The Conversation -- November 13, 2023

~~~ Abbie VanSickle & Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it had issued an ethics code [link fixed] for the justices after a series of revelations about undisclosed property deals and gifts intensified pressure on the court to adopt one. In a statement by the court, the justices said they had adopted the code of conduct 'to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the members of the court.'... Left unclear was how the code will be enforced." Emphasis added.

     ~~~ So here's the ethics code, via the Court.

Turns out the New York Times is liveblogging Donnie Jr.'s testimony. No doubt it's all very interesting. Let's see (in descending order, except for the overview at top):

Jonah Bromwich & Kate Christobek: "Donald Trump Jr. ... began testifying again Monday in the civil fraud case against his father and the family business, giving expansive answers to questions from his own lawyer about the Trump Organization. In a return appearance in a proceeding that has featured a parade of Trumps on the witness stand, Mr. Trump was relaxed as he talked up the family business, calling his father a 'visionary' and praising amenities including the Central Park view from Trump Tower and the vaults inside the company's 40 Wall Street building.... [Judge Arthur Engoron] brushed aside objections from lawyers for the state, who rested their case last week. 'Let him go ahead and talk about how great the Trump Organization is,' he said."

Bromwich: Junior says the Trump Org is "'much more of a meritocracy.' He and his two siblings all eventually became executive vice presidents." [MB: Because, obviously, the kids are meritorious.]

Christobek: "It's hard to state how different the last hour has been compared with the first six weeks of this trial. Until this morning, witnesses have typically been shown spreadsheets, emails or financial statements. Today, Donald Trump Jr. has been shown dozens of pictures of Trump luxury properties and monologued at length about them. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, is patient with this, perhaps welcoming the change of pace."

Christobek: "The attorney general's lawyers have often appeared frustrated during this trial, but this morning's session may take the cake. Several have, at times, cradled their heads in their hands, or sat back with their arms crossed."

Bromwich: "Donald Trump Jr. is talking about the licensing deal for a hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii, and how successful it was. This month, it was announced that the hotel will no longer be linked with the Trump name. It's becoming a Hilton."

Bromwich: "Donald Trump Jr. is asked what he envisions as the future of the Trump Organization. Interestingly, he makes no reference to this case but rather talks about the election next November as the determining factor, suggesting that if his father wins, the company's development may be on hold for a little while and 'sued into oblivion for the foreseeable future.'"

Bromwich: "With that, the direct examination is over. Colleen Faherty, the lawyer from the attorney general's office who questioned Donald Trump Jr. on his first appearance, will cross examine him now."

Bromwich: "Faherty ... starts right in on some of the properties he's described glowingly, noting some problem with them, including that 40 Wall Street's occupancy rate has dropped significantly and that the Waikiki hotel is abandoning the Trump brand to become a Hilton."

Bromwich: "... Faherty ... is already done. The cross-examination took less than 5 minutes and there will be no re-direct. Donald Trump Jr. is done for the day and he leaves the courtroom. We should get another witness momentarily."

Bromwich: "The next witness is Sheri Dillon, who worked as a lawyer for ... Donald J. Trump and some of his companies. Dillon helped guide Trump when he took the White House as he tried to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, and announced he was putting his sons in charge of his company.... Dillon is testifying about the tax benefits of conservation easements, and that's where we'll leave it for the day."

Michael Balsamo of the AP: "Secret Service agents protecting President Joe Biden's granddaughter opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle in the nation's capital, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The agents, assigned to protect Naomi Biden, were out with her in the Georgetown neighborhood late Sunday night when they saw the three people breaking a window of the parked and unoccupied SUV, the official said.... One of the agents opened fire, but n one was struck by the gunfire, the Secret Service said in a statement. The three people were seen fleeing in a red car, and the Secret Service said it put out a regional bulletin to Metropolitan Police to be on the lookout for it." MB: Wait a minute. There was more than one agent on the scene and the best description they could come up with was "red car"? You might think one of them would consider getting the plate number. Anyhow, BOLO for a red car. Ooh, one just passed my front yard. Should I call it in?

Virginia Elections. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Representative Abigail Spanberger, a prominent Virginia Democrat who was repeatedly able to win in a conservative-leaning district, announced on Monday that she would run for governor in 2025, leaving open a competitive seat that could be crucial to her party's efforts to win back control of the House next year. Ms. Spanberger, 44, is seen as among the strongest Democratic contenders to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who is term-limited. Her decision not to seek re-election to Congress leaves House Democrats scrambling to hold a seat that is regularly in play for both parties." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Arizona Congressional Race. Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "Jacob Chansley, who rose to notoriety as the 'QAnon Shaman' following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, plans to run for Congress as a Libertarian candidate in the 2024 general election.... Chansley was sentenced in November 2021 to 41 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding in relation to the Capitol attack. His lawyers said during court proceedings that he had disavowed both QAnon conspiracy theories and former President Trump. Chansley was released to a Phoenix halfway house last March.... The U.S. Constitution does not bar convicted felons from holding federal office."

