;)
The Commentariat -- August 20, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
David Sanger of the New York Times: "Four years after 50 of the nation's most senior Republican national security officials warned that Donald J. Trump 'would be the most reckless president in American history,' they are back with a new letter, declaring his presidency worse than they had imagined and urging voters to support former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. The new letter, released just hours before Mr. Biden formally accepts the nomination, lays out a 10-point indictment of Mr. Trump’s actions, accusing him of undermining the rule of law, aligning himself with dictators and engaging 'in corrupt behavior that renders him unfit to serve as president.' They also accused him of 'spreading misinformation' and 'undermining public health experts,' making him 'unfit to lead during a national crisis.'... There are more than 70 [signatories] in the new letter...."
Trump Indicts Biden for "Abandoning" Scranton -- When He Was Ten Years Old. Seung Min Kim & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Hours before former vice president Joe Biden accepts the Democratic presidential nomination, President Trump held a rally in this key swing state [Pennsylvania] where he took aim at his rival's record and accused him of having 'abandoned' Pennsylvania — even though Biden was only 10 when his family moved to Delaware for his father’s job. 'He left,' Trump said of Biden. 'He abandoned Pennsylvania. He abandoned Scranton. He was here for a short period of time, and he didn't even know it.'"
I Can't Stop Laughing. Alan Feuer & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump's former top adviser, was charged on Thursday in New York with fraud for his role in a scheme related to 'We Build the Wall,' an online fund-raising effort that collected more than $25 million for the president's much-touted plan to erect a barrier on the Mexican border, officials said. Mr. Bannon and three other defendants 'defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction,' Audrey Strauss, the acting United States attorney in Manhattan, said in statement Thursday. Mr. Bannon was arrested early Thursday in Connecticut by U.S. postal inspectors and brought to Manhattan where he faced charges in a two-count indictment unsealed in federal district court. He was expected to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in New York later in the day." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. A Politico story by Josh Gerstein is here. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I heard the news on NPR as I was driving home from a doctor's visit, and yes, I'm still laughing. Every single element of this caper is perfect: Bannon. Trump. "The Wall." The marks, those dimwitted true Trump believers/xenophobic creeps. The rip-off. The USPS, for Pete's sake; I'm sure those inspectors were laughing even harder than I am. I do hope it turns out Brother Steve planned this scheme while he was hanging out that Italian monastery/fascist thug tank, where apparently he's failed to pay the rent. ~~~
~~~ UPDATE. Larry Neumeister, et al., of the AP: "Hours after his arrest, Bannon pleaded not guilty during an appearance in a Manhattan federal court. He is the latest addition to a startlingly long list of Trump associates who have been prosecuted, including his former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, whom Bannon replaced, his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, and his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump has also made clear that he is willing to use his near-limitless pardon power to help political allies escape legal jeopardy, most recently commuting the sentence of longtime political adviser Roger Stone. Bannon was taken into custody around 7 a.m. by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on a 150-foot (45-meter) luxury yacht called Lady May, which was off the coast of Connecticut, authorities said. The boat is owned by exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and currently for sale for nearly $28 million.... At his hearing later Thursday, Bannon appeared with his hands cuffed in front of him and a white mask covering most of his face. He rocked back and forth on a chair in a holding cell where he appeared via video with his lawyers on the telephone. The magistrate judge approved Bannon's release on $5 million bail, secured by $1.75 million in assets.... After the arrest, Trump quickly distanced himself from Bannon and the the project. 'When I read about it, I didn't like it. I said this is for government, this isn't for private people. And it sounded to me like showboating,' he told reporters at the White House, adding that he felt 'very badly' about the situation." ~~~
~~~ Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "Federal prosecutors on Thursday arrested former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and Brian Kolfage, the head of a nonprofit seeking to privately finance construction of a southern border wall, and accused them of illegally using that nonprofit to enrich themselves. But the sums the two men allegedly extracted from the organization just scratched the surface of their grandiose plans to make money off the effort. As he was using his group, We Build The Wall, to compile millions of email addresses and phone numbers, Kolfage was also plotting ways to use that data to start a Republican fundraising firm. The venture had gotten far enough that earlier this year, he was already shopping around for potential clients. Kolfage, a triple amputee Air Force veteran, described his plans to a Republican consultant in an email written early this year and seen by The Daily Beast." ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump: "The first time one of the people leading Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign faced criminal charges was in March of that year.... Back then, it was Corey Lewandowski.... He was arrested on misdemeanor battery charges after he grabbed a Breitbart reporter's arm after a speech at a Trump property in Florida. He and Trump vigorously denied that Lewandowski had touched reporter Michelle Fields.... Video produced by the Trump property, however, later showed that Fields's allegations were accurate. The charges against Lewandowski were dropped.... Each of the three people primarily responsible for helping shepherd Trump into the White House has, at some point since he announced his candidacy in June 2015, faced criminal charges. And those three people constitute less than half of the close Trump allies to have pleaded guilty to or been indicted on or convicted of criminal charges."
