;)
Monday
Nov042024
The Conversation -- November 4, 2024
David Frum of the Atlantic on the horrors Donald Trump has promised us. MB: I have not been a fan of Frum's, formerly a speechwriter for Bush the Younger. But this essay, to which laura h. pointed us and gave us the gift of a link, is a fine piece of writing, IMO. If my link here doesn't work, laura's link in Monday's comments does.
~~~ Bro Horror Story No. 1. Paul Mozur, et al., of the New York Times: “Right-wing groups, which use Telegram to organize real-world actions, are urging followers to watch the polls and stand up for their rights, in a harbinger of potential chaos. Groups backing ... Donald J. Trump recently sent messages to organize poll watchers to be ready to dispute votes in Democratic areas. Some posted images of armed men standing up for their rights to recruit for their cause. Others spread conspiracy theories that anything less than a Trump victory on Tuesday would be a miscarriage of justice worthy of revolt.... Telegram is a prime organizing tool for extremists, who have a tendency to turn digital coordination into real-world action.' Read on. ~~~
~~~ Bro Horror Story No. 2. Drew Harwell, et al., of the Washington Post: An “organized network of conservative activists and conspiracy theorists ... have spent years building online followings by promoting their belief in corrupt elections. On platforms controlled by [Elon] Musk — and Trump, the majority owner of the online platform Truth Social — they have worked to stand up a preemptive infrastructure stronger than the 'Stop the Steal' movement that grew after Trump’s 2020 loss. The online movement ... four years ago was driven by a small, disordered and slapdash group of right-wing fringe accounts echoing Trump’s claims of election fraud. Today, it is an army — organized, widely promoted and shored up by an ideology that has permeated the Republican base.... [Besides using Xitter and Trump's failing social media platform,] election deniers also have gathered in Discord servers, Facebook pages, Telegram channels and video conference calls to share strategies to combat what they say is a secret 'deep state' vote-stealing scheme.”
Andrew Sorkin, et al., of the New York Times: “Investors on Monday appear to be unwinding bets on the so-called Trump trade. In a major reversal, bonds have rallied and the dollar and crypto currencies have dipped in the race’s final hours. One explanation is a surprising new poll that showed Vice President Kamala Harris, powered in part by support from women and older voters, edging ahead in deep-red Iowa — a finding that’s also led to a tightening of Donald Trump’s lead in political prediction markets.”
Australia's "6:57 News" anchor Mark Humphries reports on the U.S. presidential race. Take it just as seriously as Humphries does. Thanks to RAS for the lead: ~~~
Robert Reich explains why Elon Musk & his ilk will be f***ed if Trump loses the election. Interesting that Musk himself acknowledges he'll be f***ed if Trump loses. And wouldn't that be a shame? Thanks to RAS for the links.
Presidential Race
Katie Glueck & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: “Vice President Kamala Harris made her final appeal to Michigan voters at an energetic rally on a college campus on Sunday, sounding notes of unity while drawing implicit contrasts with her opponent. The event at Michigan State University was her first rally since becoming a candidate in which she did not say ... Donald J. Trump’s name. Instead, in the final hours of the race, she argued that her candidacy was focused on the future.”
Normal v. Tired Old Liar. Adam Nagourney, et al., of the New York Times: On “the final Sunday of the campaign..., Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald J. Trump ... could not have been more different ... in message and demeanor.... Ms. Harris began her day at a Black church in Detroit where she told congregants that the nation was 'ready to bend the arc of history toward justice,' invoking the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. Trump began his at an outdoor rally at an airport in Pennsylvania where, his shoulders slumped and his voice subdued, he threw out his prepared remarks to tell supporters that he 'shouldn’t have left' the White House after his loss to President Biden in 2020.... Mr. Trump was relatively subdued at his second stop of the day, in Kinston, N.C.... At his third rally, in Macon, Ga., he used harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric.... Ms. Harris was markedly more upbeat [than Mr. Trump] at a rally Sunday evening in East Lansing, Mich.... She opened her remarks in East Lansing, in a state with a significant population of Arab Americans, by acknowledging the devastation of the Gaza war.”
Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump said on Sunday that he expected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to have a 'big role' in a second administration, and acknowledged the possibility that he could take action against two major public health successes — vaccines and the fluoridation of water — if he won the presidency. The remarks, in an interview with NBC News, suggest that Mr. Kennedy, a former independent candidate, has assumed an elevated role in Mr. Trump’s orbit.... Mr. Trump has voiced misgivings about vaccines in the past, including in a 2015 Republican primary debate and in a leaked phone call between him and Mr. Kennedy in July, as the former president tried to coax Mr. Kennedy to back his campaign.... Vice President Kamala Harris, in a podcast interview on 'The Checkup with Doctor Mike' that was released on Sunday, warned against Mr. Kennedy having a prominent role in public health if Mr. Trump wins. 'That’s why I’m working so hard, because I know the stakes,' Harris said, in an exchange that the Harris campaign later amplified on social media.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I think if you read through the story, you'll conclude that Trump is shining on Bobby Junior and his fan base just to keep them on the reservation until after the election. For instance, this hardly sounds like a solid promise to ban vaccines: “Well, I’m going to talk to him and talk to other people, and I’ll make a decision, but he’s a very talented guy and has strong views.” See Dan Diamond's WashPo story, linked below, for more on the Impending Trump Healthcare Disaster.
Kathleen Culliton of the Raw Story: “... Donald Trump praised a violent dead gangster and the wrong Republican at a campaign rally this weekend, spurring concerns of cognitive decline. Trump told North Carolina voters Sunday evening, just two days before the upcoming presidential election that could return him to the White House, that he thought Al Capone was 'lovely' and their senatorial candidate was a superior choice. 'You have one of the best of all right here, David McCormick,' Trump said. 'Great guy.'” But great guy McCormick is running for Senate in Pennsylvania, not North Carolina, and -- not surprisingly -- he was not at Trump's North Carolina rally. Moreover, there is no North Carolina Senate race this year.
Not Funny: Trump Says He's Okay with Assassins Shooting the Press. Michael Gold & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump told supporters on Sunday [at a rally in Lititz, Pa.,] that he 'shouldn’t have left' the White House at the end of his term during an end-of-campaign rally where he vented angrily about a spate of new public polls showing him losing ground to Vice President Kamala Harris and joked about reporters being shot at.... Mr. Trump’s voice was audibly hoarse and his speech sluggish as he made unfounded claims about election interference.... The remark [that he shouldn't have left the white House in 2021] echoed what Mr. Trump told some aides within days of his 2020 election loss: that he wasn’t going to leave the White House.... He spent nearly 20 minutes trying to instill doubts about the election, reviving a host of baseless claims of widespread fraud that he made in 2020.... Mr. Trump, while riffing, also pointed to the protective glass encasing him now at outdoor rallies since he survived the assassination attempt in Butler. 'To get to me, somebody would have to shoot through fake news, and I don’t mind that much, ’cause, I don’t mind. I don’t mind,' he said, as some in the crowd laughed and howled.” (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's report is here.
Alex Weprin of the Hollywood Reporter: “NBC is giving ... Donald Trump’s campaign free commercial time in response to Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance on Saturday Night Live, including an unusual ad during Sunday’s NASCAR coverage, a source familiar with the matter says. Harris appeared on Saturday’s SNL for one minute and 30 seconds, meaning that if another presidential campaign requests it, NBC would need to give it about 90 seconds of time. On Sunday, NBC broadcast a NASCAR playoff race, but some viewers noticed toward the end of the broadcast (technically right after the race ended but while coverage was still ongoing) that Trump appeared in an unusual ad, speaking directly to camera ... and claiming that electing Harris would cause a 'depression' and that viewers should 'go and vote.'... Trump was given 60 additional seconds of campaign time during NBC’s Sunday Night Football coverage. While the game was already over, the spot — which was the same one that aired during the NASCAR coverage — aired during the post-game coverage (and shortly after a paid campaign ad).”
S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: “In the final sprint toward Election Day, Donald Trump has mused about former congresswoman Liz Cheney as well as journalists covering his rallies getting gunned down, confirmed that he will put an anti-vax conspiracy theorist in charge of the government’s health care apparatus and explained that talking about a fictional serial killer proves his genius. And that was all before he declared at a rally Sunday that he should have just stayed in office despite his 2020 election loss and failed coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021.”
Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump headlined a rally a week ago featuring a comedian’s remark that Puerto Rico is an 'island of garbage.' On Thursday, Trump insisted he had previously won New Mexico, a state he lost twice by big margins. On Friday, he suggested a Republican adversary should have 'guns trained on her face.' And the following day, he unleashed a profane speech saying women have to be protected 'at home in suburbia.'... Trump’s near-daily pattern of making provocative or inflammatory remarks threatens to undermine his campaign’s message that a Trump presidency would restore an orderly, controlled leadership to the nation.” MB: The notion that an elderly, confused person who has been a scatterbrained wild man his entire life “would restore an orderly, controlled leadership” is ludicrous, and it didn't take this week of his vicious, deranged remarks for normal people to suddenly arrive at that realization.
