;)
Thursday
Sep262024
The Conversation -- September 26, 2024
Katie Rogers & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: “Vice President Kamala Harris met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Thursday at the White House, a sign that President Biden’s administration is positioning her to take over a politically fraught diplomatic relationship if she wins the election in November. The meeting, held shortly after Mr. Biden announced $8 billion worth of military support to the war-torn country, was Ms. Harris’s second this week with a key world leader — even as she runs a presidential campaign focused on domestic issues. Ms. Harris, who has met with Mr. Zelensky a half-dozen times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said at the White House on Thursday that ... those who would have Ukraine trade territory for peace were supporting 'proposals of surrender' — a dig at ... Donald J. Trump ... and his skepticism of aid for Kyiv.” ~~~
~~~ You can see video of Vice President Harris's and President Zelensky's remarks here.
New York Times Editors: “Dozens of people who know [Donald Trump] well, including the 91 listed here, have raised alarms about his character and fitness for office — his family and friends, world leaders and business associates, his fellow conservatives and his political appointees — even though they had nothing to gain from doing so. Some have even spoken out at the expense of their own careers or political interests. The New York Times editorial board has made its case that Mr. Trump is unfit to lead. But the strongest case against him may come from his own people. For those Americans who are still tempted to return him to the presidency or to not vote in November, it is worth considering the assessment of Mr. Trump by those who have seen him up close.” The editorial includes derogatory assessments of Trump from a few of his closest associates.
New York Times Editors republish their July 11 editorial, titled “Donald Trump Is Unfit to Lead.”
Ah, the Family That Grifts Together. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: “While promoting a memoir, [Melania Trump] told Fox News that she blamed Democrats and members of the news media for the assassination attempts against her husband.”
From the New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in the indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams (related stories as well as the NYT liveblog linked below):
“Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday morning, follows an investigation that started in 2021 and has focused at least in part on whether he conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign campaign contributions and whether he took official actions on its behalf. Federal prosecutors said that Mr. Adams 'sought and accepted improper valuable benefits' for at least a decade, when he was then the Brooklyn borough president, according to the indictment.
“Federal agents searched the official residence of Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday morning, hours before prosecutors were expected to announce the details of a federal indictment against him.... At about 6 a.m. on Thursday, nearly a dozen men and women dressed in business attire arrived in S.U.V.s outside the entrance of Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, on the Upper East Side. At least one vehicle had a federal law enforcement parking placard on its dashboard. They carried briefcases, backpacks and bags. Many agents were still at Gracie Mansion later in the morning when some of the mayor’s top advisers and his former chief counsel, Brendan McGuire, walked inside.”
~~~ The AP is updating developments here. NBC News updates are here. A CNBC story is here. (MB: I've been looking for a facsimile of the indictment itself with no luck yet. Update: here is is now, via the NYT, but I'll still look for one directly from the prosecutor or from a non-subscriber site.) ~~~
~~~ Update: Okay, here's the indictment, via Politico.
Seb Starcevic & Csongor Körömi of Politico: "... Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday for not making concessions to Russia, giving his strongest indication to date he would stop backing Kyiv if he wins the U.S. presidential election. Trump, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina, said Ukraine should have 'given up a little bit' to appease Moscow and avoid a bloody conflict with its invading neighbor, which he said 'didn’t need to happen.... 'We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelenskyy,' Trump railed in a lengthy tirade.” AP story linked below.
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Presidential Race
I intend to chart a new way forward and grow America’s middle class. Donald Trump intends to take America backward to the failed policies of the past. You see, for Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who actually build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floor. -- Vice President Kamala Harris, in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pa. yesterday about her economic plan ~~~
~~~ Matt Viser & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: “Vice President Kamala Harris, seeking to further erode Donald Trump’s advantage on economic issues, announced plans Wednesday for a broad expansion of investment in American industries from semiconductors to clean energy. But she was light on specifics, instead focusing much of her speech on emphasizing that she understands the struggles of middle-class Americans. The account ... [which tied] her economic philosophy to her own biography..., was intended to create a contrast with Trump, who grew up wealthy and has made a career of showcasing his lavish lifestyle.” A Politico report is here. ~~~
~~~ Liz Skalka of the Huffington Post: “Vice President Kamala Harris called Donald Trump a 'loser' who failed to grow domestic manufacturing under his watch in one of her strongest speeches yet against the former president. 'All told, almost 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his presidency, starting before the pandemic hit, making Trump one of the biggest losers ever on the economy,' Harris said in remarks Wednesday that channeled Trump’s own hyperbole.... '... Nnot everybody was handed, on a silver platter, $400 million and then filed for bankruptcy six times.'”
