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The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

"Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and physical ailments." So this Washington Post page allows you to check your own area to see how good your access to nature is.

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Washington Post: “The last known location of 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by world-renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was in Vienna in the mid-1920s. The vivid painting featuring a young woman was listed as property of a 'Mrs Lieser' — believed to be Henriette Lieser, who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The only remaining record of the work was a black and white photograph from 1925, around the time it was last exhibited, which was kept in the archives of the Austrian National Library. Now, almost 100 years later, this painting by one of the world’s most famous modernist artists is on display and up for sale — having been rediscovered in what the auction house has hailed as a sensational find.... It is unclear which member of the Lieser family is depicted in the piece[.]”

~~~ Marie: I don't know if this podcast will update automatically, or if I have to do it manually. In any event, both you and I can find the latest update of the published episodes here. The episodes begin with ads, but you can fast-forward through them.

Contact Marie

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Saturday
Oct082016

The Commentariat -- October 9, 2016

Dustin Waters, et al., of the Washington Post: "After a protracted and violent journey up the southeast U.S. seaboard, a weakened Hurricane Matthew made landfall Saturday in South Carolina, inundating a vast stretch of the coast with torrential rain and triggering floods far inland." -- CW ...

... Weather Channel updates are here.

Presidential Race

Ashley Rodriguez of Quartz on where to watch the second presidential debate, which will begin at 9 pm ET. Unlike posts from a couple of other reputable news outlets, Rodriguez notes that NBC is not carrying the debate. But there's this: "NBC is partnering with AltspaceVR to host a debate watch party in virtual reality. Anyone with the Altspace VR app on Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, or HTC Vive can join in. (Just beware of technical challenges.)" -- CW

Annie Karni of Politico: "The bombshell Donald Trump video that surfaced Friday has so dramatically altered expectations for Sunday's town hall debate that one Democrat close to Bill and Hillary Clinton had a new view of what may unfold in St. Louis: 'Expect Armageddon.' Hillary Clinton will arrive at the Washington University debate stage Sunday prepped for battle against an opponent many of her allies believe has already lost the election. Trump, in contrast, will walk onto the debate stage with nothing to lose.... On Saturday evening, Trump previewed his nothing-to-lose strategy -- he retweeted Juanita Broaddrick, the woman who accused Bill Clinton of raping her in 1978. Bill Clinton has denied the accusation, which Broaddrick made in 1999, in the wake of his affair with Monica Lewinsky."

Columbus [Ohio] Dispatch Editors reluctantly endorse Hillary Clinton for president: "... Donald Trump is unfit to be president of the United States. Democrat Hillary Clinton, despite her flaws, is well-equipped for the job.... The stakes are too high to sit out this election and risk letting Trump misuse the awesome power of the presidency." The Dispatch urges voters to elect Hillary Clinton." CW: The Dispatch has not endorsed a Democrat in 100 years.

Tim Mak & Andrew Desiderio of the Daily Beast: "Leaked Podesta Emails Show Bernie Was Right." CW: I think most of us knew that all along. As I wrote during primary season, bankers were not going to pay Clinton big bucks to harangue them for an hour on what horrible, greedy people they were. ...

... Nikita Valdimirov of the Hill: "Bernie Sanders on Saturday responded to the leaked emails that reveal parts of Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speeches, a major point of contention during their primary battle, by reiterating his support for the Democratic Party platform." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Louis Nelson, et al., of Politico: "Vice President Joe Biden issued a scathing rebuke of ... Donald Trump, saying his talk about groping women against their will amounts to 'sexual assault.' ;The words are demeaning. Such behavior is an abuse of power. It's not lewd. It's sexual assault. -- Joe,' Biden said in a tweet Saturday afternoon." -- CW

Nate Cohn of the New York Times: Donald Trump "had only an 18 percent chance to win the election Friday morning before the videotape's release, according to The Upshot's model, with that number set to shrink almost daily unless ... Mr. Trump could make inroads. Now, of course, it is very easy to imagine how he sinks farther as a result of the new video. In the history of October surprises, it is hard to think of anything comparable at this stage of a presidential race. Obviously, it is too early to say exactly what effect it will have on Mr. Trump. But the videotape fits all of the major criteria for a damaging scandal, and it puts congressional Republicans in a precarious position." -- CW ...

