The Conversation -- November 2, 2023

Jonah Bromwich & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "Eric and Donald J. Trump Jr. ... stepped out of their father's shadow and into a legal minefield on Thursday, tiptoeing around potentially damaging evidence as they testified in a trial that threatens their family business. Donald Trump Jr. was mostly calm but often evasive as he blamed outside accountants for any errors in company financial statements during nearly two hours on the stand.... His younger brother, Eric, who now runs the Trump Organization, was more precise in his answers but more combative in his tone. He acknowledged his central role within the company but denied direct involvement with the documents. At one point, Eric Trump erupted in anger at questioning from a lawyer with the New York attorney general's office about whether he was aware of the financial statements in question....

"Toward the end of the day, [state prosecutor Andrew] Amer also drilled down on the value of the family's golf club in Westchester County, N.Y., seeking to show that Eric Trump had ignored an independent appraisal when advising an employee on how much the property was worth. Mr. Trump disputed that he paid much attention to appraisals, despite Mr. Amer's showing several emails in which he had corresponded with an appraiser about appraisals. The testimony was combative throughout, a stark contrast from his brother, who appeared to take his stint on the stand in stride. At one point, Donald Trump Jr. told a courtroom sketch artist to 'make me look sexy,' the artist told reporters." ~~~

     ~~~ Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Judge Arthur Engoron accused former President Donald Trump's lawyer Chris Kise of misogyny and warned him not to refer to [the] court clerk again during a tense exchange on Thursday.... Engoron snapped at Kise for repeatedly referring to Engoron's principal law clerk Allison Greenfield as a 'female principal law clerk.'... [This] reportedly prompted Kise to 'adamantly' deny he was a misogynist.... Engoron then reportedly warned Kise, 'All joking aside, do not refer to my staff again.... The person sitting along side me is a civil servant, doing what I ask her to do.' Engoron also reportedly threatened to expand Trump's gag order to Kise and other Trump lawyers if they continued to refer to court staffers."

Jacob Bogage & Abigail Hauslohner of the Washington Post: "The Republican-controlled House on Thursday approved legislation to send roughly $14 billion in emergency aid to Israel and cut about the same amount from the Internal Revenue Service, in a deeply divided vote on a measure that Senate leaders say they won't take up and President Biden has already threatened to veto.... New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) chose to split the Israel funding off from the rest of the aid and declared the House would cut the budget to pay for the spending to keep the federal deficit from growing. But the cuts to the IRS would actually cost taxpayers money, meaning the aid for Israel would add to the deficit even more than just borrowing the $14 billion Biden wants to send, according to a nonpartisan analysis by the Congressional Budget Office."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Thursday confirmed three more senior military officers in its latest move to bypass an expansive blockade on President Biden's nominees imposed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in a bid to gain leverage in a fight over the Pentagon's travel policy for troops seeking abortions. Approved by lopsided margins were Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Biden's choice to lead the Navy, who will become the first woman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. David W. Allvin, nominated to lead the Air Force; and Lt. Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, who will be promoted to four-star general, become the Marine Corps's No. 2 officer and step in as the caretaker commandant in the absence of Gen. Eric Smith, who suffered apparent cardiac arrest on Sunday. Smith, 58, was in stable condition on Wednesday evening with an unclear long-term prognosis. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon's No. 2 political appointee, appeared to link the hold on Thursday directly to Smith's condition[:] 'We have seen tragic effects of that stress, but we've also seen stress at the individual human level. And I think that's been well-communicated on Capitol Hill.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The AP report is here. Last night, some GOP senators railed against Tuberville's holds: ~~~

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will urge the Israeli government to agree to a series of brief cessations of military operations in Gaza to allow for hostages to be released safely and for humanitarian aid to be distributed, White House officials said on Thursday. The message comes as President Biden revealed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had previously agreed to halt shelling briefly on Oct. 20 to allow for the release of two Americans, Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, 17. The push for what American officials call 'humanitarian pauses' is one of several subjects Mr. Blinken will raise with Mr. Netanyahu and other officials when he arrives in Israel on Friday for another round of diplomacy...."

Zoe Richards of NBC News: "President Joe Biden said Wednesday that a 'pause' was needed in the Israel-Hamas war.... 'I think we need a pause, Biden said in response to a question from a protester who interrupted him at a campaign reception in Minnesota. Asked to clarify what a pause meant, he said: 'A pause means give time to get the prisoners out....' Negotiations to free 239 hostages, including children and the elderly, have continued since Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack killed about 1,400 people in Israel. After Hamas breached Israel's border wall, other groups from Gaza seized additional captives. The protester, who identified herself as Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, said she wanted Biden to call for a cease-fire."

Edward Moreno of the New York Times: "A jury of nine women and three men began deliberating a verdict on Thursday afternoon in the criminal fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced entrepreneur who has been accused of stealing as much as $10 billion in customer funds from his FTX crypto exchange.... Federal prosecutors have accused Mr. Bankman-Fried of taking billions of dollars in customer deposits from FTX to fund investments, political donations and luxury real estate. The exchange failed last year, leaving many customers unable to recover their money, and turning Mr. Bankman-Fried's case into a referendum on the excesses of the volatile crypto industry.... Jurors are deciding whether to convict Mr. Bankman-Fried on seven charges of fraud and conspiracy.... All 12 jurors must agree to convict or acquit Mr. Bankman-Fried on each of the seven charges." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ UPDATE. Eli Tan & Tory Newmyer of the Washington Post: "A jury on Thursday convicted FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, the culmination of a month-long trial that saw the former crypto mogul take the stand in his own defense after his inner circle of friends-turned-deputies provided damning testimony against him. The decision was reached after a few hours of deliberation by a jury of nine women and three men, who found Bankman-Fried guilty of two counts of wire fraud, four counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The conviction cements Bankman-Fried as one of the largest financial fraudsters in history, whose victims suffered nearly $10 billion in losses after FTX misappropriated customer funds to spend lavishly on luxury real estate, investments, and 'dark money' political donations, all at his direction, the jury found."

