;)
The Conversation -- November 21, 2023
Another Speaker Makes a Pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lardo. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night visited ... Donald J. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with the meeting.... Mr. Johnson, who defended the former president in two Senate impeachment trials and played a lead role in trying to help him invalidate the 2020 election results, is positioning himself as the first speaker to be in complete lock step with the former president.... Last week, Mr. Johnson officially endorsed Mr. Trump -- a move former Speaker Kevin McCarthy resisted...."
George Conway, Michael Luttig & Barbara Comstock in a New York Times op-ed: "... we need an organization of conservative lawyers committed to the foundational constitutional principles we once all agreed upon: the primacy of American democracy, the sanctity of the Constitution and the rule of law, the independence of the courts, the inviolability of elections and mutual support among those tasked with the solemn responsibility of enforcing the laws of the United States. This new organization must step up, speak out and defend these ideals.... To that end, we have formed a nonprofit organization, the Society for the Rule of Law Institute, to bring sanity back to conservative lawyering and jurisprudence.... Our country ... is in a constitutional emergency, if not a constitutional crisis. We all must act accordingly especially us lawyers."
According to someone who claims to be Donald Trump's doctor, Donald's "cognitive health" is "exceptional." (Story linked below.) RAS speculates on the nature of the cognitive test the alleged doctor conducted: "I'm guessing that Trump's cognitive test didn't include questions like 'who won the 2020 presidential election?' or 'who is the current US President?' or 'how many feet are in a 10,000 square foot loft?'"
~~~~~~~~~~
Cristiano Lima of the Washington Post: "A Senate panel announced Monday it subpoenaed the CEOs of Elon Musk's X, Discord and Snap to testify at a hearing on children's online safety next month after 'repeated refusals' by the tech companies to cooperate with its investigation into the matter. In a rare show of force, the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking to force X's Linda Yaccarino, Discord's Jason Citron and Snap's Evan Spiegel to appear at the Dec. 6 session.... The committee said that in a 'remarkable departure from typical practice,' it had to 'enlist the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service to personally serve the subpoenas' to the CEOs of Discord and X ... after their chief executives 'further refused to cooperate.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to create a new Jan. 6 select committee she said would target the original members of the panel and exonerate the so-called 'MAGA' wing of the Republican Party from blame associated with the 2021 attack on the Capitol. In a post on X..., Greene outlined her vision for the committee. She said it must issue subpoenas to the original committee members, to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and to the witnesses who testified." (Also linked yesterday.)
Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court issued a ruling on Monday that would drastically weaken the Voting Rights Act, effectively barring private citizens and civil rights groups from filing lawsuits under a central provision of the landmark law. The ruling, made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, found that only the federal government could bring a legal challenge under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a crucial part of the law that prohibits election or voting practices that discriminate against Americans based on race. The opinion is almost certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The court's current conservative majority has issued several key decisions in recent years that have weakened the Voting Rights Act." Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Alan Feuer & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court in Washington appeared to signal at a hearing on Monday that it would keep in place at least some version of the gag order placed on ... Donald J. Trump in the criminal case accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. But a three-judge panel of the court left open the possibility of adjusting the terms of the order or even narrowing the scope of the people covered by it, including by potentially freeing Mr. Trump to attack Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the federal cases against him." A CNN analysis is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
** Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... late Friday..., a [Colorado state] judge [-- Sarah Wallace --] ruled that while the former president can't be disqualified, he did incite an insurrection.... And she documented his history of promoting and legitimizing political violence -- which she said helps prove he incited the riot.... Wallace is hardly the first judge to lay blame at Trump's feet, however. Indeed, many judges have gestured in this general direction, including some Republican-appointed ones." The particulars Blake lists are interesting. (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race 2024
Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "The Commission on Presidential Debates on Monday announced the dates and locations of three presidential debates to be held during the general election campaign next year, as well as one vice-presidential debate. The presidential debates are scheduled for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; Oct. 1 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va.; and Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The vice-presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. The moderators and formats for each debate are not expected to be announced until next year, but the events are scheduled to run for 90 minutes with no commercial breaks." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump posted a doctor's letter stating that he is in 'excellent health' and has lost weight thanks to 'daily physical activity.' It also says his cognitive health is 'exceptional.' On Monday, Trump posted the letter from New Jersey physician Bruce Aronwald on his Truth Social account." MB: Not a word, I surmise, about Trump's being delusional.
