The Conversation -- September 20, 2024
Nick Corasaniti & Johnny Kauffman of the New York Times: "The Georgia State Election Board is set to vote on Friday on a package of nearly a dozen rules that would change the way elections are conducted amid growing pressure from almost every level of Georgia state government advising the board that it is operating outside of its legal authority.... The proposals come just 45 days before the election, after poll workers have been trained and ballots have been mailed to overseas voters. On Thursday, the attorney general's office took the rare step of weighing in on the proposed rules, saying they 'very likely exceed the board's statutory authority.' The fight comes as the election board is under increasing pressure from critics already concerned that it has been rewriting the rules of the game in a key swing state to favor ... Donald J. Trump, including potentially disrupting certification of the election if Mr. Trump loses in November. Last month, the board granted local officials new power over the election-certification process, a change that opponents say could sow chaos." ~~~
~~~ Update. Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "The Georgia State Election Board approved a rule Friday requiring counties in the critical presidential battleground to hand-count all ballots this year, potentially upending the November election by delaying reporting of results by weeks if not months. The change was spearheaded by a pro-Trump majority that has enacted a series of changes to the state's election rules in recent weeks and approved the hand-count requirement despite a string of public commenters who begged them not to. Critics included democracy advocates who accused the board of intentionally injecting chaos and uncertainty into the presidential contest, as well as election supervisors and poll workers who said hand counts would take too long, cost money and almost certainly produce counting errors. The office of the Republican state attorney general, which is responsible for advising the board, wrote in an opinion that the change was unlawful."
Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "Vice President Harris's campaign's unveiled an ad on Friday highlighting former President Trump's praise for North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R), seeking to link the two Republicans following a bombshell CNN report [also linked below] on the gubernatorial candidate. The 30-second spot ... includes clips from Trump talking about Robinson, calling him 'better' than Martin Luther King Jr., 'outstanding,' and saying 'he's been an unbelievable lieutenant governor.' The ad ... also includes clips of Robinson talking about his hard-right views on abortion.... Harris's campaign has been eying North Carolina, a state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020, as a flip this cycle." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm so glad to see the Harris campaign running these hard-hitting ads. Biden's campaign was wa-a-a-ay too polite. You often had to look for the message. Harris' spots are blunt & tough.
Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The Secret Service is responsible for multiple security failures that led to the July 13 assassination attempt against ... Donald Trump ... at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., according to the results of the first report on the attack released Friday. The elite protective agency's internal review found that agents failed to use technology that might have detected the attacker as he flew a drone over the rally venue hours earlier. Trump's protective detail had no idea police were frantically searching for a suspicious person, until shots were fired into the crowd. And the Secret Service, which is the lead agency in charge of security for presidents, former leaders and other top U.S. officials, never directed local police snipers to cover a nearby rooftop even though the snipers were willing to do it, the report found." ~~~
~~~ The five-page summary report, via the Secret Service, is here.
Mychael Schnell & Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The House unanimously passed a bill Friday that seeks to bolster former President Trump's security, the first legislative move the chamber has made in response to the second apparent assassination attempt against the Republican presidential nominee. The House cleared the legislation -- titled the Enhanced Presidential Security Act -- in a bipartisan 405-0 vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration. It's unclear if the upper chamber plans to consider the measure, though similar legislation has been proposed by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.)." MB: I hope there's something in the bill that says, "but only if that arrogant SOB cooperates with his security detail."
