The Ledes

Friday, October 11, 2024

Washington Post: “Floridians began returning to damaged and waterlogged homes on Thursday after Hurricane Milton carved a path of destruction and grief across the state, the second massive storm to strike Florida in as many weeks. At least 14 storm-related deaths were attributed to the hurricane, which made landfall south of Sarasota at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. Six of them were killed when two tornadoes touched down ahead of the storm in St. Lucie County on Florida’s central Atlantic coast. The deadly tornadoes, rising waters, torrential rain and punishing winds battered the state from coast to coast as Milton churned eastward before heading out to sea early Thursday.”

Washington Post: “Twelve people were rescued from an inactive Colorado gold mine after they were trapped 1,000 feet underground for about six hours following an elevator malfunction. One person was killed in the accident, which happened about 500 feet underground at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colo., Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said at a Thursday news conference. The site is a tourist attraction. Eleven other people aboard the elevator at the time, including two children, were rescued shortly after the mechanical malfunction, which Mikesell said 'created a severe danger for the participants.' He said four suffered minor injuries.... Twelve others in a separate group remained trapped in a mine shaft 1,000 feet underground for several hours after the incident, before they were rescued Thursday evening, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said.”

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The Ledes

Thursday, October 10, 2024

CNBC: “The pace of price increases over the past year was higher than forecast in September while jobless claims posted an unexpected jump following Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad gauge measuring the costs of goods and services across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%. Both readings were 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus. The annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage point lower than August and is the lowest since February 2021.”

The New York Times' live updates of Hurrucane Milton consequences Thursday are here: “Milton was still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall to parts of East and Central Florida, forecasters said early Thursday, even as the powerful storm roared away from the Atlantic coast and left deaths and widespread damage across the state. Cities along Florida’s east coast are now facing flash flooding, damaging winds and storm surges. Some had already been battered by powerful tornadoes spun out by the storm before it made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. In [St. Lucie] county [Fort Pierce], several people in a retirement community were killed by a tornado, the police said.... More than three million customers were without power in Florida as of early Thursday.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Weater Channel's live updates.

CNN: “The 2024 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Han Kang, a South Korean author, for her 'intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.' Han, 53, began her career with a group of poems in a South Korean magazine, before making her prose debut in 1995 with a short story collection. She later began writing longer prose works, most notably 'The Vegetarian,' one of her first books to be translated into English. The novel, which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, charts a young woman’s attempt to live a more 'plant-like' existence after suffering macabre nightmares about human cruelty. Han is the first South Korean author to win the literature prize, and just the 18th woman out of the 117 prizes awarded since 1901.” The New York Times story is here.

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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The Commentariat -- November 7, 2020

Late Morning Update:

JOE BIDEN IS PRESIDENT-ELECT

~~~ AND the U.S. will soon have it's first female Vice President, the first Vice President of color, the first Black woman, the first Indian-American woman.

Benjamin Swasey of NPR: "President-elect Joe Biden said in a statement that 'it's time for America to unite,' after he was declared the winner of the presidency by The Associated Press. Biden will address the nation Saturday at 8 p.m. ET and will be joined by the vice president-elect, Kamala Harris, and their spouses." ~~~

Nevada. Camila Domonoske of NPR: "The Associated Press has called Nevada for President-elect Joe Biden, bringing his bringing his electoral vote total to 290."

Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, promising to restore political normalcy and a spirit of national unity to confront raging health and economic crises, and making Donald J. Trump a one-term president after four years of tumult in the White House. Mr. Biden's victory amounted to a repudiation of Mr. Trump by millions of voters exhausted with his divisive conduct and chaotic administration, and was delivered by an unlikely alliance of women, people of color, old and young voters and a sliver of disaffected Republicans. Mr. Trump is the first incumbent to lose re-election in more than a quarter-century. The result also provided a history-making moment for Mr. Biden's running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, who will become the first woman to serve as vice president.... He offered a mainstream Democratic agenda, yet it was less his policy platform than his biography to which many voters gravitated. Seeking the nation's highest office a half-century after his first campaign, Mr. Biden -- a candidate in the late autumn of his career -- presented his life of setback and recovery to voters as a parable for a wounded country."

