The Conversation -- October 11, 2024

So here's what a appears to be a series of X posts that is worth reading to the end. (It's not long.) Thanks to RAS for the link.

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Philip Nieto of Mediaite: "President Joe Biden bashed former President Donald Trump for spreading misinformation regarding the hurricanes destroying parts of the country. During a Thursday press conference, Biden spoke on his administration's efforts to provide relief to victims of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Recently, online misinformation regarding the storms has complicated FEMA's efforts to provide victims with the necessary aid.... When asked by a reporter if he has spoken to Trump recently..., [Biden said,] 'Are you kidding me? Mr. President Trump, former President Trump -- Get a life, man! Help these people.'"

Presidential Race

Nicholas Nehamas, et al., of the New York Times: At a town hall in Las Vegas, aired on Univision, Kamala Harris took "emotional questions from voters on health care and the economy -- and displayed the balance [she] is seeking on tough border rules and paths to citizenship.... Many questions were asked in Spanish and translated for her.... Polls show Ms. Harris with less support from Hispanic voters than Mr. Biden carried four years ago.

"On Thursday evening, Ms. Harris held a get-out-the-vote rally outside Phoenix. There, she criticized Mr. Trump for threatening to undo the Affordable Care Act, and got raucous applause when she mentioned how the late Senator John McCain, a longtime Arizona Republican, had cast a decisive vote in 2017 thwarting efforts by Mr. Trump and Republicans to repeal it."

Andrew Harris of Politico: "Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a town hall with CNN on Oct. 23, her campaign announced Thursday. Harris' participation comes after ... Donald Trump has declined to face the vice president in another debate before the Nov. 5 election. CNN also offered Trump a town hall, and his campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Politico."

Stephen Collinson of CNN: At a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Thursday, former President Barack "Obama ... painted a searing picture of Trump as a malicious, ridiculous and incompetent menace, while trying to weave a rhetorical case for voters who are feeling economically insecure to vote for Harris, who is part of an incumbent administration, nonetheless.... The ex-president savagely mocked Trump, asking whether his successor had ever changed a tire or a diaper and condemning his single term and 'mean and ugly' border policies.... The 44th and 45th presidents have waged a political feud for more than a decade, since Trump built the foundation of his populist movement on false claims that Obama was not US-born. Birtherism was the earliest indication of the potency of Trump's political cocktail of racial aspersions and untruths, which has reached new heights in the 2024 election." ~~~

~~~ Marie: If you or your children or your grandchildren aspire to a career in retail politics, here's how it's done. If you have time while you're washing your socks, or as my old priest once said, "cleaning out the corners in the glory of God," (a turn of phrase I have remembered for 65 years) start up this video and turn up the volume: ~~~

~~~ Here's something President Obama said during his Pittsburgh speech that I wish the Harris campaign would emphasize. ~~~

     ~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Former President Barack Obama knocked down [link fixed] one of ... Donald Trump's most central pitches to voters for re-election at a Pittsburgh rally Thursday evening: that Trump was a masterful steward of the economy.... 'Some think, I remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good,' said Obama. 'Yeah, it was pretty good -- because it was my economy. It wasn't something he did. I spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me.' The economy continued to grow after Obama left office under Trump. However, Trump also presided over one of the worst single-year economic disasters in U.S. history, as the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in 2020. Supply shortages crippled supermarkets around the country and unemployment peaked at 15 percent. Under President Joe Biden, the job market trend returned to pre-pandemic levels." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the full citation, via Mediaite:

And the reason some people think, 'I remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good' -- yeah, it was pretty good because it was my economy! We had had 75 straight months of job growth that I handed over to him! It wasn't something he did! I had spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me the last time. So just in case everyone has a hazy memory, he didn't do nothing! Except those big tax cuts. His other big economic plan now is to slap tariffs on everything, from food to TVs.

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: Obama -- Trump -- diapers. MB: Nice to see I'm not the only person who noticed Trump seemed to be wearing "adult protection."

You're coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. I've got a problem with that. Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.... The women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time. When we get in trouble and the system isn't working for us, they're the ones out there marching and protesting. -- Barack Obama, in a message to Black men, delivered at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pa. ~~~

~~~ Erica Green & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Former President Barack Obama traveled to Pittsburgh on Thursday to urge voters there to choose Vice President Kamala Harris in November, aiming a message at one group in particular: Black men. The decision voters have between the vice president and ... Donald J. Trump, her Republican opponent, 'isn't a close call,' Mr. Obama said as he visited with a group of campaign volunteers and officials at a field office just ahead of his appearance at a Harris rally." The AP's report is here.

If you're interested in what Tim Walz has been up to the last couple of days, Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times has a run-down. HOWEVER, you'll have to wade through the first several paragraphs of what the paper considers a thrilling mini-scandal: Walz's remarks, made on the West Coast, that he wanted to get rid of the Electoral College. The problem apparently is that abolishing the Electoral College is not the Harris campaign's position because they don't want to offend voters in the only states that matter: swing states like Pennsylvania & Michigan.

Chris Cameron & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota opened the first day of voting in Arizona on Wednesday with a spree of campaign events across the state.... Arizona, with its 11 Electoral College votes, has no clear favorite in the presidential race -- even as polls there show a slight lead by ... Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.... Mr. Vance first held a rally in Tucson before attending a town-hall event hosted by the Conservative Political Action Conference in Mesa, near Phoenix. Mr. Walz visited a Veterans of Foreign Wars post and met with tribal leaders on tribal land, near Phoenix, before holding a campaign rally in the evening at a high school gym in Tucson.... In Arizona on Wednesday morning, he linked up for breakfast with Doug Emhoff, Ms. Harris's husband." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Getting Out the Incel Vote??? Simon Levien of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign bridged the real world with World of Warcraft on Wednesday, livestreaming Gov. Tim Walz's rally in Arizona via Twitch, while a Twitch streamer played the role-playing game and provided commentary about his rally.... This was the first time the Harris campaign has livestreamed gameplay from its Twitch account, which was created in August, and roughly 5,000 viewers were tuned in.... Preheat, a Twitch streamer and World of Warcraft player with about 50,000 followers, hosted the stream from the Harris campaign's account and encouraged the viewers to vote for her. The screen was split, with Mr. Walz's rally in Tucson on the left and gameplay on the right." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hadleigh Zinsner of FactCheck.org: "An ad from Vice President Kamala Harris features a Pennsylvania farming couple who say they are 'lifelong Republicans' but are voting for Harris. Social media users, citing a video from an Australian news site, falsely claim the couple are 'actors' and Democratic donors. The news site has corrected its report.... Following the release of the ad, [Kristina & Robert Lange] said they were the target of harassment, including threatening calls to their business."

Michael Gold & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump was roughly an hour and a half into a nearly two-hour speech to the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday afternoon before he got to his main new policy proposal: a call to make car loan interest fully tax deductible. The proposal, which came late during a circuitous speech to business leaders, merged two of Mr. Trump's favored efforts to win voters: targeted tax cuts aimed at key voting blocs nationwide and promises to revitalize the auto industry in Michigan, a critical battleground state. Even before this latest tax cut proposal, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that Mr. Trump's agenda could add as much as $15 trillion to the nation's debt over a decade.... But before he got to his new proposal..., he took a pointed dig at the city that was hosting him. 'Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president,' he said. 'You're going to have a mess on your hands.' Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat, blasted Mr. Trump's comments in a social media post, saying that 'you better believe Detroiters won't forget this in November.' As Mr. Trump spoke about his proposals to revive the auto industry, he used some of the same kind of violent, cataclysmic language he often uses to vilify immigrants." Politico's story centers on proposals Trump says will boost the U.S. auto industry. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You might wonder why Trump would go to a city in a swing state and slam that city right in the faces of its leaders. Hint: There's a photo of some of the audience in the Times story, and every face in the photo is white. ~~~

     ~~~ Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "The New York Times' Maggie Haberman on Thursday explained why she believes ... Donald Trump trashed Detroit during an address in the city.... Haberman [told CNN's Anderson Cooper], 'I think he was appealing to the people in that room who were a group of largely white businessmen, as I understand it. You could hear there was applause when he said the line.' But Haberman acknowledged 'this is going to appear in local news outside of that room and insulting the city that you are in.... It's certainly not something that I think his advisers would have liked that he said. I think calling it a developing nation was something that you will see again used by opponents.' ~~~

     ~~~ Some leaders and other commentators were not amused. Bradley Moss doesn't say, but he does seem to suspect what it is Trump doesn't like about Detroit. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You know, the Times story told us Trump's speech was "circuitous" and that he "often rambled." But it doesn't tell us what Mediaite does. The Times doesn't even hint of it unless "circuitous" means "something about circles" & "rambling" means "insane": ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump went on an indecipherable rant about President Joe Biden and his 'circles' -- among other matters -- while delivering a speech on Thursday. Trump addressed the Detroit Economic Club and meandered from one topic to another with seemingly no segue.... He said:

"And then all of a sudden, you hear that they're leaving Milwaukee or they're leaving wherever they may be located. It's very sad to see it. And it's so simple. I mean, you know, this isn't like Elon with his rocket ships that land within 12 inches on the moon where they wanted to land. Or he gets the engines back. That was the first I realized. I said, 'Who the hell did that?' I saw engines about three, four years ago. These things were coming. Cylinders, no wings, no nothing. And they're coming down very slowly, landing on a raft in the middle of the ocean someplace with a circle. Boom. Reminded me of the Biden circles that he used to have, right? He'd have eight circles and he couldn't fill 'em up. But then I heard he beat us with the popular vote. I don't know. I don't know. Couldn't fill up the eight circles. I always loved those circles. They were so beautiful. They were so beautiful to look at. In fact, the person that did them, that was the best thing about his, the level of that circle was great. But they couldn't get people, so they used to have the press stand in those circles because they couldn't get the people. Then I heard we lost. Oh, we lost. No, we're never gonna let that happen again. But we've been abused by other countries. We've been abused by our own politicians, really, more than other countries." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Read it all, please. Don't skim. I suspect JayDee read up on the 25th Amendment before he accepted the nomination for the veep gig. ~~~

