The Ledes

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

New York Times: “The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, who emerged from the backwoods of Louisiana to become a television evangelist with global reach, preaching about an eternal struggle between good and evil and warning of the temptations of the flesh, a theme that played out in his own life in a sex scandal, died on July 1. He was 90.” ~~~

     ~~~ For another sort of obituary, see Akhilleus' commentary near the end of yesterday's thread.

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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Commencement ceremonies are joyous occasions, and Steve Carell made sure that was true this past weekend (mid-June) at Northwestern's commencement:

~~~ Carell's entire commencement speech was hilarious. The audio and video here isn't great, but I laughed till I cried.

CNN did a live telecast Saturday night (June 7) of the Broadway play "Good Night, and Good Luck," written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, about legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow's effort to hold to account Sen. Joe McCarthy, "the junior senator from Wisconsin." Clooney plays Murrow. Here's Murrow himself with his famous take on McCarthy & McCarthyism, brief remarks that especially resonate today: ~~~

     ~~~ This article lists ways you still can watch the play. 

New York Times: “The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. The multiyear agreement 'will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences,' the news organization said in a statement. Besides news articles, the agreement encompasses material from NYT Cooking, The Times’s food and recipe site, and The Athletic, which focuses on sports. This is The Times’s first licensing arrangement with a focus on generative A.I. technology. In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, for copyright infringement, accusing the tech companies of using millions of articles published by The Times to train automated chatbots without any kind of compensation. OpenAI and Microsoft have rejected those accusations.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no idea what this means for "the Amazon customer experience." Does it mean that if I don't have a NYT subscription but do have Amazon Prime I can read NYT content? And where, exactly, would I find that content? I don't know. I don't know.

Washington Post reporters asked three AI image generators what a beautiful woman looks like. "The Post found that they steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness. Prompted to show a 'beautiful woman,' all three tools generated thin women, without exception.... Her body looks like Barbie — slim hips, impossible waist, round breasts.... Just 2 percent of the images showed visible signs of aging. More than a third of the images had medium skin tones. But only nine percent had dark skin tones. Asked to show 'normal women,' the tools produced images that remained overwhelmingly thin.... However bias originates, The Post’s analysis found that popular image tools struggle to render realistic images of women outside the Western ideal." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters seem to think they are calling out the AI programs for being unrealistic. But there's a lot about the "beautiful women" images they miss. I find these omissions remarkably sexist. For one thing, the reporters seem to think AI is a magical "thing" that self-generates. It isn't. It's programmed. It's programmed by boys, many of them incels who have little or no experience or insights beyond comic books and Internet porn of how to gauge female "beauty." As a result, the AI-generated women look like cartoons; that is, a lot like an air-brushed photo of Kristi Noem: globs of every kind of dark eye makeup, Scandinavian nose, Botox lips, slathered-on skin concealer/toner/etc. makeup, long dark hair and the aforementioned impossible Barbie body shape, including huge, round plastic breasts. 

New York Times: “George Clooney’s Broadway debut, 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' has been one of the sensations of the 2024-25 theater season, breaking box office records and drawing packed houses of audiences eager to see the popular movie star in a timely drama about the importance of an independent press. Now the play will become much more widely available: CNN is planning a live broadcast of the penultimate performance, on June 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The performance will be preceded and followed by coverage of, and discussion about, the show and the state of journalism.”

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. -- Magna Carta ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Bought for $27.50 after World War II, the faint, water stained manuscript in the library of Harvard Law School had attracted relatively little attention since it arrived there in 1946. That is about to change. Two British academics, one of whom happened on the manuscript by chance, have discovered that it is an original 1300 version — not a copy, as long thought — of Magna Carta, the medieval document that helped establish some of the world’s most cherished liberties. It is one of just seven such documents from that date still in existence.... A 710-year-old version of Magna Carta was sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.... First issued in 1215, it put into writing a set of concessions won by rebellious barons from a recalcitrant King John of England — or Bad King John, as he became known in folklore. He later revoked the charter, but his son, Henry III, issued amended versions, the last one in 1225, and Henry’s son, Edward I, in turn confirmed the 1225 version in 1297 and again in 1300.”

