Sunday
Aug232020
The Commentariat -- August 23, 2020
Afternoon Update:
The Washington Post Sounds the Alarm
** Washington Post Editors: "President Trump will make this argument [link fixed] to the American people: Things were great until China loosed the novel coronavirus on the world. If you reelect me, I will make things great again.... But, fittingly for a president who has spoken more than 20,000 lies during his presidency, [the argument] rests on two huge falsehoods. One is that the nation, his presidency and, above all, Mr. Trump himself are innocent victims of covid-19. In fact, his own negligence, ignorance and malpractice turned what would have been a daunting challenge for any president into a national disaster. The other is that there was anything to admire in his record before the virus struck. It is true that the economic growth initiated under President Barack Obama had continued, at about the same modest rate. Mr. Trump achieved this growth by ratcheting up America's deficit and long-term debt to record levels, with a tax cut that showered benefits on the wealthy.... History will record Mr. Trump's presidency as a march of wanton, uninterrupted, tragic destruction.... And so, over the coming weeks..., we will publish a series of editorials on the damage this president has caused -- and the danger he would pose in a second term." ~~~
~~~ ** David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Trailing in the polls and struggling to find a message, President Trump is leveraging one of the most powerful assets he has left -- his White House office -- in service of his reelection bid, obliterating the lines between governing and campaigning and testing legal boundaries.... In recent weeks, Trump has acknowledged he was opposed to funding for the U.S. Postal Service because he does not want the money used for universal mail-in voting. He sent Homeland Security authorities to quell social justice protests in what he termed 'Democrat cities.' He signed a stream of executive orders that circumvented Congress and delivered overtly partisan speeches at official White House functions, including a 54-minute Rose Garden monologue blasting Democratic rival Joe Biden last month. Trump also has used federal resources and personnel to re-create the enthusiasm of his campaign rallies.... He invited patrons at his private golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., to attend news conferences there, with many of them heckling reporters. And he held a campaign rally in Yuma, Ariz., last week with 200 off-duty Border Patrol union members, many wearing masks emblazoned with 'TRUMP' and 'MAGA.'" Read on. A related NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ "Trump Has No Idea How to Run for Reelection." Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "Typically, presidents run for reelection on the achievements of their first term.... But Trump has, from that first golden-escalator ride, campaigned, governed and wallowed in grievance, never once wavering from his outsider ethos.... Trump appears unwilling -- or unable -- to abandon his burn-it-all-down cri de coeur, even when the establishment he lambastes is run by himself and his appointees.... The decision to position himself as a permanent outsider is less strategic than pathological, say people close to the president, reflecting a man who since childhood has lusted after an elite that never truly welcomed him."
Mrs. McCrabbie: Many news outlets are reporting on plans for the upcoming Trump convention, like this New York Times story on how two "Apprentice" producers are stage-managing the hoohah, or several reports that a whole lot of the featured speakers are either Trump or a member of the Crime Family Trump (although for some reason, Trump's sister Judge Maryanne Barry is not among them). But historian Kevin Kruse has the scoop on plans for the roll call. Here's how it starts: "ALABAMA: Roy Moore, legally standing a hundred feet outside a mall. ALASKA: Hunters lighting up caribou with AK-47s. ARIZONA: Joe Arpaio licking a taser." Many thanks to RAS for the link. Worth reading Kruse's roll call, so you won't have to watch whatever comes up on the teevee.
Trump's Fake Covid-19 "Breakthrough." Zachary Brennan of Politico: "The Food and Drug Administration will issue an emergency authorization for blood plasma as a coronavirus treatment..., Donald Trump is set to announce Sunday evening, according to three administration officials. The agency held off on the decision last week over concerns from government scientists that evidence for the treatment's effectiveness is thin — prompting Trump to accuse the FDA of slow-walking the therapy to harm his re-election chances without offering any evidence to support his claim. It is not clear whether the FDA has received additional clinical trial data in the last week that would support the therapy's use.... Plasma treatment ... has not yet been proven to work against the coronavirus."
