The Conversation -- August 10, 2023
Happy New Year, Donald! Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The prosecutors overseeing the indictment of ... Donald J. Trump on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election asked a judge on Thursday to set a trial date in the case for early January, laying out an aggressive schedule for the proceeding. In a motion filed to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is presiding over the case in Federal District Court in Washington, the prosecutors said they were ready not only to go to trial on Jan. 2, but were also poised to give Mr. Trump's lawyers the bulk of their discovery evidence in the next two weeks or so. The prosecutors further proposed that Mr. Trump's lawyers submit their first pretrial motions in not much more than a month."
** Mr. Potato Head, Fake Senator. Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) does not live in Alabama. Property records, campaign finance statements, a promotional video Mr. Potato Head cut for ESPN in 2017, and his own statement during his campaign for Senate declaring himself a "carpetbagger," show that he lives now and has lived for decades in a $3 million, 4,000-sq-ft. home in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, a town in the Florida panhandle. He owns no legal residence in Alabama. "Under the U.S. Constitution, senators are required to be 'an inhabitant' of the state when elected, so residency requirements can be minimal." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Kessler doesn't address Florida tax records, but it would be interesting to check property tax records. Florida tax law is extremely favorable to state residents, as it limits the amount property taxes can be raised each to three percent of the current tax, while taxes on non-residents can increase to the assessed valuation of the property every year. On a $3MM house, that means thousands of dollars in tax savings each year. It is necessary to swear to Florida residency every year, and provide other proofs -- like voting in Florida and registering your vehicles in Florida. If Tuberville declared Florida residency to receive this tax break, he's burnt potato. Florida property tax records are public.
Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, told a local news station on Thursday that he 'would think very seriously' about leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent."
Farnaz Fassihi & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to win the freedom of five imprisoned Americans in exchange for several jailed Iranians and the unfreezing of about $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue, according to several people familiar with the deal. As a first step in the agreement, which comes after more than two years of quiet negotiations, Iran has released into house arrest five Iranian American dual citizens, according to the lawyer for one of the prisoners."
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump and a longtime aide, Walt Nauta, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to additional criminal charges in the case accusing Mr. Trump of illegally holding on to secret national security documents after leaving office and conspiring to obstruct the government's efforts to retrieve them. The plea for Mr. Trump, who did not appear at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla., was entered by one of his lawyers.... Carlos De Oliveira ... [who] was accused of conspiring to delete the security footage ... appeared at the hearing, though [his] arraignment was delayed until he finds local representation.... The magistrate judge, Shaniek Mills Maynard, scheduled Mr. De Oliveira's arraignment for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, rejecting a suggestion that it be postponed until Aug. 25." CNN's report is here.
Marie: Re: Trump's motion to have a SCIF placed on his Mar-a-Lago property, Joyce Vance said on MSNBC Thursday that the Court (that would be Judge Cannon) has no authority to tell the intelligence community where to locate SCIFs, much less to order the government to pay for construction and 24-hour security for the SCIF.
Trump Aide Follows Trump's "Grab 'em by the Pussy" Style. Ryan Randazzo of the Arizona Republic: "A woman says Boris Epshteyn, a special adviser to Donald Trump, repeatedly groped her and her sister inside a Scottsdale nightclub in 2021, according to police body camera footage obtained by The Arizona Republic.... 'Touching her chest, touching her hips, touching her crotch,' the woman told police just before police ordered Epshteyn, wearing shorts, sandals and a collared shirt, to sit on a nearby curb that was strewn with chewing gum and cigarette butts. Epshteyn was charged with 'assault touching,' 'attempted sexual abuse,' 'harassment-repeated acts' and 'disorderly conduct-disruptive behavior or fighting.' The first three charges were dismissed, but Epshteyn pleaded guilty in Scottsdale City Court to disorderly conduct and served probation. The conviction was set aside by the court in January 2023."
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Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden on Wednesday entered a wind tower manufacturing plant surrounded by desert boasting of declining unemployment, waning inflation and a manufacturing boom -- all metrics that should make his three-state Southwest tour a victory lap. 'Our plan is working,' Mr. Biden said, referring to his economic agenda. 'When I think climate, I think jobs.' But hours before he entered Belen, [New Mexico,] the president reflected on the challenge hanging over the White House during his tour of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Even as he traverses the country to promote his economic policies, many voters are still skeptical of -- or unclear on -- Mr. Biden's legislative record.... Noting recent infrastructure projects funded by his policies, Mr. Biden said [during a fundraiser in Albuquerque]: "They're beginning to realize what we actually passed is having an impact. It's just going to take a little while."
Yan Zhuang of the New York Times: "It was among the most traumatic days in the F.B.I.'s history: On Feb. 2, 2021,
House GOP Plans Fact-free Impeachment. Annie Grayer of CNN: "House Oversight Republicans laid out their intention to accuse President Joe Biden of corruption even without direct evidence that he financially benefited from Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, a clear shift in their strategy that they said was launched to investigate the president. The new strategy is highlighted in a memo released by the committee on Wednesday.... The memo follows the increasing drumbeat from many House Republicans -- and certainly the GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump -- to pursue impeachment of the sitting president even without a clear establishment of facts." MB: I found the official GOP Playbook: (1) Claim Biden committed horrible, impeachable offenses. (2) Find nothing. (See addendumb.*) (3) Impeach. *Addendumb: Okay to make a fool of yourself, like finding out your star witness is a Chinese spy.
