;)
The Conversation -- August 14, 2024
Marie: I set Colbert's monologue to start with the part about the Musk/Trump "conversation": ~~~
Michael Sisak & Jennifer Peltz of the AP: "Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month. In a decision posted Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump's demand was a rehash 'rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims' about his ability to remain impartial. It is the third time that Merchan has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president...."
Marianne LeVine & Clara Morse of the Washington Post think they have found the reason that Donald Trump keeps bringing up the fictional Hannibal Lecter during his rallies: "A Trump rally is a sort of time capsule, a frozen-in-amber moment from an earlier era -- the 1980s -- when Trump ruled the New York City clubs and tabloids and first graced the cover of Time magazine. His self-curated rally playlists include hits like 'Y.M.C.A.' (1978) and 'Gloria' (1982). The fit of his suits and the length of his ties scream 1980s. Trump is the 'crypt keeper for the 1980s,' which was 'the high point of his life until he became president,' said Tim O'Brien, a Trump biographer who has criticized the former president.... 'None of his tastes have been updated in decades.' Trump's Hannibal Lecter obsession fits perfectly in this mold." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This sounds right. It's also the period in which the U.S. took a sharp right turn after a decades-long, if sputtering, progressive period in which the nation, at least on the surface, very slowly became more inclusive. Beginning in 1980, we had a backlash: Republican presidents for 12 years, followed by a Democratic president who, as a Southerner, adopted many ring-wing positions. Another conservative Republican followed him. The '80s changed the country in a profound and deleterious way.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Zach Montague of the New York Times: "Freed from the campaign trail and the grinding pursuit of another term, President Biden traveled to New Orleans on Tuesday to focus on a project close to his heart: the 'moonshot' effort to sharply cut cancer deaths in the United States that he carried over from his time as vice president and has become a hallmark of his presidency. Speaking at Tulane University, Mr. Biden and ... Jill Biden announced eight research centers, including one at Tulane, that will collectively receive $150 million in research awards aimed at pioneering new methods of precision cancer surgery. Before addressing a crowd on campus, the president and the first lady met with a team of researchers who demonstrated the technology under development at Tulane.... Mr. Biden described touring cancer centers in Australia and Ireland, and being frustrated by a lack of international collaboration."
Presidential Race
Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "Vice President Kamala Harris aims to share the campaign trail vibes with the public in Chicago next week with free manicures, friendship bracelet making and campaign training at the city's convention center. The daytime programing, dubbed 'DemPalooza' by party bosses, will take place at the McCormick Place convention center, about 5 miles from the United Center where more than 4,000 credentialed delegates will gather Monday through Thursday.... The giveaways and celebratory atmosphere are a tactic Democrats and independent groups supporting them have been using this year to recruit volunteers and interest disaffected voters in the coming elections."
Since Donald Trump is so ignorant about how Kamala Harris got her last name, here's an article by Jeff Stein of the Washington Post which delves into the career of Kamala's father, Dr. Donald Harris, an economist who received Jamaica's Order of Merit for his work credited with boosting the nation's economy. (Also linked yesterday.)
Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Speaking at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees convention in Los Angeles, [Gov. Tim] Walz responded directly for the first time to the claims pushed by ... Donald J. Trump's campaign that he exaggerated his military record to suggest he had served in combat when he had not, and that he left his Army National Guard unit to run for public office in order to avoid deploying to Iraq.... Mr. Walz, a former teacher -- and, as he noted, the first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronal Reagan -- framed himself and Ms. Harris as warriors for the working class, highlighting pro-labor bills he signed in Minnesota and his support for federal legislation like the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a labor rights bill. By contrast, Mr. Walz painted Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance as out-of-touch elitists. 'The only thing those two guys know about working people is how to work to take advantage of them.'" The Hill's report is here. MB: Think Walz' criticism of Trump's & Vance's labor records is unfair? Read some of the stories linked below.
Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Gov. Tim Walz's response to the unrest [following George Floyd's murder] has attracted new scrutiny, and diverging opinions, since he joined Kamala Harris's ticket.... A series of official reports about that week found failures at all levels of government, including some on the governor's part.... Mr. Walz did not immediately anticipate how widespread and violent the riots would become and did not mobilize the Guard when first asked to do so. Interviews, documents and public statements also show that, as the violence increased, Mr. Walz moved to take command of the response, flooding Minneapolis with state personnel who helped restore order."