Donie O'Sullivan, et al., of CNN: "Twitter on Sunday slapped a label on a tweet from ... Donald Trump for 'making misleading health claims that could potentially dissuade people from participation in voting.' Trump claimed in posts on Twitter and Facebook early Sunday morning that mail drop boxes for voting 'are not Covid sanitized,' as well as a 'voter security disaster.' Hours after Trump sent the tweet, Twitter took action, saying, 'We placed a public interest notice on this Tweet for violating our Civic Integrity Policy for making misleading health claims that could potentially dissuade people from participation in voting.' Now accompanying the tweet is the full following security notice: 'This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.'"
Sister Acts. Mrs. McCrabbie: BTW, days before publication of Maryanne Trump Barry's scathing assessment of her brother Donald as lying, cruel, phony, unprincipled and unprepared, Joe Biden's sister Valerie Biden Owens told Bill Barrow of the AP what a smart, kind, decent person Joe had always been.
David Bauder of the AP: According to Brian Stelter in his book Hoax, "Several people at Fox privately expressed worry to him about the growing power of prime-time opinion hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham at the expense of Fox's news operation, he said. 'There is a real resistance inside Fox News,' Stelter told The Associated Press. 'Nobody there would use that term. But there are many people there who are uncomfortable with Sean Hannity's lies and Tucker Carlson's xenophobia. It's just that they are powerless, or feel powerless, and the prime-time stars have all the power. There are Trump true believers at Fox, but there are many others who are concerned about the damage being done....'" ~~~
~~~ "Fox's Frankenstein." Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Not surprisingly, almost everyone spoke to [Brian Stelter] only on the condition of anonymity.... Still, the insider details are believable and often stunning -- like ultimate Trump loyalist Sean Hannity reportedly calling Trump 'bats--t crazy' when speaking privately. Or this, from someone identified as a Fox News star: 'Trump is like Fox's Frankenstein. They helped make him and he's out of control.' The book's depiction of the feedback loop between media company and president is undeniable.... 'Trump granted pardons because of Fox.... He raged against migrant 'caravans' because of Fox. He accused public servants of treason because of Fox. And he got the facts wrong again and again because of mistakes and misreporting by the network,' [Stelter] writes." ~~~
~~~ David Enrich of the New York Times: "... Fox News ... has spawned some of the defining myths of this presidency and spurred Trump to adopt positions so hard-line as to be unpalatable even to congressional Republicans.... 'Hoax,' the new book by the CNN journalist Brian Stelter..., provides a thorough and damning exploration of the incestuous relationship between Trump and his favorite channel -- and of Fox's democracy-decaying role as a White House propaganda organ masquerading as conservative journalism.... Stelter shows, for example, how spurious attacks by Fox hosts led Trump to fire cabinet secretaries and shut down the federal government. It is the type of old-school media muscle-flexing that would be impossible under a stronger president." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump's weakness is something I've been thinking about lately. He presents himself as an authoritarian strongman, but he's a 240-pound weakling, so beholden to Putin, Hannity, et al., that he will make foolish, embarrassing policy reversals at the first knock by a Fox "News" personality. He think firing staff makes him look strong, but -- as Stelter point out -- many of those chaotic staff shuffles are the product of Fox criticism. I hope the Biden campaign (or the Lincoln Project!) will run ads portraying Trump not just as a person with no convictions, but as someone whose lack of conviction is a product of the whims of jerks & enemies.
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Sunday are here.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Presidential Race, Etc.
John Walton of the Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star: State "Sen. John McCollister of Omaha said Friday he's joining a number of fellow Republicans in deciding to formally endorse Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in his bid to unseat ... Donald Trump. Biden would be 'a real president,' McCollister said, 'not the disaster' that occupies the White House today." (Also linked yesterday.)
Meghan Roos of Newsweek: "Vermont Governor Phil Scott said Friday that he has decided he will not vote for ... Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Scott, a Republican, has been a vocal critic of Trump for years and said previously that he did not vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, according to the Associated Press.... 'I have not decided at this point whether to cast a vote for former Vice President Biden,' Scott said. 'But it's something that I would consider. I just haven't made that decision at this point.' Earlier this year, Scott said that he believed Trump 'shouldn't be in office,' according to the Associated Press.... 'I believe that the president abused his powers,' Scott said when asked about the impeachment inquiry during a news conference in February." (Also linked yesterday.)
