The Conversation -- July 29, 2024

Edward-Isaac Dovere of CNN: "Kamala Harris' plan as a running mate was to brush past JD Vance as nothing but a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. But now that she's the presumptive Democratic nominee, her campaign is seizing on the Ohio senator as a major liability, looking to her own vice presidential selection process and the contenders' public auditions to drive home the point. Vance's elevation -- despite his relative lack of government experience -- is giving Harris a new opportunity to go after Trump. The message is not just that Vance is 'weird,' as the vice president said at a fundraiser this weekend, or that he has objectionable views, advisers said; it's that the Ohio senator shouldn't be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and that Trump picking him raises more questions about the top of the ticket. The strategy is also a way to put Trump's age in focus, now that President Joe Biden is not part of the conversation, by highlighting how close Vance could be to occupying the Oval Office if something were to happen to a 78-year-old president."

Donald Trump's Very Bad Week. A.B. Stoddard in the Bulwark: "IT MUST BE HARD TO TRANSITION from martyr anointed by God and positioned to win in a blowout to jealous old whiner grumbling about the misunderstood relevance of Hannibal Lecter.... Within days, the vice president had captivated the nation, united her party, upended the campaign, raised record sums, tied up the race in polling, and seen a bounce in her favorability ratings. In the same stretch of time Trump had backed out of a debate, watched JD Vance become a meme, fielded concerns about what a failure it was to pick Vance, and seen his own approval rating erode under Harris's attacks.... Enraged by Harris's surge, Trump is flailing about for any attack to use on her."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan of the Guardian in a Substack essay: "This past Friday, Trump urged Christian voters in West Palm Beach, Florida to vote, but told them it would be the last time they'd need to bother.... The New York Times, among many news organizations, was slow to focus on this, though they eventually added these startling remarks to their original coverage of the speech. Later, they published a separate story focusing on the 'it will be fixed' comments.... A few days earlier, on Fox & Friends, Trump went so far as to tell the faithful not to bother to vote even now. 'My instruction -- we don't need the votes. We have so many votes.' And a week ago, at another rally, Trump put it this way: 'In four years, don't vote. I don't care. But we'll have it all straightened out, so it'll be much different.'... Ruth Ben-Ghiat, the scholar of authoritarian movements..., warned: 'Media: This should be *the* A1 story. I have studied dictatorship for years and this is it -- "you won't have to vote anymore." Trump will never leave office if he wins in November."... I urge news decision-makers to take Trump's authoritarian desires very seriously."

Devlin Barrett & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "The gunman who tried to kill ... Donald Trump conducted internet searches related to power plants, mass shooting events and the attempted assassination this year of Slovakia's prime minister, FBI officials said Monday, offering new details about what they described as the gunman's 'careful planning' for the attack.... He used aliases and at least some encrypted communication accounts to purchase firearm supplies and materials to build explosive devices, the officials said.... He carried a backpack and an AR-style weapon with a collapsible stock, an enhancement to weapons that makes them more compact." ~~~

~~~ Hannah Rabinowitz & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "Donald Trump has agreed to sit for a victim interview with the FBI, which is investigating this month's attempted assassination, an agency official said Monday. Victim interviews are a routine part of criminal investigations, but are voluntary." ~~~

~~~ Sasha Pezenik, et al., of ABC News: Beaver County, Pa., SWAT team members at the rally during which Donald Trump was shot told ABC News "they had no contact with the agents on Trump's Secret Service detail.... The Washington Post reported over the weekend that Secret Service agents have complained they were not made aware of the warnings [that there was a suspicious person in the crowd]."

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** President Joe Biden in a Washington Post op-ed: "... the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do.... And that's only the beginning. On top of dangerous and extreme decisions that overturn settled legal precedents -- including Roe v. Wade -- the court is mired in a crisis of ethics.... For example, undisclosed gifts to justices from individuals with interests in cases before the court, as well as conflicts of interest connected with Jan. 6 insurrectionists, raise legitimate questions about the court's impartiality.... What is happening now is not normal....

