Thanksgiving Day 2023

~~~ Ah, that's inspiring! But scarcely realistic. The first Thanksgiving was a three-day harvest festival, likely held in late September or October. Those Pilgrim women seated at the table? Probably not. Though the only four white married women to survive may have done most of the cooking, this first Thanksgiving was a men-only event, and the "guest list" included about 50 male colonists and 90 Wampanoag Indians. It was a political gathering, and in the middle of it, the colonists "exercised arms" to show the Wampanoag how powerful they were. The main course was venison; the Wampanoag brought five deer. The colonists probably offered water fowl but not turkey, as well as sea food like clams and lobsters. As for cranberry sauce & pumpkin pies: nope. The colonists didn't have sweetener readily available. Thanksgiving dinner was a 19th-century invention, promoted by Abraham Lincoln as a national holiday and by ladies' cookbooks, which mentioned turkey as only one of several possible main courses -- after pork, mutton, goose, duck and chicken pot pie. 

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Contributor Jeeves brings us driftglass's discourse on both-sider "journalism," which continues apace.

Kara Scannell of CNN: “The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial and his law clerk have received hundreds of harassing messages that court security has deemed 'serious and credible' since the former president began publicly criticizing court staff. Since October 3, when Trump posted on social media a baseless allegation about Judge Arthur Engoron’s law clerk, threats against the judge 'increased exponentially' and were also directed to his clerk, according to Charles Hollon, a court officer-captain in New York assigned to the Judicial Threats Assessment unit of the Department of Public Safety, who signed a sworn statement.... The ... details made public in the Wednesday filing ... reveal the extent of that contact, including dozens of messages daily, phone doxing and the increased use of antisemitic language.” See also Akhilleus' related comment below.

Judge Aileen's Very Long Game. Josh Gerstein of Politico: “On paper, [Judge Aileen Cannon] has scheduled a trial to open next May in the case charging Donald Trump with hoarding national security secrets at Mar-a-Lago. In reality, she has run the pretrial process at a leisurely pace that will make a postponement almost inevitable, according to experts on criminal prosecutions related to classified information. Delaying Trump’s trial until after the November election would have a momentous implication: It might mean the trial never happens at all. If Trump wins the election and the case is still pending, he’s expected to order the Justice Department to shut it down.”

Presidential Race 2024

Thomas Edsell of the New York Times: “Brian Klaas, a political scientist at University College London, captured the remarkable nature of the 2024 presidential election in an Oct. 1 essay, 'The Case for Amplifying Trump’s Insanity.' Klaas argued that the presidential contest now pits 'a 77-year-old racist, misogynist bigot who has been found liable for rape, who incited a deadly, violent insurrection aimed at overturning a democratic election, who has committed mass fraud for personal enrichment, who is facing 91 separate counts of felony criminal charges against him and who has overtly discussed his authoritarian strategies for governing if he returns to power against 'an 80-year-old with mainstream Democratic Party views who sometimes misspeaks or trips.'... In Klaas’s view, newspapers and television have succumbed to what he called the 'banality of crazy,' ignoring 'even the most dangerous policy proposals by an authoritarian who is on the cusp of once again becoming the most powerful man in the world — precisely because it happens, like clockwork, almost every day.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Ignore Him at Your Peril. Reid Epstein of the New York Times notes that Democrats are getting interested in more coverage of Trump. “'The more the American people are confronted with who Donald Trump is — a dangerous, extreme and erratic man who only cares about using the power of the government to help himself and his friends — the more they reject him,' said Ammar Moussa, a Biden campaign spokesman. 'We will continue to highlight for voters what’s at stake if Trump and his cronies are allowed anywhere near the Oval Office.'” ~~~

