The Commentariat -- August 16, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Tweedledee to Coach Tweedledumb. Maggie Haberman & Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Roger Ailes, the former Fox News chairman ousted last month over charges of sexual harassment, is advising Donald J. Trump as he begins to prepare for the all-important presidential debates this fall. Mr. Ailes is aiding Mr. Trump's team as it turns its attention to the first debate with Hillary Clinton ... on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University, according to four people briefed on the move.... Two of them said that Mr. Ailes's role could extend beyond the debates...." ...

     ... CW: "My top guy is a Kremlin fixer, and his second is a serial sex abuser. You've never seen a campaign like this," Trump said.

Heavy petting between Donaldavich and the Russians. Whoo. Simon Shuster (is that a real name? If the guy's middle name begins with an "N", I'll go home happy) of Time, covers the Russian take on Donald Trump's big foreign policy speech. "'Trump is not only our candidate,' [Alexander Dugin] told TIME. 'He is the savior of the USA.'...Even during the Cold War, the Kremlin often preferred to deal with more conservative American statesmen, because they were less prone to cloaking their real agenda with talk about the need to promote democracy and human rights. That prejudice persists to this day, says Gleb Pavlovsky, who served as an adviser to [Vladimir] Putin between 2000 and 2011. 'There is that old ghost in the Kremlin machine,' he says, 'that belief that more conservative, more anti-liberal candidates turn out to be more willing to negotiate.'...[Russian TV] anchors continued to shill for [Trump's] campaign while casting his rival, Hillary Clinton, as the latest figurehead of the great anti-Russian conspiracy. -- Akhilleus

Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Aetna, the nation's third largest health insurer, announced Monday night the most significant departure yet from the marketplaces set up by President Obama's signature health care law. The company, citing $430 million in losses selling insurance to individuals since January of 2014, will slash its participation from 15 states to four next year." -- CW

*****

Greg Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration on Monday transferred 15 detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United Arab Emirates, the largest release under the current president, the Pentagon said." -- CW

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "North Carolina on Monday asked the Supreme Court to restore most of its strict voting procedures for the November elections, despite a lower court's ruling that the law intentionally discriminates against African Americans." -- CW

Gene Robinson praises the "elites," whoever they may be, and the "mainstream media" who are often the brunt of criticism (by me, too). Robinson, who is both an elite and an MSM staple, naturally goes overboard in his praise of, well, people like him. But he's right on some points, especially this one: "Ignorance is not a virtue. Knowledge is not a vice. Pointy-heads who spend years gaining expertise in a given field may make mistakes, but the remedy is to replace them with pointy-heads who have different views -- not with know-nothings who would try to navigate treacherous terrain on instinct alone. (See: Trump's policy positions on, well, anything.)"

Presidential Race

Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "The Commission on Presidential Debates has released the polls it will use to decide the participants of September's first presidential debate as third-party candidates struggle to make the stage. Candidates will need to hit an average of 15 percent in polls conducted by ABC/Washington Post, CBS/New York Times, CNN/Opinion Research Corporation, Fox News, and NBC/Wall Street Journal.... Hillary Clinton and ... Donald Trump are virtually assured a slot each on the stage for the Sept. 26 debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. But it remains unlikely that a third-party candidate will join them...." -- CW

Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times: "Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned on Monday [in Scranton, Pennsylvania] that Donald J. Trump, even as a candidate, had elevated the dangers confronting American allies and military personnel overseas. Mr. Biden said that on a trip to Kosovo and Serbia this week, he would be compelled to 'reassure' allies that the United States would honor its commitment to NATO, given Mr. Trump's comments saying he would reassess the arrangement if elected. 'Because they're worried,' Mr. Biden said, in his first campaign appearance beside Hillary Clinton." -- CW ...

