Sunrise — 6:35, 6:54.

"Senate Republicans reacted with alarm and dismay to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s decision to nominate Representative Matt Gaetz... for attorney general..."

"... and several said they were skeptical that he would be able to secure enough votes for confirmation....  Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, raised his eyebrows when reporters informed him of Mr. Trump’s choice. 'I’m still trying to absorb all this,' he said, adding: 'I don’t really know him, other than his public persona.' Mr. Gaetz, who has been one of Mr. Trump’s fiercest attack dogs on Capitol Hill, has routinely used his position on the House Judiciary Committee to question the motives of Justice Department officials and rail against what he has called the 'deep state.'... Mr. Trump has called on Senate Republicans to allow him to circumvent the confirmation process by calling recesses during which he could install personnel without Senate approval. It was not clear whether Senator John Thune, the South Dakota Republican elected as majority leader on Wednesday, would be willing to do so for Mr. Gaetz, or other nominees who might struggle to draw enough support to be confirmed...."

The NYT reports.

"Among the criticisms of the book was that its descriptions of the girl’s powers appeared to liken the First Nations’ complex spiritual beliefs to 'magic'..."

"... and failed to differentiate between their many languages and traditions.... Calls to pull the book from shelves were led by... an educational group that works on behalf of First Nations communities in Australia. In a statement released this month, the group called Mr. Oliver’s depictions 'irresponsible and damaging, reflecting a profound lack of understanding and respect.'...
The depiction of child abduction in Mr. Oliver’s book, the group said, 'dangerously trivializes the ongoing trauma associated with Australia’s violent history of child removal.' 'I am devastated to have caused offense and apologize wholeheartedly,' Mr. Oliver said in a statement...."

From "Jamie Oliver Pulls Children’s Book Amid Criticism of Insensitivity/The celebrity chef’s second children’s book, 'Billy and the Epic Escape,' faced accusations that it stereotyped First Nations people in Australia" (NYT).

The NYT goes on to analyze the problem as "A-list celebrities dabbling in children’s literature," but isn't it white people dabbling in the history and culture of nonwhite people? Is Jamie Oliver white? I had to Google that, and I didn't find the answer — I'm just guessing it's "yes" — but I bumbled into this from 2022: "Jamie Oliver says he’s hired cultural appropriation specialists to advise on cookbooks" (CNN). You may want to be inclusive — for whatever mishmash of reasons — but then you have to worry about being inclusive the wrong way.

From the 2022 CNN article:

"You've got to fire the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and obviously, to bring in a new Secretary of Defense, but any General that was involved, General, Admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI woke sh*t has got to go."

"Either you're in for war fighting and that's it. That's the only litmus test we care about. You got to get DEI and CRT out of military academies. You're not training young officers to be baptized in this type of thinking. And then, you know, whatever the standards, whatever the combat standards were, say, and, I don't know, 1995, let's just make those the standards. And as far as recruiting to hire the guy that, you know, did Top Gun Maverick and create some real ads that motivate people to want to serve...."

🚨NEW: Newly appointed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on reforming US military leadership:

Anyone "involved in the woke sh*t has got to go...you have to reestablish that trust by putting in no-nonsense warfighters in those positions who aren't going to cater to the socially… pic.twitter.com/9181gOVp2q

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 13, 2024

That's Pete Hegseth, Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense.

ADDED: Here's the NYT article on the appointment, "Trump Picks Pete Hegseth, a Veteran and Fox News Host, for Defense Secretary/The choice of Mr. Hegseth, a dedicated supporter of the president-elect in his first term, is outside the norm of the traditional choice for the post." Excerpt:

Mr. Hegseth’s book, the New York Times best-seller “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” was published in June. “Our ‘elites’ are like the feckless drug-addled businessmen at Nakatomi Plaza, looking down on Bruce Willis’s John McClane in ‘Die Hard,’” Mr. Hegseth wrote in the book. “But there will come a day when they realize they need John McClane — that in fact their ability to live in peace and prosperity has always depended on guys like him being honorable, powerful and deadly.”

