cutting military aid to Israel. During a gathering that has been peaceful and often joyful, many voters said they intended to support third-party candidates or refrain from voting in November."

Eric Lee: "Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois welcoming President Biden to Chicago upon his arrival at Soldier Field."

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs: "A small group of demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza broke off from the main protest march that started at Union Park a few hours ago.... About 50 Chicago police officers -- roughly equal to the breakaway group of protesters -- have arrived to assist the police officers who were already here.... A group of riot police with helmets and batons are now entering from the other side, closing off the breakaway protest groups on either end.... The police detained at least four protesters who had broken away from the main protest group and gone through one of the security perimeter gates, including taking one protester to the ground and then dragging him away. Several protesters had been lobbing signs and cans at the police."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Axios has a rundown of the main speakers at the Democratic National Convention, which begins today.

Jonathan Martin of Politico in Politico Magazine: "Democrats are a healthier, better organized, more hierarchical and even ruthless party.... This doesn't mean [Vice President] Harris is sure to prevail in November. Her challenges and those of the party remain.... As David Axelrod, the longtime Democratic strategist puts it, the Great Summer Swap of 2024 only handed the party a chance to compete -- it hardly guaranteed victory. Happy Days aren't here again just yet. That Democrats made such a wrenching decision, though, illuminates a crucial distinction between the parties. Saddled with an aging and unpopular incumbent president, Democrats used President Biden's disastrous debate performance to stage what was effectively a front-bench putsch. Orchestrated by other party leaders, Biden's ouster revealed how pragmatic, cold-eyed and unsentimental Democrats have become in the age of Trump.... The non-MAGA Republicans only wish they could pull off what their opposition did last month."

Rebecca O'Brien & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "... Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, headed out on a brief bus tour on Sunday to fire up voters in perhaps the most crucial battleground state in the 2024 election.... Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz were joined on the outing by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, traveling in two new campaign buses from the Pittsburgh airport, where they arrived on Air Force Two to greet a small group of supporters. The Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas are the two main drivers of Democratic support in Pennsylvania, a state whose 19 electoral votes could decide the presidency. Recent polling shows a neck-and-neck race there between Ms. Harris and ... Donald J. Trump, with some surveys showing Ms. Harris gaining a narrow edge recently.... Speaking to a crowd of supporters outside the Rochester campaign office on Sunday, Ms. Harris appeared to suggest that Mr. Trump was a 'coward.'... Over the last several years there's been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down,' Ms. Harris said -- though she did not name Mr. Trump. 'Anybody who's about beating down other people is a coward.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Reuters' story on the cowardly lyin' Trump is here.

Anumita Kaur of the Washington Post: "Former Republican congresswoman Barbara Comstock endorsed Kamala Harris's presidential bid on Sunday, joining another former Virginia representative [Denver Riggleman] in crossing party lines while the state's GOP establishment remains firmly in Donald Trump's camp. 'After Jan. 6, after Donald Trump has refused for four years to acknowledge that he lost, and his threats against democracy, I think it's important to turn the page,' Comstock said during a CNN interview Sunday. 'That's why I will be voting for the vice president.'" The Hill's report is profiles President Biden. (Also linked yesterday.)

Peter Baker & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times evaluate Kamala Harris's tenure as vice president. (Also linked yesterday.)

Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Here's Rhode Island casting its delegate votes for president in the 2020 virtual Democratic National Convention": ~~~

Colby Itkowitz & Hannah Allam of the Washington Post: "From the moment Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the surprise Democratic presidential nominee..., Donald Trump began arguing that she was anointed through a 'coup' rather than chosen by primary voters. After barely mentioning election integrity at the Republican convention in July, Trump is now casting the upcoming election as 'rigged' against him and baselessly labeling any hurdle in his path as election interference. 'This was an overthrow of a president. This was an overthrow,' Trump said at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Saturday, referring to Harris replacing Biden on the ticket.... This was a coup.' Trump's efforts to undermine confidence in this year's election are reminiscent of the tactics he used in the 2020 campaign and indicate how he could again seek to delegitimize the results if he loses, setting the stage for another combustible fight over the presidency, election and national security experts said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you're thinking, "So what?" see Nick Corasaniti's report & Rachel Maddow's op-ed, linked below. And if you still think the GOP plot to steal the election if necessary won't work, think of the corrupt Supremes. There's a high possibility that five or six crooked justices could rule that an operational plot was Constitutional.

Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume on Sunday argued that while former President Trump could win the November election, voters' dislike of him makes him 'not a majority candidate.'... While Trump has a 'very hard, solid base of support,' Hume argued, it does not go above 40 to 45 percent. 'So, his weakness is the predicate for our politics going back now three elections,' Hume said. 'He was able to surmount Hillary Clinton, a uniquely unpopular opponent, but he couldn't beat Biden, and you know, you look at the losses in the midterms -- or the disappointing results in the midterms -- it's all about one thing, it's about that.' In the end, the enthusiasm felt among his supporters will not be enough to make him a 'majority candidate,' Hume said."

Trump & Vance, Expert Statisticians

As a result of Kamala's inflation price hikes, they've cost the typical household a total of $28,000. These are numbers coming from the government. They are not coming from me. -- Donald Trump, media event in Bedminster, N.J., August 15

Trump might have picked up the $28,000 figure from "a random statistic in a blog post." -- Glenn Kessler, Washington Post

Senator Jay Dee Gets His "Crime Stats" from the Movies. Jazmine Ulloa & Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, on Friday defended his past unsubstantiated claims about immigration in which he suggested that early waves of Italian, Irish and German immigration led to higher crime and interethnic conflict, by citing the movie 'Gangs of New York.'... 'Well, first of all, I also said there were a lot of benefits to that wave of immigration, but has anybody ever seen the movie "Gangs of New York"? That's what I'm talking about,' he said. 'We know that when you have these massive ethnic enclaves forming in our country, it can sometimes lead to higher crime rates.'... Historians and criminologists say there are no empirical studies to support claims like those made by Mr. Vance. The studies that do exist have repeatedly concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States.... Tyler Anbinder, a historian who ... served as a historical adviser for the movie 'Gangs of New York,' said immigrants in New York during the film's time period and since have not committed crime disproportionate to their population numbers and have almost always been arrested at lower rates than natives."

Azi Paybarah, et al., of the Washington Post: "More than $247 million was spent in the first six months of this year on television, streaming platform and digital ads that mention immigration, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign advertising. That is $40 million more than ads that mention any other issue. Over 90 percent of the ads supported Republican candidates and were paid for by their campaigns or political action committees backing them.... Taken as a whole, the ads convey an unrealistic portrait of the border as being overrun and inaccurately characterize immigrants generally as a threat, of which there is little evidence. FBI data show U.S. border cities are among the nation's safest. And a 2023 report from a group of economists found immigrants are at least 30 percent less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born individuals.... Footage [show Border Patrol agents teargassing migrants storming the border] was taken during the Trump administration, but in dozens of ads, it is paired with voice-over and text tying it to Democrats."

The New & Improved Jim Crow. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Since the [Republican] takeover [in May], the Georgia State Election Board has approved a host of rules on certifications and investigations backed by right-wing election activists who claim, falsely, that the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump. The moves underscore a sharp rightward turn for what is supposed to be an apolitical body.... If there is another chaotic challenge to the election results this November, Georgia is shaping up to be a hot spot, as it was in 2020." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Maddow, in a New York Times op-ed: "Since Donald Trump and Ronna McDaniel, the then-chair of the Republican National Committee, phoned local officials in Michigan in November 2020 to encourage them not to certify vote totals, Republicans have quietly seeded county and state election boards with eager allies. Election boards across the country now include Republican officials who have not only propounded Mr. Trump's lies about the last presidential election being 'stolen,' they have tested how far they can go in denying the certification of the vote.... In the past three and a half years, the ad hoc certification ploys that failed to flip the last presidential election to Mr. Trump have been professionalized and systematized by Republican officials and their allies.... In Georgia, the State Election Board approved a rule this month that gives election officials in each of the state's 159 counties the option to delay or refuse certification in order to make a 'reasonable inquiry' into the results.... The point of ... certification refusals may not be to falsify or flip a result, but simply to prevent the emergence of one. If one or more states fail to produce official results, blocking any candidate from reaching 270 electoral votes, the 12th Amendment prescribes ... a vote in the newly elected House of Representatives to determine the presidency. Each state delegation would get one vote; today, Republicans control 26 state delegations; Democrats control 22; and two are evenly divided."

