Marie: Somehow I missed a whole bloc of comments yesterday, including a post by RAS who linked this: ~~~
Cate Brown of the Washington Post: “Thirty-one journalists and media workers were killed in Israeli airstrikes on a newspaper complex in Yemen last week, according to a report released Friday by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The attack was the deadliest against journalists since the Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines 16 years ago and the second-deadliest the New York-based press freedom group has recorded. Israeli strikes hit a government press complex at 4:45 p.m. local time on Sept. 10, as staff of the Yemeni army’s official news outlet were finalizing a weekly print edition, the publication’s editor in chief, Nasser Al-Khadri, told CPJ. The timing contributed to the high death toll in the attack, which killed journalists and media workers at three Houthi-connected media outlets in the heart of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.”
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times remembers Robert Redford -- and Paul Newman. The part where she says Redford sent her a handwritten note is entirely believable to me because he once sent my daughter a handwritten note when she was in grade school & won a contest for something like "best invention to help the environment."
~~~~~~~~~~
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said Friday that news reporters who cover his administration negatively have broken the law, a significant broadening of his attacks on journalists and their First Amendment right to critique the government. A day after asserting that broadcasters should potentially lose their licenses over negative news coverage of him, Mr. Trump escalated his condemnations of the press, suggesting reporters were lawbreakers. 'They’ll take a great story and they’ll make it bad,' he said, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office. 'See, I think that’s really illegal.'... It remained unclear Friday why Mr. Trump believed negative news coverage, which every president has faced and is protected by the Constitution, would be 'really illegal.'... The president tried to justify his pressure campaign against broadcasters and journalists as a response to overwhelmingly negative coverage of his administration, claiming that because '97 percent of the stories' about him were negative, 'that’s no longer free speech. That’s just cheating. And they cheat.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Another way to think of it, Donald, is that 97 percent of what you do is stupid, counterproductive, cruel and/or corrupt, and that's why 97 percent of the stories about you are negative. (Okay, okay, 97 percent is generous. It's probably more.)
Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Friday that he wanted to see the ouster of a U.S. attorney whose investigations of New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey have not resulted in charges. Mr. Trump’s comment came after a high-stakes internal debate raged on Friday over the fate of Erik S. Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — with Mr. Trump’s own appointees at the Justice Department and key Republicans on Capitol Hill arguing to retain the veteran prosecutor. Mr. Siebert had recently told senior Justice Department officials that investigators found insufficient evidence to bring charges against Ms. James and had also raised concerns about a potential case against Mr. Comey, according to officials familiar with the situation. Mr. Trump ... has repeatedly pledged retribution against law enforcement officials who pursued him. The president, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, initially said he was not following the matter closely. But he instantly belied that comment, saying he wanted Mr. Siebert removed because two Democratic senators from Virginia had approved of his nomination to the Senate.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ This report has been updated: “The U.S. attorney investigating New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey said he had resigned on Friday, hours after President Trump called for his ouster.... Erik S. Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia..., informed prosecutors in his office of his resignation through an email hours after the president, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he wanted him removed because two Democratic senators from Virginia had approved of his nomination.... When asked if he would fire Mr. Siebert, Mr. Trump responded, 'Yeah, I want him out.' Ms. James, he told reporters, was “very guilty of something.” The AP's story is here.
Judge Laughs Trump Complaint Out of Court. Jacob Knutson of Democracy Docket: “A federal judge in Florida Friday rejected ... Donald Trump’s latest $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, ruling that the complaint’s contents were 'improper and impermissible.' U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, ruled that Trump’s lawsuit violated a federal procedural rule requiring a short and plain statement of why he deserves relief. Trump’s 85-page suit, however, was 'tedious and burdensome,' 'often repetitive' and overly laudatory toward the president, Merryday wrote.... 'As every lawyer knows (or is presumed to know), a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective — not a protected platform to rage against an adversary,' the judge continued.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Madiba Dennis of Balls & Strikes: “Most complaints filed in federal courtrooms do not get tossed under Rule 8 [which requires a short, plain statement], but most complaints filed in federal courtrooms do not spend dozens of pages recounting, as Trump’s does, the plaintiff’s 'singular brilliance' and 'history-making media appearances' in programs like Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson.' Trump’s complaint is also crowded with boasts about his purported magnificence (for example, 'President Trump secured the greatest personal and political achievement in American history') and snipes about legacy media’s anti-Trump bias (for example, 'Defendants baselessly hate President Trump in a deranged way').” Dennis also notes that Trump's forum-shopping -- filing the suit in the usually-friendly Tampa district court -- did not work out too well.