~~~ "Man of the Year." Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump expressed irritation on Thursday that anyone would challenge his claim that he had been declared 'man of the year' in Michigan many years ago. During a speech in Detroit, he triumphantly pulled out a news story to prove that he was right. The only problem: The news outlet that published the story corrected it online shortly after he cited it. The revised version of the story that he held up as evidence that his account was correct now reports that his account was wrong. At issue is a claim that Mr. Trump has been making since at least 2016 and that he repeated on the campaign trail just last month.... The article that he held up was not about some honor 18 or 20 years ago, long before he ran for president, as he had just told the audience. Instead, it was about a party dinner where he was to speak in June 2023...."

Patrick Svitek & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said Thursday that CBS News should lose a broadcasting license over how it edited a '60 Minutes' interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, even though the federal government does not issue licenses for such television networks.... The agency licenses individual broadcast stations, not networks in their entirety.... Trump raised the issue again during an afternoon speech in Detroit, claiming the edited Harris interview 'will go down as the single biggest scandal in broadcast history.'... It was the latest example of Trump calling for media outlets that have angered him to lose their rights to broadcast -- a push that evokes government control of media, which is a hallmark of authoritarianism.

"Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel denounced Trump's latest call targeting CBS, flatly rejecting an idea the agency has ruled out under both the Biden and Trump administrations. 'While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored,' Rosenworcel said in a statement. 'As I've said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.'... Trump has been fixated for days on Harris's interview with '60 Minutes,' which came after he backed out of sitting for his own interview with the show, according to the network." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: CBS's edits, BTW, were consistent with standard practice. CNN's story is here.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post recounts Trump's torrent of lies at a Wednesday rally and other atrocious remarks made over the past week. Reading his column made me feel sick.

Trolling Trump. Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "The distribution company behind the movie 'The Apprentice' promoted the controversial film outside former President Trump's rally on Wednesday, flying a plane carrying a banner that urged the GOP nominee to watch the movie when it's released this weekend. 'TRUMP: GO SEE THE APPRENTICE FRIDAY!' read the banner, which was visible from the ground outside the closed rally venue in Reading, Pa., on Wednesday.... The movie premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival and reportedly received an eight-minute standing ovation at the festival but did not clinch any awards.... In May, a lawyer for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to the filmmakers, seeking to block the movie's release. His team also threatened to file a suit for what it claimed were 'blatantly false assertions.'"

Tony Schwartz, who ghost-wrote The Art of the Deal, in a New York Times op-ed: "Watching 'The Apprentice' crystallized two big lessons that I learned from Mr. Trump 30 years ago and that I've seen play out in his life ever since with more and more extreme consequences. The first lesson is that a lack of conscience can be a huge advantage when it comes to accruing power, attention and wealth in a society where most other human beings abide by a social contract. The second lesson is that nothing we get for ourselves from the outside world can ever adequately substitute for what we're missing on the inside.... What 'The Apprentice' captures most evocatively is Mr. Trump's transition from pleasing his father to enlisting [Roy] Cohn as a mentor and role model.... There are seven characteristics associated with 'antisocial personality disorder,' according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:... I've observed all seven in Mr. Trump over the years, and watched them get progressively worse."

Bob Woodward finds & resurrects an interview of Donald Trump he and Carl Bernstein did in February 1989 -- oh, at Trump's invitation. (WashPo link.)

Noah Berlatsky on why Trump lies about natural disasters: "... Trump sees natural disasters entirely through the lens of his own narrow self-interest. When the worst happens, he immediately tries to figure out how he can leverage that worst to harm his (perceived) partisan enemies, or how he can avoid blame." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Here's an easy-to-understand essay on the effects of tariffs by Jeremy Mayer, in a Hill opinion piece. This seems surprising, inasmuch as Mayer is a professor at George Mason, a notoriously right-wing university. However, its conservatism is of the libertarian bent, and -- not surprisingly -- libertarians hate tariffs. I don't know anything about Mayer's own politics.

Melanie confessed in her "memoir"/picture book that she once tried to market a make-up that included caviar among its ingredients. Her venture failed (through no fault of her own! -- just ask her), but her husband's is bound to succeed:

Jeff Jarvis of Buzz Machine tells the media how they have failed us: "You have refused to recognize fascism at the door. You insist on covering authoritarianism as just another side in still-symmetrical American politics. You do not read history.... You let yourselves be exploited by these malign forces to spread their bigotry and bile, cushioned with your white-gloved euphemisms and sane-washing.... You hide behind your impotent fact-checking, never seeing  -- though frequently warned  --  that in the ways you debunk their lies, you spread them, and by pedantically nitpicking the other side in your misguided search for balance you create false equivalence. This is how they exploit you." With examples. Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's a "thing" about the media's GOP-whitewashing project is that some of us have learned to translate it, but probably most have not. When I read a report that Trump or some other Republican has made a claim "without evidence" or "unsubstantiated" or "baseless," of course my mind reads "lied." But a low-information reader, who might engage sporadically or only in the few weeks before an election, is not going to see it that way. Obviously, in our everyday conversations, we speak "without evidence" almost all of the time. Nobody walks around with documentation to support water-cooler chitchat. So politicians' remarks delivered "without evidence" seem, well, normal. The typical reader doesn't "get" that "without evidence" means it's a lie, perhaps made up out of whole cloth.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The federal judge [Tanya Chutkan] overseeing the 2020 election case against ... Donald J. Trump on Thursday approved a limited release of a compilation of evidence against him, [link fixed] but stayed her order for a week in case Mr. Trump's legal team wants to challenge the disclosure."

Theodore Schleifer, et al., of the New York Times: "In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, the richest man in the world has involved himself in the U.S. election in a manner unparalleled in modern history. Elon Musk, seen over the weekend jumping for joy alongside ... Donald J. Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa., is now talking to the Republican candidate multiple times a week. He has effectively moved his base of operations to Pennsylvania, the place that he has recently told confidants he believes is the linchpin to Mr. Trump's re-election. He has relentlessly promoted Mr. Trump's candidacy to his 201 million followers on X ... and has used to spread conspiracy theories about the Democratic Party and to insult its candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Above all, he is personally steering the actions of a super PAC that he has funded with tens of millions of dollars to turn out the vote for Mr. Trump, not just in Pennsylvania but across the country." Read on. It's all too disgusting. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: All too disgusting or not, Marcy Wheeler calls the article a "puff piece." I don't think I agree with that, but it is true that the article doesn't mention Elon's "jokes" about assassinating Kamala Harris. He (not to mention TuKKKer) is a horrible person.

