On the homepage and across two pages in the paper:
Their headlines and story placement have been terrible this year. But they’ve come around here at the end with some great features on the stakes and the editorial board is not pulling any punches.
A great surrogate speech:
Some people just surprise you. She’s really good at this.
American politics look different with a little geographic perspective. 7News Melbourne has plenty of distance for it. I had to check to be sure this wasn’t an Australian version of SNL’s Weekend Update.
Stuart Stevens says what we’ve all known about Donald Trump’s subcontracting the RNC’s GOTV operation to Elon Musk and PACs like America Pac, Turnout for America, Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action and America First Works. The con man is being conned:
One of the more amusing aspects of this campaign has been watching @elonmusk
make a fool of himself babbling on about a subject he is completely ignorant.The consultants he is paying to set up an “organization” are taking advantage of him like an 18 year old frat boy with $1,000 in a strip club. They tell him what he wants to hear, and he puts in more money.
There is a view that Musk is not some genius, that he stumbled into making a fortune in PayPal (which was a stumble; read Peter Thiel’s biography, “The Contrarian”) and had a lot of ambition and passions and a high risk tolerance. I find those traits admirable, but they should not be confused with any genius. That he has some need to pretend he is a rocket scientist, car inventor (he bought Telsa, didn’t start it), etc.
I have no idea. But I do know when it comes to politics, he is one of the most gullible suckers to walk into the political bazaar in a long time. He knows nothing but feels obligated to prove it constantly. He’s building a lot of beach houses for the consultants who are fleecing him.
I would expect he will try to sue them after the race. And fail. Because they just nodded and agreed and took his money. It’s not illegal to be a fool throwing money around.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone?
@whistlingvivaldi knows what he’s got and what it means.
Don’t let that Big Orange Garbage Truck take away any more of what you’ve got.
@whistlingvivaldi https://www.vote.org/ #election #politics #dnc #rnc #election2024 ♬ original sound – Whistling Vivaldi 🇭🇹 🇺🇸
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This gold standard poll, which called the last two presidential election when everyone else had it wrong, in September had Trump 47 and Harris 43. This is all about women including independent women and women over 65 breaking hard for her in the last month. I wonder why?
The analysis from most of the strategists say that this portends victory, at the very least, in the Blue Wall states and could indicated a massive shift from women, particularly white women (Iowa is almost all white), elsewhere. Let’s just say that Democrats are pretty stoked right now.
Kamala Harris now leads Donald Trump in Iowa — a startling reversal for Democrats and Republicans who have all but written off the state’s presidential contest as a certain Trump victory.
A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows Vice President Harris leading former President Trump 47% to 44% among likely voters just days before a high-stakes election that appears deadlocked in key battleground states.
The results follow a September Iowa Poll that showed Trump with a 4-point lead over Harris and a June Iowa Poll showing him with an 18-point lead over Democratic President Joe Biden, who was the presumed Democratic nominee at the time.
“It’s hard for anybody to say they saw this coming,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co. “She has clearly leaped into a leading position.” https://e.infogram.com/_/5R6h9p5uFC073bQf1Rzy?src=embed#async_embed
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has abandoned his independent presidential campaign to support Trump but remains on the Iowa ballot, gets 3% of the vote. That’s down from 6% in September and 9% in June.
Fewer than 1% say they would vote for Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver, 1% would vote for someone else, 3% aren’t sure and 2% don’t want to say for whom they already cast a ballot.
The poll of 808 likely Iowa voters, which include those who have already voted as well as those who say they definitely plan to vote, was conducted by Selzer & Co. from Oct. 28-31. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
The results come as Trump and Harris have focused their attention almost exclusively on seven battleground states that are expected to shape the outcome of the election. Neither has campaigned in Iowa since the presidential primaries ended, and neither campaign has established a ground presence in the state.
A victory for Harris would be a surprising development after Iowa has swung aggressively to the right in recent elections, delivering Trump solid victories in 2016 and 2020.
The poll shows that women — particularly those who are older or who are politically independent — are driving the late shift toward Harris.
“Age and gender are the two most dynamic factors that are explaining these numbers,” Selzer said.
Independent voters, who had consistently supported Trump in the leadup to this election, now break for Harris. That’s driven by the strength of independent women, who back Harris by a 28-point margin, while independent men support Trump, but by a smaller margin.
Similarly, senior voters who are 65 and older favor Harris. But senior women support her by a more than 2-to-1 margin, 63% to 28%, while senior men favor her by just 2 percentage points, 47% to 45%.
Update: He’s not taking it well:
Is there such a thing as situational ADD? I’ve really been having a hard time focusing recently. I have writer’s block. My bedtime has been all over the map. I’ve been stress eating (I had ice cream for dinner the other night). I can’t watch an entire movie in one sitting. I don’t drink, but I’ve been toying with the idea of taking it up as a pastime.
