;)
April 29, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The Department of Homeland Security's creation of a Disinformation Governance Board has set off a backlash on the right -- even as it's not entirely clear what the perhaps unfortunately named board will do. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas mentioned the creation of the board in multiple congressional hearings this week.... Amid growing anti-censorship fervor on the right, a bevy of Republicans have suggested that the initiative amounts to policing speech. Elon Musk declared it 'messed up.' Many on the right likened it to the 'Ministry of Truth' from George Orwell's book '1984.'... 'Rather than police our border, Homeland Security has decided to make policing Americans' speech its top priority,' Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) claimed.... Despite Republicans' expressed concern, they didn't press Mayorkas i much detail at hearings Wednesday and Thursday. And the DHS does have a history of tackling disinformation, including during the Trump administration." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Clearly, in the wrong hands (say, a Trumpbot's), such a board could become Orwellian. Nevertheless, right now, it looks more like a hilarious way to "own the wingers."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "It has belatedly occurred to fellow Republicans that [Rep.] Madison Cawthorn [R-N.C.] might be a liability.... But Cawthorn is a monster of Republicans’ own creation. His character flaws were fully displayed when he first ran for Congress in 2020: nods to white supremacists, extravagant lies, accusations of sexually predatory behavior, overt racism and a long list of driving offenses. Craven Republican leaders knew all that -- and embraced him unreservedly. Ousting Cawthorn ... won't cure this Republican illness; the North Carolina congressman is just a symptom. More than 50 QAnon believers have run for Congress as Republicans in 2022, the liberal watchdog Media Matters reports. Several who participated in the events of Jan. 6, 2021, have run for Congress.... Cawthorn and the many rising oddballs and extremists are the inevitable result of Republican leaders' choices: drawing increasingly uncompetitive districts, blessing unlimited dark money, exercising timid leadership, embracing disinformation, flirting with white nationalism, stoking conspiracies and undermining elections."
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A second member of the extremist group Oath Keepers pleaded guilty Friday to seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and will cooperate with federal prosecutors to avoid a possible multiyear prison term. Brian Ulrich, 44, of Guyton, Ga., was arrested in August on charges of joining a group of right-wing Oath Keepers members who planned and organized travel to Washington, stashed firearms in an Arlington hotel, then sent several individuals with tactical gear, helmets and radios into the Capitol.... Ulrich pleaded guilty to two of five felony counts, seditious conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding (Congress's certification of the 2020 election results on Jan. 6).... Prosecutors agreed in a plea deal to drop the three other counts -- conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging his or her duties, aiding and abetting, and evidence tampering." Politico's report is here.
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "... in the weeks since the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, stopped presenting evidence to [grand] jurors about [Donald] Trump, new signs have emerged that the former president will not be indicted in Manhattan in the foreseeable future -- if at all. At least three of the witnesses once central to the case have either not heard from the district attorney's office in months, or have not been asked to testify, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In recent weeks, a prosecutor at the Manhattan district attorney's office who played a key role in the investigation has stopped focusing on a potential case against Mr. Trump, other people with knowledge of the inquiry said -- a move that followed the resignation earlier this year of the two senior prosecutors leading the investigation. And the remaining prosecutors working on the Trump investigation have abandoned the 'war room' they used to prepare for their grand jury presentation early this year...."
Michael Sisak of the AP: "Donald Trump's lawyers, seeking to reverse their client's $10,000-per-day contempt fine, provided a New York judge Friday with an affidavit in which the former president claims he didn't turn over subpoenaed documents to the state attorney general's office because he doesn't have them. The judge, though, was unmoved and refused to lift sanctions he imposed on Trump on Monday. Judge Arthur Engoron criticized the lack of detail in Trump affidavit, which amounted to two paragraphs, saying that he should have explained the methods he uses to stores his records and efforts he made to locate the subpoenaed files.... Frank Runyeon, a reporter for the legal publication Law360, said that Engoron held an impromptu hearing Friday, without a court stenographer, in which he addressed the affidavits from Trump and his lawyers and ruled to keep the contempt fine in place."
Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Fox's Sean Hannity exchanged more than 80 text messages between Election Day 2020 and Joe Biden's January 2021 inauguration, communications that show Hannity's evolution from staunch supporter of ... Donald Trump's election lies to being 'fed up' with the 'lunatics' hurting Trump's cause in the days before January 6.... Initially after the November 2020 election, Hannity appeared to be all in with Trump's false election claims. On November 29, he texted Meadows saying he had his team trying to prove election fraud: 'I've had my team digging into the numbers. There is no way Biden got these numbers. Just mathematically impossible...." But several weeks later, as Trump's team lost court challenges and the wild claims from attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell failed to materialize into anything more than false conspiracy theories, Hannity's tone shifted.... By New Year's Eve, Hannity ... appeared to accept the fact that the election was over...." The Hannity/Meadows texts are here, via CNN.
Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Max Tani in Politico Magazine: It's not easy for White House reporters to be journalistic stars now that Joe Biden is president. "Biden ... has been a journalistic sedative.... Attention isn't his brand, the way it is with Trump, and his staff exerts far more control over his time and his media interactions, alongside their efforts to eliminate traces of palace intrigue from political coverage. The president does few interviews and his communications team has an informal policy of not engaging in gossip stories ... and chide reporters who they don't think focus enough on policy. Press secretary Jen Psaki rarely expresses emotion from the podium, where she speaks slowly and avoids lengthy confrontations with reporters.... 'Jen ... is very good at her job, which is unfortunate,' one reporter who has covered the past two administrations from the room said. 'And the work is a lot less rewarding, because you're no longer saving democracy from Sean Spicer and his Men's Wearhouse suit. Jawing with Jen just makes you look like an asshole.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
How to Blow Up Peace Talks. Well, blow them up. With missiles. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Five Russian missiles flew into Kyiv on Thursday just after talks ended there between President Volodymyr Zelensky and the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address.... Russian forces have continued to strike the Azovstal complex, where Mariupol's last defenders and an unknown number of civilians remain. In the latest attack, Russian bombs landed in a field hospital there, killing or further injuring dozens of wounded soldiers, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.... The British military is expanding its participation in a British-led multinational deployment to Europe to deter further Russian aggression by sending 8,000 troops, British officials said." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here: "... senior U.S. officials are laying the groundwork for a different global security order. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told U.S. lawmakers the world had changed dramatically and declared support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO.... In the battle for eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are making 'slow and uneven' progress and moving forward at a pace of just several kilometers a day, hampered by logistical challenges, according to the Pentagon." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary of developments is here.
Alan Fram, et al., of the AP: "President Joe Biden asked Congress on Thursday for an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine fend off Russia's invasion, a signal that the U.S. is prepared to mount a robust, long-term campaign to bolster Kyiv and weaken Moscow as the bloody war enters its third month with no sign of abating. Biden's latest proposal -- which the White House said was expected to support Ukraine's needs for five months -- has more than $20 billion in military assistance for Kyiv and for shoring up defenses in nearby countries. There is also $8.5 billion in economic aid to help keep Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government functioning and $3 billion for food and humanitarian programs around the world." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Bryan Pietsch, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House on Thursday announced a proposal to allow U.S. authorities to liquidate the assets of Russian oligarchs and donate the proceeds to Ukraine, seeking what appears to be broad new legal powers to expand America's financial war on the Kremlin amid bipartisan pressure in Congress.... The White House has not revealed the legislative text behind its Russian oligarchs proposal but said the proposal 'would improve' the federal government's ability to send seized funds to Ukraine. Under current law, the United States can typically only freeze -- not seize or liquidate -- the assets of sanctioned individuals. Civil liberties groups had raised concerns that prior congressional proposals to do so ran afoul of constitutional protections by allowing federal law enforcement to circumvent judicial procedure. It was not immediately clear how the White House would seek to change existing statute without violating those protections." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed legislation that would allow President Biden to use a World War II-era law to quickly supply weapons to Ukraine on loan, sending the measure to Mr. Biden's desk hours after he urged Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars' worth of additional emergency aid for Kyiv. The 417-to-10 vote to invoke an extraordinary, eight-decade-old law created to battle Hitler reflected a growing bipartisan sense of urgency in Congress to bolster the Ukrainian military as it digs in for an ugly and protracted artillery war in the south and east of the country. The Senate passed the legislation unanimously this month."