Reid Epstein of the New York Times: “As Vice President Kamala Harris parses out the details of her agenda, she has favored broad strokes over detailed policy papers.... Little about that careful approach changed during a 25-minute interview with Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC that was broadcast on Wednesday night. It was Ms. Harris’s first one-on-one interview on cable television since becoming the Democratic nominee. In her discussion with a friendly interviewer, the vice president again presented herself as a champion of the middle class and hit many of the same themes from her pro-business economic speech earlier in the day.” Epstein goes on to list his takeaways. ~~~
~~~ Marie: It's true that Harris -- like most politicians -- often does not answer questions directly. For instance, Epstein criticizes her refusal to answer Ruhle's question about why voters aren't buying her economic plan. I too think she could have handled this better. Instead of dodging the question, she could have said something mealy-mouthed about how voters don't know her yet, blah blah. Of course, the real answer -- and one Harris mustn't share -- is that those who say they favor Trump's "plan" are either dumb as rocks, uninformed, misinformed, or maybe are homing in on something else like, "never gonna vote for no Black chick." ~~~
~~~ You can watch the full interview, as aired, here. ~~~
~~~ Megan Lebowitz of NBC News: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday criticized ... Donald Trump's recent comments about reproductive rights.... 'I don't think the women of America need him to say he's going to protect them,' Harris said during an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, referring to previous comments from Trump. 'The women of America need him to trust them.'... [In a post on his failing social media site, Trump wrote in all caps,] 'I will protect women at a level never seen before.'... 'They will finally be healthy, hopeful, safe, and secure.'... Harris separately pointed to Trump's previous comments suggesting women should be punished for having abortions.... '... He also then chose three members of the United States Supreme Court who did as he intended, undid the protections of Roe v Wade.'" ~~~
~~~ Harris "Fact-checked" Ruhle's Fact-check. Kathleen Culliton of the Raw Story: "Stephanie Ruhle grilled [Vice President] Harris about her new economic policy plan in an exclusive interview during which she tried to fact-check Harris — and found herself checked in return. 'Donald Trump,' said Harris, 'left us with the worst economy since the Great Depression when you look at, for example, the employment numbers.' Ruhle cut it to remind Harris about the COVID-19 global pandemic. 'Unemployment was so high because we shut down the government, we shut down the country,' said Ruhle. [Harris replied,] 'Even before the pandemic, he lost manufacturing jobs by most people's estimates at least 200,000,' Harris said. This number appears in an analysis from the BlueGreen Alliance, a group that represents the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club." MB: Harris also said Trump lost auto plants before the pandemic hit. ~~~
~~~ BUT. Notice the difference between Harris's remarks during her prepared speech -- recited above in the HuffPost story -- and in her pushback against Ruhle. As Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post notes, “This is a good example of how a cleverly phrased line in a speech can get bungled when a politician tries to repeat it later off the cuff. In the speech, Harris’s phrasing was defensible. But the wording in the interview was wrong.... In 2019, the year before the pandemic, manufacturing went into a mild recession, and the number of manufacturing jobs fell nearly 50,000 from January 2019 to February 2020.... From February 2017, the first month of jobs data in his presidency, to the time the pandemic struck in March 2020, manufacturing jobs increased about 400,000....” ~~~
~~~ That is, before the pandemic, there was a hefty increase in manufacturing jobs during Trump's presidency*, though that number was beginning to fall shortly before the pandemic caused an economic crisis. Obviously, it's impossible to know what would have happened to manufacturing jobs absent the Covid virus: if the numbers would have continued to increase as they had in the first years of Trump's term or continued to decrease as they had shortly before the pandemic hit. ~~~
~~~ Josh Boak & other AP reporters try to analyze and contrast Harris's & Trump's economic "plans." MB: Good luck with that. Harris at least has a theme; Trump has a disastrous grab-bag of policies meant to help the rich, pander to the struggling poor & middle-class, and generally cause a recession or depression.
Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “President Biden on Wednesday delivered a blunt assessment of the character of his predecessor, telling the hosts of 'The View' on ABC that 'there’s not a lot of redeeming value' to... Donald J. Trump. Asked if he would have won if he stayed in the presidential race, Mr. Biden replied: 'Yes. I was confident I would beat Trump. He’s a loser.' But in an appearance that was part personal, part policy and part political, Mr. Biden said he was 'at peace' with his decision not to run again. He also made an enthusiastic pitch for Vice President Kamala Harris: 'She is smart as hell, No. 1,' he said. He added that 'she’s tough, she’s honorable, and the thing I like about her — and one thing to share in common — is that we have an optimistic view in the future.' Mr. Biden’s appearance on the 'The View,' his 10th, was the first time a sitting president has appeared live on the show.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Washington Post Editors: “The one thing worse than high credit card rates is Trump's plan to cut them.... He promised that interest rates would be held down to roughly 10 percent.... The impact of a plan like Mr. Trump’s would be to worsen the plight of debt-strapped consumers.... When you restrict the price of credit, which is all the interest rate is, the supply of credit falls. And supply shrinks especially sharply for the riskiest borrowers.... In short, this supposed help for the little guy would disproportionately harm consumers of relatively modest means.... When struggling families can’t tap credit cards for emergency expenses such as car repairs or utility bills, they can be forced to use alternative sources of credit, such as pawnshops, that offer money on even less attractive terms than credit card companies.” The editors go on to decry Trump's entire package of proposals, which Trump's alma mater Penn Wharton estimates “would increase the deficit by more than $4 trillion over the next 10 years.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: My guess is that Trump has economic advisors who occasionally give him good advice (though "conservative" economists tend not to be very sensible). And Trump just ignores them. It appears that since her initial goof-up of mounting the Trump no-tax-on-tips bandwagon, Harris seems to be making proposals that are at least reasonable, though she ought to get a bit more open on who would pay for the giveaways.
