Thanksgiving Day 2024
Marie: Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone. Here's a holiday gift we can all enjoy. It turns out that what I couldn't stand about the Christmas-themed song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was Mariah Carey. The song is way Better with Beethoven. I've seen a few of these "in the style of" parodies. This one, by Josep Castanyer Alonso, is particularly brilliant, especially because it includes explanations. Thanks to Patrick for the link. ~~~
~~~ AND, on quite a different note, if you overindulge at the Thanksgiving table, you could dance off the added calories: ~~~
A Reason to be Thankful: Biden Rescues Wrongfully-detained Americans. Michael Birnbaum & Cate Caddell of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration and China have agreed to a prisoner swap, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday, securing the release of three Americans who the U.S. government has long said were wrongfully detained by Beijing. Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung are en route back to the United States, the White House said, capping months of diplomatic pressure on China and securing a win for the Biden administration.... The White House said in a statement ... [that] no other Americans are wrongfully detained in China." (Also linked yesterday.)
Simon Romero of the New York Times: "Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, spoke to ... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday afternoon, and both later characterized their discussion as positive while providing different descriptions of what Mexico is doing to stave off a potential tariff war. While Mr. Trump posted on social media that Mexico had agreed to stop migration to the United States through Mexico, 'effectively closing our Southern Border,' Ms. Sheinbaum limited her description of the migration-related issues they had discussed to migrant caravans no longer reaching the border with the United States. Still, Ms. Sheinbaum, who earlier in the day had made clear that Mexico would impose retaliatory tariffs in response to similar measures threatened by Mr. Trump, seemed to ease tensions by saying the exchange was 'excellent.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump of course is ignoring a long-standing premise of U.S. policy: that we have only one president at a time. Trump's negotiating with world leaders during Biden's presidency is more evidence for the theory that he'll never be president, but would best be described -- during those periods he can reasonably be assumed to hold office -- as president*. Oh, and there's this: ~~~
~~~ digby: "Rolling Stone is reporting today that Trump and Co have revived their plans to invade Mexico. I'm not kidding: 'Within Donald Trump's government-in-waiting, there is a fresh debate over whether and how thoroughly the president-elect should follow through on his campaign promise to attack or even invade Mexico, as part of the "war" he's pledged to wage against powerful drug cartels.... Trump's Cabinet picks, including his choices for secretary of defense and secretary of state, have publicly supported the idea of potentially unleashing the U.S. military in Mexico. So has the man Trump has tapped to be his national security adviser. So has the man Trump selected as his 'border czar' to lead his immigration crackdowns. So have various Trump allies in Congress and in the media.'... They're serious." The Rolling Stone story, which is firewalled, is here.
Rob Gillies of the AP: "Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should ... Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday.... When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.... Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem [when it comes to sending immigrants to the U.S. or fentanyl,] and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries."
Whoa! What a Surprise! Betsy Klein, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's team submitted an ethics plan guiding the conduct of its members throughout the transition period [with one notable omission].... 'There does not appear to be a provision addressing the requirement for the president-elect to address his conflicts of interest,' said Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.... In 2016, Trump took some nominal steps toward alleviating ethical concerns before entering the White House.... He has made no such assurances this time. Rather, Trump lately has added potential conflicts of interest with some of his latest business dealings.... The ethics agreement, posted late Tuesday to the General Services Administration's website, otherwise 'does appear to comply with most of the requirements in the Presidential Transition Act,' a law governing the protocols around transition activities, said Boyd." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Hey, Trump has an Article II that lets him do whatever he wants. And if you don't believe him, ask the Supreme Court.
Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: "... Donald Trump said Wednesday he will nominate retired Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.... During Trump's first administration, Kellogg served as Chief of Staff and executive secretary to the National Security Council. He previously served in the military for over 35 years. Kellogg in April co-authored a policy paper, obtained by NBC News, outlining how he'd seek to end the war in Ukraine, including potentially conditioning U.S. military aid to Kyiv on their participation in peace talks with Russia.... 'Ukraine would not be asked to relinquish the goal of regaining all its territory, but it would agree to use diplomacy, not force, with the understanding that this would require a future diplomatic breakthrough which probably will not occur before Putin leaves office,' Kellogg and [co-author Fred] Fleitz wrote." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "In February, Mr. Kellogg defended Mr. Trump after the then-candidate declared that he would encourage Russia to 'do whatever the hell they want' to NATO members who fail to meet the alliance's targets for national military spending.... Mr. Kellogg said that Mr. Trump was 'onto something' by emphasizing the responsibility of NATO members to maintain strong armies." ~~~
~~~ Sareen Habeshian of Axios: "Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg ... has pushed a proposal to end the war between the two countries through Ukraine ceding land to Russia." MB: Habeshian doesn't present direct evidence of Kellogg's plans for Ukrainian territory held by Russia, but Reuters did: ~~~
~~~ AND Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "'Under the plan drawn up by Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, who both served as chiefs of staff in Trump's National Security Council during his 2017-2021 presidency, there would be a ceasefire based on prevailing battle lines during peace talks, Fleitz said,' Reuters reported [in June]. Maintaining the current battle lines would potentially leave Russia in control of a large percentage of Ukrainian territory, which Reuters noted 'would mark a big shift in the U.S. position on the war and would face opposition from European allies and within Trump's own Republican Party.'"
Tara Copp of the AP: "... Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service.... The appointment comes at a critical moment for the Navy, which has been stretched thin with deployments around the world and must contend with a shrinking fleet even as the naval forces of its main rival, China, are growing. Trump has campaigned on expanding the Navy and would need to fight bureaucratic inertia to do so. But it's uncertain whether a secretary with no military experience -- either in uniform or as a defense civilian - would be well-positioned to lead that effort." ~~~
~~~ Even some Trumpbots are not amused. ~~~
~~~ Marie: One personality trait Trump's picks have in common with Trump: a complete lack of humility. If for some strange reason a president accidentally picked me to be Secretary of the Navy, I would decline the nomination as I would know I was not up to the job and my selection would be unfair to the men and women of the Navy. But Phelan, an investor, has no qualms. He apparently thinks an outing on a friend's yacht and a tourist visit to the Capitol are all the qualifications needed by a smart guy such as he.
Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News: "In 2019, [Robert Kennedy, Jr.,] called the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]'s vaccine division a fascist enterprise and accused it of knowingly hurting children. He also compared what he saw as a widespread conspiracy to hide harms from the child vaccination program to the cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church."
Devlin Barrett & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Several of the people ... Donald J. Trump has picked to be cabinet nominees or for White House positions received threats on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.... Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said several cabinet nominees and others were targeted with 'violent, un-American threats to their lives and those who live with them.' Law enforcement and other authorities 'acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted,' she added. The F.B.I. said in a statement it was aware of the bomb threats and so-called swatting calls, which entail contacting law enforcement to falsely claim a dangerous person is at a particular address. Such calls are designed to create a frantic armed police response to frighten, harass and endanger someone at their home. Three people familiar with the threats, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said one of those targeted was Susie Wiles, Mr. Trump's campaign manager who he has tapped to serve as the White House chief of staff." Elise Stefanik, Lee Zeldin & Brooke Rollins also were targeted. (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's report is here.
Lord Zuck Travels to the Court of Mar-a-Lardo to Pay Liege Homage. Mike Isaac, et al., of the New York Times: "Mark Zuckerberg met on Wednesday with ... Donald J. Trump in a rare face-to-face encounter, the latest attempt by the Meta chief executive to establish a positive rapport with Mr. Trump. The meeting, confirmed by three people..., was initiated by Mr. Zuckerberg, who has had a strained relationship with Mr. Trump over the past decade. Mr. Trump, who has long maintained that Meta has unfairly restrained him and other conservatives across its social media apps, has lobbed broadsides against Mr. Zuckerberg on social media and during stump speeches. Mr. Zuckerberg flew into West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday evening before joining Mr. Trump at ... Mar-a-Lago...." The AP's report is here.
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk on Wednesday called for the elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the nation's most powerful watchdog agencies, signaling it could be scrapped as part of a planned review of government spending ordered by ... Donald Trump. 'Delete CFPB,' Musk said in an early-morning post on X..., categorizing the bureau as an example of 'too many duplicative regulatory agencies' in Washington." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Clearly, this is not an effort to curtail the usual irritants of "waste, fraud and abuse." As Romm writes, "Unlike other federal offices, the CFPB is funded by transfers from the Federal Reserve, a move meant to insulate the watchdog from political infighting and lobbying pressure." So Musk isn't worried about wasting taxpayer dollars; the Fed gets its operating money from interest on securities it owns (page 4 of the linked doc), not from tax dollars. Rather, as Romm writes, Musk got his CFPB bug from billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreeson, who has investments in some of the financial institutions the CFPB has cracked down on.
Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Elon Musk on Wednesday suggested retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman 'committed treason' and 'will pay' after the former Trump impeachment witness accused the tech billionaire and close Trump ally of being unwittingly used by Russia. 'Vindman is on the payroll of Ukranian oligarchs and has committed treason against the United States,' Musk wrote on his social media platform X, responding to comments Vindman made in an interview about Musk's reported conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Musk added that Vindman ... 'will pay the appropriate penalty.' In a response on X, Vindman said Musk's comments were 'false and completely unfounded accusations.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: This may be the precursor to SOP in the Trump administration*: criticize Trump or a Trumpolodyte and "pay the appropriate penalty." Treason is a capital offense. Trump resumed executions for federal offenses during his first term, and the feds executed thirteen inmates during the first Trump administration. Merrick Garland reinstated the moratorium on federal executions in July 2021. ~~~
~~~ Marie: About a week ago, I ran a link to a story along the lines of the next linked story, but it bears repeating: ~~~
~~~ Hadas Gold & Rene Marsh of CNN: "Last week, in the midst of the flurry of his daily missives, [Elon] Musk reposted two X posts that revealed the names and titles of people holding four relatively obscure climate-related government positions. Each post has been viewed tens of millions of times, and the individuals named have been subjected to a barrage of negative attention. At least one of the four women named has deleted her social media accounts.... Several current federal employees told CNN they're afraid their lives will be forever changed -- including physically threatened == as Musk makes behind-the-scenes bureaucrats into personal targets.... Musk has done this kind of thing before -- and it's led to real danger for the people named. Missy Cummings [of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration] angered Musk when she was ... critical of Tesla's driver-assist programs and she had called for regulating the systems. Musk targeted Cummings on ... Twitter, and his legions of fans followed....Cummings said she received a torrent of attacks, including death threats, and had to temporarily relocate before she eventually moved.... [One expert said s/he was] 'not surprised' with Musk's re-posts, adding they are an example of a 'classic pattern' of cyber harassment."
Senator Potato Head Confuses U.S. with Russia. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "'The United States has sent $211 BILLION of your tax dollars to Ukraine, 4X as much as the rest of the world COMBINED,' [Sen. Tommy] Tuberville [R-ALa.] wrote on X. The former college football coach was soon hit with a community note that read, 'The $211 billion figure is the amount Russia has spent on the war as of February 2024. Senator Tuberville appears to have confused the United States with Russia.' The community note linked to a Reuters article that read, 'Russia has probably spent up to $211 billion in equipping, deploying and maintaining its troops for operations in Ukraine and Moscow has lost more than $10 billion in canceled or postponed arms sales, a senior U.S. defense official said on Friday.'" Hey, an easy mistake to make. Besides, how could a sitting U.S. senator possibly check the facts before he shared something this stupid? Thanks to Akhilleus for the link, and for his commentary at the end of yesterday's thread.
AP: "A federal appeals court Wednesday ruled that Border Patrol agents cannot cut razor wire that Texas installed on the U.S.-Mexico border in the town of Eagle Pass, which has become the center of the state's aggressive measures to curb migrant crossings. The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a victory for Texas in a long-running rift over immigration policy with the Biden administration, which has also sought to remove floating barriers installed on the Rio Grande. Texas has continued to install razor wire along its roughly 1,200-mile (1,900 kilometers) border with Mexico over the past year. In a 2-1 ruling, the court issued an injunction blocking Border Patrol agents from damaging the wire in Eagle Pass."
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New York. Hurubie Meko & Jan Ransom of the New York Times: "A federal judge overseeing New York City's Rikers Island jail complex on Wednesday found the city in contempt for failing to stem violence and excessive force at the facility, and said she was leaning toward taking control of the city's jails. The judge, Laura Taylor Swain, said in a 65-page opinion that the city and its Department of Correction had violated the constitutional rights of prisoners and staff members alike by exposing them to danger, and had intentionally ignored her orders. The judge wrote that she was 'inclined' to impose an outside authority, known as a receiver.... She ordered the city and lawyers representing prisoners to devise a plan for a receivership by Jan. 14."