Amy Cheng of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors filed their first war crimes charges Thursday against 10 Russian service members accused of torturing and taking civilians hostage on the outskirts of the capital. The Russians are not in custody, and the charges were filed in absentia to Ukrainian courts.... Zelensky said Thursday that the Russian servicemen were part of the 64th Guard Motorized Brigade, which ... Vladimir Putin recently honored in a presidential decree.... It is highly unlikely that the Russian troops will ever stand trial in Ukraine, but it is still useful for Kyiv to continue legal proceedings, said Steven Freeland, an international law expert at Western Sydney University."
Paul Sonne & Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "The U.S. government has assessed that Russian intelligence was behind an attack earlier this month on a Nobel Prize winner and prominent Russian editor who had criticized the Kremlin's war against Ukraine. Dmitry Muratov, the editor of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was about to travel on a train from Moscow to Samara, Russia, on April 7 when an assailant attacked him with a mixture of red paint and acetone, leaving his eyes with a chemical burn. The assailant yelled, 'Muratov, here's one for our boys' -- a reference to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine."
Justin McCurry of the Guardian: "The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has described how Russian forces came close to capturing or assassinating him in the early hours of the invasion [in an interview with Time magazine reporter Simon Shuster.]... The Ukrainian military told Zelenskiy that Russian strike teams had parachuted into Kyiv to kill or capture him and his family.... Gunfights broke out around the government quarter as night fell on the first day of the war, Shuster wrote. 'Guards inside the compound shut the lights and brought bulletproof vests and assault rifles for Zelenskiy and about a dozen of his aides.'... Russian troops made two attempts to storm the compound while Zelenskiy's family were still inside, according to Shuster."
Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Thursday that he is considering wiping out some student loan debt and will make a final decision 'in the coming weeks.'... During the campaign in 2020, he said he would 'make sure that everybody in this generation gets $10,000 knocked off of their student debt.'... The president made clear that his decision would disappoint at least some progressive Democrats and advocates who ... want him to wipe out $50,000 or more per borrower."
Christina Jewitt of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a plan to ban sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes in the United States, a measure many public health experts hailed as the government's most meaningful action in more than a decade of tobacco control efforts. The ban would most likely have the deepest impact on Black smokers, nearly 85 percent of whom use menthol cigarettes, compared with 29 percent of white smokers, according to a government survey.... Menthol cigarettes make up about one third of the $80 billion U.S. cigarette market, and about 18.5 million Americans smoke them."
Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Sixteen states, the District of Columbia and environmental activist groups are suing the U.S. Postal Service to block its purchase of 148,000 gas-guzzling delivery trucks over the next decade, alleging the agency has vastly underestimated the vehicles' costs and adverse ecological impact. The suits brought on by the state attorneys general, Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council contend the mail service relied on faulty assumptions and miscalculations to justify spending as much as $11.3 billion on gas-powered vehicles that get 8.6 mpg...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Dividing 6 to 3 along ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that victims of discrimination that is forbidden by four federal statutes may not sue if the only harm was emotional distress."
Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is expected to issue letters requesting voluntary cooperation from House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and around a dozen other Republican members of Congress, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The panel intends to issue a letter to McCarthy -- the top House Republican -- and is considering further letters to Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mo Brooks, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, as well as some Republican senators, the sources said.... The scope and subjects of the letters are not yet finalized, and the sources cautioned that the members of Congress approached for cooperation may still change. On Thursday, [committee Chairman Bennie] Thompson said only that he would send letters to McCarthy and other Republicans."
Alexandra Ulman & Nathan Layne of Reuters: There have been "eight known attempts to gain unauthorized access to voting systems in five U.S. states since the 2020 election. All involved local Republican officeholders or party activists who have advanced Trump's stolen-election falsehoods or conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines, according to a Reuters examination of the incidents.... [For example,] in southern Michigan, a pro-Trump clerk who has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory on social media defied state orders to perform maintenance on a voting machine on the unfounded belief that doing so could erase proof of alleged fraud. In another Michigan case, a Republican activist impersonated an official from a made-up government agency in a plot to seize voting equipment. Some of the people and groups involved in the vigilante election-investigator movement are drawing financial support from [Mike] Lindell, the My Pillow Inc chief executive and one of the most visible backers of Trump's false fraud claims." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: My guess is that in 2024, some of this voting-machine tampering will be "authorized" by the new pro-Trump QAnon-type elections officials who are now running to take over local & state elections offices.