Today's Trumpy Distraction. Colleen Long of the AP: "TRUMP: 'The Democrats took the word GOD out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democrat National Convention. At first I thought they made a mistake, but it wasn't. It was done on purpose. Remember Evangelical Christians, and ALL, this is where they are coming from-it's done. Vote Nov 3!' -- tweet Saturday. THE FACTS: That's a misleading accusation. The central programming of the convention featured the entire pledge, complete with 'under God.'... 'Under God' was in each rendering. The convention also devoted a segment to showcasing Biden's religious faith. During two caucuses before the evening conventions started, the Muslim Delegates and Al lies Assembly and the LGBTQ Caucus meeting, both Tuesday, left out 'under God,' from the pledge. The party's series of caucus meetings was livestreamed but not part of the prime-time convention broadcast." Mrs. McC: Do you think Trump was watching livestreams of the Muslim & LGBTQ caucuses? Anyhow, it's encouraging to know that Trump, renowned Man of God, is protecting us from Heathen Joe and the Devilcrats. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jonathan Lemire of the AP: "The White House Rose Garden has been spruced up in time for its moment in the campaign spotlight. First lady Melania Trump will deliver her Republican National Convention speech Tuesday night from the garden.... The three weeks of work on the garden, which was done in the spirit of its original 1962 design, were showcased to reporters on Saturday. White House officials said the renovations were paid for by private donations. They declined to reveal the cost of the work. The location of the first lady's speech will be just one of the ways that the Republican National Convention will break with political norms. Federal rules prohibit the White House from being the setting for expressly political events.... Donald Trump will deliver his speech Thursday night from the White House's South Lawn, where a stage was being constructed over the weekend." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs McCrabbie: No need to listen, especially if you heard or read Michelle Obama's remarks at the Democratic convention. As Akhilleus pointed out a few days ago, Melanie lifts all her best material from Michelle.
Rachel Bade & Donna Cassata of the Washington Post: "The House voted Saturday on legislation to provide $25 billion to the U.S. Postal Service and explicitly prohibit any operational changes amid widespread Democratic fears that the Trump administration is trying to disenfranchise millions of Americans casting mail ballots this November. The 257-to-150 vote was largely along party lines as Republicans accused Democrats of manufacturing 'baseless conspiracy theories' about delays in postal deliveries to undermine President Trump's reelection bid. The Republican-led Senate is unlikely to act on the legislation, which the White House has threatened to veto. Shortly before the vote, Trump tweeted: 'Vote NO to the Pelosi/Schumer money wasting HOAX which is taking place now.' Twenty-six Republicans broke ranks with Trump and the GOP leadership and joined Democrats in backing the bill. ~~~
~~~ "Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Oversight panel, released internal U.S. Postal Service documents Saturday that show steeper declines in on-time deliveries than lawmakers had previously been told about. The drop in service standards since early July is across all categories of mail, including priority mail, periodicals, marketing and first class, the documents show." The Hill's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) An AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Maloney's statement is here. Includes links to supporting data.
Daniel Cassady of Forbes: "Postal workers in Washington State have reinstalled high-speed mail sorting machines -- dismantled after controversial orders from the U.S. Postal Service -- despite USPS orders not to put machines back in use.... 40 percent of the high-speed mail sorting machines in the Seattle-Tacoma area were disconnected or dismantled since the changes went into effect, according to NPR, with workers in the Tacoma, Washington sorting plant saying eight of their 18 machines that sort and postmark letters were disconnected and pushed into a corner. Sorting machines in Wenatchee, Washington were also reconnected, against the orders of the Postal Service's head of maintenance, Kevin Couch. Only two facilities, Seattle-Tacoma and one in Dallas, seem to be ignoring the Postal Service's directive to leave decommissioned sorting machines out of use." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.
