Post–August 5–26
Dear Everybody:
The big news today actually belongs in the “They’re All Perverts” section, as the Republicans wholeheartedly embrace truly terrible people:
–You’d think after Miller’s Sunday live stream debacle and the fact that his wife’s lawyer is now accusing him of putting child sexual abuse material online after he posted naked pictures of his two-year-old daughter as part of his defense, he’d know when to stop, but no, this morning he decided to go on CNN and be interviewed by Jake Tapper, even after his father-in-law had talked to reporters.
–Senator Moreno said, “My daughter lives in constant fear with this man. Not like something that’s existential, but deeply in her heart she fears what this guy is capable of.”
–He said he goes to the custody exchanges himself because he’s afraid of what will happen if his daughter goes to meet him, and that the exchanges are at the police station. He said that at the most recent exchange Miller refused to give his daughter her stuffed blue bunny that she cannot go to sleep without. He said, “I’m just not gonna give it to her,” and held it hostage for 48 hours. (Note: People who aren’t parents may not realize just how serious this is. Taking a child’s security blanket or stuffed animal is possibly the worst thing you can do to them–except, of course, for breaking their clavicle.)
–When asked about his daughter saying, “Daddy kill Mommy” and “Daddy’s house is scary,” Miller said, “I wish you could talk to my beautiful baby girl. She can’t string together sentences like that.” Tapper: “Didn’t you just tell me that she said she was scared to go to mommy’s house. Now you’re saying, she’s not capable of saying, ‘Daddy kill you?’” Miller: “What about the due process?”
–Miller: “It’s all hearsay, all hearsay.” Tapper: “It’s not hearsay, if it is first hand testimony from women, and I just named three people that are providing first hand testimony, that’s not hearsy…you understand that the reason this is a story is because it’s not the first time a woman that you’ve been intimate with has accused you of violence and abuse.” Miller: “I hope that you and the rest of the media do the same amount of digging as you are into me, as you will into those other two. Tapper: “They are not accused of physically abusing you. I mean, it’s pretty simple.”
–Tapper: “One of the files you released was an image of your daughter naked. It was available for a day before it was removed. Your ex-wife’s attorney says it could qualify as child sexual assault material. That’s shockingly reckless behavior.” Miller: “I wouldn’t say it’s shockingly reckless. There was no genitalia exposed.”
–Later on in the interview, Miller blamed the picture on his attorney: “I didn’t do this. My attorney took full responsibility.”
–Miller: “Men get a really bad shake in family court.”
–Tapper: “The story says when you were picked up for drunk driving, you have ecstasy in your system. When is the last time you used illegal drugs?” Miller: “I mean, the last time–I don’t know, several years ago?” Tapper” “Two? Twenty?” Miller: “This is testosterone replacement theory (sic). Secretary Hegseth just three weeks ago allowed our entire military who are males to take testosterone replacement therapy. That’s what I was doing.” (Note: I did not realize that testosterone replacement drugs included ecstasy.)
-Tapper: “Senator Moreno said that you have admitted privately that you need to get therapy.” Miller: “That’s projection.” Tapper: “Have you ever said that? Miller: “No, not to him.” Tapper: “To anyone?” Miller: “I think a lot of people within this country see a therapist.”
–Tapper: “Did you hold the doll hostage?’ Miller: “No. When I was reported for child abuse of my daughter for a broken collarbone, my daughter was in my ex-wife’s care 9 out of the last 11 days and she took her to the emergency room, which is a contempt violation from our shared parenting plan.”
–Helen Kennedy: “Of all the flaming corpses ejected from this monumental train wreck of an interview, this moment might have been the worst.”
–Miller said Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is supporting him.
–Miller threatened his father-in-law Sen. Bernie Moreno, saying the only reason he wants Miller to drop out is that he’s worried about Miller “exposing a deeply and personally embarrassing matter” of his.
–My favorite moment, though, had to be this one–Tapper: “Hold on, hold on, ’cause I’m not done with the list of women who have accused you of violence. Are all three of them lying?” Miller: “Yes. And I’m not getting out of the race because in 2016, President Donald J. Trump faced the most extreme allegations in the world that faced him day after day after day, and people in the media said he would have no shot of winning, but guess what, he stayed in and he was resilient.”
–Then Miller went on Newsmax and said, “When we go all the way back to 2015, 2016, and people in the Media looked at President Donald J. Trump, everyone came out with allegations. Dozens of women, dozens of crazy allegations,dozens of nasty criminal conduct. And do you want to know what he did, Rob? He stayed in the fight.” (Note: Hey, Max, I don’t think think this is the brilliant defense you think it is, because all this does is remind us of the nearly thirty women who have accused Trump of sexual assault, and that’s not even counting who knows how many underage Epstein girls. Plus, none of these Republicans seem able to remember that Trump was found by a jury to be guilty of sexual assault.)
