So we're six months into a war we've already lost, yet there is still no end in sight. And this happens ~~~
~~~ Paul McLeary, et al., of Politico: “Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation to the White House on Monday after months of disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the firings of senior officers and the service’s priorities. Driscoll, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, spoke to the president on Monday and brought up concerns with the direction of the Army....” MB: See, BTW, Akhilleus three-part essay at the top of Monday's thread on the assets of Drunk Pete, who "is constantly in the running for the most dangerous and stupid of Fat Hitler's many, many dangerous and stupid administration asshats.”
⭐Lawrence Hurley of NBC News: “The Supreme Court on Monday handed a win to ... Donald Trump by allowing him to move forward indefinitely with the construction of his new White House ballroom. The court, divided 5-4, granted an emergency request filed by the Trump administration, blocking lower court rulings that would have put the aboveground portion of the project on hold. This followed an interim decision along similar lines issued by Chief Justice John Roberts on Aug. 21. The legal challenge was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued that the president did not have unilateral authority to proceed with construction. In the unsigned ruling, the court said that the trust likely does not have legal standing to bring the underlying lawsuit. The court did not reach any conclusion on whether Trump has authority to carry out construction without congressional approval.... Roberts ultimately joined the court’s three liberal justices in dissent. 'Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year. That construction is likely unlawful,' Roberts wrote.” Here's the New York Times story; this is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ As RAS put it in a heads-up on the ruling, "Swines Say Congress Is Irrelevant." MB: Re: Roberts: Roberts, who has jurisdiction over suits brought in D.C., could have halted construction in his interim decision ten days ago. I think the five confederate justices still could have lifted his stay, but perhaps at least one of them would have been less inclined to do so if he had left the lower courts' stays in place. Ump Johnnie calls balls and strikes, all right; the problem is he calls them simultaneously.
From a New York Times liveblog of Trumpy news: “Russia’s finance minister made a surprise appearance at a gathering of top global economic policymakers on Monday after a prolonged absence, an invitation that was extended by the Trump administration but drew rebukes and protests from European officials committed to isolating Moscow for its war against Ukraine. The summit of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations, in the mountain town of Asheville, [North Carolina,] was billed by the Treasury Department as a chance to find global cooperation on new economic punishments for Iran and new strategies to boost growth.... Instead, the meeting opened on Monday morning with European outrage over the Russian finance minister, Anton Siluanov, who was physically in attendance for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Lars Klingbeil, the German vice chancellor and finance minister, told reporters that he scolded Mr. Siluanov during an early session of the meeting for the invasion, demanding that Russia end the ongoing war and pledging ongoing support for Ukraine, which was not represented in person at the gathering.” The link is a gift link. Here's Politico's story.
Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: “... Donald Trump called Apple directly to get it to change Lake Ontario’s name to 'Lake America' on its Maps app, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has revealed [on Fox 'News'].”
Cheyanne Daniels of Politico: “In a post to Truth Social..., [Donald Trump] insisted data centers will lead to richer, more successful Americans and criticized those who object to them. 'The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,' Trump said. 'If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.'... Trump, who has met with some of the world’s leading tech giants on numerous occasions, is adamant that data centers are critical to staying ahead of China in the artificial intelligence race....”
Aaron Rupar & Thor Benson of Public Notice reprise a New Republic article by Michael Tomasky: "From 1989 to 2026, we’ve had Democratic presidents for 20 years and Republicans for 17.4 years. Care to hazard a guess as to the number of jobs created under Democrats vs. Republicans? Answer: It’s 49.8 million versus 1.9 million.... Fifty million to two, basically. Democratic presidents have also done far better than Republicans on median household incomes, GDP rates, the Dow Jones index, and even deficit reduction. Dramatically so on deficit reduction." In a discussion, Tomasky tells Rupar and Benson, "The last three Republican presidents have handed their Democratic successors an economic catastrophe, and the last three Democrats have had to do their best to clean it up. Why don’t Democrats ever say that? I think it would make a difference." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: These figures and others show how much better Democrats are at handling the economy than are Republicans. They are no secret to economists, but nobody else knows about them, including, apparently, Democratic members of Congress. These Democrats seem to be so overwhelmed defending themselves against GOP charges of "wokeness" and "high taxes" that they never get around to disseminating facts that would crush Republicans. If Democrats drilled some of these numbers into the public, the pitchforks would be out for Republicans. For instance, most of the folks polled in the story linked next have no idea ~~~
~~~ Erin Doherty & Anna Wiederkehr of Politico: “Fifty-five percent of Americans think politicians are just trying to win votes when they say they will help the working class, according to new results from The Politico Poll.... Neither party does particularly well with Americans who identify as working class: 38 percent of them say Democrats best represent them, while 32 percent say Republicans. Americans, broadly, are almost identically split, with a 37 percent plurality saying Democrats best represent the interests of the working class, while 30 percent say Republicans. Democrats wrestling with how to win back voters who have drifted toward the GOP — as their coalition has grown increasingly dominated by college-educated Americans — are locked in an intraparty battle over which wing of the party, progressives or moderates, best speaks to these voters.”