Mike DeWine Is Sad. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) in a New York Times op-ed: "As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there. The Biden administration's failure to control the southern border is a very important issue that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are talking about and one that the American people are rightfully deeply concerned about. But their verbal attacks against these Haitians -- who are legally present in the United States -- dilute and cloud what should be a winning argument about the border. The Springfield I know is not the one you hear about in social media rumors. It is a city made up of good, decent, welcoming people. They are hard workers -- both those who were born in this country and those who settled here because, back in their birthplace, Haiti, innocent people can be killed just for cheering on the wrong team in a soccer match." ~~~
~~~ Shorter DeWine: Trump & Vance are repeatedly attacking the good people of my hometown with racist lies, but I'm voting for them anyway. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Really? Really? DeWine is "saddened"? I'm saddened, too, that the presidential candidate I support often feels she has to wear spike heels a public events. I like it when she shows up for events wearing sneakers. If she were a lying SOS, like Donnie & JayDee, I would be so saddened that I would renounce her.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would not restore the Green Party's presidential candidate, Jill Stein, to the Nevada ballot in the coming election. Democrats had challenged her eligibility, saying her party had submitted flawed paperwork. The court's brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when it acts on emergency applications. There were no noted dissents. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled this month that the Green Party's failure to submit a sworn statement required by state regulations meant that its candidates could not appear on the ballot. "
Trump's Lawyers Thumb Noses at Judge Chutkan. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: Donald Trump's lawyers "used what was supposed to have been a procedural request for more information from prosecutors to demand that the judge strike the charges altogether -- or at least remake the carefully considered schedule she set this month for pursuing next steps in the proceeding. 'This case should be dismissed,' the lawyers wrote in the first sentence of their 30-page motion to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. 'Promptly.' While that sort of blunt assertion might not have been surprising in a filing that was actually meant to seek dismissal, Judge Chutkan had requested only that the lawyers weigh in on a procedural question.... And yet ... the lawyers sought to repurpose the filing to their client's own ends, employing the same type of combativeness expressed by Mr. Trump in discussing the charges against him."
The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Israel's wars is here: "The Israeli military on Friday carried out an airstrike in Beirut that it said killed a senior Hezbollah commander wanted by the United States for his role in bombings in the 1980s that killed hundreds. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm that the commander, Ibrahim Aqeel, had been killed in the strike.... Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, told reporters that Mr. Aqeel was meeting other militants underneath a residential building in an attempt to 'use civilians as human shields.'... Mr. Aqeel has been accused by the United States of being involved in two terrorist attacks in 1983 that killed more than 350 people at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and the U.S. Marine Corps barracks."
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Presidential Race
Erica Green of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris harnessed the star power of one of her most powerful surrogates -- and one of America-s foremost interviewers -- to lay out a powerful pitch for her campaign on Thursday, as she passionately confronted pressing issues during a livestream forum with Oprah Winfrey. The event, 'Unite for America,' was hosted by Ms. Winfrey and drew hundreds of thousands of viewers.... The event brought together members of over 100 online groups that have coalesced around Ms. Harris since she became the Democratic nominee, including White Dudes for Harris, Cat Ladies for Kamala and Latinas for Harris. Also joining virtually were celebrities that included Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Jennifer Lopez, Tracee Ellis Ross and Meryl Streep.... Here [Ms. Harris] addressed questions from the audience and Ms. Winfrey about issues like immigration and gun violence, and what would happen if her opponent..., Donald J. Trump, didn't accept the results of the election should he lose a second time." An ABC News report is here.
Lauren Gurley of the Washington Post: "A wave of local and regional Teamsters union branches in battleground states rushed to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris after the national Teamsters union declared that it would not endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in nearly three decades. Teamsters regional councils -- representing hundreds of thousands of members and retirees -- in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and western Pennsylvania -- endorsed Harris hours after Teamsters President Sean O'Brien revealed Wednesday that the union would withhold its endorsement.... Separately, powerful local Teamsters unions in Philadelphia; New York City; Long Beach, Calif.; and Miami -- as well as the union's National Black Caucus and a group of retirees -- have endorsed Harris and urged members to vote for her."
Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "James P. Hoffa, the longtime former leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, on Thursday called the union's decision not to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2024 race a 'critical error,' adding that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was the 'correct choice for labor and working families.'... 'There is only one candidate in this race that has supported working families and unions throughout their career,' he added, 'and that is Vice President Kamala Harris.'"
Donald Trump and NC GOP leaders embraced Mark Robinson for years knowing who he was and what he stood for including disrespect for women and inciting violence. They reap what they sow. -- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN: "An already fiercely fought presidential contest in the critical swing state [of North Carolina] was thrown into greater turmoil Thursday by a stunning CNN investigation [story linked below] revealing a porn-site scandal surrounding Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson.... [Robinson's] proximity to [Donald] Trump, who dubbed him 'Martin Luther King on steroids' and had him on stage at a recent rally, jolted the White House race. Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign swiftly highlighted the scandal's national implications and tried to equate Trump with Robinson as it argues that the ex-president is anti-woman, immoral, extreme and unfit to serve.... Robinson is the latest in a string of outlandish and often vulnerable candidates who rose because they flattered Trump.... It would be an ironic historical coda if Trump becomes collateral damage to a Republican who would have been anathema to the old GOP but who thrived in the smash mouth political era the ex-president nurtured.... As mayhem envelops Trump, Harris has been doing the grunt work of a traditional campaign as she tries to inch toward the White House." The New York Times story is here.