Yet Another Reason to Be Askeert of "Illegals." Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times: The border "between Mexico and the United States has once again become a fixation of the Republican Party.... Republican leaders and candidates are increasingly claiming without basis that unauthorized immigrants are gaining access to the ballot box. Voter fraud is exceptionally rare, and allegations that widespread numbers of undocumented immigrants are voting have been repeatedly discredited. Yet that fabricated message -- capitalizing on a concocted threat to advance Mr. Trump's broader lie of stolen elections -- is now finding receptive audiences in more than a dozen states across the country, including several far from the U.S.-Mexico border.... In Ohio..., Mr. Trump whipped up fears of 'open borders and horrible elections' at a rally on Saturday, calling for stricter voter ID laws and proof of citizenship at the ballot box.... In Macomb County, Mich..., many voters at the county G.O.P. convention this month said they feared that immigrants were entering the country illegally ... to ... [cast] fraudulent ballots for Democrats."
The following is an ill-advised link, for a number of reasons: ~~~
~~~ Laura Collins of the Daily Mail: "New video of scandal-ridden GOP Rep Madison Cawthorn having his crotch felt by a close male friend and staff member is at the center of a complaint calling for an investigation into him and filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics today.... The extraordinary footage ... shows Cawthorn, 26, in a car with his close aide and his scheduler Stephen Smith, 23. Cawthorn sits in the driver's seat apparently filmed by Smith as he adopts an exaggerated accent and says, 'I feel the passion and desire and would like to see a naked body beneath my hands.' The camera then pans back to Smith who says, 'Me too' as Cawthorn can be heard laughing. Smith then films himself reaching his hand over and into Cawthorn's crotch. The video is one of several exhibits filed in support of the ethics complaint drafted by political group Fire Madison Cawthorn.... Among the many allegations is the claim that representative for North Carolina's 11th district provided thousands of dollars in loans and gifts to Smith...."
"Ask Me Nicely." Reid Wilson of the Hill: "In the aftermath of devastating storms that knocked out power to tens of thousands of people in Connecticut in August 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) called the White House seeking federal help. Hours later, then-President Trump called back. 'There's something you want to ask me about FEMA?' Trump said, according to Lamont's recollection. 'Well, ask me nicely.' The anecdote, reported by the New York Times journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns in their forthcoming book, 'This Will Not Pass,' is just one of a series of Trump's interactions with governors that struck many state executives as blatant departures from the norms of cooperative governing. The book, obtained by The Hill prior to its release on Tuesday, depicts Trump as a mafia don, demanding loyalty from supplicants and political opponents alike...." Read on.
Trump fans are (a) Sadists; (b) Masochists; (c) Sadomasochists; (d) All of the above; (e) None of the above. Only one answer is wrong.
Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Paul Manafort, the former Donald Trump campaign chairman who was convicted of financial crimes then pardoned by his old boss, was sued Thursday by the Justice Department, which is seeking $3 million over undeclared foreign bank accounts.... The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., seeks a court order forcing Manafort to pay millions of dollars in fines and interest 'for his willful failure to timely report his financial interest in foreign bank accounts' -- specifically, for failing to report his foreign accounts in 2013 and 2014.... Manafort's lawyer, Jeff Neiman, said in a statement that his client has been trying for months to resolve the reporting issue, which he dismissed as 'simply failing to file a tax form.'" Politico's report is here.
Jay Peters of the Verge: "As part of his pitch to raise funds to acquire Twitter, Elon Musk apparently 'floated' the idea of cutting jobs at Twitter to improve its bottom line, according to a Bloomberg report. 'While nothing is set in stone -- and Musk himself had no access to Twitter's non-public financials at the time -- he specifically mentioned job cuts' during discussions with banks, the report says. The Washington Post reported that Musk discussed making 'efficiencies' at the company in the conversations with bankers, 'which could include job cuts.'"
