October 14, 2026

Thanks to RAS for bringing this to light. It helps explain why voters may be turning on Republicans this elections cycle: Here's Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) at a debate with Democratic challenger Dan Schwartz showing how not to treat constituents who exercise their First-Amendment right to laugh at his lame talking point: ~~~

      ~~~ Andy wasn't through being stupid. He doesn't just misunderstand the First Amendment; he also misunderstands Maryland law: ~~~

     ~~~ Zachard Leeman of Mediaite: “Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) was quickly corrected and slammed on social media on Wednesday after going viral for a meltdown in which he falsely accused a reporter of illegally recording him. Harris, a physician who sits on the House Freedom Caucus and has served in Congress since 2011, accused Cat Murphy of Capital News Service of breaking Maryland’s “two-party consent” laws about recording. People in the room explained to Harris that he was wrong and such consent refers to private conversations not in a public forum, but the congressman remained confident in his declaration. 'Take her camera,' the congressman said. 'You’re gonna take a camera. She is violating the law. In fact, get an officer in here. She’s violating the law on two-party, two-party recording.'... CNN’s Jake Tapper and others laid out just how wrong the congressman is on his own state’s laws. 'To say the very least on this, the congressman is incorrect on the law. Two-party consent is relevant only to private oral conversations, and he has zero expectation of privacy here,' Tapper wrote on X. '1st Amendment gives you the right to record public officials in public places as long as you’re not interfering with their official duties.'” Here's Harris, threatening the reporter: ~~~

      ~~~ If you were trying to decide how to vote, would you vote for a guy who lashes out at constituents AND reporters?

Colby Smith of the New York Times: “Higher energy prices drove up inflation in the United States in September, a warning shot to President Trump ahead of midterm elections that have centered primarily on affordability concerns. The uptick in consumer prices will also keep the Federal Reserve under pressure to raise interest rates for a second time this year. The Consumer Price Index report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday, showed that overall prices rose 0.6 percent, the largest monthly increase in five months. Compared with the same time last year, prices were 3.7 percent higher. The bulk of the increase stemmed directly from energy prices, which have shot higher this year because of the war with Iran. That has translated into increased costs for Americans, who are paying more to fill their cars, heat their homes and travel by air. Gasoline prices, which in late September rose to nearly $4.50 a gallon, surged 9.1 percent for the month. That accounted for more than half of the overall monthly increase in prices. Gas prices are up 34.2 percent over the past year.” The link is a gift link.

AND Now Trump Thinks What We Need Is a Boots-on-the-Ground War. Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times: “The United States is sending several hundred Army soldiers to train and conduct exercises with local forces in Latin America as the Pentagon expands its campaign to combat drug trafficking in the region, according to U.S. military officials. The first elements of a 600-soldier battalion from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., have begun deploying to a new jungle training facility in Panama, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. The troops will eventually train with local forces in Colombia and Honduras, and could also support U.S. Special Operations troops advising militaries conducting raids against accused drug traffickers, the officials said. In addition to the deployments to Central and South America, officials said that several hundred soldiers from the 10th Mountain were scheduled to help staff a new command for Western Hemisphere operations based in Miami.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I suppose this is part of the plan for the next two years: not content with ousting brown people from the U.S., we are now going to kill them in Latin America. Some will be drug dealers and some will be collateral damage. Either I'm crazy or Trump is.

