;)
The Conversation -- August 29, 2024
Kevin Liptak of CNN: “Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday offered her most expansive explanation to date on why she’s changed some of her positions on fracking and immigration, telling CNN’s Dana Bash her values haven’t shifted but that her time as vice president provided new perspective on some of the country’s most pressing issues. In the CNN exclusive sit-down interview, Harris also said she would name a Republican to serve in her Cabinet if elected. And she brushed off her rival’s questioning of her racial identity, dismissing Donald Trump’s suggestion she 'happened to turn Black' as the 'same old, tired playbook.'” Here's a snippet: ~~~
Autocrat v. Plutocrat. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: “... Donald Trump writes in a new book set to be published next week that Mark Zuckerberg plotted against him during the 2020 election and said the Meta chief executive would 'spend the rest of his life in prison' if he did it again. It represents Trump’s most recent attack on Zuckerberg, who he has repeatedly accused of intervening in the last presidential election. And it comes as Meta has taken steps to assure conservatives it will not influence this year’s campaign. [Under a photo in a coffee table book,] Trump writes that Zuckerberg 'would come to the Oval Office to see me. He would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT,' Trump added, referring to a $420 million contribution Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, made during the 2020 election to fund election infrastructure.”
David Badash of AlterNet: “The Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, reportedly pulled strings to get Donald Trump into Arlington National Cemetery, amid what has become a scandal and a crisis.... The [right-wing] Daily Caller reports Monday’s event 'would have not happened without Speaker Johnson,' according to an unnamed source.” Thanks to RAS for the lead.
Meryl Kornfield, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, doubled down Wednesday on telling Vice President Kamala Harris to 'go to hell,' falsely repeating that she had feigned outrage over an altercation between Trump’s campaign and an Arlington cemetery worker when she had not. In an interview with The Washington Post, Vance defended his attack on Harris — saying 'go to hell' is 'a colloquial phrase' — and tied it to broader criticism of the administration’s handling of an Islamic State attack that killed 13 U.S. troops during the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.... Vance also referred to a 2020 Biden campaign video that included a photo of Biden as vice president in 2010 in Section 60, the area of the cemetery that includes recent conflicts. However, the photo was taken at an official Memorial Day event, not while Biden was campaigning for president a decade later. The content of the campaign video memorialized soldiers and did not attack his opponent.”
Paul McLeary & Connor O'Brien of Politico: “The Army is defending an Arlington National Cemetery official involved in an incident with the Trump campaign this week at the national memorial, saying the woman was 'abruptly pushed aside' and 'unfairly attacked' by the Trump staffers and its surrogates.... In the statement, an Army spokesperson said the employee, despite being 'abruptly pushed aside … acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption.' The unidentified female staff member has declined to press charges due to concern over retaliation, and the Army, which runs national cemeteries, said in a statement Thursday morning that it considers the matter closed.” The Washington Post story by Meryl Kornfield, linked above, describes the Army's release as “a rare statement.”
Carl Gibson of AlterNet: “During a meeting of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) — which is part of the hugely influential AFL-CIO — [JD] Vance addressed the Boston, Massachusetts crowd of union firefighters.... But Vance's speech was interrupted by loud boos after he tried to tout the GOP ticket's 'pro-worker' bona fides. 'President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history,' Vance said, as the audience started to boo.... Vance's speech to the IAFF came a day after Minnesota Governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz addressed the group, in which he said that Trump and Vance had 'waged war on working people' with their policies.” MB: I don't recall that the firefighters booed Walz.
Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: “Three years after the Justice Department's internal watchdog slammed the FBI for its failures in the case of convicted sex predator and former U.S. gymnastic team doctor Larry Nassar, a new audit released Thursday finds that the bureau is still failing to protect children who have been sexually abused. A new report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz reviewed a sample of 327 cases and found 42 that were so deficient that auditors felt compelled to contact the FBI and urge immediate attention. In one case, the audit found that a child continued to be sexually abused for 15 months — and another child victim was abused by the same person — while the FBI failed to investigate the case. The IG reported on a separate FBI review that found another such example in which a 2-year-old was being abused for 21 months while the FBI sat on the case and failed to take investigative steps. These cases mirror what happened in the Nassar case, even though FBI Director Christopher Wray assured Congress and the public this would never happen again.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Presidential Race
Nicholas Nehamas & Maya King of the New York Times: “Vice President Kamala Harris ... kicked off a bus tour on Wednesday in the rural southeastern corner of the battleground state [of Georgia]. Ms. Harris’s trip emphasizes a growing sense of optimism among Georgia Democrats that she could hold on to the state, which President Biden narrowly won in 2020. The Democratic ticket’s standing in the polls there has increased significantly since Mr. Biden dropped out of the race, although Ms. Harris still trails Mr. Trump, according to a New York Times polling average. Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, joined her for the two-day bus tour, which is meant in part to mobilize rural Black voters and will culminate with a rally in Savannah.... The bus tour’s route takes the candidates through a part of the state not often visited by Democrats, underscoring the campaign’s efforts to motivate rural voters.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I caught less than 30 seconds of a live video of Harris speaking to members of a high school band in Hinesville, Georgia. But that was all I needed to vouch for comments by Jen Psaki & her guests on MSNBC: "Compare that to JD Vance's visit to a doughnut shop," and "Donald Trump couldn't chat with a group of high school kids."
A few contributors here have had the audacity to question the wisdom of Harris and Walz agreeing to sit for an interview today with Dana Bash of CNN. Why, the New York Times is so super-excited about the pending MSM ritual flogging that the paper devoted a main-page (as of very early Thursday) story to an interview of someone who had interviewed Kamala Harris last year and in 2019.
~~~ Marc Caputo of the Bulwark: “When Kamala Harris's presidential campaign announced a new attack ad Tuesday, the vice president’s strategists made sure to run it in every battleground state — as well as a single media market in Florida: the one that includes Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. In this case, the ad placement itself was the message.... 'We thought it was important for Donald to see how much voters hate his Project 2025 plans to control their lives, seek revenge on his enemies, and rule as a dictator on day one,' said Sarafina Chitika, a Harris spokeswoman. 'Trump might forget, but we’ll make sure voters don’t—and they’ll hold him accountable this November.'”
Donald Trump could not figure out how to show more disrespect for military service and the men and women who have paid the ultimate price. Until he did: ~~~
⭐ ~~~ Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Trump campaign posted a video Wednesday that was recorded at Arlington National Cemetery, two days after an alleged altercation in which defense officials said a cemetery staff member sought to enforce guidelines the campaign had received not to take photos and videos near the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years. The campaign video, which was posted to TikTok, showed former president Donald Trump appearing during a third anniversary ceremony Monday memorializing 13 U.S. troops who were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul during the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. Trump is seen in the video at the Tomb of the Unknowns and walking among marble headstones as soft guitar music plays and Trump is heard criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal.” Related stories linked yesterday. See also commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: “Earlier this month..., Donald Trump’s campaign contacted military officials about visiting Arlington National Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the Islamic State bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the evacuation from Afghanistan. Federal law prohibits election-related activities at military cemeteries, and Arlington is the most prestigious and sacred of all. Pentagon officials were deeply concerned about the former president turning the visit into a campaign stop.... Officials said they wanted to respect the wishes of grieving family members who wanted Trump there..., so they laid out ground rules they hoped would wall off politics from the final resting place of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation....
