The Conversation -- November 19, 2024
Robert Draper of the New York Times: "An unidentified hacker has gained access to a computer file shared in a secure link among lawyers whose clients have given damaging testimony related to Matt Gaetz..., a person with knowledge of the activity said. The file of 24 exhibits is said to include sworn testimony by a woman who said that she had sex with Mr. Gaetz in 2017 when she was 17, as well as corroborating testimony by a second woman who said that she witnessed the encounter. The information was downloaded by a person using the name Altam Beezley at 1:23 p.m. on Monday, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly. A lawyer connected to the case sent an email to the address associated with Altam Beezley, only to be informed in an automated reply that the recipient does not exist. The material does not appear to have been made public by the hacker.... [The hacked material] also contains various supporting material, such as the gate logs showing who entered the property ... on the evening in July 2017 when the two women said the sexual encounter with Mr. Gaetz occurred." ~~~
~~~ Marie: C'mon, Donald. Time to express outrage that anyone would hack a file that could damage you. ("Russia, if you're listening -- I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.")
Make That Mean Girls with an "s." Olivia Beavers of Politico: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a private House GOP conference meeting indicated she'd fight a transgender woman if she tried to use a woman's bathroom on the House side of the Capitol, according to two people in the room, as Congress' first openly transgender lawmaker is set to assume office in January."
Isaac Schorr of Mediaite: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) threatened to expose 'all' of Republicans' 'sexual harassment and assault claims' as well as 'the entire Jeffrey Epstein files' if the House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz is released and his nomination to be the next U.S. attorney general is imperiled on Tuesday morning. 'For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see,' wrote Greene on X.:
Marc Santora & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Ukraine's military used long-range American-made missiles on Tuesday to strike into Russia for the first time, according to senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials, just two days after President Biden gave permission to do so in what amounted to a major shift of American policy. The pre-dawn attack struck an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of southwestern Russia, Ukrainian officials said. Russia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Kyiv used six long-range ballistic missiles known as the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS. The senior American and Ukrainian officials ... confirmed that ATACMS were used.: ~~~
~~~ Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin on Tuesday lowered Russia's threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, a long-planned move whose timing appeared designed to show the Kremlin could respond aggressively to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with American long-range missiles. The decree signed by Mr. Putin implemented a revised version of Russia's nuclear doctrine that Mr. Putin described in televised remarks in September. But the timing was clearly meant to send a message, coming just two days after the news that President Biden had authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia. Asked whether Russia could respond with nuclear weapons to such strikes, Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr. Putin;s spokesman, repeated the new doctrine's language that Russia 'reserves the right' to use such weapons to respond to a conventional-weapons attack that creates a 'critical threat' to its 'sovereignty and territorial integrity.':
Gaetz as Sacrificial Lamb? Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "In his private conversations over the past few days..., Donald J. Trump has admitted that his besieged choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has less than even odds of being confirmed by the Senate. But Mr. Trump ... is making calls on Mr. Gaetz's behalf, and he remains confident that even if Mr. Gaetz does not make it, the standard for an acceptable candidate will have shifted so much that the Senate may simply approve his other nominees who have appalled much of Washington." ~~~
~~~ Rachel Bade of Politico: "Numerous Republican lawmakers told Donald Trump and his team that they believe his pick to be attorney general, controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz, has little chance of being confirmed, according to multiple Senate Republican and people around Trump. And they're privately hoping Trump doesn't make them walk the plank. That message, according to people who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, has been delivered to the president-elect himself, his future White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and to Gaetz's unofficial 'sherpa,' Vice President-elect JD Vance.: MB: I was wondering what happened to JayDee. Turns out he's been relegated to Gaetz Guide.
Alex Gangitano & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "... Trump is expected to nominate Howard Lutnick to serve as Commerce secretary, a source familiar told The Hill. Lutnick is the chair and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and is also currently serving as co-chair of the Trump transition. He has notably publicly embraced Trump's tariff plans, which will be a major part of the job leading Commerce. The CEO was considered a front-runner for the role, along with Scott Bessent, who served as an economic adviser on the Trump campaign. Lutnick also beat out Linda McMahon for the role leading Commerce. A co-chair of Trump's transition team, she was considered a front-runner and previously led the Small Business Administration during his first term. Trump expanded his search for a Treasury leader as the jockeying over who will fill the key economic role recently spilled into public view."
