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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. -- Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Thursday
Oct132016

The Commentariat -- October 14, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Nick Corasaniti & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump used a campaign speech in North Carolina on Friday to attack the women accusing him of sexual assault or unwelcome advances as fame-seekers and liars, while portraying himself as the victim of a vast conspiracy on the part of the news media and Hillary Clinton's campaign. Speaking at a rally [in Greensboro], Mr. Trump dismissed as 'total fiction' the accounts of a growing number of women who say he groped them or made unwanted sexual advances. But he offered no evidence to cast doubt on their allegations. Instead, Mr. Trump assailed their motives, suggesting that they might have been paid off." [Trump said two of his accusers, Jessica Leeds & Natasha Stoynoff, were too unattractive to interest him.] "Mr. Trump also accused The New York Times, and Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire who is its largest individual holder of common shares, of conspiring with the Clinton campaign 'to try and keep their grip on our country.'" -- CW ...

... Jose DelReal of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump suggested several times Friday that he would not have sexually harassed the women who have accused him of assault because of their physical [un]attractiveness. The comments, which appeared to be made offhandedly, drew repeated laughs from the audience.... While Trump said Thursday that he would soon present evidence proving that his accusers are not telling the truth, he offered no such corroboration at the rally Friday in Greensboro." -- CW

Dahlia Lithwick: "Summer Zervos, who is represented by attorney Gloria Allred..., says she met Trump on Season 5 of The Apprentice, then went to see him at his offices in New York in 2007, at which time [he] kissed her several times on the mouth, in casual greetings that made her uncomfortable. A few days later Trump allegedly ... had Zervos brought to his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she saw his clothes on the bed, and he called out to her from a room adjacent to his bedroom.... After 15 minutes, he joined her with his clothes on and began kissing her, open-mouthed and dragging her toward him. He allegedly grabbed her shoulder and her breast. She describes him having 'led her to the bedroom' as she resisted. She described him as 'thrusting his genitals' against her clothed body.... Allred confirmed in a Q&A with reporters following the event that she has two corroborating witnesses for this account, and that Zervos -- a Republican -- was not contacted by anyone to come forward." -- CW ...

     ... Brendan Morrow of Heavy has more details.

That Time Donald Trump Groped Me. Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "Kristin Anderson was deep in conversation with acquaintances at a crowded Manhattan nightspot and did not notice the figure to her right on a red velvet couch -- until, she recalls, his fingers slid under her miniskirt, moved up her inner thigh, and touched her vagina through her underwear. Anderson shoved the hand away, fled the couch and turned to take her first good look at the man who had touched her, she said. She recognized him as Donald Trump.... Over the years, Anderson ... has recounted the story to people she knew...." -- CW

Nancy Collins, in the Hollywood Reporter, produces a transcript of a 1994 interview of Donald Trump. For a shorter version, see Megyn Reynolds of Jezebel who highlights the lowlights. CW: Like Reyolds (and probably everybody else), I was struck by Trump's instant transition from "I have great relations with women" to "The woman;s a liar, extremely unattractive, lots of problems because of her looks."

Michelle Cottle of the Atlantic is worried about what will happen to "the guy -- attending a Trump rally with his wife and small children -- who opted to wear a 'She's a Cunt. Vote Trump' T-shirt." CW: As for me, I'm more worried about what that guy will do to his family & the rest of us, whether or not Trump loses.

Have a Cigar. Mimi Whitefield of the Miami Herald. "President Barack Obama issued a presidential directive on Cuba Friday that seeks to cement his policy changes toward the island and encourage further engagement even after he leaves office.... The new rules allow Cubans and Americans to engage in joint medical research and lift monetary limits on the amount of Cuban products Americans can bring back in their luggage for personal use. Currently the limit is $400, which included a combined total of $100 of alcohol and tobacco products. Now U.S. travelers can bring back as many cigars and bottles of rum as they like -- as long as they are for personal use.... -- Akhilleus

Mark Berman of the Washington Post. "Just seven months after Florida revamped its death penalty law, the state's Supreme Court struck down the new statute as unconstitutional because it does not require juries to be unanimous about handing down the sentences. This ruling further adds to the uncertainty surrounding the death penalty in Florida, one of the country's leading practitioners of capital punishment and home to one of the nation's biggest death-row populations.... The Florida Supreme Court decision Friday marks the second time this year that a court has overturned the state's death-sentencing statute. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's old law as unconstitutional in January because it allowed judges, not juries, to make the final decision about imposing capital sentences."...Akhilleus

*****

Presidential Race

Edward-Isaac Dovere of Politico: "President Barack Obama on Thursday night tore into Republican leaders for 'riding this tiger' of what he repeatedly called 'crazy' hoaxes and conspiracies that created the conditions for Donald Trump to become their presidential nominee -- and blasted anyone now trying to distance themselves out of what he derided as political expediency.... 'They stood by while this happened, and Donald Trump as he's prone to do, he didn't build the building himself -- he just slapped his name on it and took credit for it,' Obama said.... Clearly veering off-script, Obama turned to the example of proud Obama antagonist Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whom he didn't name, but noted had ordered the state National Guard to observe the 2015 Operation Jade Helm military exercises after right-wing media exploded with conspiracy theories about how it was actually secret prep for an Obama led junta." -- CW ...

... Here's a clip:

Greg Sargent: "Michelle Obama is a tremendously popular public figure, who is probably better positioned than anyone else in the country to make this particular case. And that's what makes this a seminal, defining moment.... If Trump has a capacity for basic and sustained public decency, it has yet to make its appearance. And now we really seem to have crossed a point of no return. Michelle Obama marked it down. No going back":

(CW P.S. While Michelle Obama was giving one of the most consequential speeches of the campaign season, Fox "News" was airing some show where Newt Gingrich was sitting on a couch surrounded by attractive women wearing short skirts. You can watch the video at the linked site, but I'm going to guess he wasn't talking about Michelle Obama or women's rights.) ...

... See also Mike Pence's response, embedded below. ...

... Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump pushed back aggressively on Thursday against what he called 'false smears' from women who claimed unwanted advances, seeking to stabilize his campaign as Michelle Obama declared 'it doesn't matter what party you belong to, no woman deserves to be treated this way.'... In a series of messages posted on Twitter on Thursday morning, Mr. Trump said that the article in The Times was a 'total fabrication' and denied the incident described by Natasha Stoynoff, a former writer for People, who said that Mr. Trump had forced his tongue down her throat while she was working on an assignment for the magazine about his first anniversary with his wife, Melania." -- CW (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... CW: The argumentum ad hitlerum is no longer ad absurdum. The only word Trump left out was "jüdisch," but it was implied. This is a frightening, stunning, if not entirely unexpected, turn as the candidate spirals toward complete madness. If, like me, you joked about Trump being carried out in a white coat, we should not have laughed. It decidedly is not funny:

Hillary Clinton meets in secret with international banks to plan the destruction of global sovereignty.... It's a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities. -- Donald Trump, Thursday. in West Palm Beach, Florida ...

By Driftglass.... ** Philip Rucker & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump issued a breathtaking call to arms Thursday as he emphatically denied allegations that he groped and kissed multiple women without their consent, charging that his accusers were part of a global conspiracy to extinguish his outsider movement. Scrambling to turn around his floundering campaign, Trump declared war on the media and multinational corporations, alleging they are colluding with Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton to orchestrate 'the single greatest pile-on in history' and undermine his campaign, which he said was an 'existential threat' to the global establishment.... Trump's fiery invective came just minutes after first lady Michelle Obama tried to summon the morality of a nation by saying Trump's degrading comments about women were an affront to all citizens.

Trump's remarks, which he read from a teleprompter, were laced with the kind of global conspiracies and invective common in the writings of the alternative-right, white-nationalist activists who see him as their champion. Some critics also heard echoes of historical anti-Semitic slurs in Trump's allegations that Clinton 'meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty' and that media and financial elites were part of a soulless cabal out to destroy 'our great civilization.'... The speech bore the imprint of Stephen K. Bannon, the Trump campaign's chief executive, who until recently was the executive chairman of Breitbart, a conservative website that serves as the virtual town square of the alt-right movement.

... Travis Gettys of Raw Story: "Donald Trump lashed out at global elites who undermine American sovereignty through 'international banks' -- and many observers couldn't help but notice the underlying anti-Semitic message.... Many internet users were alarmed at Trump' language, noting its reliance on anti-Semitic themes and more suited to a fascist dictator than a presidential candidate." ...

... ** Josh Marshall: "There's a new conspiracy theory rapidly gaining traction among Trump supporters about the origin of the 'Access Hollywood' Trump tape.... The conspiracy theory is rapidly taking on an explicitly anti-Semitic character.... It's catching fire with numerous [Trump] supporters and surrogates - most notably Jerry Falwell Jr.... The claim is also being pushed by Breitbart and David Duke in various neo-Nazi web forums. Notably, in recent months Breitbart, with which the Trump campaign has now effectively merged, has itself more openly embraced anti-Semitism.... The claim is that Dan Senor, a prominent GOP political operative, who is Jewish..., is behind the tape disclosure and part of a plot of 'GOP elites' to destroy Donald Trump.... Senor is now cast as the Jewish 'traitor' working for the conspiracy of political elites, international financiers and the media who Trump railed against today in his speech.... It's not just that Trump and his campaign are bringing marginalized extremists into mainstream politics. He's radicalizing new people." -- CW ...

... CW: So were you lying then (2005) or are you lying now? "These women" are credibly reporting episodes of your sexually assaulting them that align with your own boasts about your interactions with women. And, uh, when is the "appropriate time"? Somewhere around when you release your tax returns? Sorry, you diddling douchebag, I'm with the women. ...

     ... Update. Before the day is out, there will be more evidence publicly that shows and calls into question these allegations. --mike pence, today on CBS ...

... Notice how pence steamrolls O'Donnell & Rose, both of whom are supposed to be knowledgeable journalists, not Billy Bush, for pete's sake. They either don't know enough or don't care to contradict the absurd remarks of a polite politician. For example, pence: "Voter fraud, bad; poll-watching, good." O'Donnell & Rose: "Thank you for jointing us, Guv." More on pence below.

Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "Although Trump supporters have long disdained the media and faced the press pen to lambast reporters during Trump's speech, this time the traveling press were booed and jeered for minutes after their arrival. The only positive feelings towards any of the press were expressed when a single Trump supporter cheered praise for a reporter for InfoWars -- a fringe rightwing website that traffics in conspiracy theories..." --safari...