It's time, Diane, to bid farewell -- just say 'yea' and rest on your laurels. -- P.D. Pepe, in yesterday's Comments ~~~
~~~ Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was taken to the hospital Tuesday after falling at her home in San Francisco, her office said, and has since returned home. 'Senator Feinstein briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home. All of her scans were clear and she returned home,' Feinstein's office said in a statement." The NBC News report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday asked the judge overseeing his prosecution on charges of risking national security secrets if he could discuss the classified discovery evidence in the case in the 'secure facility' that he once used for classified material when he was in office. The request to the federal judge, Aileen M. Cannon, was an attempt to get around a stricter provision contained in a protective order proposed by the government that would require Mr. Trump to discuss and review the classified evidence only in one of the highly secure locations run by the federal courts in Florida." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Now isn't that the epitome of chutzpah? Trump has practically admitted to mishandling classified documents so he wants a privilege not afforded any other defendants to mishandle classified documents at his private club. Lawyers appearing on MSNBC were horrified. Joyce Vance said Trump is a security risk, he doesn't have classified clearance, and in no circumstance should be allowed to have access to classified documents at a facility he effectively controls. Andrew Weissmann said that if Cannon grants the defense motion, that would be another of her decisions that prosecutors could cite to have her removed from the case. As for me, I foresee Walt & Carlos creeping down to the SCIF in the dark of night, bolt cutters in hand.
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Special Counsel Jack Smith obtained a search warrant for Donald Trump's Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, earlier this year, according to newly revealed court documents. Twitter's initial resistance to complying with the Jan. 17 warrant resulted in a federal judge holding the company, now called X, in contempt and levying a $350,000 fine. A federal court of appeals upheld that fine last month in a sealed opinion. On Wednesday, the court unsealed a redacted version of that opinion, revealing details of the secret battle for the first time." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "... the [court] papers indicate that prosecutors got permission from the judge not to tell Mr. Trump for months that they had obtained the warrant for his account. The prosecutors feared that if Mr. Trump learned about the warrant, it 'would seriously jeopardize the ongoing investigation' by giving him 'an opportunity to destroy evidence, change patterns of behavior, [or] notify confederates,' the papers said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: On the teevee, pundits discussed Trump and his pals "removing the DMs." I didn't know what that meant, so I checked the Googles. "DMs" are "Direct Messages"; that is, tweets between two people that are not visible to others -- and therefore are tweets that prosecutors could not access without a court order.
Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "FBI officials 'suppressed' efforts to investigate ... Donald Trump, his associate Rudy Giuliani, and other members of his inner circle, according to a veteran counterintelligence agent, Insider reported on Wednesday. 'The agent ... claims in a 22-page statement that his bosses interfered with his work in "a highly suspicious suppression of investigations and intelligence-gathering" aimed at protecting "certain politically active figures and possibly also FBI agents" who were connected to Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs,' reported Mattathias Schwartz. This included ceasing investigations of Giuliani, and severing contact with sources offering information on corruption in the Trump administration generally. According to the report, this statement was not intended to be made public and was prepared for staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- but it was leaked to a Substack last month.... All of this runs contrary to the narrative pushed by Trump, who for years has alleged a conspiracy within the FBI to bring him down...."
Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek more than a dozen indictments when she presents her case regarding efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia before a grand jury next week, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Willis, a Democrat, has been eyeing conspiracy and racketeering charges, which would allow her to bring a case against multiple defendants. Her wide-ranging criminal probe focuses on efforts to pressure election officials, the plot to put forward fake electors and a voting systems breach in rural Coffee County, Georgia.... The witnesses Willis has subpoenaed when she presents her case include former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former Georgia Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan and independent journalist George Chidi. All of them previously testified before a special purpose grand jury that was tasked with investigating the Trump case and heard from more than 75 witnesses." ~~~
~~~ How Low Can Trump Go? Tamar Hallerman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Wednesday flatly denied that she had a relationship with a former client and other rumors spread by ... Donald Trump in a new campaign ad. In an email to her colleagues..., Willis called the information in a television spot bankrolled by the Trump campaign 'derogatory and false.' She urged her staff not to respond to any of the allegations.... In the minute-long ad, titled 'The Fraud Squad,' the narrator refers to Willis as 'Biden's newest lackey.'... The most incendiary allegation [in the ad] is that Willis 'got caught hiding a relationship with a gang member she was prosecuting.' It cites as evidence a Jan. 25, 2023, article in Rolling Stone. But the ad gets several facts wrong. The Rolling Stone article is an interview with YSL Mondo, one of Willis' former clients in 2019 when she worked as a defense attorney, and it doesn't make reference to any sort of affair....
Brad Raffensperger, during which he pressured the fellow Republican to 'find' him 11,780 votes and told him he could be legally exposed if he didn't."
