The Conversation -- October 17, 2024

⭐ Confessions of a Suit. John D. Miller in a U.S. News opinion piece: "I want to apologize to America. I helped create a monster.... I led the team that marketed 'The Apprentice,' the reality show that made Donald Trump a household name outside of New York City, where he was better known for overextending his empire and appearing in celebrity gossip columns. To sell the show, we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty.... At the very least, it was a substantial exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was.... To sell the show, we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty. That was the conceit of the show. At the very least, it was a substantial exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was." Read on.

Marie: Decades ago, when Steve Martin was a stand-up comic, he did a joke where he gave advice on how to make a million dollars and not pay any taxes: "First, make a million dollars. Then, when the IRS asks you why you didn't pay any taxes, say 'I forgot.'" Well, I've got a joke that's not so funny. Because it works: "Here's how to make a billion dollars (or 247 billion) and take control of a major foreign country. First get 247 billion dollars; then, become a U.S. citizen & bribe Donald Trump."

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has reached a major milestone in its pursuit of expansive student debt relief, announcing on Thursday that over one million people have had their federal student debt canceled through a program that offers forgiveness to public service workers. For President Biden, whose student debt agenda has been repeatedly handicapped by Republican legal challenges, the announcement marked a modest but undeniable achievement. With just weeks until the election, the administration has reported approving around $175 billion in total student debt relief for nearly five million borrowers through all the actions taken during Mr. Biden's presidency."

Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "An independent panel reviewing the failures that led to the attempted assassination of ... Donald J. Trump in July called on the Secret Service to replace its leadership with people from the private sector and focus almost exclusively on its protective mission. The recommendations, part of a report released Thursday commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security, outlined deficiencies that have already been identified in the months after the rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13. Those include the failure of the Secret Service to secure a nearby building where a rooftop would-be assassin fired eight shots toward Mr. Trump. That and other security lapses, members of the panel said, result from an absence of 'critical thinking' among agents and supervisors. The panel was particularly struck by a 'lack of ownership' conveyed by the agents it interviewed. Those involved in the security planning did not take responsibility in the lead-up to the event, nor did they own failures in the aftermath. And, the report added, they 'have done little in the way of self-reflection in terms of identifying areas of missteps, omissions or opportunities for improvement.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's the irony: every intellectual lapse the panel identifies in Secret Service leadership is one that the target of the assassination shares: absence of critical think, lack of ownership of mistakes, failure to take responsibility from the git-go right through the follow-up and "little in the way of self-reflection in terms of identifying areas of missteps, omissions or [making] opportunities for improvement."

The Miracle of Evolution: A Turtle Morphs into a Chicken. Mary Jalonick of the AP: "Mitch McConnell said after the 2020 election that ... Donald Trump was 'stupid as well as being ill-tempered,' a 'despicable human being' and a 'narcissist,' according to excerpts from a new biography of the Senate Republican leader that will be released this month. McConnell made the remarks in private as part of a series of personal oral histories that he made available to Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press. Tackett's book, 'The Price of Power,' draws from almost three decades of McConnell's recorded diaries and from years of interviews with the normally reticent Kentucky Republican.... Despite those strong words, McConnell has endorsed Trump's 2024 run...."

⭐ Josef Federman, et al., of the AP: Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man. Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settling of scores just over a year after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others in an attack that stunned the country. They also presented it as a turning point in the campaign to destroy Hamas, urging the group to surrender and release some 100 hostages still in Gaza. 'Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the start of the day after Hamas,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. U.S. officials expressed hopes for a cease-fire with Sinwar out of the picture."

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Israel's wars are here: "The Israeli military said on Thursday that it was assessing whether Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed in the Gaza Strip. The military released no further details about the assessment, but four Israeli officials said the military was taking the body of a slain militant to a laboratory in Israel in order to assess whether its DN matches that of Mr. Sinwar." ~~~

Update: "The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that Yahya Sinwar, the powerful and elusive militant leader who has been the No. 1 target for Israel since the beginning of the war, had been killed in battle. Mr. Sinwar was viewed as the architect of the brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel that set off the 13-month war that has plunged the Gaza Strip into a humanitarian crisis and began a wider conflict that now includes the fighting in Lebanon."

The New York Times has an obituary of Sinwar here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Nicholas Nehamas & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris sat for the most adversarial interview of her campaign on Wednesday, sparring with the Fox News anchor Bret Baier over the border, President Biden's mental fitness and whether ... Donald J. Trump is a threat to American democracy. For a Democratic presidential candidate, appearing on Fox News is about as close as going into the lion's den as it gets.... But Ms. Harris -- giving her first interview on Fox News in an attempt to reach millions of voters, especially conservative-leaning women, who have probably not heard much of her message -- largely steered the conversation in her preferred direction. Here are six takeaways from the interview. [1] She broke with Biden (a little).... [2] An aggressive Bret Baier pushed right-wing arguments.... [3] For Harris, the interview was largely meant to appeal to women ... [4] and those women saw the vice president being interrupted repeatedly.... [5] The interview showed the limits of her outreach to Republicans.... [6] Harris flipped a Trump transgender attack back on him." ~~~

     ~~~ Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A campaign ad released by ... Donald J. Trump in battleground states slams Vice President Harris for supporting taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners and migrants, concluding: 'Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.' But ... Trump appointees at the Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Justice Department, provided an array of gender-affirming treatments, including hormone therapy, for a small group of inmates who requested it during Mr. Trump's four years in office." ~~~

     ~~~ Fritz Farrow, et al., of ABC News: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday hammered ... Donald Trump as thin-skinned and a threat to U.S. democracy in a combative interview with Fox News.... The interview was testy throughout, including multiple exchanges in which Harris and Fox News anchor Bret Baier repeatedly spoke over each other." ~~~

     ~~~ Brian Stelter of CNN: "Fox is effectively a television extension of Donald Trump's campaign.... Analysts have described the vice president's appearance on Fox as a surprising visit to 'enemy territory.' [Bret] Baier has tried to position himself above that partisan fray as 'fair, balanced and unafraid,' as he says in his sign-off every night. But a review of Baier's emails and comments during the 2020 election aftermath suggests otherwise. And his recent social media activity shows that he is supremely aware of the Fox base's extreme disdain for Harris and distrust of the media. Baier, the anchor of Fox's 6 p.m. 'Special Report' newscast, is also the network's chief political anchor.... Baier expressed a remarkable degree of sympathy for the Trump base's unsupported screams about a stolen [2020] election."

Erica Green of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday made her most direct and expansive pitch yet to conservative and moderate voters, appearing in Pennsylvania with a phalanx of Republican elected officials who have set aside their party loyalties to try to defeat ... Donald J. Trump. At a campaign event in Bucks County, Pa., Ms. Harris tried to strike a unifying tone even as she castigated her opponent, casting her campaign as one that embraced anyone who believed that Mr. Trump should not serve a second term.... The gathering in Washington Crossing, Pa., [close to where George Washington crossed the Delaware to attack the Hessian garrison in Trenton] featured distinctly patriotic notes not found at other campaign events, including a large, red banner reading 'Country over party,' the presenting of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance.... Ms. Harris laid out a broad, historically based argument about the sanctity of democracy.... As she recited how Mr. Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, she went out of her way to praise former Vice President Mike Pence, who has declined to endorse his former boss, for his 'courage and patriotism' in preventing Mr. Trump from 'overturning the will of the American people.'" ~~~

     ~~~ You can watch Harris's full speech here.