Shira Rubin, et al., of the Washington Post: "The standoff between Israeli troops and the Hamas militants who Israel maintains are taking cover in buildings designated for humanitarian purposes deepened Monday, as the death toll soared and the most vulnerable Gazans continued to get caught in the crossfire. These kinds of buildings, including hospitals, schools, mosques and those belonging to aid groups or international organizations, have been increasingly in the crossfire during Israel's ground invasion of Gaza, focusing on Hamas infrastructure in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. In the past three days, at least 32 people, including three children from the intensive care unit, have died in al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, which is surrounded by Israeli troops, Medhat Abbas, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, said Monday."

Sam Roberts & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Maryanne Trump Barry, a former federal judge who was an older sister of Donald J. Trump and served as both his protector and critic throughout their lives, has died. She was 86. She died at her home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, according to three people familiar with the matter. Two of them said the police were called to the home early Monday morning.... Judge Barry had been on the federal bench in New Jersey, a position that Mr. Trump's fixer, the lawyer Roy M. Cohn, was credited with helping her attain during President Ronald Reagan's tenure in the 1980s. She retired in 2019 after she became the focus of a court investigation stemming from an investigation by The New York Times into the Trump family's tax practices."

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Dan Lamothe & Kyle Rempfer of the Washington Post: "The Pentagon on Sunday announced a new round of airstrikes on Iranian facilities in Syria that officials said were linked to dozens of recent attacks targeting U.S. troops there and in neighboring Iraq, this time causing an undetermined number of fatalities among proxy fighters backed by Tehran. The operation marked a significant escalation by the Biden administration, which has sought to deter the sharp rise in violence against American forces in the Middle East without provoking a broader regional conflict as tensions flare over the war in Gaza. In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that these latest strikes had been carried out in eastern Syria on facilities used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and groups affiliated with it. They hit a training facility near the city of [Bukamal] and a 'safe house' near Mayadin, he said.”

Jacob Bogage & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "With less than a week before federal spending laws expire, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Saturday unveiled a novel and uncertain plan to temporarily extend funding -- but it's already been rejected by the Senate and White House, increasing the odds of a government shutdown. Johnson's proposed stopgap funding bill, called a continuing resolution or 'CR,' would leave funds for different federal agencies to expire at different times, according to three people familiar with the House leader's plans, requiring Congress to confront multiple deadlines in the coming months or risk repeated partial government shutdowns.... The two-tiered proposal was originally favored by the far-right House Freedom Caucus, whose views often influence Johnson. But key members of that group have more recently been skeptical of the plan because it lacks spending cuts.... Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Friday called the staggered funding plan 'the craziest, stupidest thing I've ever heard of.'"

I Told You He Was Crazy. Quinn Scanlan & Madison Burinsky of ABC News: "... Donald Trump came to believe a fringe conspiracy theory that he could be reinstated long after leaving office and before the next election, a new book by ABC's 'This Week' co-anchor Jonathan Karl reveals.... The idea was not based in law and was clearly unconstitutional, but it was supported by some of Trump's most devout followers, MyPillow CEO Michael Lindell chief among them. Lindell had claimed that Trump would be able to move back into the White House on Aug. 13, 2021.... Karl learned while reporting for his new book that Trump was talking in private a lot about the baseless notion of being reinstated -- so much so that some of his advisers were concerned he actually believed he could somehow force Biden out of the White House before the next election."

Kyle Cheney reports an interesting account of a meeting among Jack Smith & other prosecutors and Donald Trump's attorneys, based on an account by Jonathan Karl in his newest book, Tired of Winning. The anecdote at the end, about Trump's sending a factotum, John McEntee, to the Pentagon to shut up the Army's top guys who had said the military would play no role in determining the results of the 2020 election because Trump was contemplating have the military go around the country collecting voting machines. According to Karl, Acting Defense Secretary "Chris Miller spoke to both of them and anticipates no more statements coming out," read McEntee's note, which was included in a massive batch of documents posted publicly by the select committee. "If another happens, he will fire them." "Trump, according to Karl, tore up the note after reading it. And the version obtained by the select committee was clearly reconstructed from several torn pieces by aides who delivered the repaired missive to the National Archives."

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Donald Trump Jr. ... will testify Monday in his father's civil fraud trial.... He is being called by defense lawyers as they begin their arguments in the trial, which began five weeks ago and could last until mid-December.... In his first appearance, on Nov. 1, Donald Trump Jr. testified after being called by prosecutors that he had no direct involvement in annual financial statements that his family's business gave banks and insurers, despite language in the statements suggesting that he was partially responsible for them."

Presidential Race 2024

Maggie Haberman & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who tried carving out a space in the Republican presidential field with a hopeful message built on his life story -- the son of a single mother, he rose from poverty to become the only Black Republican in the Senate -- announced on Sunday that he was suspending his campaign.... A number of staff members learned that the campaign was being suspended from watching television, three people familiar with the matter said.Mr. Scott had canceled events in Iowa over the weekend, with his campaign saying he had the flu.... Mr. Scott said he had no intention of endorsing another candidate in the Republican primary race." MB: Big mistake, Tim. The Absolute Ruler expects fealty. The AP's report is here.

In honor of our great Veterans on Veteran's Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream. The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within. Despite the hatred and anger of the Radical Left Lunatics who want to destroy our Country, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! -- Donald Trump, in a supposed Veterans Day message ~~~