... Nate Silver: "... if we knew on Friday night that this would be a big story, it's become an even bigger story throughout the day today (Saturday) as dozens of GOP elected officials have either repudiated Trump, or unendorsed him, or called for him to resign his position at the top of the ticket. Trump had unusually low levels of support from these 'party elites' to begin with... Now, the floodgates have opened, and the whole party is fleeing him. We've never seen anything like this in a modern American election campaign.... Many of those Republican defections are strategic rather than sincere, of course.... But the timing of this is just about as bad as possible for Trump. Even before the 'hot mic' tape, there were reports that GOP elected officials might abandon Trump if he had a poor second debate.... A Clinton landslide is no more far-fetched than a Trump victory -- and given the events of the past 24 hours, probably less so." CW: See also Jamelle Bouie on Republicans' "stragetic" morality, linked below.


Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Donald Trump hunkered down Sunday morning -- pulling back top aides from planned national appearances -- while previewing a vicious attack on tonight's debate stage, targeting Bill Clinton's past infidelities and Hillary Clinton's alleged bullying of his victims. Only Rudy Giuliani was dispatched to inject the Trump campaign's position into the national conversation during a round of Sunday morning news shows. Giuliani condemned Trump's description of making unwanted sexual advances against women -- kissing and groping them -- but also dismissed them as 'talk' among men.... Interim Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile on ABC's 'This Week' said that, despite the tape being more than 10 years old, truly reflects the real Trump. 'You can draw a straight line between what Donald Trump said in 2005 and what he's been saying every day on the campaign trail over the last year and a half,' she said.... 'It's really for Donald Trump to try to answer for it and take responsibility for it,' Tim Kaine said on CNN. 'It's not just words, it really is ... talking about a pattern of sexual assault.'" -- CW

Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Donald Trump on Sunday downplayed the exodus of top Republicans who have called on him to step aside or rescinded their prior endorsements. 'Tremendous support (except for some Republican "leadership"),' the Republican presidential nominee tweeted Sunday morning. 'Thank you.'... 'So many self-righteous hypocrites. Watch their poll numbers - and elections - go down!' he predicted in a tweet." -- CW

Hel-lo, Rudy Sunday. Rebecca Morin of Politico: Donald Trump's "campaign manager and the Republican National Committee chairman have canceled all appearances on the Sunday news shows. Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, was to appear on 'Fox News Sunday' and NBC's 'Meet The Press,' but has been replaced with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, an avid Trump backer. RNC chairman Rience Priebus was also to appear on CBS's 'Face the Nation,' but was replaced by Giuliani.... Priebus was also set to speak on ABC's "This Week." Giuliani is appearing instead." -- CW

Jenna Johnson, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Republican Party plunged into an epic and historic political crisis Saturday with just a month to go until Election Day as a growing wave of GOP lawmakers called on defiant presidential nominee Donald Trump to drop out of the race in the wake of a video showing him making crude sexual remarks." -- CW

Michael Barbaro & Patrick Healy of the New York Times take a stab at explaining why Republicans suddenly got religion when they saw the Trump sexual predator video. Nice try, boys, but you missed Jamelle Bouie's point, which gets to the heart of the matter. -- CW ...

