Dear Everybody:
There’s only a week left–SEVEN DAYS!!!–till the midterm elections. If you haven’t voted, get out there and do it–and ask everybody you know if they’ve voted, and if they haven’t, see if there’s anything you can do for them, like delivering ballots or giving them a ride to the polling place, etc. In the meantime, these encouraging words:
–From Mary B in North Carolina: “As the fresh hell continues, thank you to every single person who donates and volunteers, whether it’s $1 dollar or one hour, every attorney and their associates who are fighting the regime in court, and every writer/podcaster/journalist telling the Truth daily.”
–From Judy: “Get everyone you know out to vote. 8 (now 7) days left. We have to save our beloved country.”
–From John Ninety: “From over the pond, may I wish all good, kind, and just American citizens a resounding success in the midterm elections. May justice, fairness, compassion, and cooperation prevail for the benefit of all.”
There was more good news today as Trump suffered four more losses in court:
–The 9th Circuit ruled 2-1 against his attempt to get California to set ballots Trump had decided were cast by illegal voters aside.
–Norm Eisen: “this is a major win for voters in California and everywhere.”
–A federal judge put the DOJ on notice about his attempt to mess with Alaska’s certification process.
–Brian P. McKeon: “So much losing for the DOJ on election stuff.”
–A federal judge ruled that Maureen Comey had been illegally fired from the FBI and ordered her reinstatement.
–And the judge in the golf course/cutting down trees case issued an 80-page opinion forbidding Trump from bringing heavy equipment, bulldozers and cranes with cutting saws ANYWHERE NEAR East Potomac Park. The judge also ruled the DOJ couldn’t claim its actions were normal maintenance because the court wasn’t buying it.
Yesterday I reported that Bolsonaro was refusing to concede the election to Lula in Brazil, but today comes news that he has generally conceded it, though not in so many words.
–Bolsonaro gave up his attempt to have the election annulled after Trump told him he wouldn’t support him in the effort. Trump had said, “It looked like another rigged election, frankly,” but refused to go any farther. Bolsanaro conceded minutes after Trump said he wouldn’t intervene on his behalf. (WHEN will people realize you can’t count on Trump for anything? Loyalty is totally a one-way street for him.)
–Bolsonaro has also been ordered by the Brazilian Supreme Court to turn over his passport. He is under investigation for money laundering.
–Scott Moenir: “Now that Trump’s autocrat friends are losing elections, Trump is afraid he will be next.”
In Trump/Epstein news:
–More details–all bombshells–are emerging about what’s in the Democrats’ report about Trump and his connections to Epstein’s sex-trafficking empire.
–One of the biggest bombshells is the news that Todd Blanche instructed Ghislaine Maxwell not to discuss a victim who specifically implicated Trump on three separate occasions, telling her, “Let’s not discuss specific victims.” (A clear threat/order.)
–The report talks about the connections with Zampolli (the modeling agent who Trump gave a position in his government–and fired right before this report broke), saying he arranged visas for the trafficked models and disputing the claims that he introduced Melania to Trump. The report says EPSTEIN introduced Melania to Trump.
–The report includes 5 rape and assault allegations against Trump, 6 trafficking and trafficking association accounts, accounts of the sexual assault of 21 women, the slapping and violent rape of a 13-year-old brought to him by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and the rape of a child from age 13 to 15, plus proof that Trump flew on Epstein’s plane at least eight times. (Trump said he never flew on the plane.)
–One of the reasons Beatrice Keul didn’t tell anyone Trump had raped her was that her passport had been taken from her, and she was afraid they wouldn’t give it back. (We’ve heard that story from a lot of Epstein’s victims. how he took their passports, which turned them into virtual prisoners.)
–Katie Johnson testified both Trump and Epstein repeatedly raped her at Epstein’s New York residence in 1994 when she was 13 years old. She said the men argued over who would take her virginity, and that Trump then raped her and Epstein was furious because he was the one who wanted to take her virginity. (There are no words.) She testified she was told to strip down to her underwear and massage Trump’s penis with her hands. The report said the documents linked to the case are still being withheld from Congress and the public.
–The DOJ is still refusing to release the Epstein files on the 13-year-old Jane Doe who claimed she bit Trump’s penis and he then slapped her, even though Katie Phang has sued to get that information.