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~~~ Update: I do have more to do but cannot get to it, partly on accounta those technical difficulties. You might want to look at Krugman.
Desperately Seeking Relevance. Paul Waldman in Public Notice: “In the surrealist performance hall that is the Oval Office, Trump grabbed his pen, took out a map of the Great Lakes, crossed out 'Lake Ontario' and wrote in 'Lake America,' part of a pointless new trade war he has started with Canada. Like so much of what Trump does, this was meant to be a show of strength. Yet it actually demonstrated just the opposite: Trump is weak and getting weaker. The 'Lake America' inanity will be slotted alongside Trump’s ballroom, his quest to keep his name on the Kennedy Center, his helipad, and his Reflecting Pool faceplant. These are the things a failing, frustrated president does in a desperate bid to look strong.... A president who spends all day choosing colors for the ballroom drapes in between tearing down alliances, lying about the state of the economy, and claiming the disastrous war he started is about to end in triumph is not one who projects strength.” ~~~
~~~ Yesterday we linked to an AI-generated video Donald Trump posted that showed him kicking down a "Lake Ontario" sign & planting a "Lake America" sign on the shores of what one supposes is meant to be Lake Ontario. But here's what really happened over the weekend: ~~~
~~~ Edward Helmore of the Guardian: “Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, replied [to Trump's attempt to rename Lake Ontario] with a two-stories-high billboard declaring 'Lake Ontario. Now and Always,' near Grimsby, Ontario. Ford said Trump was trying to rename the lake because Ontario and Canada were 'standing up for ourselves'.... 'Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,' Ford said in a video posted on social media. He appeared on Sunday on the ABC News program This Week and remarked that Trump’s Lake Ontario renaming order was like 'something out of Saturday Night Live.’... In a statement explaining why it was acquiescing to Trump’s desired name for Lake Ontario, Google said its practice is to 'reflect name changes in official government sources'.... Lake Ontario’s name change 'does not have any impact on Canadian naming conventions or how the rest of the world refers to the lake', Google said in a statement. And it said 'those in Canada will continue to see “Lake Ontario’” on Google Maps, 'and those outside … the US and Canada will see both names'.”
Have we mentioned there's a looney toon in the White House? ~~~
He’s going to loom large over these midterms, There’s no doubt about that. He, of course, has endorsed a slate of candidates in the primaries. He’s had some mixed results, but most recently, his pick of Senator Darline Graham, of course, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, was successful in her primary battle, so now she takes on Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina. -- Kristen Welker, while a guest on NBC 4 Washington
Kristen Welker, the Unpopular ‘Hostess’ of the once great Meet the Press, now considered Meet the Fake Press, just stated that Donald Trump has ‘mixed results’ on his Endorsements of Candidates, when the recent WINS of Darline Graham and Mike Mazzei, stand at 100% for the U.S. Senate, and 98% for the U.S. House, recently and over the longterm. How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves? Results are attached. Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. -- Donald Trump, part of a social media post responding to Welker's remarks ~~~
Trump's threat is 25th-Amendment insane. Here Trump ignores the First Amendment twice: denying Welker her rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. As Akhilleus pointed out yesterday, Welker's remarks were true. But even if she had made an erroneous remark, even if she purposely had made an erroneous or misleading remark, siccing a government watchdog (who is also a Trumpy lapdog and an attack dog, BTW [arf, arf]) on her blatantly violates the Constitution. The fact that this comes from the nominal POTUS* rather than from some aggressive goofball down the chain of command makes it much worse. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary near the end of yesterday's thread. -- Marie ~~~
~~~ Marie: Notice how the Royal Idiot indeed equates himself with "our Country," claiming that annoying him was a "Threat to our Country." He is so childish and so crazy that he think as president*, he has the powers of an 18th-century anointed king, when the whole point of the U.S. is that we do not have a king, that power is vested in the people, not in a monarch. BTW, Trump does not think that real presidents -- Obama & Biden, for instance -- had god-given rights over the people, as he does. "L'état, c'est moi," my ass.