"I am calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court and our democracy. First, I am calling for a constitutional amendment called the No One Is above the Law Amendment. It would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office.... Second, we ... should have [term limits] for Supreme Court justices.... I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court. Third, I'm calling for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court.... Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt.... In America, no one is above the law. In America, the people rule." ~~~

~~~ Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden is expected to deliver remarks on Monday pushing for legislation that would bring major changes to the Supreme Court.... The president is scheduled to speak at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, his first public engagement since announcing his decision to end his presidential campaign last week. His speech will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and propose overhauling the court, an effort that requires congressional approval and has little hope of gaining traction in a Republican-controlled House and a divided Senate. The White House said in a fact sheet that Vice President Kamala Harris..., also supported the changes Mr. Biden would outline in his remarks.... Mr. Biden has been discussing the proposals with constitutional scholars in recent months, and he had been inching toward announcing them when he ended his campaign.... Donald J. Trump ... denounced Mr. Biden's ideas on social media this month, accusing him and Democrats of 'desperately trying to "Play the Ref" by calling for an illegal and unConstitutional attack on our SACRED United States Supreme Court.'" The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Among politicians (and not only nitwits like Trump), SACRED is one of the most misused words in the English language. "Sacred" means "related to God," and there is nothing in our Constitutional government that is "related to God." We have a secular government, and (listen up, Mike Johnson) that is something to cherish & revere.

Presidential Race

Steve Peoples & Michelle Price of the AP: "... over the last seven days, a week unlike any other in American history, the 2024 presidential contest has been transformed. And now, just 99 days before Election Day, a fundamentally new race is taking shape featuring new candidates, a new issue focus and a new outlook for both parties. Vice President Kamala Harris stepped in for [President] Biden last Sunday and quickly smashed fundraising records, took over social media and generated levels of excitement that some Democrats said reminded them of the energy that surrounded Barack Obama's historic candidacy nearly two decades ago.... Republicans are suddenly fearful and frustrated as they begin to accept the new reality that Trump's victory is no sure thing. And as their mood sours, the finger pointing has begun. Some prominent conservatives are openly second-guessing Trump's vice presidential pick, JD Vance, a little-known Ohio senator with less than two years in office and a well-documented history of provocative statements.... But the numbers ... point to a very close race in a deeply divided nation."

How to Change Horses in the Middle of the Stream. Michael Scherer & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "... some key preparations were ... put in place for the most spectacular transformation in recent American political history -- a flash-bang midsummer swap at the top of a presidential ticket, an outpouring of volunteer energy, a rebound in the polls and a flood of campaign cash.... State party chairs met in secret. Others operated without orders to prepare the ground. Donna Brazile, the former Democratic Party chair, and Bakari Sellers, the former South Carolina state lawmaker, started running their own delegate whip operation weeks before [President] Biden bowed out.... Two days before Biden announced his decision, Ken Martin, the chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, convened a meeting of the executive committee for the Association of State Democratic Committees -- about 50 people from around the country and territories.... If Biden recommitted to the race in the coming days, they would publicly back his decision. If he bowed out, they would immediately back Harris to end the suspense.... Brazile thought it would take 48 hours to finish the switch. The Associated Press declared a new presumptive nominee about 32 hours [after Biden dropped out]." Read on.

Mia McCarthy of Politico: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) may be 'one of the best things [Trump] ever did for Democrats' in an interview with CBS's Robert Costa on 'Face the Nation' Sunday morning.... 'I'll bet President Trump is sitting there, scratching his head, and wondering, "Why did I pick this guy?"' Schumer said." (See the monologue at the top of yesterday's Conversation for Trump's take on choosing J.D. [or whoever that guy is].)

David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Comedian Chelsea Handler ... addressed [J.D.] Vance's suggestion that Vice President Kamala Harris was not fit to be president because she had not been a mother. 'I'd like to remind you that no president in the history of the United States has ever been a mother.... But maybe if she had five kids with three different men, and a scandalous affair with a porn star, and was convicted felon, that would be more palatable to Republican men.'"

Haley Willis, et al., of the New York Times: "Nearly 100 minutes before ... Donald J. Trump took the stage in Butler, Pa., a local countersniper who was part of the broader security detail ... texted his colleagues about ... a young man with long stringy hair ... who was outside the fenced area of the Butler Fair Show grounds where Mr. Trump was to appear.... The countersniper who sent the texts confirmed to The New York Times that the individual he saw was later identified as the gunman. By 5:10 p.m., the young man ... was right below the countersnipers, who were upstairs in a warehouse owned by AGR International. One of the countersnipers took pictures of him.... At 5:38 p.m., the photos were shared in a group chat, and another text went out among the officers, saying they should inform the Secret Service.... The text messages reveal ... that the gunman ... aroused police suspicion more than 90 minutes before the shooting.... The messages also add to the evidence that the would-be assassin was often one step ahead of security forces, and in particular the Secret Service."

Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former White House chief of staff, took his battle to throw out the Georgia election interference case against him to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the high court to overturn a lower-court ruling that rejected claims that his alleged conduct was tied to his official federal duties. The move comes more than seven months after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld a lower-court ruling from September that found Meadows had not proved his alleged conduct charged as part of the sweeping criminal racketeering case was related to his official duties as Trump's most senior White House aide." This is a case of a weasel pleading before a team of weasels, so we'll see if they stick together in a pack.

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Britain. Danica Kirka of the AP: "Britain's new Treasury chief is alleging that the previous government covered up the dire state of the nation's finances, as she prepares to deliver a major speech to Parliament on Monday that is widely expected to lay the groundwork for higher taxes. In extracts of her speech released late Sunday, Rachel Reeves professed shock at the scale of the problems she discovered following a department-by-department review of public spending commissioned shortly after she took office three weeks ago. While the excerpts included no figures, Reeves is expected to outline a 20 billion-pound ($26 billion) shortfall in public finances."

Germany. Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "... in homes across Germany, [lightweight solar panels] are powering a quiet transformation, bringing the green revolution into the hands of people without requiring them to make a large investment, find an electrician or use heavy tools. 'You don't need to drill or hammer anything,' [a consumer] said. 'You just hang them from the balcony like wet laundry in Italy.'... They can then be plugged into a conventional wall socket to feed power to a home.... More than 500,000 of the systems have already been set up across Germany, and new laws that relaxed rules around solar panel installation have contributed to a boom in use.... In Germany, individual plug-in panels sell for as low as 200 euros, or about $217, at big box stores. Complete sets, including mountings, an inverter and cables, are about twice that cost. Elsewhere in Europe, plug-in solar panels are popular in the Netherlands, and interest is growing in France, Italy and Spain, in part driven by a steady drop in prices.... Most ... are produced in China, which makes better quality and less expensive panels than anything being produced in Europe."

** Israel/Palestine, et al. Loveday Morris & Sufian Taha of the Washington Post: "Rights groups say conditions in Israel's jam-packed prisons have deteriorated dangerously since the Hamas attacks on Israel. Former Palestinian prisoners described routine beatings, often carried out on entire cells or sections, usually with batons and sometimes with dogs. They said they were denied sufficient food and medical care and were subjected to psychological as well as physical abuse. The Post spoke to 11 former prisoners and half a dozen lawyers, examined court records and reviewed autopsy reports, revealing rampant, sometimes deadly violence and deprivation by Israeli prison authorities. While international attention and condemnation has focused on the plight of Gazan detainees -- specifically at the notorious Sde Teiman military site -- rights advocates say there is a deeper, systemic crisis in Israel's penal system."

Sahar Adbarzai of CNN: "A group of 45 American physicians and nurses who volunteered in hospitals across Gaza have sent an open letter to US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris sharing their experiences and demanding an immediate ceasefire and arms embargo. The signatories unanimously described treating children who had suffered injuries they believed must have been deliberately inflicted. 'Specifically, every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head and chest,' they wrote.... The doctors and nurses' letter calls on the Biden administration to participate in an arms embargo of both Israel and all Palestinian armed groups, and to withhold military, diplomatic, and economic support to Israel until a permanent and immediate ceasefire is achieved."

Venezuela. Anatoly Kurmanaev, et al., of the New York Times: "Venezuela's authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, was declared the winner of the country's tumultuous presidential election early Monday, despite enormous momentum from an opposition movement that had been convinced this was the year it would oust Mr. Maduro's socialist-inspired party. The vote was riddled with irregularities, and citizens were angrily protesting the government's actions at voting centers even as the results were announced. With 80 percent of voting stations counted, the country's election authority claimed that Mr. Maduro had received 51.2 percent of the vote, while the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González, had received 44.2 percent. Mr. Maduro's government has invented election results before, and this tally was immediately called into question by the opposition and by several officials in the region." ~~~