Tyler Pager & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Friday said that the federal government would begin adding a $100,000-a-year fee for visas given to skilled foreign workers, a significant overhaul of how the United States distributes what are known as H-1B visas. He also signed an executive order creating an expedited visa program he called the 'gold card,' an idea he previewed in February. The card will cost $1 million, or $2 million if a corporation is sponsoring someone seeking it, White House officials said. The moves were the latest efforts by the Trump administration in a wide-ranging crackdown on all forms of immigration. The H-1B fee is likely to face legal challenges. But if it survives, companies that hire skilled international workers would have to pay $100,000 each year for any employee working on the visa, for up to six years. The fee applies only to new applicants, a White House official said.... Tom Jawetz, a former senior attorney at the Department of Homeland Security under Mr. Biden ... said, 'This is how the mob operates when it demands protection money.'...” The CBS News story is here. And here's a Politico story on the so-called gold card. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The move is monumentally stupid. Bringing skilled workers into the U.S. is highly desirable, so anything that impedes that objective is bad for the country. And of course it's bad for companies and universities who regularly hire skilled foreign workers when skilled domestic workers are not available. And for these fabulous high-tech jobs that Trump is supposedly bringing to the U.S. from other countries, companies based in those countries must bring in their own people to train American workers. So dumb and dumber. Once again, we see why Trump filed for bankruptcy six times. BTW, I don't see anything about a visa fee for unskilled workers -- like those Trump hires as maids & gardeners for his resorts.
Hamed Aleaziz & Madelein Ngo of the New York Times: “The Trump administration will terminate deportation protections for thousands of migrants from Syria, homeland security officials said on Friday. About 6,000 Syrians are authorized to live and work in the United States through the program, known as Temporary Protected Status, which is meant to help migrants who cannot return to their countries because of unsafe conditions. About 1,000 more Syrians also had pending applications to join the program as of August, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Some immigration policy experts criticized the decision, saying that conditions in Syria were still unstable and that Syrians did not pose major terrorism risks.”
Rebecca Santana of the AP: “Immigration enforcement officials have arrested almost 550 people as part of an operation in the Chicago area that launched a little less than two weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.... The figures offer an early gauge of what is shaping up as a major enforcement effort that comes after similar operations were launched in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The figures released by Homeland Security include arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as other federal agencies assisting in the operation.”
~~~ Jessica Corbett of Common Dreams: “Protests at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Chicago continued on Friday, with ICE and Border Patrol agents ... even throwing congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh to the ground.... The National Lawyers Guild of Chicago, which had legal observers at the protest, said that it 'was aware of three arrests as of 1:00 pm, but the situation was changing rapidly. Local police were observed nearby and failed to protect civilians from the federal agents’ attacks, but did not appear to participate in the violent acts or any arrests directly.' The federal agents used tear gas and pepper balls, and 'repeatedly and aggressively grabbed and dragged seated protesters, throwing several of them into the street,' the guild said. The legal observers also saw 'an agent unholstering his handgun, and a van driven by agents almost running over a protester who had fallen in its path.'” Here's the Washington Post's story.
Ted Cruz knocks FCC Chair Brendan Carr for ditching the First Amendment. (Oh, but not a word about Trump):
~~~ The New York Times has a report here. An NBC News story is here. MB: If you listen to Ted & if you read the NYT story about Trump's $100K visa extortion, you might surmise that comparing Trump and his minions to mobsters is becoming routine.
Hegseth Challenges Bondi for Goebbels Prize: ~~~
~~~ Pentagon to Press: You Will Print Only Press Releases. Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: “The Pentagon said Friday it would impose new restrictions on reporters covering the Department of Defense, requiring them to pledge not to gather or use any information that had not been formally authorized for release or risk losing their credentials to cover the military. The new mandate, described in a memorandum circulated to the press on Friday, was the latest in a series of actions by the Trump administration to limit the ability of the media to cover the federal government without interference.... In addition, the document constrains the movements of the media within the Pentagon itself, designating large areas of the building off limits without escorts for the roughly 90 reporters credentialed to cover the agency....