A cemetery employee tried to enforce the rules as provided to her by blocking Trump’s team from bringing cameras to the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years.... A larger male campaign aide insisted the camera was allowed and pushed past the cemetery employee, leaving her shocked. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded to the first report of the altercation, from NPR on Tuesday, by accusing, without evidence, the employee of 'suffering from a mental health episode.' Defense officials said ... that the claim of a mental health episode was false.... Cheung also said the campaign would release footage to support his claim but has not. The campaign did, however, post a TikTok of the event on Wednesday.... The use of the footage marked a flagrant violation of the law against partisan actions at military cemeteries, defense officials said.” An AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Chris Cameron, et al., of the New York Times: “The family of a Green Beret who died by suicide after serving eight combat tours and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery expressed concern on Wednesday that Donald J. Trump’s campaign had filmed his gravesite without permission as Mr. Trump stood in an area where campaign photography isn’t allowed. Relatives of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano issued their statement two days after Mr. Trump’s visit, which also included a confrontation between members of the Trump campaign and an Arlington employee.... A woman who works at the cemetery filed an incident report with the military authorities over the altercation. But the official, who has not been identified, later declined to press charges. Military officials said she feared Mr. Trump’s supporters pursuing retaliation.... Mr. Cheung said in a statement on Wednesday that 'that is ridiculous and sounds like someone who has Trump Derangement Syndrome.'” ~~~
~~~ Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: At a campaign event Wednesday, JD Vance said, “'Kamala Harris is disgraceful. We’re going to talk about a story out of those 13 brave, innocent Americans who lost their lives? It’s that Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened[.]'... There have been extensive federal investigations into the Abbey Gate bombing. Vance accused Harris of criticizing Trump’s visit to the cemetery, saying: 'And she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up? She can — she can go to hell.'... Harris, who began a two-day bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday, did not bring up the issue on the campaign trail.” MB: So he lied about her, then he swore at her. ~~~
~~~ Hannah Schoenbaum of the AP: “Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox came under criticism Wednesday for sending a campaign email that featured a photo of him and ... Donald Trump at Arlington National Cemetery during a wreath-laying ceremony.... Cox’s campaign apologized for using the photo and for politicizing the graveside ceremony....” ~~~
~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$ on Steven Cheung's repeated promises to release footage proving that the National Cemetery employee was "suffering from a mental health episode" that accounted for the altercation with campaign workers: "I’m sure this sub-literate goon will be releasing footage of the confrontation on the same day as Trump’s tax returns, records of his near-fatal helicopter ride with Willie Brown, etc. etc. are made available to the ever-credulous public." As for that photo of Trump smiling and giving a thumbs-up to a fallen soldier: "... tell me Trump isn”t some sort of psychological freak, who is incapable of even pretending that he experiences vaguely normal human emotions." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Just a reminder that roughing up women doing their jobs at Trump campaign events (as the cemetery visit proved to be) is a Trumpy thing. In 2016, Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed a Breitbart reporter by the arm, forced her out of his way and nearly threw her to the ground. Trump recently rehired Lewandowski for his 2024 campaign.
Trump's respect for the military is matched only by his respect for women: ~~~
~~~ Michael Gold of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump used his social-media website on Wednesday to amplify a crude remark about Vice President Kamala Harris that suggested Ms. Harris traded sexual favors to help her political career. The post, by another user on Truth Social, was an image of Ms. Harris and Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump’s opponent in 2016. The text read: 'Funny how blowjobs impacted both their careers differently…'... Mr. Trump’s repost was the second time in 10 days that the former president shared content from his personal account making sexually oriented attacks on Ms. Harris.... On Aug. 18, Mr. Trump had shared a video ... [of a] parody song, [in which] the singer says Ms. Harris 'spent her whole damn life down on her knees,' at which point a photo of [former San Francisco Mayor Willie] Brown[, whom Harris once dated,] appears onscreen. Mr. Trump has repeatedly been accused of sexual misconduct and was found liable last year for sexual abuse and defamation. He has a history of attacking female opponents and critics in deeply personal terms, often describing them as mentally ill or at times expressing contempt in epithets.”
Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: “... Donald Trump used his Truth Social account to 'retruth' a supporter’s meme calling for the imprisonment of Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and other prominent figures. A review of that supporter's account also found numerous calls for Trump’s political opponents to be killed. This isn’t an aberration. Media Matters recently documented that Trump promoted an account which spews the N-word, praises Hitler as a hero, and denies the Holocaust. Trump has also frequently interacted with the account Patriot4Life, including this month. That account has repeatedly promoted calls for political killings, including recently retruthing an image calling for Harris and Gov. Tim Walz to be killed. Trump has promoted another Truth Social account that calls for Democrats to be executed.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Kathleen Culliton of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump's presidential reelection bid would likely nosedive if moderate voters discovered the dark messages he shares on Truth Social, a senior campaign official told Rolling Stone Wednesday.... 'If Trump were still using X ... as his primary social vehicle, this official asserts, the more "unhelpful" posting and re-posting sprees would get more public traction and drive more news cycles.'"
