The Conversation -- October 14, 2024

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

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

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Presidential Race

Nicholas Nehamas & Maya King of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris challenged ... Donald J. Trump on Sunday for refusing to do what she has done in recent days: release a report on his health, sit for a '60 Minutes' interview and commit to another presidential debate. 'It makes you wonder: Why does his staff want him to hide away?' Ms. Harris asked the crowd at a rally in a packed college basketball arena in Greenville, N.C. 'One must question: Are they afraid that people will see that he is too weak and unstable to lead America?'... Ms. Harris's weekend visit to North Carolina also included local outreach efforts.... On Saturday, she helped put together care packages at a barbecue restaurant and met with local Black elected officials and faith leaders. Then, before her rally on Sunday, Ms. Harris attended a service at a predominantly Black church in Greenville as part of her campaign's wider initiative to engage Black faith voters, which will include a 'Souls to the Polls' initiative...."

Brakkton Booker & Eugene Daniels of Politico: "Kamala Harris, looking at daunting polling that shows she could draw some of the softest support for a Democratic nominee among Black men, is rolling out new efforts to shore up support with this key voting bloc. In the coming days, Harris plans several campaign events and policy proposals designed to appeal to Black men. She plans to announce three new policy prescriptions: providing 1 million small business loans that are forgivable up to $20,000, training and mentorship programs that would help give Black men a leg up in jumping into 'high-demand' industries and launching an initiative focused on health issues that disproportionately impact Black men. She will also tape a town hall with Charlamagne tha God, co-host of the popular Breakfast Club program...."

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "With early voting set to begin in Georgia, the Harris campaign is sending the former president [Bill Clinton] to get out the vote in rural areas.... From a church service in Albany, where the former president reminisced about campaigning alongside the baseball great Hank Aaron, to the fish fry in Fort Valley attended by a few hundred people, Mr. Clinton used the opening hours of a two-day blitz to try to help Ms. Harris bump up her score wherever she can.... Mr. Clinton is scheduled to campaign again in Georgia on Monday -- again steering clear of Atlanta -- and to headline a bus tour in rural North Carolina later in the week."

Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday that he is worried about the prospect of unspecified actions by what he dubbed 'radical left lunatics' on Election Day, urging that the National Guard or U.S. military be deployed on American soil against those he labeled 'the enemy from within.'... The 'enemy from within,' Trump argued in a later part of the interview with Bartiromo, 'is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries.' He added that some politicians fell into that category. 'The thing that's tougher to handle are these lunatics that we have inside, like Adam Schiff,' the former president added.... 'Taken with his vow to be a dictator on "day one," calls for the "termination" of the Constitution, and plans to surround himself with sycophants who will give him unchecked, unprecedented power if he returns to office, [his proposal to use the military against voters] should alarm every American who cares about their freedom and security," [Harris campaign spokesman Ian] Sams [said]. 'What Donald Trump is promising is dangerous, and returning him to office is simply a risk Americans cannot afford.'"

They Can't Handle the Truth. Ashley Parker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump and his campaign have waged an aggressive campaign against fact-checking in recent months, pushing TV networks, journalism organizations and others to abandon the practice if they hope to interact with Trump. Trump nearly backed out of an August interview with a group of Black journalists after learning they planned to fact-check his claims. The following month, he and his allies repeatedly complained about the fact-checking that occurred during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.... And this month, Trump declined to sit down for an interview with CBS's '60 Minutes' because he objected to the show's practice of fact-checking, according to the show.... The moves are the latest example of Trump's long-held resistance to being called to account for his falsehoods, which have formed the bedrock of his political message for years.... By the time [JD] Vance was preparing for a CBS debate with ... Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the issue of fact-checking was ever-present." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In fairness, it isn't just that they can't handle the truth; it's that they don't want to. As Parker & Dawsey lay out, the lie is the message. And you know what? The lie is beating the truth. See Charlie Warzel's essay below.

SAY, here's some news that might convince some Black (and White!) men to vote for Harris: ~~~

~~~ Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "Former President Trump said Sunday that a national abortion ban is 'off the table,' but he left the door open on the conversation by saying 'we'll see what happens.' 'Let me just tell you, I think that it's something that's off the table now, because I did something that everybody has wanted to do, I was able to get it back to the states,' Trump said on Fox News's 'Sunday Morning Futures.' The former president said overturning Roe v. Wade was something 'every Democrat and Republican wanted.'..." MB: If you don't want any baby mamas in your lives, gentlemen, you had better vote for the candidate who can be relied upon to stand up for reproductive rights rather than the one who both lied & equivocated about abortion in this interview. ~~~