** Jamelle Bouie: "Hours before we learned of Trump's boasts about grabbing women 'by the pussy,' the Republican nominee affirmed his false belief that the Central Park 5 -- five teenagers, four of them black and one Latino, convicted on charges of attacking and raping a 28-year-old white woman, all five since exonerated by DNA evidence -- were guilty. The same Republican leaders who rushed to condemn Trump for his remarks on a hot mic were silent about his continued attacks on these men.... Republicans didn't say anything because Trump wasn't attacking Republicans.... The GOP could tolerate his place at the top of the ticket so long as he restricted his threats to groups outside the party.... We now have a list of all the things the Republican Party will tolerate solely for the sake of the White House and a continued congressional majority. It's a long list." Read it. -- CW

Karen Tumulty, et al., of the Washington Post: "With less than a month to go before the election, a major political party is poised to walk away from its own presidential nominee -- a situation with few precedents in American political history. There is little to guide Republicans, collectively and individually, except the growing realization that they have risked their party's survival by tying it to Donald Trump as he has led them into a crisis that is both extraordinary and utterly predictable." -- CW

The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! -- Donald Trump, Saturday evening, in a tweet

There is nothing that will cause his dropping out. That is wishful thinking of the Clinton campaign and those who have opposed him for a long time. -- Rudy Giuliani, to reporters Saturday evening

... Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump showed up just before 5 p.m. in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, accompanied by his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, and his eldest child, Donald Trump Jr. Security officials stopped reporters and attempted to bar them from getting near Mr. Trump as he went outside and immersed himself in a crowd of supporters, who had gathered hours earlier for a rally.... Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, withdrew his support on Saturday for Donald J. Trump as the Republican Party descended into chaos.... 'I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated,' he said in a statement. He added: 'But Donald Trump's behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.'" -- CW

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate leaders are letting Republican candidates and officeholders weigh the scandal and decide for themselves how to react without pressure from above.... But they gave a clear signal of which way the GOP leadership is leaning when Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.), who is in charge of the conference's messaging operation, tweeted Saturday that Trump should step aside and let his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, have the party's nomination ... 'effective immediately.' -- CW

Come on, that's how real men talk! -- Real Man rallying at Trump Towers Saturday too afraid to give his name

Have you heard of Alex Jones? Alex has the behind-the-scenes people, like Larry Nichols. And I was even able to call Larry personally, and he said he asked Bill one time, how come Hillary flies to L.A. once a month? And he said, Hillary is going to witchcraft meetings.... I mean, didn't travel with her to these witchcraft meetings but, as a Christian I have spiritual discernment. I can discern Hillary. I can tell she's into that stuff. --Johnny Rice, a messianic Christian at the Trump rally ...

... Shall we revisit the "basket of deplorables" remark? Steven Shepard, et al., of Politico: "A wave of Republican officials abandoned Donald Trump Saturday, but, at least for now, rank-and-file Republicans are standing by the party's presidential candidate, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted immediately after audio was unearthed Friday...[V]oters are largely viewing Trump's comments through their own partisan lens: 70 percent of Democrats say Trump should end his campaign, but just 12 percent of Republicans -- and 13 percent of female Republicans -- agree...Nearly three-quarters of Republican voters, 74 percent, surveyed on Saturday said party officials should continue to support Trump. Only 13 percent think the party shouldn't back him." --safari...

... Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "Some voters greeted prominent Republicans with boos and loud heckling at Saturday events, after the officials spoke out against the vulgar and redatory remarks Donald Trump made about women in a newly unearthed recording. 'Paul Ryan sucks!' Milwaukee resident Paul Anderson yelled at a fall festival in Elkorn, Wisconsin, where the House speaker addressed a crowd, according to the Los Angeles Times. 'You turned your back on us,' other hecklers shouted, breaking into chants of 'We want Trump!' Trump was originally supposed to appear with Ryan at the event. But Ryan disinvited Trump hours after the recording surfaced.... In Las Vegas, Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV), who's running to replace Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), also was booed loudly as he read a statement calling for Trump to withdraw and be replaced by a candidate 'with honor' who deserved to be president." CW: Thanks to contributor Gloria for the link. Like Gloria, I am suffering from a severe case of walking schadenfreude, but even without medication, I don't feel bad at all. ...