Jonathan Lemire & Zeke Miller of the AP: "Democrat Joe Biden defeated ... Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, positioning himself to lead a nation gripped by the historic pandemic and a confluence of economic and social turmoil."

** The Washington Post's live election updates Saturday are here: "The state of Biden's birth, where he was affectionately deemed an honorary third senator over his decades representing neighboring Delaware, is now projected to deliver him the presidency according to Edison Research. Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes will put Biden over the 270 votes needed even with a handful of other states still too close to call."

The Wall Street Journal & Fox "News" have also projected Biden to win Pennsylvania, putting him over 270 Electoral College votes.

CNN: "Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States, CNN projects, after a victory in the state where he was born put him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win. With Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes, Biden now has a total of 273 electoral votes." According to the NYT, CNN was first to call the race for Biden.

Pennsylvania. A small dump (about 2,800 ballots) from Philadelphia increases Biden's lead in the state to 30,908. Apparently on the basis of this small report, NBC News has called Pennsylvania for Biden.

Arizona. A Saturday morning ballot dump from Maricopa County has reduced Biden's lead to 20,573 votes. This is supposed to be Maricopa's last report of a significant number of ballots. Trump's lead does not seem to be enough for him to overtake Biden.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Twitter flagged all of President Trump's early-morning tweets on Saturday as disputed and potentially misleading after he made baseless claims about election irregularities. In a series of posts, Mr. Trump focused his ire on Pennsylvania...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Shear doesn't reveal what-all Trump tweeted, so I checked. Here's a good one: "I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!" Yeah, "potentially misleading."

Jim Rutenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's bellicose pledge to fight the outcome of the election in the courts crashed on Friday into skeptical judges, daunting Electoral College math and a lack of evidence for his claims of fraud. On a day that began with vote tallies in Georgia and Pennsylvania tipping in Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s favor, Mr. Trump's campaign declared, 'This election is not over,' as the Republican National Committee announced it had activated 'legal challenge teams' in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania. And the Trump forces named a new general to lead the effort, the hardened conservative political combatant David Bossie. But none of the dozen or so lawsuits they had brought in battleground states appeared to be gaining any traction in the courts. And in any case, none seemed likely to give Mr. Trump the edge he would need in vote counts in the states that will determine the outcome."

Jason Hanna, et al., of CNN: "Two armed Virginia men who were arrested Thursday outside the Philadelphia Convention Center were 'coming to deliver a truck full of fake ballots' to the city, CNN affiliate KYW reported, citing prosecutors." Mrs. McC: See, those armed men weren't dangerous shoot-'em-up cowboys as we assumed; they were just patriotic Americans delivering fake votes for Donald Trump.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Election Results, Etc.

The New York Times' presidential election results page includes a crawl of pithy, informative comments from reporters.

Pennsylvania. AP: "Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has ordered county elections officials in Pennsylvania to keep separate mail-in ballots that arrived after Election Day. The state's top elections official already had ordered those ballots be kept apart. The order came Friday night in response to a plea from the state Republican Party as Democrat Joe Biden inched ahead of ... Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in the presidential race. Alito, acting on his own, said he was motivated in part by the Republicans' assertion that they can't be sure elections officials are complying with guidance issued by Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat. The justice handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania. He ordered a response from the state by Saturday afternoon and said he has referred the matter to the full court for further action."

Jonathan Lemire, et al., of the AP: "Democrat Joe Biden was on the cusp of winning the presidency on Friday as he opened up narrow leads over ... Donald Trump in the critical battlegrounds of Georgia and Pennsylvania. Those put Biden in a stronger position to capture the 270 Electoral College votes needed to take the White House. The winner will lead a country facing a historic set of challenges, including a surging pandemic and deep political polarization. The focus on Pennsylvania ... came as Americans entered a third full day after the election without knowing who will lead them for the next four years. The prolonged process added to the anxiety of a nation whose racial and cultural divides were inflamed during the heated campaign. Biden was at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, as the vote count continued and aides said he would address the nation in primetime. Trump remained in the White House residence as more results trickled in, expanding Biden's lead in must-win Pennsylvania." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Politico's live election updates Friday are here: "Georgia's [Republican] secretary of state said Friday morning that there will be a recount of the state's presidential votes, as Joe Biden took a narrow lead of a few hundredths of a percentage point over ... Donald Trump.... Donald Trump's reelection campaign insisted on Friday that the presidential election is 'not over,' working to stave off defeat with baseless claims of voter fraud even as Democratic nominee Joe Biden pulled ahead in two states that would hand him the White House.... A handful of Republicans are beginning to speak out about ... Donald Trump's baseless claims of fraud in the presidential election, with GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Pat Toomey the latest to bat away Trump's rhetoric as the presidency slips away from him.... [But] some top Republicans such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have raced to defend Trump, illustrating his tight grip on the party and suggesting a GOP-led intervention isn't coming anytime soon." (Also linked yesterday.)

