;)
The Commentariat -- October 13, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump pushed back aggressively on Thursday against what he called 'false smears' from women who claimed unwanted advances, seeking to stabilize his campaign as Michelle Obama declared 'it doesn't matter what party you belong to, no woman deserves to be treated this way.'... In a series of messages posted on Twitter on Thursday morning, Mr. Trump said that the article in The Times was a 'total fabrication' and denied the incident described by Natasha Stoynoff, a former writer for People, who said that Mr. Trump had forced his tongue down her throat while she was working on an assignment for the magazine about his first anniversary with his wife, Melania." -- CW ...
... Greg Sargent: "Michelle Obama is a tremendously popular public figure, who is probably better positioned than anyone else in the country to make this particular case. And that's what makes this a seminal, defining moment.... If Trump has a capacity for basic and sustained public decency, it has yet to make its appearance. And now we really seem to have crossed a point of no return. Michelle Obama marked it down. No going back":
"Ladies..., Grow Up." Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Trump's top supporters, many of them middle-aged or older men, have tried to explain away Trump's behavior in terms that range from puzzling to offensive -- angering people in both parties and complicating the Republican nominee's attempts to move past the controversies.... Some, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have described Trump's comments on the video as typical male behavior in general. Others are also attempting to discredit the women accusing Trump of assault. And some of Trump's male supporters seem more than willing to lecture women on how they should put up with sexist talk. 'Ladies out there, this is what guys talk about when you're not around. So if you're offended by it, grow up. Okay?' actor Scott Baio said on Fox News." -- CW
** Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: NYT lawyer to DJT lawyer: Trump has no reputation to protect. -- CW
"Last week Megyn Kelly of Fox "News" complained, "Donald Trump ... will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days." Not Any More. Brian Stelter of CNN: "On Thursday morning, [Trump] canceled on his friend Sean Hannity.... He had been scheduled to appear on Hannity's Fox News show Thursday night. He backed out around 11:30 a.m. ET. Hannity is still set to interview the four Clinton critics who appeared with Trump at a pre-debate photo op on Sunday: Kathy Shelton, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick." -- CW
Hallie Jackson & Alex Johnson of NBC News have new details on Donald Trump's (alleged) sexually aggressive behavior against Temple Taggart McDowell in 1997, when (then Taggert) was a 21-year-old beauty pageant contestant representing Utah. -- CW
David Wright of CNN: "Barbara Res worked for Donald Trump for 18 years as a construction executive, and asked Thursday if she believed the allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against him, she was frank. 'I do believe it. Yes, absolutely,' Res told CNN's Alisyn Camerota in an interview on 'New Day.' 'He's a blatant sexist.' 'I saw him be aggressive in business, and throw his weight around and use the fact that he had power. And I think sexual assault and sexual harassment are really about the abuse of power -- "I can do this to you because I am who I am" -- I do think it went to his head. So much else went to his head that it does make sense to me that he would do something like that,' Res, who is supporting Hillary Clinton for president." -- CW
Michael Grynbaum & Rachel Abrams of the New York Times: "Mark Burnett, the reality-show auteur whose 'Apprentice' series catapulted Donald J. Trump to national stardom, issued a forceful denunciation of Mr. Trump's presidential bid on Wednesday evening, saying he rejected 'the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign.' The statement capped an unusually challenging few days for Mr. Burnett..., who has faced growing demands that he release footage from the 'Apprentice' set that some former crew members say could reveal Mr. Trump acting in vulgar and offensive ways." -- CW
AND I suppose I should post this, the contrast with reality being so stark. Thanks to Whyte O. for the link:
Myles Ma of NJ.com. "Enough probable cause exists for a citizen's official misconduct complaint against Gov. Chris Christie to move forward in connection with the governor's alleged failure to stop politically-motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013, a judge in Bergen County ruled Thursday. The complaint by Bill Brennan, a retired Teaneck firefighter and citizen activist, alleges that Christie knew of the closures while they were happening and should have halted them. He alleges that inaction constitutes second-degree official misconduct, a charge punishable by five to 10 years in prison. 'I'm satisfied that there's probable cause to believe that an event of official misconduct was caused by Gov. Christie,' Municipal Presiding Judge Roy McGeady said. 'I'm going to issue the summons.'" ...Akhilleus
Trump Apologizes! Molly O'Toole of Foreign Policy. "The list of women accusing the Republican presidential nominee of sexual assault is growing, along with Republican leaders and voters who have abandoned his presidential campaign. [Donald] Trump's answer: Apologize -- but to Serbians, for the U.S.-led air campaign in the Balkans in the 1990s that helped stave off potential civilian slaughter in Kosovo...'The bombing of Serbs, who were our allies in both world wars, was a big mistake,' Trump told the Serbian weekly magazine Nedeljnik in an article published on its website Thursday. He promised 'a new policy with the Balkans,' though he didn't specify what it would look like. 'Serbians are very good people,' he said. 'Unfortunately, the [Bill] Clinton administration caused them a lot of harm, but also throughout the Balkans, which they made a mess out of.'" ... ... Akhilleus: The interview, which Trump now claims never took place (funny because it's a cover story on the magazine and appears on their website), bears all the hallmarks of Russian propaganda. Trump's main point in apologizing, apparently, is that the US led bombing stopped those nice Serbian ethnic cleansers, the war criminals Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic, from murdering even more Muslims. The idea! But apologize for sexual assault? Never!
Presidential Race
Washington Post Editors: "IN THE gloom and ugliness of this political season, one encouraging truth is often overlooked: There is a well-qualified, well-prepared candidate on the ballot. Hillary Clinton has the potential to be an excellent president of the United States, and we endorse her without hesitation." -- CW ...
Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton denounced 'scorched earth' tactics by Republicans on Wednesday, saying Democrats must not allow themselves to turn away from the election in disgust. Those tactics have recently included protesters accusing former president Bill Clinton of rape. Clinton's campaign appearances were interrupted two days in a row this week by people shouting while holding or wearing T-shirts that brand her husband a rapist." -- CW ...