“The National Press Club called the policy 'a direct assault on independent journalism' and called for it to be immediately rescinded.... Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said that the government is legally prohibited from requiring journalists to surrender their right to investigate the government in exchange for access or credentials. 'This policy operates as a prior restraint on publication which is considered the most serious of First Amendment violations,' Mr. Stern said.”
Mum's the Word. Jake Spring of the Washington Post: “The National Park Service has removed signs at Acadia National Park in Maine that make reference to climate change amid the Trump administration’s wider effort to remove information that it says undermines 'the remarkable achievements of the United States.' A sign has also been removed from at least one additional park that referred to slavery, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and conflicts with Native Americans. The removals come after ... Donald Trump issued an executive order in March seeking to remove “improper partisan ideology” from federal institutions, including the Smithsonian museums, that he says was perpetuated by the Biden administration. Park Service officials have broadly interpreted the order to apply to information on racism, sexism, Indigenous persecution, gay rights and climate change.”
Isn't That Special? Kenneth Vogel of the New York Times: “The Securities and Exchange Commission this week dropped civil enforcement cases that could have led to penalties totaling hundreds of millions of dollars against three men who were previously granted clemency by ... [Donald] Trump. The cases had been brought before Mr. Trump took office this year. Each involved people who later allied themselves with him as they pursued pardons for white-collar frauds that, according to juries in criminal cases, cheated victims out of huge sums. Devon Archer, who was convicted in connection with a scheme targeting pension funds and a Native American tribal entity, was ordered to pay nearly $60 million in forfeiture and restitution. Trevor Milton was found guilty of lying about the supposed technical achievements of his electric truck maker Nikola. Prosecutors recommended that he pay more than $660 million back to shareholders. Carlos Watson, who was convicted of defrauding investors in his digital media company Ozy Media, was assessed penalties of nearly $97 million.
“All were spared prison time and criminal restitution payments when Mr. Trump granted pardons to Mr. Archer and Mr. Milton and commutations to Mr. Watson and Ozy. And now, the S.E.C. action means that they will not have to pay any civil penalties, nor will they face restrictions that the commission had sought on their ability to work in securities-related positions.” Read on. (Also linked yesterday.)
Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: “The chaos from the first day of a meeting of the federal vaccine committee appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bled into the second day, as the panel reversed one decision and indefinitely postponed a vote on a hepatitis B vaccine they had already deferred once. On Friday morning, the committee voted not to allow a federal vaccine program to cover the cost of a combination vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella, or chickenpox. This reversed a vote on Thursday to allow coverage, apparently because some members had misunderstood the way it was worded. And the panelists said they felt unready to decide whether to limit the use of a vaccine for hepatitis B that is typically given to all newborns.... Thursday’s session ended with the panel members at odds. A hot microphone caught one panelist calling another committee member 'an idiot,' although it was unclear who was speaking.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Maggie Astor of the New York Times tries to explain who can get Covid vaccines and what is required to qualify, but that is impossible to determine because “even the C.D.C. panelists who voted for the recommendations expressed uncertainty about what they meant for pharmacists’ ability to administer vaccines,” and “None of this language is particularly clear,” so “Different providers might interpret it in different ways.” The link is a gift link. I hope it helps. MB: I'm really glad I spent a lot of time yesterday getting my booster. ~~~
~~~ Jessica Grose of the New York Times comments on the chaos on confusion RFKJ has caused.
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: “Senate Democrats on Friday blocked Republicans’ plan to keep federal funding flowing past a Sept. 30 deadline, demanding concessions on health care and other issues in exchange for their support for a measure needed to avert a government shutdown. In a pair of back-to-back votes, each party blocked the other’s stopgap spending proposal, escalating a showdown and ramping up the likelihood of a lapse in funding that would close the government at the end of the month.” Politico's story is here.
Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: “A growing number of prominent Democrats are calling for cutting off sales of offensive weapons to Israel over its assault on Gaza — part of a notable shift on an issue that deeply divided the party during the 2024 election. The stark departure from decades of nearly unconditional Democratic support of Israel has accelerated in recent weeks as a months-long blockade on aid has led to famine in Gaza, according to an assessment from the global authority on hunger.”
