The Commentariat -- Sept. 18, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here.

Sydney Ember & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Early voting began in four states on Friday, 46 days before Election Day on Nov. 3. Among the states where voters can now vote in person is Minnesota, where both President Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be making campaign stops on Friday. Voters also began casting ballots in South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming. Elected Democrats, aiming to encourage their supporters to vote early, are eschewing the traditional Election Day photo-op for appearances at early voting sites. In Virginia, Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner voted in Richmond and Alexandria, while Gov. Ralph Northam cast his ballot in Richmond, where he was the fifth person in line at 8 a.m.... In 2012, Barack Obama became the first president to vote early, casting a ballot for himself at an early-voting site near his home on the South Side of Chicago." This is an item in the Times' election updates.

Ana Swanson, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump administration said Friday it would bar the Chinese-owned mobile apps WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores as of Sunday, striking a harsh blow against two popular services used by more than 100 million people in the United States.... TikTok is currently in talks to be acquired by the American software maker Oracle, and could announce a deal that assuages the administration's national security concerns. In its announcement, the Commerce Department said that the president had given until Nov. 12 for TikTok's national security concerns to be resolved, and if they were, the prohibitions in the order could be lifted.... [TikTok] has also been utilized as a political tool -- hundreds of teenage TikTok users claimed credit for low turnout at a rally for Mr. Trump in Tulsa, Okla., earlier this year."

White House Put Kibosh on Mass Mask Distribution. Benjamin Siegel & Lucien Bruggeman of ABC News: "The United States Postal Service drafted plans to distribute 650 million reusable cotton face masks to Americans last spring -- five to every household -- as the country grappled with the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak, according to USPS internal documents obtained by a watchdog group.... 'There was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic,' one administration official told The Washington Post about the proposal. Instead, the initiative, announced by the Trump administration under the 'Project: America Strong,' was a more targeted program to send face masks to critical infrastructure sectors, companies and health care, community and religious organizations."

Aaron Davis of the Washington Post: "A pattern of campaign contributions by employees and relatives of Louis DeJoy before he became postmaster general indicates a possible effort to reimburse his associates for donations as recently as 2018, according to a Federal Election Commission complaint filed Thursday by a government watchdog group. The filing by the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center is the third complaint seeking a state or federal investigation since The Washington Post this month reported allegations that DeJoy and his aides urged employees at New Breed Logistics, his former North Carolina-based company, to write checks and attend fundraisers on behalf of Republican candidates. DeJoy then defrayed the cost of those political contributions from 2003 to 2014 by boosting employee bonuses, two employees told The Post.... 'There is reason to believe that Louis DeJoy violated [the Federal Election Campaign Act] by reimbursing his employees for federal political contributions, using his own funds and/or corporate funds from the company he led, XPO Logistics, and its predecessor, New Breed Logistics,' the complaint states."

Jamie Ross of the Daily Beast: "Lawyers representing the United States at Julian Assange's extradition trial in Britain have accepted the claim that the WikiLeaks founder was offered a presidential pardon by a Congressman on the condition that he would help cover up Russia's involvement in hacking emails from the Democratic National Committee. Jennifer Robinson, a lawyer, told the court that she had attended a meeting between Assange, then Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and pro-Trump troll Charles Johnson at Assange's hide-out, the Ecuadorian embassy in London, on August 15, 2017. Robinson said the two Americans claimed to be emissaries from Washington and 'wanted us to believe they were acting on behalf of the president.' The pair allegedly told Assange that they could help grant him a pardon in exchange for him revealing information about the source of the WikiLeaks information that proved it was not the Russians who hacked Democratic emails."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race, Etc.

Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. faced his first sustained questioning from voters as the Democratic presidential nominee on Thursday, as Pennsylvanians pressed him on issues including health care, racism and policing at a CNN town-hall-style event held less than seven weeks before Election Day. At a gathering in Moosic, Pa., not far from his childhood home in Scranton, Mr. Biden -- who played up his local, middle-class roots -- sought at every opportunity to turn the focus to President Trump's stewardship of the coronavirus, casting the president as a callous leader who cannot empathize with the concerns of most Americans and who has exacerbated the hardships they face.... Mr. Biden delivered a relatively energetic performance defined by withering criticism of Mr. Trump and palpable enthusiasm for connecting with voters after many months without much significant interaction with them...." Mrs. McC: I watched a bit of the event. It was so pleasant to see a candidate who knew the issues & could distill them for voters. And who managed to show he was aware of their problems & planned to address them. The contrast with Trump was stark. ~~~