Brian Stelter of CNN: "'Morning Joe' co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski announced Monday, in dramatic fashion, that they went to Mar-a-Lago last week for a fence-mending meeting with ... Donald Trump. Then the pair spent the rest of the day dealing with the uncomfortable blowback.... According to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Scarborough and Brzezinski were credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration.... The two sources generally agreed with Scarborough and Brzezinski's impression of the situation at hand -- namely, that the incoming Trump administration could use its wide-ranging powers to punish people deemed enemies. (Trump ally Elon Musk wrote on X overnight, in a post supporting Matt Gaetz for attorney general, that America needs Gaetz to 'put powerful bad actors in prison.')" MB: I do think this is a plausible argument. Joe & Mika have reason to worry about Trump's retribution agenda.
Anthony Adragna of Politico: "Senate Republicans moved to slow down the pace of judicial nomination confirmations in the waning days of Joe Biden's presidency on Monday evening, forcing the chamber into hours of routine votes.... Republicans forced votes on ... procedural actions throughout the evening.
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Erica Green & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "President Biden urged Congress on Monday to provide nearly $100 billion in 'urgently needed' aid for communities ravaged by hurricanes and other disasters in recent months, saying funding for some critical programs has either run out or is nearly exhausted. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson , Mr. Biden cited the devastation he saw firsthand as he toured states like Florida, South Carolina and Georgia after Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through southeastern states this fall, causing billions of dollars in damage and claiming hundreds of lives.... The aid's passage may be eased by the fact that much of it would go to districts and states represented by Republicans."
Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Joe Biden, on one of his last days headlining an international summit, attempted to shore up support for Ukraine's war against Russia and pressure Hamas to accept a cease-fire deal with Israel, hoping to put two of his biggest foreign policy crises on a better footing before leaving office. Arriving for the first session of the Group of 20 summit [in Rio de Janeiro], Biden motioned around the room to allies and adversaries -- many of whom are steeling themselves for major shifts in U.S. policy when ... Donald Trump takes office -- and urged them to back Ukraine in its war against Russia."
Ellen Nakashima & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump, the only former president to have been charged with mishandling classified information, has begun receiving intelligence briefings, U.S. officials said. The briefings provided by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence began shortly after the election, according to U.S. officials.... Trump declined classified briefings during the campaign, saying he feared being accused of leaking classified secrets. '[Intelligence briefers] come in, they give you a briefing, and then two days later, they leak it, and then they say you leaked it,' Trump told the Daily Mail in August.... Trump has a history of treating intelligence cavalierly."
Ivana Saric of Axios: "... Trump confirmed Monday that he is planning to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military to carry out mass deportations.... Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, posted on Truth Social earlier this month that Trump was 'prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.' Trump reposted Fitton's comment Monday with the caption, 'TRUE!!'" (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "Civil-liberties lawyers alarmed by ... Donald Trump's plan to launch mass deportations of undocumented immigrants sued the federal government Monday for information about how authorities might quickly remove people from the United States. The federal lawsuit alleges that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has failed to respond to requests for basic information about its existing contracts with private airline companies that make up 'ICE Air,' as well as ground transportation services, airfields and policies governing deportation flights, including those carrying children. Lawyers said the information is urgent because of Trump's election victory this month and his upcoming inauguration on Jan. 20. Advocates for immigrants have accused ICE and its contractors of treating migrants harshly and holding them in inhumane conditions." The Guardian's report is here.
Here We Go. Jacob Bogage, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's economic advisers and congressional Republicans have begun preliminary discussions about making significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other federal safety net programs to offset the enormous cost of extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts next year. Among the options under discussion by GOP lawmakers and aides are new work requirements and spending caps for the programs...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Mark Walker of the New York Times: "A former Wisconsin congressman and Fox Business host, Sean Duffy, was selected by ... Donald J. Trump on Monday to lead the Transportation Department.... Mr. Duffy served in Congress from 2011 to 2019 as a Republican. He resigned in September 2019 to help care for a newborn daughter with a birth defect, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mr. Duffy departed Fox News Media on Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the network. He had joined as a contributor in 2020 ... and had hosted 'The Bottom Line' on Fox Business with Dagen McDowell since 2023.... Mr. Duffy originally rose to fame in the late 1990s on the MTV reality show 'The Real World: Boston.' He also appeared on its sister show, 'Road Rules: All Stars,' where he met his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is now a Fox News host herself.... As a Fox News contributor, Mr. Duffy was critical of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg." ~~~
~~~ Marie: It is hardly surprising that Trump picked a reality-teevee star as his transportation secretary. Duffy would follow Pete Buttigieg, who is definitely the most teevee-ready Biden Cabinet Secretary. And Trump knows this because Buttigieg often appeared on Fox. Why, if you squint a bit, you may find that Duffy & Buttigieg even look a little alike.
