Marie: Every single day I have new issues with blogger that take me hours & hours to resolve, and I'm getting really sick of it. Today, blogger won't take image downloads. I tried more than a dozen different recommended "fixes"; none of them worked until I finally did an extremely inconvenient & cumbersome "drag & drop," which really is not the way to go. Squarespace, BTW, does not work AT ALL. I can't even sign in and have not been able to for a year. I am going to keep limping along for awhile, but this is incredibly difficult and is ruining my life.
It feels like we’re genuinely watching his brain rot in real time. -- Sarah Matthews, former deputy White House press secretary to Donald Trump ~~~
~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: “In what has increasingly become his weekend habit, [Donald Trump] unleashed a daylong barrage of [social media] posts.... There were images of Mr. Trump intimidating Canada’s prime minister with a hockey stick, personally bombing enemy targets and patrolling dark streets with killer robots. There were maps showing the United States taking over other countries, and maps renaming a state. There were attacks on the 'Dumocratic Party' and tributes to himself as 'the Greatest President of All Time!' The 60 messages posted online over 10 hours and 41 minutes offered a window into Mr. Trump’s own unique reality, one anchored not in fact but in an expression of ego.... With A.I., [his social media feed] has become the manifestation of how he wants to be seen in a more visual, visceral way than ever before — as a warrior, as a conqueror, as a historical figure, as a younger and thinner and more muscular version of himself.
“In Mr. Trump’s digitally enhanced version of the world, he is a giant in every way, a man who defeats every adversary, overcomes every obstacle and sinks every putt. He not only redraws the map of the world but vanquishes the heavens themselves.... The rat-a-tat of ever wilder, ever more outrageous posts each weekend has become a fixture of the president’s second term, seen more and more as a barometer of his mental state. Mr. Trump’s critics ... point to these frenetic bursts of fantasy and vanity as proof that the 80-year-old president is deteriorating further with age.... Past presidents believed they had a duty to carry themselves with a certain dignity befitting the office. Mr. Trump sees politics like the cage match he sponsored this summer at the White House.” The link is a gift link.
Patricia Mazzei & Shane Goldberger of the New York Times: Donald “Trump ... spoke for nearly two hours at this year’s unusual midterm convention. But his message could also be summarized in a single line. 'Please pretend that I am running.''... Here are seven takeaways from Day 1 of his first-of-its-kind midterm convention[.]”
New York Times: “Facing dwindling weeks until the midterms, deepening unpopularity and darkening political prospects for his party, Mr. Trump interrupted his usual fare by tossing out a new idea: a $5,000 check for every American adult if Republicans keep control of Congress in November. 'If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them,' Mr. Trump said, 'I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.'... Mr. Trump ... often dangles the possibility of free money if it means achieving his political goals, even as he seeks to undermine public trust in elections. In the same speech, Mr. Trump insisted that he won the presidential election three times (he didn’t) and accused Democrats of trying to cheat in elections. In several cases, the money Mr. Trump has promised in the past has not materialized.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: “With his party facing electoral disaster..., Donald Trump delivered a lengthy, muddled 'midterm convention' speech in which he begged his supporters to vote in November — and preposterously claimed that he will send $5,000 checks to every adult citizen in the U.S. if Republicans hold onto Congress. It’s not the first time in his second term Trump has claimed Americans will receive free money from his administration, even though a president doesn’t have the authority to send out such payments without congressional authorization. The promise seemed to be an act of desperation. 'If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000, it will be called the Trump dividend,' Trump said Wednesday night....” ~~~
~~~ Ashley Ahn of Politico: “... Donald Trump has pledged to send $5,000 to every adult in the U.S. if Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms, a payout that would dwarf the amount distributed during the Covid pandemic and likely explode the deficit. He gave no details, except to specify that it would go only to citizens and have to be spent in the U.S. Trump compared it to his December 2025 announcement of a $1,776 dividend to members of the military though it was actually a military housing stipend already approved by Congress, and not a generous new White House program.... [Trump] said [the checks] would be made possible from what he called the nation’s 'tremendous economic success.'”