He would have loved Stalin. -- Joe Biden, on Donald Trump

... Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Biden's first campaign appearance on behalf of the Democratic nominee blended blue-collar outreach with stinging rebukes of Trump from a man who, Biden reminded the crowd, travels with his own copies of the nation's nuclear weapons codes." -- CW

Heather Caygle of Politico: "... Tim Kaine went all in during his North Carolina visit Monday night, busting out his harmonica for an impromptu jam session with a local bluegrass band. Kaine played two well-known bluegrass songs -- 'Wagon Wheel' and 'My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains' -- as the crowd cheered him on at Catawba Brewery, even singing and dancing at times, while his wife, Anne Holton, clogged to the side of the stage. The impromptu concert capped off a night of Southern fun for Kaine and his wife that included a barbecue dinner with beers and banana pudding at Buxton Home Barbecue." -- CW ...

Chaffez, Goodlatte Don't Realize Horse Is Dead, Continue Sadistic Beating. Julian Hattem of the Hill: "A pair of leading House Republicans on Monday laid out detailed instructions for the Justice Department to file perjury charges against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. More than a month after first requesting the department open a criminal probe into Clinton for alleged misstatements she made under oath, the GOP heads of the House Judiciary [Bob Goodlatte, (RTP-Va.)] and Oversight [Jason Chaffetz (RTP-Utah)] committees told a federal prosecutor specifically where they believed Clinton had lied to Congress about her email setup at the Department of State.... In addition to their letter on Monday, the Oversight Committee also released a 2.5-minute video detailing apparent inaccuracies in Clinton's testimony." CW: The video was in no way political or meant for public viewing (even though the chairmen uploaded it to YouTube), but merely because Republicans on the committees expressed uncertainty as to whether or not Obama DOJ lawyers could read.

Nick Gass of Politico: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ... [said Hillary] Clinton's comment that the [violence] in Milwaukee demonstrates the 'urgent work to do to rebuild trust between police and communities' is representative of similar statements 'that are just inflaming the situation.'..." CW: Yeah, statements like what Clinton said Monday, that the U.S. should "get back to the fundamental principle: everyone should have respect for the law and be respected by the law," are so inflammatory that my eyes are burning.

Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "President Obama took a brief break from his 16-day vacation on Martha's Vineyard to attend a Democratic National Committee fundraiser on the island, where he made a strong case for Hillary Clinton as he seemed to brush off Donald Trump. 'Frankly, I'm tired of talking about her opponent,' Obama said. 'I don't have to make the case against her opponent because every time he talks, he makes the case against his own candidacy.'" -- CW

Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "Advisers to Donald J. Trump keep reassuring Republicans that there is still plenty of time to rescue his candidacy -- nearly three months to counter Hillary Clinton's vast operation in swing states and get Mr. Trump on message. The Trump team had better check the calendar. Voting actually starts in less than six weeks, on Sept. 23 in Minnesota and South Dakota, the first of some 35 states and the District of Columbia that allow people to cast ballots at polling sites or by email before Nov. 8.... If Mrs. Clinton swamps Mr. Trump in the early vote in some swing states, she can move staff and money to the most competitive places -- like Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, judging from recent polls -- while he scrambles to battle on multiple fronts." -- CW

David Sanger & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: ">Donald J. Trump on Monday invoked comparisons to the Cold War era in arguing that the United States must wage an unrelenting ideological fight if it is to defeat the Islamic State. He said he would temporarily suspend immigration from 'the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world' and judge allies solely on their participation in America's mission to root out Islamic terrorism.... The kind of relentless attacks on the Islamic State he advocates -- along with taking and holding the oil fields, which may well be a violation of international law -- would require a considerable presence by American troops or their allies, and foreign bases to launch the drones." -- CW ...

... ** Glenn Kessler & Michelle Lee of the Washington Post: "For reasons known only to Trump, he continued to repeat false statements that have been repeatedly debunked in the past. So here's a round-up of some of the more notable claims made in the speech." -- CW ...

... Bradley Klapper & Lolita Baldor of the AP also do a fact-check: "Donald Trump painted the Middle East as an oasis of stability before Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, arguing that she and President Barack Obama 'launched' the Islamic State group onto the world. In trying to outline how he would defeat the threat, Trump himself launched several other false claims on Monday." -- CW

The Tartuffian Candidate. We want to build bridges and erase divisions. We will reject bigotry and hatred and oppression in all of its many ugly forms. -- Donald Trump, in his international policy speech ...

