The Conversation -- September 3, 2024
Jessica Piper of Politico: "Kamala Harris' campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Tuesday they are sending nearly $25 million to support down-ballot Democrats -- an earlier investment and far more money than the top of the ticket has sent in past election years. The funding in part reflects the Harris operation's ability to spread money around after record fundraising over the past six weeks. But it is also a recognition of the importance of this year's down-ballot races -- which overlap with many of the swaths of the country that could decide the presidential election, and whose outcomes will substantially affect how Harris, or ... Donald Trump, will be able to govern next year."
Bad News for Felonious Trump. Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Manhattan denied an effort by Donald J. Trump to move his already adjudicated state criminal case to the federal courts on Tuesday, rejecting his claims of bias against him as well as his claims of presidential immunity. In late May, a jury convicted the former president on 34 felony counts of falsifying records to cover up hush-money payments to a porn star ... who had threatened to go public with her account of an affair. A state judge, Juan M. Merchan, has scheduled his sentencing for Sept. 18, though Mr. Trump has asked him to delay it until after the presidential election. In a four-page decision on Monday, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of Federal Court in Manhattan said he could not evaluate Mr. Trump's claims of bias, saying those were issues for the state courts. But he said that Mr. Trump's claims of immunity for official acts -- based on a recent Supreme Court decision affirming such protection -- were irrelevant in this case. He noted that 'hush-money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority.'"
Daniel Dale of CNN: "Trump's lying is most exceptional in its relentlessness, a never-ending avalanche of wrongness that can bury even the most devoted fact-checkers. But it's also notable for its repetitiveness. He has found his hits, and h'll keep playing them no matter how many times they are debunked. As Trump enters the post-Labor Day sprint of his 2024 campaign for the presidency, his commentary is filled with many of the same false claims he made as president from 2017 to 2021. He's even repeating some of the false claims he used during his 2016 presidential campaign." Dale highlights some of the oft-repeated chestnuts.
Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "American and Iraqi commandos raided Islamic State hide-outs in western Iraq last week, killing at least 14 ISIS fighters in one of the most sweeping counterterrorism missions in the country in recent years. Seven U.S. soldiers were injured as more than 200 troops from both countries, including backup forces, hunted down fighters in bunkers over miles of remote terrain, U.S. and Iraqi officials said, adding that the size, scope and focus of the mission underscored the terrorist organization's resurgence in recent months. A senior insurgent commander overseeing Islamic State operations in the Middle East and Europe was the main target, they said."
Carol Leonnig & Aaron Davis of the Washington Post: "Democratic leaders on the House Oversight Committee released a letter Tuesday asking former president Donald Trump if he ever illegally received money from the government of Egypt, and whether money from Cairo played a role in a $10 million infusion into his 2016 run for president. Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, and Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), the top Democrat on its subcommittee for national security, the border and foreign affairs, wrote to Trump that they were making the request as a result of a Washington Post article published last month. The article revealed details of a secret Justice Department investigation during Trump's presidency into whether he took an illegal campaign contribution from Egypt." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Hello, Senate Democrats. Are you there? With your, you know, subpoena power? If Hillary Clinton could sit down for an hours-long grilling by House Republicans during a presidential campaign, surely Trumpty-Dumpty can sit before a Senate committee long enough to take the Fifth.
Siobhan O'Grady & Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "More than 40 people were killed and hundreds injured in a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, making it one of the deadliest single attacks of the war. Two ballistic missiles struck the area, targeting an educational institution and a nearby hospital, Zelensky said, adding that many people were trapped under the rubble. As members of the House minority, Raskin and Garcia do not have the power to subpoena documents or witnesses, and Trump is under no obligation to respond to their inquiries." MB: More evidence that a marshal from the International Criminal Court should pop over to Mongolia & arrest Putin for war crimes.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in the Ukraine/Russia war are here.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.
Huh. Looks like digby figured out why Trump (and JayDee) sat out the traditional Labor Day campaign season kickoff. Thanks to RAS for the link.