Our Own Neville Chamberlain. Jonathan Cooper of the AP: At a North Carolina event that was supposed to be about the economy, “... Donald Trump described Ukraine in bleak and mournful terms Wednesday, referring to its people as 'dead' and the country itself as 'demolished'... Trump argued Ukraine should have made concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the months before Russia’s February 2022 attack, declaring that even 'the worst deal would’ve been better than what we have now.' Trump, who has long been critical of U.S. aid to Ukraine, frequently claims that Russia never would have invaded if he was president and that he would put an end to the war if he returned to the White House. But rarely has he discussed the conflict in such detail.... On Tuesday, Trump touted the prowess of Russia and its predecessor Soviet Union, saying that wars are 'what they do.'... [Trump], notoriously attuned to slights, began his denunciation of Ukraine by alluding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent criticism of Trump and running mate JD Vance.... '... the president of Ukraine is in our country and he’s making little nasty aspersions toward your favorite president, me.... “Biden and Kamala allowed this to happen by feeding Zelenskyy money and munitions like no country has ever seen before,' Trump said.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: What would Trump do if Russia, visible from Sarah Palin's house," invaded Alaska & declared that Seward's Folly deal null & void? Would Trump cede Alaska to Russia, like his suggestion that Ukraine roll over for Russian aggression? No way to know. Really.
Jamie Frevele of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump declared this week that he would be a 'protector' of women. In a pair of campaign ads, two women described how the ex-president sexually assaulted them. People Magazine was the first to report on the ads, which were backed by George Conway’s Anti-Psychopath PAC, and one of their own journalists, Natasha Stoynoff, recounted what happened when she visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2005[.]” The ads are embedded in yesterday's Commentariat & in Frevele's post. (Also linked yesterday.)
A Libertarian and a Libertine walk into a Manhattan crypto-bar. The Libertarian, Nick Gillespie, an editor at Reason, says to the Libertine, Donald Trump, an aging, lying, totally disreputable SOS, “You signed legislation adding $7.8 trillion to the deficit in your first four years. Why will it be different if you’re reelected?” “Well, we had a thing called Covid,” the Libertine replied. “But you added it before Covid,” the Libertarian countered. “And we were getting the country all set with our liquid gold and all the other assets that we have. We were going to bring that way down,” the Libertine said, making no sense at all. (Also linked yesterday.)
This Week's Big Grift: “Trump Is Hawking Silver Coins at a 210% Markup.” Michael Luciano of Mediaite: Donald Trump is promoting silver 'Trump Coins.'... On Tuesday, Trump retweeted a post by @realtrumpcoins1, whose profile states it is an 'Official Partner of The Trump Organization.' The post contains a 48-second video showing the coin, which has Trump’s face on the obverse. On the reverse is the White House, Trump’s signature, and the motto 'In God We Trust.' The coin is one troy ounce of silver. The post also contains a link to a website where people can 'preview the coin' and join a waitlist to buy them for a cool $100. As of this writing, the spot price for an ounce of silver is $32.... Typically, custom-made silver coins sell for less than $10 above the spot price of silver....” (Also linked yesterday.)
The Candidates' Debate. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: “CNN reported this week that former Fox News personality and Trump administration official Monica Crowley is helping Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) prepare for his vice presidential debate next week against Gov. Tim Walz (D). Crowley is playing the moderator during the debate prep sessions, while House GOP Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), who is a longtime colleague of Walz’s, is playing the Democratic nominee for VP. News that Vance enlisted Crowley for debate prep raised eyebrows as she is a prominent contributor to the much-maligned Project 2025, which Donald Trump and his campaign are working overtime to distance themselves from.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Kathryn Watson, et al., of CBS NEWS: "Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is standing in for Vance in [Gov. Tim] Walz's debate prep sessions, according to a campaign official familiar with the prep. Buttigieg was praised for his debating skills during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary process, and was a stand-in for former Vice President Mike Pence's in Harris' [2020] debate prep.... Buttigieg has also made frequent appearances on Fox News, earning the nickname 'Slayer Pete' by the Los Angeles Times for being a 'rhetorical assassin' on cable news." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ryan Grenoble of the Huffington Post finds a number of Republicans who really have killed family pets, in contrast to Haitian refugees whom Trump, Vance & other Republicans (see, for instance, reports on Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La. below) falsely claim are killing & eating their neighbors' pets.
Here are the New York Times' live updates in developments at the U.N. General Assembly today. (Also linked yesterday.) See also entry under “Ukraine, et al.” below.