Fake Impeachment Report Caps Fake Impeachment Investigation. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Monday formally made the case for impeaching President Biden, releasing a lengthy report accusing him of corruption and seeking to allow his family to profit off his office in connection with foreign business deals made by his son Hunter, who has been charged with felony tax crimes. In the 291-page document, released on the day that Democrats gather in Chicago to begin their party convention, Republicans call Mr. Biden's conduct 'egregious' and say he should be impeached for abuse of power and obstruction. But the report contains no proof that Mr. Biden, when he was vice president, engaged in any corrupt quid pro quo to benefit his son's business partners, and Republicans admit they have no direct evidence that he ordered any interference into a Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden.... Like the impeachment investigation itself, the report -- prepared by the Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees after a monthslong investigation -- appears to be orchestrated for maximum political impact."

~~~~~~~~~~

Minnesota. We Think We Can, We Think We Can. Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Many metropolitan newspapers across the country have narrowed their ambitions in recent years, closing regional bureaus and cutting back statewide coverage in an effort to trim costs. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis is taking the opposite tack. The paper will now be called The Minnesota Star Tribune, its chief executive announced on Sunday, and it will use an injection of money from its billionaire owner [Glen Taylor] to expand its coverage beyond the Twin Cities into other parts of the state. Steve Grove, the publisher and chief executive, said the push, which includes hiring reporters in various parts of the state, was part of an effort to as much as triple the publication's paid digital subscriptions over the next five years."

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. Here's part of the pinned item (@ 8 am ET): "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with officials in Israel on Monday at what he called 'a decisive moment' for diplomatic negotiations aimed at reaching a cease-fire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages. After months without progress, talks that ended in Qatar on Friday and were expected to resume this week in Egypt represented 'probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,' Mr. Blinken said as he met with President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Phil Donahue, who in the 1960s reinvented the television talk show with a democratic flourish, inviting audiences to question his guests on topics as resolutely high-minded as human rights and international relations, and as unblushingly lowbrow as male strippers and safe-sex orgies, died on Sunday at his home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He was 88."

New York Times: "Ruth Johnson Colvin, who founded what became one of the world's largest organizations of volunteers tutoring basic language skills to functionally illiterate peoples in America and other lands, opening doors to citizenship and better lives, died on Sunday at her home in Syracuse, N.Y. She was 107."

Reader Comments (21)

I’ve been reading that any number of supposedly influential Party of Traitors big names like Kellyanne Conway, Peter Navarro, Kevin McCarthy, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy, to point out just a few, are pleading with the Dear Leader to please stop being such an insulting pig, to talk about issues and things that matter to voters.

Pardon me while I have a good laugh.

Where have these people been for the last eight years? They want Fatty to stop being a racist, misogynistic asshole? That’s what he’s ALWAYS been. They want him to all of a sudden become a policy wonk and start making sense, stop being such a prick? He IS a prick.

Funny, they had no problem with that kind of behavior before. Why are they concerned now? Oh, because so many voters seem tired of his bullshit? His poll numbers are tanking? Stories about sharks and batteries and Hannibal Lecter are making him look like a loony? Awww…too bad. That’s what you get for unconditionally supporting such a disgusting pig for nearly a decade. He’s not gonna start talking policy. He can’t even spell policy. “Mr. President…please talk about policy.” “What? Police? Yeah! They love me. They shoot people I don’t like. They’re great!”

There ya go. Happy now? There’s your big policy address.

He’s a fucking moron, but he’s your fucking moron. Have fun.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Vance is worried about gangs of New York. He should be. Hasn’t he heard about the Trump Crime Family? One of the worst.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-impeachable-offenses-house-
