The Conversation -- October 8, 2024
Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden on Thursday warned those in the path of Hurricane Milton to 'evacuate now, now, now,' as he canceled a diplomatic trip abroad so he could oversee his administration's response to the storm barreling toward Florida's west coast. Speaking from the Roosevelt Room in the White House, the president said he had given Ron DeSantis, Florida's Republican governor, his personal phone number and he urged Floridians to listen to state authorities.... With the storm poised to slam into the Tampa Bay area by Thursday morning, Mr. Biden decided to postpone a trip to Germany and Angola meant to shore up support for Ukraine and promote investment in Africa.... The White House has not yet finalized new dates for the overseas trip."
Peter Baker & Ephrat Livni of the New York Times: "The book, 'War' [by journalist Bob Woodward], which is set to be released next week and relies on some anonymous sources, lays bare just how frustrated [President] Biden has become with [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu since the war in Gaza began and Israel has bombarded the enclave, killing more than 40,000 people and displacing most of the more than two million residents there. Outwardly, Mr. Biden has voiced strong support for Israel.... Privately, the president has reacted far more explosively, sometimes with expletives, to Israel's moves, as multiple news reports have indicated. Mr. Netanyahu and the president last spoke on Aug. 21, according to a White House statement." The story includes some specifics which Woodward reports. Baker & Livni note that "The New York Times could not independently verify the specific statements reported in Mr. Woodward"s upcoming book." ~~~
~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has secretly spoken with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as many as seven times since leaving office, even as he was pressuring Republicans to block military aid to Ukraine to fight Russian invaders, according to a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward.... The book also reports that Mr. Trump, while still in office early during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, secretly sent Mr. Putin what were then rare Abbott Point of Care test machines for the Russian's personal use. Mr. Putin, who has been described as particularly anxious about being infected at the time, urged Mr. Trump to not publicly reveal the gesture because it could damage the American president politically.... [Woodward wrote that a single Trump aide was the source for the Trump-Putin conversations.]
Mr. Trump's campaign dismissed Mr. Woodward's book by assailing the author with typically personal insults -- 'a total sleazebag' ... -- without addressing any of the specifics reported in it.... [Dmitri Peskov of] the Kremlin likewise denied the reporting in Mr. Woodward's book about conversations between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin and the provision of Covid tests. It would be highly unusual for a former president to privately talk with a top American adversary like Mr. Putin without clearing it with the current administration -- especially at a time when the United States and Russia are on opposite sides of a war in Europe." MB: Okay, but Putin's puppet has to get instructions somehow.
Going to Mar-a-Lago is a little bit like going to North Korea. Everybody stands up and claps every time Trump comes in. -- Sen. Lindsey Graham ~~~
⭐ ~~~ Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "With publication on the eve of the presidential election, Woodward, who has chronicled the successes and failures of U.S. presidents for 50 years, concludes that Trump is unfit for office while President Joe Biden and his team, mistakes notwithstanding, exhibited 'steady and purposeful leadership.' Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, makes several appearances in the narrative, with Woodward presenting her as a shrewd and loyal No. 2 to Biden but not an influential voice in his administration's foreign policy.... The book ... includes candid assessments by Biden of his own missteps, including his decision to make Merrick Garland attorney general. Reacting to the prosecution of his son Hunter -- by a special prosecutor named by Garland amid partisan recriminations over the Justice Department's prosecution of Trump -- the president told an associate, 'Should never have picked Garland.'" Interesting stuff about Biden's foreign policy. ~~~
⭐ ~~~ Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "In his new book..., legendary journalist Bob Woodward offers a remarkable look behind the scenes at President Joe Biden's blunt, profanity-laced assessments and interactions with the world leaders who have shaped his presidency, from Benjamin Netanyahu to Vladimir Putin.... Woodward's new book, which was obtained by CNN ahead of its October 15 release, gives an unvarnished, in-the-room account of key moments as Biden and his national security team navigate international crises, from the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to confronting Putin before he invaded Ukraine to private battles with Netanyahu. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand participants, 'War' is filled with newly reported details of high-stakes showdowns." Also good stuff about Biden. With expletives!
Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Donald Trump took 'British naval secrets' to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House, the former UK spy Christopher Steele says in a new book. 'I was reliably informed by impeccable sources that among the classified documents which Trump, apparently unauthorizedly, took with him to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency were British naval secrets, some of the most sensitive ones in our governmental system,' Steele writes.... A spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence said of Steele's comments about naval secrets taken to Mar-a-Lago: 'These claims are untrue.'"