Sorry, meant to link this earlier: ~~~
~~~ Sheryl Stolberg & David Sanger of the New York Times: “President Biden used his final speech to the United Nations on Tuesday to celebrate his defense of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and his work to restore the United States’ global alliances, but he also warned that the advances of his administration could easily fall apart if America returned to isolationism. In an address of a little more than 20 minutes to the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Biden combined personal touches with policy imperatives and an impassioned defense of democracy. He traced the arc of his own political career, from election to the Senate in 1972 at age 29, to his 'difficult' decision two months ago to drop his bid for re-election — a decision he framed as a lesson for other heads of state. 'My fellow leaders,' Mr. Biden said, 'let us never forget: Some things are more important than staying in power.'” CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Democrats Save the Republic! Again. Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: “The House on Wednesday passed a short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown just ahead of the November elections, punting a bigger funding fight to the end of the year. Speaker Mike Johnson again turned to Democrats to supply the bulk of the votes to keep federal funding flowing through Dec. 20, after conservatives in his own conference said they would not support the legislation because it would not cut spending and did not include a measure imposing new proof-of-citizenship requirements on voter registration. The vote was 341 to 82, with a majority of the Republican conference voting in favor of the legislation. Mr. Johnson had brought the legislation to a vote using a special procedure to pass the bill that requires the support of two-thirds of those voting in an effort to circumvent any attempt by hard-liners to block consideration of the measure. All Democrats present voted in support of the legislation.... Senator Chuck Schumer ... said on Tuesday night that the Senate would take up and pass the measure mere hours after it passed the House.” CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ NYT Update: “In a pair of votes in quick succession, lawmakers in both chambers overwhelmingly voted to pass the measure to keep federal funding flowing through Dec. 20. The Senate vote was 78 to 18. All the 'no' votes were Republicans. [President] Biden is expected to sign the legislation before the Sept. 30 deadline.” ~~~
~~~ Mychael Schnell & Emily Brooks of the Hill reported on Trump's last-minute attempt to tank the stopgap measure since it no longer contains his demand that people provide proof-of-citizenship in order to register to vote. Had Trump successed, of course, the Congress would have shut down the government.
Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: “A bipartisan House majority passed a resolution on Wednesday condemning President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and 13 other current and former members of the administration over their roles in the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, after 10 Democrats joined all Republicans in delivering the rare and sweeping rebuke. The 219-to-194 vote was the House’s final roll call before members departed Washington to focus on the election, in which control of the chamber is up for grabs. Though the resolution was uniquely broad and direct in condemning the president, members of his cabinet and top advisers in a personal capacity, instead of as an administration, the vote was symbolic because the measure carries no force of law. Still, the participation of 10 Democrats — almost all of them facing tight re-election contests — buoyed the Republicans behind the effort to formally hold senior administration officials primarily responsible for the failures of the withdrawal in the summer of 2021....”
Justine McDaniel of the Washington Post: “Republican Rep. Clay Higgins (La.) published racist comments about Haitians on Wednesday — only to delete them after being confronted by House colleagues. In a post on X..., Higgins called Haitians 'thugs,' called Haiti the 'nastiest country in the western hemisphere,' and repeated false and dehumanizing claims about pet-eating.... He has not yet issued an apology.... Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) confronted Higgins on the floor and asked him to take down the post. House Speaker Mike Johnson, also a Louisiana Republican, told reporters Higgins was approached by colleagues who told him the post was 'offensive.' Johnson said he then spoke to Higgins about it, after which Higgins 'prayed about it and he regretted it and he pulled the post down.'... On the House floor, Horsford introduced a censure resolution against Higgins. In a statement shortly thereafter, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Higgins 'must be held accountable for dishonorable conduct that is unbecoming of a Member of Congress.'... Higgins resigned from the St. Landry Parish sheriff’s office in 2016 after he described alleged gang members as 'heathens' and 'animals' in a viral video. He won his House seat months later.”
~~~ Marie: That is to say, Higgins is a lifelong raving bigot, but God & Mike Johnson are helping him find his way now. Very uplifting. ~~~
~~~ Oops! Higgins Scrapes God & Johnson Off His Boot, Like You-Know-What. Annie Grayer, et al., of CNN: “Despite the backlash and ultimate decision to take down the post after he said he prayed on it, Higgins told CNN he stood by his demeaning comments. 'It’s all true,' Higgins said. 'I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want.' Digging in, Higgins continued: 'It’s not a big deal to me. It’s like something stuck to the bottom of my boot. Just scrape it off and move on with my life.' Horsford said on [CNN's] 'AC360' that he will 'follow through' on the effort to censure Higgins over the post, which he called 'divisive, racially charged, hateful rhetoric.'”
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Kentucky. David Chen of the New York Times: “A Kentucky sheriff charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a judge pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a case that has shaken the small rural community of Letcher County. Sheriff Shawn Stines, also known as Mickey, made his first court appearance as a defendant in the case at his virtual arraignment. He is accused of fatally shooting Judge Kevin Mullins last Thursday in his chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg in southeastern Kentucky, not far from the Virginia border.”
