The Conversation -- August 30, 2024

David Moye of the Huffington Post: "JD Vance is refusing to apologize for attempting to mock Kamala Harris by posting an embarrassing clip of a teen beauty pageant contestant struggling to answer a question ― even after he learned the subject of the video once contemplated suicide. On Thursday night..., [Vance] posted a video on social media Thursday that he 'jokingly' claimed was the full Harris CNN interview. The video was from 2007 and showed Miss Teen USA contestant Caitlin Upton trying ― and failing ― to explain why some Americans supposedly can't find the U.S. on a map. Vance's post was widely condemned, with many people noting that Upton struggled with public ridicule and later admitted that she contemplated suicide as a result of the whole experience. Berman asked Vance if he'd like to apologize 'given what you've now learned' [about Upton's mental health struggles]. Vance refused, saying, 'John, I'm not going to apologize for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlin.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: (1) It appears Trump has told JayDee that he must never apologize for any dumb thing he says or does; (2) JayDee is not as horrible a person as Trump: even though Vance refused to apologize, when Berman told Vance about Upton's difficulties with widespread public ridicule, Vance replied that he himself has "said a lot of stupid things on camera." IOW, Vance is capable of empathy even as he is afraid to raise Trump's ire.

Terrence McCoyof the Washington Post: "A Brazilian supreme court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of X in Latin America's largest country, a dramatic escalation in a months-long dispute between platform owner Elon Musk and Brazilian jurists over the limits of freedom of speech in an era gripped by polarization and disinformation. The decision, which did not immediately shut the site down, could impact more than 20 million X users in Brazil and deprive the platform of one of its largest and most active markets. The ruling came days after Musk declined to comply with a request by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, one of the world's most aggressive prosecutors of disinformation, to reestablish a physical presence in Brazil. Moraes says X needs a representative in this country of 215 million people to respond to government requests to suspend accounts found to be spreading fake news. Musk has refused, saying anyone one he appointed would be exposed to the possibility of arrest. Moraes then froze the bank accounts of Starlink, another Musk company active in Brazil, and gave him 24 hours to name a representative in Brazil. The 24 hours lapsed Thursday evening, as Musk repeatedly assailed the judge on X."

Let's All Go to the Movies! Jada Yuan & Samantha Chery of the Washington Post: "The Apprentice,' the controversial film centered on Donald Trump's origin story that was met with legal threats and a months-long distribution delay, now has a pre-election U.S. release date set for Oct. 11. The release of Ali Abbasi's film, which follows Trump (Sebastian Stan) as a young New York real estate magnate mentored by lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), was initially met with roadblocks. Trump's team has threatened legal action against filmmakers since the docudrama's buzzy world premiere at Cannes Film Festival in May. A lawyer for the former president sent a cease-and-desist letter to the movie's team accusing them of defamation and illegal election interference. And ex-Washington Commanders owner and Trump backer Daniel Snyder, who's the principal lender for the movie's primary U.S. production company, Kinematics, reportedly didn't like 'The Apprentice' and contributed to a stall in securing the movie's U.S. distribution. But the highly anticipated film has secured its U.S. distributor, Briarcliff Entertainment.... The film's other producers reportedly bought out Kinematics' stake."

Steve Benen of MSNBC: Donald Trump "delivered public remarks on the [fiasco at Arlington National Cemetery] for the first time [Thursday afternoon], misstated the date of his visit to Arlington, bragged about being on time for the event at the cemetery, characterized himself as a victim of smear, and concluded that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris 'killed' American service members in Afghanistan.... Around the same time, Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita, on the heels of publicly criticizing the official who works at the cemetery, issued a statement online that called the office of the Army Secretary a bunch of 'hacks.'... Politico reported: 'Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services panel, added Thursday that he wants to see the Army's report on the confrontation....' VoteVets, a progressive veterans group, wasted little time in throwing its public support behind the Democratic senator's efforts, and there's a related push underway from several House Democrats. Mark Esper, who served as Trump's Defense Secretary, has also called for an investigation into the incident." Related stories linked below.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post was so amused by the idea that Donald Trump could "win on character" that he set out to prove it with just a few of the Trump activities and remarks of the week.

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Presidential Race

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Seated alongside her running mate, the quietly supportive Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, [Vice President Kamala] Harris parried questions from Dana Bash on Thursday without causing herself political harm or providing herself a significant boost. She was methodical and risk-averse in the 27-minute interview.... Here are seven takeaways from the interview[.]" ~~~

     ~~~ CNN has a full transcript of the interview here.

Carl Hulseof the New York Times: "The effort by [Senate Leader Chuck] Schumer and Senate Democrats to persuade [President] Biden to step aside was a more pivotal factor than previously known in bringing about the president's exit from the race, as he found himself with scant support in the chamber that had been his political home for 36 years. Representative Nancy Pelosi, who appeared on television hinting at her concerns about Mr. Biden and privately made the case that he could not win, has widely been credited as the chief architect of the quiet but intense drive to sideline the president. But behind the scenes, Mr. Schumer and his colleagues -- along with Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House Democratic leader, and former President Barack Obama -- were also playing a powerful role. Mr. Schumer was spurred to action after it became abundantly clear that Senate Democrats, Mr. Biden's closest political allies on Capitol Hill, believed that he was putting them and his legacy at risk...." Read on.

Congreve was right! It turns out music does soothe the savage beast, or at least music can soothe you if you must think of savage beasts. (Okay, Congreve posited that music soothed "a savage breast," but we're not going to let a correct citation ruin the point.) Anyway, Linda from Denver, with a little guidance from Stephen Sondheim, has devised lyrics that will have you waltzing around your living room while thinking of savage beasts. Art is a beautiful thing:

Aint it a bitch?
Aren't they a pair?
One with a worm in his brain
One with bad hair
They've sent in the clowns
A couple of clowns.
They'll be gone next year.*

     * Marie: Linda let me know that she accidentally omitted the credit for these lyrics when she shared them yesterday. She found them in a comment by "Runaway" in a WashPo thread. We don't know if Runaway wrote them. But they're pretty good.