~~~~~~~~~~
Presidential Race
Jonathan Weisman & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "President Biden gave a demonstration on Monday that the Democratic Party now belongs to Vice President Kamala Harris, stepping to the microphone at a campaign event in Pittsburgh to introduce his No. 2 rather than taking the speaking slot of honor for himself.... All told, Ms. Harris and [Minnesota Gov. Tim] Walz managed to visit each of the so-called blue wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.... Still, the events were far smaller than the rallies Ms. Harris has held in recent weeks that have filled up basketball arenas with thousands of supporters.... In Detroit, Michigan's Democratic luminaries -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senator Debbie Stabenow, and hopefuls like Representative Elissa Slotkin, who is running for Ms. Stabenow's Senate seat -- shared the stage with ... [prominent union leaders]. In Pittsburgh, Ms. Harris was joined by Gov. Josh Shapiro and Senator Bob Casey..., as well as ... [union leaders]. In Milwaukee, Mr. Walz appeared alongside Gov. Tony Evers and Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. All three Democratic governors of the blue wall states are popular with voters and are expected to play key roles in whipping up enthusiasm for Ms. Harris." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The Washington Post story did not knock Harris & Biden, as the New York Times reporters did right from the get-go. Cleve Wootson & others wrote, instead, "Neither Trump nor his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, had any advertised events on Labor Day -- something the Harris campaign sought to draw attention to." The Times is getting a bit obvious in its Trump-boosting: knocking Harris & cleaning up for (or simply not mentioning) Trump's gaffes, outrageous remarks, unpopular policies and anti-democratic activities. The Post has published plenty of both-sides reports, but lately they're not bending over backwards, as the Times is, to normalize Trump & disparage his opponent. ~~~
~~~ The NBC News report is here. ~~~
~~~ Sara Powers of CBS News Detroit: "Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting Detroit on Labor Day to speak with labor union leaders and workers, her campaign announced. During the event, Harris touted her record of putting workers first and showed her support for union members throughout her speech." MB: Labor Day is traditionally the day general elections kick off. So Powers notes that Tim Walz would appear in Milwaukee for Labor Day, and Doug Emhoff would attend an event in Newport News, Virginia. Donald Trump? Too tired. Taking the day off at Mar-a-Lardo. (Also linked yesterday.)
Caitlin Yilek of CBS News: "Vans carrying members of the press that were part of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's motorcade were involved in a crash on Monday afternoon. Journalists traveling with the vice presidential nominee said the crash happened shortly before 1 p.m. on Interstate 794. Walz was on his way to an event celebrating Labor Day in Milwaukee. A staff member in one of the press vans appeared to have a broken arm and was being treated by medics, according to the journalists, who said they were violently thrown forward as one van slammed into another in front of it and then was hit from behind. Walz's vehicle was not involved in the crash, according to the campaign. Walz later said there were a 'few minor injuries,' but everybody's going to be OK.'"
Daniel Hampton of the Raw Story: "A top volunteer for Donald Trump's campaign in Massachusetts lost his position after he emailed fellow volunteers and said neighboring New Hampshire was 'no longer a battleground state' and encouraged supporters to instead direct their efforts on winning Pennsylvania. Tom Mountain wrote in the email, obtained by The Boston Globe, that Trump was 'sure to lose by an even higher margin' this year in New Hampshire than he did in 2016 and 2020. Mountain cited 'campaign data/research,' according to the Globe. Republicans in the region scrambled to push back against Mountain's comments and emphasize his comments were the opinion of a volunteer and not the party's official strategy." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This reminds me of a New York Times story that ran Saturday. Reid Epstein devoted a whole front-page piece to asking, "How can it be that a campaign that by all metrics is better off than it was in late June is now pushing a narrative that things are worse than they were when Mr. Biden was in the race?... As soon as Mr. Biden dropped out and Democratic fortunes indisputably began to rise, Ms. Harris began trying to temper expectations." As even Epstein admits (in Graf 6), winning campaigns are always concerned about conveying overconfidence (thus suppressing voter turnout). Losing campaign, like Trump's in New England, will even fire top campaign workers if they don't pretend they are winning or are at least within sight of winning. I don't understand why the Times would feature a story about an almost universally common practice to highlight "evidence" that Harris is disingenuous or even dishonest with voters. Meanwhile, the story includes not a word about Trump's claiming he can win (or did win in 2016 or 2020) in blue states like New York and California if only the "illegals" didn't vote multiple times.