~~~ Then There's Junior's Deal with Polygamous Fraudsters. Graham Kates & Jessica Kegu of CBS News: "Amid a series of campaign appearances in Utah on July 24, Donald Trump Jr. took time to shoot Desert Tech rifles and appeared in promotional images for the company, which is owned by a prominent member of a polygamous sect. The government is currently trying to seize the company's headquarters, which prosecutors say was previously bought with funds originating from other members of the sect who entered guilty pleas in a $1.1 billion fraud scheme. In photos posted by the company to Instagram and Facebook, Trump Jr. is seen wearing a Desert Tech hat, posing with the company's founder, Nicholas Young, and firing the company's sniper rifles. A marketing video on YouTube also includes an image of Trump Jr." ~~~
~~~ Matthew Choi of Politico: "Joe Biden's campaign is calling desperate on the president's latest ad blitz, which portrays the former vice president as overly cozy with China and his son as a corrupt profiteer. Speaking with Politico's Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer on Thursday, senior Biden campaign adviser Symone Sanders dismissed the ad as a tired attack that reveals that the Trump campaign's other offensive strategies have failed."
Fred Imbert of CNBC: "The number of people filing for unemployment benefits last week was greater than expected, raising concern about the state of the economy as lawmakers struggle to move forward on a new pandemic stimulus package. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 15 came in at 1.106 million. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a total of 923,000. Initial claims for the previous week were also revised higher by 8,000 to 971,000. Last week marked the first time in 21 weeks that initial claims came in below 1 million."
There's Always a Crazy Heckler. Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Donald Trump did not hide that he was closely following the third night of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, firing off tweets in real time as former President Barack Obama and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris delivered withering criticisms of his presidency. The first of Trump's all-caps broadsides came less than 10 minutes into his predecessor's speech, as Obama unleashed a blistering attack on Trump's presidency and his character."
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "President Trump's latest attempt to block the Manhattan district attorney from obtaining his tax records was rejected Thursday by a federal judge, who said Trump's legal team failed to show the subpoena was issued 'in bad faith.' U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero threw out the lawsuit brought by the president's personal lawyers, who had argued that the subpoena to Mazars USA, Trump's accounting firm, was 'overbroad' in its request for documents and that it amounted to 'harassment.' Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. argued repeatedly that the subpoena, issued by a grand jury, was legally valid and tied to a legitimate criminal investigation.... Shortly after Marrero's decision was announced, Trump's legal team filed an emergency motion asking for a delay in enforcing the subpoena so he may appeal. Vance's office agreed to a one-week grace period before acting on the subpoena...." A CNBC story is here. The New York Times' story is here.
Anita Kumar of Politico: "... Donald Trump may rail against mail-in ballots in public, but state and local Republicans are quietly telling Americans that's exactly how they should vote. In Iowa, the Republican Party mailed absentee ballot applications to voters without waiting for requests. In Pennsylvania, the GOP's website promotes voting by mail: 'Vote Safe: By mail. From home.' And in Ohio, the Republican Party sent mailers with Trump's photo saying 'Join President Trump and Vote by Absentee Ballot.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
The Washington Post's live updates of the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night are here. The New York Times' live updates Wednesday are here.
Astead Herndon & Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "Democrats formally nominated Senator Kamala Harris for the vice presidency on Wednesday night, placing a woman of color on a major party ticket for the first time and showcasing the diversity of race and gender they believe will energize their coalition to defeat President Trump in the fall. The third night of the party's national convention also featured a striking repudiation of Mr. Trump by former President Barack Obama, a break with the presidential custom of not criticizing a successor by name. Mr. Obama praised Mr. Biden's character, contrasting it with Mr. Trump's, and directed a portion of his remarks to voters undecided about whom they will vote for, or whether they will vote at all.... Speeches by Mr. Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Speaker Nancy Pelosi were intended to underscore the history-making moment of Ms. Harris's nomination, highlighting her uniquely American biography...." A Reuters story is here.
Sen. Kamala Harris accepts her nomination:
A civics lesson for the ages: ~~~
~~~ CNN has the transcript of President Obama's speech, as prepared. ~~~
~~~ Julie Pace of the AP: "Former President Barack Obama painted a unsparing portrait of American democracy on the brink if ... Donald Trump wins in November, warning in a scathing, and at times emotional, address Wednesday that his successor is both unfit for office and apathetic to the nation's founding principles.... Obama's address amounted to one of the most sweeping condemnations ever of a sitting president by one of his predecessors. It was aimed squarely at jolting Democrats, as well as Republicans who are skeptical of Trump, ahead of the November election, casting the contest not simply as a choice between two politicians or two parties, but as a test of the endurance of American ideals."
~~~ Ryan Lizza of Politico: "... the former president delivered a memorable speech that balanced torching the sitting president with assuring voters of the possibility of something better.... Despite the optimistic strands, Obama did not minimize the threat he believes the country faces under ... Donald Trump.... As Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and John Kasich -- three people with major ideological and personal differences between them -- all made clear in their earlier speeches, the case against Trump is not about policy. The urgency that has united socialists, liberals, and conservatives featured this week is about something much more fundamental.... Obama accused Trump of failing to 'discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.' He essentially accused him of corruption and abuse of power, saying Trump had 'no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends.' And he accused his successor of a dangerous form of narcissism when he said that Trump had 'no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.'"
