Thanksgiving Day 2024

Marie: Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone. Here's a holiday gift we can all enjoy. It turns out that what I couldn't stand about the Christmas-themed song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was Mariah Carey. The song is way Better with Beethoven. I've seen a few of these "in the style of" parodies. This one, by Josep Castanyer Alonso, is particularly brilliant, especially because it includes explanations. Thanks to Patrick for the link. ~~~

~~~ AND, on quite a different note, if you overindulge at the Thanksgiving table, you could dance off the added calories: ~~~

A Reason to be Thankful: Biden Rescues Wrongfully-detained Americans. Michael Birnbaum & Cate Caddell of the Washington Post: “The Biden administration and China have agreed to a prisoner swap, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday, securing the release of three Americans who the U.S. government has long said were wrongfully detained by Beijing. Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung are en route back to the United States, the White House said, capping months of diplomatic pressure on China and securing a win for the Biden administration.... The White House said in a statement ... [that] no other Americans are wrongfully detained in China.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Simon Romero of the New York Times: “Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, spoke to ... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday afternoon, and both later characterized their discussion as positive while providing different descriptions of what Mexico is doing to stave off a potential tariff war. While Mr. Trump posted on social media that Mexico had agreed to stop migration to the United States through Mexico, 'effectively closing our Southern Border,' Ms. Sheinbaum limited her description of the migration-related issues they had discussed to migrant caravans no longer reaching the border with the United States. Still, Ms. Sheinbaum, who earlier in the day had made clear that Mexico would impose retaliatory tariffs in response to similar measures threatened by Mr. Trump, seemed to ease tensions by saying the exchange was 'excellent.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump of course is ignoring a long-standing premise of U.S. policy: that we have only one president at a time. Trump's negotiating with world leaders during Biden's presidency is more evidence for the theory that he'll never be president, but would best be described -- during those periods he can reasonably be assumed to hold office -- as president*. Oh, and there's this: ~~~

~~~ digby: “Rolling Stone is reporting today that Trump and Co have revived their plans to invade Mexico. I’m not kidding: 'Within Donald Trump’s government-in-waiting, there is a fresh debate over whether and how thoroughly the president-elect should follow through on his campaign promise to attack or even invade Mexico, as part of the “war” he’s pledged to wage against powerful drug cartels.... Trump’s Cabinet picks, including his choices for secretary of defense and secretary of state, have publicly supported the idea of potentially unleashing the U.S. military in Mexico. So has the man Trump has tapped to be his national security adviser. So has the man Trump selected as his “border czar” to lead his immigration crackdowns. So have various Trump allies in Congress and in the media.'... They're serious.” The Rolling Stone story, which is firewalled, is here.

Rob Gillies of the AP: “Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should ... Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday.... When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.... Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem [when it comes to sending immigrants to the U.S. or fentanyl,] and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.”

Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: “... Donald Trump said Wednesday he will nominate retired Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.... During Trump’s first administration, Kellogg served as Chief of Staff and executive secretary to the National Security Council. He previously served in the military for over 35 years. Kellogg in April co-authored a policy paper, obtained by NBC News, outlining how he'd seek to end the war in Ukraine, including potentially conditioning U.S. military aid to Kyiv on their participation in peace talks with Russia.... 'Ukraine would not be asked to relinquish the goal of regaining all its territory, but it would agree to use diplomacy, not force, with the understanding that this would require a future diplomatic breakthrough which probably will not occur before Putin leaves office,' Kellogg and [co-author Fred] Fleitz wrote.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Tara Copp of the AP: “... Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service.... The appointment comes at a critical moment for the Navy, which has been stretched thin with deployments around the world and must contend with a shrinking fleet even as the naval forces of its main rival, China, are growing. Trump has campaigned on expanding the Navy and would need to fight bureaucratic inertia to do so. But it’s uncertain whether a secretary with no military experience — either in uniform or as a defense civilian — would be well-positioned to lead that effort.” ~~~

     ~~~ Even some Trumpbots are not amused. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One personality trait Trump's picks have in common with Trump: a complete lack of humility. If for some strange reason a president accidentally picked me to be Secretary of the Navy, I would decline the nomination as I would know I was not up to the job and my selection would be unfair to the men and women of the Navy. But Phelan, an investor, has no qualms. He apparently thinks an outing on a friend's yacht and a tourist visit to the Capitol are all the qualifications needed by a smart guy such as he.