Mark Berman & Kadia Goba of the Washington Post: “Alexander Acosta, the former labor secretary who as a federal prosecutor worked on a plea agreement with Jeffrey Epstein, answered questions Friday in a closed-door appearance before the House Oversight Committee, which is scrutinizing federal investigations involving the deceased financier.... A transcript of the interview will be publicly released, [Oversight Committee Chair James] Comer [R-Ky.] said, although the chairman gave no timeline. During the interview, members from both parties peppered the former prosecutor with questions about the 2008 agreement. Acosta reiterated previous statements, arguing there was not enough evidentiary proof to pursue harsher charges against Epstein, according to members who were in the room.... 'It’s very clear that Alex Acosta ran a deeply flawed investigation of the Epstein case,' Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California), the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, told reporters.” The ABC News story is here.
Jennifer Schuessler of the New York Times: “A federal court in Rhode Island ruled on Friday that a new National Endowment for the Arts policy of reviewing grant applicants to see if they comply with ... [Donald] Trump’s executive order on 'gender ideology' violated the Constitution and could not be implemented. The lawsuit was filed in March by several arts organizations, including Rhode Island Latino Arts, which promotes art made by Latinos, and National Queer Theater, a New York company.... Judge William E. Smith, a senior district judge who was appointed by President George W. Bush, noted that the 1965 law creating the endowment had included provisions ensuring that all grants be awarded, as the court put it, 'on talent alone, irrespective of the artists’ viewpoints or the messages conveyed in their works.' The new regulations, he said, ran afoul of that goal.”
Maegan Vazquez & Kadia Goba of the Washington Post: “Former White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told congressional investigators Thursday that Joe Biden’s decision-making slowed during his time as president and that his ability to remember dates and names worsened over time, according to a person familiar with a readout of Zients’s private interview with the House Oversight Committee.... Zients also said that as he prepared to become White House chief of staff, a role he took on in early 2023, first lady Jill Biden 'spoke with him about ensuring the president got more rest and was not overscheduled.'... Before Zients’s interview, former White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, Jill Biden’s former chief of staff Anthony Bernal and former White House doctor Kevin O’Connor all invoked their Fifth Amendment right to silence when they were interviewed by the oversight committee....”
William Cohan in a New York Times op-ed: “Larry Ellison is already a major stakeholder in CBS and Paramount. Now CNN, HBO and a major share of TikTok are in his sights. If all goes as anticipated, this tech billionaire, already one of the richest men in the world and a founder of Oracle, is poised, at 81, to become one of the most powerful media and entertainment moguls America has ever seen.... Mr. Ellison is up to something very different: transforming himself into a media magnate. Along with his son, David, he could soon end up controlling a powerful social media platform, an iconic Hollywood movie studio and one of the largest content streaming services, as well as two of the country’s largest news organizations. Given Mr. Ellison’s friendship with, and affinity for, Donald Trump, an increasingly emboldened president could be getting an extraordinarily powerful media ally — in other words, the very last thing our country needs right now.” Cohan says Larry's net worth is more than $350 billion. MB: That is at least $349 billion more than anyone should have. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
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Russia/Estonia, et al. Russell Goldman of the New York Times: “Russian fighter jets flew without permission into the airspace above Estonia, a NATO member nation, for 12 minutes, Estonia’s foreign minister said on Friday, in what he described as 'clear proof of Russia’s growing aggression.' Russia regularly infiltrates the airspaces of NATO countries to test their readiness and resolve. Russian jets had previously entered Estonian airspace four times this year, the minister, Margus Tsakhna, said, according to local news media. But he described Friday’s incursion, by three MIG-31 fighters over the Gulf of Finland, as an 'unprecedented and brazen intrusion.' 'Such actions,' he added, 'cannot be tolerated and must be met with swift political and economic pressure.'” (Also linked yesterday.)
15 comments:
So not only is the Orange Moron instituting a $100,000 penalty for H-1B visas, he’s making it mandatory almost immediately…today. First, a smart president wouldn’t impose such a penalty, but if he or she deemed it absolutely necessary,, the excuse being, to force companies to hire and train American citizens for these jobs, the cut off wouldn’t be “In 24 hours, or else! Duh!” They would do something reasonable, say six months or even a year.
But then again, I suppose it has to be “In 24 hours” in other to Hoover up as much money as possible as quickly as possible.