"[I]n 2020, Mr. Trump refused to concede the election and never invited Mr. Biden for the traditional meeting in the White House."

"It is unlikely that Mr. Biden has forgotten that snub (though it is not clear that he wanted to meet with Mr. Trump in 2020). But Mr. Biden is an institutionalist who has long expressed respect for the trappings and traditions of the White House and the Senate.... That is most likely what motivated him to offer Mr. Trump the invitation that he did not receive himself."

The NYT reports on today's meeting, which I'm trying to picture. I thought of this:

"Women are actually adult human beings with agency and freedom of choice. They could choose, like men..."

"... to spend less time on cleaning and household chores, and more time on exercise. They are free to do that if they want to. They could say 'no' to some, or many, of those other people, including family members, who make demands on their time. They are free adults who can choose what to do. 'Women are oppressed victims of patriarchy' isn't actually the only possible lens with which to view gender issues, although one would never know that from reading the New York Times."

Writes someone in Tribeca named Macaulay, commenting over at the NYT article "Even Exercise Has a Gender Gap/Women have less time to work out than men. And their health pays the price."

The article begins with an anecdote about a woman trying to use her elliptical machine and getting interrupted, first by her husband telling her that their daughter wants her to come say goodnight and then by her son who had the non-problem of needing "help finding something to do." The woman responds to both interruptions by getting off the machine.

"One of the things that incredibly frustrates [Elon Musk] is when he encounters paperwork requirements and regulatory slowdowns."

"He often comments about how he can build his rockets faster than federal bureaucrats can move paper from one side of their desk to the other. It just totally burns him up. And that's in part what has motivated him to get more involved in politics. He thinks it might give him the power to help defang them and to limit their power and to reduce what he considers to be redundant or ridiculous requirements to help wipe away some of this slowness that really frustrates him. And Musk was clear during the presidential campaign that he wanted to be named to a position in the future Trump government that would give him the power to help oversee significantly cutting back on federal regulations, federal employees, and federal spending.... And he would be sort of this superpowered czar, overseeing the reach of federal government operations and looking for ways to eliminate what he considers redundant federal regulations and cutting as much as $2 trillion in federal spending, which is a crazy and really unachievable goal, but that's what he says he wants to do."

From "Elon Musk Launches Into American Politics," the new episode of the NYT podcast, The Daily.

And here's the top news story at the NYT: "At Mar-a-Lago, 'Uncle' Elon Musk Puts His Imprint on the Trump Transition/He’s on the patio. He’s on the golf course. Everywhere Donald Trump looks, there is the world’s richest man" (free-access link).

Sunrise, midday, sunset.

6:50 AM:

1:10 PM:

4:38 PM (photo by Meade, from November 10th):

"There are grates in one of the rooms of 4 North. They have little holes. If you lay down, you can look through the holes and talk to the women one floor down and see them."

Said Gene Borrello, "a former mob enforcer who spent time in the unit," quoted in "Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs housed in low-security jail dorm alongside Sam Bankman-Fried — where inmates can spy on female convicts: sources" (NY Post).

"She ain’t going. Jill Biden’s husband authorized the FBI snooping through her underwear drawer."

"The Bidens are disgusting. Jill Biden isn’t someone Melania needs to meet."

Said a source, quoted in "Melania Trump declines to meet with Jill Biden at White House, citing Mar-a-Lago raid: source" (NY Post).

Meanwhile, "Melania’s husband, President-elect Donald Trump, will sit with President Biden in the Oval Office Wednesday for a traditional post-election meeting."

Jon Stewart gives Democrats the chewing out they deserve.