... ** Aaron Rupar of ThinkProgress: "Around the same time Trump was smearing the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) declared Trump to be a threat to press freedoms throughout the world. In an move unprecedented in the CPJ's 35-year history, the nonprofit organization released a statement on Thursday that says, 'Trump, through his words and actions as a candidate for president of the United States, has consistently betrayed First Amendment values.' [The] statement goes on to cite a number of examples of Trump mocking, insulting, and expelling journalists from events." Includes multiple videos/images of Trump or his Trumpers screaming at the media, including one with a note left on a press desk with a Nazi symbol scribbled next to the word "Media".--safari...

...The following video was uploaded to Youtube in May 2016, so you could add a whole new round of highlights. --safari

Just last week Megyn Kelly of Fox "News" complained that "Donald Trump ... will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days." Not Any More. Brian Stelter of CNN: "On Thursday morning, [Trump] canceled on his friend Sean Hannity, a Fox News spokeswoman said. He had been scheduled to appear on Hannity's Fox News show Thursday night. He backed out around 11:30 a.m. ET. Hannity is still set to interview the four Clinton critics who appeared with Trump at a pre-debate photo op on Sunday: Kathy Shelton, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Tim Egan: "... those who take pleasure in watching Trump destroy the Republican Party are missing the bigger picture. He's trying to destroy the country, as well. Civility, always a tenuous thing, cannot be quickly restored in a society that has learned to hate in public, at full throttle. Trump has made compassion suspect. Don't reach out to starving refugees -- they're killers in disguise. Don't give to a charity that won't reward you in some way. Don't pay taxes that build roads and offer relief to those washed away in a hurricane. That's a sucker's game. We're not all in this together. Taxes are for stupid people." -- CW

Cameron Joseph of the New York Daily News: "... Donald Trump claims he gave generously to help his city in the dark days after the deadly terrorist attacks.... City Controller Scott Stringer conducted a review of hundreds of pages of previously sealed records of the two main 9/11 charities at the request of the Daily News, and found that Trump and his charity hadn't donated a dime in the months after 9/11.... The Daily News also reviewed every Form 990, which provides financial information for nonprofit companies or charities, for the Donald J. Trump Foundation from 2001 through 2014. There are no donations to the Twin Towers Fund or the NYC Public-Private Initiative listed. The only Sept. 11th donation in those documents was a $1,000 donation in 2006 to ... a group founded by Tom Cruise that used scientifically questionable methods approved by Scientology to help rescue workers.... The only recorded major donation to 9/11 causes that Trump has made was $100,000 from his foundation -- which has been bankrolled by others without any money from Trump for years -- to the 9/11 Museum in April 2016...." -- CW

Kevin Cirilli of Bloomberg: "Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump rebuffed political aides' requests to research his past, people familiar with the matter said, a decision that contributed to his campaign being caught unprepared for the past week's barrage of claims he mistreated women. Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager, requested that Trump submit himself to a forensic evaluation that is traditional for any public figure seeking office.... Paul Manafort and his team made a similar request when they took over the reins after Lewandowski, who was ousted this June. Trump declined, the people said, and the issue became a point of contention among his closest political advisers and some long-time employees at the Trump Organization." -- CW

Gideon Resnick & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: Donald Trump "has a long history of demeaning women and people with disabilities. But even for The Donald, this is sick.... He repeatedly called a deaf actress 'retarded,' three sources tell The Daily Beast. Trump, who was accused on Wednesday of making sexual comments to Marlee Matlin, an Oscar-winning actress who once competed on Trump's Celebrity Apprentice, also apparently had a habit of insulting, mimicking, and demeaning as mentally handicapped his star female contestant -- all because she was deaf.... Trump would regularly disrespect the actress and would even treat her as if she were mentally disabled. Sometimes the insults would be behind her back; other times they would be right in front of her.... Matlin declined to comment on this story." The sources give disgusting specifics. -- CW ...

... Steve Helling of People: "When Donald Trump presided over the Celebrity Apprentice, he had complete control of the boardroom.... 'Watching him in the boardroom making sexual comments to Marlee Matlin, to all of the women on the Apprentice, it was obvious that that's just a part of who he is,' says 2011 contestant Richard Hatch. 'It was obvious and it was grotesque. It was blatant and it was frequent. He did it with Lisa Rinna; He did it with Marlee Matlin. He did it with whomever happened to be there at the time.... No matter how [Matlin] responded..., he would push it a step further with comments about her looks, and how she was making him feel, and about what he thought of her, and how happy he would be to do something with her. 'It was a lot of innuendo, far beyond the norm.... He did it in front of [his daughter] Ivanka.'" -- CW

Michelle Lee of the Washington Post: "Trump's message for most of this week was that women alleging sexual assault -- regardless of how many years had passed, whether they filed charges, whether their claims were held up by the courts -- deserve to be heard, rather than discredited or attacked. Trump made this clear by holding a news conference with three of Bill Clinton's accusers, urging the media to tell their stories and speaking about them in his rallies. Then, four women came forward alleging Trump groped or kissed them without their consent. And Trump's stance changed. He attacked the women personally, cast doubt on their motives, called them liars and a part of a politically orchestrated attack." -- CW

Hmmm. Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times: Melania Trump has demanded, under threat of legal action, that People magazine retract a portion of Natasha Stoynoff's story -- but not the meat of story. She's okay with the sexual assault part apparently, but is all upset about the part where Stoynoff said they met accidentally on the street months after the alleged assault & exchanged friendly greetings. "'The true facts are these: Mrs. Trump did not encounter Ms. Stoynoff on the street, nor have any conversation with her. The two are not friends and were never friends or even friendly. At the time in question, Mrs. Trump would not have even recognized Ms. Stoynoff if they had encountered one another on the street,' wrote attorney Charles J. Harder." -- CW ...

     ... CW: Oh, come on. Stoynoff no doubt introduced herself, IDed herself as the person who conducted the People interview, & Melania Trump either remembered her or pretended to, & the two engaged in normal, brief chitchat. You've probably done the same thing Melania likely did in a similar situation. I have. The suit is stupid. BUT. Melania's threatened suit seems to be signalling that -- as far as she knows -- Stoynoff's story, or at least the timeline, is accurate. This is as close to a confirmation as we're going to get from a Trump, at least until the divorce.

Ben Weyl of Politico: "Mike Pence is standing firmly with Donald Trump, blasting the media Thursday for airing explosive accusations of sexual misconduct by his running mate. The Republican vice presidential nominee slammed reporters for spending so much time on 'unsubstantiated allegations against my running mate, allegations that he has categorically denied,' rather than focusing on 'the corruption and the deceit of the Clintons and the Clinton machine.'... Pence offered only praise for Trump and his 'strong, broad-shouldered leadership.'" CW: That "broad-shouldered" bit is a sexist line pence has incorporated into his stump speeches. The message: "A girl can't protect us." ...

... Evelyn Rupert of the Hill: "When asked during an interview with Ohio's 10TV if Trump has ever groped or kissed a woman without consent ... Pence said he believes Trump's denial of the accusations.... 'I can say with certainty that Donald Trump has denied that any of those actions that have been alleged have ever occurred. And I believe him,' Pence said when pressed by anchor Scott Light for a yes-or-no response." -- CW ...

... Theresa Avila of New York: When the Ohio reporters asked pence "what he would say to a young girl who had commented that Trump's words in campaign commercials (presumably about women's bodies) made her 'feel bad' about herself. Pence's answer? Hillary Clinton and foreign policy." Pence: "Blah, blah, Hillary Clinton, weak, blah blah I would say to any of our kids that if Donald Trump and I have the chance to serve in the White House, that we're going to work every day for a stronger, safer and more prosperous America." CW: If I shared pence's religious views, I would say he was going to hell.

Andrew Kaczynski (now) of CNN: "Donald Trump Jr. defended his father on Thursday following a New York Times report on Wednesday night wherein two women alleged that Trump groped them. 'Come on guys, it's so ridiculous, I've never heard anything dumber in my life. All of sudden, two, three weeks before election, someone comes out -- it's not like he hasn't been in the public eye for 30 years,' Trump Jr. said on Charlotte Morning News on WBT radio. 'I think it's probably a typical New York Times smear campaign.'... Trump also defended his father for his 2005 comments made on a hot mic, first reported by The Washington Post Friday.... 'So I mean, listen I know plenty of people,' Trump Jr. said. 'I've had conversations like that with plenty of people where people use language off color. They're talking, two guys, amongst themselves. I've seen it time and time again. I think it makes him a human.'" ...

     ... CW: I'll take you at your word, Junior. So you did have "conversations like that with plenty of people." That makes you a creepy little predator, too. Not that we didn't already know, but thanks for confirming how "human" you are. See also Michelle Obama's remarks on your humaniness. ...

     ... Update. Junior Has Always Been a Feminist. Jon Passantino of BuzzFeed: "... Donald Trump Jr. dismissed workplace sexual harassment in a 2013 radio interview -- and suggested that women who couldn't take it should become kindergarten teachers. The comments came in a March 2013 episode of The Opie and Anthony Show, during a discussion of whether women should be allowed in all-male golf clubs.... 'If you have a guys' place you have a guys' place,' Trump Jr. ... said, describing himself as a 'guy's guy.' A host interjected that women 'complain, "it's harassment" -- that's why we hate having them around. They stop us from doing what we want to do.' 'I'm of that mindset -- and I'll get into trouble, I'm sure I'll get myself in trouble one of these days,' Trump began. 'If you can't handle some of the basic stuff that's become a problem in the workforce today, then you don't belong in the workforce. Like, you should go maybe teach kindergarten.'" -- CW

David Wright of CNN: "Barbara Res worked for Donald Trump for 18 years as a construction executive, and asked Thursday if she believed the allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against him, she was frank. 'I do believe it. Yes, absolutely,' Res told CNN's Alisyn Camerota in an interview on 'New Day.' 'He's a blatant sexist.' 'I saw him be aggressive in business, and throw his weight around and use the fact that he had power. And I think sexual assault and sexual harassment are really about the abuse of power -- "I can do this to you because I am who I am" -- I do think it went to his head. So much else went to his head that it does make sense to me that he would do something like that,' Res, who is supporting Hillary Clinton for president." -- CW (Also linked yesterday.)