Douglas Martin of the New York Times: "Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a popular and vital force in the Kennedy political dynasty, died on Thursday. She was 96." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Ethel Kennedy's life in pictures (link is to a NYT story).

Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "TD Bank pleaded guilty to federal money laundering charges Thursday, agreeing to pay more than $3 billion in fines for enabling drug traffickers and other criminals to open accounts and transfer money through the bank. Federal prosecutors said the bank violated the law when it did not properly monitor trillions of dollars in transactions that stretched back over a decade. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the agreement and said the Canadian bank -- the 10th-largest in the United States -- is the first in American history to plead guilty to conspiring to laundering money. TD Bank also pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires banks to report suspicious activity and maintain effective anti-money-laundering programs." CNBC's story is here.

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Florida & Georgia. Devan Cole, et al., of CNN: "Two federal judges have rejected requests to immediately reopen voter registration in Georgia and Florida as the southeast continues to grapple with significant storm damage ahead of the November election. Southern states impacted by Hurricane Helene have been facing intense pressure by voting and civil rights groups to give residents more time to register to vote given the devastation wrought by the storm and the disruption already caused by Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on Florida's western coast late Wednesday." MB: Both judges were appointed by Democratic presidents.

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Megan Specia & Lynsey Chutel of the New York Times: "The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grass-roots movement of atomic bomb survivors, 'for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.' Nihon Hidankyo has for decades represented hundreds of thousands of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. These survivors, known as the hibakusha, are living memorials to the horror of the attacks and have used their testimony to raise awareness of the human consequences of nuclear warfare." This is a liveblog.

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in Israel's wars is here: "An Israeli attack in central Beirut on Thursday night killed at least 22 people and injured 117, making it the deadliest strike on the city since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah launched its first rocket attacks on northern Israel. Israeli forces also fired on three positions held by U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon, injuring two peacekeepers, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon said. The Israeli security cabinet, meanwhile, gathered to vote on how to respond to Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack, according to an Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Friday are here.

U.K. William Booth of the Washington Post: "Boris Johnson has published his political memoir. The book is like the former prime minister: Funny. Frustrating. And not entirely believable. At least, that's the early take.... There are some spicy reveals.... The revelations have made minor news and sparked rounds of chat on TV and social media here. But British readers seem to be viewing the memoir more as entertainment than definitive history.... The Daily Mail, which has been running excerpts, proclaimed it 'the political memoir of the century.' The London Times called it 'childishly amusing.' The Guardian went with 'memoirs of a clown.'"

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Floridians began returning to damaged and waterlogged homes on Thursday after Hurricane Milton carved a path of destruction and grief across the state, the second massive storm to strike Florida in as many weeks. At least 14 storm-related deaths were attributed to the hurricane, which made landfall south of Sarasota at 8:30 p.m Wednesday, officials said. Six of them were killed when two tornadoes touched down ahead of the storm in St. Lucie County on Florida's central Atlantic coast. The deadly tornadoes, rising waters, torrential rain and punishing winds battered the state from coast to coast as Milton churned eastward before heading out to sea early Thursday."

Washington Post: "Twelve people were rescued from an inactive Colorado gold mine after they were trapped 1,000 feet underground for about six hours following an elevator malfunction. One person was killed in the accident, which happened about 500 feet underground at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colo., Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said at a Thursday news conference. The site is a tourist attraction. Eleven other people aboard the elevator at the time, including two children, were rescued shortly after the mechanical malfunction, which Mikesell said 'created a severe danger for the participants.' He said four suffered minor injuries.... Twelve others in a separate group remained trapped in a mine shaft 1,000 feet underground for several hours after the incident, before they were rescued Thursday evening, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said."

The Conversation -- October 10, 2024

Douglas Martin of the New York Times: "Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a popular and vital force in the Kennedy political dynasty, died on Thursday. She was 96."

Re: those NYT stories linked earlier today -- the one about Kamala Harris bobbing & weaving & the one about scientist Donald Trump's intellectual "fascination" with "genetics" -- digby writes, "It's not as if they don;t know the stakes:"

NYT editor Joe Kahn says there’s no guarantee the US press would remain free in a second Trump term.

From ⁦@NPRinskeep⁩’s interview that aired this AM. (First speaker is Steve) pic.twitter.com/r6p7tu2bK3

— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) October 9, 2024

And here's digby on Trump's "woman problem" and "worker problem." MB: The money quote for me -- and something I unsuccessfully tried to find [on a non-firewalled site] this morning -- is this, from the New Republic: "It turns out that some of the people wearing 'Auto Workers for Trump' shirts at J.D. Vance's rally in Detroit Tuesday weren't autoworkers at all."

Chris Cameron & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota opened the first day of voting in Arizona on Wednesday with a spree of campaign events across the state.... Arizona, with its 11 Electoral College votes, has no clear favorite in the presidential race -- even as polls there show a slight lead by ... Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.... Mr. Vance first held a rally in Tucson before attending a town-hall event hosted by the Conservative Political Action Conference in Mesa, near Phoenix. Mr. Walz visited a Veterans of Foreign Wars post and met with tribal leaders on tribal land, near Phoenix, before holding a campaign rally in the evening at a high school gym in Tucson.... In Arizona on Wednesday morning, he linked up for breakfast with Doug Emhoff, Ms. Harris's husband." ~~~

~~~ Getting Out the Incel Vote??? Simon Levien of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign bridged the real world with World of Warcraft on Wednesday, livestreaming Gov. Tim Walz's rally in Arizona via Twitch, while a Twitch streamer played the role-playing game and provided commentary about his rally.... This was the first time the Harris campaign has livestreamed gameplay from its Twitch account, which was created in August, and roughly 5,000 viewers were tuned in.... Preheat, a Twitch streamer and World of Warcraft player with about 50,000 followers, hosted the stream from the Harris campaign's account and encouraged the viewers to vote for her. The screen was split, with Mr. Walz's rally in Tucson on the left and gameplay on the right."

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Presidential Race

Marie: I'm with Carville on This. David Gilmore of Mediaite: "James Carville told MSNBC host Ali [MB: s/b Ari] Melber that he was 'scared to death' about impending presidential election day and called on Democrats to get 'sharp' and 'aggressive' in the final weeks of the campaign."

Damned if She Does, Damned if She Doesn't. Michael Bender of the New York Times: "... Vice President Kamala Harris blitzed the media this week in a series of interviews to speak to voters who say they still don't know enough about her. One thing they learned: how she keeps answering the question she wants, not the one that was asked.... Her verbal acrobatics may be contributing to the impression that some voters have that they do not know her or her policy views very well. It has become a key weakness as she rushes to sway millions of undecided voters in the battleground states." MB: Even though media outlets whined that Harris wasn't sitting for interviews, now that she's on this supposed "media blitz," they're criticizing her responses -- which certainly was always their intent. Bender seems very unhappy that (a) a candidate for president is a politician, and (b) some questions require a potential president to offer pragmatic or politic responses. For instance, Bender complains that Harris doesn't directly answer a question about Netanyahu; but in most cases, a U.S. president -- or vice-president, for that matter -- would be unwise or irresponsible to publicly knock a supposed ally.

Marie: I can't access the report, but here's the lede in a Daily Beast story by Josh Fiallo: "Kamala Harris called into The Weather Channel on Wednesday to speak about Hurricane Milton ahead of its evening landfall -- an appearance the network said was also offered to Donald Trump, but he ignored it." I suppose Donald the Chickenpoop was afraid they wouldn't let him use a Sharpie to expand the path of Milton into swing-state Georgia.

Oh, another Colbert segment I missed. Thanks to Patrick for the lead: ~~~

Sahil Kapur of NBC News: At a rally in Scranton, Pa., Wednesday, Donald Trump "lashed out at his Democratic rival by calling her 'a horrible person,' 'a liar,' a 'radical left Marxist' and 'not a smart person,' often drawing jeers and boos as his supporters fed off his energy.... 'I don't want to be nice. Somebody said, "You should be nice sir, women won't like it,"' Trump said, adding: 'The women want safety.' He then described an apocalyptic America if he loses. 'Kamala will deliver a 1929-style depression,' Trump said, resurrecting a claim he made about strong> Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election that didn;t materialize."

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump is calling for an investigation into CBS News and its news magazine 60 Minutes for apparently editing Vice President Kamala Harris's answers 'to make her look "more Presidential" or, at least, better.'... In a Wednesday morning post..., Trump alleged that the producers of 60 Minutes may be guilty of a 'major Campaign Finance Violation.' The alleged crime? Editing Harris's answers for concision and time.... Trump is ... probably well aware that the same practice of editing for time occurs in nearly all the taped interviews he does for Fox News opinion hosts." (Also linked yesterday.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: During a briefing on Hurricane Milton, "President Biden on Wednesday blasted former President Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for spreading what he called 'irresponsible' and 'beyond ridiculous' falsehoods around severe weather bearing down on Florida and other states.... Biden specifically called out Trump for leading 'the onslaught of lies.' He said claims that property is being confiscated and that those impacted by the storm are only receiving $750 in assistance are not true. And he said claims the government is diverting disaster response funds to aid migrants, which Trump has amplified repeatedly, are not true. 'Now the claims are getting even more bizarre. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather. We're controlling the weather,' Biden said. 'It's beyond ridiculous. It's got to stop. Moments like this, there are no red or blue states.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Wednesday made clear there would be no second debate between him and Vice President Harris in the closing weeks of the campaign, seemingly shutting the door for good on the prospect as media outlets made final proposals.... In explaining his decision, Trump repeated his claim that he had won his debate on Sept. 10 with Harris, though polling and criticism from some Republicans indicated that was not the case.... Trump's post on Truth Social [declaring 'there will be no rematch!'] came after CNN told candidates they had until Thursday to accept an invitation for an Oct. 23 debate. Harris has already accepted the invitation." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump is absolutely right to turn down these media invitations. First of all, he's a lamebrain with waning cognitive abilities, so even a person as vain as he knows he isn't likely to beat a former prosecutor. Second, the media has not been especially nice to its favorite star lately: Look what happened just this week on Fox "News" & on a supposedly friendly podcast: ~~~

