October 19, 2024
Bill Maher has to — tries to — explain freedom of speech to Mark Cuban and Joe Scarborough.
Bill Maher warns Democrats like Mark Cuban and Joe Scarborough that their unfair treatment of Elon Musk is proving Republicans' point that Democrats do not care about free speech:
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) October 19, 2024
Bill Maher: "He launches his rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base, used to call the Air Force… pic.twitter.com/ATx5At09XG
"Liam Payne was just 14 when he took his first shot at the big time, trying out for the hit star-making show, 'The X Factor.'"
Writes Jennifer Weiner, in "There Is No Safe Way to Turn Teenagers Into Megastars" (NYT).
"I was so amazed that Harvey Weinstein got schlonged. He got hit as hard as you can get hit because he was sort of the king of the woke, and yet he got hit."
Donald Trump just now:
— Ammar Moussa (@ammarmufasa) October 18, 2024
"I was so amazed that Harvey Weinstein got schlongged, he got hit as hard as you can get hit. Because he was sort of king of the woke, right? And yet he got hit."
What? pic.twitter.com/GNb5m0dOcf
This blog has a theme today.
Musk: "Yeah, I saw an interview with Mark Cuban and, what's her name again, Rachel Maddow, but I couldn't tell which was which."
JUST IN: Elon Musk says he saw an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Mark Cuban but he "couldn't tell which one was which."
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 19, 2024
Brutal.
Musk: "Yeah, I saw an interview with Mark Cuban and, what's her name again, Rachel Maddow, but I couldn't tell which was which."
Crowd:… pic.twitter.com/0rSHazWqWV
"Last week, the Democratic National Committee and Kamala Harris’s campaign did something never done before by a Democratic presidential campaign."
Writes Bill Scher, in "Hey, Democrats: Ignore Green Party Presidential Candidate J**l St**n/The perennial third-party presidential aspirant can’t be a spoiler if voters don’t know she exists and they barely do" (Washington Monthly).
Today the DNC is releasing its first-ever ad focused on third-party candidates.
— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) October 11, 2024
Trump “likes” that Jill Stein is in this race—because Jill Stein can’t win, but she can help Trump win. pic.twitter.com/93FK6pGIkz
October 18, 2024
Sunrise — 7:13. 7:20, 7:26, 7:32.
"Hamas has seemed at a loss over how to respond to the death of Yahya Sinwar, the latest in a long line of its leaders killed by Israel."
The NYT reports.
"Walking with breaks might use more energy, but dogs can’t stand it."
I thought it was the dog that took breaks, and the human that couldn't stand it.
"The signs of possible Trump strength among young men are obvious online."
Writes Nate Cohn, in "The Evidence for a Big Youth Gender Gap and a Right Turn for Young Men/Young men are much more Republican than young women, the best data suggests, and may wind up backing Donald Trump" (NYT).
The article begins with some focus on Joe Rogan. We're told the "No. 2 predictor" of whether someone who'd voted for Biden in 2020 was going for Trump in 2024 was having a "very favorable" view of Joe Rogan. That was determined before Biden got replaced, but "Mr. Trump leads Ms. Harris among young men, 58 percent to 37 percent, across the last three Times/Siena national polls. Ms. Harris holds an even larger lead among young women, 67-28. Surprisingly, Ms. Harris is faring no better than Mr. Biden did among young men in the Times/Siena data, even as she’s made significant gains among young women."
"See I'm obviously here in person. This is me not not a clone of me" — Elon Musk does a solo pro-Trump town hall.
That was yesterday, in Folsom, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia).
