Josh Marshall of TPM is optimistic about the Democrats' "fight" on the shutdown. He makes several points, none of which I find especially convincing, but I'll let him speak for himself. In general, he's a very savvy guy. ~~~
~~~ Steve M. is kind of on the same page as Marshall: "... eight moderates thought it wasn't worth continuing the fight. And that's where the battle lines are drawn in the Democratic Party now: between fighters and cavers. Democratic voters forced Democrats to fight this long and will demand fighters in the future. This is a huge loss, but maybe the days of get-along-to-go-along Democrats are numbered." ~~~
~~~ Brian Beutler has 16 thoughts on the Democrats' cave, but the post is subscriber-firewalled, so only six of them are readable. Still, they're smart thoughts. ~~~
~~~ Marie: As far as I can tell, the Democrats who caved did so for no good reason and for not a single concession worth mentioning. Steve Benen of MSNBC seems to agree with that, in principle. I think they did it for the same reason a lot of unserious people do things: "because that's what we've always done." ~~~
~~~ Marie: MEANWHILE, Marcie Jones notices, "Trump can't wait for America to starve or go broke on healthcare." And a lot of other reasons to ask why my senators, Quisling & Chamberlain, caved.
Marie: A while back RAS (I think it was) linked a column by Arwa Mahdawi of the Guardian about women & men who spend "enormous sums of money" to acquire identical plastic Mar-a-Lago faces. "People such as Laura Loomer, Kristi Noem, and Matt Gaetz can afford excellent surgeons and subtle cosmetic work but, unless they’ve all had botched procedures, it seems they deliberately chose to look like AI-generated caricatures." ~~~
~~~ Now Mimi Montgomery of Axios reports, "Since January, D.C. plastic surgeons have seen a wave of Trump insiders asking for overt procedures in line with the 'Mar-a-Lago face' look.... Fillers are big with this crew — especially lips, says Pittman, as are Botox and Dysport.... D.C. plastic surgeon Anita Kulkarni has had to turn down an influx of newly arrived political insiders asking for "a more done look, like that Mar-a-Lago face. The aesthetic didn't fit her practice's typical understated vibe, and these people wanted extra fillers and injections on top of already treated faces, which can be dangerous, she says."
Michael Shear of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Monday threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion for a documentary that his lawyer claimed included 'malicious, disparaging' edits to a speech Mr. Trump delivered on Jan. 6, 2021. The legal threat came in a letter from Alejandro Brito, one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, to the BBC that was obtained by The New York Times. The letter demanded a full retraction of the documentary, an apology and what his lawyers said would be payments that 'appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.' The letter said that if those demands were not met, 'President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages.'” Related story linked below.
Hegseth Announces More War Crimes. Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times: “The U.S. military killed six people on Sunday in two more strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday. The latest strikes raised the death toll in the campaign to 76 people in 19 attacks in the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea since early September. In a post on social media, Mr. Hegseth cited 'intelligence' and included two short video clips of the bombings of two separate boats that he said were traveling 'along a known narco-trafficking transit route inthe Eastern Pacific.'”
Jared McClain of the Institute of Justice in a Washington Post op-ed: Leonardo Garcia Venegas “is Latino and works in construction. Twice since May, masked federal agents have gone onto private sites where he was working and detained him along with every other Latino worker — and only the Latino workers. Both times, officers ignored clear signs that they were intruding on private property without a warrant. Both times, Garcia told the officers that he was an American citizen and showed them his Real ID. Both times, the officers detained him anyway because, they said, they couldn’t be sure his Real ID was real. After video of the first arrest went viral, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that officers arrested Garcia for obstruction because he 'physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands.'
“Garcia’s first-person video of the incident shows that is not true. He was about 25 feet away from where law enforcement was detaining someone when an officer tackled him without giving any verbal commands — let alone asking any questions.... Garcia’s experience shows how these raids are unconstitutional.... The Bill of Rights protects people from unreasonable seizures. It’s surely unreasonable for government agents to run onto private property, detain people based on how they look and then reject the very ID that the government has demanded people obtain.”
~~~ Marie: This is hardly the first time we've heard of immigration enforcers lying about their arrests, presumably in sworn affidavits. Those who are caught should be fired. And charged with perjury. Immediately. That includes the head of the Chicago ops, Greg Bovino, who admitted lying to a federal judge (after videotape caught him, of course). As a juror, I wouldn't believe a thing one of these federal agents said. The "victim" of the Sandwich Guy said -- at trial, under oath -- that the footlong "'exploded all over him' and he 'could smell the onions and mustard' on his uniform." Video showed that after hitting the agent, the sandwich fell to the pavement, still in its wrapper. Martha Stewart was a private citizen who went to jail for making false statements to federal agents. Why shouldn't federal officials be fired & tried for perjury?
Adam Goldman of the New York Times: FBI Director Kash Patel made a promise to Ken McCallum, head of the U.K.'s M15, that the FBI would retain an agent in London who had a particular technological expertise the Brits needed to monitor a new Chinese embassy to be built near the Tower of London. Patel promptly broke his promise & eliminated the London position. “The episode has contributed to concerns among intelligence allies that Kash Patel, brash and partisan, is also unpredictable and even unreliable.... Mr. Patel’s inexperience, his dismissals of top F.B.I. officials and his shift of bureau resources from thwarting spies and terrorism have heightened concerns among the other Five Eyes nations that the bureau is adrift....” No kidding. It doesn't take a professional spy to figure that out.
First, the Good News. Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request that it consider overturning its landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage a decade ago. The court, without comment, declined the petition, filed by Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who gained national attention in 2015 when she defied a court order and refused to issue same-sex licenses because of her religious beliefs.... At least four of the nine justices would have needed to vote to hear Ms. Davis’s case and revisit the marriage precedent, a major step that many legal experts had said they were not expecting the court to take.... Gay Americans and their allies had been on alert since the Supreme Court’s conservative majority eliminated the nationwide right to abortion after 50 years, showing a willingness to undo longstanding legal precedent.” ~~~
~~~ Now, the Bad News. Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would hear a challenge to Mississippi’s grace period for mail-in ballots, a case that could upend mail-ballot rules in dozens of states, creating chaos ahead of the 2026 elections. The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, asks the justices to determine the meaning of 'Election Day.' It is a potential blockbuster and adds to the court’s other elections and voting cases for the term, which include a case about who can sue to challenge Illinois’ mail-in ballot rules and a challenge to the Louisiana congressional district map that could gut a remaining pillar of the Voting Rights Act. The Republican National Committee challenged Mississippi’s mail-in ballot rules, arguing that Congress had intended that voting take place on a single Election Day and that allowing ballots to arrive days later and still be counted undermined election integrity and the public’s trust in the vote. Mississippi argued that Congress only set a date by when voters must make their choice, not the date by when ballots must arrive. Mississippi defended its grace period, which is similar to ones in place in many other states....”