Paul McLeary & Connor O'Brien of Politico: "The Army is defending an Arlington National Cemetery official involved in an incident with the Trump campaign this week at the national memorial, saying the woman was 'abruptly pushed aside' and 'unfairly attacked' by the Trump staffers and its surrogates.... In the statement, an Army spokesperson said the employee, despite being 'abruptly pushed aside ... acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption.' The unidentified female staff member has declined to press charges due to concern over retaliation, and the Army, which runs national cemeteries, said in a statement Thursday morning that it considers the matter closed." The Washington Post story by Meryl Kornfield, linked below, describes the Army's release as "a rare statement." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: In an interview with NBC News' Dasha Burns, Donald Trump defends his visit to Arlington National Cemetery. I especially like the part where he says it might have been the families who brought those still & video cameras to the cemetery because, you know, he "really doesn't know anything about it": ~~~

~~~ Meryl Kornfield, et al.,of the Washington Post: "... Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, doubled down Wednesday on telling Vice President Kamala Harris to 'go to hell,' falsely repeating that she had feigned outrage over an altercation between Trump's campaign and an Arlington cemetery worker when she had not. In an interview with The Washington Post, Vance defended his attack on Harris -- saying 'go to hell' is 'a colloquial phrase' -- and tied it to broader criticism of the administration's handling of an Islamic State attack that killed 13 U.S. troops during the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.... Vance also referred to a 2020 Biden campaign video that included a photo of Biden as vice president in 2010 in Section 60, the area of the cemetery that includes recent conflicts. However, the photo was taken at an official Memorial Day event, not while Biden was campaigning for president a decade later. The content of the campaign video memorialized soldiers and did not attack his opponent." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ David Badash of AlterNet: "The Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, reportedly pulled strings to get Donald Trump into Arlington National Cemetery, amid what has become a scandal and a crisis.... The [right-wing] Daily Caller reports Monday's event 'would have not happened without Speaker Johnson,' according to an unnamed source." Thanks to RAS for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "... hauling a camera crew to Arlington National Cemetery and exploiting the fresh graves of heroes -- using them as props in his presidential campaign -- was more than a violation of the cemetery's rules; it was more, even, than a violation of federal law. It was a deeply dishonorable act by a shockingly dishonorable man.... Arlington National Cemetery is a place of honor. Donald Trump thinks honor is for suckers and losers -- and values sacrifice only if it might help him win an election. Do not become numb to his nature." ~~~

~~~ digby & Josh Marshall comment. Marshall's column is firewalled on TPM, but digby republishes a big piece of it.

Marie: If you don't think Donald Trump can best Kamala Harris in a debate, I offer this evidence that he is a master of not answering unwelcome questions. Here he puts on his (unconvincing) little toddler-in-the-cookie-jar face and tone, swinging his shoulders left and right in an unintentional sign of equivocation, to not answer NBC News' Dasha Burns' questions about his position on abortion rights. Bear in mind that the non-answer need not make a lick of sense. Indeed, that's the beauty of it: ~~~

~~~ Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump suggested on Thursday that he might support a ballot measure that would expand abortion rights in his adopted state of Florida, though his campaign quickly sought to make clear that his remarks were not indicative of how he would vote. In an interview with NBC, Mr. Trump ... was asked on how he would vote on the measure known as Amendment 4, which would guarantee the right to abortion 'before viability,' usually around 24 weeks of pregnancy. Mr. Trump initially repeated his past criticism of the state's current ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. When pressed further, he stopped short of outright endorsing the proposal but said, 'I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.' The only way to do that directly on the November ballot would be to vote 'Yes' on Amendment 4.... Later on Thursday, however, Mr. Trump's campaign said in a statement that the former president 'has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative in Florida.... He simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short,' said the statement from Karoline Leavitt, the campaign's national press secretary." ~~~

Maeve Reston & Sabrina Malhi of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump said Thursday that if he wins a second term, he would require the government or private insurance companies to cover all costs associated with in vitro fertilization treatments -- an announcement delivered with few details that underscored his deficit among female voters and political headwinds on reproductive issues.... During a speech in Potterville, Mich., Trump offered only a general description of how his proposals would work and did not specify how much it would cost. Each IVF treatment can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and covering assisted reproductive technologies often comes with a host of health policy complications.... 'I'm announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for -- or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for -- all costs associated with IVF treatment,' Trump said. 'Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.'" The NBC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Um, how would you put that "not nicely"? More important, "a major statement" implies production of a white paper: a formal proposal that would at least generally outline revenue sources. BUT, according to the WashPo report, "His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for more details on his proposals." So Trump seems not to have bothered with any of that, to put it nicely. Less nicely: he's lying again. But if you loved Infrastructure Week, maybe IVF Week will please you -- again and again. According to the NBC News story linked above, "The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology says its member clinics performed 389,993 IVF cycles in 2022. At a cost of around $20,000 apiece, that would come to $7.8 billion for that one year." But it's fair to assume it would cost a lot more than that if suddenly everyone who wanted IVF treatment suddenly could get it for free.

Autocrat v. Plutocrat. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "... Donald Trump writes in a new book set to be published next week that Mark Zuckerberg plotted against him during the 2020 election and said the Meta chief executive would 'spend the rest of his life in prison' if he did it again. It represents Trump's most recent attack on Zuckerberg, who he has repeatedly accused of intervening in the last presidential election. And it comes as Meta has taken steps to assure conservatives it will not influence this year's campaign. [Under a photo in a coffee table book,] Trump writes that Zuckerberg 'would come to the Oval Office to see me. He would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT,' Trump added, referring to a $420 million contribution Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, made during the 2020 election to fund election infrastructure." (Also linked yesterday.)

Meidas Touch reviews Donald Trump's r<ésumé. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link: ~~~

📺 NEW MEIDAS SHORT

Trump is not okay. Stay vigilant. Look for the RED FLAGS! 🚩 🚩 pic.twitter.com/OnfrfzzY0B

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) August 27, 2024

Carl Gibson of AlterNet: "During a meeting of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) -- which is part of the hugely influential AFL-CIO -- [JD] Vance addressed the Boston, Massachusetts crowd of union firefighters.... But Vance's speech was interrupted by loud boos after he tried to tout the GOP ticket's 'pro-worker' bona fides. 'President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history,' Vance said, as the audience started to boo.... Vance's speech to the IAFF came a day after Minnesota Governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz addressed the group, in which he said that Trump and Vance had 'waged war on working people' with their policies." MB: I don't recall that the firefighters booed Walz. (Also linked yesterday.)

Spaghetti ... Wall. Ben Protess & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump sought to move his Manhattan criminal case into federal court on Thursday, filing the unusual request three months after he was convicted in state court. The long-shot bid marks Mr. Trump's latest effort to stave off his sentencing in state court in his hush-money trial, in which he was convicted of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. He is scheduled to receive his punishment on Sept. 18...."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "As Speaker Nancy Pelosi was evacuated from the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while the complex was under attack, her motorcade passed by a pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee headquarters that law enforcement had yet to render safe, according to video and analysis released this week by House Republicans. The revelation is the second known instance of a prominent Democrat coming close to the explosive device, and it underscores the threat that elected officials faced that day when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.... Kamala Harris, then the vice president-elect, came within 20 feet of it, according to a report last month by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, who faulted the Secret Service for its handling of the pipe bomb." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bear in mind that Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to pardon the "patriots" who may be responsible for building & planting a device that could have killed or maimed the two most prominent women in American politics, along with any number of government personnel & bystanders.

Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: "Three years after the Justice Department's internal watchdog slammed the FBI for its failures in the case of convicted sex predator and former U.S. gymnastic team doctor Larry Nassar, a new audit released Thursday finds that the bureau is still failing to protect children who have been sexually abused. A new report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz reviewed a sample of 327 cases and found 42 that were so deficient that auditors felt compelled to contact the FBI and urge immediate attention. In one case, the audit found that a child continued to be sexually abused for 15 months -- and another child victim was abused by the same person -- while the FBI failed to investigate the case. The IG reported on a separate FBI review that found another such example in which a 2-year-old was being abused for 21 months while the FBI sat on the case and failed to take investigative steps. These cases mirror what happened in the Nassar case, even though FBI Director Christopher Wray assured Congress and the public this would never happen again." (Also linked yesterday.)

Joe Heim, et al.,of the Washington Post: "The Boar's Head plant in southern Virginia at the epicenter of a deadly nationwide listeria outbreak was regularly cited for violations in the past year, including the presence of mold, mildew, insects and a 'rancid smell,' according to reports by government inspectors. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports, reviewed by The Washington Post, show that inspectors notified managers at the plant of one or more 'noncompliances' on 57 separate days between Aug. 1, 2023, and July 27, 2024. Among the issues cited were 'dirty' machinery, flies in pickle containers, 'heavy meat buildup' on walls, blood in puddles on the floor, and multiple instances of leaking pipes, clogged drains and heavy dust buildup in certain areas.... Inspections at the Jarratt facility have been suspended, according to the USDA, and the facility will remain closed 'until the establishment is able to demonstrate it can produce safe product.'... Deli meat produced at the Jarratt, Va., facility between May 10 and July 29 is now believed to be responsible for the deaths of nine people and the hospitalization of dozens of others." The CBS News report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Doesn't it seem that if a food production plant is in "noncompliance," the USDA should shut down the plant right away till it's in compliance? Maybe you're thinking that would be way to expensive for a fine capitalist enterprise, but according to the WashPo report, Boar's Head has had to recall "at least 7 million pounds of more than 70 products." That -- plus all the suits for wrongful death, illness & hospitalizations caused by the listeria outbreak -- would seem to be more costly than shutting down a plant for a few days. I think I'll switch to Whale's Head. I know a guy ...

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: This morning's New York Times online front page has two stories by Reid Epstein, and I have a feeling one of them has been sitting around in his to-do basket for so long, he decided to string together a lot of research tidbits, craft them into paragraphs in no particUlar order, and turn it in. To begin, the story's tease looms ominously: "For years, the Maryland governor has faced questions about whether he had wrongfully said he had a Bronze Star. He insisted no. But an old document proves otherwise." Sounds bad. ~~~