Steven Myers, et al., of the New York Times: Tulsi "Gabbard's comments [knocking U.S. international policy and making up false claims that correspond to Russian propaganda assertions] have earned her sharp rebukes from officials across the political spectrum in Washington.... Her remarks have also made her a darling of the Kremlin's vast state media apparatus -- and, more recently, of ... Donald J. Trump, who last week picked her to oversee the nation's 18 intelligence agencies and departments.... Her selection to be the director of national intelligence has raised alarms among national security officials, not only because of her lack of experience in intelligence but also because she has embraced a worldview that mirrors disinformation straight out of the Kremlin"s playbook.... In Russia, the reaction to her potential appointment has been gleeful...."
Mikhail Zygar, a Russian journalist, in a New York Times op-ed: Moscow was delighted with the outcome of the presidential election because "to many in the Kremlin, a Trump presidency might bring about the collapse of the American state.... Mr. Putin's ... is convinced that America is nearing its end.... To Moscow, [Mr. Trump] looks like a figure who could dismantle the ideology of liberalism..., unraveling the country in the process." Zygar disagrees with the Kremlin's assessment.
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A lawyer representing two women who testified that former Representative Matt Gaetz paid them for sex told multiple news outlets on Monday that one of the women described witnessing Mr. Gaetz having sex with an underage girl at a party in 2017. The lawyer, Joel Leppard, told CBS News, ABC News and CNN about his clients' testimony to the House Ethics Committee, which was investigating allegations about Mr. Gaetz and young women, as well as accusations of drug use.... Both women also told the committee that they were paid for sex using Venmo, Mr. Leppard said." MB: Oh, Maggie's got her beat back, hasn't she? The ABC News report is here. ~~~
~~~ Jose Pagliery of NOTUS: "Matt Gaetz allegedly attended a second drug-fueled Florida party in the summer of 2017 with young women who were paid to attend, according to a little-noticed affidavit from an eyewitness filed in a federal court in Florida." Read on for details of the affidavit. Not surprisingly the affiant also claimed that this second party "was allegedly one of several of that nature," although it isn't clear there is an allegation that Gaetz attended more than the two parties. MB: It's annoying, but you have to "sign up" to read this post, after which, I expect, you'll be bombarded with emailed "news alerts."
~~~ Olivia Beavers of Politico: "House Ethics Chair Michael Guest said Monday that his panel will make its own decision about releasing the report into Matt Gaetz, regardless of Speaker Mike Johnson's opinion that it should be kept under wraps. Guest (R-Miss.) told Politico in a brief interview that he and Johnson had spoken over the weekend. He added that all Ethics Committee members can now review the report, when only he and Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel, previously had a copy of it...." ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Wu of Politico: "Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, said Monday she wants her panel's report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be released to the public. 'It should certainly be released to the Senate, and I think it should be released to the public, as we have done with many other investigative reports in the past,' she told a small group of reporters." ~~~
~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$ urges members of Congress to "Leak It Like Alito": "What is obviously a very damning report about Matt Gaetz is now available for everyone on the Ethics Committee to view[.]... If Republicans won't release the report, the Democrats on the committee need to to it for them. Get advice from how to do it and cover it up from moles speaking to clerks from the Alito and Roberts chambers if you have to. Let's go."
Frank Figliuzzi, in an MSNBC column: "Last month, The New York Times reported that then-candidate Donald Trump's advisers were telling him to skip FBI background investigations for his high-level selections for nominees. Last week, CNN, citing 'people close to the transition planning,' reported that Trump doesn't plan to submit the names of at least some of his Cabinet-level picks for FBI vetting.... The FBI has conducted background investigations of White House nominees since at least the tenure of President Dwight Eisenhower's time in office. Even so, there's no law clearly mandating presidents or presidents-elect to submit their nominees and appointments to the FBI for investigation.... .The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 directs the FBI to conduct such background checks 'expeditiously' for 'individuals that the President-elect has identified for high level national security positions.'... [President] Biden should ... investigate the people Trump says he wants to put in office.... The Senate Judiciary Committee should make a bipartisan request for an FBI background check of Trump's picks [for all DOJ nominees & judicial appointments] now." ~~~
~~~ Update. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Republicans are rejecting a proposal floated by some advisers to ... Trump to take the job of conducting background checks for high-level nominees away from the FBI and give it to private investigators. Doing so could make it easier for some nominees to win Senate confirmation, but GOP senators say the FBI should retain its leading role in conducting background checks. They argue its agents have access to criminal information that private investigators simply can't match.... The FBI also leads the nation's domestic counterespionage efforts, serving as the lead agency for investigating and preventing foreign intelligence gathering activities in the United States. Republican senators think that role puts it in a good position to vet nominees who would have access to the nation's most sensitive secrets."