–Maria Farmer said Trump approached her in a sexual and threatening manner when Epstein introduced her to him and that Epstein said, “She’s not here for you,” and that Trump indicated he thought she was 16. Farmer reported the abuse to the FBI and raised concerns about Trump. Those FBI reports are missing from the Epstein files.
–Stacey Williams said Trump groped her in his Trump Tower office while Epstein stood beside them. Williams said the men smiled and continued talking during the assault.
–Jill Harth testified that in 1997 Trump forcibly kissed and fondled her at Mar-a-lago when she and her husband visited there. Trump took her into a room to “show her something” and then immediately slammed her up against a wall and assaulted her. Harth said Trump demanded she provide him with access to an 18-year-old contestant, whom he referred to as a “sex object.”
–The Katie who was one of the witnesses at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, testified that Maxwell presented her to Trump the same way she did to Epstein. She was flown to Mar-a-lago and put up at a Trump property.
–Remember how Trump was “sold” that one girl with the photo with Epstein of the giant check? The report identifies her as a young foreign college student. She testified she had sex with both men.
–The report concluded that the DOJ “can’t be trusted to pursue accountability.”
–The report concludes: “The bottom line–There is more than sufficient evidence to launch a criminal investigation.”
–The mainstream media is scarcely mentioning this bombshell report at all. They are totally focusing on that awful thing Obama said about the Cheesecake Factory and other distractions and are paying no attention to what should be a major story.
–Judd Legum: “Not sure when a new, on the record, rape allegation against a sitting President isn’t considered news, especially considering Trump was found liable by a jury in a similar case, but it was ignored by most mainstream media outlets.”
–Andy Craig: “I know there’s a lot going on, but I feel it should probably be more of an above-the-fold story that members of Congress released a thoroughly documented report directly accusing the President of the United States of being a serial rapist.”
–emptywheel: “691 words about Cheesecake. 434 words about rape.”
In Ramaswamy’s loathsome ad attacking Amy Acton for being raped as a child news:
–Yesterday Ramaswamy doubled down AGAIN, calling Amy Acton “crazy, unstable, and dishonest.” He said he has “no regrets” about the ad.
–Ramaswamy’s eighth-grade teacher is protesting out beside the highway, carrying signs that say, “Shame on you, Ramaswamy. I taught you better.”
–Ramaswamy attended Cincinnati’s St. Xavier’s Academy as a kid. The alums are sending him an open letter, chastising him for the ad and reminding him of what he was SUPPOSED to have learned about dignity, respect, honor, and charity at the school.
–Meanwhile, MAGA continues to defend the ad, saying that the left is just trying to make Amy Acton a victim.
–Fred W. Cox: “If a sexually abused and raped 9 to 12-year-old child is not a victim, then who is?”
In oil and gas prices news:
–Trump on gas prices: “Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 dollars a gallon in some states under my predecessor and was, quite honestly, a disaster, is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states, and in some places $1.99 a gallon…and falling fast.”
–The average price of gas is $4.27 a gallon and the average price of diesel is $6.35. Gas is 42 cents higher than it was on Election Day in 2022 and diesel is nearly $1 dollar higher. It’s the highest it’s ever been on an Election Day in history, and is higher on average than during Biden’s four years in office.
–Trump bragged, “We’re making money like we’ve never made before. They’ll say, President Trump is bragging about all the money they’re making while people are suffering at the pump. I don’t give a damn. We’re making a freaking fortune.”
–Trump’s personal oil and gas holdings are between $22.5 million and $81.6 million dollars. This is up from the end of 2025, when his holdings were $12.6 million and $46 million respectively. He’s literally doubled his profits. More than 94% of this years’ new purchases of stock came after the beginning of the Iran War.
–On Fox, Energy Secretary Chris Wright blamed Democrats for high gas prices while onscreen there was a graphic showing gas up by $1.22 a gallon since last year under total Republican control.
–Vance on gas prices (and once again accidentally telling the truth): “They skyrocket every time some tinpot dictator decides to throw a tantrum.” (Did you have any particular tinpot dictator in mind? I do.)
In Trump dementia/madness news:
–Trump’s obsession with men’s asses is rapidly taking over his speeches. He talks about it ALL the time in his rallies.
–Trump on candidate Jon Husted: “I looked at his ass, and then I looked at his ass…He has got a great ass. Like a big pile of muscle in that ass.”