~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "After watching President Trump systematically demolish many of his achievements, Mr. Obama has almost as much at stake in this year's campaign as his former vice president and his party's 2020 presidential nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr., does -- a second chance to redeem his legacy and prove to history that Mr. Trump's election was an anomaly, not a permanent repudiation.On the line is not just the opportunity to restore programs and international agreements that Mr. Trump abandoned and bolster those that remain threatened, but also to rewrite the narrative about America and its values according to Mr. Obama.... This time around, Mr. Obama's vehicle for validation happens to be the same man he gently eased aside for the Democratic nomination in 2016 in favor of Hillary Clinton, the woman Mr. Obama himself had defeated in 2008 by telling the country that she was a relic of the past. Many Democratic drinking sessions in the interim have been consumed by the what-if guessing game over what would have happened had Mr. Obama anointed Mr. Biden instead."
The convention included a clip from the January 2017 event when Barack Obama surprised Joe Biden by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, with Distinction (back when the Presidential Medal of Freedom was reserved for men & women of great accomplishments & merit):
Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton Wednesday sought to channel the lessons, energy and disappointment of her campaign to become the first female president into an effort to unseat the man who defeated her, urging Democrats who never fully unified around her to come together against President Trump." ~~~
Jacqueline Feldscher of Politico: "The Army is launching an investigation into two soldiers who appeared in uniform during Democratic National Convention coverage Tuesday night, the service announced Wednesday. During the broadcast, two soldiers in uniform flanked officials from American Samoa while the territory awarded its delegates during the roll call.... The appearance goes against Defense Department regulations, which prohibit all troops from being in uniform at partisan political or campaign events.... The investigation comes following repeated accusations that the Trump administration has injected politics into the military. Most recently, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley accompanied ... Donald Trump to a photo op outside a church during racial justice protests in Washington, D.C. Milley later said he regretted taking part. But the problem has extended throughout Trump's presidency, including when the Navy was told to cover up the name of the destroyer USS John S. McCain so it wasn't visible during a presidential speech in 2019. The Democratic Party's platform for 2020 promises to 'end the Trump administration's politicization of the armed forces.'"
Former Rep. Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican, in a CNN opinion piece, explains why he is voting for Joe Biden.
Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "... Donald Trump's campaign is dragging Hunter Biden back into the race -- on the day his father formally accepts the Democratic nomination. The reelection effort is to begin a nearly two-minute digital advertisement early Thursday morning highlighting the younger Biden's business dealings with China and resurfacing past allegations that Joe Biden's family profited off his vice presidency.... Starting Tuesday at midnight, the reelection effort has purchased 96 hours straight of advertising on YouTube, giving it full control of the site's masthead. As part of the plan, the campaign is also running digital advertising on the homepages of news outlets including the Washington Post, Fox News, and the Daily Caller. It will also appear on streaming services including Hulu."
How Do You Spell Hypocrisy? T-R-U-M-P. Miles Parks of NPR: "President Trump cast a vote-by-mail ballot in Florida this week after months of questioning the security of the method of voting, and in doing so he returned it to election officials using a technique many Republicans say should be illegal.... Trump submitted the Florida primary ballot by giving it to a third party to return, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach elections supervisor confirmed to NPR on Wednesday. Republicans often derisively refer to sending in a ballot this way as 'ballot harvesting,' and it's something Trump has criticized. 'GET RID OF BALLOT HARVESTING, IT IS RAMPANT WITH FRAUD,' he tweeted in April. House Republicans recently introduced a bill to force states (which are generally allowed to establish their own rules around voting) to make the practice of turning in a nonfamily member's ballot illegal."
Kanishka Singh of Reuters: "The re-election campaign of ... Donald Trump has sued New Jersey, following a decision on Friday by its Democratic governor to mail a ballot to every voter in the state for November's elections, as well as hold in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Phil Murphy's announcement came as Trump, a Republican, stepped up his attacks on voting by mail, which is expected to increase dramatically this fall because of the novel coronavirus. The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey late on Tuesday to invalidate "'Executive Order 177'. The filing was made as a 'complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief' and described the step taken by the Democratic governor as 'illegal'." Related story about a Paterson, N.J., municipal election linked below.
