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The Conversation -- October 16, 2024
Here's Rep. Colin Allred, (D-Texas) who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, answering a moderator's question about January 6, 2021 in the only debate between the two: ~~~
~~~ Saul Elbein & Julia Mueller of the Hill have some takeaways from the debate.
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Presidential Race
Nicholas Nehamas & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: “Vice President Kamala Harris agreed on Tuesday with the radio host Charlamagne Tha God that former President Donald J. Trump was a fascist, going a step further than she had before in casting her Republican rival as a dangerous authoritarian leader. During a free-flowing interview that often spoke to the concerns of Black Americans, Ms. Harris was contrasting her vision for the nation with Mr. Trump’s when Charlamagne jumped in to say: 'The other is about fascism. Why can’t we just say it?' 'Yes, we can say that,' Ms. Harris replied.... Here are five takeaways from the interview.”
Zach Montague & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: “President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, joined the pitched electoral struggle over Pennsylvania on Tuesday, fanning out with three appearances across the Philadelphia area intended to aid Vice President Kamala Harris in what may be the most consequential swing state. While his wife helped staff a phone bank across town, Mr. Biden joined a dinner held by the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee at the local sheet metal workers’ union hall, where he revved up attendees with a punchy speech and unleashed a long list of attacks against ... Donald J. Trump.... But as often as Mr. Biden sought to contrast his record with Mr. Trump’s, he carefully tacked back several times to express support for Ms. Harris. He compared her to himself in growing out of his role as former President Barack Obama’s running mate, seeking to support her without defining her in his own unpopular image.”
Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times: “Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, wearing a camouflage baseball cap and red-and-black plaid flannel, took the stage on Tuesday as the skies cleared on a muddy farm in Lawrence County, Pa.... 'Been a lot of talk about outsiders coming in, coming into rural communities, stealing our jobs, making life worse for the people who are living there,' he said, alluding to [Republicans'] hostile remarks about immigrants.... 'Those outsiders have names. They’re Donald Trump and JD Vance,' he said, eliciting laughter and a few whistles from the audience. The event on Tuesday was part of a Wisconsin and Pennsylvania swing that Mr. Walz used to unveil his ticket’s plans to address the needs of rural voters.... The Harris-Walz plan promises to expand telemedicine, increase the number of ambulances and add 10,000 health care professionals in rural areas. It also includes efforts to increase access to credit for small- and midsize farmers and producers, to lower the cost of child care and to spur new construction to lower housing costs.” Trump continued his “enemy within” refrain.
What Tim Walz says in the video below is along the lines of what I was thinking yesterday when I read about Trump's townhall abdication. His behavior was "bizarre" only in the sense it was, well, bizarre. For Trump, his pathetic dance party was completely in character and not at all atypical. He does what he wants when he wants to, no matter what his obligations. If what he wants to do is inconvenient or difficult or cruel or even dangerous to others, so what? So whether he wants to cancel a town hall after taking only a few questions, or leave thousands of supporters stranded in the desert, as long as it suits him, it's all good. ~~~
Lisa Lerer & Michael Gold of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump is pushing to the forefront of his campaign a menacing political threat: that he would use the power of the presidency to crush those who disagree with him. In a Fox News interview on Sunday, Mr. Trump framed Democrats as a pernicious 'enemy from within' that would cause chaos on Election Day that he speculated the National Guard might need to handle. A day later, he closed his remarks to a crowd at what was billed as a town hall in Pennsylvania with a stark message about his political opponents. 'They are so bad and frankly, they’re evil,' Mr. Trump said.... And on Tuesday, he once again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power when pressed by an interviewer at an economic forum in Chicago.... Never before has a presidential nominee — let alone a former president — openly suggested turning the military on American citizens simply because they oppose his candidacy. As he escalates his threats of political retribution, Mr. Trump is offering voters the choice of a very different, and far less democratic, form of American government.” ~~~
~~~ David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump clashed with Bloomberg Editor-In-Chief John Micklethwait after the former president claimed to have had a peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 election.... 'If you look at the events of January the 6th, 2021, it showed to many people America's democracy was unruly and violent,' [Micklethwait] said. 'Will you commit now to respecting and encouraging a peaceful transfer of power?' 'You had a peaceful transfer of power,' Trump insisted. 'Come on, President Trump!' Micklethwait exclaimed. 'You had a peaceful transfer of power compared with Venezuela, but it was by far the worst transfer of power for a long time.'"
