November 9, 2026

Mississippi Senate Race. Marie: I read about this campaign ad, but I just saw it for the first time. Starring Scott Colom, his twin brother Andrew Colom and an uncredited lady of a paler complexion. Scott Colom released the ad on Halloween Eve: ~~~ 

~~~ But there also was the ad below. Scott Colom is a serious person. We'll be lucky to have him as a United States senator: ~~~

Ellis Kim & Jennifer Nehrer of CNN: “Retired Rear Adm. Eileen Laubacher, a Democrat, will flip Colorado’s 4th District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, ending conservative firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert’s tenure in Congress. Boebert’s loss comes after she elected to run in a more conservative district last cycle in an effort to preserve her political future. But Laubacher, who served more than three decades in the Navy, capitalized on the national headwinds against the GOP and focused her campaign on affordability issues. The win denies Boebert, an ally of ... Donald Trump and one of the most outspoken conservatives in the House Republican conference, a fourth term. Boebert was first elected in 2020, after she upset a fifth-term Republican incumbent in a primary.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I do owe a small debt to Boebert. After she remarked on Rep. Al Green's (D-Texas) brandishing his "pimp cane" at Trump's March 2025 address to Congress, I rushed right out and bought a cane just like Al's. Whenever I walk around town with the support of my pimp cane, strangers compliment my dandy taste. I smile and thank them, though when a friend admires the cane, I explain why it is my pimp cane. I do like it. So thanks, Lauren, you sleazy bimbo. And adios!

Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, moved on Monday to force a vote this week on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of violating the Constitution and federal law by ignoring the will of Congress in his conduct of the war with Iran and other military operations. The resolution, which includes eight articles of impeachment, sets up the first post-election test of Republican resolve and loyalty to the Trump administration in the aftermath of their devastating midterm losses. Taking to the House floor shortly after lawmakers returned to session in Washington for the first time since the election, Mr. Massie reintroduced articles he had put forth in September against Mr. Hegseth. They charge the defense secretary with having 'abused' his powers as defense secretary and 'endangered members of the our armed forces' through a series of military operations, and usurped congressional authority over military conflict. 'By such conduct,' Mr. Massie said, quoting from his resolution, which was read in full on the House floor, 'Mr. Hegseth has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.'” The link is a gift link. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, at the Pentagon. Priya Sridhar of MS NOW: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth short-circuited a merit-based process for promoting senior officers and instead relied on newly invented criteria that disproportionately removed from advancement women and people of color who had already been approved for promotion, according to three military officials.... [A] senior official also described how Hegseth intentionally scuttled the promotions of senior officers who were perceived to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; played a role in implementing the Pentagon’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate; were involved in the evacuation from Afghanistan; or had a connection to former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark A. Milley, who ... after retirement publicly criticized Trump’s leadership.... For most, not getting promoted will end their military careers.... The result has been a precipitous loss of experience and talent at the top ranks, the official said."

This Took Less Than a Week. Tom Durante of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump questioned the results of the midterm elections in a jaw-dropping social media post, less than a week after he, his preferred candidates, and GOP control of Congress were smacked down in a brutal rout. Taking to Truth Social on Monday morning, the president said: 'Does anybody really believe that this “Election” was honest. How could the Polls be so wrong??? Some early voting “dumps” were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump is now suggesting the 2026 election was rigged against Republicans — despite many of the votes being held in states run by the GOP.... Election data specialists such as Nate Silver argued the polls the showed the exact opposite of what Trump claims they did — Silver’s final pre-election forecast gave Democrats an 80 percent chance to win control of the Senate, and a 96 percent chance to take the House. Numerous times over the past week, Trump has said he accepts the election results. But he has also shared posts from others on Truth Social questioning the outcome. But now, he appears to be going all in on election denialism — even if the nature of the conspiracy he’s suggesting is unclear. Critics called out the bizarre notion that the GOP would allow elections to be rigged against them in states they totally control — such as Texas.” ~~~

     ~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump has in recent days returned to his penchant for amplifying conspiracy theories about widespread election fraud. On Saturday, he had shared several posts from others questioning the results with convoluted mathematical theories about election rigging. The posts echo his previous reactions to elections that did not go his way.” The link is a gift link.

Paul Campos, with a little help from others, takes a shot at explaining [link fixed] Trump's psychopathy. (The accompanying photo, appropriately enough, is of serial killer Ted Bundy, looking particularly deranged.) Thanks to RAS for the link.

Washington Post photo.