–Meanwhile Stephanie Grisham, one of the women accusing him, has gotten a temporary restraining order against him.
People were NOT impressed by the interview or Miller’s protestations of innocence:
–Aaron Rupar: “Rep Max Miller’s interview with Jake Tapper was one of the most self-destructive things I’ve ever witnessed on cable news.”
–The Volatile Mermaid: “All you have to do is listen to the guy and a million red flags go up. There is zero concern for his daughter. Just tossing blame. A normal parent would be visibly upset and would stop at nothing to find out who hurt her.’
–brad: “Guy not smart enough to know he’s not smart enough to talk his way out of something rancid after you tell him he should probably just shut up, seek help, and hire like 10 more lawyers.”
–crinsc: “Miller is a sociopath, like the guy in the White House, the guy running the DOD, the Guy who wants to be AG, and so many others in (or seeking to be in) Trump’s orbit. Is this what Making America Great Again is about?”
–Daily Kos: “An unnamed GOP strategist reacted to Miller’s interview by saying, “I mean, what the absolute fuck was that?”
–Mark Jacob: “If you’re having a bad day, please realize that you’re having a much better day than Max Miller’s communication team.”
–Olu femi O Taino: “As low as my expectations have become, I still didn’t think an abuse story about somebody breaking a little girl’s bones would get worse, but that appears to have been naive of me.”
Trump and the Republicans, however, are still on his side:
–Trump said he knew Max Miller and he was “a good guy” and that he hoped he could work his problems out. He did not ask for Miller’s resignation, and Miller said Trump is behind him.
–You can always count on Speaker of the House and Good Christian Mike Johnson coming through and speaking up for what’s right. Johnson: “I feel badly for him. I hope he’s able to work it out.”
–Also Mike Johnson: “It’s part of being flawed humans. We have to let those processes play out.”
–And: “There’s all sorts of domestic events going on with 435 members of Congress all the time. It’s not my business to get engaged in it.”
–Senator John Thune : “It’s a very sad and unfortunate case. It is a family matter, and I just don’t have any observations beyond that. It’s a House matter. It’s a family matter, too, but I think, you know these decisions on the future there are going to be made ultimately by the people of Ohio, and I think that’s true.”
–Ohio Senator Jon Husted said he didn’t think Miller should resign. He said no. “Let’s focus on letting them sort through this on a family level.:
–Bill Kristol: “The Republican Party seems willing to turn a blind eye to the abuse of women.”
–Jason S: “Well, one thing is for sure, releasing photos of naked children isn’t going to get you ostracized from Trump’s GOP.”
–Hunter: “I really think we gotta explore why Republicans keep voting for guys whose whole personas are ‘serial killer with a chip on his shoulder.’ What is it about these obvious pieces of shit that draws these voters in?”
–They said Max Miller had to drop out of the race by 4 p.m. today EDT, or he is the Republican candidate. He did not drop out, so I guess he’s the candidate. Good luck with that.
And speaking of Epstein:
–Remember I told you about that modeling scout, Daniel Siad, who was found dead at his apartment last month and how he was being investigated for possibly recruiting underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein? Siad’s name was in the Epstein files more than 1000 times.
–Siad was under arrest in France for rape and human trafficking and awaiting trial, and was obviously VERY nervous about something–he sweated through his shirt during a CNN interview shortly before he was found dead.
–He had worked for MC2 Model Management, an international modeling agency founded by Jean-Luc Brunel who was an Epstein recruiter and who was also found dead while being investigated for his involvement in the Epstein human trafficking affair.
–Now they’ve found out that he ran an anonymous account under the user name of THILEY whose main purpose was praising Donald Trump. On the account he discussed his role with regard to Epstein–he claimed he had been victimized–and made multiple excuses for himself, but the main thing the account did was to praise Trump. He was “the best President ever,” and “our savior.” His posts began shortly before Epstein’s arrest and mysterious death and were shared up until the month he died.
–Tom Monk: “One less witness…”
–Adventure49: “Awaiting trial seems to be a serious threat to one’s health in the Epstein circle of friends.”
In (sort of) good pervert news, GOP Rep Chuck Edwards got the hint and is dropping out.
–He announced today that he will NOT run for re-election after the House threatened to censure him, but he will finish out his term. (Because they can’t afford to lose another vote.)
–He was charged with inappropriately pursuing two of his female aides, showering them with gifts they did not want and which they told him they were uncomfortable with, taking them on trips which he obviously hoped would turn into something else, sending them flowers, giving them pink guns, etc.
–He also made repeated unannounced visits to the staffers’ homes.
–The House Ethics Committee found substantial evidence that Edwards made unwanted advances to two female staffers.