Peter Baker of the New York Times: “Public appearances by Mr. Trump throughout this year’s campaign have been an Alice-in-Wonderland trip through the political looking glass, a journey into an alternate reality.... At its most fundamental, it boils down to this: America was paradise on earth when he was in charge, and now it’s a dystopian hellscape.... And it is a version that has found traction with tens of millions of supporters.... Mr. Trump’s four years in power were a nonstop treadmill for fact-checkers trying to catch up with the latest. His four years since leaving arguably have posed an even bigger challenge as he descended further into conspiracy theories.... But dishonesty is not necessarily punished politically in the way it once was.” Baker runs through a brief history of Trump's biggest lies. (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: I continue to worry that no one is paying attention to New Hampshire. I saw a poll (don't know if it was a reliable one) about a week ago showing Trump up by four points in New Hampshire. And now hear this: ~~~
~~~ Margie Cullen of the Portsmouth Herald: “... JD Vance bashed Vice President Kamala Harris and touted ... Donald Trump in a last-minute attempt to shore up support in New Hampshire just two days before the 2024 presidential election. Vance held the rally at the New England Sports Center in Derry on Sunday night.... Recent polls show Harris leading Trump in the Granite State, but by a shrinking margin. A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released Sunday found Harris ahead by 5 points, down from 9 points in the previous poll. A poll released Oct. 30 by Saint Anselm found the same results: up by five, a smaller margin than previous polls. Political analyst Scott Spradling told WMUR [Manchester] the Trump campaign might think that they can take the state, and Vance’s rhetoric suggested the same.”
Marie: I wonder if pervasive GOP misogyny has turned Republican women into masochists. Donald Trump has treated Nikki Haley with contempt not only when she ran against him but also in the past several months when she has prostrated herself before him. Now Haley has doubled down on abused-partner syndrome by writing a Wall Street Journal op-ed endorsing Trump's candidacy. (I can't access the op-ed, and I don't care, but it's here.)
Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “First came GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson’s pledge last Monday to overhaul the Affordable Care Act if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. Then Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of Trump’s transition team, on Wednesday endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s vaccine skepticism and suggested that a future Trump administration would empower Kennedy to help oversee vaccine data. Three days later, Kennedy announced that Trump would seek to remove fluoride from Americans’ drinking water as a Day 1 priority. The statements add up to a surreal final week of campaigning for Republicans in which several of Trump’s top surrogates are introducing unconventional — and generally unpopular — ideas that pit them against the health-policy establishment.... The assorted proposals also add up to an agenda that would probably damage public health.”
Andrew Van Dam of the Washington Post explains how polls are conducted in an era when “nobody answers the phone”: “We stopped answering unknown numbers as phone spammers proliferated, everybody got caller ID and 'huge swaths of the population' switched to text messaging as their preferred means of communication.... The most common public, national polls use online panels that recruit willing participants, often through ads, and then try to massage their demographics until they match the U.S. population.... Many top pollsters adopt a 'whatever works' approach. They pick thousands of American households, often by selecting random mailing addresses, then pull out all the stops to wring an answer from each via phone, mail, internet or — in some cases — in-person visits.”
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Florida Boy. Meet Your Trump Backer. Wicker Perlis of Treasure Coast Palm: "... a teenager and apparent supporter of ... Donald Trump was arrested [in Stuart, Florida,] Saturday at a rally in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and charged with punching a 70-year-old woman in the stomach. A 17-year-old boy — wearing a T-shirt featuring an image of Trump raising his middle finger in front of an American flag background — punched the Harris supporter, knocking her off her feet, according to police and the woman, Stuart resident Kathleen Tomasko.... According to witnesses, Bossio said, the 17-year-old was walking away from a separate altercation with a male Harris supporter when he struck Tomasko and knocked her to the ground. Tomasko said she did nothing to provoke the 17-year-old and she did not hear him say anything to her. In fact, she didn't even see him coming, she said." MB: Okay, so not old enough to vote, but old enough to flatten a little old lady. You've done your part, Kid. You've got a great future.
