Have an excellent weekend and see you bright and early Monday morning.
Friday, April 28, 2023
Trump Supporters Outraged Over Their Own Conspiracies
God help us. Why are we not surprised that these people vote for Trump.
"To argue with a Trump supporter that has lost the use of reason, is like administering medicine to the dead."
Cartoon
Dr. Seuss cartoon from 1942, showing how a Republican Congress wanted to wreck his New Deal programs. Look familiar?
Edge
Now, at age 75, Mr. Coyner was occupying a bed at the shelter on Second Street, his house lost to foreclosure, his toes gnarled by frostbite, his belongings limited to a tub of tattered clothing and books on the floor next to his bed.
Revealed
Washington Post: Opinion - What the Trump rape trial has already revealed By Ruth Marcus
Trump, Carroll said, “shoved me so hard my head banged” against the dressing room wall. He pulled down her tights and “jammed” his fingers inside her.
“His fingers went into my vagina, which was extremely painful — extremely painful. It was a horrible feeling because he curved — he put his hand inside of me and curved his fingers,” Carroll said. “As I'm sitting here today, I can still feel it.”
Plank
Washington Post: Opinion - House Republicans walk the plank By Dana Milbank
Kiggans (Republican Virginia) then cast her vote to abolish the clean-energy credits her constituents find so “beneficial.”
Leaf Blower
Washington Post: Man fatally shot by neighbor for using leaf blower in own yard, police say By Timothy Bella
...shot in the head by his 79-year-old next-door neighbor this month after the two got into an argument over the man’s leaf blower...
Block
Washington Post: Conservative dissenters block abortion limits in Nebraska, South Carolina By Brittany Shammas, Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Rachel Roubein and Caroline Kitchener
Strict new abortion restrictions failed to advance in two conservative-dominated legislatures on Thursday, signaling a mounting fear among some Republicans that abortion bans could lead to political backlash.
Soul
NY Times: Joe Biden and the Struggle for America’s Soul By David Brooks
But Donald Trump, and Trumpism generally, is the embodiment of an ethos that covers up the soul. Or to be more precise, each is an ethos that deadens the soul under the reign of the ego.
Eurozone
NY Times: The Eurozone Economy Shows Signs of Modest Growth By Liz Alderman
Gross domestic product in the eurozone rose 0.1 percent compared with the previous quarter, when it was flat, according to preliminary data released by Eurostat.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 7:00 a.m. ET DOW futures are -134, S&P futures are -16, NASDAQ futures are -38. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: American living standards are on the line in the debt ceiling drama Analysis By Christine Romans
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Tiffany Simpson
They thought, at first, that they were in love. Even when the threats and the violence started, they stayed. Tiffany thought about the scar on her left thigh — a reminder of what happened when she, too, stayed. Then she started writing.
G.D.P.
Growth in the first quarter was dragged down by weakness in housing and business investment, both of which are heavily influenced by interest rates.
'Dance For Trinley'
For some reason that I can't explain, this track is getting decent play on Spotify.
Reality
Washington Post: Opinion - Roberts should face reality: The Supreme Court needs a code of conduct By the Editorial Board
A request to investigate Justice Thomas’s more concerning alleged lapses has been referred to the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Financial Disclosure, consisting of 16 federal judges.
War
Washington Post: Opinion - What 6 data points tell us about the status of the war in Ukraine By Michael O’Hanlon, Constanze Stelzenmüller and David Wessel
Russia controls about 17 percent of the land area — up from 7 percent before Feb. 24, 2022, but down from at least 22 percent a year ago. Any movement in recent months has been localized and limited.
Montana
Sue Vinton, the House majority leader, introduced the measure to discipline Ms. Zephyr, who was elected last year, saying that her actions “disrupted and disturbed the orderly proceedings of this body.”
G.D.P.
Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, probably rose at a rate of about 1.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to estimates compiled by FactSet.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 6:40 a.m. ET DOW futures are +95, S&P futures are +18.25, and NASDAQ futures are +97.25. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: China may have to bail out one of its poorest provinces Laura He Analysis By Laura He
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Texts
Fox was battered repeatedly by damaging disclosures as it proceeded to trial.
...with conspiracy theory programming that included falsely portraying the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as possibly orchestrated by the federal government. Then, as the Dominion case headed to trial, he told his audience last month that the rioting was, in fact, a peaceful exercise...
