September 22, 2026

Marie: I have to be out most of the morning. Enjoy this first day of fall. 

Here's the scariest story you may read for a while: ~~~ 

~~~ Robert Kaplan, in a New York Times op-ed titled, “America Is Blundering Toward War with China”: “The most important element in preventing a great war is policy discipline. Boring but true, this leads to steady, predictable signaling. America should not want to confuse China, just as China should not want to confuse us. World War I was in part caused by a misreading of intentions. Mr. Trump, by his vacillation — including using military aid to Taiwan as a bargaining chip with China and toying with the abandonment of Asia to a Chinese sphere of influence — irresponsibly encourages the kind of confusion that can lead to war.... No geopolitical conflict in the world today has the capacity, if miscalculated, of bringing ruin upon us all like the one between the United States and China. China tore through our domestic politics three-quarters of a century ago. It could be worse this time.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That is, our lives may depend upon Donald Trump showing some discipline. 

Lonely Vaughn Hillyard of MS NOW reports from the
street somewhere outside the White House grounds.

~~~ The New York Times liveblogged developments in Trump's latest suppression of a free press. The link is a gift link. From the pinned item at 10:45 am ET: “Major television networks agreed to suspend their pooled coverage of the president on Monday as CNN, MS NOW and Politico said that they would soon file a legal challenge against ... [Donald] Trump’s order barring them from the White House grounds.... They will file a separate motion seeking an emergency order that would remain in effect while the litigation unfolds.... The White House press pool is a small group of correspondents, TV journalists and photographers who are the eyes and ears of the broader White House press corps for coverage of the president. Four other networks that shared the responsibility for providing television coverage of presidential events with CNN — ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC — said on Monday that they would suspend those efforts, which entail distributing footage that is carried by news organizations worldwide.” Thanks to Akhilleus of the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ From a later pinned item: “The []banned outlets have asked the court to restore their access to the White House as quickly as possible and sought an emergency order that would remain in effect while the litigation unfolds. The federal judge assigned to the case, Timothy J. Kelly, handled a similar fight in 2018: He ordered the White House to reinstate the press pass of the CNN reporter Jim Acosta.” MB: Kelly is a Trump appointee.

Peter Baker: “For the first time in my 30 years of covering the White House, the president will not have a network TV camera covering his everyday official actions and travels.” The post is accompanied by a video short in which Baker looks downright shocked at what's transpired.

Erik Wemple: “CNN, MS NOW and Politico have now filed their lawsuit against the Trump administration....”

Michael Grynbaum: “The major TV networks did not bring cameras to Trump’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new helipad on the South Lawn. Watching the White House’s official YouTube stream, it was impossible to hear any of the president’s remarks. The audio is completely garbled.”~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: “For ... [Donald] Trump, this is the tree-falls-in-the-forest moment of his administration. If the most television-addicted president in history suddenly finds the cameras missing, is he really still president?... Indeed, his first taste of life without the major television networks that are now boycotting the White House press pool in protest of his ban on select news outlets was a sour one. He was left almost literally shouting into the wind on Monday as he cut the ribbon on his new helipad on the South Lawn of the White House, recorded only by a second-tier news broadcaster that could not capture his voice over the roar of Marine One. There was Mr. Trump moving his mouth, and no one could hear him. Yet ... by the end of the day, there he was live on CNN after all — not filmed by the White House television pool, which refused to follow him, but by other cameras that met him when he arrived in New York.... He had to rely on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to get on air ... as a guest at Gracie Mansion in the heart of liberal America. But he crowed that he could still force his way onto the screen.” The link is a gift link. ~~~ 

~~~ Marie: Listen! Here's how the amateurs do it! Turns out nobody gave Trump a mike. Really. ~~~

     ~~~ Josephine Walker of Axios: Donald "Trump was inaudible during a press conference Monday after the TV pool suspended coverage, with White House-provided video carrying no usable audio of his remarks.... It's a remarkable and immediate ramification of Trump's attempt to limit pool access.... The decision to pull pooled TV coverage is a rare display of unified pushback from fiercely competitive networks against the administration's attempt to dictate what the public sees and how.... C-SPAN said it would not show Trump's White House helipad ribbon-cutting 'because it relies on the TV pool and had no feed.[']" 

