;)
November 7, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Marie: Gosh, I wish I knew how to do those Twitter hashtag things. Because, if I did, I'd do one called #HowDumbIsElon.
Entry No. 1. Reuters, republished by Yahoo! News: "After Twitter Inc laid off roughly half its staff on Friday following Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition, the company is now reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asking them to return, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. Some of those who are being asked to return were laid off by mistake. Others were let go before management realized that their work and experience may be necessary to build the new features Musk envisions, the report said citing people familiar with the moves."
Entry No. 2. Nicole Guadiano of Business Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: "... Elon Musk urged his Twitter followers on Monday to elect a Republican Congress on Tuesday in an appeal to 'independent-minded voters.'... 'Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic,' he tweeted...." MB: Let's call that "Notes from La-La Land." You don't have to be much of a student of U.S. politics over the past 20 years to know that "shared power leads to gridlock." Yeah, I suppose it curbs "excesses" because it curbs everything. Which is, Elon, an excess in itself; an excess of inertia & dysfunction. It would help, I suppose, if both parties knew how to "share power," but no one in your preferred party knows how to share.
Here's that Rachel Maddow podcast that Akhilleus discusses in today's Comments:
Amy Gardner & Emma Brown of the Washington Post: "Republican officials and candidates in at least three battleground states are pushing to disqualify thousands of mail ballots after urging their own supporters to vote on Election Day, in what critics are calling a concerted attempt at partisan voter suppression. In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court has agreed with the Republican National Committee that election officials should not count ballots on which the voter neglected to put a date on the outer envelope -- even in cases when the ballots arrive before Election Day. Thousands of ballots have been set aside as a result, enough to swing a close race. In Michigan, Kristina Karamo, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, sued the top election official in Detroit last month, seeking to toss absentee ballots not cast in person with an ID, even though that runs contrary to state requirements. When asked in a recent court hearing, Karamo's lawyer declined to say why the suit targets Detroit, a heavily Democratic, majority-Black city, and not the entire state. And in Wisconsin, Republicans won a court ruling that will prevent some mail ballots from being counted when the required witness address is not complete.... While the rejections may have some basis in state law, experts say they appear to go against a principle, enshrined in federal law, of not disenfranchising voters for minor errors." Emphasis added. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I can improve on that lede: "Republican officials and candidates in at least three battleground states are pushing to disqualify thousands of mail ballots after urging their own supporters to vote on Election Day, in what critics are calling a concerted attempt at partisan voter suppression." There. All fixed. As for the emphasized sentence, "appear to"? Really? For Pete's sake, if a ballot was received before Nov. 8, then obviously it was mailed before Nov. 8, unless a mess of Pennsylvania voters are skilled time-travelers or something.
AP: "Kremlin-connected entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted Monday that he had interfered in U.S. elections and would continue to do so -- confirming for the first time the accusations that he has rejected for years. 'Gentlemen, we have interfered, are interfering and will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do,' Prigozhin boasted in remarks posted on social media. The statement, from the press service of his catering company that earned him the nickname 'Putin's chef,' came on the eve of U.S. midterm elections in response to a request for comment." Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead.
AP: "New Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has issued her first Supreme Court opinion, a short dissent Monday in support of a death row inmate from Ohio. Jackson wrote that she would have thrown out lower court rulings in the case of inmate Davel Chinn, whose lawyers argued that the state suppressed evidence that might have altered the outcome of his trial. Jackson, in a two-page opinion, wrote that she would have ordered a new look at Chinn's case 'because his life is on the line and given the substantial likelihood that the suppressed records would have changed the outcome at trial.'... Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the only other member of the court to join Jackson's opinion. The two justices also were allies in dissent Monday in Sotomayor's opinion that there was serious prosecutorial misconduct in the trial of a Louisiana man who was convicted of sex trafficking."