Here's more from the New York Times on stories linked earlier. It's all sickening: ~~~

~~~ Constant Méheut of the New York Times: “Nearly five years into its fight for national survival, Ukraine has entered a moment of intense vulnerability, under growing pressure not only from Russia but also now from the United States. A double blow came overnight on Wednesday. Ukraine said that its military, with no warning, had lost access to a military version of Starlink, a pillar of its battlefield communications. Kyiv relies on the satellite internet network, known as Starshield, which is paid for by the Pentagon. That led Ukrainian officials and analysts to surmise that the restrictions had come from Washington, as ... [Donald] Trump is locked in his latest feud with Ukraine’s leadership.

“At the same time, Russia unleashed dozens of ballistic missiles in a broad attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure early Wednesday, cutting power to 600,000 people in the capital, Kyiv. It was a dark omen for a rapidly approaching winter in which Russia is gearing up to try to push Ukraine to the breaking point as Kyiv runs low on lifesaving air defenses. It was unclear how long the Starshield restrictions would remain in place. Still, the Trump administration’s treatment of Ukraine has caused outrage in a country already reeling from a string of challenges.” The link is a gift link.

"Hacks, Grifters & Scoundrels": ~~~

Mark Miller of the New York Times: “Retirees and other beneficiaries will receive the largest annual cost-of-living adjustment since 2023 in their Social Security checks next year, driven mainly by persistently high inflation. The Social Security Administration announced a 3.6 percent annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, on Wednesday after the release of government inflation data for September. The COLA is determined using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W. The index values for July, August and September are averaged to produce the official adjustment figure. For the average Social Security beneficiary, the COLA will translate to a $75 monthly increase, the government said. However, the actual amount for any retiree enrolled in Medicare will vary. The Part B premium, which covers outpatient care, is usually deducted from Social Security benefits, changing net COLAs. Separately, Social Security said the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax would rise to $192,300, up from $184,500 this year.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Call me Debbie Downer, but I suspect this may turn out to be a net loss for most of us on Social Security who also pay a Medicare Part B premium.

Hafiz Rashid of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: "The Trump administration ordered federal financial regulators to retract a report flagging suspicious oil trades. Only 15 minutes before President Trump decided not to strike Iranian power plants on March 23, a few traders sank billions of dollars into predicting that the S&P 500 would go up and oil prices would fall, making a hefty profit, Bloomberg reports. The traders reportedly used a two-minute window at 6:49 a.m. that day to make the massive deals in futures markets. 'The fact that this trading preceded a headline driven sell-off means that either someone got very lucky or knew something,' Tim Skirrow, head of derivatives at Energy Aspects, said to Bloomberg.... Mel Gunewardena, an adviser to the Trump-appointed chair of the CFTC, Michael Selig, told a supervisor on the commission's market oversight team to retract the referral [of the suspicious trade].... 

"This kind of move was unprecedented. The oversight team reportedly didn't know what to do.... The Trump administration is trying to make [the CFTC] the main oversight body for prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, and this incident won't help the White House beat accusations of insider trading, with suspicious events becoming all too common since the Iran war began in February." Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: Obviously, I don't know who the suspicious traders are, but why do I think they just might be entities owned in whole or in part by DJT or by Friends of DJT?

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Tyler Pager of the New York Times: “As ... [Donald] Trump has crisscrossed the country in recent weeks, he has offered voters a variety of financial rewards ahead of the midterms: $500 Obamacare 'refund' checks, $90 to seniors to offset Medicare premiums and $5,000 for every American adult — called the 'Trump Dividend' — if Republicans retain control of Congress. On Tuesday, the president added another giveaway to his midterm gift basket: pardons.... In the middle of his rally in Wasilla, Alaska, the president called up two young men to join him onstage. Also joining them was Natalie Harp, the president’s personal aide, who carried two black folios. The two men, Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, pleaded guilty to modifying diesel vehicles in violation of the Clean Air Act. A third, Michael Hanzuk II, also pleaded guilty.

“The Department of Justice said the three men, co-owners of Arm Rippin Toys, removed emission control systems that are designed to reduce pollutants being emitted from vehicles. But the president framed the men’s actions as helping their neighbors fix engines so they would survive cold weather. He said he read about their cases and decided all three deserved pardons. 'That means you’re as clean as a newborn baby’s ass,' he said to the two men standing behind him. 'I never understood that. Why is that so clean?'” The link is a gift link. A CBS News story is here. MB: As you'll soon see, the Crazy Old Man is rather fixated on asses, and he is anxious to share that information with you.

Insane Old Man Posts Snuff Videos. Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: “Donald Trump drew fierce condemnation after sharing disturbing footage on his Truth Social platform of a man being attacked by a tiger, after entering its enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster, in northern England, this weekend. William Chapman died from his injuries. His family revealed he had 'suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication.' Trump on Tuesday shared footage of part of the attack with his millions of followers on Truth Social, captioning the clip: 'Don’t ever mess with nature!' He signed the post with his own name. The White House also shared the clip on X. The president followed up shortly afterward with another video featuring a montage that appeared to show people being attacked by lions, accompanied by upbeat music. At least some of the clips appeared to be AI-generated. Trump later shared an AI-generated video depicting himself tackling what appeared to be the same big cat that killed Chapman as it attempted to attack him, before playfighting with the animal, set to the song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: My guess is that Trump was jealous of Hegseth because Hegseth gets to livestream a bloody execution. Posting his snuff video, albeit not live, was Trump's response. Obviously, Trump's staff should have stopped him; instead, they encouraged him by expending your tax dollars re-posting the worst of the videos on the White House's official Website. Trump has never been a decent person with normal social responses, but he certainly seems to be spiraling into the kind of agitated anger that often accompanies dementia. If his wife and his chief-of-staff weren't wastes of space, they would help him. But they are and they won't. More normal, but an odd public admission, is the following: ~~~