~~~ This Moment in History. Yes, Fox's Laura Ingraham fact-checked Donald Trump on-air. Watch the top of the video. I'd like to know why -- because certainly somebody on the top floor told her not to let him get away with lies about the hurricane response. And did they warn Trump? ~~~

~~~ David Moye of the Huffington Post: "Podcaster Andrew Schulz couldn't keep a straight face in his recent interview with Donald Trump. Although Schulz has previously said that he thinks the GOP presidential nominee seems 'enticing' when compared with Democrats, the comedian couldn't take him seriously during one moment in their 90-minute discussion, which was released Wednesday. That moment? Well, it was when Trump claimed that he's 'basically a truthful person.' Trump's no-way-it-would-survive-a-fact-check statement came while he was insisting that Democrat Kamala Harris has lied about him and about previously working at McDonald's." Includes video.

On Trump's Chats with Putin

I honestly didn't know that Bob Woodward was still alive until you just asked me that question. And that's -- what little I know about Bob Woodward is that he is -- I'm going to use I'm going to use a word here. He is a hack. The guy is a hack. So have I talked to Donald Trump about his calls with Vladimir Putin? No. I've never had that conversation with Donald Trump in my life.... But if Donald Trump -- even if it's true, look, is there something wrong with speaking to world leaders? No. Is there anything wrong with engaging in diplomacy? Kamala Harris's approach has been to hide in a basement, hide from the American people and hide from world leaders. And you know what that's gotten us? We are on the verge of World War III. It's a disgrace and it's a complete failure of a foreign policy. -- JD Vance, responding to reporters' questions, Tuesday

This would seem to be a violation of the Logan Act. Exactly what Trump falsely accused John Kerry of. Another apparent Trump crime. -- Susan Rice, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

We only have one president at a time, JayDee, you ignorant sofa-slut. The Logan Act, passed in 1799, was designed to prevent unauthorized "diplomacy" that could undermine the current administration. Kerry did not violate the act, because he was in contact with the U.S. State Department throughout any discussions with foreign agents he may have had. -- Marie (Logan Act background via the Hill) ~~~

~~~ Ivana Sarac of Axios: "The Kremlin on Wednesday confirmed a report that former President Trump sent Russian President Vladimir Putin COVID-19 testing equipment during the height of the pandemic.... The Trump campaign categorically denied new revelations in journalist Bob Woodward's book 'War,' which renewed scrutiny of the relationship between Putin and the Republican presidential nominee." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: the "categorical denial," courtesy of Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, went like this: "None of these made up stories b Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.... Woodward is an angry, little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hannah Knowles & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Speaking of the small Pennsylvania town of Charlesroi, Donald Trump said at a recent rally, "'The town is virtually bankrupt.' (It wasn't.) 'This flood of illegal aliens is also bringing massive crime,' he said. (They weren't, and they have at least temporary authorization to live in the United States, town and factory officials said.) 'Char-le-roi, what a beautiful name. But it's not so beautiful now.' The Republican presidential nominee had sketched a misleading caricature. But he also tapped into real tensions and a powerful anger in Charleroi and far beyond -- stemming from a widespread conviction that America did too much for newcomers and not enough for citizens.... Interviews with three dozen voters show his pitch is appealing to many in the town and surrounding Washington County, Pa.... It has also angered some residents and inflamed an ugly discourse scattered with baseless claims about illegal voting and a 'great replacement' of native-born Americans."

Bringing Back Eugenics. Michael Gold of the New York Times: "For decades..., Mr. Trump has been publicly obsessed with bloodlines and his stated belief that genetics are the best predictor of a person's success. He has repeatedly commented on what he described as his, his family's and his supporters' good genes, and on others' bad genes.... Mr. Trump's remarks [Monday] about migrants' having 'bad genes' brought a flurry of headlines from news outlets, and then condemnation from Democrats.His remarks on Monday in some ways echoed his repeated assertion last year that undocumented immigrants were 'poisoning the blood of our country,' a phrase criticized by many for evoking the ideology of eugenics promulgated by Nazis in Germany and white supremacists in the United States.... Mr. Trump has defended his use of that phrase by saying he was 'not a student of Hitler,' even as a number of news articles, biographers and books about his presidency have documented his long interest in Hitler." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If Michael Bender's whining about Kamala Harris's refusal to directly answer some questions aggravated you, maybe the fact that Michael Gold, in an article that appeared on the Times' online main page, finally let on that Trump is a Nazi kinda guy. However, the original headline for the story was "In remarks about migrants, Donald Trump invoked his long-held fascination with genes and genetics." It's been changed to "Trump's Remarks on Migrants Illustrate His Obsession With Genes." David Gilmore of Mediaite rounds up some journalists' comments about the first headline. Mark Jacob, for instance, a former editor of the Chicago Tribune, wrote on X, "This New York Times headline makes it seem as if Trump has a deep intellectual curiosity about genetics instead of stating the obvious fact that he's simply a racist." (Could be the first time in history this group of words was strung together in this order: "Trump has a deep intellectual curiosity".)

How "exceptional" is a country of immigrants where a lying lardbucket may be able to win election to the presidency based on false, racist claims about immigrants?

Richard Lardner & Dake Kang of the AP: "Thousands of copies of Donald Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices -- China. Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China's eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States between early February and late March. The estimated value of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible, according to databases that use customs data to track exports and imports. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million. The Trump Bible's connection to China, which has not been previously reported, reveals a deep divide between the former president's harsh anti-China rhetoric and his rush to cash in while campaigning." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I don't much do polls, but this one's so bad, I thought I should share it: ~~~

~~~ Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Control of the Senate appears likely to flip from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party this fall, as one of the nation's most endangered Democrats, Senator Jon Tester of Montana, trails his Republican challenger in his bid for re-election, according to a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College. Mr. Tester, who first won election to the Senate in 2006, is winning over moderate and independent voters and running far ahead of the Democrat at the top of the ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris. But as of now, that does not appear to be enough to survive in Montana, a conservative state where ... Donald J. Trump is ahead by 17 percentage points.... Tim Sheehy, a wealthy Republican businessman and a former Navy SEAL who has never held public office, leads Mr. Tester 52 percent to 44 percent, the poll shows." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So repeatedly lying about who shot you when doesn't matter in Montana.

Musk Seeks to Scam Hurricane Victims. Ariel Zilber of the New York Post, republished by Yahoo! News: "Elon Musk pledged to give victims of Hurricane Helene 30 days worth of free access to his satellite-based Starlink internet service -- but the billionaire failed to mention that survivors of the disastrous storm that has claimed the lives of more than 200 people will need to fork over $400 for the system's hardware.... According to the company, anyone in the disaster-hit area who signs up for free internet service will then automatically be moved to a $120-a-month residential subscription after the 30-day grace period.