Donald Trump has used a speech about antisemitism as an opportunity to embrace antisemitic tropes and attack the American Jewish community. -- Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs ~~~
~~~ Scapegoating: "The act of blaming a group for something bad that has happened or that someone else has done." The most antisemitic of antisemitic tropes is to scapegoat Jews. So here's what Donald Trump said at one campaign event designed, supposedly, to denounce antisemitism and at an event for Israeli Americans: ~~~
~~~ Chris Cameron & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump, speaking on Thursday at a campaign event in Washington centered on denouncing antisemitism in America, said that 'if I don't win this election,' then 'the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss.' Mr. Trump repeated that assertion at a second event, this one focused on Israeli Americans, where he blamed Jews whom he described as 'voting for the enemy,' for the hypothetical destruction of Israel that he insisted would happen if he lost in November. Mr. Trump on Thursday offered an extended airing of grievances against Jewish Americans who have not voted for him. He repeated his denunciation of Jews who vote for Democrats before suggesting that the Democratic Party had a 'hold, or curse,' on Jewish Americans and that he should be getting '100 percent' of Jewish votes because of his policies on Israel." ~~~
⭐ Thom Hartmann in a Substack essay, on how Donald Trump and Mike Johnson are plotting to disenfranchise millions of women. "Trump, on his failing, Nazi-infested social media site, ranted Tuesday that Republicans must get 'every ounce' of the SAVE Act [Safeguard American Eligibility Act] passed or shut down the government 'in any way, shape, or form.'... Lacking a passport or other proof of citizenship with their married names, they must produce both a birth certificate (with the seal of the state where it was issued; no copies allowed) and a current form of identification -- both with the exact same name on them. That could instantly disqualify about 90 percent of all married women without passports or other proof that matches their birth certificates or proof of a legal name change." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Doesn't sound Constitutional, does it? Now, picture the Supreme Six Super-Suppression Specialists. Okay then.
Suppressing Nebraska's Democratic Voters. Neil Vigdor & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump's allies are resurrecting efforts to change how Nebraska awards its five electoral votes, a hybrid system that could deliver a single but decisive vote to Vice President Kamala Harris from a reliable red state in one tiebreaking scenario.... All five Republicans who represent the state in Congress are pushing for Nebraska to return to a winner-take-all system of awarding electoral votes that had been used before 1992 and was based on the statewide popular vote. Under the state's current hybrid system, its electoral votes are split: Two go to the winner of the statewide popular vote, and the other three are based on who wins the popular vote in each of Nebraska's three U.S. House districts.... Also on Wednesday, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, visited Nebraska, where he too advocated for the state to change its rules."
Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: Donald Trump got irritated when George "Clooney wrote a guest essay for The New York Times in July imploring President Biden to drop out of the race. Mr. Clooney had just hosted a fund-raiser for the president and observed him up close. So he had a certain credibility, and his article made an impact.... Mr. Trump ... [wrote,] 'So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act. He's turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are....' He concluded that, 'Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television. Movies never really worked for him!!!!' On [Jimmy] Kimmel's program Tuesday night, Mr. Clooney swiped back: 'I will if he does. That's a trade-off I'd do.' Ordinarily none of this would matter -- and who is to say it really does? -- but for the fact that Mr. Trump, formerly the star of 'The Apprentice,' clearly craves the approval of fellow stars." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: It's pitchfork time! Trump says he's going to show up in Springfield within the next two weeks. If I were a city authority, I'd tell Trump (and/or JayDee) not to come and that if he does come, I'd tell him that law enforcement will stop him at the town line. I'm serious.