Peter Baker of the New York Times: “When he was president, Donald J. Trump grew incensed that former Secretary of State John Kerry still talked with foreign officials after leaving office — so much so, in fact, that he tried to have Mr. Kerry thrown in prison.... In meeting after meeting, [Mr. Trump] repeatedly badgered Attorney General William P. Barr to charge Mr. Kerry.... But ... Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that it would be 'a good thing' for him to have stayed in touch with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.The former president and current Republican nominee did not explicitly acknowledge talking with Mr. Putin over the past four years, as reported in a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward. But he did not dispute it, either, when asked during an appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: One big difference between Kerry's contact with foreign officials and Trump's, according to previous stories I've read: Kerry kept in contact with the State Department about his discussions; Trump is keeping his little chats with Putin secret.
Alan Rappeport & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump has been offering up new tax cuts to nearly every group of voters that he meets in recent weeks.... On Tuesday, Mr. Trump made clear that he was unfazed by [criticism of his careless promises] and offered a one-word solution: growth. Despite the doubts of economists from across the political spectrum, Mr. Trump said that he would just juice the economy by the force of his will and scoffed at suggestions that his pledges to abolish taxes on overtime, tips and Social Security benefits could cost as much as $15 trillion. 'I was always very good at mathematics,' Mr. Trump told John Micklethwait, the editor in chief of Bloomberg News, in an interview at the Economic Club of Chicago.... Mr. Trump maintained that the threat of draconian tariffs would be the centerpiece of his economic agenda ... and denied the possibility that the tariffs would hurt American businesses.... Asked to explain how his ideas all added up, Mr. Trump praised his [own] math skills and lashed out at Mr. Micklethwait for appearing skeptical. 'You’ve been wrong all your life,' Mr. Trump said.” The Guardian's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: What's remarkable here is that Trump seems to have no idea that "math skills" have almost nothing to do with developing sound macroeconomic policy. You could be tops at calculus and have no idea about supply & demand curves or monetary policy. Whatever Trump's grades in high-school algebra 65 years ago, they do not suggest he would be good at steering economic policy. In fact, the evidence of his own irresponsible proposals, along with his lifelong refusal to accept the advice of others ("my primary consultant is myself") mitigates against his ever initiating wise fiscal policy. ~~~
~~~ Marie: AND Another Thing. According to her NYT page, Ana Swanson "cover[s] trade and international economics." So you might think the article she co-wrote where they cover Trump's proposed tariffs would, you know, do some pushback. But no. The reporters do call Trump's tariffs "draconian" and "punishing," but here's their "analysis": "Many economists have said those moves [i.e., imposing high tariffs] would push up prices for American households and could even threaten to cause a recession in the United States. When confronted with those criticisms on Tuesday, Mr. Trump disagreed with the idea that tariffs would push up prices for American consumers." So some anonymous economists are critical, but hey, Trump disagrees. Both Fucking Sides. The WashPo does much better: ~~~
~~~ Jeff Stein & David Lynch of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump is campaigning on the most significant increase in tariffs in close to a century, preparing an attack on the international trade order that is likely to raise prices, hurt the stock market and spark economic feuds with much of the world.... These proposals would go far beyond the disruptive trade wars of his first term even if they are only partially implemented. They would wrench the nation out of the system of global interdependence that arose in recent decades, making the U.S. economy much more isolated and autonomous, like it was in the late 19th century. (Trump last week falsely claimed that the United States was never richer than in the 1890s, when it had high trade barriers.)... Americans would be hit by higher prices for grocery staples from abroad, such as fruit, vegetables and coffee. Domestic firms dependent on imports would need to either figure out new supply chains or raise costs for consumers. U.S. manufacturers would almost certainly see sharp declines in orders from abroad as foreign nations impose retaliatory tariffs.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yeah, but maybe the voting public has figured this out by now, so no use reiterating it. Really? According to Stein & Lynch, “More than half of registered voters said they would be more likely to back a candidate who supported imposing both a 10 percent tariff on all imports and a 60 percent tariff on imports from China, according to a mid-September Reuters-Ipsos poll.” Got that? The majority of voters think Trump's tariffs are a very good idea.