Annie Karni & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, the self-proclaimed champion of working-class voters who has become alienated from his own party and fed up with his job, on Wednesday appeared in a short video on the opening night of ... [Donald] Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas.... Mr. Fetterman said in a video filmed in front of a steel mill in Pennsylvania. He introduced himself as a 'common-sense Democrat' who said he is 'always going to reject the extremes in socialism.' Mr. Fetterman introduced Senator David McCormick, Republican of Pennsylvania, and said that they would work together 'and work with President Trump and defend the steel way of life.' The appearance of a Democrat at a convention boosting the G.O.P., at a time when his party is claiming that they have made life harder and more expensive for Americans, was a boon for Republicans....” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Watch the video. Maybe the weirdest thing about it is not that Fetterman betrayed his own party (not for the first time) but that, as Chris Hayes pointed out last night, this one-minute clip contains 12 cuts, a few of them pretty awkward (I also counted 12, and I think I might have skipped one): ~~~
Fearmongering by Dummies. Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: “Now, as his party faces its most difficult political environment in years..., [Donald Trump] and his supporters are attempting — once more — to channel fear into electoral victory. It’s a strategy that is both old and new, playing off the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America to stoke Cold War-era fears of communism and socialism. The photos plastered in the hallways were all of [Mr.] Trump. Jackets were bedazzled with his name. And the red hats dotting the audience on the floor of the convention hall were embroidered with MAGA, his indelible political slogan. And yet, at a gathering that fans and foes alike had nicknamed the 'Trump-a-palooza,' the president and his Republican allies spent more time whipping up fears about the specter of socialism, communism and even anarchy than they did trumpeting the successes of his administration. As they took the stage at the party’s unusual midterm gathering in Dallas on Wednesday night, amid growing Republican anxiety about the midterm elections, speaker after speaker focused on what they characterized as an urgent threat to American life: a Democratic Party they claimed had veered beyond its traditional liberal principals into a dangerous, un-American ideology. Democrats running for Congress were 'evil.' They were 'communists and anarchists.' And they wanted to turn the country into 'a socialist hellscape.'” The link is a gift link.
Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday said energy prices that have been elevated due to the Iran war will not come down until after the midterm elections, which are nearly two months away. 'Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before heading to Texas for the Republican Party’s midterm convention. He had been asked how he plans to explain to Americans why oil prices have just soared to highs not seen since the early weeks of the war. Global benchmark Brent crude futures on Wednesday traded above $101 per barrel for the first time since July, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures surpassed $96 per barrel at session highs. 'I think it’s very easy to explain to America,' Trump said. 'All you have to do is say, “Will you let Iran have a nuclear weapon?” And the answer is no.' Trump also insisted that the war against Iran, now in its seventh month with no clear resolution in sight, will end 'immediately after the election.'”
Marie: Among Trump's promises yesterday: right after the election, gas prices will come down to less than $2/gallon, the Iran war will end, and everybody will get $5,000. (If you buy that, please send your life savings and I'll enroll you in Trump University, where you will learn how to get rich beyond your dreams.) Did I mention Trump Lies About Everything? Like this: ~~~
~~~ Oops! Trump Lies About Everything. Maggie Haberman & Tyler Pager of the New York Times: “A military aide accidentally deployed an inflatable emergency slide on the new Air Force One on Wednesday, delaying ... [Donald] Trump’s departure to Dallas, according to a person familiar with the episode. Mr. Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that officials were just checking on the slide. He did not acknowledge it had been inadvertently deployed.” The link is a gift link. The Hill's report is here.
Marc Caputo of Axios: "The Trump administration plans to send $500 rebate checks to as many as 1 million people who it says were overcharged for their coverage under Obamacare.... The direct-deposit payment would be sent to people in 30 states before the Nov. 3 midterm election, as Trump touts savings from his tax-cut legislation and prescription drug plan.... The money for the rebates would come from what the White House says is a $500 million fund of excess fees paid by Affordable Care Act recipients who were overcharged by insurance companies during the Biden administration.... 'That money was over-collected and just sitting there' in government accounts, a U.S. official told Axios."
Eileen Sullivan & Adam Sella of the New York Times: “Across the country, election officials are grappling with the confusing implications of the Trump administration’s proposed mail ballot screening plan, which would allow the Postal Service to determine which ballots can be delivered to voters. A federal judge has halted implementation of the system, which has been challenged as unconstitutional by two dozen states. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to intervene and allow it to go forward ahead of the midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress. While they wait for the court’s order, local election officials are trying to sort out how they would comply with the new rules, which would require states to use federally approved envelopes with bar codes unique to each voter and upload voter data to an online Postal Service portal, which is not yet operational.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: One thing the six Supremes won't consider, because they're privileged, selfish bastards, is the cruelty that underlies this (and nearly every other Trump) measure. For every voter who had planned to vote by mail, the effort is at least a source of uncertainty and an inconvenience. For millions of people -- election workers and voters alike -- it creates a genuine hardship. And it makes voting nearly impossible for eligible voters who cannot get to the polls on election day. Think of the firemen and nurses who work 12-hour shifts. Think of the frail old lady who is afraid to drive, especially on icy November roads. Think of those with no transportation at all. Think of those who were suddenly hospitalized or merely taken sick on Election Day. Those who can vote must get out and vote for these disenfranchised people, and before pressing the lever, the voter should think whether or not s/he wants to encourage the pricks who stole the fundamental right of voting from the neighbors. ~~~
~~~ Eileen Sullivan & Adam Sella of the New York Times: “If the Supreme Court allows ... [Donald] Trump to move forward with an executive order he issued in March, the [U.S. Postal Service] would screen ballots after they are submitted by election officials and would deliver only those that comply with new rules. Two dozen states have sued to halt the plan, calling it unconstitutional. Here’s how the process would work, according to notices issued by the Postal Service[.]” The link is a gift link. MB: Read through the general way the so-called plan is supposed to work. Now consider that 50 states and the five territories that have Congressional representative will each have its own version of how ballots are printed, distributed and accepted. Now consider that officials and workers have almost no or no time at all to complete these tasks. Now think about how you yourself screw up when you have to do something you've never done before and you have to do it at breakneck speed. ~~~
~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: “The Department of Justice sent threatening letters to at least 30 top election officials across the country, expanding its efforts to gain access to private voter data and election records. The letters warned states not to destroy any records related to the 2024 election, explaining that their chief election officials 'are currently under investigation' and subject to 'ongoing litigation.' The notices come amid a barrage of efforts by ... [Donald] Trump and his administration, which have been fruitless so far, to find evidence of widespread voter fraud. It is not clear what the department is investigating, nor whether its probe is criminal or civil in nature. The letters do not cite any criminal statutes. Instead, they point to some of the same claims made previously as part of the administration’s ongoing effort to identify fraud in the nation’s elections, including machine anomalies and noncitizen voting. In court, the Justice Department has tried to force states to hand over unredacted voter lists, including personal information like driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. The Justice Department has sued 30 different states for this data. They’ve lost 23 of those cases and have won none. Decisions are pending in the rest.” The link is a gift link.
Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times: “The City of Denver, Latino civil rights organizations and government watch groups asked a federal judge on Thursday to block the Trump administration from allowing armed federal immigration agents to serve warrants at polling sites. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., asserts that Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, and David Venturella, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are allowing federal agents to enforce civil immigration laws at polling locations as a matter of policy. The plaintiffs argue that the practice violates federal laws protecting free and fair elections. 'The presence of federal force at the polls interferes with the smooth administration of elections at the local level,' the lawsuit states. 'It disrupts voting and makes it more difficult for state and local election officials and law enforcement to do their jobs by making polling places spaces of confrontation.' ~~~
[Marie: Now, here's the doublespeak from Markwayne:] “Speaking to reporters last week in New York, Mr. Mullin said that Democrats were fear-mongering and that ICE was not patrolling polling places. 'The only reason why we would be at polling places is if there is a threat to that polling place,' he said, 'or we’re serving a warrant.'” The link is a gift link. Whaddaya bet Markwayne & his thugs find a lot of threats AND produce a lot of warrants that they claim must be executed at polling places?
~~~ New York Times Editors: Donald “Trump has a long record of threatening rather than protecting the integrity of American elections. At his worst, he sought to overturn the 2020 results. Now he is menacing the midterms, with an executive order that would throw voting by mail into chaos if it went into effect. It is up to the Supreme Court to prevent that. Nearly one in three voters now vote by mail. Mr. Trump’s order has already sowed doubt about whether Americans can continue to trust the Postal Service to deliver their ballots and prompted bipartisan alarm from states and local election officials. The sooner the court puts Mr. Trump’s ill-advised directive to rest, the better.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Warren Strobel of the Washington Post: “Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, powerful agencies and vast legal authorities created to stop another terrorist catastrophe are being turned inward, with the Trump administration using many of those powers to round up immigrants, battle drug traffickers and target political dissent. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, birthed in response to pre-9/11 intelligence failures, has been central to ... Donald Trump’s pushing of false election conspiracies and retribution against his perceived political enemies. Trump has directed that Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which spread nationwide after 2001 to harness federal and local resources, investigate groups that challenge White House views on immigration, gender and religion. Another post-9/11 creation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has aggressively surveilled and rounded up immigrants on Trump’s watch, sometimes catching or killing U.S. citizens in its dragnet.... Trump is dismantling or repurposing 'almost all of the agencies that were created by the Bush administration to protect us from terrorism,' said John Bellinger III, who was President George W. Bush’s National Security Council legal adviser on Sept. 11, 2001, and helped craft the reforms that followed. 'There has been a tremendous loss of focus,' Bellinger said.”
Trump Even Lies About Lying. Heather Cox Richardson: “... as CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale reported, there is no evidence for any of [Donald Trump's elaborate fantasy about helping out at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, and in the following days]. Trump was at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan when the planes hit the World Trade Center, and there is no evidence for any of his other claims, either. Trump’s nephew, Fred Trump, added that Trump did not have a big building under construction at the time and the 'only crew he claimed to bring to the site would have been secretarial and accounting employees.' The younger Trump said he was so offended by ... [Donald] Trump’s claim that he felt the 'need to speak out.'... Trump posted on social media: 'Everything I said was exactly accurate.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I made what appears to have been a confusing remark yesterday when I wrote about Trump's "consciousness of guilt." That doesn't mean I think Trump feels guilty -- I don't think he exists within a normal moral framework that ordinarily causes people to feel ashamed of the wrongs they have done. But he does recognize that many of his actions (and inactions) are legally wrong and that most people consider them morally wrong, too. That is, he knows he is legally guilty of whatever, and he knows others will find him morally guilty ... even as he is able in his narcissistic bubble to "justify" all of his actions.