Beyond the Beltway
California. Don Thompson of the AP: "California's attorney general on Thursday subpoenaed ExxonMobil as part of what he called a first-of-its-kind broader investigation into the petroleum industry for its alleged role in causing a global plastic pollution crisis, allegations that the company called meritless. Attorney General Rob Bonta said the industry for decades has encouraged the development and use of petroleum-based plastic products while seeking to minimize public understanding that their widespread use harms the environment and public health."
California. "Steps toward Autocracy." Elahe Izadi & Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: Los Angeles County"Sheriff Alex Villanueva called a news conference to forcefully deny the allegations [published in the Los Angeles Times] -- and to take aim at [LA Times reporter Alene] Tchekmedyian. Standing in front of a placard with photos of the reporter, a political rival and the county's inspector general, Villanueva announced the three were part of a criminal leak investigation.... Villanueva's effort to publicly implicate a reporter for doing her job -- an attempt to intimidate her, some argued -- reflects a brazen trend of officials using government power to punish or push back on journalists for articles they don't like.... 'It is another form of degrading trust in our institutions,' said Tom Rosenstiel, a University of Maryland journalism professor.... 'These are steps toward autocracy.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: What with Villanueva's making his remarks at a news conference, reporters recorded his dog & pony show. The fact that he was caught on tape, as it were, apparently made no difference. According to Rachel Maddow, Vinnanueva denied he said what he said anyway. They don't care.
Michigan. Nick Corasaniti & Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "... The state party chose two candidates endorsed by [Donald Trump], both outspoken preachers of 2020 election falsehoods, as its contenders for the state's top law enforcement officer and its chief of election administration. But ... that move at a convention last weekend ... has ruptured the Michigan Republican Party.... This week, Tony Daunt, a powerful figure in Michigan politics with close ties to the influential donor network of the DeVos family, resigned from the G.O.P.'s state committee in a blistering letter, calling Mr. Trump 'a deranged narcissist.' Major donors to the state party indicated that they would direct their money elsewhere. And one of Mr. Trump's most loyal defenders in the State Legislature was kicked out of the House Republican caucus."
North Carolina. War on Education, Ctd. Stephanie Saul of the Washington Post: "A prestigious national academic group charged on Thursday that North Carolina's legislature had politically interfered with the operations of the University of North Carolina for more than a decade, creating a hostile academic and racial climate at its campuses, including the flagship in Chapel Hill. A report by the American Association of University Professors details how Republican lawmakers, after taking over the General Assembly in 2010, wrested control of the university system's Board of Governors as well as the trustees of its 17 individual campuses, influencing chancellor appointments and closing academic centers dedicated to fighting poverty, pollution and social injustice. The report concludes that racism is institutionalized in the system."
Oklahoma. War on Women, Ctd. Caroline Kitchener of the Washington Post: "The Oklahoma House approved a Republican bill on Thursday that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The law would take effect immediately, cutting off access for patients from Texas who have flooded into Oklahoma since a similar law passed there last fall.... Oklahoma's bill is modeled after the restrictive Texas ban, which has evaded court intervention with a novel legal strategy that empowers private citizens to enforce the law. The bill, which includes exceptions in medical emergencies but not rape or incest, cleared the Oklahoma Senate in March. It now goes to Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who is expected to sign it, and it will take effect with his signature." (Also linked yesterday.)
Share Article
Reader Comments (8)
This morning as I turned on Morning Schmo, an author was on, whose book came out today. Did not catch his name OR the book title, but I heard that this author is "retiring" to focus on saving democracy. He then listed all the offenses of rethuglicans including Dumpie, with the note that NOT ONE has suffered or been made to pay a price for anything, most notably 1/6. I have been in a major snit since I heard the list-- not that I didn't already know it all already-- but hearing it, as a list, well, I would say that democracy is already on life support. It enrages me against Democrats, too. My mother, the late feminist liberal, would be appalled and wonder WTF...It is no longer simply a warning-- it's here, clutched in Merrick Garland's hot little hands. Damn him, anyhow.