Jeff Stein & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "... Republican lawmakers and many other conservatives find themselves in ... [an] awkward position ... over [Donald Trump]'s increasingly extreme trade proposals.... The party's lawmakers overall appear to be hearing what they want to from Trump even as his rhetoric sharply escalates.... Trump recently said tariffs 'don't affect our country,' contradicting mainstream economists, and has implausibly claimed they can solve everything from foreign policy crises to inflation.... Since leaving office..., Trump has dramatically intensified his trade rhetoric and proposals, fueling fears a second term would lead to a global trade war.... While his exact intentions are hard to discern, Trump is leaving little room for interpretation -- he clearly plans to use tariffs in a way that most Republicans will ultimately dislike, said Doug Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I guess I should break it to you here that the Congress in its wisdom has given the POTUS control over tariffs. That is, Trump can impose tariffs at will without getting Congressional approval. In this case, even without the Supremes' gift of immunity, Trump "has an Article II where he has a right to do whatever he wants." I meant to run this Chris Hayes segment yesterday, but it hasn't lost its sell-by date. Hayes emphasizes something I have not: that Trump's tariffs-fix-everything "plan" would of course lead affected countries to adopt retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., IOW, there would be a global trade war:
I Can Be Cruel & Defame Innocent, Defenseless People Because I'm a Belligerent, Ignorant White Bully. Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio ... said on Wednesday that he would continue to describe Haitian residents in Springfield, Ohio, as 'illegal aliens' even though most of them are in the country legally.... 'If Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I'm still going to call them an illegal alien,' he said in response to a reporter's question after a rally in Raleigh, N.C. 'An illegal action from Kamala Harris does not make an alien legal.' [MB: Of course Harris did not wave a magic wand; she did not do anything, legal or illegal, to allow Haitian refugees into the country.] Congress created the temporary protected status program in 1990 and presidents from both major parties have used it in response to wars, natural disasters and other humanitarian crises in various countries. The program allows people from countries designated by the Department of Homeland Security to live and work legally in the United States for 18 months, a period that the department can renew indefinitely.... Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio ... and the mayor of Springfield, Rob Rue, both Republicans, have denounced the false claims from Mr. Vance and Mr. Trump." (Also linked yesterday.)
Louie Louie, Oh No No No. Suppressing Votes -- Especially Democrats' -- in Swing States. Noah Pransky of NBC News New York: "In 2020, when the United States Postal Service began an ambitious plan to modernize and consolidate services -- in the middle of the pandemic -- its slow service wound up disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters whose ballots never made it to their elections offices in time. Four years later -- by some measures -- USPS performance is now actually worse, with another nail-biter of an election fast-approaching. Compounding the risk that slow mail could affect the election: NBC found some of the country's slowest mail is in presidential swing states with strict mail ballot delivery deadlines. 'It's a disgrace,' Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said of USPS delivery performance. 'They need to understand the importance [of election mail] and they need to make no more excuses.'" ~~~
~~~ ⭐ Do see all the comments in today's thread on Louie's excellent job performance.
Elon Musk, Another Putin Puppet. David Ingram of NBC News: "As Elon Musk increasingly weighed in on politics in the last several years, he used his massive following on his social media app X to repeatedly amplify content from a company that appears to be at the center of an alleged Russian covert operation to manipulate U.S. public opinion ahead of the 2024 election. Musk, one of the world's richest people, boosted content from creators and accounts tied to Tenet Media at least 60 times, resharing the operation's posts and engaging in back-and-forth replies with Tenet's paid pundits on X. Musk's posts, shared with his 198 million followers, put Russia-aligned conservative talking points in front of possibly tens of millions of eyeballs, according to the viewership data published by X.... The day after the indictment dropped, Musk accused The Associated Press of pushing anti-Trump 'propaganda' in its coverage of Tenet Media. And he posted in defense of the right-wing podcasters \ Tenet had retained, agreeing with another conservative commentator, Ben Shapiro, that the men were deceived." ~~~
~~~ Marie: While it's true that Musk is "one of the world's richest people," it's also true that Putin may be richer. Even Musk thinks so. (Musk means "richer than I," not "richer than me.") And -- whether or not Musk knows it (and I suspect he does) -- they're teaming up against us ordinary people.