~~~~~~~~~~
⭐Theodoric Meyer, et al., of the Washington Post: “A key group of Senate Democrats joined Republicans on Sunday night to advance an agreement to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. After bipartisan negotiators struck a deal during a rare weekend session, seven Democratic senators and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) voted with almost all of the chamber’s Republicans to take the first step toward reopening the government. Sunday’s vote, which needed 60 votes to pass, is the first of many that will be necessary to pass the agreement in the upper chamber. But the deal split the party. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) came out against it.... Most rank-and-file Democrats also opposed the deal....
“The bipartisan compromise combines three full-year funding measures into one package with a stopgap funding bill that would reopen the government through Jan. 30. But the deal would not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, which Democrats have warned will cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket for millions of Americans. Instead, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) committed to holding a separate vote on legislation to extend the subsidies by the second week of December, after the government reopens.... House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has not committed to holding a vote on a bill to extend the subsidies, which many Republicans would prefer to see expire.
“Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Tim Kaine (Virginia), Dick Durbin (Illinois), John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), Jacky Rosen (Nevada) and Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) voted to support the deal, as did King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.” MB: My senators, Quisling & Chamberlain, have already heard from me. The New York Times story is here. Politico's story is here.
The NYT liveblog, linked next, gives the play-by-play. ~~~
~~~ During the vote, Sen. Chris Murphy recorded this: ~~~
~~~ Before the vote, Sen. Bernie Sanders explained its consequences: 50,000 Americans will die every year. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't know whether or not the Scrooge McTrump SNAP demands become moot. I'm guessing not. From the New York Times liveblog covering the criminally insane:
Tony Romm: “The Trump administration told states that they must 'immediately undo' any actions to provide full food stamp benefits to low-income families, in a move that added to the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the nation’s largest anti-hunger program during the government shutdown. The Agriculture Department issued the command in a late-night Saturday memo, viewed later by The New York Times. That guidance threatened to impose financial penalties on states that did not 'comply' quickly with the government’s new orders.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Here's the NYT story in stand-alone form. Here's Politico's story. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update 2. Niha Misah et al., of the Washington Post: “A U.S. appeals court Sunday night denied the Trump administration’s efforts to stop the release of full funding for November’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments as ordered by a lower court judge. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit said a district court had acted within its discretion in concluding 'the overwhelming evidence of widespread harm' from halting the payments outweighed the potential harm to the government and the Child Nutrition Programs. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision, prolonging the tug-of-war over the nation’s largest public initiative to combat hunger. Tens of millions of Americans are at risk of food insecurity as winter nears.”
~~~ Then here's what you do on the weekend you petition the Supreme Court to make sure the kiddies go hungry: ~~~
~~~ Mike Bedigan of the Independent: “... Donald Trump has attended his second extravagant party at Mar-a-Lago in a week as tens of thousands of federal employees go without pay, leaving some of them, and many more Americans, to turn to food banks amid the longest government shutdown in history. Images of the president were shared by guests on social media Friday at the lavish event which featured a three-course menu of beef filet, truffle dauphinoise, pan-seared scallops and a trio of desserts including 'Trump chocolate cake.' Trump was seen dining at a table surrounded by MAGA supporters, and posing with his thumbs up next to women in ballgowns. The event also featured ice sculptures and an opera performance.” MB: This is, of course, a big -- and intentional -- middle finger to millions of Americans struggling to get by in Trump's USA. (On the other hand, I'll bet that "truffle dauphinoise," for instance, is basic American scalloped potatoes sprinkled with a teensy-weensy dab of cheap truffle sauce [$9.92/bottle at Walmart].) (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ After partying & golfing, Trump took in a pro football game: ~~~
~~~ Guardian Sports & Agencies: “Donald Trump became the first sitting US president in nearly 50 years to attend a regular-season NFL game when he dropped in on the Detroit Lions’ win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. There were boos from large sections of fans, as well as scattered cheers, at the Commanders’ Northwest Stadium when Trump was shown on the screens late in the first half – and again when the president was introduced by the stadium announcer at halftime.... The jeering continued while Trump read an oath for members of the military to recite as part of an on-field ceremony during a break in the game.” ~~~
~~~ Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post: “Air Force One flew over the stadium in the first quarter.... During the [government shutdown], the military doesn’t have the funds for military flyovers at sports events. The president, we know by now, can do whatever he wants. 'I just want to say: Was that the greatest flyover ever?' Trump asked assembled reporters when he landed 10 miles south, at Joint Base Andrews. 'Nobody’s ever done a flyover like that.' Sure. Fine. Awesome.... For the record, [after Trump arrived at the stadium,] there were more boos than cheers, though there were plenty of thumbs-up toward Trump’s box, too.... What played out Sunday was a microcosm of Trump’s presidency and his relationship with American sport. It’s sportswashing, using these games to distract from the important matters of our times.”
Trump Pardons All His Accomplices. Kyle Cheney of Politico: “... Donald Trump has pardoned a long list of prominent allies who backed his effort to subvert the 2020 election, according to Justice Department Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, who posted the relevant document Sunday night. Among those who received the “full, complete and unconditional” pardons were Rudy Giuliani, who helped lead an effort to pressure state legislatures to reject Joe Biden’s victories in key swing states; Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff in 2020 and a crucial go-between for Trump and state officials; John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, two attorneys who helped devise a strategy to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021; Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser; and Sidney Powell, a conservative attorney who launched a fringe legal assault on election results in key swing states. The pardons are largely symbolic — none of those identified were charged with federal crimes. The document posted by Martin is also undated, so it’s unclear when Trump signed it....