... CW: They weren't really protesters. They were entrepreneurs. Or something. ...
... Alastair Jamieson & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Multiple hecklers shouting 'Bill Clinton is a rapist' interrupted President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at separate rallies after a pro-Donald Trump radio host offered a cash reward to anyone carrying out such a stunt. Three separate protesters disrupted Hillary Clinton's election campaign rally with Al Gore in Miami, while three others -- including two wearing 'Bill Clinton rapist' T-shirts -- cut into Obama as he addressed a crowd in North Carolina.... Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and right-wing radio host who founded the Infowars website..., on Friday offered $1,000 to supporters pictured on television for at least five seconds wearing a 'Bill Clinton rape' T-shirt and $5,000 to anyone who can be heard shouting 'Bill Clinton is a rapist' while wearing such a garment. Jones, who believes the Sandy Hook shootings were a hoax, also says Obama and Hillary Clinton are demons who smell like sulfur." See also Sam Reisman's post, linked below, on Eric Trump's fake news tweet. -- CW
Politico: "Hillary Clinton's campaign escalated its response Wednesday to WikiLeaks' ongoing publication of hacked emails from John Podesta.... 'It is also now clear that the illegal hack of John Podesta's email is the work of the Russian government, according to the FBI,' campaign spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement issued after Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant, told NBC News that he was in touch with WikiLeaks through a 'mutual friend' of founder Julian Assange.... 'I have a back-channel communications with WikiLeaks,' Stone said. 'But they certainly don't clear or tell me in advance what they're going to do.'... On Tuesday, Podesta directed reporters to an Aug. 21 tweet by Stone that he said showed 'advance warning' of the hack. 'Trust me, it will soon the Podesta's time in the barrel,' Stone tweeted.... 'We did not deny this,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said of the hacking allegations in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. But, he ad[d]ed, 'They did not prove it.'" -- CW ...
... WYSIWYG. Russell Berman of the Atlantic: "... the leak of thousands of hacked email exchanges among [Hillary] Clinton's top advisers ... capture a candidate, and a campaign, that seems in private exactly as cautious, calculating, and politically flexible as they appeared to be in public.... The emails made public by WikiLeaks reveal little about her as a person. These were hacked from the accounts of John Podesta, her campaign chairman, and very few of them are from Clinton herself." -- CW ...
... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The FBI is reacting to the hacking of Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta's emails by re-issuing a broadly-worded statement about cyber threats to those active in American politics.... The statement ... is identical to one the law enforcement agency issued on July 29 in response to reports of hacking into systems run by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.... However, as the reports of hacking spread across the Democratic establishment, FBI officials decided not to publicly confirm or deny each new hacking victim." -- CW ...
... See also "The WikiLinks Strategy" report by the New York Times, linked below.
... Washington Post Editors: "... Donald Trump, is, as we have written, 'uniquely unqualified to serve as president, in experience and temperament.' Below is just a sampling of his many erroneous, malicious and ignorant comments since he launched his campaign in June 2015, along with commentary from Post Opinions writers and The Post editorial board." -- CW
CW: To those of you who doubted predictions here that Donald Trump would go nuts before the election (or as Charles Blow puts it in today's NYT, "a maladroit savage spiraling out of control"), read on:
Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Four women accused Donald Trump of groping or kissing them without their consent in news reports published Wednesday, just days after the Republican presidential nominee insisted in a debate that he had never engaged in such behavior.... Separately, CBS News on Wednesday reported 1992 footage filmed for 'Entertainment Tonight' in which Trump is heard commenting about a young girl, 'I'm going to be dating her in ten years.' Also Wednesday, Rolling Stone published a story that included the allegations of Cassandra Searles, Miss Washington 2013.... Searles wrote, 'He probably doesn't want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room.'... Early Thursday morning, Trump's campaign released a letter from attorney Marc E. Kasowitz demanding a retraction from the Times." -- CW
Meghan Twohey & Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "More than three decades ago, when she was a traveling businesswoman..., [Jessica] Leeds said, she sat beside Mr. Trump in the first-class cabin of a flight to New York. They had never met before. About 45 minutes after takeoff, she recalled, Mr. Trump lifted the armrest and began to touch her. According to Ms. Leeds, Mr. Trump grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt. 'He was like an octopus,' she said. 'His hands were everywhere.' She fled to the back of the plane. 'It was an assault,' she said....
... [Rachel] Crooks was a 22-year-old receptionist at Bayrock Group, a real estate investment and development company in Trump Tower in Manhattan, when she encountered Mr. Trump outside an elevator in the building one morning in 2005.... They shook hands, but Mr. Trump would not let go, she said. Instead, he began kissing her cheeks. Then, she said, he 'kissed me directly on the mouth.'... Their accounts echo those of other women who have previously come forward....