"Democrats never once mentioned Arnold Palmer's cock. Never once. Yet focus group after focus group said, you got anything on Arnold Palmer's cock? If not, can you at least stand there and sway to 'Ave Maria' for, like, an hour? Can you at least do that? But it's a delight to hear about why it happened from so many people who were so wrong about what was going to happen...."

That made me laugh out loud, but don't let it make you think Stewart mainly takes sideswipes at Trump. He does not. Watch the whole thing.

Can you pay celebrities millions to appear at your rally and report it as an "event production" expense to the FEC?

I'm reading "Did Kamala Harris Pay Celebrities to Endorse Her? Oprah Winfrey Speaks Out" (Newsweek)(examining various claims, e.g. Beyoncé got $10 million just to walk up to the podium and say a few pro-Kamala words):

Nonprofit fact-checking website FactCheck.org said that a Harris campaign official told them the claim "is not true." PolitiFact also said that it had found "no evidence" for the claim and that Beyoncé's publicist told them it was "beyond ridiculous."

Newsweek reached out to the Harris campaign for comment via email outside of regular working hours. Newsweek also reached out to representatives for other celebrities who endorsed Harris and have been accused of being paid for it, including Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, and Eminem, via email. 

Some social media users pointed out that two payments to Winfrey's production company, Harpo Productions Inc, can be found under the Harris campaign's disbursements on the Federal Election Committee website. The payments, of $500,000 each, were made on October 15 and are marked as "event production."

"Marked as 'event production'"? I hope they didn't mismark anything! What was the "production" that cost a million dollars? Causing Oprah to appear onstage? The social media users are trying to help, but it looks as though they are calling attention to what might be a false statement to the FEC.

Wouldn't that be much worse than mislabeling the hush money paid to Stormy Daniels in private business records?

"I’m afraid of politics, you understand? I do not like it. … It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, somebody passionately disagrees with you."

"Look, if you say 'I stay away from religion,' I stay away from politics. Religion, that’s the formula for the confusion that it sent Kanye to Japan. He said something about both of those things and now he can only go to Japan. So you know I’m like I don’t want to get in that, man."

Said 50 Cent to Charlamagne Tha God, quoted in "50 Cent Reacts to Donald Trump’s Presidential Election Victory: 'Leaving With the Winner'/Last week Curtis said he proudly turned down an alleged seven-figure payday offer to appear with the once and future prez at MSG" (Billboard)("Curtis" = Curtis Jackson, AKA 50 Cent). 

At Real Clear Politics, the GOP has won control of the House.

 

Link. The GOP takes control at 218, and they're up to 219.

At the NYT — here on Tuesday morning, a week after Election Day — we're locked in a state of wistful wondering....

 

You can't attribute the difference to California's agonizing slowness in vote-counting. The 2 news sites are looking at the same public information. It is journalistic/commercial decision-making on display, but impossible to tell whether either site is doing anything wrong. Personally, I assume both sites are attempting to feed the emotional needs of their readers, and they've just got different readers. But maybe one is adhering to higher principles than the other. 

Sunrise — 6:57, 7:07, 7:08.

"Lemurs are strange in the way that the reclusive and wealthy are strange; having had the island of Madagascar to themselves evolve in..."

"... they have idiosyncratic habits. Male ring-tailed lemurs have scent glands on their wrists, and engage in 'stink-fighting,' battles in which they stand two feet apart and wipe their hands on their tails, then shake the tail at their opponent, all the while maintaining an aggressive stare until one or the other retreats. It feels no madder than current forms of diplomacy. It’s not unusual for female ring-tailed lemurs to slap males across the face when they become aggressive."

Writes Katherine Rundell, in "Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures" (commission earned) quoted in "A Pretty Girl, a Novel with Voices, and Ring-Tailed Lemurs" (Paris Review).

Hadn't used my "animals are jerks" tag in a long time.

"New York Rep. Elise Stefanik has accepted President-elect Donald Trump’s offerto be his enforcer as United Nations ambassador...."

The NY Post reports.