CNN is liveblogging developments in today's New York State case to determine the amount of damages the Trump Org must pay for defrauding the state and lenders. Donald Trump, Jr., is back on the stand. MB: He seems to be pleading ignorance to many of the questions of the prosecuting attorney. Which, in his case, is totally believable. He's even anticipating some of the questions; after being asked about a 2017 fraudulent financial statement, he said his answer would be the same for every year, so "... we can save ourselves a lot of time" by not wading through other statements he signed off on. "Rinse and repeat," he said. He seems to pride himself on being a waste of space. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. The New York Times is liveblogging the "children's" testimony. Eric is on the stand this afternoon.

Marie: looked for this earlier; just found it, via Salon:

Judge Cannon’s decision goes straight for the capillaries. Almost pointless discussion, when so many real issue are left undecided. And her language is far too snarky for a federal judge. https://t.co/CGkd8D68gJ

— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) November 1, 2023

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Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday while keeping alive the possibility of a future increase, striking a cautious stance as rapid inflation retreats but is not yet vanquished."

Dan Lamothe & Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "The war in Gaza and a serious medical emergency suffered by the Marine Corps' top officer has forced into the open months of simmering Republican frustration with Sen. Tommy Tuberville's expansive hold on President Biden's military nominees, driving several of his colleagues to publicly denounce the gambit and urge Senate leaders to take immediate action to end the impasse.... On Wednesday night, a remarkable scene unfolded on the Senate floor as several Republicans, including Sens. Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Joni Ernst (Iowa) Todd C. Young (Ind.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) confronted Tuberville, imploring him to lift his hold for the sake of national security and proposing votes on individual officers whose promotions have been delayed. Tuberville rebuffed them one by one, blocking each proposed nominee as his colleagues' frustration continued to rise.” ~~~

     ~~~ Conor O'Brien & Joe Gould of Politico: “During the lengthy floor fight Wednesday, [Sen. Dan] Sullivan [R-Alaska] or one of his colleagues would call up each nominee by name -- 61 in all -- extolling their qualifications and, finally, ask for consent to vote to confirm them. Sullivan noted several times that Tuberville had previously said he'd agree to votes on individual nominees.... He called the holdup 'a national security suicide mission.'"

Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "'Over the course of seven years, [Mike] Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn't appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing -- covering 2022 -- showing no assets whatsoever,' reported Roger Sollenberger [of the Daily Beast], noting that he probably does have a bank account, but just doesn't have enough money in it to trigger reporting requirements. 'House Ethics Committee filing guidelines state that members must disclose bank accounts they have at every financial institution, as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts -- including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children -- exceeds $5,000,' the report continued." Thanks to RAS for the link to the Beast's story. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yesterday, I wrote in the Comments that Mike's failure to report any bank balances was pretty implausible. But I think I've figured it out, and I've posted my new theory at the top of today's Comments.

Mike Johnson, Troll. David Firestone of the New York Times: "It didn't take long for the new House speaker, Mike Johnson, to demonstrate to the world that he will not be a serious partner for American allies or for those who still believe that governing is not a petty little game.... Making sense isn't really Mr. Johnson's game.... By throwing ... the I.R.S. cut [in funding into an appropriations bill to fund aid to Israel (and cutting out Ukraine war funding)], he gets to show the same extremists who deposed his predecessor that he can play rough with the White House." (Also linked yesterday.)

Amanda Marcotte of Salon has some thoughts on Mike Johnson's "covenant" marriage and why he's trying to keep his "Stepford wife" Kelly out of sight. Interesting read. (Also linked yesterday.)

Long Island Man Keeps His House Seat. Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "A Republican-led effort to expel Representative George Santos of New York failed on Wednesday night, after a group of lawmakers from Mr. Santos's home state could not persuade enough of their colleagues that his admitted lies and federal indictment were sufficient grounds to oust him." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Wong, et al., of NBC News: "The expulsion resolution, which was led by his fellow New York Republicans and says Santos is 'not fit to serve,' needed support from a supermajority, or at least two-thirds of the voting lawmakers, to pass. The final tally did not even crest the simple majority threshold: 179 voted in favor of expulsion, 213 against and 19 voting present. Thirty one Democrats voted with 182 Republicans against expulsion, while 24 Republicans voted with 155 Democrats to remove Santos."

Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "The House on Wednesday turned aside a Republican effort to formally reprimand Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, for her participation in a recent pro-Palestinian protest in which she accused Israel of genocide, as a solid bloc of Republicans joined Democrats to reject the move. The vote was 222 to 186 to table, or kill, a censure resolution against Ms. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, offered by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia. The measure accused Ms. Tlaib of 'antisemitic activity' and referred to the Oct. 8 protest as an 'insurrection.' Twenty-three Republicans broke with their party in voting to kill it.... Following the vote on censuring Ms. Tlaib, the House had planned to turn to an effort to formally rebuke Ms. Greene for 'racist rhetoric and conspiracy theories, citing her past antisemitic statements, anti-L.G.B.T.Q.+ remarks and her praise and support for those charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. But that measure was dropped abruptly after the censure of Ms. Tlaib failed." The Hill's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Somebody might tell Miss Margie that Palestinians are Semites, so it would be odd if Tlaib were antisemitic.

Jonah Bromwich & Kate Christobek of the New York Times: "Donald Trump Jr. testified on Wednesday that he had no involvement in annual financial statements that his family's business gave banks and insurers despite language in the statements themselves suggesting that he was partially responsible for them.... Asked whether he worked on one such statement, from 2017, Mr. Trump was clear: 'I did not. The accountants worked on it. That's what we pay them for.' He soon clarified that his conversations with others at the company may have informed the financial statement.... The attorney general's office has argued that his signature on letters affirming his responsibility for the financial statements links him directly to fraud." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Weissmann noted on MSNBC Wednesday that one of the documents prosecutors identified during Junior's testimony was a declaration, which Donald Trump Sr. signed on January 15, 2021, while he was still president*, indicating he was reclaiming control of the Trump Org., after having relinquished the top job (at least on paper) while he was president*. Weissmann sees this as an important indicator that Trump knew he had lost the 2020 election. Weissmann opined that Jack Smith could use the admission in the election interference case.

Perry Stein & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The judge overseeing Donald Trump's indictment for allegedly mishandling national security secrets suggested Wednesday that she might push back the planned trial timeline.... U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon listened to prosecutors argue at a hearing for keeping the schedule she set earlier this year, which includes a trial in May 2024. Lawyers for the former president insisted they needed more time to prepare.... [Prosecutors] said that all the classified materials are now available to review in Florida." CNN's report is here.

Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Close allies of Donald J. Trump are preparing to populate a new administration with a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer, dispensing with traditional conservatives who they believe stymied his agenda in his first term.... At the start of Mr. Trump's term, his administration relied on the influential Federalist Society, the conservative legal network whose members filled key executive branch legal roles and whose leader helped select his judicial nominations. But in a striking shift, Trump allies are building new recruiting pipelines separate from the Federalist Society." ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "It is not only in the legal realm that this effort is underway, however.... This plan from the pro-Trump right runs in parallel with Trump's intent to overhaul the protections that government employees enjoy, making it easier to fire people who might object to the injection of partisan priorities.... It's a recipe for a second term in which the guardrails battered during Trump's first term are removed completely."

Former Guy to "Rebrand" USA as USA. Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post, republished in Yahoo! News: "In a new post on his Truth Social website, Donald Trump ... made a strange claim about the name of the country if he wins next year's election. 'We're gonna have a great country. It's gonna be called the United States of America,' he said, neglecting the obvious fact that the country is already called the United States of America.... Last week, Trump said he noticed for the first time that the abbreviation for the United States also spells the word 'us.' 'I just picked that up. Has anyone ever thought of that? I just picked that up,' he said in New Hampshire, then complained he probably won't get the credit he deserves for making the 'us' discovery. 'Now, if we say something genius, they'll never say it,' Trump said." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. In yesterday's Comments, RAS posits that Trump is hoping to earn branding credit for the name, a move he may think could earn him billions. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

Minnesota. Steve Karnowski & Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: "Efforts to use the Constitution's 'insurrection' clause to prevent ... Donald Trump from running again for the White House turn to Minnesota on Thursday with oral arguments before the state Supreme Court.... In the Minnesota case, the plaintiffs are asking the state's highest court to declare that Trump is disqualified and direct the secretary of state to keep him off the ballot for the state's March 5 primary. They've also broached the possibility of the court ordering an evidentiary hearing, which would mean further proceedings and delay a final resolution, something Trump's legal team opposes.... [Steve] Simon, the [Minnesota] secretary of state, has asked the court to rule quickly so he can send instructions to local election officials about Minnesota's March primary no later than Jan. 5."

Colorado. Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "A Colorado judge on Wednesday refused a request from lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump to throw out a case challenging his eligibility to hold office again, saying she was not yet prepared to decide on what she called 'significant legal issues, many of which have never been decided by any court.' The decision by the judge, Sarah B. Wallace, means the trial will continue through Friday before a final ruling.... Over two and a half days starting Monday, lawyers for those voters called a series of witnesses. They included two experts intended to build the case that Mr. Trump incited far-right extremists to attack the Capitol and that this constituted 'engaging in insurrection,' as those words were understood when the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868....

"Among other sources, Professor [Gerard] Magliocca cited congressional debate records; court rulings; legal analyses written by the attorney general at the time; and two instances after the Civil War, but shortly before the 14th Amendment was ratified, in which Congress refused to seat members. One had written a letter to the editor calling for violence against Union troops. The other had given $100 to a son who was going to fight for the Confederacy.... The defense then began calling witnesses on Mr. Trump's behalf. That testimony is expected to run through Friday." An AP story is here.