republicans-next-steps-unclear/
They have a 300 page report about the doings of Hunter Biden and
other Biden family members?
What about the business of the country and it's citizens? Oh, no time
for that stuff, we got important stupid stuff to work on, then we need
another month break 'cause we worked so hard on that 300 page
report that will eventually mean nothing.
This country is going to Hell in a handbasket (as my old granny used
to say).

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

Fake support. Donald is putting out fake AI Swifty support.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Marie - thank you for the research and explanation (yesterday) of the Jaydee sample cups.

But I still don't get it. Why would anyone think these things are informative, persuasive, funny, meaningful? I mean, any more than their compadres who wear adult diapers that say "Real men wear diapers"?

"Weird" does not explain everything, but I suppose it will have to do for the time being.

Then again, it may be an error to assume that any of this has any meaning. Apophenia is strong in the schizoid.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

GOP

"What’s scarier than the GOP’s beliefs? The GOP’s lack of beliefs.
And the media make it worse by pretending Republicans are sincere"

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Project 2025

"Project 2025 Will Undermine America’s National Security
The far-right policy proposals in Project 2025 will fundamentally undermine the national and economic security of the United States, benefiting its adversaries and making all Americans less safe."

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

@Patrick: At least for me, the probable answer to your question was helpful in that it both explained and verified the reason that Donald Trump is popular among a certain kind of deviant: like Trump, these fans think other people's afflictions, disabilities and setbacks are hilarious. If you have some bad luck -- that is, something bad happens to you that is not your fault -- these people will laugh at you. Sure, they're miserable sociopaths, but they believe that cruelty and bullying behavior make them seem tough or cool and inspire fear in those of us who behave like normal, sociable, empathetic people.

August 19, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

I’m curious to see how the corporate media will play the DNC. They’ve already got their 1968 chaos, riots, and the whole world’s watching attacks in place.

The AG (I don’t take sides) Times is off to a good start though, with a little historical footnote about how in her run for California attorney general, Harris lucked out.

Oh, she might have won, maybe, who knows, too hard to tell, but a mistake by her opponent, a very well liked Republican, and her campaign’s capitalizing on that mistake with a flurry of negative ads, likely kept her from losing. What a break!

It’s not exactly saying she didn’t deserve it. Political reporters likely have dozens of this type of story, singular moments that doomed a candidate. The Howard Dean scream, Ed Muskie’s tears reading a letter (a fake, dirty trick letter created by Nixon rat fucker Donald Segretti), and Gary Hart, Donna Rice, and concupiscent canoodling on board the “Monkey Business”—that one wrote itself. Some survive (“You’re no Jack Kennedy), but most don’t (Mike Dukakis’s tank ride).

Mostly, these are interesting historical footnotes, and the Harris story could be one, but I can’t help wondering about the timing of this one, along with the fire hose of attacks against her as being incompetent, not smart, and a DEI hire. And frankly, I don’t trust anything I hear from the corporate media these days. If they’re not pro-Trump, they’re certainly not pro-democracy, so to my mind, this story about how she’s incredibly lucky to be this close to the presidency because someone else screwed up stinks a whorehouse at low tide.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Jeeeezus….

Vials of JD Vance jizz? Shouldn’t that be “viles”?

So Patrick inquired about the semiotics of this particularly noisome display expectorating from an astonishingly noisome campaign. I think you have to consider the labeling to appreciate the provenance of the symbolism here. Vance’s craven dickheads are toting around what they declare is “The JD Vance Full Family Kit”.

What they’re suggesting here is that all you need for a Full Family is JD’s manly sperm.

What, no egg? No woman? Just a vile of JD jizz, and presto! full family? More misogyny. In fact, misogyny on a galactic scale. The MAN is all that matters, right? Like white people, sorry, white MEN are all that matter.