Tales of The Seven Dwarfs. Chapter 6. Whitewashing Boozy. Beth Reinhard of the Washington Post: "In September 2018, as allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett M. Kavanaugh threatened his confirmation to the Supreme Court..., Donald Trump vowed that the FBI would have 'free rein' to vet the claims.... The president's comments came as a surprise to the FBI, according to a new report from a Democratic senator [Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.)] based on previously undisclosed correspondence between the agency and the White House.... The report ... provides additional evidence of the tight control exercised by the White House over the FBI investigation -- despite Trump's claims to the contrary.
"The report found that [more than 4,500] messages to the FBI tip line regarding Kavanaugh were forwarded directly to the White House and never probed, and that the FBI had no written protocols for the supplemental background investigation ordered by the White House. It notes that the FBI was instructed by the White House to talk to 10 potential witnesses and was not given the leeway to pursue corroborating evidence -- the absence of which was cited by senators as they narrowly voted to confirm Kavanaugh.... Even when senators contacted the FBI directly with the names of people who claimed to have relevant information about Kavanaugh, the FBI did not contact them." The Guardian's report is here.
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "A majority of the Supreme Court appeared sympathetic on Tuesday to the Biden administration's restrictions on kits to make homemade guns that skirted background checks. At least five justices seemed to favor the measures, with at least two conservatives, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, showing skepticism toward the plaintiffs, gun manufacturers and owners who argued that the administration had overstepped its bounds in regulating so-called ghost guns. The rule, part of a broader effort by President Biden to address gun violence, sought to curtail the soaring popularity of the guns, weapons made from kits available for purchase online and heralded as easy enough to assemble in less than an hour."
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Presidential Race
~~~ Reid Epstein & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Here are seven takeaways from [Vice President] Harris's appearance on '60 Minutes,' which also interviewed her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. Harris was in control of her message, but avoided repeated pushback.... She has a Glock, and she knows how to use it.... Harris was pressed about 'dealing with the real world' on some of her plans.... She has warned Tim Walz about misspeaking.... Neither Liz Cheney nor Harris can quite believe they are allies now.... Her foreign policy would look a lot like [President] Biden's.... Trump turned down '60 Minutes.' Harris took advantage. On the CBS show on Monday, [interviewer Bill] Whitaker said Mr. Trump had agreed to an interview, then backed out, citing, among other things, the network's promise to fact-check him on the air." ~~~
~~~ Here's an NBC News story about Whitaker's "grilling" of Harris: ~~~
~~~ If you can't view the video, the Hill has a story here outlining Scott Pelley's remarks about Trump's pulling out of the interview. MB PS: Trump won't debate Harris, either.
BTW, here's video of what looks like a portion of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast interview of Harris that aired on Monday. The comments -- mostly from the Trumpenproletariat -- are brutal. However, they're so repetitive that it's a bit hard to believe that most of them are real.
Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday commemorated the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel by planting a pomegranate tree, which she called 'a symbol of hope and righteousness' in Judaism, at her official residence in Washington. In a brief speech, Ms. Harris condemned the attack, in which some 1,200 people were massacred in Israel last year, as an 'act of pure evil' and said the scores of hostages remaining in Hamas's hands should be released. Standing beside her was her husband, Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice president.... 'We must work to ensure nothing like the horrors of Oct. 7 can ever happen again,' she said. 'And on this solemn day, I will restate my pledge to always ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself, and that I will always work to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish people here and around the world.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Notably (although Nehamas doesn't note it), Harris introduced her husband, rather than the other way around, making him the main speaker at the event.