E. Jean
Washington Post: E. Jean Carroll testifies at trial that Trump sexually assaulted her clock icon By Shayna Jacobs, Kim Bellware and Mark Berman
She’s a registered Democrat but said she did not sue for political reasons. She voted for Barack Obama, then Hillary Clinton, then Joe Biden. She recalled thinking Trump would not be a good commander in chief when he announced his bid. “I thought he was evil,” she said.
E. Jean
Ms. Carroll’s lawyers are asking the jury in Federal District Court to find Mr. Trump liable for battery and defamation, and if he is found responsible, to award monetary damages.
E. Jean
Washington Post: E. Jean Carroll testifies at trial that Trump sexually assaulted her clock icon By Shayna Jacobs, Kim Bellware and Mark Berman
Upon taking the stand Wednesday, Carroll quickly testified that Trump sexually assaulted her and then further harmed her with his denials. “He lied and shattered my reputation and I’m here to try to get my life back,” Carroll testified.
Never
Mr. Carlson repeated a story of good versus evil, full of conspiratorial and xenophobic rhetoric, every single weeknight.
Results
Washington Post: Opinion - If voters choose between Trump and Biden, Republicans won’t like the results By Marc A. Thiessen
To beat Biden, Republicans need the votes of the 54 percent majority who disapprove of his performance in office. And Trump appears to be the one candidate who can’t deliver those votes.
Right
Washington Post: Opinion - Biden is right. We’re still fighting a battle for the soul of America. By the Editorial Board
Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis have expressed a desire to curtail support for the Ukrainian forces.
Realignment
NY Times: The Tucker Realignment By Ross Douthat
But it’s unlikely that Carlson’s successor will embody the cultural realignment as fully, or reveal as much about the alienated future of American conservatism, as the man who just disappeared from Fox.
South Korea
...arms control experts call “extended deterrence,” renewing a vow that America’s nuclear arsenal will be used, if necessary, to dissuade or respond to a North Korean nuclear attack on the South.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. At 7:10 a.m. ET DOW futures are -27, S&P futures are +4.75, and NASDAQ futures are +119. The market is poised to open mixed.
CNN: Central banks end crisis-fighting measure as bank tumult recedes By Julia Horowitz
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Prediction
Washington Post: Opinion - The analyst who saw through 2022’s red mirage has a prediction for Biden 2024 By Greg Sargent
Now, with President Biden announcing his reelection bid, Rosenberg is similarly arguing that despite Biden’s age and anemic approval ratings, he is in a strong position to win in 2024 — and possibly win big.
We
NY Times: We Were Wrong About President Biden By Frank Bruni
Biden is also propelled by his obvious — and correct — conviction that the moral corruption of the Republican Party makes the stakes of continued Democratic control of the White House as high as can be. He surely sees himself as the party’s best hope for that. A part of him is indeed doing this for us.
Door
The drought of premium advertisers on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” — driven away by boycotts targeting his more racist and inflammatory segments — did not seem to dent his standing within the network, so long as the audience stuck around.
Harry Belafonte Dies
I went to high school in Ossining New York. During the late 60s there was a lot of racial fighting going on in the high school. One day it really escalated and we all left school and went home, there was fighting in the hallways, it got really ugly. A few days later when things simmered down, Harry Belafonte came to the school and walked around meeting people and talking to everyone. We were star struck and amazed. He was like a messenger of peace, it was huge. I'll never forget that.
Why
Washington Post: Opinion - Why do women stay with their abusers? Here’s one overlooked reason. By Emily Nix
They can’t afford to leave.
Trump Failed Us
Washington Post: Opinion - A closer look at the U.S. pandemic response reached an unsettling conclusion By the Editorial Board
On Feb. 24, 2020, President Donald Trump tweeted from India, “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA … Stock market starting to look very good to me!” But according to the report, that same day, the White House task force concluded “containment was failing.”
Shift
“And on Fox, in prime time especially, there was this over-the-top effort to defend him (Trump) and amplify his lies.’’
Biden
President Biden announced his bid for a second four-year term in a video posted online Tuesday morning, urging voters to let him “finish this job” and setting in motion the possibility of a rematch with former President Donald J. Trump.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 6:50 a.m. ET DOW futures are -134, S&P futures are -20.75, and NASDAQ futures are -55.25. The market is poised to open significantly lower.