“The language of the pardon is broad, applying to 'all United States citizens for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting activities, participation in or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of presidential electors … as well for any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election.'... In addition to his inner circle, Trump pardoned dozens of GOP activists who signed paperwork falsely claiming to be legitimate presidential electors, a key component of the bid to pressure Pence.”
Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: “Documents provided by a whistleblower show Ghislaine Maxwell has asked ... [Donald] Trump to commute her sentence as prison employees suggest she has received 'concierge-style treatment' at a new facility where she is being given custom meals and access to staff facilities. The request, revealed to House Judiciary Democrats, comes after Maxwell was transferred to a lower-security prison after she sat for two days of questions with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche amid increasing scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.”
Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “Far-right influencers have been hinting in recent weeks that they have finally found a venue — Miami — and a federal prosecutor — Jason A. Reding Quiñones — to pursue long-promised charges of a 'grand conspiracy' against ... [Donald] Trump’s adversaries. Their theory of the case, still unsupported by the evidence: A cabal of Democrats and 'deep-state' operatives, possibly led by former President Barack Obama, has worked to destroy Mr. Trump in a yearslong plot spanning the inquiry into his 2016 campaign to the charges he faced after leaving office.... That narrative, which has been promoted in general terms by Mr. Trump and taken root online, has emerged in a nascent but widening federal investigation.
“Last week, Mr. Reding Quiñones, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, issued more than two dozen subpoenas, including to officials who took part in the inquiry into ties between Russia and Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Among them, they said, were James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence; Peter Strzok, a former F.B.I. counterintelligence agent who helped run the Russia investigation; and Lisa Page, a former lawyer at the bureau. The investigation in Florida appears to focus, for now, on a January 2017 intelligence community assessment about Russian interference in the 2016 election, particularly the role played by John O. Brennan, the former C.I.A. director, in drafting the document.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sounds like delusional paranoid projection to me. I don't know any of the suspected collaborators, but the idea of Obama, Brennan, Strzok & Page skulking around in some "deep-state" underground parking lot to cook up a plan to undermine that nice Mr. Trump is laughably implausible. It's true that Obama occupies quite a bit of rent-free space in the squalid slum that is Donald Trump's so-called brain. But I'd guess Obama prefers not to give Trump a second thought and brings him to mind only when national security depends upon it.
Marie: I feel terrible I've been so unfair to Donald Trump. While I was mocking Trump for looking indifferent at best & seemingly annoyed that a Big Pharma exec fainted during an Oval Office meeting, it turns out the Dear Leader has been bathed in the milk of human kindness. Just ask Dr. Oz: ~~~
~~~ William Vaillancourt of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “'I’ll tell you a story that speaks loudly to the kind of person the president is,' Oz, 65, began. 'So, I wanted to speak to the wife to let her know what was happening, but also to comfort her. The president saw me in the corridor and he came over and said, “Who are you talking to?” He talked to her and got her much calmer than I could have done.... And I just think he’s just a wonderful human being — that he would take time. He could’ve gone and done ten other things, but he actually cared that the wife of a man that he’s never met before felt in a safer place.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ In yesterday's Comments, RAS found that Newsweek has reported there's more: “'He [Trump] remembers the forgotten folks,' Oz added.” MB: If you remember Oz's famous crudité campaign ad/blunder, then you won't be surprised that he thinks the wife of a multi-millionaire pharmaceutical executive is one of the lamentably “forgotten folks.”
David Cohen of Politico: “... Donald Trump on Sunday posted on Truth Social that tariffs on foreign goods will lead to 'a dividend' of $2,000 per person or even more. 'A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,' Trump said in a post that began: 'People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!' When asked about Trump’s comments in an interview on ABC’s 'This Week,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that while an initial result of tariffs is to generate a surge of revenue for the government, the long-term goal is to 'rebalance trade' by restoring manufacturing to the United States. The increase in manufacturing would lead to a decline in tariff revenue, Bessent said, but would bolster tax revenue. 'It’s not about taking in the revenue. It’s about rebalancing,' Bessent said. Host George Stephanopoulos asked Bessent about Trump’s dividend vow, and Bessent hedged a little bit, suggesting the dividend, for which there is not a specific proposal, could show up in different types of economic benefits. 'I haven’t spoken to the president about this yet,' he said.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: As numerous commentators emphasized last week, during oral arguments the confederate Supremes' big issue with Trump's tariffs -- and the one reason they might rule the tariffs unconstitutional -- is that they are taxes that raise revenue from the American people. To get around this contention, Trump solicitor general John Sauer tried to convince the justices that the revenue production was only "incidental." Bessent obviously sees the danger in Trump's boast. Not Trump. According to Cohen,
“Trump mocked [the Justices'] argument in a separate TruthSocial post Sunday: 'So, let’s get this straight??? The President of the United States is allowed (and fully approved by Congress!) to stop ALL TRADE with a Foreign Country (Which is far more onerous than a Tariff!), and LICENSE a Foreign Country, but is not allowed to put a simple Tariff on a Foreign Country, even for purposes of NATIONAL SECURITY. That is NOT what our great Founders had in mind! The whole thing is ridiculous!... Businesses are pouring into the USA ONLY BECAUSE OF TARIFFS. HAS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOT BEEN TOLD THIS??? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??? President DJT.'...” ~~~
~~~ ⭐Update: So then Ken W. checked to see how that munificent $2,000 rebate was going to work out for us lucky-ducky tariff-payers. According to Yale University's budget lab, "The price level from all 2025 tariffs rises by 1.7% in the short-run under the baseline scenario, the equivalent of an average per household income loss of $2,300 in 2025...." That is, you pay an extra $2,300. You get back $2,000.
⭐Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times: “A federal judge warned of an 'existential threat to democracy' in a searing first-person essay published on Sunday, saying he had stepped down from the bench to speak out against ... [Donald] Trump. He accused Mr. Trump of 'using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment.' The judge, Mark L. Wolf, wrote in The Atlantic magazine that Mr. Trump’s actions were contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench.' The publication of the essay by Judge Wolf, 78, came two days after an announcement by the Federal District Court for Massachusetts that he was leaving his post as a senior-status judge.