~~~ ** Marie: Here's some good news: If Donald Trump is convicted of a crime in Georgia and sentenced to jail time, there's no get-out-of-jail card, assuming any appeals fail. There's no chance of a pardon. Lawrence O'Donnell interviewed Gwen Keyes Fleming, former D.A. of DeKalb County, Georgia, and she explained the pardon laws of the state. The governor does not have pardon power, but s/he appoints members of a pardon board, who do. However, the key prerequisites to obtaining a pardon in Georgia are that (1) the applicant for a pardon has served his entire sentence, and (2) has lived five years thereafter, during which time he has been a model citizen (fat chance!).
Marie: Former Bush Assistant AG Jack Goldsmith wrote a New York Times op-ed, published Tuesday, about why prosecuting the Dear Leader was a dangerous mistake. I scanned the piece and thought it was disgusting. Steve M., however, analyzed Goldsmith's garbage "arguments" in a post titled "How to Launder Right-Wing Talking Points." Steve's analysis is well-worth reading because sometimes you forget that gaslighting isn't always as straightforward and obvious as Donald Trump's hectoring projections.
Marie: Videos of Donald Trump's "bullshit" speech in New Hampshire Monday show Trump sweating profusely. While much of the country is sweltering in extraordinary climate-changed-induced high temps, it's been relatively cool in New Hampshire. The high in Windham, N.H., where Trump held his rally Monday, was 80 degrees. It certainly could have been hotter in a crammed auditorium. But in the videos I saw (saw, didn't hear because I put the audio on mute) of the event, the audience did not appear to be sweating, so I doubt it was the 110 degrees Trump claimed it was. So, gosh, maybe there's something wrong with him.
Josh Margolin, et al., of ABC News: "A Utah man was shot and killed during an FBI raid early Wednesday morning, the FBI confirmed to ABC News. The raid was in connection with an investigation into alleged threats against President Joe Biden and others.... [One official] told ABC News that the investigation began in April and the U.S. Secret Service was notified by the FBI in June. In addition to threatening posts, the official said, the man under investigation suggested online he was making plans to take physical action. The threats had been deemed 'credible,' the official said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Another Trump-inspired Would-be Assassin. Adam Goldman & Jesus Jiménez of the New York Times:"Craig D. Robertson, 75, was also charged with threatening to shoot other elected officials, including Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, as well as with making threats against law enforcement officials, according to court documents filed a day earlier in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.... The three indictments of ... Donald J. Trump have offered fodder for supporters and allies, who have seized on his mounting legal peril to fan a narrative of a Justice Department weaponized against him and bent on derailing the Republican front-runner's campaign to retake the White House.... The complaint [against Robertson] also laid out his history of threats on social media, where he referred to his guns as Democratic eradicators.... Last week, [Robertson] noted on social media that Mr. Biden would be visiting Utah and that he was going to 'dust off' an M24 rifle and get out his old camouflage suit, one typically used by snipers.
"On Sept. 19, 2022, Mr. Robertson wrote on Facebook that 'the time is right for a presidential assassination or two.... First Joe then Kamala,' he wrote. In another message, he declared that he wanted shoot Mr. Bragg in the head and watch him die. The post also mentioned George Soros, the financier and Democratic megadonor, who has been a target of Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress, and echoed Mr. Trump's attacks on Mr. Bragg and Mr. Soros. Other subjects of Mr. Robertson's threats: Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, whom he described as a Nazi; Gov. Gavin Newsom of California; and Letitia James, the New York attorney general.... Mr. Trump and his supporters have downplayed the notion that his incendiary criticisms of the Justice Department and the F.B.I. are anything other than an expression of legitimate grievances." So another crazy old man is shot dead because Trump. Fortunately, Democratic officials and FBI agents are not. No thanks to Trump.
Joey Cappelletti of the AP: "The mother of a 30-year-old Michigan man who's accused of making death threats against Democratic politicians is now charged with lying when she purchased firearms later found in her son's possession. Threats against public officials have become increasingly common in Michigan in recent years.... The charges unsealed Tuesday against Michelle Berka, 56, come after her son Randall Berka II was arrested in March and charged with illegally possessing guns. Federal prosecutors say he made death threats on social media against the president and governor, as well as people in the LGBTQ community."
Trump Judge Sends Lawyers to Right-wing Re-education Camp. Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "Another day, another extremist ruling by another extremist Trump judge, and this decision -- from Texas, no surprise -- is straight out of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' The judge held lawyers for Southwest Airlines in contempt of court for their actions in a religious-discrimination case brought by a former flight attendant and ordered them to undergo 'religious liberty training.' And not just any instruction, but training conducted by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative group that litigates against same-sex marriage, transgender rights and abortion rights. The issue arises from a lawsuit filed by Charlene Carter, a flight attendant for more than 20 years and a longtime antagonist of the Southwest flight attendants union. In 2017, after union members attended the Women's March under a 'Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants' banner, Carter sent Facebook messages to the union president containing graphic antiabortion messages.... An arbitrator found that Southwest had just cause for the firing. Carter ... sued ... [and] a jury found in her favor.... The case is being appealed."