... In a phone interview on Tuesday night, a highly agitated Mr. Trump denied every one of the women's claims.... He said that The Times was making up the allegations to hurt him and that he would sue the news organization if it reported them. 'You are a disgusting human being,' he told the reporter as she questioned him about the women's claims." -- CW
When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything. -- Donald Trump to Billy Bush, 2005
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post: Mindy "McGillivray, 36, said she was groped by Trump at Mar-a-Lago 13 years ago. She said she never reported it to authorities. But her companion that day, photographer Ken Davidoff, vividly remembers when McGillivray pulled him aside moments after the alleged incident and told him, 'Donald just grabbed my ass!'... According to Davidoff, it was Jan. 24, 2003, when he and his father, the late Palm Beach society photographer Bob Davidoff, took photos at Mar-a-Lago during a concert by Ray Charles.... Ken Davidoff said he brought his friend McGillivray to help him during the concert.... After the show, Davidoff and McGillivray were standing in a pavilion behind the main house in the middle of a group of people.... To McGillivray's immediate right was Trump and his fiancée, Melania.... 'All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge.... I turn around and there's Donald. He sort of looked away quickly. I quickly turned back, facing Ray Charles, and I'm stunned.... It was pretty close to the center of my butt. I was startled. I jumped.' Later, near a restroom, Trump began flirting with McGillivray, but Melania interrupted them. -- CW
Natasha Stoynoff of People: "'Just for the record,' Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump, during the presidential debate last Sunday, 'are you saying ... that you did not actually kiss women without (their) consent?' 'I have not,' Trump insisted. I remember it differently.... In December 2005, around the time Trump had his now infamous conversation with Billy Bush, I traveled to Mar-a-Lago to interview the couple for a first-wedding-anniversary feature story.... When we took a break for the then-very-pregnant Melania to go upstairs and change wardrobe for more photos, Donald wanted to show me around the mansion. There was one 'tremendous' room in particular, he said, that I just had to see. We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat." Please read on. -- CW
Molly Redden of the Guardian: "Donald Trump deliberately walked in on two young Miss USA 2001 contestants while they were naked and getting dressed for a rehearsal, one of the former beauty contestants has claimed in an interview with the Guardian.... Just before he entered, the former contestant said, she heard the security detail outside the dressing room tell someone approaching the door that the women inside were naked. 'Mr Trump just barged right in, didn't say anything, stood there and stared at us,' she recalled. Trump's attitude, she said, seemed to be: 'I can do this because I can.'... The woman -- who did not wish to be identified -- is the second competitor from the 2001 Miss USA pageant to claim that Trump took advantage of owning the pageant, which he broadcast on NBC, in order to view the contestants naked.... The other 2001 beauty contestant to accuse Trump of misconduct was Tasha Dixon." -- CW
Tessa Stuart of Rolling Stone provides some "'highlights' from Trump's storied history as a [beauty] pageant creep." -- CW
CW: There must be hundreds of women who have similar true stories to tell. Any politician who endorses Donald Trump, anyone who votes for him, is condoning, supporting & encouraging unchecked violence against women. An extra-special shoutout to those "Towers of Jello" -- story linked below -- who endorsed Trump, then unendorsed him because they were so "shocked" by the Trump-Bush tape, then re-endorsed him because they thought it would help their sorry political careers. How many of these geniuses figured no women would out Trump in the coming days? And let's hear from Gov. mike christian-family-man pence.
CW P.S.: We all owe thanks to these brave women for coming forward to describe how Donald Trump abused & humiliated them. I'm sure they know Trump & his supporters will do their best to further demean them. We all know it takes guts to stand up to bullies. It takes a lot of guts to do it on a national stage.
Greg Sargent: Donald Trump "is threatening to sue the New York Times for its story quoting two of the women, and his lawyers are charging the paper with recklessly providing those out to smear Trump with 'a platform.' It's almost as if Donald Trump thinks you are too stupid to remember that only a few days ago, he literally tried to provide a platform for Bill Clinton's accusers, when he attempted to parade them into his family box at Sunday's debate, in hopes of creating a great confrontation before an audience of tens of millions, only to see his plot thwarted by the debate organizers." CW: And of course Trump did provide a platform for the women shortly before the debate in a feint he described as "debate preparation." Now, of course, he's complaining that the debates are "rigged" (story linked below). Did we mention Bill isn't running for president?
By Driftglass. Multiple applications today.Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "One day after warning the GOP that his 'shackles' are off..., Donald Trump floated the prospect of a 'sinister deal' preventing Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) from coming to his defense. Trump at a Florida rally on Wednesday questioned why Ryan, who effectively conceded Trump's White House chances during a call with lawmakers this week, wouldn't come out and congratulate him after Sunday's presidential debate....'"You'd think they'd say, "Great going, Don. Let's go, let's beat this crook...." No, he doesn't do that. There's a whole deal going on. We're going to figure it out. I always figure things out. There's a whole sinister deal.'" -- CW
Adam Raymond of New York: "Donald Trump blasted the Commission for Presidential Debates on Wednesday, claiming the bipartisan group is 'rigged' and declaring himself 'done' with it. 'The head guy worked for Bill Clinton. Ay yai yai. What a rigged deal this is,' Trump said at a rally in Florida. He was referring to CPD co-chair Mike McCurry, who served as Clinton's press secretary.... What Trump did not mention is that McCurry's co-chair is Frank Fahrenkopf, chairman of the Republican National Committee while Ronald Reagan was president. Trump went on to suggest that he might skip the third debate, scheduled for October 19 in Las Vegas.... Trump spokesperson Jason Miller told the Daily Beast's Olivia Nuzzi that Trump does, in fact, plan to participate in the third debate." -- CW
Hillary Clinton 'lost as much as $6 billion in taxpayer money while she was running the State Department. Now, some people say it was misplaced. Oh, billions of dollars misplaced.' -- Donald Trump, remarks in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 11
The $6 billion was not lost or misplaced; it's that $6 billion in contracts had missing paperwork. On top of that, the majority of contracts with missing or incomplete paperwork stemmed from the Bush administration, before Clinton became secretary of state. So it's ridiculous to claim Clinton was in anyway responsible for the problems with the contracts. The only thing 'lost' in Trump's statement is reality. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post
The WikiLeaks Strategy. Patrick Healy, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump is suddenly embracing an unlikely ally: The document-spilling group WikiLeaks, which Republicans denounced when it published classified State Department cables and Pentagon secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.... Mr. Trump, his advisers, and many of his supporters are increasingly seizing on a trove of embarrassing emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign that WikiLeaks has been publishing -- and that American intelligence agencies said on Friday came largely from Russian intelligence agencies, with the authorization of 'Russia's senior-most officials.' The Trump campaign's willingness to use WikiLeaks is an extraordinary turnabout after years of bipartisan criticism of the organization and its leader, Julian Assange, for past disclosures of American national security intelligence and other confidential information. The accusation that Russian agents are now playing an almost-daily role in helping fuel Mr. Trump's latest political attacks on Mrs. Clinton raises far greater concerns, though, about foreign interference in a presidential election." -- CW
The Sore Loser Strategy. Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: "Trump is either victorious or victimized, but never a loser. This week marked the end of Trump trying to actually win, and the beginning of him plotting to explain why the election was stolen." -- CW ...