~~~ Marie: Here's a media lapse: Trump made his claim he had received a "Hannival Lecter endorsement" in early October; I'm just hearing about it now: ~~~

~~~ Donald Trump Is Still Crazy, Ctd. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: “MSNBC host Ali Velshi cracked up his crew while roasting ... Donald Trump for bragging about getting the coveted — and entirely made-up — Hannibal Lecter endorsement....

VELSHI: Then there was this at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this month.

TRUMP: Has anybody seen Silence of the Lambs? Hannibal Lecter. How great an actor was he? You know why I like him? Because he said on television on an — one of the — 'I love Donald Trump!' So I love him! I love him!

VELSHI: Hannibal Lecter said that.... It does seem that Trump got mixed up about the actor who played the cannibal in the 1991 film. But who really knows? Because Anthony Hopkins never actually publicly supported Trump. Neither did Mads Mikkelsen or Brian Cox, the other actors who portrayed Hannibal Lecter in the past. In fact, Cox is on record calling Donald Trump a, quote, 'effing a-hole and, quote, “so full of” rhymes with spit.'” Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No sane person would boast that a fictional serial killer admires him; neither is a sane person unable to disguish between an actor (who never said anything positive about Trump) & the evil character he played on screen. Trump's Hannibal Lecter boast is the ranting of a madman -- and one who doesn't even enjoy a nice Chianti.

Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: "More than half of American voters -- 52% -- say they or someone in their household owns a gun, per the latest NBC News national poll. That's the highest share of voters who say that they or someone in their household owns a gun in the history of the NBC News poll, on a question dating back to 1999." MB: So, umm, I guess that's a true Thanksgiving tradition. Sweet.

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Iowa. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: “Kim Phuong Taylor was convicted Tuesday of 52 counts of voter fraud, the Justice Department announced.... Taylor carried out a scheme to fraudulently generate votes for her husband, Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor, who was challenging Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) in the June 2020 GOP congressional primary election. After Jeremy Taylor finished a distant third in that race, Kim Phuong Taylor again engaged in ballot fraud to help her husband’s successful reelection campaign as county supervisor, prosecutors say.” The Iowa Public Radio story is here.

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "A swap of Palestinian prisoners in Israel for Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would not begin earlier than Friday, Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s National Security Council director, said in a statement overnight. The first part of the agreement, a four-day pause in fighting, is set to begin earlier. The deal, which involves the first major pause since Israel launched an air and ground assault on the Gaza Strip after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, is set to allow the exchange of at least 50 Israeli hostages, civilian women and children, for 150 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli prisons. Israel has said it could extend the pause by a day for every additional 10 hostages released after the initial group."

Alexander Ward, et al., of Politico: “Some Biden administration officials quietly say the hostage exchange agreement is the clearest signal yet its strategy toward the Israel-Hamas war is working.... Three U.S. administration officials ... suggested President Joe Biden shouldn’t shy away from what the policy has accomplished to date. 'It’s vindication,' said one of the officials earlier Tuesday before the deal was finalized, 'but there’s more to do.'... The Biden administration insists that Israel has an obligation to defend itself but should minimize civilian harm in the process. Over recent weeks, the U.S. worked to get 100 aid trucks a day into Gaza from Egypt and is in touch with humanitarian groups on how to further alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in the enclave. But the administration remains wary about Netanyahu’s endgame and seeming lack of a plan for what to do once Hamas is defeated.”

The Conversation -- November 22, 2023

Marie: I couldn't access the photo Forrest M. linked below of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg & his apparently adorable son as they attended President Biden's turkey pardon, but to make up for it, I'm reprising the historic Sarah Palin Turkey Slaughter. Whatta gal! ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Update. Here's the link to the photo, which looks exactly like the link Forrest M. provided below, so I would guess the problem is on my end.

Donald Trump Is Still Crazy, Ctd. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "MSNBC host Ali Velshi cracked up his crew while roasting ... Donald Trump for bragging about getting the coveted -- and entirely made-up -- Hannibal Lecter endorsement....

VELSHI: Then there was this at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this month.

TRUMP: Has anybody seen Silence of the Lambs? Hannibal Lecter. How great an actor was he? You know why I like him? Because he said on television on an -- one of the -- 'I love Donald Trump!' So I love him! I love him!

VELSHI: Hannibal Lecter said that.... It does seem that Trump got mixed up about the actor who played the cannibal in the 1991 film. But who really knows? Because Anthony Hopkins never actually publicly supported Trump. Neither did Mads Mikkelsen or Brian Cox, the other actors who portrayed Hannibal Lecter in the past. In fact, Cox is on record calling Donald Trump a, quote, 'effing a-hole and, quote, "so full of" rhymes with spit.'” Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No sane person would boast that a fictional serial killer admires him; neither is a sane person unable to distinguish between an actor (who never said anything positive about Trump) & the evil character he played on screen. Trump's Hannibal Lecter boast is the ranting of a madman -- and one who doesn't even enjoy a nice Chianti.