~~~ Later That Same Day. One guy knows how to answer an awkward question; one guy does not: ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The question now is, who will blink first? The networks who are depriving themselves of clips of Trump saying stupid stuff or the narcissistic Newshog-in-Chief? ~~~

~~~ Is Natalie Harp Running Trump's Domestic Policy? Rhian Lubin of the Independent: “... Donald Trump’s decision to ban news outlets from the White House reportedly came hours after he was shown unflattering and critical clips by Natalie Harp, one of his closest aides known for putting news reports about his administration in front of him.... [Trump] did not point to any specific reports that triggered the ban, but it came hours after Harp — dubbed the 'human printer' — showed Trump the clips of MSNOW anchors criticizing his administration, according to The Wall Street Journal. An unfavorable Politico graphic was among the content that angered Trump, according to CNN.... The revelation about Harp’s reported role in the media ban is the latest in a series of reports regarding her influence with Trump. Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff and the architect of Trump’s anti-immigration agenda, has reportedly put content he wants the president to see in front of Harp.” ~~~

~~~ Heather Cox Richardson: “On Sunday afternoon, Trump posted an image of three full black trash bags, labeled 'CNN,' 'MSNBC,' and 'Politico,' outside the White House.... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose deep unpopularity means he is likely eager to curry favor with Trump, promptly posted that the Defense Department fully supported Trump’s decision. He claimed that the same outlets, which recently have reported that Russia has been helping Iran target U.S. troops and that the Defense Department has not fully accounted for deaths of servicemembers or destruction of U.S. military bases, 'endangered our troops with false stories, leaks, and trafficked in fiction and lies about the President, our Warriors, and their mission.'... [Monday?? Trump] ranted..., 'Virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country! No matter how GREAT my Achievements, they trivialize and demean.... I have an obligation to fight for the Success and Safety of our Country. FAKE NEWS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure that the U.S.A. thrives.'” ~~~

~~~ Earlier today (below), I suggested the U.S. was turning into a replica of old Soviet bloc countries. Maybe it's worse than that: ~~~ 

~~~ Now We Can Watch "Trump TV"! David Gilmour of Mediaite: “The White House’s new round-the-clock Trump TV video channel was barely on air before critics branded the venture a North Korea-style 'state media,' as its launch collided with an escalating fight between the president and major news organizations he banned on Friday. 'TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station' went live Monday as a 24/7 stream on the White House’s YouTube channel and app. The administration says the service will carry some 'greatest hits' including presidential speeches, announcements and old highlights. The White House’s own site describes it as a constantly updated feed of the administration’s 'biggest moments.'” Andrew Egger of the Bulwark was brutally honest: “The sad thing is this *aspires to be* state-run TV but isn't even that really. It's just a goofy loop of old video clips. State-run cable access show” ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the Independent's story, by Brendan Rascius. 

