;)
October 29, 2022
Late Morning Update:
** David Nasaw in a New York Times op-ed: Elon Musk is just another robber baron who has developed his automotive & space businesses on government subsidies but who has an advantage over latter-day robber barons because of his "ability to promote his businesses and political notions with a tweet.... Elon Musk is a product of his -- and our -- times. Rather than debate or deride his influence, we must recognize that he is not the self-made genius businessman he plays in the media. Instead, his success was prompted and paid for by taxpayer money and abetted by government officials who have allowed him and other billionaire businessmen to exercise more and more control over our economy and our politics."
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Kellen Browning, et al., of the New York Times: "Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was violently attacked in the couple's San Francisco home by a hammer-wielding 42-year-old man identified as David DePape. Police arrived quickly after Mr. Pelosi was able to surreptitiously dial 911 & leave the line open. The police witnessed the attack & subdued the attacker who said he was looking for Nancy Pelosi. DePape has been charged with several felony counts including attempted homicide. Someone with his name has posted online many conspiracy theories. Doctors operated on Mr. Pelosi for a skull fracture & other injuries, and he is expected to recover. "Multiple law enforcement agencies were investigating the attack on Friday to determine the suspect's motive. The Capitol Police said special agents from its field office in California 'quickly arrived on the scene' to work alongside the F.B.I., the San Francisco Police Department, the district attorney and the U.S. attorney's office." ~~~
~~~ CNN is liveupdating developments here: "Paul Pelosi underwent surgery for a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands, according to a statement from Speaker Pelosi's spokesperson. He is expected to make a full recovery, it said.... Paul Pelosi was able to call 911 at the start of the attack at his home in San Francisco, according to a law enforcement source and another source familiar with the matter. Pelosi managed to keep the line open and the dispatcher could hear a conversation in the background, according to the law enforcement source. Pelosi was talking in code, that source said, providing enough detail so that the operator overhearing it could understand that something was wrong. At the same time Pelosi seemed to be trying not to make it obvious to the intruder that he had an open line, the source said. The dispatcher could hear Pelosi speaking about what was going on and dispatched police to check on the house, the source said....
"The man who allegedly attacked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's husband early Friday posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid-19 vaccines, the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack.... Last year, David DePape posted links on his Facebook page to multiple videos produced by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell falsely alleging that the 2020 election was stolen. Other posts included transphobic images and linked to websites claiming Covid-19 vaccines were deadly.... Two days after former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd, DePape wrote that the trial was 'a modern lynching,' falsely indicating that Floyd died of a drug overdose. He also posted content about the 'Great Reset' -- the sprawling conspiracy theory that global elites are using coronavirus to usher in a new world order in which they gain more power and oppress the masses.... [The s]uspect [is] ... to be booked on charges including attempted homicide, assault and elder abuse[.]... The man ... tried to tie ... up [Paul Pelosi] 'until Nancy got home,' according to two sources.... When the police arrived at the residence, the attacker said he was 'waiting for Nancy.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments here. (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~ Casey Tolan, et al., of CNN: "The man who allegedly attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband early Friday posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid vaccines, the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and an acquaintance told CNN that he seemed 'out of touch with reality.'... Three of [David] DePape's relatives told CNN that DePape has been estranged from his family for years, and confirmed that the Facebook account -- which was taken down by the social media company on Friday -- belonged to him."
~~~ Marie: MSNBC is reporting that the assailant, who attacked Mr. Pelosi with a hammer, was searching for Speaker Pelosi. He was shouting, "Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?" which is reminiscent of the January 6 insurrections calls for "Nancy! Nancy!" If true, the call for the speaker makes the San Francisco attack a federal crime. ~~~
~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "With his usual level of class, Donald Trump put out a message of sympathy to the family of Jerry Lee Lewis, 'the Killer' of rock 'n' roll, who died Friday at age 87, but said nothing all day about the Pelosi family. On Twitter, Adam Kinzinger urged G.O.P. candidates and elected officials to speak out against the 'horrific' attack. He probably didn't have in mind the sort of speaking out that Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia did. Youngkin made a joke of the assassination attempt: 'There's no room for violence anywhere, but we're going to send her back to be with him in California.'"