~~~ A paragraph for readers who can't handle the subtle nuances of Mein Kampf. -- Journalism Prof. Bill Grueskin

... calling people 'vermin' was used effectively by Hitler and Mussolini to dehumanize people and encourage their followers to engage in violence. -- Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Please tell us if this reminds you of any earlier historical figure. -- Historian Michael Beschloss

The use of 'vermin' ... appears in history in chiefly in one context, and one context only.... [It is] straight-up Nazi talk, in a way [Trump has] never done quite before. -- Michael Tomasky of the New Republic

This vermin must be destroyed. The Jews are our sworn enemies, and at the end of this year there will not be a Jew left in Germany. -- Adolf Hitler, 1939

I apologize for underplaying this yesterday. Once again, argumentum ad Hitlerum is not a logical fallacy. -- Marie Burns ~~~

     ~~~ Marianne Levine of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump denigrated his domestic opponents and critics during a Veterans Day speech Saturday, calling those on the other side of the aisle 'vermin' and suggesting that they pose a greater threat to the United States than countries such as Russia, China or North Korea. That language is drawing rebuke from historians, who compared it to that of authoritarian leaders.... Trump's use of the word 'vermin' both in his speech [in Claremont, N.H.,] and in a Truth Social post on Saturday drew particular backlash." ~~~

     ~~~ Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Sunday compared a hypothetical second Trump White House term to that of President Vladimir Putin's Russia and other authoritarian leaders in response to Trump's veiled threats that he would go after his political opponents if reelected. 'Well, the role of the government in his view is to advance his political fortunes and destroy his political enemies. So what would a second term look like? It would look a lot like Vladimir Putin in Russia. It would look a lot like [Prime Minister Viktor Orban] in Hungary -- illiberal democracy, meaning democracy without rights, or liberties, or respect for the due process, the system, the rule of law,' Raskin said on MSNBC's 'Inside with Jen Psaki.'" ~~~

~~~ Meanwhile, Jill Colvin of the AP writes a report outlining Trump's plans for a second administration that, IMO, is unnaturally calm in its tone, despite the fascistic nature of Trump's plans: "A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and 'freedom cities' built on federal land.... [Trump's] ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden's proposals. If implemented, Trump's plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term." MB: This is a bit like saying Hitler plans to remove civil liberties and his political opposition by violent means, but his Weimer opponents have different ideas. Crank it up, Jill.

     ~~~ Update. To make matters worse, again IMO, the AP seems to have decided to both-sides their report of Trump's and Biden's "visions." So AP editors assigned Chris Megerian to write about President Biden's plans for a second administration, as if there was some equivalency in Trump's plans to destroy liberal democracy and Biden's plans to, you know, cut some prescription drug costs. I despair.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "It's past time to reevaluate political coverage. Polling fixation is unenlightening if not misleading.... Many media outlets after Jan. 6, 2021, vowed to focus more on threats to democracy. (Occasionally, they do; but it doesn't dominate coverage, as polling does). However, most are stuck in overhyped horse-race coverage and endless chatter over meaningless Republican debates." Thanks to Patrick for the link.

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New York. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal authorities are investigating whether Mayor Eric Adams, weeks before his election two years ago, pressured New York Fire Department officials to sign off on the Turkish government's new high-rise consulate in Manhattan despite safety concerns with the building, three people with knowledge of the matter said. After winning the Democratic mayoral primary in July, Mr. Adams contacted then-Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro in late summer 2021 and urged him to allow the Turkish government to occupy the building at least on a temporary basis. The building had yet to open because fire officials had cited safety issues and declined to sign off on its occupancy, the people said. The unusual intervention by Mr. Adams is being examined as part of a broader public corruption investigation by the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors in Manhattan that led to the seizure of the mayor's electronic devices by federal agents early last week...."

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Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Gaza's health-care and communications infrastructure is collapsing under the strain of intense fighting. The World Health Organization's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Sunday that Gaza's largest hospital, al-Shifa, it 'is not functioning as a hospital anymore' after days without power, water or reliable internet and 'constant gunfire and bombings in the area.' Its second-largest hospital, al-Quds, is out of service because of power outages and fuel shortages, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said. Palestinian officials predict communications and internet in the enclave will shut down completely this week if it does not receive fuel and after significant infrastructure damage from Israeli strikes. Israel's military denied striking al-Shifa Hospital or targeting civilians." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

France. Sylvie Corbet & Barbara Surk of the AP: "More than 180,000 people across France, including 100,000 in Paris, marched peacefully on Sunday to protest against rising antisemitism in the wake of Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, representatives of several parties on the left, conservatives and centrists of President Emmanuel Macron's party as well as far-right leader Marine Le Pen attended Sunday's march in the French capital amid tight security. Macron did not attend, but expressed his support for the protest and called on citizens to rise up against 'the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism.'"

U.D. Karla Adam of the Washington Post:"In a major shake-up of his top leadership team Monday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed the former prime minister David Cameron as foreign secretary and fired Suella Braverman, his prominent home secretary. Cameron, who served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016, will take over from James Cleverly, who was appointed as the new home secretary, a position that oversees domestic security, law enforcement and immigration. Cleverly is taking over from Braverman, who is out of a job following criticism that she stoked tensions by saying police sympathized with pro-Palestinian protesters."

The Conversation -- November 12, 2023

In honor of our great Veterans on Veteran's Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream. The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within. Despite the hatred and anger of the Radical Left Lunatics who want to destroy our Country, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! -- Donald Trump, in what was supposed to be a Veterans Day message ~~~