Phil Stewart & David Lawder of the Independent: “... Donald Trump claimed Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island was 'blown to smithereens', alongside a AI video of an explosion. The strategically-important location handles some 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports, and taking it would give the U.S. the ability to disrupt Iran’s energy trade and place enormous pressure on the economy. 'Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,' Trump posted on Truth Social late Sunday, alongside the AI-generated clip of an man in an aircraft overseeing fiery blasts in an oil field and harbor. However a U.S. official later told Reuters the military did not target Kharg Island in overnight strikes, despite the president’s message, and Iran was quick to ridicule the post.” MB: It's not clear whether Trump is lying to the world or to the world AND to himself. He's nuts.
Haley Britzky, et al., of CNN: “Iran and the United States traded attacks for the first time in over a month overnight into Monday, in an exchange that risks reigniting the damaging conflict after weeks of relative military calm. Iran fired missiles toward US military targets in Jordan in retaliation for a strike on Iranian rocket launchers that the US said were trying to launch sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz –– the key shipping route that’s become the center of regional tensions and diplomatic efforts. Later Monday morning, the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted a drone approaching from Iran over its territorial waters. The exchange of strikes came just days after ... Donald Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz free from mines, and is a break with Washington’s recent shift in focus to maximizing economic pressure on Iran rather than military actions.” The New York Times story is here; this is a gift link.
Alex Horton & Tara Copp of the Washington Post: “Several U.S. military leaders have advised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland, according to people familiar with a recent assessment prepared for the Pentagon chief. The warnings — detailed for Hegseth by the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force and the four-star commanders overseeing U.S. operations throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America — appear in the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB), these people said. They described the assessment to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because the document is classified.... Leaders of the U.S. European Command, the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Southern Command, along with the Navy’s top admiral, responded [to the orders book] with what is characterized in the SDOB as a 'non-concur,' those familiar with the assessment said — meaning they disagree with the secretary’s order to extend their forces but will execute it nevertheless.” The link is a gift link.
~~~ Marie: The fact that top Pentagon officials would leak a particularly sensitive classified document to the press gives us some indication, IMO, of how strenuously these officials object to Hegseth's orders. Cue outrage: ~~~
~~~ Jared Gans of the Hill: “The Pentagon is seething over a Washington Post report that top military leaders recently warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against extending large-scale Iran war operations.... Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell lambasted the report in a post on the social platform X. 'Publishing highly classified assessments from the Secretary’s orders book is a crime. It’s a betrayal of the force,' he said. 'And much of what they’re publishing is inaccurate.'... Washington Post military affairs reporter Dan Lamothe defended his colleagues’ work with a response to Parnell. 'Fact check: Independent journalism is not a crime,' he said. 'It’s also especially important at a time when government officials are withholding key details and concerns about a war being fought on behalf of the American people with their taxpayer dollars.'... Adam D’Ortona, an active-duty Army lieutenant colonel who runs the account InfantryDort, accused the Post of working for the 'enemies of the United States.'... USA Today reported last year that D’Ortona works in Hegseth’s office.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm no lawyer, but it has long been my understanding (from back in the Pentagon Papers days) that publishing classified information -- at least in an established publication -- is not a crime. Leaking the classified information, however, may be a crime. So the Pentagon is looking for "criminals" in all the wrong places. They should be searching inside the building.
David Rothkopf in a series of Bluesky squeets, lambastes Trump for plundering Venezuela and says investigating these war crimes should be a priority for Congressional Democrats, state AGs & international prosecutors.
Heather Cox Richardson notes that not only did Donnie cut down the cherry tree with his little hatchet, he lied about it to the court.
Max Boot of the Washington Post: “It was obvious from the start that appointing Pete Hegseth — a former Fox News weekend host — as secretary of defense was a spectacularly bad idea: He was, by far, the least qualified person ever to lead the Pentagon. So, too, was it obvious that Hegseth’s decision to fire more than two dozen senior officers and to block the promotions of at least 45 officers — for reasons he never explained — was a spectacularly bad idea that would deny the armed forces the veteran, apolitical leadership they need. What was not so apparent, until now, was the consequences of those decisions. They have created a dangerous leadership vacuum that is jeopardizing national security and military readiness. Critical posts in the armed forces are either not being filled or are being filled with officers seemingly appointed more for political than professional reasons.”