⭐ BUT THEN There's This. The New York Times editorial page takes a trip down Memory Lane to remind us of the chaos, bad acts, lies and stupid stuff of Trump's presidency*: "For Americans who may have forgotten that time, or pushed it from memory, we offer this timeline of his presidency. Mr. Trump;s first term was a warning about what he will do with the power of his office -- unless American voters reject him.:
Marcy Wheeler highlights "the soft bigotry of no expectations" for Trump that is evident in a Washington Post editorial Patrick noticed Sunday. MB: Wheeler focuses on the same thing that bugged me. She writes, "... even though WaPo can identify more policy proposals from Kamala than Trump, it nevertheless holds her accountable for providing more.... Trump has been running for 21 months; his campaign is more than 90% over. The Vice President has been running 43 days; her campaign still has almost 60% to go. And yet they're putting demands on the woman in the race, making no such demand on the white male former President. The press has gone 21 months without throwing this kind of tantrum with Donald Trump. Given that, this column says more about the failures of journalists to hold Trump accountable than it does any shortcoming on Kamala's part." (Also linked yesterday.)
Eleanor Tarrett of Fox Business: "'The "Justice For All Gala" event [-- a fundraiser for January 6 insurrectionists --] scheduled at Trump National Bedminster for September 5th has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts of invited guest speakers,' event organizer L.J. Fino said in a statement to Fox Business." The event will take place at an unspecified day after the November election. MB: Donald Trump was expected to attend the event, according to the report, so its likely he is one of those "invited guest speakers" who had "scheduling conflicts." Perhaps his campaign staff convinced him that shilling for criminals was not a good look for a general election candidate for president*. (Also linked yesterday.)
Robert Tait of the Guardian: "Donald Trump has drawn ridicule and accusations of hypocrisy after accusing Kamala Harris of mistreating Mike Pence.... 'In a stunning senile moment, Donald Trump just suggested it was Kamala Harris who treated Mike Pence poorly,' the campaign posted on X, linking to video footage of Trump's comments. 'Donald Trump clearly cannot remember anything...'." Related story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Tait covers a few other recent, related news items. One of them is this: "Speaking to CNN last week..., Harris ... confirmed to interviewer Dana Bash that she and and the former president have never met." There's a reason for that: Donald Trump didn't show up at the Biden-Harris inauguration because "peaceful transfer of power," as we know, was the furthest thing from his twisted mind on January 20, 2021. (For one thing, he was busy stuffing his shorts with classified documents.)
Before Heritage & Trump Alums Wrote Project 2025 ... Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "Years before he became the Republican vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance endorsed a little-noticed 2017 report by the Heritage Foundation that proposed a sweeping conservative agenda to restrict sexual and reproductive freedoms and remake American families. In a series of 29 separate essays, conservative commentators, policy experts, community leaders and Christian clergy members opposed the spread of in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments, describing those treatments as harmful to women. They praised the rapidly expanding number of state laws restricting abortion rights and access, saying that the procedure should become 'unthinkable' in America. And they cited hunger as a 'great motivation' for Americans to find work. Mr. Vance ... wrote the introduction and praised the volume as 'admirable,' and was the keynote speaker at the public release of the report...."
Ariana Baio of the Independent: "Elon Musk has used his large platform on X to promote a theory that a free-thinking 'Republic' could only exist under the decision-making of 'high status males' -- and women or 'low T men' would not be welcome in it. On Sunday, Musk re-posted a screenshot of the theory -- which appears to have been conceived on 4chan in 2021-- on the social media site. The theory, written by an anonymous user, suggests that the only people able to think freely are 'high [testostrone] alpha males' and 'aneurotypical people', and that these 'high status males' should run a 'Republic' that is 'only for those who are free to think.... People who can't defend themselves physically (women and low T men) parse information through a consensus filter as a safety mechanism,' the post reads.... Theories like this ... are popular in alt-right communities."
Jamie Frevele of Mediaite reviews a review of "The Apprentice," a film about young Trump ... or young Frankenstein, as the Entertainment Weekly reviewer would have it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Maryland Senate Race. Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is running a new ad describing himself as one of the few Republicans who 'never caved' to Donald Trump and touting his record sending National Guard troops to the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. Scenes of the rioting that day have littered ads for Democratic candidates over the years, but Hogan is likely the only Republican in the country to feature them as he seeks to distinguish himself from the former president in a deep blue state. The ad is part of an almost $8 million blitz Hogan has reserved for the fall as he battles Angela Alsobrooks, who so far has reserved less than $1 million in ads, according to data from AdImpact."