~~~ AND just is case you're dumb enough to think Trump cares about you or wants to make your life easier, here's how much he cares about his most ardent supporters: ~~~

~~~ Stephanie Kaloi of the Wrap, republished by Yahoo! News: "Donald Trump made the unusual decision to hold a campaign event in Coachella, California on Saturday -- a state that he's undoubtedly set to lose ... -- and bussed supporters 5 miles into the venue to do so. Unfortunately for thousands of those who showed up, the buses seemingly didn't return to the venue late into the night, leaving many attendees stranded.... In a series of posts on X that were eventually deleted but were shared in screenshots, @WesleyxJohnson wrote that there was 'only one bus in rotation' and 'turnaround time for each drop off was 30 minutes,' with thousands waiting for said bus. Johnson added that there were originally 20-30 buses at the event.... Johnson later added that a bus driver told some abandoned attendees that 'ALL of the fuel stations for BUSES (not cars) were completely depleted,' which meant some of the bus drivers were stranded without gas. 'There were apparently 60 buses employed for this event,' he added, 'and the fuel reserves were completely depleted or never refilled before the event.'... TikTok was also awash in videos from the event and its aftermath." ~~~

     ~~~ AND this from the same article: "The Desert Sun reported that the event was limited to a maximum capacity of 15,000 people by Riverside County, but Trump claimed that the rally was attended by 100,000." Thanks to NiskyGuy for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Brooke Binkowski of the Times of San Diego: "The abandonment by the shuttles echoed Trump's 2020 campaign rallies, when his supporters were stranded at multiple events by the shuttle services and had to walk back to their vehicles alone, sometimes in freezing cold and snow." Thanks to NiskyGuy for the link.

Heavily-Armed Man on Way to Trump Rally Was Just Another Crazed Trump Backer. Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "A man was arrested and accused of illegal weapons possession as he was trying to enter ... Donald J. Trump's rally in Coachella, Calif., on Saturday evening, the Riverside County sheriff's office said on Sunday. The man, whom they identified as Vem Miller, 49, of Las Vegas, was found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine, the sheriff's office said. Mr. Miller was later released on bail, according to the county's inmate information system. Mr. Miller had been allowed through an outer ring of security as he drove toward the rally but was stopped by law enforcement officers at a second level of security, before Mr. Trump had arrived at the rally, Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, said in a news conference on Sunday. In a joint statement, the U.S. attorney's office, the Secret Service and the F.B.I. said that the Secret Service had determined 'the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger.'...

"The Press-Enterprise reported Sunday that Mr. Miller ... supports Mr. Trump.... In the interview he said he was unfamiliar with the difference between California's and Nevada's gun laws. Law enforcement officers discovered that Mr. Miller had multiple passports with various names, and multiple driver's licenses, and that his car was unregistered, Mr. Bianco said. They also ascertained that Mr. Miller appeared to consider himself a 'sovereign citizen,' which Mr. Bianco described as part of a 'far-right' and 'fringe' group that believes government laws do not apply to them." ~~~

     ~~~ Brian Bokos of the Press-Enterprise: "A Las Vegas man was arrested with guns and fake I.D.s about a quarter mile from ... Donald Trump's campaign rally in Coachella Valley, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said Sunday. But while the sheriff called the arrest a thwarted assassination attempt, the man told a reporter he is a Trump supporter who bought the guns for his own safety and notified police at a checkpoint that they were in the trunk of his car."

Margaret Sullivan, a former New York Times public editor, tackles those NYT side-by-side headlines: "In interviews, Kamala Harris continues to bob and weave" and "In remarks about migrants, Donald Trump invoked his long-held fascination with genes and genetics." "The Kamala Harris headline is unnecessarily negative, over a story that probably doesn't need to exist. Politicians, if they are skilled, do this all the time. They answer questions by trying to stay on message.... So, it's a negative headline over a dubious story.... But juxtapose it with the Trump headline, which takes a hate-filled trope and treats it like some sort of lofty intellectual interest.... The article itself got to the heart of the matter -- but not until its 11th paragraph....Cleaning ... up [the vile stuff Trump has said] so it sounds like an academic white paper is really not a responsible way to present what's happening. What's more, the adjacency of these stories suggests equivalence between a traditional democracy-supporting candidate and a would-be autocrat....

"I'll share with you a post from historian and author Kevin Kruse about Trump. 'Historians: He's a fascist. Political scientists: He's a fascist. His own aides: He's a fascist. The NYT: He shows a wistful longing for a bygone era of global politics.' That, in essence, is the issue with these headlines." ~~~

     ~~~ ⭐ digby: Sullivan "notes that deep in the article itself they do address the fact that Trump is evoking 'the ideology of eugenics promulgated by Nazis in Germany and white supremacists in the United States.' To me that's the big story and it's one that's been out there since Trump came down the escalator in 2015. He really believes in this stuff and it's never been fully explored even as he's now not only talking about his own 'good German blood' as he used to do but saying that migrants have inferior genes. This is right out of the Nazi playbook and [I] would think that if the media made as big a de[a]l about this as they did Hillary Clinton's emails, some Hispanic and Black Americans who think he's good for the economy might wonder if maybe he's talking about them -- which he is.... Here's a little reminder of the NY Times coverage of an earlier fascist: 'On November 21, 1922, the New York Times published its very first article about Adolf Hitler. It's an incredible read -- especially its assertion that 'Hitler's anti-Semitism was not so violent or genuine as it sounded.'" Read on, please. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: digby is right. Sullivan, Kevin Kruse & others may not be afraid to write "fascist, fascist, fascist," but the New York Times won't go there. And by minimizing & covering up for Trump, just as the paper once did for Hitler a century ago, the editors & writers are doing their bit to put fascism back in the White House. Sure, Hillary Clinton is arrogant, and that's why she didn't play by the administration's email "rules" in the first place. But what's worse: a president who is full of herself (like almost every one of the male presidents before her) or a corrupt, anti-democracy fascist? As I've said, none of us is safe. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Democracy dies in the anodyne headline that gets to the story only in the 11th paragraph." MB: As I recall, I was thrilled that after nine years, the NYT finally got around to recognizing Trump's "fascination" with eugenics.

Tara Suter of the Hill: "Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in a Sunday interview that she doubts House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will carry out 'his constitutional obligations' to certify the 2024 election.... [Earlier on 'Meet the Press,' host Kristen Welker had asked Johnson,] 'Regardless of who wins, you'll certify the results?'... 'Regardless, of course it -- yes, if the election is free and fair and legal, and we pray and hope that it is,' Johnson responded.... In her 'Meet the Press' appearance, Cheney said Johnson 'has a record repeatedly of doing things that he knows to be wrong, that he knows to be unconstitutional in order to placate Donald Trump.... And frankly, you know, you saw that sycophancy just now on display,' Cheney added. 'So, I think that it is -- it's very concerning.'"

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: President "Biden's visit to the hurricane-ravaged communities in Florida -- his second such trip in two weeks -- came as he has been managing various crises, including multiple natural disasters, in the final stretch of his presidency. He used the visit to announce $612 million for six Energy Department projects in areas hit by Milton and Helene to improve the region's electric grid, including nearly $100 million for Florida. On Friday, he declared a major disaster for Florida communities affected by Milton. Mr. Biden also used the moment to call for bipartisan collaboration to help the areas affected pick up the pieces. In a sign of such unity, Mr. Biden was greeted by Representative Anna Paulina Luna and Senator Rick Scott, Florida Republicans who are frequent critics of the Biden administration, after the president finished his helicopter tour."

Charlie Warzel of the Atlantic: "... it's getting harder to describe the extent to which a meaningful percentage of Americans have dissociated from reality.... Even in a decade marred by online grifters, shameless politicians, and an alternative right-wing-media complex pushing anti-science fringe theories, the events of the past few weeks stand out for their depravity and nihilism. As two catastrophic storms upended American cities, a patchwork network of influencers and fake-news peddlers have done their best to sow distrust, stoke resentment, and interfere with relief efforts. But this is more than just a misinformation crisis.... The people consuming and amplifying those lies are not helpless dupes but willing participants.... Rather than deal with the realities of a warming planet hurling once-in-a-generation storms at them every few weeks, they'd rather malign and threaten meteorologists...." Thanks to laura h. for the link. According to laura, the Atlantic is currently allowing unlimited gift links, of which this is one. AND see WashPo story linked under "North Carolina" below.