~~~ Maryland. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "When Wes Moore ran for governor of Maryland in 2022, questions about whether he had claimed to have been awarded a Bronze Star for his Army service in Afghanistan hovered over his campaign. For reasons that remain unexplained, two television interviewers, Gwen Ifill and Stephen Colbert, had wrongly introduced him years earlier as a recipient of the award. Mr. Moore failed to correct them, even as he and his aides insisted he had never told anyone he had a Bronze Star. But at least once, Mr. Moore, now the state's Democratic governor, did say he had received the award." ~~~

     ~~~ If you read all the way down to Graf 20, you'll find out that Ifill interviewed Moore in 2008, so 16 years ago, and Colbert interviewed him in 2010, so 14 years back. If you keep on reading, you learn in Graf 27 that Moore says he's sorry he didn't correct Ifill or Colbert. I guess you can call that "unexplained," but if you've ever been introduced by someone who made a mistake about your biography, chances are you didn't want to embarrass him by correcting him in public, much less on national television. And let's face it, a comedy show is not the place to get into details. And there are details, because we find in Graf 18 that the colonel -- now an Army general officer -- who had recommended Moore for a Bronze Star was unaware Moore had never received it. The general said he would resubmit the paperwork. Here and there throughout the story, Reid reports plausible explanations as to why Moore had not received the Bronze Star and why he wrote that he had received it on a 2006 application for a White House fellowship. ~~~

     ~~~ If you have served in the military, you may disagree with me, and there's a good chance I'll defer to your experience. Moore should have cleared up this matter before he ran for public office for the first time in 2021-22. It does seem that Moore has been fairly sloppy in a number of more minor civil matters that either should not have arisen or should have been corrected before they received press attention. Nevertheless, Epstein's story seems an awful lot like "But the Emails!" journalism.

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. Victoria Kim & Thomas Fuller of the New York Times: "Israel's military stormed a mosque in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, where it said weapons were being stored, and engaged in gun battles that left at least five Palestinians dead, including a young militant commander who Israel says was responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians. It was the second straight day of an Israeli incursion into the northern West Bank, focused in and around the cities of Tulkarm and Jenin, involving columns of armored vehicles, fleets of drones and hundreds of troops. The raids are Israel's biggest military actions in the West Bank in more than a year. The commander killed in Thursday's fighting, Muhammad Jaber, who died in a clash in Tulkarm, led the local branch of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which confirmed his death.... Wafa, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency, said 17 people had been killed in total in the raids across the West Bank...."

News Lede

New York Times: "Prosecutors in Sicily have broadened their investigation into the sinking of the luxury yacht, the Bayesian, and are now looking into the actions of two more crew members, their lawyer said Thursday. The captain of the yacht, James Cutfield, is also facing a manslaughter inquiry to determine whether his actions negligently caused the shipwreck, one of his lawyers said Tuesday. Seven people -- six passengers and one crew member -- died in the Aug. 19 accident amid a pre-dawn storm off the coast of Sicily. Among the victims was the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, whose family owned the Bayesian, as well as his 18-year-old daughter Hannah."

The Conversation -- August 29, 2024

Kevin Liptak of CNN: “Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday offered her most expansive explanation to date on why she’s changed some of her positions on fracking and immigration, telling CNN’s Dana Bash her values haven’t shifted but that her time as vice president provided new perspective on some of the country’s most pressing issues. In the CNN exclusive sit-down interview, Harris also said she would name a Republican to serve in her Cabinet if elected. And she brushed off her rival’s questioning of her racial identity, dismissing Donald Trump’s suggestion she 'happened to turn Black' as the 'same old, tired playbook.'” Here's a snippet: ~~~

Autocrat v. Plutocrat. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: “... Donald Trump writes in a new book set to be published next week that Mark Zuckerberg plotted against him during the 2020 election and said the Meta chief executive would 'spend the rest of his life in prison' if he did it again. It represents Trump’s most recent attack on Zuckerberg, who he has repeatedly accused of intervening in the last presidential election. And it comes as Meta has taken steps to assure conservatives it will not influence this year’s campaign. [Under a photo in a coffee table book,] Trump writes that Zuckerberg 'would come to the Oval Office to see me. He would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT,' Trump added, referring to a $420 million contribution Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, made during the 2020 election to fund election infrastructure.”

David Badash of AlterNet: “The Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, reportedly pulled strings to get Donald Trump into Arlington National Cemetery, amid what has become a scandal and a crisis.... The [right-wing] Daily Caller reports Monday’s event 'would have not happened without Speaker Johnson,' according to an unnamed source.” Thanks to RAS for the lead.