Sorry, everybody. Happy spring Friday, anyhow. Time for breakfast.
Good news from Ukraine, strange news from Ohio.
Our Ukrainian relatives have escaped to Poland and rented an
apartment there. They're the fortunate few.
The younger generation in Ohio, relatives of my husband, are
starting that wedding invitation thing. The first one came this
week. I'm not invited. Because Jesus, Trump, guns, etc. and that
special place in hell reserved for me I guess. He's not going either.
Blood isn't always thicker than water, or however that old saying goes.
@Forrest Morris: I'm glad to hear your Ukrainian relatives made it to safety. A young friend of mine has elderly grandparents who lived in Kyiv. My friend is an American, and I think her mother, who was born in Ukraine, also has become an American citizen. Somehow or another, about two weeks ago, the mother managed to get the grandparents -- and two pet cats! -- out of Ukraine, into Poland, to Paris and then into the U.S. I don't know what the grandparents' visa status is, but I'm sure with American relatives, a place to stay, Putin's war still raging, and a resourceful daughter, they're safe for some time.
"YOUR'E FIRED:
After reading the "Ask me nicely" piece above I couldn't help thinking of the man who brought Fatty to the forefront––one Mark Burnett, the king of reality television (Survivor, Shark Tank. The Voice) and had the bright idea of "using" Donald Trump in a new show called "The Apprentice." We learn that early on Trump was frequently unprepared, according to those who were the "handlers" of his presentation, and had little grasp of who preformed well. In January, 2019, The New Yorker did a story on this, but mainly zeroed in on Burnett, his life and works. However, my interest was mainly about Trump and the fact that "the Apprentice" was certainly something of a con and the beginning of viewers getting to watch this fake fire brand in action. Here are some highlights:
"The Apprentice" portrayed Trump not as as a skeezy hustler who huddles with the local mobsters but as a plutocrat with impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth––a titan who always seemed to be climbing out of helicopters or into limousines."
Producers often struggled to make Trump seem coherent, editing out garbled syntax and malapropisms.
Most who worked with Trump knew he was a fake. He had just gone through many bankruptcies but the program made him out to be the most important person in the world. "It was like making the court jester the King" said one executive. and Bill Pruitt, another producer said, "we walked through the offices (at Trump Tower) and saw chipped furniture. We saw a crumbling empire at every turn. Our job was to make it seem otherwise."
"Sometimes a candidate distinguished herself during the contest only to get fired, on a whim, by Trump. The editors then had to "reverse engineer" the episode, scouring hundreds of hours of footage to emphasize the few moments when the exemplary candidate might have slipped up. in an attempt to assemble an artificial version of history in which Trump's 'shoot from the hip' decision made sense."
So right from the beginning television moguls started the ball rolling, albeit one that had no air and gave us a fare that was fake. It has brought us to this time where there is a complete collapse of the Republican party save for a few, and the question might be if not for a television show would we be where we are?
@Jeanne: The book could be "This Will Not Pass" by J. Martin &
A. Burns. Goes on sale May 3.
Interesting bit from it is that trump had a room off the Oval (Offal)
office crammed with MAGA stuff for sale to visitors. Is that even
legal?
@Forrest Morris & #Jeanne: The writer is Don Winslow, who apparently writes crime novels. Until now! I don't watch Morning Joe, but I checked the clips.
Highly recommend Don Winslow's books. They have an interesting and nuanced portrayal of the drug wars and their effects on both sides of the border that you don't often see elsewhere. Sorry to see him "retiring" from writing, but glad to see him in the anti-Confederate cause.
Thanks, guys. I am assuming that this Winslow is a concerned citizen and just wants to do his part to maybe pull democracy through. But it was horrible to hear the incomplete list of offenses for which someone should be paying. Not always the pols: I read the Politico piece on the fighting between Confederates, and Hannity, a full partner in all of this, called Joe Biden a "corpse." I am hoping at some point someone brains that hunk of Hannity garbage-- he's so ugly, inside and out.
On the other end of the scale: my hero Jamie Raskin completely unravelled Perjury T Greene, and so did Jim Acosta. So many witches, so little time...