Marie: None of the many sober "journalistic" reports I've read or scanned acknowledges the point that Robert Tracinski does in the essay linked next. Even if you wind up disagreeing with him, please at least read what he has to say and give it a bit of consideration when you read all these reports outlining how unqualified this or that nominee is and how Senate confirmation seems nearly impossible, blah-blah. I've said chaos is the point, but Tracinski goes further, and I'm adopting his view. For now, anyway. ~~~
⭐ ~~~ Robert Tracinski of the UnPopulist: Trump selected every appointee ... as a deliberate negation, even a mockery, of the function of government he or she will be in charge of.... These individuals are not merely unqualified for their offices. They are disqualified. They are anti-qualified -- the antithesis of what the offices call for. If Trump gets his way, we will have a defender of war criminals as Secretary of Defense, a Russian lackey as Director of National Intelligence, a criminal running the Department of Justice, and a crank promoter of quack remedies in charge of Health and Human Services.... Trump is already trying to pressure the Republican Senate to declare a fake recess so he can appoint his officers without any approval process.... This is an attempt to destroy both the independence of the legislative branch and the Advice and Consent Clause of the Constitution in one fell swoop.... Trump campaigned against 'elites' only to subject government to the whims of his billionaire friends." Read the whole essay. Tracinski goes a long way in a short essay to expose Trump. Thanks to laura h. for the link and even to (argh!) Bill Kristol for suggesting it. (Also linked yesterday.)
They Can't Handle the Truth. Ron Dicker of the Huffington Post: "Scott Pelley recapped the Cabinet picks of ... Donald Trump in the '60 Minutes' opening Sunday, enraging MAGA supporters despite the segment's recitation of facts.... Pelley ... began by noting 'some nominees appear to have no compelling qualifications other than loyalty to Trump.'... One commenter who approved of the report observed on X, 'This 60 Minutes open didn't tell one lie, didn't exaggerate, and gave very pertinent information regarding these poor nominations. And the MAGA cult thinks 60 Minutes is wrong for doing it. The country is fucked.'... But Trump supporters took umbrage. Check out other reactions here[.]" (Also linked yesterday.)
Paul Waldman on Substack busts some Democratic myths about why (and by how much) Democrats lost the election. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~
~~~ Michael Berube in New Lines Magazine, makes one of the arguments Waldman makes: "By now, everyone knows why Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump: because she didn't do the thing I wanted her to do." (But after knocking the pundits, he himself punditifies, knocking her for not allowing a pro-Palestinian Congresswoman to speak at the convention.) "I'm in the camp that believes my side lost because every incumbent party in every wealthy democracy paid a political price for presiding over post-COVID-19 inflation, whether they deserved it or not. Granted, it's galling that the American version of this global phenomenon entailed losing to a petulant and amoral individual with a criminal record, who continually flirts with the idea of political violence.... We are now left to live with the bitter irony that many of those long-term investments in American manufacturing and infrastructure will bear fruit during Trump's second term." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Suck-up City Edition. Alex Weprin of the Hollywood Reporter: "Seven years after they last spoke to him, MSNBC Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski traveled to Mar-a-Lago over the weekend to meet with ... Donald Trump. The duo, who used to be friends with Trump, turned into fierce critics during his first term in office, and he returned the favor, occasionally ripping into them in posts on X. At the top of Monday's program, they disclosed their trip...." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times report, by Michael Grynbaum, is here.