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

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Saturday
Sep172016

The Commentariat -- Sept. 18, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Marc Santora of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that a powerful explosion that rocked the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, did not appear to be linked to international terrorism, but that it was a powerful bomb designed to kill. 'This is one of the nightmare scenarios,' he said at a news conference on Sunday.... He said all of the injured had been released from the hospital. A few hours after the explosion, the authorities found and removed what they described as a second device four blocks away, raising the possibility that two bombs had been planted in the heart of the city. Mr. Cuomo said the devices appeared to be similar in design." -- CW

Kristine Guerra of the Washington Post: "A man who was killed after stabbing nine people Saturday night inside a Minnesota mall was 'a soldier of the Islamic State,' an ISIS-linked news agency said Sunday morning.... In a statement Sunday, Amaq News Agency said the suspect 'carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of countries belonging to the crusader coalition.'" -- CW

Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump has yet to take questions from reporters about why he finally decided Friday that President Obama was, in fact, born in the United States, forcing some of his top surrogates to answer for him during Sunday morning news shows." CW: The responses of mike pence, Kellyanne Conway & Chris Christie were, not surpringly, farcical. Maybe Trump figured his minions could come up with something better than he could, but they didn't. Christie at least gave us a preview of what to expect if debate moderators refute Trump when he spouts "his facts." ...

... On CNN's "State of the Union," Jake Tapper said to Gov. Chris Christie "... Donald Trump did not accept when Barack Obama released his birth certificate in 2011. He kept up this whole birther thing until Friday. That's five years....," hereupon Christie replied, "No, but, Jake, that's just not true. It's not true that he kept it up for five years."

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "A sitting governor goes on national television and when he is called out for an obvious falsehood, he simply repeats the inaccurate talking points over and over.... This is such bogus spin that we have to wonder how Christie manages to say it with a straight face. Regular readers know we shy away from using the word 'lie,' but clearly Christie is either lying or he is so misinformed that he has no business appearing on television. Kudos to Tapper for refusing to let Christie get away with it."

*****

Christopher Mele, et al., of the New York Times: "A powerful explosion caused by what the authorities believe was a homemade bomb injured at least 29 people on a crowded sidewalk in the bustling Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, according to the police. A few hours later, the authorities found and removed what they described as a second explosive device four blocks away, raising the possibility that two bombs had been planted in the heart of the city. Mayor Bill de Blasio called the explosion -- which occurred about 8:30 p.m. on West 23rd Street -- 'an intentional act' but initially said there was no connection to terrorism and no immediate claim of responsibility." -- CW ...

     ... CW: "No connection to terrorism"? What does that mean? No connection to Muslims? Detonating a bomb on a busy city street is an act of terrorism, whatever the political leanings of the terrorist(s). Update: According to the Daily News story, linked below, de Blasio's exact words were, "There is no evidence at this point of a terror connection." ...

... The New York Daily News story, by Edgar Sandoval & others, is here. The harrowing incident thrust NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill into the spotlight on his first full day on the job." The story includes CCTV video of the moment of explosion. -- CW

Spencer Kent of NJ.com: "An explosive device went off in a garbage pail Saturday morning [in Seaside Park, N.J.,] along the route of a 5K run and walk to benefit military soldiers. Multiple devices were also found 'wired together' in the same garbage pail, but they did not detonate, according to Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office." -- CW

Presidential Race

Philip Rucker & Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Public polls over the past week show Trump leading Clinton in Ohio, Florida and Iowa; moving into a virtual tie with her in Nevada and North Carolina; and cutting into what had been comfortable Clinton leads in New Hampshire as well as in Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia." -- CW

Natasha Geiling of Think Progress: "Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates is not a big fan of either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton's ideas about foreign policy. But when it comes to national security, he only thinks one candidate --  Trump --  is 'beyond repair.' In a scathing op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Gates --  who served under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama --  takes both candidates to task for their ideas about dealing with potentially hostile relations in China, Russia, the Middle East, and beyond.... Gates ... says [Trump] is 'in a league of his own' when it comes to credibility issues. He brings up Trump's support of autocrats like Vladimir Putin and dictators like Saddam Hussein, Trump's calls for torture and the killing of terrorist's families, and Trump's willingness to allow Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons." -- CW

** Blond Ambition. Clare Foran of the Atlantic looks to the responses of a focus group conducted by right-wing pollster Frank Luntz (but one that included Democrats, Republicans & independents), to highlight the double standard that voters apply to Clinton & Trump. "A number of participants in the focus group rated Donald Trump as more trustworthy than Clinton. Trump also leads Clinton on the question of trust in some national polls. That's remarkable considering that ... evidence suggest that Clinton is in fact more trustworthy.... [One] man explicitly applied different standards to Trump and Clinton in evaluating honesty. 'Clinton has a responsibility to be honest because she was an elected official,' he said, 'whereas Trump just had his organization.'... It seems odd, however, to suggest that simply because Trump doesn't have experience in politics he does not have a responsibility to be truthful...." -- CW

Bill Bradley of the Huffington Post: "Many criticized Jimmy Fallon's recent Donald Trump interview for being too soft on the Republican presidential nominee. Now, as a follow up, the comedian is wearing a surgical mask to interview ... Hillary Clinton. In retrospect, maybe this wasn't the best idea." CW: No kidding. Fallon might as well put a Trump for President sticker on the front of his desk.

