;)
The Commentariat -- June 14, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump faced new questions about his health on Sunday, after videos emerged of him gingerly walking down a ramp at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and having trouble bringing a glass of water to his mouth during a speech there. Mr. Trump -- who turned 74 on Sunday, the oldest a U.S. president has been in his first term -- was recorded hesitantly descending the ramp one step at a time after he delivered an address to graduating cadets at the New York-based academy on Saturday.... Another video circulated of Mr. Trump taking a sip of water from a glass tucked inside his lectern on the dais at West Point. Mr. Trump held the glass with his right hand and brought it to his mouth, but appeared to momentarily have trouble lifting his arm farther. He used his left hand to push the bottom of the glass so that it reached his lips. Mr. Trump posted defensively on Twitter late Saturday night about the video circulating of his walk, and offered a description that did not match the visuals. 'The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'The last thing I was going to do is "fall" for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!' There was no evidence that the ramp was slippery, and the skies were clear during the ceremony.... The president has frequently tried to raise questions about the health and mental fitness of his rivals, while growing indignant when his own is questioned." Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. More on the sippy-cup problem, linked below. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You will notice in the video that accompanies the NYT story that Trump leads with his left foot. That is, he doesn't walk left-right-left-right; he walks left-left-left-left. This is what I do when my arthritis acts up & I descend stairs or a steep slope: I lead with my stronger leg. I do so more often now than I did four years ago. At the end of his descent, Trump speeds up & sort of jumps off the ramp, which is not particularly steep; he raises his elbows to balance himself as he steps off, which a normal walking person would not need to do on so mild a transition from slight slant to flat. He surely is keeping secret his difficulty walking even from his advance staff, as they could have requested a less steep ramp which Trump could have maneuvered without the best-foot-forward step.
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Peter Baker & Zach Montague of the New York Times: "President Trump told the Army's newest officers on Saturday that they will not have to serve in 'endless wars' being waged in 'far away lands,' but made no mention of his thwarted effort in recent days to deploy the active-duty military to the streets of American cities over the objections of Pentagon leaders. In commencement ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point that had been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic before the president insisted on moving forward with it, Mr. Trump presented himself as a staunch supporter of the armed forces who has increased spending on tanks, aircraft and other weapons even as he said they should not be used in fruitless foreign conflicts.... Mr. Trump alluded to the national reckoning over race following the killing of George Floyd only elliptically.... Graduating cadets who had been isolated for 14 days in advance of the event marched onto the field in their dress gray-and-white uniforms and face masks. They sat in white folding chairs spaced six feet apart, at which point they were allowed to take their masks off. The West Point band played with plexiglass shields to protect against the virus.... Hundreds of protesters gathered outside West Point on Saturday, holding signs like 'Cadets Aren't Props' and 'Welcome Cadet Bone Spurs.' Others showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement." A CBS News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "President Trump oversold his administration's military record in a commencement speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point on Saturday. Here's a fact-check of his claims.... Mr. Trump's suggestion that the military was 'depleted' when he entered office and had seldom received such a large amount of money is wrong. Adjusted for inflation, the Pentagon operated with larger budgets every year from the 2007 fiscal year to 2012 fiscal year, peaking at $848 billion in 2008.... In October, Mr. Trump tweeted a claim similar to what he said in his West Point speech. 'When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area,' Trump said. 'We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate.' [Brett] McGurk [-- former presidential envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition --] responded to the president on Twitter that 'none of this is true.'" Trump claimed he "is ending the era of endless wars," "but has yet to fulfill this promise."