** Time to Go, Clarence. Brett Murphy & Alex Mierjeski of ProPublica: "During his three decades on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas has enjoyed steady access to a lifestyle most Americans can only imagine. A cadre of industry titans and ultrawealthy executives have treated him to far-flung vacations aboard their yachts, ushered him into the premium suites at sporting events and sent their private jets to fetch him -- including, on more than one occasion, an entire 737. It's a stream of luxury that is both more extensive and from a wider circle than has been previously understood. Like clockwork, Thomas' leisure activities have been underwritten by benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence. Their gifts include: At least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast....
"While some of the hospitality, such as stays in personal homes, may not have required disclosure, Thomas appears to have violated the law by failing to disclose flights, yacht cruises and expensive sports tickets.... Perhaps even more significant, the pattern exposes consistent violations of judicial norms, experts ... told ProPublica.... Each of these [benefactors] ... appears to have first met Thomas after he ascended to the Supreme Court.... The total value of the undisclosed trips they've given Thomas since 1991, the year he was appointed to the Supreme Court, is difficult to measure. But it's likely in the millions."
Arizona. The Thermometers Are Rigged! Hank Stephenson in Politico Magazine: "When Arizona lawmakers returned to the state Capitol here earlier this month, they started their day with a prayer to ease the scorching heat.... Meanwhile, the air conditioning was out in the state House of Representatives. Heat seeped through the western-facing wall as the state's 60 representatives piled into the squat cinderblock building. Fans set up to cool the hallways were too loud for staff to work, so they were on only intermittently.... With the Arizona GOP taken over by its fringe elements in recent years and largely refusing to acknowledge the issue [of climate-change-induced heat] at all. Democrats, meanwhile, lament that their leaders aren't doing nearly enough to address the heat -- even as heat-related deaths are climbing.... Heat-tolerant Republicans argue that the heat isn't unusual.... Some conservatives suggest thermometers, like past vote counts, are rigged because they're placed at the sun-scorched asphalt airport." (Also linked yesterday.)
Florida. Lori Rozsa & Tim Craig of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) suspended the Orlando-area state attorney Wednesday, saying she was 'clearly and fundamentally derelict' in her duty. DeSantis removed Monique Worrell, a Democrat, from her job as the chief prosecutor for Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit Court at a brief news conference in Tallahassee. It's the second time in a year that the governor ... suspended an elected Democrat from office.... The action by the governor, who has largely been absent from Florida as he campaigns in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, came five days after two Orlando police officers were shot and injured during a traffic stop. The suspected shooter was later killed by SWAT officers.... The suspect, Daton Viel, 28, had a long criminal history and had been arrested in March for sexual assault against a child but was released on bond. 'Bond is something that individuals are entitled to as a matter of law. In this case, the court determined that this individual was entitled to bond,' Worrell said at a news conference earlier this week defending her office. 'I don't determine who gets out of jail. All I do is uphold the law.'" Emphasis added. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his comment in yesterday's thread. The Florida Politics report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Ohio. Campbell Robertson, et al., of the New York Times: "For months, it had been apparent that [Ohio Ballot] Issue 1, advertised as a measure to safeguard the State Constitution from wealthy out-of-state interests, was primarily about blocking an abortion-rights amendment that will be on the November ballot. Supporters of the measure hardly kept this a secret, and campaign donors lined up accordingly: Much of the money in support came from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a Washington-based anti-abortion advocacy group.... For many Ohioans, this barely concealed political strategizing is what clinched their decision to come out and vote against the measure -- and come out they did, in a turnout that nearly doubled that of last year's primary election for Congress and the governor's office." (Also linked yesterday.)
Texas. Peter Weber of the Week: "Locals and lawmakers have started getting a closer look at wrecking ball-size orange buoys Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) had installed -- illegally, Mexico and the federal government say -- along 1,000 feet of the Rio Grande river between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico. The controversial buoys are chained to the shallow bottom of the river with a net of cables, and you can't climb over them because they spin freely. To make sure would-be asylum seekers don't climb between them, Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reported after a kayak trip to the barrier, 'there are also serrated metal plates that look like circular saw blades between each buoy.'" Thanks to RAS for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.) This from Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas):
Everyone needs to see what I saw in Eagle Pass today.
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) August 8, 2023
Clothing stuck on razor wire where families got trapped. Chainsaw devices in the middle of buoys. Land seized from US citizens.
Operation Lone Star is barbaric — and @GovAbbott is making border communities collateral damage. pic.twitter.com/PzKyZGWfds
~~~ Marie: The feds need to get down there right now and remove -- and destroy -- every one of those death traps; then send the bill to Texas. One of the border sheriffs should arrest Greg Abbott. The DOJ and International Court of Justice should investigate him for torture. I'm serious. What with Abbott's giant saw blades, DeSantolini's campaign promise to slit the throats of federal bureaucrats and Trump's violent January 6 coup (not to mention his other threats), the GOP is beginning to look like a slasher movie, with sequels. We are living in a horror movie.
Ecuador. José Cabrera of the New York Times:" A presidential candidate in Ecuador who had been outspoken about the link between organized crime and government officials was assassinated on Wednesday evening at a political rally in the capital, just days before an election that was expected to be dominated by concerns over drug-related violence. The candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, a former journalist, was gunned down outside a high school in Quito after speaking to young supporters."