Here was Gov. Tim Walz in rural Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, discussing gun control to people who just might be gun owners. There's a punch line: ~~~

     ~~~ There's a somewhat hilarious update on those 34 felonies. See Rachel Maddow's live report, embedded below, & Megan Lebowitz's print story, linked below, which is based on Maddow's reporting.

~~~ And here's Walz talking about venture capitalist JayDee: ~~~

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Jimmy Carter, who turned 100 on Oct. 1 and has been in hospice care since February 2023, submitted his absentee ballot on Wednesday, according to Jason Carter, the former president's grandson. Jason Carter, the chairman of the Carter Center, said in a text message on Wednesday that his grandfather's ballot had been deposited at a drop box at a local courthouse. For weeks, according to the Carter family, the former president was privately playing down becoming a centenarian. Instead, Mr. Carter's relatives said, he was most eager about voting for Vice President Kamala Harris." (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Gold & Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump faced blunt, direct questions in both English and Spanish from undecided Hispanic voters throughout [a Univision] town hall, which will be broadcast [Wednesday] at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Men and women from across the country came to Univision's Miami-area studio in Doral, Fla., and questioned the former president's positions on climate change, gun control and abortion rights, and his baseless claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.... Mr. Trump kept his composure, avoiding the hostility he often exhibits when similarly questioned by the news media. But Mr. Trump did not directly engage with many of the thoughtful questions from these voters. Skirting specific answers, he retreated to his standard campaign language, often talking up the achievements of his administration and making vague promises for the future.... When Mr. Trump was asked about immigration, a central issue of his presidential campaign this year, he also remained vague about his policy plans. In front of an audience of about 100 Latino voters, he did not once mention his pledge to undertake the largest deportation operation in American history." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: That was a televised town hall. A teevee network gave citizens the opportunity to discuss issues with a politician, in this case a politician running for office. The event was supposed to allow for the free flow of ideas (as much as that is possible in a made-for-television show). The town hall -- in its ideal form -- constitutes a useful, if not necessarily essential, tool for democracy, giving both the politician and the citizens a chance to learn from each other. But when is a televised town hall not a town hall? When the only people in attendance, including the moderator, are part of the cult of the politician, when all of the questions put to the politician are prescreened, and when these deceptions are kept secret from the television audience, to the point clues to the character of the audience are edited out. ~~~

~~~ Trump's Potemkin Town Hall. Hadas Gold & Liam Reilly of CNN: "Fox News hosted an all-women town hall with ... Donald Trump, billed as an opportunity for female voters to ask the Republican candidate questions that matter to them. The Georgia town hall, where Trump took questions on reproductive laws, transgender rights and other issues, aired Wednesday morning. But Fox News did not disclose that the female audience it selected for the event was packed with local Republican supporters and the network edited its broadcast to remove some of their vocal advocacy of Trump. The Georgia Federation of Republican Women wrote on its Facebook page Wednesday that the group helped host the event, posting photos from the venue and writing they were 'Super excited for the opportunity of hosting this event right here in Georgia!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is how the authoritarians do it. There is a dramatic and ironic contrast between Harris's "going into the lion's den," as the NYT put it, on the same day Trump granted an audience to his courtesans. When Trump calls Harris "weak," he is projecting again. ~~~

~~~ Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump declared himself the 'father of I.V.F.' in a town-hall event Tuesday focused on women's issues, an eyebrow-raising nickname that was his latest attempt to claim an advantage on a matter that has become a political liability. The Supreme Court justices Mr. Trump appointed enabled the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a ruling that he has praised and that opened the door to possible restrictions on in vitro fertilization.... Congressional Republicans have voted twice in the past four months to block bills that would protect the legality of I.V.F.... Mr. Trump said, as he has before, that he learned how significant the Alabama Supreme Court ruling was from Katie Britt, the state's junior senator and a Republican.... He added that he had asked Ms. Britt to explain to him what I.V.F. was before concluding that he supported it." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The first IVF baby was born in 1978. Donald Trump admits he didn't know what IVF was until last year when Britt became a U.S. senator. Forty-five years later. He is the "father of IVF" the way he is the historian who discovered that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. He thinks that when he occasionally learns something he didn't know before (even if millions of people already knew it), that he invented it. When the shrinks are writing down the symptoms of narcissism, they should add this one. ~~~

~~~ Daniel Dale of CNN: At the fake town hall, Trump "told a bunch of lies.... [He] made at least 19 false claims in the one-hour event that aired Wednesday morning..., notably including an absurd claim that he is 'the father of IVF.'"

Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said Wednesday that former President Trump did not lose in 2020 'by the words that I would use' -- some of his most extensive comments yet on the subject of the last presidential election results. '... on the election of 2020 -- I've answered this question directly, a million times -- no,' Vance said a campaign event in Pennsylvania when a reporter asked what message Vance thought it sent to independent voters when he didn't directly answer the question 'Did Donald Trump lose in 2020?... I think there were serious problems in 2020. So did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use,' Vance said." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Neal Katyal in a New York Times op-ed: "In 2024, the judicial branch may be unable to save our democracy. The rogues are no longer amateurs. They have spent the last four years going pro, meticulously devising a strategy across multiple fronts -- state legislatures, Congress, executive branches and elected judges -- to overturn any close election. The new challenges will take place in forums that have increasingly purged officials who put country over party. They may take place against the backdrop of razor-thin election margins in key swing states, meaning that any successful challenge could change the election.... In the courts, dozens of suits have already been filed.... State officials and local election boards also can wreak havoc by refusing to certify elections, and this time they will have new tools to manufacture justifications for undermining democracy.... State legislatures ... might make baseless allegations of fraud and interfere to get a different slate of electors appointed to the Electoral College, as happened in 2020.... The Congress has the power to swing the entire election."

Spencer Hsu & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "A Supreme Court ruling in June dealt a blow to the Jan. 6 prosecutions: More than 100 of the people at the Capitol riot, the high court said, had been improperly charged with obstructing an official proceeding. But Donald Trump was not among them, because he did far more than interrupt the proceedings at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, special counsel Jack Smith asserted in a new filing Wednesday. In the filing -- the first time Smith has formally given his view of how the Supreme Court's decision in Fischer v. United States affects the Jan. 6 prosecution of the former president -- the special counsel pointed to what he alleges were efforts by Trump and his allies to have slates of electors in states where President Joe Biden won cast their vote instead for him. That, Smith argued, qualifies as impairment of evidence and obstruction of an official proceeding, even under the Supreme Court's new, narrower guidance." The NBC News report, by Ryan Reilly, is here.

Trump Offers Stormy Daniels More Hush Money. Megan Lebowitz of NBC News: "... Donald Trump this summer offered a financial incentive to adult film star Stormy Daniels if she agreed to keep quiet about Trump -- including about the relationship that became the center of the hush money payments that ended up the subject of a New York criminal trial -- ... MSNBC's Rachel Maddow reported on Wednesday.... In a [civil] case separate from the [criminal] hush money trial [in which Trump was convicted of 34 felonies], Daniels was ordered to pay for Trump's legal fees after she lost a defamation suit she filed against him. About two months after the hush money trial, Trump's lawyer told Daniels' representative that the former president would agree to a lower payment if she agreed not to make any disparaging comments about Trump.... In a statement to MSNBC, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung falsely asserted that the documents Maddow referenced 'were attained as part of an illegal, foreign hacking attack against President Trump and his team.'... MSNBC obtained the documents from Daniels' lawyer, not through a hack." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In October 2016, Donald Trump agreed to pay Stormy Daniels hush money, an agreement that eventually led to his conviction on 34 felony counts. Now, in October 2020, Trump has once again offered Daniels hush money. It isn't only that you can't teach an old dog new tricks; this old dog can't stop doing the old tricks. Here's Rachel Maddow reporting on her findings on last night's Chris Hayes show: ~~~

Okay, this is mighty gross opinionating, but I guess Trump deserves it: ~~~

Two stories from the "How Low Can They Go?" File Drawer: ~~~

⭐ 1. Anna Massoglia of Open Secrets: "An initiative called Progress 2028 that purports to be Kamala Harris' liberal counter to the conservative Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 is actually run by a dark money network supporting ... Donald Trump. Building America's Future, the dark money group at the helm of the network, has steered money to a constellation of groups and initiatives boosting Trump's agenda and spreading messaging aimed at chipping away voters from Harris. The dark money group reportedly received over $100 million in funding from billionaire Elon Musk, along with other donors, the New York Times recently reported.... Some of the policies listed in Progress 2028 highlight disproven and misleading claims about Harris' positions. Policies listed include 'Empowering Undocumented Immigrants, Building Our Future' and 'Expanding Medicaid to Undocumented Immigrants.'... Some individuals have received text messages directing them to the Progress 2028 page.... Progress 2028 has also started pouring money into digital advertising.... Building America's Future ... has a history of fueling initiatives impersonating and parodying Democrats."