Meryl Kornfield, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, doubled down Wednesday on telling Vice President Kamala Harris to 'go to hell,' falsely repeating that she had feigned outrage over an altercation between Trump’s campaign and an Arlington cemetery worker when she had not. In an interview with The Washington Post, Vance defended his attack on Harris — saying 'go to hell' is 'a colloquial phrase' — and tied it to broader criticism of the administration’s handling of an Islamic State attack that killed 13 U.S. troops during the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.... Vance also referred to a 2020 Biden campaign video that included a photo of Biden as vice president in 2010 in Section 60, the area of the cemetery that includes recent conflicts. However, the photo was taken at an official Memorial Day event, not while Biden was campaigning for president a decade later. The content of the campaign video memorialized soldiers and did not attack his opponent.”

Paul McLeary & Connor O'Brien of Politico: “The Army is defending an Arlington National Cemetery official involved in an incident with the Trump campaign this week at the national memorial, saying the woman was 'abruptly pushed aside' and 'unfairly attacked' by the Trump staffers and its surrogates.... In the statement, an Army spokesperson said the employee, despite being 'abruptly pushed aside … acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption.' The unidentified female staff member has declined to press charges due to concern over retaliation, and the Army, which runs national cemeteries, said in a statement Thursday morning that it considers the matter closed.” The Washington Post story by Meryl Kornfield, linked above, describes the Army's release as “a rare statement.”

Carl Gibson of AlterNet: “During a meeting of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) — which is part of the hugely influential AFL-CIO — [JD] Vance addressed the Boston, Massachusetts crowd of union firefighters.... But Vance's speech was interrupted by loud boos after he tried to tout the GOP ticket's 'pro-worker' bona fides. 'President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history,' Vance said, as the audience started to boo.... Vance's speech to the IAFF came a day after Minnesota Governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz addressed the group, in which he said that Trump and Vance had 'waged war on working people' with their policies.” MB: I don't recall that the firefighters booed Walz.

Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: “Three years after the Justice Department's internal watchdog slammed the FBI for its failures in the case of convicted sex predator and former U.S. gymnastic team doctor Larry Nassar, a new audit released Thursday finds that the bureau is still failing to protect children who have been sexually abused. A new report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz reviewed a sample of 327 cases and found 42 that were so deficient that auditors felt compelled to contact the FBI and urge immediate attention.  In one case, the audit found that a child continued to be sexually abused for 15 months — and another child victim was abused by the same person — while the FBI failed to investigate the case. The IG reported on a separate FBI review that found another such example in which a 2-year-old was being abused for 21 months while the FBI sat on the case and failed to take investigative steps. These cases mirror what happened in the Nassar case, even though FBI Director Christopher Wray assured Congress and the public this would never happen again.”

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Presidential Race

Nicholas Nehamas & Maya King of the New York Times: “Vice President Kamala Harris ... kicked off a bus tour on Wednesday in the rural southeastern corner of the battleground state [of Georgia]. Ms. Harris’s trip emphasizes a growing sense of optimism among Georgia Democrats that she could hold on to the state, which President Biden narrowly won in 2020. The Democratic ticket’s standing in the polls there has increased significantly since Mr. Biden dropped out of the race, although Ms. Harris still trails Mr. Trump, according to a New York Times polling average. Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, joined her for the two-day bus tour, which is meant in part to mobilize rural Black voters and will culminate with a rally in Savannah.... The bus tour’s route takes the candidates through a part of the state not often visited by Democrats, underscoring the campaign’s efforts to motivate rural voters.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I caught less than 30 seconds of a live video of Harris speaking to members of a high school band in Hinesville, Georgia. But that was all I needed to vouch for comments by Jen Psaki & her guests on MSNBC: "Compare that to JD Vance's visit to a doughnut shop," and "Donald Trump couldn't chat with a group of high school kids."

A few contributors here have had the audacity to question the wisdom of Harris and Walz agreeing to sit for an interview today with Dana Bash of CNN. Why, the New York Times is so super-excited about the pending MSM ritual flogging that the paper devoted a main-page (as of very early Thursday) story to an interview of someone who had interviewed Kamala Harris last year and in 2019.

~~~ Marc Caputo of the Bulwark: “When Kamala Harris's presidential campaign announced a new attack ad Tuesday, the vice president’s strategists made sure to run it in every battleground state — as well as a single media market in Florida: the one that includes Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. In this case, the ad placement itself was the message.... 'We thought it was important for Donald to see how much voters hate his Project 2025 plans to control their lives, seek revenge on his enemies, and rule as a dictator on day one,' said Sarafina Chitika, a Harris spokeswoman. 'Trump might forget, but we’ll make sure voters don’t—and they’ll hold him accountable this November.'”

Donald Trump could not figure out how to show more disrespect for military service and the men and women who have paid the ultimate price. Until he did: ~~~

⭐  ~~~ Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Trump campaign posted a video Wednesday that was recorded at Arlington National Cemetery, two days after an alleged altercation in which defense officials said a cemetery staff member sought to enforce guidelines the campaign had received not to take photos and videos near the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years. The campaign video, which was posted to TikTok, showed former president Donald Trump appearing during a third anniversary ceremony Monday memorializing 13 U.S. troops who were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul during the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. Trump is seen in the video at the Tomb of the Unknowns and walking among marble headstones as soft guitar music plays and Trump is heard criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal.” Related stories linked yesterday. See also commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: “Earlier this month..., Donald Trump’s campaign contacted military officials about visiting Arlington National Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the Islamic State bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the evacuation from Afghanistan. Federal law prohibits election-related activities at military cemeteries, and Arlington is the most prestigious and sacred of all. Pentagon officials were deeply concerned about the former president turning the visit into a campaign stop.... Officials said they wanted to respect the wishes of grieving family members who wanted Trump there..., so they laid out ground rules they hoped would wall off politics from the final resting place of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation....

A cemetery employee tried to enforce the rules as provided to her by blocking Trump’s team from bringing cameras to the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years.... A larger male campaign aide insisted the camera was allowed and pushed past the cemetery employee, leaving her shocked. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded to the first report of the altercation, from NPR on Tuesday, by accusing, without evidence, the employee of 'suffering from a mental health episode.' Defense officials said ... that the claim of a mental health episode was false.... Cheung also said the campaign would release footage to support his claim but has not. The campaign did, however, post a TikTok of the event on Wednesday.... The use of the footage marked a flagrant violation of the law against partisan actions at military cemeteries, defense officials said.” An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Chris Cameron, et al., of the New York Times: “The family of a Green Beret who died by suicide after serving eight combat tours and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery expressed concern on Wednesday that Donald J. Trump’s campaign had filmed his gravesite without permission as Mr. Trump stood in an area where campaign photography isn’t allowed. Relatives of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano issued their statement two days after Mr. Trump’s visit, which also included a confrontation between members of the Trump campaign and an Arlington employee.... A woman who works at the cemetery filed an incident report with the military authorities over the altercation. But the official, who has not been identified, later declined to press charges. Military officials said she feared Mr. Trump’s supporters pursuing retaliation.... Mr. Cheung said in a statement on Wednesday that 'that is ridiculous and sounds like someone who has Trump Derangement Syndrome.'” ~~~