... If Trump said this with a wry smile, then immediately broke into peels of laughter at the hilarity of his funny, that would be sarcasm. If he said it with his fake-serious expression, that would be Extreme Radical Hypocrisy. Americans suspected of ERH should be put on a watch list and most should be deported (to somewhere); DHS should bar from entry into the U.S. all people from designated ERH countries, and should test every potential visitor or immigrant for ERH syndrome before considered his application. -- Constant Weader

... ** New York Times Editors: "Far from coherent analysis of the threat of Islamic extremism and a plausible blueprint for action, the speech was a collection of confused and random thoughts that showed little understanding of the rise of the Islamic State and often conflicted with the historical record. Meanwhile, with terrorism as his central focus, Mr. Trump doubled down on the anti-refugee themes that have dominated his campaign, dressing them up as a national security issue." -- CW

The only strategic communication I heard was, 'I hate Muslims.' -- Adm. James Stavridis, Ret., former NATO Commander, on MSNBC today

... Ishaan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump banged the same old drum during a speech on national security in Ohio on Monday.... Going by Trump's speech, the whole [Middle East] somehow fits into [the] category [of] 'Radical Islam.'... While he's opposed to the sort of American interventions that unsettled Iraq, Trump has no qualms offering up 19th-century imperialist fantasy of occupation and resource extraction. His disdain for the sovereignty of the countries in the Middle East is compounded by a disinterest in the futures of the people living there." -- CW

CW: For a most enjoyable Trumpsky read, I suggest this column by Digby (for Salon). It includes some stuff I didn't know about, like Trump's addition of "female right wing cranks" to his policy team. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Based on every complaint Trump has made, he doesn't understand what journalism;s role in our democracy is supposed to be. It is not, of course, shilling for Donald Trump -- or any other candidate. Sullivan lets a few founders & former Supremes tweet their responses to Whiney Boy. -- CW ...

... ** Ha. A lot those dead white dudes knew. Paul Waldman shows how the media should be reporting on a Donald Trump rally:

Trump Draws Enormous, Fantastic Crowd, I Mean It's Incredible

FAIRFIELD, CT -- Republican nominee Donald Trump brought his extraordinary campaign to Make America Great Again to a university gymnasium here Sunday night, leaving the entire state simultaneously excited, hopeful, and dazed at the majesty and splendor of a Trump appearance, knowing that in some small way they had contributed to the salvation of our country.

     ... CW: Read on. I found journaTrump LOL funny. In a footnote, Waldman notes that "all Trump quotes in this article are real. Seriously."

Robert Schlesinger of US News is enjoying the meltdown & urges Trump not to change. -- CW

Jonathan Martin & Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: Donald Trump "has not just walled himself off from African-American voters where they live. He has also turned down repeated invitations to address gatherings of black leaders, ignored African-American conservatives in states he needs to win and made numerous inflammatory comments about minorities.... Some of Mr. Trump's advisers ... have called on him to broaden his campaign [to include black voters]." CW: Ha ha. That'll work. There are probably many black voters who enjoyed Trump's birther campaign & were charmed when Trump invited rally-goers to "Look at my African-American over here." And what black voter wouldn't want to hang out with these Trump rally attendees? (Also linked yesterday.) --

AP photo. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "There's no demonstrated in-person voter fraud problem in Pennsylvania (or anywhere else, for that matter).... But it's not surprising that this is a part of Trump's campaign...: When Trump's campaign director Paul Manafort was helping to coordinate the campaign effort of a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine in 2006, he used similar tools and rhetoric. In 2004, Ukraine held a presidential election that actually was riddled with fraud and abuse.... Monitoring of the election ... found a number of problems focused on the campaign of Viktor Yanukovych, who ... was friendlier to Moscow.... The rampant fraud led to a series of protests dubbed the Orange Revolution -- and a second ballot, which [Viktor] Yushchenko won. At some point over the next two years, Yanukovych hired" Manafort's firm for an "extreme makeover." "There's no question that in Ukraine in 2006, there was cause to be concerned about election-rigging by the party in power -- Yanukovych's." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Manafortian Candidate. Meghan Kenealy of ABC News provides a rundown of Russia's role in and insurgence into the 2016 presidential election and the increasingly disturbing turning of Donald Trump toward the east. "When Trump was asked in December about reports that [Vladimir] Putin was cracking down on internal dissent by killing journalists and political opponents, Trump's response [was]..., 'He's running his country and at least he's a leader, unlike what he have in this country.'... And when Putin described Trump as a 'bright and talented person,' Trump released a statement ... that said in part: 'It is always so great to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.'" -- Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