... Anne Laurie of Balloon Juice reprises some Trump supporters' reactions to GOP leaders' exodus. The one by David Duke is so special; Yair Rosenberg's retort is excellent. -- CW

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "The Republican National Committee on Saturday appeared to at least temporarily halt the operations of some of the 'Victory' program that is devoted to electing Donald Trump.... In an email from the RNC to a victory program mail vendor, with the subject line 'Hold on all projects,' the committee asked the vendor to 'put a hold' on mail production." -- CW

Isaac Chotiner of Slate: "The discussion will now slowly shift to Republican hopes of shoring up down-ballot races and (just wait) the creation of Trump TV. But we cannot and should not forget: A couple days ago it was still fathomable that America could have voted into office the biggest threat to the country in decades." -- CW

Marc Fisher of the Washington Post: "On a new batch of recordings from Howard Stern's radio shows aired Saturday by CNN, Trump said that he would 'have no problem' having sex with 24-year-olds, that he 'couldn't care less' if he satisfies the women he sleeps with, that 'it's checkout time' once women reach the age of 35 and that he had engaged in three-way sex. 'Haven't we all?' Trump told Stern on his SiriusXM satellite radio show in 2008.... Trump also described barging in on nude Miss Universe beauty pageant contestants in their dressing room, characterizing his visits as inspections by the contest's owner." -- CW ...

... Paulina Firozi of the Hill: "A producer from ... 'The Apprentice' used Twitter on Saturday night to warn that the now infamous leaked audio of Trump is just the beginning. 'As a producer on seasons 1&2 of #theapprentice I assure you: when it comes to #trump tapes there are far worse,' tweeted Bill Pruitt.... Pruitt is not the first to suggest there will be more revelations about the GOP presidential nominee's past behavior. According to reports by Fox News' Ed Henry, top Trump adviser Ben Carson suggested there would be more 'bombshells' to come." -- CW ...

     ... Update. Julia Reinstein of BuzzFeed: "Pressure is building on The Apprentice producers to release unaired raw footage of the show after Friday's release of a 2005 hot mic video.... More than 20 former contestants, crew members, and editors told the Associated Press that Trump treated women on the show inappropriately, including talking about which contestants he would like to have sex with and rating them by breast size." -- CW ...

... Annals of "Journalism, Ctd.

CW: The big fail here is NBC News. They've already had major problems with their former news anchor Brian Williams (who made up war stories until a real war vet outted him), with Matt Lauer who grilled Hillary Clinton & threw Trump softballs, & now with Billy Bush, who worked for NBC Entertainment for a long time & now works for NBC News. And what is the news division doing? Trump has been running for POTUS for more than a year, & either NBC News ordered its staff not to snoop around NBC Entertainment for damaging Trump tapes, or its reporters decided Trump is too big to fall. Either way, it's NBC "News" now.

     Update. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post has the same questions of NBC "News," asked & unanswered: "Without adequate answers from the top, made publicly, it may not be unreasonable to conclude that one of the nation's largest news companies simply wasn't doing its job."

     Update Update. Slow Lawyers, Entertainment. Paul Farhi of the Washington Post reports on NBC's excuse: "NBC News was aware of video footage of Donald Trump making lewd and disparaging remarks about women for nearly four days, a network executive said Saturday, but held onto the recording until lawyers finished reviewing the material. The network's caution led to an awkward result: NBC News was scooped by The Washington Post, which took just five hours to vet and post its story.... The news division agreed to let 'Access Hollywood' break the story first." But "AH" wasn't going to air it until at least sometime this week.

     CW: So NBC "News" had a highly-time-sensitive story on which the future of the free world might depend, & they let it sit in an attorney's inbox, then held off to let the money side of the business decide when it would be most fun to run the news. Sorta like, "Boss, there's a monster tornado coming. We have to warn the public!" "Nah, we're rebroadcasting 'Twister' this Friday; we'll do the tornado story around that."

    CW: And I have one more question: Did Billy Bush keep this tape secret from Cousin Jeb!? If not, why the hell didn't Jeb! use it in the primaries? Is he too, too fastidious? Somehow I think the Bush family Thanksgiving might look a helluva lot like one you may be dreading in your own family. Maybe Billy & Jeb! will get in a hilariously awkward fistfight.

Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said in an interview Saturday that he would not drop out of the race under any circumstances, following calls from several prominent members of his party to do so. 'I'd never withdraw. I've never withdrawn in my life,' Trump told The Washington Post in a phone call from his home in Trump Tower in New York. 'No, I'm not quitting this race. I have tremendous support.... They're not going to make me quit, and they can't make me quit,' Trump said of associates and party leaders who have urged him to step aside." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Vaughn Hillyard of NBC News: "Mike Pence expressed dismay Saturday over Donald Trump's lewd comments about women, saying in a statement that he was 'offended' but wanted to give his embattled running mate a chance to 'show what is in his heart' at the second presidential debate.... Pence earlier cancelled an appearance in Wisconsin [at Paul Ryan's shindig] amid the fallout from Friday's video." -- CW (Also linked yesterday.)

Kyle Cheney & Burgess Everett of Politico: "In May, Sen. Deb Fischer stood silently as her nephew led a drive to humiliate fellow Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse for his opposition to Donald Trump. On Saturday, she publicly joined Sasse's side. As Republicans abandon Trump en masse over newly revealed lewd comments about women, Fischer joined Sasse in urging [Trump] ... to step aside. 'The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance,' she tweeted Saturday afternoon, adding: "It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party's nominee.'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday.)

Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "After standing aside Trump during months of bombastic remarks aimed at Muslims, Latinos and women, Trump's sexually aggressive and lewd remarks, caught on tape in 2005 and aired Friday, were the breaking point. On Saturday morning, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte was the first vulnerable GOP incumbent to withdraw her support. Joe Heck, a Republican running in Nevada, quickly followed suit. 'I wanted to be able to support my party's nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country. However, I'm a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women. I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Governor Pence for president on Election Day,' Ayotte said." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... CW: Yeah, it's funny how all these Republicans were putting up with every horrifying piece of crap from Trump's horrifying history of abusing, cheating and/or insulting everybody but Putin (last week Ayotte said Trump "absolutely" would make a good role model for his kids, a remark she later retracted), but suddenly when he's caught on tape boasting about committing multiple sexual felonies, they're all shocked & discombobulated.

Alan Rappeport: "While the idea of replacing Mr. Trump has been a fantasy for some 'Never Trump' Republicans for months, the reality is that removing him from the ticket at this point would be exceedingly complicated. Here's a look at some of the questions that Republicans are mulling." -- CW ...

... Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "The Republican Party would face enormous political and legal problems should it decide to replace Donald Trump as its presidential nominee, election law experts agree. While a number of prominent Republican lawmakers are urging Trump to step down due to his unacceptable sexual comments, the legal community is engaged in a separate argument about whether the Republican National Committee has the authority to remove Trump without his consent." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... CW: While Rappeport's & Swan's reports are accurate, GOP leaders have the power to effectively force Trump to drop out. If the party cut off his funding & renounced him, Trump would know he was looking forward to a humiliating defeat. That might cause him to bow out gracelessly, screaming about the "rigged system" & "losers" & "Washington corruption"; whatever. I don't know that would help the party in the election, but party officials could pretend to go down with dignity.