Michigan. Elle Meyers of CBS News: "The fight over whether ... Donald Trump should be allowed on the 2024 ballot in Michigan continues. This week, lawyers for the former president filed suit, arguing Trump didn't engage in the events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. 'An insurrection -- that's an attempt to take over the government; I've never seen a government taken over without guns,' said Terry Johnson, an attorney with Kirsch Daskas Law Group. 'There was not an attempt to overthrow the government. No one took anyone hostage. No one had firearms, rifles, or anything along these lines. This was a riot.'" ~~~

~~~ Marie: Among the arguments Trump's legal team and other Trumpeteers s are making is that the states should "let the voters decide" who the GOP presidential* nominee will be & forget about allowing or ordering state election officials to remove Trump from their ballots. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), appearing on Joy Reid's MSNBC show Tuesday night, contended that that is a silly argument, inasmuch as states would routinely deny a declared presidential candidate on their ballots if s/he did not meet other Constitutional requirements for the presidency; for instance, if the candidate was 20 years old or was a naturalized citizen.

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New York. Elizabeth Wolfe & Zenebou Sylla of CNN: "Cornell University has canceled classes Friday to acknowledge the 'extraordinary stress' its campus has been under as one of its students is accused of making violent antisemitic threats against Jewish people at the college, where unease over the Israel-Hamas war has been escalating for weeks. A junior at the university, 21-year-old Patrick Dai, has been arrested and federally charged in connection with a series of online posts over the weekend which threatened to kill and harm Cornell's Jewish students, New York prosecutors say.... Since the conflict ignited last month, Jews, Palestinians and Muslims in the US have expressed growing fear over a reported spike in hate-motivated attacks -- including a nearly 400% increase in antisemitic incidents recorded by the Anti-Defamation League in the days after Hamas raided Israel on October 7."

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Israel/Palestine

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Miriam Berger, et al., of the Washington Post: "A group of foreign passport holders and injured Palestinians left Gaza for Egypt on Wednesday in the war's first such passage to safety even as Israel carried out another deadly strike on the Jabalya refugee camp, the third in less than 24 hours, Palestinian officials said.... Egyptian state media said 361 foreigners and 45 injured Palestinians crossed to Egypt, but it was not immediately clear whether everyone had been admitted to the country. At least five Americans who worked for international organizations were among those evacuated, according to a U.S. official.... A spokesman for the Gaza side of the border said it would be opened again on Thursday for further evacuations. But the movement at Rafah remains woefully insufficient given a humanitarian crisis in the enclave far past the point of desperation, aid workers said."

The Conversation -- November 1, 2023

Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "'Over the course of seven years, [Mike] Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn't appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing -- covering 2022 -- showing no assets whatsoever,' reported Roger Sollenberger [of the Daily Beast], noting that he probably does have a bank account, but just doesn't have enough money in it to trigger reporting requirements. 'House Ethics Committee filing guidelines state that members must disclose bank accounts they have at every financial institution, as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts -- including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children -- exceeds $5,000,' the report continued." Thanks to RAS for the link to the Beast's story.

Mike Johnson, Troll. David Firestone of the New York Times: "It didn't take long for the new House speaker, Mike Johnson, to demonstrate to the world that he will not be a serious partner for American allies or for those who still believe that governing is not a petty little game.... Making sense isn't really Mr. Johnson's game.... By throwing ... the I.R.S. cut [in funding into an appropriations bill to fund aid to Israel (and cutting out Ukraine war funding)], he gets to show the same extremists who deposed his predecessor that he can play rough with the White House."

Amanda Marcotte of Salon has some thoughts on Mike Johnson's "covenant" marriage and why he's trying to keep his "Stepford wife" Kelly out of sight. Interesting read.

Former Guy to "Rebrand" USA as USA. Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post, republished in Yahoo! News: "In a new post on his Truth Social website, Donald Trump ... made a strange claim about the name of the country if he wins next year's election. 'We're gonna have a great country. It's gonna be called the United States of America,' he said, neglecting the obvious fact that the country is already called the United States of America.... Last week, Trump said he noticed for the first time that the abbreviation for the United States also spells the word 'us.' 'I just picked that up. Has anyone ever thought of that? I just picked that up,' he said in New Hampshire, then complained he probably won't get the credit he deserves for making the 'us' discovery. 'Now, if we say something genius, they'll never say it,' Trump said." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. In today's Comments, RAS posits that Trump is hoping to earn branding credit for the name; he may think that could earn him billions.

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Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. director [Christopher Wray] warned Tuesday that the Israel-Hamas war had raised the potential for an attack against Americans to a new level and escalated threats against Jews and Muslims in the United States.... 'The ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole other level'..., Mr. Wray told senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee during a hearing about worldwide threats to the United States.... The biggest concern for the agency is attacks from violent extremists or lone actors in the U.S. inspired by hateful messages and calls to violence. The number of antisemitic acts in the United States had been on the rise even before the Israel-Hamas war, led in part by white supremacist propaganda and new nationalist groups across the country." NPR's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "FBI Director Christopher Wray lit into Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) during a Senate hearing on Tuesday after Johnson accused the FBI of partisanship. [Wray] pushed back on Johnson, saying, 'I see an FBI every day that conducts themselves with integrity and professionalism and selflessness and rigor. And I do not accept the characterization of our performance in this particular case.' 'That's not how I characterized it. I'm talking about partisanship at the top,' interjected Johnson, raising his voice.... 'And the idea that I, as a Republican appointee and a lifelong Republican is biased in the way that you are describing makes absolutely no sense,' Wray shot back."

Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jack Lew to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel at a critical moment in U.S.-Israeli relations, despite vocal opposition to President Biden's nominee by Republican senators over his defense of the Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement. Lew's nomination was approved 53-43, largely along party lines. The United States has been without a confirmed ambassador for Israel since this summer, when Thomas Nides departed from the role. Lew was nominated by Biden in September.... Lew's nomination has been on a fast track since [early October when the Israel/Hamas war began]." The NBC News report is here.

Manu Raju of CNN: "Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell bluntly warned Republican senators in a private meeting not to sign on to a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley aimed at limiting corporate money bankrolling high-powered outside groups, telling them that many of them won their seats thanks to the powerful super PAC the Kentucky Republican has long controlled. According to multiple sources familiar with the Tuesday lunch meeting, McConnell warned GOP senators that they could face 'incoming' from the 'center-right' if they signed onto Hawley's bill. He also read off a list of senators who won their races amid heavy financial support from the Senate Leadership Fund, an outside group tied to the GOP leader that spends big on TV ads in battleground Senate races. On that list of senators: Hawley himself, according to sources familiar with the matter. McConnell has long been a chief opponent of tighter campaign finance restrictions. But there's also no love lost between McConnell and Hawley, who has long criticized the GOP leader and has repeatedly called for new leadership atop their conference."

Katie Edmondson & Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to force a stand-alone vote on aid for Israel, peeling off a request from the Biden administration for money from Ukraine and coupling it with spending cuts, has set up a confrontation between the House and Senate over how to fund U.S. allies during the conflicts. Mr. Johnson, the Louisiana Republican who has personally voted against sending military aid to Kyiv, released a $14 billion aid bill for Israel on Monday. It includes a provision that would rescind the same amount of money earmarked for the Internal Revenue Service as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, a key piece of President Biden's agenda. Mr. Biden has asked Congress to pass a $105 billion aid package for Israel and Ukraine that also has funds for Taiwan and border security in the United States. But Mr. Johnson spurned that request, in an acknowledgment of how toxic funding for Ukraine has become among Republicans." The ABC News story is here. ~~~

If you put this to the American people, and they weigh the two needs, I think they are going to say standing with Israel and protecting the innocent is in our national interest, and a more immediate need than IRS agents. -- Squeaker & Leading Contender for America's Most Obnoxious Weanie Mike Johnson, on Fox Tuesday ~~~

     ~~~ Jacob Bogage & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: Speaker Mike "Johnson's gambit was swiftly rejected by lawmakers in both parties. Top Senate Republicans such as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Susan Collins (Maine) called for including Ukraine aid in the legislative package, while the White House and congressional Democrats said cutting the IRS was a non-starter.... Republicans are expected to try to pass the legislation through the House on Friday." ~~~