An artist's rendering of the Arc that was.

~~~ Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s push to convert his planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery into a military complex has complicated a required federal review process and raised new legal and safety concerns. Trump unveiled his new national security rationale Sunday in a post to Truth Social, saying that the 250-foot arch project — which he has framed for nearly a year as a tourist attraction — will now house drones, snipers and ammunition. The president said he was making the change at the request of the U.S. military. Critics of the plan saw echoes of Trump’s shifting security case for the White House ballroom, which the administration has used to defend that project in court. But while presidents have historically had some leeway to revamp the White House grounds, the arch would stand on federal parkland more than a mile away, where Congress has set stricter rules for construction.... 

“Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California), the top Democrat on a House committee that oversees federal parkland[, said,] 'This is cartoonishly illegal, but he’s obviously trying to find a way to do it anyway. Aviation experts warned Monday that using drones at the planned arch site — Memorial Circle, a roundabout near Reagan National Airport — could pose risks in the airport’s crowded airspace.... Other military and safety experts have questioned the implications of storing ammunition in the middle of a heavily used traffic circle.... Until Sunday, the Trump administration had largely portrayed the arch as a prominent tourist attraction. Architectural plans posted by the National Park Service last month include a 'ticket booth,' a 'family restroom' and other features atypical of any active military complex.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In his post Sunday, Trump wrote, "At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes...." Uh, just who made that "strong request"? This is another porkie, and one of considerable consequence. 

Marie: When Trump destroyed relations with our neighbor Canada, Canada turned to friends in Europe. Trump turned to friends in Belarus and Russia. Don your babushkas, ladies. We are all Soviets now. (And you laughed when I suggested Trump was a Russian sleeper.) ~~~

~~~ Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: “The United States is seeking to broker a deal to purchase fertilizer from Belarus and rely less on Canada, the U.S. ally with which the White House has repeatedly tangled..., Donald Trump said Monday. 'The United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of Potash from Belarus,' Trump posted on social media, referring to a type of fertilizer for which Canada dominates the market. 'The pricing would be for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our Farmers and Ranchers,' he wrote.... The European Union has banned potash exports from landlocked Belarus since 2022.... So any increase in U.S. imports of Belarusian potash would need to pass through Russian ports.... Allies of Ukraine have tried to minimize trade with Russia and Belarus since the 2022 full-scale invasion, which the Kremlin launched from Belarusian territory.” 

Patrick de Haan, the Gas Buddy Guy, on BlueSky: "my live fuel clock showing Americans now have spent $70 billion more on filling up with gasoline since March 1 (vs same period a yr ago) and $44 billion more on diesel (same dates) for a total of ~$114.2 billion spent over this time." Thanks to RAS for the link. Where or not you drive a diesel-powered vehicle, you're paying those Trump-elevated diesel prices each time you buy something. Yes, it's hard on the carriers, who have to pay at the pump, but in most cases, they eventually are able to pass those charges on to consumers. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Marie: Yesterday, I mentioned how remarkably incompetent Pete Hegseth was and how dangerous that was to Americans and others. I understated the case: ~~~

~~~ David Gilmour of Mediaite: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing ridicule online from pundits across the political spectrum after inviting influencers Jake Paul and Logan Paul into the Pentagon to deliver a motivational address to service members. The brothers visited the Pentagon on September 17, meeting Hegseth, touring the building and addressing uniformed personnel from the Pentagon press briefing room. In a Department of Defense video released after the event, the brothers, longtime allies with ... Donald Trump, are shown laughing and posing with Hegseth before clips of their remarks to personnel.” MB: A video of this nonsense went out under the handle “Department of War” with the caption: “Last Thursday, we welcomed Logan and Jake Paul to the Pentagon to meet with our warriors.” Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)

Christina Morales, et al., of the New York Times: “The man shot by an immigration agent in Austin, Texas, over the weekend said Monday that he was bleeding and in pain and that a bullet remained lodged in his back. The man, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, an immigrant from Venezuela, said that he only felt one gunshot enter his body when a federal immigration officer shot him on Sunday afternoon. He added that the bullet, which was lodged near his spine, was not removed at the hospital where he was taken because a doctor said that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement were in a hurry to transport him. 'I am not doing well because of the gunshot wound I received,' Mr. Garces Perez said in Spanish on a speakerphone at a news conference on Monday. 'I have not received the necessary medical attention.'... 

“The agents pulled Mr. Garces Perez over at about 12:45 p.m. on Sunday while he was making DoorDash deliveries. They told him that they were ICE agents and that he was going to be arrested. Mr. Garces Perez fled in his car after that, the two people familiar with the shooting said. A short chase ensued before ICE agents encountered Mr. Garces Perez again, they said. The shooting occurred after that. Mr. Garces Perez was shot in the back and taken to a hospital and later released into ICE custody.” The link is a gift link. Read on for Garces Perez' account. It would be unbelievable if we didn't already know how ICE thugs operate. The Texas Tribune story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't think it shows up in the segment embedded above, but in another segment last night, Maddow ran video that showed the hole in Garces Perez' back; it was near the center of his back just below his neck. It looked to me like a shot to kill. You can just see it, at about one minute in, in this short ABC News video.

ICE Agents (Allegedly!) Rough up a U.S. Citizen While Detaining Him. Matthew Eadie of Evanston Now: “Federal agents briefly detained and released a U.S. citizen on Sunday morning in Evanston on Howard Street east of Dodge Avenue, Evanston police chief Schenita Stewart confirmed Sunday. The man reported injuries to his head, neck and teeth, police said, and witnesses 'told officers that individuals they believed were U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had attempted to take him into custody.' In a post on social media, Mayor Daniel Biss said federal agents 'briefly detained and then released' the man, who he said was a U.S. citizen. He was transported by ambulance and treated for 'minor injuries' at St. Francis Hospital.” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: This cannot possibly pass Constitutional muster. Everybody residing within the United States has Constitutional protections: ~~~ 