     ~~~ Joseph Ax of Reuters: "... Joe Biden on Thursday bluntly contradicted ... Donald Trump's suggestion that a coronavirus vaccine may be only weeks away, warning Americans they cannot trust the president's word. 'The idea that there's going to be a vaccine and everything's gonna be fine tomorrow - it's just not rational,' Biden said during a CNN town hall in Moosic, Pennsylvania. Trump again said on Wednesday that a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, could be ready for distribution ahead of the Nov. 3 election.... Trump has accused Biden of spreading 'anti-vaccine rhetoric,' [Mrs. McC: not true] while Biden has emphasized that he will listen to scientists, not the president, regarding a vaccine's safety. [Mrs. McC: sensible]." Mrs. McC Note to Joe Ax: When a claim is false, write that down & report it out. ~~~

     ~~~ Glenn Thrush of the New York Times with some takeaways from Biden's town hall: "Mr. Trump and his backers have spent months suggesting, without proof, that Mr. Biden is in cognitive decline.... Despite a few miscues on Thursday night, Mr. Biden was lucid, sprightly, relaxed and conversant with granular details on energy policy, international relations, the economy and agricultural policy. At one point, he had to stop himself from going on a tangent about 'fertilizer and water tables.'... Mr. Trump's town hall on ABC earlier in the week had the feel of a confrontation between a chef and a restaurant full of angry patrons who hated what they were served.... CNN scheduled Mr. Biden's event near Scranton, Pa., his hometown, and Mr. Biden took fullest home-field advantage -- defusing potentially uncomfortable moments with folksy banter. When a former local police chief started to ask him a question about his stance on law-and-order, Mr. Biden interrupted with, 'Didn't I meet you when you were chief?' 'We did, sir,' the man responded."

~~~ From Moosic to Mosinee. AP: "... Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric Thursday on cultural issues, aiming to boost enthusiasm among rural Wisconsin voters.... Trump's event took place largely outside an aircraft hangar at the Mosinee airport, his campaign's preferred format for mass rallies amid the coronavirus, though Trump has been willing to host large events indoors as well, sometimes in violation of state and federal distancing guidelines." ~~~

~~~ Earlier That Same Day. Aamer Madhani & Deb Riechmann of the AP: "... Donald Trump intensified efforts to appeal to his core base of white voters on Thursday by downplaying the historical legacy of slavery in the United States and blasting efforts to address systemic racism as divisive. The president's comments marking the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution amounted to a defense of white culture and a denunciation of Democrats, the media and others who he accused of trying to indoctrinate school children and shame their parents' 'whiteness.' He also argued that America's founding 'set in motion the unstoppable chain of events that abolished slavery, secured civil rights, defeated communism and fascism and built the most fair, equal and prosperous nation in human history.'... He said Thursday he will soon sign an order to establish a commission to promote patriotic education dubbed the 1776 Commission. The panel, he said, would be tasked with encouraging educators to teach students 'about the miracle of American history.'... The move is a response to The New York Times' '1619 Project,' which highlights the long-term consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans." Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Trump Celebrates "Constitution Day" with Racist Speech. Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "In a speech rife with race-baiting and dog whistles, the President decried 'left-wing mobs' and claimed their tactics were comparable to anti-American propaganda used by foreign adversaries." ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President Trump escalated his attacks on 'left-wing demonstrators' and 'far-left mobs' on Thursday, portraying himself as a defender of American heritage against revolutionary fanatics and arguing for a new 'pro-American' curriculum in the nation's schools. Speaking at the National Archives Museum, Mr. Trump vowed to counter what he called an emerging classroom narrative that 'America is a wicked and racist nation,' and he said he would create a new '1776 Commission' to help 'restore patriotic education to our schools.' The president reiterated his condemnations of demonstrators who tear down monuments to historical American figures, and he even sought to link ... former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., to the removal of a founding father's statue in Mr. Biden's home state, Delaware.... Hours after extolling the United States' iconic heroes, Mr. Trump missed a [dedication] ceremony ... of a new memorial to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington."

** Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic showed a 'flat-out disregard for human life' because his 'main concern was the economy and his reelection,' according to a senior adviser on the White House coronavirus task force who left the White House in August. Olivia Troye, who worked as homeland security, counterterrorism and coronavirus adviser to Vice President Pence for two years, said that the administration's response cost lives and that she will vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden this fall because of her experience in the Trump White House.... She was a major participant in the task force's work.... 'The president's rhetoric and his own attacks against people in his administration trying to do the work, as well as the promulgation of false narratives and incorrect information of the virus have made this ongoing response a failure,' she said in an interview.... 'I would not tell anyone I care about to take a vaccine that launches prior to the election,' she said.... Troye is the first Trump administration official who worked extensively on the coronavirus response to forcefully speak out against Trump and his handling of the pandemic." Administration officials took the opportunity to disparage Troye. CNN has a story here.~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Despite Trump's repeated assertions to the contrary, the existing public record strongly supports [Olivia] Troye's contention that the president fumbled the government's response." Bump runs down a "greatest hits" list of Trumpian failures. ~~~

~~~ Betty Cracker of Balloon Juice: "The White House is trying to dismiss her as a deep state coffee girl, but it sounds like she has the goods, including details about how Trump interfered with scientists who were trying to manage the pandemic and his inexcusable politicization of mask-wearing[.]... Here's hoping some of the courageous generals will profit from the deep state coffee girl's example, step the fuck up already and spill all the goddamned tea." ~~~

~~~ Oh, Heavens to Betsy. Daniel Lippman & Michael Stratford of Politico: "Josh Venable, the former chief of staff to Education Secretary Betsy Devos, has joined another former Trump administration official's group opposing the president. Venable is lending his name as an adviser to the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform, a group [of] former Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor launched on Thursday of current and former Trump administration officials and other Republican leaders who want to see ... Donald Trump defeated in November.... Olivia Troye joined the group too...."

Former DNI Dan Coats writes a both-siderism New York Times op-ed for the books: "I propose that Congress ... create a supremely high-level bipartisan and nonpartisan commission to oversee the election.... It would monitor [ballot collection & tabulation] mechanisms and confirm for the public that the laws and regulations governing them have been scrupulously and expeditiously followed -- or that violations have been exposed and dealt with -- without political prejudice and without regard to political interests of either party. Also, this commission would be responsible for monitoring those forces that seek to harm our electoral system through interference, fraud, disinformation or other distortions.... The most urgent task American leaders face is to ensure that the election's results are accepted as legitimate..., rejecting the vicious partisanship that has disabled and destabilized government for too long.... We must firmly, unambiguously reassure all Americans that their vote will be counted, that it will matter, that the people's will expressed through their votes will not be questioned and will be respected and accepted." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Gee, Dan, who do you think is sowing doubt (trump barr) about the legitimacy of the vote? And why haven't you got the guts to say so? There seems to be a Fear of Trump that transcends firing & belittling & throwing sand in a former aide's face. ~~~

     ~~~ Martin Longman in the Washington Monthly: "... Donald Trump, is just as responsible for sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the upcoming elections as any Russian intelligence officer. What's especially troubling is that Coats knows this better than citizens who haven't had access to our most sensitive intelligence or the experience of working closely with Donald Trump. Yet, we don't need high-level access to classified information to notice Attorney General William Barr is doing everything he can to sow doubt about the results of the election. For months he's been warning that mail voting is susceptible to foreign manipulation, and he's been saying the same about Americans. As Dahlia Lithwick reports for Slate, Trump and Barr are doing a tag-team to convince us that 'our voting systems are faulty or fraudulent.'... It may be a nice idea for Congress to establish a commission to protect our elections, but the Republican Party is committed to the opposite which is why they'd never go along with Coats's idea." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress on Thursday that Russia is still working to influence the U.S. presidential election, and hoping to'denigrate' former vice president Joe Biden because it sees the Democratic nominee as part of an American policy establishment antagonistic to Moscow's interests. Election year politics were front and center at the House Homeland Security Committee hearing on threats to the country, as lawmakers pressed Wray to weigh in on a variety of issues where politics, extremism and violence overlap.... Unlike in 2016, when the most serious interference efforts involved hacking Democrats' emails and state election systems, Wray said Russian activity so far this year seems more limited to misinformation campaigns.... Trump's acting homeland security secretary, Chad Wolf, was a no-show Thursday, having broken his agreement to appear and prompting a showdown with the committee's chairman, who issued Wolf a subpoena." A Politico story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times' story is here.

Louie's Bad Day

** Gene Johnson of the AP: "A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them 'a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service' before the November election. Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by 14 states that sued the Trump administration and the U.S. Postal Service.... The judge noted after a hearing that Trump had repeatedly attacked voting by mail by making unfounded claims that it is rife with fraud.... He also said the changes created 'a substantial possibility many voters will be disenfranchised.' Bastian, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a written order later Thursday that closely tracked the relief sought by the states. It ordered the Postal Service to stop implementing the 'leave behind' policy, to treat all election mail as first class mail rather than as slower-moving categories, to reinstall any mail processing machines needed to ensure the prompt handling of election mail, and to inform its employees about the requirements of his injunction." A Washington Post story is here.