Brian Vitagliano & Jim Acosta of CNN: "A Pennsylvania man previously arrested for impersonating Donald Trump's family members in fraud scheme pleaded guilty on Friday to threatening to kill a member of Congress and his staff. According to the Justice Department, Joshua Hall, 22, threatened to kill at least three congressional staffers and 'beat the s**t' out of the congressman, claiming he had several AR-15s. California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell told CNN the threats were aimed at him and his office."
Emma Brown & Jon Swaine of the Washington Post: "A week after the 2020 election, as Donald Trump raged over what he claimed was rampant fraud, officials in a rural county in southern Georgia [Coffee County] received a disturbing report from the employee who ran their elections. New voting machines in use across the state could 'very easily' be manipulated to flip votes from one candidate to another, she claimed at a meeting of the county elections board, and ballots could be scanned and counted more than once.... The elections board meeting -- a gathering of eight people in an unremarkable building 200 miles from Atlanta -- set off an extraordinary sequence of events that plunged the GOP enclave into the middle of a multistate effort by prominent Trump allies to gain access to voting machines in search of purported evidence that the election was rigged.... In at least seven ... counties in four states, including Coffee, local officials acting without a court order or subpoena allegedly gave outsiders access to the machines or their data.... Experts say the events in Coffee County are a potent example of the rising threat posed by insiders who undermine election security in the name of protecting it." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: It takes only a couple of dots to connect Coffee County elections supervisor Misty Hampton to David DePape, the man who (allegedly) attacked Paul Pelosi:
Misty Hamptom—•—Donald Trump—•—David DePape
Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "One of the Justice Department's most experienced national security prosecutors has joined the team overseeing the intensifying investigation of classified documents at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and private club, people familiar with the matter said. National security law experts interviewed by The Washington Post say prosecutors appear to have amassed evidence in the case that would meet some of the criteria for bringing charges against the former president -- an unprecedented action that they said likely would only happen if the Justice Department believes it has an extremely strong case. David Raskin,who served for many years as a senior federal prosecutor in New York City, and more recently has worked as a prosecutor in Kansas City, Mo., has been quietly assisting in the investigation into Trump and his aides...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "A former U.S. Capitol Police officer was found guilty on Friday of obstruction of justice for trying to cover up the fact that he had sent Facebook messages to a Jan. 6 rioter offering advice on how to avoid getting caught, the authorities said. The man, Michael A. Riley, 51, could face up to 20 years in prison, following a trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, federal prosecutors said.... Mr. Riley, a member of the agency's K-9 unit with more than 25 years on the force, was the only Capitol Police officer charged with a crime in connection with the attack on the Capitol...."
Spencer Hus & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "An accused key co-conspirator who longtime former Proud Boys chairman Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio allegedly said proposed storming the U.S. Capitol on >Jan. 6, 2021, has pleaded guilty in a deal with U.S. prosecutors, Tarrio's lawyers revealed Friday. Details of the plea emerged in a pretrial hearing as the government ratchets up pressure against Tarrio and four other defendants who face trial in December on a charge of seditious conspiracy. During the hearing in federal court in Washington, Tarrio defense attorney Sabino Jauregui said that John Charles Stewart, 44, of Carlisle, Pa., pleaded guilty in June. Prosecutors interjected, and U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly immediately halted the public session to go behind closed doors, which after resuming made no further mention of Stewart."