Haiti. Simon Romero & Emiliano Mega of the New York Times: "Abductors have freed an American nurse working for a humanitarian organization in Haiti and her child, the aid group said Wednesday, after their kidnapping in late July drew international attention to a wave of anarchic violence gripping the capital, Port-au-Prince. El Roi Haiti, a faith-based humanitarian organization, said in a brief statement that Alix Dorsainvil, the group's community nurse and the wife of the group's director, was released along with her child after they were held in Port-au-Prince." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
AP: "Thousands of Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town and killing at least 36 people in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. The fire took the island by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood in Lahaina Town, which dates to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination for tourists. Crews battled blazes in several places on the island Wednesday, and the flames forced some adults and children to flee into the ocean." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments here.
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Caveat Lector
The NY Times this morning blurbs an article about the culture war attacks on Florida public schools by dick-tator Ronito DeSantolini as a “muscular push for ‘parental rights’”.
Despite the quotes around the misleading term “parental rights”, what’s happening in that state is more authoritarian bulldozing by a failing presidential candidate with additional sops to far-right extremist groups.
Describing DeSantolini as a “muscular” supporter of parental rights is beyond misleading, it’s an outright lie, especially to anyone scanning the ledes. It makes this little fascist sound like a solid bulwark against anyone trying to attack the rights of parents. In fact, HE is the one attacking parental rights. The article itself is pretty representative of the wholesale chaos being injected into the school system along with heaps of fear, mistrust, confusion, and bigotry.
The only mention of “parental rights” comes far down the piece contained in a quote by some member of Mothers for Fascist Winger Schools (okay, that’s not exactly the name, but that’s what it means) who sniffs “This is the way Democracy works!” They left out the “harrumph”. No, lady, it’s not. DeSantolini has no interest in democracy. And clearly, neither do you. Like most Republicans, he fears and despises democracy. When you hand down authoritarian rules with threats of immediate and draconian punishment for any who refuse to goose step along with you, that’s not democracy.
So, really, the only parents whose “rights” are being muscled in on everyone else, are the bigots and the MAGAts. Okay, same thing.
Still and all, I have no problem with the article as written. It’s pretty good. I would have added an extra soupçon of vituperation, but that’s me. No, my problem is the way some Times editor highlights the contents of the piece. These fascist fucks continue to get not only the benefit of the doubt in the way their authoritarian takeovers are reported, but are gifted the cover of descriptions that make them seem both righteous and strong, rather than sneaky, fearful, and weak, which is what they are.
So thanks, Times person, whoever you are.
"We are living in a horror movie" says Marie and I sez, You betcha! Last night I watched a program about cotton's demise to the Bowl Weeval and couldn't help thinking how our political atmosphere is being taken over by swarms of like creatures that feed on our fragile democacy and leave our fields barren and wanting.
BUT there are always bits of sunshine pushing through these dark times. Here's one:
""Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg is teaming up with the campaign manager for Congress’ youngest-ever member to launch a new group aiming to get young people elected to state legislatures and Congress.
The new group, Leaders We Deserve, will back people under the age of 30 running for state legislatures and people under the age of 35 running for the House of Representatives. Hogg, well-known for his activism with the gun safety group March for Our Lives, is leading the group alongside Kevin Lata, the campaign manager for Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the first member of Gen Z elected to Congress."
Hogg is most impressive and it's exciting to know that the younger generation is as involved as reports indicate.
As Joe and I travel the roads around this town in CT. we run into a whole lot of construction on roads and bridges, What we need are large signs along these sites that read: THANKS PRESIDENT BIDEN! Nothin like gilding the Lily!
An Ecuadorian presidential candidate has been Assassinated.
“President Guillermo Lasso confirmed the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio and suggested organized crime was behind his slaying, less than two weeks before the Aug. 20 presidential election.”
This horrible killing provides (or should) context for the current strain of political violence, including threats of presidential assassination, in the United States, being pushed by another organized criminal enterprise, the Republican Party.
News of the arrest of the Trumpbot who threatened to murder Joe Biden and other Democrats will be shunted off into the memory hole as just another “bad apple”. Yet another way the Party of Traitors is provided with cover for the malicious, unlawful, and violent schemes they routinely dream up and encourage, directly or indirectly.
“Oh, that could never happen here” is the bullshit line the MSM and Republicans trot out whenever terrible shit happens somewhere else. Bet they all said we’d never have a president* who would oversee and cheer on the violent and murderous overthrow of the government.
But see, that’s the difference here. In Ecuador, that guy was killed by organized gangs. In this country, the organized gang is run by elected officials, led by a vicious narcissist who has no problem talking about “Second Amendment solutions”. We have a PoT governor talking candidly about slitting the throats of people he doesn’t like. When authority (authoritarian) figures casually talk about murdering their enemies, what do you think that says to the Foxbot sitting at home surrounded by guns, getting hourly injections of hatred and lies?
I guess if and when something does happen, they’ll just say “I was only kidding”, then rake in the dough while portraying themselves as a victim of unfaaaiir Democrat lies.
@P.D. Pepe: When you quote a source, especially when it's an extensive quote like the one above, you MUST at least tell us whom you're quoting. Preferably, you should give us the link to the site you're quoting.
Can you please do that for the story you cited above about Hogg & Lata.
Thank you.