~~~ While speaking at West Point, the commander-in-chief had trouble raising a glass of water to his lips. Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. ~~~
~~~ This is not the first time Trump has had trouble holding a water glass or bottle. He seems not to have got past the toddler stage in this, as in other, habits: ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Seriously, I think the public has a right to know why Trump can't hold a glass with one hand, put it to his lips. tip it up, ingest some water & swallow. This is what you might do after having had dental work & your mouth was still so numb from anesthetic that you couldn't actually feel the glass on your lips. ~~~
~~~ Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "Midway through his commencement address at West Point, Donald Trump noted that [Sunday] is notable for being both the birthday of the U.S. Army and his own -- and was greeted with silence by the graduating cadets. Earlier in his speech, scattered applause could be heard as the president commended some of the military school's top athletes...." Mrs. McC: Trump might have mentioned that Sunday also is Flag Day. But no. ~~~
~~~ A Suspicious Recommendation. Patricia Kime of Military.com (June 10): "Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, introduced a bill Wednesday designed to stop an extension of burial benefits at Arlington National Cemetery to U.S. presidents or vice presidents, regardless of their military service. The Illinois Democrat said Wednesday that recommendations made last year by the U.S. Army that would drastically reduce eligibility for in-ground burials at Arlington but expand eligibility for some civilians, including presidents or vice presidents, would 'take the place of actual veterans who served in uniform and their family members.' Last year, the Army proposed that eligibility for below-ground burials at Arlington be restricted to U.S. service members killed in action and combat veterans who earned the Purple Heart or were awarded the Silver Star or higher. Former prisoners of war would be eligible, as well as troops whose deaths were combat-related. But the recommendations also include presidents and vice presidents, as well as combat veterans who served as government officials and 'made significant contributions to the nation's security at the highest levels of public service.'... Duckworth charges that the recommendation to extend eligibility to presidents and vice presidents was made outside the normal process and without consulting the committee that drafts recommendations for the cemetery, the Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This "Army recommendation" sounds suspiciously like a recommendation that Trump requested.
Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden ratcheted up some of his criticism of President Trump on Friday, saying that his handling of the coronavirus was 'almost criminal,' that he has 'bungled' the economic fallout, and that he has exacerbated racial tensions in the country. During an hour-long town hall with the labor union AFSCME, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee warned that the U.S. will likely see a resurgence of the coronavirus and that Trump isn't doing enough to prepare.... On Friday, Biden also criticized Senate Republicans, saying they need to pass the Heroes Act, which would provide another round of federal funding. 'They're so damn stupid,' he said. Biden, a longtime senator known for strong bipartisan relationships, does not typically go after Republican lawmakers in such stark terms." (Also linked yesterday.)
Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "President Trump said he'll leave the White House peacefully if he loses this November's presidential election, addressing concerns he would try to hold onto power after a defeat. 'Certainly, if I don't win, I don't win,' he said in an interview that aired on Fox News Friday, adding that if he lost, he'd 'go on, do other things.' Trump has never given any indication that he would defy the results of an election that showed him losing to former Vice President >Joe Biden, though his remarks Friday appear to be the first public comments he's given on the subject." Mrs. McC: We'll see. (Also linked yesterday.)
Ledyard King of USA Today: "After saying it didn't, the Secret Service admitted Saturday it used pepper spray when it helped clear out Lafayette Square June 1 to allow for President Donald Trump's photo op in front of St. John's Church. The agency last week announced none of their officers used tear gas or capsicum spray (another name for pepper spray). On Saturday, the agency charged with protecting presidents retracted that claim. 'After further review, the U.S. Secret Service has determined that an agency employee used pepper spray on June 1st, during efforts to secure the area near Lafayette Park ' according to a statement the agency tweeted. 'The employee utilized oleoresin capsicum spray, or pepper spray, in response to an assaultive individual.'" ~~~
~~~ Philip Rucker & Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: Trump wanted an iconic photo-op, and he got it! "The event itself was slapdash and haphazard. No remarks were prepared for the president to deliver. He did not tour the damage the church sustained to its basement during riots the night before. When a reporter asked if he was holding a family Bible, he described it only as 'a Bible.' He offered no prayer or moment of silence to honor the life of George Floyd, whose May 25 death in the custody of Minneapolis police sparked the nationwide protests.... The smoky images of largely peaceful protesters choking on chemical irritants juxtaposed with the president's photo op prompted the opposite of his intended effect, generating widespread sympathy for the protesters." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I don't think Trump knows what a photo-op is. The whole idea of a photo-op is to get yourself photographed doing something that will endear you to others: say, humbly washing dishes in a soup kitchen. But there's nothing endearing about being able to hold a Bible over your head, much less tear-gassing Americans to clear your path so you can march across the street to do it.