Liam Reilly of CNN: “Donald Trump has backed out of an interview with CNBC, marking the second time this month the former president has canceled on a mainstream press interview. Joe Kernen, the 'Squawk Box' co-anchor, broke the news of the unannounced interview’s cancellation during Tuesday morning’s broadcast. Kernen added that the network had also offered to sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris, but said 'she’s not coming on.'” ~~~
~~~ Aaron Rupar of Public Notice: Donald Trump's “campaign undoubtedly realizes his rapidly degrading condition doesn’t play well with audiences beyond the MAGA cult. As a result, they’re retreating to the safer terrain of nonstop rallies and fawning Fox hits.... By any objective standard, Trump’s Economic Club of Chicago interview ... a rare event that wasn’t a festival of sycophancy ... was a disaster.... rump repeatedly refused to answer questions [Bloomberg editor John] Micklethwait asked him, instead going on self-absorbed rants about how Google is unfair to him or about how he could do a better job as Federal Reserve chairman than Jerome Powell.... Trump’s campaign events this week have made clear that something is just off about the guy as he hustles around the country in hopes of becoming the oldest president in history.... Then..., Trump traveled down to Atlanta for a low energy rally where he seemed to have trouble stringing together cogent sentences when he wasn’t reading from the teleprompter.... At other points, Trump barely seemed able to get words out....
“Trump, however, reliably gets help from a mainstream press that too often sanewashes his speeches.... he New York Times, for instance, described Trump as 'swaying soberly' during his musical 'detour' in Pennsylvania, adding that he’s known 'for improvisational departures.' The WSJ’s headline about the event read 'Trump’s Pennsylvania Town Hall Ends in Concert,' as though the plan all along was to have Trump behave like a maniac. ABC News’ TV report on the bizarre spectacle was even worse, with a reporter praising the 'almost intimate' atmosphere and noting 'people were having a good time. It did not seem out of the ordinary.' (It was very much out of the ordinary.)”
Marie: If you are still thinking Trump must have been crazy to abandon his town hall & sway to his Spotify playlist for the better part of an hour, maybe not. Philip Bump of the Washington Post repeats Trump's "answer" -- in full -- to one of the few prescreened questions that made it pre-dance-off. A woman asked how Trump proposed to lower her grocery bill. Trump's response is lengthy and is apparently one of his "genius weaves" that unfortunately never weaves itself around one single element of his "concept of a plan" to reduce the high cost of grocery items. On the other hand, Trump does get to Hannibal Lecter, immigration, fake news, his great poll numbers and an appeal to everyone to vote on January 5. As for me, I definitely hope all of Trump's supporters wait till January 5 to vote.
Maya King of the New York Times: On Tuesday, Donald “Trump fielded questions from an audience of all women in Cumming, Ga., an Atlanta exurb an hour north of the city. Roughly 110 women from local churches and mothers’ groups attended, according to a spokeswoman for Fox News. The women who asked him questions introduced themselves as Georgia residents and posed questions about his plans for the economy, public safety and immigration. Mr. Trump responded with a range of promises about what he would do if sent back to the White House, including pledges to lower energy prices by 50 percent, expand the child tax credit and outlaw sanctuary cities. [Fox News anchor Harris] Faulkner asked several follow-up questions after Mr. Trump made these claims, but he rarely specified how he would achieve his policy goals.... The group of women seemed overwhelmingly supportive of Mr. Trump, laughing at his jokes and cheering as he condemned Democrats.”
Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: “With three weeks left until Election Day, Trump is running an unorthodox, freewheeling campaign, directing threats and insults at a wide mix of people and institutions, pushing his travels deeper into Democratic states..., and wielding darkening rhetoric about undocumented immigrants and personal attacks against [Vice President] Harris at campaign events where he often veers off-script and has mixed up words.... Trump went online after midnight Tuesday to brag about acing cognitive exams he never released and his cholesterol, then misleadingly called ... Harris’s allergies a 'dangerous situation.' By midday he was meandering through an interview in which he would not directly say whether he would allow a peaceful transfer of power after the election and later complained about Fox News having a Harris aide on air.”
At a campaign event in Arizona on Sunday, Donald Trump introduced the Azure-Asians in the crowd. This confused many observers, including Jimmy Kimmel, who wondered why a man who hates ethnic minorities would invent a new one. But Aaron Rupar noticed that a number of people at the rally were wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Assyrians for Trump." So Mesopotamia. Not, say, Blue-toned Pakistanis.
“Sweeping Pronouncements.” Peter Bergen of CNN: “Typically, in [Bob] Woodward’s books, he lets his reporting speak for itself and doesn’t make sweeping pronouncements that tell the reader about his own conclusions, but 'War' is different. Woodward, who has covered every president since Nixon, writes that Trump is 'not only the wrong man for the presidency, he is also unfit to lead the country. Trump was far worse than Richard Nixon, the provably criminal president. … Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president in American history.' Ouch! By contrast, the final sentence of 'War' asserts, 'Based on the evidence available now, I believe President Biden and this team will be largely studied in history as an example of steady and purposeful leadership.'”
Clara Morse & Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: “Billionaire Elon Musk gave nearly $75 million to the political action committee he created to campaign for Donald Trump, marking his latest contribution in support of the former president in the final stretch of the campaign.... Miriam Adelson, a doctor and the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, donated $95 million to Preserve America PAC between July and September. The PAC, which is primarily funded by Adelson, has been one of the largest pro-Trump advertising super PACs this election cycle.”
John Ismay of the New York Times: “The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that more than 800 service members who were kicked out of the military under the now-repealed 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy will receive honorable discharge upgrades. Pentagon officials said they had completed a review of about 2,000 cases, as Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered last year. Mr. Austin said in a statement that the military would 'continue to honor the service and the sacrifice of all our troops — including the brave Americans who raised their hands to serve but were turned away because of whom they love.'... People who leave the military without honorable discharges usually suffer some loss of benefits they would have been eligible to receive through the Department of Veterans Affairs, including educational benefits and health care through the V.A.’s nationwide network of hospitals and clinics....
“A Pentagon official ... said that 97 percent of the roughly 9,000 men and women kicked out under 'don’t ask, don’t tell' who had served long enough to be eligible for honorable discharges had now received them. The official said that there were no formal plans to look into additional cases, but that anyone who was discharged because of their sexual orientation was still eligible to apply for a review to potentially have their status upgraded.”
Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: “The Small Business Administration has run out of funds to provide low-interest loans to homeowners and businesses to repair property damaged by disasters, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. The drawdown of funds comes as residents across the Southeast are still recovering from the destructive impacts of Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Federal officials urged eligible people to continue to apply for loans, which they would continue to process while they wait for lawmakers to pass 'much-needed funding.' But Congress is not set to reconvene until Nov. 12, and congressional leaders have not committed to calling members back sooner to approve more funding for the S.B.A. or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
When the Obituary Is the Story. Alex Traub of the New York Times: “Megan Marshack, who as a young aide to Nelson A. Rockefeller found herself at the center of sensational conjecture about the circumstances of his sudden death in 1979, died on Oct. 2 in Sacramento. She was 70. Her death, at a live-in medical facility, was announced in an obituary that her brother, Jon Marshack, said she had written herself last year.... The obituary represented Ms. Marshack’s first public comment about Mr. Rockefeller, the former Republican vice president and New York governor, since she witnessed his death, also at 70, on Jan. 26, 1979. Ms. Marshack, who was widely believed to have been romantically involved with Mr. Rockefeller, had for decades remained silent about the circumstances of the death.... Ms. Marshack’s self-written obituary disclosed some previously unreported details about her association with Mr. Rockefeller but did not mention a romance — although it ended suggestively, quoting from the 1975 musical 'A Chorus Line.' Ms. Marshack wrote that she 'won’t forget, can’t regret what I did for love.'”
Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: “Walgreens plans to close about 1,200 stores over the next three years, its parent company said on Tuesday, in an effort by the struggling pharmacy giant to cut costs and change focus.... There are more than 8,000 Walgreens stores in the United States, [the CEO of the chain's parent company] said, and about 6,000 of those stores were profitable.”
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Georgia. Jason Morris, et al., of CNN: “A record number of early votes have been cast in Georgia on Tuesday as residents headed to the polls in a critical battleground state that is grappling with the fallout from Hurricane Helene and controversial election administration changes that have spurred a flurry of lawsuits. More than 328,000 ballots were cast Tuesday, Gabe Sterling of the Georgia secretary of state’s office said on X. 'So with the record breaking 1st day of early voting and accepted absentees we have had over 328,000 total votes cast so far,' he said. The previous first day record was 136,000 in 2020, Sterling said.” ~~~
~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: “A county judge in Georgia on Tuesday blocked a new rule mandating a hand count of election ballots across the state. Enacting such a sweeping change for the November election, he said, was 'too much, too late.' Judge Robert C.I. McBurney did not, however, knock down the rule outright; his decision was confined to the current election, halting the rule from taking effect for 2024 while he further weighs its merits.... The rule was one of many new election provisions approved in Georgia since summer that hewed closely to policy goals of right-wing election activists. It was a key achievement of the State Election Board, which has recently been governed by a 3-2 right-wing majority.” The NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: “A county judge [--Robert C.I. McBurney --] in Georgia has rejected an argument by allies of ... Donald J. Trump that local election officials have the power to refuse to certify election results, finding the process to be mandatory and one that must meet critical deadlines. The ruling cuts at the heart of a key argument from right-wing activists following the 2020 election, when Mr. Trump sought to disrupt the certification process as part of his bid to subvert the results. In years since, right-wing groups have been seeking much broader authority and power over the certification process, an ambitious — and legally dubious — attempt to reimagine decades of settled law.” (Also linked yesterday.)
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Israel's wars are here: “Israel’s military carried out airstrikes early Wednesday in Hezbollah-dominated areas in southern Lebanon and outside Beirut. They were Israel’s first attacks in days near the Lebanese capital and came a day after the United States said that it had expressed concerns about the scale of Israel’s weekslong bombardment there. The strikes in southern Lebanon hit municipal buildings in Nabatieh and killed at least five people, including the city’s mayor, Lebanese officials said. The Israeli military said that it had struck Hezbollah targets in and around Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon, many of whose residents have fled after recent Israeli evacuation warnings.” ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates Wednesday are here.
Michael Crowley & David Sanger of the New York Times: “The Biden administration warned Israel over the weekend that a failure to allow the delivery of more humanitarian aid within 30 days to the nearly two million people trapped in Gaza could trigger a cutoff of military aid, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The sharply worded warning was sent on Sunday in a letter signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, rather than President Biden. It was addressed to Israel’s minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, and its minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer. The decision not to put the letter in Mr. Biden’s name, some aides said, may provide a level of insulation for Vice President Kamala Harris, who as the Democratic nominee for president has walked a fine line, declining to issue any threats to Israel even while urging that the war must end quickly, in part to end the 'heartbreaking' loss of Palestinian lives.”
Ephrat Livni & Johnatan Reiss of the New York Times: “Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Israeli government to explain why there appears to be no comprehensive system in place to facilitate evacuations of sick Gazans who are not involved in the Hamas-Israel war to other countries for needed treatment. The order stems from a petition filed by three Israeli human rights groups in early June, following the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after the Israeli military began assaulting the area in May.”
1 Comment
Reader Comments (1)
Musical tragedies. North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly Mass
will be running 'Titanic the Musical' beginning Oct. 29th.
If all disasters can be turned into musicals, I will be working on
one. It will be 'Trump the Musical,' a real disaster.
Might have trouble finding actors to play 'Eric the Dumb' and a
female daughter type who would be willing to sit on daddies' lap.