From the New York Times' live updates Friday: "With Georgia's 16 electoral votes likely to be decided by a tiny margin, Democrats are urging voters there to fix absentee ballots that were rejected because of invalid or missing signatures before the deadline on Friday evening. Those who voted absentee -- a group that this year has been heavily Democratic -- can check online to see whether election officials have accepted or rejected their ballots.... The Postal Service found hundreds of ballots in Pennsylvania and North Carolina facilities on Thursday, according to data filed in federal court. Election rules in both states allow mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "With many ballots still left to count in heavily Democratic cities, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was leading President Trump on Friday by more than 4.1 million votes. Amid all the anxiety over the counts in Pennsylvania and Georgia, and despite Americans' intense ideological divisions, there was no question that &-- for the fourth presidential election in a row, and the seventh of the past eight -- more people had chosen a Democrat than a Republican."

Joe Biden spoke at about 10:30 pm ET Friday: ~~~

Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s advisers accelerated their transition planning on Friday as election results showed him with an advantage in battleground states that could hand him the presidency, with the first senior officials in a potential Biden White House possibly named as early as next week. In Wilmington and Washington, Mr. Biden's advisers and allies are ramping up their conversations about who might fill critical posts, both in the West Wing and across the agencies, guided heavily by Mr. Biden's plan to assemble what would be the most diverse cabinet in history.... The Biden camp has prepared for multiple scenarios in case Mr. Trump refused to concede and his administration would not participate in a transition. So far, officials in Mr. Trump's government have worked in good faith, according to Biden officials, who said they hoped and expected that cooperation to continue."

David Brennan of Newsweek: "... Joe Biden's campaign has said it does not matter whether ... Donald Trump concedes the election or not, as America waits for confirmation that Biden will be the nation's 46th president.... But the Trump campaign is resorting to conspiracy theories and litigation to try and stop Biden's victory. Sources inside the White House told CNN Thursday that the president has no intention of conceding to his Democratic rival. Asked for their response to developments, Biden's campaign released a brief and uncompromising statement. 'As we said on July 19th, the American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Vanessa Williams & Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: Stacey "Abrams, 46, who was the first Black woman to win a major-party gubernatorial nomination, was roundly applauded by Democratic political leaders and activists on social media and elsewhere Friday after Biden overtook Trump in ballots counted in Georgia. The state is continuing to tally overseas, provisional and military ballots and plans to conduct a recount. The accolades often mentioned the overall work of Black women, among the most engaged and active segments of the Democratic electorate -- both as voters and as activists like Abrams, who register voters, rally them to the polls and, more and more, run for office." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Every American should pause and thank Black Americans for all they have done to bend the arc of the moral university toward justice. If you're white & have a tendency to pat yourself on the back for "helping" less fortunate Black Americans, it's useful to remember that many Blacks have done more for you than you did for them.