~~~ An Inconvenient Truth. Marcy Wheeler: "Since January, it has been the unrelenting focus of the GOP House -- including Mike Johnson -- to demand higher penalties on Hunter Biden for not paying all his taxes.... But as one of the first acts under Speaker Johnson, he will respond to a terrorist attack by trying to help rich tax cheats. His plan pays for funding for Israel by cutting funding to the IRS by $14.3 billion, funding that more than pays for itself. Johnson's move to cut IRS funding comes weeks after the IRS made headlines for the amounts it is collecting from tax cheats who are far richer than Hunter Biden." ~~~

~~~ digby republishes a major portion of Jonathan Chait's post in New York on Mike's deceptive little bill. ~~~

~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Several major national news outlets are promoting House Republicans' deceptive spin as the party seeks to leverage emergency funding for Israel to enact its top priority of protecting wealthy tax cheats.... Some major news outlets promoted the GOP's spin that the IRS funding cuts 'offset' or 'pay for' the Israel spending, while providing no information to their readers indicating that those cuts will likely increase the deficit. [These include Fox, of course, as well as CBS News, Politico & Reuters.]... Other outlets similarly privileged the House GOP's false 'offset' framing, but either acknowledged later in their report that the IRS cuts would increase the deficit or at least cited critics making that point."

Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is set to face expulsion from the House as soon as Wednesday, possibly becoming the first congressman in more than 20 years to be removed in a motion brought forth by Republicans from his own delegation.... In what some lawmakers see as a move to delay the vote on Santos and affirm his right to due process, the House Ethics Committee released a statement Tuesday saying that it continues to investigate the counts against Santos and will announce its 'next course of action in this manner on or before November 17, 2023.' Based on what the committee decides about Santos's conduct, it could make several recommendations for the House to take, including punishments that include censure, reprimand or expulsion.... A swath of lawmakers worry that removing Santos ignores the presumption of innocence and would set a precedent that expulsion is a standard option for reprimand at a time when retribution has become the norm in the House.... Expulsion requires approval from two-thirds of House lawmakers voting...." ~~~

     ~~~ A CBS News story is here. See also Akhilleus' commentary at the top of today's thread.

Another Insomniac Attack. Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump attacked Judge Arthur Engoron and New York State Attorney General Letitia James in an unhinged 2:28 Truth Social post.... He also took aim at his former fixer, Michael Cohen, who testified against Trump last week.... What was unique about this post was his insistence that Judge Engoron 'Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!'... Wednesday's trial will see Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., testify in the fraud trial, while Eric Trump is set to testify Thursday. Both Ivanka Trump and Trump himself will testify next week, though they could take the fifth." Includes full text of twoot.

Trump Has Hallowe'en Nightmares. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump did the social media equivalent of waking up screaming in the night by posting an out-of-the-blue enraged exclamation at 4:24 in the morning. The latest trigger for Trump's rage is the gag order by Federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, which Judge Chutkan reinstated Sunday.... Trump wrote at around 1 AM [Tuesday]: 'RADICAL LEFT JUDGE TAKING AWAY MY RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH IN ORDER TO HELP CROOKED JOE BIDEN & HIS THIRD WORLD ELECTION INTERFERENCE SCAM. AS GOOD AS THIS SOUNDS, IT WON'T WORK!' [And so forth.]... Then, suddenly, at 4:24 AM, Trump shouted into the blackness of the social media night sky: 'ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -- Voltaire, some while back ~~~

~~~ Amanda Marcotte of Salon on "how evangelical delusions trained Republicans to love Trump's lies.... [Trump's] life philosophy, where what is 'true' is whatever he wants to believe, fits nicely within the demon-haunted rhetoric of the Christian right, where Noah's ark is real but science is not.... Because they are so comfortable 'believing' that which they know not to be true, it was a breeze for Republicans to go along with Trump's Big Lie -- and therefore the atrocities that were committed in service of it, such as the Capitol riot."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court worked hard in a pair of arguments on Tuesday to find a clear constitutional line separating elected officials&' purely private social media accounts from ones that reflect government actions and are subject to the First Amendment. After three hours, though, it was not clear that a majority of the justices had settled on a clear test. The question in the two cases was when the Constitution limits officials' ability to block users from their accounts. The answer turned on whether the officials' use of the accounts amounted to 'state action,' which is governed by the First Amendment, or private activity, which is not. That same question had seemed headed to the Supreme Court after the federal appeals court in New York ruled in 2019 that ... Donald J. Trump's Twitter account was a public forum from which he was powerless to exclude people based on their viewpoints."

Presidential Race 2024 Trivia

Marie: Do not accuse me of ignoring all the news of Ron DeSantis' boot fetish, from white high-tops to "top-secret" lifts: ~~~

     ~~~ Kelby Vera of the Huffington Post: Ron Desantis "walked away [ha ha] from a chance to debunk the theory [that he has lifts in his boots] during an appearance Monday on conservative podcaster Patrick Bet-David's show. DeSantis seemed confused when Bet-David tried to explain the shoe scandal with a viral video, but he refused to put on a pair of very fancy Ferragamo loafers to prove he's 5 feet, 11 inches, as he claims. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: The lockdown of Southern Maine demonstrates that a society that fetishizes guns cannot flourish or even function. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: We live in a country in which our "leaders" ban books but not assault weapons.

Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk told podcast host Joe Rogan that he purchased the social network in an effort to save civilization from a zombie mind virus.... [Because] 'if you walk around downtown San Francisco, right near the X/Twitter headquarters, it's a zombie apocalypse. I mean, it's rough.... So, you know, a philosophy that would be ordinarily quite niche and geographically constrained, so that sort of the fallout area would be limited, was effectively given an information weapon, an information technology weapon to propagate what is essentially a mind virus to the rest of Earth, and the outcome of that mind virus is very clear if you walk around the streets of downtown San Francisco. It is the end of civilization.'" MB: Okay then. Clearly, a well-thought-out business plan.

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Idaho. Jessica Valenti in a Substack essay: "Last week, an Idaho teenager and his mother were arrested for bringing the teen's girlfriend out-of-state for an abortion. The pair were charged with multiple felonies, including second degree kidnapping, for taking a minor under 16 years-old 'with the intent to keep or conceal [her] from her custodial parent ... by transporting the child out of the state for the purpose of obtaining an abortion.' The 15 year-old, identified in court records as K.B., was living in Pocatello with her 18 year-old boyfriend Kaydn* and his mother, Rachael, when she became pregnant. In May, they brought her to Oregon, where K.B. received abortion medication. Idaho's "abortion trafficking" law went into effect that same month.... Prosecutors declined to use the 'abortion trafficking' statute specifically. This may have something to do with the fact that the law is being challenged, and abortion rights advocates are asking for a temporary injunction against it while the case makes its way through the courts.... [So they brought a 'kidnapping' charge but] used the exact language of the trafficking law in the kidnapping charge.]" Nice. Emphasis original.