~~~ A paragraph for readers who can't handle the subtle nuances of Mein Kampf. -- Journalism Prof. Bill Grueskin ~~~

Please tell us if this reminds you of any earlier historical figure. -- Historian Michael Beschloss ~~~

The use of 'vermin' ... appears in history in chiefly in one context, and one context only.... [It is] straight-up Nazi talk, in a way [Trump has] never done quite before. -- Michael Tomasky of the New Republic ~~~

This vermin must be destroyed. The Jews are our sworn enemies, and at the end of this year there will not be a Jew left in Germany. -- Adolf Hitler, 1939

I apologize for underplaying this earlier today. Once again, argumentum ad Hitlerum is not a logical fallacy. -- Marie Burns

This is a classic example of autocratic intention signaling. We should take it for its meaning and what the intention actually is going forward. https://t.co/pvsTaOtRnH

— Trygve Olson (@trygveolson) November 10, 2023

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.

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Kevin Freking & Stephen Groves of the AP: "House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his proposal on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2. The approach is unusual for a stopgap spending bill. Usually, lawmakers extend funding until a certain date for all programs.... The bill excludes funding requested by President Joe Biden for Israel, Ukraine and the U.S. border with Mexico." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: All I can figure out is that Johnson's plan is to pass the buck to the Senate and President; if they don't approve the bill, Mike will blame Democrats for shutting down the government. ~~~

     ~~~ The White House statement, by Karine Jean-Pierre is here. Here's a piece of it: "With just days left before an Extreme Republican Shutdown -- and after shutting down Congress for three weeks after they ousted their own leader -- House Republicans are wasting precious time with an unserious proposal that has been panned by members of both parties." ~~~

     ~~~ AND. Olivia Beavers, et al., of the Politico: "It already seems unlikely the spending plan could pass the House, with the new speaker saying they would need Democrats to support it.... Johnson has told members he plans to bring the plan up for a floor vote on Tuesday, but its chances already seem bleak.... The Rules Committee is scheduled to consider the spending plan Monday, eventually deciding whether it can come to the House floor. One conservative on that panel, House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) already announced on X he would oppose the legislation, saying it amounted to a 'clean CR.'... Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) also posted on X that they would vote against the spending package. Johnson can only afford to lose four GOP votes if all Democrats oppose it, assuming full attendance.... Johnson told the House GOP that if this package fails to pass the chamber, he plans to bring a full-year stopgap spending bill to the floor. That package would include blanket cuts to non-defense spending, he said...."

Josh Gerstein of the Politico: "Donald Trump is endorsing an effort by news organizations to provide live television coverage of his trial on federal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In a bombastic legal filing submitted late Friday to the judge who's scheduled that trial to begin in March, Trump's attorneys argued he's the victim of political persecution by President Joe Biden's administration and should be allowed to use the platform of TV to showcase the proceedings’ unfairness. 'The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness. President Trump calls for sunlight,' defense attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche wrote." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

Paul Campos in LG&$: "Biden and Trump are going to be the choice people face next November not because of a dereliction of our political elites, but because that's what a democratic primary process in the two major parties is going to produce, by overwhelming consensus in both cases. The political elites would very much prefer otherwise.... The 'manifestly too old' thing about [President] Biden is at this point just completely weird Biden is barely older than Trump, and Trump seems vastly less coherent, even by his incredibly degraded standards.... In American presidential politics right now, the only thing that matters is whether you are doing what you can to advance Joe Biden's candidacy or Donald Trump's. There are no other choices. Anything that undercuts Biden's chances of getting re-elected is objectively pro-Trump. Thumb suckers about (76-year-old!) Joe Manchin as a middle way alternative are, at the margin, bad for Biden and good for Trump." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "I wanted to make a couple of follow-up points to Paul's excellent post ... because bad faith arguments like [NYT columnist Ross] Douthat's are going to become increasingly common, especially if some combination of Manchin and Romney decide to run a No Labels ratfucking campaign. Let's stipulate that, in an ideal world, it would be better to have a presidential nominee who was younger than 75. It should also be clear that given the actual alternatives in the 2024 election Biden's age should be absolutely, 100% immaterial: Manchin and Romney being the dream candidates for the 'Biden's age is entirely disqualifying' crowd is useful, because Manchin and Romney would both be over 80 by the end of their first term. Dreaming on Manchin and Romney makes it absolutely stark just how much bad faith is involved in the 'Biden, and only Biden, is too old to be president' argument.... Because age is immaterial to this particular race, the only reason to prefer Trump is because you prefer reactionary authoritarianism to liberalism. That's it." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The only writer I've read who was willing to tell the truth about "Biden's too old" was Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times. She did this some time back. Biden is perceived as being too old because he garbles his words. All the time. Every other sentence. His sentences are coherent, for the most part, but his delivery is not. As in "The King's Speech" (which is based on a true story), Biden could learn to enunciate more clearly. He has chosen not to take the time to do that, and not to take the time to speak clearly. If he wants to be perceived as "not too old," the solution is simple: speak clearly. P.S. I'm not linking Douthat's column, but you can find it if you really want to read it.