~~~~~~~~~~

Florida. Ben Brasch of the Washington Post: "Florida's health department threatened criminal charges for television stations that run a political ad calling for the repeal of the state's six-week abortion ban, one of the nation's strictest. At least two stations [-- WCJB in Gainesville and WFLA in Tampa --] received cease-and-desist letters Thursday written by John Wilson, general counsel from the Florida Department of Health.... He ordered the stations to remove the ads within 24 hours or open themselves up to a second-degree misdemeanor charge, which in Florida carries a sentence of imprisonment up to 60 days and a fine up to $500.... The ads were still running as of Wednesday, according to Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group that purchased the ad time. The organization said they have ads running on more than 50 stations, most of which have received the cease-and-desist letter.... 'The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment. Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government's views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech,' [FCC Chair Jessica] Rosenworcel wrote in a statement."

Georgia Election Board Plans Election Interference. Nick Valencia & Jason Morris of CNN: "The Donald Trump-allied Georgia State Election Board is pushing to install people who deny the result of the 2020 presidential election as part of a monitoring team in Fulton County, the biggest Democratic-leaning county in the state and one that was consequential for Joe Biden's victory four years ago. The board has no legal authority to install its own recommended monitors, but that did not stop the GOP majority from voting on Tuesday to repeat its effort to include its own suggested monitoring team in Fulton County. The move, coming less than 30 days before Election Day, is the latest example of what critics say is the board acting in a way that may create chaos next month." (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "As federal prosecutors scrutinize Mayor Eric Adams and his top aides, the Manhattan district attorney's office has opened yet another corruption investigation into City Hall, this one involving the city's leasing of commercial properties, people with knowledge of the matter said. As part of the inquiry, investigators have seized the phones of at least five people -- including Mr. Adams's chief adviser, a top New York City real estate official and a broker involved in city leases, the people said. The investigation has focused at least in part on possible bribery, money laundering and other crimes, one of the people said."

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israeli wars are here: "Israel's security cabinet will meet Thursday night to vote on Israel's response to Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack, said an Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.... Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Wednesday that Israel would inflict a 'powerful, precise and above all -- surprising' attack on Iran."

David Sanger & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "For the first time in two months, President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday in a phone conversation that focused on Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack. When the meeting ended, American officials said nothing about Israel's plans, or whether Mr. Netanyahu indicated he would heed Mr. Biden's warnings not to hit nuclear or energy sites, which the White House fears could lead to an escalating cycle of Iranian missile strikes and Israeli responses. Instead, a terse account of the conversation issued by the White House hours later said Mr. Biden 'condemned unequivocally Iran's ballistic missile attack against Israel on Oct. 1,' but made no reference to discussions on how to respond -- which was the purpose of the call." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the White House readout.

Steve Hendrix & Shira Rubin of the Washington Post: "... divisions inside the Israeli government and across the Atlantic are converging, with Netanyahu apparently incensed over his lack of direct contact with President Joe Biden and a cabinet rivalry [between Netanyahu & his defense minister Yoav Gallant] overshadowing Israel's security deliberations.... The two have publicly split on numerous key strategic decisions, including the timing of a cease-fire and hostage deal with Hamas as well as a potential role for the Palestinian Authority in the future governance of Gaza. But Gallant is also seen as a future rival for party leadership, which political observers said is likely to have played a role in the last-minute grounding of his flight to Washington.... 'Netanyahu is clearly trying to assert control and weaken Gallant to the point where it could weaken the relationship with the United States,' said Chuck Freilich, former deputy head of Israel's National Security Council...."

News Ledes

CNBC: "The pace of price increases over the past year was higher than forecast in September while jobless claims posted an unexpected jump following Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad gauge measuring the costs of goods and services across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%. Both readings were 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus. The annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage point lower than August and is the lowest since February 2021."

The New York Times' live updates of Hurrucane Milton consequences Thursday are here: "Milton was still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall to parts of East and Central Florida, forecasters said early Thursday, even as the powerful storm roared away from the Atlantic coast and left deaths and widespread damage across the state. Cities along Florida's east coast are now facing flash flooding, damaging winds and storm surges. Some had already been battered by powerful tornadoes spun out by the storm before it made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. In [St. Lucie] county [Fort Pierce], several people in a retirement community were killed by a tornado, the police said.... More than three million customers were without power in Florida as of early Thursday." ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Weather Channel's live updates.

CNN: "The 2024 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Han Kang, a South Korean author, for her 'intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.' Han, 53, began her career with a group of poems in a South Korean magazine, before making her prose debut in 1995 with a short story collection. She later began writing longer prose works, most notably 'The Vegetarian,' one of her first books to be translated into English The novel, which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, charts a young woman's attempt to live a more 'plant-like' existence after suffering macabre nightmares about human cruelty. Han is the first South Korean author to win the literature prize, and just the 18th woman out of the 117 prizes awarded since 1901.' The New York Times story is here.

The Conversation -- October 9, 2024

Brett Samuels of the Hill: During a briefing on Hurricane Milton, "President Biden on Wednesday blasted former President Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for spreading what he called 'irresponsible' and 'beyond ridiculous' falsehoods around severe weather bearing down on Florida and other states.... Biden specifically called out Trump for leading 'the onslaught of lies.' He said claims that property is being confiscated and that those impacted by the storm are only receiving $750 in assistance are not true. And he said claims the government is diverting disaster response funds to aid migrants, which Trump has amplified repeatedly, are not true. 'Now the claims are getting even more bizarre. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather. We're controlling the weather,' Biden said. 'It's beyond ridiculous. It's got to stop. Moments like this, there are no red or blue states."

On Trump's Chats with Putin

I honestly didn't know that Bob Woodward was still alive until you just asked me that question. And that's -- what little I know about Bob Woodward is that he is -- I'm going to use I'm going to use a word here. He is a hack. The guy is a hack. So have I talked to Donald Trump about his calls with Vladimir Putin? No. I've never had that conversation with Donald Trump in my life.... But if Donald Trump -- even if it's true, look, is there something wrong with speaking to world leaders? No. Is there anything wrong with engaging in diplomacy? Kamala Harris's approach has been to hide in a basement, hide from the American people and hide from world leaders. And you know what that's gotten us? We are on the verge of World War III. It's a disgrace and it's a complete failure of a foreign policy. -- JD Vance, responding to reporters' questions, Tuesday

This would seem to be a violation of the Logan Act. Exactly what Trump falsely accused John Kerry of. Another apparent Trump crime. -- Susan Rice, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

We only have one president at a time, JayDee, you ignorant sofa-slut. The Logan Act, passed in 1799, was designed to prevent unauthorized "diplomacy" that could undermine the current administration. Kerry did not violate the act, because he was in contact with the U.S. State Department throughout any discussions with foreign agents he may have had. -- Marie (Logan Act background via the Hill)

Ivana Sarac of Axios: "The Kremlin on Wednesday confirmed a report that former President Trump sent Russian President Vladimir Putin COVID-19 testing equipment during the height of the pandemic.... The Trump campaign categorically denied new revelations in journalist Bob Woodward's book 'War,' which renewed scrutiny of the relationship between Putin and the Republican presidential nominee." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: the "categorical denial," courtesy of Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, went like this: "None of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.... Woodward is an angry, little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously."