@Akhilleus: After reading the story on the DeSantolini Book Club for Straight White Kids, it strikes me that at least some school districts are dealing with the law as best they can. However, the pressure on the librarians and the extra work and time it takes to carry out this draconian law is ridiculous.
First, they must have spent the summer marking or somehow identifying all the quasi-banned books in their libraries.
Checking out books will be a trial for both librarian and child. Instead of just recording the name of the borrower, the librarian has to look him up on a data base to figure out if he's "eligible" to read the book he wants to borrow. And how embarrassing for the child when the librarian tells him -- in front of the long line of kids waiting to check out their books -- "Sorry, your Mommy says you can't read this book about Maya Angelou."
There are plenty of published works I wouldn't put in a grade-school library. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Tropic of Cancer & Lady Chatterley's Lover weren't there in the first place.
many voters are still skeptical of — or unclear on — Mr. Biden’s legislative record...
I didn't get past your first entry. I am incensed. Why does the NYT want Biden to lose?
His record of accomplishments is NEWS. The NYT is a NEWSpaper. So why not have a front-page article about his ACCOMPLISHMENTS and what a positive effect they are having on this nation??
I have the feeling, just from scrolling the rest of your post today, that I will be incensed most of the day.
Thanks, I think,,,,,,
I think those rolling barrels in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Tx.
should be tested by whomever decided to install them.
Gov Abbott should be dropped in the river on the Mexican side
and told that if he can make it over to Texas, he can remain governor.
If not, he's out.
And the music playing will be 'Roll Out The Barrel.'
@pat
I'm with you.
The problem with the Times article that incensed you (properly) is that it is really about the extent of public ignorance, not about the President.
The article unfortunately slips immediately into the horserace motif favored by the media, saying that what the public does not know or understand will hurt Biden's re-election chances, which is true enough, but the article then casts that ignorance as a Biden weakness instead of following its lead into a report on how little the public knows or wishes to know about the administration's accomplishments.
Of course, neither public ignorance nor Biden's electoral weakness is really news. And articles (written only to fill space?) don't help.
Pat,
As you say, if there is a lack of clarity regarding the truly amazing job Biden has been doing, much of that skepticism and uncertainty can, and should, be laid at the feet of the press/media.
I’m not sure the Times wants Biden to lose, it’s just that with Democrats, reporters and opinion writers feel they can exercise their journalism-y muscles, muscles that suddenly and completely atrophy when writing about Republicans.
Why?
Because Democrats don’t go after the media hammer and tong the way the right does. They can SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER! when writing about Democrats, meaning they can question everything they do, stroke their chins over whether or not Democratic policies are actually working or even worthwhile, conditions never applied to Republicans. Even if they’re 100% certain Republican policies (such as they are) are complete bullshit if not textbook examples of cupidity, stupidity, and bigotry, they won’t say so outright. Instead, they’ll couch their concerns in maybes and could bes and so and so sez…The right has successfully cowed the media into rarely criticizing their most egregious bullshit, at least in a direct and outright manner.
Not so with Democrats. They don’t fear Democrats.
So a rat bastard little weasel like Ron DeSantis is described as “muscular” while Joe Biden is described as too old and frail. Look! He tripped over something! Or hmm…infrastructure? Maybe…but look! Tom Cotton sez it’s killing jobs! Aieeee! 10,000 word spread in the Sunday magazine to follow!
Incense away.
The media is also a main reason that when asked about how things are going a lot of polls have shown that people are satisfied with where they are, but believe that everyone else isn't doing as well.
The job of journalists is to write negative stuff, so naturally Trump dominates the news. But every once in a while, the papers notice they haven't written anything about the real President, so they have to think up something negative to write.
But not about themselves, of course.
So the story is not that Biden has accomplished a lot and that it's making a difference for ordinary people, but that his "messaging" isn't good enough. See, his fault.
And when they do say something good about the real President, they don't dare come right out and write, "Our analysis shows that Bidenomics is working." Instead, it's, "Biden says Bidenomics is working. And the White House says so, too." -- Which is no more convincing than "'Deranged Jack Smith and other Biden lackeys are unfa-a-a-ir to me,' former President Donald J. Trump said at a rally of enthusiastic supporters."
Marie: Sorry–-the story was from Huff-Post: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/parkland-survivor-launches-pac-to-back-youth-candidates_n_64d3b898e4b0677e5045ffe9
And about those legislative accomplishments the Republicans are doing their best not to give Biden anymore.
"The 117th Congress passed, and Joe Biden signed, 362 laws. Now it practically goes without saying that a hefty majority of these were small-bore matters—relatively inconsequential in policy terms. There were the proverbial post office renamings, the Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, and the like. Still, an unusually high number of them were very consequential indeed: the American Rescue Plan, the hard infrastructure bill, the CHIPS and Science Act, and several more.
The 118th Congress—the current one; the one that opened with the clown show where Kevin McCarthy needed 15 ballots to be elected speaker by his own party—has not been quite the hive of productivity that its predecessor was. So far, seven months into its term, it has passed, and the president has signed, 12 bills. They’re on track, if they can possibly keep up this scorching pace for the next 17 months, to pass maybe 44, even 45 or 46 bills!"