~~~ Marie: If you read to the bottom of Grynbaum's report, you'll be confronted with this: "On Sunday, the president-elect accused a respected pollster of 'ELECTION FRAUD' because she had predicted a Trump defeat in Iowa that did not materialize." No, pollster Ann Selzer did not "predict a Trump defeat." Pollsters don't normally predict election outcomes. Or anything. What they do is provide a snapshot of what potential voters told them during a particular time frame. There are many variables, including the method of selection of sample voters and the precise language in the questions asked. Selzer's firm may (or may not) have made mistakes in some aspect or aspects of the poll. Grynbaum is a media reporter, but he often reports on political aspects or ramifications of media coverage. He should know what a poll does. As for Joe & Mika, they're just appalling nitwits. ~~~
~~~ Isaac Schorr of Mediaite: "SiriusXM host strong> Megyn Kelly absolutely lost it on MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski over their Monday morning monologue about their meeting with President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend, animatedly telling the pair to 'Go fuck yourselves!'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Gosh, this confuses me. Kelly, who used to be a Fox "News" "journalist" and is now a podcaster, was famous for questioning Trump during a 2016 primary debate about the degrading things he said about women. But right before this year's election, she endorsed Trump and called him a "protector of women." Really? Isn't she guilty of the same craven hypocrisy she is so upset Mika & Joe have showed?
Lisa Kashinsky & Brakkton Booker of Politico: "The race is on for the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is the first official entrant. O'Malley kicked off his bid on Monday with a pledge to refocus the party on kitchen-table issues as Democrats begin to recalibrate after Vice President Kamala Harris' defeat.... O'Malley is resigning as head of the Social Security Administration, effective Nov. 29, to run for the role.... The 2016 presidential hopeful is the first to step up in what could be a large field vying to succeed current DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who is not expected to run again." MB: Yes, the shake-up the party needs is a return to 20th-century ideas of a well-meaning, clueless old White guy.
Say, here's a sure way to eliminate many worker protections: have the Supremes declare the NLRB unconstitutional. Presto! ~~~
~~~ Andrea HSU of NPR: "In the nearly four years that Joe Biden has been president, the National Labor Relations Board has taken an assertive -- some say overly aggressive -- approach to protecting workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain. Now, SpaceX and Amazon are at the forefront of a corporate-led effort to monumentally change the labor agency. On Monday, attorneys for the two companies will try to convince a panel of judges at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the labor agency, created by Congress in 1935, is unconstitutional. Their lawsuits are among more than two dozen challenges brought by companies who say the NLRB's structure gives it unchecked power to shape and enforce labor law.... Ultimately, these cases could make their way to the Supreme Court."
Nothin' But Bluesky from Now On. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "I won't go through the litany of ways the [X] platform has changed for the worse under [Elon] Musk's leadership, but from my point of view it has become basically unusable, overrun by bots, trolls, cranks and extremists.... Then came this year's presidential election, which seems to have sparked an exodus ('Xodus'?) from Muskland. From my point of view, Bluesky, in particular -- a site that functions a lot like pre-Musk Twitter -- quite suddenly has reached critical mass, in the sense that most of the people I want to hear from are now posting there. The raw number of users is still far smaller than X's, but as far as I can tell, Bluesky is now the place to find smart, useful analysis.... What I see is that you can indeed ruin a network if you try hard enough. And it's starting to look as if Musk has managed to pull it off."
Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "The Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday abruptly canceled oral arguments on Donald Trump's appeal of a state court ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) to continue prosecuting the 2020 election interference case against the president-elect and several of his allies.... The notice gave no reason for the cancellation and caught many parties involved in the case by surprise. The abrupt notice comes amid lingering questions about the future of the Georgia case against Trump as he prepares to return to the White House after his election victory this month."
Mean Girl. Kyle Stewart & Raquel Uribe of NBC News: "Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a resolution Monday that would ban transgender women from using female bathrooms in the Capitol just weeks before Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride of Delaware is set to become the first out transgender member of Congress. The measure would prohibit any lawmakers and House employees from 'using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.' Asked by reporters whether her resolution was meant to target a marginalized person, Mace said, 'Sarah McBride doesn't get a say in this.'... A spokesperson for McBride told NBC News that Mace did not reach out before she introduced the measure and that McBride found out about it in the media.... The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, said Monday that Mace was cruel and discriminating against her incoming colleague, calling the resolution a 'political charade by a grown-up bully.'"
Kriston Capps of the Washington Post: "The Smithsonian Institution quietly removed the director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum this summer and placed her in another role, following years of complaints from staff about her management of the prominent institution.... Stephanie Stebich, who joined the museum as director in 2017, told staff in July that she was taking indefinite medical leave. In September, she became a senior adviser within the Smithsonian Institution. Current and former employees at the American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, which Stebich also led, accused the director of having a management style that frequently left staff members frustrated and confused. After years of declining morale, several senior staffers in the museum system outlined their complaints in a letter to Smithsonian leadership in July 2023, according to people familiar with the document." (Also linked yesterday.)