I’ve noticed that these symptoms have become more acute the closer we get to Election Day. I suspect I am not alone in this predicament, bon ami? With that in mind, let’s take a trip back in time…back to those heady days of this past July (did I mention that my perception of the time-space continuum has also taken a hit?).
That was my long-winded way of apologizing for this re-run. So until we meet again next Saturday on the other side of whatever happens this coming Tuesday, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars (or the Dewars). Sláinte!
(Originally posted on July 20, 2024)
Dee: Jane, do you ever feel like you are just this far from being completely hysterical twenty-four hours a day?
Jane: Half the people I know feel that way. The lucky ones feel that way. The rest of the people ARE hysterical twenty-four hours a day.
— from Grand Canyon, screenplay by Lawrence and Meg Kasdan
HAL 9000: Look Dave, I can see you’re really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.
— from 2001: A Space Odyssey, screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke
George Fields: [to Dorothy/Michael] I BEGGED you to get therapy!
— from Tootsie, screenplay by Murray Schisgal
I’ll be honest. This has been a particularly rough week for news junkies and/or anyone who cares about the future of our democracy. As Howard Beale once said, I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. Of course, we’ve “been here before”, seemingly on the brink of sociopolitical collapse (I’m old enough to remember 1968). After all, history (as one of the students in The History Boys proffers) is best defined as “…just one fuckin’ thing after another.” The future’s uncertain and the end is always near-so why worry?
That said, if there is one constant through all the years, it’s sweet, sweet music (I’ll bet you thought I was going to say “baseball”, didn’t you?). Speaking of “constants through all the years”, you’ve heard the one about cockroaches and Cher surviving the Apocalypse? You can add this item to that list: Maxell UD XL-II 90 cassettes (I used to buy ’em by the “brick”).
I have a stash of mix tapes that I curated from the mid 70s through the early 90s. A few years back I was transferring some to CD and I’ll be damned if some of the oldest ones didn’t sound just as good as the day I recorded them (my theory is that they are manufactured from the same material they use for “black boxes” in airplanes).
I was into putting together “theme sets” long before I got into the radio biz. My mix tapes were popular with friends; I’d make copies on demand, and name them (of course). One of my faves was “The Oh My God I am So Stoned Tape”. I don’t think that requires explanation; I mean, it was the 70s and I was a long-haired stoner music geek.
50 years later, I’m still putting together theme sets. It is my métier. Kind of sad, really (grown man and all). Anyway …turn off the news (it’s depressing!), turn down the lights, do some deep breathing, put on some noise-cancelling ‘phones and let “The Oh My God I am So Stoned Tape 2024” wash anxiety away. I’ve sequenced the songs in a manner designed to sustain a certain mood-so for maximum effect, I suggest that you listen to it in order. Enjoy!*
*Herbal enhancement optional
The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy – “Partytime”
Simon and Garfunkel – “Punky’s Dilemma”
The Style Council – “The Whole Point of No Return”
The Herd – “On Your Own”
Budgie – “Make Me Happy”
Batdorf and Rodney – “Poor Man’s Dream”
Chunky, Novi, & Ernie – “Atlantic Liner”
War – “All Day Music”
Malo – “Suavecito”
Foghat – “I Couldn’t Make Her Stay”
Beth Orton – “Couldn’t Cause Me Harm”
David Sylvain – “I Surrender”
Brian Protheroe – “Pinball”
Roger Powell – “Windows”
Kiss – “A World Without Heroes”
Tim Curry – “Out of Pawn”
Russ Ballard – “Helpless”
The Tom Robinson Band – “War Baby”
Charlie – “L.A. Dreamer”
Joe Vitale – “Feeling’s Gone Away”
David Bowie – “Don’t Look Down”
Dead Can Dance- “The Carnival is Over”
Scott Walker – “Angels of Ashes”
Nick Heyward – “The Day it Rained Forever”
Previous posts with related themes:
Book of Saturday: A Chillaxing Mixtape
Book of Saturday, Chapter II: A Chillaxing Mixtape
Arousal, Valence, and Depth: 10 Essential Albums of 1974
More reviews at Den of Cinema
— Dennis Hartley
Allies of Kennedy were left displeased that Lutnick had stated on air that the Democratic presidential candidate-turned-MAGA disciple would not be getting a cabinet level post. Meanwhile, Trump allies felt that Lutnick had freelanced too much by suggesting the ex-president could be okay with banning long-approved vaccines. They were similarly dismayed that Lutnick had decided to casually discuss a presidential transition and appointees just six days before Election Day, worried that it sent the wrong message to the public.
Their displeasure morphed into pain when they saw the unflattering headlines the next day in the New York Post and the New York Times, which hold preeminent places in the mind of Trump and therefore the campaign. Now, the knives are coming out for Lutnick, a billionaire financier whose business acumen outmatches his Trump world emotional IQ.