And make those checks out to “Donald J. Trump”. There ya go. Now you can work in MY country.
“Next!”
Have no doubt that Biden was slowing down as he aged. Don't need testimony from those who worked with him. All I have to do is consult my own body and mind.
Howsomeever. I don't think Biden ever claimed that illegal drugs killed 300 million (Americans?) last year or per yesterday's superb John Stewart video claimed to have established peace between one country that doesn't exist and the wrong one....Albania, Armenia, what's the diff?. The list of Pretender gaffes is alreadyendless, and now we've sent him to other countries to embarrass us.
Maybe it's my own slowing mind but I never understood why Biden's age was and remains a bigger story than the mental acuity of the drooling idiot we returned to the White House.
And why don't some of those Steward clips of our bumbling leader run repeatedly on the nightly news? It's almost as if the fix was and is in.
But then again, paranoia can be another sign of aging.
Yesterday, Marie wrote that she is "always a bit disappointed" when she's been out and gets home to "find that nothing bad has happened to Donald Trump." Whenever I wake in the night, I check the headlines and face the same disappointment.
In an hour long show on THE LEFT HOOK, Wajahat Ali and Jared Yates Sexton talk about
How should we fight back?
In her newest engaging Meditations in an Emergency, Rebecca Solnit writes about the Party of Narcissistic Inequality
"Something that's true of all the narcissists I've known and witnessed is that they're unhappy and they can't recognize that this is an entrenched condition. They think it's due to something someone just did, and if they punish, intimidate, coerce that person to change their ways then they'll be happy: they're one lashing-out away from the world they want and deserve."
Later, quoting from Lydia Polgreen's recent piece in the NYT:
"Polgreen also says something that is a reminder that all of MAGA is a narcissist in the sense I'm describing above: "for all of MAGA’s reverence for masculine self-determination, one of its central tenets is the blamelessness of its adherents. Whatever is going wrong in this country, it is not their fault.""
And that reminded me of Amanda Marcotte's Bluesky post on Charlie Cook's Misongyny
"Kimmel’s suspension prompts free-speech Republicans to reconsider their boundaries
In fact, some Republicans who consider themselves defenders of unfettered speech are getting more comfortable with limiting it. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told Semafor that “an FCC license, it’s not a right. It really is a privilege.”
“Under normal times, in normal circumstances, I tend to think that the First Amendment should always be sort of the ultimate right. And that there should be almost no checks and balances on it. I don’t feel that way anymore,” Lummis added.
“I feel like something’s changed culturally. And I think that there needs to be some cognizance that things have changed,” she added. “We just can’t let people call each other those kinds of insane things and then be surprised when politicians get shot and the death threats they are receiving and then trying to get extra money for security.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he’d “suppose” Carr could have kept quiet and let pressure build naturally but had no problem with the chair’s comments."
Unfortunately the reporter wants us to think that he is a moron who takes most Confederates at their word and buys in to their bad faith narratives with no analysis or context.
Unions
"Hundreds Of Union Writers & Actors March Outside Of Disney To Protest ABC’s Decision To Yank ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’"
The New Disney
Arjen Lubach
"Arjen Lubach poked fun at Disney on his talk show last night. A parody features “the new Disney,” where a golden Trump Tower appears behind the world-famous fairytale castle. The prince from The Little Mermaid wants to “grab mermaid Ariel by the pussy,” and Aladdin disappears in a flash when U.S. immigration arrives.
Lubach is making the parody because American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has been pulled from the network effective immediately. ABC made this decision this week after a comment Kimmel made about the murder of Charlie Kirk."
Patel
"Kash Patel's notes during his congressional testimony as photographed by Getty: "Good fight with Swalwell""
Wendy,
Thanks so much for that link to the Left Hook podcast. The passion is real and the ideas are right on the money. It's not a secret, the idea of fighting back, but we're never going to get that with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. They don't really want things to change because, hell, I don't know, maybe they're afraid of going into that undiscovered country. But it's not completely Terra Icognita. We've been there before: the Civil Rights movement, the 60's antiwar demonstrations, and even, more recently, the election, TWICE, of a black man. But Barack Obama's biggest mistake, and because of his special status as The First, he likely figured he didn't have the political capital to go after the criminals and liars of the Dubya Debacle (I believe he actually DID have that capital, but that's my opinion). He also, I think, may have believed that idea of One America; I think he was too smart to really believe that, but again, my opinion.