Niraj Chokshi of the New York Times: "Spirit Airlines, whose approach to selling cheap tickets without amenities earned it fans and detractors, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday after a string of setbacks, most recently a failure to renegotiate its looming debt. The airline, which last reported an annual profit in 2019, has had trouble finding its footing after a federal judge blocked a planned merger with JetBlue Airways in January. Spirit has also struggled to capitalize on the recovery from the pandemic because of intense competition, engine problems and other factors. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York. It also announced an agreement with bondholders to restructure its debts and raise money to help it operate during the bankruptcy process, which it expected to exit in the first quarter of next year." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Pennsylvania. Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that election officials must abide by an earlier decision and stop counting mail-in ballots that were invalidated because of an incorrect date on the outer envelope -- a major victory for Republican Senate candidate David McCormick, who holds a narrow lead over Democratic Sen. Bob Casey ahead of a statewide recount. The decision comes after Democratic-majority election boards in Philadelphia as well as Bucks and Montgomery counties, two large suburban areas outside of Philadelphia, chose to include those votes, arguing that the handwritten date on the outer envelope is a technical error completely unrelated to the legitimacy of the vote itself." The AP's report is here.
Wyoming. Mead Gruver of the AP: "A state judge on Monday struck down Wyoming's overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy in line with voters in yet more states voicing support for abortion rights. Since 2022, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens has ruled consistently three times to block the laws while they were disputed in court. The decision marks another victory for abortion rights advocates after voters in seven states passed measures in support of access. One Wyoming law that Owens said violated women's rights under the state constitution bans abortion except to protect to a pregnant woman's life or in cases involving rape and incest. The other made Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills, though other states have instituted de facto bans on the medication by broadly prohibiting abortion."
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Hong Kong/China. Tiffany May of the New York Times: "Forty-five former politicians and [pro-democracy] activists who had organized or taken part in the 2020 primary by the opposition camp were sentenced by a Hong Kong court to prison, including for as long as 10 years. The sentences were the final step in a crackdown that cut the heart out of the city's democracy movement, turning its leaders into a generation of political prisoners.... It was the most forceful demonstration of the power of a national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in response to months of large protests against Chinese rule in 2019." ~~~
~~~ J'Accuse! Marie: It is not at all loony to think this kind of trial of pro-democracy advocates could take place in Trumpland, with a similar outcome. On Sunday, Trump called for an "investigation" of a pollster because her poll showed Harris winning a race she ultimate lost by 13 points. What would be the point of an investigation, if not to determine if there was wrongdoing involved? And if the investigators (Trump appointed U.S. attorney??), determined, rightly or wrongly, that the pollster had committed some kind of fraud, then what? A criminal trial, I presume.
Israel/Palestine, et al. Hiba Yazbek & Erika Solomon of the New York Times: "A large convoy of trucks carrying aid was 'violently looted' in the Gaza Strip over the weekend and its drivers forced at gunpoint to unload supplies, the main United Nations agency that helps Palestinians said on Monday, calling it one of the worst such incidents of the war.... Most of the [109] trucks were lost, some of the drivers were reportedly shot, and some vehicles sustained extensive damage, the agency said.... It was not clear who was responsible for the looting." ~~~
~~~ Claire Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "As Gaza's hunger crisis worsens, organized gangs are stealing much of the aid Israel allows into the enclave, operating freely in areas controlled by the Israeli military, according to aid group officials, humanitarian workers, transport companies and witnesses.... Armed bands of men have killed, beaten and kidnapped aid truck drivers in the area around Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point into Gaza's south.... The thieves ... are tied to local crime families, residents say. The gangs are described by observers as rivals of Hamas.... An internal United Nations memo obtained by The Washington Post concluded last month that the gangs 'may be benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence' or 'protection' from the Israel Defense Forces. One gang leader, the memo said, established a 'military like compound' in an area 'restricted, controlled and patrolled by the IDF.'"
News Lede
New York Times: "Arthur Frommer, who expanded the horizons of postwar Americans and virtually invented the low-budget travel industry with his seminal guidebook, 'Europe on 5 Dollars a Day: A Guide to Inexpensive Travel,' which introduced millions to an experience once considered the exclusive domain of the wealthy, died on Monday at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 95."