Marisa Iati & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "The DeSantis campaign recently posted a thread of more than two dozen clumsy or confusing remarks by ... Donald Trump, positing that 'this is why his handlers won't let him debate.' Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, speaking to Jewish donors, mocked Trump for speaking positively about the leaders of China and North Korea, saying he is evidently 'confused' about which countries are American allies and which are adversaries. And the Biden campaign has also stepped up its posts about Trump's verbal fumbles, including a minute-long video compilation of various miscues. In press statements, it has slammed Trump for mispronouncing 'Hamas' and for musing aloud that the abbreviation for United States is spelled like the word 'us.' As Trump's Republican rivals face growing pressure to stop his momentum, while Democrats seek to neutralize concerns about Biden's age, the two sides are converging on a common argument -- that Trump's cognition has declined too far for him to lead the country again."

The Nastiest POS in the U.S. Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump, on a day set aside to celebrate those who have defended the United States in uniform, promised to honor veterans in part by assailing what he portrayed as America's greatest foe: the political left. Using incendiary and dehumanizing language to refer to his opponents, Mr. Trump vowed to 'root out' what he called 'the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.... The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within,' Mr. Trump said Saturday in a nearly two-hour Veterans Day address in Claremont, N.H.... Here are some of the more notable elements of Mr. Trump's Veterans Day speech."

President for Life. Marie: Yesterday we linked to a WashPo story that cited Donald Trump's saying during a Univision interview,

"They [Democrats] have done something that allows the next party .. if I happen to be president and I see somebody who's doing well and beating me very badly, I say, "Go down and indict them." They'd be out of business. They'd be out of the election."

Trump's plan to break the knees of his political adversaries has gained at least some of the attention it deserves. But I haven't heard a single mention of Part 2 of what Trump says is the plan. To parse Trump's terrible syntax as best I can: Trump says here, "If I am elected president*, I will tell DOJ to indict anyone who is 'beating me very badly' in the next election." Now, I ask you, What "next election"? Should Trump win a second term, he would be term-limited out. Under the Constitution, he cannot run again; there cannot be another presidential election in which Trump is president*, he sics the DOJ on an opponent who is "beating me very badly." Ergo, it is obvious that Trump plans to run for a third term.

Mass Murder, Brought to You by the Federal Government. Ben Dooley of the New York Times: The "Lake City Army Ammunition Plant..., the federal site ... built during World War II ... in Independence, Mo., has made nearly all the rifle cartridges used by the U.S. military since it pulled out of Vietnam. In recent years, the factory has also pumped billions of rounds of military-grade ammunition into the commercial market, an investigation by The New York Times found, leaving the 'LC' signature scattered across crime scenes, including the sites of some of the nation's most heinous mass shootings. The plant, operated by a private contractor with Army oversight, is now one of the country's biggest manufacturers of commercial rounds for the popular AR-15, and it remains so even as the United States supplies ammunition to Ukraine.... Starting in 2012 with the massacre of 12 people at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., the rounds have been tied to at least a dozen mass shootings involving AR-15-style guns, including at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis -- and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.... Over the last two decades, the government has invested more than $860 million to improve and repair the plant and expand its capacity, according to Justine Barati, an Army spokeswoman.... The Defense Department argues that the public-private partnership is necessary for national security."

Pope to Bishop: "You're Fired." Ruth Graham & Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "Pope Francis fired on Saturday a bishop in Texas who was one of his loudest American critics within the Catholic Church, a highly rare dismissal that appeared to reflect the growing rift between the Vatican and a more conservative wing of the church. The Vatican did not cite a reason for the dismissal of the bishop, Joseph Strickland, saying in a statement only that the pope 'relieved' Bishop Strickland from the governance of his diocese in Tyler, Texas. Bishop Strickland had significant ideological differences with Pope Francis. He was arguably the most prominent figure representing traditionalist American Catholics who see Francis as dangerously liberal on social issues like divorce, abortion and same-sex marriage, and on theological issues including his discouragement of the Latin Mass. Ultraconservatives in the United States have emerged as the financial center and media megaphone of the resistance to Francis' papacy."

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Virginia Political Races. Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: "Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) will not seek reelection in Virginia's 7th District next year so she can run for Virginia governor in 2025, according to two people familiar with the Democrat's plans. Spanberger, who won a third term last year in one of the state's most competitive swing districts, will announce her gubernatorial bid very soon, according to the two, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the congresswoman had hoped to make her announcement a surprise."

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Gaza's Health Ministry said its largest hospital, al-Shifa, was an 'open war zone' on Sunday, a day after the ministry's director general told The Washington Post that Israeli forces were 'striking us from all sides.' Israel denied that its forces were targeting or blockading al-Shifa. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any role for the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, saying Israel would assert 'total security control' after the fighting ends. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt will open again on Sunday for 'foreign passport holders' whose names are on preapproved departure lists, Wael Abu Omar, a Gaza border official, told The Post." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Wafaa Shurafa & Bassem Mroue of the AP: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel's battle to crush Gaza's ruling Hamas militants will continue with 'full force.' A cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Netanyahu said in a televised address. The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there. Asked what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said Israeli forces must be able to enter Gaza freely to hunt down militants." (Also linked yesterday.)