Ken Belson of the New York Times: "Under the expansionist leadership of its commissioner [Roger Goodell], the National Football League is growing richer and richer. So, too, is Mr. Goodell.... As the league has prospered, so has Mr. Goodell: About 90 percent of the commissioner's compensation is tied to a basket of metrics and incentives. After securing lucrative labor and broadcast deals and steering the league through the Covid-19 pandemic without missing a game, he received $63,900,050 in each of the fiscal years running from April 2019 to March 2020 and April 2020 to March 2021, making him one of the highest-paid executives in the country. MB: No one should become a billionaire, especially someone who has made his money promoting a blood sport like football. If history repeats itself, it's fall-of-Rome time (remember the gladiators!) here in the U.S.A.

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Missouri Senate Race. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch did not mince words in its endorsement of Democrat Lucas Kunce for the United States Senate. [Kunce's GOP opponent, Sen. Josh] "Hawley... was the first and initially only senator to announce his baseless challenge of the [2020] election results, setting in motion the grotesque events that followed,' the editors write. 'As Trump's rabble gathered for their attack, Hawley infamously raised his first in solidarity with the mob -- a mob from which he eventually had to sprint for his life, along with so many of his congressional colleagues.' The editors then went on to list off what they said were other reasons to oppose Hawley's candidacy..., all of [which], suggested the paper, means that Hawley 'is quite possibly the worst sitting senator in America right now.'" The Post-Dispatch editorial is here.

North Carolina. Brianna Sacks of the Washington Post: "Federal emergency response personnel on Saturday had employees operating in hard-hit Rutherford County, N.C., stop working and move to a different area because of concerns over 'armed militia' threatening government workers in the region, according to an email sent to federal agencies helping with response in the state. Around 1 p.m. Saturday, an official with the U.S. Forest Service, which is supporting recovery efforts..., sent an urgent message to numerous federal agencies warning that 'FEMA has advised all federal responders Rutherford County, NC, to stand down and evacuate the county immediately. The message stated that National Guard troops "had come across x2 trucks of armed militia saying there were out hunting FEMA."'... By Sunday afternoon, personnel were back in place....

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in Israel's wars are here: "Israel's military struck what it said was a Hamas command center embedded inside a hospital compound in the Deir al-Balah region of central Gaza early Monday. At least four people were killed in the attack within the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital grounds and 40 injured, including women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Separately, Israel's military said it struck 200 targets linked to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours; on Sunday, four Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured after a Hezbollah drone attack hit a base in northern Israel, according to Israeli officials."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The United States is sending an advanced missile defense system to Israel, along with about 100 American troops to operate it, the Pentagon announced on Sunday. It is the first deployment of U.S. forces to Israel since the Hamas-led attacks there on Oct. 7, 2023. President Biden directed Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, and its crew, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement on Sunday.... When asked about it on Sunday, Mr. Biden said only that he had ordered the Pentagon to deploy the system 'to defend Israel.'" A Reuters story is here.

News Lede

New York Times: "The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded on Monday to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, both of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and to James Robinson of the University of Chicago. They won the prize for their work in explaining the differences in prosperity between nations, and for their research into how institutions affect prosperity. The laureates have pioneered theoretical and empirical approaches that have helped to better explain inequality between countries, according to the prize committee."

The Conversation -- October 13, 2024

Presidential Race

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times & James Carville admonish Kamala Harris to get aggressive, and they give some concrete examples of how to do that. Now. "Democratic strategists I talked to agreed that Harris needs to let her guard down, cut loose and turn on the afterburners. Mainly, her pitch is that she's not Donald Trump. And that's an excellent pitch. But she needs to make the case for herself more assertively.... As Carville says, we need less mulling and more action in a do-or-die moment. She needs to do so we don't die." MB: I agree. Fun's over. Fuck joy. Hit below the belt. Hit hard, because it's not easy to punch above your weight (literally), especially when your opponent is wearing adult diapers that will soften the blow. Listen to Carville. He knows how to win. He put a very flawed -- but talented -- candidate over the top.

Monica Alba & Carol Lee of NBC News: "Vice President Kamala Harris' team has been discussing ways to clean up her responses to questions this week about how she would differentiate herself from President Joe Biden.... Harris' answers -- including one where she said she couldn't think of anything she;d do differently than Biden -- quickly became fodder for ... Donald Trump, who has played a video clip of the exchange at campaign rallies as a majority of voters still view the current president unfavorably.... Since declaring her candidacy in July, Harris has tried to walk a fine line between praising Biden's leadership and record, and defining her agenda by explaining to voters how she would represent her campaign slogan of 'a new way forward.'" The reporters note that Harris wants "to distance herself from Biden somewhat delicately." MB: That's sweet and all, but I don't think the Harris campaign has time and space for delicate.

Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris released a letter on Saturday from her White House doctor, who said she is in 'excellent health' and is successfully managing some minor health issues. Ms. Harris, 59, has seasonal allergies, mild nearsightedness and skin hives that she treats with over-the-counter and prescription medication, wrote Joshua R. Simmons, the physician to the vice president. 'Vice President Harris remains in excellent health,' Dr. Simmons wrote in a two-page letter that appeared to be a summary but not a complete medical report. 'She possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as chief executive, head of state and commander in chief.' Ms. Harris has not had diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis or neurological disorders, Dr. Simmons wrote.... The release of Ms. Harris's medical information comes as ... Donald J. Trump, her 78-year-old rival, has refused to reveal similar basic health information.... Mr. Trump ... has declined requests to release new information about his health even though he has promised to." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here's Dr. Simmons' letter, via the White House. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Fritz Farrow, et al., of ABC News: "Vice President Kamala Harris released a report with details about her health and medical history on Saturday, as the Harris team tries to place ... Donald Trump's health and advanced age under new scrutiny." MB: Note that right up in the lede ABC News contrasts Harris's release of her medical report with Trump's refusal to do the same, whereas the NYT first makes reference to Trump's refusal to release recent medical records a ways down the page. (Also linked yesterday.)

Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: Twenty-four "days before the election[, Donald Trump made a campaign stop in Coachella, California]. In 2020, Mr. Trump lost the state by more than five million votes to President Biden.... The last Republican to win the state was George H.W. Bush.... Mr. Trump then spoke for about 80 minutes in a rambling speech.... It was Mr. Trump's second foray into a blue state in two days.... Mr. Trump is no stranger to Coachella. His name once graced a casino just five miles from the site of Saturday's rally as a part of a short-lived business partnership with a Native American tribe, which eventually bought him out while his company was going through bankruptcy." ~~~

     ~~~ Hannah Knowles & Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump suggested that a heckler would later get 'the hell knocked out of her' during an insult-laced speech [in Coachella] Saturday that portrayed a dark image of the country and demonized undocumented immigrants. 'We are known all throughout the world now as an occupied country,' Trump said. "... But it's no different really than if we lost a war.'... He repeatedly mispronounced Harris's first name. He warned about being 'very close to World War III.' He described Democrats as 'professional thieves.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The WashPo reporters cite some audience call-and-response that reflects just who the "animals" are. I'm not talking animals like those tasty dogs & cats of Springfield, Ohio; I mean lions and tigers and bears, oh my, ones who have been incited to fury with cattle prods.

     ~~~ Marie: Obviously, the reason Trump is campaigning in non-competitive states is that his campaign wants to keep him as far away as possible from decider-voters so they won't notice he's a babbling idiot. And by campaigning somewhere, it doesn't look as if he's a do-nothing candidate. Besides, he doesn't have the option to loll around playing golf because, as RAS pointed out yesterday, because the Secret Service doesn't want him out on the links. ~~~

     ~~~ One reason some top campaign strategist(s) want to hide Trump is because they hope swing voters won't hear him say stuff like this, which the Washington Post Editors thought you should know: "Last month in Wisconsin: 'They will walk into your kitchen,' Mr. Trump said of undocumented immigrants. 'They'll cut your throat.' Later, he called the same people 'animals.'... On Thursday at the Detroit Economic Club, he returned to the matter of immigrants: 'We allowed them to come in and raid and rape our country. "Oh, he used the word rape." That's right, I used the word rape. They raped our country.'" ~~~