President Joe Biden's statement on the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John Kennedy.

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Who Killed JFK?

Marie: Yesterday, Forrest M. & Jack M. discussed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Forrest remarked that today (Wednesday) is the 60th anniversary of JFK's assassination, and Jack M. expressed his skepticism of the single-shooter theory. Jack reminded me of the Warren Commission, a Congressionally-authorized commission of eminences grises appointed by President Lyndon Johnson, whose mandate was to investigate the assassination. The commission determined that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in shooting President Kennedy & Texas Gov. John Connolly, who was a passenger in the front seat of Kennedy's open car. The commission also concluded that Jack Ruby acted alone in killing Oswald. The value of the commission's report, to me, was that it shocked me out of my youthful fairytale world where eminences grises were indeed eminent & deserving of the deference I had accorded them. My second thought yesterday was that, even 60 years on, we will not find out who really was responsible for the assassination.

BUT. Come now filmmaker Rob Reiner & journalist Soledad O'Brien with a ten-part podcast which promises to answer the big question of the 20th century. I think you can pick up this podcast "wherever you get your podcasts," but in the right-hand column, I've published one source that currently contains the first two episodes.

Another Speaker Makes a Pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lardo. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night visited ... Donald J. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with the meeting.... Mr. Johnson, who defended the former president in two Senate impeachment trials and played a lead role in trying to help him invalidate the 2020 election results, is positioning himself as the first speaker to be in complete lock step with the former president.... Last week, Mr. Johnson officially endorsed Mr. Trump -- a move former Speaker Kevin McCarthy resisted...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Andrew Kaczynski & Curt Devine of CNN: "... CNN's review of more than 100 of [House Speaker Mike] Johnson's interviews, speeches and public commentary spanning his decades-long career as a lawmaker and attorney paints a picture of his governing ideals: Imprisoning doctors who perform abortions after six weeks; the Ten Commandments prominently displayed in public buildings; an elimination of anti-hate-crime laws; Bible study in public schools. From endorsing hard labor prison sentences for abortion providers to supporting the criminalization of gay sex, his staunchly conservative rhetoric is rooted in an era of 'biblical morality,' that he says was washed away with the counterculture in the 1960s."

George Conway, Michael Luttig & Barbara Comstock in a New York Times op-ed: "... we need an organization of conservative lawyers committed to the foundational constitutional principles we once all agreed upon: the primacy of American democracy, the sanctity of the Constitution and the rule of law, the independence of the courts, the inviolability of elections and mutual support among those tasked with the solemn responsibility of enforcing the laws of the United States. This new organization must step up, speak out and defend these ideals.... To that end, we have formed a nonprofit organization, the Society for the Rule of Law Institute, to bring sanity back to conservative lawyering and jurisprudence.... Our country ... is in a constitutional emergency, if not a constitutional crisis. We all must act accordingly, especially us lawyers." (Also linked yesterday.)

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "In a fiery courtroom presentation, the prosecutor overseeing the Georgia racketeering case against ... Donald J. Trump argued on Tuesday that one of Mr. Trump's co-defendants had intimidated potential witnesses on social media and should be sent to jail. But Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court chose not to revoke the bond of Harrison Floyd, the co-defendant. Instead, he signed off on modified terms prohibiting Mr. Floyd from posting further comments about witnesses in the case. Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., took the unusual step of personally arguing on behalf of the prosecution, a few days after she filed a motion accusing Mr. Floyd of intimidating an elections worker and other witnesses for the state -- including Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger -- through his posts on X...."

Presidential Race 2024. Colorado. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to take up an appeal of a state judge's ruling allowing ... Donald J. Trump to remain on the state's primary ballot, in a nationwide battle over his eligibility to run for president again. Plaintiffs, citing Mr. Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, argued that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies anyone who 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion' against the Constitution after having taken an oath to support it."

According to someone who claims to be Donald Trump's doctor, Donald's "cognitive health" is "exceptional." (Story linked yesterday.) RAS speculated on the nature of the cognitive test the alleged doctor conducted: "I'm guessing that Trump's cognitive test didn't include questions like 'who won the 2020 presidential election?' or 'who is the current US President?' or 'how many feet are in a 10,000 square foot loft?'"

Marie: Someone will have to explain to me why, for the past several weeks, the fortunes of Sam Altman have so often been the top story in the New York Times & other papers. Anyhoo, after no end of melodrama, Sam got his old job back. ~~~