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Israel/Palestine, et al. Euan Ward, et al., of the New York Times: "Thousands of civilians began the journey back to their war-ravaged, mostly abandoned communities around Beirut and in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as a U.S.-backed cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah took tenuous hold after more than 13 months of bloodshed. Vehicles stuffed with whatever items people took as they fled Israeli bombing crawled bumper to bumper on roads heading south from Beirut, the capital. For the people in them, elation, relief -- and, for Hezbollah supporters, defiance -- vied with grim knowledge: They might not have homes to return to, and the 60-day truce might not hold or bring the hoped-for end of the deadliest, most destructive war their nation has suffered in decades. But it was not clear when the people of southern Lebanon ... could go back, as the Israeli military said it would not yet permit residents in an area that had been a Hezbollah stronghold, used to launch most of its attacks on Israel. About one-quarter of Lebanon's more than five million people have been forced from their homes by the war."
News Lede
New York Times: "The Rev. Robert W. Dixon Sr., the last known survivor of the U.S. Army's all-Black regiments known as Buffalo Soldiers, died on Nov. 15 near Albany, N.Y. He was 103.... Mr. Dixon was a corporal in World War II stationed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where members of the Ninth Cavalry Regiment, composed of African Americans, trained cadets in horseback riding and mounted tactics. Created after the Civil War, the Army's all-Black cavalry and infantry regiments were nicknamed 'Buffalo Soldiers' by Native Americans who encountered them in the nation's Western expansion in the post-Civil War 19th century....
"The troops could serve only west of the Mississippi River because most white Southerners would not tolerate armed Black soldiers in their communities. They fought in the Indian Wars and protected settlers moving West. During the Spanish-American War, the experienced horsemen of the 10th Cavalry led the way for Col. Theodore Roosevelt's novice Roughriders in fighting in Cuba."
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My musical contribution for Thanksgiving -- the classic "Alice's Restaurant":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM
Happy Thanksgiving to all here.
I'm very grateful for the thoughtful company you all provide, especially in a time when it seems we have four years of dangerous thoughtlessness ahead of us.
And tho' it seems a bit selfish, I am also very grateful to have been born a white Boomer. Don't know what the future will grant to those in our wake, but we have had a great run. The whole show America staged for the much of the last century was for me.
I'm right there with you Ken. I'm proud and thankful to have been part of the Free Range and latchkey Kids generation. Except in really rotten weather I pounded ground to and from school. Get home, snag a key from a hidden hook and I was king of the castle.
I'm so thankful for the freedom I never noticed at the time.
Y'all have a great 3F day with family, food, and friends.
@Ken W. writes, "And tho' it seems a bit selfish, I am also very grateful to have been born a white Boomer. Don't know what the future will grant to those in our wake, but we have had a great run."
This is precisely why a twisted prick like Donald Trump is about to become president* again. We are backsliding into history.
It is the responsibility of each generation to make the world a better place. Our parents did that. Not only did they save us from a couple of pre-Trumps -- a/k/a Hitler & Mussolini -- but they came back from that business, went to college and made college affordable for us.
In the aggregate, we boomers have done very little to improve the world. We're takers, not givers. That is not true of many individuals, of course, but it's true of boomers as a whole. We whined about the Viet Nam War (rightly, I think, because the "Best and the Brightest" of our parents' generations told us so many lies about the and made such immoral and stupid miscalculations). Then we screwed up the Civil Rights Movement, which held promise not just for minorities for also for women and other marginalized people. We ended up with "America Love It or Leave It," Richard Nixon & George Wallace, the Moral Majority, and eventually Reagan, who opposed just about every good thing his generation had done for the country. We're the Me Generation.
As a result, the generation to follow is even worse than ours. It's takers and throwbacks on steroids. It's John Roberts, Sam Alito, Bart O'Kavanaugh. It's Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos (mixed bags, to be sure: they excelled in business, but failed as human beings). It's Steve Bannon and Ron DeSantolini and Josh Hawley, a whole generation of fake moralists with no sense of decency.
We boomers can be grateful to our parents, but we should be ashamed of ourselves. I am.