Odious DeJoy. Lisa Rein, et al., of the Washington Post: Louis "DeJoy's short tenure leading the Postal Service has quickly engulfed an apolitical corner of the government first led by Benjamin Franklin in a controversy that's fueling alarm over the reliability of vital services and the integrity of voting in November. People familiar with his rocky 69 days in the job say DeJoy came into office not adequately focused on the two biggest challenges facing the post office -- the pandemic and the upcoming election. Instead, he absorbed himself with making long-term changes that Republicans have long sought to run the money-losing agency more like a business, while also addressing one of President Trump's obsessions: what the Postal Service charges Amazon for the 'last mile' delivery of packages.... [DeJoy] moved quickly to cut costs, targeting overtime that had exploded during the pandemic as postal workers fell ill and quarantined, while continuing the removal of blue mailboxes and dismantling mail-sortin machines that had begun before his tenure."
Ken Vogel, et al., of the New York Times: "In early February, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin invited two Republican members of the Postal Service's board of governors to his office to update him on ... the search for a new postmaster general. Mr. Mnuchin had made clear before the meeting that he wanted the governors to find someone who would push through the kind of cost-cutting and price increases that President Trump had publicly called for and that Treasury had recommended in a December 2018 report as a way to stem years of multibillion-dollar losses.... Since 1970, the Postal Service had been an independent agency, walled off from political influence.... The postal chief is picked by a board of governors, with seats reserved for members of both parties, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for seven-year terms. Now, not only was the Trump administration ... involving itself in the process for selecting the next postmaster general, but the two Democratic governors who were then serving on the board were not invited to the Treasury meeting.... In interviews, documents and congressional testimony, Mr. Mnuchin emerges as a key player in selecting the board members who hired the Trump megadonor now leading the Postal Service and in pushing the agenda that he has pursued." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ At the top of today's Comments, Akhilleus outlines Trump's business plan for the Postal Service.
Arizona Senate Race. Hungry for Martha. Ronald Hanson of the Arizona Republic: "Sen. Martha McSally jokingly suggested to supporters to 'fast a meal' and use the savings to donate to her campaign, but the move drew guffaws on Friday from the left, who cast it as a sign of fundraising desperation. McSally, R-Ariz., made the pitch at a campaign event in northern Arizona that made plain a financial reality that has dogged her throughout her race against Democrat Mark Kelly: McSally is way behind in campaign money and is trailing in the polls.... The comment drew instant ridicule and bewilderment on social media." (Also linked yesterday.)
Connecticut House Race. Mark Pazniokas of the Connecticut Mirror (Aug. 18): "A recount Tuesday flipped the results of the Republican primary in Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District, giving Justin Anderson an 81-vote victory over Thomas Gilmer, the party-endorsed candidate arrested last week on domestic violence charges. The results spare the party an awkward debate over how to fill the vacancy expected had Gilmer won a primary roiled by news that broke as voters went to polls a week ago: Gilmer had been arrested the previous night, and he intended to decline the nomination if victorious. Anderson, whose only previous elective experience was winning a spot on the Planning and Zoning Commission in East Haddam, began the day as the loser by fewer than 20 votes. It ended with him the official winner by less than one-half of a percentage point, 9,483 to 9,402[.]" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ This Is Perfect. Cassandra Basler of Connecticut Public Radio: "A high-powered Manhattan lawyer with ties to ... Donald Trump tried to keep abuse allegations against Connecticut Republican congressional candidate Tom Gilmer from getting out. Gilmer stopped his campaign for Connecticut's eastern shoreline congressional district after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. Marc Kasowitz represented Gilmer and used to be ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer, according to the New York Times." (Also linked yesterday.)
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here: "Novel coronavirus infections are trending upward across the Midwest, raising concerns that those states are struggling to contain their outbreaks even as the nation's total daily caseload continues to decline. Seven-day averages for new cases rose over the past week in the Dakotas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Wyoming, according to tracking by The Washington Post."
Famous Snake-Oil Salesman to Announce Breakthrough Treatment. Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "President Trump< will announce a 'major therapeutic breakthrough' on the novel coronavirus at a news conference Sunday evening, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted..., adding that Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, would attend the event."