Rebecca Picciotti & Lora Kolodny of CNBC: "The United Auto Workers union on Tuesday filed federal labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board against ... Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk for publicly applauding the practice of firing employees who threaten to strike. 'I look at what you do,' Trump said to Musk during a two-hour interview Monday night on X.... 'You walk in, you say, "You want to quit?" They go on strike,' Trump said to Musk.... 'I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, "That's okay, you're all gone. You're all gone. So, every one of you is gone,"' Trump said. Trump was referring to the 2022 gutting of Twitter staff after Musk took over the social media business and renamed it X. It is illegal to fire workers who threaten to strike, because the right to strike is protected under federal labor law. 'When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean,' UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement Tuesday on the new charges. 'When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean.'" (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
Rex Huppke of USA Today, republished by Yahoo! News: "For a fascism-curious billionaire who loves cuddling up to right-wing loons, Elon Musk sure is good at making right-wing politicians look stupid.... Donald Trump had loudly trumpeted a planned Monday night interview with Musk that would stream on X. But much like the disastrous X-platformed launch of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, the Musk/Trump interview failed to launch, leaving social media users laughing at the collective incompetence.... Of course, things didn't get better for Trump once the interview was able to proceed.... He was rambling, babbling on about crowd sizes and immigration and President Joe Biden and whatever else seemed to pass through his mind. He was also badly slurring his words, raising questions about his health, and doing nothing to knock down rising concerns about his age and well-being. He sounded like a disoriented, racist Daffy Duck." (Also linked yesterday.)
Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "In keeping with his preference that the universe continue to engage with him as though he is still president, Donald Trump's team has adopted the habit of occasionally referring to his public comments and appearances as addresses to the nation,' [as they did with his conversation with Elon Musk Monday].... Highfalutin descriptors not withstanding, that conversation was not an address to the nation. It was two ideological allies touring the right-wing rhetorical bubble and, like new best friends in fourth grade, scrambling over each other to point out their favorite parts.... Over the course of the conversation, there were countless misrepresentations and dishonesties, the background noise of the Trumpian rhetorical space."~~~
~~~ Marie: Here's the good news about Bump's post: Bump writes from a liberal POV, but his posts -- even if they favor liberal interests -- are usually rather dispassionate. Bump normally lets the facts do the talking. However, here he just can't help himself, and he lets his disdain for the fatcat bros spill out on the page. This is going from neutral to mockery in at least second gear. To a more limited extent, I've noticed other reporters, even straight reporters, at least shift -- however temporarily -- into first.
For quite the humorous take on the Trump-Musk fiasco, we turn to Guardian columnist Marina Hyde: "Let's deal only briefly with the eventual contents of Elon and Donald's fireside chat, as long as we're clear the fire they were sitting next to was a dumpster, sparks from which had long since set both their pants on fire." Droll throughout.
Jon Stewart points out how much Donald is missing Joe. In the end, Jon comes up with a plan that will certainly appeal to Trump, as it's kind of Trump's idea, and he has tried it before. I don't usually rerun videos, BUT I'm doing so here because the bit that begins at 11:25 min. in, where Stewart compares Trump's attacks on Biden to his attacks on Harris. A wonder to behold and something you should hear:~~~
JD Vance, "Nightmare" Employer. Allison Gordon, et al., of CNN: In 2017, JD Vance "invested in AppHarvest, a startup that promised a high-tech future for farming and for the workers of Eastern Kentucky.... Over a four-year span, Vance was an early investor, board member and public pitchman for the indoor-agriculture company.... Last year, facing hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, AppHarvest declared bankruptcy.... A CNN review of public documents, and interviews with a dozen former workers, shows that AppHarvest not only failed as a business after pursuing rapid growth, but also provided a grim job experience for many of the working-class Kentuckians Vance has vowed to help. AppHarvest employees said they were forced to work in grueling conditions inside the company's greenhouse, where temperatures often soared into the triple digits.... Despite promising local jobs, the company eventually began contracting migrant workers from Mexico, Guatemala and other countries...."
"Hillbilly Elegy" = Phony Screed Against Poor People. Lennard Davis in the Conversation, republished by Salon: "... there's a bit of a shell game going on when it comes to [JD] Vance's poverty credentials.... The reality -- one that Vance only subtly acknowledges in his memoir -- is that he is not poor. Nor is he a hillbilly. He grew up firmly in Ohio's middle class.... His family never had to worry about money; his grandfather, grandmother and mother all had houses in a suburban neighborhood in Middletown, Ohio. He admits that his grandfather 'owned stock in Armco and had a lucrative pension.'" Thanks to RAS for the link.
Cristiano Lima-Strong of the Washington Post: "Republicans have spent the better part of a decade accusing social media companies of 'censoring' conservative viewpoints ... to benefit Democrats. Now Democrats are ... questioning whether X -- owned by an outspoken GOP ally in Elon Musk -- is suppressing content favoring Vice President Kamala Harris to help ... Donald Trump's reelection bid. On Monday, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) called on House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to 'investigate political censorship' on X, citing reports that the company's chatbot, Grok, falsely told users Harris was ineligible to appear on the 2024 presidential ballot. The chatbot shared the false information for more than a week until it was corrected in late July.... Nadler voiced similar concerns in a letter last month after some users reported temporarily being unable to follow an X account for the Harris campaign. Nadler wrote that if X was 'intentionally throttling or blocking' the account, it would 'amount to egregious censorship.'... A handful of recent content moderation decisions by X have heightened those concerns."