Megan Specia of the New York Times: "Hundreds of thousands of people marched through central London in a huge pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday, a tense day in which the police battled with a small right-wing group to keep order on some city streets. The large march in support of the Palestinian cause coincided with Armistice Day, when Britain commemorates those who fought in World War I and subsequent conflicts, and followed days of debate about whether the protest should be allowed to go ahead. A spokesperson for London's Metropolitan Police Service said by phone on Saturday afternoon that about 300,000 people had attended the march, making it one of the largest protests in Britain in recent years. Earlier in the day, a right-wing group clashed with the police near the Cenotaph, a war memorial close to the prime minister's official residence, shortly after a two-minute silence was held to mark Remembrance Day. Videos showed some people bursting through a cordoned-off area. By late Saturday, the police said that 126 people had been arrested."

Ukraine, et al. Shane Harris & Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post: "A senior Ukrainian military officer with deep ties to the country's intelligence services played a central role in the bombing of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline last year, according to officials in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, as well as other people.... The officer's role provides the most direct evidence to date tying Ukraine's military and security leadership to a controversial act of sabotage that has spawned multiple criminal investigations and that U.S. and Western officials have called a dangerous attack on Europe's energy infrastructure. Roman Chervinsky, a decorated 48-year-old colonel who served in Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, was the 'coordinator' of the Nord Stream operation..., managing logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines. On Sept. 26, 2022, three explosions caused massive leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The attack left only one of the four gas links in the network intact as winter approached. Chervinsky ... took orders from more senior Ukrainian officials, who ultimately reported to Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's highest-ranking military officer, said people familiar.... Chervinsky's participation in the Nord Stream bombing contradicts [President] Zelensky's public denials that his country was involved." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Conversation -- November 11, 2023

Santa Fe National Cemetery

Kevin Freking & Stephen Groves of the AP: "House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his proposal on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2. The approach is unusual for a stopgap spending bill. Usually, lawmakers extend funding until a certain date for all programs.... The bill excludes funding requested by President Joe Biden for Israel, Ukraine and the U.S. border with Mexico." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: All I can figure out is that Johnson's plan is to pass the buck to the Senate and President; if they don't approve the bill, Mike will blame Democrats for shutting down the government.

Wafaa Shurafa & Bassem Mroue of the AP: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel's battle to crush Gaza's ruling Hamas militants will continue with 'full force.' A cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Netanyahu said in a televised address. The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there. Asked what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said Israeli forces must be able to enter Gaza freely to hunt down militants."

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Josh Gerstein of the Politico: "Donald Trump is endorsing an effort by news organizations to provide live television coverage of his trial on federal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In a bombastic legal filing submitted late Friday to the judge who's scheduled that trial to begin in March, Trump's attorneys argued he's the victim of political persecution by President Joe Biden's administration and should be allowed to use the platform of TV to showcase the proceedings' unfairness. 'The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness. President Trump calls for sunlight,' defense attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche wrote."

President for Life. Marie: Yesterday we linked to a WashPo story that cited Donald Trump's saying during a Univision interview,

"They [Democrats] have done something that allows the next party ... if I happen to be president and I see somebody who's doing well and beating me very badly, I say, "Go down and indict them." They'd be out of business. They'd be out of the election."

Trump's plan to break the knees of his political adversaries has gained at least some of the attention it deserves. But I haven't heard a single mention of Part 2 of what Trump says is the plan. To parse Trump's terrible syntax as best I can: Trump says here, "If I am elected president*, I will tell DOJ to indict anyone who is 'beating me very badly' in the next election." Now, I ask you, What "next election"? Should Trump win a second term, he would be term-limited out. Under the Constitution, he cannot run again; there cannot be another presidential election in which Trump is president*, he sics the DOJ on an opponent who is "beating me very badly." Ergo, it is obvious that Trump plans to run for a third term.

Shane Harris & Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post: "A senior Ukrainian military officer with deep ties to the country's intelligence services played a central role in the bombing of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline last year, according to officials in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, as well as other people.... The officer's role provides the most direct evidence to date tying Ukraine's military and security leadership to a controversial act of sabotage that has spawned multiple criminal investigations and that U.S. and Western officials have called a dangerous attack on Europe's energy infrastructure. Roman Chervinsky, a decorated 48-year-old colonel who served in Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, was the ''coordinator' of the Nord Stream operation..., managing logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines. On Sept. 26, 2022, three explosions caused massive leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The attack left only one of the four gas links in the network intact as winter approached. Chervinsky ... took orders from more senior Ukrainian officials, who ultimately reported to Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's highest-ranking military officer, said people familiar with how the operation was carried out.... Chervinsky's participation in the Nord Stream bombing contradicts [President] Zelensky's public denials that his country was involved."

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Yasmeen Abutaleb & Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "President Biden will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an economic conference in San Francisco next week, one year after their last face-to-face meeting in Bali. The two leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday as they both travel to San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, which is being held in San Francisco, senior administration officials told reporters during a call on Thursday. Biden and Xi have not had any direct communication since their last in-person summit last year. The highly anticipated meeting comes as the two sides try to stabilize a relationship rocked by a series of crises, including China's aggressive response to former speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year and the U.S. military's shoot-down of a Chinese spy balloon that crossed the United States in February."