Do as I Say, Not as I Do. Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet, Friday afternoon

Frankly, we did win this election. -- Donald Trump, Wednesday morning speech

I won Pennsylvania by a lot.... Likewise, in Georgia, I won by a lot.... In Michigan, we're way up in Michigan, won the state. In Wisconsin we did likewise, fantastically well.... In every case, they got whittled down.... they are finding ballots all of a sudden. -- Donald Trump, Thursday evening speech

Kevin Liptak & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Facing a disappearing pathway to victory..., Donald Trump offered little indication on Friday he was prepared to concede defeat, leading those around him to wonder who might be able to reckon with a leader who has given virtually no thought to leaving the White House.... Trump has not prepared a concession speech and in conversations with allies in recent days, he has said he has no intention of conceding the election, people familiar with the matter said. So far he has been bolstered in his stance by those closest to him, including his senior advisers and his adult sons, who have mounted an aggressive effort in the courts to challenge the results and have pressured other Republicans into defending him." Mrs. McC: Looks as if he still thinks Amy Covid Barrett & her new Supreme friends will bail him out, and who knows? Maybe they will. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "The president has had all this time to hatch a spidery plot to ruin democracy on the way out the door, and this is the best he can come up with?... It was the same old tired Trump routine we've watched for four years, right through the pandemic failure: Beat your chest and bleat that you're king of the world. Then do nothing except screw up.... As Trump howled at the moon, denizens of Trumpworld were looking over the horizon, plotting new jobs or book deals."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Last month The New York Post called President Trump 'an invincible hero, who not only survived every dirty trick the Democrats threw at him, but the Chinese virus as well.' Then it published front-page articles trying to link the contents of a laptop said to belong to Hunter Biden to his father, Joseph R. Biden Jr. On Thursday, in a sudden about-face, Rupert Murdoch's scrappy tabloid published two articles with a wildly different tone. One accused the president of making an 'unfounded claim that political foes were trying to steal the election.' The headline on the other described Donald Trump Jr. as the 'panic-stricken' author of a 'clueless tweet.'... The president appears to be going down -- and The Post is not about to go with him. With Mr. Trump headed toward a likely defeat, top editors at the tabloid told some staff members this week to be tougher in their coverage of him...."

"The People vs. Donald Trump." Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "... Trump's attempted coup against democracy, for it is no less than that, will be resisted.... To see that child-man charlatan in the White House spouting lies yet again, asserting without a trace of evidence that 'If you count the legal vote I easily win,' claiming that 'I won Pennsylvania by a lot,' and Michigan and Georgia, too, was to be reminded of the American nightmare of these past four years that the American people seem to have brought to an end...."

If Democrats were conspiring to steal the election, they would have stolen a couple of Senate seats, too. -- Joyce Vance, on MSNBC (slight paraphrase)

Richard Lopez of the Minnesota Reformer: "Minnesota GOP Chairperson Jennifer Carnahan told party activists on Thursday night that she would help amplify claims of ballot fraud made by ... Donald Trump and national Republican leaders, even though they are baseless assertions disputed by election officials of both parties. Carnahan said that earlier Thursday, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel asked her and other GOP officials around the country to recruit elected Republicans to parrot the false claims of fraud. 'I'm going to be making calls tomorrow to all of our leaders asking them to help us be a voice,' Carnahan said during the call Thursday with local Minnesota GOP party officials and activists."

Tony Romm & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "A Republican firm run by a top aide to President Trump's 2020 campaign appears to have helped send unmarked text messages on Thursday that urged supporters in Philadelphia to converge outside a building where local election officials were counting votes. 'ALERT: Radical Liberals & Dems are trying to steal this election from Trump!' began the short text, sent in the hours before former vice president Joe Biden took the lead in the state. 'We need YOU! Show your support at the corner of 12th St. & Arch St. in Philadelphia,' [which is next to the Pennsylvania Convention Center]. The messages were sent from phone numbers that had been leased by Opn Sesame, a company that offers texting services to Republican candidates and causes.... Opn Sesame is run by Gary Coby, the digital director for Trump's 2020 campaign, and it has worked for years on behalf of a number of key GOP clients, including the Republican National Committee.... The messages foreshadowed how Trump and his allies might use the vast troves of data they have collected over the previous four years to target sympathetic voters in a bid to disrupt a smooth transition of power." A Raw Story summary report is here. ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Whaddaya bet at least one of these two guys got that message? ~~~

~~~ Tom Winter, et al., of NBC News: "Two armed men were arrested Thursday near the Philadelphia convention center where votes were being tallied, police said.... Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner identified the men on Friday night as Joshua Macias and Antonio Lamotta, both of Chesapeake, Va.... Krasner said there were some QAnon stickers on [their vehicle] and that a hat with a QAnon logo was visible inside the vehicle.... Social media profiles that match Lamotta's name and included pictures of the silver Hummer and stickers suggest he was a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory. On his Facebook page, which was removed by early Friday morning, Lamotta posted about QAnon 'as a positive military operation' and suggested a judgement day was fast-approaching. On Twitter, Lamotta posted signed drawings of cartoons that included anti-Semitic tropes and depicted Trump as a machine-gun carrying hero.... Social media profiles tied to Macias' name mentioned the 'Stop the Steal' campaign, a group which was banned from Facebook Thursday due to repeated calls for violence."