Hallie Jackson & Alex Johnson of NBC News have new details on Donald Trump's (alleged) sexually aggressive behavior against Temple Taggart McDowell in 1997, when (then Taggert) was a 21-year-old beauty pageant contestant representing Utah. -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: NYT lawyer to DJT lawyer: Trump has no reputation to protect. -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Ladies..., Grow Up." Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Trump's top supporters, many of them middle-aged or older men, have tried to explain away Trump's behavior in terms that range from puzzling to offensive -- angering people in both parties and complicating the Republican nominee's attempts to move past the controversies.... Some, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have described Trump's comments on the video as typical male behavior in general. Others are also attempting to discredit the women accusing Trump of assault. And some of Trump's male supporters seem more than willing to lecture women on how they should put up with sexist talk. 'Ladies out there, this is what guys talk about when you're not around. So if you're offended by it, grow up. Okay?' actor Scott Baio said on Fox News." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peter Sterne of Politico: "Fox Business Network anchor Lou Dobbs publicized the address and phone number of Jessica Leeds, one of the women who accused Donald Trump of groping her, to his 792,000 followers on Thursday morning. Dobbs linked to a post from a conservative news site that purported to link Leeds to the Clinton Foundation. The site published Leeds' address and phone number -- taken from public records -- and then claimed, falsely, that her phone number is the same as a phone number for the Clinton Foundation. He also quoted a tweet from a Trump supporter, which has since been deleted, that included Leeds' phone number and address." Dobbs later tweeted an apology to Leeds. CW: Nice, Lou. Now, pay for Leeds' 'round-the-clock security detail. I forgot that racist jerk Lou Dobbs was still around. Apparently he is, & now we know he's still a menace to society.

Jonathan Martin, et al., of the New York Times: "Several of the Republican Party's most generous donors called on the Republican National Committee on Thursday to disavow Donald J. Trump, saying that allegations by multiple women that Mr. Trump had groped or made inappropriate sexual advances toward them threatened to inflict lasting damage on the party's image. To an elite group of Republican contributors who have donated millions of dollars to the party's candidates and committees in recent years, the cascade of revelations related to Mr. Trump's sexual conduct is grounds for the committee to cut ties with the party's beleaguered standard-bearer, finally and fully." -- CW

Jeff Stein of Vox: Donald Trump's campaign, his surrogates & his supporters are questioning the "timing" of the accusers' coming forward. "But ... there really is no mystery about why these women are speaking now -- at least if you take the time to listen to what they say." The accusers said they revealed their stories now because they heard Donald Trump claim during the second debate that he had not actually sexually assaulted women as he told Billy Bush. "The only mystery is why anyone still thinks it's a more important question to ask than whether Trump committed sexual assault." -- CW

Matthew Belloni of the Hollywood Reporter: "Billy Bush's exit from NBC News isn't going to be as amicable as many thought it would be. The embattled Today show host, who has been suspended for his role in the lewd Donald Trump tape recorded in 2005 when Bush was an anchor at Access Hollywood, has hired a prominent Los Angeles litigator to help work out his separation from the network. And that lawyer is now going on the attack." ...

     ... CW: Sorry, Billy Boy. You might have got away with that fawning fanboy routine on the bus, but when you got off the bus & urged Arianne Zucker to give Trump "a little hug," you made youself complicit in what Trump had just threatened to make a gross sexual assault on Zucker. Unless there's no morals clause in your contract, you've got no case.

Michael Grynbaum & Rachel Abrams of the New York Times: "Mark Burnett, the reality-show auteur whose 'Apprentice' series catapulted Donald J. Trump to national stardom, issued a forceful denunciation of Mr. Trump's presidential bid on Wednesday evening, saying he rejected 'the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign.' The statement capped an unusually challenging few days for Mr. Burnett, one of television's most powerful figures, who has faced growing demands that he release footage from the 'Apprentice' set that some former crew members say could reveal Mr. Trump acting in vulgar and offensive ways." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Apologizes! Molly O'Toole of Foreign Policy. "The list of women accusing the Republican presidential nominee of sexual assault is growing, along with Republican leaders and voters who have abandoned his presidential campaign. [Donald] Trump's answer: Apologize -- but to Serbians, for the U.S.-led air campaign in the Balkans in the 1990s that helped stave off potential civilian slaughter in Kosovo...'The bombing of Serbs, who were our allies in both world wars, was a big mistake,' Trump told the Serbian weekly magazine Nedeljnik in an article published on its website Thursday. He promised 'a new policy with the Balkans,' though he didn't specify what it would look like. 'Serbians are very good people,' he said. 'Unfortunately, the [Bill] Clinton administration caused them a lot of harm, but also throughout the Balkans, which they made a mess out of.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Akhilleus: The interview, which Trump now claims never took place (funny because it's a cover story on the magazine and appears on their website), bears all the hallmarks of Russian propaganda. Trump's main point in apologizing, apparently, is that the US led bombing stopped those nice Serbian ethnic cleansers, the war criminals Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic, from murdering even more Muslims. The idea! But apologize for sexual assault? Never! ...

     ... Update. Haynes Brown of BuzzFeed: "The Serbian magazine that published a purported interview with Donald Trump in which the Republican nominee apologized for the US intervention in the Balkans in the 1990s says it is trying to determine now whether it was the subject of a hoax -- something the Serbian-American at the heart of the story denies." CW: You'll have to read all the details to make up your mind. Sounds like a hoax to me, although the Trump campaign's record of false denials makes it impossible to know. Newsweek, which the Trump campaign claims published the original U.S. story on the Serbian magazine's purported interview; it has since updated its story to reflect the Trump campaign's denial. O'Toole has drastically revised her Foreign Policy story to incorporate BuzzFeed's findings.

Congressional Races

Paul Krugman is thinking past the election, to what Hillary Clinton's agenda could be, depending on what kind of Congress we elect. "In any case, the bottom line is that if you're thinking of staying home on Election Day because the outcome is assured, don't. Barring the political equivalent of a meteor strike, Hillary Clinton will be our next president, but the size of her victory will determine what kind of president she can be."

Donald Who? Shane Goldmacher of Politico: "The campaign arm of Senate Republicans has all but excised Donald Trump's name from their email pitches after previously making him central to their online fundraising efforts — a sign of just how toxic the GOP nominee has become since the video of his lewd comments came out last week." -- CW

Other News & Views

Ryan Foley, et al., of the AP: "During the first six months of this year, minors died from accidental shootings -- at their own hands, or at the hands of other children or adults -- at a pace of one every other day, far more than limited federal statistics indicate.' -- CW

Sari Horwitz & Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "The FBI will launch a pilot project early next year to begin collecting use-of-force statistics nationwide and create the first online national database on both deadly and nonfatal interactions the public has with law enforcement.... Although [Attorney General Loretta] Lynch can impose financial penalties on law enforcement agencies that fail to report data about 'civilians' who died during interactions with authorities or in their custody, the Justice Department cannot require state and local agencies to report the far larger number of such situations that are not fatal. Participation in the new use-of-force program by those agencies is voluntary." -- CW

Juan Cole: "The US Navy in the Red Sea fired Tomahawk missiles into Yemen early Thursday morning, taking out three radar stations. Those facilities had allowed the Houthi rebels who control North Yemen to target US destroyers in the Red Sea on several occasions in recent days (they missed each time). The Obama administration has backed the Saudi-led war on the Houthi government of north Yemen since it began in March of 2015, offering logistical support and even help in choosing targets for airstrikes. Presumably the Houthis were firing at US destroyers in an attempt to take revenge on the US for its involvement in the war on them." --safari

Beyond the Beltway

Myles Ma of NJ.com: "Enough probable cause exists for a citizen's official misconduct complaint against Gov. Chris Christie to move forward in connection with the governor's alleged failure to stop politically-motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013, a judge in Bergen County ruled Thursday. The complaint by Bill Brennan, a retired Teaneck firefighter and citizen activist, alleges that Christie knew of the closures while they were happening and should have halted them. He alleges that inaction constitutes second-degree official misconduct, a charge punishable by five to 10 years in prison. 'I'm satisfied that there's probable cause to believe that an event of official misconduct was caused by Gov. Christie,' Municipal Presiding Judge Roy McGeady said. 'I'm going to issue the summons.'" ...Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

American "Justice", Ctd. Elizabeth Nolan Brown of The Daily Beast: "A sergeant who used hand-sanitizer to draw a penis on his female subordinate's car. Rape investigators accused of joking about masturbating to victims' stories. These are just a few of the scandals to rock the Seattle-area sheriff's over the past four years. And after settling a sexual-harassment lawsuit for $1 million in 2013, the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is again embroiled in a legal fight over its treatment of female officers..... In this latest lawsuit, initially filed in April 2015, two former King County deputies and one current sergeant seek damages from King County for gender-based harassment, discrimination, and retaliation." The allegations range from 'pussy grabbing', to homophobia, to ridiculing a woman's hair because she was going through chemotherapy and wore a wig. And of course serial double standards between men and women. Sounds like a typical day in Trump's 'Merica. --safari

Way Beyond

AFP: "There are a dizzying two trillion galaxies in the universe, up to 20 times more than previously thought, astronomers reported on Thursday. The surprising finding, based on 3D modeling of images collected over 20 years by the Hubble Space Telescope, was published in the Astronomical Journal." --safari

Guardian: "Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, has spoken of 'cleaning' the besieged city of Aleppo, where a quarter of a million people are caught under heavy bombardment by his government's forces, and using it as a 'springboard' for winning the country's war. With Britain leading international outcry over the regime's campaign against rebels in Aleppo and Russia's backing for it, Assad declared that victory in the strategic city would allow the Syrian army to liberate other areas of the country from 'terrorists'." --safari

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "Ten days after voters in Colombia rejected their government's peace deal with leftist FARC rebels, the country's main opposition party has published proposals that would modify the agreement but leave significant portions intact. At first glance, the proposals by the Democratic Center party of former president Álvaro Uribe appear to reflect relatively modest changes to the deal and may raise hopes that Colombia can avert a return to war." -- CW

News Lede

New York Times: "The United States Anti-Doping Agency is seeking to reassure American athletes that their private medical information is safe after Russian hackers gained access to the email account of one of the agency's officials. The same cyberespionage group that stole private medical information from the World Anti-Doping Agency's athlete database last summer more recently compromised the email account belonging to the science director of the American agency. The agency believes the breach occurred in early September in Rio de Janeiro, at the start of the Paralympic Games." -- CW

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Wednesday
Oct122016

The Commentariat -- October 13, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump pushed back aggressively on Thursday against what he called 'false smears' from women who claimed unwanted advances, seeking to stabilize his campaign as Michelle Obama declared 'it doesn't matter what party you belong to, no woman deserves to be treated this way.'... In a series of messages posted on Twitter on Thursday morning, Mr. Trump said that the article in The Times was a 'total fabrication' and denied the incident described by Natasha Stoynoff, a former writer for People, who said that Mr. Trump had forced his tongue down her throat while she was working on an assignment for the magazine about his first anniversary with his wife, Melania." -- CW ...