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Reader Comments (19)
In other economic news:
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-labor-market-still-boosting-inflation-san-francisco-fed-economists-say-2024-11-18/
An overlooked factor in U. S. inflation has been a tight labor market. Can't see how deporting more than 8 million workers will loosen it.
Trump's round-em-up and ship-em out plans will be the death of
the fruit growing industry in West Michigan. Who does he think
will do all of that intense, backbreaking labor in the orchards and
vineyards?
No more peaches and apples for pies and no more grapes for wine.
Maybe he can send in the military for fruit duty. Might work.
@Ken Winkes & @Forrest Morris: Well, your observations seem to make sense, at least on the surface. But you know Donald Trump is a successful businessman as well as a stable genius, so I don't see how his plan to deport 20 million people can have a flaw.
Forrest,
The answer to your question is simple, and it’s the same answer for a multitude of serious questions about the coming Trumpocalypse:
He.Doesn’t.care.
Isn't this why Republicans have been legalizing child labor for years now? Put those freeloaders to work.
Cavity creeps
"Dental supply stock surges on RFK’s anti-fluoride stance, activist involvement"
Morning Joe has become "G'night, Joe, take care now..."
Crawling back to the Fat Fascist, hats in hand, getting on their knees to an authoritarian dictator negates anything they may have to say about anything connected to that fat fuck. Ever again.
Jesus, at least have some pride. They were critical of Trump for his many, many crimes and disqualifying words and acts, correctly. But now that he's the king and they fear for their jobs, they kneel to kiss the ring?
Sorry. All credibility is gone. From now on stick to morning happy talk.
Bye now.
I know I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but Gaetz laundered at least one of his sex payments through his "adopted son".
"He said his clients also testified that sometimes, someone other than Gaetz would make a payment on his behalf. On at least one occasion, according to Leppard, that was Nestor Galban, a Cuban immigrant who is close to Gaetz and whom Gaetz has referred to as his "son.""
Anne Lowrey, in The Atlantic, describes the latest schemes underway to transfer wealth from the pockets of (mostly) young men to the billionaires in: Day-trading, sports betting, and crypto are about to get bigger.
A couple of thoughts about the Gaetz-way to Hell…
My first thought was that the Orange Monster would brazen it out and dare the Potemkin PoT weenies in the senate to defy his royal command, or get Bible Mike to call a phony recess and shove Gaetz in via a recess appointment.
My second thought was that he might decide this battle isn’t worth it and throw Gaetz to the dogs. The fact is, Matt (Sex Trafficker) Gaetz is easily the worst nominee for any cabinet position in US history. Not just unqualified (has he ever actually practiced the law? Tried a case? Written a legal brief longer than a Xitter post?) but a gross, preening pig to boot. (Maybe Trump sees a lot of himself there.) I mean, Gaetz makes a toadying hyper partisan hack like Bill Barr look like Oliver Wendell Holmes.
But don’t be fooled, certain traitors making mewling baby noises will fold their tents faster than Cub scouts in a hurricane if Fatty gives them the side eye and whispers “primary challenge, anyone?”
In fact all the nay saying usually makes this bloated turd double and triple down. Remember, he believes he is now the king with unlimited power.
If he decides on defenestration, he will view it as the only time he’ll ever back down over the next four years, and he will make sure the nay sayers pay. Nonetheless, just the fact we’re debating this ridiculous situation shows how bad things have already gotten. It’s like putting a nepotistic, know-nothing, grifting sleazeball in charge of the Middle East peace process.
Oh, wait…
Stupid Headlines
New York Times
"Trump Defies the #MeToo Movement With Cabinet Picks Facing Accusations"
WTF does this mean? Does the New York Times think that it only became a truly bad thing to nominate known sexual predators in the last decade? Before the #MeToo movement putting accused sex trafficers, people who paid money to silence sexual assault accusations, or guys who publicly say they can't remember how many women they have sexually assaulted was more socially acceptable? This sounds like another bullshit attack on the survivors for speaking up and trying to hold a tiny minority of the perpetrators to some account. In the Before Times [Pre-PAB] all of these disgusting losers would have been run out of government, and possibly public life. Now it is a minor inconvenience.
Would the current day media even bother to print or report on the contents of the hacked document? When it comes to matters surrounding Trump they have said that they have brand new policies on publishing information from unsavory sources. Even after the campaign is over and there is no more worry of affecting the election they have deemed Trump's innerworkings of his campaign to not be worthy of public consumption. Add on the fact that Trump and his allies have threatened many across the media with jail and fines. We will have to see how many journalists are willing to risk the wrath of the new orange regime. Joe and Mika showed us how many in the media are planning on dealing with Trump.