     ~~~ Joshua Goodman & Regina Cano of the AP: "Venezuela's opposition and President Nicolas Maduro's government were locked in a high-stakes standoff after each side claimed victory in Sunday's presidential vote, which millions in the long-suffering nation saw as their best shot to end 25 years of single-party rule. Several foreign governments, including the U.S., held off recognizing the results as election officials delayed releasing detailed vote tallies after proclaiming Maduro the winner with 51% of the vote, to 44% for retired diplomat Edmundo González.

News Lede

Washington Post: "Alma Powell, a civic leader and widow of retired Gen. Colin L. Powell, the first Black national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state, died July 28 at a hospital in Alexandria, Va. She was 86."

The Conversation -- July 28, 2024

Okay, the only Artificial Intelligence here is the intelligence the speaker attributes to himself. This is absolutely the real thing, straight from the horse's ass. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~

Federal Elections

Farah Stockman of the New York Times: "In language echoing legacy Republicans like Ronald Reagan, [President] Biden said [Wednesday] that [the United States] was 'an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant.' But Donald Trump;s Republican Party is turning away from that kind of language. At the Republican convention, JD Vance, his running mate, made a point of saying that America is 'not just an idea' but a 'homeland,' evoking a mountain cemetery in Eastern Kentucky where he said his ancestors are buried and where he hopes that he and his children will be buried as well. Some of his critics immediately denounced those references to his family's land and lineage as coded 'blood and soil' nationalism, the ideology of Nazis. In The Atlantic, Adam Serwer accused Mr. Vance of signaling an 'exclusivist vision of America to his far-right allies' when he asserted that America is a country made up of people who share a history rather than a 'creedal nation' -- one primarily based on ideas like freedom and equality." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: An interesting essay, but ultimately, to fully experience citizenship is to embrace a sense of both place and potential. This is not just true for U.S. citizens, either. I have felt out the name of an ancestor seven generations back on a lichen-pocked headstone in a lonely graveyard in the middle of Ireland and felt a kinship that exists less in my genes than in my imagination. But the soil that holds my forebears in this country, whether in Santa Fe or on Cape Cod, is just dirt if I don't embrace those who come later than I. A fundamental failing of blood-and-soil bigots is that they don't understand that they don't "belong" anywhere they can't share. I once heard the poet Carl Sandburg say (in a televised interview) that the ugliest word in the English language was "exclusive." If you can figure that out -- and live by it -- you'll be fine.

Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "By the end of the week -- which saw the four hottest days ever observed by scientists -- dozens had been killed in the raging floodwaters and massive mudslides triggered by Typhoon Gaemi [in the Pacific]. Half of Jasper[, Canada,] was reduced to ash. And some 3.6 billion people around the planet had endured temperatures that would have been exceedingly rare in a world without burning fossil fuels and other human activities, according to an analysis by scientists at the group Climate Central. These extraordinary global temperatures marked the culmination of an unprecedented global hot streak that has stunned even researchers who spent their whole careers studying climate change." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo demonstrates how Kamala Harris' campaign has come out of the gate running. Against the Weirdos. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Brakkton Booker & Myah Ward of Politico: "When a group of Black women political organizers assembled for a regular Zoom call on Sunday, they suddenly had a new mission.... [To help] Vice President Kamala Harris [win the presidential nomination and election]... Interest in the call had skyrocketed, and some 40,000 attendees logged on.... The Win With Black Women call became a blueprint for other identity-based groups over the week -- Black men, Latinas, Black queer men, white women, white men and young voters. Calls like these were never really available to [Joe] Biden because the base's enthusiasm for him had faded. Each group held their own call to boost Harris and raise mountains of cash for Harris' campaign.... Her nascent campaign is reactivating dormant parts of the Democratic base to act as surrogates, door-knockers and fundraisers in a way that President Joe Biden couldn't." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jennifer Gerson of the 19th: “'Girl, we broke Zoom,' Erin Gallagher said over text at 8:10 a.m., less than nine hours after wrapping up 'White Women: Answer The Call! Show up for Kamala Harris,' a meeting held over Zoom Thursday night. So many more women than anticipated logged into the call that the platform crashed several times, forcing many participants to watch the livestream on YouTube until Zoom was back up. Over 164,000 women logged on to hear from women like the singer P!nk; the actor Connie Britton; the writer and podcaster Glennon Doyle; athletes Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and Abby Wambach; and a long list of elected officials.... By Friday afternoon, the group had raised over $8.5 million. The idea for the call came from Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, the group that changed the face of the gun safety movement...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Carole Cadwalladr of the Observer/Guardian: "This is a misogyny emergency.... It's misogyny -- networked misogyny across multiple global platforms that will earn their tech bro owners billions upon billions of dollars -- that is going to decide the 2024 election. And it's misogyny that's going to dictate the future of Nato, the outcome of the war in Ukraine, whether we have peace in Europe or more war. And because this is going to be a firehose that will be directed at a single woman -- Kamala Harris -- it will be misogyny multiplied: misogyny plus racism, the most toxic combination of all." (Also linked yesterday.)

... I saw this disease, the culture of silence, the disease of silence, I saw it first amongst my Republican colleagues during Trump's presidency. Many of them would excoriate him privately, and then get in front of the cameras and just count the blessings and tell people how much they loved him and supported him. And then I saw the same thing on my side, where people would express concern about [President Biden's] abilities and his decline privately, and then get in front of the cameras and say everything is fine. But that's part of the rewards system in Congress. We are rewarded for being cowards and punished for being courageous.... -- Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), to right-wing media host Greta Van Susteren

Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Early in his speech in Minnesota on Saturday night..., Donald J. Trump made clear just how quickly he has jettisoned the appeal for national unity that he made after he survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania two weeks ago.... 'No, I haven't changed,' he said. 'Maybe I’ve gotten worse. Because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day.'... Mr. Trump on Saturday once more escalated his attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee.... During a speech lasting roughly 90 minutes, Mr. Trump called Ms. Harris 'evil,' 'unhinged' and 'sick.' He lied about her views on abortion in an effort to paint her as extreme, and he mocked her laugh and her demeanor.... Still, Mr. Trump's speech highlighted his struggle to adapt to a new opponent after years of preparing to face [President] Biden. Though Mr. Biden is no longer on the Democratic ticket, Mr. Trump revived his derisive impressions of the president, caricaturing his gait and speech to suggest that Mr. Biden is not fit for office."

Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump vowed Saturday [in an all-caps social media post] to stage more outdoor rallies two weeks after surviving an assassination attempt and claimed the Secret Service has agreed to 'substantially step up their operation' to protect him.... The Washington Post had previously reported that the Secret Service has encouraged Trump to stop large outdoor rallies and his campaign was scouting indoor venues.... Trump's Saturday post followed another on Truth Social on Friday night in which he promised to return to Butler for a 'BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY' that would honor the firefighter, Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally and those injured.... Trump has not appeared at an outdoor rally since the shooting." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump is posing his "right" to hold outdoor rallies as a First Amendment issue: "NO ONE CAN EVER BE ALLOWED TO STOP OR IMPEDE FREE SPEECH OR GATHERING!!!" But it isn't more a matter of his being too cheap to pay for indoor venues, which probably cost more to rent than fairgrounds & cornfields? After all, he has a "right" to give a speech while hang-gliding off a Rocky Mountain precipice, but I doubt the Secret Service has an obligation to endanger its agents to protect him in such a circumstance.

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump vowed on Saturday that he would turn the United States into a 'Bitcoin superpower' if returned to the White House, wielding much of the same rhetoric of persecution that he has applied to himself and his supporters to appeal to cryptocurrency enthusiasts who want to see less regulation. 'Sadly, we see the attacks on crypto,' Mr. Trump told a gathering of cryptocurrency fans in Nashville. 'It's a part of a much larger pattern that's being carried out by the same left-wing fascists to weaponize government against any threat to their power. They've done it to me.'... The former president offered promises of sweeping deregulation and the establishment of a 'strategic national Bitcoin stockpile.'... 'It should be no surprise that these same totalitarians are hell bent on crushing crypto,' Mr. Trump said of [President] Biden and [Vice President] Harris, adding 'That's where this country is going. It's a fascist regime.'... Mr. Trump has been competing with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate, for the support of cryptocurrency holders, and his remarks represented one of his most direct pitches yet."

Christians, get out and vote. Just this time. You won't have to do it anymore, you know what? Four more years, it'll be fixed, it'll be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, you got to get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote. -- Donald Trump, during a speech Friday

Our democracy is under assault by criminal Donald Trump: After the last election Trump lost, he sent a mob to overturn the results. This campaign, he has promised violence if he loses, the end of our elections if he wins, and the termination of the Constitution to empower him to be a dictator to enact his dangerous Project 2025 agenda on America. -- James Singer, Harris campaign spokesperson, in a statement Saturday ~~~

