If You Can't Do the Time.... Erica Orden of Politico: "Attorneys for Donald Trump asked the judge overseeing the former president's Manhattan criminal case to postpone his sentencing, now set for Sept. 18, until after November's presidential election. In a letter to the court dated Wednesday but made public Thursday, Trump's lawyers noted that the sentencing for the Republican presidential nominee's conviction on falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a p*rn star is currently scheduled to take place after the start of early voting. And they argued that the sentencing should be delayed in order to allow Trump to weigh appellate options in response to Justice Juan Merchan's upcoming ruling on whether Trump's conviction should be tossed out in light of the Supreme Court's July 1 decision on presidential immunity. Merchan is set to rule on Sept. 16, two days before the scheduled sentencing, on whether the presidential immunity decision should have an impact on Trump's conviction."
Simon Levien & Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio have agreed to participate in at least one vice-presidential debate this fall, with both candidates accepting an invitation from CBS News to face off on Oct. 1. The network announced Wednesday on the social media platform X that it had offered Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance ... four potential dates: Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. 'See you on October 1, JD,' Mr. Walz wrote in response. The Harris campaign confirmed that it had accepted the network's invitation for that day. On Thursday, Mr. Vance said he had accepted the Oct. 1 invitation, as well. He also said he was willing to have a second, earlier debate on Sept. 18, a date offered by CNN."
digby looks into Donald Trump's absurd claims that rising sea levels will create more beachfront property, but it's nothing to worry about because the seas will rise only an eighth-of-an-inch in 400 years. In fact, the seas have risen on average more than an eighth-of-an-inch every year since 1901, and failing to curb emissions could increase sea levels by as much as 5 feet by the end of the century. MB: I don't know how long Trump has been telling the 1/8" porkie, but I've heard him make the senseless, counterintuitive beachfront expansion claim before. His brain doesn't work right. When he calls Kamala Harris (or anyone else) "stupid," he is projecting on an elementary level. Thanks to RAS for the link.
Curt Devine, et al., of CNN: “For nearly two hours [last month, key Project 2025 author Russell Vought] talked candidly about his behind-the-scenes work to prepare policy for ... Donald Trump, his expansive views on presidential power, his plans to restrict p*rnography and immigration, and his complaints that the GOP was too focused on 'religious liberty' instead of 'Christian nation-ism.' But the men Vought was talking to [-- whom he thought were relatives of a rich donor --] actually worked for a British journalism nonprofit and were secretly recording him the entire time.... Vought said his group, the Center for Renewing America, was secretly drafting hundreds of executive orders, regulations, and memos that would lay the groundwork for rapid action on Trump's plans if he wins, describing his work as creating 'shadow' agencies. He claimed that Trump has 'blessed' his organization and 'he's very supportive of what we do.'... A Trump spokesperson declined to comment on the video, but his campaign has stressed that he sets his own agenda and that Project 2025 and other outside conservative groups don't speak for him." MB: Vought was director of Trump's Office of Management & Budget. ~~~
~~~ More on Project 2025. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~
These leaked Project 2025 training videos aren't helping conservatives beat the "weird" allegations pic.twitter.com/7p1HZhZ36R
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) August 15, 2024
Texas. Sorry, Greggers. Laura Strickler & Didi Martinez of NBC News: "Republican National Convention delegates erupted in applause last month when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott doubled down on his commitment to send buses full of migrants to blue cities.... But the buses have not been rolling on a consistent basis for months because of a steep drop in the number of migrants apprehended at the southern border, according to officials and migrant shelter operators in Texas and in a half-dozen big cities across the U.S."
Anton Troianovski & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "A court in Russia sentenced a dual citizen of Russia and the United States on Thursday to 12 years in prison on accusations that she committed treason by donating money -- about $50 -- for Ukraine's armed forces. The court, in the city of Yekaterinburg, claimed to have found that the funds donated by the woman, Ksenia Karelina, 32, 'were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition' for Ukraine."