Montana Senate Race. Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: “Tim Sheehy, the Montana Republican nominee for Senate, said in an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly that there are no medical records that would prove he did not accidentally shoot himself in the arm in Glacier National Park in 2015. Sheehy is facing a fresh round of scrutiny about a bullet wound in his arm, which he has told voters he sustained while serving as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan in 2012. But in 2015, he told a park ranger he accidentally inflicted the wound upon himself when he dropped his weapon in a parking lot in Glacier National Park and it fired into his arm. Democrats have poured millions of dollars into negative ads that raise questions about the incident, which was first reported by The Washington Post, in the closing days of the crucial Senate race.... Sheehy now says he lied to the park ranger in 2015 after seeking emergency medical treatment for a fall in Glacier National Park that he thought dislodged the bullet.” ~~~
~~~ MB: If you read through the story, you'll see that Sheehy not only changed his story about his bullet wound, he also has changed the story about the availability of his medical records: “Sheehy’s contention that records from his hospital visit do not exist is new.” It's pretty obvious Sheehy is lying. Again. Of course the hospital made a record of his visit. Not only that, most states require hospitals to report bullet wounds to law enforcement, so there should be a second, separate law enforcement record of his treatment. Knowing that they will be voting for an unrepentant serial liar, Montanans are set to elect him to unseat Jon Tester (D).
Nevada Early Voting. Mark Robison of the Reno Gazette Journal: “After the final day of early voting, registered Republicans have cast almost 50,000 more votes than Democrats statewide, according to Secretary of State data released at 9 p.m. Friday.... In 2020, Joe Biden won Nevada over Donald Trump by fewer than 34,000 votes. The state has not given its electoral votes to a Republican candidate since George W. Bush in 2004.”
New York City Council Race. Maia Coleman of the New York Times: “When Harvey Epstein went to sleep on Saturday night, he was a low-profile New York State assemblyman. When he woke up on Sunday morning, he was something of an internet celebrity. Mr. Epstein was the subject of a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch this weekend that spoofed his name — a somewhat unfortunate mash-up of the names of two notorious sexual predators, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein. The show’s host, the comedian John Mulaney, starred as Harvey Epstein in a campaign ad featuring the candidate struggling to explain to voters that he is neither of the disgraced men. Harvey Epstein is running for the New York City Council in District 2, which includes Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side and parts of southeastern Manhattan.... The real Harvey Epstein ... said in an interview on Sunday that he had no idea the sketch was planned.... In the wake of the publicity over the sketch, Harvey Epstein encouraged people to support survivors of sexual assault.” ~~~
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Moldova. Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: “The pro-Western president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, won re-election on Sunday in a high-stakes runoff vote in the former Soviet republic against a rival candidate she had denounced as 'Moscow’s man.'... With more than 98 percent of ballots counted, official results gave Ms. Sandu 54.9 percent of the vote, an unassailable lead on her Moscow-friendly rival, who had 45.3 percent. In a televised address early Monday, she thanked Moldovans living abroad, whose vote tipped the result in her favor, but said the election was a victory for the whole country. 'Today you saved Moldova,' she said. 'In our choice for a dignified future, no one lost.'”
13 Comments
Reader Comments (13)
"7 News Melbourne (Australia) has trump figured out"
Robert Reich
"Why would the world’s richest man be f*cked if Donald Trump loses?"
In a longish essay in The Atlantic, David Frum reminds us "Trump has told the world his second-term plans." and details of those plans in
No One Has an Alibi
In addition to rehashing those plans, Frum speculates on outcomes in a number of areas including:
"A second Trump administration will be even more of a snake pit of craziness, incompetence, and intrigue than the first was. Elon Musk will imagine himself to be the real power in the land: After all, he bought the presidency, didn’t he? Vice President J. D. Vance will scheme to shoulder aside an elderly Trump, whom he never respected. It’s amazing what a vice president can get done if he arrives at the office at six in the morning and the president doesn’t show up until nearly noon. The lower levels of the administration will see a nonstop guerrilla war between the opportunists who signed up with Trump for their own advantage and the genuine crackpots."
John Oliver on the election
HuffPost
"Virginia GOP Candidate Demands Opponent Stop Using 'Fake Family' Photo In Ads"
Here is the hilarious ad
We interrupt horror stories about an incompetent, narcissistic, deranged monster to honor the memory of a truly great American, who gave far more than he ever took. Quncy Jones died yesterday. He was 91. Quincy’s importance to those of us in the musical community (ie, most humans, except those for whom music is just something else to be stolen and used for self-aggrandizement) would be hard to overstate.
You would be hard pressed to think of some aspect of the music industry he didn’t alter, for the better. Arranging, composing, producing, recording, playing, both as sideman and leader. He played backup for Elvis, worked with Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Dinah Washington, wrote revolutionary film and television scores, nominated seven times for an Oscar for his work, plus numerous Grammy awards.