~~~ I don't do this with men very often. I started examining his body because I didn't know he was a great athlete. And I looked and I watched up and down. I looked at his ass.... And then I looked at his hands.... He's got these like claws. -- Donald Trump, on Sen. John Husted's posterior, etc., at a campaign rally in Ohio, Monday

Paul Sonne of the New York Times: “The wins for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia came in rapid succession from Washington.... [Donald] Trump proffered sanctions relief for Russian diesel fuel. He publicly called for Ukraine to get a new leader. And he pressured Kyiv to stop a strike campaign against Russian oil facilities that has damaged the Russian economy. Mr. Putin, in return, offered more war. Minutes after Mr. Trump announced the diesel deal, the Kremlin reiterated Mr. Putin’s stance that he would not negotiate with Ukraine at the moment, because he remained angry about Ukrainian strikes during last month’s Russian parliamentary election. The next day, Russia launched an attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia that killed 22 people, including four children. It was the latest in a near daily drumbeat of devastating Russian strikes, which have dramatically increased the civilian toll in Ukraine as Kyiv sorely lacks air-defense missiles. And Mr. Putin has signaled that he plans to escalate further, aiming to knock out Ukraine’s power and water infrastructure in what Ukrainians expect to be the worst winter of the war.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Constant Méheut & Carlotta Gall of the New York Times: “President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Tuesday that Kyiv had received no warning from its Western partners before a Russian ballistic missile attack the night before. His statement came days after the Trump administration appeared to threaten to cut off intelligence sharing unless Ukraine stopped striking Russian oil refineries. It was unclear whether Mr. Zelensky was suggesting that the United States had stopped sharing satellite intelligence, which would be a major escalation in ... [Donald] Trump’s latest feud with Ukraine, or whether Washington had simply failed to detect the attack. Ukraine relies on the intelligence to detect incoming missile attacks.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated: “Ukraine said it received no warning from its Western partners before a Russian missile attack against Kyiv on Tuesday night, after reporting earlier in the day that it had gotten no intelligence about a round of strikes the night before. The news raised fears in Ukraine that the Trump administration had made good on apparent threats to cut off intelligence sharing that includes alerts of such attacks, even as both U.S. and Ukrainian officials asserted that intelligence continued to flow.... Mr. Zelensky ... weighed in again late on Tuesday, after the second ballistic missile attack. 'Russian missile strike on Kyiv,' he wrote on social media. 'Once again, no warning from our partners.' He called the situation 'absolutely unjust,' adding that Russia was 'destroying our energy infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches.'” ~~

~~~ Now It Looks as if Elon Is Conspiring with Trump to Aid Russia. Chris York & Jonas Heins of the Kyiv Independent: "Ukraine's Starlink access has been restricted without warning, severely disrupting 'several' military missions, presidential adviser Serhii 'Flash' Beskrestnov said on Oct. 14.... Ukraine relies on Starlink for several military applications including operating its mid-strike campaign in Russian-occupied Ukraine, as well as interceptor drones that defend against Russia's new jet-powered attack drones.This mid-strike campaign has this year allowed Ukraine to strangle Russian logistics, hampering its ability to fight on the front lines. A source in Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that speed limitations [on Starlink terminals] had been discovered and the cause was being investigated....

"'The consequences are already being felt in the field. Since the start of the day alone, a drone unit operating within the 7th Corps' area of responsibility in the Huliaipole sector has had to cancel a number of missions due to these connectivity issues," [Ukraine's 7th air Assault C]orps said [in a social media post]. 'Obviously, this action cannot be a coincidence and is associated with the current political situation,' Beskrestnov said.... On Oct. 12..., Donald Trump has threatened Ukraine with the withholding of intelligence and other assistance in a bid to protect Russian oil refineries. Beskrestnov did not provide evidence that the Starlink restriction was connected to U.S. pressure on Ukraine, and the White House has not commented on the issue." Here's a CNBC story. (More on the sinister billionaire linked below.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marie: Reading the most recent New York Times report by Constant Méheut (top of the page) makes me think that maybe this isn't Musk's doing, but that Trump & Hegseth are the perps.

Uh, Because Trump Believes Soliciting Bribes, Accepting Gifts from Foreigners & Misusing Public Funds Is So Wrong? Or What? Tyler Pager of the New York Times: Donald “... Trump has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece following a string of damaging reports, including that she asked a Republican donor to pay off her credit card, the White House press secretary said Tuesday. In response to a question from a reporter about Ms. Guilfoyle’s status, Mr. Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, said: 'We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her well.'” The link is a gift link. Thanks to RAS for the lead. MB: It's fair to say that Guilfoyle didn't do anything Donald Trump himself hasn't done at least hundred times over (e.g., (a) the call to Zelensky that led to Trump's first impeachment; (b) the Qatari jet; (c) the taxpayer-funded campaign ads. The difference is that “if you're Trump, it's okay.” Guilfoyle must be stupid not to have known that. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ Oopsy! New Lede: “Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as the U.S. ambassador to Greece on Tuesday after the White House asked her to do so following a string of damaging reports, including that she had asked a Republican donor to pay off her credit card.”