2. David Corn of Mother Jones: "In Arizona, older people recently received a mailer declaring Medicare had been cancelled. It had a big red stamp that proclaimed, 'Medicare Cancellation Notice.' Also emblazoned on its front was this: 'Warning: Rates are going up & plans are being cancelled. Details enclosed.' Its return address was the 'Department of Medicare Cancellation, Kamala Harris Administration.' That return address should have been a tip-off that this was not an official notification -- along with a scrawled add-on in cursive: 'I hope you can afford to lose your insurance! -- Kamala Harris XOXO.' It's hard to know whether any recipient saw this and received a shock, fearing their Medicare was being cut off. But the group that sent out this official-looking piece of campaign literature, Make America Great Again, Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, was spreading false and misleading information about Medicare and about Harris.... MAGA, Inc. is the top pro-Trump super PAC."

Sam Woods in McSweeney's on the dilemma of the undecided Hobbit, torn "between the Dark Lord determined to return to power and stay there until shadows drown all of Arda, or the Elf Galadriel, who seems to be great and exceedingly normal, but I just wish I knew more about her."

Justin Jouvenal Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for a Biden administration plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants burning fossil fuels, denying an emergency appeal by more than two dozen Republican-led states, utilities and others.... The Biden administration said the plan was calibrated to avoid economic harm and problems for the electric grid, and that the rule would protect communities from pollution and help the nation meet long-term goals to combat climate change. The initiative is one of the administration's most significant actions on global warming.... As is customary, the majority of the justices did not give a reason as to why they denied the emergency request on carbon emissions from power plants. But a statement attached to the denial order indicates that some justices may be inclined to eventually block or strike down the power plant regulations." MB: Usual suspects (Thomas, Kavenaugh, Gorsuch), except Alito recused himself for no specified reason.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and matriarch of a political dynasty, was remembered on Wednesday by three presidents, star musicians and many, many relatives during a memorial service in Washington. President Biden eulogized Mrs. Kennedy, who died last Thursday at 96, as 'a hero in her own right, full of character, full of integrity and empathy, genuine empathy.' Growing emotional, Mr. Biden credited her for encouraging him to stay in the Senate after a car accident killed his first wife and infant daughter in 1972. 'Ethel Kennedy would hear none of it,' Mr. Biden said in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. 'Fact is, like she did for the country, Ethel helped my family find a way forward.'... Mr. Biden and two former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, gave speeches. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi honored Mrs. Kennedy 'from an official standpoint and from a girlfriend standpoint.' Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the civil rights leader, compared Mrs. Kennedy to his mother, saying she built 'beautiful bridges of greater understanding.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

California. Ruth Graham & Orlando Mayorquín of the New York Times: "The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, has agreed to pay $880 million to 1,353 people who say they were sexually abused as children by Catholic clergy. The settlement, which experts said was the highest single payout by a diocese, brings Los Angeles's cumulative total in sex abuse lawsuits to more than $1.5 billion. The settlement was announced on Wednesday in a joint statement by lawyers for the plaintiffs and the archdiocese.... The agreement represents the near conclusion to decades of litigation against the archdiocese, with only a few suits remaining. Over the years, the archdiocese has sold off real estate, liquidated investments and taken out loans to cover the staggering costs of litigation."

Georgia. Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "A Georgia judge [-- Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. --] on Wednesday blocked a series of rules approved this year by a pro-Trump majority of the state's election board, admonishing the board in stinging language that the rules are 'ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID.' The judge struck down more than a half-dozen new rules, including one that allowed county election officials to launch investigations of irregularities, which critics feared would delay certification." CNN's report is here.

Montana Senate Race. "Little Black Girls." Igor Bobic of the Huffington Post: "Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy of Montana wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, claiming it is meant to 'indoctrinate and enslave' students across the country, according to The Daily Montanan.... 'We formed that department so little Black girls could go to school down South and we could have integrated schooling. We don't need that anymore,' he [said].... [Sen. Jon] Tester [D-Mont.] slammed his GOP opponent and vowed to protect the public school system on Tuesday."

Texas Senate Race. Saul Elbein & Julia Mueller of the Hill have some takeaways from the debate between Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) & Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Allred is challenging Cruz for the Senate seat. (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Italy. Emma Bubola of the New York Times: "Italy passed a law on Wednesday that criminalizes seeking surrogacy abroad, a move the country's conservative government said would protect women's dignity, while critics see it as yet another crackdown by the government on L.G.B.T. families, as the law will make it virtually impossible for gay fathers to have children. Surrogacy is already illegal in Italy. But the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to broaden the ban to punish Italians who seek it in countries where it is legal, like in parts of the United States. Analysts saw the legislation as a way for Ms. Meloni to assert her conservative credentials and appeal to her political base, which disproportionately opposes surrogacy and adoption by gay couples. Italy, home to the Vatican, already ranks low in Europe when it comes to civil liberties, and Italian critics say that by imposing further restrictions on gay families, Ms. Meloni has taken a particularly hard line."

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in Israel's wars is here: "The United States carried out strikes in Yemen using long-range B-2 stealth bombers to target underground weapons storage facilities used by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militant group, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that there had been 'some improvement' in food aid delivery to northern Gaza in recent days, after no aid had entered for about two weeks and the Biden administration warned Israel that military aid could be affected if the flow of aid did not increase."

Ukraine, et al. Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden surged $425 million to Ukraine's defense against Russia on Wednesday.... Mr. Biden spoke by telephone to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine about the security package, which includes munitions, armored vehicles and other weapons, the White House announced. The package comes as Mr. Biden is set to travel to Germany on Thursday for a brief trip that is likely to be his last visit to Europe as commander in chief. He will use the opportunity to remind the world of the importance of alliances just three weeks before the U.S. presidential election." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Mitzi Gaynor, the bubbly actress, singer and dancer who landed one of the most coveted movie roles of the mid-20th century, the female lead in 'South Pacific,' but who abandoned film as the era of movie musical came to an end, died on Thursday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 93."

The Conversation -- October 16, 2024

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden surged $425 million to Ukraine's defense against Russia on Wednesday.... Mr. Biden spoke by telephone to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine about the security package, which includes munitions, armored vehicles and other weapons, the White House announced. The package comes as Mr. Biden is set to travel to Germany on Thursday for a brief trip that is likely to be his last visit to Europe as commander in chief. He will use the opportunity to remind the world of the importance of alliances just three weeks before the U.S. presidential election."