Bannon Affiliate Found Guilty. Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "A man from Colorado who helped loot a charity that raised private money for a border wall of the sort championed by ... Donald J. Trump was convicted on Friday in a retrial in Manhattan federal court. An earlier trial was scuttled by a juror who was said to have insisted that the prosecution was a 'government witch hunt.' The man, Timothy Shea, has been the only one of four defendants to face a jury in the case so far.... We Build the Wall Inc. raised more than $25 million, claiming that all the money would go toward constructing a border barrier. Those promises were lies, said prosecutors with the United States attorney's office.... The conviction ended a case that began in 2020 when Mr. Shea was arrested along with three other men who had prominent roles in We Build the Wall: the group's president, an Air Force veteran named Brian Kolfage, who lost both legs and part of his right arm in Iraq and guaranteed that he would 'not take a penny'; a Florida financier named Andrew Badolato; and Stephen K. Bannon.... Mr. Kolfage pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and tax-related charges. Mr. Badolato pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Mr. Bannon was spared a federal trial after he received a pardon from Mr. Trump during his last hours as president but is now facing a trial in state court. Last month, the Manhattan district attorney's office unsealed an indictment charging Mr. Bannon with money laundering, conspiracy and scheming to defraud."
Back on Twitter, Spewing Hate. Drew Harwell, et al., of the Washington Post: "An emboldened cast of anonymous trolls spewed racist slurs and Nazi memes onto Twitter in the hours after billionaire industrialist Elon Musk took over the social network.... Musk on Friday tweeted that he would make 'no major content decisions or account reinstatements' until the convening of a new 'moderation council.' He promised that the council would have 'widely diverse viewpoints' but offered no other information about who would be on it, how its members would be selected, what authority it would have or whether its views would be binding on the company." A related Guardian story is here. ~~~
~~~ Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "A coordinated campaign to spread antisemitic memes and images on Twitter resulted in more than 1,200 tweets and retweets featuring the offensive content, according to an analysis by the Anti-Defamation League. The tweets identified by the A.D.L. added to a flurry of racist, transphobic and rule-breaking content that coursed through Twitter on Friday after Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, had officially taken control of the platform. Mr. Musk has promised to loosen content moderation rules in the name of 'free speech,' worrying many who believe the changes will allow offensive content to spread on the platform. The A.D.L. said the antisemitic tweet campaign was hatched on 4chan, the fringe message board that is loosely moderated and where hate speech has thrived. On Thursday, an anonymous 4chan user posted instructions for sharing antisemitic content on Twitter after Mr. Musk's takeover was made official. The post was circulated on Telegram, the chat app popular with the far right, according to the A.D.L." ~~~
~~~ Michael Wayland & Lora Kolodny of CNBC: "General Motors is suspending its advertising on Twitter following Elon Musk's takeover of the social media platform, the company told CNBC on Friday. The Detroit automaker, a rival to Musk-led electric vehicle maker Tesla, said it is 'pausing' advertising as it evaluates Twitter's new direction. It will continue to use the platform to interact with customers but not pay for advertising, GM added." ~~~
~~~ Chris Isidore of CNN: "The three top Twitter executives whom Elon Musk fired Thursday will walk out the door with about $187 million of Musk's money. Former CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal and former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde were ousted after Musk took control of the company late Thursday, according to a source familiar with the situation. They would have received a large chunk of that money even if they had stayed on board under the new ownership -- they and other shareholders will receive payouts from Musk after he bought their shares for $54.20 each.... But they also receive 'Golden Parachute Compensation' in the merger agreement approved by shareholders. That includes a year's base pay == $1 million for Agrawal and $600,000 each for Segal and Gadde. They also will get a year of health insurance...."
November Elections
Arizona. Trump Judge: Hey, Armed Vigilantes Have Rights, Too. Anita Snow of the AP: "A federal judge Friday refused to bar a group from monitoring outdoor ballot boxes in Arizona's largest county where watchers have shown up armed and in ballistic vests, saying to do so could violate the monitors' constitutional rights. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi said the case remained open and that the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans could try again to make its argument against a group calling itself Clean Elections USA. A second plantiff, Voto Latino, was removed from the case. Liburdi concluded that 'while this case certainly presents serious questions, the Court cannot craft an injunction without violating the First Amendment.' The judge is a Trump appointee and a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization." ~~~
~~~ Marie: So let's say a couple of armed masked men follow you from your car to the drop box, videotape you, photograph your vehicle license, maybe even speak to you in a menacing way. Well, it's your fault if that frightens you and makes you decide not to drop off your ballot.