... The Denial Strategy. Brian Stelter of CNN: "With Hillary Clinton extending her lead nationwide and in key battleground states, Trump is toying with what might be called 'poll denialism.'... ;Even the polls are crooked,' he said at a Monday night rally, expressing disbelief that he is losing to Clinton in Pennsylvania. 'Look, we're in a rigged system.'... On Tuesday when Bill O'Reilly told him that 'you're behind with women,' Trump responded, 'I'm not sure I believe it. I'm not sure I believe it.' Nearly every national poll finds Clinton well ahead among women.... Some of Trump's bullish talk is run-of-the-mill campaign rhetoric ... but there are times when Trump and his aides are clearly misleading voters. Trump told O'Reilly that 'Virtually everybody, other than, you know, some crooked polls, said that we won the debate easily.' In fact, every scientific poll of debate watchers found that Clinton was the victor. O'Reilly did not interject to correct Trump." -- CW
The Chattel Strategy. Joshua Green of Bloomberg: "Donald Trump believes his ploy at the Oct. 9th presidential debate to invite three women who claim they were assaulted by former president Bill Clinton ... has left Hillary Clinton 'shaken' and helped unify Republican voters behind his embattled campaign. So he's doubling down on the strategy, which his advisers believe will make his opponent toxic and depress turnout among a key demographic group -- young women -- Clinton is counting on to win. A senior Trump adviser says the campaign will soon bring forward new accusers: 'Women are coming to us who have been groped or sexually abused by Bill Clinton.'... On Thursday night, the Trump campaign will begin a new media blitz, his advisers say, with [Juanita] Broaddrick, [Kathleen] Willey, and [Paula] Jones appearing together on a one-hour Fox News special hosted by Sean Hannity. Additional interviews will follow." ...
... CW: This brilliant strategy makes a lot of sense to those who believe wives are nothing more than extensions of their husbands. Hey, maybe this explains why Hillary's campaign isn't doing an anti-Melania blitz. That, or the Clinton campaign has some decency, sense & integrity.
Michael Kranish & Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "The populist candidacy that upended the GOP order and has torn through many of the norms of American politics is now raising a concern among critics in both parties: that Trump is, in effect, running to be a strongman with dictatorial powers.... His latest campaign ad ends with the words: 'Donald Trump will protect you. He is the only one who can.'... It would seem few aspects of daily life would be beyond the reach of the power he envisions.... Trump has repeatedly praised authoritarian leaders.... Trump has also expressed admiration for some dictators.... Constitutional scholars say they are alarmed that Trump does not seem to understand the separation of powers." This is a straight news report. -- CW
Towers of Jello. James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "Republican elected officials are personally outraged and ashamed by something their party's nominee says or does. So they distance themselves. But as soon as they face a whiff of blowback from some in the party, they cave and fall back in line. Then they offer up excuses and rationalizations, twisting themselves into pretzels to justify voting for a guy who some will tell you privately is a danger to the Republic. It's happened over and over again now, and it validates what Trump himself said during the primaries: Many politicians are indeed craven and interested mainly in maintaining power for themselves, principles be damned." Akhilleus: I think I'm being unkind to weasels. Even calling these pusillanimous frauds cowardly would be unfair to most cowards. They are a special brand of spineless poltroon. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Gaslight. Rudy 9/11 Attacks Clinton for Saying What She Never Said. Aaron Rupar of Think Progress: "During a Donald Trump rally Wednesday afternoon in Ocala, Florida, Rudy Giuliani ... [said of Hillary Clinton,] 'Yes, yes you helped to get benefits for the people who were injured [September 11]. But I heard her say she was there that day. I was there that day, I don't remember seeing Hillary Clinton there.... As far as ThinkProgress could discern, there's no record of Hillary Clinton ever saying she was at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001." [She was in Washington, D.C., when the Pentagon was hit.] "But as Clinton detailed during a recent interview with CNN, she traveled to Ground Zero the very next day. In fact, numerous photos of her at the site with Giuliani exist." -- CW ...
... Sam Reisman of Mediaite: "Eric Trump was delighted to discover an article that proved -- proved -- that protesters at Trump rallies were paid by the Clinton campaign. 'Finally the truth comes out!' he wrote [in a tweet], appending the hashtag CrookedHillary and a link that, at first glance, pointed to a damning ABC News article.... The only problem is the article is completely fake, as is the 'ABC News' site on which it appears, a fact that Trump may have picked up on if he had noticed the curious '.com.co' domain.... Or the fact that Trump supporter Ann Coulter and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski tweeted out the exact same fake story in March." CW: Funny how Little Dracula is horrified by fake paid Clinton "protesters" but apparently not troubled at all by real paid Alex Jones protesters. Also funny how the Trump campaign has no message control. ...
... Mary Ann Georgantopoulos of BuzzFeed: "Eric Trump sent a fundraising email out to supporters Wednesday morning" that included a U.S. map which apparently showed that Daddy-o was winning in a number of states that have been leaning Clinton. Eric claimed in the e-mail that "right now all the momentum is on our side." "Here's the problem," Georgantopoulos writes: "That map GIF is from FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver, showing what the election would look like if only men voted." CW: Who knows? Maybe "The Trump Master Plan for Improving the U.S. Constitution," as yet only partially disclosed, is to rescind the 19th Amendment, too. Great! One less responsibility for the weaker sex. ...
... CW: BTW, Little Dracula:
... CW: The two maps, Eric's "Manmentum" map & the one posted above, appear in one post by Silver, so it's not as if the Boy Trump, dumb as he is, didn't know he was lying to Trump supporters for the purpose of getting them to transfer their cash to Dad's campaign. ...