... Greg Sargent: "Michelle Obama is a tremendously popular public figure, who is probably better positioned than anyone else in the country to make this particular case. And that's what makes this a seminal, defining moment.... If Trump has a capacity for basic and sustained public decency, it has yet to make its appearance. And now we really seem to have crossed a point of no return. Michelle Obama marked it down. No going back":

"Ladies..., Grow Up." Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Trump's top supporters, many of them middle-aged or older men, have tried to explain away Trump's behavior in terms that range from puzzling to offensive -- angering people in both parties and complicating the Republican nominee's attempts to move past the controversies.... Some, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have described Trump's comments on the video as typical male behavior in general. Others are also attempting to discredit the women accusing Trump of assault. And some of Trump's male supporters seem more than willing to lecture women on how they should put up with sexist talk. 'Ladies out there, this is what guys talk about when you're not around. So if you're offended by it, grow up. Okay?' actor Scott Baio said on Fox News." -- CW

** Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: NYT lawyer to DJT lawyer: Trump has no reputation to protect. -- CW

"Last week Megyn Kelly of Fox "News" complained, "Donald Trump ... will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days." Not Any More. Brian Stelter of CNN: "On Thursday morning, [Trump] canceled on his friend Sean Hannity.... He had been scheduled to appear on Hannity's Fox News show Thursday night. He backed out around 11:30 a.m. ET. Hannity is still set to interview the four Clinton critics who appeared with Trump at a pre-debate photo op on Sunday: Kathy Shelton, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick." -- CW

Hallie Jackson & Alex Johnson of NBC News have new details on Donald Trump's (alleged) sexually aggressive behavior against Temple Taggart McDowell in 1997, when (then Taggert) was a 21-year-old beauty pageant contestant representing Utah. -- CW

David Wright of CNN: "Barbara Res worked for Donald Trump for 18 years as a construction executive, and asked Thursday if she believed the allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against him, she was frank. 'I do believe it. Yes, absolutely,' Res told CNN's Alisyn Camerota in an interview on 'New Day.' 'He's a blatant sexist.' 'I saw him be aggressive in business, and throw his weight around and use the fact that he had power. And I think sexual assault and sexual harassment are really about the abuse of power -- "I can do this to you because I am who I am" -- I do think it went to his head. So much else went to his head that it does make sense to me that he would do something like that,' Res, who is supporting Hillary Clinton for president." -- CW

Michael Grynbaum & Rachel Abrams of the New York Times: "Mark Burnett, the reality-show auteur whose 'Apprentice' series catapulted Donald J. Trump to national stardom, issued a forceful denunciation of Mr. Trump's presidential bid on Wednesday evening, saying he rejected 'the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign.' The statement capped an unusually challenging few days for Mr. Burnett..., who has faced growing demands that he release footage from the 'Apprentice' set that some former crew members say could reveal Mr. Trump acting in vulgar and offensive ways." -- CW

AND I suppose I should post this, the contrast with reality being so stark. Thanks to Whyte O. for the link:

Myles Ma of NJ.com. "Enough probable cause exists for a citizen's official misconduct complaint against Gov. Chris Christie to move forward in connection with the governor's alleged failure to stop politically-motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013, a judge in Bergen County ruled Thursday. The complaint by Bill Brennan, a retired Teaneck firefighter and citizen activist, alleges that Christie knew of the closures while they were happening and should have halted them. He alleges that inaction constitutes second-degree official misconduct, a charge punishable by five to 10 years in prison. 'I'm satisfied that there's probable cause to believe that an event of official misconduct was caused by Gov. Christie,' Municipal Presiding Judge Roy McGeady said. 'I'm going to issue the summons.'" ...Akhilleus

Trump Apologizes! Molly O'Toole of Foreign Policy. "The list of women accusing the Republican presidential nominee of sexual assault is growing, along with Republican leaders and voters who have abandoned his presidential campaign. [Donald] Trump's answer: Apologize --  but to Serbians, for the U.S.-led air campaign in the Balkans in the 1990s that helped stave off potential civilian slaughter in Kosovo...'The bombing of Serbs, who were our allies in both world wars, was a big mistake,' Trump told the Serbian weekly magazine Nedeljnik in an article published on its website Thursday. He promised 'a new policy with the Balkans,' though he didn't specify what it would look like. 'Serbians are very good people,' he said. 'Unfortunately, the [Bill] Clinton administration caused them a lot of harm, but also throughout the Balkans, which they made a mess out of.'" ... ... Akhilleus: The interview, which Trump now claims never took place (funny because it's a cover story on the magazine and appears on their website), bears all the hallmarks of Russian propaganda. Trump's main point in apologizing, apparently, is that the US led bombing stopped those nice Serbian ethnic cleansers, the war criminals Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic, from murdering even more Muslims. The idea! But apologize for sexual assault? Never!

Presidential Race

Washington Post Editors: "IN THE gloom and ugliness of this political season, one encouraging truth is often overlooked: There is a well-qualified, well-prepared candidate on the ballot. Hillary Clinton has the potential to be an excellent president of the United States, and we endorse her without hesitation." -- CW ...

Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton denounced 'scorched earth' tactics by Republicans on Wednesday, saying Democrats must not allow themselves to turn away from the election in disgust. Those tactics have recently included protesters accusing former president Bill Clinton of rape. Clinton's campaign appearances were interrupted two days in a row this week by people shouting while holding or wearing T-shirts that brand her husband a rapist." -- CW ...

... CW: They weren't really protesters. They were entrepreneurs. Or something. ...

... Alastair Jamieson & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Multiple hecklers shouting 'Bill Clinton is a rapist' interrupted President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at separate rallies after a pro-Donald Trump radio host offered a cash reward to anyone carrying out such a stunt. Three separate protesters disrupted Hillary Clinton's election campaign rally with Al Gore in Miami, while three others -- including two wearing 'Bill Clinton rapist' T-shirts -- cut into Obama as he addressed a crowd in North Carolina.... Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and right-wing radio host who founded the Infowars website..., on Friday offered $1,000 to supporters pictured on television for at least five seconds wearing a 'Bill Clinton rape' T-shirt and $5,000 to anyone who can be heard shouting 'Bill Clinton is a rapist' while wearing such a garment. Jones, who believes the Sandy Hook shootings were a hoax, also says Obama and Hillary Clinton are demons who smell like sulfur." See also Sam Reisman's post, linked below, on Eric Trump's fake news tweet. -- CW

Politico: "Hillary Clinton's campaign escalated its response Wednesday to WikiLeaks' ongoing publication of hacked emails from John Podesta.... 'It is also now clear that the illegal hack of John Podesta's email is the work of the Russian government, according to the FBI,' campaign spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement issued after Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant, told NBC News that he was in touch with WikiLeaks through a 'mutual friend' of founder Julian Assange.... 'I have a back-channel communications with WikiLeaks,' Stone said. 'But they certainly don't clear or tell me in advance what they're going to do.'... On Tuesday, Podesta directed reporters to an Aug. 21 tweet by Stone that he said showed 'advance warning' of the hack. 'Trust me, it will soon the Podesta's time in the barrel,' Stone tweeted.... 'We did not deny this,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said of the hacking allegations in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. But, he ad[d]ed, 'They did not prove it.'" -- CW ...

... WYSIWYG. Russell Berman of the Atlantic: "... the leak of thousands of hacked email exchanges among [Hillary] Clinton's top advisers ... capture a candidate, and a campaign, that seems in private exactly as cautious, calculating, and politically flexible as they appeared to be in public.... The emails made public by WikiLeaks reveal little about her as a person. These were hacked from the accounts of John Podesta, her campaign chairman, and very few of them are from Clinton herself." -- CW ...

... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The FBI is reacting to the hacking of Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta's emails by re-issuing a broadly-worded statement about cyber threats to those active in American politics.... The statement ... is identical to one the law enforcement agency issued on July 29 in response to reports of hacking into systems run by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.... However, as the reports of hacking spread across the Democratic establishment, FBI officials decided not to publicly confirm or deny each new hacking victim." -- CW ...

... See also "The WikiLinks Strategy" report by the New York Times, linked below.

... Washington Post Editors: "... Donald Trump, is, as we have written, 'uniquely unqualified to serve as president, in experience and temperament.' Below is just a sampling of his many erroneous, malicious and ignorant comments since he launched his campaign in June 2015, along with commentary from Post Opinions writers and The Post editorial board." -- CW

CW: To those of you who doubted predictions here that Donald Trump would go nuts before the election (or as Charles Blow puts it in today's NYT, "a maladroit savage spiraling out of control"), read on:

Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Four women accused Donald Trump of groping or kissing them without their consent in news reports published Wednesday, just days after the Republican presidential nominee insisted in a debate that he had never engaged in such behavior.... Separately, CBS News on Wednesday reported 1992 footage filmed for 'Entertainment Tonight' in which Trump is heard commenting about a young girl, 'I'm going to be dating her in ten years.' Also Wednesday, Rolling Stone published a story that included the allegations of Cassandra Searles, Miss Washington 2013.... Searles wrote, 'He probably doesn't want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room.'... Early Thursday morning, Trump's campaign released a letter from attorney Marc E. Kasowitz demanding a retraction from the Times." -- CW

Meghan Twohey & Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "More than three decades ago, when she was a traveling businesswoman..., [Jessica] Leeds said, she sat beside Mr. Trump in the first-class cabin of a flight to New York. They had never met before. About 45 minutes after takeoff, she recalled, Mr. Trump lifted the armrest and began to touch her. According to Ms. Leeds, Mr. Trump grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt. 'He was like an octopus,' she said. 'His hands were everywhere.' She fled to the back of the plane. 'It was an assault,' she said....