Trump Is Stuck with Liars Social. Drew Harwell & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump has told his allies that he can't leave Truth Social, because he's propping it up, and he doesn't want a site so closely associated with his brand to collapse, according to people familiar with his thinking.... Trump's 4 million followers on the platform are a small fraction of the 88 million he once had on Twitter, and his dozens of posts -- called 'truths' -- there in recent weeks have received none of the broad engagement and traction he counted on during his presidency.... In February 2021..., Trump signed a document with a 'mutual noncompete' clause pledging not to work with anyone else in exchange for 90 percent of the company's shares, [Will] Wilkerson, the former Trump Media executive, told The Post. He was fired last month after that interview."
~~~~~~~~~~
November Elections
David Smith of the Guardian: "Joe Biden is fighting a rearguard action to stave off defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections as Republicans look poised to make sweeping gains in the US Congress, setting up two years of political trench warfare. The president, along with former president Barack Obama, has been criss-crossing America in a last-ditch bid to persuade voters that a Democratic victory is critical not only to Biden's legislative agenda but the preservation of American democracy. But momentum appears to be with Republicans capitalising on frustration over inflation and fears of crime and illegal immigration. Election forecasters and polls say it is highly likely that the party of ex-president Donald Trump will win a majority in the House of Representatives and also have a shot of taking control of the Senate."
Washington Post Editors: "In deciding whether and how to vote, Americans should keep the fundamentals in mind, supporting candidates committed to the democratic system and the peaceful transfer of power, and opposing those who have tried to profit from toxic lies about election integrity.... In total, a Post tally found nearly 300 election deniers running for major office in 48 of 50 states.... The stakes are higher than where the top marginal tax rate might end up, what kinds of judges get confirmed or even the size of government. The past two elections have not been normal, and this one is not, either."
Ezra Klein of the the New York Times outlines what Republicans would do if they took control of the Congress: create crisis after crisis. Klein, of course, is not merely speculating. It's what Republicans have said out loud they would do. MB: And Klein, IMO, doesn't cover the half of it. Miss Margie thinks her gang will control the House, and if she's right, well, we're on the way to becoming a White nationalist "Christian" nation. And all that may mean, none of it good.
Steven Myers of the New York Times: "... the cybersecurity group Recorded Future .... and other researchers have identified ... a new, though more narrowly targeted, Russian effort ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections. The goal, as before, is to stoke anger among conservative voters and to undermine trust in the American electoral system. This time, it also appears intended to undermine the Biden administration's extensive military assistance to Ukraine.... The campaign -- using accounts that pose as enraged Americans ... -- have added fuel to the most divisive political and cultural issues in the country today. It has specifically targeted Democratic candidates in the most contested races, including the Senate seats up for grabs in Ohio, Arizona and Pennsylvania, calculating that a Republican majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives could help the Russian war effort. The campaigns show not only how vulnerable the American political system remains to foreign manipulation but also how purveyors of disinformation have evolved and adapted to efforts by the major social media platforms to remove or play down false or deceptive content."
Arizona. Yvonne Sanchez & Lenny Bronner of the Washington Post: Republicans railed against early voting -- uh, until they started encouraging it.
** Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "The fear of exile has become common as Jews see the unraveling rule of law, ascendant Christian nationalists and anti-Israel sentiments turning antisemitic on the far left. Wondering where Jews might move 'is among the most frequently asked questions that I get,' Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, told me.... The United States has until now been different because of our constitutional protections of minority rights: our bedrock principles of equal treatment under law, free expression and free exercise of religion. Now, the MAGA crowd is attacking the very notion of minority rights. Ascendant Christian nationalists, with a sympathetic Supreme Court, are dismantling the separation between church and state. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), for example, calls the principle 'junk that's not in the Constitution' and claims 'the church is supposed to direct the government.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Martin Niemöller's famous remark, "First, they came for the socialists...." comes to mind. But it's more than that. The odds are high that you yourself belong to a group that is or has been oppressed in this country. If you're non-Christian, non-White, non-male, non-straight, if you're of Southern European or Irish or German (think, esp. WWI) or Polish descent, if you're poor, if you're an immigrant, if you're elderly, if you're not a member of the dominant "tribe" in your community, then you (or your forebears) have been subject to discrimination here. Maybe you're okay now, but chances are, you belong to at least one of these groups. And the goblins will get you if we don't all watch out. ~~~
~~~ BTW, Milbank notes what Donald Trump said in reaction to Kanye West's attacks on Jews: "He was really nice to me."