~~~ Otherwise, an Inauspicious Debut. Kathianne Boniello of Mediaite; “Katie Zacharia’s shaky first turn at the White House brief room’s podium earned a scathing response from one official, who immediately declared she better improve — and quick. The anonymous official told MS NOW’s Jake Traylor that Zacharia, 41, is on track to shatter former White House Comms Director Anthony Scaramucci’s time at the helm, which lasted a scant 10 days during President Donald Trump’s first term in 2017. 'Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot. She needs to get much better, fast, otherwise she’ll break Scaramucci’s record,' the source told Traylor.” Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, made her debut behind the White House lectern Tuesday morning. It was a bumpy one.... She spent ... eight minutes reading nervously from a script, looking up at the cameras every couple of lines. Then she said she was ready to take some questions. She called on only three reporters, dropped one wild piece of news, made a slip mixing up her husband and her president, then darted out of there after just five and a half minutes, leaving the White House press corps to scratch its collective head.” The link is a gift link. Read on. McCreesh mentions the question of whether or not Zacharia is a lawyer but he does not really address it. ~~~

     ~~~ One thing we know the White House does not do: vet the people Trump picks for top jobs. So you get stoires like this: ~~~

     ~~~ You Misheard Her. She Said “Li-ar,” Not “Law-yer.” Bob Egelko & Sara DiNatale of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Both ... Donald Trump and his new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, describe her as an attorney who has practiced law, even though she is not listed as a member of the State Bar of California, where she lives and went to law school. That’s not just a misstatement — under state law, it could also be a crime.... 'I’m a lawyer,' [Zacharia] told conservative radio commentator Greg Kelly on Oct. 5. Appearing on CNN in February, she said, 'As a lawyer, there’s a big difference between answering something under oath and answering something to the media.' And on social media, Zacharia said she has 'practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.' As she and Trump boarded a plane Tuesday, reporters shouted questions about where she had passed the bar exam, and she appeared to reply, 'When I moved to China.' She was in China with her husband from 2011 to 2013 and, according to her LinkedIn profile, worked as an attorney with a law firm. Under Chinese law, only citizens of China can be licensed as attorneys....