The 40-year-old upstate Republican, who helped force out two Ivy League presidents with her sharp questioning on campus antisemitism, will the lead Trump’s “America first” and pro-Israel message in Turtle Bay... Stefanik, the No. 4 House Republican, has been a close Trump ally, including serving on his ceremonial defense team in 2020 during his first impeachment trial for pressuring Ukraine to investigate alleged Biden family corruption.

"She doesn’t believe in labels for her own sexual orientation and has little interest in dating other women, but she does believe in political lesbianism..."

"... as a way for women to establish lives separate from men — with an emphasis on the 'political' rather than the 'lesbian.' 'I don’t need to try being a lesbian, because in political lesbianism, I can just be a person, like a normal person — a human being. I can be in a safe place,' she told me as we drank sweet-potato lattes at a campus café. The most important thing, in her view, is the absence of men. 'Always, when I use the word "safe place," it means the place for women.'"

From "A World Without Men/The women of South Korea’s 4B movement aren’t fighting the patriarchy — they’re leaving it behind entirely" (New York Magazine).

That's featured on the home page, but I see: "This story, about women in South Korea who identify as part of the 4B movement, was originally published on March 8, 2023. In the days following the election of former president Donald Trump, interest in the movement has spiked dramatically."

Yes, I showed interest in it yesterday, here, linking to the NYT article "A Sex Strike Is a Losing Strategy for American Women."

And I blogged the New York Magazine article the day it came out, here, March 8, 2023. I quoted more of it at the time, and — I see now — I included that "political lesbianism" quote. 

"Democratic campaign strategists condescended to women, which is what both parties have been doing for a century now."

"But the parties are now also divided by class and on abortion, and a great deal of Democratic messaging has involved college-educated women telling women who never went to college how to think about their own bodies, or their own very real American dreams. Trump liked to say that he will, as President, protect women, whether they want him to or not. The Harris campaign said the same thing, only with more celebrity endorsements. None of this is good for women or for children or for men...."

Writes Jill Lepore, in "Democrats Tried to Counter Donald Trump’s Viciousness Toward Women with Condescension/The Harris campaign felt the need to remind women voters that they can vote for whomever they want. Women understood this. The campaign failed to" (The New Yorker).

It's hard for Democrats to criticize Democrats. They approach the topic but get distracted by how much worse the other side is. But the Democrats lost, and they need to figure out why and change something.*

I don't even know what "Donald Trump's Viciousness Toward Women" is supposed to refer to. I go back to the article and search for the word "vicious." Yes, I remember reading this the first time:

"Imagine you are about to have a political argument with a close friend or family member. You are on opposing sides of the left-right rift...."

"Doesn’t it sometimes feel that it would be simpler if you each just brought over a small TV and left it running in the kitchen, tuned to your respective network, while the two of you went into the yard and talked about something about which you possess some original knowledge? Once you’re out there, talking like that, won’t it be nice to feel your pre-formed 'political' carapaces drop away? And won’t it be discouraging and alarming when, as soon as one of you slips up and utters a triggering word or phrase ('immigrant' or 'Trump' or 'politically correct' or 'eating cats and dogs,' for example), you veer back into your canned 'political' jargon, like actors suddenly aware that the scripts you’ve been given must, at all costs, be honored?"

Writes George Saunders, in "Five Thought Experiments Concerning the Underlying Disease/Our civic wells are poisoned. Why?" (The New Yorker).

Saunders is a fine writer, but I'll be cruelly neutral and give him the "civility bullshit" tag he deserves. If Kamala Harris had won, would he be urging us to abandon political speech and get back to the little life of the backyard about which we possess "original knowledge"?

Sunrise, 6:32 — and a rainy walk in the woods, 9:33, 9:50.

"Right-leaning social media influencers... and their merry bands of wine moms and girl bosses have long waited for this moment: Validation..."