Way Beyond the Beltway
Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Saturday are here: Ukraine's President "Zelensky said about 4 million people are under energy-use restrictions as Ukraine attempts to stretch scarce resources after Russian forces destroyed infrastructure around the country. 'Emergency blackouts are also possible,' he said. A group of House and Senate Republicans opposed Democratic Party-backed plans to fund Ukraine's war effort with assets seized from Russia, The Washington Post reported. The lawmakers objected to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act conference report that would allow the United States to transfer proceeds of forfeited Russian property to Kyiv, several people involved with the negotiations said.... The United States is giving an additional $275 million in defense aid to Ukraine, a smaller sum than was offered in previous packages."
Syria/Australia. Natasha Frost & Livia Abeck-Ripka of the New York Times: "Seventeen Australian citizens -- four women and 13 children -- on Thursday began the long journey home from detention camps in northeast Syria, where they have languished since the fall of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS, in 2019. By Saturday, they had returned to New South Wales, Australia, according to a statement from Clare O'Neil, the Australian minister for home affairs.... Dozens of other Australians are still being held at the camps. But there are hopes that this will be the first of several releases sponsored by the government. Many of the people who remain are children who have spent most or even all of their lives in detention."
News Lede
South Korea. New York Times: "At least 146 people were killed and another 150 injured after they were crushed in a large Halloween crowd in Seoul on Saturday night, the city's fire department said, in one of the deadliest peacetime accidents in South Korea's recent history. The crowd surge happened during one of the most raucous celebrations of the year in the nation's capital, where as many as 100,000 people, local news media said, had clogged the narrow streets of the Itaewon nightlife district Saturday evening for Halloween festivities." This is a liveblog. CNN's live updates are here.
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Reader Comments (8)
I'm moving forward this early-morning comment by Akhilleus.
By Akhilleus:
Hooray!
Bored billionaire and anti-“woke” super narcissist, Elon Musk, buys Twitter just in time to put a finger on the Midterm scales! Bringing back Trump, white supremacists, Nazis, antisemites and other vermin cuz all’a them gots freedom of speech too, right? Not just “woke” pansies.
But really, not enough people recognize how much everyone owes to Musk. He doesn’t get the love every boy oughta get. So buy a social media platform and invite back all the haters cuz that’ll show ‘em who’s boss.
There’s a new sheriff in town! And if you don’t believe it, he’ll flash that new toy plastic badge his good buddy Ye just sent him. Death con 3, bitches!
Oh, but don’t worry, Elon promises “diverse points of view”. Musky speak for anything goes. And just in time to let the dogs out on those mean ol’ Democrats in the midterm elections.
Here’s to fucking with things just cuz you can. The bored billionaire’s badassery goal.
Making rich-as-shit-ity great again.
@Marie.
So let's say Arizona is a stand your ground state and the sight of armed masked men standing near my ballot drop box made me feel threatened (they were clearly not there to make me feel comfortable) , so I pulled out my trusty revolver and shot 'em dead...
@Ken Winkes: That might work.
Haven't we learned in our culture, often through films, that when we see a guy in a mask carrying a gun that he's a bad guy? Isn't it reasonable to fear and avoid a masked man carrying a gun?
And yet, and yet. We have a Trump judge telling us that we can exercise our right to vote by dropping off our ballot ONLY if we do so when masked gunmen are watching us, gunmen who are there to monitor us & who are following information, sometimes coming from government officials, that we may be committing criminal acts right in front of them.
What could possibly go wrong?
This country has tilted toward insane lawlessness.
The man who attacked Paul Pelosi was "out of touch with reality." FaceBook is creating the MetaVerse which is designed to literally render people out of touch with reality. I hope is sucks Zuck's wallet dry.
Free David (the Hammer) DePape!