~~~ Ian Austen of the New York Times: “When Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada gathers his cabinet in Banff, Alberta, on Thursday, two questions are likely to loom over their semiannual retreat: whether the country should keep answering ... [Donald] Trump’s trade retaliation with more tariffs of its own, and how to help the hardest-hit businesses and workers.... Mr. Carney has not spoken publicly since that escalation. Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for trade, said in a statement on social media that the government was 'assessing' Mr. Trump’s latest blow to Canada’s economy.... Polls released in recent days show unusually widespread support across Canada’s fractious regions for Mr. Carney’s decision to hit back, with many respondents wanting the government to go further — with measures like an export tax on electricity.” ~~~
~~~ Tom Nichols of the Atlantic explains Trump's bad behavior toward Canada in an essay that is as reasonable in its assumptions as Trump is nuts. And Nichols brings up a couple of things you might have forgotten about, like how Mr. Meddler J. Trump inadvertently helped elect Mark Carney's Liberal party over the Conservatives who had been expected to win. Michigan, where Republicans are facing tight battles for congressional seats. "What the Canadians may not realize is that, with this president, none of it has to make sense, and that if recent history is a guide, he will back down, perhaps after declaring victory over Ottawa. Trump will then move on, leaving ordinary Americans and their Canadian friends to deal with the damage." Thanks to akaWendy for this gift link.
Marie: I don't think I understand any of the report linked next, but for those of you who do, read on: ~~~
~~~ Joe Rennison & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: “The bond market issued a swift rebuke on Wednesday to the Trump administration’s latest attempt to lower borrowing costs, as the 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level in roughly three years. The Treasury Department said on Wednesday morning that it would repurchase up to $6 billion of its own long-dated debt, fulfilling a promise to at least double its regular debt buybacks as it seeks to tame borrowing costs that have drifted steadily higher in recent months. Treasury yields underpin borrowing costs for companies and consumers, with higher interest rates crimping the affordability of housing, cars and other items bought on credit. The Treasury’s repurchases effectively reduce the available supply of longer-dated bonds, pushing their prices higher and lowering their yields, with the aim of lowering interest rates more broadly. The purchases, scheduled to be carried out Thursday afternoon, will increase the size of the Treasury’s buyback operation for debt maturing in 10 to 20 years to $6 billion, from $2 billion last month.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Krugman explains in what he himself describes as a "wonky" post. (MB: I'm not even gonna try). ~~~
~~~ Patrick's explanation below is semi-understandable to the dull-witted. (MB: but I don't think I'd pass a test on what's happened here.)
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: “Millions of residents could be excluded from the U.S. census, congressional representation could be reshaped and federal funds could be reallocated across states under changes proposed by the Trump administration. In the proposal posted to the federal register Wednesday, the Census Bureau suggested adding a citizenship question to the decennial questionnaire, which ... Donald Trump has wanted since his first term.... Under the newly proposed rules, refugees and asylum seekers would be excluded from the population count. Trump administration officials also want to prohibit the Census Bureau from asking certain demographic questions, including about race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, claiming the survey 'should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics.' The Census has collected data on race and ethnicity since 1790. Marie: The Census Bureau also has counted all inhabitants (with initial exceptions for Native Americans not taxed).” Politico's report is here. MB: Don't kid yourself about any of this; there's a nefarious reason for every change. For instance, this high-minded color-blindness thing? Just a way to make sure there's no way to help out minorities: you can't help them if you don't know who they are and where they are.
Marie: If you want more evidence that the men leading the Trump administration have serious, debilitating inferiority complexes about their sexual prowess and other virility indicators, here's yet another marker (among many). Unfortunately, the sexual shortcomings of these men, real or imagined, affect the rest of the nation's health in one way or another: ~~~
~~~ Robyn Pennacchia of Wonkette: "In what seems like an extremely overwrought satire, the Department of Health and Human Services recently canceled over $38 million in grants to programs that address infant mortality, maternal health, community cancer screenings, and other things of actual importance, in favor of programs that prioritize firm penises, fertility, and exercise. Because, you know, who cares if the infants die or mothers die or the mother strangles her children as a result of postpartum depression? What really matters is how much a bro can lift and how his sperms are doing." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. Also, see his commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)
"Schooley"'s BlueSky posts on normalized fraud comprise a classic. Thanks to RAS for the link. Check it out. (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: Akhilleus reminded me in yesterday's Comments that Jon Stewart (here) and Jimmy Kimmel (here) are back from their summer vacations. (Also linked yesterday.)