"I think the things we we we all want are simple... sensible. I mean common sense things um you know we we obviously want we want secure borders we want safe cities uh you know sensible spending and you know you know what I'm I'm being told at times that these are like right-wing values. I'm like, you are insane. They're literally the fundamental values that made America what it is today and anyone who's against those things is fundamentally anti-American and the hell with them. Yeah.... Like you should be able to feel safe walking around American cities um and it's not just you know Philadelphia has a challenge um New York has got has a challenge uh every major city in the US. Like, my you know my mom lives in New York for example three of our friends have been assaulted on the street this year. You know it's it's like and it's getting worse and and now if when she takes her dog for a walk she has to stay you know inside of the building so that so she can call for help if need be this is not the future we want um and and if we get if we get four more years of this I mean we're going to be fully Mad Max. You know and it's like oh it's it's nice to watch a Madmax movie but we don't want to be in the Madmax movie...."
"Well, it happened. It was almost inevitably going to happen at some point, given how close the forecast has been to 50/50.... But for the fourth time... the streams have crossed..."
Wrote Nate Silver yesterday (at Silver Bulletin).
At the Al Smith charity dinner — Trump was there, and Kamala Harris was not.
7. "A major issue in this race is child care, and Kamala has put forward a concept of a plan.... The only piece of advice I would have for her in the event that she wins would be not to let her husband Doug anywhere near the nannies. Just keep them away. That's a nasty one. That's nasty. I told these idiots that gave me this stuff, that's too tough."
October 17, 2024
"Obama is the last Democrat who won Wisconsin with more than 50 percent of the vote...."
Writes John Nichols, in "Recipe for a Harris Win: More Obama, Less Cheney/Embracing right-wing Republicans won’t excite undecided voters. Associating with a popular Democrat who understands battleground states like Wisconsin will" (The Nation).
ADDED: I have never understood the argument that Trump "only cares about himself." Democrats say it over and over, but I don't see it at all..@KamalaHarris has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a chance – and she's going to keep fighting for you. That's the kind of person I'm proud to vote for and that's the kind of president that we need. pic.twitter.com/IGbZfR5TJA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 17, 2024
Somehow we don't have the definitive lip-reading on this yet.
ADDED: The NY Post got the lip-reader analysis I wanted. From "Biden tells Obama ‘she’s not as strong as me’ — and ex-prez agrees ‘that’s true’ at Ethel Kennedy service":🔥🚨DEVELOPING: President Obama was seen scolding Joe Biden at Ethel Kennedy Memorial Service according to viewers. Biden is seen looking confused or worried as Obama looks him directly in the eye while speaking. pic.twitter.com/aDiA2KlxGX
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) October 16, 2024
“She’s not as strong as me,” said Biden, 81, according to the translation....
“I know … that’s true,” [Obama] agreed, adding, “We have time.”
“Yeah, we’ll get it in time,” said Biden....
"I've answered this question directly a million times: NO. I think there were serious problems in 2020. So did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use. Okay?"
"Researchers argue that home solar panels are raising the price of electricity and reducing the need for cheaper large solar farms — making the entire transition to clean energy more expensive...."
From "Everyone loves rooftop solar panels. But there’s a problem. One of the most popular methods to cut your household’s carbon footprint may be a mixed bag" (WaPo).
Elon Musk presents a montage of himself in pro-Trump mode to the tune of "YMCA."
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2024I note that "YMCA" is an appeal to young men — the words "young man" are repeated over and over.
Getting testy.
“Testy” is this week’s “sharp as a tack” https://t.co/DoQgTOxKRN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2024
Why "testy"? Of course, I don't believe these writers independently arrived at the same word. I presume they got the same message. But still, the message-writer chose that word, so the word is important, albeit not as important as it would have been if these characters had all determined on their own that "testy" was the mot juste.
October 16, 2024
"Kamala Harris repeatedly pivots to Trump when grilled on immigration record in Fox News interview."
Kamala Harris asserts that Donald Trump has said he will "Terminate the Constitution United States."
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” he wrote [on Truth Social]. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
"Ms. Marshack’s self-written obituary disclosed some previously unreported details about her association with [Nelson] Rockefeller but did not mention a romance..."
From "Megan Marshack Dies at 70; Was With Nelson Rockefeller at His Death/She was at the center of rumors about the former vice president’s last moments, but she remained silent about their association until she wrote her own obituary" (NYT)(noting that Marshack's brother said she'd signed a nondisclosure agreement).