"... that they, too, can 'go wild on medicines,' no matter how many lives it puts in danger. Should Kennedy be instated to this unnamed high-ranking public health role... his intention is to dismantle and privatize the foundations of public health initiatives.... The bombastic Trump attitude may at times seem at odds with the Ballerina Farm wannabes and their sprawling broods, a picturesque life off the grid fueled by unpasteurized milk and sunshine with that one 'I think I like this little life' line from that song playing on a constant loop in the background, but consider that so many of these 'wellness'-minded people consider themselves to be freethinking rebels, a value that Trump also cherishes, albeit with wildly different understandings of how to use bronzer.... If all the newly pumped MAHA tradwives need something cute and farmhouse-chic to slurp up Kennedy’s Kool-Aid, great news: He has just the whimsical heart-emblazoned glass for you."

From "When MAGA Won, So Did MAHA, the 'Healthy'Arm of the Trump Apparatus/With RFK Jr. as a figurehead, American public medicine is set to enter its 'MAHA' era, no ha-has about it" (Vanity Fair).

"Trump’s initial calls with world leaders are not being conducted with the support of the State Department and U.S. government interpreters."

"The Trump transition team has yet to sign an agreement with the General Services Administration, a standard procedure for presidential transitions. Trump and his aides are distrustful of career government officials following the leaked transcripts of presidential calls during his first term. 'They are just calling him [Trump] directly,' one of the people familiar with the calls said...."

From "Trump talked to Putin, told Russian leader not to escalate in Ukraine/President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the call" (WaPo).

"In the months he is not on the road, that bandwidth is preserved at what is believed to be his primary residence, a rocky estate..."

"... located on the promontory of Point Dume, Malibu, a 'no trespassing' sign hanging across the narrow driveway of his property. Who he lives with is, like the rest of his life, a mystery, but his grandchildren are regular visitors. His neighbours are careful to maintain his privacy too. 'It’s a big honour to have such a beautiful artist as your neighbour,' says Veronica Brady, an award-winning documentary-maker. 'He lives in a very secluded area and everyone respects his privacy. But it’s exciting to have the sight and sound of him around us.' Even if that sound might include his welding workshop. In 2013 Dylan... exhibited his collection of metal gates.... 'Gates appeal to me because of the negative space they allow,' he said in the brochure. 'They can shut you out or shut you in. And in some ways there is no difference.'"

From "At 83, what drives Bob Dylan? We ask the people who know him best/The most enigmatic man in music is on a gruelling tour — and even sharing restaurant tips on social media" (London Times).

To me, Bob Dylan has made his private life seem completely uninteresting and beside the point. I like that. Go in through the music.

"Guns, God and gays — that’s the way they say it. Guns, that’s an issue; gays, that’s an issue, and now..."

"... they’re making the trans issue such an important issue in their priorities; and in certain communities, what they call God, what we call a woman’s right to choose."

Said Nancy Pelosi, answering the question "why did voters who earned less than $100,000 go for Trump in such large numbers," in "The Interview/Nancy Pelosi Insists the Election Was Not a Rebuke of the Democrats" (NYT).

"[T]he 2008 Barack Obama Democratic Party intersectional coalition has died. It is not that the coalition is wounded or endangered..."

"... it is that it is dead. Trump made historic inroads with Hispanic voters, Black voters, young voters and other demographic subgroups that have been vital to the Democrats since 2008. Trump won the nation's single most Hispanic county -- 97% Hispanic Starr County, Texas -- by 16%. Queens County, New York, famously one of the most ethnically and racially diverse counties in the country, moved over 20 points toward Trump from his 2020 performance. Overall, Trump won just under half the national Hispanic vote, and he made historic inroads with Black men. Voters under the age of 35, such a core Democratic constituency in the not-so-distant past, are now a swing voting bloc. Obamaism is dead. This is a seismic shift in the American political landscape, and it's not clear where Democrats go from here...."