~~~~~~~~~~
Brazil. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: "A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices voted on Monday to uphold a decision by one justice last week to block the social network X across the country because its owner, Elon Musk, refused to comply with court orders to suspend certain accounts. The five-justice panel voted unanimously to back the order, issuing strongly worded opinions saying that the blackout of X complied with Brazilian law and that it was necessary to enforce the nation's rules against a foreign company that was flouting them." (Also linked yesterday.) The AP report is here.
Israel/Palestine, et al.
Steve Hendrix & Shira Rubin of the Washington Post: "Thousands of Israelis over two days staged the largest anti-government demonstration since Oct. 7, taking to the streets and joining a general strike Monday that brought much of the country to a halt as the last of six hostages recovered from Gaza over the weekend was laid to rest. The killings of Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and five other hostages sent shock waves throughout Israel, igniting fury among hostage families and their hundreds of thousands of supporters who have for months accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of torpedoing a deal in favor of his political interests."
Patrick Kingsley, et al., of the New York Times: "Brushing aside pleas from allies and the demands of Israeli protesters for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday vowed to maintain Israeli control along the border between Egypt and Gaza, a contentious plan that appeared to dim, if not dash, prospects for a truce. In his first news conference since the bodies of six slain hostages were recovered over the weekend, Mr. Netanyahu told reporters on Monday night that, to ensure its security, Israel needed to assert control over the Gazan side of the border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, calling it the lifeline of Hamas." (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's story is here.
Natasha Korecki & Monica Alba of NBC News: "President Joe Biden on Monday said he did not think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had done enough to secure a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, a comment that comes amid massive protests in Israel.... Reporters asked Biden if he thought Netanyahu had done enough to secure an agreement, and the president answered: 'No.' The Biden administration has repeatedly accused Hamas of holding up a deal, but recently U.S. and foreign officials have said conditions introduced by Netanyahu also disrupted efforts." (Also linked yesterday.)
Russia/Mongolia. Putin Flouts Arrest Warrant. Valerie Hopkins & David Pierson of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived in Mongolia late Monday night for his first state visit to a member of the International Criminal Court since it issued a warrant for his arrest in March 2023.... In advance of Mr. Putin's trip, the I.C.C. stated that Mongolia was obligated to arrest Mr. Putin, but Mongolia is heavily dependent on Russia for fuel, and an arrest was considered extremely unlikely. The Kremlin has shrugged off the possibility." An AP report is here.
Venezuela
Edward Wong of the New York Times: "The U.S. government has seized an airplane linked to Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, and brought it to Florida on Monday because it was bought in violation of U.S. sanctions, according to a Justice Department statement. The Biden administration is trying to put more pressure on Mr. Maduro because of his attempts to undermine the results of the recent presidential election in his country, White House officials said. The Justice Department said in its statement that it had seized a Dassault Falcon 900EX owned and operated by Mr. Maduro and his partners after it had been brought to the Dominican Republic for maintenance work. The department then had the plane flown to Florida. The plane had been purchased in the United States for $13 million through a shell company and 'smuggled' out of the country 'for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies,' Merrick B. Garland, the U.S. attorney general, said in the statement." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, Merrick, I can think of another old tinpot dictator who undermined the results of a presidential election, tried to retain power by force, owes New York State a pile of money, AND owns a airplane. You might want to seize Trump Farce One.
Tinpot Dictator Arrests Foe Who Won Election. Samantha Schmidt of the Washington Post: "A Venezuelan judge has ordered the arrest of opposition candidate Edmundo González, who the United States and other countries say clearly beat the country's authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, in the July 28 presidential election. The country's attorney general filed an arrest warrant Monday against González, a 75-year-old former diplomat, as part of an investigation into the opposition's publication of vote tally sheets showing their candidate won more than twice as many votes as Maduro. The opposition published the receipts from more than 23,000 voting machines days after Venezuela's electoral council claimed a victory by Maduro. Several independent reviews of the data, including by The Washington Post, suggest Maduro likely lost the election by a landslide." The AP report is here.
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Reader Comments (15)
Mirabile dictu! (Almost)
This morning I listened to an NPR interview with a woman who wrote a book on the pardon power. She talked about ways it could be more transparent and how it has been egregiously misused to reward wealthy cronies and well connected thugs who have provided an illegal service for the president*. I kept waiting for two things.