Tony Romm & others of the Washington Post write a long piece, based on some 10,000 emails & other documents, about how the USPS was in crisis even before Louis DeJoy took over, partly because of consequences of the coronavirus & partly because of action & inaction by the Trump administration & pro-Trump advisors. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Pennsylvania & Washington State. Nick Corasanini, et al., of the New York Times: "Courts on both sides of the United States issued rulings on Thursday that could expand mail-in voting in the election in November, as the postmaster general privately apologized to state officials for missteps in his agency's efforts to educate voters on mail-in ballots. In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court paved the way for more mail-in ballots to be counted by extending the due date they must be received by election officials and allowing expanded use of drop boxes. In Washington State, a federal judge blocked operational and policy changes made by the Postal Service in recent months that have slowed mail delivery and amounted to 'voter disenfranchisement.' Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who instituted those changes, conceded during a video conference with election officials on Thursday afternoon that he had failed to adequately consult with state election officials on a postcard that was sent to addresses nationwide to educate voters about mail-in ballots."

Pennsylvania. Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Green Party presidential ticket from state ballots, allowing state and local election officials to resume preparations for Nov. 3 and begin mailing ballots to voters. The court ruled that presidential contender Howie Hawkins and his running mate, Angela Walker, did not qualify for the ballot because the party did not submit signed filing papers in person, as required by state rules. It's the second such ruling in a week. On Monday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court found deficiencies in the Green Party's ballot petition in that state, excluding the party from the ballot." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alabama. Igor Bobic of the Huffington Post: "Alabama Republican Senate candidate Tommy Tuberville struggled to explain his position on questions surrounding the Voting Rights Act and had difficulty describing the law, according to audio obtained by HuffPost on Thursday. The former Auburn University football coach, a political neophyte running to unseat Sen. Doug Jones (D), was asked whether he supported extending the landmark 1965 civil rights statute during a Sept. 1 call with the Birmingham, Alabama, Sunrise Rotary Club. His answer ... verges on the incomprehensible and raises doubts about his understanding of the law that was key to ending the sweeping suppression of voting by Black people in the South[.]" Mrs. McC: Tuberville is likely to win, and what this country needs right now is one more know-nothing senator who doesn't give jack about minority voting rights.

Craziness, Corruption, Laziness & Lies

Even Trump Knows He's Only Part President*. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump argued this week that the death toll from the coronavirus was actually not so bad. All you had to do was not count states that voted for Democrats. 'If you take the blue states out,' he said, 'we're at a level that I don't think anybody in the world would be at. We're really at a very low level.' The statement was as jarring as it was revealing, indicative of a leader who has long seemed to view himself more as the president of Red America rather than the United States of America. On the pandemic, immigration, crime, street violence and other issues, Mr. Trump regularly divides the country into the parts that support him and the parts that do not, rewarding the former and reproving the latter.... The contrast with his predecessors in moments of national crisis could hardly be more stark.... 'It's so unworthy of a president,' Tom Ridge, a Republican former governor of Pennsylvania and later secretary of homeland security under [George W.] Bush, said on Thursday. 'It's beyond despicable. It's soulless.... Covid-19 is really bipartisan.'"

Palling Around with Terrorists. CBS News: "Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and partnering with the Taliban has made the United States less safe, says H.R. McMaster, President Trump's former national security adviser. The retired lieutenant general speaks to Scott Pelley in his first interview about his new book on the 53rd Season Premiere of 60 Minutes, Sunday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT on CBS.
McMaster calls the drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan a big mistake and writes in the book, 'Battlegrounds,' that the region is a hotbed of terrorism."

Lev! Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed new charges Thursday against Lev Parnas, an associate of President Trump's personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, accusing the Soviet emigre of defrauding investors in a fraud-protection company he founded -- and for which Giuliani was paid $500,000 to consult. Parnas already faced charges of campaign finance fraud for allegedly using a shell company to filter political donations from a foreign national to candidates seeking state and federal office in the United States. The superseding indictment filed Thursday in the Southern District of New York does not reference Giuliani, though it indicates that prosecutors have been closely scrutinizing a company that hired him while he was also serving as the president's lawyer."