OMG! Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "A star New York Magazine political reporter has been placed on leave after disclosing a personal relationship with the former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a statement posted online on Thursday night, New York Magazine said that its Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, had recently acknowledged to the magazine's editors that she had engaged in a relationship 'with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign.' The outlet said the relationship was 'a violation of the magazine's standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures.' A person familiar with the matter confirmed that the relationship was with Mr. Kennedy.... Ms. Nuzzi, in a statement to The New York Times on Thursday, said..., 'The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I've disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.' A representative for Mr. Kennedy said, 'Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.'" Oliver Darcy, now of Status, broke the news.
Maria Sacchetti, et al., of the Washington Post: "Acting Secret Service director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. is urging Congress to heavily invest in the protective agency after two apparent assassination attempts against ... Donald Trump, saying the service must confront its shortcomings and better position itself to handle a dangerous 'new reality.' Rowe, in a wide-ranging interview with The Post, said the guardians of U.S. presidents, former presidents and other top officials are desperate for more counter-snipers and investigators, upgraded armored limousines for motorcades, and a greater supply of ballistic glass. He said that the agency's aging Maryland training center lacks studios to train agents for real-world attacks and that agents are working more hours in a state of hypervigilance than anyone should."
Brian Mann of NPR: "For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S.... National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6 percent. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages. Some researchers believe the data will show an even larger decline in drug deaths when federal surveys are updated to reflect improvements being seen at the state level, especially in the eastern U.S." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Evan Halper of the Washington Post: "Pennsylvania's dormant Three Mile Island nuclear plant would be brought back to life to feed the voracious energy needs of Microsoft under an unprecedented deal announced Friday in which the tech giant would buy 100 percent of its power for 20 years. The restart of Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, would mark a bold advance in the tech industry's quest to find enough electric power to support its boom in artificial intelligence. The plant, which Pennsylvanians thought had closed for good in 2019 amid financial strain, would come back online by 2028 under the agreement, according to plant owner Constellation Energy. If approved by regulators, Three Mile Island would provide Microsoft with the energy equivalent it takes to power 800,000 homes, or 835 megawatts. Never before has a U.S. nuclear plant come back into service after being decommissioned, and never before has all of a single commercial nuclear power plant's output been allocated to a single customer." MB: I believe if I lived in Harrisburg, I'd be askeert. I can still picture then-President Jimmy Carter touring the plant after the 1979 meltdown.
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Kentucky. Emmett Lindner & Orlando Mayorquín of the New York Times: "The sheriff of a rural eastern Kentucky county walked into a courthouse on Thursday afternoon and shot and killed a district judge in his chambers after an argument, the police said. Mickey Stines, 43, the sheriff in Letcher County, turned himself in after shooting Judge Kevin Mullins and was charged with first-degree murder, Trooper Matt Gayheart of the Kentucky State Police said at a news conference on Thursday evening. The shooting happened at about 2:55 p.m. inside the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, a city in southeastern Kentucky. The sheriff was taken to a local jail and had been cooperative with investigators, Trooper Gayheart said.... Mr. Stines ... was
Mississippi. Jerry Mitchell, et al., of the New York Times: "The Justice Department announced Thursday that it had expanded its investigation into the suburban Mississippi sheriff's department where a self-described 'Goon Squad' of deputies has been accused of torturing people for nearly two decades. Investigators will seek to determine if the Rankin County Sheriff's Department engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional policing through widespread violence, illegal searches and arrests or other discriminatory practices. Rankin County came to national attention last year after deputies, some from the Goon Squad, tortured two Black men in their home and shot one of them, nearly killing him. Six officers pleaded guilty and were sentenced to federal prison in March."
⭐ North Carolina Gubernatorial Race. Andrew Kaczynski & Em Steck of CNN: "Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website's message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a 'black NAZI!' and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found. Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found in which he also referred to himself as a 'perv.' The comments, which Robinson denies making, predate his entry into politics and current stint as North Carolina's lieutenant governor. They were made under a username that CNN was able to identify as Robinson by matching a litany of biographical details and a shared email address between the two. Many of Robinson's comments were gratuitously sexual and lewd in nature. They were made between 2008 and 2012.... The comments were made under the username minisoldr, a moniker Robinson used frequently online."