CNN: Layoffs loom in the US manufacturing sector as backlogs shrink By Bryan Mena
Monday, April 24, 2023
Terrible
Washington Post: Opinion - Tucker Carlson, a terrible individual, leaves Fox News By Erik Wemple
As head of booking for Carlson’s show, Grossberg endured “a work environment that subjugates women based on vile sexist stereotypes, typecasts religious minorities and belittled their traditions, and demonstrates little to no regard for those suffering from mental illness,” reads the complaint.
Shrinking
Washington Post: Opinion - Tucker Carlson’s ouster is another sign that MAGA is shrinking By Greg Sargent
Majorities see Trump as criminally culpable. The most prominent election-denying GOP candidates lost in 2022, suggesting voters grasp all of this as cause for continued vigilance.
He Did
NY Times: How Tucker Carlson Stoked White Fear to Conquer Cable By Nicholas Confessore
Now Mr. Carlson’s on-air technique — gleefully courting blowback, then fashioning himself as his aggrieved viewers’ partner in victimhood — has helped position him, as much as anyone, to inherit the populist movement that grew up around Mr. Trump.
War
The documents, part of a trove of classified information allegedly leaked on a gaming server by a 21-year-old member of the National Guard, don’t explain precisely who interceded and why the Ukrainians agreed to stand down.
Judy
Writing advice from Judy Blume
“Read your work aloud! This is the best advice I can give. When you read aloud you find out how much can be cut, how much is unnecessary. You hear how the story flows. And nothing teaches you as much about writing dialogue as listening to it.”
South Korea
Washington Post: Opinion - Should South Korea go nuclear? That’s a decision for Seoul, not Washington. By Max Boot
Any hopes that Pyongyang might give up or even freeze its nuclear stockpile were dashed by the failure of President Donald Trump’s talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018 and 2019.
Biden
“Yes, Biden is a boring old guy, but he’s going to win North Fulton because he’s a boring old guy — and he’s not perceived as radical.”
E. Jean Carroll
Decades have passed since the encounter, memories fade and Ms. Carroll did not report it to the police. But, the experts said, the greater burden will likely fall on attorneys for Mr. Trump.
Hillary On Republicans
NY Times: Hillary Clinton: Republicans Are Playing Into the Hands of Putin and Xi
Congressional brinkmanship on the debt ceiling sends the opposite message to our allies and our adversaries: that America is divided, distracted and can’t be counted on.
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 6:40 a.m. ET DOW futures are +45, S&P futures are +6.5, and NASDAQ futures are +40. The market is poised to open moderately higher.
CNN: Google CEO Sundar Pichai made $226 million last year By Nicole Goodkind
Friday, April 21, 2023
Not Much
Washington Post: Opinion - Congress celebrates 100 days of not much By Drew Goins
One of the Republicans visiting New York urged gun owners not to hesitate shooting if they felt threatened. It’s a perfect example of the culture of fear Paul Waldman warns about in his column.
DeSantis
NY Times: DeSantis Is Letting Trump Humiliate Him By Michelle Goldberg
Like Trump’s 2016 rivals, DeSantis is making the mistake of believing that the primary race is about issues, while Trump instinctively understands that it’s about dominance.
Bard
I asked 'Bard', Google's new experimental chat box AI, "Who was responsible for the January 6th 2021 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington D.C.?" Here is Bard's answer.
The January 6th 2021 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington D.C. was a direct result of the lies and misinformation spread by former President Donald Trump and his allies. Trump and his allies falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him, and they encouraged his supporters to "fight like hell" to overturn the results. On January 6th, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden's victory. Five people died in the attack, and many more were injured.
Trump and his allies are directly responsible for the January 6th insurrection. They spread lies and misinformation that fueled the violence, and they encouraged their supporters to take action. The attack on the Capitol was a direct assault on American democracy, and it is important to hold those responsible accountable.
Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives for inciting the insurrection, but he was acquitted by the Senate. He is currently facing a number of criminal investigations, and it is possible that he could be charged with crimes related to the attack on the Capitol.