Gosh, Jim Clyburn Says Bill Barr Is a Tad Insensitive. Devan Cole of CNN: "House Majority Whip James Clyburn on Thursday slammed Attorney General William Barr for comparing coronavirus lockdowns in the US to slavery.... 'You know, I think that that statement by Mr. Barr was the most ridiculous, tone-deaf, God-awful thing I've ever heard,' Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat in the House and its highest ranking Black member, told CNN's John Berman.... 'It is incredible that (the) chief law enforcement officer in this country would equate human bondage to expert advice to save lives. Slavery was not about saving lives, it was about devaluing lives.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Lucy Osborne of the Guardian: "A former model has come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her at the US Open tennis tournament more than two decades ago, in an alleged incident that left her feeling 'sick' and 'violated'. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Amy Dorris alleged that Trump accosted her outside the bathroom in his VIP box at the tournament in New York on 5 September 1997. Dorris, who was 24 at the time, accuses Trump of forcing his tongue down her throat, assaulting her all over her body and holding her in a grip she was unable to escape from.... Dorris ... provided the Guardian with evidence to support her account of her encounters with Trump, including her ticket to the US Open and six photos showing her with the real estate magnate over several days in New York. Trump was 51 at the time and married to his second wife, Marla Maples. Her account was also corroborated by several people she confided in about the incident. They include a friend in New York and Dorris's mother, both of whom she called immediately after the alleged incident, as well as a therapist and friends she spoke to in the years since. All said Dorris had shared with them details of the alleged incident that matched what she later told the Guardian." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Trumpies Publish Fake CDC Guidance That Could Kill You. Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "A heavily criticized recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month about who should be tested for the coronavirus was not written by C.D.C. scientists and was posted to the agency's website despite their serious objections, according to several people familiar with the matter as well as internal documents obtained by The New York Times. The guidance said it was not necessary to test people without symptoms of Covid-19 even if they had been exposed to the virus. It came at a time when public health experts were pushing for more testing rather than less, and administration officials told The Times that the document was a C.D.C. product and had been revised with input from the agency's director, Dr. Robert Redfield. But officials told The Times this week that the Department of Health and Human Services did the rewriting and then 'dropped' it into the C.D.C.'s public website, flouting the agency's strict scientific review process. 'That was a doc that came from the top down, from the H.H.S. and the task force,' said a federal official with knowledge of the matter, referring to the White House task force on the coronavirus. 'That policy does not reflect what many people at the C.D.C. feel should be the policy.' The document contains 'elementary errors' -- such as referring to 'testing for Covid-19,' as opposed to testing for the virus that causes it -- and recommendations inconsistent with the C.D.C.'s stance that mark it to anyone in the know as not having been written by agency scientists.... Adm. Brett Giroir, the administration's testing coordinator and an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, the C.D.C.'s parent organization, said in an interview Thursday that the original draft came from the C.D.C., but he 'coordinated editing and input from the scientific and medical members of the task force.'... A new version of the testing guidance, expected to be posted Friday, has also not been cleared by the C.D.C.'s usual internal review...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Rachel Maddow says Redfield should resign. Yeah, so should "Admiral" Giroir & HHS Secretary Azar.

News Lede

The New York Times' live updates of Western wildfire developments are here. "A firefighter died while battling a fire that was sparked during a celebration to reveal the sex of a baby in Southern California, the authorities said on Friday, the 26th person to die in the fires that have consumed California this summer."

Comments

[Akhilleus]

There’s been a lot of hand wringing over this dodgy Trump vaccine. First, I’d rather try the old Hola Nola Massa as protection against the Trump virus than trust anything given the specious imprimatur of Fatty or any of his band of flimflam quacksalvers. I’m guessing that eye of newt and hair of the dog dissolved in unicorn sweat won’t prove overly effective. Besides, anyone, at this late date, who believes anything the Orange Menace claims is either a Kool-Aid junky or recently lobotomized. Besides, on the very off chance that it worked, you know that Fatty would insist that only Red States get the stuff.

[Ken Winkes]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/trump-speech-patriotic-education-national-archives-b471885.html

Who's feeding the Pretender this drivel?

He certainly doesn't come up with it himself.

[Akhilleus]

Trump consigliere and putative Attorney General, Bill Himmler, er, Barr, (more puta than putative) sez that "Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it's no way to run a federal agency," Gee, Bill. Neither is letting the most corrupt, stunningly unqualified, hyper-partisan AG in American history run the place like a medieval star chamber.

