The Conversation -- September 23, 2024
~~~ That's actor Sam Elliott doing the voiceover. Thanks to RockyGirl for the lead.
Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: "In a bid to coax Donald Trump back onto the debate stage with Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats plan to launch a new messaging campaign dubbing the former president a 'chicken' for saying he won't debate again. The Democratic National Committee will launch static billboards and mobile billboards. The chicken billboards, which will first appear at Trump's rally Monday in Indiana, Pennsylvania, include a digitally altered image of Trump in a chicken suit alongside the words 'There's no debate: Donald Trump's a chicken.'" ~~~
Marie: Oh, I have loved Tom Paxton since I was a girl. He could have loved me better:
But you can see why I still adore him:
"Donald Trump's Imaginary World." Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "In Donald Trump's imaginary world, Americans can't venture out to buy a loaf of bread without getting shot, mugged or raped. Immigrants in a small Ohio town eat their neighbors' cats and dogs. World War III and economic collapse are just around the corner. And kids head off to school only to return at day's end having undergone gender reassignment surgery. The former president's imaginary world is a dark, dystopian place, described by Trump in his rallies, interviews, social media posts and debate appearances.... It is a distorted, warped and, at times, absurdist portrait of a nation where the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to deadly effect were merely peaceful protesters, and where unlucky boaters are faced with the unappealing choice between electrocution or a shark attack. His extreme caricatures also serve as another way for Trump to traffic in lies and misinformation...."
This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job. -- Ryan Routh, from note found in box at friend's house ~~~
~~~ Glenn Thrush & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "A 58-year-old man accused of trying to assassinate ... Donald J. Trump acknowledged in a prewritten note that he had planned the attack -- and even predicted his failure, according to a federal court filing on Monday. The man, Ryan W. Routh, staked out the grounds of Mr. Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., for a month before the episode, the filing said. He positioned himself outside the fence at the sixth hole of the course on Sept. 15, before a Secret Service agent scouting one hole ahead of the former president's group spotted him and the barrel of his gun. At the time he was seen, Mr. Routh had aligned himself directly to the sixth hole, with the intention of shooting Mr. Trump from a relatively short distance with a semiautomatic rifle.... The rifle, equipped with a scope and left at the scene, had a bullet in the chamber and a total of 11 rounds. Investigators also found Mr. Routh's fingerprint on the weapon.... Mr. Routh had left the note at the house [of a friend] several months before the shooting, an indication that he had been planning the assassination for a long time."
Ohio. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Portage County, Ohio Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski caused an uproar earlier this month when he posted on Facebook that his supporters should 'write down' the addresses of local residents in the county who had signs supporting Vice President Kamala Harris on their lawns. Now The Daily Beast reports that Zuchowski's department has been stripped of its election security duties after multiple residents expressed discomfort with giving him any oversight role in the upcoming presidential election. The move to boot Zuchowski and his department out of election security duties came Friday when the local Portage County elections board voted to remove it in a 3-1 vote."
David Sanger & Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: "The Biden administration announced a sweeping initiative on Monday to ban Chinese-developed software from internet-connected cars in the United States, justifying the move on national security grounds. The action is intended to prevent Chinese intelligence agencies from monitoring the movements of Americans or using the vehicles' electronics as a pathway into the U.S. electric grid or other critical infrastructure. The move, most likely the last major cutoff of Chinese products into the United States under the Biden administration, follows the same logic that resulted in the ban on Huawei telecommunications equipment and the investigations into Chinese-made cranes operating at American ports."
Melanie the Mercenary. Pamela Brown, et al., of CNN: "One of the few times [Melania Trump] has appeared at a political event [this year], she's received a six-figure paycheck -- a highly unusual move for the spouse of a candidate. The former first lady spoke at two political fundraisers for the Log Cabin Republicans this year, and she was paid $237,500 for an April event, according to ... Donald Trump's latest financial disclosure form. The payment was listed as a 'speaking engagement.' Trump's latest disclosure form said Melania Trump was paid by the Log Cabin Republicans for the April fundraiser. But it's a mystery who actually cut the check: Charles Moran, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, told CNN earlier this month the group did not put up the money for her to speak.... [The other event took place in July, and the Trump campaign has not yet filed financial disclosures for that period.] Campaign finance and government ethics experts say a payment to a presidential candidate's spouse to appear at political fundraisers in an election is unusual [and] ethically questionable...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, but it's original. Who else gets paid six figures for a gig promoting her own interests while asking guests to fork over even more money to boost her interests?
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Presidential Race
Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "More than 700 current and former national security leaders, as well as former military officials, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in a letter released on Sunday, arguing that only she had the temperament and values needed to serve as commander in chief. The signatories of the letter, which was organized by the group National Security Leaders for America, included former secretaries of state and secretaries of defense, former ambassadors and retired generals. They argued that ... Donald J. Trump posed a threat to both national security and the United States' democratic system. Among the most prominent names were the former defense secretaries Chuck Hagel, a Republican who served under President Barack Obama; William Cohen, a Republican who served under President Bill Clinton; and William J. Perry, a Democrat who served under Mr. Clinton.... 'This election is a choice between serious leadership and vengeful impulsiveness,' the letter said. 'It is a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. Vice President Harris defends America's democratic ideals, while former President Donald Trump endangers them.'" (Also linked yesterday.) The Guardian's story is here.