There was a bit of discussion at the top of yesterday's Comments thread about reports that Merrick Garland was considering appointing a special counsel if/when Donald Trump announces another presidential* run. The beat goes on: ~~~
~~~ Katie Benner of the New York Times: "... Mr. Garland's hopes [that the DOJ can remain above the political fray] are being tested by Mr. Trump's apparent plan to announce that he will run again for the White House, a step that would transform him from a former president into an electoral opponent of President Biden at a time of extreme political polarization -- an environment leading the Justice Department to weigh whether to appoint a special counsel to handle open criminal inquiries related to Mr. Trump.... That person has more independence than a United States attorney, but any final decisions on whether to charge Mr. Trump would still rest with Mr. Garland and the department's top leaders.... A special counsel could theoretically shield the department from the perception that an investigation into Mr. Trump is a partisan attack on Mr. Biden's top political opponent. But it could also imply that the Justice Department on its own could not be trusted by all Americans to make decisions about holding Mr. Trump to account." ~~~
~~~ Marie: C'mon, Merrick. Just charge the SOB. He's a criminal & you know it.
Way Beyond the Beltway
Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Monday are here: "Millions of people in Ukraine's capital region were without power Sunday because of blackouts aimed at relieving the strain on a damaged power grid, as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of more Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. Ukrainian forces laid claim to an attack on a Russian base in the occupied Kherson region, as they continued to target Russian logistics in the region.... If the Republican Party makes significant gains in Tuesday's midterm elections, it could possibly revamp the United States' whole approach to supporting Ukraine, Ishaan Tharoor writes in the latest Today's WorldView newsletter. 'Under Republicans, not another penny will go to Ukraine,' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said last week. There is no uniform consensus within the Republican caucus on how best to support Ukraine's resistance to Russian invasion. However, various GOP lawmakers and candidates have indicated that the fire hose of funding must be turned off."
Luke Hareding & Artem Mazhulin of the Guardian: "For centuries Ukrainians have celebrated Christmas on 7 January, the date on which Jesus was born, according to the Julian calendar. But following Vladimir Putin's invasion in February, the Orthodox church of Ukraine is allowing its congregations for the first time to celebrate Christmas on 25 December, in a move away from Russia and towards the west. The issue of when to celebrate Christmas has been a matter of longstanding debate in Ukraine. The church has traditionally observed Christmas on 7 January, at the same time as the Moscow patriarchy, which has blessed Putin's war.... In 2017, 25 December became a public holiday in Ukraine. The country's Orthodox church has previously allowed prayers to be said on the date. At a meeting of its synod in October, and following requests, the Kyiv Metropolitanate announced that parishes could hold a full religious service on the 25th if they wished. The decision affects about 7,000 churches across the country."
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Reader Comments (25)
Making breakfast this morning, I have eschewed the usual NPR Morning Edition in favor of a Philip Glass symphony. I’d rather listen to Glass torture the string sections with his usual barrage of eighth notes than to be tortured by more media reports of imminent doom. It’s nice to see, on the LAST DAY, opinion pieces detailing what’s in store as the barbarians storm the gates, but the MSM has spent the last few months breathlessly reporting the results of the latest bullshit polls with their usual horse race fervor, who’s ahead today, who lost ground, rather than trumpeting out the consequences of rampant voter suppression and intimidation combined with votes being tallied and approved, or not, by confederate election deniers, followed with Rule by Pigs With Guns.