It's not about golf course promotions or birth certificates. It comes down to who will fight for the forgotten. Who will invest in your children and who will really have your back in the White House. We need ideas, not insults, real plans to help struggling Americans, to help communities that have been left out and left behind. Not prejudice and paranoia. We can't let Barack Obama's legacy fall into the hands of someone who doesn't understand that. Whose dangerous and divisive vision for our country will drag us backwards. -- Hillary Clinton, at a Congressional Black Caucus event ...

... Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "Hillary Clinton took aim at Donald Trump on Saturday for his involvement in the birther movement, working to keep Trump's role in the conspiracy theory on voters' minds.... Speaking to more than a thousand attendees Saturday night at the Congressional Black Caucus's annual gala in Washington..., [Clinton] lit into her Republican rival for a Friday event in which the GOP nominee conceded -- after years of falsely suggesting otherwise -- that Barack Obama is a naturally-born U.S. citizen and eligible to serve as president." -- CW ...

... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "In a fiery speech Saturday night, President Obama said he would consider it 'a personal insult' if the African American community does not turn out to vote in great numbers in November and help carry on his legacy by supporting ... Hillary Clinton. 'If you care about our legacy, realize everything we stand for is at stake,' Obama ... said in an address to an annual dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. 'My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot.'... 'And to think with just 124 days to go, under the wire, we got that [birther] thing resolved,' Obama said to laughter from the predominantly African American audience. 'In other breaking news, the world is round, not flat.'" -- CW

Trumpelthinskin, Ctd. Rebecca Morin of Politico: "Donald Trump returned fire at former Defense Secretary Bob Gates at a Colorado rally Saturday, calling him a 'nasty guy' who 'probably has a problem we don't know about.' The GOP nominee's comments come after Gates' scathing Wall Street Journal op-ed published online Friday, where he attacks Trump as 'cavalier about the use of nuclear weapons,' with 'a record of insults to servicemen, their families and the military.'" -- CW ...

... Rebecca Morin: "Donald Trump turned his attention back to cable network guests in a Saturday tweetstorm, slamming New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd as a 'neurotic dope' and a CNN panel as 'losers.'... [Trump], who has spoken to [Dowd] ... several times throughout the election cycle, tweeted that Dowd 'makes up things that I never said for her boring interviews and columns.' Trump's tweets come after Dowd was interviewed on CNN by Michael Smerconish on her new book 'The Year of Voting Dangerously,' a collection of her columns on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump released this week." -- CW ...

By Driftglass.... Tom Dart of the Guardian: At a closed-door luncheon in Houston, Texas, Donald Trump described "Hillary Clinton's plan for comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship, as an 'amnesty' that would mean 'a virtual end to immigration enforcement in the United States of America'. Trump claimed his Democratic rival was 'effectively proposing to abolish the borders around the country that she is supposed to be representing.'... After initially inviting applications from members of the media to attend, the Project said on Friday that it was now a private event. It was livestreamed on YouTube.... [A Vice News reporter was arrested] for alleged trespassing at the hotel 'while inquiring about press access'." ...

... CW: Given Trump's comments about Maureen Dowd, it might not be mere coincidence that the reporter, Alex Thompson, was once an editorial assistant to Dowd, though the Trump campaign claims it had nothing to do with Thompson's arrest.