Contributor Jeanne & her daughter went to Tim Walz' rally in Bethlehem, Pa. (near Allentown). See her commentary near the end of yesterday's thread. (MB: If I'm not mistaken, Jeanne lives closer to Leesport, Pa., than to Bethlehem. Think of all of the time Jeanne & her daughter would have saved if they had popped over to Leesport to hear JayDee instead of going all the way to Bethlehem.)
This Could Be the Last Time. Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "Former President Trump said this would be his last presidential campaign and he would not run in 2028 if he loses the race this November."
NYT Reporters Notice Trump Is the Chaos Candidate. Lisa Lerer, et al., of the New York Times: "Even by the standards of a head-spinning presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump's campaign over the past two weeks has been tumultuous. A period that began when Mr. Trump pushed baseless claims from the debate stage that immigrants in Ohio were stealing and eating household pets ended with him facing attacks over his support of the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina, who referred to himself as a 'black Nazi' on the message board of a pornographic website. In between, Mr. Trump invited Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer known for promoting Sept. 11 conspiracy theories, to join him at events commemorating the anniversary of the attacks. He urged a government shutdown, attacked a cornerstone of his own tax policy, declared 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!' on social media after she endorsed his rival and -- at events intended to woo Jewish voters -- said '"the Jewish people' would be responsible if he lost the election, prompting fears of antisemitic reprisal.... [AND] Instead of calling for the country to join together and condemn political violence in the aftermath [of a second attempt to assassinate him], he ... blam[ed] what he described as the 'Communist Left Rhetoric' of President Biden and Ms. Harris for the attempts on his life." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: So after two weeks of chaos & really stupid chaos, new NYT polls show that Trump is suddenly doing better in battleground states, specifically Arizona, Georgia & North Carolina. Depending upon where you live, half or more than half of the people you pass on the street are nincompoops. That's depressing.
NYT Reporter Notices Trump & Vance Are White Nationalists. Michael Bender of the New York Times: "As ... Donald J. Trump warned supporters on Saturday in Wilmington, N.C., that immigrants were 'taking your jobs,' his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, campaigned about 500 miles north in Leesport, Pa., where he told his crowd that immigrants were taking their homes -- and their children's homes. Battling in a tight race, the Trump-Vance team is sharpening the anti-immigrant nativism that fueled the former president's initial rise to power in 2016, seizing on scare tactics, falsehoods and racial stereotypes. They spread a false claim that Haitian migrants in a small Ohio city were stealing and eating the pets of their neighbors. And they are increasingly failing to draw a distinction between migrants who are in the country legally and those they call 'illegal aliens,' whom they blame for a raft of social ills." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sadly, Trump's very good brain and JayDee's very good education didn't help them gain any insights into economics: According to Bender, JayDee said, "Our message to Kamala Harris is: Stop giving American homes to foreigners who shouldn't be in this country. Start giving them to American citizens who deserve to be here." Let's overlook the premise that only "Americans" "deserve to be here," and concentrate on the notion that Harris is "giving" "American homes to foreigners." I don't know how the Haitian workers are paying their rent, but I suspect many of them are paying from their own earnings, while many also may receive some kind of federal and/or state assistance. But however they pay the rent, whether or not it can be construed, in part, as a "gift" from Harris, the Haitian refugees are not "taking American homes." They also are not "taking your jobs." Rather, they are expanding demand for housing, thus giving both themselves and Americans more job opportunities. They are helping the economy of the communities in which they live both by increasing the demand for housing, goods and services and by adding jobs to the economy. The immigrants are growing the economy. That's a good thing. You have to be small-minded, mean and ignorant to take the positions Trump & the Bumpkin are espousiing.
Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Congressional leaders from both parties unveiled a short-term agreement to fund the government on Sunday, after Speaker Mike Johnson abandoned demands for a longer-term deal that also included new proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration. The deal, which extends federal appropriations through Dec. 20, includes an additional $231 million to help the beleaguered Secret Service protect candidates during the upcoming presidential election and into next year." (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's story is here.
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North Carolina Gubernatorial Race. Black NAZI News. Dianne Gallagher & Daniel Strauss of CNN: "Four top operatives on Republican Mark Robinson's campaign for North Carolina governor have stepped down, the campaign announced on Sunday, days after a CNN report uncovered inflammatory comments he made on a porn website. General consultant and senior adviser Conrad Pogorzelski III, campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, finance director Heather Whillier and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk have stepped down from the campaign." (Also linked yesterday.)