When two crazy guys get together: ~~~
~~~ Marin Scotten of Salon: “'If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, OK?' Trump said Tuesday in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw. He criticized California’s mail-in voting system, falsely claiming it leads to more voter fraud. Without it, he said he would win the deep-blue state, which has consistently been won by Democratic presidential candidates since 1992. 'In other words, if we had an honest vote counter, a really honest vote counter, I do great with the Hispanics, great, I mean I had a level that no other Republican’s ever done, but if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California,' the former president told Dr. Phil, himself a Trump supporter.... In 2020, Trump lost California, Vice President Kamala Harris’ homestate, by over 30 points.... The Harris campaign said in a statement that Trump has 'reached a level of delusion difficult for even Dr. Phil to diagnose.'” More on the conversation linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “Donald Trump amplified a vulgar joke about Vice President Kamala Harris performing a sex act. He falsely accused her of a staging a coup to secure the Democratic nomination and faulted her without evidence for a security lapse that enabled a rogue gunman to try to assassinate him. He shared a manipulated online image of Bill Gates in an orange jumpsuit and a call for Barack Obama to face a 'military tribunal.' He promoted explicit tributes to the QAnon conspiracy theory. He hawked digital trading cards in an online infomercial along with pieces of his debate night suit. ('People are calling it the knockout suit.') His campaign feuded publicly with Arlington National Cemetery over their visit. And that was just in the span of 24 hours.... Trump is zigging and zagging with an arsenal of unfocused attacks and peripheral pursuits....”
OMG! Look what the NYT just published. AG Sulzberger must be off at his vacation home: ~~~
~~~ Tim Balk of the New York Times: “The alliance between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and ... Donald J. Trump, which was fortified on Tuesday with Mr. Kennedy’s appointment to Mr. Trump’s transition team, is a sharp turnabout in a long-combative relationship. Mr. Kennedy had spent the better part of a decade lobbing attacks at Mr. Trump, portraying him as a buffoonish, anti-democratic bully who led a feckless administration.... Here’s a look back at 12 times Mr. Kennedy ridiculed Mr. Trump and his policies.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Edgar Chen & Dan Ross, both immigration legal counselors, in Just Security: "In our years of assisting refugees, asylees, and others through the legal immigration process, we have never encountered an immigrant with anywhere close to Trump’s long record of indictments, arrests, convictions, criticisms of the United States’ constitutional order, and well-documented allegations of sexual misconduct and incitement to violence. Those we help are overwhelmingly law-abiding. Even those who have had brushes with the law must admit what they’ve done, knowing full well it could lead to delays or disqualification. We believe Trump should be held to the same high standards as the immigrants he constantly vilifies." (Also linked yesterday.)
Zoe Richards of NBC News: “Sen. JD Vance of Ohio ... attacked teachers who don’t have children in remarks in 2021 that resurfaced Tuesday. In his public comments, he reserved specific criticism for Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers. 'You know, so many of the leaders of the left, and I hate to be so personal about this, but they’re people without kids, trying to brainwash the minds of our children,' Vance said at a Center for Christian Virtue leadership forum.... Vance took aim at Weingarten, who has described herself as 'a mother by marriage,' by saying she 'doesn’t have a single child.'” (Also linked yesterday.)
Here's a snippet of Alexandra Pelosi's video, which HBO released to Jungle Gym Jordan (story linked yesterday): ~~~
Devan Cole of CNN: “The Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to lift a sweeping block on President Joe Biden’s student loan repayment plan that aims to slash monthly payments and quicken the path to loan forgiveness. The high court turned down a request from the Biden administration to put the plan back in play after lower courts blocked it this summer in a legal challenge brought by GOP-led states to the plan. There were no noted dissents in the brief order.” (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's report is here.
She's Ba-a-a-ack! Andrew Katersky of ABC News: "A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, finding several major issues 'impugn the reliability' of the original outcome. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals faulted the trial judge for dismissing the case before the jury had reached a verdict. The jury was allowed to continue deliberating before ultimately finding the newspaper not liable in February 2022. 'Unfortunately, several major issues at trial -- specifically, the erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction, a legally erroneous response to a mid-deliberation jury question, and jurors learning during deliberations of the district court's Rule 50 dismissal ruling -- impugn the reliability of that verdict,' the opinion said." (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~~~~~~~~
Nevada. Isabelle Taft of the New York Times: “A former county official was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering a longtime Las Vegas reporter who wrote articles critical of him. The highly unusual case had raised fears about press freedom in the United States and in particular the risks facing local journalists. The reporter, Jeff German, was stabbed to death outside his home in September 2022. Police investigators, and now a Clark County jury, concluded that his attacker was Robert Telles, who ran a county office that handles the estates of those who die without apparent heirs. A few months before his death, Mr. German wrote an article for The Las Vegas Review-Journal describing employees’ complaints that Mr. Telles had created a toxic work environment, demonstrated favoritism and had an improper relationship with a staff member. Mr. Telles denied the allegations. He lost his re-election bid a month after the article came out, and Mr. German kept reporting.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Pennsylvania Senate Race. George Stockburger of ABC News Harrisburg: “Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick’s [R] social media account appeared to mistake a news report involving a shooting in Philadelphia, Mississippi for the City of Brotherly Love; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. McCormick’s account reposted a news clip of a Mississippi television station reporting on a shooting involving an alleged MS-13 gang member who police say shot multiple people after entering the United States illegally. The repost included a comment criticizing McCormick’s opponent, incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Casey, and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. 'MS-13 gang members are terrorizing Philadelphians because of Harris & Casey’s radical open border policies,' posted McCormick in response to the Mississippi shooting. The post was taken down several minutes after another account pointed out the story was from Mississippi.”