... Trump Family Values, Ctd.:
Buyer's Remorse. Leigh Ann Caldwell of NBCnews. "Two big-money donors who have given or raised tens of thousands of dollars for Donald Trump are livid at the Republican presidential nominee and are asking for their money back, according to a bundler who raised money for Trump. 'I cannot express my disappointment enough regarding the recent events surrounding Mr. Trump,' one donor wrote to a Trump fundraiser in an email with the subject line 'Trump support withdrawal.'... The donor, who had given to and raised money for Trump, said. 'I respectfully request that my money be refunded.' Senior Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the campaign is 'unaware of any donors making such a request.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Akhilleus: Anyone think Trump will actually return the money? Soitanly not! I mean the guy doesn't pay anyone. Why would he give money back to schmoes he's already conned? Besides, Trump has already spent that money on a rack full of those pussy bow blouses Melania wore to the debate. The ones Maureen Dowd wasted an entire column considering.
Jessie Hellmann of the Hill: "Liberty University students on Wednesday issued a reprimand against their school's president, calling his defense of Donald Trump disappointing.... 'In the months since Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed him, Donald Trump has been inexorably associated with Liberty University. We are Liberty students who are disappointed with President Falwell's endorsement and are tired of being associated with one of the worst presidential candidates in American history,' the student organization Liberty United Against Trump wrote in a statement Wednesday. 'A majority of Liberty students, faculty and staff feel as we do. Nevertheless, President Falwell eagerly uses his national platform to advocate for Donald Trump,' the statement read." -- CW
Meet Your Trump Supporters. Message from Russia: Elect Trump or Else. Andrew Osborn of Reuters: "Americans should vote for Donald Trump as president next month or risk being dragged into a nuclear war, according to a Russian ultra-nationalist ally of President Vladimir Putin who likes to compare himself to the U.S. Republican candidate. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a flamboyant veteran lawmaker known for his fiery rhetoric, told Reuters in an interview that Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington." Akhilleus: Yes, and I am Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Zhirinovsky goes so far as to award Trumpy a pre-wrapped Nobel Peace Prize, which he can gaze at while Putin goes on a rampage across Eastern Europe. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Congressional Races
Alex Isenstadt & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Speaker Paul Ryan told top donors on Wednesday evening that he's growing concerned about whether House Republicans will be able to weather the political storm this November -- and suggested the outcome for his party could be dire. During a conference call, Ryan said he believed that House Republicans had taken a serious hit amid Donald Trump's freefall following release of the now-infamous 'Access Hollywood' video...." -- CW
Other News & Views
Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly: "... I can't see Paul Ryan actually being the Speaker of the House next year. And if he is, I can't see him lasting for very long." -- CW
Stacy Cowley & Michael Corkery of the New York Times: "The scandal engulfing Wells Fargo toppled its chief executive on Wednesday, as John G. Stumpf announced his departure from the company, effective immediately. The move was a swift and stunning fall for an executive whose bank made it through the 2008 financial crisis relatively unscathed only to be undone by a product sales scandal that pervaded its community banking division and has percolated under the surface for years.... The timing and swiftness of his departure came as a surprise to the bank's board." -- CW
Gary Gately of the Washington Post: "Many white people fought alongside African Americans in the civil rights movement. But few made as vital and enduring an impact as Jack Greenberg, a protege of and successor to Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Mr. Greenberg, who died Oct. 12 at 91, joined the New York-based legal organization in 1949, fresh out of Columbia Law School. At the time, civil rights law was a small field frequently overlooked by ambitious white lawyers, but Mr. Greenberg said he was invigorated by the principles at stake and the intellectual challenge on hand." -- CW
Linda Greenhouse: Litigious conservatives now seek out judges who will "legislate from the bench," as long as the judge is likely to "legislate" their way. "The notion of legislating from the bench was never more than a political slogan. Now it's simply fatuous. That doesn't mean that it won't be heard at the next Senate confirmation hearing. It's easier for some senators to accuse judges of legislating from the bench than to do any actual legislating themselves." -- CW
Beyond the Beltway
Scott Suppression Scheme Scotched. Gary Rohrer of the LA Times: "Floridians will get one more week, through Tuesday, Oct. 18, to register to vote, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The move could tip the balance of a pivotal swing state as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump make their pitch to voters in the final month of the campaign. After a one hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker ruled the right to vote was fundamental and shouldn't be jeopardized because of a natural disaster like Hurricane Matthew.... The suit was filed Sunday by the Florida Democratic Party after Gov. Rick Scott refused to extend the deadline due to disruptions caused by Hurricane Matthew." -- Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Dave Altimari, et al., of the Hartford Courant: "Traffic is once again flowing on Main Street [in Hartford, Ct.], where a twin-engine plane crashed yards from Pratt & Whitney property Tuesday, but questions linger about the cause of the crash. A high-ranking local law enforcement official said Wednesday that the student pilot [Feras M. Freitekh] and instructor were arguing shortly before the crash, which killed the student. Another source said the student pilot started flying the plane erratically and the instructor fought to gain control before the crash. The source said the student was distraught and feeling stressed over his poor performance at the flight academy. A federal official told The Courant that the crash appears to have been a case of suicide, and that nothing had been found by Wednesday evening to suggest terrorism." -- CW
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The San Francisco Police Department stops and searches African Americans at a disproportionately high rate and does not adequately investigate officers using force, a Justice Department review found. The review -- released Wednesday by the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services -- uncovered 'numerous indicators of implicit and institutionalized bias against minority groups,' along with insufficient training and data collection. It found the vast majority of those killed by police were people of color." -- CW
Wesley Lowery & Cheryl Thompson of the Washington Post: "Keith Lamont Scott was struck at least three times by bullets fired by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, with at least one of the fatal shots striking him in the back, according to a private autopsy conducted for his family and obtained by The Washington Post." -- CW
News Ledes
Washington Post: "Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for work that the Swedish Academy described as 'having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.' He is the first American to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993, and a groundbreaking choice by the Nobel committee to select the first literature laureate whose career has primarily been as a musician." -- CW
New York Times: "King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who took the throne of the kingdom once known as Siam shortly after World War II and held it for more than 70 years, establishing himself as a revered personification of Thai nationhood, died on Thursday in Bangkok. He was 88 and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in history.... The military junta, which seized power in a coup two years ago, derives its authority from the king. The king's heir apparent, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, is seen by many as a jet-setting playboy and not held in the same regard as his father. And the king’s death raises questions about the future of the monarchy itself." -- CW
Share Article
Reader Comments (25)
Yesterday when I posted (what I thought was with some irony) in my comment regarding Nate Silver's state-by-state voters comparing women to men I wrote, "...to paraphrase Bridget Kelly of Bridgegate notoriety, maybe "...it's time for some voting rights problems for men." Kind of, here's how it felt, fellows when women weren't allowed to vote. A little experiment for 2016!