Michael Gold & Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump faced blunt, direct questions in both English and Spanish from undecided Hispanic voters throughout [a Univision] town hall, which will be broadcast [Wednesday] at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Men and women from across the country came to Univision's Miami-area studio in Doral, Fla., and questioned the former president's positions on climate change, gun control and abortion rights, and his baseless claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.... Mr. Trump kept his composure, avoiding the hostility he often exhibits when similarly questioned by the news media. But Mr. Trump did not directly engage with many of the thoughtful questions from these voters. Skirting specific answers, he retreated to his standard campaign language, often talking up the achievements of his administration and making vague promises for the future.... When Mr. Trump was asked about immigration, a central issue of his presidential campaign this year, he also remained vague about his policy plans. In front of an audience of about 100 Latino voters, he did not once mention his pledge to undertake the largest deportation operation in American history."

Hadas Gold & Liam Reilly of CNN: "Fox News hosted an all-women town hall with ... Donald Trump, billed as an opportunity for female voters to ask the Republican candidate questions that matter to them. The Georgia town hall, where Trump took questions on reproductive laws, transgender rights and other issues, aired Wednesday morning. But Fox News did not disclose that the female audience it selected for the event was packed with local Republican supporters and the network edited its broadcast to remove some of their vocal advocacy of Trump. The Georgia Federation of Republican Women wrote on its Facebook page Wednesday that the group helped host the event,posting photos from the venue and writing they were 'Super excited for the opportunity of hosting this event right here in Georgia!'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh noes! I think this mean that CNN should lose its broadcast license the way Trump says CBS should lose its because "60 Minutes" did a few industry-wide standard edits. (Never mind that CNN is not a broadcast network & the CBS network doesn't have a broadcast license [its owned-and-operated stations & affiliates do]). ~~~

~~~ Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump declared himself the 'father of I.V.F.' in a town-hall event Tuesday focused on women's issues, an eyebrow-raising nickname that was his latest attempt to claim an advantage on a matter that has become a political liability. The Supreme Court justices Mr. Trump appointed enabled the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a ruling that he has praised and that opened the door to possible restrictions on in vitro fertilization.... Congressional Republicans have voted twice in the past four months to block bills that would protect the legality of I.V.F.... Mr. Trump said, as he has before, that he learned how significant the Alabama Supreme Court ruling was from Katie Britt, the state's junior senator and a Republican.... He added that he had asked Ms. Britt to explain to him what I.V.F. was before concluding that he supported it." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The first IVF baby was born in 1978. Donald Trump admits he didn't know what IVF was until last year when Britt became a U.S. senator. Forty-five years later. He is the "father of IVF" the way he is the historian who discovered Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. He thinks that when he occasionally learns something he didn't know before (even if millions of other people knew it), that he invented it. When the shrinks are writing down the symptoms of narcissism, they should add this one.

Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said Wednesday that former President Trump did not lose in 2020 'by the words that I would use' -- some of his most extensive comments yet on the subject of the last presidential election results. 'First of all, on the election of 2020 -- I've answered this question directly, a million times -- no,' Vance said a campaign event in Pennsylvania when a reporter asked what message Vance thought it sent to independent voters when he didn't directly answer the question 'Did Donald Trump lose in 2020?... I think there were serious problems in 2020. So did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use,' Vance said."

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Jimmy Carter, who turned 100 on Oct. 1 and has been in hospice care since February 2023, submitted his absentee ballot on Wednesday, according to Jason Carter, the former president's grandson. Jason Carter, the chairman of the Carter Center, said in a text message on Wednesday that his grandfather's ballot had been deposited at a drop box at a local courthouse. For weeks, according to the Carter family, the former president was privately playing down becoming a centenarian. Instead, Mr. Carter's relatives said, he was most eager about voting for Vice President Kamala Harris."

Here's Rep. Colin Allred, (D-Texas) who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, answering a moderator's question about January 6, 2021, in the only debate between the two: ~~~

~~~ Saul Elbein & Julia Mueller of the Hill have some takeaways from the debate.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Nicholas Nehamas & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris agreed on Tuesday with the radio host Charlamagne Tha God that former President Donald J. Trump was a fascist, going a step further than she had before in casting her Republican rival as a dangerous authoritarian leader. During a free-flowing interview that often spoke to the concerns of Black Americans, Ms. Harris was contrasting her vision for the nation with Mr. Trump's when Charlamagne jumped in to say: 'The other is about fascism. Why can't we just say it?' 'Yes, we can say that,' Ms. Harris replied.... Here are five takeaways from the interview."

Zach Montague & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, joined the pitched electoral struggle over Pennsylvania on Tuesday, fanning out with three appearances across the Philadelphia area intended to aid Vice President Kamala Harris in what may be the most consequential swing state. While his wife helped staff a phone bank across town, Mr. Biden joined a dinner held by the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee at the local sheet metal workers' union hall, where he revved up attendees with a punchy speech and unleashed a long list of attacks against ... Donald J. Trump.... But as often as Mr. Biden sought to contrast his record with Mr. Trump's, he carefully tacked back several times to express support for Ms. Harris. He compared her to himself in growing out of his role as former President Barack Obama's running mate, seeking to support her without defining her in his own unpopular image."

Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times: "Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, wearing a camouflage baseball cap and red-and-black plaid flannel, took the stage on Tuesday as the skies cleared on a muddy farm in Lawrence County, Pa.... 'Been a lot of talk about outsiders coming in, coming into rural communities, stealing our jobs, making life worse for the people who are living there,' he said, alluding to [Republicans'] hostile remarks about immigrants.... 'Those outsiders have names. They're Donald Trump and JD Vance,' he said, eliciting laughter and a few whistles from the audience. The event on Tuesday was part of a Wisconsin and Pennsylvania swing that Mr. Walz used to unveil his ticket's plans to address the needs of rural voters.... The Harris-Walz plan promises to expand telemedicine, increase the number of ambulances and add 10,000 health care professionals in rural areas. It also includes efforts to increase access to credit for small- and midsize farmers and producers, to lower the cost of child care and to spur new construction to lower housing costs." Trump continued his "enemy within" refrain.

Marie: What Tim Walz says in the video below is along the lines of what I was thinking yesterday when I read about Trump's townhall abdication. His behavior was "bizarre" only in the sense it was, well, bizarre. For Trump, his pathetic dance party was completely in character and not at all atypical. He does what he wants when he wants to, no matter what his obligations. If what he wants to do is inconvenient or difficult or cruel or even dangerous to others, so what? So whether he wants to cancel a town hall after taking only a few questions, or leave thousands of supporters stranded in the desert, as long as it suits him, it's all good. ~~~

Lisa Lerer & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump is pushing to the forefront of his campaign a menacing political threat: that he would use the power of the presidency to crush those who disagree with him. In a Fox News interview on Sunday, Mr. Trump framed Democrats as a pernicious 'enemy from within' that would cause chaos on Election Day that he speculated the National Guard might need to handle. A day later, he closed his remarks to a crowd at what was billed as a town hall in Pennsylvania with a stark message about his political opponents. 'They are so bad and frankly, they're evil,' Mr. Trump said.... And on Tuesday, he once again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power when pressed by an interviewer at an economic forum in Chicago.... Never before has a presidential nominee -- let alone a former president -- openly suggested turning the military on American citizens simply because they oppose his candidacy. As he escalates his threats of political retribution, Mr. Trump is offering voters the choice of a very different, and far less democratic, form of American government." ~~~

     ~~~ David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump clashed with Bloomberg Editor-In-Chief John Micklethwait after the former president claimed to have had a peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 election.... 'If you look at the events of January the 6th, 2021, it showed to many people America's democracy was unruly and violent,' [Micklethwait] said. 'Will you commit now to respecting and encouraging a peaceful transfer of power?' 'You had a peaceful transfer of power,' Trump insisted. 'Come on, President Trump!' Micklethwait exclaimed. 'You had a peaceful transfer of power compared with Venezuela, but it was by far the worst transfer of power for a long time.'"