In Trump Destroys Washington DC news:
–I don’t think I reported on Trump’s building of a new helipad on the White House South Lawn. He started it in July, with it supposedly being paid for by Lockheed Martin (who just happens to build the White House helicopter, Marine One.)
–Trump, as usual, completely bypassed all zoning laws, airspace regulations, and environmental impact studies.
–Construction on it started in July, and then Trump decided it had to be a rush job like the Reflecting Pool because he wanted it ready for China’s President Xi Jin Ping’s visit in September, so the workers then had to be paid overtime of $875,000 for working on it twenty-four/seven.
–Now Trump has decided he doesn’t like the fact that it’s not flat. The South Lawn slopes and the old helipad slopes, too, and it’s never been a problem, but Trump wants a landing pad that’s level with the horizon. Trump is reportedly “frustrated with the appearance.”
–So he wants them to tear out all the work that’s been done so far (weeks of construction) and start over after flattening the South Lawn.
–When completed (which it nearly is) the helipad will look like a giant presidential seal.
–WireBender73: “Sounds like the perfect way to put a target on the lawn for incoming missiles. Doesn’t get much stupider than that.”
–Daily Kos: “He’s going to keep wasting money and wrecking the place until we shove him out the door. That can’t come soon enough.”
There are also other problems with Marine One:
–Marine One took off from the White House the other day without air traffic controllers properly halting commercial flights at Reagan National Airport. This has ignited safety concerns and an FAA investigation because of a fatal collision between a commercial airliner and a helicopter last year.
–The Marine One pilot said he requested clearance several times without hearing back from Reagan National air traffic controllers. (What do you bet Trump made him take off anyway? “We don’t need no stinkin’ clearance.”)
In Iran war news:
–Reuters is reporting that the US has used up “virtually all” of its long-range precision missiles and are completely out.
–Iran hit a cargo ship and attacked a US base in Kuwait.
–Trump says the deal with Iran could come as early as Wednesday. (This week he said Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. Why do I even post this stuff?)
–Iran and Oman, however, are close to a deal which would have both of them run the strait. They would not charge tolls, but they would charge “service fees to cover the environmental impact of the shipping, security for the cargo ships and tankers, and staffing. Revenues would be divided equally between Iran and Oman.” (In other words, TOLLS!)
–Ron Filipkowski: “There were no ‘fees’ to transit the strait before Trump started his war and burned through billions of dollars of missiles.
–Trump posted an AI picture of himself standing with Generals MacArthur and Patton on a burning battlefield. They were all in military uniform. Trump was depicted as a 4-star general with a chest full of medals, while the other generals had a lot fewer medals and were depicted as 2-star generals. (Note: Patton was a 4-star general. MacArthur was one of only 9 5-star generals. Trump has never served.)
In other news:
–A 41-year-old man died in a detention center this week of what they are saying is cardiac arrest. When questioned about it, Markwayne Millin said, “he had a cardiac arrest at like 1:52, he was given CPR at 2 p.m. (Note: That’s a 9-minute gap, way too long for CPR to be of any use. Plus, the whole story’s fishy.)
–Two people have now died as a result of the cyclosporiasis outbreak, and the CDC has extended the outbreak to six more states for a total of 15 states. The CDC announced that they will create a formal defense team this week. (Seems a little late to me…)
–Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, Senator Thomas Massie, and Joe Kent (all disaffected former Trump supporters) met this weekend for a podcast in which they hinted at the possibility of starting a new political party to compete with the Republicans.
In good news:
–The ACLU has launched legal action against ICE on behalf of 54 individuals harmed by ICE agents in public or during detention. They have filed charges on the individuals’ behalf of excessive force, unlawful arrests, racial profiling, retaliation against protesters exercising their First Amendment rights, and abuse in detention.
–Trump had 25 days to seek a Supreme Court hearing of his failure to kill birthright citizenship, but he either forgot or decided not to pursue it at this point. Whatever the reason, he did not file it. So birthright citizenship is safe for the moment. Yay!
–According to a new Navigator Research Poll, 23% of Trump voters regret their 2024 vote. 31% of non-MAGA Republicans regret their vote.
Today is Curiosity Rover’s birthday, and for the occasion, NASA engineers taught it to sing “Happy Birthday” using the beeps and boops it uses to send back information. Somebody brought in a birthday cake for Mission Control, and all the engineers watched as “a non-autonomous robot 225 million kilometers away” sang “Happy Birthday,” and then applauded. How great! Happy birthday, Curiosity!
Worst comment of the day, from GOP Senator Rick Scott, the man who perpetrated the largest Medicaid fraud in the history of Florida: “We want people to get healthcare, but…”
Best comment of the day, from MH: “Praying it’s cosmic Jenga and the whole tower is coming down. if not with this piece, with the next one or the one after that. Soon, please.”
Keep calm and carry on,
Connie Willis