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and her husband Mark Kelly lashed out at Donald Trump on Friday for saying that Hillary Clinton's bodyguards should be 'disarmed.' 'Tonight we have even more evidence of just how dangerously unfit Donald Trump is to be president of this great country,' Giffords and Kelly, both Clinton supporters, said in a statement. 'He is reckless, irresponsible and unworthy of the office he seeks.... We call on him to immediately renounce these comments, apologize to Hillary Clinton, and acknowledge that once again he has gone dangerously too far.'" -- CW ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump has floated the idea of Clinton disarming her guards on many occasions before.... But ... what Trump said Friday night went beyond what he'd said previously.... When Trump said, 'Let's see what happens to her,' and 'It would be very dangerous,' he's taking things to a new level and talking about the actual result...." That is, the assassination of Hillary Clinton. -- CW

Donald Trump, Welfare King. Charles Bagli of the New York Times: Donald Trump "used his father's, and, later, his own, extensive political connections, and relied on a huge amount of assistance from the government and taxpayers in the form of tax breaks, grants and incentives to benefit the 15 buildings at the core of his Manhattan real estate empire. Since then, Mr. Trump has reaped at least $885 million in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies for luxury apartments, hotels and office buildings in New York, according to city tax, housing and finance records. The subsidies helped him lower his own costs and sell apartments at higher prices because of their reduced taxes.... No possible subsidy was left untapped.... The level of subsidies he has received along with his doggedness in claiming them seem at odds with his rhetoric as an outsider candidate who boasts of his single-handed success and who has denounced what he calls the pay-to-play culture of politics and a 'rigged' system of government." -- CW

Worst Candidate in the World. Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "... this past week offered a vivid illustration of how little regard Mr. Trump has for the long-held expectations of America's leaders. He is not only breaking the country's political norms, he and his campaign aides are now all but mocking them. Besides using his campaign as a platform to make money on a new hotel, Mr. Trump leveled an untrue assertion that Hillary Clinton had been the first to claim Mr. Obama was born abroad. He also boasted about his health on the show of a daytime television celebrity while releasing just his testosterone levels and a few other details.... Mr. Trump also continued to flout 40 years of tradition by refusing to release his tax returns, a decision that his eldest son admitted this week was not based on an audit, as Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed.... [Trump Senior] also casually accused the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve of corruption, claimed that the bipartisan national debate commission was rigged against him, and stated that Mrs. Clinton had not proposed a child care plan. (She has, and did so a year before he did.) He also mocked an African-American pastor..., and again referred to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who once said she had Native American roots, as 'Pocahontas.' And that was all before Friday night, when Mr. Trump hinted at violence against Mrs. Clinton by inviting her Secret Service detail to disarm 'and see what happens to her.'" -- CW

... OR in the Philippines, or France, or England, or, or, or.

CW: I'm really sorry I missed this commentary on Donald Trump's Washington, D.C., hotel, which he introduced in his INFOMERCIAL/birther announcement and a tour that followed. Many thanks to Jackalizer for the link:

Jen Hayden of Daily Kos (Sept. 16): "... the folks from American Bridge did get a look around [the hotel] and what they found was a hotel filled with goods made overseas, mostly in China." CW: Hayden posts American Bridge's photographic evidence of how Trump is going to bring back American jobs -- I guess as dockworkers at ports of entry for foreign-made goods, though I suppose he'll bust the International Longshore & Warehouse Union "on Day One."

Dana Milbank (Sept. 16) spent a night at the Trump hotel on Jeff Bezos' dime. "Examining my posh surroundings -- Italian bed linens, French table linens, Chinese duvet, Korean TV and, yes, Mexican tequila ($14 for a shot of Patrón Silver) in the minibar, er, 'private bar,' I came across the Gideon Bible in the nightstand with a note on 'TRUMP HOTELS ™' stationery: 'If you would like to continue your spiritual journey, we also offer the followings [sic]: Talmud. Quran. Gita. Avesta. Tripitaka (Pali Canon). Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Book of Mormon....'... [Trump] portrays himself as a populist friend of the little guy, yet he makes money renting out a presidential suite for $18,000 a night (a sign informed me that the maximum nightly rate for my room was $5,600). He derides the 'establishment' but makes his living catering to it." Milbank was wearing his "made-in-China 'Trump Hotels' bathrobe and Trump slippers" when he accepted a copy of the Koran from housekeeping.