“Only those who pass the bar exam and have been issued licenses by the bar, currently more than 300,000, are legally entitled to describe themselves as attorneys and practice law in the state. And under state law, anyone who practices law in California, or is ;holding himself or herself out as practicing or entitled to practice law … is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail or a fine of up to one thousand dollars.' Asked about the disparity between Zacharia’s label and her credentials, the White House avoided the question....” ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: “The White House on Tuesday scrambled to answer questions about the legal credentials of ... Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, who ... said she had passed a bar exam in China, a country where noncitizens aren’t allowed to practice in courtrooms.... Trump announced Zacharia’s appointment last week, bypassing even his powerful chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to make the decision, according to four people....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Maybe the most remarkable thing about Birnbaum's story is that four of Trump's own staff members were quick to finger him as the sole person responsible for making another disastrous hire. They're rats, and they know the U.S.S.R. Trumpenpooper is sinking. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “Journalist Judd Legum, who writes the Popular Information newsletter, identified numerous occasions when Zacharia appeared on national media outlets citing her credentials as a lawyer. He counted 18 appearances on Fox News Channel when she made such mentions, and he found that she also called herself a lawyer on her social media accounts. Zacharia graduated with a law degree from Pepperdine University, but Legum wrote that he could not find that she passed any state’s bar exam, which is almost always a requirement for practicing law in the United States.... Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine with a bachelor’s degree in 2007 and a law degree in 2011, the university confirmed in an email Tuesday. 'A J.D. degree does not make you a lawyer,' said Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University School of Law.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Judd Legum's article, which first challenged Zacharia's claims she was a lawyer, is here. MB: Another excellent example of the importance of independent journalism. Oh, and here's Legum's follow-up report. ~~~

     ~~~ Amanda Marcotte of Salon weighs in. As always, a good read and a fine explainer: "Being Trump’s press secretary isn’t as much about distorting press coverage or bamboozling the public anymore. The position has been refocused on the task of giving the president more of the hardcore Natalie Harp treatment. Even as the midterms grow closer, Trump is abandoning the task of winning the public over, choosing instead to retreat deeper into a fantasy world. There, everyone loves him most of all."

Judge Mark Wolf, a Reagan appointee, has resigned & is speaking out about how dangerous Donald Trump is: ~~~

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Erik Wemple of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Tuesday again blocked ... [Donald] Trump’s attempt to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, ensuring the outlets will have access to the complex as their legal quest to overturn the ban continues. Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that the three news outlets had made strong arguments that the White House’s action had violated their First Amendment rights and their rights to due process.... Whereas [Judge Kelly's] earlier, temporary order was based on the companies’ claims about due process violations, his Tuesday decision also sided with their First Amendment arguments. Judge Kelly argued that Mr. Trump’s ban was driven not by policy goals — like upholding professional standards or protecting national security, as the White House claimed in court filings — but by his belief that their reporting was inaccurate and biased. 'Simply put, that is unlawful viewpoint discrimination,' wrote Judge Kelly....” The link is a gift link.

Francesca Regalado of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from penalizing two U.S.-based organizations supporting the International Criminal Court’s investigations into alleged war crimes in Gaza.... [Donald] Trump imposed sanctions on the court last year. Judge Jesse M. Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by the two organizations — Democracy for the Arab World Now, known as DAWN, and Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide, or TAAG — which said that Mr. Trump’s executive order placing sanctions on the I.C.C. violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment. That February 2025 order directed federal agencies to 'impose tangible and significant consequences' on people who worked on investigations that the Trump administration said threatened the national security of the United States and its allies, including Israel.” The link is a gift link.