Pennsylvania Voter Suppression. Maggie Astor & Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "The Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania Republican Party are suing to try to stop election officials in the state from letting voters correct technical problems with their mail ballots. The Republican lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court against Secretary of State Al Schmidt and the state's 67 county election boards, would also stop voters from being able to cast a provisional ballot if their mail ballot is rejected over a technical problem. The lawsuit argues that state law prohibits election officials from notifying voters of such errors and allowing them to be fixed in time to have their ballot counted, a process known as curing. More than half of states allow curing for some types of errors.... Donald J. Trump railed against the process as he falsely alleged election fraud in 2020 and tried to overturn his loss, and it has been a point of contention since then in Pennsylvania and in other states."
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
Aaron Boxerman & Euan Ward of the New York Times: "The Israeli military carried out dozens of airstrikes against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday, one of the most intense waves of bombardment this year. The strikes came hours after Hezbollah's leader vowed that 'retribution will come' to Israel after audacious attacks on Hezbollah's pagers and walkie-talkies. The device explosions killed at least 37 people and left many Israelis and Lebanese fearful of a worsening conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. In his first speech since the devices blew up on Tuesday and Wednesday, Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, conceded that his group had 'endured a severe and cruel blow.' He accused Israel of breaking 'all conventions and laws' and said that it would 'face just retribution and a bitter reckoning.'"
The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Israel's wars are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
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Reader Comments (23)
In light of how Shady Vance and his equally racist boss, but especially Vance, have been attacking Haitians living legally in Ohio, I was going to comment on the fact that these people are his constituents, people he, as the state’s senator, is supposed to represent, to serve, and to be concerned about their welfare, suggesting that is this not a strange way to treat one’s own constituents.
But then I realized that this is a feature, not a bug, of the entire Party of Traitors. They serve—they care about—only those who vote for them. Trump, for instance, was only the President of those he cared about. Everyone else can go straight to hell.
So never mind. The idea of constituents being part of a whole, at least for PoT hacks (ie, pretty much all of them, at every level of government) is null and void. You didn’t vote for them? You get less than nothing. You get attacked, vilified, endangered, your right to things like safe medical care, to vote, to be properly represented in any traditional sense of the word, gone, dead.
In the eyes of the Traitors, you don’t vote for them, you’re the enemy. So watch out.
Yet one more basic tenet destroyed.
Who? Never heard of him!
Loofah Boy, Jr., tire slashing dickhead, Jesse Watters, in the wake of the latest revelations about Trump’s choice for Governor in North Carolina, sez he’s never heard of Mark Robinson. Has no idea who he is. Despite having interviewed him on Trump TV, Fox “News”.
So this is how it’s gonna go. How long before Fatty himself declares he’s never heard of this self described porn addicted “perv” and “Nazi” he has embraced as Martin Luther King on steroids?
Never heard of the guy.
But don’t miss how Robinson is taking a page out of the scam ‘em all playbooks of both Trump and Coke Can Clarence Thomas: it’s all lies, fake news, and a “high tech lynching”.
Just perfect. Porn star banging fascist Donald endorses porn addicted Nazi. Trump, who sez Jews will be to blame if he loses, wraps his flabby arms and tiny hands around a Holocaust denier.
Wonder how AG will spin this one.
But, but, but? Yes, Shady Vance is attacking immigrants, but he is also attacking the city of Springfield, with its R mayor and, I am sure, plenty of Rs that live there. They are all living through the disruption to schools. "He is a bully, but he's our bully" doesn't work any more for them. Will any of those Rs realize this?
USPS. Yes. Last week, it took six days for a letter to get from Atlanta to a city north of Boston. How is DeJoy still in his job? But then again, How is Florida resident Tuberville still an Alabama senator? How is ...
Yesterday a report on NPR quoted de Joy saying that in the last election (2022 I suppose) ballots were handled with good speed, taking only nine days to get there.
When you consider that the vast majority of mail-in ballots start from zip codes in, adjacent or near to the election office which counts them, that is really, really, really poor performance.
First day of early voting here in Virginia! Is gonna be a party and I’m gonna be there :-)
Mulling over the Pretender's penchant for abusing groups of people he doesn't like, mispronouncing their names or making up what he thinks are amusing alternatives, even directly threatening them, it's easy to conclude it all comes to much the same thing.
He's a simple lump of ego. If you're not for him, he hates you. Period.
And since some groups are more against him than others, he hates them more.
In that sense, he's certainly anti-Black, anti-Hispanic and Anti-Semitic.
And of course he's anti-Dem.