~~~ “The Foot Soldier.” Liam Scott of the Washington Post: “The anonymous artists who have taunted ... Donald Trump and his administration with more than a dozen statues and installations around Washington struck again Monday, this time with a statue mocking Trump for avoiding military service because of bone spurs. The new statue of Trump, spray-painted gold, appeared on the National Mall, near the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden. The statue, erected two days before Veterans Day, depicts the president sitting, grimacing and clutching his right foot. Beneath Trump is a sign that reads 'The Foot Soldier.'

“'We honor the service and sacrifice of our Commander in Chief, Donald J. Trump. He’s a soldier in spirit, who marched to the front lines of dodging the draft, armed with a perfect diagnosis of bone spurs,' reads a plaque at the base of the statue. 'We salute a leader who knows you can’t spell sacrifice without “I,” and a warrior who reminds us that sometimes when you’re called to stand up, it’s best to just sit down and rest your feet.' Trump received five deferments during the Vietnam War: four for his studies in college, and one for bone spurs in his feet.”

They Really Don't Care, Do U? Megha Rajagopalan, et al., of the New York Times: “To deport [some] immigrants, the [Trump] administration has partnered with foreign governments, many with spotty human rights records. In exchange for money and foreign policy favors, they have agreed to accept deportees who cannot be returned to their countries of origin. But a New York Times investigation found that this program results in many of them being pushed back to the very countries where the Trump administration itself cannot legally send them. Some of the United States’ foreign partners have made clear that will happen. And when it does, the Trump administration continues sending planes full of deportees. The Times identified more than 110 people who had court-ordered protections and were handed over to foreign governments, only to then be passed on to home countries where they risked torture, sexual abuse or persecution — risks that have been validated by American courts.

“In these cases, America’s partners served only as intermediaries. Officers roughed up immigrants or forced them onto airplanes. Some were threatened with imprisonment or confronted by armed police officers until they 'volunteered' to return. Some now live in hiding. Others have simply vanished. Human rights groups say that figure, which is certainly an undercount, shows that the Trump administration has created a bank-shot way of evading court orders and international law.” These “refoulments by proxy” violate international law. The link is a gift link.

Jennifer Schuessler of the New York Times: On the eve of the delivery of his “I have a dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “wrote out his version by hand on a yellow pad [link fixed], heavily crossing out words and whole paragraphs before sending it to be typed up. King’s draft had long been assumed to have been discarded. But more than six decades later, it has surfaced from a desk drawer of a former aide, Edward T. Clayton, and will be auctioned at Christie’s in January. The auction house said it expected the document — the only handwritten final draft of the speech known to survive — to fetch more than $10 million. The proceeds will benefit the King Center in Atlanta and other philanthropic causes chosen by the consignor, the aide’s widow, Xernona Clayton.... The draft is very close to the typescript King carried to the lectern, roughly 20 copies of which are known to survive. Like the typed version, it does not include the words 'I have a dream,' part of the ringing second half of the speech that King famously improvised.” The link is a gift link.

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Heather Cox Richardson on how over the decades U.S. politicians have maneuvered to keep those responsible for crimes against the nation from being held accountable for their crimes. "... now, with the prospect of investigations into behavior that might fall outside a president’s official duties, Trump is trying to convince the American people that enforcing the rule of law is a partisan attack. In fact, it is the opposite. The true rule of law is nonpartisan. It is the fundamental rule under which the American government was conceived."