** Garrett Epps, in the Washington Monthly, explains why Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace got it "grievously wrong" when she decided that Donald Trump could remain on the state ballot even though, she determined, he had led an insurrection. Epps relies on the historical record. Oh, and common sense.
** Michael Bender & Michael Gold of the New York Times: Donald Trump's attacks on "the enemies within" "has sounded new alarms among experts on autocracy who have long worried about Mr. Trump's praise for foreign dictators and disdain for democratic ideals. They said the former president's increasingly intensive focus on perceived internal enemies was a hallmark of dangerous totalitarian leaders.... 'There are echoes of fascist rhetoric, and they're very precise,' said Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor at New York University.... Mr. Trump's shift comes as he and his allies devise plans for a second term that would upend some of the long-held norms of American democracy and the rule of law." Includes many examples of Trump's anti-democratic remarks. MB: In noting the rise of authoritarian leaders around the world, Ari Melber of MSNBC remarked, somewhat casually, "Democracy isn't inevitable." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Why anyone would vote for a fascist is beyond me. Here is an example of what happens to ordinary people who express ordinary political dissent in a country run by Trump's favorite dictator (Rachel Maddow featured this story last night): ~~~
~~~ Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times (Nov. 17): "A Russian court has sentenced a pacifist artist to seven years in a penal colony for leaving price tags with small antiwar messages in a supermarket, the latest example of the Kremlin's resolve to stamp out opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine. The artist, Aleksandra Y. Skochilenko, 33, was found guilty on Thursday of spreading false information about the Russian Army -- a criminal offense introduced shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year -- for placing the messages at her local supermarket in St. Petersburg.... Her seven-year sentence underscores the high cost of any type of antiwar activity in Russia....The Kremlin has been stating openly that the Russian state will not tolerate dissent in wartime."
Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A Republican pastor who coordinates the faith-based outreach for the Philadelphia chapter of Moms for Liberty was convicted a decade ago of sexually abusing a teenage boy." MB: Oh, read on. You will not be surprised to learn that Pastor Phil there claims he was the victim. (Also linked yesterday.)
The Emperor Strikes Back. Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "X ... filed a lawsuit against Media Matters and its writer Eric Hananoki on Monday, over what it called an 'intentionally deceptive report' about antisemitism on the platform, according to a filing. Media Matters, a nonprofit based in Washington, says it engages in 'monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.' On the same day as the filing, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into 'potential fraudulent activity' by Media Matters.... Media Matters released a report by Hananoki on Thursday, which included screenshots of mainstream advertisements appearing beside pro-Nazi content on X. A wave of businesses, including IBM, Apple and Disney, subsequently suspended advertising." CNN's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: So that's what happens when you publish a factual report about Elon's little vanity project. Here's what happens to an ordinary person when Elon amplifies a false story about him: ~~~
~~~ Donie O'Sullivan & Audrey Ash of CNN: "... seemingly out of nowhere, Elon Musk used his considerable social media clout to amplify an online mob's misguided rants accusing ... 22-year-old [Ben Brody] from California of being an undercover agent in a neo-Nazi group.... The fact he bore a vague resemblance to a person allegedly in the group, that he was Jewish, and, that he once stated in a college fraternity profile posted online that he aspired to one day work for the government, was more than enough information for internet trolls to falsely conclude Brody was an undercover government agent (a 'Fed') planted inside the neo-Nazi group to make them look bad.... His being Jewish was relevant to them because conspiracy theories are often steeped in antisemitism -- suggesting there's a Jewish plan to control the world.... For Brody, the fallout was immediate. Overnight, he became a central character in a story spun by people seeking to deny and downplay the actions of hate groups in the United States today. The lies and taunts, which Musk engaged with on social media, turned his life upside down, Brody said. At one point, he said, he and his mother had to flee their home for fear of being attacked."
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Israel/Palestine
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Gaza's Health Ministry said it is working with the Red Cross to evacuate wounded people stranded at northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital on Tuesday morning after the facility was bombarded . At least 12 people were killed, and dozens were injured, according to the Health Ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said militants opened fire on its troops from within the hospital and that they retaliated but no shells were fired toward the facility. The Washington Post could not independently verify either side's claims.... President Biden said Monday he believed a deal to free hostages was near."~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Tuesday are here. CNN's live updates are here.