~~~ Maegan Vazquez & Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "Democratic lawmakers and Vice President Harris';s campaign joined a chorus of online critics in calling out remarks Donald Trump aimed at a Christian audience on Friday, arguing that the former president and current Republican presidential nominee had implied he would end elections in the United States if he won a second term.... The Harris campaign is calling Trump's remarks 'a vow to end democracy.'... The Trump campaign, however, says the comments, made at the event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action, were about how Trump would unite the country.... In front of a different Christian audience last month, Trump made a similar suggestion about Christians not needing to vote after this years election." An ABC News report is here.

Victims of Their Own Success. Jonathan Weisman & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "The choice of Senator JD Vance as ... Donald J. Trump's running mate reflected the confidence of a campaign so sure of victory in November that it could look beyond a second Trump term to the legacy of his movement. But in less than two weeks, Mr. Vance has found himself on the defensive, and his struggles have dented the sense of invulnerability that only a week ago seemed to be the overriding image of the Trump campaign. A stream of years-old quotes, videos and audio comments unearthed by Democrats and the news media in recent days has threatened to undermine the Trump campaign's outreach to women, voters of color and the very blue-collar voters to whom Mr. Vance, a first-term Ohio senator, was supposed to appeal.... And his first handful of appearances on the stump have drawn unflattering attention.... In a sense, Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance were the victims of that success.... Republican momentum helped chase President Biden from the race.... On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal's editorial page savaged Mr. Vance's early debut...."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "... somehow, Trump managed to choose a vice-presidential pick whose views on women are even more draconian and meanspirited than his own.... He went on Megyn Kelly's podcast Friday for cleanup on Aisle Feline....'Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I've got nothing against cats.'... He doubled down on the substance of his earlier argument, that only women who are in a traditional marriage, using their uteruses in a way JD Vance deems proper, can have 'a direct stake' in America.... Unless women are fulfilling their duties as breeders and helpmates, they're not fully Americans? It's an un-American stance that's beneath contempt.... Vance also said in a speech three years ago that parents should 'absolutely' get a bigger say in how a democracy functions and more voting power; in different remarks, he said that childless Americans should pay higher taxes." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "On Friday night, [Elon] Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X, reposted an edited campaign video for Vice President Kamala Harris that appears to have been digitally manipulated to change the spot's voice-over in a deceptive manner. The video mimics Ms. Harris's voice, but instead of using her words from the original ad, it has the vice president saying that President Biden is senile, that she does not 'know the first thing about running the country' and that, as a woman and a person of color, she is the 'ultimate diversity hire.'... The account that first uploaded it Friday morning, @MrReaganUSA, noted in its post that the video was a 'parody.' When Mr. Musk reposted the video on his own account eight hours later, he made no such disclosure, stating only, 'This is amazing,' followed by a laughing emoji. Mr. Musk's post, which has since been viewed 98 million times, would seem to run afoul of X's policies, which prohibit sharing 'synthetic, manipulated or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.'"