Tara Suter of the Hill: "The former head of the Florida Republican Party said he's supporting Vice President Harris after 'trolling' from other Republicans over the federal government's response to Hurricane Helene. Al Cárdenas said in his appearance Monday on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' that natural disasters have 'always been a bipartisan issue.'... '... the White House asked Congress to pass a bill to -- a supplemental bill -- to really help people with these disasters, because we may be running outta cash. All of a sudden, the trolling, the Trump operatives and everybody else started saying, "Well, they're giving that money to illegal immigrants." Not true.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Speaking of hard-hitting interviews, Jimmy Kimmel & Tim Walz get into whether or not Walz is sleeping with Kamala Harris. No, really: ~~~
Getting Out the Pro-Porn Vote. Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Seventeen pornographic film actors on Monday announced that they had launched a $100,000 ad campaign on porn sites warning that Project 2025 -- the Heritage Foundation blueprint for a Republican administration that has been a centerpiece of some Democratic campaigns -- wants to ban pornography and imprison people who produce it. The online ads will run in the states that will decide the presidency: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.... Vice President Kamala Harris is losing to former President Donald J. Trump among men, but younger men might be winnable -- and pornographic websites are among the most heavily trafficked on the internet." ~~~
~~~ digby: "The bros may like Trump's anarchic spirit and care little for actual policy. But this hits them where they live. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this has an impact."
Marie: If you had told me 50 years ago that in 2024 I'd be living in a near-replica of early-1930s Nazi Germany (but with country AND western music), I would have laughed you off. Well, the joke's on me.
No. 1 U.S. Racist. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "In an interview with right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday morning, Trump's suggestion that non-White immigrants are genetically inferior was made explicit. The comment came as Trump was disparaging ... Vice President Kamala Harris. 'How about allowing people to come through an open border,' he said, '13,000 of which were murderers, many of them murdered far more than one person and they're now happily living in the United States?' This is a false claim -- 'outrageously false,' in the wording of The Washington Post Fact Checker.... Unchallenged by Hewitt, Trump continued.... 'You know, now, a murderer, I believe this, it's in their genes,' he said. 'And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.' Reinforcing that he was talking about the 'bad genes' of immigrants, Trump offered up more false claims.... Hewitt, rather than contesting Trump's genetic argument, shifted the conversation with no apparent irony to the federal criminal charges Trump himself faces. These, of course, are not a function of criminal genes, in Trump's estimation, but instead of the political whims of Biden. (In reality, they are a function of Trump's actions.)" ~~~
~~~ Marie: In case you think Trump is speaking of immigrants in general and not non-white immigrants, as Bump asserts, I remind you that Trump's mother and paternal grandfather were immigrants to the U.S., immigrants of the White persuasion from whom Trump got his "good genes." And if you want to argue that, well, people don't choose their parents & grandparents, Trump did choose the two immigrants he married. While most of Trump's hated of immigrants is racist, I'd speculate a part of it derives from his prominent "grievance gene" -- a sense that the reason elite New Yorkers don't accept him into their circle is that he comes from recent-immigrant stock. Likely his heritage has nothing to do with their rejection; hardly anyone, elite or not, enjoys the company of obnoxious blockheads. ~~~
~~~ Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post has the paper's main story on Trump's racist gene theory: "Donald Trump suggested Monday that people in the country illegally who have committed murder and other crimes have 'bad genes,' the latest example of rhetoric by the former president that dehumanizes immigrants and disparages them in racial terms.... Trump's latest comment referring to 'bad genes' takes his rhetoric toward immigrants a step further, playing into tropes that foreigners are genetically inferior to Americans and responsible for societal problems -- such as violent crime -- as a result."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is 'in Israel' and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.... The Gaza Strip is not part of Israel and has never been, though some Israelis have called for annexing it.... [Trump went on to say,] 'I did more for Israel than anybody. I did more for the Jewish people than anybody. And it's not reciprocal, as they say, not reciprocal.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Here a type of "reporting" that often appears in supposedly straight reports covering Trump: after relating the "thoughts" on Gaza Trump shared with host Hugh Hewitt, Haberman writes, "The comment renews questions about how Mr. Trump would approach the region if he wins another term." Yes, there are questions about how Trump would approach Gaza, or anything, because (1) he has no idea what he would do next week about anything and he doesn't care and (2) everything he says is a lie. It is irresponsible for a journalist to pretend she can get a clue about Trump's "policy" from a Trump response to a leading question from a friendly/frightened interviewer. The very act of speculating about Trump's approach to any international crisis is in itself misleading once you get past, "What's in it for Trump?"
Marie: Since we've linked to a story about how Kamala Harris commemorated the October 7 massacre of Jews in Israel, it is only fair to link to a report on Donald Trump's commemorative event: ~~~
~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: Donald Trump "held an event at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in South Florida, where he reiterated his non-falsifiable claim that 'the Oct. 7 attack would never have happened if I was president.' As he spoke, U.S. and Israel flags stood in the background.... Trump received a round of applause before the speakers began blaring 'Y.M.C.A.'" MB: Really.