⭐ New York. Wowza! William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: “Eric Adams, a retired police captain who was elected as New York City’s 110th mayor nearly three years ago on a promise to rein in crime, has been indicted in a federal corruption investigation, people with knowledge of the matter said. The indictment remained sealed on Wednesday night, and it was unclear what charge or charges Mr. Adams will face. But the federal investigation has focused at least in part on whether Mr. Adams and his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations. When the indictment is made public, Mr. Adams, a Democrat, will become the first New York City mayor to face a federal charge while in office. It was not clear when he will surrender to the authorities. Federal prosecutors were expected to announce more details on Thursday.... Mr. Adams struck a defiant tone in a video statement issued Wednesday, insisting that he had done nothing wrong. 'I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,' he said. 'If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.'” CNN's report is here. ~~~
~~~ New York Times reporters are live-updating developments in the case. ~~~
~~~ Everybody Eric Adams Knows Is Suspicious. Hurubie Meko & Elena Shao of the New York Times: “Several federal corruption investigations have reached people in the orbit of Mayor Eric Adams of New York, with Mr. Adams — who faces re-election in 2025 — and some of the highest-ranking officials in his administration [are] coming under scrutiny.... Here are people with ties to Mr. Adams that are related to the investigations and other legal issues[.]” The report goes on to name a fairly astounding list of 20 individuals, a number of whom have served in his administration. ~~~
~~~ Dana Rubinstein of the New York Times: “... after the news of the mayor’s indictment, the calls for his resignation promptly surged. Mr. Adams is not required to resign.”
~~~ Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: “Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York on Wednesday said Eric Adams should resign as mayor of New York City, becoming the most prominent Democrat to push for his ouster amid federal corruption investigations involving his administration. In a statement to The New York Times, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a national leader of her party’s progressive wing, said she could 'not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City.... 'The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening government function,' she said. 'Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.'” (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here. MB: AOC made her remarks before Adams' indictment.
North Carolina. Rats ... Ship. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: “Senior staff members in the office of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina have said they will resign on Oct. 1, becoming the latest people to abandon Mr. Robinson, the state’s Republican nominee for governor, in the wake of a CNN report that linked him to disturbing comments on a porn site. Those resigning include Brian LiVecchi, the chief of staff and general counsel; Jonathan Harris, the policy director; John Wesley Waugh, the director of communications; and Nathan Lewis, the director of government affairs. Mr. LiVecchi confirmed the resignations in a brief phone call on Wednesday afternoon. On Sunday, most of the senior employees of Mr. Robinson’s campaign for governor also resigned.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Wisconsin. Scott Bauer of the AP: “The mayor of a central Wisconsin city who ran for office on his opposition to absentee ballot drop boxes said Wednesday he did nothing wrong when he put on work gloves, donned a hard hat and used a dolly to cart away a drop box outside City Hall. Wausau Mayor Doug Diny posed for a picture Sunday to memorialize his removal of the city’s lone drop box that had been put outside City Hall around the same time late last week that absentee ballots were sent to voters. The city’s election clerk, Kaitlyn Bernarde, said she has reported the issue to the Marathon County district attorney a well as the state elections commission.... It is a felony in Wisconsin to impede or prevent 'the free exercise of the franchise at an election.'”
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in Israel's wars are here: “Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants exchanged more fire Thursday, as Biden administration officials awaited Israeli and Lebanese action on a 21-day cease-fire proposal formulated by the United States and other nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself from the proposal, emphasizing that Israel has not yet responded to it and instructing his forces to 'continue fighting with full force.' The proposal, which does not directly include Hezbollah as a signatory, came after Israel said it was preparing for a potential ground incursion into Lebanon.” ~~~
~~~ Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: “The United States, its allies in Europe and several Arab nations on Wednesday unveiled a joint cease-fire proposal to temporarily end the recent deadly fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, hoping to avert a wider war and bolster stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.” ~~~
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Israel's wars are here. CNN's live updates are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Erika Solomon, et al., of the New York Times: “Over two weeks, Palestinians watched as Israeli military bulldozers tore up mile after mile of their streets and alleys, sewage seeping into the dusty ruts left behind. The people of Tulkarm and Jenin, the two West Bank towns that were the focus of Israel’s latest military raids, said they had never before experienced such a scale of destruction. Residents pointed to one video that shows an Israeli armored bulldozer flattening a decorative roundabout and nearby vegetation.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Surely I'm not the only wild-eyed conspiracy theorist who suspects Bibi is laying down all this death and destruction at least partially in order to undermine the Biden administration, thus Vice President Harris's election bid. Bibi can't want an honorable, intelligent U.S. president when Trump is the alternative.
Ukraine, et al. Neil MacFarquhar & Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times: “President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine urged the United Nations on Wednesday to prevent Russia from freezing the war as it is now, saying that the Kremlin 'still wants even more land — more land, which is insane, and is seizing it day by day while wanting to destroy its neighbor.' Those nations pushing to end the conflict were ignoring the wishes of the Ukrainian people, he said in an address to the General Assembly, and were encouraging President Vladimir V. Putin’s expansionary aims.”
27 Comments
Reader Comments (27)
I will ask VP Harris for more specifics on her economic plans only after the news media asks t**** to explain what a tariff is, and keeps at it until he actually answers the question.
The perils of prophecy, or as L. Sprague de Camp put it many years ago--and as I have previously quoted here?--"It does not pay a prophet (or a politician--Ken adds) to be too specific."
Following up on NiskyGuy’s comment, it’s predictable the media would descend on Harris’s interview with ravenous intent, parsing each answer as if rectors in an English public school grading students on their masterful knowledge of a multitude of subjects prior to being granted admission into the fellowship the well educated, the sort of deep dive they never apply to a single one of Fatty’s daily turd covered claims of best this and greatest ever that.