Tania Ganguli of the New York Times: "More Than a Vote, a nonprofit organization founded by LeBron James in 2020, is rebooting this fall with a new focus on women's issues and reproductive rights. Nneka Ogwumike, a nine-time W.N.B.A. All-Star with the Seattle Storm and president of the players union, will take over James's role in leading the organization, and has recruited a group of female athletes to her cause. 'It's more than just abortion,' Ogwumike said in an interview. 'It's all about educating people about all the different roles that exist in society that support and protect the freedoms of women when it comes to family planning, I.V.F., birth control, everything. There's just a lot that's at stake.' More Than a Vote was founded when, motivated by nationwide protest movements after the killing by police of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, athletes like James said they were starting to think more deeply about how they could use their platforms."
Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Will Sommer & Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "For now, the decision among the [news] outlets [-- Politico, the Washington Post & the New York Times --] that received documents [alleged obtained through an Iranian hacking operation] has been not to publish them, focusing instead on the possible hack itself.... In 2016, Trump relished Russian hacks of Democratic campaign emails, once asking the country to find more of Hillary Clinton's emails with the phrase, 'Russia, if you're listening.' But in the aftermath of its own possible hack, the Trump campaign told reporters that to publish the material would be assisting a foreign state actor in undermining democracy.... 'It would certainly be ironic if Trump, of all people, benefited from the media learning lessons from a situation he exploited,' said Ben Smith, Semafor editor in chief.... Despite the reluctance of news outlets to publish material, if the hackers want the documents to be available online, they will be."
More Boss-from-Hell Musk News: Irish Eyes Are Smiling. Ashley Belanger of Ars Publica: "Elon Musk had no business sending Twitter employees an email giving them 24 hours to click 'yes' to keep their jobs or else voluntarily resign during his takeover in 2022, an Irish workplace watchdog ruled Monday. Not only did the email not provide staff with enough notice, the labor court ruled, but also any employee's failure to click 'yes' could in no way constitute a legal act of resignation. Instead, the court reviewed evidence alleging that the email appeared designed to either get employees to agree to new employment terms, sight unseen, or else push employees to volunteer for dismissal during a time of mass layoffs across Twitter.... An adjudication officer for the Irish Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Michael MacNamee, ruled that Twitter's abrupt dismissal of an Ireland-based senior executive, Gary Rooney, was unfair, the Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ reported.... Now, instead of paying Rooney the draft severance amount worth a little more than $25,000, Twitter[/X] ... has to pay Rooney more than $600,000. According to many outlets, this is a record award from the WRC...."
~~~ Marie: Musk's cruelty, intimidating behavior and lack of just normal human feelings here is jaw-dropping. He is a very damaged person, and walking evidence that billions of dollars cannot fix a person. If, on the surface, living well is the best revenge, it is not the best remedy.
Crooked Friend of Crooked Trump Has Crooked Lawyer. (Allegedly!) Spencer Hsu & Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: "A pro-Trump lawyer facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was disqualified Tuesday from representing former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne after a judge found her and Byrne responsible for leaking up to 1 million confidential records turned over in a separate defamation lawsuit. Stefanie Lambert was barred from representing Byrne, a prominent funder of adherents of election misinformation, in a $1.6 billion damages lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, the target of false attacks over ... Donald Trump's 2020 election loss. U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya of Washington disqualified Lambert over violations beginning last March with her disclosure of Dominion emails to a county sheriff in southwestern Michigan and to a court filing in her own criminal case in Michigan, despite a court order requiring that records in the defamation case be kept confidential." ~~~
~~~ Crooked Lawyer of Crooked Friend (Allegedly!) of Crooked Trump Arrested as Fugitive. Rachel Weiner & Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: "An attorney involved in efforts to upend the results of the 2020 election was arrested in federal court in Washington this week and ordered to turn herself in to authorities in Michigan as civil and criminal cases involving claims of voter fraud collided. Stefanie Lambert's arrest came more than a week after officials had issued a bench warrant for failing to appear for a hearing in her criminal case in Michigan, where she is charged with illegally breaching voting machines, and days after she came under scrutiny for the release of documents as the attorney for an ally of former president Donald Trump in a federal defamation case. Lambert was held at a D.C. detention center as a 'fugitive from justice' until Tuesday, when a judge released her on an unsecured $10,000 bond with orders to turn herself in to the police in Michigan by Wednesday or face rearrest."
Kenneth Vogel of the New York Times: "Hunter Biden sought assistance from the U.S. government for a potentially lucrative energy project in Italy while his father was vice president, according to newly released records and interviews. The records, which the Biden administration had withheld for years, indicate that Hunter Biden wrote at least one letter to the U.S. ambassador to Italy in 2016 seeking assistance for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, where he was a board member. Embassy officials appear to have been uneasy with the request from the son of the sitting vice president on behalf of a foreign company.... The State Department did not release the actual text of the letter. A White House spokesman said the president was not aware when he was vice president that his son was reaching out to the U.S. Embassy in Italy on behalf of Burisma."