Jess Bidgood of the New York Times: At a rally in Wisconsin on Sunday, Donald Trump "accuse[d] Vice President Kamala Harris of sending billions of dollars to foreign nations while providing only $750 each to domestic disaster victims -- a falsehood that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been working for days to combat. He then went further still, falsely accusing the White House of playing politics with disaster relief while he did exactly that. 'You know, it's largely a Republican area so -- some people say they did it for that reason, I don't even think they're that bad, but they probably -- maybe they are,' Trump said in Juneau, Wis.... Trump's closing argument, delivered at campaign rallies all over the country, is a slurry of polarizing disinformation, false claims about his opponents cheating in elections, and a series of unfounded personal attacks on Harris.... He drew the biggest cheers of the day as he described migrants in terms that have grown more ominous in recent weeks, calling them 'savage.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: A few months ago, Trump said nobody knows who "Harris" is, but he soon learned she was "a very dumb person" and a "dummy." BUT now we hear from Trump that this "dummy" engineered a successful coup against Joe Biden -- something Trump was unable to pull off, BTW -- and that she is apparently the first Vice President in history who controls billions of dollars in federal money and basically runs the administration.
Let us not delude ourselves that the only whiney-baby phony "leader" who doesn't give a rat's ass about governance is Donald Trump:~~~
~~~ Matt Dixon of NBC News: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not taking calls from Vice President Kamala Harris about storm recovery just over a week after Hurricane Helene hammered parts of his state. A source familiar with the situation said he was dodging the Democratic presidential nominee's calls because they 'seemed political,' according to a DeSantis aide. 'Kamala was trying to reach out, and we didn't answer,' the DeSantis aide told NBC News. The same person said 'not to my knowledge' when asked if DeSantis had spoken to President Joe Biden." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Kierra Frazier of Politico: "Vice President Kamala Harris blasted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday for 'playing political games,' after the Florida governor reportedly did not take her phone calls to discuss hurricane relief.... DeSantis told reporters ... he wasn't aware that the vice president was trying to reach him. 'I didn't know that she had called. I'm not sure who they called. They didn't call me,' he said. 'It wasn't anything that anybody in my office did, in terms of saying it was political.' The governor later appeared on Sean Hannity's prime-time Fox News show on Monday and ... [said], 'She has no role in this.... She's the first one who is trying to politicize the storm....'... The White House announced that President Joe Biden was able to speak with DeSantis over the phone about recovery efforts for Helene and preparations for Milton.... DeSantis referenced his call with Biden on Monday night to Hannity, saying he has 'worked well' with the administration of both Biden and ... Donald Trump in storms."
This story is several days old, but I guess we should read it: ~~~
Mark Mazzetti & Adam Entous of the New York Times: "... a close examination of the Hamburg summit [of July 2017, when Donald Trump met Vladimir Putin], and the months that led up to it, help explain the roots of Mr. Trump's often-disdainful attitude toward Ukraine. The meeting in Hamburg fit into a yearlong pattern in which an escalating political grudge against Ukraine on Mr. Trump's part became an opening for Mr. Putin to pursue his own aim of tempering American support for Kyiv, according to interviews with American and European officials and allies of Mr. Trump, as well as accounts in memoirs. That animus toward Ukraine remains front and center.... Mr. Putin continues to seek advantage in American politics. Senior intelligence officials briefed members of Congress last month that Russia remains determined to sow chaos in America's elections process and erode faith in its democratic systems, and that spy agencies have specific intelligence that the Kremlin wants Mr. Trump back in the White House." (Also linked yesterday.)
No One Will Be Safe. Peter Jamison of the Washington Post: "Republicans backing Donald Trump are threatening Deloitte, a consulting firm that is one of the federal government's largest business partners, with the loss of billions of dollars in contracts because an employee shared messages from 2020 in which JD Vance ... criticized the then-president's record. On Sept. 27, Donald Trump Jr. exposed the employee's name and photograph to millions of people on social media,writing, 'Maybe it's time for the GOP to end Deloitte's taxpayer funded gravy train?' Others -- including Vance's chief spokesman and a Republican senator [Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.)] -- circulated Trump Jr.'s comments.... Ethics experts said the episode is a potentially ominous preview of how a second Trump administration might use the enormous power the federal government wields over private industry to punish political acts by individual workers." The Guradian's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump promised Pennsylvania women he would be their "protector" so they won't feel abandoned, lonely, scared or anxious. He told Wisconsinites he would keep them "safe" from a "migrant invasion." (See stories linked yesterday.) That is, after raising fears, either through his actions or rhetoric, Trump promises to quell the dangers he poses or warns about. But we know Americans cannot rely on him for protection. Trump and his administration will be your "protector" only insofar as you do not do or say anything that displeases them, or that anyone you know or work with does not do or say anything that displeases them. That is, you have no control over whether or not you will receive this supposed "protection." It can & will be retracted on the whims of Trump or a Trumpocrat. No one will be safe. (We already know, for instance, that if you live in a state or part of a state that votes Democratic, you won't receive federal disaster relief. See October 4 Conversation.)
Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "A leading newspaper in North Carolina is blasting former President Trump over what it calls his 'falsehoods' about the government response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated a large swath of the state last week. 'This is not a situation to capitalize on for political gain. But former President Donald Trump has politicized the situation at every turn, spreading falsehoods and conspiracies that fracture the community instead of bringing it together,' the editorial board of The Charlotte Observer wrote this week.... The Observer noted Trump's statements in recent weeks claiming Democratic state and federal officials are 'going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,' and saying Vice President Harris 'spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants.' '"There's no evidence to support any of those ridiculous claims,' the newspaper shot back." (Also linked yesterday.)
This woman has had enough of your fucking lies, if you don't mind her saying so. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~
This woman is my spirit animal. pic.twitter.com/icgigQsbMF
— Boston Smalls (@smalls2672) October 5, 2024
Chaos Is the Essence of the Scheme. In a firewalled post, Brian Beutler says that Trump & Co.'s multiple, repeated lies about hurricane response are a trial run for the election. (Also linked yesterday.)
Trump Scams His Supporters. Again. Judd Legum of Popular Information: "In a series of fundraising appeals, Trump offered his supporters a chance to appear with him on stage during an October 5 rally when he returned to the site of his attempted assassination, Butler, Pennsylvania. These solicitations were sent to the Trump campaign email list, which reportedly includes tens of millions of people. 'I'd love to bring you up on stage for my Butler rally!' was the subject line of a September 2 fundraising email from Trump.'Can we take a picture together during my rally in Butler, Pennsylvania?' Trump asks in the body of the text. Trump sent emails promoting the contest on September 10..., September 28..., and October 1 ('[T]he crowd is going to LOVE YOU when you're introduced as my VIP guest[']). Trump held his rally in Butler on Saturday, and the only person he introduced on stage was Elon Musk. There was no sign of a contest winner at any time during Trump's lengthy appearance at the rally -- from the moment Trump took the stage to when he left almost two hours later." Legum lists a number of similar scams Trump pulled this year & in 2020. (Also linked yesterday.)
Dan Mangan of CNBC: "... Elon Musk, who is backing Donald Trump in the presidential election, on Sunday touted a $47 referral bonus that the billionaire's political action committee is offering to people for each registered swing-state voter whom they refer to an online petition that requires signers to submit personal contact information. 'For every person you refer who is a swing state voter, you get $47!' Musk wrote in a post on X, the social media site he owns. 'Easy money.' If Trump is elected, he would be the 47th president of the U.S. The petition declares that its signers support 'First and Second Amendment rights,' but it contains no details about who the petition will be delivered to, or when, or any demands that the signers have, all core elements of traditional petitions. Instead, the petition seeks the personal contact information of swing-state voters. Upon signing, all users, regardless of their state, are directed to a page that contains voter registration links for just seven states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.... 'This program is exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina,' the PAC said."
Brett Samuels of the Hill: "A former Democratic congressman who served six terms in the House said Monday he was endorsing former President Trump, citing his concerns with the Biden administration's handling of global conflicts abroad. Former Rep. Peter Deutsch (D), who represented Florida's 20th Congressional District from 1993-2005, announced his support on a call organized by the Trump campaign to mark the anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel.... Deutsch said he was supportive of Trump's stances on immigration policy and school choice, but that the 'driving force for me to make this decision is what I believe is the most important factor in being president, which is really world peace.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a challenge by social platform X ... to court rulings that forced the platform to turn over data on former President Trump's account to special counsel Jack Smith. Early last year, Smith obtained a secret warrant for Trump's account on X, where Trump posted prolifically during his White House term, as part of prosecutors' federal election interference investigation. X was prohibited from informing the former president about the warrant. It only became public last summer, after Trump was charged with four felonies in the case. He pleaded not guilty. The company challenged the order, arguing the records were potentially covered by executive privilege and not being able to tell Trump violated the First Amendment." (Also linked yesterday.)