Darla Mercado & Christina Wilkie of CNBC: "Moody's Investors Service on Friday lowered its ratings outlook on the United States' government to negative from stable, pointing to rising risks to the nation's fiscal strength.... 'In the context of higher interest rates, without effective fiscal policy measures to reduce government spending or increase revenues,' the agency said. 'Moody's expects that the US' fiscal deficits will remain very large, significantly weakening debt affordability.' Brinkmanship in Washington has also been a contributing factor, Moody's said. 'Continued political polarization within US Congress raises the risk that successive governments will not be able to reach consensus on a fiscal plan to slow the decline in debt affordability,' the ratings agency said." MB: This is both-siderism-speak. Maybe Mike Johnson is a good indicator of what "polarization" really means: some about scrapping most of the Constitution. ~~~

Laura Jedeed in Politico Magazine: "'Speaker Mike Johnson has long been a supporter of Convention of States,' Mark Meckler, co-founder of Convention of States Action (COSA), told me.... For the last 10 years, the 'Convention of States' movement has sought to remake the Constitution and force a tea party vision of the framers' intent upon America. This group wants to wholesale rewrite wide swaths of the U.S. Constitution in one fell swoop. In the process, they hope to do away with regulatory agencies like the FDA and the CDC, virtually eliminate the federal government's ability to borrow money, and empower state legislatures to override federal law." ~~~

~~~ Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) displays a flag associated with Christian extremism outside his office at the U.S. Capitol. The Louisiana Republican posted flags outside his office representing the United States and Louisiana, along with a Revolutionary War-era 'Appeal to Heaven' flag, which has become associated with New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) network seeking to place the government under right-wing Christian control, reported Rolling Stone.... 'The "Mandate," as they understand it, is given by God for Christians to "take dominion" and "conquer" the tops of all seven of these sectors and have Christian influence flow down into the rest of society,' reported Bradley Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor for the magazine."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "The House is not in order. Under [Mike] Johnson, the House is utterly out of control. It's not just the speaker's inability to curb the proliferation of censure resolutions, which have turned the chamber into a seething den of recriminations. In just seven days, the federal government will shut down after a temporary extension in funding (which cost Kevin McCarthy the speakership) expires. And Johnson (R-La.) has been fumbling in the dark. He squandered this week without passing, or even floating, a plan to avoid a shutdown. His plan -- whatever it is -- will come to the floor just days before the lights go out.... The serial failures are the direct result of GOP leadership's stubborn insistence on passing spending bills with Republican votes alone -- in contrast to the Senate, where all 12 appropriations bills command bipartisan support.... Trust him? Not after this start."

Jonah Bromwich & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Representative Elise Stefanik, a member of the House Republican leadership and an ally of ... Donald J. Trump, filed an ethics complaint Friday attacking the judge presiding over Mr. Trump's civil fraud trial, the latest salvo in a right-wing war against the case. Echoing the courtroom rhetoric of Mr. Trump's lawyers, the letter complains that the Democratic judge, Arthur F. Engoron, has been biased against the former president.... The letter, to a judicial conduct commission, is unlikely to have any immediate repercussions in the trial, which will determine the consequences Mr. Trump and his company will face as a result of the fraud. But it represents the latest Republican attempt to tar Justice Engoron, and to meddle with Ms. James's case." The NBC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you look at the letter, you'll see that it is a screed with footnotes. You might think the authors were hack lawyers for Trump.

Devlin Barrett & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "The judge overseeing Donald Trump's indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents said Friday she would give the former president more time to review evidence before the May trial date, but also signaled she could decide next year if the trial itself should be pushed back. In a nine-page order, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon said she would revisit Trump's request to delay the trial in South Florida at a scheduling conference in March.... Cannon wrote in her order Friday that she expects a significant amount of legal fighting to come over what she called the 'unusually high volume' of evidence, particularly classified evidence." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The hoohah over access to classified docs seems warranted. While there are likely a few classified docs that the Trump team needs to see because the government alleges in its charging papers that Trump has shared classified information he obtained from them, the main issues regarding the classified material is not the content of the documents but the facts that he stole them, hid them and lied to the feds about having them. So for most of the hundreds of classified documents the feds found lying around Mar-a-Lardo, all the Trumpies need to review are the folders or cover sheets, not the contents.

Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "The Rev. Stephen C. Lee is one of the lesser-known figures indicted with ... Donald J. Trump in Fulton County, Ga., on charges of unlawfully conspiring to keep Mr. Trump in power after the 2020 election. But on Thursday night at an evangelical church near Chicago, dozens of people held their arms aloft and prayed over Pastor Lee at a fund-raiser where he was portrayed as an American hero -- and a victim of religious persecution.... Pastor Lee, 71, is a former law enforcement officer who became a Lutheran minister and currently leads a small church in Orland Park, Ill.... His lawyer, David Shestokas, has argued that Pastor Lee was ... engaging in 'pastoral activities' when he showed up in Georgia after the 2020 election. There, he tried to meet with Ruby Freeman, a Fulton County elections worker whom Mr. Trump and his allies had falsely accused of ballot fraud, a conspiracy theory that ricocheted around the internet. At the time, Ms. Freeman was being barraged with threats and harassment."