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Arizona. Rio Yamat of the AP: "Arizona voters will get to decide in November whether to add the right to an abortion to the state constitution. The Arizona secretary of state's office said Monday that it had certified 577,971 signatures -- far above the required number that the coalition supporting the ballot measure had to submit in order to put the question before voters. The coalition, Arizona for Abortion Access, said it is the most signatures validated for a citizens initiative in state history. 'This is a huge win for Arizona voters who will now get to vote YES on restoring and protecting the right to access abortion care, free from political interference, once and for all,' campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement."
Kansas. Ben Brasch & Sofia Andrade of the Washington Post: "A former police chief in Kansas was charged Monday with a felony for allegedly tampering with an investigation into his raid of a small-town newspaper's office. Gideon Cody faces a single count of interference with a judicial process, according to Marion County court records. Barry R. Wilkerson, one of the two special prosecutors assigned to the case, alleged that Cody 'induced a witness to withhold information,' according to the court filing. No attorney was listed online as representing Cody. He could not immediately be reached by phone. The Aug. 11, 2023, raid of the Marion County Record's newsroom and the home of its editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, brought the nation's attention to a county of 12,000 residents roughly 60 miles north of Wichita. The raid sparked national outrage from press freedom advocates.... Meyer ... told The Post on Tuesday that ... the chief should be charged over the raid itself," not just the cover-up. (Also linked yesterday.)
Maryland. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D), a former House majority leader and longtime Maryland politician, sought medical care for a mild stroke Sunday night, his office said in a statement Tuesday. 'Mr. Hoyer has responded well to treatment and has no lingering symptoms,' his ... spokesperson, Margaret Mulkerrin, said in a statement."
Minnesota Congressional Race. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the progressive lightning rod whose unabated criticism of Israel has deepened the fissures in the Democratic Party over the war in Gaza, won her primary on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. While she prevailed, it has been a rocky summer for the 'squad,' the ultraliberal faction of lawmakers in the House. Two other members of the group, Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York and Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, suffered primary defeats in June and August after pro-Israel groups spent millions trying to influence those contests."
Minnesota Senate Race. Friend of Bannon, Alex Jones Wins GOP Primary. Jared Gans of the Hill: "Former NBA player Royce White won the Republican Senate primary to take on Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota.... White, backed by the state GOP, emerged from a crowded field of candidates jockeying to go up against the Democrat incumbent, including business executive Joe Fraser. White reportedly boasts allies in ex-Trump aide Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and went into Tuesday's contest as the top fundraiser, according to FEC filings. Fraser was backed by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) and former Republican Sens. Rudy Boschwitz and Norm Coleman...." MB: Okay, then, good choice, Minnesota Republicans!
Texas Congressional Race. Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "Former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner has won the Democratic nomination to replace the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), making Turner her likely successor next year in the heavily Democratic district that she represented for nearly three decades. Democratic precinct chairs in the 18th Congressional District on Tuesday night picked Turner to take Jackson Lee's place on the November ballot after she died last month. Turner faced five opponents in the first round of voting before advancing to a runoff against Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member who ran against Jackson Lee in the March primary."
Wisconsin Senate Race. Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Eric Hovde, a wealthy businessman, won the Republican nomination for Senate in Wisconsin on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, setting up a key race this fall with Senator Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic incumbent.... He ... drew criticism this year for suggesting that 'almost nobody in a nursing home' is mentally competent to vote, saying he had gained expertise regarding nursing homes because the bank he owns lends to them."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al.
Kyle Melnick & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration has approved about $20 billion in new weapons sales to Israel over the next several years, amid fading hopes that a negotiating session scheduled for Thursday would lead to a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release. Notification of the pending sale was sent to Congress on Tuesday. It includes F-15 fighter jets, 120mm tank ammunition, tactical vehicles, AMRAAM antiaircraft missiles and high-explosive mortars. The tactical vehicles and about 50,000 mortar cartridges are expected to be delivered starting in 2026. The following year, more than 32,000 120mm tank-ammunition cartridges are estimated to arrive in Israel."
The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Japan PM Does a Biden. River Davis of the New York Times: "Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, intends to step down next month, bowing to pressure within his party to move on from his unpopular leadership, news outlets reported. Mr. Kishida has informed officials in his administration of his intention not to run in a governing-party election in September, according to Japanese news outlets...."
Thailand. Sui-Lee Wee of the New York Times: "Thailand's Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office on Wednesday, throwing the country into fresh turmoil and creating deeper uncertainty about the political future of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. In a 5-4 verdict, the court ruled that Mr. Srettha, who took office almost a year ago, violated moral and ethical standards set out in the constitution because he appointed an ally of his benefactor, Thaksin Shinawatra, to his cabinet. Mr. Srettha was seen as a figurehead prime minister, with Mr. Thaksin playing a powerful behind-the-scenes role. Wednesday's ruling served as a warning to the ambitions of Mr. Thaksin, himself a former prime minister and long a foil to Thailand's royalist-military establishment." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh why, oh why, can't we have a supreme court who would toss out leaders for gross moral turpitude?