First, that this scumbag president who used his king-like power to keep Justice away from the doors of his pals would be named. The word “Trump” was never uttered by the interviewee. Because of this largesse, allowing listeners to imagine she might be referring to Biden or that awful Barack Hussein person, I fully expected someone to say “And of course, this sort of thing is done by both sides”. That never happened either, wonder of wonders, but not naming Trump as the the number one abuser of this power contributes to the ongoing aid and comfort afforded the most criminal fucker in US history.
The fact that she didn’t exactly Both Sides it was cold comfort. Talking as she did about some unnamed future president who could use his brand new Get Out of Murdering Your Opponents Power, then staffing the executive branch with crooked lackeys all with pardons in their pockets to make sure that hypothetical president never has to leave office, allows listeners/voters to avoid having to make the link to the Fat Fascist.
To his credit, the host, Steve Inskeep, did say at the end, “I thought you were gonna say Trump would be pardoning the J6 traitors.”
No. She was talking about some possible future President.
It never ends. But at least Both Sides wasn’t as overt as it usually is.
But….how much more powerful would this observation have been had she said, sixty fucking days out from the election!!!, that this is exactly what we should fear if Donald Trump waddles back into the White House.
Nah. That’d be PARTISAN.
You can bet, however, had Biden or Obama pulled this crap, they would not have remained unnamed.
@Akhilleus: I think these "experts" believe they will make themselves more saleable/popular if they pretend they are just honest academics who would submit to torture on a rack before they would compromise their "professionalism" by expressing an opinion about real political actors. Thus, they can speak at length about all the things Donald Trump will do/has done and seem totally academicky and nonpartisan.
They're useless phonies.
The useful academics are ones like Ruth Ben-Ghiat of NYU who cite some action of Donald Trump and explain how that idea comes straight out of the authoritarian handbook and how such an action undermines democracy.
She does care after all. About the grift.
As her deadbeat, porn star boinking, rapist husband mumbles and stumbles his almost octogenarian way back to the White House, with generous assistance from corporate media, the Supine Court, and a phalanx of treasonous schemers salivating to rip up the Constitution, I Don’t Really Care Melanie, who avoids Fatty like most people avoid letting their kids play at toxic landfill sites, is quietly continuing her lifetime of grifting, a sacrosanct Trump Crime Family tradition. Just look at Junior, Stoopid, Princess Ivanka, and 666 Jared.
Her latest scam is a “Memoir”. Only $150 if you want a copy signed (more than likely) by some lackey staffer. The cover, almost as opaque as Melanie herself, but not without yet another transparent ripoff (she swipes the classic Chanel typography and white on black design—always grifting), promises…well, I’m not sure what it promises. It’s a blank slate. Maybe she’ll regale us with how much she hates “fucking Christmas”.
But she’s been a busy little grifter pretty much her whole career, since she got that Einstein Visa (*cough, choke*)…I’m sure there were no other immigrants half as deserving as Melanie that time around. Certainly none that were half naked all the time, doing soft core porn shoots. Is that an important skill?
Anyway, forget about the NFT grifts, the quarter million bucks she weaseled out of the Log Cabin Republicans (I still cannot wrap my head around gays for the Party of Homophobes!) for a fifteen minute speech-like thing, the Mother’s Day scam, the fact that her accountants all quit cuz they couldn’t keep up with all the shady grifts, like fake charities for which there are no records but for which she charges $50,000 for tickets to (ahem) “fundraisers”.
But just recently we’re hearing about something called The Melania Standard.
This, apparently, is the scale on how much people hate the Donald. If it’s close to how much Melanie hates him, it’s waaaay up there.
Hey, and I thought she really doesn’t care.
I’m sure she cares about all the grifting moolah she’s been pocketing over the years being married to a career criminal.
All the best people.
Marie,
Quite. And Ruth is the bomb. Heard her recently on the Politics Girl podcast. She took a blowtorch to that saggy, scheming bag of flab.
“Tinpot Dictator Arrests Foe…”
Sounds like a big deal, right? But it could never happen here, in the good ol’ US of A, right?
This is EXACTLY what Trump is promising to do. Exactly! But if you read the Times or the Post or the Journal, or listen to MSM TV news, you hear nothing about that. Zip. Oh, but you’ll hear plenty about some made up bullshit about Harris (maybe blowjobs really did help her…). But let’s forget all about Trump’s rape, and all the other women who came forward to report his sexually assaulting them.
But oh, the blowjobs!