This piece from a Ukrainian author reminds me of the 1960's, when many people I knew were sent away to "protect America" by invading a country that had no designs on us. I hope to read his novel because 1863 was the year after Antietam; July 4th that year would be celebrated by decorating the field at Gettysburg with bodies who days before had a future. It was the year the war started to turn in the Union's favor and Vicksburg fell. The people who are defending Ukraine from Russian attacks at least know what they're fighting for; to listen to current apologists for the American Civil War, the Southern soldiers tramped to their deaths without a clue because if it wasn't to preserve slavery, then what? Longstreet paused at Gettysburg, and that's all it took. Thousands of American kids died in Vietnam (not to mention the toll our hubris took on innocent people), and had they been asked what they were fighting for probably would either have smirked knowingly or parroted some right-wing malarkey about stopping them there. We move on, but it might be good to reflect.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/opinion/ukraine-war-bakhmut.html
"When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I was writing a novel. It took place in America in 1863 and followed a Ukrainian man as he traveled from Virginia to Missouri, meeting on his way various weirdos, soldiers, deserters and runaway slaves. I’ve always been very interested in the history of the United States, and the idea of integrating a Ukrainian protagonist — not a classic emigrant but a soldier on the side of the North, with his own history of servitude under the yoke of the Russian Empire — into the realities of the Civil War was attractive to me."
RAS,
The mistake many make, including too many journalists, is not recognizing the true purpose of the Traitor controlled House of Representatives. As part of the legislature, one might think that the purpose of this group is legislative. It’s not. It’s performative. The traitors in the House have zero interest in legislating, the prime reason for the paucity of bills. The Latin origin of the word comes from legis latio, meaning the production of laws, laws, one would hope would reduce the chaos and improve quality of life for constituents.
Instead, they are there to put on a show, thus, the endless yammering about Hunter Biden’s laptop, his many crimes, his dick pics, Joe Biden’s sudden transformation into Don Corleone, Jewish space lasers, more guns, no reproductive rights, and show trials about impeachment, just as soon as they stop fighting over whose idea it was first.
It’s all Keystone Kops Kabuki, put on for the benefit of droolers whose idea of civic duty is making sure “those people” never get to vote.
But legislation? Good legislation? Puh-leeze. That takes time, effort, competence, smarts, and compassion. None of which they have.
Ergo…Bozo Time!
This piece from the Idaho Statesman took me by surprise. Seems there is still resistance to childish racial nonsense from those poor, put-upon white people whose lives are ruined because society doesn't adequately hound gay people and interracial couples.
"Since 2019, Patriot Front has been responsible for the vast majority of white supremacist propaganda distributed in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
"And the members own their abhorrent opinions by trying to keep their identities a secret. They seem to be most upset that Capito was trying to hold them up to public scrutiny like the rest of us.
"Hiding behind anonymity has become an all-too-common feature of white nationalist and extremist trolls who lurk in the shadows of social media, hiding behind bogus accounts and fake avatars, spewing hate, sowing division, and threatening and intimidating others.
"It’s that anonymity that allows their putrescent views to grow and spread like a flesh-eating bacteria — except in this case, it’s more like a brain-eating disease. The fact the Patriot Front members’ main complaint is that they’ve suffered for being associated with these views is telling. The fact that employers — even their own relatives, in the case of Brown — want nothing to do with them tells you all you need to know.
"If Patriot Front members believe that they are right and just, why not attach their names to their beliefs and putrid goals? Otherwise, they’re just behaving in a cowardly fashion, hiding behind ridiculous masks, fake social media accounts and in the darkness of the back of a U-Haul van."
https://www.idahostatesman.com/opinion/editorials/article278113542.html#storylink=cpy
At the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna I think we are at last seeing the final days of this incredible fascist tide that has always been with us but has grown to tsunami proportions. The outrageousness of the right is no longer hidden and I believe the true “moral majority” of this country, not the misnamed right, is seeing the chaos that we are all facing. For example, the occasionally illegal rifle shot across the Rio Grande River has become underwater buzz saws out of a dystopian horror movie. The corruption of the Supreme Court has at last been revealed and I feel confident that more is to come as more members are scrutinized. Kavanaugh, for example, was never really investigated. The surface of a criminal, traitorous alliance between a top FBI agent and a Russian oligarch has barely been scratched. I used to say (about 50 years ago) that Republican scandals were about money and Democratic ones were about sex, but Republicans have far outstripped Democratics in both categories…as per Tony Lazzaro a GOP donor who was sentenced to 21 years for sex trafficking. https://crooksandliars.com/2023/08/gop-donor-sentenced-21-years-sex
I think two primary forces have brought this about, and I count Tdump as a secondary force and a symptom, not a main cause. First, the internet has made everything public. It is more difficult to ignore the injustice we swim in and most people dislike injustice. Basic indoctrinating institutions we took for granted have been held up to scrutiny i.e. Catholic Church, Boy Scouts, Southern Baptists, court systems, prisons, unfair voting restrictions, etc. Second, Citizens United has raised the political influence of billionaires who live in a world of digital money and produce nothing. A rich factory owner used to live near his factory but hedge funders don’t live near anyone. This fantasy world and ridiculous amounts of money are enough to drive anyone mad and I think a lot of big donors and billionaires in general are indeed more than a little mad. Making money at the expense of the rest of humanity has become a game. Corporate capitalism has entered a state where humans, who become the planet’s dominant species because of their instinct to cooperate, now need to be controlled as their resources are bled away.