     ... [Rachel] Crooks was a 22-year-old receptionist at Bayrock Group, a real estate investment and development company in Trump Tower in Manhattan, when she encountered Mr. Trump outside an elevator in the building one morning in 2005.... They shook hands, but Mr. Trump would not let go, she said. Instead, he began kissing her cheeks. Then, she said, he 'kissed me directly on the mouth.'... Their accounts echo those of other women who have previously come forward....

     ... In a phone interview on Tuesday night, a highly agitated Mr. Trump denied every one of the women's claims.... He said that The Times was making up the allegations to hurt him and that he would sue the news organization if it reported them. 'You are a disgusting human being,' he told the reporter as she questioned him about the women's claims." -- CW

When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything. -- Donald Trump to Billy Bush, 2005

Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post: Mindy "McGillivray, 36, said she was groped by Trump at Mar-a-Lago 13 years ago. She said she never reported it to authorities. But her companion that day, photographer Ken Davidoff, vividly remembers when McGillivray pulled him aside moments after the alleged incident and told him, 'Donald just grabbed my ass!'... According to Davidoff, it was Jan. 24, 2003, when he and his father, the late Palm Beach society photographer Bob Davidoff, took photos at Mar-a-Lago during a concert by Ray Charles.... Ken Davidoff said he brought his friend McGillivray to help him during the concert.... After the show, Davidoff and McGillivray were standing in a pavilion behind the main house in the middle of a group of people.... To McGillivray's immediate right was Trump and his fiancée, Melania.... 'All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge.... I turn around and there's Donald. He sort of looked away quickly. I quickly turned back, facing Ray Charles, and I'm stunned.... It was pretty close to the center of my butt. I was startled. I jumped.' Later, near a restroom, Trump began flirting with McGillivray, but Melania interrupted them. -- CW

Natasha Stoynoff of People: "'Just for the record,' Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump, during the presidential debate last Sunday, 'are you saying ... that you did not actually kiss women without (their) consent?' 'I have not,' Trump insisted. I remember it differently.... In December 2005, around the time Trump had his now infamous conversation with Billy Bush, I traveled to Mar-a-Lago to interview the couple for a first-wedding-anniversary feature story.... When we took a break for the then-very-pregnant Melania to go upstairs and change wardrobe for more photos, Donald wanted to show me around the mansion. There was one 'tremendous' room in particular, he said, that I just had to see. We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat." Please read on. -- CW

Molly Redden of the Guardian: "Donald Trump deliberately walked in on two young Miss USA 2001 contestants while they were naked and getting dressed for a rehearsal, one of the former beauty contestants has claimed in an interview with the Guardian.... Just before he entered, the former contestant said, she heard the security detail outside the dressing room tell someone approaching the door that the women inside were naked. 'Mr Trump just barged right in, didn't say anything, stood there and stared at us,' she recalled. Trump's attitude, she said, seemed to be: 'I can do this because I can.'... The woman -- who did not wish to be identified -- is the second competitor from the 2001 Miss USA pageant to claim that Trump took advantage of owning the pageant, which he broadcast on NBC, in order to view the contestants naked.... The other 2001 beauty contestant to accuse Trump of misconduct was Tasha Dixon." -- CW

Tessa Stuart of Rolling Stone provides some "'highlights' from Trump's storied history as a [beauty] pageant creep." -- CW

CW: There must be hundreds of women who have similar true stories to tell. Any politician who endorses Donald Trump, anyone who votes for him, is condoning, supporting & encouraging unchecked violence against women. An extra-special shoutout to those "Towers of Jello" -- story linked below -- who endorsed Trump, then unendorsed him because they were so "shocked" by the Trump-Bush tape, then re-endorsed him because they thought it would help their sorry political careers. How many of these geniuses figured no women would out Trump in the coming days? And let's hear from Gov. mike christian-family-man pence.

CW P.S.: We all owe thanks to these brave women for coming forward to describe how Donald Trump abused & humiliated them. I'm sure they know Trump & his supporters will do their best to further demean them. We all know it takes guts to stand up to bullies. It takes a lot of guts to do it on a national stage.

Greg Sargent: Donald Trump "is threatening to sue the New York Times for its story quoting two of the women, and his lawyers are charging the paper with recklessly providing those out to smear Trump with 'a platform.' It's almost as if Donald Trump thinks you are too stupid to remember that only a few days ago, he literally tried to provide a platform for Bill Clinton's accusers, when he attempted to parade them into his family box at Sunday's debate, in hopes of creating a great confrontation before an audience of tens of millions, only to see his plot thwarted by the debate organizers." CW: And of course Trump did provide a platform for the women shortly before the debate in a feint he described as "debate preparation." Now, of course, he's complaining that the debates are "rigged" (story linked below). Did we mention Bill isn't running for president?

By Driftglass. Multiple applications today.Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "One day after warning the GOP that his 'shackles' are off..., Donald Trump floated the prospect of a 'sinister deal' preventing Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) from coming to his defense. Trump at a Florida rally on Wednesday questioned why Ryan, who effectively conceded Trump's White House chances during a call with lawmakers this week, wouldn't come out and congratulate him after Sunday's presidential debate....'"You'd think they'd say, "Great going, Don. Let's go, let's beat this crook...." No, he doesn't do that. There's a whole deal going on. We're going to figure it out. I always figure things out. There's a whole sinister deal.'" -- CW

Adam Raymond of New York: "Donald Trump blasted the Commission for Presidential Debates on Wednesday, claiming the bipartisan group is 'rigged' and declaring himself 'done' with it. 'The head guy worked for Bill Clinton. Ay yai yai. What a rigged deal this is,' Trump said at a rally in Florida. He was referring to CPD co-chair Mike McCurry, who served as Clinton's press secretary.... What Trump did not mention is that McCurry's co-chair is Frank Fahrenkopf, chairman of the Republican National Committee while Ronald Reagan was president. Trump went on to suggest that he might skip the third debate, scheduled for October 19 in Las Vegas.... Trump spokesperson Jason Miller told the Daily Beast's Olivia Nuzzi that Trump does, in fact, plan to participate in the third debate." -- CW

Hillary Clinton 'lost as much as $6 billion in taxpayer money while she was running the State Department. Now, some people say it was misplaced. Oh, billions of dollars misplaced.' -- Donald Trump, remarks in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 11

The $6 billion was not lost or misplaced; it's that $6 billion in contracts had missing paperwork. On top of that, the majority of contracts with missing or incomplete paperwork stemmed from the Bush administration, before Clinton became secretary of state. So it's ridiculous to claim Clinton was in anyway responsible for the problems with the contracts. The only thing 'lost' in Trump's statement is reality. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

The WikiLeaks Strategy. Patrick Healy, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump is suddenly embracing an unlikely ally: The document-spilling group WikiLeaks, which Republicans denounced when it published classified State Department cables and Pentagon secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.... Mr. Trump, his advisers, and many of his supporters are increasingly seizing on a trove of embarrassing emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign that WikiLeaks has been publishing -- and that American intelligence agencies said on Friday came largely from Russian intelligence agencies, with the authorization of 'Russia's senior-most officials.' The Trump campaign's willingness to use WikiLeaks is an extraordinary turnabout after years of bipartisan criticism of the organization and its leader, Julian Assange, for past disclosures of American national security intelligence and other confidential information. The accusation that Russian agents are now playing an almost-daily role in helping fuel Mr. Trump's latest political attacks on Mrs. Clinton raises far greater concerns, though, about foreign interference in a presidential election." -- CW

The Sore Loser Strategy. Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: "Trump is either victorious or victimized, but never a loser. This week marked the end of Trump trying to actually win, and the beginning of him plotting to explain why the election was stolen." -- CW ...

... The Denial Strategy. Brian Stelter of CNN: "With Hillary Clinton extending her lead nationwide and in key battleground states, Trump is toying with what might be called 'poll denialism.'... ;Even the polls are crooked,' he said at a Monday night rally, expressing disbelief that he is losing to Clinton in Pennsylvania. 'Look, we're in a rigged system.'... On Tuesday when Bill O'Reilly told him that 'you're behind with women,' Trump responded, 'I'm not sure I believe it. I'm not sure I believe it.' Nearly every national poll finds Clinton well ahead among women.... Some of Trump's bullish talk is run-of-the-mill campaign rhetoric ... but there are times when Trump and his aides are clearly misleading voters. Trump told O'Reilly that 'Virtually everybody, other than, you know, some crooked polls, said that we won the debate easily.' In fact, every scientific poll of debate watchers found that Clinton was the victor. O'Reilly did not interject to correct Trump." -- CW

The Chattel Strategy. Joshua Green of Bloomberg: "Donald Trump believes his ploy at the Oct. 9th presidential debate to invite three women who claim they were assaulted by former president Bill Clinton ... has left Hillary Clinton 'shaken' and helped unify Republican voters behind his embattled campaign. So he's doubling down on the strategy, which his advisers believe will make his opponent toxic and depress turnout among a key demographic group -- young women -- Clinton is counting on to win. A senior Trump adviser says the campaign will soon bring forward new accusers: 'Women are coming to us who have been groped or sexually abused by Bill Clinton.'... On Thursday night, the Trump campaign will begin a new media blitz, his advisers say, with [Juanita] Broaddrick, [Kathleen] Willey, and [Paula] Jones appearing together on a one-hour Fox News special hosted by Sean Hannity. Additional interviews will follow." ...

     ... CW: This brilliant strategy makes a lot of sense to those who believe wives are nothing more than extensions of their husbands. Hey, maybe this explains why Hillary's campaign isn't doing an anti-Melania blitz. That, or the Clinton campaign has some decency, sense & integrity.