~~~ If you or someone close to you is not an immigrant from what Trump calls a shithole country (which is pretty much any country that is not in Northern Europe), then you may be disgusted with his hatred of others while still having little idea what it feels like to be otherized & shunned, not just by Trump, but by millions of Americans. Carlos Lozado can help you with that: ~~~

~~~ Carlos Lozado of the New York Times: "I'm an immigrant but over the years the label has moved lower on my drop-down menu.... In recent years, though, the distance has narrowed between memory and identity, between immigration as a once upon a time versus a here and now.... I've long regarded Trump as a challenge for America -- for democratic institutions, for honesty and, yes, for its immigrant tradition -- but this xenophobic cacophony, building so relentlessly over the past decade, now feels overpowering. It also feels directed my way, at who I am and the choices I've made.... Immigration is a chronic condition, and the only cure, Trump tells us, is a 'bloody story' of mass deportation.... Trump's pledge to build the wall was his essential promise in 2016; the call for mass deportation is his crucial commitment today. The immigrant threat has been redefined from those who are coming ... to those who are here. The wall purported to protect America; deportations are meant to purify it."

Ariana Baio of the Independent: "After mocking Vice President Kamala Harris over her teleprompter use, Donald Trump's rally in Reno, Nevada, ground to a halt as he ... was forced to fix his [teleprompter] on-stage after a campaign sign fell on it. 'Thank god I don't use teleprompters too much,' Trump told rallygoers after the sign fell on the teleprompter, causing the script to stop being projected. 'I look at the teleprompter, it's totally gone. I say "What the hell happened." The sign fell on top of it.... He went on to, again, falsely accuse Harris of using one during her town hall with Univision on Thursday. Both the Harris campaign and Univision have confirmed to CNN that the vice president did not use a teleprompter during her town hall. A teleprompter that was seen in a photo from the event was in Spanish and meant for the moderator, not Harris." MB: Harris does not speak Spanish. "Many questions were asked in Spanish and translated for her [at the town hall]." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Ha Ha. From the Independent story: Trump told supporters on Friday night that "there's something wrong with [Harris]' for using teleprompters. He added: 'I don't use them that much. The concept I use but I don't like it.'" So after thinking about it since 2015, he has concepts of a healthcare plan. And now he has a concept of a teleprompter. Either Trump is a great philosopher who spends his waking hours theorizing & conceptualizing stuff, or he lives in a fantasy world that absolves him a need to grapple with the vicissitudes of reality.

Myah Ward of Politico: Donald Trump's "rhetoric has veered more than ever into conspiracy theories and rumors, like when he amplified false claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets. And Trump has demonized minority groups and used increasingly dark, graphic imagery to talk about migrants in every one of his speeches since the Sept. 10 presidential debate, according to a Politico review of more than 20 campaign events. It's a stark escalation over the last month of what some experts in political rhetoric, fascism, and immigration say is a strong echo of authoritarians and Nazi ideology.... Trump vowed to 'rescue' the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, from the rapists, 'blood thirsty criminals,' and 'most violent people on earth' he insists are ruining the 'fabric' of the country and its culture: immigrants.... The supposed threat migrants pose is the core part of the former president"s closing argument.... He is no longer just talking about keeping immigrants out of the country.... Trump now warns that migrants have already invaded, destroying the country from inside its borders, which he uses as a means to justify a second-term policy agenda that includes building massive detention camps and conducting mass deportations." (Also linked yesterday.)

⭐ Donald's New Owner. Mary Trump in a Substack essay: "Donald Trump has always been for sale. It used to be shocking how many people were willing to prop him up in the hopes of profiting off his increasingly seamy ventures. But thanks to a morally bankrupt Republican Party and our degraded corporate media, Donald remains alarmingly close to the kind of power that's worth shelling out massive amounts of money to be close to -- and benefit from.... Given this decades-long pattern, it's not surprising that the world's richest fascist, South African jumping bean Elon Musk, would also be interested in purchasing a few shares in a man who is willing to sell whatever he can get his hands on.... In exchange for Donald's willingness to throw Musk the keys to the federal government, Musk is throwing a considerable fortune, as well as the weight of Twitter's influence, behind the Republican candidate. For him, it's a safe bet because he knows, if Donald is elected, he'll do anything Musk wants him to do."

About Those Tariffs: A Case Study. Joseph Politano in a Washington Post op-ed: "To understand why nearly every economist believes that Donald Trump's protectionist trade agenda will be a blow to the U.S. economy, look to his team's own favorite case study: the great laundry tariffs of 2018.... The explicit, written, intentional purpose of those tariffs was to increase the cost to consumers and stop the steady doldrum of price declines caused by foreign competitors.... By that metric, tariffs definitely achieved their goal; U.S. laundry machine prices spiked in the immediate aftermath of the tariff and remained high for years.... Purchases of household appliances stagnated after years of growth.... The vaunted domestic industry buildout was much weaker than tariff proponents would have you believe.... When the Biden administration let the tariffs expire early last year, laundry machine prices quickly declined, indicating that domestic industry wasn't cost-competitive even after half a decade of protection from foreign competition.... Consumers spent years paying higher prices for inferior products to support a domestic industry that remains no stronger or more efficient than it was a decade ago." Politano goes on to discuss what the effects of Trump's planned universal tariffs would be. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: BTW, if you think Congress isn't as stupid as Trump and would never allow him to impose universal tariffs on Americans, I'm here to remind you that Congress has no say. The administration can unilaterally impose tariffs.

Dan Diamond & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: JD Vance "has hit on a new strategy to defend the GOP's oft-criticized health-care record: talk about his own family's experience. 'Members of my family actually got private health insurance, at least, for the first time ... under Donald Trump's leadership,' ... Vance ... said at this month's vice-presidential debate.... Vance was referring to his mother, who purchased private health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplace run by Ohio after she ... made too much money to remain on Medicaid, a campaign spokesman told The Washington Post. Vance also was invoking a cousin in Florida who obtained private insurance for the first time through the state's marketplace.... In Vance's telling, his family members' experience reflects Trump's stewardship of the nation's health-care markets.... But to many health policy experts, Vance's story reveals ... the audacity of Trump&'s attempts to take credit for the work of President Barack Obama and Democrats, who crafted and defended the Affordable Care Act at great political cost...."

     ~~~ Marie: BTW, what JayDee is proposing now is a targeted ACA designed to price people with the greatest needs out of the healthcare market. So if you're a healthy young person, you can buy affordable insurance, and if you break your leg, your policy will cover it as long as your insurer doesn't try to weasel out of it. But if you're an older person with, say, a pre-existing, chronic condition, you will likely be priced out of the insurance market.

Steve M. has some thoughts on JD Vance's NYT interview, and you will enjoy reading them. MB: They are funny in the way some horror movies have humorous elements: like I saw an ad for the new "Joker" movie where Lady Gaga sings "Get Happy" to River Phoenix, and I thought that was funny, even though it was obvious that the lyric, "Get ready for the judgment day" was an ominous signal. (Also linked yesterday.)

David McAfee of the Raw Story: "Former Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, the controversial figure Donald Trump named to be his White House national security adviser, stunned observers with his answer to a question about potentially executing political enemies.... 'General Michael Flynn was asked at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival Friday night if he'd "sit at the head of a military tribunal to not only drain the swamp, but imprison the swamp, and on a few occasions, execute the swamp." General Flynn says "What your sentiment is about is accountability" and that "I definitely believe we need accountability,"' [filmmaker Ford Fischer] reported Saturday."

Meredith McGraw & Hailey Fuchs of Politico: "A conservative think tank that has been laying the groundwork for a possible second Trump administration has been targeted by an apparent cyber attack. The America First Policy Institute contacted federal authorities for assistance after its internal network was breached. The group said in a statement that its systems have since been secured."

Sam Levine of the Guardian: "The far-right website The Gateway Pundit acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that there was not any fraud during ballot counting in Atlanta in 2020 when Donald Trump lost the presidency, a significant concession from one of the most influential conservative sites that plays a key role in spreading election misinformation. The statement, the first acknowledgment from the site that there was no proof of fraud in Atlanta, came days after the site settled a defamation lawsuit with Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, two local election workers who the site falsely accused of wrongdoing. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed publicly, but the site appears to have removed all mention of the two women." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in Israel's wars is here: "The Israeli military's days-long siege of northern Gaza and relentless bombing has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the region, with no food aid entering since the beginning of this month, aid agencies said. Officials in Gaza said Saturday that at least 19 people were killed in Jabalya, with many others still buried beneath the rubble."