The January 6th insurrection was a dark day for American democracy. It is important to remember what happened, and to hold those responsible accountable. We must also work to prevent something like this from happening again.
Ooops
Washington Post: Russia bombed its own city, Defense Ministry says By Mary Ilyushina
A Russian warplane accidentally dropped a bomb on a Russian city near the Ukrainian border late Thursday, injuring three people and creating a massive crater in a street — the latest mishap in Moscow’s brutal war against its neighbor.
War
NY Times: Russia-Ukraine War - U.S. Says It Will Begin Training Ukraine on Abrams Tanks Within Weeks
“I am confident that this equipment, and the training that accompanies it, will put Ukraine’s forces in position to succeed on the battlefield..."
Egregiously
Washington Post: Opinion - Fox News behaved egregiously, but the settlement was good for the law By George F. Will
My Pillow’s Mike Lindell to Tucker Carlson, Jan. 26, 2021: “I have the evidence … I dare Dominion to sue me because then it will get out faster … they don’t want to talk about it.” Carlson: “No they don’t.”
Scumbags
Washington Post: The Florida sheriff vs. the neo-Nazi ‘scumbags’ By Danielle Paquette
...the “scumbags,” which is what he called the group of men who’d used a laser projector in February to cast Nazi-glorifying text on the Daytona International Speedway — “Hitler was right” — and anyone who supported their in-your-face displays of antisemitism.
Intrusive
NY Times: Turns Out Republicans Don’t Hate Big Government By Jamelle Bouie
...Republicans have a vision for intrusive government, aimed at the most vulnerable people in our society.
Elegy
After the asteroid killed off the dinosaurs, a massive fungal bloom emerged. Some scientists believe this favored mammals over large reptiles. So the giants came no more, but mammals proliferated. Evolving from ratlike creatures into mammoths and sabertooths.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 6:55 a.m. ET DOW future are -35, S&P futures are -7.5, and NASDAQ futures are -41.5. The market is poised to open moderately lower.
CNN: Tesla shares plunge on lower prices, tighter profit margins By Chris Isidore
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Grievance
They look for evidence of offense to, and persecution of, whatever group of people they identify with. They invent that proof when it’s not there; when it is, they upsize it. Either way, their predetermined sense of grievance is the prism through which all is passed and all is parsed.
Cleta Mitchell - Fascist
“The Left has manipulated the electoral systems to favor one side … theirs,” she wrote in the presentation. “Our constitutional republic’s survival is at stake.”
To The Teeth
In July 2021, a Tennessee man was charged with brandishing a handgun and firing it after two cable-company workers mistakenly crossed onto his land.
Despicable
Is society breaking down more or are we sensitive to society's deformities because of how quickly social media spreads information. I hope it's the latter.
Newsweek: Swastika Carved into Back of Jewish Teenager Sparks FBI Probe By Khaleda Rahman
Explode
Before the launch, Elon Musk, the company’s founder, had tamped down expectations, saying it might take several tries before Starship succeeds at this test flight...
Misleading
Washington Post: Trump’s misleading evocation of the Presidential Records Act Analysis By Glenn Kessler
Under Trump’s version of reality, the Presidential Records Act (PRA) is an all-purpose security blanket from prosecution for holding onto the documents that NARA says belong to the American people.
2024
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has privately circulated polling to candidates that shows the American public broadly supports a 15-week ban — and has privately expressed concerns about a six-week ban.
War
NY Times: Russia-Ukraine War - E.U. Weighs Temporary Restrictions on Ukrainian Grain
The unusual move is part of an E.U. effort to alleviate discontent over a glut of Ukrainian grain that is testing the bloc’s unity in opposition to Russia’s invasion.
Broken
They shared a code that adds fuel to far-right conspiracy theories: The nation’s chief enemies come from within, and the plots are hatched by powerful elites.
This strain of paranoia has deep roots on the American right.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. At 6:55 a.m. ET DOW futures are -153, S&P futures are -30.5, and NASDAQ futures are -133. The market is poised to open significantly lower.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Aberration
The emails and text messages demonstrating Fox’s knowing deceit, which came out in pre-trial discovery, were shocking both in their cynicism and in their deviation from industry norms. Vociferous press critics on the right and the left will scoff at this notion, but the fact is that journalists in functional newsrooms want to tell the truth.
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