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Man with Work Experience Seeks Employment. Zach Montague of the New York Times: President Biden addressed "a room of dozens of online content creators whom he referred to as 'the future' and his grandchildren's preferred news source during a meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Wednesday, trying on a new face as a statesman enjoying the twilight of his career. 'You break through in ways that I think are going to change the entire dynamic of the way in which we communicate, and that's why I invited you to the White House, because I'm looking for a job,' he told the crowd, drawing big laughs."
Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "President Joe Biden reiterated his call Wednesday for the release of freelance journalist Austin Tice, saying that his administration has 'repeatedly pressed' Syria to work with the United States to secure his return. Biden's comments came in a statement marking 12 years since Tice was abducted in Syria.... Tice, a Marine veteran and Texas native, was abducted on Aug. 14, 2012, while reporting on the civil war in Syria. He disappeared at a checkpoint outside Damascus, and video surfaced months later showing him blindfolded and being held by a group of armed men. U.S. officials have long insisted that the Syrian government is holding Tice, which the country has denied. Biden said in 2022 that his administration knows 'with certainty' that Syria has had Tice in captivity."
Presidential Race
Charles Blow of the New York Times: "Misogyny has been central to Donald Trump's identity, rise and political movement, but it is now central to his distemper, as Kamala Harris's remarkable campaign rollout has frustrated and unnerved him.... Trump praises autocrats (male autocrats, that is), calling them 'strong,' 'smart' and 'savvy' -- he even once described Kim Jong-un as 'honorable.'... In recent days, he has referred to Harris as 'incompetent,' 'nasty' and 'not smart.' Behind closed doors, he has reportedly referred to her, repeatedly, using the B-word.... Writing in 2022 for Foreign Affairs, the Harvard Kennedy School scholars Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks explained that the 21st century 'is demonstrating that misogyny and authoritarianism are not just common comorbidities but mutually reinforcing ills.'"
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan of the Guardian argues that Kamala Harris must "do what's right" and explain herself to the press in "both a lengthy press conference and a televised, in-depth interview." MB: Ironically, Sullivan devotes most of her column to outlining good reasons Harris should not accommodate the press's demands: (1) she's already getting lots of positive media attention; (2) the press asks her silly questions; (3) the White House press corps in particular is "broken"; (4) Harris isn't very good at answering press questions; (5) if Harris does speak to reporters at length, "some unfavorable headlines will result." So Sullivan's message here is (a) you must speak to the press, and (b) it will be a disaster! Thanks to Patrick for the link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: An excellent discussion near the end of yesterday's Comments follows. Patrick starts the conversation by listing a few more reasons Harris is on the right track, including a brief look-back at Vice President Hubert Humphrey's failure in 1968 to negotiate an effective response to the Viet Nam war debacle. Humphrey's dilemma -- how to (or if he should) delineate differences with his boss President Johnson -- led to a number of mini-disasters, ending with the big one: the election of Tricky Dick Nixon. RAS links to an opinion piece by John Stoehr, who also thinks Harris is doing the right thing by largely ignoring the press, mainly because she was an eye-witness to how the press mistreated her boss, President Biden. Elizabeth links to a column by Markos Moulitsas (Kos) in which he points to "the imbalance in how that press has covered Democrats and Trump." With examples. For instance, "The same outlets that literally had live blogs of the Clinton leaks [in 2016] suddenly decided that their ethics forbade them from publishing whatever [leaked Trump campaign documents] they received." And see Akhilleus' comment at the top of today's thread.
Stefan Becket, et al., of CBS News: "Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday agreed to participate in a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1 in New York City.... Donald Trump's campaign has not yet agreed to the date, leaving GOP Sen. JD Vance's participation in question. Earlier in the day, CBS News proposed four dates for a debate between the two vice presidential nominees: Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, and Oct. 8. The Harris-Walz campaign soon agreed to the Oct. 1 date.... Later, in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Vance said he was open to debating Walz on Oct. 1, but did not firmly commit to the date."
Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump was campaigning in Asheville, North Carolina on Wednesday and gave an 'intellectual' speech on the economy.... 'We're talking about a thing called the economy. They wanted to do a speech on the economy. A lot of people are very devastated by what's happened with inflation and all of the other things,' Trump began, adding: 'So we're doing this as an intellectual speech.... [Digression.] But from today and from the day I take the oath of office, we will rapidly drive prices down.... [Blah blah blah.] Under Kamala's extreme high cost energy policy known as net zero. You know what? Net zero. They have no idea what it means. By the way, it's net zero. What does that mean? Nobody knows what it means. We're going to go to a net zero policy. What does that mean? I have no idea.... She's attempting to abolish oil, coal, and natural gas. 84% of U.S. energy supply. She wants it ended,' Trump continued, despite the fact that the U.S. has recently broke[n] oil production records under the Biden administration." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Wow! Now that I've learned so much about a thing called the economy, I think I'll apply for Krugman's job at the New York Times. Imagine all the intellectual columns I could write about net zero, which is secret code for something not even a person with a very good brain can decipher. ~~~
~~~ How to End an Intellectual Trump Lecture. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump dodged on Wednesday when asked about his odd and easily disproven claim that images of Kamala Harris's crowds were generated by artificial intelligence. 'And you said that Harris's crowd sizes were "A.I."d and there weren't people there. There's all kinds of video evidence and people who were there who've proven that false. Can you tell us about why you made that claim,' Trump was asked by an off-camera reporter. 'Well, I can't say what was there, who was there. I can only tell you about ours. We have the biggest crowds ever in the history of politics,' [Trump said.]... 'We have crowds that nobody's ever seen before, and we continue to have that. We have a level of enthusiasm that nobody's seen before. They want to make America great again. That's what's happening. We're going to make it great again. Right now we have a failing nation. We're in a failing nation and, become in many ways, a third world nation. And we're not going to let that happen. Thank you very much. Thank you everybody.'"
Marianne LeVine & Clara Morse of the Washington Post think they have found the reason that Donald Trump keeps bringing up the fictional Hannibal Lecter during his rallies: "A Trump rally is a sort of time capsule, a frozen-in-amber moment from an earlier era -- the 1980s -- when Trump ruled the New York City clubs and tabloids and first graced the cover of Time magazine. His self-curated rally playlists include hits like 'Y.M.C.A.' (1978) and 'Gloria' (1982). The fit of his suits and the length of his ties scream 1980s. Trump is the 'crypt keeper for the 1980s,' which was 'the high point of his life until he became president,' said Tim O'Brien, a Trump biographer who has criticized the former president.... 'None of his tastes have been updated in decades.' Trump's Hannibal Lecter obsession fits perfectly in this mold." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: This sounds right. It's also the period in which the U.S. took a sharp right turn after a decades-long, if sputtering, progressive period in which the nation, at least on the surface, very slowly became more inclusive. Beginning in 1980, we had a backlash: Republican presidents for 12 years, followed by a Democratic president who, as a Southerner, adopted many ring-wing positions. Another conservative Republican followed him. The '80s changed the country in a profound and deleterious way.
And now for our feature presentation, "Ask Jay Dee." A woman of a certain age writes, "Jay Dee, what is a woman like me to do when she ages out past the barefoot and pregnant years? Does my life have any meaning?" ~~~
~~~ Clare Olson of Heartland Signal: "While appearing on 'The Portal' podcast in April 2020, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) agreed with host Eric Weinstein's claim that 'postmenopausal females' exist just to help take care of children. In the podcast, the current Republican vice-presidential nominee mentioned that his son benefited from having exposure to his grandparents, expressing importance for the multigenerational family. Weinstein replied saying 'that's the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female in theory,' to which Vance immediately agreed with by saying 'Yes.' Vance went on to explain that his mother-in-law, who worked as a biology professor, took a sabbatical for a year to move in and help take care of his newborn child. He says it's just 'what you do.' He also agreed with Weinstein that grandparents helping raise his children is a 'weird, unadvertised feature of marrying an Indian woman.'" MB: Go f*ck a couch, Jay Dee.