~~~~~~~~~~
France. Aurelien Breeden & Adam Satariano of the New York Times: “Pavel Durov, the Russian-born entrepreneur who founded the online communications tool Telegram, was charged on Wednesday in France with a wide range of crimes for failing to prevent illicit activity on the app, and barred from leaving the country. His indictment was a rare move by legal authorities to hold a top technology executive personally liable for the behavior of users on a major messaging platform, escalating the debate over the role of tech companies in online speech, privacy and security and the limits of their responsibility. Mr. Durov, 39, was detained by the French authorities on Saturday after a flight from Azerbaijan. He was charged on Wednesday with complicity in managing an online platform to enable illegal transactions by an organized group, which could lead to a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He was also charged with complicity in crimes such as enabling the distribution of child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking and fraud, and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.”
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One more try to post:
If you Google 'Trump Merchandise' and click on 'Official MAGA
Gear' you'll find hundreds of fantastic bargains. I especially like the
Mugshot Mug for $24 with Donald's mugshot and the caption 'Not
Guilty.'
Then there's the $24 yard signs. Sounds a little pricey for a piece of
cheap cardboard. Also hundreds of different T-shirts and caps for
up to $36. My T-shirts cost two dollars at the thrift shop.
Looks like a lot of kids will go hungry while the MAGA parents spend
the grocery money on Trump paraphernalia.
Marie writes: “‘Compare that to JD Vance's visit to a doughnut shop,’ and ‘Donald Trump couldn't chat with a group of high school kids.’”
Oh c’mon now. ‘At’s a bit harsh, in’it? Of course Donald Trump can talk to high school kids, and 12 and 13 year olds as well. He’s great at it. Just recall that 2017 Boy Scout Jamboree when he lambasted the kids with his usual mix of salacious asides, meandering mendacities, political attacks, and shameless name dropping of people they’ve never heard of. Accounts of this astonishingly inappropriate speech point out that kids’ seeming enthusiasm for Fatty’s folderol encouraged him to even greater heights of unsuitable topics. Of COURSE the kids were eating it up. It must have been like listening to a drunk uncle at Thanksgiving dinner swearing and telling dirty jokes.
So here’s this fat asshole, up there in front of Boy Scouts, kids 12 to about 18, and he’s telling them stories about wild sex parties on yachts, and how he knew all the “hottest” people in New York, talking about Steve Ross and William Levitt and their business deals back before any of these kids were born. He says he was very young but got invited to these parties because he was so cool (he was 47), then tells this story about talking to William Levitt (Levitt was in a home at the time).
Parents and Scout administrators were outraged, and complained loudly about this embarrassing event that marred the whole Jamboree. Trump reported these complaints this way: “They said it was the greatest speech anyone had ever heard.”
Boy Scout officials said there was no way anyone could have said anything remotely like that.
Just imagine what PoT and Fox propagandists, or the New York Times could do with a story like that in Harris’s past. And this is just one of hundreds of incidents like that. But in this case it’s just Trump being Trump.
When does Trump being Trump get to be too much?
For the corporate media?
Never.
But talking to kids? He’s Uncle Fluffy!
There must be a behavior more disgusting than using the graves of dead soldiers as a political prop but I can't think of one.
Maybe the only soldiers the Pretender likes are dead ones.
Political necrophiliac?
Forrest,
You missed the Assassination Donald Sneakers? And the Assassination Donald Bobblehead?