AP: "The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge from Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania to a Biden administration executive order that is intended to boost voter registration. The justices did not comment in rejecting an appeal from the Republicans, who claimed the order is an unconstitutional attempt to interfere in the November election. Lower courts had dismissed the lawsuit. Nine Republican secretaries of state and 11 members of Congress had asked the court to step in. In May, the justices declined to take up and decide the case on an expedited basis. The justices separately rejected two appeals stemming from baseless claims made by Republicans that voting machines and software of Dominion Voting Systems were responsible for Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election." (Also linked yesterday.)
Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: "The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country's strictest abortion bans. Without detailing their reasoning, the justices kept in place a lower court order that said hospitals cannot be required to provide pregnancy terminations that would violate Texas law. There were no publicly noted dissents. The Biden administration had asked the justices to throw out the lower court order, arguing that hospitals have to perform abortions in emergency situations under federal law. The administration pointed to the Supreme Court's action in a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues. The administration also cited a Texas Supreme Court ruling that said doctors do not have to wait until a woman's life is in immediate danger to provide an abortion legally. The administration said it brings Texas in line with federal law and means the lower court ruling is not necessary.... Doctors have said the [Texas] law remains dangerously vague after a medical board refused to specify exactly which conditions qualify for the exception." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times report is here.
Yeah, let's keep voting for the guys who are devoted to taking women back to this: ~~~
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Georgia. Carter Sherman of the Guardian: "Just one week after a Georgia judge restored broad access to abortion in the state by blocking its six-week abortion ban, the Georgia supreme court ruled on Monday to reinstate the ban. The ban will take effect at 5pm local time on Monday and remain in effect while litigation over it plays out. Abortion rights supporters quickly condemned the decision, which also came down weeks after news broke that two Georgia mothers, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, died after being unable to access legal abortions." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times report is here.
Michigan Senate Race. Where Is Mister Rogers' Neighborhood? Steve Benen of MSNBC: Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) "purchased a very expensive home in [Florida and] was still registered to vote in Florida as recently as this year.... The Detroit Free Press' M.L. Elrick ... explained in his latest column, 'I don't know where Mike Rogers lives, but it's not where he's registered to vote.... Rogers, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, changed his voter registration on July 2 to a home in White Lake Township that is under construction. A month later, he used the White Lake address to vote (presumably, for himself) in the four-way race for the GOP nomination to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow. There's just one problem: The house did not -- and still does not -- have a certificate of occupancy. That means Rogers could not live there legally. And if he didn't live there, he may have broken the law by using that address to vote.' Before changing his registration in July, Rogers apparently listed his brother's address as his own, though locals suggested they never saw him and he never lived there." ~~~
~~~ Elrick's column is firewalled. But he appeared on Rachel Maddow's show yesterday and said Rogers' voting as a Michigan resident using an address where he never lived would be a felony. And here we thought it was Republicans who were are worried about voter fraud.
New York. Dana Rubinstein, et al., of the New York Times: "Philip B. Banks III, New York City's deputy mayor for public safety, has resigned, Mayor Eric Adams said on Monday morning, making him the sixth senior administration official to leave City Hall in the past month.His departure comes amid an exceptional amount of turmoil at the highest levels of city government, as four federal investigations envelop Mr. Adams and his inner circle, and after prosecutors unsealed a five-count corruption indictment against the mayor. On Sept. 4, federal investigators seized the phones of Mr. Banks, as part of an investigation into a possible bribery scheme." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in Israel's wars are here: "Israel's air attacks across Lebanon targeting the militant group Hezbollah continued early Tuesday, and its military said it had sent more troops into the country, as the broadening conflict in the Middle East entered its second year with no sign of abating. The intense overnight bombardment followed a day marking the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war. On Monday, Israel and the adversaries it is battling along four fronts all vowed to continue the fight. The Israeli military said in a statement that a fourth division had begun operating in southwest Lebanon on Monday, expanding its forces there."