Michael Kranish & Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "The populist candidacy that upended the GOP order and has torn through many of the norms of American politics is now raising a concern among critics in both parties: that Trump is, in effect, running to be a strongman with dictatorial powers.... His latest campaign ad ends with the words: 'Donald Trump will protect you. He is the only one who can.'... It would seem few aspects of daily life would be beyond the reach of the power he envisions.... Trump has repeatedly praised authoritarian leaders.... Trump has also expressed admiration for some dictators.... Constitutional scholars say they are alarmed that Trump does not seem to understand the separation of powers." This is a straight news report. -- CW

Towers of Jello. James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "Republican elected officials are personally outraged and ashamed by something their party's nominee says or does. So they distance themselves. But as soon as they face a whiff of blowback from some in the party, they cave and fall back in line. Then they offer up excuses and rationalizations, twisting themselves into pretzels to justify voting for a guy who some will tell you privately is a danger to the Republic. It's happened over and over again now, and it validates what Trump himself said during the primaries: Many politicians are indeed craven and interested mainly in maintaining power for themselves, principles be damned." Akhilleus: I think I'm being unkind to weasels. Even calling these pusillanimous frauds cowardly would be unfair to most cowards. They are a special brand of spineless poltroon. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Gaslight. Rudy 9/11 Attacks Clinton for Saying What She Never Said. Aaron Rupar of Think Progress: "During a Donald Trump rally Wednesday afternoon in Ocala, Florida, Rudy Giuliani ... [said of Hillary Clinton,] 'Yes, yes you helped to get benefits for the people who were injured [September 11]. But I heard her say she was there that day. I was there that day, I don't remember seeing Hillary Clinton there.... As far as ThinkProgress could discern, there's no record of Hillary Clinton ever saying she was at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001." [She was in Washington, D.C., when the Pentagon was hit.] "But as Clinton detailed during a recent interview with CNN, she traveled to Ground Zero the very next day. In fact, numerous photos of her at the site with Giuliani exist." -- CW ...

... Sam Reisman of Mediaite: "Eric Trump was delighted to discover an article that proved -- proved -- that protesters at Trump rallies were paid by the Clinton campaign. 'Finally the truth comes out!' he wrote [in a tweet], appending the hashtag CrookedHillary and a link that, at first glance, pointed to a damning ABC News article.... The only problem is the article is completely fake, as is the 'ABC News' site on which it appears, a fact that Trump may have picked up on if he had noticed the curious '.com.co' domain.... Or the fact that Trump supporter Ann Coulter and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski tweeted out the exact same fake story in March." CW: Funny how Little Dracula is horrified by fake paid Clinton "protesters" but apparently not troubled at all by real paid Alex Jones protesters. Also funny how the Trump campaign has no message control. ...

... Mary Ann Georgantopoulos of BuzzFeed: "Eric Trump sent a fundraising email out to supporters Wednesday morning" that included a U.S. map which apparently showed that Daddy-o was winning in a number of states that have been leaning Clinton. Eric claimed in the e-mail that "right now all the momentum is on our side." "Here's the problem," Georgantopoulos writes: "That map GIF is from FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver, showing what the election would look like if only men voted." CW: Who knows? Maybe "The Trump Master Plan for Improving the U.S. Constitution," as yet only partially disclosed, is to rescind the 19th Amendment, too. Great! One less responsibility for the weaker sex. ...

... CW: BTW, Little Dracula:

... CW: The two maps, Eric's "Manmentum" map & the one posted above, appear in one post by Silver, so it's not as if the Boy Trump, dumb as he is, didn't know he was lying to Trump supporters for the purpose of getting them to transfer their cash to Dad's campaign. ...

... Trump Family Values, Ctd.:

Buyer's Remorse. Leigh Ann Caldwell of NBCnews. "Two big-money donors who have given or raised tens of thousands of dollars for Donald Trump are livid at the Republican presidential nominee and are asking for their money back, according to a bundler who raised money for Trump. 'I cannot express my disappointment enough regarding the recent events surrounding Mr. Trump,' one donor wrote to a Trump fundraiser in an email with the subject line 'Trump support withdrawal.'... The donor, who had given to and raised money for Trump, said. 'I respectfully request that my money be refunded.' Senior Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the campaign is 'unaware of any donors making such a request.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Akhilleus: Anyone think Trump will actually return the money? Soitanly not! I mean the guy doesn't pay anyone. Why would he give money back to schmoes he's already conned? Besides, Trump has already spent that money on a rack full of those pussy bow blouses Melania wore to the debate. The ones Maureen Dowd wasted an entire column considering.

Jessie Hellmann of the Hill: "Liberty University students on Wednesday issued a reprimand against their school's president, calling his defense of Donald Trump disappointing.... 'In the months since Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed him, Donald Trump has been inexorably associated with Liberty University. We are Liberty students who are disappointed with President Falwell's endorsement and are tired of being associated with one of the worst presidential candidates in American history,' the student organization Liberty United Against Trump wrote in a statement Wednesday. 'A majority of Liberty students, faculty and staff feel as we do. Nevertheless, President Falwell eagerly uses his national platform to advocate for Donald Trump,' the statement read." -- CW

Meet Your Trump Supporters. Message from Russia: Elect Trump or Else. Andrew Osborn of Reuters: "Americans should vote for Donald Trump as president next month or risk being dragged into a nuclear war, according to a Russian ultra-nationalist ally of President Vladimir Putin who likes to compare himself to the U.S. Republican candidate. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a flamboyant veteran lawmaker known for his fiery rhetoric, told Reuters in an interview that Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington." Akhilleus: Yes, and I am Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Zhirinovsky goes so far as to award Trumpy a pre-wrapped Nobel Peace Prize, which he can gaze at while Putin goes on a rampage across Eastern Europe. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Congressional Races

Alex Isenstadt & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Speaker Paul Ryan told top donors on Wednesday evening that he's growing concerned about whether House Republicans will be able to weather the political storm this November -- and suggested the outcome for his party could be dire. During a conference call, Ryan said he believed that House Republicans had taken a serious hit amid Donald Trump's freefall following release of the now-infamous 'Access Hollywood' video...." -- CW

Other News & Views

Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly: "... I can't see Paul Ryan actually being the Speaker of the House next year. And if he is, I can't see him lasting for very long." -- CW

Stacy Cowley & Michael Corkery of the New York Times: "The scandal engulfing Wells Fargo toppled its chief executive on Wednesday, as John G. Stumpf announced his departure from the company, effective immediately. The move was a swift and stunning fall for an executive whose bank made it through the 2008 financial crisis relatively unscathed only to be undone by a product sales scandal that pervaded its community banking division and has percolated under the surface for years.... The timing and swiftness of his departure came as a surprise to the bank's board." -- CW

Gary Gately of the Washington Post: "Many white people fought alongside African Americans in the civil rights movement. But few made as vital and enduring an impact as Jack Greenberg, a protege of and successor to Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Mr. Greenberg, who died Oct. 12 at 91, joined the New York-based legal organization in 1949, fresh out of Columbia Law School. At the time, civil rights law was a small field frequently overlooked by ambitious white lawyers, but Mr. Greenberg said he was invigorated by the principles at stake and the intellectual challenge on hand." -- CW

Linda Greenhouse: Litigious conservatives now seek out judges who will "legislate from the bench," as long as the judge is likely to "legislate" their way. "The notion of legislating from the bench was never more than a political slogan. Now it's simply fatuous. That doesn't mean that it won't be heard at the next Senate confirmation hearing. It's easier for some senators to accuse judges of legislating from the bench than to do any actual legislating themselves." -- CW

Beyond the Beltway

Scott Suppression Scheme Scotched. Gary Rohrer of the LA Times: "Floridians will get one more week, through Tuesday, Oct. 18, to register to vote, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The move could tip the balance of a pivotal swing state as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump make their pitch to voters in the final month of the campaign. After a one hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker ruled the right to vote was fundamental and shouldn't be jeopardized because of a natural disaster like Hurricane Matthew.... The suit was filed Sunday by the Florida Democratic Party after Gov. Rick Scott refused to extend the deadline due to disruptions caused by Hurricane Matthew." -- Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dave Altimari, et al., of the Hartford Courant: "Traffic is once again flowing on Main Street [in Hartford, Ct.], where a twin-engine plane crashed yards from Pratt & Whitney property Tuesday, but questions linger about the cause of the crash. A high-ranking local law enforcement official said Wednesday that the student pilot [Feras M. Freitekh] and instructor were arguing shortly before the crash, which killed the student. Another source said the student pilot started flying the plane erratically and the instructor fought to gain control before the crash. The source said the student was distraught and feeling stressed over his poor performance at the flight academy. A federal official told The Courant that the crash appears to have been a case of suicide, and that nothing had been found by Wednesday evening to suggest terrorism." -- CW

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The San Francisco Police Department stops and searches African Americans at a disproportionately high rate and does not adequately investigate officers using force, a Justice Department review found. The review -- released Wednesday by the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services -- uncovered 'numerous indicators of implicit and institutionalized bias against minority groups,' along with insufficient training and data collection. It found the vast majority of those killed by police were people of color." -- CW

Wesley Lowery & Cheryl Thompson of the Washington Post: "Keith Lamont Scott was struck at least three times by bullets fired by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, with at least one of the fatal shots striking him in the back, according to a private autopsy conducted for his family and obtained by The Washington Post." -- CW

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for work that the Swedish Academy described as 'having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.' He is the first American to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993, and a groundbreaking choice by the Nobel committee to select the first literature laureate whose career has primarily been as a musician." -- CW

New York Times: "King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who took the throne of the kingdom once known as Siam shortly after World War II and held it for more than 70 years, establishing himself as a revered personification of Thai nationhood, died on Thursday in Bangkok. He was 88 and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in history.... The military junta, which seized power in a coup two years ago, derives its authority from the king. The king's heir apparent, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, is seen by many as a jet-setting playboy and not held in the same regard as his father. And the king’s death raises questions about the future of the monarchy itself." -- CW

Comments Off
Tuesday
Oct112016

The Commentariat -- October 12, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Towers of Jello. James Hohmann of the Washington Post. "Republican elected officials are personally outraged and ashamed by something their party's nominee says or does. So they distance themselves. But as soon as they face a whiff of blowback from some in the party, they cave and fall back in line. Then they offer up excuses and rationalizations, twisting themselves into pretzels to justify voting for a guy who some will tell you privately is a danger to the Republic. It's happened over and over again now, and it validates what Trump himself said during the primaries: Many politicians are indeed craven and interested mainly in maintaining power for themselves, principles be damned." Akhilleus: I think I'm being unkind to weasels. Even calling these pusillanimous frauds cowardly would be unfair to most cowards. They are a special brand of spineless poltroon.