Nitasha Tiku of the Washington Post: “'AI could kill all humans … I personally think it is >10% within the next decade,” [a team lead at Anthropic, Evan] Hubinger, wrote, in response to the resignation of his colleague Jacob Coxon, who accused Anthropic of racing ahead despite the dangers. Hubinger’s expanded reach mirrors the surging influence of a community formerly on the periphery of the tech industry that has for years worked to spread the idea that preventing AI from wiping out humans is an urgent problem. OpenAI and its rival Anthropic were both founded by researchers linked to the AI safety movement, which argues it is necessary to take seriously today the possibility that the technology could wipe out humanity at some point in the future. As both companies grew at extraordinary speed, that view has won new prominence.”
The number of women who died after an ectopic pregnancy has spiked in recent years, a ProPublica analysis found. The mounting deaths in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data have drawn little scrutiny or response. Such deaths typically occur in the first trimester, after a pregnancy fails to properly implant in the uterus and begins to develop elsewhere, most commonly inside a fallopian tube. The embryo grows until it causes the organ to rupture, triggering catastrophic bleeding. With prompt and appropriate medical care..., women should not die. Yet ProPublica’s analysis found a stark and baffling increase: Almost 200 women with the condition died from 2020 to 2025, compared with about 100 in the previous six years.... While chaos and access issues at hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic likely contributed to at least some of the deaths, the surge has persisted.... While the uptick in ectopic deaths occurred nationwide, the climb has been much steeper in states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.... To treat an ectopic pregnancy, which is almost never viable, doctors must terminate it. But lawsuits and federal complaints have alleged that some medical providers are hesitating or flat-out refusing to do that in states where they face criminal penalties for performing an abortion." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: In News from the Underworld that is Donald Trump's milieu, this is looking a bit like a sex criminals' convention: ~~~
~~~ Debra Kamin of the New York Times: “Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander, three prominent brothers convicted of running a decades-long sex-trafficking scheme in New York earlier this year, have enlisted the lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz in their apparent pursuit of a pardon from [Donald] Trump. They retained him in March 2025, nearly 11 months before their trial began in New York federal court, and since then have paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to financial documents.... Those documents include a copy of a check for $250,000, as well as a wire transfer receipt and an invoice from Mr. Dershowitz requesting an additional $250,000. Mr. Dershowitz confirmed to The Times that he was working for the Alexander family, but said he had not yet discussed options for a pardon with them, describing his role as a consultant on 'legal, constitutional and sentencing issues.' According to a letter reviewed by The Times, written by Mr. Dershowitz to the mother of the men, his work also includes pursuing options of 'executive clemency and judicial reversal.'...
“In Mr. Trump’s first term, Mr. Dershowitz was credited with shaping more of the president’s clemency decisions than almost any other advocate.... He was sought after by other clemency seekers looking for an edge in a system in which connections to the president are seen as a way to skip to the front of the line.... It is not clear if Mr. Dershowitz — whose decades-long career has included representing Jeffrey Epstein — has had as much success in helping to secure clemency grants in the second Trump administration.... Oren Alexander and Tal Alexander, who had been among the highest-earning real estate brokers in the country before their arrest, represented Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in their purchase of a $24 million Florida mansion in 2021.” The link is a gift link.
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Missouri Mess Gets Messier. Mitch Smith & Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “Intensifying a night of litigious chaos that spanned four courts, the fight over Missouri’s U.S. House districts has returned to the State Supreme Court, which signaled just before midnight on Tuesday that it was considering whether to hold the state’s top election officer in contempt. The fight over which House districts will be used in November’s general election remained unsettled Tuesday night after contradictory decisions from Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Supreme Court and a federal district judge in St. Louis. The State Supreme Court’s decision to call in Secretary of State Denny Hoskins for a contempt hearing, scheduled for Thursday morning, reflected a new juncture in a rising battle over what appears on Missouri ballots and which judges’ orders should be heeded. Mr. Hoskins and his fellow Republican officials said Tuesday night that they would keep using congressional districts redrawn last year at President Trump’s request to benefit Republicans, following the federal district judge’s order instead of the State Supreme Court’s.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Rhode Island Gubernatorial Race. Jenna Russell of the New York Times: “Helena Foulkes, a former CVS executive, won the Democratic nomination for governor of Rhode Island, defeating Gov. Dan McKee, The Associated Press said on Wednesday night. Mr. McKee is the first sitting governor to lose a primary since 2018 and the first in Rhode Island in more than 30 years. The race between Ms. Foulkes and Mr. McKee, a former lieutenant governor and mayor of Cumberland, R.I., who was seeking a second term, was combative from the start. Ms. Foulkes sought to portray Mr. McKee as an insider prone to protecting his cronies; Mr. McKee criticized Ms. Foulkes’s leadership at CVS during the opioid addiction crisis, suggesting that she could have done more to combat it. Ms. Foulkes, 62, established an early lead in the race, tapping into lingering frustration over the state’s abrupt closure in 2023 of the Washington Bridge, a critical link between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and the resulting chaos for commuters. She also benefited from a national wave of anti-incumbent sentiment and from a sense among voters that Mr. McKee was an accidental governor.” The link is a gift link.