News Ledes
New York Times: "Gena Rowlands, the intense, elegant dramatic actress who, often in collaboration with her husband, John Cassavetes, starred in a series of introspective independent films, has died. She was 94."
New York Times: "The Consumer Price Index cooled in July compared with a year earlier, providing further evidence that inflation is moderating and likely keeping the Federal Reserve firmly on track to cut interest rates at its meeting next month. Overall inflation was 2.9 percent in July on a yearly basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, easing slightly from 3 percent in June. The figure was milder than economists had expected, and it marked the first time inflation has slipped below 3 percent since 2021. While inflation still exceeds the 2 percent that was normal before the coronavirus pandemic, it is much slower than the 9.1 percent peak in 2022."
New York Times: "Tropical Storm Ernesto lashed eastern Puerto Rico with strong winds and heavy rain early Wednesday as it strengthened, prompting warnings across parts of the Caribbean. Ernesto is expected to reach hurricane strength later on Wednesday while passing north of Puerto Rico, where it has brought 'torrential rainfall,' the National Weather Service said at 5 a.m. President Biden approved a declaration of emergency in Puerto Rico on Tuesday night. A hurricane watch is in effect for the British Virgin Islands. A tropical storm warning is active for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Vieques, Culebra and Puerto Rico, where flash flood warnings are also in place. The storm is not expected to approach the mainland United States."
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The city of Asheville, NC demanded an upfront payment from Trump for a planned fascist hootenanny this afternoon at a local venue. They know what a cheap bastard he is.
“Trump has a long history of failing to pay cities for billed rally fees, leaving the White House in January 2021 with at least $850,000 in unpaid rally debt. Most of the bills are still unpaid, including more than $500,000 owed to the city of El Paso, Texas.”
Here’s something else to watch for: “The Trump campaign booked the smaller of two venues at the same complex in downtown Asheville for Wednesday's rally. The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium has a capacity of just 2,431 people, while a larger arena next door that is not hosting Trump has a capacity of 7,200.”
“Veddy interesting” as the Nazi guy on the old Laugh-In show used to say.
Fatty, who brags constantly about attracting millions to a rally held in a broom closet, books the little place, when right next door is a venue three times larger. But here’s what we should be checking on. How many people will Trump pretend were actually there? Capacity just over 2,400. Will he claim 20,000 were there? My guess is he picked the smaller facility so he can brag that “thousands wanted to get in to worship me, but the deep state people who run the city wouldn’t let them in. Umfaaaair!”
There’s always a scam. Always a set up. Always some kind of con.
@Akhilleus: Ashville is (and long has been) a liberal enclave in a red zone. According to the Ashville Citizen Times, Trump also went to Ashville in 2016, but then he went to the larger venue. And everything went very smoothly: "A 69-year-old woman was punched by a South Carolina man, according to police. Various libel suits followed. Viral videos circulated in the aftermath — capturing boiling tensions and confrontations with protestors. There were several arrests."
This is mountain country, but there's no sign Trump's fake Hillbilly sidekick will join him.
However, Stormy Daniels will perform (something) in Ashville two days after Trump's teensy-weensy, itty-bitty rally.
The other day, during the Titanic disaster of a show featuring two wealthy authoritarian pieces of shit, Fatty and the Musk Ox, the Orange Monster floated the idea of the two of them skeedaddling off to that bastion of freedom and democracy (*gag*), Venezuela.
Fatty sez he loves Venezuela cuz it’s so law and ordery. Right. What he means is it’s a dictatorship where the strongman leader, Maduro, Is busily arresting thousands of protesters upset at the latest stolen election. Trump craves that kind of power. Someone says something you don’t like? Black Hole of Calcutta for you, pal.
Plus, he loves the fact that Maduro, who by the reckoning of non-partisan election observers and exit polls, lost badly, is claiming victory (just like Trump!) and he’s throwing the question over to the Supreme Court. The problem is, for anyone concerned about truth, accuracy, and democracy, it’s really the Maduro Court.
We all know how much fun it is when a hyper partisan court takes over an election and installs their own choice.
This might be something Fatty hopes he can rely on if he fails to outright steal the coming election, that the Trump Court will anoint him king, against the will of voters who are, at long last, sick and tired of his crap.
Dictators gotta dictate.
Marie,
While looking up some background on this posting, I came across a bunch of reports of that previous visit and the violence that erupted, violence starting with just one group.
Biden lost NC last time out by a slim margin, but since then, Party of Traitors apparatchiks have been hard at work screwing with election control in the state. Maybe we’ll see Trump introduce his very own election board lackeys and thank them for helping him, like he did recently in Georgia.
So Vance is a fake hillbilly, the George Santos of Ohio. Whadda surprise. Don't have a count to hand, but it would seem the tendency to auto a biography to order, while a temptation for all politicians, is particularly rife on the Right.
No surprise because the Right (aside from its substance of racism, gun mania, and anti-abortion's faux virtue) has to be a con. For the Right, t is the truth is not trustworthy. Its universal schtick is designed to lie enough to make people feel better about doing the wrong thing.