Georgia. Johnny Diaz & Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "Atlanta's police chief resigned on Saturday, less than 24 hours after a police officer shot and killed a man at a Wendy's drive-through who had run from the police after failing a sobriety check and taking an officer's Taser, the authorities said. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta said that security footage appeared to show that the man, Rayshard Brooks, 27, who is black, had fired the Taser toward the officer, who was chasing him before he was killed. 'While there may be debate as to whether this was an appropriate use of deadly force, I firmly believe that there is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do,' Ms. Bottoms said. 'I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force.' In addition to the resignation of the police chief, Erika Shields, who just weeks earlier had engaged with demonstrators protesting the killing of George Floyd, Ms. Bottoms said that she had also called for the immediate firing of the police officer who killed Mr. Brooks." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution story is here. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments in protests against police around the nation. Atlanta: "The officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, 27, was later terminated, Sgt. John Chafee, a spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department, said early Sunday. He identified the officer as Garrett Rolfe. The shooting ignited angry protests that led to the apparent burning of the Wendy's where Mr. Brooks was shot, and to the blocking of roads and an interstate near the restaurant. Police officers used tear gas and flash grenades to try and clear the crowds.
New York. Dean Balsamini of the New York Post: "In a stunning and emotional bombshell, a retired NYPD spokesman blasted cops over the chokehold death of Eric Garner, calling it a 'horrible injustice' on his Instagram page. 'We killed Eric Garner,' Michael DeBonis, 40, an ex-detective who worked for the deputy commissioner for public information, posted last week.... 'I'm a hypocrite for saying this now, because I didn't say it publicly then, but WE ALL need to hold ourselves accountable.'... But he admitted he said nothing in 2014 following the Staten Island man's fatal arrest, infamous for Garner's final, videotaped words, 'I can't breathe.'"
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha.
Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Fox News on Friday removed manipulated images that had appeared on its website as part of the outlet's coverage of protests..., which has occasioned peaceful assemblies in cities across the country and, in Seattle, given rise to an unusual experiment in self-government.... The police-free environment [in Seattle] has become an object of scorn for right-wing activists and President Trump.... The misleading material spliced a June 10 photograph of an armed man at the Seattle protests with different photographs -- one also from June 10, of a sign reading, 'You Are Now Entering Free Cap Hill,' and others from images captured May 30 of a shattered storefront and other unrest downtown. The conservative news site, in coverage that labeled Seattle 'CRAZY TOWN' and called the city 'helpless,' also displayed an image of a city block set ablaze that was actually taken in St. Paul, Minn." An AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Wait, wait. It gets worse. And hilariously so. ~~~
~~~ Fox "News" Lifts Its "News" from Monty Python. Caleb Howe of Mediaite: "On Friday night, Fox News put on screen an image of a Reddit post that played off a famous Monty Python bit, mistaking it for a genuine message of discontent from among those at the so-called 'autonomous zone' in Seattle. On Fox News Channel's The Story, host Martha MacCallum read from a Reddit post that was shown on screen in a report on the self-declared autonomous zone around a police precinct, dubbed the 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' or or 'CHAZ' by the demonstrators.... In covering that apparent discord, MacCallum referenced the Reddit post as an example of discontent within the ranks. But, as you can see below, the post was an obvious take on a scene from the movie 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail.'" Mrs. McC: There should be a prize for this stuff. I'll bet even Pravda never borrowed their propaganda/"reports" from Looney Tunes or the Three Stooges.