Sorry, you creepy incel morons. With just JD juice, you get nothing. Zip. Zero. Not even a half family. What you have there is the leavings of Onan. Onan the barbarian. A perfect symbol for these jerkoffs.

Christ, do they have a Weirdo consultant on staff? “Call Bob. See if he can up something really, really extra weird. What’s that? Jars of JD jizz? Brilliant! We’ll get right on it! White House, here we…um…never mind.”

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: Yeah, I have also noticed too many in the media echoing Trump talking points. For example Jonathan Martin's article above includes this interesting sentiment "Democrats used President Biden’s disastrous debate performance to stage what was effectively a front-bench putsch [i.e. coup]." It plays in to Trump's attempts to undermine the election and it's legitimacy. It also absolves the media of the huge part they played in pushing Biden out of the race.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Yes-- this. ^^^^^^

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterJeanne

Dan Pfeiffer

"Why the Dem Convention Won't Be All About Trump
For the first time in a long time, Kamala Harris has made politics about more than Donald Trump"

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Are Trump apparatchiks in charge of Squarespace?

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

We are on our own.

NPR, routinely attacked by the traitors as Democratic-soshulist state radio, has been playing clips of the most dangerous hater of American democracy screaming about how he left Biden and Harris with the greatest economy in history, no inflation, No unemployment, with zero pushback or context by NPR. Also clips of PoT liars yapping about how Fatty is a great businessman who has a sterling record in business as opposed to “Kamambla” who is an idiot.

No. Pushback, no explanation, no fact checking, no context, no attempt at calling out these outrageous lies or disabusing listeners of the propaganda they are helping to propagate.

Instead, they offer a breathless report about how Democrats have allowed “hundreds” of internet influencers to gain access to the convention (OMG!!). Not one single mention of the hate spewing, extremist online liars Trump and Vance have been begging for airtime.

Did we hear damaging, propagandistic lies about the Party of Traitors when they held their coronation of the Fat Fascist?

Not a fucking peep. Not a single questioning syllable.

Kids, we are truly on our own. The traitors have their very own propaganda media outlets AND nearly the entirety of the Both Sides (but hey, we have to go out of our way to stick it to Harris while letting Trump say whatever he wants) corporate media standing up for them.

And when the traitors take over, they’ll point their fingers at Harris. And us.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Every post is “Forbidden”.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Ha. That got through. Must be a Diet Coke-Big Mac break…

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

In my I hope so column:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/19/kamala-harris-polls-democrats-washington-primary/

Though our very blue metropolitan areas might suggest a caveat or two.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

What????

Just heard a report on NPR about Project 2025.

Political reporter, senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith said—on the air—that she had only heard about Project 2025 in May.

I heard about in May too. May of LAST YEAR!!

She then went on to describe it as an obscure document that Democrats are trying to make a big fuss over.

Seriously kids, I’m reality trying not to break something. Only heard about it in May? Obscure document? It’s a fucking guidebook for turning the country into an authoritarian theocracy with Trump as dictator.

Okay…I have to sit down…

So…no biggie. Democrats, as usual, flying off the handle about something nobody has heard about.

This is how we lose. This is how the United States ceases to exist.

“Mein Kampf? No one will care. No one will read it. Some funny man with a little mustache. Let’s just go on about our lives. Look! There’s Siegfried and Hans! Let’s go have a beer with them. But why are they wearing those funny uniforms? Oh well, four beers, Herr Bartender!”

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Apologies for the typos. Apoplectic is not the best condition for careful posting on your phone.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

RAS,

Describing Biden’s stepping aside as a putsch is perfect. It’s the Democrats who are evil Nazi bastards, not the actual evil Nazi bastards in the Drumpf kamp.

August 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus
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