DeJoy thinks nine days to deliver a letter or package is good?
In 1860, the Pony Express, covering 2,000 miles of routes on freakin’ horseback, had a delivery time of ten days. They set a record for delivering Lincoln’s Inaugural Address: eight days. So, 160 plus years later, Louis DeJoy is touting sub-Pony Express delivery time as a badge of honor? Just imagine him running a McDonald’s. Your burger would be moldy by the time you got it.
His base salary is over $300K. In 2021 he got a performance bonus(!!!) that pushed his take home to almost half a million. Who ever heard of a 66% performance bonus? And a bonus for what? Showing up? Not losing too many mail-in ballots from democratic precincts? Saving money shoeing the horses?
Christ.
September 20th is National Gibberish Day.
Will we hear from the number one gibberisher today, Donald Trump?
RockyGirl,
Party Hardy, girl! Could be the end of the road for the bloated dictator. GOTV!
It has been written about repeatedly how much money Trump and his family have taken from the Secret Service budget. As they were overcharged to stay at his
billion dollar$20 million dollar golf course and other sad properties. Maybe a little long term thinking would have one not screwing over the agency protecting you.John Heilemann, at Puck via Balloon Juice
"Kamala’s First Gentleman
A candid conversation with Doug Emhoff about how he’s preparing for the final sprint of the campaign, Trump’s unfitness for office, how he’s handling Laura Loomer’s meshuga attacks, and where he was when Kurt Cobain died."
More creepy Republicans
"New Court Filings Place Matt Gaetz at a Party at the Center of the Sex Trafficking Scandal
This is the first public filing that cites sworn testimony alleging that Gaetz attended one of the long-rumored parties with a teenage girl."
Mini Soldier Robinson...well, it seems he is deluded that he is "mini" anything. The guy is as big as a house. And corrupt as a poisonous snake.
What??? We live east of Harrisburg and can see Three Mile Island from the highway around the 'Burg. Did not see this story yet.
It seems that every week I sign something demanding De Misery be fired. Before Biden was elected, it was said that he, Biden, had to fire the people who are keeping the guy in biz, a commission of some sort, and nothing has happened. I thought he would be gone by 2021. We had a little scandal here: our mail goes from here to Harrisburg and then back here-- it's ridiculous. A cache of ballots took a documented two weeks to get here in 2022-- from here to here! Somehow, no one is to blame for all those ballots mailed in time to be counted, arriving two weeks after the election of 2022.
Our Favorite Idiot equates dislike and distrust of Israel and its governance for its bloodthirsty, power-landgrabbing, anti-Palestine ways with hatred of Jews. He apparently doesn't see the difference, nor admit that plenty of Jews don't trust Israel. How does one man-baby think he is qualified to be president? Wasn't the first time and it's only gotten worse.
Trying to decide whether to go to Bethlehem ("How far is it to Bethlehem--" a Christmas song I sang in choir in college--) to see Walz tomorrow. Two special guests I have never heard of will be there too. Leaning no but we shall see.
Good points that the siphoning off of money for Secret Service by the Dump family maybe the wrong decision, but of course, if money is involved, the Dump family will be in there, picking at the carcass. Mary Trump has a new memoir-- I read the first one, and it was good-- but not sure I can bear to read another...
National Gibberish Day? Is that a thing?
Hey, why not? There’s a Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, a National Poop Day (I’m skipping that parade), and a Milk Your Cow While Flying in a Plane Day, so I guess gibberish…sure, fine.
Buf I like the idea of selecting Fatty as National, er, Spokesman? for that day. That’d be appropriate. I can think of other National celebration days that would feature that fat shit as their poster blob.
How ‘bout:
National Despot Day
National Grifters Day
Diet Coke Emergency Button Day
National Bang a Porn Star While the Wife is Home With the Baby Day
National Make Out With a Dictator Day
Overthrow the Government Day
National “Find Me 11,306 Votes”Day
All teh Bst Wurds Day
Irrational Tariff Appreciation Day
National Multiple Bankruptcies Day
DOC XXXL Orange Jumpsuit Day
“I Do the Weave” Bullshit Day
National Let’s Put Nazi Grifters on the Supreme Court Day
Sympathy for Losers With Tiny Penises Day
And…
“Fuck Me! I Lost ANOTHER Election” Day
@RockyGirl: Well, I heard these two pieces of news today: (1) Harris is up by two points in Virginia, and (2) The polling places in Republican-heavy districts were extra-busy today, which is unusual. Neither of these is very good news. I sure hope the Democratic GOTV is as strong as perhaps the GOP effort is this year.