An appointee of President Ronald Reagan who also served in the Justice Department during the Ford administration, Judge Wolf offered one of the most explicit expressions of concern for the rule of law to come from a member of the federal judiciary.... His seat on the court was filled by Judge Indira Talwani, a nominee of President Barack Obama, in 2014, after he stepped down from active service to senior status.... In a phone interview, Judge Wolf said he had resigned not only to speak more freely about his own views, but also those of colleagues who were still on the bench. “I hope to be a spokesperson for embattled judges who, consistent with the code of conduct, feel they cannot speak candidly to the American people,” he said.” The link to Judge Wolf's Atlantic essay appears to be a gift link.
Trump Has Gutted the DOJ. Perry Stein of the Washington Post: “The Justice Department has lost thousands of experienced attorneys since the start of the Trump administration and has backfilled a fraction of the open jobs, with the process snarled by a lack of qualified candidates, bureaucratic delays and hiring freezes, according to people familiar with hirings in the department. Last year, roughly 10,000 attorneys worked across the Justice Department and its components, including the FBI. Justice Connection, an advocacy group that has been tracking departures, estimates that around 5,500 people — not all of them attorneys — have quit the department, been fired or taken a buyout offered by the Trump administration.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: One reason the U.S. can't be "the leader of the free world" is that we're no longer the free world. ~~~
~~~ Julie Turkewitz, et al., of the New York Times (Nov. 8): “In March and April, the Trump administration made the extraordinary decision to send 252 Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, saying they had infiltrated the United States in a form of 'irregular warfare.'... But the men received little to no due process before being expelled to the terrorism prison in El Salvador, and they were abruptly released in July, part of a larger diplomatic deal that included the release of 10 Americans and U.S. residents held in Venezuela.... They said they were shackled, beaten, shot with rubber bullets and tear gassed until they passed out. They said they were punished in a dark room called the island, where they were trampled, kicked and forced to kneel for hours.... Mr. Trump, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in September, praised Salvadoran officials for 'the successful and professional job they’ve done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our country.'” Thanks to akaWendy for the link.
Have you ever gone on a shopping spree with your stupid boyfriend advisor? What could go wrong? ~~~
~~~ Marina Dunbar of the Guardian: “The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, reportedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before discovering the airline didn’t actually own the planes – and that the aircraft lacked engines. The bizarre anecdote was contained in a Wall Street Journal report released on Friday, which recounted how Noem and Corey Lewandowski – who managed Donald Trump’s first winning presidential campaign – had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two intended to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel. Those sources also claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials had cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.” Thanks to RAS for the lead.
Annie Correal of the New York Times: “A 3-year-old child died after a boat carrying migrants toward Colombia capsized off Panama’s Caribbean Coast, Panamanian officials confirmed on Sunday. The boat capsized off the coast of Colón Province and was carrying 21 people, who were pulled from the sea 'thanks to the opportune intervention of a private vessel,' Panamanian officials said in a statement. They said the authorities then responded to help in rescue efforts. The child, who officials said was originally from Colombia, was given CPR, but could not be revived.... This is the second known case of a child drowning on a new migrant route that sprouted up early this year to help shuttle people back toward their home countries in South America after the Trump administration virtually sealed the U.S. border to migrants. It warned those who had crossed into the United States and lacked legal status to “self deport” or be hunted down. In February, an 8-year-old boy from Venezuela drowned when his family’s boat capsized in rough seas.”
Ashleigh Fields of the Hill: “Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte on Saturday said the Trump administration is 'working on' a plan to introduce 50-year mortgage terms for home buyers. 'Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage – a complete game changer,' Pulte wrote in a statement on the social platform X. It followed a Truth Social post by ... [Donald] Trump earlier in the day where he shared a graphic juxtaposing an image of him next to one of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The administration that oversaw the New Deal established the 30-year mortgage standard to help citizens recover from the Great Depression. Similarly, Trump campaigned on creating affordability for the younger generation last year, but the president has faced headwinds on the subject more recently as prices rise.” As RAS pointed out yesterday, the banks will love this. MB: I'm no good at figuring out amortization tables, but my guess is that for the first several years of a 50-year loan, your average mortgagor will pay down his principal by about $1.37/annum. Pulte, of course, is the same guy who went foraging through mortgage records to find fake crimes against Trump's "enemies" like Adam Schiff & Letitia James.
~~~~~~~~~~~
U.K. Trump Beheads a Couple of Brits. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: “Two of the top executives of the BBC resigned abruptly on Sunday following a report suggesting the public service broadcaster had misleadingly edited a speech by ... [Donald] Trump that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The surprise resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, came several days after The Daily Telegraph published details of a leaked internal memo arguing that a BBC Panorama documentary had juxtaposed comments by Mr. Trump in a way that made it appear that he had explicitly encouraged the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.... Mr. Trump welcomed the resignations in a post on his Truth Social account.... Pressure had been building on Mr. Davie and senior management of the BBC after the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, reacting to the leaked memo, accused the broadcaster of being 'purposefully dishonest' over its depiction of the Capitol Hill insurrection.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: BTW, the White House may take umbrage (and sue!) when teevee networks edit speeches and remarks, but they're not at all above doing their own editing. For instance, last week when a man attending a White House event fainted in the Oval Office, RFKJ beat a hasty retreat and Donald Trump turned his back on the man & stood at his desk looking perturbed & uncaring. Commentators were aghast at Trump's reaction and comedians made fun of him. But this may be a moment lost to history because, as the Washington Post reports, "The White House has excised the frantic scene from its own channels, removing the original video with the medical emergency and replacing it with a version that elides the moment."
31 comments:
"That is, you pay an extra $2,300. You get back $2,000."
T*** math. How very.. maga.
digby
"State Propaganda"
Engines Sold Separately
"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her alleged lover Corey Lewandowski ordered 10 Spirit Airlines jets before realizing the planes had no engines. Officials warned the pair that purchasing the jets—which they said would be used to increase deportations and for their own travel—was impractical, and that simply hiring additional flight contractors would be far less costly, The Wall Street Journal reported
But Noem and Lewandowski went ahead and blew through the funds allocated by Congress. Officials realized the pair’s blunder when they looked deeper into their spending spree and realized that Spirit—which has filed for bankruptcy twice—didn’t own the planes in the first place, and that the engines would have to be purchased separately, according to the Journal. Noem and her shopping partner then purchased two Gulfstream jets for $200 million."