Devlin Barrett & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “Several of the people ... Donald J. Trump has picked to be cabinet nominees or for White House positions received threats on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.... Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said several cabinet nominees and others were targeted with 'violent, un-American threats to their lives and those who live with them.' Law enforcement and other authorities 'acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted,' she added. The F.B.I. said in a statement it was aware of the bomb threats and so-called swatting calls, which entail contacting law enforcement to falsely claim a dangerous person is at a particular address. Such calls are designed to create a frantic armed police response to frighten, harass and endanger someone at their home. Three people familiar with the threats, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said one of those targeted was Susie Wiles, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager who he has tapped to serve as the White House chief of staff.” Elise Stefanik, Lee Zeldin & Brooke Rollins also were targeted. (Also linked yesterday.)

Lord Zuck Travels to the Court of Mar-a-Lardo to Pay Liege Homage. Mike Isaac, et al., of the New York Times: “Mark Zuckerberg met on Wednesday with ... Donald J. Trump in a rare face-to-face encounter, the latest attempt by the Meta chief executive to establish a positive rapport with Mr. Trump. The meeting, confirmed by three people..., was initiated by Mr. Zuckerberg, who has had a strained relationship with Mr. Trump over the past decade. Mr. Trump, who has long maintained that Meta has unfairly restrained him and other conservatives across its social media apps, has lobbed broadsides against Mr. Zuckerberg on social media and during stump speeches. Mr. Zuckerberg flew into West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday evening before joining Mr. Trump at ... Mar-a-Lago....” The AP's report is here.

Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: “Elon Musk on Wednesday suggested retired Army Lt. Col Alexander Vindman 'committed treason' and 'will pay' after the former Trump impeachment witness accused the tech billionaire and close Trump ally of being unwittingly used by Russia. 'Vindman is on the payroll of Ukranian oligarchs and has committed treason against the United States,' Musk wrote on his social media platform X, responding to comments Vindman made in an interview about Musk’s reported conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Musk added that Vindman ... 'will pay the appropriate penalty.' In a response on X, Vindman said Musk’s comments were 'false and completely unfounded accusations.'” ~~~

      ~~~ Marie: This may be the precursor to SOP in the Trump administration*: criticize Trump or a Trumpolodyte and “pay the appropriate penalty.” Treason is a capital offense. Trump resumed executions for federal offenses during his first term, and the feds executed thirteen inmates during the first Trump administration. Merrick Garland reinstated the moratorium on federal executions in July 2021.

Senator Potato Head Confuses U.S. with Russia. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: “'The United States has sent $211 BILLION of your tax dollars to Ukraine, 4X as much as the rest of the world COMBINED,' [Sen. Tommy] Tuberville [R-ALa.] wrote on X. The former college football coach was soon hit with a community note that read, 'The $211 billion figure is the amount Russia has spent on the war as of February 2024. Senator Tuberville appears to have confused the United States with Russia.' The community note linked to a Reuters article that read, 'Russia has probably spent up to $211 billion in equipping, deploying and maintaining its troops for operations in Ukraine and Moscow has lost more than $10 billion in canceled or postponed arms sales, a senior U.S. defense official said on Friday.'” Hey, an easy mistake to make. Besides, how could a sitting U.S. senator possibly check the facts before he shared something this stupid? Thanks to Akhilleus for the link, and for his commentary at the end of yesterday's thread.

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New York. Hurubie Meko & Jan Ransom of the New York Times: “A federal judge overseeing New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex on Wednesday found the city in contempt for failing to stem violence and excessive force at the facility, and said she was leaning toward taking control of the city’s jails. The judge, Laura Taylor Swain, said in a 65-page opinion that the city and its Department of Correction had violated the constitutional rights of prisoners and staff members alike by exposing them to danger, and had intentionally ignored her orders. The judge wrote that she was 'inclined' to impose an outside authority, known as a receiver.... She ordered the city and lawyers representing prisoners to devise a plan for a receivership by Jan. 14.”

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Israel/Palestine, et al. Euan Ward, et al., of the New York Times: “Thousands of civilians began the journey back to their war-ravaged, mostly abandoned communities around Beirut and in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as a U.S.-backed cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah took tenuous hold after more than 13 months of bloodshed. Vehicles stuffed with whatever items people took as they fled Israeli bombing crawled bumper to bumper on roads heading south from Beirut, the capital. For the people in them, elation, relief — and, for Hezbollah supporters, defiance — vied with grim knowledge: They might not have homes to return to, and the 60-day truce might not hold or bring the hoped-for end of the deadliest, most destructive war their nation has suffered in decades. But it was not clear when the people of southern Lebanon ... could go back, as the Israeli military said it would not yet permit residents in an area that had been a Hezbollah stronghold, used to launch most of its attacks on Israel. About one-quarter of Lebanon’s more than five million people have been forced from their homes by the war.”