Your GOP Today. Florida Congressional Race. Wendy Rhodes & Antonio Fins of the Palm Beach Post: "Laura Loomer ... won the U.S. House District 21 GOP primary. She’ll meet incumbent, ex-West Palm mayor Lois Frankel [D] in November.... Among those gathering to watch returns with Loomer were political strategist Roger Stone, British writer Milo Yiannopoulos and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes. Even ... Donald Trump weighed in on Loomer's victory via Twitter. 'Great going Laura,' he wrote. 'You have a great chance against a Pelosi puppet!'... Long critical and even threatening on social media, Loomer has called for the widespread firing of Muslims and for Muslim congressional members to be jailed... Loomer told her supporters, Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, called just before Loomer's acceptance speech to tell her she was a 'political rock star.'... Despite the pandemic, Loomer hosted a blow-out election night watch party for several hundred people at the Hilton Hotel by the West Palm Beach Airport.... The self-described 'Most Banned Woman on the Planet' has been permanently barred from sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Lyft, Paypal and Venmo, accused of using hate speech and being non-compliant with site rules." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Laura Loomer (R-Wackadoodle) ... [became] the latest of a score of similarly bizarre figures to be chosen as the GOP standard-bearers in House and Senate races coast to coast. [Milbank has a great rundown of Loomer's intensely insane remarks & tricks.]... This is the new face of the Republican Party. Next week, Republicans, at a convention featuring the couple who waved guns at racial-justice demonstrators walking past their mansion, will renominate Trump, an avid purveyor of conspiracy theories. And the down-ballot nominees show how pervasive the party's Trump-induced madness has become. Nineteen Republican candidates and one independent who have embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory (about a pedophile ring in the U.S. government fighting Trump) have secured spots on the November ballot...." ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "In tweets Tuesday night and early Wednesday, Trump offered Loomer his congratulations and retweeted news articles about her victory. Loomer could have been seen as part of the Republican fringe who got lucky in a crowded primary field, but Trump made sure that she was seen in another way -- as part of the team at the heart of the Republican Party.... The reason the Republican Party can't effectively police its ranks to stymie people like Loomer, of course, is Trump himself. The GOP can't disavow Loomer when the head of the party is clearly sympathetic to her, to her style and to her views. The GOP can't draw firm lines on behavior when Trump is always willing to cross them and always willing to embrace those who join him. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "It should be a much bigger story that the president of the United States has now enthusiastically endorsed the congressional run of a virulently Islamophobic far-right conspiracy theorist.... It ... illuminates the stakes of the 2020 presidential race in a fresh way -- one that should help forestall the sort of terrible errors in media coverage of President Trump's hate-mongering that we saw in 2016.... Trump's championing of Loomer should compel a ... [clear] reckoning, one that faithfully conveys what we're really seeing here: reactionary illiberalism, naked bigotry and nativist incitement of anti-immigrant hate.... In Arizona [Tuesday], Trump [falsely] claimed Biden and Democrats ... want the 'complete elimination of America's borders. That they want to give every migrant 'a free ticket to invent an asylum claim.' That Biden would 'unleash a flood of illegal immigration like the world has never seen.' That Biden's campaign is a 'cult' for open border 'zealots.'... No one should refer to what Trump is doing as 'culture war politics' or 'stoking divisions' or even 'crazy Trump being crazy Trump.' It's extreme radicalization." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) See related stories under "Traitor in the White House."
Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced on Wednesday that she had a conversation with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy ahead of his upcoming hearings before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. According to the speaker, DeJoy 'frankly admitted' that he did not intend to replace the pieces of the Postal Service infrastructure that were removed as part of his policy reform plans. Pelosi's office released a statement on the discussion, saying she told DeJoy that his announced suspension of changes 'is not a solution and is misleading.'"
Tony Romm & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Postal Service blocked congressional lawmakers from interrogating the firm that helped select Louis DeJoy as the nation's postmaster general, prompting a sharp rebuke from Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer, who called on the organization Wednesday to be more transparent as a federal investigation unfolds. The spat over access has hindered lawmakers as they investigate DeJoy's recent, controversial changes to mail delivery and, in the process, potentially concealed key details about the involvement of President Trump and his top aides in those decisions, Schumer (N.Y.) warned in a letter to the agency. The missive threatens to add to the already sky-high tensions between the administration and the Senate as DeJoy prepares to testify at a Senate hearing Friday, then a House hearing on Monday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Michigan. Stephen Henderson of WDET Detroit: "Ten mail sorting machines have been removed from United States Postal Service (USPS) centers in Detroit, Pontiac, and Grand Rapids, according to Chad Livengood of Crain’s Detroit Business. Livengood reports that the machines can process 300,000 letters per hour, and the move significantly reduces the centers’ capacity for processing first-class mail." The Crain article is firewalled. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Oregon. Olivia Rubin of ABC News: "... new images obtained by ABC News appear to show mail sorting machines -- critical pieces of equipment used to speed up the mail delivery process -- sitting in parts in a postal facility in Portland, Ore. The machines are wrapped in yellow caution tape after having recently been decommissioned and broken down into parts within the last month, according to the postal employee who took the photos, who requested anonymity.... At least six sorting machines at the Portland facility alone have already been taken offline in the past month, according to Joe Cogan, the head of Portland's postal union. Their fate remains unclear. Cogan, an employee with the postal service for 30 years, said these changes interfere with employees' ability to carry out their work." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Worth noting: Both Portland, Oregon, and Detroit, Michigan, vote heavily Democratic. Pontiac & Grand Rapids have been leaning Democratric lately. So it's quite clear who would benefit from making sure voters in these cities have a poor change of getting their ballots on time and getting the completed ballots back timely to the boards of election.