Trump's War on Science, Ctd. Orion Rummler of Axios: "President Trump on Saturday baselessly accused the Food and Drug Administration -- which he likened to the 'deep state, or whoever' -- of making it harder for drug companies to distribute coronavirus treatments and vaccines.... Trump's tweet comes on the heels of a policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services to block the FDA's ability to regulate lab-developed tests, including for the coronavirus -- which has public health experts worried that unreliable COVID-19 tests could go to market." (Also linked yesterday.)
Georgia teachers are poppin':
Donald is cruel.... You can't trust him. -- Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump's sister ~~~
~~~ ** Caught on Tape. Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "In response to a question from The Washington Post about how she knew the president paid someone to take the SATs, Mary Trump revealed that she had surreptitiously taped 15 hours of face-to-face conversations with [Donald Trump's sister, Maryanne Trump] Barry, in 2018 and 2019.... Barry was serving as a federal judge when ... children were being separated from their parents and put in cramped quarters.... 'All he wants to do is appeal to his base,' Barry said [of Donald]. 'He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this.' Barry, 83, was aghast at how her 74-year-old brother operated as president. 'His goddamned tweet and lying, oh my God,' she said. 'I'm talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy shit.'... At one point Barry said to her niece, 'It's the phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.'..." The article includes audio clips. Politico has a summary story here.
Trump Deputlized Notorious Bigot Lou Dobbs. Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post (Aug. 21 -- reposted in Yahoo! News): "... Donald Trump told officials from the Department of Homeland Security to get their marching orders by listening to Fox Business host Lou Dobbs 'every night,' former DHS chief of staff [Mrs. McC: and Trump appointee] Miles Taylor told Anderson Cooper on Friday. Dobbs, an effusive supporter of Trump, was basically the 'shadow chief of staff' for the department, Taylor said in the CNN interview. 'The president would call us and ... he would say, "Why the hell didn't you watch Lou Dobbs last night? You need to listen to Lou. What Lou says is what I want to do,"' Taylor said. 'So if Lou Dobbs peddled a conspiracy theory ... or made an erroneous claim about what should be done ... at the border ... the president wanted us to be tuning in every night,' he added.... Taylor served in the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff to former Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. He has blasted the Trump administration and is endorsing DemocratJoe Biden for president."
Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "The attorney general, William Barr, told Rupert Murdoch to 'muzzle' Andrew Napolitano, a prominent Fox News personality who became a critic of Donald Trump, according to ... Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth, by CNN media reporter Brian Stelter.... 'The criminal behavior to which Trump has admitted,' Napolitano wrote, in a column dated 3 October, 'is much more grave than anything alleged or unearthed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and much of what Mueller revealed was impeachable.' Citing an unnamed source, Stelter writes that Trump 'was so incensed by the judge's TV broadcasts that he had implored Barr to send Rupert a message in person ... about "muzzling the judge"'" ~~~
~~~ Storytime: Rachel Maddow reads excerpts from Brian Stelter's new book Hoax. Maddow's interview of Stelter is here. Thanks to PD Pepe for the heads-up. (Also linked yesterday.)
This Week in Washington, D.C. Marissa Lang of the Washington Post: "Hours after the thick smoke of President Trump's fireworks show dissipates from the Mall, a crowd of thousands is expected to march Friday to the Lincoln Memorial for a civil rights protest calling on the nation to fulfill unkept promises of racial justice and equality. The march -- on the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s seminal 'I Have a Dream' speech -- will conclude a week of large-scale events in the nation's capital.... Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has doubled down on instructions to out-of-state visitors: Wear a mask, keep your distance and, if you're traveling from one of the 29 states deemed a hot spot, quarantine for two weeks upon arrival.... Some [protesters] found a possible loophole in the mayor's order: Demonstrators ... said they intend to stay in Maryland or Virginia and only travel into the District for the protest. Any visit less than 24 hours is considered 'essential travel,' according to the mayor's office, and would sidestep the quarantine requirement. Bowser's order also exempts those two neighboring states."