Schoolin' in America
"Some states now require public schools to teach kids about gun safety
This school year, students in elementary, middle and high schools in some states will get a new lesson on safety: what to do if they find a firearm.
Arkansas, Tennessee and Utah are the first states to enact laws that require public schools to teach children as young as 5 the basics of gun safety and how to properly store guns in the home. Only Utah’s law allows students to opt out of the lesson if requested by parents or guardians."
Erasing History
"The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission."
All his beautiful wickedness!
The IDEA! that the gross fatness that inhabits the Blight House is now being told he must feed starving children. But he was all ready to run to the Supines once more after hearing that he must pay SNAP benefits to get them to maintain his beautiful wickedness.
But never fear, he and the Traitors will drag it out as long as possible, having to pay those little moochers.
And here's the other thing. Now that Chuck (Cave Man--thanks, RAS) Schumer has cried Uncle and given the Traitors everything they wanted (plus the ability to blame Democrats for the entire clusterfuck shutdown), he has shown Fat Hitler that this is the way forward. You want something and Democrats say "No"? Starve the children. Just wait. This isn't the last time we'll see SNAP benefits, food stamps and any other assistance for the neediest and most vulnerable Americans halted long enough for Democrats to cave.
And here's another thing. Traitors insist (*cough-cough*) that they'll (pinky swear) allow a vote on healthcare subsidies in, oh, a couple of weeks, maybe...BUT that language is not in the legislation ending the shutdown. So all they have is the "word" of TRAITORS that they'll bring this up for a (down) vote.
Fuck me. Tell me again why we went through this process? Only to cave and kick the can down the road where a fat fascist will drive one of Drunk Pete's tanks over it?
It could be that this corner of Fatty's beautiful wickedness has been melted for the time being, but he has plenty more where that came from.
Thanks, Chuck. For nothin'.
And you know what? It's not like Democrats will get an ounce of credit for ending the shutdown. All the credit will go to the Traitors. The MSM will make sure to point out that Democrats ended it, that means they started it, and they own it.
@RAS: BUT see this tweet from Retired Gen. Mark Hertling.
Other than the fact that Chuck can't keep his caucus together (so maybe you're suffering from remembrances of Nancy), I don't see why you all are blaming him for what my credulous senators (along with four others) have done.
Ah, that 50 year mortgage....yes , the banks will love the income stream it produces. But I wonder...Will the banks set age limits on the borrowers? Anyone who offers me a 50 year mortgage at my age makes as much sense as me wanting a 50 year roof on my house.... How about a signed note from a doctor guaranteeing I will live another 50 years...?
Obviously the 50-year mortgage plan has nothing to do with home ownership..
@Marie: I hope General Hertling is right, but this administration does not deserve the benefit of the doubt with all the attempts to erase our history that have been documented elsewhere. I guess some of the locals were also not aware of the rotation of plaques. Otherwise they wouldn't have been so upset.
Oh yeah, about that Magic Tariff Dividend....
Don't start going crazy on Amazon just yet.
"With such high hopes for a massive windfall, Trump has floated a tariff-related payment multiple times in the past. But his latest proposal came just days after his administration told the Supreme Court that tariffs are not meant to generate revenue.
On ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Bessent said he’s not worried that Trump’s public statements are undercutting his arguments at the high court, which is considering a challenge to his global tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The Treasury chief said tariffs are meant to rebalance trade, with revenue eventually shifting to domestic taxes as more high-paid manufacturing jobs come back to the U.S.
He added that he hadn’t yet talked to Trump about the $2,000 dividend idea, which would require Congress to pass legislation.
But Bessent also pointed to tax provisions that have already been signed into law in his tax-and-spending bill as sources of the dividend."
This is from Fortune. And even they see this bullshit as a "tariff related payment", meaning, as Marie has posited, this whole idea is an admission that Americans are paying for Fatty's temper tantrum tariffs. But here come's Treasury Man Bessent to say "Hold on, we're not sending out any checks. We've already included this sort of thing as a 'tax break', so there ya go. There's your $2,000."
But it gets more interesting if there actually is a payout for Fatty's "Fuck America" tariffs:
"So much tariff revenue has been coming in that it’s helped keep budget deficits from getting much worse. But that assumes the revenue actually goes toward funding the federal government. Drawing on that money to instead pay for dividends would require the government to issue more debt.
Trump’s social media post didn’t include additional details on the dividend. But Erica York, a tax policy expert at the Tax Foundation, attempted some back-of-the-envelope calculations.
Assuming the cutoff for “high income” Americans is $100,000, then about 150 million adults would qualify for the dividend, putting the cost at nearly $300 billion, she posted on X, adding that the cost grows if children are also eligible."
Any way you look at it, the guy supposedly running the country is a fucking disaster. Either he's lying or he's screwing us (again) or, as most typically happens, both.
Next shutdown in 10 weeks....
So Chuck and the Traitors reopen the guvmint until January 30.
What happens then? And in the meantime, as millions of Americans lose their healthcare, Fatty will say "Oops, sorry. I guess that's it for the ACA. Next horror!"
On January 30, the whole thing starts over again. And this time, Fatty knows all he has to do to win is starve a few more million kiddies.
So....SNAP benefits for a few weeks, no healthcare, and another shutdown in 10 weeks.
That's some super duper deal making.
Schumer's Cave
BUT...so now that Democrats have followed Chuck (most having to be dragged) into the cave, they (we) need to make sure our messaging is correct.
What we should NOT be saying is "We had to cave because Americans were being hurt."
What they should be saying is "We tried every way we could to get these motherfuckers to sign on to somethiung that wouldn't screw Americans, take away their healthcare, and starve their children, but they refused. Flat out refused, so we took matters into our own hands to end the Trump Shutdown."
That's what they should say, but will they?
Which reminds me of the Allegory of the Cave. In Plato's "Republic", he presents an apologue to demonstrate the difference between the illusion of reality and actual reality. In Plato's cave, prisoners are chained to a wall. Outside the cave, there's a big ol' bonfire burning away. As the real world passes by in front of the fire, the prisoners see only shadows on the wall of their cave. They might mistake these shadowy flickers for the real world, until one day, they are released and get to finally see what reality looks like outside the cave. The idea is that they are now able to gain true knowledge and wisdom being freed from a life of conjecture, shadows, and unfounded suppositions, ie, ignorance.