Here is an extraordinary visual aid. Thanks to RAS for the lead. MB: I keep watching it:

~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: Donald “Trump says he believes that his aggressive immigration policies may have hurt Republicans in the midterm election, acknowledging that his approach to deportations, in particular, was 'too tough.' In an interview with '60 Minutes' that aired on Sunday night, Mr. Trump acknowledged that what he had considered a marquee accomplishment of his second term was also a reason that his party suffered seismic losses and Democrats took both chambers of Congress, by wide margins. Mr. Trump said he believed that making a deal on immigration with Democrats was 'actually doable.' 'I think it both helped and hurt,' Mr. Trump said of his policies. 'I think I got an A-plus for closing up the border. I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out, but I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that — that created one violation or breaking of the law: that was that they came into the country illegally.' Asked pointedly whether he thought his deportation policy went too far, Mr. Trump replied: 'I think it might be too tough, yea.' He added: 'That hurt me.'” The link is a gift link. Politico's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: See, Donald, shooting people dead in the streets is not "too tough." Shooting them in their homes or in their cars is not "too tough." Running them over with vehicles is not "too tough." Beating them up, grabbing their terrified children, letting them die is crowded, filthy detention centers is not "too tough." Locking them away forever in a Central American hellhole, against a judge's order, is not "too tough." These are crimes against humanity, Donald. You and your team of gangsters & hit men belong in jail for life. ~~~

     ~~~ Two Weird Guys Walk into an Interview.... Joe Sommerlad of the Independent looks at some of the exchanges between Donald Trump & Ross Douthat that made it into the interview "60 Minutes" aired. ~~~

     ~~~ Ross Douthat & Joe Walsh of CBS News describe 10 takeaways from the interview. MB: Look, I know what Trump's job is and that therefore we have to take him "seriously," but, my Lord, what a butthead: ~~~

~~~ Marie: Now I get why Trump was so off-put by Alaska's Two Dan Sullivans running for Senate. His brain is unable to grasp that more than one person can be named "Dan," or maybe "Dana." ~~~

~~~ Ryan Harkness of SB Nation, republished by Yahoo! Sports: "On Saturday (Nov. 7th, 2026), [Donald] Trump took to social media to suggest [Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White take the [role as White House press secretary].... The whole thing came off as a joke to us — Trump also suggested White bring a number of UFC fighters with him as 'assistants' to help 'defend us against the Lunatic Left.'... Dana White is now playing along and saying he'll visit Trump on Monday to discuss the offer.... According to reporters close to the White House, Trump's post came after his former chief of staff Susie Wiles suggested another Dana White as press secretary: Dana W. White, a former chief spokesperson for the Pentagon. Trump subsequently yelled at Wiles, fired her, and replaced her with Stephen Miller. Then, rather than hiring Dana W. White, he posted about UFC's Dana White." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Harkness suggests Trump was just joking (on accounta his excellent sense of humor, I guess). I don't think so. Depending upon your sense of decorum, it gets worse. Today Trump -- remember, he's pretending to be POTUS*, a job so solemn that it precludes a fellow who holds the office from wearing a tan suit -- posted this on his failing social media site: ~~~

Totally normal and totally not an insane post by the President of the United States this morning https://t.co/9z20Lv7L0e

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) November 8, 2026

     ~~~ Here's an Independent story on the violent cartoon posting. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marie: Oh, gosh, could I have been wrong about Trump's not having a brilliant sense of humor? ~~~

     ~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Sunday he was 'only kidding' when he said he wanted to tap Dana White, the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a longtime friend, to serve as his next White House press secretary. Speaking to reporters in Florida, Mr. Trump said that a social media post on Saturday, in which he announced that Mr. White had been offered the job — and pleaded with him to accept and to bring along several other fighters to serve as his aides — was 'just a little fun.' 'I will tell you, I was only kidding,' Mr. Trump said on Sunday.'Dana loves the idea, and there’s only one Dana.” He added: “You wouldn’t mess around with him.' Mr. Trump confirmed that Mr. White was scheduled to meet with him in the White House on Monday, a gathering that Mr. White announced on Saturday when he otherwise declined to comment on the president’s offer.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

      ~~~ Marie: I would bet this "joke" excuse is a save-face cover. I think Trump misunderstood Wiles' original suggestion. He's not a very bright guy. On the far-outside chance that he did intend the UFC suggestion as a joke, then he really doesn't know how to tell a joke. In that case, he could take lessons from President Obama! ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Here's another tell that Trump wasn't joking: he invoked a variation of one of his standard back-up lies: the (Unnamed) "People-Say" Corroboration: ~~~

     ~~~ Robert Mackey of the Guardian: Trump “said that his mock announcement that White would become his spokesperson, in a social media post on Saturday, 'was an example of something where I was kidding, and then people said, “You know, that’s actually a pretty good idea’”.”