My favorite political merch story is the time Aqua Buddha was selling Official Rand Paul Flip-flops. Haha.
Anyway, yeah, those poor kids…must be like having drug addicts for parents. “Look honey, Donald wants us to buy a $1,000 raffle ticket. If we win, we’ll get a one inch square piece of the suit he was wearing when Joe Biden tried to murder him at that rally!”
“But Bob, the kids haven’t eaten in weeks!”
“Too bad. I caught one of ‘em watching a Harris commercial. Take ‘em to the dumpster behind the McDonald’s. There’s probably an old Big Mac in there. I gotta get me another $50 MAGA cap!”
@Akhilleus: Oh, thanks for reminding me of the Boy Scouts Jamboree speech. A classic. Full transcript here. List of most cringe-worthy remarks here.
Trump gave that speech in July 2017. That was only 6 months after he became president*. He was already crazy by then.
Actually, not necessarily crazy. If you listen to toddlers playing together, they also practice talking to each other. But they don't have what you or I would call "conversations." Instead, one toddler says one thing: "I can make a snowman." And the other says, "My mother has a new dress." I expect they think they're talking to each other, but really they're each living in their own little worlds, and they think the only interesting thing is whatever pops into their cute little heads. And that is right where Trump is stuck. At two, two-and-a-half years old.
The horrific Arlington National Cemetery fiasco and the Trump team’s disgraceful response, describing the cemetery official who tried to enforce ANC rules and was physically and verbally assaulted by Fatty’s goons as mentally unstable, prompted me, at long last, to look up this incredible anal cyst, Steven Cheung, who routinely lies out both sides of his mouth for Trump.
This POS came to work for Fatty from the UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he worked as a kind of PR guy. So, you might think, Trump hired a boxing promoter as his spokesman. Sorry, “boxing promoter” is about nine levels above this bullshit.
UFC matches are basically street fights without the knives and clubs. Senator John McCain once described these spectacles, with screaming fans and bloody competitors locked in a cage as “barbaric” and sent a letter to all 50 governors asking them to ban what he called “human cockfighting”.
Cheung’s job was to vilify and attack anyone who was even mildly critical of this medieval bullshit. He banned reporters who wrote pieces questioning the ethics of such barbarism.
This is the guy Trump picked to represent him to the public.
Boxing promoter? This fucking guy makes a mobbed up chiseler like Don King look like an avatar of diplomatic aplomb.
By the way, something I just learned…the Arlington National Cemetery official Trump’s goons shoved aside was a woman. Such manly men.
Marie,
Excellent observation. Except Trump’s version would be “I knocked down the snowman little Johnny next door took three hours to build.” and “I looked up your mother’s new dress. She let me. I’m a star.”
This may be the child indoctrination the right is always talking about.
One of the Mr Grump episodes involved "Donald Grump searched for a Grouch apprentice to help him sort through his enormous pile of trash. The chosen apprentice would even get to keep some of the sorted trash. Several characters competed for the job, which the Muppet character Elmo ultimately won by performing all tasks correctly. However, in a twist, Donald Grump immediately fired Elmo for being too efficient, as Grouches traditionally preferred things to be done poorly."
Walz gets in the gutter
FTC
"The FTC Says You Can’t Buy Clout Anymore
Bad news for companies, brands, and influencers buying and selling fake and misleading reviews.
The Federal Trade Commission voted this week to ban digital commerce companies and retail sites from using fake reviews and followers to promote their products, among other new regulations prohibiting misleading tactics used to artificially inflate influence."
Thom Hartmann
"The GOP's Last Stand: Cruelty as Their Final Weapon
Democrats shine with humanity as Republicans wallow in hate…"
It isn't even September yet and the mouths of the Orange Pestilence and his toxic crusty-faced VP candidate are already as gross as I can take. I am sure all the crap going down at that cemetery was absolutely the truth. Not a one of those "people" (used advisedly) would be mourned if we tied them to the tracks naked just before a train. My daughter is much more tuned in than I, and as she arrives at my side citing a new inhuman outrage committed by one of them, she exits muttering how she hates them and wishes them speedy, painful deaths. The world they plan to hand her (she is 49) and her peers is pretty stark and handmaid-y, but the world they are destroying by being in it is already murky with lies told and remarks that they all make toward their competitors. I include the ignorant masses hooting and hollering while the lies and garbage issue from their flabby lips. So disheartening and disgusting. Kamala and Tim are brave souls to hit any southern (or western or midwestern) town. I want a shower every time I read anything being thrown at them. Or see that piece of rancid flesh clapping and raising his thumbs. Aaaach!!!!