After leaving Schumer's Cave, the Dems who gave in, thinking that R Traitors will come around and be decent folk, will see the real world, and in that world, they are FUCKED.
And so are we.
Feel a bit like Ken the Contrarian this morning, but I think there's some method to the cave-in madness I can agree with.
Sure, I wish all the Dems stood stalwart, arms linked in opposition until the Pretender gave in....when he was overcome by a fit of empathy for those millions he was attempting to starve. And exactly when would that be? And I'd hate to depend on the courts to grind the wheat to make my bread.
So no ACA subsidies, but a resumption of SNAP, hard facts that will be obvious to millions. A promised vote on the subsidies, that will either take place as promised or not. If it doesn't, an obvious and large lie. If it does, and the R's reject the subsidies as expected, an outrage not hidden in the BBB.
And yes, the same dance early next year, when the same stories will again be in the headlines, even closer to the next election.
Signed, Pollyanna.
Marie,
We blame (well, okay, I blame) Schumer because he is the leader of Senate Democrats. From what I'm reading, the apostate Dems have been working on cutting a deal with the Traitors for weeks. Surely Schumer knew this and was likely in on it. If he wasn't then he needs to step down. But if he was, he should have nipped this in the bud and said, "Nope. We're staying the course." I don't really care if he voted "no". That's as baldfaced a CYA move as you're going to see in DC. He's the guy.
@Marie: I guess like the history of the plaques I am extremely sceptical of Schumer based on his past actions. While I believe Schumer is a weak leader, I do believe that he could twist an arm or two to keep this vote from passing if he truly thought it was important enough. He has done it so far. He had to have been kept apprised of these so called negotiations. It would be a dereliction of duty not to be. I have a hard time believing that Schumer is not one of at least a couple Democrats that that are hiding a yes vote behind the others for political reasons (Schumer is up for election in '28). Even as I know that would weaken Schumer's ability to hold the caucus together if he had a larger group of people urging the opening of the government. Either he was one of the secrets yes votes or he couldn't hold the Democrats together. Him being the leader of the caucus means he is face of our opposition. So when we don't get even a guaranteed up or down vote (Mike Johnson can let it wallow forever in the House) he is going to get much of the blame.
REPUBLICANS will vote to raise, and price out, the healthcare of millions of Americans. They all support Trump taking away SNAP and food from the needy. The REPUBLICANS already voted to take away food from millions of SNAP recipients and to raise the healthcare costs of millions of Americans earlier this year on their BBB bill.
Who said it?
"Who Said It: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or The Simpsons’ Dr. Nick?
They’re both quacks—but only one of them is in charge of the nation’s health care policy. Can you tell them apart?"
Where's the Grift?
"Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will on Monday hold talks with Donald Trump at the White House, the first such official visit by a Syrian leader since national independence in 1946. He is expected to push for a full lifting of the remaining sanctions on his war-ravaged country.
Sharaa, whose Islamist rebel forces toppled the longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, has courted the US president to try to reverse the economic restrictions imposed during the 13-year civil war, arguing they are no longer justified.
His media adviser, Ahmad Zeidan, told Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya the 'foremost' issue on Sharaa’s agenda is a repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 which imposed sweeping sanctions over human rights abuses by Assad’s regime during the conflict."
So okay, here's the new president of Syria. He's meeting with the Fat Dictator today. Fatty is taken with this guy apparently cuz he looks good (out of central casting?) and is a "tough guy", tough guys being Fatty's favorite kind of people (after naked 14 year old girls and anyone handing him money).
"Trump met the Syrian leader for the first time last May in Riyadh on the sidelines of a Gulf Cooperation Council summit. Before the talks, he praised Sharaa to reporters as a 'young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter'.
Trump then ordered most sanctions lifted in a big US policy shift. But the Caesar Act remains in place and will require a congressional vote to remove its particularly stringent sanctions permanently."
Okay, he looks good, he's TOUGH, he's a FIGHTER, and Fatty met him in Riyadh....hmmm...now that's interesting.
See, this guy, Sharaa, was, until about 48 hours ago, on the US terrorist watchlist. He had a $10 million price tag on his head for information leading to etc, etc..AND, if you scan down his resume, you'll see this little item: He used to be directly connected to al-Qaeda is the former leader of the al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, and later Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)".
So there's that. My sense is that al-Qaeda guys aren't wishy-washy about their commitment to terrorism. Now maybe this guy saw the light and had a change of heart, if so, good for him. But that still doesn't answer my question about what's in it for Trump, who doesn't cross the street unless there's money waiting for him over there. And please don't give me anything about how he's concerned for the people of Syria and the region and peace and blah, blah, blah. He couldn't possibly care less about any of that.
So where's the grift. He met this guy in Riyadh while he was over there collecting bundles of cash from various Middle East actors. Could it be that this is part of a quid pro quo for that mountain of moolah he got from the Saudis, Qataris, et al?
Who knows. All I know is nothing this fat fuck does is on the up and up. There's a grift here somewhere. Glad handing with a guy who was officially a terrorist a few hours ago? This stinks.
@Akhilleus & RAS: Points well-taken on Schumer.
@Ken Winkes: I would agree with you on the Democrats/Republican but for the fact that without the health insurance subsidies, Americans will die -- according to Bernie's estimate, 50,000 Americans will die every year for want of health insurance. That's an appalling way to get rid of the "poors" because Donald & Republicans in general don't like to see/think about them.
If Bernie's figures are right, then a whole lot more than 50,000 people also will have their lives shortened and made more painful because they can't afford needed medical care. It is true, of course, that malnutrition caused by, well, lack of food will also lead to some deaths, a good deal of pain & worse life prospects.
It physically sickens me to realize that in a country that provides plenty of welfare to billionaires & millionaires, we don't make sure people can get enough to eat & can get the health care they need. It isn't capitalism that sucks; it's capitalists.
A friend of mine called me last week and he was all concerned that New York City is about to have a socialist mayor. (I suppose he watches Fox News, and I don't know why he cares because he isn't planning to move to NYC.)