Presidential Race
Harry Enten of CNN: Joe "Biden is earning a historic amount of support from female voters for a presidential nominee when examining polling over the last 70 years. Take a look at the most recent live interview polls of registered voters from May and June compiled by The New York Times' Nate Cohn. Biden is leading among female registered voters by 59% to 35%, a 25-point margin when the numbers aren't rounded. That's a significant increase from his 19-point advantage earlier this year and the 14-point lead Hillary Clinton had in the final 2016 preelection polls of registered voters. Clinton had a 13-point edge with likely female voters."
Stetson Payne of the Tulsa World: "Expressing concerns about COVID-19's increasing spread, the Tulsa City-County Health Department's director said he wishes the campaign rally for ... Donald Trump at the BOK Center on June 20 would be pushed back to a later date. In an interview with the Tulsa World on Saturday, Dr. Bruce Dart said Tulsa is seeing a 'significant increase in our case trends' that makes a large gathering like the rally dangerous for not only attendees, but the president himself.... State officials on Saturday reported 225 new cases of COVID-19, once again marking a new high in daily increases for both the state and Tulsa County.... Dart said his concern stems from a sudden spike in cases he said likely comes from a combination of factors, but not increased testing.... 'A large indoor rally with 19-20,000 people is a huge risk factor today in Tulsa, Oklahoma,' Dart said."
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Reader Comments (16)
The Orange Menace sez he’ll go peacefully if he gets his ass kicked in November (just as an aside, were this rat bastard to lose by three votes it would be an historic ass kicking given the panoply of slimy, illegal, undemocratic trickery, midway carnival chicanery, and foreign ratfuckery he’s counting on to steal the election). So, going peacefully?
Hold on a sec...
Hahahaha hahahaha...
Sure. And I’m scheduled to sing Brunhilde at the Met’s next performance of the Ring.
The point is not that I wouldn’t like to sing Brunhilde (I warble the odd line of two from the Ride of the Valkyries in the shower now and then). The thing is that I’m incapable of it. Physically and psychologically. It’s simply beyond me. Likewise, the odds of Fatty giving up the biggest platform he’s ever sleazed onto without lowdown dirty backstabbing are incalculable.
This is just another transparently feeble attempt by this deceitful, malicious prick to appear to be a normal, decent, upstanding human being. He’s not. He’s a lifelong sneaky, bottom dealing card sharp who couldn’t refrain from cheating at Old Maid against a six year old.
“I’ll go quietly.” Yeah. And Bill Barr believes in the Constitution.
Another sign besides the inability to lift a glass to his mouth (actually, I have decided stemmed glasses are risky for me, and I am not the president--of course, neither is he, except in name only--)is his choice of words that are completely inappropriate-- He uses "strongly" a lot, mostly to modify weird words I can't recall at the moment, but I was struck by his use in describing a CHOKEHOLD as "perfect" and "innocent." He really has no command of his native tongue. That's okay-- he does have the perfect words (NOT) and his lovely wife has only a few, mostly in Slovenian and English, not the fluency her bio etc. brags about...Nope, not gonna read that book-- And I don't care, do you?
@Jeanne: Quite right. These descriptors don't even make sense. A chokehold cannot be "innocent" because a chokehold doesn't have a conscience. The person who performs a chokehold might be deemed innocent, but the the chokehold itself is a noun describing a physical procedure. I suppose a chokehold could be "perfect" in its execution; that is, the person who performed it did so skillfully & achieved his objective. But, as you write, both terms are odd descriptions of chokeholds. Trump does not have a normal command of his own native language.
In one of the videos I watched to get a clip of the water-glass moment, I heard Trump describe "the crimson beaches of Normandy." Poetic and jarring coming from a man we all all know could not come up with a line like that.