Also, at one point, Ruhle asked Harris if voters could trust her. I have never heard anyone ask Trump or Vance or even Biden, if they were trustworthy, a question absolutely valid of inveterate liars like Shady and the Fat Fabricator.
And here’s the other thing, no one demands specifics from Trump. No one. And he’s had years—years!—to develop them. Harris has had weeks. But the MSM is content to run with the usual “I will release my wonderful plan for the best ever blah, blah, blah, in two weeks!” Right. Along with his tax returns, infrastructure plans, and greatest ever healthcare scheme to replace the ACA. Worse than letting things slide where Trump is concerned, making misstatements of facts off by several parsecs, they fix his errors and pave over his ignorance and lies. With Harris, it’s “OMG! She was off on her calculations by .345%! How can we ever trust her?
I’m sure there are those out in the corporate MSM ready to grant all these inner circle staff members jumping off the SS Robinson in North Carolina with imminent sainthood for their sudden fit of moral rectitude, but as usual, they would be in grievous error.
Look, this guy has been an open book for years. He’s a raving loony who has never tried to hide the fact that Hitler and Nazis, slavery, and the sort of hard boiled misogyny not seen since the Salem Witch Trials give him an instant stiffie. What’s different now? Oh! He likes watching trans porn. Oh, well, that’s horrible, right? All that other crap was fine, but watching porn that doesn’t involve a straight manly man and submissive, straight woman is a complete deal breaker.
Plus, if they ever want to work for any Party of Traitors politician again, they don’t want “Communications Director for the Trannie Porn Guy” on their resume. “Slavery and Hitler loving guy who tells women to keep their skirts down” is perfectly fine.
Test.
Crazy…even for Trump.
Now he’s yammering about immigrants coming in with machine guns and military grade weaponry to take over entire cities.
Machine guns? These people are lucky to own a fucking can opener.
So…any “fact checking” here, Glenn Kessler? No?
I guess they just assume most people will realize this sort of stuff is barking mad, but that’s the whole point. Plenty of people don’t assume anything of the kind, and when they see media doorkeepers give Kamala Harris the third degree over a bit of economic minutia and say nothing about Trump’s claim that immigrants are living in five star hotels with filet mignon for breakfast while forcing homeless veterans to eat out of dumpsters, the only assumption many voters will make is “Harris, bad. Trump, protector of real ‘mericans”.
Marie wrote: “Surely I'm not the only wild-eyed conspiracy theorist who suspects Bibi is laying down all this death and destruction at least partially in order to undermine the Biden administration, thus Vice President Harris's election bid. Bibi can't want an honorable, intelligent U.S. president when Trump is the alternative.”
Quite. Also…if peace were suddenly arrived at, Netanyahu would instantly be called for his astonishing indolence and incompetence that allowed the initial Hamas attacks to be carried out, not to mention his corruption charges would move forward in the courts. Wars are what’s keeping Bibi out of jail. So…Gaza, Lebanon? Shit, let’s invade Jordan while we’re at it. Luxembourg? Monaco? Hey, why not? Anything to keep judgement day far away.
Testy test…
We're predictably back to the knife in a gunfight scenario.
The Dems are always handicapped simply because they are nicer and more law-abiding. In other words, they have the disadvantage of having standards.
Since the Pretender has none, seldom makes sense, and obviously knows nothing about economics, no one bothers to question him. It's hard to apply standards to those who have none, so the media no longer tries.
Marcy Wheeler has a different take on the Reid Epstein piece.
If you're going to complain about a double standard -- and there certainly is one -- then don't apply one yourself. That is, if you don't expect Harris to know what she's talking about and to be generally accurate in her criticisms of Trump's economic record, then don't laugh -- as I have done -- about Trump's remarkable nonsense response to a question asking about specific childcare tax-credit legislation.
That is, I don't expect Harris to get specific in her answers to economic questions, because (a) that's the best way to lose an audience, (b) the "undecided" (moronic) voters don't really care, but I do expect her to have taken time since 2019 to master those specifics, so that she -- definitely with the aid of expert advisors -- could develop and express an overall "vision" of how the federal government can aid the private sector in enhancing the economy & ensuring that ordinary workers receive a larger share of it. That's what she's after, as far as I can tell, but it seems to me she has not done all of her homework. I don't blame her for not wanting to do it -- economics is boring to me and a lot of other people -- but understanding how various government actions are likely to affect the general economy is part of her job.
@unwashed: Thanks. I see Wheeler's point, and I don't disagree with it. Still, Epstein is not necessarily incorrect when he criticizes Harris for not directly answering the question. If Harris was worried that Ruhle wouldn't give her another chance to talk about Trump's stupid economic ideas, then she could have started by briefly answering Ruhle's horserace question, as I suggested in the body of the page, then rolled right into, "But here's the larger point, blah blah."
That is, I think that to some extent Harris has to answer to the masters of the media -- i.e., the New York Times -- in order to get through directly to voters. Go ahead, answer the reporters' questions, even as you more-or-less brush them off as irrelevant, then talk past the reporters to the public. This cuts out the middle-man, i.e, Epstein, whose negative reporting interrupts & interferes with Harris' message to voters.
Harris is an excellent speaker, she's a quick study, she has some very good advisors, so she can do it right. That is, she can beat reporters at their nitpicking games.