Josh Rogin of the Washington Post: "Late Friday afternoon, the White House fired Bonnie Glick the Senate-confirmed deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, without any justification offered, making her the first senior Trump political appointee to be purged following the election. The move further cripples the $31 billion agency in the middle of a global pandemic and potentially during a presidential transition as well. The departure of Glick is the first in what is widely expected to be a broader purge of officials whom President Trump feels to have been insufficiently loyal.... She was fired Friday because the White House would rather have its political allies in control of the agency than an establishment Republican with actual expertise and experience." ~~~

~~~ Wait, Wait. There's More. Ayesha Rascoe & Michele Kelemen of NPR: "The Trump administration abruptly dumped the leaders of three agencies that oversee the nuclear weapons stockpile, electricity and natural gas regulation, and overseas aid during the past two days.... The sudden departures included: Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the first woman to oversee the agency in charge of the nuclear stockpile. She was required to resign on Friday. Bonnie Glick, deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.... Neil Chatterjee, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell."

Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: "Stephen K. Bannon, the former adviser to President Trump who is known for his right-wing extremism, suggested on Thursday that the F.B.I. director and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci should be beheaded, and Twitter responded by banning one of his accounts. On Friday, a prominent lawyer who was defending Mr. Bannon against fraud charges in federal court in Manhattan abruptly moved to drop him as a client, one person familiar with the matter said. 'Mr. Bannon is in the process of retaining new counsel,' the lawyer, William A. Burck, said in a brief letter to the court, giving no explanation.... Since August, Mr. Bannon has been fighting the criminal charges lodged against him by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, the case in which Mr. Burck has been his lawyer." A Law & Crime story is here.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "The United States reported more than 128,000 new coronavirus cases Friday as the number of fatalities nationwide exceeded 1,000 for the fourth consecutive day. The seven-day average of new cases was nearly 100,000, almost 20,000 higher than on this day last week."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "The United States recorded at least 121,000 new infections on Thursday, a day after hitting 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, and for many Americans, fatalism was the order of the day." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Shocking News. Mario Parker, et al., of Bloomberg, via the Seattle Times: "... Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has told associates he has coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to the outbreaks connected to the White House. It wasn't immediately clear when Meadows learned that he had contracted the virus or whether he had developed symptoms of Covid-19.... He informed a close circle of advisers after Tuesday's election, one of the people said.... A Trump campaign aide, Nick Trainer, is also infected, according to two people familiar with the matter. He and campaign spokespeople declined to comment. Meadows has remained involved in Trump's post-election effort to challenge votes in several states where he trails former Vice President Joe Biden, according to one person familiar with the matter." Mrs. McC: How could this have happened?? ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Here's the New York Times story: "And four other White House officials tested positive for the virus, a person familiar with the diagnoses told The New York Times.... One White House official, who asked for anonymity because the official was not allowed to speak publicly about internal discussions, said people were told to keep quiet about the various cases."

     ~~~ Thanks to PD Pepe for the link.

Comments Off

Reader Comments (31)

When you watch the networks and see gigantic swaths of red, areas that voted for an authoritarian mook, and then see what appears to be insignificant enclaves of blue covering far smaller areas, remember that five giant western states painted garish red on a voting map don’t have half the people of Los Angeles county.

Yes, you might see the state of Kansas all in red, but if you boil it down to the populated areas, the redness disappears quickly. The whole state is only twice the population of the metro Milwaukee area.

Land doesn’t vote for presidents; people do.

The history of maps has always been rife with inaccuracies designed to privilege one group or political idea over others. If you look at the massive red state of Montana, with its 147,000 sq. miles, it makes the metro Boston area, at 48 sq. miles, look ridiculous. But that 48 sq. miles has almost 5 million people. Montana? About a fifth of that.