Texas Senate Race. Martha McHardy of Newsweek, republished by MSN: "Ted Cruz is losing to Colin Allred for the first time in the U.S. Senate race, according to new polling. The survey, conducted by Morning Consult between September 9 and 18, showed Allred one point ahead of Cruz, on 45 percent to his 44 percent among 2,716 likely voters. His lead was within the poll's margin of error of +/-2 percentage points." Thanks to RAS for the lead. MB: An Allred win would be such a good thing. I immediately sent his campaign a small contribution. (Also linked yesterday.)
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Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Israel's wars are here.
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Reader Comments (15)
So the Pretender won't run again in 2028? Wonder what that means.
Does he plan to retire gracefully from the fray after he loses this fall?
Does he believe his next coup will be more successful?
Does he figure he will be in jail?
@Ken Winkes: Good questions! I'm pretty sure the answer to the first one is no, but the second and third? Probably yeses.
My follow-up question to him would have been, "But what if you win?" because my original thought was that if Trump wins in November (still a distinct possibility), he'll never leave office by choice, no matter how long he lives.
This is really great - sorry, I’m doing this on an iPhone which won’t let me insert a link (if there’s a way to do it, I’d love to know - easy on a PC, but Apple is a different animal).
https://grassrootsconnector.substack.com/p/hamilton-cast-members-sing-it?r=461ts&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=audio-player
Here’s another one. Gotta scroll down a bit to get the ad. It’s on fkg xitter but is worth watching anyway.
https://digbysblog.net/2024/09/23/kamala-abides/
Test.
RockyGirl,
If you’re posting from an iPhone (or any phone, for that matter), you can use this link generator.
The one I suggested a while back is busted. This is the one I use now. It’s even easier to use. I just leave it open. You want to create a new link, just refresh the page and the boxes empty out.
"“Soundbite Economics” Obscures Who’s Causing and Profiting From the Crisis
Recent years of economic and social upheaval have brought to brighter light how capitalists use the esoteric language of economics to sell the public on class warfare. Since the beginning of the pandemic, capitalists and their allies have blatantly instrumentalized economic concepts like inflation, recession, labor shortages, and supply chain shortages to justify ripping off consumers, raising rents and evicting tenants, and depressing wages and firing workers — and to dismiss anyone who objects to these practices as economically illiterate.
We do not question the economists because, as Ha-Joon Chang says, “Economists are fantastically good at making people believe what they do is very difficult.”
Assigning blame for social problems to abstract economic phenomena lets the real culprits off the hook."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/09/23/california-sues-exxonmobil-plastics-recycling/?utm
Shocking! Exxon misleading consumers?
Marie: Thanks for the shout-out-- Going to the rally was a real upper, even with all the people, dry mouths and standing around for hours. I saw no one push anyone else out or over (although there was some dissatisfaction on my part when some gray-haired short ladies pushed in front of me before Tim arrived, and a pink-haired young lady could not stand still and kept dancing into us--) It really felt like we were among friends. It brought home the notion that, no matter what crowd we are in, if it isn't specifically Democratic, half of them are nuts. (I think Marie says the same thing about the new polls upping the Monster's % numbers in some states--)
I will never ever get it: how anyone can vote for such a narcissistic, lying a-hole who is also a corrupt, ignorant, illiterate, sexist, racist conman and always has been. He loves no one but himself, and is NOT a god, nor does he revere one. I want him to go down in flames on election day, but I am sure it will remain close, due to his blubbering, gullible followers. Jim Jones Trump.
ProPublica
"A Supreme Court Justice Warned That a Ruling Would Cause “Large-Scale Disruption.” The Effects Are Already Being Felt.
Lower court judges have already cited the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision, in a case known as Loper Bright, to halt implementation of Biden administration rules on overtime pay and health care discrimination. In the past three months, Loper Bright also has been invoked to challenge regulations on everything from hidden airline fees to gun sales to abortion referrals."
Guardian
"Amazon, Tesla and Meta among world’s top companies undermining democracy – report
Corporations such as ExxonMobil and Blackstone also big funders of climate crisis, new trade union report finds
Some of the world’s largest companies have been accused of undermining democracy across the world by financially backing far-right political movements, funding and exacerbating the climate crisis, and violating trade union rights and human rights in a report published on Monday by the International Trade Union Confederation"
Heather Cox Richardson
Where the economy has come from to where we are now through the Biden Administration.
Thank you RAS for that article by Heather Cox Richardson. It is a tight expository piece, with little fluff or extraneous comment, which clearly lays out the actions taken by this administration to bind the nation's economic wounds, get it back into social health, and put energy into improving the future. The article notes that some of the damage has been done over the decades by improvident trickle down faith, but it doesn't dwell on blame.
But it clearly shows that the folks who took over in 2021 know what they are doing, at least in the short run. And that those who had the tiller just before that had no clue.
The article is full of facts and reads smoothly. Perhaps some in the NYT and WaPo could ask for a condensed version for the OpEd? Perhaps?
Test.
How to lose your shirt:
Trust Trump.
If you had invested $1,000 in Fatty’s scam stock, it would be worth $190 today. Meanwhile, Trump is pocketing a bundle. He scams everyone, even his moronic supporters.