~~~ Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: At a campaign event Wednesday, JD Vance said, “'Kamala Harris is disgraceful. We’re going to talk about a story out of those 13 brave, innocent Americans who lost their lives? It’s that Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened[.]'... There have been extensive federal investigations into the Abbey Gate bombing. Vance accused Harris of criticizing Trump’s visit to the cemetery, saying: 'And she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up? She can — she can go to hell.'... Harris, who began a two-day bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday, did not bring up the issue on the campaign trail.” MB: So he lied about her, then he swore at her. ~~~

~~~ Hannah Schoenbaum of the AP: “Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox came under criticism Wednesday for sending a campaign email that featured a photo of him and ... Donald Trump at Arlington National Cemetery during a wreath-laying ceremony.... Cox’s campaign apologized for using the photo and for politicizing the graveside ceremony....” ~~~

~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$ on Steven Cheung's repeated promises to release footage proving that the National Cemetery employee was "suffering from a mental health episode" that accounted for the altercation with campaign workers: "I’m sure this sub-literate goon will be releasing footage of the confrontation on the same day as Trump’s tax returns, records of his near-fatal helicopter ride with Willie Brown, etc. etc. are made available to the ever-credulous public." As for that photo of Trump smiling and giving a thumbs-up to a fallen soldier: "... tell me Trump isn”t some sort of psychological freak, who is incapable of even pretending that he experiences vaguely normal human emotions." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Just a reminder that roughing up women doing their jobs at Trump campaign events (as the cemetery visit proved to be) is a Trumpy thing. In 2016, Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed a Breitbart reporter by the arm, forced her out of his way and nearly threw her to the ground. Trump recently rehired Lewandowski for his 2024 campaign. 

Trump's respect for the military is matched only by his respect for women: ~~~

~~~ Michael Gold of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump used his social-media website on Wednesday to amplify a crude remark about Vice President Kamala Harris that suggested Ms. Harris traded sexual favors to help her political career. The post, by another user on Truth Social, was an image of Ms. Harris and Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump’s opponent in 2016. The text read: 'Funny how blowjobs impacted both their careers differently…'... Mr. Trump’s repost was the second time in 10 days that the former president shared content from his personal account making sexually oriented attacks on Ms. Harris.... On Aug. 18, Mr. Trump had shared a video ... [of a] parody song, [in which] the singer says Ms. Harris 'spent her whole damn life down on her knees,' at which point a photo of [former San Francisco Mayor Willie] Brown[, whom Harris once dated,] appears onscreen. Mr. Trump has repeatedly been accused of sexual misconduct and was found liable last year for sexual abuse and defamation. He has a history of attacking female opponents and critics in deeply personal terms, often describing them as mentally ill or at times expressing contempt in epithets.”

Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: “... Donald Trump used his Truth Social account to 'retruth' a supporter’s meme calling for the imprisonment of Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and other prominent figures. A review of that supporter's account also found numerous calls for Trump’s political opponents to be killed. This isn’t an aberration. Media Matters recently documented that Trump promoted an account which spews the N-word, praises Hitler as a hero, and denies the Holocaust. Trump has also frequently interacted with the account Patriot4Life, including this month. That account has repeatedly promoted calls for political killings, including recently retruthing an image calling for Harris and Gov. Tim Walz to be killed.  Trump has promoted another Truth Social account that calls for Democrats to be executed.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Kathleen Culliton of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump's presidential reelection bid would likely nosedive if moderate voters discovered the dark messages he shares on Truth Social, a senior campaign official told Rolling Stone Wednesday.... 'If Trump were still using X ... as his primary social vehicle, this official asserts, the more "unhelpful" posting and re-posting sprees would get more public traction and drive more news cycles.'"