[Akhilleus]

Ken,

At the very least he didn’t write that appalling white supremacist, hyper nationalist pablum by himself. Did you hear him? He sounded like he was reading the warnings that come with prescriptions from CVS. I’m sure he agrees with it, but his low-energy, robotic delivery was missing the Father Coughlin touch. This is long in the tooth right-wing lunacy. The winger whitey-white whities have been slinging this crap for decades. It’s all of a piece with the fantasy island bile that’s been around since Reagan regaled the racists with tales of a white picket fence no-blacks, no-immigrants, no-liberals America that never existed.

And not for nothin’, but knowing the true history of your country is not being ashamed of it. It’s called being educated. Something Fatty and his goosesteppers know nothing about.

[Jeanne]

I just returned from my walk, which was totally bunged up from hearing the unhinged monotone mumble of white supremacy that NPR provided-- I could not believe my ears. AK, I am betting this came from Nazi Miller, and Fatstuff had never seen it before he read it on the teleprompter. I thought I was back in the 1950s listening to the white supremacists responsible for energizing the KKK. I was literally hoping I didn't throw up in someone's yard. The textbooks and planned curricula of the nation's history/civics classes are already whitewashed-- we don't need a copycat commission to study how best to keep students in the dark about our history and continuing education.

[PD Pepe]

CAN WE CALL THIS PROGRESS?

" Mrs. McC: I watched a few minutes of the[Biden] event. Once again, it was so pleasant to see a candidate who knew the issues & could distill them for voters. And who managed to show he was aware of their problems & planned to address them. The contrast with Trump was stark."

Then we had the brave outing by Olivia Troye who spilled the beans about how the Trump administration failed at handling the virus and although she had nothing but "nice" things to say about Pence, he retaliated by calling her"just another disgruntled" something or other. He could have just said, "I'm sorry to see her leave" and leave it at that but it's clear he possesses the same prick pomposity as all the other sycophants.

Next we have Josh Venable, the former chief of staff to our very own itsy-bitsy Betsy's Ed-uuu=cation mismash, who has joined the left, dismissed the right and joined the reform group that denounces Trump.

Then there's Judge Stanley Bastian on whose face I'd like to plant a big sloppy kiss for issuing a state-wide rearmament of the Post Office debacle--pronto!

And finally we now know what we had suspected––Fatty and his friend's fingers were busy changing things to suit their message in the C.D.C's public website. That Redfield knew this and did nothing to halt it is beyond reproach.

I am uplifted by all these but not enough to put the fears back in the drawer––those long sharp knives are just itching to be used by those whose fingers fit so perfectly around them–-slice and dice with gusto!

From yesterday: @Marie: Found your story about facing those "on my side" protestors compelling and reminded me of Joe's experience two days after King was killed. He was volunteering as an English teacher for students on the verge in a black school district. As he left the church (these sessions were held in a black church basement) and was walking toward his car, a mob of black protestors came upon him, angry, yelling obscenities, some had clubs; if it hadn't been for the pastor of that church coming out and saying ––"This man is our brother–-he's on our side"--and so forth–– Joe might well have been beaten. Like you, it was terrifying for him to FEEL that anger and knowing he was on their side.

[Ken Winkes]

The few words of the Pretender's Constitution Day speech I listened to (and yes, Akhilleus, there was something very "off" about his delivery's halting, sing-song cadence, kinda like a zombie just brought back from the dead, re-learning to speak), but they reminded me of the culture war era I grew up in, those fabulous 60's and early 70's, which featured the same silly arguments about freedom, patriotism and love of country.

Nixon and Reagan, in his CA governor years, cynically deployed those arguments to their temporary political advantage, pitting what they called a silent white majority against those upstarts who were causing all that trouble, but intellectually their words and the divisions they were intended to create made no more sense then than they do now.

They made no sense because they missed the obvious fact that those who were in the streets seeking freedom and justice for every American were the real patriots. It was they who truly believed in the promises of the American Dream deeply enough to act on them. It was they, not their critics, who were attempting to extend the American Dream they learned about in their homes and schools to everyone, not just to a privileged few. *

It was of course a white privilege argument in the early 1970's, and considering how our demographics have shifted since then (we are only a generation and a half, I think I read somewhere, of becoming a white minority country), it is even more baldly a desperate white privilege argument now.

Boiled down, it reads and has always meant, "Freeee-dom for me but not for thee."

Which may be one of the reason the Pretender's awkward, sleepy delivery suggested that even his white supremecist self didn't believe a word of what he seemed to have so little interest in saying.