Wingers are always yapping about transparency and accuracy (not that they could stand it). Let’s have more of that.

November 6, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: Maybe when Mitt, who after all represents Utah (3.2 millions people, 84,899 sq. mi.), said that "we are a center-right nation," he meant in terms of land mass. If he means it in terms of land ownership, in the case of Utah, that's a little problematic: the federal government -- i.e., you and I -- own 75 percent of it. And more than 4 million people like us voted for socialist Joe Biden over Honest Don, the transactional conservative.

Speaking of conservative, I found Fox "News" on the so-called dial & decided to pop over there to see what-all they were saying about the presidential election. Well, nothing. By 8 pm, they had given up reporting on such a depressing subject, and let Tucker Carlson talk about whatever suited him. Within one minute, when I switched him off to re-examine my life, I learned I must not be a liberal, after all.

According to Tucker, conservatives want us to live our lives in peace and quiet, and they will not condemn us or even much comment upon our views. He immediately went on to comment upon liberals' views. Liberals, said he, insist everyone go to Starbucks. Well, I must confess that in my entire life, I can count on one hand the number of cups of Starbucks coffee I have imbibed, and I really don't care about your consumption of Starbucks beverages. So I can only conclude that I cannot possibly be a liberal.

November 6, 2020 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Soooo...the Supremes are getting involved to help Trump. Keep those ballots separate sez Sam (the Hit Man) Alito.

Right. And what’s next? A little confederate bonfire? Oops! Who knew those ballots were flammable? Oh look! Trump wins! I wouldn’t trust these fuckers to pass the salt if I were sitting right across the table. There’s always an angle. Always an ulterior motive. Just making sure the count is on the up and up, right Sammy? Sure. No other plans than that? Yeah. And Stephen Miller dons a sombrero and plays in a mariachi band on weekends.

Confederates “can’t be sure” election officials are doing their job, is that it? While they’re at it, can they ask Alito to tell the Treasury Dept. to stop printing money? We can’t be sure that’s a picture of the real George Washington on the one.

The beauty of conspiracy claims is that you don’t need any proof. Just toss it out there and see who bites.

Can’t wait to see where this goes.

November 6, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

My sense is that if this were any other election, Nevada and Pennsylvania, at least, would already have been called by the networks for Biden. But the media is still intimidated by the confederate attack machine.

In 2000, Florida was called for Gore and that machine went into overdrive. Among the attackers? Bart O’Kavanaugh, who was sent to the state, like a good little Bundist, to scream that the election must be stopped and Bush declared the winner.

Guess what? Gore did win. Counts that went on later showed that he beat Bush in Florida and should have been the 43rd president. Instead, we got a malicious chimp, 9-11, a war that’s still going on, and a worldwide recession.

Biden should already be the president-elect.

But the CAM will not allow that, at least not until they pull out all their dirty tricks to help another malicious criminal.

The Republican Way.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: I think that's true. Besides, by holding off where it seems obvious to non-statisticians, maybe when they finally declare a winner it will seem more credible. To some extent, it doesn't matter anyway. They might as well have declared Biden the winner the moment of each poll-closing, because Trump wasn't going to believe the pointy-headed fake news corrupt statisticians anyway.

November 7, 2020 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Maybe that's a map showing where money comes from (blue) to support the government and where money goes out from the government to support a number of supporters of he who would be king (red).
Little do they know that their taxes will be going up in 2021 and 2022 to pay for those tax cuts the king gave his donors. I was going to say gave his friends, but couldn't think of any offhand. Does he have friends?

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

Forrest,

Was thinking about the uncooperative, no-compromise McConnell Senate and those tax hikes on "real" Americans that will sneak into 2021 tax bills and saw in them a possible opportunity for negotiation.

Biden wants to tax people with incomes over 400 grand. It'd never fly in a McConnell Senate, but maybe there could be some room for a trade. when it becomes clear to people how the Repugnants screwed them in 2017 with the "biggest (it turns out temporary) tax cut in history."