Ask Jay Dee. A recent college grad writes, "Jay Dee, I need to buy a car to get to my new job. But I'm just starting out in my career and I'm worried about how much it might cost. What would my monthly payments be?" ~~~
~~~ Ahmad Austin of Mediaite: "Vice presidential candidate JD Vance was roasted on social media for claiming new cars cost $50,000 annually -- and blaming Vice President Kamala Harris for it.... According to data gathered by AAA..., last year, the average annual cost of new car ownership was a little over $12,000 -- or about $1,015 per month. While that number is still high, it;s nowhere near Vance's claims." MB: Also, I'll need the intellectual Donald to explain to me how a vice president sets automobile prices.
Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought a meeting last week with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of serving in her administration, perhaps as a Cabinet secretary, if he throws his support behind her campaign and she wins, according to Kennedy campaign officials. Harris and her advisers have not responded with an offer to meet or shown interest in the proposal, say people familiar with the conversations.... The Kennedy outreach, made through intermediaries, follows a meeting in Milwaukee last month between Kennedy and Republican nominee Donald Trump to discuss a similar policy role and endorsem*nt that resulted in no agreement. In those discussions, Kennedy spoke about advising Trump in a second term on health and medical issues." MB: Yup, I'd definitely put Kennedy in charge of Health & Human Services.
Sean Lyngaas of CNN: "Google said Wednesday that an alleged Iranian hacking operation aimed at US presidential campaigns is ongoing and more wide-ranging than previously known as the hackers continue to target the email accounts of current US officials and people associated with Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and ... Donald Trump. In May and June, a hacking group linked with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted the personal email accounts of about a dozen people associated with Biden and Trump, including current government officials, Google researchers said in a blog post. And even today, Google is seeing unsuccessful attempts by the Iranian hackers to log into the accounts of people associated with Biden, Harris, Trump and both presidential campaigns."
Colin Kalmbacher of Law & Crime: 'A state appeals court on Wednesday quietly denied a request by Donald Trump's lead attorney to push back some key proceedings in the case aimed at dismissing the former president's racketeering (RICO) and election subversion charges in Georgia. In a terse, one-sentence-long order, the Georgia Court of Appeals declined to reschedule oral arguments -- ruling against a request by Trump's attorney, Steve Sadow, to grant a continuance for him to accommodate long-ago scheduled international travel plans.... 'It was booked more than two years in advance to ensure a date certain to celebrate lead counsel's 70th birthday and 45th wedding anniversary,' Sadow explained in a July 23 motion obtained by Atlanta-based NBC affiliate WXIA. 'It is fully paid for and nonrefundable except for health-related issues.'"
Michael Sisak & Jennifer Peltz of the AP: "Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month. In a decision posted Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump's demand was a rehash 'rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims' about his ability to remain impartial. It is the third time that Merchan has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Beware Disney+. Jordan Valinsky of CNN: "A man suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for the wrongful death of his wife is facing a new legal hurdle: Disney is trying to get it thrown out of court and sent to arbitration -- because he signed up for Disney+ years earlier. Court documents show that the company is trying to get the $50,000 lawsuit tossed because the plaintiff, Jeffrey Piccolo, signed up for a one-month trial of the streaming service Disney+ in 2019, which requires trial users to arbitrate all disputes with the company. Company lawyers also claim that because Piccolo used the Walt Disney Parks' website to buy Epcot Center tickets, Disney is shielded from a lawsuit from the estate of Piccolo's deceased wife, Kanokp*rn Tangsuan, who died of a reaction to severe food allergies. In a legal filing responding to Disney's claims, Piccolo's lawyer Brian Denney called Disney's argument 'preposterous' and said that the notion that signing up for a Disney+ free trial would bar a customer's right to a jury trial 'with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience.'"
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Connecticut. Alice McFadden of the New York Times: "A Connecticut state representative lost a primary election Tuesday, just hours after a video surfaced of her saying that her challenger should not represent the district because he is Jewish. The incumbent, Anabel Figueroa, a Democrat, made the comments in a late July interview posted to YouTube. 'We cannot allow for a person of Jewish origin, of Jewish origin, to represent our community,' Ms. Figueroa said in Spanish. 'It's impossible.' Ms. Figueroa's statement comes as Jewish Democrats across the country are contending with anxiety about antisemitism both within and outside their party. Democrats in Connecticut and beyond were quick to condemn Ms. Figueroa on Tuesday, and her opponent, Jonathan Jacobson, went on to win with a decisive 63 percent of the vote."