Shudda have known the reverse would appeal to the Confederates "#RepealThe19th" rearing their ugly, misogynistic heads yet again.
Practically every headline today on all news sites is depressing about the state of stupidity that exists. To my annoyance, the new trick of videos that open without my clicking on them and blasting sound while I'm reading an article increases each time it happens. But, yesterday's 90 seconds or so of one with Trump's irritating insults coming from an event in Lakeland, Florida....was quickly followed by Hilliary's event in the mid-West. What struck me most was the striking difference in the crowds at each event. Most telling was the difference in dress, in behavior, and shout outs. In fact, it was demonstrable as to which group had the higher IQ!
Trump unravels before our eyes and his supporters swoon!
You, MAG, mention the difference in the crowds at these rallies. What I have noticed is that at almost at every Trump rally there are the ubiquitous blond beauties ––three or four––placed very close to his podium. Yesterday I noticed three of these very striking women that I swear were in the audience in a rally in another state days before. My guess: These gals are paid to travel around with the campaign and are seated strategically at the rallies. It's like dressing up hamburger helper with a dash of cognac.
Last night watched the Dalton Trumbo documentary. The chilling era of black listing seems long ago and I remember thinking, long ago, that this country would never experience anything like that again. Along comes the man from the towering volcano and proves me wrong.
It is always very difficult to come up with the 'dumbest thing ever said' since there is so much competition. But I think Trump did it.
He threatened the NYT and every one else if they released any more tapes of him involving his sexual abuse of women. In other words, Trump just admitted that he did it so often there is a good chance there is more.
Then trying to claim the Bill was a rapist looks like Trump is trying to say it's OK for a POTUS.
And telling absurd lies is no big deal for Republicans because their 'base' doesn't give a damn.
Welcome to America, the land of the free and the home of sex.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree- my daughter's post on Facebook.
"This presidential race is a hot mess for many reasons but the saddest to me is what's come out of the word work and become entirely acceptable to BE - loudly and proudly. What's incredible is that the same people who say racism, sexism, and rampant sexual assault don't exist are the same ones showing up at Trump rallies screaming "white power", wearing T-shirts with images of Hillary Clinton reading "CUNT" and saying that grabbing women by the pussy without consent is "no big deal" (presumably because they wish they had enough money and power to do the same). I don't know what's worse.. Obama being president and those people on their computers posting anonymously or at least now, having them out in public, feeling totally free to put everything in their heads and hearts out into the world, publicly. Because if the presidential nominee can say it, they sure as hell can. People are letting it all hang out, so there's no more hiding the hate in the hearts of so many. Election aside, what's become more of a focus for me is how divided we are when it comes to how we treat each other, what respect people have and don't have for one another, how much people judge and how scared so many must feel to have that inside of them. So very sad."
The No Irony Zone
The House of Trumpii issued a proclamation this morning declaring that the New York Times is simply the worst of the worst for reaching back decades and bringing forward women with stories of sexual abuse with which to tarnish Trumpus Magnatus. Those efforts are entirely different, of course, from Trumpus's reaching back decades and bringing forward women with stories of sexual abuse with which to tarnish Bill Clinton and having his surrogates pay "protesters" to scream "Rapist" at Clinton campaign events.
But Bill Clinton is not running for president. Trumpy is.
The moment the lie "I have not" slithered out of the orange pie hole past the forked tongue in response to Anderson Cooper's question about whether or not Magnatus has ever in his life made unwanted sexual advances toward women, I thought, well, this guy just taped a big ol' bullseye to his fat ass. There must be, I felt, hundreds of women over the years who can prove "I have not" to be another of Trump's legion of lies. In a courtroom it's an article of faith that an attorney not ask a question if the answer is uncertain. And in the public sphere, it's a pretty good idea not to make statements that can be definitively disproved with a couple of telephone calls. But not, apparently, in the House of Trumpii where the magnatus says "A" and "A" it is. But not in the real world.
So here we are. Like Marie, I applaud these women for coming forward knowing full well that Trump and his bottom feeding supporters and campaign assassins will be coming after them hammer and tong. My hope is that several dozen more will step up now that the game is afoot. The Trumpus head is teed up. All they need do is bring their best driver and give that lying, abusive son of a bitch a good whack between those squinty little eyes.
"Fore!"
(On a less ironic note, the idea of assaulting a complete stranger on a plane, groping her, trying to shove his hand up her skirt...this is vile, evil, criminal behavior. Walking in on underage girls to see if he can catch them naked? Who the fuck does that? There has to be a better term than sexual predator because for Trump it's all about demonstrating that he is the superior individual, that he, in effect, owns these girls and can do with them as he likes. This guy is damaged far beyond what I believed even a few weeks ago. But his supporters will chalk all this up to lies by the press to hurt the Glorious Leader. Some, however, the ones wearing t-shirts with disgusting references to Hillary Clinton, are probably jealous. They wish they could be the ones to grope "babes" they find "hot" and get away with it. "Hey, bro, what a man that Donald is, huh? Fuckin' dude gets it whenever he wants it!" As Marie would say, "Meet your Trump supporters".)