Ronen Bergman, et al., of the New York Times: "For more than two years, Yahya Sinwar huddled with his top Hamas commanders and plotted what they hoped would be the most devastating and destabilizing attack on Israel in the militant group's four-decade history. Minutes of Hamas's secret meetings, seized by the Israeli military and obtained by The New York Times, provide a detailed record of the planning for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, as well as Mr. Sinwar's determination t persuade Hamas's allies, Iran and Hezbollah, to join the assault or at least commit to a broader fight with Israel if Hamas staged a surprise cross-border raid. The documents, which represent a breakthrough in understanding Hamas, also show extensive efforts to deceive Israel about its intentions as the group laid the groundwork for a bold assault and a regional conflagration that Mr. Sinwar hoped would cause Israel to 'collapse.'"

The Conversation -- October 12, 2024

Myah Ward of Politico: Donald Trump's "rhetoric has veered more than ever into conspiracy theories and rumors, like when he amplified false claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets. And Trump has demonized minority groups and used increasingly dark, graphic imagery to talk about migrants in every one of his speeches since the Sept. 10 presidential debate, according to a Politico review of more than 20 campaign events. It's a stark escalation over the last month of what some experts in political rhetoric, fascism, and immigration say is a strong echo of authoritarians and Nazi ideology.... Trump vowed to 'rescue' the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, from the rapists, 'blood thirsty criminals,' and 'most violent people on earth' he insists are ruining the 'fabric' of the country and its culture: immigrants.... The supposed threat migrants pose is the core part of the former president's closing argument.... He is no longer just talking about keeping immigrants out of the country.... Trump now warns that migrants have already invaded, destroying the country from inside its borders, which he uses as a means to justify a second-term policy agenda that includes building massive detention camps and conducting mass deportations."

Sam Levine of the Guardian: "The far-right website The Gateway Pundit acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that there was not any fraud during ballot counting in Atlanta in 2020 when Donald Trump lost the presidency, a significant concession from one of the most influential conservative sites that plays a key role in spreading election misinformation. The statement, the first acknowledgment from the site that there was no proof of fraud in Atlanta, came days after the site settled a defamation lawsuit with Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, two local election workers who the site falsely accused of wrongdoing. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed publicly, but the site appears to have removed all mention of the two women."

Ariana Baio of the Independent: "After mocking Vice President Kamala Harris over her teleprompter use, Donald Trump's rally in Reno, Nevada, ground to a halt as he ... was forced to fix his [teleprompter] on-stage after a campaign sign fell on it. 'Thank god I don't use teleprompters too much,' Trump told rallygoers after the sign fell on the teleprompter, causing the script to stop being projected. 'I look at the teleprompter, it's totally gone. I say "What the hell happened." The sign fell on top of it.... He went on to, again, falsely accuse Harris of using one during her town hall with Univision on Thursday. Both the Harris campaign and Univision have confirmed to CNN that the vice president did not use a teleprompter during her town hall. A teleprompter that was seen in a photo from the event was in Spanish and meant for the moderator, not Harris." MB: Harris does not speak Spanish. "Many questions were asked in Spanish and translated for her [at the town hall]." ~~~

     ~~~ Ha Ha. From the Independent story: Trump told supporters on Friday night that "there's something wrong with [Harris]" for using teleprompters. "He added: 'I don't use them that much. The concept I use but I don't like it.' So after thinking about it since 2015, he has concepts of a healthcare plan. And now he has a concept of a teleprompter. Either Trump is a great philosopher who spends his waking hours theorizing & conceptualizing stuff, or he lives in a fantasy world that absolves him a need to grapple with the vicissitudes of reality.

Steve M. has some thoughts on JD Vance's NYT interview, and you will enjoy reading them. MB: They are funny in the way some horror movies have humorous elements: like I saw an ad for the new "Joker" movie where Lady Gaga sings "Get Happy" to River Phoenix, and I thought that was funny, even though it was obvious that the lyric, "Get ready for the judgment day" was an ominous signal. ~~~

Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris released a letter on Saturday from her White House doctor, who said she is in 'excellent health' and is successfully managing some minor health issues. Ms. Harris, 59, has seasonal allergies, mild nearsightedness and skin hives that she treats with over-the-counter and prescription medication, wrote Joshua R. Simmons, the physician to the vice president. 'Vice President Harris remains in excellent health,' Dr. Simmons wrote in a two-page letter that appeared to be a summary but not a complete medical report. 'She possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as chief executive, head of state and commander in chief.' Ms. Harris has not had diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis or neurological disorders, Dr. Simmons wrote. ... The release of Ms. Harris's medical information comes as ... Donald J. Trump, her 78-year-old rival, has refused to reveal similar basic health information.... Mr. Trump, the oldest person to become a presidential nominee, has declined requests to release new information about his health even though he has promised to." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's Dr. Simmons' letter, via the White House. ~~~

     ~~~ Fritz Farrow, et al., of ABC News: "Vice President Kamala Harris released a report with details about her health and medical history on Saturday, as the Harris team tries to place ... Donald Trump's health and advanced age under new scrutiny." MB: Note that right up in the lede ABC News contrasts Harris's release of her medical report with Trump's refusal to do the same, whereas the NYT first makes reference to Trump's refusal to release recent medical records a ways down the page.

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Presidential Race

David Gilmour of Mediaite: "The feature by [Vogue], which publicly endorsed Harris in July, comes as a publicity boost in the pivotal final moments in her presidential campaign, the announcement noting: 'Rarely are individuals summoned for acts of national rescue.'... The image shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, is accompanied by a lengthy cover story, for which Harris was interviewed, and highlights Harris's rise to the forefront of politics." ~~~

     ~~~ Apparently, wingers are very upset that the photo of Harris was touched up. MB: I'm not sure then why they don't mind that all the officials photos of Trump have been air-brushed. And those trading cards picture him as a fantastical, cartoonish young, muscular hunk.

Ashleigh Fields of the Hill: "Vice President Harris's campaign released an ad titled 'Like Detroit' on Friday, criticizing former President Trump for his unfavorable comments about the city.... The video will air in Michigan markets during the Detroit Tigers game on Saturday and the Lions game on Sunday." Actor Courtney Vance, a Detroit native, does the voiceover.~~~

Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota took the stage in a Detroit suburb on Friday to offer a sharp rebuttal to ... Donald J. Trump, who had positioned himself as a savior of the auto industry at an appearance in Detroit a day earlier. Speaking to about 100 people inside a community college's fabrication shop in Warren, Mich., Mr. Walz argued that the Trump economic agenda would be harmful to blue-collar workers and manufacturing in the state.... 'Trump ... has been an absolute disaster for working people,' Mr. Walz said. 'One of the biggest losers of manufacturing jobs of any American president in history.' He blamed Mr. Trump for the loss of about 280,000 jobs in Michigan during the pandemic, suggesting the former president's 'disastrous mismanagement' of Covid, his trade wars and the federal contracts he gave to businesses that off-shored jobs were to blame.... Mr. Walz, speaking in Warren, also condemned Mr. Trump's unusual decision to disparage Detroit while in the city itself.... Mr. Walz said, 'If the guy were to ever spend time in the Midwest, like all of us know -- we know Detroit's experienced an American comeback, a renaissance.'

"Mr. Walz referenced recent reporting that thousands of copies of Trump-branded Bibles were produced in China. 'This dude even outsourced God to China,' he said, as the crowd laughed. Mr. Walz said he did not blame Mr. Trump for not noticing 'the made-in-China sticker -- cause they put it inside, a place he's never looked.' Mr. Walz also had harsh words for Elon Musk..., who is working relentlessly to get Mr. Trump elected. He criticized Mr. Musk for laughing while Mr. Trump discussed firing striking workers during a livestreamed conversation the duo had on the Musk-owned social media platform X, and pointed out that the businessman was building a Tesla factory in Mexico, rather than in Michigan.... By contrast, Mr. Walz said, Ms. Harris's administration would help 'release the full potential of American industry.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Walter Einenkel, writing in the Daily Kos, reports that what Walz actually said about the made-in-China Trump Bible was, "I don't blame him. He didn't notice the 'Made in China' sticker because they put it inside, a place he's never looked in the Bible." This short clip, embedded in Einenkel's story backs him up. Why Browning truncated Walz' remark, in a manner that gives it a different meaning, is beyond me. But I know it's dishonest reporting. ~~~

Michael Gold & Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump escalated the nativist, anti-immigration rhetoric that has animated his political career with a speech Friday in Aurora, Colo., where he repeated false and grossly exaggerated claims about undocumented immigrants that local Republican officials have refuted. For weeks, Aurora has been fending off false rumors about the city. And its conservative Republican mayor, Mike Coffman, said in a statement on Friday that he hoped to show Mr. Trump that Aurora was 'a considerably safe city.' But Mr. Trump has made debunked claims about Aurora ... such a central part of his stump speech that he took a campaign detour to Colorado, which has not voted for a Republican in a presidential election since 2004.... During a meandering 80-minute speech Mr. Trump repeated [debunked] claims ... that Aurora had been 'invaded and conquered,' described the United States as an 'occupied state,' called for the death penalty 'for any migrant that kills an American citizen' and revived a promise to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport suspected members of drug cartels and criminal gangs without due process."~~~

     ~~~ Sabrina Rodriguez of the Washington Post: “Donald Trump is leaning into a nativist, anti-immigrant message in the final stage of his third presidential campaign, advancing a closing argument centered on fearmongering, falsehoods and stereotypes about migrants as polls show his edge on economic issues fading. In recent days, the former president has suggested that 'bad genes' are to blame for people in the country illegally who have committed murders, reprised his warnings about a migrant 'invasion' and suggested Vice President Kamala Harris's handling of border issues shows she is 'mentally impaired.'... [At his rally in Aurora, he] blamed Harris for importing 'an army of illegal alien gang members and migrant criminals from the dungeons of the Third World.'"