~~~ Maria Sacchetti & Liam Bowman of the Washington Post: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is erasing immigrants with final deportation orders from a searchable online database, leaving families and attorneys in the dark as they try to find out where someone has been taken. The new policy also bars immigration officers from sharing information about a detainee’s location with their attorneys or relatives by phone, according to two former Homeland Security officials briefed on the change. Immigration officials did not issue a public announcement about the new policy, which took effect Sept. 15. 'It’s deeply troubling,' said Greg Chen, ... of ... the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which warned members about the policy last week. He said he feared the policy is a new tool to rush deportations and to 'steamroll' immigrants’ rights.... Attorneys say they cannot file federal lawsuits challenging a detainee’s arrest if they do not know where they are.”

The Criminals We Elect. William Turton, et al., of ProPublica: "In 2024, the FBI sought to launch a sweeping pay-to-play investigation examining interactions between Sen. Susan Collins and a top donor, records and emails show.... The donor, an ex-defense contractor, told agents his company won millions in federal contracts by bankrolling campaigns of powerful politicians.... After Donald Trump returned to office, the investigation died, a casualty of his purge of the FBI. Its closure shut a potential window into how Washington works." Read the story. Collins is (allegedly!) implicated, big time: "Government contractors are banned from making political contributions. More consequentially, for the company to offer donations to Collins in exchange for an official action, or for Collins to accept, would constitute criminal bribery." And Collins (and others in both parties) did come through for the company in question: Navatek, a Hawaiian defense contractor. 

It is not only Amazon that delivers packages in drone: ~~~ 

Alex Horton, et al., of the Washington Post: “The rapidly accelerating use of drones among Latin American drug cartels will significantly complicate the Trump administration’s campaign to halt the flow of illicit narcotics into the United States and eliminate the criminal networks that produce and traffic them, according to a U.S. official familiar with an internal government assessment and others with knowledge of the matter. Of chief concern, these people said, is the continued exploitation of individuals with recent battlefield experience in the Russia-Ukraine war, a conflict that has featured near-continuous evolution in drone tactics and technology. The government assessment ... warns, too, that counternarcotics authorities in the U.S. and Mexico are dangerously unprepared for the challenges this shift will pose.”