And Just Like Clockwork... Liz Peek of Fox: "... it is President Obama who has allowed the Russian strongman to become the power broker in the Middle East. It is thanks to Obama that Putin enjoys 82 percent approval ratings at home." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Akhilleus: Hahahahahaha. The claim that Obama is responsible for Putin's skyrocketing approval ratings is never substantiated (and leave us not even venture to mention that Putin's approval rating in Russia is whatever he wants it to be). It's funny how wingers, when they go on about Putin, mention, with Obama in their sights, what a terrible person he is, but in the next sentence seem to believe, childishly, that things like opinion polls in Russia ... are all on the up and up. Peek, who is a terrible writer, by the way, and a worse thinker, bases her stance that Obama is an awful president on the fact that he hasn't started a war with Russia yet. The weenie!

Under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn't have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office. -- Rudy Giuliani, introducing Donald Trump & Mike Pence in Ohio

Not only did Giuliani forgot how to form a Giuliani sentence -- "A noun, a verb and 9/11," but he also forgot the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks themselves, so deep is his hatred for Obama (and black people) & Clinton (and women). -- Constant Weader

Once you understand that according to the right wing calendar, George W. Bush's presidency began on the day after 9/11 and ended the day before Obama's financial crash, this (and a whole lot more) makes perfect sense. -- Greg Sargent ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Giuliani ... actually talked about [9/11] shortly before the 'eight years' comment.... Giuliani's comments are actually pretty diametrically opposed to what Trump has said previously in this campaign. While Giuliani was basically giving the previous GOP administration kudos for preventing further terrorist attacks and contrasting that with the Obama administration's record, Trump all but blamed Bush for 9/11 during the primary." -- CW ...

... Jeet Heer of the New Republic: "Setting aside the possibility that Obama hatred has obliterated his memory of the worst terrorist attack in American history, this remark reflects the strange exemption that George W. Bush is granted over 9/11 happening under his watch. According to Republicans like Giuliani, Bush can never be held accountable for 9/11, while everything that happens under Obama's watch, from ISIS to Syrian civil war, is the president's responsibility. This sort of partisan logic might make sense to die-hard Republicans, but it comes across as unhinged to everyone else." -- CW ...

... CW: Let's assume, as several commentators have pointed out, even as they scratched their heads at the futility of such self-defeating strategy, that the Trump campaign's goal is not to expand the candidate's base in order to, you know, win the election, but to send more Purina to the Pavlovian base. In that regard, Giuliani's fractured history lesson makes sense. As Steve M. points out, "the vast majority of the party gives W [a] mulligan" [for the 9/11 attacks].

CW: Ever a stickler for the fairness doctrine I, having embedded a clip of the Democrats' veep candidate playing the harmonica, I searched for a clip featuring mike pence's musical talents. No luck, but Jen Edds fills in with "The Mike Pence Song":

Aaron Blake: "Donald Trump's national spokeswoman [Katrina Pierson] offered a pretty stunning accusation during an appearance on Fox Business Network on Monday morning. She alleged that members of the political media have 'literally beat Trump supporters into submission.'... This is merely the latest wild accusation and strange claim made by Pierson this campaign.... CNN ... media analyst Brian Stelter on Sunday pressed top Trump aide Jason Miller repeatedly on whether the campaign would continue dispatching Pierson to do TV appearances.... Stelter said, "... it seems to me there's a pattern of misinformation. It makes me worried about where her sources of information are coming from.' Miller said Stelter was making 'a ridiculous comment.'" Blake runs down some of Pierson's crazier claims. ...