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Israel/Palestine

The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Seriously injured Palestinians began arriving by ambulance in Egypt on Wednesday, Egyptian state TV and a local medical official said, as the Rafah border crossing opened for the first such crossings since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel. Hundreds of foreign passport holders were also moving through checkpoints at the border crossing as part of a deal negotiated among Israel, Egypt, Hamas, the United States and Qatar. Egypt was set to receive hundreds of people on Wednesday, according to Western diplomats in Cairo and Jerusalem and the Gaza authorities.... American citizens are not expected to be among Wednesday's evacuees..., but they are slated to follow in batches later in the week.... Early Wednesday, Gaza's two million residents appeared to have been once again plunged into a communication blackout.... The Pentagon said that American commandos were on the ground in Israel to help locate the more than 200 hostages seized during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Wednesday are here.

Israel Strikes a Gaza Refugee Camp. Susannah George of the Washington Post: "A series of Israeli strikes targeting a senior Hamas commander in the northern Gaza Strip left scores of dead and wounded in a crowded refugee camp Tuesday as Israel expands its assault by air and land. The Gaza Health Ministry and the director of Gaza's Indonesian hospital said hundreds of people were killed or injured in the attack. Palestinians carried away the injured and dead on blankets and mattresses in the densely packed Jabalya refugee camp. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a senior Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari, was killed in the strikes.... Israel's push deeper into Gaza has become a test for allies such as the United States, which has stood by Israel's right to retaliate after a deadly Hamas raid on Oct. 7 but has increasingly pressed for ways to help civilians caught in the war. At a Senate hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said 'humanitarian pauses must be considered.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Kareem Khadder, et al., of CNN: "Survivors and eyewitness spoke of apocalyptic scenes in the aftermath of the strike, which tore a massive crater through the middle of the crowded camp.... 'Children were carrying other injured children and running, with grey dust filling the air. Bodies were hanging on the rubble, many of them unrecognized. Some were bleeding and others were burnt,' [an eyewitness] told CNN by telephone.' ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: How is mass murder by bomb more humane than murdering individual kids at a concert? Is it because the mass murderers didn't look into the eyes of their victims as the Hamas terrorists did?

The Conversation -- October 31, 2023

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: The lockdown of Southern Maine demonstrates that a society that fetishizes guns cannot flourish or even function.

Trump Has Hallowe'en Nightmares. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump did the social media equivalent of waking up screaming in the night by posting an out-of-the-blue enraged exclamation at 4:24 in the morning. The latest trigger for Trump's rage is the gag order by Federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, which Judge Chutkan reinstated Sunday.... Trump wrote at around 1 AM [Tuesday]: 'RADICAL LEFT JUDGE TAKING AWAY MY RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH IN ORDER TO HELP CROOKED JOE BIDEN & HIS THIRD WORLD ELECTION INTERFERENCE SCAM. AS GOOD AS THIS SOUNDS, IT WON'T WORK!' [And so forth.]... Then, suddenly, at 4:24 AM, Trump shouted into the blackness of the social media night sky: 'ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!'"

Marie: Do not accuse me of ignoring all the news of Ron DeSantis' boot fetish, from white high-tops to "top-secret" lifts: ~~~

     ~~~ Kelby Vera of the Huffington Post: Ron Desantis "walked away [ha ha] from a chance to debunk the theory [that he has lifts in his boots] during an appearance Monday on conservative podcaster Patrick Bet-David's show. DeSantis seemed confused when Bet-David tried to explain the shoe scandal with a viral video, but he refused to put on a pair of very fancy Ferragamo loafers to prove he's 5 feet, 11 inches, as he claims."

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Cecilia Kang & David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Biden signed a far-reaching executive order on artificial intelligence on Monday, requiring that companies report to the federal government about the risks that their systems could aid countries or terrorists to make weapons of mass destruction. The order also seeks to lessen the dangers of 'deep fakes' that could swing elections or swindle consumers. 'Deep fakes use A.I.-generated audio and video to smear reputations, spread fake news and commit fraud,' Mr. Biden said at the signing of the order at the White House. He described his concern that fraudsters could take three seconds of a person's voice and manipulate its content, turning an innocent comment into something more sinister that would quickly go viral. 'I've watched one of me,' Mr. Biden said, referring to an experiment his staff showed him to make the point that a well-constructed artificial intelligence system could convincingly create a presidential statement that never happened -- and thus touch off a political or national security crisis." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the order, via the White House.

Jeff Stein & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "House Republicans on Monday unveiled a proposal to pay for emergency aid for Israel's war against Hamas by cutting IRS funds aimed at cracking down on rich tax cheats and improving taxpayer service. The legislation, released by the House Rules Committee, calls for approving roughly $14 billion primarily in military aid to Israel and cutting about the same amount from the IRS budget. President Biden has proposed giving Israel roughly the same amount in aid but did not call for offsetting cuts to other parts of the budget.... Biden also called for the Israel aid to be packaged with roughly $60 billion for Ukraine, an approach the GOP bill rejected.... Using the IRS funding to offset the Israel aid might not actually save money: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had estimated in 2022 that the $80 billion IRS expansion would cut the deficit by more than $100 billion by improving collections and enforcement.... Many Senate Democrats, with one notable exception [-- Joe Manchin --], declared the House Republican bill dead on arrival in the upper chamber." MB: So if you protect tax scoffs like our billionaire donor pals, we'll help Israel. AND screw the deficit and fageddaboud Ukraine. ~~~

~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The White House on Monday issued veto threats against two GOP-led House appropriations bills expected to come up for a vote this week as lawmakers seek to avoid a government shutdown in November. The administration expressed its opposition to two funding bills likely to come up on the House floor in the coming days -- one that would fund the Department of the Interior, Environment and related agencies, and another that would fund the Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and related agencies.... In both cases, the White House argued the bills put forward by Republicans in the House undercut an agreement reached by administration officials and GOP lawmakers in May on spending as part of negotiations to raise the debt limit."

Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "House Speaker Mike Johnson's wife [Kelly Johnson] took down the website for her company, Onward Christian Counseling Services, a day after HuffPost pointed to documents on the site that compared homosexuality to bestiality and incest.... A spokesperson for Speaker Johnson did not respond to a request for comment about whether he wrote the bylaws for his wife's company that include the language about bestiality and incest, or if he knows why his wife's website is now inactive." MB: These people would be comical if they weren't so cruel & bigoted. Kelly Johnson has had this site since 2017. If she believed all that crap then, does she believe it now? How come gay sex was "offensive to God" last week when Mike was still a back-bencher, but it isn't anymore now that he is Speaker of the House? Why, you'd almost think the Website was nothing more than a business enterprise and the pretty little White Christianist blogger was more mercenary than God-fearing.

Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats announced plans Monday to vote to subpoena a pair of wealthy conservatives and a judicial activist who have underwritten or organized lavish travel for some Supreme Court justices.... Senate Judiciary Committee leaders said they would vote as soon as Nov. 9 to authorize subpoenas for information from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow, a close friend and benefactor of Justice Clarence Thomas, and from Leonard Leo, the conservative judicial activist. Senate Democrats do not need the vote of any Republican on the committee to authorize the subpoenas. No separate vote by the full Senate is necessary.... The committee said Monday that it would also vote to issue a subpoena to conservative donor Robin Arkley II. ProPublica reported that Arkley provided Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. with a free fishing trip to Alaska in 2008 that was organized by Leo."

Trump Gags on Gag Order. Rachel Weiner & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "On Thursday, former attorney general William P. Barr made some less-than-flattering comments about Donald Trump. Twice over the weekend, the former president snarled back -- first insulting Barr's appearance in a campaign speech, then calling Barr 'gutless' and 'weak' on social media. But one of those comments came just after a court order barring Trump from going after witnesses -- such as Barr -- who could testify at trial about his attempts to undo the 2020 election results. Minutes before the Truth Social post, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan had reimposed a gag order barring Trump from comments that 'target ... any reasonably foreseeable witness' in the federal case in D.C. charging him with illegal interference in the 2020 election. When he posted about Barr, Trump had not yet been told by his attorneys that the gag order was in effect and was not intending to violate it, according to a campaign aide. A few minutes after the Barr insult, Trump wrote that he had just learned the gag order was reinstated....: (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If what I heard on MSNBC is true (and I'm not sure of the source but I think it was an expert lawyer), the Trump is still in trouble: although he may or may not have known Judge Chutkan's gag order was back in force when he wrote his twoot,* he has not taken it down.

     * Twoot: A "truth," as Trump calls his tweets, uttered by a bratty child from a Long Island borough with a tendency to rhotacization; thus, "tr" sounds like "tw" & "th" sounds like "t."

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "A 59-year-old supporter of Donald Trump has been arrested for threats against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tamar Hallerman posted on social media Monday. Arthur Ray Hanson II, of Huntsville, Alabama, was indicted for the threatening voicemails sent related to Trump's racketeering case.... Hanson left one voicemail threatening: 'watch it when you're going to the car at night, when you're going into your house, watch everywhere that you're going' and 'when you charge Trump on that fourth indictment, anytime you're alone, be looking over your shoulder.'"

Presidential Race 2024

Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: "At a historic hearing Monday, attorneys for a group of voters argued that ... Donald Trump should not appear on Colorado ballots next year because, they contend, he fomented an insurrection and is barred by the U.S. Constitution from running again. Trump's attorneys disputed those claims and said voters -- not judges -- should decide whether he deserves another term. The first day of the hearing, which is expected to last a week, featured an exhaustive retelling of what happened at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by a Democratic lawmaker [-- Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.) --] who had to evacuate and two police officers [-- Daniel Hodges & Winston Pingeon --] who tried to stop the rioters. Both officers said they feared for their lives, and one described the assault on the Capitol as a 'terrorist attack.'... Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment ... barred people from holding office if they had sworn an oath to the Constitution and then gone on to engage in an insurrection or aided or comforted the nation's enemies." The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I hope somewhere in testimony, the plaintiffs with bring up that "aid & comfort" part of the Amendment, because Trump is still doing that big-time. He publicly mourns insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt (whom an officer shot dead as she tried to enter the House chamber), participates in a January 6 prisoners' choir & repeatedly promises to pardon most of the insurrectionists should he win the presidency*.

No Country for Old Men. Michael Bender & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "On Sunday in Sioux City, Iowa, [Donald] Trump wrongly thanked supporters of Sioux Falls, a South Dakota town about 75 miles away, correcting himself only after being pulled aside onstage and informed of the error. It was strikingly similar to a fictional scene that Mr. Trump acted out earlier this month, pretending to be [President] Biden mistaking Iowa for Idaho and needing an aide to straighten him out.... Aas the 2024 race for the White House heats up, Mr. Trump's increased verbal blunders threaten to undermine one of Republicans' most potent avenues of attack, and the entire point of his onstage pantomime: the argument that Mr. Biden is too old to be president." (Also linked yesterday.)

AND in More Important News.... Derek Guy in Politico Magazine: "In the last few weeks, posts mocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' strangely shaped cowboy boots have racked up millions of views on Twitter and TikTok, with online sleuths trying to determine whether he's wearing height-boosting insoles.... Three top experts in the field say the cowboy boot truthers might be onto something. 'I've dealt with these politicians many times,' says Zephan Parker, the bespoke bootmaker behind Houston's popular Parker Boot Company, which, he says, has made height-increasing cowboy boots for a number of Texan politicians. (No, he won't reveal any names.) 'I've helped them with their lifts. [DeSantis] is wearing lifts; there's no doubt.'"