Yesterday, was at the construction site for the county seat's new library, being built with public money by union labor. One truck parked there sported giant American and Trump flags. You know, the Pretender, that friend of workers who says companies should feel free to fire striking workers...
Admit it made me mad enough to think about putting a note on his windshield, telling him he's an idiot, but didn't of course.
Vented my spleen here instead and muttered "loser" at the mirror.
Crazies with power
@Ken Winkes: Your note probably would not change that mothertrucker's mind. If the pick'em up trucker was a union man (I'm assuming, perhaps unfairly, the Trump-flag-flying person is a man) working on the library build, he likely is complaining about having to pay his union dues and how the union is taking away his freedumb. And it's all unfaaaair, but Trump's gonna fix it. A rational note would not get through to this guy. Nothing will.
Government handouts
"Private school tuition hikes have surged since Oklahoma tax credit began
When parents enrolled their children in a small private school in Ardmore in the fall of 2023, the tuition was $1,000 per semester.
The Parental Choice Tax Credit Program started in December, promising parents a tax credit of up to $3,750 per student for spring tuition. Global Harvest Christian School responded by raising its spring tuition to $3,500.
When parents enrolled their children in a small private school in Ardmore in the fall of 2023, the tuition was $1,000 per semester.
The Parental Choice Tax Credit Program started in December, promising parents a tax credit of up to $3,750 per student for spring tuition. Global Harvest Christian School responded by raising its spring tuition to $3,500."
Of Dads and Douchebags.
The Man-child vs the Man’s Man.
PoT weenies, afraid of looking too girly by not regularly punching someone in the face, kicking some homeless person in the teeth, or making some snide, frat-boy woman hating comment, are desperately trying to make Tim Walz out to be not nearly as Manly Masculine as crossdressing furniture fucker, Shady Vance, and his boss, brave, brave, draft dodging Cadet Bone Spurs.
Unfortunately for them, and unlike low testosterone testicle tanners such as TuKKker KKKarlson, Tim Walz is perfectly comfortable being a guy who doesn’t need gimmicks or threats of violence to be a man.
“Walz is a regular guy at a time when the country needs reminding that being a regular guy is actually pretty great. As the Atlantic put it, ‘Dad is on the Ballot.’
Harris’s selection of Walz gave rise to a whole genre of warm dad memes: ‘Tim Walz just slipped me a 20 on my way out the door because ‘you never know if some place doesn’t take credit cards.’Another posted that Walz would ‘take care of the wasps nest for you.’ Still another mused that ‘Tim Walz beeps at you at a red light, motions for you to put your window down, and tells you that your right rear tire could use some air.’
What unites these posts is the sense of security and comfort they exude—the very things a good dad conveys. There’s one more theme that frequently arises. As romance writer and editor Jennifer Prokop put it, ‘the in all seriousness, i think there are a lot of us who hope our dads would have ended up a lot more like tim walz than jd vance if it wasn’t for fox news, and maybe that’s why he makes us feel the way we do.’
Tim Walz may be the father figure the Democratic party—and the country—nee.all seriousness, i think there are a lot of us who hope our dads would have ended up a lot more like tim walz than jd vance if it wasn’t for fox news, and maybe that’s why he makes us feel the way we do.”
Tim Walz may be the father figure the Democratic party—and the country—needs.”
Amen.
Spammed again…
Test
"White House aims to make it easier for consumers to get refunds and cancel subscriptions
The Biden administration on Monday unveiled a new, multi-agency regulatory initiative to target corporate practices that officials claim are designed to waste consumers’ time and needlessly burden them with red tape, in order to maximize profits.
Dubbed the “Time is Money” initiative, the actions will make it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions, get refunds, submit health care and insurance forms online, and access high-quality customer service."
@Marie.
Yeah. You're right about the note I didn't write, of course. Have to be content with an irritated sigh....in the face of helplessness.
BTW, did make a pronoun assumption but have seen only two women working on that site (when I have reason to be at least once a week) over the last year so went with the odds....
I would love to see President Biden spend the rest of his term doing what Democrats rarely do, go around the country and take credit for all of the projects his legislation is paying for. And he can get all those Rs who voted against it to join him and thank him in front of the public and the cameras.
The indispensable Dan Froomkin, banished years ago from the Both Sides Washington Post for daring to show that one side lies almost all the time, is still at it.
He suggests that, especially now, in the age of Trump wall to wall mendacity and the promised end of American democracy clearly laid out in Project 2025, continuing to treat both sides as if they are equally worthy of serious consideration is journalistic malpractice.
“…when writing about those issues, it’s imperative that journalists point out the most salient characteristic of the Republican platform: That it’s almost entirely based on lies.
This is not hyperbole. Just listen to Trump’s semi-coherent news conference on Thursday (transcript parts one, two and three.) It was lie after lie after lie. The fact checks (by the New York Times, the Associated Press, and MSNBC) barely scratched the surface.