Buyer's Remorse. Trump donors want their money back, dammit! Leigh Ann Caldwell of NBC News. "Two big-money donors who have given or raised tens of thousands of dollars for Donald Trump are livid at the Republican presidential nominee and are asking for their money back, according to a bundler who raised money for Trump.... 'I regret coming to the Trump support event, and in particular allowing my son to be a part of it,' [a] donor, who had given to and raised money for Trump, said. 'I respectfully request that my money be refunded.' Senior Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the campaign is 'unaware of any donors making such a request.'"Akhilleus: Anyone think Trump will actually return the money? Soitanly not! I mean the guy doesn't pay anyone. Why would he give money back to schmoes he's already conned? Besides, Trump has already spent that money on a rack full of those pussy bow blouses Melania wore to the debate. The ones Maureen Dowd wasted an entire column considering.

Scott Suppression Scheme Scotched. Gary Rohrer of the LA Times. "Floridians will get one more week, through Tuesday, Oct. 18, to register to vote, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The move could tip the balance of a pivotal swing state as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump make their pitch to voters in the final month of the campaign. After a one hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker ruled the right to vote was fundamental and shouldn't be jeopardized because of a natural disaster like Hurricane Matthew.... The suit was filed Sunday by the Florida Democratic Party after Gov. Rick Scott refused to extend the deadline due to disruptions caused by Hurricane Matthew...Akhilleus

Message from Russia: Elect Trump or else. Andrew Osborn of Reuters. "Americans should vote for Donald Trump as president next month or risk being dragged into a nuclear war, according to a Russian ultra-nationalist ally of President Vladimir Putin who likes to compare himself to the U.S. Republican candidate. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a flamboyant veteran lawmaker known for his fiery rhetoric, told Reuters in an interview that Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington." Akhilleus: Yes, and I am Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Zhirinovsky goes so far as to award Trumpy a pre-wrapped Nobel Peace Prize, which he can gaze at while Putin goes on a rampage across Eastern Europe.

*****

Presidential Race

Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "The stark choice that Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump pose for voters goes as well for their revised tax plans: Mr. Trump would simplify the tax code but cut taxes mainly for the rich and add trillions of dollars to the federal debt, while Mrs. Clinton would do the opposite, an independent analysis released Tuesday concluded." Clinton's plan would not add to the national debt. "Her plan would increase federal revenue $1.4 trillion over the first decade. Rather than lower the federal debt, however, Mrs. Clinton would use the money to pay for education and other initiatives." -- CW

Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times: "In a rare return to presidential politics, [Al] Gore, who was Bill Clinton's vice president, joined Hillary Clinton [at Miami Dade College] for a 45-minute Democratic call to arms.... 'Your vote really, really, really counts,' he said, in the state synonymous with his excruciating 2000 election loss. 'You can consider me as an Exhibit A.'... Introducing Mr. Gore, Mrs. Clinton spoke of clean energy, curbside gardens, the Paris climate agreement and Donald J. Trump's suggestion that climate change is a hoax. She commended Mr. Gore's Nobel Peace Prize and his documentary, 'An Inconvenient Truth,'...." -- CW ...

     ... Russell Berman of the Atlantic has more.

Nolan McCaskill & Sarah Wheaton of Politico: "President Barack Obama ... openly mocking Republicans who are refusing to rescind their endorsements even as they condemn the nominee for talking cavalierly about sexual assault. 'The fact that now you've got people saying: "Well, we strongly disapprove. We really disagree. We find those comments disgusting, but we're still endorsing him. We still think he should be president." That doesn't make sense to me,' Obama said Tuesday during a Hillary Clinton rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.... The president slammed Trump on myriad issues, including taxes, his threat to jail Clinton ('no trial, no indictment, no lawyers') and the rhetoric from his supporters -- specifically conservative radio host Alex Jones, who suggested that Obama and Clinton are demons." CW: The full speech is here.

Kathleen Hennessey & Julie Pace of the AP: "Hillary Clinton's top adviser said the FBI is investigating Russia's possible role in hacking thousands of his personal emails, an intrusion he said Donald Trump's campaign may have been aware of in advance. If true, the assertion from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta would amount to an extraordinary link between Russia and an American presidential campaign. Podesta said the alleged ties could be driven either by Trump's policy positions, which at times echo the Kremlin, or the Republican's 'deep engagement and ties with Russian interests in his business affairs.'" -- CW

Mark Leibovich, in the New York Times Magazine, has a long piece -- likely the cover -- on Hillary Clinton & the dynamics of this year's election. Leibovich interviewed Clinton in Ohio in early October. -- CW

Hold On, America, He's Been Holding Back Until Now! Stephen Collinson, et al., of CNN: "Donald Trump is launching a kamikaze mission -- fracturing his own party four weeks before Election Day. The GOP nominee is lashing out in a stream of tweets boiling with rage and resentment, slamming House Speaker Paul Ryan for effectively cutting him loose and accusing the party leadership of dooming his campaign. It's a meltdown unprecedented by a presidential nominee this late in the year. 'It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to,' Trump said in a tweet that raised the prospect of a full on civil war in the Republican Party. Akhilleus: Poor Donaldo, he's been laboring in slavery so far, but now he'll eally show everyone a thing or two. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)...

Nikita Vladimirov of the Hill: "Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted Speaker Paul Ryan in an interview with 'The O'Reilly Factor,' stating that he no longer wants the Wisconsin Republican's support. When asked if he thinks establishment Republicans, including Ryan, will support him as president if he's elected, Trump said yes while speculating about the speaker's future. 'They'll be there. I would think that Ryan maybe wouldn't be there, maybe he'll be in a different position. The fact is, I think we should get support and we don't get the support from guys like Paul Ryan,' [Trump] ... said...." -- CW ...

... Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "Steve Bannon, the chairman of the right-wing news outlet Breitbart who became CEO of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, gave explicit orders to his staff to destroy Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). On editorial conference calls, the Breitbart chairman would often say 'Paul Ryan is the enemy,' according to a source who worked with Bannon at the news organization. In December 2015, weeks after Ryan became Speaker, Bannon wrote in an internal Breitbart email obtained by The Hill that the 'long game' for his news site was for Ryan to be 'gone' by the spring." -- CW

Despite winning the second debate in a landslide (every poll), it is hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support! -- -- Donald Trump, Oct. 11 tweet

In reality, not a single quality poll shows he won the debate, though one indicated a near-tie. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

...Josh Marshall of TPM: "Remember, Trump is a bully. Bullies seek out people they can hurt. Trump has done everything he possibly can to hurt Hillary Clinton. But he doesn't seem to be able to do so.... But there is someone else he can hurt profoundly, even as he falls behind in the general election: the Republican party. All the better since they are his best argument to justify his defeat as a betrayal rather than a personal failure.... Like an abuser who takes out his personal failures and frustrations and rages on his wife and his children, Paul Ryan and the GOP are now alone in the house with Donald Trump. He is angry and the prospect of defeat will no doubt make him angrier. In Trump's world of displacement, abuse and vengeance turning against the GOP is the most logical thing in the world." --safari

Trump's Debate Real Estate

Nikita Vladimirov of the Hill: "Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted the claim that he was lurking behind Hillary Clinton during the presidential debate on Sunday. 'One thing I will say, you know, right after the debate they left and said, "Oh, Donald was right in her space." I never walked near her. I was at my lectern and all of a sudden she walks over to me, stands right in front of me and the next day I read that I was in her space,' he said in an interview with Bill O'Reilly. 'I was standing at my lectern and all of a sudden from nowhere she walks right in front of me. I never walked near her. She stands right in front of me. The next day it was I was in her space. I was standing at my chair, my lectern,' Trump reiterated on 'The O'Reilly Factor' Tuesday." -- CW

Jose DelReal of the Washington Post: "Don't call Donald Trump a 'lurker.'... On Tuesday night [he] lashed out at critics who said he had invaded Hillary Clinton's personal space during Sunday's second presidential debate in St. Louis. Instead, he insisted during a campaign event ... in Florida that it was in fact Clinton who had gotten too close." Read on and/or watch the video of Trump's remarks.

The HuffPost has a more extensive video of Trump's dominance moves at the debate. It's a slow loader, which will eventually appear near the top of the page.

New York Times Editors: "Andrei Kozyrev, a former Russian foreign minister, told The Times: 'I'm sure Putin is trying -- and more successfully than many think -- to manipulate both the process and one of the candidates. He realizes that Trump will trample American democracy and damage if not destroy America as a pillar of stability and major force able to contain him.' In the end, it may not matter whether Mr. Trump is being manipulated by Mr. Putin or naïvely accepting Mr. Putin's twisted views. What does matter is that with each new bizarre utterance he provides further proof of his inability to evaluate credible information and, more broadly, his lack of fitness to further his country's best interests." -- CW

Steve M. embeds Trump's new ad where Trump focuses on Hillary Clinton's illnesses to demonstrate that she doesn't have the stamina to run the country. "... this ad suggests to me that Trump genuinely connects physical imperfection and imperfection of character.... He's repulsed by blacks on the floors of his casinos, and a Mexican-American judge, and Mexicans and Muslims in general; he's spent years in a blind rage at a beauty queen (Hispanic, of course) who gained a few pounds; he regularly touts the physical superiority of his daughter Ivanka (her breast size, her height).... Trump believes in a white, fit master race. Those who stumble and cough are not among the fittest, in his worldview." ...

... CW: ... which is kinda odd because Trump himself is a flabby old guy, near-clinically obese, with a paunch, a fat butt, a disappeared chin, a mystery hairline, & a suspicious snort-sniffle-wheeze. Not to mention a recovering bone-spur victim! Seen here at the GOP convention, grabbing his ultra-fit daughter Ivanka:

I'm telling you Donald Trump owned the pageant for the reasons to utilize his power to get around beautiful women. Who do you complain to? He owns the pageant. There's no one to complain to. Everyone there works for him. -- Tasha Dixon, a former Miss Universe contestant

I would never let my daughter run for a pageant that he owns. -- Mariah Billado, a former Miss Teen USA ...