Dan Lamothe & Tara Copp of the Washington Post: “The Pentagon has secretly installed several conservative military veterans with large online followings in government roles, declining to disclose their assignments as they amplify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter and corroborating material. At least some of the influencers have been assigned to civilian roles that could lead to changes in policy, the people familiar with the matter said.... Those involved include Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel, and Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel.... Pentagon records reviewed by The Washington Post show that both have active official government email addresses as of this past week and are assigned to the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.”
Alan Rappeport & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: “Top economic policymakers from many of the world’s wealthiest nations begin two days of meetings on Monday in Asheville, N.C., at an incredibly challenging moment. Global inflation is high, growth is choked by war in the Middle East, and rising borrowing costs are straining government budgets. But on the eve of the summit of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations, those questions were clouded by a series of controversies around participation, including whether the Trump administration would let Russia attend while refusing to allow South Africa’s delegation to join. Representatives from South Africa, a longtime member of the G20 and Africa’s largest economy, were not invited by the Treasury Department to Asheville.... [Donald] Trump announced last year, after skipping a G20 summit hosted by South Africa, that he would exclude the country from this year’s meetings, citing a false narrative that white South Africans were being indiscriminately killed and their land was being seized.
“Administration officials also invited a group of American business executives to meet with the government leaders, from industries including banking and cryptocurrency, in an effort to create networking opportunities between government officials with the private sector. They rebuffed requests to also include executives from other G20 countries.... In another controversy, the Treasury has denied press credentials for attending the meetings to certain U.S.-based reporters for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, along with correspondents for Bloomberg News from several countries.... A diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity..., said German officials viewed the denial of credentials for Bloomberg[s' German correspondent] ... as unprecedented and unacceptable.” The link is a gift link.
~~~ Marie: Beneath the byline is a note: "Alan Rappeport reported from Washington and Jim Tankersley reported from Asheville, N.C." That's because Rappeport is the New York-based NYT reporter to whom Bessent denied press credentials. (This link is a gift link.) This, along with Trump's attack on NBC News' Kristen Welker (story linked above), is among several attacks that recent reports expose Trump and his minions for leveling against a supposedly free press. BTW, gentlemen of the Times, "citing a false narrative" is a euphemism for "telling a porkie." The Times should exercise its First Amendment prerogatives to tell it like (as!) it is.
Making Americans Much Less Safe. Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration is working to cut global health funding to developing nations by tens of billions of dollars by 2030, according to a new analysis of the secretive agreements U.S. officials have pursued with more than a dozen governments to date. The planned cuts — targeting programs that combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, Ebola and tuberculosis, among other deadly diseases — appear to reduce U.S. spending on global health initiatives to less than half of Washington’s output in 2024, the analysis found. The research was conducted by two nonprofits, Public Citizen and Partners in Health, organizations that have taken a deeply skeptical view of ... Donald Trump’s 'America First' approach to global health policy. Their analysis offers the most detailed reading yet of the bilateral health agreements drawn up by the State Department with 34 countries after the Trump administration, upon taking office last year, paused all U.S. foreign assistance and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is a reminder that Trump is not the only member of his administration who is insane and derelict in his duty to serve and protect the American people. Do Donnie & Marco & Bobby think Donnie can just order Ebola and other communicable diseases to stay the hell away from the U.S.? Will Donnie deport them? Or what? How did that work with Covid, Donnie? Jackasses all.
Adora Brown of NOTUS: “Election officials in nearly half the states are warning the courts that implementing the U.S. Postal Service’s new mail ballot rule would cause significant turmoil in their plans for the midterm elections, with plenty of signs voters would lose their chance to vote. In declarations filed in a lawsuit seeking to halt the ballot rule, the officials detail how the rule comes late in the process, squeezes deadlines for sending out ballots and clashes with long-standing state election laws and carefully timed procedures. 'It is currently less than a week from when we need to provide our mailing list to our print and mail vendor,' said Sarah Hanzas, the secretary of state in Vermont, where there is universal vote-by-mail. 'My staff, the city and town clerks, and the vendor have not seen or been trained on the new USPS system. We are not alone in this lack of knowledge.' U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts temporarily blocked the executive order late Thursday for 14 days, a decision the Trump administration has appealed.” ~~~
~~~ Trump's USPS Can't (or Won't) Deliver Mail-in Ballots on Time. Adam Sella & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: “The rate at which mail votes have been rejected for arriving late has ticked up in primaries this year and general elections last year in roughly a dozen states, prompting election officials to worry that the U.S. Postal Service is ill-equipped to deliver ballots in the fall midterms. The states studied by The New York Times include some of the most critical battleground House and Senate seats where control of Congress will be determined, as well as key races for governor and secretary of state. The Times obtained data from California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington.