Marie: You know who is responsible for the failure of the so-called repairs to the Reflecting Pool? Donald Trump. His demand that the job be finished in time for him to show off the pool during his colossal flop of a 250th celebration caused the workers to rush the job and make mistakes. Maybe U.S. Attorney Boxwine should arrest Trump for vandalizing the pool (not to mention the East Potomac Golf Course) and for making false statements about innocent bystanders. ~~~

~~~ Meg Kelly, et al., of the Washington Post: “The blue coating applied to the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool this summer failed in at least 85 places because of errors in the renovation, including the premature refilling of the basin before the liner had fully dried, according to an inspection report obtained by The Washington Post. The Aug. 6 report, commissioned by the contractor that did the work, documents far more damage than has been previously reported.... Donald Trump has generally attributed the damage to vandals, but the report makes no mention of vandalism to the liner and blames the problems on the use of improper materials and a rush to complete the job. The administration wanted the project finished in time for the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The 75-page 'failure analysis' by Atlantic Coating Inspection includes scores of photos documenting the liner’s deficiencies — ranging in severity and including blisters, peeling and cracks — and identifies their likely causes.”

That's Nacho Watch, Donald. Alessandra Migliaccio & Craig Stirling of Bloomberg News, republished by Yahoo! Finance: "Gifts presented to ... Donald Trump by Swiss executives were actually for the American people, according to Bern's top trade diplomat. In an interview on Wednesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, Secretary of State and head of SECO Helene Budliger Artieda told Francine Lacqua that handing over a Rolex table clock and engraved gold bar at the White House wasn't illegal. 'It's a gift to the American people — it's duly registered at the White House, and if all things go well it will end up in a presidential library,' she said.... The items delivered in the Oval Office last November by a business delegation seeking relief from Trump's onerous tariffs became a matter of national controversy in Switzerland. Lawmakers filed criminal complaints seeking a probe for possible bribery, and a parliamentary report on the matter is expected in due course.... The unusual appeal to Trump last year followed the imposition of 39% tariffs. Budliger was a key player behind the scenes to secure an accord that capped levies at 15%." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, it's perfectly reasonable to assert that Trump is an honorable man who will wear a cheesy Trump watch instead of a Rolex and has already archived the Rolex & the gold bar. Also, I saw him tripping the light fantastic on the White House lawn last night. He was so nimble, I expect him to go on "Dancing with the Stars" when he isn't so busy checking out men's rear ends & posting snuff videos. And other fairy tales.

Whaddaya Mean, "Conflict of Interest"? Adam Gramegna of Military.com: "The Pentagon has named one of its own public affairs officials to run the publication Stars and Stripes, and he will keep his Pentagon job while doing it. This places a single official inside both the office that shapes the military's message, and the newsroom charged with covering it independently. Christian Devine, an executive director and principal adviser in the Pentagon's public affairs office, was appointed acting publisher by chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell."

~~~ Yes, We Have No Bananas. Ana Swanson of the New York Times: “The war in Iran has rippled through the global economy in many ways, pushing up prices for oil, fertilizer and other products. It has also created challenges for America’s most popular fruit: bananas. The banana business has long been an underappreciated feat of logistics. It involves transporting a fragile and finicky fruit thousands of miles from the tropics, only to be sold for less than a quarter each. And it’s a business that is even trickier of late as the war raises the costs of fuel and other materials banana producers need. That has put even more financial pressure on banana producers, who operate with thin margins and have little ability to raise prices. Compounding the industry’s problems are the threat of disease, climate change, tariffs and an exceptionally severe El Niño this year.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Riley Beggin of the Washington Post: “Bank of America has been fined $1.2 billion in penalties for violating anti-money-laundering laws and violating sanctions against countries including Russia and Iran, according to the Treasury Department. It is the third-largest penalty in the department’s history. Treasury settled for around $4 billion in 2023 with cryptocurrency exchange Binance and for around $3 billion with TD Bank in 2024. Bank of America, which is the nation’s second-largest bank by assets, failed to adequately monitor for potentially illegal activity in its accounts and appeared to violate sanctions hundreds of times, according to Treasury. 'Financial institutions are on the front lines of protecting our economic and national security,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.” A CNBC story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now, Scotty me boy, I'm the first to concede that BOA sucks. Nonetheless, I must ask if you plan to penalize Donald Trump for violating sanctions against Russia? How much? that $1.2 billion figure looks good.