Georgia Election Board Plans Election Interference. Nick Valencia & Jason Morris of CNN: "The Donald Trump-allied Georgia State Election Board is pushing to install people who deny the result of the 2020 presidential election as part of a monitoring team in Fulton County, the biggest Democratic-leaning county in the state and one that was consequential for Joe Biden's victory four years ago. The board has no legal authority to install its own recommended monitors, but that did not stop the GOP majority from voting on Tuesday to repeat its effort to include its own suggested monitoring team in Fulton County. The move, coming less than 30 days before Election Day, is the latest example of what critics say is the board acting in a way that may create chaos next month."

Oops! Here's a segment I missed earlier:

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump is calling for an investigation into CBS News and its news magazine 60 Minutes for apparently editing Vice President Kamala Harris's answers 'to make her look "more Presidential" or, at least, better.'... In a Wednesday morning post..., Trump alleged that the producers of 60 Minutes may be guilty of a 'major Campaign Finance Violation.' The alleged crime? Editing Harris's answers for concision and time.... Trump is ... probably well aware that the same practice of editing for time occurs in nearly all the taped interviews he does for Fox News opinion hosts."

Richard Lardner & Dake Kang of the AP: "Thousands of copies of Donald Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices -- China. Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China's eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States between early February and late March. The estimated value of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible, according to databases that use customs data to track exports and imports. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million. The Trump Bible's connection to China, which has not been previously reported, reveals a deep divide between the former president's harsh anti-China rhetoric and his rush to cash in while campaigning."

~~~~~~~~~~

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden on Thursday warned those in the path of Hurricane Milton to 'evacuate now, now, now,' as he canceled a diplomatic trip abroad so he could oversee his administration's response to the storm barreling toward Florida's west coast. Speaking from the Roosevelt Room in the White House, the president said he had given Ron DeSantis, Florida's Republican governor, his personal phone number and he urged Floridians to listen to state authorities.... With the storm poised to slam into the Tampa Bay area by Thursday morning, Mr. Biden decided to postpone a trip to Germany and Angola meant to shore up support for Ukraine and promote investment in Africa.... The White House has not yet finalized new dates for the overseas trip." (Also linked yesterday.)

Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: "Small Business Administration officials warned on Tuesday that the agency would 'very soon' exhaust its funding for new disaster loans for homeowners and businesses in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The agency has less than $100 million for new disaster loans, according to the officials, and will continue to process incoming loan applications after the money runs out, but Congress will have to approve additional funding for it to make new loan offers and cut checks.... It is unclear whether lawmakers will approve additional funding before the agency exhausts the money, however. Congress is not set to reconvene until Nov. 12. [SBA administrator Isabel] Guzman said the money would 'definitely run out' before then...."

Adam Aton & Scott Waldman of Politico: "Elon Musk is using his social media network to spread election conspiracy theories about U.S. disasters -- just as online falsehoods are complicating the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Musk has helped spread accusations that the Federal Emergency Management Agency 'actively blocked' donations to victims of Helene and is 'seizing goods ... and locking them away to state they are their own' -- allegations that FEMA officials call false and which run afoul of state and local Republican leaders' praise for the assistance from Washington. On his social network, X, Musk also amplified rumors that authorities in North Carolina had 'taken control to stop people helping' stricken residents and accusations that sheriffs were threatening to arrest FEMA staff 'if they hinder rescue and aid work.' Many of his allegations centered on the claim that immigrants had already depleted federal disaster funds, which FEMA has said is untrue.... The wave of false conspiracy theories 'is absolutely the worst I have ever seen,' FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters on a Tuesday morning call."

Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: "A wave of antisemitic rhetoric and online threats has been leveled at state and federal officials in North Carolina in recent days as they respond to the destructive aftermath of Hurricane Helene, according to a report released on Tuesday by a nonprofit research group that studies online platforms. Researchers with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the nonprofit, found that on X, the social media platform, 33 posts that contained misinformation about the flood response had together generated more than 160 million views as of Monday.... The antisemitic attacks have been lobbed mainly at the mayor of Asheville, Esther Manheimer, as well as at the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's director of public affairs, Jaclyn Rothenberg. Posts that questioned Ms. Rothenberg';s loyalty to the United States because of her Jewish heritage had more than four million views on X. Another post that called out Mayor Manheimer's faith racked up nearly 13 million views on the platform....

"The rapid spread of such posts has underscored how X ... has effectively scaled back its removal of misinformation on the platform.... The new report's findings suggest that postings about the hurricane response have also been a source of heightened public distrust."

Presidential Race

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "... Pennsylvania stands apart as the state that top strategists for both [Vice President] Harris and Mr. Trump have circled as the likeliest to tip the election. Both candidates are pouring more money, time and energy into the state than anywhere else, with Ms. Harris, Mr. Trump and their allies set to spend $350 million just on television ads in Pennsylvania -- $142 million more than the next closest state and more than Michigan and Wisconsin combined."

Vice President Harris spoke with Stephen Colbert last night: ~~~

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "For over an hour, Vice President Kamala Harris and the radio host Howard Stern bantered on Tuesday about the state of the country..., Donald J. Trump, Ms. Harris's cereal and workout preferences, and her favorite musicians and racecar drivers. It was the longest uninterrupted interview Ms. Harris has done since becoming the Democratic nominee, and while it did not delve much into what she would do as president, it was the most revelatory about her as a person. Mr. Stern is not a journalist, and he said multiple times that he supported Ms. Harris for president, but he is a skilled inquisitor who managed to extract an array of fresh details about her life. Here is a (perhaps incomplete) list of new things we learned about Ms. Harris. She is angry about the new reporting on Trump, Putin and Covid testing.... She is all too aware of the threats against her life.... She thinks Trump is 'getting punked' by dictators." And so on.

Rebecca O'Brien & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota on Tuesday called for abolishing the Electoral College as a means of electing American presidents, reiterating a position he has articulated in the past.... Earlier Tuesday, at a different fund-raising event in Seattle, Mr. Walz called himself 'a national popular vote guy, but that's not the world we live in.'... Teddy Tschann, a spokesman for Mr. Walz, said that Ms. Harris's campaign did not support abolishing the Electoral College.... Twice this century -- in 2000, when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore, and in 2016, when Mr. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton -- Democratic presidential candidates have won the national popular vote and lost the presidential election in the Electoral College. Mrs. Clinton in 2017 called for abolishing the Electoral College." Politico's story is here.

     ~~~ Alayna Treene of CNN: "Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is launching a new digital ad campaign featuring two former Donald Trump administration officials criticizing the former president's handling of natural disasters while in office." ~~~

~~~ Lisa Kashinsky & Adam Cancryn of Politico: "... Donald Trump is making the [hurricanes] a flashpoint in the presidential race. The former president has seized on the devastation left by Helene to launch a barrage of misinformation.... Across visits to storm-torn states and through social media, he has cast Kamala Harris and the Biden administration as absent and incompetent in delivering aid even as members of his own party in affected areas say otherwise.... [Harris's] campaign has attacked Trump repeatedly on social media, featuring clips from his rallies where he talks about Helene or mocks Democrats' rhetoric on climate change. It has also highlighted a clip from Ken Cuccinelli -- a former senior Trump homeland security official and Project 2025 contributor -- ... talking about shrinking FEMA, warning that 'their plan is to cut assistance for hurricane victims.' Now..., Harris has begun tearing into the former president in interviews for amplifying misinformation...."

Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "Less than a month before Election Day, Donald J. Trump's campaign has not yet participated in the government's official presidential transition process.... Mr. Trump's team has missed two key deadlines to sign agreements with the administration that are set by federal law and has also failed to sign an ethics plan that is required to jump-start the process of planning for a new administration. Mr. Trump's representatives did attend a meeting at the White House last month, but they otherwise have had little communication with the Biden administration about the handoff and have skipped the opportunity to receive national security briefings.... [Mr. Trump's] refusal to sign the documents allows him to circumvent fund-raising rules that put limits on private contributions to the transition effort, as well as ethics rules meant to avoid possible conflicts of interest for the incoming administration.... The transition team for the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has signed all three documents, according to White House officials."