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "When he was president, Donald J. Trump grew incensed that former Secretary of State John Kerry still talked with foreign officials after leaving office -- so much so, in fact, that he tried to have Mr. Kerry thrown in prison.... In meeting after meeting, [Mr. Trump] repeatedly badgered Attorney General William P. Barr to charge Mr. Kerry.... But ... Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that it would be 'a good thing' for him to have stayed in touch with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. The former president and current Republican nominee did not explicitly acknowledge talking with Mr. Putin over the past four years, as reported in a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward. But he did not dispute it, either, when asked during an appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One big difference between Kerry's contact with foreign officials and Trump's, according to previous stories I've read: Kerry kept in contact with the State Department about his talks; Trump is keeping his little chats with Putin secret.

Alan Rappeport & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has been offering up new tax cuts to nearly every group of voters that he meets in recent weeks.... On Tuesday, Mr. Trump made clear that he was unfazed by [criticism of his careless promises] and offered a one-word solution: growth. Despite the doubts of economists from across the political spectrum, Mr. Trump said that he would just juice the economy by the force of his will and scoffed at suggestions that his pledges to abolish taxes on overtime, tips and Social Security benefits could cost as much as $15 trillion. 'I was always very good at mathematics,' Mr. Trump told John Micklethwait, the editor in chief of Bloomberg News, in an interview at the Economic Club of Chicago.... Mr. Trump maintained that the threat of draconian tariffs would be the centerpiece of his economic agenda ... and denied the possibility that the tariffs would hurt American businesses.... Asked to explain how his ideas all added up, Mr. Trump praised his [own] math skills and lashed out at Mr. Micklethwait for appearing skeptical. 'You've been wrong all your life,' Mr. Trump said." The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What's remarkable here is that Trump seems to have no idea that "math skills" have almost nothing to do with developing sound macroeconomic policy. You could be tops at calculus and have no idea about supply & demand curves or monetary policy. Whatever Trump's grades in high-school algebra 65 years ago, they do not suggest he would be good at steering economic policy. In fact, the evidence of his own irresponsible proposals, along with his lifelong refusal to accept the advice of others ("my primary consultant is myself") mitigates against his ever initiating wise fiscal policy. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: AND Another Thing. According to her NYT page, Ana Swanson "cover[s] trade and international economics." So you might think the article she co-wrote where they cover Trump's proposed tariffs would, you know, do some pushback. But no. The reporters do call Trump's tariffs "draconian" and "punishing," but here's their "analysis": "Many economists have said those moves [i.e., imposing high tariffs] would push up prices for American households and could even threaten to cause a recession in the United States. When confronted with those criticisms on Tuesday, Mr. Trump disagreed with the idea that tariffs would push up prices for American consumers." So some anonymous economists are critical, but hey, Trump disagrees. Both Fucking Sides. The WashPo does much better: ~~~

~~~ Jeff Stein & David Lynch of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is campaigning on the most significant increase in tariffs in close to a century, preparing an attack on the international trade order that is likely to raise prices, hurt the stock market and spark economic feuds with much of the world.... These proposals would go far beyond the disruptive trade wars of his first term even if they are only partially implemented. They would wrench the nation out of the system of global interdependence that arose in recent decades, making the U.S. economy much more isolated and autonomous, like it was in the late 19th century. (Trump last week falsely claimed that the United States was never richer than in the 1890s, when it had high trade barriers.)... Americans would be hit by higher prices for grocery staples from abroad, such as fruit, vegetables and coffee. Domestic firms dependent on imports would need to either figure out new supply chains or raise costs for consumers. U.S. manufacturers would almost certainly see sharp declines in orders from abroad as foreign nations impose retaliatory tariffs." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah, but maybe the voting public has figured this out by now, so no use reiterating it. Really? According to Stein & Lynch, "More than half of registered voters said they would be more likely to back a candidate who supported imposing both a 10 percent tariff on all imports and a 60 percent tariff on imports from China, according to a mid-September Reuters-Ipsos poll." That is, the majority of voters think Trump tariffs are a great idea.

Liam Reilly of CNN: "Donald Trump has backed out of an interview with CNBC, marking the second time this month the former president has canceled on a mainstream press interview. Joe Kernen, the 'Squawk Box' co-anchor, broke the news of the unannounced interview's cancellation during Tuesday morning's broadcast. Kernen added that the network had also offered to sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris, but said 'she's not coming on.'" ~~~

~~~ Aaron Rupar of Public Notice: Donald Trump's "campaign undoubtedly realizes his rapidly degrading condition doesn't play well with audiences beyond the MAGA cult. As a result, they're retreating to the safer terrain of nonstop rallies and fawning Fox hits.... By any objective standard, Trump's Economic Club of Chicago interview ... a rare event that wasn't a festival of sycophancy ... was a disaster.... Trump repeatedly refused to answer questions [Bloomberg editor John] Micklethwait asked him, instead going on self-absorbed rants about how Google is unfair to him or about how he could do a better job as Federal Reserve chairman than Jerome Powell.... Trump's campaign events this week have made clear that something is just off about the guy as he hustles around the country in hopes of becoming the oldest president in history.... Then..., Trump traveled down to Atlanta for a low energy rally where he seemed to have trouble stringing together cogent sentences when he wasn't reading from the teleprompter.... At other points, Trump barely seemed able to get words out....

"Trump, however, reliably gets help from a mainstream press that too often sanewashes his speeches.... he New York Times, for instance, described Trump as 'swaying soberly' during his musical 'detour' in Pennsylvania, adding that he's known 'for improvisational departures.' The WSJ's headline about the event read 'Trump's Pennsylvania Town Hall Ends in Concert,' as though the plan all along was to have Trump behave like a maniac. ABC News' TV report on the bizarre spectacle was even worse, with a reporter praising the 'almost intimate' atmosphere and noting 'people were having a good time. It did not seem out of the ordinary.' (It was very much out of the ordinary.)"

Marie: If you are still thinking Trump must have been crazy to abandon his town hall & sway to his Spotify playlist for the better part of an hour, maybe not. Philip Bump of the Washington Post repeats Trump's "answer" -- in full -- to one of the few prescreened questions that made it pre-dance-off. A woman asked how Trump proposed to lower her grocery bill. Trump's response is lengthy and is apparently one of his "genius weaves" that unfortunately never weaves itself around one single element of his "concept of a plan" to reduce the high cost of grocery items. On the other hand, Trump does get to Hannibal Lecter, immigration, fake news, his great poll numbers and an appeal to everyone to vote on January 5. As for me, I definitely hope all of Trump's supporters wait till January 5 to vote.

Maya King of the New York Times: On Tuesday, Donald "Trump fielded questions from an audience of all women in Cumming, Ga., an Atlanta exurb an hour north of the city. Roughly 110 women from local churches and mothers' groups attended, according to a spokeswoman for Fox News. The women who asked him questions introduced themselves as Georgia residents and posed questions about his plans for the economy, public safety and immigration. Mr. Trump responded with a range of promises about what he would do if sent back to the White House, including pledges to lower energy prices by 50 percent, expand the child tax credit and outlaw sanctuary cities. [Fox News anchor Harris] Faulkner asked several follow-up questions after Mr. Trump made these claims, but he rarely specified how he would achieve his policy goals.... The group of women seemed overwhelmingly supportive of Mr. Trump, laughing at his jokes and cheering as he condemned Democrats."

Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: "With three weeks left until Election Day, Trump is running an unorthodox, freewheeling campaign, directing threats and insults at a wide mix of people and institutions, pushing his travels deeper into Democratic states..., and wielding darkening rhetoric about undocumented immigrants and personal attacks against [Vice President] Harris at campaign events where he often veers off-script and has mixed up words.... Trump went online after midnight Tuesday to brag about acing cognitive exams he never released and his cholesterol, then misleadingly called ... Harris's allergies a 'dangerous situation.' By midday he was meandering through an interview in which he would not directly say whether he would allow a peaceful transfer of power after the election and later complained about Fox News having a Harris aide on air."