Paulina Firozi of the Hill: "Melania Trump says she was offended by her husband Donald Trump's 'unacceptable' sexual remarks about women, but is asking the nation to accept his apology. Melania Trump said in a Saturday statement that the 'words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me.... This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader.'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kurtis Lee of the Los Angeles Times: "'Entertainment Tonight' co-anchor Nancy O'Dell, the woman who was the focus Donald Trump's lewd comments in a 2005 audio recording, said Saturday she was saddened by the Republican nominee's comments. 'When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women,' O'Dell said in a statement. 'The conversation needs to change because no female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments, whether or not cameras are rolling. Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender.'" -- CW

The Boys & Girls on the Bus. Melissa Warnke of the Los Angeles Times: "Sexist jackasses like Trump don't exist in isolation; they need support from opportunists.... See: Billy Bush egging Trump on and fanning his ego. See: Arianne Zucker, the actress, flirting along when they ask for hugs.... It takes a village to create a misogynistic monster. And it takes a party to create a misogynistic monster candidate.... Just as Trump needed Billy Bushes and Arianne Zuckers in his private life, he's needed spineless opportunist politicians in his quest for the presidency.... None of [Trump's history of misdeeds] was enough to make the Republican leadership take a stand against Trump.... The GOP's hateful party platform and desperation to promote a white American identity enabled the rise of a deeply revolting presidential candidate." (Emphasis added.) -- CW

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "... when the story broke on Friday that Donald Trump was caught on a live mic bragging about how he could kiss women -- and grab their genitals -- without their consent because he was famous, I initially wondered what the news was. Was there anyone alive surprised here?... Historically, all these Republicans could actually pretend Trump was just kidding; they could deny that Trump was who everyone knew that he was.... The groping tape ... reveals both the real Trump and the performer Trump, and it turns out the former is actually scarier than the latter.... The monstrous woman-hater is actually the person under the performer." -- CW

... Guardian: .. de Niro made the video "as part of a campaign urging people to vote in the 8 November poll. De Niro is one of a number of celebrities who took part in the #VoteYourFuture initiative but his scathing contribution was considered to be too partisan to be included in the final campaign, and was instead released separately by the producers on Friday." -- CW

Beyond the Beltway

Ruben Vives, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "Two Palms Springs[, California,] police officers were fatally shot and another wounded Saturday while responding to family disturbance call, and a SWAT team remains at the scene, police said." -- CW ...

     ... The story has been updated: "Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, more than 12 hours after the shooting, the suspect was taken into custody, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said. In a sheriff's statement early Sunday, the suspect was identified as John Felix, 26, of Palm Springs, who was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The statement said he surrendered peacefully." -- CW

NBC New York: "A Long Island Rail Road train derailed in New Hyde Park Saturday night, though most of the hundreds of passengers were uninjured. An eastbound commuter train struck a work train at about 9:10 p.m., causing the commuter train to derail and the work train to catch fire, according to Nassau County police and the MTA." -- CW

Comments Off

Reader Comments (17)

Schadenfreude.

October 8, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterGloria

Life among the craven.

Think Ted Cruz is kicking himself for not waiting one more week before deciding to dispense with even the appearance of honor for a seat on Trump's bus just as it's flying off the cliff?

And it's rich that John McCain, who once used the C word to describe his wife in the presence of a gaggle of national reporters, is upset with Trump's choice of words in demeaning a different woman.

Must be so trying to be a Confederate pol these days. Ethical standards and basic morality change by the week. How to keep up with the latest trends? One week white supremacy and virtual slavery and ongoing abuse of illegal immigrants in the form of a "modeling agency"are completely A-Ok , the next week a little crotch groping is right out. It's all so confusing!

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Oh, and kudos to Hillary for keeping her powder dry and letting Republican weasels toss the brickbats. Tonight, when Trumpty Dumpty lobs his promised "Bill's a sexual predator" grenade in her direction, she can pull the pin and toss it back.

As public dissections go, tonight's should be a lot more entertaining than the one in seventh grade biology when we got to cut the heart out of a dead frog. And this should be the first time the frog has handed the scalpel to its dissector.

Look! Is that the tiniest, blackest frog heart you've ever seen? Hoo- wee! That thing is gross.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

I think Giuliani, like so many times before, is dead wrong as quoted above. Keeping trump on the ticket should create opportunities down ballot for Democrats. Mix and match a few points from Jamelle Bouie's list and you've got some good ammunition.

Meanwhile, opposition research and strategy on pence needs to be on the front burner.

I'm feeling better about trump's chances of losing, but he has given a roadmap to future horribles.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

Here is my dream for tonight. Trump using Bill declares that being a sexual predator is a qualification for POTUS. Hillary responds by saying that as a true Christian, she apologizes for not getting a divorce multiple times. She also reminds us that Bill is not running for office.

And Marie, tonight NBC is not covering the debate. They are playing football.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

That old canard that Trump constantly refers to "...there's no such thing as bad publicity" must thrill him with the over-the-top coverage. Almost every news site features one outrageous story after another accompanied by (MOST IMPORTANTLY to Trump) images of himself.