But NOW when Democrats come back into power we have, as these guys point out, and as we here have said many times, no time or need for Creampuff Casper Milquetoast Merrick Garlands. We have to hold these Nazi pigs accountable. Prison is absolutely required for many of them. I doubt we'll get there, but we do need investigations and trials.
One thing these guys did say that I firmly believe is true, is that we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift. Thomas Kuhn, in his excellent book about the Copernican Revolution pointed out that paradigm shifts are never the result of a linear progression, but because a new way of thinking about the world appears, the entire framework shifts. Just think of the discovery of the New World, the Manhattan Project, and the Civil Rights Movement.
I recently read an interview with New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik who referenced an idea of John Updike's. He said that any moment in history, one world is passing away and a new one is coming into being. We are more aware of the old world simply because we know it well, we're familiar with it, but it takes a different sort of sensibility to see the new world as it is being born. We desperately need those people. AOC is one. I believe Mamdani is another. You know who doesn't have that sensibility? The current Democratic Ancien Regime. I think because they are comfortable in the old world, they reject people like. AOC and Mamdani, are fearful of that paradigm shift, because it means new rules. Chuck Schumer has been playing by rules that went out when the. "Golden Girls" was canceled.
The bootlickers and the billionaire oligarchs believe as that Hitler Youth punk in "Cabaret" sang, "The Future Belongs to Me". It didn't belong to those fuckers, and it will only belong to the MAGAts and the Larry Ellisons as long as we let it.
If you don't have time to listen to the whole thing, you can opt for a transcript, but check it out.
Let the Paradigm Shift begin (it already has).
I made a typo when attempting to turn bold off above. Did that cause bold on all subsequent comments? Test....
Wendy,
Hey, thanks again. Yes, you created a boldface paradigm shift. I didn't know what the heck happened. I thought I did it. I was just getting ready to do a search for "How can I fix this crap?"
You have the POWER!
Re: Rebecca Solnit's observation about the unhappiness of MAGA narcissists, and their incessant need to blame others for their self-righteous sense of being put upon by lesser beings, or those who are simply undeserving moochers, stomping on what should be their moment of supreme satisfaction at getting everything they've ever wanted.
It's another corrolary to the recently learned Murc's Law, which says that Republicans have no agency, that every horrible thing they do is because of Democrats. In this case, only Democrats can be held responsible for anything. Republicans are never responsible.
i don't believe narcissists are ever happy. Just look at Fat Hitler. MAGAts, as a whole, are constantly whining about something. Even when they have everything. They own the house, the senate, the White. House, the Supreme Court, they got rid of NPR, Colbert, Kimmel, they're suing the Times, the WSJ, anyone who looks crosseyed at them, but still they complain. Endlessly.
I'm reminded of the character of Waldo Lydecker (that name!) in the old noir film "Laura". Waldo, a supreme narcissist, rich as Croesus, a respected columnist, deprived of nothing but living in a constant state of high dudgeon, believing lesser beings were horning in on his every small satisfaction, is a world class prick. He does, however, have one of my favorite film quotes as he is getting ready to leave a cocktail party: "Laura, I cannot stand these morons another minute. If you don't leave with me immediately, I shall run amok."
Fatty has been running amok for some time now, as have all the MAGAts.
Oh, and one other thing about Waldo Lydecker....He was a murderer. Hey! Just like Trump!
So Tired
EPA
"The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered scientists in at least one of its research offices to immediately pause almost all efforts to publish research.
Staff from the EPA’s Office of Water were summoned to a town hall meeting this week and instructed to halt work on most ongoing research papers."
BLS
"The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday postponed the release of a key annual report central to future inflation data. The BLS — charged with collecting critical data on employment, prices and more — did not explain the reasoning for the delay or when it might ultimately be released.
There is heightened concern about the future of U.S. statistics, including the politicization and accuracy of crucial data that affects the stock market and interest rates."
Winning
"25% of Drs in US are foreign grads. Many are on an H1B visa. This will hit health systems hard especially rural hospitals and hospitals in underserved areas that sponsor these visas through waiver programs. The old cost was about 5000$ a year."
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