I remember when people said there wasn’t a “dime’s worth of difference” between the Democrats and Republicans. Now things have finally gotten to the point where the mass of ordinary decent people must choose between two well defined outcomes The country is becoming less white, more inclusive, less patriarchal, less like the past and the unhinged repressive forces won’t stand for it. The Confederacy is finally dying. Religious fundamentalism which has been so important in gaslighting humanity is finally dying. At last we are beginning to question the unjust, antiquated, traditional methods of the past and it ain’t pretty. It will get worse because the reactionaries are losing. It is more violent because they are desperate. If nothing else, time and death will change things. I think we are at a tipping point.
Of course I have been saying this since Nixon. I comforted myself about Reagan’s election with the thought that things will get so bad (since there was a scandal every week) that the country will throw the crooks out. We all know how that went. But I remain an optimist. There are new forces in the world that give me hope.
@Jack
Thanks for reminding me of one of the crops our agricultural county raises and apparently exports: self-styled patriots.
I'd guess the Patriot Front yokel who is suing for violation of his rights to speech and privacy hails from, as we say here, in Skagit and adjacent counties, upriver, but can't be sure. He might be my neighbor, a less than comforting thought.
Generally speaking, in this part of Washington, many who worked in our upriver timber country came from the Carolinas and brought their culture with them. As late as the 1990's and even since, Blacks were not welcome in some of the upriver watering holes and outright racism still flourishes in part of of the state.
On a separate subject. Maybe.
Can't express how much I'd like to see the Ted Cruzes and Jim Jordans that pollute Congress and the nation charged with and convicted for their treasonous activities.
Unless we reverse course and start to hold the powerful accountable, stop with the presidential pardons of those who obviously broke the law when in office. (Watergate, Iran-Contra come to mind) and convict the obviously guilty like the Pretender once they're impeached, it's hard to imagine how we will every convince anyone that we are a nation of laws, not of corrupt men.
I don't know if it's true, but I'd guess that the negative responses to polling about whether the nation is or is not on the "right path" might reflect unease about something other than the person currently in the White House. The obvious corruption on so many fronts has to take a toll.
Maybe even at some level inspire some of the misdirected "patriots."
Marie Burns <constantweader@gmail.com>
2:59 PM (2 hours ago)
to me
Donna,
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Marie
At the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna I think we are at last seeing the last days of this incredible fascist tide that has always been with us but has grown to tsunami proportions. The outrage of the right is no longer hidden and I believe the true “moral majority” of this country, not the misnamed right, is seeing the chaos that we are all facing. For example, the occasionally illegal shot across the Rio Grande River has become underwater buzz saws out of a dystopian horror movie. The corruption of the Supreme Court has at last been revealed and I feel confident that more is to come as more members are scrutinized. Kavanaugh, for example, was never really investigated. The surface of a criminal, traitorous alliance with a top FBI agent and a Russian oligarch has barely been scratched. I used to say (about 50 years ago) that Republican scandals were about money and Democratic ones were about sex, but Republicans have far outstripped Democratics in both categories…as per Tony Lazzaro a GOP donor who was sentenced to 21 years for sex trafficking. https://crooksandliars.com/2023/08/gop-donor-sentenced-21-years-sex
I think two primary forces have brought this about, and I count Tdump as a secondary force and a symptom, not a main cause. First, the internet has made everything public. It is more difficult to ignore the injustice we swim in and most people dislike injustice. Basic indoctrinating institutions we took for granted have been held up to scrutiny i.e. Catholic Church, Boy Scouts, Southern Baptists, court systems, prisons, unfair voting restrictions, etc. Second, Citizens United has raised the political influence of billionaires who live in a world of digital money and produce nothing. A rich factory owner used to live near the factory but hedge funders don’t live near anyone. This fantasy world and ridiculous amounts of money are enough to drive anyone mad and I think a lot of big doners are indeed more than a little mad. Making money at the expense of the rest of humanity has become a game. Corporate capitalism has entered a state where humans, who become the planet’s dominant species because of their instinct to cooperate, now need to be controlled as their resources are bled away.
I remember when people said there wasn’t a “dime’s worth of difference” between the Democrats and Republicans. Now things have finally gotten to the point where the mass of ordinary decent people must choose between two well defined outcomes The country is becoming less white, more inclusive, less patriarchal, less like the past and the unhinged repressive forces won’t stand for it. The Confederacy is finally dying. Religious fundamentalism which has been so important in gaslighting humanity is finally dying. At last we are beginning to question the unjust, antiquated, traditional methods of the past and it ain’t pretty. It will get worse because the reactionaries are losing. It is more violent because they are desperate. If nothing else, time and death will change things. I think we are at a tipping point.
Of course I have been saying this since Nixon. I comforted myself about Reagan’s election with the thought that things will get so bad (since there was a scandal every week) that the country will throw the crooks out. We all know how that went. But I remain an optimist. There are new forces in the world that give me hope.
@ Donna. From your keyboard to the NY Times et al.'s front pages/websites.