So I sez, you know what socialists want, don't you? Medicare for all, affordable housing, food for families, living wages for everybody who works. Which one of those things are you against?
He started on the Medicare for all. He has children who are in their late 20s, early 30s. So you don't think your children should be able to afford to go to the doctor? What if they get really sick? Why shouldn't they get the same quality of care you get? All of the sudden, "socialism" didn't sound so bad to him.
@Marie
Agree, as most always. The problem I see/saw with the Dem's hold-fast, Devil take the hindmost position was that ultimately the Devil would take the hindmost. While the courts may have directed the Pretender to release SNAP benefits, as it appears they did, we have nothing in place to keep the Pretender and his crew of mini-Satans from doing what they wish, foot-dragging the least of it. Thanks to the Supremes and the feckless Republicans in Congress, they hold all the cards.
So I chose to see the shutdown as more about messaging than legislative substance, and I think the Dems won that battle. Of course, I might well be wrong.
Daughter first told me late evening yesterday that she thought a cave-in was in the works. So I was not surprised, but immediately wrote a fck-you note to Fetterman the Fool. I understand the impulse of the silly Dems is that they must immediately fix the mess, feed the hungry, house the unhoused, etc. I do. But supposedly these poor-excuses-for intelligent people get elected because they are educated, able to strategize, work the rooms. They mostly aren't lunatics, aren't Tommy Tubervilles, aren't superstitious morons, but grounded in reality. So, they feel they did the best they could, but they are still guilty of forgetting that the morons and crazies that populate the right have no reason NOT to lie and promise and renege. So once again, magic beans. The victims get very little, opposition gets nothing, and they all thus far hold their jobs. Which all disappears January 30. The right, of course, has had a two-month taxpayer-funded vacay. Sweet. AND they wiped away the good will from last Tuesday's successes. Probably all in the Heritage Foundation's Bible for going forward.
Somehow, knowing they will all burn in hell is small compensation. I told the Fool from PA to go fck himself, I was destroying my Fetterman's dog Levi sweatshirt and I would work for whomever primaries him-- maybe Brendon Boyle? Don't know him but he is often on MSNBC. Oh, pardon me: NBC has killed off MSNBC.
Signs, symbols, and the fascist Barbies
What to make of this Mar-a-Lardo face craze? Okay, perhaps not a craze in sense of Hula Hoops in the fifties or fidget spinners a few years ago or playing Angry Birds (still have never played it), but certainly something that has become an undeniable sign of fealty to a person, a cause, to cruelty and a very particular vision of the perfect MAGA creature both dames and dolts need to, not just resemble, but to be.
Deforming oneself in order to gain access to power by pleasing (one hopes) the Dear Leader, has been a pathway to admittance into the presence of the King. The ICE Gnome turned herself into a cartoon character, the puffy lips, garish makeup, long hair, with the baseball cap (to signal a "regular chick" vibe) and tight fitting clothes, all serve to provide a MAGA glam facade to the inhuman cruelty she routinely dishes out. The physical incarnation of a Bond villainess.
None of which is surprising when considering the depth of the Orange Monster's thought processes. You gotta look the part. It's all performance and show for the TV con man. He's loves people who look like they're from "central casting", well, MAGA central casting at any rate. Men must be Manly Looking (with plenty of makeup to smooth over any perceived flaws), the chiseled chin, the Fuck You, Buddy look, the hair in place (despite the spider-webby bird's nest on his empty noggin). And this is especially important for women.
Women must look "conservative", no liberal looking chicks who go around with no or minimal makeup and look like regular, normal people who work, have kids, and a real life, whose hair and makeup aren't perfect (perfect in terms of what a guy who married models, bought himself a beauty pageant, and banged strippers with fake tits). They can't upstage the MEN, but must present themselves as molded incarnations of a rapist's idea of womanhood: there to serve, and look good.
Fatty, after seeing how the Gnome transformed herself under the knife, gave her the nod of approval
nod of approval, telling her "I want your face in the ads", ads in which she was instructed to thank him for saving the nation by closing the borders. Looks are vitally important for this dimwit with the depth of a puddle on a hot day. They are legion in the Fat Hitler demesne: the Gnome, Loomer, Lara Trump, Eight-Ball Junior's former girlfriend, Kimberly Guillfoyle, KKKarline Leavitt, Eva Braun Bondi. Even if they haven't gone under the knife, they must have a certain look. Hey, they can even steam his pants if they do.
But make no mistake, it's not just physically molding your features to please an evil demagogue, it's to gain access to whatever power he will confer upon you, but not power for any purpose of yours, power to carry out his nastiest, cruelest, most inhuman policies. In that way, Mar-a-Lardo face is, well, the symbol, the face of MAGA evil.
Congratulations, ladies and germs, not only do you look the part, you live it, you ARE it.
Kim Davis walked into a bar and Oberge fell down the stairs.
Well, maybe not yet, but just wait.
So, okay, mooching scofflaw and Christianist former County Clerk, Kim Davis, from Kentucky once told a couple of guys who showed up for a marriage license that they had to scram cuz Jesus told her NO ICKY GAYS!
But Kim had taken a guvmint job, was being paid by taxpayers to do her job. She didn't, so she got the orange jumpsuit. But only for a while. Now here she is before the Supines, who tell her and her Liberty Counsel mouthpieces that they ain't-a goin' to destroy marriage equality just yet, largely because her petition is a joke. Other judges who may have hated the Obergefell ruling recognized that you can't take taxpayer money for a government job then say you're not gonna do it, THEN want legal relief from the money she was being sued for.
Good ol' Kim, meanwhile, ain't exactly the poster child for sanctity of marriage, her own marriages and children by multiple men who have come and gone and come back again, make her own married life read like the lyrics of the song "I'm my own Grandpa".
But it wasn't just legal relief, Davis and Liberty Counsel wanted the Supines to kick Obergefell down the stairs and out the door. Now don't get too excited. Just because they're not doing it now doesn't mean they won't hop to it when they get a better case. But there was a separate benefit for getting the Supines to even consider her case.