I agree-- Ruth has been outspoken since about the Covid days, at first appearing in only NewYork-centered broadcasts and then broadening out as MSNBC realized she was a plain speaking anti-Trump expert in authoritarianism. She is one of the few who called out Fatty quite early. I also like Mark Elias, another plain-speaking guy who has worried about the danger to democracy. The third guy I like is that repug retired judge who spoke out against everything republican during the J6 hearings. I can't remember his name at the moment but he was recently on teevee for saying something he worries about which I forget, also. The thing that has fried me for years now is how there ARE people like these who speak out, and if their views and expertise were amplified by the vapid NYT and WaPo in any creditable way, the lesser press would be braver and maybe there would be some crossover from people only educated by wingers and Fox. I honestly felt good about the appointment of Garland to head Justice. What a blow it has been to know and see that he has fumbled his entire set of duties, leaving the bravery to the J6 committee and the other courageous actors. Jack Smith for AG...
@Akhilleus: Before I saw that @Jeanne had commented here, I was thinking that Jeanne would get a very high ranking if tested against the Melania Standard. The difference to me is that Jeanne -- and the rest of us -- don't deserve to have Donald Trump intrude upon our lives, while Melania, well, made her own bed.
Sure, Melanie, it stinks, but no imitation Chanel can make it smell better.
"Trump and Labor"
When a President and VP actually like each other
Jeanne,
The judge you’re thinking of is (I believe) J. Michael Luttig. Judge Luttig, a conservative, has been rightly appalled by the lawless rapist and traitor Donald Trump.
Oh, and Jack Smith for Attorney General? Love it! I can heat traitor heads exploding from here. It’d be like replacing Barney Fife with Wyatt Earp.
Thanks, Akhilleus! I like Michael Luttig a lot. It is always such an upper to hear smart and sensible AND learned people speak up against the other party and its reprehensible "leader." I don't think we will ever really know how that Hallowed "Shooting" Of The Ear happened or did not, nor are we going to hear the truth about Arlington, partially because the employed victim is terrified of speaking up, and rightly so, and partially because the putrid fog of lies covers everything in brimstone that is hard to penetrate, especially if the mainstream press is in a coma, or determined to edit the gobbledygook issuing from the piehole of Fatso, and to call everything "partisan." (Sorry about that endless sentence!!) Wonder what the "editors" think of actual whistleblowers? They don't exist, I guess, if each side is a tidy little ball of goodness.
And thanks, Marie, for the comment about Melania. I know people should not hold spouses acccountable for a partner's perfidy, but she is another case of being and choosing unacceptable public servants. She was cheating with citizenship for herself and her parents, and has made grifting her lifestyle. We will forever bitterly deride her jacket-- it was like her spouse throwing out Bounty to hurricane victims and GWB riding in AF One above Katrina and hiring a horse person to oversee the aftermath. No concept of compassion or empathy anywhere there...
Which brings us to Fatstuff: his hiring practices were and will be if he shoves his way into the White House again, absolutely abysmal. Maybe Rs don't have any ability to choose the right people because they are not the right people themselves... Okay, over and out...Have a good post-Labor Day day.
The Fine Print
"As 404 Media reports based on documents leaked to its reporters, the TV and radio news giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims that its so-called "Active Listening" software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to "capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations."
"Advertisers can pair this voice-data with behavioral data to target in-market consumers," the deck continues.
In the same slideshow, CMG counted Facebook, Google, and Amazon as clients of its "Active Listening" service.
"We know what you're thinking. Is this even legal?" a since-deleted Cox blog post from November 2023 noted. "It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page term of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included.""
...knows her place.
The Media Gets Nothing...
Some honest, albeit one sided, self awareness showing?
Salon
""Shocking": Experts warn "irresponsible" Project 2025 Medicare proposal would harm seniors
"We've invited for-profit corporations to drain the Medicare Trust Fund … and we overpay them to kill people"
Project 2025 proposes making Medicare Advantage, as opposed to traditional Medicare, the default plan for all enrollees.
In theory, the Medicare Advantage program was supposed to help the government benefit from the private sector's efficiencies. In practice, many insurers overcharge the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars in inflated estimates, often by adding diagnosis codes that make individuals appear sicker on paper than they are in reality. MedPac, a nonpartisan Congressional advisory committee, estimates that in 2024, inflated estimates will translate to $50 billion in overpayments. An analysis from PNHP, published in 2023, estimates that Medicare overpays insurers by as much as $140 billion per year."