This is something, BTW, that not just Democrats but especially Democratic women have to do. Reporters, probably including female reporters, think women are better at details than are men (and maybe they are, I don't know). The problem, as I see it, is that the reason people think women are better than men at details is that they think men have more important things to do than do women, so they leave the minutia to underlings. People think men are better at "theory" & have more "vision" than do women.
Marie,
I certainly expect Harris to have a command of a multitude of topics, knowledge of which is absolutely required of someone seeking the presidency. But the minutia of certain more arcane subjects are rarely within the full grasp of any president. It’s too often unfortunate that this is the case, that leaders must rely on the advice of others (Obama’s reliance on such as Larry Summers, for instance). The job of the president, as I see it, is to lay out broad policy agendas and work out the details with trusted advisers.
The best leaders will have a solid command of several areas and a more general understanding of everything else. A Harvard president (I think it was President Lowell) once defined an educated person as someone who was expert at several things but who knew how to find out about the stuff they didn’t know. I think that’s not a bad way to consider at least one part of a president’s job. What I find galling is the way certain commentators look for tripping points in Harris that they never consider for almost any Republican.
One could fairly say, however, that, being a Vice President, she perhaps should have considered that a serious presidential run would be in her future and should have been preparing for that all along. But then there are the political concerns. What might have seemed a good idea four years ago might require some readjustments in light of new information or a new political climate.
I don’t at all believe that Harris should be given a pass, but considering what she’s accomplished in a short amount of time is pretty impressive. If she hasn’t got everything nailed down tight right this minute, it looks as if she’ll be able to do that after she survives the lies from the traitors and the brickbats from the media.
Test…
Absolutely, AK. I am infuriated anew at the so-called "interviewers" who think they will be described as intellectuals if they ask gotcha questions to Kamala. I am not at all sure she isn't thinking every time that she has to weigh what she shares and doesn't share with these people. And it is doubly infuriating that we have this regurgitating moron and the assistant moron/blabbermouth getting full coverage every minute of every day, and no one in the press game seems to ask the hard questions to those monsters. She has been running since mid-summer and they have been running forever-- remember the head rodent initially declared so he might be able to stay out of the clink.
As Charlie says, he knows nothing about anything. The other guy might know a little, but he is one of the most disgusting persons ever running, and that is saying something, given the wide range of disgusting human beings that have an R after their stupid names. Dump the Zero is nothing but a mean, corrupt piece of merde, who is demented to boot. And yet, he STILL gets a pass. I listened yesterday to that poor guy that has followed his campaign for eternity (MSNBC)-- Vaughn something-- edit everything Freakface probably mumbled and screamed about at the latest wankfest (thanks, Charlie, for that term--) Must be nice to have a paid interpreter that is not on his payroll tell everyone what he (supposedly-- hard to tell) meant to say. And yes, NiskyGuy-- he still has no idea what a tariff is and refuses to learn and no one has the courage to ask him outright what that is...and yet he keeps throwing it to people just as ignorant as he is.
This is such a brutal stretch of time for Kamala. I hope she better-than survives it. Dealing with idiots on a national scale is exhausting. That includes the supposed "paper of note" and gotcha questioners. Stephanie R apparently wanted to fill in the holes of what she knows about K, but until she does that to The Giant Squid, no need to get all fuzzy about Stephanie. It was a flight of self-love, what little I listened to.
How a real political party operates.
A Democratic state rep in Kentucky has been banned for life from a strip club he apparently frequents after numerous incidents of groping, insulting, and propositioning the dancers there.
Democratic Party officials, up to and including the governor, Andy Beshear, have called outright for his resignation. Nothing like what we see from the PoT cowards and corrupt moral midgets in North Carolina where no one in power utters a peep about Mark Robinson, certainly not his primary supporter, another fascist pervert, Donald Trump, or anyone in the state or National Republican groups.
Democrats ain’t perfect (Eric Adams ), but at least the party has a better grasp of right and wrong than the amoral toadies on the other side.
Another test…
Policy
The indispensable Dan Froomkin, once more into the breach, dear friends, points out the savagely iniquitous AG Times which continues to pave over the most villainous lies from Shady and Fatty.
To Times reporter Michael Bender, Vance’s lies about Haitians in Ohio are just an example of his willingness to offer a muscular form of “combative conservatism”.
But Bender goes out of his way to make Vance seem less horrible:
“Here’s his opening paragraph:
From attacks on “childless cat ladies” to claims of migrants devouring neighbors’ pets, Senator JD Vance is providing many Americans with their first glimpse of an ultra-online, aggressively combative generation of rabble-rousing conservatism.
Yes, hurling racist invective at a vulnerable community to fire up a hateful and bigoted base is just ‘rabble rousing’ to the Times. It's ‘combative conservatism.’
(Note, too, how the author jokingly downplays Vance’s blood libel against lawful Haitian immigrants in the lede, using the phrase ‘devouring neighbors’ pets.’)
Bender continues:
In this version of Trumpism 2.0, publicity is paramount, precision is passé and controversy is often its own reward.
Let me rewrite that for you, Michael:
This version of Trumpism 2.0 centers around attention-getting lies that get massive media coverage.”