Ian Philbrick & Ashley Wu of the New York Times: "To help readers experience what a Trump rally is like, we used video to break down the nine themes he consistently returns to. 1.... Mr. Trump presents himself as the sole hope for what he describes as a lawless and violent country where inflation crushes families, crime is rampant, the southern border is open and migrants kill and rape with impunity.... 2.... Mr. Trump's language is crude when it comes to his political opponents.... 3.... Mr. Trump lies often on the stump.... 4.... Mr. Trump has a few routines and set pieces he revisits at most rallies, to the audience's delight.... 5.... Mr. Trump ... sometimes trivializes, celebrates or seems to court violence.... 6.... The former president has plans..., some concrete..., [others] more vague.... 7.... Mr. Trump's rallies can be hard to follow.... 8. [Mr. Trump makes] anti-democratic statements.... 9.... Mr. Trump's verbal flubs seem to have worsened as he has aged."

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "... Donald Trump has threatened a campaign of retribution if he returns to the White House.... As president he demanded investigations of his enemies and often got them.... What I had failed to appreciate [which I was covering Trump's presidency], in the blizzard of news, was that he had been far more successful than I thought in having the government's most powerful arms directed at his enemies. In 10 cases that I looked at, a demand from Trump that someone be investigated was followed by their facing major federal pressure. Even without evidence of Trump signing a direct order, after he expressed a desire for a person to be targeted, remarkably, the Justice Department, the F.B.I. or the I.R.S. ended up doing what Trump wanted."

Here's Why They Lie. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Donald Trump and JD Vance are lying about the federal government's response to Hurricane Helene.... It would be easy to dismiss these lies as mere MAGA theater, but they are far more destructive than that. First and foremost, the lying degrades the ability of the federal government to respond to the disaster.... As Trump sees it, the goal of the state is to be a pathway for the upward redistribution of wealth to him, his friends and his allies.... If Trump does not care about FEMA's ability to do its job, it is because both he and his allies intend to dismantle the agency (most likely to help pay for tax cuts).... When political leaders lie with abandon..., they are trying to build a culture of dishonesty that erodes trust and makes collective action[i.e., self-governance,] all the more difficult.... To lie without shame about everything ... is to cultivate the habits of autocracy." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bouie is essentially confirming Trump & Vance's application of Hitler's theory of die große lüge -- the big lie -- as an effective form of propaganda. That is, the lie is so out-there that no one can believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously."

Debra Kamin, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump Organization pursued a deal last year to open a luxury hotel on a former site of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to people involved in the previously unreported talks, as well as documents reviewed by The New York Times.... Mr. Trump's company also considered turning a rising skyscraper in Tel Aviv into another Trump-branded hotel, the documents show. That tower ... is near the headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces and will have the most hotel rooms in the country when construction is completed. Eric Trump, who runs the family business, embarked on the negotiations well after his father kicked off his latest presidential bid in November 2022.... The company's efforts in Israel highlight longstanding ethical concerns about the mingling of the former president's financial and political fortunes -- this time in a warring country at the contentious center of U.S. and global politics."

Peter Baker & Ephrat Livni of the New York Times: "The book, 'War' [by journalist Bob Woodward], which is set to be released next week and relies on some anonymous sources, lays bare just how frustrated [President] Biden has become with [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu since the war in Gaza began and Israel has bombarded the enclave, killing more than 40,000 people and displacing most of the more than two million residents there. Outwardly, Mr. Biden has voiced strong support for Israel, sometimes in the face of withering international criticism.... Privately, the president has reacted far more explosively, sometimes with expletives, to Israel's moves, as multiple news reports have indicated. Mr. Netanyahu and the president last spoke on Aug. 21, according to a White House statement." The story includes some specifics which Woodward reports. Baker & Livni note that "The New York Times could not independently verify the specific statements reported in Mr. Woodward's upcoming book." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has secretly spoken with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as many as seven times since leaving office, even as he was pressuring Republicans to block military aid to Ukraine to fight Russian invaders, according to a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward.... The book also reports that Mr. Trump, while still in office early during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, secretly sent Mr. Putin what were then rare Abbott Point of Care test machines for the Russian's personal use Mr. Putin, who has been described as particularly anxious about being infected at the time, urged Mr. Trump to not publicly reveal the gesture because it could damage the American president politically.... [Woodward wrote that a single Trump aide was the source for the Trump-Putin conversations.]

"Mr. Trump's campaign dismissed Mr. Woodward's book by assailing the author with typically personal insults -- 'a total sleazebag' ... -- without addressing any of the specifics reported in it.... [Dmitri Peskov of] the Kremlin likewise denied the reporting in Mr. Woodward's book about conversations between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin and the provision of Covid tests. It would be highly unusual for a former president to privately talk with a top American adversary like Mr. Putin without clearing it with the current administration -- especially at a time when the United States and Russia are on opposite sides of a war in Europe." MB: Okay, but Putin's puppet has to get instructions somehow. (Also linked yesterday.)

Going to Mar-a-Lago is a little bit like going to North Korea. Everybody stands up and claps every time Trump comes in. -- Sen. Lindsey Graham ~~~

⭐     ~~~ Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "With publication on the eve of the presidential election, Woodward, who has chronicled the successes and failures of U.S. presidents for 50 years, concludes that Trump is unfit for office while President Joe Biden and his team, mistakes notwithstanding, exhibited 'steady and purposeful leadership.' Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, makes several appearances in the narrative, with Woodward presenting her as a shrewd and loyal No. 2 to Biden but not an influential voice in his administration's foreign policy.... The book ... includes candid assessments by Biden of his own missteps, including his decision to make Merrick Garland attorney general. Reacting to the prosecution of his son Hunter -- by a special prosecutor named by Garland amid partisan recriminations over the Justice Department's prosecution of Trump -- the president told an associate, 'Should never have picked Garland.'" Interesting stuff about Biden's foreign policy. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

⭐    ~~~ Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "In his new book, legendary journalist Bob Woodward offers a remarkable look behind the scenes at President Joe Biden's blunt, profanity-laced assessments and interactions with the world leaders who have shaped his presidency, from Benjamin Netanyahu to Vladimir Putin.... Woodward's new book, which was obtained by CNN ahead of its October 15 release, gives an unvarnished, in-the-room account of key moments as Biden and his national security team navigate international crises, from the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to confronting Putin before he invaded Ukraine to private battles with Netanyahu. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand participants, 'War' is filled with newly reported details of high-stakes showdowns." Also good stuff about Biden. Expletives included! (Also linked yesterday.)

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Donald Trump took 'British naval secrets' to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House, the former UK spy Christopher Steele says in a new book. 'I was reliably informed by impeccable sources that among the classified documents which Trump, apparently unauthorizedly, took with him to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency were British naval secrets, some of the most sensitive ones in our governmental system,' Steele writes.... A spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence said of Steele's comments about naval secrets taken to Mar-a-Lago: 'These claims are untrue.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Book Report. Monica Hesse of the Washington Post: "Depending on how you define 'memoir' -- must it be a coherent narrative, or does a posthumous collection of diary entries suffice? -- roughly a dozen first ladies of the United States have penned a total of more than 20 accounts of White House life.... We read repeatedly throughout 'Melania' [that s]he does something 'superb' and 'beautiful' and 'perfect.' But other people are out to get her. The villains are the usual suspects: the media, cancel culture, Democrats, the electoral process." Like the manufacturer of a skin-care product she developed who failed her after she "discovered the rejuvenating properties of caviar." Or her staff on Jan. 6, 2021, who failed to "pull her away from her scrapbooking."

Mike Masnick of TechDirt: "... Elon Musk is now directly tweaking the site he owns to push his favored political candidate, even seizing people's accounts to promote Trump. One of Elon's main reasons (he claimed) for buying Twitter was to stop what he (falsely) believed was the existing management using the site to push their political ideology.... Musk declar[ed] this just days after the Twitter board agreed to his offer to purchase the company:... 'For Twitter to deserve the public trust, it must be politically neutral....' That's not quite how things have played out. Elon has not only endorsed Donald Trump, appeared at his rallies, and turned ExTwitter into a non-stop propaganda-pushing campaign ad for Trump (while at the same time repeatedly pushing blatantly false and misleading claims via his own account), but he's also become one of Trump's biggest funders.