~~~ Maybe This? Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "... swarms of killer robots that hunt down targets on their own and are capable of flying in for the kill without any human signing off ... is [a scenario] approaching reality as the United States, China and a handful of other nations make rapid progress in developing and deploying new technology that has the potential to reshape the nature of warfare by turning life and death decisions over to autonomous drones equipped with artificial intelligence programs. That prospect is so worrying to many other governments that they are trying to focus attention on it with proposals at the United Nations to impose legally binding rules on the use of what militaries call lethal autonomous weapons."

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Pennsylvania. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled on Monday that mail-in ballots that are received on time but are undated should be counted, arguing that a state law rejecting such votes violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ruling was an opening victory for voting rights groups in a case with national implications heading into the 2024 election, as Republicans and conservative advocacy groups continue to push for stricter voting laws.... In a 77-page opinion, Judge Susan Paradise Baxter of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania said that the law violated the voting protections of the Civil Rights Act because the requirement that voters date their ballots was not 'material to the act of voting.'... The ruling is likely to be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, where the court's most conservative members have previously supported the state law that requires voters to write the date on the return envelope when sending in their ballots."

Utah Congressional Election. Marianna Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Republican Celeste Maloy, an attorney, is projected to win the special election for Utah's 2nd Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. Maloy will replace Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, who resigned his seat in September because of his wife's health. Maloy -- who served as Stewart's chief congressional counsel -- defeated Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe and five other independent or third-party candidates. Stewart's seat was the last remaining vacancy to be filled in the House." Politico's story is here.

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Israel/Palestine

The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The Israeli government and Hamas agreed to a brief cease-fire in Gaza to allow for the release of 50 hostages captured during Hamas's assault last month on Israel and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, Qatar said early Wednesday. The cease-fire's start will be announced within the next 24 hours, and it will last for at least four days, said the government of Qatar, which helped lead the negotiations. It added that the pause in fighting would also allow for more aid and fuel to reach civilians in Gaza." ~~~

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

Jacob Magid & Tal Schneider of the Times of Israel: "In an unprecedented vote early Wednesday morning, Israel's cabinet approved an agreement to secure the release of roughly 50 hostages who were abducted into Gaza during the October 7 terror onslaught.... Despite expressing earlier opposition to the agreement, the far-right Religious Zionism party voted in favor, with only members of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit faction voting against. Not all details of the agreement have been formally released to the public, but an Israeli government official briefing reporters on Tuesday said the deal is expected to see the release of 50 living Israeli citizens, mostly women and children, in groups of 12-13 people per day."

Matt Seyler of ABC News: "United States fighter jets struck two sites in Iraq used by Iran-linked militants on Wednesday morning local time, according to U.S. Central Command and defense officials. This is the fourth round of American retaliatory airstrikes in response to a near-daily spate of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed groups. The attacks began in mid-October, 10 days after Hamas' deadly terror attack on Israel. The Pentagon counts more than five dozen such attacks since then."