When two crazy guys get together: ~~~

~~~ Marin Scotten of Salon: “'If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, OK?' Trump said Tuesday in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw. He criticized California’s mail-in voting system, falsely claiming it leads to more voter fraud. Without it, he said he would win the deep-blue state, which has consistently been won by Democratic presidential candidates since 1992. 'In other words, if we had an honest vote counter, a really honest vote counter, I do great with the Hispanics, great, I mean I had a level that no other Republican’s ever done, but if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California,' the former president told Dr. Phil, himself a Trump supporter.... In 2020, Trump lost California, Vice President Kamala Harris’ homestate, by over 30 points.... The Harris campaign said in a statement that Trump has 'reached a level of delusion difficult for even Dr. Phil to diagnose.'” More on the conversation linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)

Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “Donald Trump amplified a vulgar joke about Vice President Kamala Harris performing a sex act. He falsely accused her of a staging a coup to secure the Democratic nomination and faulted her without evidence for a security lapse that enabled a rogue gunman to try to assassinate him. He shared a manipulated online image of Bill Gates in an orange jumpsuit and a call for Barack Obama to face a 'military tribunal.' He promoted explicit tributes to the QAnon conspiracy theory. He hawked digital trading cards in an online infomercial along with pieces of his debate night suit. ('People are calling it the knockout suit.') His campaign feuded publicly with Arlington National Cemetery over their visit. And that was just in the span of 24 hours.... Trump is zigging and zagging with an arsenal of unfocused attacks and peripheral pursuits....”

OMG! Look what the NYT just published. AG Sulzberger must be off at his vacation home: ~~~

     ~~~ Tim Balk of the New York Times: “The alliance between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and ... Donald J. Trump, which was fortified on Tuesday with Mr. Kennedy’s appointment to Mr. Trump’s transition team, is a sharp turnabout in a long-combative relationship. Mr. Kennedy had spent the better part of a decade lobbing attacks at Mr. Trump, portraying him as a buffoonish, anti-democratic bully who led a feckless administration.... Here’s a look back at 12 times Mr. Kennedy ridiculed Mr. Trump and his policies.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Edgar Chen & Dan Ross, both immigration legal counselors, in Just Security: "In our years of assisting refugees, asylees, and others through the legal immigration process, we have never encountered an immigrant with anywhere close to Trump’s long record of indictments, arrests, convictions, criticisms of the United States’ constitutional order, and well-documented allegations of sexual misconduct and incitement to violence. Those we help are overwhelmingly law-abiding. Even those who have had brushes with the law must admit what they’ve done, knowing full well it could lead to delays or disqualification. We believe Trump should be held to the same high standards as the immigrants he constantly vilifies." (Also linked yesterday.)

Zoe Richards of NBC News: “Sen. JD Vance of Ohio ... attacked teachers who don’t have children in remarks in 2021 that resurfaced Tuesday. In his public comments, he reserved specific criticism for Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers. 'You know, so many of the leaders of the left, and I hate to be so personal about this, but they’re people without kids, trying to brainwash the minds of our children,' Vance said at a Center for Christian Virtue leadership forum.... Vance took aim at Weingarten, who has described herself as 'a mother by marriage,' by saying she 'doesn’t have a single child.'” (Also linked yesterday.)

Here's a snippet of Alexandra Pelosi's video, which HBO released to Jungle Gym Jordan (story linked yesterday): ~~~

Devan Cole of CNN: “The Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to lift a sweeping block on President Joe Biden’s student loan repayment plan that aims to slash monthly payments and quicken the path to loan forgiveness. The high court turned down a request from the Biden administration to put the plan back in play after lower courts blocked it this summer in a legal challenge brought by GOP-led states to the plan. There were no noted dissents in the brief order.” (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's report is here.

She's Ba-a-a-ack! Andrew Katersky of ABC News: "A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, finding several major issues 'impugn the reliability' of the original outcome. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals faulted the trial judge for dismissing the case before the jury had reached a verdict. The jury was allowed to continue deliberating before ultimately finding the newspaper not liable in February 2022. 'Unfortunately, several major issues at trial -- specifically, the erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction, a legally erroneous response to a mid-deliberation jury question, and jurors learning during deliberations of the district court's Rule 50 dismissal ruling -- impugn the reliability of that verdict,' the opinion said." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Nevada. Isabelle Taft of the New York Times: “A former county official was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering a longtime Las Vegas reporter who wrote articles critical of him. The highly unusual case had raised fears about press freedom in the United States and in particular the risks facing local journalists. The reporter, Jeff German, was stabbed to death outside his home in September 2022. Police investigators, and now a Clark County jury, concluded that his attacker was Robert Telles, who ran a county office that handles the estates of those who die without apparent heirs. A few months before his death, Mr. German wrote an article for The Las Vegas Review-Journal describing employees’ complaints that Mr. Telles had created a toxic work environment, demonstrated favoritism and had an improper relationship with a staff member. Mr. Telles denied the allegations. He lost his re-election bid a month after the article came out, and Mr. German kept reporting.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Pennsylvania Senate Race. George Stockburger of ABC News Harrisburg: “Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick’s [R] social media account appeared to mistake a news report involving a shooting in Philadelphia, Mississippi for the City of Brotherly Love; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. McCormick’s account reposted a news clip of a Mississippi television station reporting on a shooting involving an alleged MS-13 gang member who police say shot multiple people after entering the United States illegally. The repost included a comment criticizing McCormick’s opponent, incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Casey, and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. 'MS-13 gang members are terrorizing Philadelphians because of Harris & Casey’s radical open border policies,' posted McCormick in response to the Mississippi shooting. The post was taken down several minutes after another account pointed out the story was from Mississippi.”

~~~~~~~~~~

France. Aurelien Breeden & Adam Satariano of the New York Times: “Pavel Durov, the Russian-born entrepreneur who founded the online communications tool Telegram, was charged on Wednesday in France with a wide range of crimes for failing to prevent illicit activity on the app, and barred from leaving the country. His indictment was a rare move by legal authorities to hold a top technology executive personally liable for the behavior of users on a major messaging platform, escalating the debate over the role of tech companies in online speech, privacy and security and the limits of their responsibility. Mr. Durov, 39, was detained by the French authorities on Saturday after a flight from Azerbaijan. He was charged on Wednesday with complicity in managing an online platform to enable illegal transactions by an organized group, which could lead to a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He was also charged with complicity in crimes such as enabling the distribution of child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking and fraud, and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.”

The Conversation -- August 28, 2024

"The Audacity of Taupe." For you history buffs, today is the ten-year anniversary of one of the most consequential days in American presidential history: the day Barack Obama wore a tan suit to a news conference.

Donald Trump could not figure out how to show more disrespect for military service and the men and women who have paid the ultimate price. Until he did: ~~~

⭐ ~~~ Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Trump campaign posted a video Wednesday that was recorded at Arlington National Cemetery, two days after an alleged altercation in which defense officials said a cemetery staff member sought to enforce guidelines the campaign had received not to take photos and videos near the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years. The campaign video, which was posted to TikTok, showed former president Donald Trump appearing during a third anniversary ceremony Monday memorializing 13 U.S. troops who were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul during the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. Trump is seen in the video at the Tomb of the Unknowns and walking among marble headstones as soft guitar music plays and Trump is heard criticizing the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal." Related stories linked below. See also commentary in today's thread.

Nevada. Isabelle Taft of the New York Times: "A former county official was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering a longtime Las Vegas reporter who wrote articles critical of him. The highly unusual case had raised fears about press freedom in the United States and in particular the risks facing local journalists. The reporter, Jeff German, was stabbed to death outside his home in September 2022. Police investigators, and now a Clark County jury, concluded that his attacker was Robert Telles, who ran a county office that handles the estates of those who die without apparent heirs. A few months before his death, Mr. German wrote an article for The Las Vegas Review-Journal describing employees' complaints that Mr. Telles had created a toxic work environment, demonstrated favoritism and had an improper relationship with a staff member. Mr. Telles denied the allegations. He lost his re-election bid a month after the article came out, and Mr. German kept reporting."

Devan Cole of CNN: "The Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to lift a sweeping block on President Joe Biden's student loan repayment plan that aims to slash monthly payments and quicken the path to loan forgiveness. The high court turned down a request from the Biden administration to put the plan back in play after lower courts blocked it this summer in a legal challenge brought by GOP-led states to the plan. There were no noted dissents in the brief order." At 2:30 pm ET, this is a breaking news story.

Here's a snippet of Alexandra Pelosi's video, which HBO released to Jungle Gym (story linked below): ~~~

Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "... Donald Trump ... 'retruthed' a supporter's meme calling for the imprisonment of Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and other prominent figures. A review of that supporter's account also found numerous calls for Trump's political opponents to be killed. This isn't an aberration. Media Matters recently documented that Trump promoted an account which spews the N-word, praises Hitler as a hero, and denies the Holocaust. Trump has also frequently interacted with the account Patriot4Life, including this month. That account has repeatedly promoted calls for political killings, including recently retruthing an image calling for Harris and Gov. Tim Walz to be killed. Trump has promoted another Truth Social account that calls for Democrats to be executed."

OMG! Look what the NYT just published. AG Sulzberger must be off at his vacation home: ~~~

     ~~~ Tim Balk of the New York Times: "The alliance between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and ... Donald J. Trump, which was fortified on Tuesday with Mr. Kennedy's appointment to Mr. Trump's transition team, is a sharp turnabout in a long-combative relationship. Mr. Kennedy had spent the better part of a decade lobbing attacks at Mr. Trump, portraying him as a buffoonish, anti-democratic bully who led a feckless administration.... Here's a look back at 12 times Mr. Kennedy ridiculed Mr. Trump and his policies."