Kansas State House Election. Maria Kramer of the New York Times: “Aaron Coleman admitted that he harassed girls online when he was in middle school. He called one sixth-grade girl fat and told her she should kill herself. Seven years ago, he told another girl, who was 13 at the time, that he would circulate a naked photo of her if she didn’t send him more nude images. When she refused, she said, he followed through on his threat. 'They’re accurate,' Mr. Coleman, 19, said of the women’s claims. On Monday, Mr. Coleman, a dishwasher and community college student, was declared the winner of a Democratic primary for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, defeating the incumbent, Stan Frownfelter, by 14 votes.” Mrs. McC: He seems nice. An earlier AP story is here.
New Jersey Municipal Election. Trey Closson of the New York Times: “In the days before New Jersey’s third-largest city held municipal elections in May entirely by mail, postal workers became suspicious when they found hundreds of ballots bundled together. The discovery triggered an investigation that led to charges of voter fraud against two local elected leaders and resulted in nearly 20 percent of the ballots being rejected. It also prompted President Trump to cite the case as an example of how mail-in voting can corrupt elections, though election experts staunchly disagree. On Wednesday, a New Jersey judge ruled that the election in Paterson, N.J., had been irreversibly tainted and ordered a new vote to be held in November to settle the race for the City Council seat. The superior court judge, Ernest M. Caposela, wrote that the election 'was not the fair, free and full expression of the intent of the voters.' His decision came one day after the Trump campaign sued New Jersey over its recent decision to conduct the November election almost entirely by mail to keep people safe from the coronavirus.”
The Traitor* in the White House
* Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm using "traitor" here in the broad sense -- a person who betrays his country -- rather than in the Constitutional meaning: a person levying war against the U.S. or giving aid & comfort to a country with which the U.S. is at war.
** QAnon Backing Thrills Trump. Michael Shear of the New York Times: “President Trump spoke positively on Wednesday about proponents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, telling reporters at the White House that he had 'heard that it is gaining in popularity.' 'I don’t know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,; Mr. Trump said.... Mr. Trump claimed not to know that the central premise of the QAnon movement is a false belief that he is saving the world from a Satanic cult made up of Democratic pedophiles and cannibals. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned that QAnon poses a potential domestic terrorism threat.... The president’s response amounted to a remarkable public expression of support for a fringe conspiracy movement that has inspired outbursts of violence. He pointedly did not condemn the movement, instead appearing to suggest that the believers are motivated by opposition to the recent racial justice protests.... The QAnon theory predates the current wave of protests by several years. 'These are people that don’t like seeing what’s going on in places like Portland, in places like Chicago and New York, and other cities and states,' Mr. Trump said during a news conference in the White House briefing room. 'And I’ve heard these are people that love our country and they just don’t like seeing it.' Asked whether he agrees with the movement’s theories about his role in saving the world from a Satanic cult, Mr. Trump said, 'I haven’t heard that.' But he added: 'Is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing. If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it I’m willing to put myself out there.'” (Also linked above.) ~~~
~~~ Kevin Liptak of CNN: "After skirting the issue for weeks..., Donald Trump offered an embrace Wednesday of the fringe internet phenomenon QAnon, praising its followers for supporting him and shrugging off its outlandish conspiracies. His comments reflected the highest-profile endorsement to date of the group, which has infiltrated Republican circles even as party leaders attempt to distance themselves." ~~~
~~~ (MEANWHILE. Ben Collins & Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News: "Facebook on Wednesday banned about 900 pages and groups and 1,500 ads tied to the pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon, part of a sweeping action that also restricted the reach of over 10,000 Instagram pages and almost 2,000 Facebook groups pushing the baseless conspiracy theory, which has spawned real-world violence. Facebook also took down thousands of accounts, pages and groups as part of what it called a 'policy expansion,' seeking to limit violent rhetoric tied to QAnon, political militias and protest groups like antifa.")