News Ledes

CNN: "Federal authorities in Buffalo, New York, say they are investigating a 'vehicle explosion' at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the US and Canada, adding that the 'situation is very fluid.' Two occupants of the vehicle are dead, a law enforcement source told CNN. Portions of three ports of entry between Canada and the US near Niagara Falls are closed according to the Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force is working with New York State Police to 'monitor all points of entry,' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said." This is a liveblog. CNN & MSNBC are covering developments live. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to PM Justin Trudeau, who spoke briefly at a Parliamentary session, four U.S.-Canada crossings have been closed. CNN is reporting that the vehicle sped up & exploded after being directed to a "secondary inspection site." Authorities have not said publicly whether or not they are viewing this as a terrorist attack. ~~~

~~~ New York Times Update: "The United States and Canadian governments went into high alert, four international bridges were closed and cross-border train travel came to a halt after a car exploded on the American side of a Niagara Falls bridge, upending travel plans and sowing fear on the busiest travel day of the year. Two people died Wednesday in the crash after hitting a median at the Niagara Falls International Rainbow Bridge in New York, and a customs officer was slightly injured, but Gov. Kathy Hochul said investigators found no indications of terrorism. The speeding car flew over an eight-foot fence before it burst into a cloud of flames and oily smoke, she said. The crash, which happened around 11:30 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving, set off a race to protect residents and discover what happened."

The Conversation -- November 21, 2023

Another Speaker Makes a Pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lardo. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night visited ... Donald J. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with the meeting.... Mr. Johnson, who defended the former president in two Senate impeachment trials and played a lead role in trying to help him invalidate the 2020 election results, is positioning himself as the first speaker to be in complete lock step with the former president.... Last week, Mr. Johnson officially endorsed Mr. Trump -- a move former Speaker Kevin McCarthy resisted...."

George Conway, Michael Luttig & Barbara Comstock in a New York Times op-ed: "... we need an organization of conservative lawyers committed to the foundational constitutional principles we once all agreed upon: the primacy of American democracy, the sanctity of the Constitution and the rule of law, the independence of the courts, the inviolability of elections and mutual support among those tasked with the solemn responsibility of enforcing the laws of the United States. This new organization must step up, speak out and defend these ideals.... To that end, we have formed a nonprofit organization, the Society for the Rule of Law Institute, to bring sanity back to conservative lawyering and jurisprudence.... Our country ... is in a constitutional emergency, if not a constitutional crisis. We all must act accordingly especially us lawyers."

According to someone who claims to be Donald Trump's doctor, Donald's "cognitive health" is "exceptional." (Story linked below.) RAS speculates on the nature of the cognitive test the alleged doctor conducted: "I'm guessing that Trump's cognitive test didn't include questions like 'who won the 2020 presidential election?' or 'who is the current US President?' or 'how many feet are in a 10,000 square foot loft?'"

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Cristiano Lima of the Washington Post: "A Senate panel announced Monday it subpoenaed the CEOs of Elon Musk's X, Discord and Snap to testify at a hearing on children's online safety next month after 'repeated refusals' by the tech companies to cooperate with its investigation into the matter. In a rare show of force, the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking to force X's Linda Yaccarino, Discord's Jason Citron and Snap's Evan Spiegel to appear at the Dec. 6 session.... The committee said that in a 'remarkable departure from typical practice,' it had to 'enlist the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service to personally serve the subpoenas' to the CEOs of Discord and X ... after their chief executives 'further refused to cooperate.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to create a new Jan. 6 select committee she said would target the original members of the panel and exonerate the so-called 'MAGA' wing of the Republican Party from blame associated with the 2021 attack on the Capitol. In a post on X..., Greene outlined her vision for the committee. She said it must issue subpoenas to the original committee members, to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and to the witnesses who testified." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court issued a ruling on Monday that would drastically weaken the Voting Rights Act, effectively barring private citizens and civil rights groups from filing lawsuits under a central provision of the landmark law. The ruling, made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, found that only the federal government could bring a legal challenge under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a crucial part of the law that prohibits election or voting practices that discriminate against Americans based on race. The opinion is almost certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The court's current conservative majority has issued several key decisions in recent years that have weakened the Voting Rights Act." Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alan Feuer & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court in Washington appeared to signal at a hearing on Monday that it would keep in place at least some version of the gag order placed on ... Donald J. Trump in the criminal case accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. But a three-judge panel of the court left open the possibility of adjusting the terms of the order or even narrowing the scope of the people covered by it, including by potentially freeing Mr. Trump to attack Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the federal cases against him." A CNN analysis is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

** Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... late Friday..., a [Colorado state] judge [-- Sarah Wallace --] ruled that while the former president can't be disqualified, he did incite an insurrection.... And she documented his history of promoting and legitimizing political violence -- which she said helps prove he incited the riot.... Wallace is hardly the first judge to lay blame at Trump's feet, however. Indeed, many judges have gestured in this general direction, including some Republican-appointed ones." The particulars Blake lists are interesting. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "The Commission on Presidential Debates on Monday announced the dates and locations of three presidential debates to be held during the general election campaign next year, as well as one vice-presidential debate. The presidential debates are scheduled for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; Oct. 1 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va.; and Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The vice-presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. The moderators and formats for each debate are not expected to be announced until next year, but the events are scheduled to run for 90 minutes with no commercial breaks." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump posted a doctor's letter stating that he is in 'excellent health' and has lost weight thanks to 'daily physical activity.' It also says his cognitive health is 'exceptional.' On Monday, Trump posted the letter from New Jersey physician Bruce Aronwald on his Truth Social account." MB: Not a word, I surmise, about Trump's being delusional.

** Garrett Epps, in the Washington Monthly, explains why Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace got it "grievously wrong" when she decided that Donald Trump could remain on the state ballot even though, she determined, he had led an insurrection. Epps relies on the historical record. Oh, and common sense.

** Michael Bender & Michael Gold of the New York Times: Donald Trump's attacks on "the enemies within" "has sounded new alarms among experts on autocracy who have long worried about Mr. Trump's praise for foreign dictators and disdain for democratic ideals. They said the former president's increasingly intensive focus on perceived internal enemies was a hallmark of dangerous totalitarian leaders.... 'There are echoes of fascist rhetoric, and they're very precise,' said Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor at New York University.... Mr. Trump's shift comes as he and his allies devise plans for a second term that would upend some of the long-held norms of American democracy and the rule of law." Includes many examples of Trump's anti-democratic remarks. MB: In noting the rise of authoritarian leaders around the world, Ari Melber of MSNBC remarked, somewhat casually, "Democracy isn't inevitable." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Why anyone would vote for a fascist is beyond me. Here is an example of what happens to ordinary people who express ordinary political dissent in a country run by Trump's favorite dictator (Rachel Maddow featured this story last night): ~~~