“What the hell is a transition chair publicly talking about all this stuff before we even win?” huffed one Trump campaign adviser, one of five who spoke on condition of anonymity for this story to express their frustration and describe internal discussions.
“Lutnick cut Bobby’s legs out from under him. He’s talking about all this stuff,” the adviser said. “We need to be focused on the election. Period.”
The internal complaints about Lutnick, 63, haven’t yet reached a boiling point in Trump world, the sources say, noting that his position helping run the transition remains firm, as does a possible spot as Treasury secretary.
I hadn’t heard before that Lutnick was on tap for Treasury Secretary. That’s this guy:
Let’s Cut Straight To The Chase! 😳
— Gabi🌻 (@GabiNga1) October 28, 2024
Did you guys see this?!?👀
Talk about a game changer….WoW! 😲 Can you imagine the conversations around conference rooms this morning? 🔥🧨🔥
Is THIS our October Surprise? 😯😯😯#MakeAmericaGreatAgain #MAGA #tariffs #noincometax… pic.twitter.com/n2fhcU7Ciq
I think we might know where Trump’s getting his McKinley misinformation and the new “no income tax, only tariffs” junk from. Insane.
Here’s a picture of the good old days of the 1890s when the country was supposedly super rich and everyone was happy:
Those are tenement slums in New York City during the “gilded age.” When Trump and Lutkin think America was great.
Trump apologists are trying to say that his pantomimed blow job on stage last night is being “taken out of context.” No. Not this time. He complained about his “bad mic” for almost five minutes, particularly about how his throat was sore because of it. Then he did his little pantomime which the audience clearly understood as exactly what it was:
He is just letting his freak flag fly.
Tim Alberta has published a massive story about the inside of the Trump campaign, obviously fed by top operatives like campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles. Here’s the lede:
At the end of June, in the afterglow of a debate performance that would ultimately prompt President Joe Biden to end his campaign for reelection, Donald Trump startled his aides by announcing that he’d come up with a new nickname for his opponent.
“The guy’s a retard. He’s retarded. I think that’s what I’ll start calling him,” Trump declared aboard his campaign plane, en route to a rally that evening, according to three people who heard him make the remarks: “Retarded Joe Biden.”
The staffers present—and, within hours, others who’d heard about the epithet secondhand—pleaded with Trump not to say this publicly. They warned him that it would antagonize the moderate voters who’d been breaking in their direction, while engendering sympathy for a politician who, at that moment, was the subject of widespread ridicule. As Trump demurred, musing that he might debut the nickname at that night’s event, his staffers puzzled over the timing. Biden was on the ropes. Polls showed Trump jumping out to the biggest lead he’d enjoyed in any of his three campaigns for the presidency. Everything was going right for the Republican Party and its nominee. Why would he jeopardize that for the sake of slinging a juvenile insult? (A campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, said the nickname “was never discussed and this is materially false.”)
Over the next several days—as Trump’s aides held their breath, convinced he would debut this latest slur at any moment—they came to realize something about Trump: He was restless, unhappy, and, yes, tired of winning. For the previous 20 months, he’d been hemmed in by a campaign built on the principles of restraint and competence. The former president’s ugliest impulses were regularly curbed by his top advisers; his most obnoxious allies and most outlandish ideas were sidelined. These guardrails had produced a professional campaign—a campaign that was headed for victory. But now, like a predator toying with its wounded catch, Trump had become bored. It reminded some allies of his havoc-making decisions in the White House. Trump never had much use for calm and quiet. He didn’t appreciate normalcy. Above all, he couldn’t stand being babysat.
“People are calling this the most disciplined campaign they’ve ever seen,” Trump remarked to friends at a fundraiser this summer, according to someone who heard the conversation. He smirked at the compliment. “What’s discipline got to do with winning?”
There you go.
This article is a MUST READ. Here is a gift link. Grab a cup of tea or a stiff drink and read the whole thing.
He is actually much worse than before. Much worse. And his campaign is a dumpster fire.
Republicans sue to extend the early voting registrations in Pennsylvania (and prevail) but in Georgia they don’t think people should be allowed to hand deliver their absentee ballots on the weekend:
There is obviously going to be no principled consistency in their election lawsuits. They just want to cause chaos and spread the Big Lie that the election is rigged, by any means necessary. I hope the Democrats’ lawyers have plenty of strong coffee to keep them going over the next few weeks. They’re going to need it.
NEW >> Vice President Harris releases her closing 2-minute ad – “Brighter Future”
— Ian Sams (@IanSams) November 2, 2024
Centers the American people, not herself
WATCH: pic.twitter.com/gqN2yzv7xm
Pretty darned good, in my opinon.