Bezos & Co. are re-hammering all the nails in DJT's coffin, just to make double sure that he stays in the box. Repeats of stories about DJT as candidate over the recent past.
(Thanks to Unwashed for last week's tutorial on creating clean links.)
MAG and PD,
The difference between the Trump crowds and the Clinton crowds has been painfully evident for many months. The Trump crowds are looking for a fight, feeling their victimhood at the hands of women, minorities, folks of different religions, they are ready to punch and kick anyone they feel can be punched and kicked (young girls, old men) without much danger of their victim fighting back; bullies are always cowards.
It was obvious at the last debate. Despite the polite admonition to refrain from responding during the debate, Trumpbots routinely ignored that request for civility, cheering most loudly when Trump threatened to imprison Hillary Clinton if he won. Fascist pricks, all. And on national television. Civility doesn't impress or appeal to them because Trump is the most uncivilized boor to ever make it this far in American political history.
I would edit Clinton's epithet and make it "Basket of Despicables".
(A little more classy than Basket of Douchebags, although...)
@AK: the problem is, if indeed it really is a problem, is that the Trumpeters like Kellyann Conway, say that these women who have come out and bared their sordid stories are lying––maybe have been dug up by the Clinton campaign––there is no way to prove their validity, so they say. Never mind that these stories correspond to the "greatest lover in the world"[s] mouth–– makes no difference. Recall that fifty or more women have come out against Cosby and still many have said these women are lying or in it for the money. Recall also that prayers are answered each and every day and dinosaurs roamed the earth when man was swinging by the limbs of trees.
Patrick,
I've been quietly smiling every time I spy another WaPo article ripping Donaldo, and man, there's been a slew of 'em. It's a bit like that old saw about the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
So here's the Post, leagues removed from its old days under Ben Bradlee and Mrs. Graham, and no friend to progressives in its modern incarnation, being, as it has become, a retirement home for Bush speechwriters and hangers-on, tearing into Donald (Jerkoff) Trump, sometimes several times a day. Mirabile dictu! But one must remember that Trumpy himself has been attacking Bezos and the Post with gusto and lies for months, stating numerous times that Amazon is dangerous and that Bezos had purchased the Post ("a toy") as a way to influence congress to diminish taxes on Amazon (another idea Trump wishes he had thought of first, no doubt).
And leave us not forget the fact that with so many former mandarins from the Court of The Decider, whose family Trumpy humiliated and excoriated from day one of this Magic Ego Ride, there aren't many neo-con wingers on board inclined to defend or support the Orange Headed Bigot. Christ, even Jen Rubin, who pins pictures of Confederate strongmen up on her bedroom wall and pens love letters to them (disguised as, ya know, real journalism) hates Trump.
So there ya go. Next stop, Washington Post endorses Hillary Clinton.
How ya like them apples, Donnie, eh? Maybe when a book is written about this whole megillah, you can buy it on Amazon!
Great video, Marie! Have already sent the link on to several people. Each part was excellent. (The four best-selling 'authors'—despicable creeps, all of them from Dinesh D'Souza to Dick 'toe-sucking jerk' Morris.) What is it with D's. Despicable. Deplorable. Disgraceful. Disgusting. Dumb!
Agree with you Ak, deplorables is much too genteel a description.
I have a raised appreciation for Jeff Bezos and the WaPo journalists. The contrast between the candidates is huge...and when you hear the words all again in Trump's own voice, you'll feel as though you need a long, hot shower.
PD,
The difference, I think, between the allegations made by these women against Trump and those against Cosby is that the Cosby attacks were all made in secret with the women drugged. There were no other witnesses. In at least a few cases, Trump's transgressions were witnessed by dozens of onlookers, such as all the contestants in various beauty pageants who were ogled or groped. It's pretty hard to say Trump never walked in on underage girls while they were in various stages of undress when every girl there saw it happen.
Also, it seems that other women who were attacked told others of Trump's actions soon after. Yes, this is second hand testimony, but it does establish a pattern. I don't know how many of Cosby's victims reported the rapes after they occurred but doing so certainly helps to diminish the rebuttal that they were making up stories for money or publicity.
In any event, getting the truth out about both of these assholes can be nothing but a good thing.
@MAG: What video???
Marie
Vhat? I'm vas too vague? The WaPo one/endorsement. Once I clicked on it things continued with other parts.
According to the Nobel Prize committee, Donaldo is not the only one with the "best words". Minnesota native Robert Zimmerman has just been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Bob Dylan has a few good words for the followers of the Trump Monster:
"Ain't it hard when you discover that, he wasn't really where it's at, after he took from you everything he could steal. How does it feel?"
Congratulations, Bob.
P.S. I wasn't booing when you picked up that electric guitar. Rock on, baby.
A little video to lighten the load.
Seems like the faux righteous dimwits, who think they are living the perfect Catholic life got awfully exercised over Podesta's emails. It was pointed out that they were practicing a bastardized version of Catholicism, which is a commentary on them, not the faith. Really, it's about time somebody challenged the hypocrisy. The Year of Mercy, ring a bell?
Who is the "mutual friend" of Stone and Assange? That mutual friend may be the conduit for the debunked Sputnik article that Eichenwald exposed in his column a few days ago. The hard copy that Trump was reading at one of his gatherings of loud idiots. Harry Reid called for the FBI to investigate Trump adviser links to Russia back in August and specifically included Stone in the request.
Huff Post-Donald Trump's campaign plans to go 'buck wild' and paint Bill Clinton 'as Bill Cosby
http://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/10/13/donald-trumps-campaign-plans-to-go-buck-wild-and-paint-bill-c/21581687/
Besides the fact that I am sure Bill is not running for office, what is Trump saying. I can only think of two possibilities.
If Bill did so can I.
Since Hillary is a women, Bill will be the real POTUS.