October 15, 2024
"Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 86 days as the presumptive, and now, official Democratic nominee for president without holding an official press conference."
Says Fox News, just Fox News, but isn't it true?
It seems impossible. I'm reading about this and that podcast, and an occasional interview with a mainstream newsperson, such as Fox's Bret Baier coming up, but never a news conference. How is it possible to rise to the presidency without one attempt at handling a press conference?
"Nothing has come to fruition. Look at the schools, the playgrounds, the parks. Downtown is struggling. In our community, typically, we vote for Democrats."
Said Ahmad Taylor, 47, of Pontiac, Michigan, quoted in "In a Michigan city, Harris has failed to catch fire with Black men/In December, Black men in Pontiac told The Post they were unenthused about Biden. Now, some feel the same about Harris" (WaPo)(free-access link).
"In a July interview... Rogan called Harris 'the worst'... said he was bothered to see her suddenly viewed as a 'hero' and 'solution,' wondered if she was medicated..."
From "Trump And Harris May Appear On Joe Rogan’s Podcast—Despite His Harsh Comments About Both" (Forbes).
I'm seeing that Trump is going on Rogan's show and that Harris is "in talks" to go on the show. If the "talks" don't result in an actual appearance on the show, I would expect Rogan to tell us what the Harris people wanted that he refused to give. I trust him to maintain his usual standards, which I believe give him freedom to ask what he wants and deny the guest any power to edit. It's hard to believe Harris's people would submit to that. Even the "talks" feel like desperation. It's risky for her to go on the show, and I believe she is risking having him release his own rant describing the failed talks and crediting Trump for simply going on the show like anyone else.
We were watching Trump's Oaks, Pennsylvania town hall live, so we experienced the shift from talk to pure music....
"It makes a weird kind of sense that 'The Apprentice' is arriving in theaters Friday, a week after 'Joker: Folie à Deux.'"
October 14, 2024
"And thus, on this tooth and claw planet, you need a very strong military - so I’m going to stick with the idea that ['Full Metal Jacket'] footage was used primarily because of its powerful, realistic portrayal of boot camp..."
TO THOSE WHO THINK MY FATHER WOULDN’T HAVE WANTED #TRUMP TO USE FMJ FOOTAGE
— Vivian Kubrick (@ViKu1111) October 13, 2024
Here are my thoughts: I agree in principle that an anti-war movie is incongruous with promoting the idea of a tough non-woke US military and thus war itself - however - these are very dangerous and… https://t.co/0bSXz8nL3V
Reading the rabbit's mind.
After pausing to take a photo of a flower along the trail, I looked up to see a doe standing directly in the path in front of me.... Later on, while sitting to take in a quiet moment, I watched as a rabbit popped out of the bush onto the trail, ears twitching. The two of us stayed there together for a minute, maybe two. Then she ran off a second before I heard the dog coming toward us. It wasn’t safe for a rabbit with a potential predator close by....
I see rabbits all the time, in our yard and along the nearby woodland trails, and the rabbits are always the same. They freeze at first, and then they suddenly bolt. It doesn't take a dog to trigger the shift from frozen to hopping the hell out of there. The rabbit has 2 modes. The column writer interprets it her way, flattering herself by imagining the rabbit is communing with her, followed by fear of the dog. But I think I've seen far more rabbits than the author. That doesn't make my reading of the rabbit's mind perfect. But I'm thinking that the rabbit isn't thinking anything at all, but is programmed by evolution to alternate between 2 strategies: 1. Look invisible, 2. Become invisible. That is: 1. Freeze, 2. Run. The rabbit does the same thing every time.
And, by the way, no matter how gently you may move through the woods and how fondly you may regard bunnies, when you, the human being, are around, for the rabbit, there is "a potential predator close by."
I don't like this random worker being embarrassed. She didn't ask to be exploited as scenery.