     ... CW: Maybe Pierson was thinking of that video where Maggie Haberman & Karen Tumulty pummel a couple of guys wearing Trump T-shirts till the battered & bloody Trumpsters empty their pockets, crying, "Give it to Hillary! Give it all to the Democrat candidates!" In case you haven't seen the video (screenshot posted above left), it's in the same vault with the one where A-rab-looking New Jerseyites cheer the collapse of the Twin Towers.

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Intrepid reporter Akhilleus has obtained a leaked copy of the first (and only) policy meeting of Donald Trump's economic team of the Best Steves. This could bring Reality Chex our first Pulitzer:

... CW: Following up on Akhilleus's scoop.... While the Steves may have influenced Trump's economic "policy" (a/k/a that which he reads from a teleprompter + China is killing us), here is incontrovertible evidence that Donaldo himself has powerfully influenced the Steves' position on women's rights:

Congressional Races

James Downie of the Washington Post: "Despite the Democrats having the inside track for the executive branch and the upper chamber of Congress, there seems little chance of a Democratic House. Why? The easy answer is that the Democratic Party -- and especially the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- has failed to take advantage of its opportunity.... Clinton and the Democrats will no doubt celebrate on Election Day. But the subsequent elections will be the true tests. Even if the Democrats retake the Senate, the GOP House will surely block every major piece of legislation the new administration seeks, and then blame Clinton for the gridlock." -- CW

Beyond the Beltway

Craig McCoy, et al., of Philly.com: "Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane was convicted Monday of perjury, obstruction and other crimes after squandering her once bright political future on an illegal vendetta against an enemy. Four years after Kane's election in a landslide as the first Democrat and first woman elected attorney general, a jury of six men and six women found her guilty of all charges: two counts of perjury and seven misdemeanor counts of abusing the powers of her office. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele persuaded the jurors that Kane orchestrated the illegal leak of secret grand jury documents to plant a June 2014 story critical of her nemesis, former state prosecutor Frank Fina. Kane then lied about her actions under oath, the jury found.... [Kane's attorney] said no decision had been made about whether Kane would resign from office. Gov. [Tom] Wolf [D], who had called for Kane to resign after her arrest, said Monday night that she should now do so immediately." -- CW

Rick Rojas, et al., of the New York Times: "Two days after an imam and his assistant were gunned down after afternoon prayers in Queens, city officials sought to reassure members of the Muslim community in New York on Monday, saying that a 'strong person of interest' was in police custody. At a news conference on Monday evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged the fear that had spread among members of the city's Bangladeshi community over concerns that the men, who were dressed in religious garb at the time of the attack, had been targeted because of their faith." -- CW ...

     ... New Lede: "Two days after an imam and his assistant were gunned down after afternoon prayers in Queens, the police said late Monday that a man they had in custody had been charged in the killings. The man, Oscar Morel of Brooklyn, 35, who was taken into custody late Sunday after the police connected him to a hit and run that occurred about a mile away from the fatal attack, faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, the police said." -- CW

Hannah Schwartz, et al., of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Shaken by two nights of violent unrest in the Sherman Park neighborhood, Milwaukee authorities imposed a 10 p.m. citywide curfew for teens Monday while faith leaders took to the streets to pray and talk with residents. The combination of law, order and faith was an attempt to break a cycle of violence that erupted following Saturday's shooting death of an armed suspect by a Milwaukee police officer. Although it was too early to declare if the peace would fully hold, at 10:30 p.m. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee Police Chief Edward A. Flynn appeared at a news conference and expressed cautious optimism." -- CW

Way Beyond

Paul Schemm of the Washington Post: "Russian heavy bombers took off from an Iranian air base and struck rebel targets in Syria in a dramatic sign of the growing military relations between the two countries that are the main backers of the Syrian government." CW: Since Donald Trump has demonstrated his expertise on the Middle East, we need to hear some of the many words from his very good brain on the Russia-Iran-Syria alliance. If he's not sure how great this is, he could ask Putin's his campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

News Ledes

New York Times: "John McLaughlin, a former Roman Catholic priest who became an aide to Richard M. Nixon in the White House and parlayed his fierce defense of the president into a television career as host of 'The McLaughlin Group,' the long-running Sunday morning program of combative political punditry, died on Tuesday at his home in Washington. He was 89." CW: As I remember McLaughlin, he was always 89.