When two crazy guys get together: ~~~

~~~ Marin Scotten of Salon: "'If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, OK?' Trump said Tuesday in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw. He criticized California's mail-in voting system, falsely claiming it leads to more voter fraud. Without it, he said he would win the deep-blue state, which has consistently been won by Democratic presidential candidates since 1992. 'In other words, if we had an honest vote counter, a really honest vote counter, I do great with the Hispanics, great, I mean I had a level that no other Republican's ever done, but if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California,' the former president told Dr. Phil, himself a Trump supporter.... In 2020, Trump lost California, Vice President Kamala Harris' homestate, by over 30 points.... The Harris campaign said in a statement that Trump has 'reached a level of delusion difficult for even Dr. Phil to diagnose.'" More on the conversation linked below.

Edgar Chen & Dan Ross, both immigration legal counselors, in Just Security: "In our years of assisting refugees, asylees, and others through the legal immigration process, we have never encountered an immigrant with anywhere close to Trump's long record of indictments, arrests, convictions, criticisms of the United States' constitutional order, and well-documented allegations of sexual misconduct and incitement to violence. Those we help are overwhelmingly law-abiding. Even those who have had brushes with the law must admit what they've done.... We believe Trump should be held to the same high standards as the immigrants he constantly vilifies."

Zoe Richards of NBC News: "Sen. JD Vance of Ohio ... attacked teachers who don't have children in remarks in 2021 that resurfaced Tuesday. In his public comments, he reserved specific criticism for Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers. 'You know, so many of the leaders of the left, and I hate to be so personal about this, but they're people without kids, trying to brainwash the minds of our children,' Vance said at a Center for Christian Virtue leadership forum.... Vance took aim at Weingarten, who has described herself as 'a mother by marriage,' by saying she 'doesn't have a single child.'"

She's Ba-a-a-ack! Andrew Katersky of ABC News: "A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, finding several major issues 'impugn the reliability' of the original outcome. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals faulted the trial judge for dismissing the case before the jury had reached a verdict. The jury was allowed to continue deliberating before ultimately finding the newspaper not liable in February 2022. 'Unfortunately, several major issues at trial -- specifically, the erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction, a legally erroneous response to a mid-deliberation jury question, and jurors learning during deliberations of the district court's Rule 50 dismissal ruling -- impugn the reliability of that verdict,' the opinion said."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will participate in a sit-down interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday, the network announced on Tuesday. The broadcast will mark the first joint interview with Harris and Walz since he joined the campaign and the first time Harris will sit for an in-depth, on-the-record conversation since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed her to be the Democratic presidential nominee.' CNN's story is here. The interview will air at 9 pm ET Thursday.

Latest from Whiney Baby: I Will Debate. Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said Tuesday he will participate in a debate next month against Vice President Kamala Harris, two days after he suggested he could skip it. 'I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform, confirming the debate will be Sept. 10 in Philadelphia. Trump agreed earlier this month to take part in the ABC News debate, which will be his first debate against Harris since she replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. But Trump threw the debate into uncertainty Sunday when he criticized ABC as biased in a social media post and suggested people should 'stay tuned' about his participation. The campaigns spent Monday sparring over whether to preserve a rule from Trump's June debate against Biden where the candidates' microphones were muted when it was not their turn to speak.... Trump himself sent mixed messages [about the mic disagreement]...." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's story is here.

Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump leveled partial blame against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the assassination attempt against him, suggesting without evidence that they personally made it more difficult for the Secret Service to better protect him. 'When this happened, people would ask, whose fault is it?' Trump said in an interview that aired Tuesday night with Phil McGraw ... (Dr. Phil). 'I think to a certain extent it's Biden's fault and Harris's fault. And I'm the opponent. Look, they were weaponizing government against me, they brought in the whole DOJ to try and get me, they weren't too interested in my health and safety,' he added.... 'They were making it very difficult to have proper staffing in terms of Secret Service,' Trump said.... Biden has said he has never involved himself in decisions about charging individuals.... Some members of Biden's protective detail have been dispatched to Trump and Harris ahead of the November election.... No public evidence has emerged that Biden or Harris were personally involved in decisions about Trump's protection." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Fortunately, there is a good chance you have never come across anyone as horrible as Donald Trump.

Trump Campaign Runs Vanity Ads. Sam Stein in the Bulwark: "Donald Trump's campaign is set to run cable news ads this week so they can be seen at the ex-president's Mar-a-Lago club and surrounding environs. The South Florida expense is likely to have no impact on the course of the election. Palm Beach County is a Democratic stronghold in a Republican state that Trump has little chance of losing. But Trump's staff is at some risk of incurring his wrath if he -- and his Palm Beach pals -- don't see his ads at Mar-a-Lago, a factor that insiders say compelled the purchase." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. Also see his commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)

Charles Pierce of Esquire: "Well, luckily for the former president*'s campaign, it wasn't raining on Monday, when he grotesquely used Arlington National Cemetery as a campaign prop because, as we know, he gets a little nervous around soldiers' graves in the rain, and he says things that require him to lie his ass off later. Most recently, of course, he devalued the Congressional Medal of Honor in favor of a bauble he draped on Rush Limbaugh and the wife of one of the sleaziest of his sleazy donors.... As a citizen of the United States, and therefore someone with a stake in places like Arlington, I choose to look upon his presence there as obscene." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Oh, my. It turns Pierce has some official support for his disgust: ~~~

~~~ Chris Cameron, et al., of the New York Times: "Members of Donald J. Trump's campaign team and an official at Arlington National Cemetery confronted each other during the former president's visit to the cemetery on Monday, the military cemetery said in a statement on Tuesday. The altercation was prompted, according to Trump campaign officials, by the presence of a photographer in a section of the cemetery where American troops who were killed in recent wars are buried.... An official with the cemetery tried to 'physically block' members of Mr. Trump's team, Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in a statement. Mr. Cheung added that the cemetery official was 'clearly suffering from a mental health episode' and that the campaign was prepared to release footage of the confrontation to support its account of the clash. The campaign did not provide that footage after several requests....

"Cemetery officials did not provide their own account of the encounter, saying instead that 'there was an incident, and a report was filed.' The cemetery added that it had 'reinforced and widely shared' to the Trump campaign the federal laws prohibiting campaign activities by photographers 'or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate's campaign.'... Mr. Trump had visited the cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring 13 American troops who were killed in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate ... during the United States' withdrawal from [Afghanistan] three years ago." Trump has blamed President Biden & Vice President Harris for the chaotic withdrawal.