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: Reporters are suddenly excited to cover the presidential race.

Failure to Communicate. Josh Dawsey & Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "Members of ... Donald Trump's Secret Service detail and his top advisers have privately questioned why they were not informed that local police were tracking a suspicious person before that person opened fire on Trump at his July 13 rally in western Pennsylvania, according to people with direct knowledge of the concerns. Approximately 20 to 25 minutes before Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the former president, local countersnipers noticed him behaving strangely and sent his photograph to a command center staffed by state troopers and Secret Service agents, the head of Pennsylvania State Police told a congressional committee Tuesday. Members of the Secret Service detail that protects Trump and was with him backstage have complained to ... that they were never made aware of that warning.... They also said they were not aware that the local countersnipers eventually lost track of Crooks, or that another local officer -- hoisted up to the roof of a building just outside the rally site's security perimeter -- saw Crooks perched there with a gun." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If this report is accurate, it's stunning. Not only were their protectee and rally-goers in Crooks' line of fire, so were the agents themselves. And nobody thought to mention there was a guy with a long rifle aimed at them?

Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "While most Americans have focused their attention on the made-for-Hollywood presidential campaign, House Republicans have continued sputtering along in the shadows the past three months in their traditionally chaotic fashion.... Pushing ahead with ... GOP-only bills, Republican leaders have repeatedly forced their most politically vulnerable members to cast votes in the committee and on the House floor that aren't exactly appealing to centrist voters.... [Meanwhile, Vice President] Harris might energize her base out of their Biden-induced slumber -- possibly setting the stage for a net gain of at least four seats that would vault Democrats into the House majority next year."

Patrick Marley & Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Patrick Byrne, who has funded efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election, said in an online forum Thursday that law enforcement would face 'a piano wire and a blowtorch' if they did not drop a case against an ally. Byrne, a former CEO o online retailer Overstock, used the phrase half a dozen times Thursday as he participated in a nearly three-hour-long event on X Spaces.... He acknowledged during the event that his references to strangling or blowtorching officials were threatening and could be considered felonies. On Friday, he downplayed his comments, saying he had been speaking metaphorically and is committed to peace. The 'Cyber Crisis: Saving Tina Peters' event was aimed at rallying support for the former clerk of Mesa County, Colo., who faces charges accusing her of tampering with election equipment three years ago. Peters has pleaded not guilty, and her case goes to trial next week." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lulu Garcia-Navarro of the New York Times interviews Pete Buttigieg about politics. (Also linked yesterday.)