So MTG stands up for women.
That is, if the rest of the R's don't do her bidding and stand foursquare behind her favorite child molester.
I am not the techie that I pretend to be...(hahaha) but if someone can, they should look for the Donald J Dumptruck tweet or whatever it is that goes like a shiv directly into the bodies of Mika and Joe, although most of his ire and disgusting vomitus was issued yesterday after the feet-licking and ring-kissing. This humanoid is not a real person-- he is a monster every minute he is breathing or snorting whatever he snorts. These people are unable to respond as human. What a pig. I am not excusing Mika and Joe-- they are disgusting, as they try to repeat the made-up reason they went off to Margarine-a-Lardo. (That was that they feared retribution against the network and their show. Way to show great courage, shameful beings.).
I am so angry every time I see an ad (this was against Bob Casey who has refused to concede to rich Connecticut carpetbagger McLiar who has beat him by very little, and the courts just shut down the recount--)
in which they, the low-IQ MAGAs accuse Dems of being "poor losers", after their four-year bombing scheme as poster children of poor loserdom... And yes, half this country has the IQ of applesauce.
@RAS: I'm a critic and a skeptic when it comes to Peter Baker, so I've been way surprised to notice that in the past several months, he seems to have changed his tune. He used to be Johnny One-Note, singing only the Both-Sides song, but he seems to have slipped off that particular bandwagon (oh, metaphors how thou mix).
In this particular instance, I don't think he's putting down the champions of the #MeToo movement. Rather, he's saying that the #MeToo movement has called male sexual abusers to task, and Trump is fighting back. He's perhaps the Leader of the Backlash. The #MeToo movement attempted to force a change in societal norms, and Trump refuses to accept that change.
Baker is also saying it's working. Trump, the adjudicated rapist, won election to become POTUS*. And indeed Baker cites an expert who argues that Trump's appointments of a handful of alleged sexual abusers is part of his attempt to normalize his own disgusting behavior.
In my view, every time the New York Times publishes an article that highlights the accusations against Trump and his assault gang, that's a good thing (at least as long as the reporters don't give assault and abuse a thumbs-up). I know the morons don't read the New York Times, and even those few who do, read it only to cry "Fake News!" But there are those who aren't particularly politically inclined whose skin may crawl every time they are forced to think about Trump's serial mistreatment of women.
We already know Trump is going to be a terrible president*, that he will behave badly every single day, and I want his misdeeds hammered into the heads of every American, including the millions of nitwits who voted for him.
Sam Stein and Andrew Egger, in The Bulwark, describe some of RFK, Jr's nuttier allegations, and include video of speeches.
"In an August 2020 speech, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was open to the possibility that the pandemic was, in fact, a “plandemic”—an infectious disease outbreak orchestrated by government officials to effectively subdue the populace.
....
In another set of remarks unearthed by The Bulwark, Kennedy outlined a wide-ranging theory that the U.S. government has fostered bioterrorism to implement “social controls” and “totalitarian rule.” "
@Marie: My problem was not with Baker here, but with the headline writer. Many people only see the headline so they hold a lot of power over people's impressions of the news. I've also seen too much BS about Democrats losing because of their support for the underrepresented so I may have viewed the headline extra harshly because of that.
I agree we need to continue to call out the awful things Trump does and the people he puts in power. The Republicans' repetition for decades helped them paint the Democrats in the negative light so many view them in today. So telling and retelling the atrocities committed by Republicans to the public should be part of our plan to open the eyes of the people to the truth of the conservative movement. Unlike Republicans our side has no need to invent or even embellish the evil done by our opponents to show the outrageousness of who they are.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/us/politics/trump-dr-oz-medicare-medicaid.html?
As I just told my wife, we geezers are in good hands now.
I tend to agree with Marie’s suggestion that Trump the Rapist has selected some of his more horrible choices because their sexual predations help him out.
But here’s the thing. As disgusting as Matt Gaetz is, Trump is worse. A lot worse. The allegations against Gaetz are that he trafficked one or more underage women for sex, and paid them for sex. I haven’t read anything about him actually raping anyone, not that I would disbelieve it if such allegations surfaced. Trump is different. He just goes after women whether they’re interested or not. He’s no better than any other rapist doing time for their crimes. Unqualified to be president? This fat pig is unqualified to be referred to as a man.