In my red state, the airwaves are awash with screams from the Party of Traitors about socialism and Hunter Biden and trans takeovers and CRIME, CRIME, CRIME, and the horrible economy which they will fox immediately. You remember Fatty’s pronunciamento about how criminals would all run and hide the second he took office? Well, they did run. They all ran to grab places in his administration. Did the media tell us that? Did they offer sturdy rebuttals to the all the lies? Fuck no.
And the Democratic Party, as usual, fucking clueless about what to do, has taken an absolute can’t miss comparison between decency and effective governance and chaos and hatred, and forgot all about how to win elections.
So no “news” for me today.
After the Glass, I think I’ll put on some good old fashioned end of the world music, like the last act of Götterdämmerung. At least in that piece evil is destroyed along every other fucking thing.
Making breakfast this morning, I have eschewed the usual NPR Morning Edition in favor of a Philip Glass symphony. I’d rather listen to Glass torture the string sections with his usual barrage of eighth notes than to be tortured by more media reports of imminent doom. It’s nice to see, on the LAST DAY, opinion pieces detailing what’s in store as the barbarians storm the gates, but the MSM has spent the last few months breathlessly reporting the results of the latest bullshit polls with their usual horse race fervor, who’s ahead today, who lost ground, rather than trumpeting out the consequences of rampant voter suppression and intimidation combined with votes being tallied and approved, or not, by confederate election deniers, followed with Rule by Pigs With Guns.
In my red state, the airwaves are awash with screams from the Party of Traitors about socialism and Hunter Biden and trans takeovers and CRIME, CRIME, CRIME, and the horrible economy which they will fox immediately. You remember Fatty’s pronunciamento about how criminals would all run and hide the second he took office? Well, they did run. They all ran to grab places in his administration. Did the media tell us that? Did they offer sturdy rebuttals to the all the lies? Fuck no.
And the Democratic Party, as usual, fucking clueless about what to do, has taken an absolute can’t miss comparison between decency and effective governance and chaos and hatred, and forgot all about how to win elections.
So no “news” for me today.
After the Glass, I think I’ll put on some good old fashioned end of the world music, like the last act of Götterdämmerung. At least in that piece evil is destroyed along every other fucking thing.
@Akhilleus. Agree 100 percent. I finally posted a gloom-and-doom Guardian story today after avoiding almost every horse-race story for the past however-many months. But until the papers write headlines like "Idiot Leading in Wisconsin Polls" & "Nitwit Neck-in-Neck with Democrat," they can forget about getting a click from me.
Tomorrow night, alas, I'll start posting the doom-and-gloom results.
We'd probably get better reporting from Mockba Radio.
Putin needs to get his Republican allies in office to do his bidding.
What I’m hoping (because if you have no hope, then what’s the point?) is that once the merdurinous horde takes over, Democrats will figure out how to win an election.
The days of the Chuck Schumers and Bidens, who believe it’s possible to work with the hyperemesis inducing crooks and schemers, should be over.
I’m sure the Times will continue with its 20,000 word Sunday Magazine pieces about the importance of listening to and understanding the poor, downtrodden MAGA droolers, but Democrats shouldn’t concern themselves with that shit any longer. Republicans restrict voting? We need to expand it. They lie, we need to point this out at every turn, but more than that, we have to loudly proclaim what we stand for and not allow the Traitors to define us. We’re not the anti-Republicans and we shouldn’t be known as just the guys who “Aren’t them”.
Also, as has been pointed out on RC, we have to craft a compelling narrative that doesn’t simply rely on facts and figures. That shit puts people to sleep. We have to offer not just a better way, but The Way, a way includes more than just white, Christian nationalist traitors and haters.
And we have to do a better job of getting out the vote. There are more registered Democrats, nationwide, than Traitors. If they all showed up to vote, it would take an army of deniers to steal future elections.
And forget about Trump getting his. I’m writing that off. In fact, I’m looking forward to a time when we don’t have to see that smirking orange monkey face every day. Merrick Garland won’t do his job. Fuck him too. The Jan. 6 committee is toast. Maybe Tish James and Fani Willis can do something, but I’m not holding my breath. What we’re seeing now is the result of decades of planning, scheming, lying, subterfuge, leading up to outright treason, going all the way back to the Powell Memo. Trump was just the lucky shitstain in the right place at the right time.