New Jersey Senate. Matt Friedman & Daniel Han of Politico: "New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy plans to name his former chief of staff -- who was a longtime Senate aide -- as the state's temporary replacement to the seat of disgraced Sen. Bob Menendez, according to three people familiar with the decision. Murphy will appoint George Helmy, a former staffer for Sen. Cory Booker who is now a health care executive in one of the biggest hospital systems in New Jersey, to the seat following Menendez's resignation that takes effect Aug. 20. The people with knowledge were granted anonymity to discuss an impending announcement.... Murphy's appointment of Helmy, though not unexpected, will likely lead to some Democratic grumbling if not criticism. [Rep. Andy] Kim [D], who's heavily favored to win the November election for the Senate seat, had said he was interested in being appointed as interim senator. However, the Murphys' relationship with Kim remains strained following the Senate [primary] campaign [in which Kim effectively defeated Gov. Murphy's wife Tammy]." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I guess Murphy is putting his marriage before his politics, but appointing Kim to finish out Menendez's term would have been good for New Jersey as it would have given Kim, if elected, seniority over other senators newly-elected in November.
New York. Alan Blinder & Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Columbia University's president, Nemat Shafik, resigned on Wednesday after months of far-reaching fury over her handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations and questions over her management of a bitterly divided campus. She was the third leader of an Ivy League university to resign in about eight months following maligned appearances before Congress about antisemitism on their campuses."
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Israel/Palestine, et al. Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip, the local Health Ministry said Thursday -- a bleak indicator of the war's toll even as a full count remained out of reach amid a near-total collapse of the enclave's health-care system. The official figure of 40,005 killed since October does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. But the Gaza Health Ministry, which has operated for years under the Hamas-led government, says the majority of the dead are women and children. At least 92,401 have also been injured over more than 10 months of war.... Palestinian journalists, first responders, international aid workers and war casualty watchdogs all say that the official death toll in Gaza is probably an undercount...."
Ukraine/Russia. Anton Troianovski & Alina Lobzina of the New York Times: "Ukraine's surprise incursion into a sliver of Russia's Kursk region last week has not shifted the overall course of the war, but it has already struck a blow well beyond the few hundred square miles of Russia that Ukraine now controls: It has thrust a Russian government and society that had largely adapted to war into a new phase of improvisation and uncertainty. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has said nothing about the incursion since meeting with security and regional officials, a tense gathering in which the president at one point berated the Kursk governor for revealing the depth and breadth of Ukraine's advance into Russia. Near the border, where, the authorities say, more than 130,000 people have fled or been evacuated, regional officials appeared unprepared for the crisis -- prompting grass-roots aid initiatives to jump in."
News Ledes
NBC News: "An arrest was made in Southern California on Thursday in connection with the accidental overdose death of actor Matthew Perry, law enforcement sources [said].... Perry, 54, was found face down in the heated end of a pool at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office attributed his death to the acute effects of ketamine, an anesthetic with psychedelic properties." ~~~
~~~ Update. New York Times: "Matthew Perry’s personal assistant, two doctors and two others have been indicted and charged with providing the ketamine that caused the death of Mr. Perry, the 'Friends' star, in October, the authorities said on Thursday. In documents filed in federal court in California, prosecutors said that Mr. Perry's assistant and an acquaintance had worked with two doctors and a drug dealer to procure thousands of dollars worth of ketamine for Mr. Perry, who had long struggled with substance abuse and addiction, in the weeks leading up to his death."
Washington Post: "Half of Puerto Rico was in the dark Wednesday after a tropical storm lashed the island archipelago with torrential rain and wind, damaging a power grid that has struggled to recover from repeated storms. Luma Energy, the private consortium operating Puerto Rico;s electricity transmission and distribution, reported that more than 700,000 of its nearly 1.5 million customers were without power -- meaning 50 percent of the system was offline as of Wednesday afternoon. Culebra and Vieques, two small islands off the east coast, are experiencing near-total blackouts."