     ~~~ Marie: I realize Trump is not capable of logical thinking, but I wonder how a mentally competent Trump would justify imposing the death penalty upon the very people he says are predestined to murder: "You know, now, a murderer, I believe this, it's in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now." It seems to me that in Trump Court, anyone (or at least anyone of color) should be able to mount a successful defense based on Trump's theory that "My genes made me do it."

Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Over ... [dinner at Trump Tower in late September with wealthy donors, Donald Trump] tore through a bitter list of grievances. He made it clear that people, including donors, needed to do more, appreciate him more and help him more. He disparaged Vice President Kamala Harris as 'retarded.' He complained about the number of Jews still backing Ms. Harris.... At one point, Mr. Trump seemed to suggest that these donors had plenty to be grateful to him for. He boasted about how great he had been for their taxes, something that some privately noted wasn't true for everyone in the room.... He's trailing ... [Ms. Harris] for cash and has had to hustle to keep raising it.... [She raised] $1 billion in less than three months as a candidate -- a sum greater than the total Mr. Trump raised all year.... She raised more than twice as much as Mr. Trump in July, August and September."

Josh Dawsey & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump’s campaign requested military aircraft for Trump to fly in during the final weeks of the campaign, expanded flight restrictions over his residences and rallies, ballistic glass pre-positioned in seven battleground states for the campaign's use and an array of military vehicles to transport Trump, according to emails reviewed by The Washington Post and people familiar with the matter. The requests are extraordinary and unprecedented -- no nominee in recent history has been ferried around in military planes ahead of an election. But the requests came after Trump's campaign advisers received briefings in which the government said Iran is still actively plotting to kill him....

"'Assistance from the Department of Defense is regularly provided for the former president's protection, to include explosive ordnance disposal, canine units, and airlift transportation,' [Secret Service spokesman Anthony] Guglielmi said. The Secret Service is also imposing temporary flight restrictions 'over the former president's residence and when he travels,' he added. 'Additionally, the former president is receiving the highest level of technical security assets which include unmanned aerial vehicles, counter unmanned aerial surveillance systems, ballistics and other advanced technology systems.' Senior U.S. officials said it was unlikely the Trump campaign would be provided military planes based on the current intelligence."

Sophia Cai of Axios: "Donald Trump's campaign quietly has changed a key part of its messaging operation, tapping Trump 2020 veteran Tim Murtaugh to lead its communications in the final month before the election.... The campaign isn't changing anyone's titles in its communications team to try to avoid the appearance of a shake-up..., two sources said.... 'Danielle Alvarez, Steven Cheung and Brian Hughes are unparalleled,' [co-campaign manager Susan Wiles] said...." MB: IOW, campaign spokespeople will still be spewing appalling insults in response to routine questions.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "In the nearly four years since he left the White House, Mr. Trump has acted as something of a shadow president on international affairs operating out of what he used to call the Winter White House at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Even before he kicked off a comeback bid to reclaim his old office, foreign governments realized that Mr. Trump was still a force in American politics and that they needed to take him into account in their dealings with the United States. Now that he is the Republican nominee for president in next month&'s election, foreign leaders have been playing up to Mr. Trump even more. A parade of world leaders has made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago or to Trump Tower in New York, including the leaders of Ukraine, Israel, Poland, Hungary, Argentina, Qatar, [and] the United Arab Emirates.... 'Trump ran his White House like a Middle East dictatorship, so these actions are par for the course with him,' said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. 'But its off-the-charts unusual and potentially a major national security threat for a number of reasons.'"

Andrew Feinberg of the Independent: "Mark Milley, the US Army general who Donald Trump appointed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now says the current Republican presidential nominee is a 'fascist to the core' and says no person has ever posed more of a danger to the United States than the man who served as the 45th President of the United States. Milley, a decorated military officer who became a target for right-wing scorn after it became known that he expressed concerns over Trump's mental stability in the wake of his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, is described by journalist Bob Woodward in his new book, War, as incredibly alarmed at the prospect of a second Trump term in the White House." Read on.

Michael Bender of the New York Times: "In an interview with The New York Times that will be published on Saturday, [JD] Vance repeatedly refused to acknowledge ... Donald J. Trump's defeat and went to even greater lengths to avoid doing so than he did during the vice-presidential debate earlier this month. When asked about the previous election during an hourlong interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, a host of 'The Interview,' a Times podcast published each Saturday, the Republican vice-presidential nominee responded that he was 'focused on the future.' It was the same phrase he used to evade the same question during his debate with his Democratic rival, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.... On her fifth request for a yes-or-no answer, Ms. Garcia-Navarro pointed out that there was 'no proof, legal or otherwise,' of election fraud. Mr. Vance dismissed that as 'a slogan.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Lulu Garcia-Navarro of the New York Times: JD "Vance has always been comfortable in the public eye, starting with his job dealing with the media as a public-affairs officer in the Marines. As an author, commentator and candidate, he has left a long record ... of his evolving views.... In a 2021 podcast, for example, he said that Trump, if elected again, should 'seize the institutions of the left,' 'fire every single midlevel bureaucrat' in the U.S. government, 'replace them with our people' and defy the Supreme Court if it tried to stop him. That is what Vance sounds like when he's talking to his base. But a very different Vance appeared recently on the debate stage, where, when speaking to a national audience, he was much less divisive and much more willing to engage in a civil discussion with a political opponent ... Tim Walz...." What follows is what appears to be a full transcript of the interview. Included as well are audio of the interview and links to a number of podcasts. ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2. Here are Bender's takeaways from the interview. Bender and JayDee make JayDee sound quite nice & reasonable. ~~~

     ~~~ Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is JayDee. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: During the Times interview, "Vance revived the old, false claim that briefly limiting the Hunter Biden story on social media made Trump lose. Meanwhile, his campaign pushed X to do just that.... X banned [Ken] Klippenstein's [publication of a purloined Trump briefing book], purportedly because the linked document included personal information about Vance. But also because the Trump campaign wanted it to be limited, according to the Times's Elon Musk story. 'After a reporter's publication of hacked Trump campaign information last month,' the story notes, 'the campaign connected with X to prevent the circulation of links to the material on the platform, according to two people with knowledge of the events. X eventually blocked links to the material and suspended the reporter's account.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I feel a bit dishonest when I refer to the junior senator from Ohio as JayDee. As Akhilleus has pointed out, JayDee has used many aliases.

Today, he prefers JD Vance.
But before that, he called himself J.D. Vance; i.e., J Dot D Dot Vance.
Before that it was J.D. Hamel.
Before that it was James. D. Hamel.
Before that he was James David Hamel.
He was born James Donald Bowman.

Maya Boddie of AlterNet: "Undercover audio shared to social media by liberal filmmaker Lauren Windsor on Thursday shows Donald Trump ally Roger Stone revealing his plans to disrupt the electoral process next month if the ex-president doesn't defeat Kamala Harris.... [Stone told an undercover reporter at an event in August 2024 that during Trump's previous administration,] 'We were never really in control.... I was indicted by Donald Trump's Justice Department. Donald Trump never controlled the Justice Department. [Former Attorney General] Bill Barr [is a] traitorous piece of human garbage!' Stone went on to call the former Trump AG 'a piece of s--t.' [Stone's plan to put Trump back in office:] '... We gotta fight it out on a state-to-state basis.... When they throw us out of Detroit, you go get a court order, you come in with your armed guards, and you dispute it.'"~~~

     ~~~ Alice Herman of the Guardian writes a story that includes a bit more context.

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "Two U.S. Navy SEALs drowned as they tried to climb aboard a ship carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Yemen because of glaring training failures and a lack of understanding about what to do after falling into deep, turbulent waters, according to a military investigation.... The review concluded that the drownings of Chief Special Warfare Operator Christopher J. Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Nathan Gage Ingram could have been prevented. But both sank quickly in the high seas off the coast of Somalia, weighed down by heavy equipment they were carrying and not knowing or disregarding concerns that their flotation devices could not compensate for the additional weight. Both were lost at sea. The highly critical and heavily redacted report -- written by a Navy officer from outside Naval Special Warfare Command, which oversees the SEALs -- concluded there were 'deficiencies, gaps and inconsistencies' in training, policies, tactics and procedures as well as 'conflicting guidance' on when and how to use emergency flotation devices and extra buoyancy material that could have kept them alive."

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Marie: Perhaps there are some costs to buying one of world's largest social media platforms, then turning it into a vehicle for promoting fascism. ~~~