RockyGirl,
I know you have your ear to the ground where voting in Virginia is concerned. Have you seen or heard of the presence of the Party of Traitors’ promised gangs of vote suppression thugs challenging voters’ legitimacy or otherwise attempting to intimidate voters in Democratic areas?
I’ve been reading that millions are being spent on that effort by those on Trump’s side.
Just came back from voting. There were more Rs than I had expected, but my end of the county is heavy with retired military so the R turnout is not surprising. By the time we left the line out the door and down the sidewalk looked more D-friendly than the early-birds who were there when I and my girlfriend arrived. Only 3 polling places open this early, with 13 more opening up in mid-October. I’ll be working one of them, so we will see how that goes.
@AK, no throngs of goons or other neer-do-wells, but it is early days. The worst was a guy railing against immigrants because his neighbor had money stolen out of his car and he was certain that an immigrant had done it. Oh well.
Mike DeWine: “As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there. The Biden administration’s failure to control the southern border is a very important issue that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are talking about.."
So, DeWine is "saddened" by the GOP ticket's rhetoric about Ohio's migrants. Then immediately starts attacking immigrants and immigration. This is what a "responsible" Republican bringing a cooler head to issues looks like. Also it ignores the glaring fact that Republicans are the ones who have stood in the way of all meaningful immigration reform for decades and just months ago Trump with an assist from Senator Vance destroyed a bipartisan border bill for nothing but the blatantly partisan and selfish goal of running on a "broken border". Not that reality has ever gotten in his way before. DeWine is trying to have it both ways by lightly calling out Trump and Vance while simultaneously attacking US immigration. His statement does little to nothing to calm the situation in Springfield or make anyone's lives safer.
RockyGirl,
Thanks for the update. Early days, indeed. Perhaps the most significant few weeks since pre-Fort Sumter days.
Musk Ox gores truth yet again.
A wildly provocative—and completely untrue— posting on X designed to amp up false claims that the Fat Fascist is under constant threat of assassination from anti-Trump forces has been almost entirely ignored by the corporate MSM, a false claim reposted by Elon Musk, just to fuck with us.
“Law enforcement officials on Long Island worked quickly on Wednesday to publicly knock down social media posts falsely reporting that explosives had been found in a car near former President Donald Trump's planned rally in New York.
The false reports of an explosive began circulating hours before the Republican presidential nominee's campaign event at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, just days after he was apparently the target of a second possible assassination attempt.”
Apparently, Musk believes his sacrosanct First Amendment rights give him carte blanche to spit out any old bullshit he thinks will promote his ideological schemes.
“The claims were then shared widely on X, formerly Twitter, by a number of prominent accounts, including that of the company's owner, Elon Musk, which has nearly 200 million followers. Spokespersons for X didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
‘False,’ [Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a spokesperson for the county police] texted the AP as the claims spread.
‘No. Ridiculous. Zero validity,’ said Christopher Boyle, spokesperson for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.”
Does Musk care? If he had a Snidely Whiplash mustachio, he’d be gleefully twirling it right now. Scum sucking pig.
Steve M.
"Every true Republican could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and not lose any Republican voters
Unlike Trump, Robinson appears to be losing swing voters, a process that's likely to continue in the aftermath of the latest story, but it's clear that the vast majority of Republican voters are still with him.
Just remember the principle: any Republican who clearly despises the people Republican base voters despise will retain their support under any circumstances."
Just saw on MSNBC Gov. DeWine being asked if he still supports Trump and he of course said "Yes". Dozens of bomb threats to his constituents is less important than owning the libs.
Is being a convicted felon a red line for their support? No
Found liable for rape? No
Caging and abusing children? No
Defrauding Americans? No
Inciting a violent rebellion against the government and people? No
Stealing national security secrets? No
Stupidity and ignorance and incompetence? No
The only way a Republican can lose support of the base is to side with a Democrat. Anything else can and will be excused.
Some late night sanity:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/20/arizona-citizenship-voters/