Flattered at all the attention now, it will soon be a rude awakening to the man who will one day wake up to the face in the mirror that no one gives a damn about. The man whose bottle blondness will be grey-haired or bald for all anyone cares. The man who bragged he probably needs an 'anti-Viagra' — may need a prescription. The rat pack that has stood by him through thin and thinner will scuttle off in one of the biggest dissappearing acts ever.

One day you're HOT and then you're NOT.

@PD: By the way Charles Danner has a great write-up in New York magazine with a graphic of the 55 departures to date. "the Exodus has begun"

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

I'm afraid that NiskyGuy is quite right. We--all of us, including most Confederates--are extremely lucky that Donaldo is as much of a repulsive pig as he is because a smarter, cagier, less obviously misanthropic demagogue could be up by 5 to 10 points in this race. As much as comparisons to Hitler have seemed useful in assessing the potential danger of a faux populist liar who has a much more sinister agenda behind his claim of a return to greatness, Trump is no Hitler. He lacks the intense, demonic vision and, well, the stamina. And a big part of his not so secret agenda is the possibility of personal gain, both for his wallet and his ego.

But he is not so much a clown that he couldn't accomplish terrible things and cause great damage. In many ways he already has. Perhaps the biggest is to have blazed a trail for the next monster, a monster who now knows that we can be had, who now is sure of the weaknesses in the system and how best to play his hand.

The Decider used to love to talk about evil this and evil that. He and his party, along with media more interested in headlines and outrageous stories, have brought enormous evil right to our doorstep. If it stumbles this time there's a very good chance that it might glide through the front door the next .

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

It's about 10 am ET, & I'm still wondering if Trump will show up for the debate tonight. Will he get a cold? Will he try to send mike pence to fill in? Or will he say he doesn't want to waste his time talking to Martha Raddatz & Hillary Clinton because they're like way past 35 & wouldn't get a 10 if he added their scores together?

And thanks to Marvin Schwalb for reminding us of NBC's dedication to news the bottom line.

Marie

October 9, 2016 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Marie.Exactly. I suspect the handlers are begging him to bow out while his narcissism screams no, I'll be great, so great, I'm smart, so smart.

It's illustrative that everyone but one of his chief serial philanderers has abandoned him, gone into hiding. Is that behaviour transferable to a Trump presidency in a national crisis.

Politics is sausage making, but this group of clowns is using rancid meat.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

Rats abandoning the sinking ship while the big cheese takes a cleaver
to their little rat tails. It would be hilarious if not so sad.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

All the allusions to rats in the above comments reminds me of the old English "sport" of ratting where the object was to see how long it would take a terrier to kill all the rats in a pit. Tonight there will be only one rat in the pit, and I think Hillary will be a champion ratter.

Even before Friday Trump was facing a do or die event tonight. Now with his back to the wall the big question will be how low does he go before he implodes.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterBobbyLee

Trump makes a guy who ties a dog in a cage on top of the car seem just about normal. Wow!

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered Commentercitizen625

I have a dream (or two). Someone comes up with another Trump scandal. He is actually bankrupt. Two. On the debate tonight he gets so pissed at Hillary, he smacks her and is arrested for assault.

I know this is unlikely, but the idea that it is actually possible says it all.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

@Marvin S.: Hey, Sunday Night football sounds great! Stocking up on popcorn and beer now.

Whom am I kidding, you know what I'll really be watching!
(Brie and Chardonnay for this liberal!!!). :-)

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

Here's my dream for tonight. Hillary opens with "I am here to discuss policy and how it will make America stronger for all Americans ------- Please proceed [Guv'ner]."

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

Curious. I just got an email message from d j trump, fund raising. I got one from eric trump yesterday, same message. I think I got one or two a month ago as well, asking for suggestions on debate topics.

Is he trying to cash in before checking out?

I wrote to Senator McCain when he was running for president, thanking him for his service to the country and asking him to speak out strongly against the violent rhetoric of his supporters. After a few fund raising messages from his campaign I asked to be taken off their list and hadn't heard anything more. Not sure if that was how my address wound up in this new batch.

October 9, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy
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