Steve Thompson of the Washington Post: “Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s most recent calendar, released Friday, shows no record of a conversation with ... Donald Trump, even while Trump has said he spoke with Warsh about how to vote at a meeting in September. It’s the fifth calendar since Warsh took office in May to list no meeting or call with the president, though several Senate Democrats asked him this summer to add any such contacts to his publicly released calendars. The calendars are one of the few windows into how often a president reaches the official who leads the central bank’s decisions on interest rates, and previous Fed chairs have recorded interactions with presidents there. The Fed is designed to operate independently of the White House....

“Friday’s release of Warsh’s September calendar appeared to contradict an account by Trump that he had counseled the Fed chair on his vote on monetary policy that month. 'I talked to Kevin, and I said, “You might as well vote with the board ‘cause it’s not gonna matter”' — because he didn’t have the votes anyway, Trump told reporters Sept. 16. That same day, Warsh and other Fed officials voted to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point even as Trump called for rates to be lowered.... White House officials have declined to say when that conversation took place, and Warsh has declined to confirm it happened at all.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So the question is, has Warsh committed a sin of omission, or was Trump lying again, this time to project an image of someone in control even where he's supposed to have no control? It's just like a mob boss to say, "Yeah, I let him do that," when someone he pretends to own has crossed him" a fake, after-the-fact "permission slip."

Not Necessarily All the Best People. Rachel Roubein of the Washington Post: “A former White House aide who quit last month took broad aim at some of ... Donald Trump’s senior advisers, saying they had treated the president “like a baby in many respects” and prioritized money for the midterms over Make America Healthy Again policy goals. Calley Means, who also served as a top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said Sunday on CBS News’s 'Face the Nation' that he was concerned that Trump 'has been subverted' by top aides and strategists who he alleged were seeking money from major industries for the midterm elections. He zeroed in on some top aides, notably Susie Wiles, who left her role as chief of staff Friday.... Means’s comments have ignited a feud between those who helped build the president’s MAHA coalition and top White House strategists.... In a striking Fox News interview Saturday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) said that Means had laid out 'in gory detail' concerning levels of corruption within government, including 'within the Trump administration.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Margaret Brennan & Kiki Intarasuwan of CBS News report on Brennan's interview of Calley Means. ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Pentazi & Marc Caputo of Axios: "Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday dismissed former Trump health adviser Calley Means' corruption allegations against senior White House officials, even as a former FDA commissioner described pressure from tobacco lobbyists and a Republican congressman called for scrutiny.... The feud inside ... [Donald] Trump's coalition raises a central question about Trump's health agenda: Were his advisers undermining it, as Means alleges, or were they carrying out the president's wishes?... Means accused [Susie] Wiles of blocking an initiative to examine children's sugar consumption because she wanted sugar-industry donations for the midterms.... Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told CNN that 'any allegation of any impropriety like this should be looked at.'"

Of Course Trump's Consigliere Will Harass Democrats, as Trump Demands. Natalie Hausmann of Democracy Docket: “Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday he plans to investigate congressional Democrats — but he couldn’t specify what crime they had potentially committed. Blanche’s comments came after ... Donald Trump published a social media post Saturday, ordering the Department of Justice (DOJ) to probe Democrats whom he called 'extortionists' for allegedly 'going around threatening a lot of people.'... [CNN's Dana] Bash reminded Blanche that the U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to conduct oversight investigations. The attorney general pushed back. Blanche claimed Democrats are exceeding the oversight role by threatening to impeach members of Trump’s cabinet and by 'going after' private companies.”