Froomkin points out that Bender’s politeness possibly stems from an icky symbiotic relationship with the Shady shithead.
“Bender’s byline includes the fact that he ‘traveled on Senator JD Vance’s campaign plane this week for events in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.’
And that explains a lot.
As Bender himself writes, Vance ‘excoriates the news media’ generally speaking, but ‘regularly takes questions from news organizations and almost never directly criticizes the reporters who line up to parry with him.’
In other words, Vance is nice to Bender. So it would be rude to not be nice to Vance. This is Vance’s reward for granting access.”
And our reward for this bilge the Times is spewing is a trip to TrumpLand. Batteries not included.
(HTML links don’t seem to be getting through the SquareSpace bouncers today, so here’s a text link:
https://criticalread.substack.com/p/vances-racist-attacks-are-just-rabble
@Akhilleus: I read all of Bender's article, and it's disgraceful. It's worse than Froomkin lets on, because Froomkin doesn't dwell at all on how in Bender's opener --
"From attacks on 'childless cat ladies' to claims of migrants devouring neighbors’ pets, Senator JD Vance is providing many Americans with their first glimpse of an ultra-online, aggressively combative generation of rabble-rousing conservatism."
-- the first group of people he brushes aside are women without children. That's nearly 50% of American women, so that's millions & millions of women that not only JayDee but also Bender & Froomkin give short shrift.
I'm sure Froomkin is right about Bender's transactional approach to reporting. He is a bro anyway, and he wrote a best-seller about the 2020 election, the book's success aided by Bender's access to Trump. It's not hard to imagine him cozying up to JayDee for access; in fact, it's impossible to imagine him not doing so. I'm sure he's accumulating notes & files for his 2024 best-seller.
In his article, Bender seems to admire JayDee's "muscular" approach to "creating stories." In fact, I think Bender accidentally gives away the store when he writes that Vance is "muscling [Trump's] tactics and language into the national psyche and driving some of the key story lines of the 2024 election." That is, Bender is acknowledging that reporters have fallen for JayDee's dirty tricks.
This article should never have been published by a reputable news outlet -- or at least not in the form it appeared -- but then, as you let on, the Times under AG Sulzberger, the Times is not so reputable.
It's useful to remember that big-city newspapers, like all major media outfits, are capitalistic endeavors. And idealists, like Froomkin, don't last long under their leaky umbrella.
Political talking heads are awful. I had MSNBC on in the background half listening to some of the Eric Adams details when they started talking about what might happen if Adams steps down. A reporter said that he has heard that Andrew Cuomo is thinking of running for NYC mayor to resurrect his political career when Basil Smikle jumped in that he would like covering that. It would be fun to see the ethically challenged disgraced New York Govenor running to be head one of the most important cities in the world. Who cares about the people or governance, what would be the most exciting for the people paid to cover and talk about it. This is a big part of the problem that we are dealing with in today's media. The horse races and the excitement of the politics is more important to them than the consequences and the fallout for the people on the ground who have to deal with the actual policies and decisions these politicians make. They don't take their jobs or their influence seriously enough.
Free Speech Absolutism
"X blocks links to hacked JD Vance dossier / And suspends the journalist who published it.
X is preventing users from posting links to a newsletter containing a hacked document that’s alleged to be the Trump campaign’s research into vice presidential candidate JD Vance. The journalist who wrote the newsletter, Ken Klippenstein, has been suspended from the platform. Searches for posts containing a link to the newsletter turn up nothing."
musk-style freedom of speech:
“Free for me, not for thee.”
For what it's worth:
https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/read-the-jd-vance-dossier
RAS-- I too was barely listening but noticed that the people hired for that segment all seemed real happy to have been chosen, and there were a lot of uncomfortable smiles. I guess that was in an effort to not titter about the details of a crummy story that most people out here in the boonies could not care less about. (Also, Basil Smikle should always be planning to sue his parent(s) for that dreadful, nontripingly-off-the-tongue name of his.). He was looking for entertainment at New Yorkers' expenses. If Adams is the corrupt sleazeball he is made out to be, it isn't funny to New Yorkers. It shouldn't be funny to any of us either. In fact, nothing is funny at this point-- we deserve a deadly serious aim to beat the idiots in the country and prevent them from electing the Great Clown Master again. I read in our paper a quote from some lady who said of the Mango Merde "Oh, he is such a sweetheart! I just love him so much..." Then I went away to throw up.
Can you believe it? Some lady thinks he is a "sweetheart." I hope she does not occupy an important post anywhere.
Re: Trump’s complete lack of fitness for office (any office):
For the MAGAts, unfitness, vulgarity, a propensity for violence against opponents, for punching down, for open and unmitigated racism, for disparagement of expertise, of decency, of facts, of a belief in democracy, for adherence to the rule of law, are all highly sought after qualities.
That’s why they’re MAGAts.
Jeanne wrote about some MAGAtroid’s vomitorious affection for the Orange Monster: “‘Oh, he is such a sweetheart! I just love him so much...’ Then I went away to throw up.
Can you believe it? Some lady thinks he is a ‘sweetheart.’ I hope she does not occupy an important post anywhere.”
Christ, Jeanne, I hope she’s not sitting near me in a movie theater.