Not content to cruise on his own wide-ranging natural gifts, as a young guy he moved to Paris where he studied with legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger, whose student list reads like a who’s who of 20th century music: Aaron Copland, Dinu Lipatti, Phillip Glass, Elliot Carter, Julia Perry. He worked with one of that century’s most advanced and experimental composers, Olivier Messiaen, whose interest in world music rhythms, modes, and unusual harmonic structures can be heard translated into Quincy’s distinctive personal sound.
Just check out a short clip from his score for the 1967 film “In Cold Blood”.
Brilliant.
Thanks, Quincy, for making life better for all of us.
@Akhilleus: Okay, sounds like you're just the person to help me out of my confusion.
In the early 1970s, I worked at CBS (KNX) radio in Los Angeles. Columbia Records was in the same building, so there were often musicians in the building. There was one guy who came around from time to time who was always nice to me and very pleasant to hang out with. I thought that guy was Quincy Jones. I looked at some 70s-era photos of Quincy Jones this morning, and my best recollection is that the guy I remember looked like those old photos.
BUT. I thought the guy at the studios was a singer -- in fact, he used to sing little snippets of things to me -- but it looks like Quincy Jones was some other kind of musician.
So do I have him mixed up with somebody else? Was there another 60s-70s singer whose first or last name was Quincy? I do remember that when this guy came around, other people in the building made a big deal about it, so I know for sure he was SOME kind of music star.
Sorry to be so daffy, but this has been bugging me since early this morning. Thanks for any help you can give me.
The Sheep and the Wolf
Wow, AK. That score must have been a shock for movie goers! So dissonant! I heard some Stravinsky too-- maybe Rite of Spring?? I never saw that movie. The textures of the music were quite interesting and really foreboding "harmonies." As a flute player, I actually went to a flute class in the late 60s, with Jean Pierre Rampal in Nice. Some of those pieces were briefly acknowledged but since his contemporaries were Boulanger students and colleagues, only a bit. Rampal was not a contemporary music lover. Frankly, I had to struggle myself with a Berio piece I hated, and a Messiaen piece I sincerely loathed. Gaach. Luckily, most flutists of my generation were busy playing great pieces that were NOT dissonant, at least, not much. Interesting to hear jazz creeping into the first minutes of the score that was busily frightening us...
Fingers and toes crossed, everyone. Most of the people we talked to yesterday were anxious but hopeful. We deserve it! Go Kamala & Tim!! Let's send the monster back to his cave and his sidekick to oblivion!
Marie,
I can’t say for sure, but if there was a buzz when this guy came ‘round, especially in LA, I’m pretty sure it was Quincy Jones. Just because he wasn’t known as a singer, doesn’t mean he didn’t have the pipes to do it. Dizzy Gillespie communicated his ideas to Charlie Parker by singing to him: be-daddle-ee-bap-bup-bee-dup-be/bop (literally Jo’s Be Bop got its name). I saw Dizzy. He didn’t sing much, but he could.
Quincy was everywhere in those days. He worked at a bunch of labels and had a big group of studio cats who worked with him on many projects.
He had cut some records for Columbia in the late 50’s, early 60’s, and he was writing TV music for CBS shows in the early 70’s (the New Bill Cosby Show, eg), so I’m guessing your musical pal was Quincy.
Very cool, girl!
“How”, no Jo’s, don’t know how Otto got that wrong.
Jeanne,
Yeah, Berio’s stuff is not exactly sing-along material. Haha. Neither is Messiaen’s, but his l’oiseaux pieces used a lot of flutes. Guess you weren’t doing one of those (he was a big one for incorporating natural sounds like bird songs into his compositions).
But Rampal! In Nice, no less. Very nice, I mean Nice, I mean…well you get it.
I didn’t have a background in classical music as a player, but my girlfriend in high school and college was a violist. She played in orchestras, I played in rock bands. But speaking of Stravinsky, when I learned those big chords from Rite of Spring on the piano, I used to torture my band mates with them. I tried to work them in to some of our songs, just for fun, in the eighth grade, but that E major over Eb 7th didn’t exactly fit in with “Little Bit O Soul”. Too bad.
@Akhilleus: Thank you. I've got think the nice was Quincy Jones, then. Whether or not he was Quincy Jones -- and I'm not reassured he was -- he was a nice man who kindly made my life a little more pleasant. That, too, beyond extraordinary talents, is a gift -- a gift that we more ordinary people are capable to giving, too.