Oregon. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "On Saturday afternoon, a large crowd of more than 100 far-right activists, including Proud Boys and armed militia members, descended on Portland, Ore., staging a 'Back the Blue' rally in front of the Justice Center that houses the downtown police precinct. Hundreds of antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters gathered to oppose the far-right crowd. People in the far-right crowd came armed with paintball guns, metal rods, aluminum bats, fireworks, pepper spray, rifles and handguns. Some people in the opposing left-leaning crowd brought rocks, fireworks and bottles filled with chemical solutions. Both crowds sported shields and helmets.... As the brawls unfolded, Portland police officers remained at a distance ... even as people beat others with sticks, and at least two right-wing activists brandished handguns.... Police said they did not stop the violence ... because too few officers were available to respond and they deemed it too dangerous to intervene." A New York Times story is here.
Tennessee. Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones: "On Friday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a controversial bill that enhances penalties for certain crimes related to political protests and makes it a felony to illegally camp on state property. In Tennessee, a felony conviction automatically revokes an individual's right to vote. The law also increases penalties for assaulting a first responder, obstructing emergency vehicles, and rioting. The bill follows two months of anti-racism protests in Nashville, during which activists have camped outside the state capitol building in an effort to secure a meeting with Lee. According to the Associated Press, state legislators claimed the law was needed after some protesters set fire to a courthouse in May. But civil libertarians were quick to criticize the measure as detrimental to free speech and criminal justice reform in a state that already uses felon disenfranchisement laws to bar large numbers of Black residents from voting." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Ledes
Weather Channel: "It's likely that [Tropical Storms] Marco and Laura will make rare back-to-back landfalls in the mainland United States over the next few days.... Tropical Storm Marco will be the first part of the one-two punch for the Gulf Coast. This system is likely to make landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast on Monday as a strong tropical storm or hurricane.... Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico early this week, where significant intensification into a hurricane is expected. The area with the highest chance of seeing a hurricane strike from Laura by midweek is along parts of the northern and western Gulf Coast, but this forecast is still uncertain."
Guardian: "Firefighters made progress against three massive and destructive wildfires in California during a calm overnight, but they were preparing Sunday for high winds and thunderstorms that could spark new blazes and further spread the existing fires."
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Reader Comments (14)
Fatty demands that the Post Office be run more like a business. What, like one of his businesses? If so they’ll be going Chapter 11 any day now.
They’ll stop paying for things like vehicle maintenance and physical plant improvements, start stiffing their own workers, begin suing customers who complain about tardy or non-existent service, sexually assault female employees, and make calls to the media pretending to be someone else lauding the horrible job they’re doing.
They’ll do everything possible to avoid blame for their terrible service and will roll out schemes to maximize their own personal profit at the expense of their investors (taxpayers). Finally they’ll absolve themselves of all responsibility and go golfing while letting others clean up their mess.
Is that what he means by “more business-like”? Hey, he’s already doing it to the rest of the government. Why should the postal service get off scot free?
Martha McSally to constituents: you and your kids need to go hungry so I don’t lose my preferred seating privilege at the Palm restaurant in DC. Don’t you schmoes realize how tough it can be to command a good table if you’re one of the little people?
Time to step on the rake. Again.
This shit again?
As wildfire season—caused directly by Confederate intransigence and willful ignorance regarding global warming—kicks in to overdrive in California, president Smokey the Unbearable is back with this bullshit about raking the forest floor.
California pols and citizens should be out there making with the rakes, not worrying about how soon they’ll be dead from the Trump virus, whether their Social Security checks or life saving prescription medication will show up on time in their mailboxes, fretting about voting disenfranchisement, or whether, if they’re black, being shot and killed for walking around in their own homes without permission.
There’s only 33 million acres of forested land in California. Get crackin’, you non-Fatty voters. Or else, no FEMA money. The Trump Crime Family has better uses for that dough. Like lining their pockets.
Anyone want to bet Trump has no problems getting FEMA money and aid to Louisiana if those two hurricanes hit next week?
Didn't think so.
RAKE REDUX: for Ak:
NO COUNTRY FOR THIS OLD MAN:
Trump: Well we just came back from Pleasure and it was bad––very bad--nothings left––sad, very sad, I think..
Aide: Paradise, sir.
T: You bet, it once was a paradise but Pleasure is now completely destroyed––you people have got to have better forest management–-tell your people to rake more–-rake the forest floor every day–-like the people in Finland–-no fires in Finland!
A: Paradise, sir.