BTW, didja notice the not-American accent of the clerk who answered Milbanks' room-service call? Of course the guy could be a naturalized American citizen like my husband who never lost his Italian accent. But the odds are he's one of those foreign guest-workers like like the construction crew that helped build Trump's Washington, D.C. hotel.

Barbara Ross & Stephen Brown of the New York Daily News: "Explosive court papers containing embarrassing details about Ivana Trump's divorce from Donald have been abruptly concealed after a Daily News inquiry.... The dusty documents stored in a box in the clerk's office of Manhattan Supreme Court contain allegations that Trump 'verbally abused and demeaned' his ex-wife. Ivana alleged that he 'lied' and that his treatment of her was 'cruel and inhuman.' In the end, it was 'unsafe or improper for them to be married,' the papers charge.... Over 100 pages of documents in the case filed in 1990 -- including key portions of a sworn deposition from Ivana -- are missing.... The documents are no longer publicly available. They are now part of the trove of paperwork relating to the Ivana-Donald divorce that The New York Times and Gannet newspaper chain have sued to unseal." -- CW

Aaron Blake: "A lot of Donald Trump Jr.'s trail missteps seem to involve white nationalists and Nazis. Blake provides a list. CW: This, of course, is no accident: it's because, like father, like son, the Junior Grand Wizard gets all his "news" from the White Supremacists Daily.

Other News & Views

Thanks, Paul Ryan! Max Ehrenfreund of the Washington Post: "The House Republicans' proposal for tax relief could force the government to borrow trillions of dollars to continue operating and might even weaken the economy, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. By 2025, when the reductions would be fully implemented, 99.6 percent of the tax cuts would benefit the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, according to the analysis. This group would enjoy the greatest relief as a share of their income ... and in terms of dollars.... (Emphasis added.) CW: Ryan, of course, will get his horrifying tax plan implemented if Trump becomes president. The Wasteland commeth.

Beyond the Beltway

St. Cloud (Minnesota) Times: "Eight people were injured and the suspect died at Crossroads Center [shopping mall] on Saturday after an attack reported about 8:15 p.m. St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson said the victims were stabbed by a man dressed in a private security uniform. An off-duty police officer from another jurisdiction shot and killed the attacker, Anderson said. Anderson did not say where that officer serves during the news conference that started after midnight. According to St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, the shooting happened inside Macy's.... The stabbings occurred in several places within the mall: corridors, businesses and common areas." -- CW

Robert Moran, et al., of Philly.com: "A gunman ambushed a Philadelphia police sergeant late Friday night in West Philadelphia, firing more than a dozen rounds before taking off, and then shot four civilians, killing one young woman, and wounded a University of Pennsylvania police officer during his flight before he was finally cornered and killed by police.... [The shooter Nicholas] Glenn was carrying a white, sealed envelope that read 'Doomed People' on it, [Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard] Ross said. The commissioner said police found a 'rambling' letter allegedly written by the gunman in which he expressed hatred toward police and probation officers. He said there was no reason to believe at this point that the gunman had any religious beliefs that drove him to the shootings." -- CW

Marc Ramirez of the Dallas Morning News: "A Dallas police sergeant has filed a federal lawsuit against Black Lives Matter leaders and others, blaming the movement for race riots and violence against police officers. Sgt. Demetrick Pennie, president of the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation..., filed the amended complaint in federal court Friday.... The listed defendants include ... public figures such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, Louis Farrahkan, George Soros, the New Black Panthers Party and even President Barack Obama and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.... Pennie is being represented by [right-wing attack dog] Larry Klayman of lobbying organization FreedomWatch." -- CW

Y R R Kidz So Dum? Marisa Gerber of the Los Angeles Times: A suburban Dallas high school builds a $60-million football stadium; a rival high school in a nearby town one-ups the school by building a $70-million stadium. CW: Now let's see what percentage of the students can name the three branches of government and explain Darwin's theory of evolution.