As it happens, the Trumpian vision for the future is most effectively summarized in one handy document, the official Republican platform.
It is a litany of lies — about the border, immigration, the economy, energy, our international standing, the military, you name it.
It’s one thing when a party makes unlikely campaign promises. That’s normal. But it’s another when the underlying premises beneath those promises is wildly deceitful.
Political journalists at our most powerful news organizations are strongly averse to taking sides in a partisan dispute. They don’t want to be accused of bias. Their bosses tell them to afflict both sides. They consider themselves above the fray.
But when one of the two political parties’ entire argument is so obviously deceitful, from start to finish, it’s not right for journalists to treat them alike.“
There’s more.
Okay, this is weird. Mostly I’m not getting anything posted. It says comment has been submitted but they never show up.
Now one finally does, but without the first three or four sentences.
The previous post is based on a piece written by Dan Froomkin who takes the media to task for both sidesing even the most obvious lies, which he correctly calls journalistic malpractice.
Previous post showed up missing the link and first few sentences. Been trying to post that.
I'm wondering just what Stormy Daniels will perform in Ashville.
She'll probably do some Shakespeare readings (in the nude?) or
maybe do her usual, just lay on her back and whisper things like
"oh, Donald, you're the greatest ever" and that'll be twenty-five
thousand dollars please.
I'm so crude at times, I can't believe it. And I was one of those East
Texas Baptists until I saw the light.
@Akhilleus: Okay, this is getting too weird. My help letters to Squarespace (largely unanswered) have concentrated on the fact that Reality Chex updates fail more often than succeed. I have not specifically complained, though I've mentioned it as a sort of side issue, that the problem extends to comments as well as to attempts to update. Now, I'll put comments up front.
Marie,
Yeah, I can never tell. I might get a couple that show up, but then, unless it’s very short, nothing else.
I have been an avid reader (but non-posting) for decades. I LOVE the comments section. They are clever, funny, and very spot on. I even go back to the previous day to see if any more have been posted since the last time I looked at it. If Akhilleus's or ForestMorris's comments are not getting posted then that is a calamity! I hope you will be able to work out these technical glitches.
I see where yet another bullshit suit filed by Fatty’s lawyers has been batted away. But this is the third time he’s tried to get Judge Merchan off the case, using all the same arguments. When does he get whacked for filing so many nuisance suits that take up the court’s time and energy?
Over the years, it’s been estimated that the Fat Fetid Felon has been responsible for over 4000 lawsuits. That’s almost one a month over 40 years!
He rails against suits brought against him as “lawfare” (more on that later), and whines endlessly about the DoJ being “weaponized” against him. Note to Donald: you do know who runs Justice, right? Weaponization for Creampuff Casper Milquetoast Garland is a wet noodle letter reminding the recipient that his library books are overdue by 17 years and could he, pretty please with a cherry on top, bring them back soon? Like in the next 17 years? Please?
No. Lawsuits as weapons are a Fatty specialty.
And he’s still at it.
Since his treasonous fat ass was booted to the curb by the democratic process, Trump has sued:
Hillary Clinton
Tish James
Mary Trump
George Stephanoloulos
His Truth Social partners
CNN
And that’s only a partial list.
I realize his lawyers have been sanctioned for some of his bullshit suits, but the deference shown to this convicted felon, rapist, con man, and traitor is beyond anything one could imagine.
Time to lock him up and take away his phone.
People who are paid to put their words on your papers (screens, whatever) are building the case that VP Harris needs to hold press conferences and interviews, to promulgate her policies.
Some thoughts:
1. She's doing fine without that, so the opinionators can just hold their water
2. She's the VP. She also has people around her who remember Humphrey's Dilemma (1968, annus horribilis), where the VP's candidacy does not override the President's policies. There is no benefit in broadcasting any differences, yet, unless they are urgent. Like, Humphrey should have publicly done more to persuade voters that he could "solve" Viet Nam better than Nixon could because, in part, Nixon was pulling his punches and persuading Saigon (Thieu) to undermine the ongoing peace talks. And lying. (Leave it there ... this gets seriously complicated. Suffice to say Humphrey needed to free his hand. He didn't. VP Harris has no such urgent differences.)
3. VP Harris' policies will be the Democratic Party's policies coming out of the convention. Why talk to the stenographers before that?
4. Every Q posed in a press conference at this stage will be seeking "controversy" rather than "clarity." Who needs it?
5. She has good surrogates, and is using them well. Keep that up.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/13/kamala-harris-must-speak-to-press
"Kamala Harris is taking power back from the press corps
Some members of the press corps have noticed how well Harris is doing without them, and apparently, it doesn’t sit right. Here’s Chris Cillizza with a representative sampling. The former Post writer said the vice president has been “almost entirely” ignoring the media since she launched her campaign, and that’s bad, he said. It “bypasses the argument that the media is a critical part of our political system and any candidate who wants to be president — whether they are winning or losing — should be regularly subjected to scrutiny from the press.”