Just a pro-tip for Kamala campaign staffers...
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) October 14, 2024
When you film Bill Clinton going to a McDonalds for a campaign stop... you might want to edit out the part where the cashier thinks he's Joe Biden.
What a complete mess. pic.twitter.com/NEKdBVWjs9
"The relationship between Kamala Harris' team and Joe Biden's White House has been increasingly fraught in the final weeks before Election Day..."
[M]any senior Biden aides remain wounded by the president being pushed out of his re-election bid and are still adjusting to being in a supporting role on the campaign trail.Go to the link for a list a specific clashes.
"They're too much in their feelings," one close Harris ally said of the president's team — a sentiment shared even by some White House aides....
"When Joe Biden called Kamala Harris on the morning of Sunday, July 21st, she was... wearing sweatpants and a hoodie..."
Writes Evan Osnos, in "Kamala Harris’s Hundred-Day Campaign/Three months ago, the Vice-President was fighting for respect in Washington. Can she defy her doubters—and end the Trump era?" (The New Yorker).
October 13, 2024
"Maybe Musk’s time would be better spent doing concentrating on SpaceX and his other corporate interests instead of engaging in fascist politics and peddling trash through his social media platform at X!"
That's the top-rated comment at "SpaceX successfully catches returning Starship rocket/The uncrewed mission on Sunday was the company’s first successful attempt to 'catch' its Starship rocket as it lowered itself down to the launch pad" (WaPo)('A SpaceX Starship rocket successfully landed upright alongside a massive metal landing tower on Sunday as it was caught by two converging 'chopstick' arms — marking another historic engineering breakthrough for the company’s largest rocket").
Meanwhile, "peddling trash through his social media platform at X," Musks posts this:
And this:Starship rocket booster caught by tower pic.twitter.com/aOQmSkt6YE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2024
"NYT reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro sits in silence as JD Vance educates her on the labor force participation rate relating to illegal immigration."
ADDED: I don't agree that Garcia-Navarro is silenced by Vance. She lets him have his say, but she also breaks in. She's challenging him with a practical point that I don't think Harris supporters like to be explicit about. From the NYT transcript (with Garcia-Navarro in boldface, interrupting Vance 5 times):NYT reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro sits in silence as JD Vance educates her on the labor force participation rate relating to illegal immigration.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 12, 2024
Garcia-Navarro tried arguing that illegal immigrants can't be deported because America needs them for jobs.
She pointed to the… pic.twitter.com/SiNwyldSwR
"Although Mr. Trump is not expected to be competitive in California, the rally showed that he could turn out a crowd."
Writes Neil Vigdor, in "Trump Hits Coachella, Campaigning Once Again in a Blue State/The former president took a detour from the battleground states to hold a rally in the California desert, where temperatures hovered near 100 degrees" (NYT).
"Super Dave was puffed up with misplaced confidence as he plunged himself into one death-defying stunt after another."
From "Allan Blye, 87, Dies; ‘Smothers Brothers’ Writer and ‘Super Dave’ Creator/In his wide-ranging career, he also helped write Elvis Presley’s comeback special and appeared on an early version of 'Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood'" (NYT).
And, re the Smothers Brothers show: "Mr. Blye and his writing partner, Mason Williams — best known for writing and performing the hit guitar instrumental 'Classical Gas'— worked on the deadpan editorials delivered regularly by Pat Paulsen, a mournful-looking cast member who used the show as a platform to run for president in 1968 as the candidate of the S.T.A.G. (Straight Talking American Government) Party."
James Carville watched a few minutes of the Biden/Trump debate, then turned it off, "ate two pot gummies and started listening to some Hank Williams."
Does this NYT illustration intentionally evoke the classical image of the martyrdom of St. Sebastian?
"I want to flag one case that’s really funny to me, Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas. It’s sort of like the chickens coming home to roost..."
Says Mark Joseph Stern, in "The Supreme Court Takes a Nuclear Waste Case Almost Too Wild to Believe" (Slate).