At a campaign event in Arizona on Sunday, Donald Trump introduced the Azure-Asians in the crowd. This confused many observers, including Jimmy Kimmel, who wondered why a man who hates ethnic minorities would invent a new one. But Aaron Rupar noticed that a number of people at the rally were wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Assyrians for Trump." So Mesopotamia. Not, say, Blue-toned Pakistanis.

"Sweeping Pronouncements." Peter Bergen of CNN: "Typically, in [Bob] Woodward's books, he lets his reporting speak for itself and doesn't make sweeping pronouncements that tell the reader about his own conclusions, but 'War' is different. Woodward, who has covered every president since Nixon, writes that Trump is 'not only the wrong man for the presidency, he is also unfit to lead the country. Trump was far worse than Richard Nixon, the provably criminal president.... Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president in American history.' Ouch! By contrast, the final sentence of 'War' asserts, 'Based on the evidence available now, I believe President Biden and this team will be largely studied in history as an example of steady and purposeful leadership.'"

Clara Morse & Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "Billionaire Elon Musk gave nearly $75 million to the political action committee he created to campaign for Donald Trump, marking his latest contribution in support of the former president in the final stretch of the campaign.... Miriam Adelson, a doctor and the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, donated $95 million to Preserve America PAC between July and September. The PAC, which is primarily funded by Adelson, has been one of the largest pro-Trump advertising super PACs this election cycle."

John Ismay of the New York Times: "The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that more than 800 service members who were kicked out of the military under the now-repealed 'don't ask, don't tell' policy will receive honorable discharge upgrades. Pentagon officials said they had completed a review of about 2,000 cases, as Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered last year. Mr. Austin said in a statement that the military would 'continue to honor the service and the sacrifice of all our troops -- including the brave Americans who raised their hands to serve but were turned away because of whom they love.'... People who leave the military without honorable discharges usually suffer some loss of benefits they would have been eligible to receive through the Department of Veterans Affairs, including educational benefits and health care through the V.A.'s nationwide network of hospitals and clinics....

"A Pentagon official ... said that 97 percent of the roughly 9,000 men and women kicked out under 'don't ask, don't tell' who had served long enough to be eligible for honorable discharges had now received them. The official said that there were no formal plans to look into additional cases, but that anyone who was discharged because of their sexual orientation was still eligible to apply for a review to potentially have their status upgraded."

Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: "The Small Business Administration has run out of funds to provide low-interest loans to homeowners and businesses to repair property damaged by disasters, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. The drawdown of funds comes as residents across the Southeast are still recovering from the destructive impacts of Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Federal officials urged eligible people to continue to apply for loans, which they would continue to process while they wait for lawmakers to pass 'much-needed funding.' But Congress is not set to reconvene until Nov. 12, and congressional leaders have not committed to calling members back sooner to approve more funding for the S.B.A. or the Federal Emergency Management Agency."

When the Obituary Is the Story. Alex Traub of the New York Times: "Megan Marshack, who as a young aide to Nelson A. Rockefeller found herself at the center of sensational conjecture about the circumstances of his sudden death in 1979, died on Oct. 2 in Sacramento. She was 70. Her death, at a live-in medical facility, was announced in an obituary that her brother, Jon Marshack, said she had written herself last year.... The obituary represented Ms. Marshack's first public comment about Mr. Rockefeller, the former Republican vice president and New York governor, since she witnessed his death, also at 70, on Jan. 26, 1979. Ms. Marshack, who was widely believed to have been romantically involved with Mr. Rockefeller, had for decades remained silent about the circumstances of the death.... Ms. Marshack's self-written obituary disclosed some previously unreported details about her association with Mr. Rockefeller but did not mention a romance -- although it ended suggestively, quoting from the 1975 musical 'A Chorus Line.' Ms. Marshack wrote that she 'won't forget, can't regret what I did for love.'"

Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "Walgreens plans to close about 1,200 stores over the next three years, its parent company said on Tuesday, in an effort by the struggling pharmacy giant to cut costs and change focus.... There are more than 8,000 Walgreens stores in the United States, [the CEO of the chain's parent company] said, and about 6,000 of those stores were profitable."

~~~~~~~~~~

Georgia. Jason Morris, et al., of CNN: "A record number of early votes have been cast in Georgia on Tuesday as residents headed to the polls in a critical battleground state that is grappling with the fallout from Hurricane Helene and controversial election administration changes that have spurred a flurry of lawsuits. More than 328,000 ballots were cast Tuesday, Gabe Sterling of the Georgia secretary of state's office said on X. 'So with the record breaking 1st day of early voting and accepted absentees we have had over 328,000 total votes cast so far,' he said. The previous first day record was 136,000 in 2020, Sterling said." ~~~

~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A county judge in Georgia on Tuesday blocked a new rule mandating a hand count of election ballots across the state. Enacting such a sweeping change for the November election, he said, was 'too much, too late.' Judge Robert C.I. McBurney did not, however, knock down the rule outright; his decision was confined to the current election, halting the rule from taking effect for 2024 while he further weighs its merits.... The rule was one of many new election provisions approved in Georgia since summer that hewed closely to policy goals of right-wing election activists. It was a key achievement of the State Election Board, which has recently been governed by a 3-2 right-wing majority." The NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A county judge [-- Robert C.I. McBurney --] in Georgia has rejected an argument by allies of ... Donald J. Trump that local election officials have the power to refuse to certify election results, finding the process to be mandatory and one that must meet critical deadlines. The ruling cuts at the heart of a key argument from right-wing activists following the 2020 election, when Mr. Trump sought to disrupt the certification process as part of his bid to subvert the results. In years since, right-wing groups have been seeking much broader authority and power over the certification process, an ambitious -- and legally dubious -- attempt to reimagine decades of settled law." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Israel's wars are here: "Israel's military carried out airstrikes early Wednesday in Hezbollah-dominated areas in southern Lebanon and outside Beirut. They were Israel's first attacks in days near the Lebanese capital and came a day after the United States said that it had expressed concerns about the scale of Israel's weekslong bombardment there. The strikes in southern Lebanon hit municipal buildings in Nabatieh and killed at least five people, including the city's mayor, Lebanese officials said. The Israeli military said that it had struck Hezbollah targets in and around Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon, many of whose residents have fled after recent Israeli evacuation warnings." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates Wednesday are here.

Michael Crowley & David Sanger of the New York Times: "The Biden administration warned Israel over the weekend that a failure to allow the delivery of more humanitarian aid within 30 days to the nearly two million people trapped in Gaza could trigger a cutoff of military aid, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The sharply worded warning was sent on Sunday in a letter signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, rather than President Biden. It was addressed to Israel's minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, and its minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer. The decision not to put the letter in Mr. Biden's name, some aides said, may provide a level of insulation for Vice President Kamala Harris, who as the Democratic nominee for president has walked a fine line, declining to issue any threats to Israel even while urging that the war must end quickly, in part to end the 'heartbreaking' loss of Palestinian lives."

Ephrat Livni & Johnatan Reiss of the New York Times: "Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Israeli government to explain why there appears to be no comprehensive system in place to facilitate evacuations of sick Gazans who are not involved in the Hamas-Israel war to other countries for needed treatment. The order stems from a petition filed by three Israeli human rights groups in early June, following the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after the Israeli military began assaulting the area in May."

Ides of October 2024

Trump appears lost, confused, and frozen on stage as multiple songs play for 30+ minutes and the crowd pours out of the venue early pic.twitter.com/6r0TE2qCYM

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 15, 2024

Georgia. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A county judge [--Robert C.I. McBurney --] in Georgia has rejected an argument by allies of ... Donald J. Trump that local election officials have the power to refuse to certify election results, finding the process to be mandatory and one that must meet critical deadlines. The ruling cuts at the heart of a key argument from right-wing activists following the 2020 election, when Mr. Trump sought to disrupt the certification process as part of his bid to subvert the results. In years since, right-wing groups have been seeking much broader authority and power over the certification process, an ambitious -- and legally dubious -- attempt to reimagine decades of settled law."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged. -- Kamala Harris, at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania ~~~

~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: "... at a packed campaign rally on Monday night in Erie, Pa..., for Vice President Kamala Harris..., [she used] Mr. Trump's own words as her campaign amplified warnings of the dangers she says he poses should he win a second term in the White House. Ms. Harris pulled few punches as she portrayed her Republican opponent as an authoritarian obsessed with his own power, pointing to Mr. Trump's recent rallies and media appearances where he has asserted that his Democratic detractors were the 'enemy from within,' more dangerous than foreign adversaries like Russia and China, and that they 'should be put in jail.'... In a striking moment, Ms. Harris told the crowd of 6,000 that they didn't have to take her word for it, that she had an example of his 'worldview and intentions.... Please -- roll the clip,' she said as the crowd groaned and gasped as Mr. Trump's face flashed on screens. 'He's talking about the enemy within our country, Pennsylvania,' Ms. Harris said to a jeering crowd. 'He's talking about that he considers anyone who doesn't support him, or who will not bend to his will, an enemy of our country'." The AP's report is here.

Erica Green & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris made a sweeping push on Monday to energize Black voters, among whom she faces slipping support, unveiling a plan to bolster the finances of Black men, appearing in interviews with two Black media outlets and releasing a pair of ads in battleground states targeted to that crucial voting group. Taken together, Ms. Harris's blitz put forward a broad argument that her administration would deliver meaningful policy changes for Black Americans and that ... Donald J. Trump was making empty promises that contradict his history of racist remarks.... The plan, called the 'Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,' expands upon Ms. Harris's 'opportunity economy' pitch, building upon efforts to address the unique barriers that the demographic faces in starting businesses and building wealth."

Look Who's Not Afraid of the Big Bad Fox. Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to an interview with Fox News, the network said on Monday. The interview, with Fox News's chief political anchor, Bret Baier, will take place near Philadelphia on Wednesday, shortly before it airs at 6 p.m. Eastern on Mr. Baier's program, 'Special Report.' Ms. Harris is expected to sit for 25 to 30 minutes of questions, the network said. This is Ms. Harris's first formal interview with Fox News, whose day-to-day programming is heavy on conservative punditry that often explicitly supports ... Donald J. Trump." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's hoping Harris brings to the Fox interview some of the receipts Rachel Maddow featured last night; video below.

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz warned a crowd of supporters [at a rally in Wisconsin Monday] that ... Donald Trump was talking about them when denouncing 'the enemy from within.'... 'Donald Trump, over the weekend, was talking about using the U.S. Army against people who disagree with him. Just so you're clear about that, that's you. That's what he's talking about.... He called it "the enemy within." And to Donald Trump, anybody who doesn't agree with him is the enemy. I tell you that not to make you fearful or anything. I tell you that because we need to whip his butt and put this guy behind us.'...

At a rally in Colorado on Friday, Trump floated the idea of using the military on U.S. citizens. 'We have the greatest military in the world, but you have to know how to use them,' he said. 'It's the enemy from within. All the scum that we have to deal with that hate our country. That's a bigger enemy than China and Russia!' He reiterated the idea Sunday on Fox News. 'We have some sick people, radical left lunatics,' the former president stated. 'It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or if really necessary by the military.'"

Listen to Walz pull out the stops: ~~~

In her lead segment last night, Rachel Maddow got to wondering about people who say that "business" or "the economy" are their main reasons they're voting for Donald Trump:

Some Things Donald Trump Has Lost: (1) Dozens of Court Cases; (2) 2020 Presidential Election; (3) His Marbles: ~~~

~~~ Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump was about 30 minutes into a town hall Monday night in suburban Philadelphia when a medical emergency in the crowd brought the questions and answers to a halt. Moments later, he tried to get back on track, when another medical incident seemed to derail things, this time for good. And so ... rather than try to restart the political program, he seemed to decide in the moment that it would be more enjoyable for all concerned -- and, it appeared, for himself -- to just listen to music instead. Mr. Trump had his staff fire up his campaign playlist, standing on the stage for about half an hour and swaying to songs as his crowd slowly dwindled. He bobbed his head through the Village People's 'Y.M.C.A.'.... He swayed soberly to Rufus Wainwright's version of 'Hallelujah,' watched a Sinead O'Connor video, rocked along to Elvis, watched the crowd during 'Rich Men North of Richmond' and then, finally, left the stage to shake hands on his way out during one last song." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post headline calls Trump's dance party "a bizarre town hall episode." Meanwhile, the AP report treats the incident as sort of standard Trump. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So according to the Times, Trump spent half-an-hour of a supposed town hall bobbing his head. And he brags about his "genius" "weave." Yet the the same paper of record ran a headline accusing Harris of bobbing and weaving?

David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement, republished by the Raw Story: "After a weekend of speeches dehumanizing immigrants and threatening to use the U.S. military on Americans who oppose him, Donald Trump in a 1 AM dead of night post lashed out at his Democratic presidential opponent in what some are saying was projection. 'I believe it is very important that Kamala Harris pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at 1:12 AM. 'Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her. Even 60 Minutes and CBS, in order to protect Lyin' Kamala, illegally and unscrupulously replaced an answer she had given, which was totally "bonkers," with another answer that had nothing to do with the question asked. Also, she is slow and lethargic in answering even the easiest of questions....' Late Monday morning Trump posted the same message on the social media site X....

"The Harris campaign mocked Trump in response. 'Trump posts at 1:12am that VP Harris must take a cognitive test,' wrote campaign spokesperson Ian Sams. 'As he refuses to release his medical records, sit with 60 Minutes, or debate her again -- instead retreating solely to rambling rallies where he's increasingly making no sense.'"

     ~~~ Marie: I doubt that Harris has taken a cognitive test. There's a reason for that. Unless a person shows signs of cognitive decline, these tests are usually reserved for people aged 65 & older, when Medicare kicks in. Harris is 59. Trump has taken the tests several times (by his own admission) because he's old and/or because his doctors suspected he was losing it. He's making a mistake to emphasize that by demanding that Harris take a test commonly reserved for the elderly and afflicted.

Aaron Navarro of CBS News: "More than 230 doctors, nurses and health care professionals, most of whom are backing Vice President Kamala Harris, are calling on ... Donald Trump to release his medical records, arguing that he should be transparent about his health 'given his advancing age.... Trump is falling concerningly short of any standard of fitness for office and displaying alarming characteristics of declining acuity,; the 238 signatories wrote in a letter dated Oct. 13 and first obtained by CBS News. 'In the limited opportunities we can examine his behavior, he's providing a deeply concerning snapshot.'...

"Harris again called on Trump to release details about his health in an interview released on Monday. 'I put out my medical records. He won't put out his medical records. And you have to ask, why is this staff doing that? And it may be because they think he's just not ready, and [is] unfit and unstable and should not have that level of transparency for the American people,' Harris told journalist Roland Martin in an interview for his Black Star Network."