"If Liberty Counsel’s primary goal was to draw attention—and, by extension, fundraising dollars—by taking on marriage equality itself, it worked: Media coverage of this case was wildly disproportionate to its (near-zero) chances of success. (The strategy may have prevailed because of widespread confusion about Supreme Court procedure: Just because the justices considered the petition does not mean they were seriously thinking about reversing Obergefell.)"
And while we're seriously thinking about something, I seriously disagree with that last contention. This court, like all past Supreme Courts, has appeals coming out the windows. They have to think very carefully about which ones deserve their attention. And this particular court, as we have seen, typically doesn't consider a case unless they're about to change the law, wholesale, in favor of far rightwing demagoguery. There was no need to re-litigate Chevron, but they did it in order to change the rules to suit their ideology. Same with Dobbs.
In my opinion, Obergefell IS in the crosshairs. They're just waiting for a better case than Kim Davis's. Oh look, someone else is walking into that same bar. And here comes Alito and Thomas to see what's up.
Helix Man (and woman)
I was more than a little surprised to hear that James Watson, of DNA double helix fame, had just died, which meant (naturally), that he had been alive the previous week. In 2025.! I had always thought of Watson and Crick as guys from waaaay back in the last century (which, now that I think of it, so am I). I remember reading about these guys in a National Geographic article when I was in the eighth grade, so I was a little taken aback when I heard he had just passed.
Anyway, great stuff, that double helix business, and certainly DNA discoveries have allowed for all manner of cool breakthroughs. But I just wanted to point out, in all the hoopla surrounding his passing that the discoveries of Watson and Crick were based, in large part, on the work of English chemist, Rosalind Franklin, per Wikipedia:
"Her work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal, and graphite.[2] Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, Franklin's contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely unrecognised during her life, for which Franklin has been variously referred to as the 'wronged heroine',[3] the 'dark lady of DNA',[4] the 'forgotten heroine',[5] a 'feminist icon',[6] and the 'Sylvia Plath of molecular biology' [7]"
Feminist icon? Meh, it's okay I guess, but the "Sylvia Plath of molecular biology". Now that's pretty cool.
So was Roz.
And that's all I got.
@Akhilleus: Now that you mention it, I see Thomas & Alito as the Norm & Cliff sitting at the end of the bar spouting high-falutin theories of everything. Things they know nothing about. But they take on the attitude of experts anyway.
Though it is true that when Clarence walks in, everybody shouts, "Clarence!" as he lumbers on down to his usual seat. (When Alito walks in, I guess everybody ignores him. Nobody shouts, "Sam!" that's for sure.)
And now, I will never, never stop thinking of Clarence & Sam, sitting at the end of the bar. They're still elevated, I guess, but on bar stools, not at the bench.
Akhilleus - thanks for the intro to Rosalind Franklin. What an interesting life but too bad she died so young at 37.
Jonathan Chait, in The Atlantic, writes that Senate Democrats Just Made a Huge Mistake
"Democrats may have been more surprised than anybody to discover their shutdown strategy was actually drawing political blood. Their instinct was to withdraw the knife anyway."
E. J. Dionne Jr., for The New York Times, identifies t****'s Kryptonite
"Even Mr. Trump’s most faithful supporters have found it hard to miss that he has been so self-involved, so openly solicitous to billionaires and so obsessed with making money. His pursuit of a regal new ballroom at the White House and photos of the wrecking job it required will long stand as the visual backdrop for the words “out of touch.” His main policy achievement, the “one big beautiful bill,” aims to cut taxes on the wealthy while slashing Medicaid and food stamps. This smacks of contempt for so many of those who put him into office and rely on both programs.
....
Trumpism began in anger, alienation, frustration and division. The antidote is empathy, solidarity, mutual respect and hope. Tuesday’s elections delivered a starter dose."
Wendy,
My selection for biggest screw job of a fabulous scientist goes to German physicist Lise Meitner, to whom we owe the atomic bomb.
Meitner was the first woman to be appointed a full professor of physics in Germany, back when physicists in that country were rock stars in the field. Meitner worked with chemist Otto Hahn for some years until 1938. Being a Jew, Meitner decided not to find out how long she'd last with the first Hitler in charge. She decamped for Stockholm. Later that year, Hahn and another chemist were able to wrangle isotopes from uranium but didn't actually know how they got there. He wrote to Meitner who, with her nephew, also a physicist, were walking in the woods one day, thinking about that process, when they figured it out. She even gave the process a name: nuclear fission.
This was the secret everyone had been waiting for. Enrico Fermi, working with the Manhattan Project team, used Meitner's explanation to successfully produce a controlled fission event. Next scene, Hiroshima. Meitner's inspiration and genius helped push the greatest physicists in the world to create the atom bomb. But..she got zero credit for it.
Hahn, her former colleague who was stumped until Meitner explained the process, won the 1944 Nobel Prize for Physics, but Ooops! forgot to mention Meitner. Perhaps he didn't think Hitler would like the idea that his Nobel physicist stole his award winning idea from a Jewish woman. In any event, it would be years before anyone knew about Meitner's contribution.
Einstein himself considered Meitner a genius. Were she working in the US today, she'd have been fired unless she got herself a Mar-a-Lardo face and sucked up to the Orange Moron.
Akhilleus - thanks for another interesting story-
Sad to think of all the role models - and new discoveries and expertise - we've missed out on because .... why?? We only give credence and encouragement to accomplishments made by white men?
Would it have made a difference to girls of my generation had we known of women like LIse Meitner, Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace, Katherine Johnson, and all those other anonymous individuals that contributed to some body of knowledge? Undoubtedly yes!
Wendy,
Take heart. My 16 year old granddaughter is living a young life directly inspired by Katherine Johnson.
Last summer she arranged STEM workshops for local migrant students. Role models, near and far, do matter.
Ken - that's wonderful! I'm glad things have changed and are continuing to change.
I stumbled into a STEM career and did fine, but, only reading light stuff like mysteries, I only learned about Ada Lovelace by watching Victoria on PBS a few years ago and Katherine Johnson watching Hidden Figures when that film came out, and only heard the names LIse Meitner & Rosalind Franklin tonight. Heard lots of sentiment that women couldn't succeed in math-oriented fields from influential people like Larry Summers, though.
My role model, sort of, was Sissy Farenthold - when she ran for Tx governor and sparked my imagination on the world of possibilities, like no other politician ever had.
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