Isabella Kwai & Emily Schmall of the New York Times: "A man in Las Vegas has been charged with threatening to assault and kill federal officials, judges and state employees across several states, according to a federal indictment, including at least two people involved in the prosecution of ... Donald J. Trump. The man, Spencer Gear, 32, was charged with 10 counts of threatening a federal official and 12 counts of transmitting a communication containing a threat to injure. Mr. Gear was taken into federal custody on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to the charges in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. In a detention order signed on Thursday, Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler cited a recording of a telephone message on June 3, 'which was directed at a judge and a district attorney,' referred to in the indictment as A.B. and J.M., the initials of Alvin Bragg, the lead prosecutor, and Juan Merchan, the presiding judge in Mr. Trump's hush-money trial.... Weksler said the language in the message was 'of great concern to the court.'"

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Texas. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washington Post: "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is suing the Biden administration over a policy that allows adolescents to access birth control without their parents' consent, arguing that the rule violates state law requiring guardians to consent to their children's use of contraceptives. Paxton said in a statement that he was protecting parental rights, a popular GOP rallying cry used by Republicans to talk about culture-war issues such as education and transgender care.... The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a division of the Northern District of Texas that has one federal judge, is unlikely to change much in the state, analysts said. That's because a similar case ended in March with a ruling that required Texas providers to begin obtaining parental consent this spring without wholly striking down the rule.... [But] some worry this week's lawsuit is an attempt to build Paxton's political clout by ending confidential care for teens not just in Texas but across the country."

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Israel/Palestine, et al. Adam Rasgon & Aaron Boxerman of the New York Times: "A rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field on Saturday in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing at least 12 people, mostly teenagers and children, according to the Israeli military. It was the deadliest single attack from across Israel's northern border in months of hostilities and raised fears of an escalation in the conflict. Israeli officials accused Hezbollah, the politically powerful Lebanese armed group, of firing the rocket and vowed to respond. Hezbollah denied responsibility, although the group did say it had launched several barrages of missiles at northern Israel on Saturday." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Patrick Kingsley and Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had conducted overnight strikes in Lebanon, hours after a rocket fired from its northern neighbor killed at least 12 people, most of them children, in a town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights."

Abigail Hauslohner & Louisa Loveluck of the Washington Post: Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the U.S. did nothing to advance the peace process. "Nearly 10 months into Israel's Gaza offensive, amid deepening frustration from the Biden administration and isolation on the world stage, Netanyahu made no gestures toward compromise. There was no talk of Palestinian autonomy. No discussion of Palestinian rights to life and freedom. No attempt to address the grievances that have fueled Palestinians' decades-old anger toward Israel. Instead, he spoke of a 'demilitarized and deradicalized' Gaza; a Gaza under Israeli control 'for the foreseeable future.'" Read on. MB: It's ridiculous to think Netanyahu has any intention whatsoever to grant Palestinians fundamental human rights.

Venezuela. Jule Turkewitz, et al., of the New York Times: "Millions of Venezuelans head to the polls on Sunday for a presidential vote that represents a pivotal moment for the socialist movement that has governed the oil-rich nation for 25 years. Over the course of a generation, Chavismo, as the movement is called, has shattered the nation's democracy, presided over an extraordinary economic contraction unlike any seen outside of war, and become the source of one of the largest migrant crises in the world. The election, held on the birthday of the movement's founder, Hugo Chávez, pits Mr. Chávez's successor, President Nicolás Maduro, against the previously little-known Edmundo González, a former diplomat. But Mr. González is essentially the surrogate candidate for María Corina Machado, a hard-charging former lawmaker who has emerged as the nation's newest opposition leader, rallying people behind a promise to restore democracy and bring Venezuelans back home. When Mr. Maduro's government barred Ms. Machado from running for office, her coalition managed to get Mr. González on the ballot instead....

"If the opposition fails to secure a landslide, the government's usual tactics of voter suppression, coercion and confusion could be enough to secure Mr. Maduro a win, analysts say.... The next president wouldn't assume power until January, leaving a lengthy period for uncertainty."

News Lede

New York Times: "Edna O'Brien, the prolific Irish author whose evocative and explicit stories of loves lost earned her a literary reputation that matched the darkly complex lives of her tragic heroines, died on Saturday. She was 93."

The Conversation -- July 27, 2024

Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "By the end of the week -- which saw the four hottest days ever observed by scientists -- dozens had been killed in the raging floodwaters and massive mudslides triggered by Typhoon Gaemi [in the Pacific]. Half of Jasper[, Canada,] was reduced to ash. And some 3.6 billion people around the planet had endured temperatures that would have been exceedingly rare in a world without burning fossil fuels and other human activities, according to an analysis by scientists at the group Climate Central. These extraordinary global temperatures marked the culmination of an unprecedented global hot streak that has stunned even researchers who spent their whole careers studying climate change."

Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo demonstrates how Kamala Harris' campaign has come out of the gate running. Against the Weirdos. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Christians, get out and vote. Just this time. You won't have to do it anymore, you know what? Four more years, it'll be fixed, it'll be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, you got to get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote. -- Donald Trump, during a speech Friday