"... Trump is stuck. At two, two-and-a-half years old."
Which explains why he likes to play with Cheerios. Toddlers love them as graspable edible play objects.
Immigration
"Exec at Trump Media Jumped the Line for U.S. Visa After Company Lobbied GOP Lawmaker
A former aide to Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, said she intervened on the company’s behalf even though she thought it was inappropriate. “It was specifically the congressman that suggested I needed to deal with it.”"
text">More disgusting Republicans
"Some Republicans Imply Kamala Harris is 3/5th Human & Unfit for Presidency
In an echo of Donald Trump’s notorious birther movement of 2008, NFRA cited the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, which removed citizenship rights from Black Americans, as a basis for their argument."
More disgusting Republicans
"Some Republicans Imply Kamala Harris is 3/5th Human & Unfit for Presidency
In an echo of Donald Trump’s notorious birther movement of 2008, NFRA cited the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, which removed citizenship rights from Black Americans, as a basis for their argument."
And I helped
"Trump was struggling to get into Arlington National Cemetery until Speaker of the House Mike Johnson intervened to get Trump in for his illegal campaign stunt."
Evidently Donald now knows that a visa isn't a credit card.
He once said that all those immigrants coming across the southern
border were being given visas. And he asked who would be
responsible for paying off all those Visa charges since those
immigrants have no money.
He's now as smart as a four year old. He's progressed from a 3 year old
in only about 6 years.
@Forrest Morris: I can't prove a negative, but -- other than one tweet by somebody -- I can't find any evidence that Trump thought visas were Visa credit cards. IOW, I'm not sure even Trump is that dumb. But, ya know, maybe.
@RAS: Hartmann is correct that many Republicans have been putting forward the argument that the Dred Scott decision is dispositive. But it's clear that the Thirteenth & Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution superseded the 1857 Scott decision.
This would be similar to insisting that women do not have the right to vote, based on the Supreme Court's 1875 decision -- Minor v. Happersett -- that citizenship did not grant suffrage to women, and therefore the Nineteenth Amendment is to be ignored.
Even Antonin Scalia said, "If you don't like the decision, change the Constitution." (paraphrase) IOW, a Constitutional Amendment trumps Supreme Court decisions. Then again, we haven't asked Sam Alito about that.
This guy is looking for a job…show him the door.
If a fat guy with orange hair shows up to apply for that job you posted (Wanted: President), watch out.
Sorry, that last link does not seem to work.
Try this one.
Marie,
Of course, a constitutional amendment is possible. The fact that the Founders gave us the ability to change the Constitution is the best answer to Originalist bullshit that maintains we must do things exactly like they were done in the late 18th C. Oh, unless you’re a Traitor and you want to lower the boom on people you hate. Then precedence is a hindrance and must be ignored at all costs. No amendment necessary.
So, yes, the Dark Lord Scalia was correct. Go the amendment route if you don’t like how things are now. But he said that, I’m sure, with a snicker, knowing full well the Traitors in Congress would never allow it.
Every time he opens his mouth, Shady Vance proves what a despicable flip-flopper he is, how little he cares about ethical or moral consistency. The guy he once compared to Hitler, invades Arlington National for a campaign photo op and he breaks not one, but two rules. First, no pictures or videos in that particular area, and second, military
gravesites are not to be used as partisan political props for a candidate.
Vance doesn’t care. His Hitler pal breaks the law, and Vance, who sez we are a nation of lawless cat ladies and we must be brought back under control of rules and regulations, sniffs “So what? What’s the big deal?”
He goes on to say, stupidly, that the Gold Star families Trump was using as props for his photo op wanted him there and wanted pictures taken.
Yeah? Maybe. But even if that’s the case, they don’t get to break the law either. If you were arrested for shoplifting, do you think the cops would let you go if you said “But that family outside said I could do it. They WANTED me to do it.”
Klang! See you at your arraignment, Mr. Lightfingers.