Writes Josh Hammer, in "The Death of Obamaism, and the Historic MAGA Opportunity" (Real Clear Politics).

"No dating men, no sex with men, no heterosexual marriage and no childbirth. These are the four principles of South Korea’s 4B movement..."

"... a radical feminist movement that gained popularity in 2019, in response to sexism, hidden camera pornography and intimate partner violence. Following Donald Trump’s victory, some American women have sought out the movement.... Some American women are already devising plans to apply used menstrual pads to trucks with MAGA stickers and undergo voluntary hysterectomy surgery. TikTok and Instagram reels videos related to the 4B movement gained millions of views this week, and Google searches spiked in the U.S. on Wednesday, most notably in Democratic states. Trump’s win was devastating for many women. Their rage is understandable, but a 4B-style reaction is not constructive or sustainable...."

Writes Kami Rieck, in "A Sex Strike Is a Losing Strategy for American Women" (NYT).

"I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration..."

"... which is currently in formation. I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Writes Donald Trump, politely, on Truth Social.

Here's the NYT article about the announcement. Excerpt: "Many in Mr. Trump’s orbit... viewed Mr. Pompeo as being too eager to use the military overseas.... Mr. Pompeo in 2022 also criticized Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents after the F.B.I. raided his home in Mar-a-Lago.... Just days before the election, Ms. Haley said... 'This bromance and this masculinity stuff, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable'...."

"Am I the only one in the city being lectured on dates about Burning Man?..."

"... I hadn’t even finished chewing my first mouthful of pasta before his 37-minute tale began. (Yes, I timed it.) He fiddled excitedly with a loose dreadlock as I once again fell victim to an eternity of spiritual mansplaining. The formula was all too familiar. A compulsory mention of the 10 'core principles' of Burning Man, which, in more obnoxious settings, have also been referred to as 'the truths.' 'Inclusion is the core of our culture' he said. 'It’s written in the charter.'... [A]ttending Burning Man often costs a minimum of $5,000. And what kind of person my age, early career, has nine days to spend frolicking in a desert?..."

Writes Cate Twining-Ward, in "Men, Please Stop Talking About Burning Man/Am I the only woman meeting Burning Mansplainers on dates?" (NYT)(free-access link).

"If you’ve heard about delaying your morning coffee, the cognitive benefits of creatine supplements, the popularity of cold plunges..."

"... or the stamina-boosting effects of moderate exercise, you know what I’m talking about. These ideas can fall somewhere on the spectrum of scientifically untested to scientifically pointless. Sometime last year, I realized that bro science was no longer just for the bros. A friend asked if I’d heard of Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology at Stanford who hosts a popular health and science podcast called 'Huberman Lab.' He’d heard about it from his mom. Bro science has always run parallel to big wellness brands aimed at women, like Goop....  If you’re worried about your husband or your mom getting medical advice from a muscled guy with a mic, let me explain something: Being into wellness isn’t always about health.... In fact, wellness is probably healthiest when it’s treated like a hobby, or even as a spectator sport."

Writes Ashwin Rodrigues, in "Bro Science Is No Longer Just for the Bros" (NYT).

For more of the NYT fascination with Andrew Huberman, here's a piece by Jessica Grose from last August: "'Huberman Husbands,' 'Bro Diets' and the 'Masculine' Branding of Fitness Culture":

"Saturday Night Live" did a good job with the election results.

It goes a little long, but stick with it, because one person is much funnier than everyone else...

... and he's not a current cast member.

They did not repeat the inanity of their response to the 2016 election — the sorrowful "Hallelujah" performance by the Hillary impersonator. And I think they realize that as a comedy show, they are better off having Trump as their raw material rather than the dreary, awful Democratic Party.

The basic comedy idea used in the "SNL" cold open last night is very similar to what the brilliant comedian Tim Dillon used in his new podcast, released earlier in the day: Trump detractors are terrified that now Trump will come after them.