~~~ Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times (Nov. 17): "A Russian court has sentenced a pacifist artist to seven years in a penal colony for leaving price tags with small antiwar messages in a supermarket, the latest example of the Kremlin's resolve to stamp out opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine. The artist, Aleksandra Y. Skochilenko, 33, was found guilty on Thursday of spreading false information about the Russian Army -- a criminal offense introduced shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year -- for placing the messages at her local supermarket in St. Petersburg.... Her seven-year sentence underscores the high cost of any type of antiwar activity in Russia....The Kremlin has been stating openly that the Russian state will not tolerate dissent in wartime."

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A Republican pastor who coordinates the faith-based outreach for the Philadelphia chapter of Moms for Liberty was convicted a decade ago of sexually abusing a teenage boy." MB: Oh, read on. You will not be surprised to learn that Pastor Phil there claims he was the victim. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Emperor Strikes Back. Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "X ... filed a lawsuit against Media Matters and its writer Eric Hananoki on Monday, over what it called an 'intentionally deceptive report' about antisemitism on the platform, according to a filing. Media Matters, a nonprofit based in Washington, says it engages in 'monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.' On the same day as the filing, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into 'potential fraudulent activity' by Media Matters.... Media Matters released a report by Hananoki on Thursday, which included screenshots of mainstream advertisements appearing beside pro-Nazi content on X. A wave of businesses, including IBM, Apple and Disney, subsequently suspended advertising." CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So that's what happens when you publish a factual report about Elon's little vanity project. Here's what happens to an ordinary person when Elon amplifies a false story about him: ~~~

~~~ Donie O'Sullivan & Audrey Ash of CNN: "... seemingly out of nowhere, Elon Musk used his considerable social media clout to amplify an online mob's misguided rants accusing ... 22-year-old [Ben Brody] from California of being an undercover agent in a neo-Nazi group.... The fact he bore a vague resemblance to a person allegedly in the group, that he was Jewish, and, that he once stated in a college fraternity profile posted online that he aspired to one day work for the government, was more than enough information for internet trolls to falsely conclude Brody was an undercover government agent (a 'Fed') planted inside the neo-Nazi group to make them look bad.... His being Jewish was relevant to them because conspiracy theories are often steeped in antisemitism -- suggesting there's a Jewish plan to control the world.... For Brody, the fallout was immediate. Overnight, he became a central character in a story spun by people seeking to deny and downplay the actions of hate groups in the United States today. The lies and taunts, which Musk engaged with on social media, turned his life upside down, Brody said. At one point, he said, he and his mother had to flee their home for fear of being attacked."

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Gaza's Health Ministry said it is working with the Red Cross to evacuate wounded people stranded at northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital on Tuesday morning after the facility was bombarded . At least 12 people were killed, and dozens were injured, according to the Health Ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said militants opened fire on its troops from within the hospital and that they retaliated but no shells were fired toward the facility. The Washington Post could not independently verify either side's claims.... President Biden said Monday he believed a deal to free hostages was near."~~~

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

Fog of War. The Mysterious Disappearance of a New Yorker Contributor. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet who has written several articles for The New Yorker magazine over the past month, has reportedly gone missing after he was detained by Israeli forces this month. In a notice on Monday, The New Yorker announced, 'Over the weekend, Israeli forces reportedly detained Abu Toha in central Gaza. His whereabouts are now unknown. The New Yorker joins other organizations in calling for his safe return.' According to the Washington Post, which spoke to Toha's colleagues and a lawyer who had been in contact with Toha's wife, he was 'attempting to evacuate to southern Gaza with his family when he was arrested by the Israeli military at a checkpoint,' along with 200 others. Several colleagues and friends of Toha, however, have claimed that he was not arrested and was instead kidnapped by Israeli forces."