"Imagine how the GOP would react if a social media CEO had done that in support of Kamala Harris? Oh, wait, we don't even have to imagine, because even though it hasn't happened, the MAGA world had a fever dream where they pretended it did.... Mark Zuckerberg didn't endorse either candidate [in 2020, but he] fund[ed] politically neutral voting infrastructure efforts to make sure the 2020 election was free and fair. And for that, he was falsely accused of election interference and tipping the scales to Biden. Donald Trump has accused Zuckerberg of criminal behavior and threatened him with jail time for that effort. And, just recently, under pressure from Rep. Jim Jordan over that funding, Zuckerberg apologized for it and promised never to help fund election infrastructure again."

Tales of The Seven Dwarfs. Chapter 6. Whitewashing Boozy. Beth Reinhard of the Washington Post: "In September 2018, as allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett M. Kavanaugh threatened his confirmation to the Supreme Court..., Donald Trump vowed that the FBI would have 'free rein' to vet the claims.... The president's comments came as a surprise to the FBI, according to a new report from a Democratic senator [Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.)] based on previously undisclosed correspondence between the agency and the White House.... The report ... provides additional evidence of the tight control exercised by the White House over the FBI investigation -- despite Trump's claims to the contrary.

"The report found that [more than 4,500] messages to the FBI tip line regarding Kavanaugh were forwarded directly to the White House and never probed, and that the FBI had no written protocols for the supplemental background investigation ordered by the White House. It notes that the FBI was instructed by the White House to talk to 10 potential witnesses and was not given the leeway to pursue corroborating evidence -- the absence of which was cited by senators as they narrowly voted to confirm Kavanaugh.... Even when senators contacted the FBI directly with the names of people who claimed to have relevant information about Kavanaugh, the FBI did not contact them." The Guardian's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Whitehouse's full report, via the Senate, is here. It begins with a handy executive summary.

⭐ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lucian Truscott of Salon on how the press normalized Donald Trump from the get-go. "... the [New York] Times and much of the rest of the national media played such a large role in normalizing behavior that once would have been disqualifying on the day it occurred.... The orange-haired buffoon who first ran for president in 2015 showed us over the years who he was, and still much of the press let him slide.... In 2016, I called him a 'toy fascist.' He was the real thing, not a toy. I mistook a buffoon for a monster, and I will be eternally sorry for that."

Then There's This. Kathleen Culliton of the Raw Story: "A documentary about the Trump administration's family separation policy will not air before Election Day because MSNBC is concerned about offending the Republican presidential nominee, according to new reports. Journalist Oliver Darcy, a former critic for CNN, revealed Tuesday that the Errol Morris documentary based on Jacob Soboroff's 2020 book 'Separated: Inside an American Tragedy,' is being held by NBC bosses until Dec. 7 -- a move that apparently annoyed the director.... Darcy also reported NBC bosses 'don't want to offend Donald Trump, according to The Wrap.' [Darcy wrote,] 'Rebecca Blumenstein, president of editorials for NBC News, opposed airing "Separated" before the election because the network still hopes Trump will agree to another presidential debate.'" MB: In fairness to Blumenstein, network suits have always opposed journalism.

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "A majority of the Supreme Court appeared sympathetic on Tuesday to the Biden administration's restrictions on kits to make homemade guns that skirted background checks. At least five justices seemed to favor the measures, with at least two conservatives, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, showing skepticism toward the plaintiffs, gun manufacturers and owners who argued that the administration had overstepped its bounds in regulating so-called ghost guns. The rule, part of a broader effort by President Biden to address gun violence, sought to curtail the soaring popularity of the guns, weapons made from kits available for purchase online and heralded as easy enough to assemble in less than an hour." (Also linked yesterday.)

Glenn Thrush & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. has arrested an Afghan citizen in Oklahoma City on charges of plotting a suicide attack on Election Day, with the intent of inflicting mass casualties on behalf of the Islamic State, according to a criminal complaint filed on Tuesday. In preparation for the attack, the complaint said, the man, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, liquidated his family's financial assets to raise cash for the resettlement of his relatives in Kabul and recruited a co-conspirator, his nephew, who was not named because he is under the age of 18. It is not clear where Mr. Tawhedi intended to stage the attack, though investigators said he planned to use two AK-47s. His online history showed that he searched for how to access cameras in Washington on the same day he visited the White House and Washington Monument webcams, according to investigators. Mr. Tawhedi communicated his plans in chilling detail to a man he later identified as a member of the Islamic State.... Charges against other individuals are possible, according to a law enforcement official...." The AP's story is here.

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Florida. Judd Legum & Rebecca Crosby of Popular Information: Florida's Department of Health has threatened Mark Higgins, the General Manager of WFLA Tampa, with jail time for airing an ad that supports passage of Amendment 4, which would overturn Florida's near-total ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

New York. Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A former city official under Mayor Eric Adams was arrested Tuesday and charged with witness tampering and destruction of records as part of a federal probe into alleged illegal contributions solicited on the mayor's behalf during his last campaign. Mohamed Bahi ... recently resigned as a community liaison focused on serving members of New York's Muslim population. He previously had a role in Adams's 2021 campaign."

~~~~~~~~~~

Brazil. Terrence McCoy & Marina Diaz of the Washington Post: "A Brazilian Supreme Court justice lifted the suspension Tuesday evening on the social media platform X after the company met all of the court"s demands, ending a months-long dispute over the limits of freedom of expression in an era characterized by disinformation and polarization. The platform -- which has paid off its fines, suspended accounts deemed to have broken Brazilian law and appointed a legal representative in the country -- is expected to be back online within a matter of hours, reopening operations in one of its most active markets. The suspension order was a political defeat for the company's owner, Elon Musk."

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israeli wars are here: "Fierce cross-border fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah rages on, with the Israel Defense Forces announcing that it had killed at least 50 Hezbollah operatives in a spate of attacks across southern Lebanon. U.N. human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence condemned Israeli actions in Lebanon, accusing the IDF of using 'the same means and methods of warfare' as in Gaza and stating that 'the devastation is beyond belief' in both regions. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to speak on the phone Wednesday, according to Israeli media reports, as Israel plans its response, possibly within days, to Iran's barrage of ballistic missiles last week."

Adam Rasgon, et al., of the New York Times: "Israel announced a new division had joined its invasion of southern Lebanon on Tuesday, signaling that it could be ramping up operations as it pounded the Beirut strongholds of Hezbollah. Two Israeli officials confirmed that Israel had also struck near the Iranian Embassy in Syria's capital. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces launched their own aerial attack toward Israel, firing what the Israeli military said were 180 'projectiles,' most of which were intercepted. Separately, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared to confirm in a video message released on Tuesday that Israeli airstrikes outside Beirut last week had killed the presumed successor of Hezbollah's assassinated leader, Hassan Nasrallah."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, a spate of unusually strong and long-lived tornadoes touched down across the state, flipping tractor-trailers and ripping off roofs. The twisters surprised anxious residents, even as the storm's eye still loomed. Authorities said there had been 'multiple' deaths after the intense and destructive tornadoes." MB: I'm still on Florida's emergency-call list, and I received calls from Lee County urging me to shelter in place.

The Washington Post's live updates of Hurricane Milton developments are here: "Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened to a 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm, is closing in on Florida's west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, which could bring maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 mph with bigger gusts, poses a dire threat to the densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. As well as 'damaging hurricane-force winds,' coastal communities face a 'life-threatening' storm surge, the center said." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here: "Milton carved a path of destruction after crashing ashore Wednesday evening on Florida's Gulf Coast, making landfall near Sarasota as the second powerful hurricane to pound the region in less than two weeks. The storm battered the state for much of the day, with heavy winds, pelting rain and a spate of tornadoes.... By around midnight, the storm had destroyed more than 100 homes, killed several people in a retirement community and ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays."

Washington Post: "The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to David Baker at the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind.... The prize was awarded to scientists who cracked the code of proteins. Hassabis and Jumper used artificial intelligence to predict the structure of proteins, one of the toughest problems in biology. Baker created computational tools to design novel proteins with shapes and functions that can be used in drugs, vaccines and sensors."

Sorry, forgot this yesterday: ~~~

Reuters: "U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom. Heralded for its revolutionary potential in areas ranging from cutting-edge scientific discovery to more efficient admin, the emerging technology on which the duo worked has also raised fears humankind may soon be outsmarted and outcompeted by its own creation."