Even if I agreed that candidates who want to be president should be regularly subjected to media scrutiny, I don’t think this press corps, as it is currently organized, is able to. There are exceptions, of course, but this press corps is generally not equipped to scrutinize candidates on matters of fact and substance. I say this because this press corps has conspicuously traded matters of fact and substance for vibes.
This decision leaves the press corps on the outside looking in. She’s sustaining a conversation with voters directly, on her own terms, and she’s doing well as a direct consequence of that decision. But being on the outside looking in feels bad to people who crave attention. They have incentive to turn attention back to where they think it belongs.
Reporters like Cillizza have a bad habit of presenting themselves to voters as if they operated in their interest, and we know, after watching reporters make a fetish of Biden’s age, that nothing could be further from the truth. We should not only stop tolerating this bad habit. We should be hostile towards it."
The Ink through digby
"How women became America's safety net
Sociologist Jessica Calarco on why the U.S. rejected a welfare state, how that left women holding it together, and what we can learn from missed opportunities to build a better society
According to sociologist Jessica Calarco, a big part of it is because Americans have been sold a manufactured ideology of personal responsibility, bolstered by the work of neoliberal economists, and for the most part accept it as tradition — even though it’s largely an invention of 20th-century business interests and crafted as part of the backlash to the New Deal."
Yeah…what he said! (Patrick)
This morning I heard a Sky is Falling! piece on NPR where someone connected to Hillary’s 2016 campaign predicted not just the end of the Harris Honeymoon (any day now), but some horrible event that triggers a descent into the maelstrom and a subsequent Big Score! for Trump.
A couple of things. Hillary was, sorry to say it, stupid. She, or someone in her campaign, decided that she had it in the bag. She largely ignored battleground states and never took Trump seriously.
Harris not only is not ignoring battleground states, she is taking Fatty and his couch humping butt boy very seriously. She understands the paradigm shift that never tickled the Clinton ganglia.
None of that discounts an October or September, or even an August surprise. Should a surveillance video turn up showing a 19 year old Kamala Harris crossing the street with the lights against her, the corporate media will hail this as proof of what a scofflaw criminal she is.
She knows this. She’s seen trials thst were considered a lock, do a 180 with the testimony of a surprise witness.
So…why help it along? They don’t refer to self-inflicted injuries as unforced errors for nothing. She’s still pulling things together. She’s not allowing herself to be bullied by the corporate media or the crooks and liars in the Trump Crime Family. They can all go fuck themselves until she’s ready.
One thing that pisses Fatty off more than anything, is someone who won’t give him the time of day, never mind roll over and bark when he commands it.
The media is his friend. Not hers.
As BB King once cautioned, “Never make your move too soon.”
Re: the media's insistence that VP Harris needs to talk to them ASAP, Markos of DailyKos agrees that there's no urgency here:
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2024/8/14/2263187/-Kamala-Harris-doesn-t-owe-the-national-press-anything
This man apparently needs a job. Badly.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/14/rfk-jr-kamala-harris-cabinet-trump/
Maybe the Pretender will give him one.
One more thought about Harris and the jilted press corps.
RAS’s comment about Chris Cillizza demanding that Harris open up to the press because blah, blah, blah, they have a vital role to play reminds us that at one point they DID have an important job, but they blew it. Same with the piece Elizabeth links about Margaret Sullivan getting on her high horse about how Harris needs to ‘splain herself.
Sure. And she is. In her own way. But here’s the thing, you guys remember Walter Mondale? He was a good guy, a fine man, very earnest. In 1984, running against St. Ronald of Reagan, Mondale spent plenty of time explaining his positions in great detail. The press fell asleep. Then along comes Reagan with a pithy one liner and that was it for Walter. He got smooshed. Four years later, Mike Dukakis with his professorial manner tried the same thing. Sat down with the press and explained in great detail his plans for the country. Then Poppy Bush says “Willie Horton!” and that was it for the Duke.
I may have related a story out here at some point about a lesson I learned as a callow youth in making points in the public sector. Going before the city council at a budget hearing, I made a point of going into great detail why I needed a certain piece of equipment for my department. They all fell asleep. Request denied. The next year, I tried a different approach. When asked what this equipment would do, I said “It makes all of you look good.” They said “Get two.”
The point is that sometimes you have to decide how best to sell yourself and your ideas. In advertising, memorable is better than exhaustive. “Where’s the beef?” beats a drawn out explanation about how your burgers have 26 1/2 % more meat than your competitor.
Fatty won with stuff like “Lock her up!” and “Build the wall!” I’m not suggesting Harris be completely opaque, but she’s in a fight for the life of this nation. Sitting down and chewing the fat with Chris Cillizza and Margaret Sullivan is not gonna help at this point, especially if they do what they always do, and start picking apart her every sentence fragment, ending with “Why can’t she keep it simple, like Donald Trump?”
The press has thoroughly squandered its right to demand anything.
So Harris should keep her own counsel for the nonce.
Just my opinion.