Betsy Klein of CNN: "... Donald Trump is calling on his followers to not buy Goodyear tires, despite previously railing against 'cancel culture,' after an employee posted a viral photo of a company policy banning 'Make America Great Again' and other political attire in the workplace. 'Don't buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS. Get better tires for far less! (This is what the Radical Left Democrats do. Two can play the same game, and we have to start playing it now!),' he tweeted Wednesday morning. The tweet came in response to an employee who posted a photo, obtained by CNN affiliate WIBW, from a Topeka, Kansas, Goodyear plant that showed a slide during a training that 'Black Lives Matter' and LBGT pride apparel were 'acceptable' and 'Blue Lives Matter,' 'All Lives Matter,' 'MAGA Attire,' and other political material were 'unacceptable.' Goodyear issued a statement following the President's tweet stating 'the visual in question was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate,' but that it asks its associates to 'refrain from workplace expressions in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party, as well as similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues.' The company also stated that it has 'always wholeheartedly supported both equality and law enforcement and will continue to do so.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This seems amazingly stupid. Goodyear was established in Akron, Ohio, and their HQ is still there. Ohio is a state Trump needs to win. Texas, another close state, has four Goodyear plants, and there are plants in Arizona, Georgia & North Carolina -- all states where the presidential polls show tight races. ~~~
~~~ BUT Do Buy Trump Label Scottish Whisky. Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman: "Since [the] introduction [of US tariffs on Scotch whisky] last October, the 25 per cent tariff on single malts has resulted in a 30 per cent drop in exports, worth around £300m.... While his government has stood by its tariffs, the US president’s private family firm has openly embraced the Scotch industry in an attempt to project some much-needed glamour and prestige at its loss-making resorts in Scotland.... [T]he Trump Organisation partnered with the Glendronach distillery in Aberdeenshire to produce its own bespoke malt, complete with none too subtle Trump branding.... The fundamental point ... is that on the one hand, Trump is using his public office to punish the Scotch industry for a dispute it played no part in, while on the other, his resorts are using its products to help sell a luxury lifestyle." --s
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Wednesday are here: "Educators and families around the United States continued to grapple this week with the complicated realities of opening schools in the middle of a pandemic, as teachers’ unions threatened strikes, colleges rethought reopening plans on the fly, and school districts, discovering new cases, improvised quarantines and classroom cleanings. The voice of teachers in the reopening debate took center stage Wednesday in Michigan, where the Detroit Federation of Teachers voted to authorize their executive committee to call for a strike over plans to open public schools for in-person learning." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Rand Paul Says You People Must Suffer. Rashaan Ayesh of Axios: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Fox News Wednesday that he opposes Congress passing more stimulus funding because 'if you give people money and you make it less painful to be in a recession,' governors 'will not have an incentive' to reopen the economy." Mrs. McC: I don't have to tell you that Li'l Randy has not voted to cut his own salary, the better to suffer along with the rest of us so as to nudge governors along. Ah, To see oursels as ithers see us!
Georgia. Kemp Can't Handle the Truth. Greg Bluestein & Scott Trubey of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Gov. Brian Kemp accused The Atlanta Journal-Constitution of playing 'pandemic politics' and sparking panic at a testy press conference Wednesday, a day after a confidential report from ... Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force raised new concerns about his strategy to fight the disease. At the tail end of a media briefing focused on a new human trafficking crackdown, Kemp grew visibly upset as he fielded questions about the report, which urged Georgia officials to take 'continued, expanded and stronger mitigation efforts, including in all open schools.'... In a statement, AJC Editor Kevin Riley said: “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution summarized a White House report that said Georgia has the highest rate of new cases in the nation. The article included information about a recent decline in new cases and hospitalizations, and in positive test rates.... Attacking factual news reports won’t change the course of this pandemic in Georgia.'”
Venezuela. This Is Horrible. Anatoly Kurmanaev, et al., of the New York Times: “Venezuelan officials are denouncing people who may have come into contact with the coronavirus as 'bioterrorists' and urging their neighbors to report them. The government is detaining and intimidating doctors and experts who question the president’s policies on the virus. And it is corralling thousands of Venezuelans who are streaming home after losing jobs abroad, holding them in makeshift containment centers out of fear that they may be infected. President Nicolás Maduro has tackled the coronavirus much as he has any internal threat to his rule: by deploying his repressive security apparatus against it.” (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McC: The good news: Trump's response to the coronavirus U.S. is not as bad as Maduro's. The bad news: Trump probably would not do anything as bad as Maduro has done re: Covid-19, but a president* who would call for a boycott of a large American corporation because it didn't allow employes to wear political advocacy paraphernalia to work would pull quite a few stunts limiting Americans' Constitutional freedoms during a second term.
Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "Attorney General William Barr announced Wednesday that there have been nearly 1,500 arrests across eight U.S. cities thus far under the 'Operation Legend' law enforcement initiative launched roughly six weeks ago and highlighted by ... Donald Trump in his reelection campaign. Of those arrests, according to the Justice Department, approximately 217 defendants have been charged with federal crimes, most of which are drug and gun-related. Barr said investigators have also assisted state and local authorities in bringing homicide charges against more than 90 defendants. 'That’s more than 90 suspected killers who might still be on the streets without Operation Legend,' Barr said at a news conference in Kansas City, Missouri." Mrs. McC: Why not call it "Operation Trump Campaign"?
David Cay Johnston of DC Report: "New rules from the Trump administration will allow toxic methane gas to spew into the atmosphere while destroying jobs and speeding up global temperature increases.... Think of this as Trumpian idiocracy vs. science and sound economics. Every day that idiocracy prevails means decades of damage to the air we breathe and further disruption of the climate. The Trump rules let methane gas flow freely into the atmosphere. Methane is at least 80 times worse for raising global temperatures than carbon dioxide.... Climate scientists at Cornell University believe methane from North American shale wells accounts for 'more than half of all of the increased emissions from fossil fuels globally and approximately one-third of the total increased emissions from all sources globally over the past decade.'" --s
Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: “A crowd of protesters marched to a county building in southeast Portland on Tuesday night, where a handful of people in masks and all-black outfits threw rocks through windows and lit a small fire inside, marking the 83rd night of protests in Portland that have led to millions of dollars in damage to city property, officials said. Several hundred people participated in the peaceful protest before a smaller group broke off, police said, lighting fires in dumpsters in the street to block traffic and slow down police who later tried to clear the scene. Some sprayed anti-police graffiti on the county building and scrawled instructions to 'aim here' across the windows on the first floor.”
