Dear Everybody:
The big news of the day is that Trump once again threatened to blow up Los Angeles and San Diego–and got answered with a brand-new “Daisy” ad:
–Trump’s lackeys in the White House and the fever swamps spent all day yesterday trying to convince people Trump hadn’t invited Iran to blow up Los Angeles and San Diego, only to have him undo the whole thing last night at a rally when he said it all again.
–Trump last night: “Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. You want to see a horror show? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles. You want to see some bad things happen?”
–Adam Cohen: “So after the White House spokespersons tried to justify his inexplicable remarks, saying that he wasn’t calling for Iran to nuke Los Angeles and San Diego, Trump DOUBLES DOWN, literally daring them to bomb the California cities.”
–Drehegler: “He didn’t say that! And if he did, he didn’t mean that! And if he did, you didn’t understand it. And if you did, it’s not a big deal. And if it is, others have said worse.”
–Aaron Rupar: “It’s really remarkable to me that ten years into this, people feel compelled to ‘clarify’ Trump’s homicidal and often genocidal fantasies. It is deranged for the president to daydream about American cities in states he hates getting blown up. Full stop.”
–Rick Cook: “Trump’s politicos tried to dismiss this as joking. No, Iran is not capable of reaching either city. That’s not the point. I don’t care that it’s not possible, or if he was joking (if he was) this is just entirely unacceptable and it is further evidence that a lunatic is occupying the People’s House (as if we needed more) right now.”
–But Trump’s doubling-down has now backfired on him in a big way: a new ad based on the Goldwater “Daisy ad.” It uses the original images of the ad–black-and-white shots of a little girl picking petals off a daisy as she counts the petals followed by a countdown, and then a nuclear explosion reflected in the little girl’s eye–followed by a shot of Los Angeles being hit by a nuclear bomb and the voice-over: “No President has ever called for a foreign power to attack our country. Until now.”
–You can see the video of the new ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhIeyeqI2Ng
I was going to say that the other big news was the ongoing grift and selling of the country by Trump and his administration, but this afternoon the Pentagon topped that news by announcing that they were going to hold a public execution by firing squad:
–This is the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.
–Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: “He’s gonna get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be. We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” He said that the decision was a “no-brainer” and that it will take place at Fort Hood at the same time that Hasan perpetrated the shooting and be carried out with “soldiers executing the firing squad.”
–The Huffington Post said Hegseth could barely contain his excitement while making the announcement (which he did in an interview on far-right-winger Jack Posobiec’s podcast.
–None of this is legal.
–The United States has not held a public execution since 1936.
–Meidas Touch: “This is grotesque…Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia are countries that use public executions. The US rejoins an exclusive club.”
–Tom Nichols: “The death penalty staged as a public spectacle is an abomination and stains us all.”
–Jim Stewartson: “Never in history has normalizing public executions been a good sign for a republic. We are in deep, deep trouble.”
–US politics editor for the Mirror Mikey Smith: “Pete Hegseth just gleefully announced the first military execution by firing squad since 1945 and said it would be ‘public.’ The last public execution in the US was in 1936. There hasn’t been a documented public military execution since the Civil War.”
–Ned Ludd: “‘We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it.’ Hey, just like al-Qaeda and ISIS did with their execution videos.” (And Iran.)
–That Guy: “Just when you thought that we weren’t being barbaric enough.”
–(Note: This just hit the news, so I’m sure there will be enormous pushback by tomorrow, so stay tuned…)
The original big news I was going to tell you is about the ongoing grift and selling of the country by Trump and his administration, and it’s actually two stories. First the bombshell from the Wall Street Journal this morning about Kimberly Guilfoyle:
–So, in the last couple of weeks, Guilfoyle has been in trouble for doing side deals in vodka and the selling of liquefied natural gas to Putin-allied countries and telling the Greek government, “We could take your government down any time we want. We can take anybody down.” And now this morning comes this BIG story from the Wall Street Journal:
–Guilfoyle leaned on Trump donor and former Republican congressional candidate for money during her confirmation hearing before Congress. She wanted him to pay off her American Express card debt to the tune of $100,000 ahead of the confirmation hearing, and she promised him access to Trump officials if he did.
–Deters had been seeking Guilfoye’s help in getting Trump’s assistance on tax and legal issues. (Note: He had had his law license suspended and once threatened to burn a courthouse down. He is a long-time supporter of Trump’s and donor to his campaigns.)