Ted Hesson & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: “The federal investigation that prompted the search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. residence on Monday centers on claims that she or her late father may have lied on decades-old immigration paperwork to secure legal status and eventually U.S. citizenship, three people familiar with the matter said. Omar — a Minnesota Democrat who was born in Somalia and fled civil war there with her family before eventually immigrating to the United States in 1995 — has repeatedly rejected such allegations, which have circulated in conservative media for years. She dismissed them again in a statement Monday.... It is extremely unusual for federal agents to take public investigative actions related to a member of Congress just weeks before an election because doing so could cast a candidate who is not criminally charged in a negative light. In Omar’s case, the investigation is notable for other reasons as well: It involves long-ago paperwork from when she was a teenager, and Omar is a lawmaker who has frequently been singled out for criticism and vitriol by ... Donald Trump and his allies.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Naturally, I have no idea whether or not Omar lied in a material manner when she was a teenager. But I doubt any judge or jury would convict a teenager for making false statements when she was living under the thumb of parents or others who could have counseled her to lie -- if she did. This whole "investigation" is an absurd abuse of power designed to mollify a crazy old man and to change the outcome of an election. ~~~

     ~~~ Moira Donegan of the Guardian: The raid on Ilhan Omar's home is “the latest instance of Donald Trump’s effort to weaponize the national security state to harass, punish and embarrass his political opponents.... The episode is best understood as a bit of political theater. It was meant to embarrass Omar, a Black, immigrant Muslim woman in Congress whose ascent to national political prominence has become a symbol to the Maga right of the resentments and threats posed by pluralism.... There is no evidence to support the allegation, which the raid on Monday was nominally meant to investigate, that Omar or her family committed immigration fraud when they came to the US as refugees in the late 1980s, when Omar was a child.” ~~~

     ~~~ Ernesto Londoño, et al., of the New York Times: “Federal agents investigating Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, have issued subpoenas to some relatives as officials scour her family’s history for evidence of fraud and false statements in immigration paperwork, according to people familiar with the matter. A sister of Ms. Omar’s, Sahra Noor, received a subpoena, as did at least one other member of her family circle, according to people familiar with the investigation.... Such steps so close to the election, on the heels of ... [Donald] Trump’s public attacks on Ms. Omar, have raised questions about how much of the case is based on political pressure from the White House, and how much of it is based on solid evidence. In his second term, the president has publicly demanded that the Justice Department charge certain people with crimes, and has at times fired those who declined to do so.... Ms. Omar’s immigration history has been investigated by federal authorities for over a decade, but those inquiries have not led to charges. In an interview in March, Vice President JD Vance declared that Ms. Omar was 'definitely guilty' of immigration fraud.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Of course it's axiomatic that a person cannot get a fair trial if high-ranking public officials -- like a POTUS* or VPOTUS -- have declared openly that the person is guilty of the crime(s) charged.