~~~ California. Mike Bedigan of the Independent: "State officials have rejected SpaceX's plans to launch further rockets in California, after Elon Musk's recent 'aggressive' insertion into the US presidential race. Questions have been raised as to whether actions by the space exploration company, owned by Musk, should be considered federal or private activity. The plan to increase the number of SpaceX rocket launches to up to 50 a year was rejected by the California Coastal Commission on Thursday, with some officials citing Musk's incredibly political posts on his social media platform X. 'We're dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,' commission Chair Caryl Hart said. 'This company (SpaceX) is owned by the richest person in the world with direct control of what could be the most expansive communications system on the planet,' Commissioner Mike Wilson said. 'Just last week that person was talking about political retribution.'"

Texas. Caroline Kitchener of the Washington Post: "A Texas man who sued three women for allegedly helping his ex-wife obtain abortion pills has dropped his claims == prompting abortion rights advocates to declare victory in the first case of its kind to be brought since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Galveston County in March 2023, claimed that helping someone obtain an abortion qualifies as murder under the state's homicide law and the abortion ban that took effect shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, allowing a Texas man to sue under the wrongful-death statute.... [Marcus] Silva, who identified himself as the 'father of the unborn child,' agreed to drop the case late Thursday after several different state courts refused to compel his ex-wife and the three defendants to provide additional information. One Texas Supreme Court justice called attention to what he described as Silva's 'disgracefully vicious harassment and intimidation of his ex-wife.'"