Annals of “Journalism," Ctd. How to Sanitize a Racist, Featuring All the Major Media.” Judd Legum of Popular Information: “The Washington Post described [Stephen] Miller as someone who 'has long railed against political correctness' and 'a prominent voice on issues such as race, gender and immigration.' The Wall Street Journal said Miller has 'zealous views.' The New York Times noted that Miller is 'a perennial target of critics of Mr. Trump, who have highlighted his right-wing views.' The AP cast Miller as 'an immigration hardliner and a bombastic critic of Democrats.' Reuters called Miller 'caustic and uncompromising.' These are all euphemisms for Miller’s actual beliefs, which nearly every major media outlet neglected to state in plain terms. The record is clear: Miller has repeatedly promoted white nationalist ideas. A Popular Information review of 105 articles about Miller’s appointment in 36 mainstream publications — including CNN, NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, CNBC, NPR, Newsweek, Axios, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Time, and Semafor — found only two (USA Today and Politico) used the term 'white nationalist.' Even those two articles attributed the description to an outside group or 'critics,' rather than stating it as a fact.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is not a light critique of the American media's choices of adjectives. It explains why extremists like Donald Trump can shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and people you might consider "normal" will vote for him anyway. "Critics say even a killing such as this one was unjustified, but Attorney General Todd Blanche has confirmed that he and other law enforcement officials would not consider pressing charges in what was obviously a mercy killing. Family members were divided, with one cousin saying he regrets the Midtown traffic jams caused by Mr. Trump's decisive action."

Evan Gorelick of the New York Times: “Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Sunday that his health would prevent him from making as many public appearances to promote his forthcoming memoir as he had hoped. The former president, 83, whose health has faced scrutiny since his time in the White House, was diagnosed last year with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that spread to his bones. Mr. Biden underwent radiation therapy and surgery to remove skin cancer lesions, and his son Hunter Biden said in an interview over the summer that his condition was worsening and causing him pain. Mr. Biden said he had started writing the memoir, 'Promise Me, America,' which covers his years as president, when he received the diagnosis. He indicated afterward that he felt intense pressure to finish quickly as he battled the disease, saying he was 'working like hell' with his publisher. Now, he says his cancer will also affect his ability to promote the book. 'Some days are better than others. It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down,' Mr. Biden wrote Sunday in a post on X. 'What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped.'” The link is a gift link. Here's an NBC News story.

Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: “... the land that the [President Jimmy] Carter family farmed for generations has been sold to the nonprofit the Conservation Fund, which plans to eventually transfer the land to the state of Georgia. 'This is going to end up permanently protected in the way he would have wanted to see,' said Stacy Funderburke, the organization’s vice president for the central Southeast region. 'But it’s also going to be open to others to have that same connection to the land.' The $8.5 million purchase includes nearly 2,500 acres of sprawling fields and forests that provide longleaf pine habitat and a home to threatened gopher tortoises, birds and an array of other wildlife. The long-term goal, Funderburke said, is to combine the land with the nearby state-managed Lanahassee Creek Wildlife Management Area — expanding its total size to about 7,000 acres — and to allow hunters, anglers and the broader public to access it.”

Tripp Mickle, et al., of the New York Times: “Nvidia said on Sunday that it was opening an investigation into Jensen Huang, its chief executive and co-founder, after he acknowledged to the company’s board that he had been intimate with a business executive who U.S. intelligence determined was a Chinese spy. Mr. Huang’s relationship with the woman, who goes by Alice Huang, became a U.S. government concern after surveillance revealed that she was feeding information directly to Beijing. The revelation raised troubling possibilities because Mr. Huang is one of the most powerful figures in the A.I. revolution as well as an influential ally of ... [Donald] Trump.... Independent board members will choose an outside counsel to investigate. John Rizzo, a company spokesman, said Mr. Huang wouldn’t be part of the selection process....