Marvin,
Who knows what in the holy hell Trump means when he opens the word hole? I'm pretty sure he doesn't. Wind him up and off he goes, an incarnate object lesson in the horrors of bad grammar and perplexing usage: dangling modifiers, shifting tenses, vague pronouns, confusion about passive and active voices, inability to understand and properly use the subjunctive, run on sentences, orphaned dependent clauses...we're not talking stylistics here, we're talking stuff like basic subject-verb agreement; but worse, the meaning is often buried to the point of surrealism.
"... yacketayakking screaming vomiting whispering facts and memories and anecdotes and eyeball kicks and shocks of hospitals and jails and wars, whole intellects disgorged in total recall for seven days and nights with brilliant eyes, meat for the Synagogue cast on the pavement, who vanished into nowhere Zen New Jersey leaving a trail of ambiguous picture postcards of Atlantic City Hall..."
...and like that. Only not that good.
Mostly what Trump is saying is "Trump great. Everyone else bad".
If you'd like to try your hand at creating a Trump word salad, give it a shot.
A couple of weeks ago I read a transcript of Trump's response to a question about cyber security. It was beyond unintelligible. It really was like something spit out by a nonsense word generator. Here's a little of what this idiot had to say about a serious problem facing the next president:
"We came in with the Internet, we came up with the Internet...So we have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is — it is a huge problem. I have a son. He’s 10 years old. He has computers. He is so good with these computers, it’s unbelievable. The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it’s hardly doable...But that’s true throughout our whole governmental society. We have so many things that we have to do better, Lester, and certainly cyber is one of them."
Errr....what?
The guy is a past master at non sequiturs. "I never groped that woman. I will kick the hell out of ISIS." "Cyber is a huge problem. I have a son."
It's bad enough to listen to this bullshit but it's truly disconcerting to read the words and realize that not only is this guy a moron, he's an illiterate moron.
(Excerpt from "Howl", Allen Ginsberg. Not an illiterate moron.)
Whyte,
A good one. I'll see that video and raise you.
So, Akhilleus, you're saying that DJT is not among the best minds of my generation?
@ Patrick: I'm glad that you found the tutorial useful. I also hope that others will not continue to be intimidated by a little bit of html code. If it wasn't for CW's instruction I never would have learned how to create links myself.
I was being selfish when I posted the instructions. I travel about 70-75% of my work time, spending a lot of time waiting for and flying in airplanes, eating by myself for breakfast and dinner while catching up on the news reading on my mobile, living out of a suitcase in various hotels. Being able to simply click on a hyperlink made my life somewhat easier because I didn't know how to copy and paste non-linked URL text from others comments.
Since then I have figured out how to select, copy and paste non-linked URLs from comments on my mobile:
1. While reading a comment, press and hold your finger within the text of the pasted non-linked URL. Part of the text will be highlighted and blue thingies will appear at the beginning and end of the highlighted text, as well as an options box.
2. Move the first blue thingie to the front of the URL text
3. Move the second blue thingie to the end.
4. Select Copy from the options box.
5. Scroll to the top of your screen to expose the URL box.
6. Press and hold you finger on the URL box until the text is highlighted and options pop up.
7. Select Paste
8. Press Go
This works for Android devices but I can't speak for Apple products. Moving the blue thingies can be a little tricky, sometimes selecting more than you wanted. With a little practice you'll get the hang of it.
As I mentioned I travel a lot, upwards of 200 segments, i.e. take-offs and landings, a year for the last 15 years. As a result I've earned top-tier frequent flier status for most of those years. One benefit is that I am usually upgraded from hostage class in the back of the bus to first class up front.
During all these flights I have never witnessed any behavior like that of Drumpf against Jessica Leeds. When I read her account last night one aspect of her allegation struck me odd, the one about him raising the arm rest to get at her to do his dastardly deeds. What arm rest? Every first-class seat I've been in, that I can recall, has had a fixed center console between the seats. Maybe planes were different 30 years ago, I didn't have the opportunity to notice back then.
Unfortunately, Trumpbot Katrina Pierson raised the same question I did. I certainly don't mean to debunk Leeds' account or support Pierson in any way. Without knowing what make, model, and version of plane the incident occurred on, it's hard to say either way.
The only thing Trump is doing now is trying to hurt Hillary. Not as a competitor for POTUS but as a female human. That is the whole Bill story. There are several forms of NPD. This is the one called malignant.
@Unwashed. Thirty plus years ago (around the time Leeds traveled also)... yes, arm rests came up even in First Class as I remember.. . some folded back into the seat back—having reclined & relaxed across two seats all to myself from NYC to LA and back it was super.
My only bad seatmate experience came on a flight from Madrid to Paris when after some light, ordinary conversation this jerk suddenly proposed kissing me. What? I didn't waste a second putting that jerk away with my cold WTF are you thinking. Mostly, it was great meeting others and discovering fine people on my trips. But, I don't discount what happened to Leeds.
Hearing Trump talk about suing NYT and his accusers made me think of all the lawsuits he gets involved in. Lawyers cross examining Trump from now on will have such a breathtaking amount of material to attack his credibility. Articles about him lying every five minutes or three minutes fifteen seconds. Fact checker after fact checker saying seventy percent of his statements are lies. "I see you received an award in 2015 Mr Trump, Politifact's Lie of the Year." He may be doing more losing in the future.
On another note, Trump's kids must be pulling their hair out watching Donald ruin his name and the Trump Organization's name around the world. They may have a little work to do after the election.
To all the things Trumpado is for (sexual assault, tax evasion, schmoozing with mobsters, taking sides with Russia over the US, encouraging foreign spies to screw with an American presidential election, stiffing contractors in order to line his own pockets, allowing rogue nations to acquire nuclear weapons, pulling out of US commitments to NATO, banning immigrants based on a religious test, etc.) we can now add Ethic Cleansing and genocide. He's apparently unhappy that Serbian war criminals didn't get to finish off every Muslim in the country because of the intervention of allied forces during the Balkans War.
This guy is the lowest of the low.