We need a similar plan, without the crimes and the treason and the murder, of course. But need one, we do. We need to take the long view.
I don’t know who’ll write out memo, but if no one steps up to the plate soon, fuck it; I’ll write it. No one will read it, but it’ll be a great exercise in catharsis.
Taking some comfort in Patrick Mahomes' spectacular come-from-behind victory over the Titans. A thing of beauty...
Forrest,
Starting the first of the year, Putin may get his wish. Imbeciles like MTG and Kevin McCarthy will cut off all support for Ukraine, a move that could be better for Russian aggression than nuclear bombardment. Maybe he’ll award the entire Party of Traitors the Order of Lenin.
NJC,
Yeah, the Titans forgot that with Mahomes in the game, you have to play all 60 minutes, not just 56.
While Akhilleus listens to Glass while making breakfast I, as usual, bring my breakfast up to my office and read R.C. Color me blue in more ways than one since last week I slipped on wet leaves during my walk which resulted in a bruised right face, bloody knee, and a fractured thumb––-had no idea how important a thumb is–--but am healing nicely. So reading once again news that pains me more than my bruises I try very hard not to give up on the possibility of our democracy ending up in the ash can. And once again I thank Marie for putting out, day after day, news that makes our breakfasts sit uneasily in our tummies–––oh, for more of those old "funny papers" of yore. The thought of tomorrow is like waiting for that hurricane to hit–-wham! House gone–-Senate blasted to simmereenms! But hey! Thumbs up people! We ain't dead yet!
I'm starting to think Garland is just taking a page out of Trump's book and trying to run out the clock so he doesn't have to actually make a decision.
I just want to thank all the folks at Reality Chex for your intrepid
reporting and consistent, unflagging support of democracy and truth.
It is a real comfort in these frustrating, discouraging times. I especially
appreciate the dark humor regularly provided in the comments.
It was Marie Burns who first attracted my attention a long time ago
with her fondness for ampersands in NYT comments.
In this last day before the reckoning I am heartened by the hopeful
Michael Moore who points out there are more of us than them.
I ordered a copy of Ken Burns' "Our America: A Photographic History"
to provide some much-needed perspective.
Let's hope the election tomorrow isn't yet another Menckenian illustration
of the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.
Russian admits interfering in US elections
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/russias-prigozhin-admits-interfering-us-elections-2022-11-07/
'We have, we are, and we will continue to do so.'
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3723213-elon-musk-tells-followers-to-vote-for-republican-congressional-candidates/
Now, there's a surprise...
@Ron Glaser: Thank you. BTW, I have at least three practical reasons to prefer ampersands to "and"s on Reality Chex pages. I'll admit, however, that I've become so used to typing "&" that I often do so in emails or other typed docs, where "and" would be better.
@P.D. Pepe: Use a cane when sidewalks & other paths may be slippery. Please. I use one every winter and when I know I'm going to be walking on uneven terrain. It really helps, & I think it serves as a reminder that I should tread carefully.
BTW, I'm sure Medicare will pay for a cane, especially since you slipped & hurt yourself -- you can get a fancy one!
@Ken Winkes: I saw that, too. So glad I haven't voted yet. Now, when I go in to my polling place tomorrow, I'll go with the knowledge that a disturbed, arrogant, multi-billionaire has urged me to vote for the guys who hate democracy, women, minorities, poor people, & so forth. So, yeah, thanks, Elon!
@Marie Okay, what are the three practical advantages to ampersands? I would guess brevity, rapidity and coolness.
PD,
Broken thumb? Yikes. There goes the Olympic Gymnastic Team dream, I guess. Unless you could do those parallel bar exercises with one hand. Gold for sure!