Here's what the fat man said:
"I think the concept of chokehold sounds so innocent, so perfect. And then you realize, if it’s a one-on-one. But if it’s two-on-one, that’s a little bit a different story. Depending on the toughness and strength — you know, we’re talking about toughness and strength. There’s a physical thing here too."
It makes no sense, no matter how many times you read it.
Unless you realize that DiJiT's mental function is off kilter, and that he often fails to express parts of his thinking in the words he says, and often does not notice that he has said things that make no sense.
It may be that what he thought he was saying is that the concept of a BAN on chokeholds sounds innocent, but that in real life sometimes you just need to choke someone when you are in a one-on-one struggle; but it's not fair to do that if you have help but your opponent does not; but if your opponent is really strong, OK, maybe you need to choke him because otherwise he'd have the advantage.
It is always wrong to analyze DiJiT's vocalizations for "meaning", because all they really mean is that he has a larynx and can push air through it. I'm just trying to to guess what words he thought he was saying.
The latter stages of dementia are really tough on everyone.
"The Crimson beaches of Normandy"––you betcha these are not his words but then we know the stuff he reads from the teleprompter have been written by some one else and who that someone else remains a secret–-sort of like a secret Santa who doles out word salads for this little man who cannot put two sentences together that make sense.
Marie: Thanks for clearing up the cruise ship I put in the wrong state yesterday–-what I know about waterways you could put in a pea whistle .
And @AK: I'd pay a pretty penny any day to hear you sing a bit of Brunhilde–-in the shower or out––warble away, my friend.
Jacksonville, Florida mayor Lenny Curry touts 100M$ benefit for the city from the GOP convention with no tax dollars used. The local committee "will raise tens of millions of dollars" to cover convention related expenses.
Visit Jacksonville said it has received commitments for 10,000 rooms in the first 48 hours. To reach the 10,000 mark they reached out to hoteliers in Duval, Nassau, Clay, St Johns and Flagler counties. That's as much as 30-50 miles.
Great parsing, Patrick.
This morning's discussion of meaning reminds me of the writer Frank O'Connor's (as I was told) dictum:
"How do I know what I think 'til I see what I say?"
In the Pretender's case even saying something doesn't help.
No one, including himself, knows what thinks.
He only feels.
I think it would be an outrage, the height of hubris, and a monumental insult to have Cadet Bone Spurs, who has viciously attacked a former POW, member of a prominent military family, and presidential candidate for enduring years of brutal captivity in the Hanoi Hilton, not to mention going after the parents of an officer killed in the line of duty because they refused to bow down to him, as well as attacking and belittling other military commanders, all except for one who is an acknowledged traitor (his kinda guy), buried at Arlington, where his fat carcass would deny that honor to someone actually deserving of it.
On the other hand, can we try it soon? How about today? I’ll even play Taps on my kazoo. I’ll betcha I can even do a passable jig while I play.
PD,
Get me a helmet, spear, breastplate, oh, and a flying horse, and I’m all yours. Hojotoho! Heiaha!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/05/donald-trump-joe-biden-health-attack
We're sure to see in the next months a barrage of Pretender projection attacking Biden's mental acuity, but it would seem that sword is an especially dangerous one for a Pretender who can't form sensible sentences to wield.
I'd like to see a series of ads beginning with the "stable genius" claim followed by displays of the Pretender's frequent word salads, concluding with the question, "Does anyone even know what that meant?"
Have always thought his unwillingness to release his school records says as much about the Pretender as does his failure to release his tax returns. On some level he knows he didn't work very hard or learn very much in school....and all the signs are that hasn't changed very much.
BTW, here's the "he" missing from my earlier post. Lucky my finger and eye coordination is not running for President. One of these days I'll take Patrick's advice and preview...