Aurora is not a war zone, and the pleasant 1.2 mile autumn walk [I took] through a mixture of neighborhoods, park, etc. was lovely.... It's a very rich environment. I can walk to a mosque, buy treats at an Armenian bakery, get my middle eastern staples at an Iraqi store, observe African prayer services, and even a Mexican wedding with mariachi band at the corner park, etc. etc. Oh, and people keep their dogs and cats under supervision as (native) coyotes might be in need of a meal. -- Aurora, Colorado, according to Linda from Denver, writing in yesterday's Comments

[Donald] Trump painted a picture of [Aurora] apartment complexes overrun by 'barbaric thugs' and streets unsafe to travel, blaming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.... 'They're ruining your state,' Trump said.... 'No person who has inflicted the violence and terror that Kamala Harris has inflicted on this community can ever be allowed to become the president of the United States,' Trump added. Trump often used dehumanizing language, referring to ... migrants as 'animals' who have 'invaded and conquered' Aurora. The town is 'infected by Venezuela,' he said. -- Associated Press

Hmmm. So a person who follows Reality Chex can walk around Aurora freely and enjoy the street life. But a Trump follower would be afraid to step onto the curb. Looks like I am your protector. -- Marie

Bill Barrow of the AP: "Donald Trump insists that Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page blueprint for a hard-right turn in American government and society, does not reflect his priorities for a White House encore. 'I haven't read it. I don't want to read it -- purposefully,' the Republican presidential nominee said Sept. 10 on the debate stage. Yet from economics, immigration and education policy to civil rights and foreign affairs, there are common ideas and shared ideology between Project 2025 and Trump's outline for another term -- from his official 'Agenda 47' slate, the Republican platform he personally approved and his other statements.... Here's a look at how Trump's 2024 campaign and Project 2025 align and deviate[.]" MB: Where Barrow notes the two differ: Trump likes Russia; Project 2025 backs Ukraine. So Trump is worse than Project 2025.

About Those Corrupt Trump Pardons. Ken Vogel & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "A Florida man who received a commutation of a 20-year fraud sentence from ... Donald J. Trump in 2020 -- only to plead guilty this year to a related crime -- was arrested on Sunday on domestic violence-related charges in South Florida. The man, Philip Esformes, was charged with two felony counts that could result in jail time and fines if he were convicted, according to a public records database maintained by Miami-Dade County. Mr. Esformes is at least the seventh person granted clemency by Mr. Trump who has been charged with new crimes after receiving a second chance, according to a New York Times analysis. Mr. Esformes is also the third known recipient of a clemency grant from Mr. Trump to be charged with a domestic violence-related offense."

Claire Moses of the New York Times: "Lilly Ledbetter, whose lawsuit against her employer paved the way for the Fair Pay Act of 2009 and who dedicated decades of her life to fighting for equal pay, died in Alabama on Saturday, her family said in a statement. She was 86." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Is it surprising that this savage fuck grew up to head the NRA? ~~~

~~~ Stephanie Kirchgaessner of the Guardian: "Douglas Hamlin, who was appointed to lead the NRA this summer in the wake of a long-running corruption scandal at the gun rights group, was involved decades ago in the sadistic killing of a fraternity house cat named BK, according to several local media reports at the time. Hamlin pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty brought against him and four of his fraternity brothers in 1980, when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The charge was brought against Hamlin under a local Ann Arbor ordinance. All five members of Alpha Delta Phi were later expelled from the fraternity. The details of the case, described in local media reports at the time, are gruesome. The house cat was captured, its paws were cut off, and was then strung up and set on fire. The killing, which occurred in December 1979, was allegedly prompted by anger that the cat was not using its litterbox."

~~~~~~~~~~

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Republican allies of former President Trump have embarked on a sweeping effort to restrict voting and purge voter rolls across the country since the 2020 election.... A review of the voting landscape by The Hill shows the breadth of efforts carried out at the state and local level, where GOP officials have adopted a number of measures to increase partisan control of elections and secure greater opportunities to audit results and hinder certification. They've also launched a series of lawsuits or other challenges seeking to cull voter rolls, sparking fears that bids to remove tens of thousands from the list will inevitably remove qualified voters."

Florida. Geoff Mulvihill of the AP: "Florida's government is finding fault on multiple fronts with an abortion rights ballot measure that Gov. Ron DeSantis opposes. This month, the state health department has been telling television stations they could be subject to criminal charges if they continue airing one ad from Floridians Protecting Freedom that the government says is untrue and creates a 'sanitary nuisance.' The ad has continued to run anyway. Separately, on Friday, the Office of Election Crimes and Security issued a report claiming a 'large number of forged signatures or fraudulent petitions' were submitted to get the question on the ballot. The state also announced a $328,000 fine against the ballot-measure group. The campaign director for the group says that the campaign has been 'above board' and that the state government is acting improperly to try to defeat the amendment."

North Carolina. Terence McGinley of the New York Times: "A North Carolina man was arrested on Saturday and accused of threatening federal emergency responders who have been administering aid since Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of the state last month. The man, William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic, N.C., was charged under a law that makes it illegal to carry a weapon in a way that threatens the public. He was arrested at a supermarket where a Federal Emergency Management Agency bus was parked.... Mr. Parsons had a handgun and a rifle in his possession. No FEMA personnel were at the site.... The man was overheard voicing threats at a gas station in neighboring Polk County, and either a station clerk or a customer alerted U.S. Army soldiers nearby, [a Rutherford County Sheriff's spokesman] said. The Army informed the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, whose deputies visited the gas station and obtained a description of the man's vehicle. That information led them to Mr. Parsons at the supermarket....

"Social media pages that appear to be run by Mr. Parsons feature messages supporting Mr. Trump and opposing coronavirus vaccines. One of the posts from 2020 shows the logo of the Three Percenters right-wing militia group and the message 'When tyranny becomes law, rebellion is order.'" CNN's report is here.

Texas Senate Race. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) vented his frustration with the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), for not spending any money in his competitive reelection race, accusing McConnell of using the group to 'punish' his critics in the Senate GOP conference.... Asked if McConnell or the PAC had put any money into his increasingly close race against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred (Texas), Cruz replied: 'Not a penny.' ... [Cruz] said the same thing happened in 2018, when he barely beat Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), who outspent him by a large margin."

~~~~~~~~~~

Canada/India. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "Canada accused the Indian government on Monday of homicide and extortion intended to silence critics of India living in Canada, escalating a bitter dispute that began last year with an assassination of a Sikh activist. Canada expelled India's top diplomat and five others, saying they were part of a vast criminal network. India reciprocated, expelling six Canadian diplomats. The two countries have been in an intense dispute following the assassination in Canada of a prominent Sikh cleric, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that his killing had been orchestrated by the Indian government. Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside India, where the religious minority lives mostly in the northwestern state of Punjab. The Indian government says that some Sikhs in Canada are actively involved in a secessionist movement that seeks to carve a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan out of India."

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in Israel's wars are here: "A top U.N. humanitarian official condemned an Israeli strike on a hospital compound in central Gaza, which set tents ablaze and killed at least four people. The Israel Defense Forces said the strike was targeting Hamas militant infrastructure." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates Tuesday are here.

Shira Rubin & Ellen Nakashima of the New York Times: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Biden administration he is willing to strike military rather than oil or nuclear facilities in Iran, according to two officials familiar with the matter, suggesting a more limited counterstrike aimed at preventing a full-scale war."

AP: "More than 400,000 children in Lebanon have been displaced in the past three weeks..., [Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's deputy executive director for humanitarian actions] said Monday, warning of a 'lost generation' in the small country grappling with multiple crises and now in the middle of war. Israel has escalated its campaign against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, including launching a ground invasion, after a year of exchanges of fire during its war with Hamas in Gaza. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, most of them fleeing to Beirut and elsewhere in the north over the past three weeks since the escalation."