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Yemen/Red Sea. Saeed Al-Batati, et al., of the New York Times: “The Iran-backed Houthi militia captured a strategic Red Sea port city on Thursday, according to two Yemeni officials, a move that could allow the group to exert greater control over an important international shipping route. In a swift ground offensive, the Houthis pushed out forces allied with the Yemeni government that is backed by Saudi Arabia and seized the city of Mokha as well as its port, according to a local official in the city and a senior provincial official. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Mokha has been the focus of several days of fierce ground battles between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government of Yemen.... Mokha is less than 50 miles from the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.... Control of Mokha gives the militia a foothold closer to the strait — a major win for the group, with implications for global trade and oil markets, analysts say.” The link is a gift link.
29 comments:
Re the long bond buyback: it's like using the printing press to make more money. In this case, the Treasury uses money that it doesn't have to buy long bonds from bondholders. It doesn't retire debt (because, new money came from short term borrowing or ... nowhere, just ledger). But it does bring down or hold down long bond yields and, usually, long term interest rates. In a sense, this is Treasury doing what the Fed won't, pumping cash to lower interest rates. It usually increases inflation. Very Third World. Look for more countries to start selling US Treasuries, drawing down or getting out.
Tom Nichols, for The Atlantic, on Why T**** has it out for Canada
"When Donald Trump looks at a map, he doesn’t see nations. He sees property. All of those pretty colors do not represent actual places filled with human beings who have distinct cultures, languages, and histories; the planet, to Trump, is a big board game, like Risk or Monopoly. Greenland isn’t a real location—it’s a valuable chunk of territory nestled between Boardwalk and Park Place. The Strait of Hormuz isn’t an international waterway—it’s a thing to control somewhere between Kamchatka and East Africa."
So much to comment on this morning, but first things first (an expression which could be considered a sort of tautological redundancy, which itself is a kind of tautology, but I digress--a lot).
Marie, so sorry you're having to jump through so many hoops to give us our daily fix of curated news, information, and commentary that is not pumped through legacy, corporate both-sides filters. It means more than I can adequately describe. But ruining your life should not be the price for this fix.
So I looked up what might be going on with Blogger. The AI response on Google says that "Blogger has mostly been left on autopilot by Google with very little active development or new features added over the years, which leaves the interface feeling outdated and frustrating compared to modern alternatives." It also goes on to say that Google keeps Blogger in good running condition (which it obviously does not).
But here's where using AI as the determining factor in so much decision making is putting us on the track to robot hell. Another opinion suggests that blogging traffic may be down because AI caters to those looking for a quick bit of information without having to do much work. This is perfectly fine if you want to ask who were the oldest First Ladies (Jill Biden, 69, and Anna Harrison, 65, when both entered the White House), or who was the first pitcher to record a perfect game (Lee Richmond, in 1880, playing for the Worcester Ruby Legs--that's right; Ruby Legs).
But if you're looking for insightful, original, and thoughtful commentary on specific events, AI ain't gonna give it to you. It will, however, tell you what other people think, which is another way of just regurgitating stuff that's already out there. Ray Bradbury once wrote a short story about a man stranded on Mars. For years, he sends out messages asking for help, to be rescued, but as no help ever arrives, he takes to simply talking about anything and everything, sending his thoughts out into the void. One day, his radio crackles with a response. Hooray! Contact at last with another human. But after trying to get more information about who he is talking to, he eventually realizes that he's listening to his own thoughts sent back to him in scrambled and re-jiggered form after bouncing off god knows what astral objects. He's talking to himself. '
That's AI.
And maybe Google or other entities are fine with that. Blogging is so 20th century, and besides, they won't have to answer enquiries from stymied and pissed off bloggers, that is, if they answer at all.
This isn't to say that people don't read blogs anymore. Another AI bot says about 70% of people regularly online read blogs. But 70% of Americans think Fatty is a dangerous asshole, and he's still president.
I certainly don't know where this is going, but we're all in it together, That's a long-ass way of saying I--we--truly appreciate what you do every day, and it extra sucks that you have to spend so much time and energy making our lives better. Nonetheless, you need your life to be better as well. If things get too crazy, maybe we can all try to find some other way to stay together and parse the madness.
Anyway, thanks. A heap.And AI can quote me, the fucker.
Trying to think of a few folks who wouldn't see the Pretender's office of a $5000 bribe to adult citizens if the vote Republican as what it is, and I've come up with a few. They're all on the Supreme Court.
The indispensable Dan Froomkin (although obviously not indispensable to the Washington Post which dumped him for pissing off the Decider) takes a look at what the NY Times editorial board presented a few weeks ago as the Trumpy Scale of Autocracy.
Certainly sounds like a good idea, don't it? And of course, it's published in the Times, the daily paper or however it is they describe themselves, so it's gotta be good, right? Well......