–Deters turned Guilfoyle down, saying, “I can’t do this without getting a divorce…I have paid you $300,000 over the years. As of this memo, I have not received one favor. I am not naive or a sucker. I need results.”
–Guilfoyle really wanted to keep the deal secret. She kept sending Deters texts saying, “Eric, I really wish you would stop papering all these things. it’s really dangerous and not helpful to you or me while you could simply just call me on Signal.” And: “You could just send it here. It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express–that’s all that will show. Please.” And: “What a nightmare! You’ll literally cost me my ambassadorship. Stop writing!” (I believe this is what is known as “consciousness of guilt.”)
–Guilfoyle promised him if he sent the money, “I will be your Trump ride or die, forever and ever.” She also texted him, “I can get you in a meeting on the matter we discussed. Please get back to me ASAP.”
–Guilfoyle’s lawyer says she is “doubtful about the authenticity of these messages.” She also says she was owed money for event appearances. (Translation: Guilty, guilty, guilty.)
–When JD Vance was asked, “Do you have any reaction to a US ambassador asking someone to pay off debt in exchange for access to other government officials?” Vance: “Well, so–with that hypothetical, obviously I don’t love that, but I, you know, I don’t know exactly who you’re talking about, I don’t know the full details.”
He says he had already paid Guilfoyle $500,000 to speak at a Kentucky event and had paid $125,000 to a pro-Trump PAC. Deters: “She never came through on anything.”
–Chris Strider: “It’s not a hypothetical, JD.”
–Ozhole: “He 100% knows.”
–Marco Rubio, who happens to be in Greece right now, first refused to comment and then went off on a rant: “I’m not playing this game…you guys are not gonna be our only source of information in the world. I’m sorry to tell you that. No…I don’t even know if what you’re reporting is true.” (It’s true. The Wall Street Journal has her text messages.)
–A US Embassy official said, “Guilfoyle’s career in and out of public service is guided by deep and abiding values…The ambassador remains committed to represent the American people with dedication and integrity.”
–Gwendolyn McCarty: “For God’s sake, is there anyone in Trump’s orbit, members of the judiciary, his ambassadors, staff, elected officials, and Trump himself who has NOT been engaged in blatant corruption–selling access for money, insider trading, illegal selling of no-bid contracts, illegal grifts, and it goes on and on.”
–Tommy Vietor: “Hoooly shit!”
–Russell Drew: “Kimberly Guilfoyle must resign immediately. Actually not surprised at all because the entire inner circle is corrupt as fuck.”
–Sam Stein: “This is the most comically corrupt thing I’ve read in a long time (and that’s saying something for this era.) How Guilfoyle could be allowed to remain in her post is impossible to imagine.”
–Angry Staffer: “Hey, looky, more blatant corruption. I’m shocked, shocked, I tell you.”
–Sarah Longwell: “Nobody is working in this administration. They’re simply monetizing their administration role. All of them are so deeply corrupt, and I can’t wait for the hearings.”
The second grifting story’s just as explosive, though not as flashy, but it IS about Trump trying to influence foreign elections. And it comes from right inside Trump’s campaign–surprise, surprise:
–Two of Trump’s main campaign advisors, James Blair and Chris LaCivita, have spent the last few weeks not working on the midterm elections, but over in Bosnia, helping a pro-Putin government with their election and helping it tighten its grip on power.
–While they were there, they were being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars through (not the Bosnian government, as you might suppose) a DC law firm.
–There was news that Trump was furious and had unfollowed Blair and LaCivita and was threatening to fire them, at which point Trump’s communications director, the ever-charming Stephen Cheung responded, “Wrong, you slope-brained retards. I know it sucks to be Kamala rejects, but the truth is I unfollow deactivated WH/37 accounts.” (Which is not only vile and completely inappropriate for a government official, but which doesn’t address the question.)
–Tim Fuller: “Official White House staffer using an incredibly hurtful word for millions of disabled Americans. What an awful group of people running the administration. Just the meanest and most cruel people.”
–Bill K: “Always the charmer. Class act to have in your show, Dear Leader.”
–Now Trump is saying they don’t work for him–they’re “outside consultants” and gosh, he hardly knows them–they’re just minor consultants who work for lots of other people, too.
–And this must be really bad because Trump said if there was a conflict (and if they worked for him, which they don’t) he’d fire them!