Beyond the Beltway
California. Thomas Fuller of the New York Times: "On Wednesday millions of California residents were smothered by smoke-filled skies as dozens of wildfires raged out of control. They braced for triple-digit temperatures, the sixth day of a punishing heat wave that included a recent reading of 130 degrees in Death Valley. They braced for possible power outages because the state’s grid is overloaded, the latest sign of an energy crisis. And they continued to fight a virus that is killing 130 Californians a day. Even for a state accustomed to disaster, August has been a terrible month. Across the state there were 23 major fires reported on Wednesday and more than 300 smaller ones." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times has live updates of fire developments here.
Way Beyond
Navalny, 44, started feeling unwell while on a return flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh, said on Twitter. The plane later made an urgent landing in Omsk, she added. He only drank black tea in an airport cafe before takeoff, Yarmysh told Russian radio station Echo of Moscow. 'We assume that Alexey was poisoned with something mixed into the tea. It was the only thing that he drank in the morning. Doctors say the toxin was absorbed faster through the hot liquid,' Yarmysh tweeted." A developing New York Times story is here.
Share Article
Reader Comments (18)
Just wondering, because it went over so well last time around, if Melanie will be plagiarizing Michelle Obama’s convention speech again this year.
Can you hear it now? Ms. Chain Migration, up in front of a horde of drooling MAGA morons, GOP haters, racist thugs, and treason abettors, “My husband, the Great Donald, is an unfit fraud! But do you like my dress? It cost a bundle. Taxpayers paid for it. Aren’t we a crafty bunch?”
Then Sean Hannity will run a three hour Faux special denouncing any who point out the latest plagiarism. “Those were Melanie’s own ideas!!!”
Can’t wait.
Just caught a glimpse of a Pretender ad at the top of the WAPO when I clicked on it.
The claim, of course, is that electing Joe Biden would hand the country over to the radical left, whatever that is these days....Taxing the rich appropriately? Or Medicare for all. which Biden has not endorsed.?
But in addition to the falsity and absurdity of the claim, it is in fact the assault from the radical righ, not from the left,t the country should be worried about.
Unregulated crony capitalism. Racism. Environmental destruction. Thuggery in lieu of law. The manipulation of government for personal enrichment. A ever-expanding menu of nutso conspiracy theories about....anything.
We should be worried about it becasue with the Pretender and his band, it'a not just what might happen, it's what we already have instead of government of, for, and by the people.
Marie says: "This seems amazingly stupid" re: Trump's Goodyear gaff. Yes! I said aloud––-and then thought about all the other really stupid moves this guy has orchestrated. We have roasted him over the coals until his big baby butt is burnt and smoking but "stupid" is not one of the words we've used as regular fuel. But given the latest –QAnon reply, the obvious mail interference, the info about him actually wanting to buy Greenland and sell P.R. etc. we are seeing what STUPID looks like––unlike what some believed were calculated, dodgy kind of moves. So when Michael Cohen and others who know him well told us he "weren't too bright a bulb" those in charge should have zeroed in on his lies and ridiculous moves right from the start–-"hey, there big spender, spend a little time learning how to lead and...."
You would think the Republicans, the ones in Congress, knowing what their brethren did to and for Nixon when they marched over to the W.H. and told him to resign, would now finally do the same to and for Trump––to save face and save the party––but doesn't look like that will ever take place ( even impeachment was ignored) and Fatty remains in place with a few more months to go to show us and the rest of the world what stupid looks like.
Ak's rendition of part of the GOP convention is funny because it's not far fetched. The contrast I imagine will be vast: one party who advocates inclusivity, empathy, with concentration on gun control, climate change, immigration, health care etc. and another party who advocates almost the complete opposite. Will the latter's fall from grace finally change their mindsets? And if the former party doesn't make this happen and we lose, then as Obama and others have said we will have lost the democracy we thought we'd always have–-something we took for granted–-something we didn't think we had to fight for all over again.
@Citizen: (from yesterday) What a lovely way to wake up anybody but especially your son–-lucky kid. I appreciate you telling me that.
PD,
Fatty’s Goodyear gaffe is both wonderfully predictable and predictably unavoidable. Little donnie is constitutionally unable to control himself to keep from lashing out at any who either question his magical excellence in all things or throw up roadblocks to sycophants who wish to promulgate such a view.
He is, perhaps, one of the easiest subjects I’ve ever seen in public life when it comes to goading him into doing something that is clearly against his best interests, but which he deems irrevocably necessary to
support his wildly fantastic vision of himself. It’s of a piece with his deadly fear that “everyone is laughing at us (me)!!”