*Conservatives who like to think of themselves as the only true patriots just don't get it. The American promise is fundamentally radical, a renewable revolution. By its very nature, it upsets apple carts....and anyone who likes things just the way they are.

[Akhilleus]

Ken,

In similar fashion, one can posit that Jesus was a pretty radical figure, preaching love thy neighbor as thyself, turning the other cheek, loving one’s enemy, helping the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, even those in prisons. How has that ideology transformed to hating one’s enemy enough to murder them, blowing them up (Planned Parenthood clinics), shutting down medical services to the poor, voting for liars who piss on the downtrodden and do everything they can to comfort the rich, screaming about blacks and immigrants trying to take their jobs and murdering their children when all they really want is a fair chance at a decent life?

In both cases, the American revolution and the Christian revolution, the fundamental ideas, for too many Americans, has devolved into fear, hatred, and the preservation of perceived privileges against any who might want in on the privilege thing. It’s basically the old Reagan mantra of “Fuck you, Charlie, I got mine”.

It takes guts and smarts and heart to stay a revolutionary course. None of which are possessed by Trump and the Party of Traitors. And their plea to voters is hate, fear, be ignorant, and vote us back in for more of the same.

[Akhilleus]

Jeanne,

I think you’re right on the money with your supposition as to the provenance of Fatty’s latest racist screed. It’s got Miller’s slimy KKK fingerprints all over it, with a side of Bannonesque tear-it-all-down to go along with the all-white main course.

And as you say, confederates have been working to rewrite history to suit their own political requirements for decades now. Plenty of history textbooks could have been written by David Duke. But now Miller wants in the history rewrite. Listening to the Orange Idiot spout off about this, I was by turns amused and appalled that the least historically informed confederate should be presenting himself as an expert in American history. The guy who doesn’t know what started the Civil War, or who “the good guys” were in WWI, or who wonders what Frederick Douglass is up to these days.

But it doesn’t matter. Ignorance is the order of the day with this racist prick. And the MAGA droolers can’t wait for this phony commission to wipe the books clear of inconvenient historical facts.

If there are still undecideds out there after listening to this dangerous demagoguery, they need remedial thinking classes. Either that or they’re really not undecided at all. If they’re thinking “Hmmm, racist authoritarianism? How bad could it be?” They’ve already made up their minds.

[Patrick]

I'm thinking "undecided" just means "uninvolved", which in old Greek translated as "idiot."

[Akhilleus]

Patrick,

Yeah. It ain’t exactly the Socratic ideal of the examined life to be seriously considering blithering idiocy as the path forward.

[Mrs. Bea McCrabbie]

@Akhilleus & @Patrick: Let's assume a normal person with a high school education and jobs & responsibilities that keep him busy most of the time he isn't out carousing and/or hunting with the guys.

It's true that if that guy got dropped into a Trump rally, he might realize something was wrong with the crowd & the speaker. But if our hypothetical guy got stuck listening to a lecture by Bill Barr, I don't think he would hear anything alarming about it. He would view Barr as an "intellectual" who was explaining a rational political philosophy. In that regard, Barr is more dangerous than Trump. Barr, unlike Trump, actually does have "the best words," and he presents them calmly in cogent sentences.

Delivered in a modulated voice, "being required to wear a mask is a restriction of your Constitutional freedom" does not sound crazy. It isn't crazy. It's just wrong, given the reason masks are prescribed. If Bill Barr said that to our hypothetical guy, our guy would probably buy it. On the other hand, he would probably say yes to the question: "If you knew you could save a friend or neighbor's life just by submitting to the inconvenience & slight discomfort of wearing a face mask, would you do it?"

It's only sociopaths like Trump who would answer that question with a "no" or "no + whiney freedumb excuse." And, yeah, there are a lot of sociopaths around these days.

[Akhilleus]

Marie,

All of which indicates that Trump 2.0, whoever inherits that blood stained mantle, could be extremely dangerous. I will submit that a Biden presidency shouldn’t be completely consumed with investigations followed by appropriate punishments for what Trump and his criminal cohort and enablers have done to the country, there is simply too much that needs to be fixed. But there should not be the usual Democratic paean to fellowship and letting bygones be bygones so’s we can all work together-kumbaya-happy-horseshit.

We need accountability. We need a reckoning.