A real whose side are you on clarifying moment for the Senate Repugnants.

Friends of the people or of the Fat Cats?

We know the answer, of course, but will McConnell want it on full display?

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

@Forrest, the Googles provides information about your question.

This is a piece from WalletHub from June 2020 showing states most and least dependent on federal funds.

Here's another one from the Rockefeller Institute showing who gives/gets by state.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

@Forrest Morris: By his own definition, Trump has "friends." They are (1) dictators, (2) minor celebrities who will speak to him, and (3) people who will do things for him until he decides they haven't done enough or are trying to parlay their "friendships" with him into fame & fortune. He doesn't know any better.

November 7, 2020 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Have a dim memory of Bea suggesting recently that Utah was not quite as nationally influential as the Mittster with his center-right balderdash might wish us to think, but can't find it. Maybe I made it up, In these uncertain times (read: mind) credit is not always given where it is due.

Yesterday's Kathleen Parker column in the WAPO that repeats the big Lie about how this election once again proves we are a center-right country brought that fleeting memory to mind.

As is most often the case I thought her wrong.

"Center-Right? Not really. As usual, it's more complicated.
Even if Center-Right were some kind of divine political average, it's wrong.

The Right? Guns, Pro- fetal life, patriarchy, anti-gay, and voter suppression. Business and corporate friendly, elevating greed to the status of virtue. And oh yeah, racism, disguised as law 'n order.

The Center?. Mostly the geographic center of the country, where the boat isn't so often rocked except by weather events (coming more frequently, by the way), and more generally across the country, rural vs.urban.

Center-Left. We like socialist programs like our social security and medicare and we're increasingly grateful for the ACA the Right is trying to kill. We vote for a higher minimum wage and family leave expansion, when allowed to. We think the rich should pay more in taxes. We trust science and reason and think clearly enough to see that our form of capitalism often worsens rather than solves our real social and environmental problems.

Lotsa parts to our national politics, Ms, Parker."

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

@ unwashed. Interesting that 'Brownbackistan' (Kansas) is the least dependent on the list of federally dependent states. For those who search the internets for affordable real estate, Kansas pops up as the state that will pay people to move there, with tax breaks, if they start a business. Lets see, Brownback cut taxes like a good republican, broke the state, and now his successor is trying to attract new business but with minimal state services. Sounds about right. Brownback has moved on to a higher calling as the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered Commenterperiscope

@Ken: I Like you giving Ms Parker a "what for" but her assessment is something I've heard for years including "This country is Christian, through and through." The fact that we are changing demographically eludes many whose bubble existence remains "same as if ever was."

Henry Gates, that superior human being who gets at the roots of many on his program, "Finding Your Roots," tells us that he tells his students, "that under the floorboards of Western Culture, two hideous demons slumber: anti-Semitism and anti-Black racism. And they can erupt through those floorboards at any time."

The German philosopher, Ernst Cassirer, was acutely aware of two troubling characteristics of every culture: In every modern society, "every developmental step they have taken can be reversed". And that it is at times of "greatest crisis, tension, and confusion" that the danger of relapse is greatest. Ernst was Jewish and fled Nazi Germany when he saw what was about to happen.

And something that looms large and has not been addressed sufficiently is Climate–-the left is determined to forge ahead with their green deals unlike the present administration which ignores it and science in particular. One party wants to save our planet; the other means to destroy it. There is nothing more serious than this.

EXCEPT RIGHT NOW IT'S THE COUNTING OF THE BALLOTS and the possibility of Fatty falling apart: Who is going to save the day"?, Who is going to say, "enough is enough!"?, who will be the ones who will try to sabotage the outcome? And we thought "hanging Chads" were bad.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Just a thought/question here. If all the Pennsylvania ballots that have been segregated for arriving after election day but before close of business Friday are allowed to be counted, will we be waiting for the final, official total to end the 2020 election? I'm assuming that Trump will use that as a last ditch defense.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterBobby Lee

@Bobby Lee: The "final, official total" for most states usually doesn't come out until a few weeks after the election. I am confused about what is supposed to happen with those segregated ballots; I think maybe they will be counted but the totals not released.