Perspicacity is beyond him. I mean, it’s not even in sight. Hubble telescope sight.
There’s a running gag in the Marx Bros movie “Duck Soup” which finds Groucho, as the leader of a country(!), unable to control himself if someone calls him an “upstart”. Upon meeting the ambassador of a neighboring rival country, Groucho strikes the man when he employs this characterization. War in imminent. Groucho is talked down off the ledge and agrees to let the man apologize. At the meeting, he is unable to even recall the offending word. The ambassador reminds him that he used the word “upstart” Smack! Groucho whacks the guy again. And now it’s war!
The difference is that Groucho was a laughable character playing at being a leader.
Oh, wait. Maybe there is no difference.
BREAKING NEWS:
"Steve Bannon is charged with fraud in 'Build the Wall Campaign"
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/nyregion/steve-bannon-indicted.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
And here' the latest study that shows stock market performance is better under a Democratic presidency than a Republican. We knew that, but it bears repeating. (NYT)
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4369679-stock-market-performance-president?utm_medium=email&utm_source=seeking_alpha&mail_subject=stock-market-performance-by-president&utm_campaign=nl-etf-daily&utm_content=link-0
Trump buys a 96 hour block of advertising, All ads on Facebook during the RNC will be by the Dear Leaders crime family. I think even MAGAts might get sick of that.
Looks like Bannon is just one conviction (or--collective shudder here--should he still be in office when the sentence is handed down) and one Pretender pardon or commutation away from freeeedom.
Or is Bannon the latest Pretender good buddy to get the "treatment?"
Or might it be a ploy to make the Injustice Dept. look a little more even-handed before the election?
I'd like to add this to the Milbank article about Loomer the racist and small minded Doomer, "Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel congratulated her as a “political rock star.” ". Don't forget for one second she is the niece of Mitt Romney. In the hierarchy in which she was raised, Uncle Mitt is boss. His long term strategy is crystal clear by the positioning of his niece. Mitt sees a horserace in 2024. And he will do anything to win this time around.
Here's hoping that come January 21, 2021 we will no longer be inclined to examine everything that comes out of the White House with the automatic assumption that there are ulterior motives, distracting intentions (sleight of hand), or downright chicanery. It's no accident that the DNC is emphasizing decency, patriotism and integrity in JRB + KDH. I for one am desperate for that breath of fresh air--
On the stock market:
Over time (since the middle 1980's?) the market has become less and less linked to the true state of the economy, if we measure the economy by how well it is serving the majority of Americans, that is its workers.
Democrats have had a hand in this deception, too, juicing the market with tons of free money (interest-free government loans, so-called quantitative easing, outright bailouts) that the very wealthy then "invests."
As a science fiction novel I'm reading about a drowned New York puts it, the market does well when the very rich have all that money and don't know what else to do with it.
We hear of a two-tier economy. Now one tier is measured by the market.
The other is generally overlooked, just as are the people that economy should serve.
I'll sign this one for NJC,
Konspiracy Ken
Man, oh man. I would pay money to see Bannon the Evil Genius perp walked in cuffs. By USPS agents, no less. I wonder if he was wearing his trademark three shirts and sporting his usual six-day-drunk stubble. You can bet he’ll be selling this to the droolers as proof that the Deep State is out to get him for being a great patriot. If I were the NY DA, I’d make sure to drag this out past the inauguration, to make sure his fat partner in crime can’t commute his sentence (unless the election stealing scheme is successful; at that point there’ll be pardons for everyone in the Trump Crime Family).
A great follow on twitter is @Laurie_Garrett. I picked this up from her feed yesterday. Although its quite lengthy, its clear and understandable. Of course there's an Executive Summary. From Johns Hopkins. Actual science....sigh.
"Interim Framework for COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation and Distribution in the United States"
https://bit.ly/3aEXucw
https://kuow.org/stories/nearly-half-of-mail-sorting-machines-in-seattle-area-already-dismantled
Anyone know how many men (women) or trained mice it takes to replace the work one of these machines does?
Still a little bit paranoid here.
@KW As an old postal clerk I can tell you it would take more than can be rounded up. You've got to have the wquipment to sort the mail into (cases) and learn where on the case the letter goes. It takes time to learn.
Back in 1970 Nixon tried to replace striking postal workers with national guard troops. That didn't last as they didn't have a clue how to use manual methods. Trying to use manual methods to replace the modern automation would fall even flatter.
Bobby Lee,
Unless your goal was to ratfuck the election. At which point Trump and his wealthy, know-nothing henchman now “in charge” of the postal service, an operation he knows nothing about, would just as soon hire stumblebums fresh out of the drunk tank to “sort” the mail.
@AK It would be something like that. I know it took me quite a wile to learn the primary case, then later on came state cases. Learning how to distribute mail within a big city was a whole different ball game.
When I started in 65 the post was 95% manual. When I retired at the end of 00 the ratio had flipped to 95% automated.