Fog of War. The Mysterious Disappearance of a New Yorker Contributor. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet who has written several articles for The New Yorker magazine over the past month, has reportedly gone missing after he was detained by Israeli forces this month. In a notice on Monday, The New Yorker announced, 'Over the weekend, Israeli forces reportedly detained Abu Toha in central Gaza. His whereabouts are now unknown. The New Yorker joins other organizations in calling for his safe return.' According to the Washington Post, which spoke to Toha's colleagues and a lawyer who had been in contact with Toha's wife, he was 'attempting to evacuate to southern Gaza with his family when he was arrested by the Israeli military at a checkpoint,' along with 200 others. Several colleagues and friends of Toha, however, have claimed that he was not arrested and was instead kidnapped by Israeli forces."
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Reader Comments (15)
Goldberg on Musk:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/opinion/adl-elon-musk-antisemitism.html
My comment:
There's a lot of conflation going on and it's not just that between Zionism and anti-semitism.
Placing separate ideas in the same mental silo is as certain to lead to nonsense as is separating thoughts and urges that really belong together.
Musk's behavior simply proves he's at heart a white supremacist, that as the years pass, his South African background is not just leaking through but on increasingly obvious display. In his case the urges and the ideas are closely linked.
Then more conflation: Because he's immensely wealthy, our culture takes him seriously, as it did and does Trump.
Just as Zionism is not anti-semitism, wealth does not necessarily make one good or smart....or worth listening to.
We should know that by now.
Here's another one to blame on Joe Biden. Oops, sorry, it's good
news so we have to find an excuse to not credit Biden with it.
Could it be that trump has been praying this would happen? Yeah,
that must be it, at least in the tiny minds of MAGAland.
https://thehill.com/regulation/transportation/4320072-gas-prices-
could-be-lowest-thanksgiving-level-in-years/
In a dozen or so states, gas prices are below $3.00 per gallon and
expected to go lower. I guess the word hasn't gotten to Michigan yet.
The stories linked here at Chez Marie this morning offer an excellent, if baleful snapshot of where we are as a nation these days under the pall of an ignorant, indolent, authoritarian party informed by fascism and addicted to anti-democratic urges and performative nonsense.
To wit:
Social media sultans who believe they are above the law and are happy to traffic in dangerous offerings as long as it makes them rich.
Yet another faux investigation triggered by MAGA mania and the desperate need for turning history and facts upside down to curry favor with a would-be dictator.
A hard right judiciary once again putting its thumb on the scales of Justice to support curtailment of voting rights in a ridiculously transparent effort to help fellow travelers in democracy hating Right Wing World.
One more effort to get a traitor to STFU.
A legal ruling making it clear that the aforementioned would-be dictator is in fact an insurrectionist.
Dates for debates featuring hate that won’t abate or sate the MAGA mates, useful only to bate, berate, and sedate. Great.
Fascism makes a big return around the world. Foreign dictators ❤️ the Orange Monster. And he ❤️ them.
A right-wing Moms for Child Abuse Bible beater who blames a kid he molested for his problems. Those darned kids!
A right-wing billionaire social media bigot who can’t stand anyone telling the truth about his rampant racist tendencies.
Okay. I have to stop. Is it too early for a double shot?
Not depressed enough?
Heh-heh.
I can fix that.
Swing, swang, swung, all get hung…
How ‘bout a look at so-called swing voters who are tired of political poltroonery and blame…wait for it…BOTH SIDES!
Here’s one of these idiots:
“‘I can’t really speak to anything [Biden] has done,’ he said, ‘because I’ve tuned it out, like a lot of people have. We’re so tired of the us-against-them politics.’
So what we really have here is an article about swing voters pining for calmer, more sensible politics & a range of moderate policies–EXACTLY THE SHIT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY STANDS FOR. But when they tune in, all they see is madness & ugliness & fighting & claim & counter-claim so they ‘tune out’ & thus do not hear about Biden saying/doing exactly the f’ing things they want someone to say/do. That is the right’s mission, accomplished. That is the core US political dynamic. That’s what these articles should be about.