It’s whatever works for them. Had Harris pulled this stunt, the MAGA horde would be baying for a public hanging. Trump would demand to pull the lever.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/26/michael-ramirez-cartoon-kennedy-trump/
My earworm for the week thanks to the above cartoon, a commenter on it, and a little Sondheim:
Aint it a botch?
Aren't they a pair?
One with a worm in his brain
One with bad hair
They've sent in the clowns
A couple of clowns.
They'll be gone next year.
The Corporate Media and What’s Really Important.
What does it say about how bad things are with a deranged malignant narcissist running roughshod over rules, ethics, basic humanity, and the rule of law, who has been blessed with total immunity for criminal acts, that a government official just trying to do her job, after being physically and verbally assaulted by that malignant asshole’s thugs, is afraid to press charges?
What does it say? Is that something the corporate media should maybe look into? They’d be Johnny on the Spot if it was Biden scaring the shit out of people. Three hour documentary on CNN tonight!
This woman is afraid for her safety, her life, if she is seen by Trump’s deranged followers as showing him up. Afraid that she’ll be hung out to dry by Jesse Watters and his other pro-authoritarian flacks. Doxxed, vilified, perhaps attacked again, maybe worse. Lots of “very fine people” ready to go after his perceived enemies.
Not good enough to look into? Not sexy enough?
Within hours of her being assaulted, Trump’s attack dog, Steven Cheung, was calling her mentally unstable and a disgrace, assaulting her again, and this time on front pages all across the country. And that was just the beginning.
Will AG send his investigative reporters after Trump and his brownshirts, or will he find some way to Both Sides this? Maybe this woman has an unpaid parking ticket. Maybe she returned a library book a few days late. Why, she’s no better than some drugged up car thief. Poor Donald! He was only trying to honor soldiers murdered by that awful Joe Biden.
But let’s not report on that. Let’s not talk about how regular Americans just trying to do their jobs are afraid for their lives if they cross this scumbag.
How ‘bout that Hunter Biden, eh? Let’s do another laptop story instead. And that Tim Walz! Stolen valor! Get me rewrite! Both Sides isn’t really important. There’s only one side. Normalizing and protecting Trump.
@Marie: You have more faith in the Supreme Court and our broken and corrupted federal court system than I do at this point. This is a court that has so warped the Second Amendment into the parody we know today. They ignored plainly written text to deny Biden's student loan relief. FOUR Justices sided with Texas on who should be the ultimate authority on the US border. And they just created out whole cloth immunity for criminal acts of a President. The amendments and Constitution are only as powerful as the Supreme Court says they are and they only say what the Supremes declare them to say. It took nearly five decades for Black women to get to vote after the Nineteenth Amendments was ratified. The Supreme Court of it's day undermined the Reconstruction amendments and the current court mostly does the same. Going back to the 3/5ths arguments may be a bit too much for the Supremes at the moment, but they also seem to be getting worse by the minute. I wouldn't put anything past our current robed overlords.
@RAS: You won't get any disagreement from me on anything you wrote in your last post.
Shady Vance sez that his “Go to hell!” directed at Kamala Harris (for something she didn’t say) is no big deal because it’s a colloquial expression.
Trump keeps saying Vance is not weird because he went to Yale. More on that in a second.
You know what else is a colloquial expression, Shady? How about “Fuck off, asshole.” Is that no big deal? Just because an expression might be considered colloquial doesn’t rob it of its power. If anything, the use of a colloquial expression, something all native speakers should be able to accommodate, makes it even more powerful.
Vance is one of those smartass scumbags (is that a colloquialism?) who thinks employing a big word will enable them to gull the rubes and escape condemnation for their trespasses.
As for there being no weirdos at Yale, both Darth Cheney and the Decider went to Yale (Cheney left to go to University of Wyoming). RFK, Jr. went to Harvard. No weirdos there either.
Price gouging
"During Antitrust Trial, Exec Admits Kroger Jacked Up Milk and Egg Prices Above Inflation"
Linda,
Sondheim, I’m guessing, would be pleased to have his work used to smack two homophobic, misogynistic, authoritarian, arts hating assholes. “A little goodnight, now music” to accompany their incipient electoral disemboweling.
Making their entrance again with their usual scare
Unsure of their lines
No one is there
Curtains.
RAS,
I wondered why we were paying over six bucks for a dozen eggs.
Now I know. Trumpecomics, ie, whenever you have a chance to gouge consumers, gouge like you mean it.