     ~~~ Marie: The Times reports, "Chris LaCivita, a top Trump campaign adviser, added in a separate statement that the cemetery official was 'a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.'" I suppose when one digs a grave, he "hollows" the ground. But no, Chris, no. Just STFU. Please. (If Lincoln had said, "But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hollow this ground," the Gettysburg address would be a joke, not the iconic, quintessential expression of patriotism it is.) BTW, the Times publishes a jarring photo of Trump & others grinning & giving thumbs-up as they cluster around the grave of a fallen soldier. Gov. Spencer Cox (R-Utah) shared the photo on X. Looks like a good time was had by all. ~~~

     ~~~ Quil Lawrence & Tom Bowman of NPR: "When the cemetery official tried to prevent Trump campaign staff from entering Section 60 [where Abbey Gate soldier are buried], campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside, according to the source."

Patricia Cohen of the New York Times writes one of those fair & balanced analyses of Trump's plans for tariffs on everything, and alas, she seems stuck with the conclusion that Trump's ideas, if employed would be disastrous for the U.S. & for the world economy.

Looneytoons for Trump Join Transition Team. Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has added Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team, giving key roles to two former Democrats who endorsed his comeback campaign in recent days.... 'We're working on policy issues together,' Kennedy told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 'I've been asked to come onto the transition team, to help pick the people who will be running the government.'" The Hill's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Mark Jacob of Stop the Presses on the growing irrelevance of the mainstream media: "... with Trump's successful campaign of lies eight years ago should have come an aggressive reassessment by the media. Only in limited cases has that happened. Networks are still letting a deranged criminal traitor tell outrageous falsehoods on live television with no pushback. They're amplifying disinformation and pretending that amounts to 'fairness.'" Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Last of the Bulwark points out an egregious example of the New York Times' "fairness": its decision to run, in the form of an op-ed, a fact-free "memo" from "conservative sad-sack" Rich Lowry to the Trump campaign. (We linked Lowry's op-ed yesterday.)

⭐ Tierney Sneed of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday filed a superseding indictment in the election interference case against ... Donald Trump, slimming down the allegations against the 2024 presidential nominee in light of the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. Prosecutors have not dropped any of the four charges that they initially brought against the former president. However, the newly retooled indictment has carved out some of Trump's alleged conduct, including allegations about the attempts to use the Justice Department to promote his false claims of election fraud. It also adjusts how prosecutors describe the allegations they are continuing to bring about Trump's election subversion schemes. 'The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government's efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court's holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States,' the special counsel's office said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's story is here. Politico's report is here. The new indictment, via the court, is here. The original indictment filed about a year ago, also via the court, is here. As Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico write, "The new document also eliminates a long list of top government officials who had informed Trump that his claims about election fraud and anomalies were false, including top intelligence, Justice Department, homeland security officials and White House lawyers. Smith's original 45-page indictment, unveiled last August, included claims that Trump sought to use the Justice Department to advance what prosecutors contend was an unlawful and fraudulent effort to overturn Joe Biden's victory. Those details, which the Supreme Court described as largely outside the reach of prosecutors, have been omitted from the new, shorter charging document." (Also linked yesterday.)

⭐  Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Nancy Pelosi spent the duration of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack focused on ensuring Joe Biden would be certified president as soon as possible. Then she turned her attention to Donald Trump. 'I just feel sick about what he did to the Capitol and the country today,' Pelosi said as she slumped, visibly exhausted, in the back of her SUV in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 7. 'He's got to pay a price for that.' Pelosi's comment was included in about 50 minutes of unaired footage captured by her daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, who was at the former speaker's side at key moments on Jan. 5, 6 and 7 in 2021. Politico has reviewed the footage, which HBO turned over this week to the Republican-led House Committee on Administration. The panel is conducting an investigation aimed at undermining the findings of the Jan. 6 select committee...." MB: Yeah, good luck with that. A compelling read of a rare close glimpse of history.

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The very first rioter to breach the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison Tuesday after he told a judge he still believes Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election 'to this day.' Michael Sparks, who spent the weeks leading up to the Capitol attack consuming and regurgitating right-wing lies about the last presidential election, was sentenced to 53 months in federal prison at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who also oversaw the seditious conspiracy trial of members of the Proud Boys." The New York Times story is here.

Adam Estes of Vox explains probably all you need to know about Mark Zuckerberg's decision to knock President Biden for picking on him: "... there are fewer guardrails for misinformation in place on major social media platforms, and writing a letter [to Gym Jordan] about the Biden administration and censorship, Zuckerberg seems to be throwing Republicans a political grenade, something that can fire up the base and use to get mad about Democrats. In reality, though, Zuckerberg is probably just trying to keep his company out of more hot water and to continue revamping his own public image." ~~~

     ~~~ Well, okay, there's this: Donald Trump, who is senile, either does not know who was president* in 2020 or he blames himself for rigging the 2020 election: ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "'Zuckerberg admits that the White House pushed to SUPPRESS HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY (& much more!),' [Trump] wrote [on his social media platform].... 'IN OTHER WORDS, THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED.'... When the laptop story broke in October 2020, the president was Donald Trump."

Austyn Gaffney of the New York Times: "As dangerous heat bears down on the central and eastern United States this week, a new study shows heat-related deaths across the country are on the rise. While 2023 was the hottest year on record and led to at least 2,325 heat-related deaths in the U.S., more than 21,518 people have died from heat since 1999, according to a study published Monday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association.... Heat kills more people in the United States than any other type of extreme weather, according to researchers. The study noted a 117 percent increase in heat-related deaths over the past 24 years, with a significant upswing since 2016."

~~~~~~~~~~

Arkansas. Annie Gowen of the Washington Post: "In a state that touts itself as 'the most pro-life state in the country,' where abortion is prohibited except to save the life of the mother, timber country in southeast Arkansas is an especially dangerous place to give birth. Arkansas already has one of the nation's worst maternal mortality rates, and mothers in this area die at a rate exceeding the state average. Ninety-two percent of recent maternal deaths were preventable, a state review committee found." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: Here's something I mentioned the other day that I had heard on the teevee and has since made it into print: ~~~

~~~ Georgia. Katie Hawkinson of the Independent: "Georgia's governor has asked his attorney general if he can remove state election board members after three right-wing members approved a series of alarming new rules. Republican Governor Brian Kemp asked Attorney General Christopher Carr for 'guidance' on whether he can remove members of the state election board, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports."

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. John Hudson & Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "Israel launched a major operation in multiple cities in the West Bank on Wednesday involving hundreds of troops. The troops were sent in with air support and bulldozers, according to an Israeli military official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation. Eyewitnesses cited drones scanning the skies and armored personnel carriers carrying troops on the ground."

News Lede

Washington Post: "Ofra Bikel, a documentary filmmaker whose work for PBS's 'Frontline' investigative series exposed frailties in the U.S. criminal justice system -- the coercive use of plea bargains, the failure to consider DNA evidence, the reliance on informants to prosecute drug cases -- and helped free 13 people who had been wrongly charged or convicted, died Aug. 11 at her home in Tel Aviv. She was 94.... She settled in New York in the mid-1950s, when she was briefly married to Theodore Bikel...."