New York Times: "As the receding floodwaters continued to expose the magnitude of the disaster the state has been enduring, Louisiana officials said Tuesday that at least 11 people had died, and that about 30,000 people had been rescued. Gov. John Bel Edwards acknowledged that the state did not know how many people were missing, but he said that nearly 8,100 people had slept in shelters on Monday night and that some 40,000 homes had been 'impacted to varying degrees.'" -- CW ...

... AP: "Authorities late Monday said a body had been pulled from floodwaters in Baton Rouge, raising the toll to seven dead.... The slow-moving, low-pressure system that dumped more than 20 inches of rain on some parts of Louisiana was crawling into Texas, but the National Weather Service warned the danger of new flooding remained high due to the sheer volume of water flowing toward the Gulf of Mexico. Rivers and creeks were still dangerously bloated in areas south of Baton Rouge...." -- CW ...

... The Weather Channel has more here. -- CW

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Trvmpvs the Latest and the Bullshittiest

So, surprise, surprise. In his never ending quest to appear tough and resolute to the cave people, always fearful of any other tribe nosing around their water hole, Donaldo's latest and super greatest brainstorm (think of a 2 mph wind and seven drops of rain) is a test. Yay! We love tests! Only this one is an ideological test to determine entry into the US if and only if someone supports, wholeheartedly, things like American values and the Constitution. Only problem is that neither Drumpf nor his staff, advisors, sycophants, submissive slaves (Ryan, McConnell, et al), nor pretty much anyone getting set to vote for him could pass this test. But how cool would that be? All of those people lined up on a pier and told to get the hell out. Sounds good to me.

Also: words. A never ending, big problem for Donaldo who, like many other five year olds, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY! believes that repeating a word makes that word more effective, as in "I am gonna do some extreme, extreme, I mean EXTREME! vetting of these middle eastern terrorists tryin' to come into my country. Extreme.

A more embarrassing and deplorably ignorant brute has never stood for high office in this country. Thank you, Confederates.

[PD Pepe]

Five year olds, indeed! When I wuz a wee one meself, my neighborhood had Steves aplenty, certainly some girls, but mostly boys whom I preferred to play with because they came up with more interesting games. My favorite was something our Trumpeter is playing even today with his great plan to fight the enemy. We'd divide into Americans v Germans/Japs and set up camp sites in the open fields down by the lake (Michigan). Thinking back on our strategies they seem far more complicated than what D. T. is touting. But then poor guy has only those limp Steves and Rudy to advise him ––their Tao being tiny and tinny because their yings and yangs ain't doing their job. We kids had Johnny Brinkman, ace strategist who I swear could run circles around Trump any day of the week.

I really, really, really mean that!!!!1

[Marvin Schwalb]

OK, Trump declares that as America's number one hater he is unqualified to be an American citizen.
Under Trump, the US tourist industry is dead.
Trump has no clue about the words Sunni and Shiite.
Trump now wants to build a bridge to Mexico.

And much more. Just another typical day.

The good news for Trump is that the former mayor of NYC on 9/11 may make Trump look like the second dumbest idiot in America.-+

The real issue is that all Trump does is continue to appeal to the same people who will vote for him no matter what he says.

[Diane]

Gosh. Where is the immediate meme of TERRORISM with regard to the killing of the Imam, a holy man.

[Akhilleus]

This weekend I spent a few glorious hours happily rummaging through a book with the irresistible title "A History of the World in 100 Objects". The objects selected hold special places as landmarks in our march, as a species, from brutish existence to civilization. Included are a stone age ice axe, a ceremonial box from the legendary city of Ur, a Han Dynasty lacquer cup, the Rosetta Stone, and a print of a rhinoceros made by the great Albrecht Dürer.

Then I got to thinking that we now have a front row seat as the Confederate Party and their candidate turn back the clock, zooming back from civilized behavior to club wielding cave dwellers intent on braining their neighbors if they get too close to the puddle they use for drinking water.