In oil and gas prices news:
–With Hurricane Isaias headed for the US, 32.6% of the Gulf of Mexico’s rigs have been evacuated, with 62.9% of oil production shut down and 57.4% of natural gas production shut down. After the storm passes production will resume, but not till early next week, and in the meantime, it’s another hit for prices.
–Ron Filipkowski: “Trump better get that sharpie out.”
In Iran War news:
–Trump is considering ramping up the war with Iran before the midterms because he thinks it will cause more people to rally around him.
–This is clearly illegal, a case of using the troops as political pawns and putting not only them but our bases, ships, etc. at risk.
In voting news:
–690,000 Americans have already voted across 29 states, with Dems having a clear advantage in people who’ve voted.
–A Georgia judge dismissed a Republican lawsuit seeking to restrict where Gwinnett County voters can return their mail ballots, ruling that the law allows the county to accept ballots at designated early voting sites.
–I forwarded Laura Lewis’s email about her and her husband’s voting. If you’ll send me your voting news, I’ll be happy to post it for the group. And thanks to Laura! A single snowflake is nothing…but put them together into a snowball…or, better still, an avalanche, and you really got something.
In rigging the election news:
–Tina Peters is advising Trump to seize ballots nationwide and conduct a hand recount. Her lawyer, Peter Ticktin, hinted at the potential for civil war and said “Trump won’t relinquish control again.” (Thanks, Governor Polis!)
–There’s been an influx of contracted-out, armed security guards at the locations of the US Post Office weeks before the midterms. They have been mostly deployed in blue and swing states. The head of the Post Office Workers Union said the timing is “really suspicious.”
In promising news:
–Carol Fox from North Carolina: “I check with my hair stylist periodically to see what her Republican customers are telling her about their views. Yesterday she said her MAGA customers had dwindled to just a few and that the rest of her Republican customers are voting for Democrats this year. One of them has even been canvassing for Democrats.”
–Dr. Strange: “I am volunteering at our local Dem HQ and when I was over there yesterday, the women running the place told me that strangers are coming in off the street, picking up a lawn sign or button or to get information, and then stick around to talk, and many of them are signing up to volunteer for canvassing and phone banking!”
–Many people are taking the $90 check Trump sent out to “help” with health care costs ($90 might just about cover an aspirin) and donating it to ActBlue and other Democratic voting organizations. (Note: Only enrollees of Medicare Part B get checks. People with Medicare Advantage plans don’t get a check.)
In historical news:
–Today marks the date in 1956 of the only perfect game ever played in the World Series. Yankee pitcher Don Larsen pitched a perfect game–27 batters taken out, no hits, no walks, no errors.
(It’s also the anniversary of the Chicago fire, but I’d rather remember the day for something good. By the way, Mrs. O’Leary’s cow didn’t do it. The fire was started with a lantern being knocked over by either a guy stealing milk for a whiskey punch party or a bunch of guys playing poker in the barn. That cow should sue for defamation.)
In other news:
–Hurricane Isaias is moving toward the US. As of right now it’s a Category 2 hurricane, and it is headed toward a Gulf Coast landfall Friday night. The area from Ocean Springs, Mississippi to the Bay/Gulf County Line in Florida is under a hurricane warning watch, with areas from New Orleans to northern Florida under a tropical storm warning, but if recent hurricanes are any indication, it could intensify rapidly and without warning. It may also grow in size as it nears landfall.
–The Trump administration is planning to cut the budget for Nobel Prize-winning research in half.
–Pat Boone, who’s been a loyal Trumper forever, told Trump the best thing he could do is stop talking and “be more polite and respectful.” (Sure, and after hell has frozen over…)
–96 pardoned January 6 insurrectionists have been rearrested.
–A US Attorney who was fired by Trump 54 minutes after assuming office has filed a lawsuit challenging his removal.
In good news:
–The Nobel Prize in chemistry has been won by Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soal for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysts in asymmetric organic synthesis (solving the mystery of mirror image molecules.)
–The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Canadian poet Anne Carson for her poetry, essays, and translations that reimagine classical antiquity.
–Trump folded after a public outcry by scientists, fishermen, and Congress, and is now reinstalling the ocean monitors that he had removed.
Best comment of the day, from Simon Rosenberg of Hopium Chronicles: “So far, so good. Keep calm, carry on, peeps, and keep working the early vote in your communities as hard as you can.”
November is Coming. Weâre Coming. And Hellâs Coming with Us
Keep calm and carry on,
Connie Willis