“In a brief comment to reporters on Sunday evening as he was about to leave Florida, Mr. Trump defended Mr. Huang.... Mr. Trump said ... that he had no regrets about his own lack of action when he was told about a year ago that the U.S. intelligence community was electronically surveilling Ms. Huang. 'I think he’s an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it. No, you can’t do that with people,' Mr. Trump said. 'He has done an amazing job for our country.'” The link is a gift link. There's a related Axios report here and another here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post has published a copy of Jensen Huang's open letter to company employees. ~~~

I haven't heard that he's done anything wrong. He dealt with somebody but, you know, so does everybody else. -- Donald Trump, responding to questions about Jensen Huang's affair with a Chinese spy, Sunday ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Most people would say there's nothing honorable about cheating on your spouse, even if it is quite common. Jensen Huang himself published an apology for his affair with Alice Huang in a statement to his company: “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.” But Donald Trump calls him “an honorable guy” who “dealt with somebody.” With no caveat. Is “dealt with somebody” Trumpese for “had an extramarital affair” or for “canoodled with a foreign spy”? ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the drafting of the highly classified memo this past spring warning top Trump administration officials that Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, was in a close relationship with a Chinese spy, multiple people briefed on the matter said. The document was based on classified intelligence from electronic surveillance of Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen who was a senior executive at a Singapore-based company that was buying Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence chips and being investigated for illegally smuggling them into China. U.S. officials had concluded that Ms. Huang was in a close relationship with the Nvidia chief, who is no relation, and that she had been recruited to spy by China’s top intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security.

“Mr. Rubio’s involvement in warning administration officials about the situation ... highlights how concerns about the relationship and the spying were known to senior officials even as Mr. Huang, a pivotal figure in the explosive growth of A.I., remained an influential voice with Mr. Trump over policy on the issue. Mr. Huang has opposed calls for more tightly regulating the export of the most advanced A.I. chips and has pushed to be able to sell all but the most recently developed technology to China, the main competitor to the United States in the global rush for A.I. supremacy.... Asked about Mr. Huang’s admission to his company about his affair with Ms. Huang, Mr. Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that he did not regret his own lack of action.” The link is a gift link.

It is so easy to make fun of Pete Hegseth. Hegseth provides all the raw material, and John Oliver lets it rip in a segment that could serve as articles of impeachment: ~~~ 

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Texas. Paul Krugman: "... there are some reasons to believe that Texas will be a blue, or at least bluer, state for a long time. A key point is that the state’s flip was powered in part by a huge leftward shift among Latino voters....It seems plausible that the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies will have a ... long-term effect. That effect might have faded if Trump had moderated those policies, but instead he has made Stephen Miller his new chief of staff." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There's something important that pundits are largely forgetting: the majority of voters are pessimists, and their votes reflect what they are against more than what they are for. So-called "swing" voters are gut voters. And their guts "feel bad." For example, they voted for Joe Biden in 2020 not because they adored Biden, who even lost in a couple of presidential primary seasons before he won the Democratic nomination. They voted for him because they were crawling the walls AND in financial straits on account of Covid. They voted for Trump four years later because their economic conditions had not improved enough. And they voted against Trump last week because he had made things even worse. With Trumpolini still in charge, Democrats may not be able to improve much, if anything, in the next two years But they must devise and carry out a plan to convince Americans that if Democrats control the Congress & the executive (and maybe even the Supremes), they can begin to return the country to a place where almost everybody can join the middle class and where being middle-class means enjoying a decent standard of living where necessities -- housing, food, healthcare, education, etc. -- are affordable. ~~~

~~~ Those were the day, my friend; We thought they'd never end. ~~~

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Israel. Aaron Boxerman, et al., of the New York Times: “The clock started ticking on Sunday for Gadi Eisenkot, the leading rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, to form a new government. After days of consultations, Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, presided over a ceremony that officially gave Mr. Eisenkot the mandate to forge a coalition after an inconclusive national election last month. 'This is the time to reach out a hand, to do everything for the unity of our people,' Mr. Herzog said. Mr. Eisenkot vowed to form a government 'for all Israelis' and, in a nod to Israel’s fractured electoral landscape, said that it would take 'creative and unconventional political steps.' A soft-spoken former general, Mr. Eisenkot leads Yashar, a center-right party that campaigned on a promise of keeping Israel secure while pivoting away from policies that prompted international anger and led to Israel’s isolation on the world stage.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)