And wondering if there were any significant artifacts and landmarks that have marked the way backwards, I hit upon an idea for a very different kind of exhibit:

A history of Trump in Twelve Objects (because ten is just not good enough for Trump)

1. Medal for best made bed. When not prancing around a phony parade ground in a War of 1812 uniform, Donaldo did an excellent job of tucking in the sheets on his bed. This is the crucial experience he will call upon in later years as proof of his claim that he does so know what it's like to be in the military. Good job, General Donnie. But watch that pillow case!

2. Stack of Chapter 11 filings and pink slips representing the thousands investors who lost their shirts and former employees who lost their jobs because of Trump's incompetence as a "deal maker".

3. Full page NY Daily News ad taken out promoting the execution of five young black men for a crime of which they were innocent.

4. Salami and provolone sandwich still in the wrapper. A gift from Vinnie "Big Balls" (no last name), Trump's contact for business dealings with the mob to "keep things moving" on his development projects.

4. Scale model of Mexican Wall. Kept in his 20,000 sq. ft. luxury penthouse, where he moves little figurines around in front of the wall, giving them a cheesy Speedy Gonzales accent in which they beg Donaldo to let them come in so they can rape some white women, por favor, Señor Trumpe.

6. Purple Heart. Unearned. Taken from a veteran who put his life on the line to receive it. Trump chuckled that he'd always wanted one of those, but sure was glad he didn't have to get wounded to receive one, as he grinned and pocketed the medal.

7. Legal agreement with the Justice Department, signed by Trump preventing Trump and his father from further “discriminating against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling", the successful result of Fair Housing Act violations suit brought against the Trumps for refusing to rent to black families.

8. Орден Ленина: The Order of Lenin, for services rendered to the Russian State. Putin had a bunch of leftovers and guessed that Donaldavich, being so fond of medals (the bed making, the Purple Heart, etc) would love it. This one he actually earned.

9. Diploma from Trump University. Fake diploma from scam university set up to fleece the gullible. Trump in a nutshell.

10. A Trump tie, made in China so as not to provide a single job for Americans. Could this be how China is beating us?

11. Tarnished Miss Universe tiara, symbol of Trump's bona fides as an expert in foreign policy. "Now, over here is Miss Ukraine. Whoa, nice rack, baby. Come show Uncle Don."

12. Gold plated flush handle from the toilet on a Trump Shuttle plane. The fabulously successful shuttle service went out of business 18 months after Trump took over. Cue toilet flushing sound.

Feel the magic, America.

Exhibit will remain open until election day.

[David Feldman]

This comment appended to the Kathleen Kane article in the NYTs (linked above) pretty well demonstrates the contortions through which the NYTs will put itself in order to insert it's head into it's ass.

"Langelotti Washington, D.C. 3 minutes ago
"Is this article minimizing the criminality of the Attorney General of Pennsylvania or is it just me?

“'It turns on the perception that she abused her power.' No, it turns on the fact, proven in a court of law, that she abused her power."

CW: Remainder of comment removed to comply with copyright laws.

[Marvin Schwalb]

Diane, I assume you are referring to the two Muslims murdered in NYC. If that turns out to be a hate crime it just proves my point-
Trump is America's number one supporter of ISIS. They love him, especially his stance to ensure that all terrorists have easy access to guns.

[Akhilleus]

As usual, the Democratic Party (see link above) looks like they're dropping the ball on this once in a generation chance to take control of the Senate and House away from the Party of Nihilism and Chaos. Typical.

Plenty of commentators are already crowing about a takeover, at least, of the Senate, but this is by no means a given. Clinton's coattails are tattered where they exist at all. And no one should forget that stealing elections is a Confederate specialty, like Oysters Rockefeller at Antoines. They never get tired of it and keep getting better at it.

The flip side of that is now on display from Team Trvmpvs, whining about OTHER people stealing the election. The object lesson here is the way the Manafortian Candidate will yell about election fraud while in fact, as his campaign manager did for Putin's authoritarian buddy in Ukraine, the only real election shenanigans will be coming from his camp.

They've got it down to a science. Meanwhile, Democrats are sitting on their asses trying to figure out what they'll do without DWS.