Brakkton Booker & Myah Ward of Politico: "When a group of Black women political organizers assembled for a regular Zoom call on Sunday, they suddenly had a new mission.... [To help] Vice President Kamala Harris [win the presidential nomination and election]... Interest in the call had skyrocketed, and some 40,000 attendees logged on.... The Win With Black Women call became a blueprint for other identity-based groups over the week -- Black men, Latinas, Black queer men, white women, white men and young voters. Calls like these were never really available to Biden because the base's enthusiasm for him had faded. Each group held their own call to boost Harris and raise mountains of cash for Harris' campaign.... Her nascent campaign is reactivating dormant parts of the Democratic base to act as surrogates, door-knockers and fundraisers in a way that President Joe Biden couldn't." ~~~

~~~ Jennifer Gerson of the 19th: "'Girl, we broke Zoom,' Erin Gallagher said over text at 8:10 a.m., less than nine hours after wrapping up 'White Women: Answer The Call! Show up for Kamala Harris,' a meeting held over Zoom Thursday night. So many more women than anticipated logged into the call that the platform crashed several times, forcing many participants to watch the livestream on YouTube until Zoom was back up. Over 164,000 women logged on to hear from women like the singer P!nk; the actor Connie Britton; the writer and podcaster Glennon Doyle; athletes Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and Abby Wambach; and a long list of elected officials.... By Friday afternoon, the group had raised over $8.5 million. The idea for the call came from Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, the group that changed the face of the gun safety movement...."

Carole Cadwalladr of the Observer/Guardian: "This is a misogyny emergency.... It's misogyny -- networked misogyny across multiple global platforms that will earn their tech bro owners billions upon billions of dollars -- that is going to decide the 2024 election. And it's misogyny that's going to dictate the future of Nato, the outcome of the war in Ukraine, whether we have peace in Europe or more war. And because this is going to be a firehose that will be directed at a single woman -- Kamala Harris -- it will be misogyny multiplied: misogyny plus racism, the most toxic combination of all."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "... somehow, Trump managed to choose a vice-presidential pick whose views on women are even more draconian and meanspirited than his own.... He went on Megyn Kelly's podcast Friday for cleanup on Aisle Feline....'Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I've got nothing against cats.'... He doubled down on the substance of his earlier argument, that only women who are in a traditional marriage, using their uteruses in a way JD Vance deems proper, can have 'a direct stake' in America.... Unless women are fulfilling their duties as breeders and helpmates, they're not fully Americans? It's an un-American stance that's beneath contempt.... Vance also said in a speech three years ago that parents should 'absolutely' get a bigger say in how a democracy functions and more voting power; in different remarks, he said that childless Americans should pay higher taxes."

Patrick Marley & Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Patrick Byrne, who has funded efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election, said in an online forum Thursday that law enforcement would face 'a piano wire and a blowtorch' if they did not drop a case against an ally. Byrne, a former CEO of online retailer Overstock, used the phrase half a dozen times Thursday as he participated in a nearly three-hour-long event on X Spaces.... He acknowledged during the event that his references to strangling or blowtorching officials were threatening and could be considered felonies. On Friday, he downplayed his comments, saying he had been speaking metaphorically and is committed to peace. The 'Cyber Crisis: Saving Tina Peters' event was aimed at rallying support for the former clerk of Mesa County, Colo., who faces charges accusing her of tampering with election equipment three years ago. Peters has pleaded not guilty, and her case goes to trial next week."

Lulu Garcia-Navarro of the New York Times interviews Pete Buttigieg about politics.

... I saw this disease, the culture of silence, the disease of silence, I saw it first amongst my Republican colleagues during Trump's presidency. Many of them would excoriate him privately, and then get in front of the cameras and just count the blessings and tell people how much they loved him and supported him. And then I saw the same thing on my side, where people would express concern about [President Biden's] abilities and his decline privately, and then get in front of the cameras and say everything is fine. But that's part of the rewards system in Congress. We are rewarded for being cowards and punished for being courageous.... -- Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), to right-wing media host Greta Van Susteren

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These guys are just weird. They're running for, like, "He-Man Women Hater's Club' or something. -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz [D] ~~~

~~~ Eli Stokols & Elena Schneider of Politico: "In the days since Vice President Kamala Harris has taken over the campaign against ... Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, Democrats are leaning into a new attack line against the Republican ticket: that they're just really weird.... On Friday, the Harris campaign used the term in multiple press releases.... 'It perfectly describes the uneasiness people feel. It's how people who don't live and breathe politics every day react to hearing the Republican vice presidential candidate denigrate people without children,' said Tim Hogan, a Democratic strategist...."

Trolling Trump. Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: "Kamala Harris has trolled Donald Trump by using his words against him after the Republican presidential nominee backed out of a proposed television debate. 'What happened to "any time, any place"?' the vice president posted on X late on Thursday night. Trump had previously used those words back in March to lay down the gauntlet to President Joe Biden as the two rivals sparred about when and where they would face each other on the debate stage." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hannah Knowles, et al., of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump honed his attacks on Vice President Harris ... in a speech at the Turning Point USA Believers' Summit in West Palm Beach Friday night, calling her 'the most incompetent, unpopular and far-left vice president in American history,' blaming her for high numbers of migrant apprehensions at the southern border and calling her a 'bum.'... The former president urged attendees at the faith-themed event to vote ... and promised that in four years, 'we'll have it fixed so good you&'re not going to hav to vote.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It may have been delivered in ungrammatical form, but a promise not to "have to vote" is as good as a promise to end democracy.

Michael Gold & Matthew Bigg of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump, who for months has urged Israel to end the war in the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible, said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel remained on good terms after the two met [at Mar-a-Lago] on Friday, and that he would be a stronger ally of Israel than Vice President Kamala Harris.... Unlike Ms. Harris, who put her concern about Gaza in moral terms..., Mr. Trump has cast his as a matter of shaping Israel's global image, warning that it was losing support.... 'Israel has to handle their public relations,' he said. 'Their public relations are not good.' He added, 'The world is not taking lightly to it.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That's right. The main concern is that it's a bad look to kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians, displace millions of people and destroy their homes.