The crooks and racists and haters who lined up at the Trump trough either for filthy lucre or underhanded ideological dominance (Cruz, Cotton, Miller, et al) must meet with both Mr. Tar and Mr. Feathers. They must be widely, publicly disparaged. I realize such justice will only bolster their street cred with the haters, but it is meet and just that these anti-democratic, anti-American brigands stand in the box.

Otherwise, Trump 2.0 will attack without the impediments of obvious stupidity and boorishness that follow president* clown shoes. A Trump
stripped of his trains of damaging baggage, a smarter, cannier, more vicious Trump, will be the end of us all.

[unwashed]

I'd use the word the OM himself used - retribution.

[Whyte Owen]

Ak, I may have posted this a few years back, but every time I read of Jesus the Radical, I recall "A Fable" by Faulkner, in which the idea emerges that Jesus, whether a person or a symbol of a movement, was so threatening to the Roman state that they were able to recast the movement as a religion, so much easier to dismiss. The threat? That if warriors on both sides (It was set in the WWI trenches), led by a soldier and his 12 buddies, simply said "enough" and went on strike, laid down their arms, the warrior state is finished. Panic among the generals ensued.

[Akhilleus]

Whyte Owen,

Haven’t read that Faulkner story but it’s now on my list. Unfortunately, as Faulkner himself describes it, such a happy outcome is limited to fables. Under modern right-wing Christianity, laying down weapons and befuddling the generals morphed long ago to “Kill a Commie for Christ”.

[Bobby Lee]

@AK Who said those people want a path forward? I'm reminded of the opening line of the early 1960s song "Barry's Boys"

"We're the bright young men who want to go back to 1910, we're Barry's boys"...

Who was it said "History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes?"

[Cowichan's opinion]

@Whyte Owen: Such a situation, involving a hell of a lot more than 13 individuals, occurred on Christmas 1914, when German and allied troops began entertaining each other with carols which led, in some areas, with sharing of Christmas treats. Needless to say it didn't last long.

[Patrick]

Marie, sorry, your "what if" does not move me. In 2016 I could understand the "most people are too busy to pay attention to politics" as an excuse for voting DiJiT. And it is true that we SHOULD be able to fire and forget our vote -- if I vote to elect a Democrat I can expect that things will move a certain way if the D gains office ... I don't have to check back all the time.

But now in 2020 it is also true that if you vote R, and R's get in, you know you can expect the depradations we have seen the past two R presidencies. DiJiT is just the most flamboyant bullsh!tter the R's have ever fielded, but his work (sic) is still R-like.

Everybody can see the difference. R means this, D means that. Not so gray anymore.

So if you are undecided it can only mean you are uninvolved. If you paid the least attention you would know where you stand.

I'm not even saying which clan is comprised of a-holes and which of solons. Just that you can tell the difference between their known products by paying the least attention.

Oh, yeah, and Jesus said "by their fruits you will know them." He must have been a pretty good politician, and you can tell by reading your New Testament he lived in a land of fools.

Finally, yes, the R's are the a-holes. We peeked.

[Rockygirl]

@ Jeanne - I gave up on NPR years ago after hearing too many “interviews” featuring right-wing blather with no pushback or even context by the NPR folks. If you’re looking for something good to listen to while walking I highly recommend the Michelle Obama podcast on Spotify and The Weeds from Vox. Lots o’ others but those are my go-to’s (those plus audiobooks from my Audible account; currently it’s Pride and Prejudice for Something Really Different).

[Jeanne]

I know-- several weeks back idiotic native son David Greene interviewed families for an NPR thing-- "What keeps you up at night" and a woman said "Democrats." She went on to say how horrendous she thought D's were. I guess she thought we drink the blood of babies... I clicked off, was enraged and went home and wrote to him, but naturally, he did not write me back...There was zero push-back. I absolutely know NPR is useless, but I haven't broken the Morning Edition habit; sometimes I am in the bathroom screeching at the radio as I dry off from my shower... I should just ignore it, since I know what they do, and I gave up financing them some years ago, but sheesh-- they do talk to Toomey and other nonrespectable entities and I just turn it off when that happens, just listening to find out what is happening first thing in the morning. Afternoon walks ARE devoted to Michele Obama! And Spotify classical music-- I can do an entire walk listening to the Nimrod variation of the the Enigma Variations, over and over, broken by the Barber Adagio for Strings, perfectly happily remote from the crapola. I have not tried audiobooks-- will I get so engrossed I will tumble off a curb like I did last July?? Thanks, Rockygirl and everyone else-- have a fine weekend! Even if it is the same as all the other days! (I am getting trained to make Dem phone calls, since there is no door knocking this year...)