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "An associate of a Jan. 6 defendant pleaded guilty this week to charges that the two men plotted 'to murder employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.' Austin Carter, who was a 26-year-old security officer and a member of the Army Reserves at the time of his arrest in December 2022, admitted in a plea agreement that he 'unlawfully and knowingly combined, conspired, and agreed with his co-defendant,' Edward Kelley, to kill FBI personnel. Carter admitted that he provided a cooperating witness 'with a list of FBI employees that CARTER received from KELLEY' on or about Dec. 13, 2022, and that Carter instructed the cooperating witness 'to memorize the FBI employees identified on the list and then burn the list.' Kelley and Carter 'discussed plans to attack the FBI Field Office in Knoxville, Tennessee' and that the purpose of the conspiracy was 'to retaliate against government conduct,' Carter admitted. A court filing from December said that the list Kelley provided included about 37 names of law enforcement personnel who worked on Kelley's Jan. 6 case, and identified which officers were present when Kelley was arrested."

Ryan Reilly & Jonathan Dienst of NBC News: "A former New Jersey National Guard police sergeant accused of pepper-spraying officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack turned himself in to authorities in New Jersey on Friday following a 48-hour manhunt. Gregory Yetman faces several charges, including felonies such as assaulting officers and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, as well as some misdemeanor offenses, according to the FBI. Yetman was taken into custody after the FBI on Thursday announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest."

Presidential Race 2024

Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump is planning an extreme expansion of his first-term crackdown on immigration if he returns to power in 2025 -- including preparing to round up undocumented people already in the United States on a vast scale and detain them in sprawling camps while they wait to be expelled.... Mr. Trump wants to revive his first-term border policies, including banning entry by people from certain Muslim-majority nations and reimposing a Covid 19-era policy of refusing asylum claims -- though this time he would base that refusal on assertions that migrants carry other infectious diseases like tuberculosis. He plans to scour the country for unauthorized immigrants and deport people by the millions per year."

Charlie Nash of Mediaite: Former Trump Secretary of Defense Mark Esper explained on CNN that Trump could invoke the Insurrection Act against ordinary protesters, and in his opinion, it would be "completely legal."

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "On Tuesday night, Democrats won a slew of unexpected victories in those off-year elections -- such as Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's victory and the success of ballot initiatives protecting abortion rights -- that stunned the political world. But in a new interview for Univision Noticias with Enrique Acevedo, Trump took credit once again for overturning Roe v. Wade and made a stunning escalation of his oft-told lie that Democrats believe in literally murdering babies after they’re born: '...The Democrats were killing babies after birth, killing babies in the ninth month, you know, etc., etc....'"

Ben Terris & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post play "Where's Melanie?" I don't think they've seen her but they hear she's mostly at Mar-a-Lardo & sometimes at Trump Tower in NYC.

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Louisiana. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Friday agreed with a lower-court ruling that Louisiana's latest congressional map very likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters, and ordered the state to finalize a new map by Jan. 15. The decision, issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, said that the State Legislature should complete a new set of voting districts in time 'for the result to be used for the 2024 Louisiana congressional elections.' Louisiana is one of several Southern states led by Republicans that have been mired in legal battles as they face accusations of racial discrimination in their electoral maps."

New York. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "F.B.I. agents seized [New York City] Mayor Eric Adams's electronic devices early this week in what appeared to be a dramatic escalation of a criminal inquiry into whether his 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government and others to funnel money into its coffers. The agents approached the mayor after an event in Manhattan on Monday evening and asked his security detail to step away, a person ... said. They climbed into his S.U.V. with him and, pursuant to a court-authorized warrant, took his devices, the person said. The devices -- at least two cellphones and an iPad -- were returned to the mayor within a matter of days, according to that person and another person familiar with the situation." CNN's story is here.

Ohio. Melissa Quinn of CBS News: "Republicans in the Ohio state legislature are threatening to strip state courts of their authority to review cases related to Issue 1, the ballot measure approved by voters on Tuesday that established a right to abortion in the state constitution. A group of four state GOP lawmakers announced their plans in a press release Thursday, which also teased forthcoming legislative action in response to voters' approval of the reproductive rights initiative.... The GOP lawmakers did not provide details on the legislation they plan to introduce."

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Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "As Israeli tanks encircled hospitals in Gaza City, bombardment and fighting has raged around al-Shifa Hospital, the city's largest, with medical workers unable to leave. Fuel shortages left the overcrowded hospital without power, killing a premature baby and four patients in the intensive care unit, Gaza health officials said Saturday. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned earlier that the medical system in the besieged Palestinian enclave had reached a 'point of no return.' Doctors Without Borders said they could not reach staff at al-Shifa, where thousands of displaced people have been sheltering. Amid an Israeli advance against Hamas, several hospitals in Gaza City have come under fire or were overtaken by Israeli forces on Friday, forcing their evacuation, according to videos verified by The Washington Post." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times's live updates are here. CNN's live updates are here.