Another Win for Workers. Tom Krisher of the AP: "The United Auto Workers announced Monday that it reached a tentative deal with General Motors, capping a whirlwind few days in which GM, Ford and Stellantis agreed to generous terms that would end the union's six weeks of targeted strikes, pending approval of the rank and file. The deal UAW President Shawn Fain closed on his 55th birthday is modeled on the ones agreed to with crosstown rivals Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis, and would give workers higher raises than they've received in years. If approved, it would also claw back some concessions the UAW agreed to almost two decades ago, when the automakers were in desperate financial shape. Analysts say Fain's combative stance with the companies paid off for the workers, winning them pay and cost-of-living raises that would top 30% by the time the contracts expire in April 2028. Workers would get an immediate 11% pay bump upon ratification." ~~~

     ~~~ Jack Ewing & Neal Boudette of the New York Times: "The tentative agreements ... also appeared to be a win for President Biden, who had risked political capital by picketing with striking workers at a G.M. facility in Michigan last month.... The contracts the union negotiated are the latest in a series of prominent victories for organized labor, including Hollywood writers, UPS workers and even some university employees.... [And auto] companies without unions can expect the U.A.W. to deploy the same hardball tactics that Mr. Fain used against Ford, G.M. and Stellantis, including rhetorical attacks on multimillion-dollar executive pay and hourly wages that have failed to keep pace with high inflation." ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "And maybe, just maybe, union victories in 2023 will prove to be a milestone on the way back to a less unequal nation.... Baby boomers like me grew up in a nation that was far less polarized economically than the one we live in today.... For example, chief executives of major corporations were paid 'only' 15 times as much as their average workers, compared with more than 200 times as much as their average workers now.... Unions are a force for greater wage equality; they also help enforce the 'outrage constraint' that used to limit executive compensation.... A revelatory 1991 paper by Claudia Goldin (who just won a richly deserved Nobel) and Robert Margo showed that a relatively equal America emerged not gradually but suddenly, with an abrupt narrowing of income differentials in the 1940s -- what the authors called the Great Compression.... Public approval of unions is at its highest point since 1965...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Mitt Romney is hearing a kind of golden swan song these days as writer McKay Coppins makes the rounds selling a book about Romney, an effort with which Romney cooperated. Romney & Coppins portray Romney as a sort of noble throwback to the good old days when Republicans were honorable fellows who stood for some great American tradition of decency, civility and the work ethic (in contrast, of course, to the vile Donald Trump). But as we serenade Mitt, we should remind ourselves that Mitt made his fortune as a vulture capitalist, buying up, eviscerating & selling off the remains of troubled corporations, shedding thousands of workers along his rampage. Mitt's father, George Romney, before he became governor of Michigan, headed up American Motors. As David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrote in 2017, "A half-century ago, a top automobile executive named George Romney ... turned down several big annual bonuses. He did so, he told his company's board, because he believed that no executive should make more than $225,000 a year (which translates into almost $2 million [in 2017 dollars])."

Aaron Gregg, et al., of the Washington Post: "Walgreens and CVS workers are staging walkouts for three days starting Monday, organizers say, marking the second such job action this month by pharmacy staffs demanding better working conditions in the face of industry retrenchment. Organizers say they hope the job action -- on the heels of an Oct. 9 work stoppage by thousands of Walgreens pharmacists -- will step up pressure on management to address concerns about wages and staffing shortfalls that pharmacy workers say could hurt patients."

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Maine. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs & Chelsia Marcius of the New York Times: "The Army Reserve and a Maine sheriff's department were aware of a reservist's deteriorating mental health more than five months before he killed 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, according to records released on Monday. Just six weeks ago, the records show, he had grown increasingly paranoid, punched a friend and said he was going to carry out a shooting spree. But there is no indication in the documents that any law enforcement officials ever made contact with the reservist, Robert R. Card II, 40, who carried out the deadliest mass shooting in America this year and set off a two-day manhunt before he was found dead. The warnings about Mr. Card were far more explicit than Maine officials had publicly acknowledged in the days since the shooting on Oct. 25. They came from Mr. Card's family members -- who believed he was hearing voices -- and his Army Reserve unit in Saco, Maine, and were investigated by the Sheriff's Office in Sagadahoc County, where Mr. Card lived." ~~~

     ~~~ Mark Berman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The family of the gunman who killed 18 people last week in Maine contacted police with concerns about his mental health and access to guns more than five months before the massacre, according to their local sheriff. In addition to his own relatives, law enforcement officials and government agencies also expressed anxiety about Robert Card and the possible risk he posed to others, long before police say Card gunned people down in a bowling alley and a bar Wednesday in Lewiston." ~~~

     ~~~ See also CNN story, linked yesterday.

Texas. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: Texas state "Attorney General Ken Paxton's long-delayed trial on securities fraud charges has been set for April 15. State District Judge Andrea Beall scheduled the trial during a hearing Monday morning in Houston.... Paxton was indicted on the charges over eight years ago, months into his first term as the state's top law enforcement official. The charges stem from accusations that in 2011 he tried to solicit investors in a McKinney technology company without disclosing that it was paying him to promote its stock. Paxton has pleaded not guilty." (Also linked yesterday.)

Virginia. Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: "Gov. Glenn Youngkin's elections team has admitted in the run-up to pivotal General Assembly elections that it removed nearly 3,400 qualified voters from the state's rolls, far higher than the administration's previous estimate of 270. Elections officials under Youngkin (R) acknowledged what it called the mistaken removal of about 3,400 voters in a news release Friday -- five weeks after early voting began for Nov. 7 General Assembly elections.... The news release claimed that local registrars had already reinstated all but 'approximately 100' of the voters, all of whom had been convicted of felonies, had their voting rights restored and then went on to violate the terms of their probation. The state's computer software had erroneously counted the probation violations as new felonies that disqualified them from voting, administration officials have said.... Democrats say the administration's shifting accounts [of the purge] cast doubt on the intentions and competence of Youngkin, who won the governorship two years ago promising to bring 'election integrity' and business-world management savvy to state government." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Israel/Palestine. The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel categorically dismissed any possibility of a cease-fire in Gaza at a news conference late Monday, as Israeli troops pushed deeper into the territory and appeared to advance on densely populated Gaza City from three directions.... Photos, satellite images and videos verified by The New York Times showed formations of troops and armored vehicles approaching Gaza City and nearby population centers from the north, east and south. Israel has renewed warnings for civilians to move to the southern part of Gaza. At the same time, its forces appeared to have reached Salah Al-Din Road, one of the territory's main north-south arteries. One widely circulated video showed an armored vehicle there firing on a car.... Two senior United Nations officials for humanitarian affairs spoke with urgency before the Security Council, calling for a halt to the fighting and describing a catastrophic situation for Gaza's two million civilians." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I apologize for making a remark that will be offensive to many people, but the first thought that came to my mind as I read about Israel's telling Palestinians to go to South Gaza, then firing on those who did so, was "Nazis urging Jews into the 'showers.'" `~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates are here.