I think the networks will call the races before those segregated votes are accounted for. Steve Kornacki of MSNBC says those votes -- because they're mail-in ballots & mostly from large urban areas -- are likely to favor Biden.

November 7, 2020 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

I wonder if the increasing amount of noise emanating from Junior and Junior Jr. is due to their own escalating desperation about Sr.'s upcoming investigations, suits, and incarceration. Are they fearful for their own complicity?

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

Friend just called from NYC, people are celebrating like crazy on the upper West Side...and suddenly here in my neighborhood
Thank you Pennsylvania! on the coast, I hear bells, car horns and lots of cheering. Whew! Thank you Pennsylvania!

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

I hope he got the news via Twitter!

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterBobby Lee

OK, now comes the real trumperdammerung, and a level of whining and kvetching never before heard or seen by humans. The guy can't concede, it is not in him, he has no grace and doesn't even know what that is. The best we can hope for is that he is not allowed to use people in uniforms to do anything.

And to all the yuns in PA, its about time.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

This afternoons entertainment will be champagne and incantations around the fire pit and burning effigies of the orange loser, also known as 45 (is that IQ?).

And P.D., no hanging Chads. Chad is one of our neighbors and a really nice guy.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

@Patrick: When I was growing up in Florida, the neighbors who moved in next door came down from Pennsylvania, and they said, "you-ins." We explained the correct term was "y'all."

November 7, 2020 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Barb and Judy sing the song that we all are singing today, albeit a little off key, but it FEELS like finally some Happy Days!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVxX3RtyhQ

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Hallelujah!

Trump has been too much with us, late and soon,
Grifting and lying, he laid waste our powers—
Little we see in Trumpland that is ours*!
He has daggered our hearts, a sordid loon.
But now I—standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that make me less forlorn;
See Smokin’ Joe Biden rising from the sea;
And hear Kamala Harris blow her wreathed horn!

Apologies (and thanks) to old pal Bill Wordsworth.

*Except all our tax monies he stuffed his pockets with.

And...

Don’t let the screen door hit you in the ass on your way out, schmucko.

Ancient Talmudic proverb

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Just had a video sent to me from friends in Cambridge. People out in the street dancing, screaming, honking horns. Got a text from my nephew in LA and another friend in the Village. Madness in those places as well. Funny...no one’s honking horns here. Guess I’ll go sit in the car in the driveway and give a couple of honks.

Peace at last!

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

And where is the fat loser right now?

Playing golf.

According to CBS, the Blight House is a “ghost town”. There’s no one in charge.

But before the Fat Fascist hit the links, he was apprised of his loss and was captured in this video response...

https://youtu.be/WPZn4rbiB8g

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

The unscalable White House protection barrier was to protect the narcissistic baby's feelings. Let that sink in. What a chump!

Great day in America. Preet Bahara on twitter says it feels like the USA won the world cup. Kinda feels that way.

Challenges lie ahead, but we effectively cut thenhead off the snake. Keep in yhe look out for Medusa.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered Commentersafari

You mean Mitch Medusa.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Will we get to see the pee-pee tape now?

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

He's purging people in charge of nuclear security. Now that he's regarded as a loser, will they 25th amendment him?

On another front, I hope the secret service details for Biden and Harris are on high alert. There are a lot of butt-hurt folks out there with heavy weaponry.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

NiskyGuy,

We’ve already seen that the Secret Service is no friend to Democrats. That’s not to suggest that they won’t provide adequate protection for Biden and Harris, but as long as they aren’t engaged in drinking parties with hookers, or raising hell about how much they hate Democrats, there’s a reasonable chance that Trump gun nuts won’t kill the newly elected Democratic ticket.

Feel better now?

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

I don’t see Biden or Harris putting their SS details into a COVID car so they can wave at their fans. Nevertheless, I remember the details doing stupid stuff and underperforming during the Obama years.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

A very important story, I believe, which my bilingual son brought to my attention this morning. I had missed. Too concerned about the Russians, I guess.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/us/spanish-language-misinformation-latinos.html?

Might explain some of the Pretender's inroads in Latino-a Land.

November 7, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes
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