Tunisia. Vivian Yee of the New York Times: "In Tunisia's first presidential election since its authoritarian leader began dismantling the democracy Tunisians built after their 2011 Arab Spring revolution, the apparent winner came as little surprise: the incumbent himself. President Kais Saied, first elected in 2019, easily won re-election on Sunday, according to exit polls broadcast on state television." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ukraine, et al. Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "A 72-year-old U.S. citizen, whose family says is an English teacher, was sentenced by a Moscow court Monday to six years and 10 months in a penal colony on charges of serving as a mercenary in Ukraine, becoming the latest in a list of Americans serving time in Russia. In a statement, the Moscow City Court said that Stephen James Hubbard, a native of Big Rapids, Mich., enlisted with a territorial defense unit in the Ukrainian town of Izium during the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The court said that Mr. Hubbard had been receiving a monthly salary of $1,000. Russian state news agencies reported last week that Mr. Hubbard pleaded guilty to the charge.... Mr. Hubbard's sister, Trisha Hubbard Fox, denied the Russian allegations, saying that her brother was 'never a mercenary' and had been teaching English abroad. In a post on Facebook, Ms. Hubbard Fox said that Russia 'kidnapped' him." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Ledes
The New York Times is live-updating developments Tuesday as powerful Hurricane Milton moves through the Gulf of Mexico toward Central Florida.
New York Times:"Cissy Houston, a Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel star who helped shepherd her daughter Whitney Houston to superstardom, died on Monday at her home in Newark. She was 91."
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Reader Comments (11)
Apparently the only way to watch ONN (Onion News Network) is
through a subscription via Amazon Prine Video.
They're charging $25.99 for season one.
Google 'ONN on Amazon Prime Video.'
Correction: Looks like Amazon is selling seasons 1 & 2 of the
original 2011 ONN shows.
Don't know if it has been revived. Can't find any info on that.
Where are the elected R politicians condemning t****’s blatantly racist words? Nowhere to be found.
I studied in Budapest in 1986, a very different time in Hungarian politics. Under the thumb of Soviet supervision, Janos Kadar allowed academics to travel to the West and collaborate with western researchers. His slogan as I remember it was: “If you are not against us, you are with us.” It was an interesting time, hopeful.
Whether you use Kadar’s slogan or the tidier “Silence means assent”, elected Rs are ALL failing our country.
@Forrest Morris: The Onion is back in print (as opposed to being purely digital). ONN is also back on-air beginning yesterday. (Story also linked last week; still at the top of "Infotainment" in the right-hand column.)
Looks like you can watch current segments in the obvious place: on the Onion's website.
It's true that you can buy Seasons 1 & 2 (both from 2011) on Amazon Prime for the hefty price of $26/"season." But some or all of these 2011 videos are also on YouTube (for no charge except the price of watching an ad, if you're cheap like me & don't go for ad-free YouTube). So unless a person needs his 2011 Onion videos neatly organized, I'm not sure why anyone would want to pay $52 for them. (I did a YouTube search for "the onion 2011".)
Mark Jacob
"Let’s talk about Trump’s lack of patriotism
He waves the flag, but he also wants to waive our civil rights."
"A theory of jerks"
Some funny family stories at Balloon Juice mostly about cursing for a break from the depressing news.
Just back from taking my ballot to the county office and noticed that the northbound lanes of US 301 are jampacked worse than a football weekend.
Here's hoping these folks find a safe landing to stay during the storm and that they have something left when they return home.
@Bobby Lee: That's actually good news. I'm glad people are heeding the warnings. I must have given Fort Myers my New England phone number as the City has been sending me automated alarms.
You'll almost certainly feel some of the effects of Milton where you are, but if forecasts are right, you won't be near the eye.
Oh, great! I love expletives. I use them frequently!
Another campaign contribution to Trump from the media bigwigs.
"NBC Set Post-Election MSNBC Premiere of Errol Morris Doc ‘Separated’ to Avoid Offending Trump |
New report from Oliver Darcy comes two days after the film’s director suggested politics played a role in scheduling his film
“Separated” is a hybrid documentary/dramatization that looks in depth at Trump’s policy of forcibly separating asylum seeking migrant families who crossed the U.S. Mexico border.
According to Darcy, Morris “isn’t exactly off base.” On Monday’s edition of his Status newsletter, he reported that Rebecca Blumenstein, president of editorial for NBC News, opposed airing “Separated” before the election because the network still hopes Trump will agree to another presidential debate.
And, Darcy continued, the December airdate has also frustrated NBC News and MSNBC staff."