Everywhere, reactionaries in politics are the same: they try to blur truth, increase bile & anger, exhaust everyone, and convince the public that no one can be trusted (ie, only a Strong Man can fix it). Those are the circumstances in which reactionaries flourish.
That’s what the right is doing in the US & the media is helping them by rewarding them with endless attention when they act out. The public is telling the WaPo here, as clearly as it can: we care about calm, deliberation, substance, policy, but all we get is spectacle.”
Yeah, that performative nonsense they love and which the media constantly celebrates.
Why?
Clicks equal bucks equal “My job is safe until my next Both Sides story!”
Swing voters like these, and the Both Sides media will have us all swinging from a Trump branded gallows, toot sweet.
Fuck me.
@Akhilleus: It struck me the other day that part of what's going on in the presidential horse-race is this: by repeating his doom-and-gloom messages again and again, Trump has got not just his base, but voters in general, feeling sour about their own situations and about "the government." Biden is "the government," so voters are down on him; they blame him for their malaise, even though it's been Trump who has caused it. So they'll vote for Trump because he's the "change" candidate and maybe they'll feel all better when a dictator takes over.
Nonsensical & self-defeating? Well, yeah. But a pretty good trick on Trump's part.
Tomorrow being the 60th anniversary of the assassination of JFK,
here's another interesting theory on that, among the thousands of
other theories:
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/friend-secret-cia-agent-think-
190000508.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=0_00
Also on Paramount+ (via YouTube) there's an interesting documentary
on the aftermath of the assination: JFK: What The Doctors Saw.
I'm guessing that Trump's cognitive test didn't include questions like "who won the 2020 presidential election?" or "who is the current US President?" or "how many feet are in a 10,000 square foot loft?"
Californians will have better control of their data.
"On Tuesday, October 10, 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 362, also known as the Delete Act, which amends certain aspects of California’s existing Data Broker Registration law. By January 1, 2026, the Delete Act will enable California consumers – as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended – to make a single personal information deletion request to a centralized database that is binding on all data brokers1 that maintain the consumer’s personal information. In addition, there will be new disclosure and audit requirements imposed on data brokers under the Delete Act."
MAGAs don't want no Gummit telling em what to do.
Their solution: give absolute power to an authoritarian dictator.
Why? Because he "owns the Libs".
I don't remember the details, but I do recall thinking that the Kennedy assassination as imagined in James Ellroy's American Tabloid was plausible, far more so than the single shooter theory with the magic bullet passing through Connolly in several directions as if the man were doing yoga in the car.
Those polls showing Biden and trump evenly matched? They are
conducted in part by trump's former campaign pollster.
This year trump's Super PAC has paid his former pollster's company
more than $567,000.00 according to FEC filings.
https://newrepublic.com/post/175387/wsj-poll-showing-trump-biden-
evenly-matched-trump-helped-pay
Rachel Maddow's latest book, Prequel is a wonderfully full and lucid demonstration that totalitarians of all times and places have the same game plan no matter what they call themselves.
I highly recommend all four of Rachel's books, though I have a particular interest in Bag Man, as Spiro Agnew was a major influence in my life. He was the cause of my youthful Identity Crises. I could not decide whether I wanted to grow up to be a "nattering nabob of negativism", or, an "effete intellectual snob". They both sounded really cool.
I eventually realized that the two are not mutually exclusive -- that one could aim high...
@ D
And in turn the dictator will tell THEM what to do...and won't likely be so nice about it.
Damned if you do and...
Ezra Klein has good discussion about Israel and the war. Here is an excerpt at digby's a bit down the page. He also points out the different generational views of Israel as it has evolved over time. From the vulnerable early state to the powerful and flawed, but hopeful state to the Netanyahu years of a powerful and flawed state with little hope of recognizing the rights of Palestinians in the present day. A complicated mess.
Whoa…hang on, kids. RAS wonders how Fatty would respond to a question about how many feet are in a 10,000 Sq. ft loft.
Trump Grifting Lying Crime Family answer?
30,000 Sq. ft. For loan purposes, natch.
Oh…unless they have to pay taxes on it. In that case it’s 10 Sq ft.
I wondered how he might respond to a question like “How much does a pound of lead weigh?”
Answer: “Crooked Joe Biden!”
And The NY Times dutifully regurgitates that response.