“In Wisconsin, which hosts an open race for governor, a competitive House election plus contests for both chambers of the state legislature, lateness accounted for about 5,000 rejected mail ballots in the spring primary this year, or 78 percent of all tossed ballots. During the last spring election, in 2023, the figure was roughly 2,300, or 47 percent of all tossed votes. The increase is particularly striking when comparing primaries in 2024 and this year. In Michigan’s primary earlier this month, more than 10,000 mail ballots were rejected for arriving after the state’s deadline of 8 p.m. on Election Day. That is nearly double the number of ballots rejected in 2024. In Washington, the number of late-arriving mail ballots increased from about 16,000 to more than 20,000 in the same period.” The link is a gift link.
akaWendy has given us a gift link to the Atlantic article by Tolouse Olorunnipa, which Heather Cox Richardson cites at the top of a recent "letter," linked yesterday. Olorunnipa reports on how Republican legislators "are pushing to restrict the rights of U.S. naturalized and dual citizens — including their ability to run for office." (Also linked yesterday.)
If you've ever imagined how terrible an authoritarian government could be, you may have imagined something like what this NYT story reports about our own government's treatment of deportees: ~~~
⭐~~~ In Our Names. Emmanuel Akinwotu, et al., of the New York Times: “In recent weeks, the White House has pushed to expand ... so-called third-country deportation efforts and boost the number of people expelled from the United States, according to a U.S. official. In July, ICE arrests jumped to nearly 50,000 people, and the administration has focused on deporting people who have been able to remain in the country for years with court orders protecting them from being sent home, another official added. The New York Times interviewed 10 of the deportees on [a] flight to Liberia, all of whom described a harrowing journey that included months in detention in the United States and a panicked 14-hour expulsion to Africa, in which agents wrestled and shackled frightened detainees.... All of them said they experienced or witnessed what they described as abusive or violent treatment by ICE officials during the course of their deportation or while in detention in the United States....” The article details some of the abuses detainees say they suffered at the hands of ICE officers. The link is a gift link. MB: I believe the detainees, not ICE, which denies agents abused deportees and claims all detainees received excellent, comprehensive medical care. (Also linked yesterday.)
Shane Goldmacher & Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times: “All across America, the midterm elections are drowning in dark money. A New York Times review of advertising data, campaign-finance filings and tax records revealed that about $1 billion in anonymous money is sloshing through the political landscape in 2026, a staggering sum and yet almost certainly a low-end estimate, given how difficult this money is to trace.... The deluge is upending races from coast to coast, with billionaires, corporations and special interests hiding their agendas and involvement with relative ease. It is impossible to know the full scale of this spending.... Nearly every major primary and battleground race this fall has been or will be shaped by secret funds.” The link is a gift link.
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Israel/Palestine. Azam Ahmed, et al., of the New York Times: “Maj. Gen. Eyal Ben-Reuven spent his life fighting for Israel.... But in recent months, he has returned to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, touring the territory with retired generals and former Israeli officials like himself. He has walked through the remains of a Palestinian school looted by Israeli settlers, and listened to Palestinian shepherds and farmers describe being tortured by settlers who seize their livestock and land.... 'This, what the settlers are doing here, is the real threat to Israel,' he said, his eyes welling with emotion.... Other former high-ranking Israeli officials touring the West Bank with him shared the same indignation.... 'This is ethnic cleansing, to put it simply,' Ephraim Sneh, a retired brigadier general and former minister of health, said.... Armed Israeli settlers, emboldened by the most right-wing government in the nation’s history, raid and torch Palestinian homes, mosques and villages with seeming impunity, openly trying to drive them out of the territory.... The retired generals condemning this violence are part of a small but rapidly expanding array of influential Israelis, including many from the upper echelons of the military and intelligence apparatus, who are publicly declaring the lawlessness in the West Bank a threat to Israel’s existence as a democracy.” The link is a gift link.