Your Sexy Sunday Sermon:
LOVE FOR SALE:
Speculating about Melania's stay in New York for a time after Trump became president I said at the time I didn't buy the explanation re: Barron's remaining in his special school when D.C. has plenty of special schools. Now we learn, according to a book about the first Lady, that it was all about money; makes sense to me. Whether Melania hitched up with Fatty in the first place for a place at the table or she actually fell ( an apt word) for this playboy of the western world ( in his eyes only) we may never know. What we do know is she is acutely aware of his involvement with others while she was carrying his child and after the birth. Does she throw him out with the dishwater or decide to stick with the schmuck for material benefits fit for a queen?
Women have prostituted themselves for money, power, and positions since, I imagine, cave days, in order to get the best cut of the kill. Films like "Indecent Proposal" and "Pretty Woman" jazzed it up in lovely technicolor and badly written scripts (Janet Maslin, writing a review for "I.P" said it was obvious why there were three designers but only one writer for this film. But back to Melania: Will we be surprised if she leaves her "he's just a big baby" of a husband after he leaves the W.H. When you make a pact with the devil, it's hard to break away and yet in her case it might not only make her day but make the rest of her life bearable.
And who was it who said of Trump "everything he touches turns to shit."
Maybe our dear leader can no longer appose his thumbs. The “position of function” of the hand is what you see when you look down at your hand holding a can. The thumb curls around the can. Now try to lift the can without using your thumb - you have to use both hands. My guess is that he has lost the use of his thumbs - which would explain why he eats with his hands too.
@Patrick: Your interpretation of what Trump might have thought he meant in the moment seems better than mine. But who knows? Not Trump. And of course it doesn't matter because what he said a few days ago is lost in the fog of a failing mind and no longer holds much, if any, influence over what he says today. Or what he thinks he says today.
Fact-checkers have ascribed to Trump thousands of lies, but I suspect at least a third of the "lies" are simply things Trump "misremembers." It is harder to remember what you've said in the past, I suspect, and certainly harder to be consistent in your remarks, if you have no principles; that is, no ethical foundation for your comments.
@P.D. Pepe writes: "Women have prostituted themselves for money, power, and positions since, I imagine, cave days...."
In fairness to women, so have men. In many societies, that is institutionalized in the form of arranged marriages, dowries, etc. And even in our society where marriage is supposed to be classless and based on love and affection rather than family position, parents want their sons to "marry up." The saying, "It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich girl as a poor one" doesn't come out of thin air.
In addition to needing both hands to pick up his sippy cup, Fatty had trouble waddling down a short ramp at West Point.
He looks like an unsteady old man—wait. He IS an unsteady old man. And nothing wrong with that. But, comme d’habitude, Fatty makes a big deal out of it. Instead of saying something like “Hey, I’m just not as spry as I used to be. Lucky for us all those West Point grads don’t have that problem!”, which would deflate any criticism and even garner him some affection, he goes into full attack-excuse mode. It was slippery, something, something, the evil press WANTED me to fall so they could make fun of me. But I foxed ‘em.
Zzzzzzzzz....Jesus.
An article in the Guardian covering his need for training wheels pointed out that back in ‘14, Fatty criticized the last real president for the way he descended the steps from Air Force One in typical mean girl fashion: “Oh, look at this guy. He hops down those stairs. Not at all presidential. No elegance!! Don’t fall!!”
First, unlike decrepit Donnie-kins, Barack Obama is a nimble, athletic guy in great shape. He could do a backflip down those stairs and stick the landing. Second, elegance? Does he mean himself?? The only people who ascribe elegance to Mr. Gaudy Spray Tan with the baggy suit and the twelve foot long tie are those who believe a slab of three day old Spam smothered in ketchup is the epitome of elegant dining.
@Bea McCrab: Indeed, men do marry up to accumulate wealth...as the recent story about Mitch McConnell (which, most of us suspected long ago.) goes. Because, of course,, Mitch would never have obtained vast wealth by sordid means!
Oh, pleez Ak: Play the Kazoo and do the jig. Lordy, I hope there will be a video!