So here's what they do. The editors up there on the Times version of Mount Olympus, look at a variety of markers of autocracy, manipulating the law to stay in power, persecuting political opponents, stifling free speech and dissent, etc. and score Fatty on each. Except here's the problem: It's the Times.
See, one might expect that any alarm system attuned to encroaching autocracy under Fat Hitler would be in a red hot state of insistent and persistent klaxon arousal: DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING...
But instead here's what we get: din....we don't even get to the g.
Dan clarifies:
"Reading the headline of the fourth update, which ran a few weeks ago — 'Trump’s Election Meddling Erodes Our Democracy' — you might think the editors there understand just how alarming Trump’s conduct has been.
But you would be wrong. The numbers they assign to each element of democratic erosion are ridiculously understated. On a 10-point scale, their average score is a 4.
4!
That is more a sedative than an alarm — for a public that very much needs to be fully awake to the dangers we face"
Here's an excellent example of how moribund and dangerously off base this scoring system is.
"One of the Times’s 12 markers of democratic erosion is 'Manipulating the law to stay in power.' On that indicator, the Times gives Trump a 3.
The accompanying text actually provides an excellent summary of Trump’s record on this issue. Here’s part of it:
Mr. Trump’s actions have left constitutional scholars and democracy experts anxious about this year’s midterm elections. They wonder if the Trump administration may use false pretenses to send federal agents to Democratic-leaning areas to intimidate people and suppress voting. Experts are also worried that after the elections, Mr. Trump may pressure legislators not to certify the winners, as he unsuccessfully tried to do after the 2020 presidential election. Even if he does not take these extreme steps, the gerrymandering campaign he has demanded has probably tilted the competition for control of the House of Representatives at least 2.5 percentage points in Republicans’ direction.
And that’s a 3? Seriously?"
Froomkin goes on to identify the problem with how the scoring is done. Very much worth your time. But here's the quick version. They are comparing the US to the worst places on Earth, Russia, North Korea, Red China, worst for democracy, that is. But this is infuriatingly misleading and unhelpful. He calls upon another researcher for her take, Princeton sociology professor Kim L. Scheppele.
Scheppele suggests that the better way to score our descent into the maelstrom of autocracy is to compare us not to the worst, but to the best. When you compare the US under Trump--today, this very day--to the other constitutional democracies in the world, we are at or near the very bottom.
An eye popping read.
Based on what I've read about the Republican "convention" so far, their message seems to be: "We suck, but the other guys are worse." So inspiring!
Wait....didn't Fatty promise, in a previous huge, pants-on-fire lie that everyone would be getting a $2,000 check in the mail, cuz of his genius tariffs? As Westcoastman has pointed out several times, STILL WAITING ON THAT CHECK.
But now it's gonna be $5,000?
Sure. The check is in the mail. Along with the unreacted Epstein Files, Fatty's tax returns for the last 20 years, and who killed Kennedy.
Who falls for this shit? Oh...I know. The idiots who voted for this lying sack of fecal matter three times. The ones who put us in this position in the first place. How did Lincoln once put it? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. What happens when you get to "Fool me 50 times"? Mental institution?
Yesterday's Times editorial on the Pretender's election interference campaign prompted this on the Supreme's complicity:
Regardless how the Supremes eventually rule. they could have put a stop to this long ago. They could and should have said "Knock it off!" But they didn't, and every moment of delay will wreak more havoc on the country. They know it and don't care.
The so-called Court conservatives are definitely not on democracy's side, and their Pontius Pilate role-playing is getting very old..
P.S. The comment about the Republican message came from me, but somehow was posted as Anonymous. I think I fixed the problem.
Re: the Trumpapalooza ego boosting clambake in Texas. The message is more "We may suck, but the other guys are out to KILL YOU. Aieeeeee!"
One would think that this chicken little sky is falling bullshit would have worn thin by now, seeing as the only sky implosion is being done by a certain diaper-pooping fat man. Funny how certain people just can't get enough of that POT smoke blown up their butt holes.
Today's (always a pleasure to read) Waldman:
https://paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-one-thing-republicans-are-missing
Dersh to the rescue....or something.
Gee, Alan Dershowitz is now pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars from sex trafficking assholes who are pleading with him to arrange a prezidenshal pahdon. Imagine that. And even better, these sex trafficking assholes are good buddies with Jared Ku$nher and Princess Ivanka. Man, what must it be like to not just inhabit the Land of Mordor (where the shadows lie), a dark world of criminality, venality, bribery, sex trafficking, treason, self adulation, and did I say criminality? And not just inhabit that world, but LIKE it.
The Dersh has given up all hope of being considered someone with even a vague memory of decency. I guess with half a million from evil scumbags, he can buy his own pierogi stand on the Vineyard.
May he choke on them.
Marie: Sorry to hear how much trouble you've been having lately. It is crazy how much you do every day to compile all these relevant stories from so many sources. I truly appreciate all the hard work you do day in and day out. But also, take care of yourself.