Virginia. Alexander Malin of ABC News: "The Justice Department filed suit against Virginia on Friday over a statewide program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls in the lead-up to the 2024 election if DMV records don't indicate United States citizenship. The Department said it filed the lawsuit based on a federal law that prohibits purges from rolls within the 90-day period leading up to an election.... The [purge] system, implemented via executive order by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, has already faced lawsuits from several immigration rights groups. The DOJ recently filed a similar lawsuit against the state of Alabama over similar voter roll purges.... In a statement on the governor's website, Youngkin called the lawsuit a 'politically motivated action,' and vowed to not 'stand idly by.'" MB: Uh, Glenn, that's what my grandma used to call the pot calling the kettle black. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the DOJ's press release.

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Israel's wars are here: 'President Joe Biden said he is 'absolutely, positively' asking Israel to stop hitting U.N. peacekeepers. His remarks, in response to a reporter's question on Friday, follow those by several world leaders and rights groups who have expressed concern since the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon announced that explosions near its headquarters had injured two peacekeepers -- the second time the headquarters was affected by explosions in 48 hours. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, described the attacks on UNIFIL as a criminal act that endangers international community norms and said his cabinet would urge the U.N. Security Council to call for an urgent cease-fire in Lebanon."

Lara Jakes of the New York Times explores the unsettled international legal questions surrounding Israel's invasion of Hesbollah.

Ukraine, et al. Alex Horton, et al., of the Washington Post: "Russian forces have become deadlier and more agile with the help of illicit Starlink terminals ... despite U.S. efforts to stop the flow of technology.... Tens of thousands of Starlink dishes form the backbone of Ukraine's military network, fueling devices vital to fighting a digital war -- one of the few advantages Kyiv has against Moscow's bigger, if less modernized, force.... The issue [of Russia's access to Starlink] has renewed Ukrainian frustrations over Elon Musk, SpaceX's mercurial chief executive. Some [Ukraine] soldiers criticized Musk by name, saying his company has not done enough to crack down on illicit use and casting doubt on his desire to fix the problem, saying he appears to have favorable views toward Russia.... Musk was also widely condemned in Ukraine following reports he denied Kyiv's request to allow Starlink access for sea drones in a planned 2022 attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet. His biographer Walter Isaacson also wrote that Musk sought counsel from the Russian ambassador to the United States and was worried he would play a role in a destabilizing escalation....

"The U.S. and Ukrainian governments are working with SpaceX to 'prevent Russia's illicit use of Starlink terminals in occupied Ukraine,' including focus from the U.S. Treasury Department on 'potential sanctions violations' related to the international smuggling effort, said ... a Defense Department spokesman.... SpaceX provided free Starlink connection to Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 but then threatened to cut service following online spats with diplomats, citing the high costs. Musk relented under public pressure and then sent the bill to the Pentagon, the most recent totaling $14.1 million for six months of service through next month." ~~~

~~~ Marie: No one should be a billionaire.