Comments Off

Reader Comments (11)

Here is an example of media letting Trumpeters get away––dare I say– with murder. Bill Maher– ruthless, has put down guests deftly and with humor, and certainly is known for his expertise in cutting to the core of an issue. Kellyanne Conway via satellite comes on his show–-they are old friends they say––and you wait breathlessly for Maher to do some fancy foot work. It doesn't happen––some feeble attempts, but like most toe to toe discussions the Trump people segue to everything Clinton (Conway with Maher here even lied about Hillary's website and he let her get away with that). If the question is "How do you explain Trump's refusal to release his tax returns?" the answer will be, "Hillary has never released her other thousands of emails."

I find this kind of display infuriating. Did Kellyanne, blond and beautiful (to some) and skillful in her deliveries manage to hoodwink Bill and turn him into a pile of mush? Such a sorry display.

And Jane Goodall has come out to say that Trump reminds her of a gorilla and I feel affirmed. Many moons ago I said the same thing––the gorilla rising up as dominant male––pounding his chest, howling loudly, and destroying anything that stands in his way.

It's Sunday––a fun day––so it was once said.

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

The Made In China insert above is a delightful read. Dana's rendition of the night of his life in terms of ever sleeping again under the same circumstances–––a room for $5, 600––and furnishings made from–– it appears––every country but the USA.

Ah, such luxury doth maketh all those "Make America Great Again" peoples all warm and fuzzy. The funny bit in the film "Sally Meets Harry"––"I"ll have what she's having" is how their mind works. They want what he has and he has made them believe they can get it––even just a little bitty bit of it. Bubbles in the bath that disappear when you let the water drain.

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

@PD Pepe: What you say about Trumpbots is quite true, IMO, but there's another side: these people are the stars of the long-running series "Politics of Resentment." I think if the Clinton campaign, as they did once with other Trump products made elsewhere, played up the difference between what Trump is currently doing by stuffing his new hotel with foreign-made amenities, & what he tells them on the campaign trail, people would get the picture.

In the long run, this isn't an earth-shattering story -- almost all of us own things not made in the U.S. -- but it's also the kind of thing people understand. They may not care if 50 Republican international-relations experts say Trump is a dangerous loose cannon, but they might be angry that Trump features Chinese-made bathrobes in fancy hotel suites they can't afford.

Marie

September 18, 2016 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

I remember when we invaded Iraq for the second time, I told a friend who had already decided the coming battle was an extension of the Crusades--he was all for it and I was not--that I thought the critical wars to come would be between the forces of sanity and insanity, between civilization and barbarity, between the rational and the irrational and that I thought the Bush II invasion was on the wrong side of each of those divides.

Still think I was right, but had no idea that within a decade we'd be fighting a major battle in that war here on our home turf--or that the wrong side would be so close to winning.

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

More Trump outreach to women

https://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/09/16/ny-magazine-explains-why-donald-trump-s-new-anti-abortion-letter-should-terrify-you/213159

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Did a bit of digging on the 2 Texas schools having a contest for the biggest and best stadium. Schooldigger ranks Allen HS at 1131 out of 1694; it has 4400+ students; scores ave of 41.9 on standard tests. McKinney North HS ranks 225: has 2000+ students, ave score of 75.2.
https://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/schoolrank

More interesting, I learned that Texas schools are "independent". The districts have the right to tax residents and declare eminent domain on their own. Its pretty unique in the US, only a few other schools in other states are designated this way. Wikipedia "Education in Texas."

I found minimal info on the schooldigger org. itself, save 1 article from Columbia that stated they were "adequate". It ranks schools across the US.

Just more evidence that the populace of Texas is well and truly deficient. But damn they got some really nice football stadiums filled with idiots. How will they find their seats?

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

So here is a person who is running for the highest office in the land, whose candidacy is based upon lies, who repeats those lies over and over without consequence, who refuses to release tax returns or health records and there is nothing our government can do?

And we're supposed to be the most powerful nation on Earth?

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNancy

Surprised to see no one link or reference Keith Olbermann's latest video on Trump. Enjoy. It's delicious.

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNancy

Diane:

Enjoyed your comment. I live in Texas. Yup, pretty much.

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNancy

Tired of reading Trump, Trump, Trump?

This American Life had a great/heartbreaking program on the integration of a Ferguson school district: The Problem We All Live With.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/

September 18, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterHaley Simon
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