TMZ: "Donald Trump's healing well after the attempt on his life, 'cause he's not wearing the bandage on his ear anymore -- and, frankly ... it's still a bit of a mystery if he got hit at all. The ex-Prez sat down for an audience with ... Benjamin Netanyahu Friday ... and, pics are now circulating of his uncovered right ear -- and, ya gotta see them 'cause there's seemingly no lasting damage. That, or he's healed up in record time." MB: It is not my intention to diminish the carnage at the Trump rally; the attempt on Trump's life was horrible. But since Ronny Jackson claimed the shot blew off part of Trump's ear, it's a little odd that his ear appears to be intact.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post reflects on Republicans' bad week: "There are just over 100 days until the election, and Donald Trump is in a bad place. The former president is getting mad at his television and firing off random, late-night rage posts from his social media account." And Milbank found millions more voters J.D. Vance insulted: "He tried suggesting that she's been on the dole: 'I don't know, Kamala. I served in the United States Marine Corps and I built a business. What the hell have you done other than to collect a government check for the past 20 years?' Thus did Vance insult not just Harris but all public school teachers, cops and members of the military, who also 'collect a government check.'"

Irie Sentner & Jared Mitovich of Politico: "Despite momentum after ... Donald Trump named him as his running mate, [J.D. Vance] started receiving unwanted attention after old clips resurfaced of him calling some Democrats 'childless cat ladies' and suggesting parents should have more political power than non-parents.... 'Of the people that were mentioned as finalists, he had the most risk, because he had never been vetted nationally,' said Bill McCoshen, a Republican strategist in Wisconsin.... Critics also highlighted Vance's authoring of the foreword to an upcoming book by Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation who has advocated for a 'second American revolution' he hopes will remain 'bloodless.' Roberts is the head of Project 2025 -- a far-right policy blueprint from which Trump has fought to distance himself." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Many of the Boy Philosopher's ruminations on proper family life relate back to the premise that women have one primary function: serving as child-bearing vessels. If they fail to produce, their value is radically diminished. They are "miserable cat ladies" who not only have no stake in the future, they also have failed in their duty to provide men with the progeny that give the family agency. The idea is both patriarchal and monarchical: Princess Diana was required to be a virgin before she married (reportedly the palace had her tested), and then to produce, as she put it, "an heir and a spare." Once she'd done so, Charles disposed of her. Not a lot more progressive than, say, Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn. Or Donald & Ivana Trump. Ironically, J.D. opposes measures that make it easier for families to have children: he voted against the Right to IVF Act, and he opposes universal daycare as "class war against normal people." That is, a woman is not "normal" if she cannot get pregnant the old-fashioned way or she sets herself up in a family situation in which she cannot afford daycare.

Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. said on Friday that Donald J. Trump had been struck by a 'bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces,' providing the most definitive explanation to date about what injured the former president's ear during an assassination attempt this month. Ambiguity about Mr. Trump's injury turned into a political firestorm as the former president and his political allies attacked the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, for comments he made on Wednesday before Congress. 'With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,' Mr. Wray told the House Judiciary Committee. Mr. Wray's comments incensed Mr. Trump.... Mr. Trump has maintained that he narrowly escaped death or serious injury after a bullet bloodied his ear, and that divine intervention spared his life. Mr. Wray's suggestion that it might have been shrapnel angered him." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Lord moves in mysterious ways. Apparently s/he is not that interested in shrapnel, much less in the death and serious injuries of ordinary people out for an afternoon of Trumpy entertainment.

Election News: About That Severed Finger in a Chili Bowl. Jamie Frevele of Mediaite: "... The New York Times issued a retraction on Thursday of a quote it used in an article about new polling -- because ... one of [people they queried] was the woman who was convicted of fraud for planting a severed finger in a cup of chili. The article, about a new NYT/Siena poll that has Vice President Kamala Harris narrowing the gap on ... Donald Trump, quoted a few registered voters on their electoral choices. One of them caught the eye of The Atlantic senior editor Gilad Edelman..., [who tweeted that the voter cited, Anna Ayala, had been 'convicted of planting a severed finger in her Wendy's chili.']... Back in 2005, Ayala and her husband pleaded guilty to charges that she planted a severed finger in a serving of Wendy's chili as part of an extortion scheme.... [They got the finger from a friend who lost it in an industrial accident. The Times correction read:] '... The Times removed comments from one voter in an earlier version of this article after learning that the person had been convicted in an extortion scheme in which she made fraudulent claims.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Akhilleus suspects Ayala learned the trick in her Trump University course "Restaurant Scams."

Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The Justice Department settled a lawsuit on Friday with two former F.B.I. officials who had accused the Trump administration of violating their privacy by sharing their texts disparaging ... Donald J. Trump with the news media, according to court documents.... The government agreed to pay the former officials, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, concluding at least some of the litigation. The amount was not disclosed in court filings, but Mr. Strzok's law firm said he received $1.2 million.... [At the time, Strzok and Page were working on the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.] The agreement is likely to anger Mr. Trump, who has railed against the pair for years and leveled baseless accusations that the investigation was a 'witch hunt' intended to damage his campaign.... As president, Mr. Trump often singled out the pair by name, lobbing insults at rallies and on social media." An ABC News story is here.

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Ukraine, et al. Gregorio Sorgi of Politico: "The European Commission transferred €1.5 billion of profits from investing frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine. After months of grueling negotiations in Brussels, the EU executive finally sent the first batch of funding to the war-torn country. Ninety percent of the cash will be used for military purposes, while the remaining amount will go towards humanitarian aid." (Also linked yesterday.)