Lora Kolodny of CNBC: “A federal magistrate judge in Virginia ruled that Elon Musk engaged in 'state sanctioned intimidation' of ex-FEMA CFO Mary Comans when he posted falsehoods on X last year accusing her of 'criminal action' and of 'funneling $58 million to illegal migrant hotels in Manhattan.' Musk ... was working for the Trump administration as the head of DOGE when he shared those posts on Feb. 11, 2025. The Department of Homeland Security said the next day it was firing Comans and three colleagues, and labeled them 'deep state activists.' In Tuesday’s order, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick cleared Comans’ name. Comans served as FEMA CFO from around January 2018 until February 2025, and was also FEMA’s operating chief from 2020 to 2021. Fitzpatrick wrote in the order that, 'The facts establish that high-ranking government officials,' including Musk, then a special government employee, had 'engaged in a coordinated public relations campaign to impugn the personal and professional integrity of Ms. Comans.'” ~~~

~~~ Brandi Buchman of the Huffington Post: “U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff ruled in July that Comans was unjustly fired and that the administration had baldly ignored the constitutionally-required process for terminating inferior executive branch officials. He did not mandate that she be reinstated as FEMA CFO, but he did make her an unusual offer: She could have another hearing, with the sole purpose of clearing her name. Name-clearing hearings are typically held internally within an agency. But because of how she was fired, and as Fitzpatrick explained Tuesday, it was left to the courts to ensure a fair outcome.” Both Judge Fitzpatrick & Judge Nachmanoff lambasted the Trump administration for its mistreatment of Comans.

Jacques Billeaud of the AP, published by ABC News: "The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to toss out $122,000 in legal costs that lawyers for former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake were ordered to pay for false and misleading statements they made in a lawsuit that sought to require a hand-count of all ballots in the 2022 midterm elections. The nation’s highest court on Tuesday denied a request from Andrew D. Parker, an attorney who represented Lake in the lawsuit, to review a lower-court decision over the legal costs arising from the unsuccessful litigation. The lawsuit by Lake and state lawmaker Mark Finchem sought to ban electronic tabulation devices.... U.S. District Judge John Tuchi later concluded the lawsuit’s claims lacked an adequate basis in fact, that the standard inquiry attorneys must make before pressing litigation hadn’t been done and that the lawyers acted recklessly in seeking a court order based on frivolous claims. The requirement to pay the legal fees applies to the lawyers who pressed the lawsuit, not to Lake and Finchem."

Elisabetta Povoledo >of the New York Times: “Pope Leo had a lower lobe of his right lung removed during surgery on ⁠Tuesday and was diagnosed with ​lung adenocarcinoma, a form of cancer, ​the Vatican said in a medical bulletin. It said an examination of a nodule during the operation had confirmed the diagnosis, which it said had been 'suspected by preoperative tests.' The surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes, and the pope, 71, was in the operating room for about 3 hours. 'The surgery was successful, and there were no complications,' the statement said. The statement did not say whether the pope would undergo further treatment.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

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New York. Debra Kamin of the New York Times: “The president of Cornell University said on Tuesday that he learned that a student had reported being gang-raped at a fraternity party on campus shortly after she first came forward in November 2024. But in the months that followed, he said, he did not follow up with her or seek to learn whether any of the accused men had been punished. The president, Michael Kotlikoff, did not know that the woman had dropped out of Cornell until she filed a lawsuit last month under the pseudonym Jane Doe, he said in an interview with The New York Times. 'The fact that Jane Doe experienced what she experienced at Cornell is something that I am personally sorry for,' Dr. Kotlikoff said.... During the 90-minute interview — the first Dr. Kotlikoff has given since the lawsuit was filed — he expressed anguish and horror over the events that have plunged his administration into crisis, and seemed to be pleading for time to confront the scandal. He also indicated he would not resign, even as he acknowledged that confidence in his leadership had been shaken.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If this had happened 50 years ago, Kotlikoff's ignoring an accusation of a gang rape at a fraternity house would have been shocking but not surprising. It is not acceptable in the 21st century. Cornell's board should fire him. Right away. ~~~

     ~~~ Here are what Kamin describes as "key moments" of the Times interview of Kotlikoff.

Texas Senate Race. Party Down, Ken. David Gilmour of Mediaite: “The media world reacted with a mixture of disbelief and mockery to a new bombshell report that Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton spent New Year’s Eve partying in Dubai with two men who were fugitives from U.S. justice, including one who had poured $190,000 into his political operation. Extraordinary video of the alleged trip landed in a Monday report from The Wall Street Journal examining Paxton’s conduct throughout his tumultuous race against Texas Senate campaign battles Democrat James Talarico. According to the newspaper, Paxton attended a luxury New Year’s Eve celebration in Dubai on Dec. 31, 2024, alongside extramarital girlfriend Tracy Duhon, and Americans Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail. Both men had already been indicted in a federal health-care fraud case and had not returned to the United States to face the charges at the time of the gathering. Ahmed, a former Chicago hospital executive, was also charged separately in an alleged fraud scheme involving at least $195 million in government payments for bogus Covid-19 tests.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: Yesterday, I asked if you could guess who this handsome young man (ca. 1986) is and wrote, "(No fair clicking on the URL)." One person figured it out & said so in yesterday's Comments. I reckon that person is either a brilliant forensic anthropologist or an all-around genius. I know I could not have figured out who this is, but since I knew who it was when I first saw the picture, I can see -- at least vaguely -- the person I recognize in photos now. So if you haven't seen all of yesterday's Comments, give it a go.

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The Travels of Winnie-the-Pooh. Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post: “Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, a real stuffed bear called Winnie-the-Pooh lived near a small forest in England with a real little boy called Christopher Robin Milne. Then Winnie-the-Pooh took a Very Long Trip, because that’s what bears do when Publishers ask, and the Trip turned into a Stay and now he lives in a glass case at the New York Public Library, which very much wants to keep him. But today is the day his book, also called 'Winnie-the-Pooh,' is turning 100, and some people in Britain who love him very much want him to come home. Oh, bother.” Read on. The link is a gift link.