T: Yeah, we all wish for paradise–-but the devastation in Pleasure was bad–-very bad. I bet those people never raked their leaves. You got to push people to do the right thing. I do that every time I gather my flock together–-We went to Mississippi, we went to Missouri, we went to Nevada, we went to — every place, and we have crowds, we have tens of thousands of people outside of every arena. They have to start building larger arenas in this country, right? Something is happening. And I tell people to take care of their leaves.
Jerry Brown: (sotto voce) what a fucking idiot!
Aide: If you say so, sir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am hoping––such a word to use these days, like it's all we got–-that tomorrow's hearing with that nice Mr. LeJoy whose name we could say is a misnomer ––that someone will ask him why those sorting machines have been removed from many of the post offices if, indeed, they accelerate exponentially the mail sorting!!! During the hearing this week he claimed the machines were removed because they weren't needed and no one pressed him on so idiotic a reply since he had just mentioned that many of the problems of limited workers were because of the virus. The disconnect regarding this man's answers smell to high heaven.
If it's true that Billy Barr told Murdoch to muzzle Napolitano then...holy cow, isn't that called something like obstructing freedom of speech or something sacred like that? And who told Stelter? Must have been Napolitano himself? Unfortunately Barr doesn't have a wife like John Mitchell's whose drunken after hour's laments did him in.
And then we have Mary and Maryanne's little chit chat about their favorite dummkopf relative––the Lincoln Project best get on this one if they are allowed––Cruelty –-another zinger to wake up those fence sitters.
The family––ties that bind.
After being dissed by him during his show last week, the City of Danbury is renaming its wastewater treatment facility as the "John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant."
“John Oliver, cleaning up all of Danbury’s shit.”
@unwashed: Well, that just beats the Dutch, as my mother often said about something she found way off the charts. John Oliver dissing Danbury?? Why on earth would he say such a thing? Danbury was once a hat manufacturing town–-when those factories shut down it went through a rough period but then tech companies came in and the town is more "upscale" and trendy. Of course it still has that gigantic cross on that very high hill that overlooks this town to remind the folks within that God is watching you.
We travel through Danbury every time we go visit our son and family in Ridgefield––something we are going to do today. I'll give a wave to the John Oliver Sewage plant as we speed by.
Finally happened upon a response by Trump to big sisters comments: "who cares?"
@Bobby Lee: Yes, and the irony is that the answer to "who cares?" is Donald Trump. A lot. He really doesn't care about anything or anybody else, including his sister, but he cares what everybody -- especially his sister and Vladimir Putin -- thinks and says about him. This is seriously a Donnie Downer Day.
Yes, nationally we are fronted by an idiot, and a sicko member of the human race, but you still had the brains and wit to entitle your paragraph Odious DeJoy, which was delightful-- I saw what you did there, you clever minx, you...! I appreciate an excellent, classic pun!
Now I have the kind of problem I love to have:
Odious DeJoy or
DeMisery?
Two minxes. Hard to choose between, so I'll go with both.
I guess the news about the secret recording of the Pretender's sister is that anyone who has watched him from a great distance will not see anything new in it.
He is, to crib the word of the day, top to bottom, an odious man. Most know it, and even many of his supporters readily admit it.
So how can self-styled "Christians" still support him? Maybe the most salieint question of the last four years. He's a cult figure for many of them, no doubt, so no need there for rational explanation, but a recent letter to the editor in the local paper had a clear and direct answer: It's abortion, stupid, irrational in its own way, but at least a political position one can point to.
The letter said simply, as long as Democrats don't acknowledge the rights of the unborn, they are anathema.
While I don't entirely understand all aspects of its logic, I recognize it as a position that the anti-abortion folks remain so committed to that all other considerations pale beside it.
Maybe just another way of saying that the anti-abortion contingent of Christianity, from what I understand still strong in Catholic and Evangelical circles, is willing to set all questions of morality conveniently aside whenever such considerations might interfere with their one claim to the virtue they like to brandish in others' faces.
It's not hypocrisy exactly, but close. And it is in part irrational.
Maybe the anti-abortion folks ARE a cult.
The RNC Convention Roll Call