Christ.

As Will Rogers used to say "I'm not a member of any organized party. I'm a Democrat."

[Akhilleus]

Marie,

Tartuffe! Mais oui! A perfect analog for Donaldo with the exception that Tartuffe is a lot funnier than Trump. Wonder if Trump has ever read Molière. Class? A show of hands?

Hmmm....guess not.

No apparent copycatting there. Trump is his very own man, er, person, er, something. A self-made hypocrite.

[Akhilleus]

What was I just saying about Confederate electoral finagling? Oh yeah, it never stops.

So every election season of the presidential variety, special attention is given to the so-called battleground states. One state in particular, over the last decade or so, has been the site of the kind of skullduggerous ratfucking that previously you'd find only in bad drugstore novels you'd read only if you couldn't find something on the rack by Danielle Steele.

OHIO! Yup, scene of votes that disappear for the Democrat and reappear, miraculously, as votes for the Republican. Penn and Teller couldn't do as well.

Secretary of Election Stealing, er, I mean, Secretary of State, Jon Husted has been a busy little bee this election season. Fresh off being sued by the ACLU for a massive purge of voters he doesn't like (Democrats) from the election rolls, little Jonnie is up to his old tricks again now that doomsday is approaching and Confederates are fearful that King Troglodyte might not get to piss on the White House roses, especially any planted by the Obamas.

So what's new? Well, it seems Husted is softening his concern for electoral rigidity, and he wants to, you know, make it clear, that in his eyes, "...the spirit of ballot access should prevail."

Awww..isn't that sweet? This is the same guy who has declared that Democrats wanting to vote have to produce seventy five forms of ID, three of which need to be signed by officials who have been dead longer than Trump's been an asshole, a DNA swab, pay for the labs, then wait ten years before they can vote. "Spirit of ballot access..." So...democratic. But why the change?

Well, funny you should ask. Ohio being one of the famed "battlegrounds' where Clinton and Trump could find themselves in a close race, Husted is now all in favor of allowing Gary Johnson's name on the ballot, even though another name currently occupies that space. But, as Husted says the law is unclear. Funny, any time there has been a chance that Democrats could benefit from a last minute electoral change, lack of clarity has been the kiss of death:

"The federal courts have also taken action — twice in two years — to reverse discriminatory changes in early voting ordered by Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted, who keeps trying to prevent early voting, which he appears to think is especially rife with 'fraud' (if by 'fraud' one means “black people voting.” Which of course one does)."

But not now!

Although Gary Johnson is still basically a Republican who doesn't care if people want to get high, he is far more likely to pull votes from Clinton (he's polling at between 5 and 12% in Ohio) than from the Orange Headed Bigot. Disaffected Bernie or Busters won't vote for Trump but they probably wouldn't mind sticking it to Clinton and the Democrats by pulling the lever for Gary ("Don't bogart that joint!") Johnson.

The fact is that as of August 10, Clinton was only up by 4 points in Ohio. Johnson and Jill Stein were considered as well as Clinton and Trump in this poll, but Johnson wasn't actually on the ballot then. Now he is. 4 points is probably well within the margin of error in a place like Ohio so Johnson's name might make a huge difference. At least the Republican Secretary of Election Stealing hopes so.

But aren't those Confederates sweet for overlooking any haziness with all that legal mumbo jumbo and letting ol' Gary on the ballot?

I tells ya. People will always surprise you. One minute the guy is all for locking up voting polls and surrounding them with armed guards from Russia (might as well get some experienced guys), the next....Gary Johnson is on the ballot!

People sure are funny.

(And remember, kids, this is just Ohio. Weasels are abroad in the 49 other states with hearts full of spite and heads full of ratfucking.)

[Haley Simon]

Perhaps I've missed some earlier conversations about this long NYT piece, but it is superb and should be getting a lot more coverage. I hope you can take the time to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/11/magazine/isis-middle-east-arab-spring-fractured-lands.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=Moth-Hidden&moduleDetail=inside-nyt-region-9&module=inside-nyt-region&region=inside-nyt-region&WT.nav=inside-nyt-region&_r=0