Benjamin Mullin, et al., of the New York Times: “Paramount reached an agreement on Monday to resolve an antitrust lawsuit delaying its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to four people familiar with the negotiations, eliminating the last significant barrier to the creation of an entertainment and media colossus. A group of states, led by California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, a Democrat, sued Paramount in July, arguing that an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would concentrate too much power over cable TV and blockbuster films under one company. After weeks of on-again-off-again negotiations, Paramount and the states agreed to a number of concessions to complete the deal, according to the people.... The entertainment giant has agreed to establish a board of journalists to ensure the editorial independence of CNN and CBS News and committed to distributing 30 movies in theaters every year. The company also pledged to spend an additional $1.5 billion on film production over the next five years. A completion of the blockbuster deal would create one of the largest entertainment companies in the world. It would pair Paramount’s movie studio with Warner Bros.... The combined company would also own two major streaming services, Paramount+ and HBO Max, and control both CNN and CBS News.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I think we can now feel assured that our costs of teevee-viewing will rise.

Tom Durante of Mediaite: “Former Fox News producer Jennifer Eckhart, who accused disgraced ex-host Ed Henry of rape, has been found dead in Florida, TMZ reported on Monday. TMZ reported 'a heavy police presence' outside her home in Hope Sound over the weekend. Local authorities told the outlet that it appears she died by suicide. Eckhart filed a lawsuit against Henry and Fox News in June 2020 — two weeks after she was fired — alleging that he raped her, urged her to be a “sex slave,” and performed “sadistic acts” on her in 2017 while bound with handcuffs. Henry, once the co-host of America’s Newsroom, was fired after Fox News performed an internal investigation.”

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Missouri House Races. Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A federal appeals court has revived a Republican-friendly redistricting in Missouri that appeared to have twice been blocked by the Supreme Court. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Monday that the state must use the GOP-favored map in the midterms, despite a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that seemed to nudge federal courts to steer clear of the matter. If it remains in effect, that map is expected to net Republicans one additional seat in the House by erasing Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district. The decision is the latest inflection point in a tangle of litigation that has touched every level of the state and federal court system, resulting in overlapping, confusing and sometimes conflicting results.... The panel gave redistricting opponents one week to get relief from the Supreme Court but said that if no such action is forthcoming, state and local officials must move forward with the election under the new map.”

New York House Race. Grace Ashford of the New York Times: “Representative Mike Lawler’s battle to hold onto his seat in a critical swing district in New York received an unexpected boost on Monday when the Republican landed an endorsement from across party lines. Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, endorsed Mr. Lawler in an opinion piece for The Journal News, praising his record of bipartisanship. The endorsement is a welcome shot in the arm for Mr. Lawler, whose district is in New York’s lower Hudson Valley. With Republicans approval ratings cratering nationwide Mr. Lawler has been fighting for his political life in an increasingly bruising and expensive race against the Democrat candidate, Cait Conley. Mr. Golden and Mr. Lawler are members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in Washington. They are also among a small group of lawmakers who represent swing districts where voters split their tickets in the 2024 presidential election, favoring one party for the presidential election and the other for the congressional contest.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Washington House Race. Andrew Solender of Axios: "Rep. Jared Golden's decision to endorse one of House Republicans' most vulnerable incumbents is going down like a lead balloon among his fellow House Democrats.... The anger won't have much impact on Golden (D-Maine), who is retiring, but it could blow back on his closest ally, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.).... 'He is leaving,' said a senior House Democrat. 'Marie is a bigger problem.'" (MB: You know, "Marie is a bigger problem" is a remark I've heard before.) 

Texas Senate Race. Sorry, Ken. Bayliss Wagner & Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times: “Former President George W. Bush and Senator John Cornyn, two top Texas Republicans, are rallying conservative donors behind the party’s Senate candidates — except for the one running in their own state, Ken Paxton. Mr. Cornyn is hosting a fund-raiser on Monday evening in Dallas for six Republican nominees in battleground states, according to an invitation to the event that was obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Bush, listed on the invite as a 'special guest,' is attending the event, his spokesman confirmed.” The link is a gift link.