@Ron Glaser: You're mostly right. I always publish the reporters' names in bold letters, because I think they should get credit for their work. But I don't think "and" should should get the bold treatment. However, a single character -- "&" -- in bold is less noticeable. So, "Jacqueline Alemany & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post," IMO, looks better than "Jacqueline Alemany and Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post." It's also faster & easier to highlight a single element (in this case, the two reporters' names) than it is to highlight two separate elements.
I'm not so concerned about "coolness," but it is faster for me to type "&" than it is to type "and" -- two keystrokes rather than three.
Ron,
Don’t you mean brevity, rapidity & coolness?
(Sorry, couldn’t resist. Even on a sinking ship we can make jokes.)
So this morning, on our walk, I decided to listen to something besides Trump-GQP-treason bullshit. Rocket doesn’t care what I listen to as long as we don’t forget his ball. Anyway, I found a podcast with Rachel Maddow about a mysterious plane crash in 1940. I thought “Oh, that sounds pretty cool…and no Fatty…”
Quite intriguing plot line. So there was this senator from Minnesota back then, an Ernest Lundeen. He was on a plane that inexplicably augured into a field in Pennsylvania. But also on the plane were a DoJ official and two FBI agents. On a plane with only 25 people total, passengers and crew combined. An official government report said that the pilot and co-pilot were “prevented” from controlling the plane. The stewardess scribbled a cryptic note that said “Going down” as the plane went into a dive. Hmmmm…veddy interesting…
Also on the plane? A speech this senator was flying home to give to constituents, all about how great Germany was and what a great guy Hitler was, a speech ghost written by a Nazi agent. For a sitting US senator. Wow! That would never happen today, right?
A Nazi agent working with members of the US government—elected officials(!), describing themselves as patriots, but committed to destroying democracy from within and turning the nation into a fascist, authoritarian state, by use of force, with direct connections to white supremacists.
Sound familiar? Jesus! I can’t get away from it!
Maddow’s point is that we’ve lived through this sort of thing before and survived. She didn’t mention (yet—only on episode one) that there was a little war that helped out these Nazi sympathizers. Nonetheless, I had never heard of this Senator Lundeen before. I knew there was a lot of Fifth Column stuff going on back then, but this will require a deeper dive, to which my history buffness looks forward.
By the by. This Nazi senator? A Republican. Go figure, huh?
The podcast is called “Ulta” if you’re interested.
Sorry, that should be “Ultra”:
https://rachel-maddow-presents-ultra.simplecast.com/?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Performance%20Max%20-%201%20-%20Podcasting&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=8491135203&hsa_cam=17656011507&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=CjwKCAiA9qKbBhAzEiwAS4yeDReSwbH9dLhqVlLuYy2GTllsBQFpK2sglDkw0ntsRO_RwA8AS2NWfhoCy0UQAvD_BwE
& so Mr Akhilleus as expected has the most apt & clever response
Elon Musk and Twitter remind me of the oft repeated cartoon of the dog with his jaws clamped on the bumper of a speeding car and the caption : "What do I do now?"
Lotsa luck, Mr. Genius. Nuts on the internet make rocket science look as easy as A,B,C.
Meant to send a comment this morning, but it isn't here, so I must have obliterated it somehow. I wanted to say to PD: good luck with the thumb. I hope someone kindly and gently picked you up. It is a pain to operate with fewer appendages than usual. Been wearing a boot since late September. Hopefully off soon. Hope your thumb is helping you out again soon.
I have studiously avoided all broadcasts today until now...and I am with you guys: so sorry about: any pushback from our side, and the headlines and blabbers on the tv act as if the pushback is simply quibbling or grousing or charmingly demurring against the more important statements by the election deniers/liars. I also agree with RAS-- Merrick the Shy seems to be huddling in a closet somewhere, waiting for the election to be over, and shoot, there's just no more time... I guess we are out of luck yet again. Everyone, I know you have all or will have voted tomorrow and I hope we aren't gruesomely disappointed tomorrow. I know I will be, especially if my chosen PA people are scorned. And, my god, if Walker is elected...Good luck to us all.