... Fred Barbash of the Washington Post: "On an April, 11, 2005, Howard Stern show, Donald Trump bragged about some of the special perks he enjoyed while owner of the Miss USA pageant. They came not in a locker room but a dressing room.... CBS 2 Los Angeles did a little fact checking and, guess what, this time, no Pinocchios. Tasha Dixon, Miss Arizona of 2001, told the station that Trump just came 'waltzing in' while contestants were nude or half-nude as they changed into bikinis. Separately, BuzzFeed reported early Wednesday that four women in the 1997 Miss Teen USA beauty pageant said he walked into their dressing room while they were changing. Some were as young as 15, BuzzFeed said." -- CW

James Keaten of the AP: "U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would be 'dangerous from an international point of view' if he is elected, the U.N. human rights chief said Wednesday, defiantly doubling down on his recent expression of concerns about 'populist demagogues' that prompted a rebuke from Russia's ambassador to the United Nations. In a broad-ranging news conference touching on issues like violence in Yemen, Syria and sub-Saharan Africa, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said some remarks by Trump are 'deeply unsettling and disturbing to me,' particularly on torture and about 'vulnerable communities.'" -- CW

The Great Embarrassment. Jill Lepore of the New Yorker: "[American writer] Joe McGinniss once observed that the American voter 'defends passionately the illusion that the men he chooses to lead him are of a finer nature than he' and that 'it has been traditional that the successful politician honor this illusion.' That tradition has ended. No one in the Republican Party can possibly believe that [Donald] Trump is a better person, a man of finer nature, than the ordinary American voter. The problem for the Party is that no one, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, can even pretend to believe that anymore. No one can believe that in daylight, or in the darkest hour of night, while Trump, restless, tweets about the conspiracies that he believes are being hatched by his enemies men and, especially, women -- to fell him."...Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Garrison Keillor goes to London where it occurs to him that "Mr. Trump would have enjoyed the 17th century, the tumult, the divine right of kings, the suppression of Parliament. Vituperation was normal discourse, the idea of privileged sexual aggression was common in high places, money flowed freely, rich men commissioned great monuments to themselves.... If you put him on Grub Street in 1650, he'd be magnificent in his great swirling robes, surrounded by courtiers and sycophants, ranting against the Puritans, supporting the monarchy, smiting his enemies." -- CW

"Trump's Strategy for Minority Americans? Don't Let Them Vote. Washington Post Editors: "WITH DONALD Trump's polling numbers in a tailspin, he has doubled down in calling on Republican vigilantes to take matters into their own hands to thwart what many of them are primed to regard, without proof, as a rigged election. The Republican nominee's rhetoric, inciting white rural and suburban voters who fear the voting clout of black urban Democrats, is a recipe for voter intimidation and even violence on Election Day. It also lays the groundwork for his followers to believe, if he loses,that his defeat was a historic swindle.... Mr. Trump's odious gambit is ... in keeping with long-standing voter-suppression schemes in state legislatures...." -- CW ...

... Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "Republicans have started warning their increasingly ostracized nominee to stop stoking his supporters with claims that the 2016 election will be stolen, daring him to show proof or put a lid on it.... 'I don't think leading candidates for the presidency should undercut the process unless you have a really good reason,' Sen. Lindsey Graham ... told Politico." Thanks to Gloria for the link. -- CW ...

Now That Those Shackles Are Off, Trump Can Really Show Those Namby-Pambies How Real Authoritarians Do It: Arthur Delaney of Huffington Post. "Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) would apparently like for ... Donald Trump to rule with absolute power and squelch personal freedom. At least that's what he seemed to be saying in a radio interview Tuesday when he called for Trump to embrace authoritarianism. 'Sometimes I wondered that our Constitution is not only broken, but we need a Donald Trump to show some authoritarian power in our country and bring back the rule of law,' LePage said on a conservative radio station in Maine. 'Because we've had eight years of a president, he's an autocrat, he just does it on his own, he ignores Congress and every single day, we're slipping into anarchy.'" Akhilleus: Hmmm...so we've had eight years of authoritarian rule and what we need now is more of that, only better, because white, of course. Well, thanks for clearing that up, Guv! (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Meet Your Trump Supporters. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), one of the dimmest bulbs in a House full of them, said he would consider still backing Donald Trump if Trump said he liked raping women. Apparently someone told Pajama Boy that rape didn't poll well, as he later apologized. -- CW ...

     ... Update: See also comments by Akhilleus & Gloria in today's thread.

... ** Anita Hill in a Boston Globe op-ed: "Twenty-five years ago Tuesday..., I testified before Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexually harassing behavior of the nominee, Clarence Thomas. As being a target of harassment wasn't bad enough, I was then victimized a second time by a smear campaign meant to protect the nomination. Stunningly, people wondered aloud why his behavior mattered in a hearing about his character and fitness.... We must understand the harm that sexual harassment and sexual violence causes. Missing from the conversation this weekend, which focused almost exclusively on the character of the offender, was concern about the victims of sexual violence.... Trump's language, which he and others have tried to minimize as 'locker room banter,' is predatory and hostile. To excuse it as that or as youthful indiscretion or overzealous romantic interest normalizes male sexual violence." -- CW ...

... CW: In case it escaped your notice, one of the main things Trump means when he inveighs against "political correctness" is the crimp sexual harassment laws have put in his style. (And, yeah, that's what Bill Maher means, too.) ...

... ** Rebecca Traister of New York: "Republicans are not shocked; they're scared. Donald Trump is losing and they are beginning to understand that his loss is going to expose them, not simply to partisan defeat, but as a party that has been covert in its cohesion around the very biases that he makes coarse and plain. Trump's attitudes about women are not different from the attitudes that have been supported by the contemporary Republican Party via their legislative agenda.... The view of women as yours to control via political power, star power, or simply patriarchal power, is what Republicans -- not just Trump, but lots of Republicans -- have been doing for years as they work to reduce reproductive-rights access and reinstall women in early marriage and traditional hetero homes where their competitive, independent, threatening power might be better contained." ...

... CW: Traister is giving Republicans too much credit: they still think their repression of women is chivalric; they[re too misogynistic to feel "exposed," as Traister herself demonstrates by their responses to the Trump-Bush tape. Nonetheless, her column is a must-read.

John Koblin of the New York Times: "Four days after the explosive Donald J. Trump 'Access Hollywood' tape was made public, Billy Bushis negotiating his exit from NBC. Mr. Bush and NBC are working out the terms of his departure from 'Today,' which may come in the next few days, according to two people briefed on the plans. It would be a swift fall for Mr. Bush after a brief tenure as a host in the 9 a.m. hour of the show. He joined 'Today' this summer." CW: Still, thanks again, Billy. Maybe there will be an opening for you at Trump TV. You'd be a great host for "Miss Politics USA" or "Hot Babes in Politics," both in the planning stages.

AND Maureen Dowd -- the Pulitzer Prize winner & esteemed owner of the most influential piece of newspaper real estate in the USA -- in her usual manner, jabs right at the heart of the presidential race: what about that pussy bow? And the shoes! If Donald Trump is the paradigm of American exceptionalism, nonpareil in reality or fiction, then Dowd is aspiring to take that prize for U.S. journalism.

Other News & Views

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to decide whether high-ranking George W. Bush administration officials -- including John Ashcroft, the former attorney general, and Robert S. Mueller III, the former F.B.I. director -- may be held liable for policies adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks. The case began as a class action in 2002 filed by immigrants, most of them Muslim, over policies and practices that swept hundreds of people into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on immigration violations in the weeks after the attacks. The plaintiffs said they had been subjected to beatings, humiliating searches and other abuses." -- CW

Adam Liptak: "In an argument marked by testy exchanges, the Supreme Court on Tuesday struggled to decide whether it should make an exception to the usual rule that jury deliberations are secret when evidence emerges that those discussions were marred by racial or ethnic bias." CW: Chief Justice John Roberts was skeptical, because, as you know, "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." Putz.

Jonelle Marte of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found that the setup of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is led by a single director, is not in line with other independent agencies, which are typically run by a group of commissioners.... But the court decided against shutting down the CFPB, instead ordering that the agency be restructured so that the director could be removed by the president at will. Currently, the director can only be removed with cause -- a system that Judge Brett Kavanaugh said lacked checks and balances.... The ruling comes as Republican lawmakers and financial groups are upping their efforts to weaken or dismantle the agency.... The CFPB said Tuesday that it is reviewing its options for challenging the ruling." CW: Kavanaugh is -- surprise! -- a Bush II appointee. Also, too, he's a protege' of Ken Starr & an all-around ass.

Brian Fung of the Washington Post: "Comcast is paying one of the biggest fines ever levied on a cable company after regulators said it illegally billed customers for unwanted equipment and services. In a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast is agreeing to pay $2.3 million. It's also agreeing to give consumers a chance to block the addition of new services and equipment if they don't want it. Some subscribers who complained to the FCC said they'd been charged for premium channels, set-top boxes or video recording devices despite telling the company they weren't looking for upgrades, the agency said Tuesday." CW: Note to FCC: DirectTV does it, too. There is no way in hell I wanted that NFL package they foisted on me. And they made me pay for it for a full season, even after I complained. Capitalism is awesome, all right.

Beyond the Beltway

Ted Sherman & Matt Arco of NJ.com: "The defense attorney for a former Gov. Chris Christie aide charged in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal suggested on Tuesday his client told the governor about the lane shutdowns before they occurred and while they were happening." [Emphasis added.] -- CW

More from the Trump-Loving Authoritarian Right. This time, hopefully, from prison. Jacques Billeaud of the AP: "Prosecutors said Tuesday they will charge Sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt-of-court for defying a judge's orders to end his signature immigration patrols in Arizona, exposing the 84-year-old lawman to the possibility of jail time. The announcement in federal court sets in motion criminal proceedings against the sheriff less than a month before Election Day as he seeks a seventh term as Maricopa County sheriff. The 2016 election cycle has also seen Arpaio ... appearing alongside Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on several occasions. A judge previously recommended criminal contempt charges against Arpaio but left it up to federal prosecutors to actually bring the case. Prosecutor John Keller said in court that the government will bring charges. Arpaio could face up to six months in jail if convicted of misdemeanor contempt." Akhilleus: Poor Joe, persecuted for his belief in rule by billy club and racial hatred.

Way Beyond

Weston Phippen of the Atlantic: "For two days over the weekend, German police searched for suspected Syrian terrorist Jaber al-Bakr, a refugee who had come to Germany last year, and whom they believed was plotting to bomb a train station or airport.... Police asked the public for help.... The refugees [Chancellor Angela] Merkel's opponents are set on keeping out were the ones who led the police to al-Bakr: On Monday, three Syrian refugees turned the suspect terrorist into police when they realized he was on the run." -- CW

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