Well oiled machine. Maybe he was talking about whose votes their taking away next, Da Las(ses)
Postal
"U.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit Finds
An inspector general’s audit found a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterms."
Didn't anyone think of the children? Republicans are weird example #3,462,016,447
"Republican Convention Shows Image of Underwear-Clad Hasan Piker"
Wendy,
Tom Nichols' analogy of Fatty's view of the world as a board game like Risk should be extended even further. We loved playing Risk as kids, and I play it now with my son sometimes, but it's a game of strategy more than a game of HIGH T lethality.
The idea of Risk is world domination, but it also requires each player to defend their territories. In order to do that, you have to defend your borders with three different types of pieces, infantry, artillery, and cavalry (it is, after all, a kind of 19th century game). If you don't have enough pieces of similar strength to your opponents, you can lose an entire country or region with the roll of the dice. Fatty and Drunk Pete have us in the position now of trying to defend our borders with less and less firepower.
Were we in a real shooting war with a major opponent, we wouldn't have artillery, infantry, and cavalry pieces like you do in Risk. We'd need to invent a new category just for our present situation: three guys with slingshots. It's called Risk for a reason. If you don't understand what risk is, and believe you can just bully opponents with stupid social media posts, you lose, in the game and in the real world.
Inflation
"Wholesale inflation in August saw its strongest increase in three months, largely driven by higher energy costs – as the Federal Reserve weighs whether to raise interest rates next week to stem rising prices.
The Producer Price Index jumped 5.4% in August over the past 12 months, up from a 4.7% pace in July and slightly above estimates of a 5.3% pace, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday. On a monthly basis, it rose 0.4%."
Victoria's Republican Messaging
RAS,
C'mon now. Republicans DO think of the children. Why, in 30 PoT controlled states they're working hard to rollback child labor protections . And hey, if those little brats don't like it, they can get aboard the Polio Bob Measles Train. Next stop, the graveyard.
So, yeah, of course they think of the kids. As cannon fodder for the capitalist state and anti-vaxx morons.
Republicans For Democrats
Former Republican Kansas Gov. Bill Graves is throwing his support behind Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate race. Hamilton is in a tight race for incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall’s seat. Graves shared his thoughts in the Kansas City Star newspaper on Wednesday morning.
“Adam understands the value in finding the common ground necessary to solve the tough issues confronting our nation,” he said. “The gridlock occurring in Washington is the result of both political parties refusing to stop the politicking and understand their public service role.”"
Though he still can't completely bring himself to totally blame Republicans and echoes the tired both sides BS.
Akhilleus,
I guess you are right. They are busy brainwashing/homeschooling their nine kids into being sheep for their rich overlords to exploit. Got to get them young. What a future.
On 9/11 I rushed into the rubble and saved 12 people. Only had to make 4 trips.
There, is that a large enough lie that I can run for President?
Maybe if I claim to have an IQ of 50, that might work to draw in those MAGAs.
to Avoid FCC Hassle
"Jimmy Kimmel‘s planned Thursday interview with James Talarico will not be aired on the ABC broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and will instead stream on the late-night show’s YouTube channel. Discussing the Texas Senate race, Kimmel said that he would interview Democratic candidate Talarico on Thursday “under unusual circumstances,” and then alluded to ABC’s ongoing issues with the FCC.
“Now that [Trump is] president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates [and] our local stations based on simple traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings, it would seem, [that] they don’t like.”"
From above: "... what the White House says is a $500 million fund of excess fees paid by Affordable Care Act recipients who were overcharged by insurance companies during the Biden administration.... 'That money was over-collected and just sitting there' in government accounts ..."
So, the insurance companies collected "overcharges", but the cash ended up in some USG slush fund? And Treasury will cut checks based on ... what?
Is it raining on my pants leg? Why is it warm?
Patrick,
My question exactly....
Son reported seeing John Kerry getting into a limo in downtown Seattle this AM. Maybe he's on a secret mission? Or did he go to the Seahawks game?
Broken Clock
"The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked an attempt by a Republican state official in Missouri to use a newly drawn GOP congressional map for this year’s election. The court, in a brief order with no noted dissents, granted an emergency request brought by a group called People Not Politicians."
Though I have to wonder if it had not been a Republican State Supreme Court unanimously rejecting the fixers whether we would be getting the same result.
Due Process
"A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected ICE’s effort to detain millions of people without bond, comparing it to the “historical stain” of Japanese internment during World War II.
“Mass detention of marginalized individuals without due process harkens back to some of the darkest moments in our country’s history,” 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Nicole Berner, a Biden appointee, wrote in a 2-1 majority opinion joined by Judge Barbara Keenan, an Obama appointee."
Ned Resnikoff
"lol I just realized Trump is treating the voters like his construction crews on a building project. Tell them to do a job and then stiff them on the promised compensation."
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