Expect this sort of thing very soon from the mindless, violent horde on the right. The Dear Leader expects nothing less. But how dare this idiot hit Nancy’s husband but miss her! Such incompetence.
I have yet to hear a single GQP brown shirt offer sympathy for the Pelosis. What I hear is that the attack is Biden’s fault because he hasn’t toned down the rhetoric, even though Biden has no control over the violent public rhetoric of the Traitors. Also it’s Democrats’ fault for sponsoring all that violence.
Kamala Harris says Republicans need to understand that their words and postures have real world consequences. Keep up, Kamala. They know. Of course they know. That’s why they spew lies demonizing Democrats, and especially Nancy Pelosi. How do you think the knuckle draggers take it when the presumptive Speaker, should the Traitors steal the upcoming elections, that brave woman beater, Kevin McCarthy, announced that when Nancy Pelosi finally handed him the gavel, he would beat her with it?
MTG screams that Democrats need to die. Steve Bannon yelps that they need to be run through with bayonets. Fatty sez….nothing.
Because just like on Jan. 6, saying nothing to the mob is saying “Keep up the good work! I applaud your violence.”
This won’t end here. Just like the Trump insurrection wasn’t an anomaly, the hammer attack at the Pelosi’s home, like the armed thugs threatening voters, is just the early stage of a Republican reign of terror.
Democrats need to use this to point out what the nation can expect if the Party of Madame Defarge (MTG) and the Orange Monster roar into power.
But will they? Maybe a few focus groups first. They should have an answer by Christmas.
Speaking of lawlessness....or stupid law, which promotes lawlessness.
https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/10/in-cases-challenging-affirmative-action-court-will-confront-wide-ranging-arguments-on-history-diversity-and-the-role-of-race-in-america/
Appropriately enough, the SCOTUS will hear arguments on these cases on Halloween. I expect more tricks from the S(stupid)COTUS, the body of imbeciles that has already determined that money is speech, that we have put racial discrimination behind us in our voting laws, and that well-ordered militias have nothing to do with the right to bear arms.
I've said before the majority of these geniuses see nothing beyond their own noses. They have no idea that we live in a world of irreducible facts that don't care a whit what they believe.
Over the years, the suits against affirmative action have been brought by poor little white guys who feel discriminated against because they believe college and university entrance should be based solely on grades and tests scores.
What they miss (and it's a miss by a mile) is that if that rubric had always held, during the 1950's and 60's the admissions they now covet would have been filled largely by those of Jewish persuasion and heritage. Now they would be taken by Asians.
And the white complainants, who have themselves always benefited from an affirmative action they were too dumb to notice, would be the group most harmed by getting what they think they wish for.
Could that alone be taken as clear proof they were too stupid to get into college?
Let alone on the SCOTUS?
I think this statement says it all:
"This country has tilted toward insane lawlessness."
and it breaks my heart. I've lived a long life, seen a lot of shit-storms along the way but always had the sense that this country was growing toward a more positive trajectory. This is no longer the case. We have those who are fighting to save this democracy, fragile as it is, and those that are clearly destroying it; what are the odds who wins? Wanna bet?
I have had a lot of trouble sleeping-- just getting to sleep. I think it is because my brain is constantly buffeted by the chaos and noise of this insanity. I was real slow in the realization that trouble was brewing after the 2020 election-- I just assumed people adhere to custom and law in election processes. It never crossed my mind that people would riot and threaten congressional staff and members. Never crossed my mind that the law had nothing to condemn and contain Donald Trump the First, and I thought after a lot of noise and screaming, he would simply fade away into a Florida oldster. It never crossed my (naive) mind that most people horrified by Jan6 wouldn't just go about their lives, that they would all turn into crazed psychopaths intent on ruining the entire country's structure. So I am worried that I am not worried enough about the coming weeks and beyond. And that is with me being pretty damn worried... It's okay to do more than campaign at ballot boxes...say what? It used to be you couldn't wear campaign tee shirts to voting places! Now you can wear your guns and cover your face and take pictures without personal permission? I see I will have to up my margarita intake significantly.