–On Mike Rogers: “I’d say that about your ass, too, Mike, if it gets you a guaranteed victory.”
–Trump made Nicki Menaj stand up at one of his rallies to show everyone her ass and talk about how great it was: “I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before. Nicki Minaj. That’s hard to miss. Stand up. That’s hard to miss. I hope Nicki wasn’t insulted…”
–In a rare moment of self-awareness, Trump said he had been noticing a lot about the physiques of everybody lately. (Ya think?)
–Trump then blamed the news media: “So this is to show you how fake the news is…They said, ‘What’s wrong with Trump? All he wants to do is talk about a man’s ass. They didn’t explain the whole football deal,” but he has also talked about other candidates and about people in the audience.
–Shannon Watts: “It’s all asses all the time now.”
–Brett Meisalas: “Creepy.”
–Chris Robinson: “I’m glad the leader of the Republican Party is firmly focused on butts as his party’s hope to retain control slips away. Solid strategy.”
–Jennifer Erin Valent: “The inhibition is entirely gone. Yeah, he’s always been a rude, obsessive pervert, but he at least knew how to self-regulate for his own benefit. That is gone and barely anyone seems to be asking why.”
–(Note: Every time he talks about being attracted to men it lends more credibility to the stories that he raped not only underage girls, but underage boys, and that that is what Putin and/or Netanyahu have on him and use to keep him underage boys.)
In Ukraine news:
–Ukraine struck and derailed a freight train of tankers carrying fuel. (There are also rumors that it was carrying North Korean missiles, too.)
–Ukraine damaged a chemical plant and an aircraft plant in Voronezh.
–There is a SEVERE diesel shortage in St. Petersburg.
–Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov admitted the Kremlin thought that the US would pressure Kyiv into compliance after the meeting with Putin in Alaska, where Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for him, and that he could force Ukraine to obey.
–Elon Musk tweeted: “We should have some sympathy for the poor Russian conscript…Those kids have no choice but to fight and die in drone strikes.” (You’ll notice he says nothing about the Ukrainians who have no choice but to try and defend their country against Russia, which invaded them and is trying to wipe them out.)
In promising news:
–Ayesha Mohid: “Everything Trump and his administration are doing right now reminds me so much of Nixon before his end came…trying to destroy the evidence.”
–Ken Chapman: “Trump’s behavior is reminiscent of a fish freshly landed on the jetty. Nowhere to go but flail around until they suffocate.”
–rugbymom: “Living through an attempted slow-motion coup based on ethnic cleansing, widespread corruption, foreign oligarch power, Christian nationalism, misogyny, and flagrant racism would tend to create ‘national trauma.’ It should. The danger (and their hope) was always that we would be frozen and numbed and they would slide us into it before we could react. The first couple of months of Trump 2.0 were a bit like that–but then we found our footing and began kicking back.”
–In an article in Politico, a GOP strategist noted that the polling right now reflects a change in the electorate as profound as those seen after Watergate and 9/11. “It would be so historically unprecedented you’d have to presuppose we’re staring down the barrel of a generational national trauma that no one is aware of.” (Oh, I think some of us are aware of it!)
–CNN’s Harry Enten: “Democrats are on the verge of a blowout victory in the midterms.”
In historical news:
–Today, October 27th, is the day when the Boston Red Sox FINALLY broke the Curse of the Bambino and won the World Series after losing it for a record 86 years. And deserving to, since the thing that brought the curse on was the owner’s selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankee so he could finance a Broadway musical, NO, NO NANETTE for his mistress to star in. A disgraceful act, and it put Boston into losers’ hell for over eighty years. I mean, he SOLD BABE RUTH!!!
–But the curse was eventually broken on this day in 2004, and there was much rejoicing in Fenway Park.
–There’s a great movie which involves the breaking of the curse: FEVER PITCH, starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon. The screenwriters actually wrote the script expecting the Red Sox to lose, as usual, and had to scramble to completely change the ending when they won the Series.
In other news:
–Elon Musk, whose companies depend on government contracts, has poured $445 million dollars into Republican campaigns.
–The World Series could be over tonight. The Brewers won the first three games, the one last night by a blowout 10-1 against the Rays, and if they win tonight, it will be a sweep.
–Anthropic filed its IPO financial report, revealing a loss of $80 billion dollars this year.
In good news:
–A shareholder in Trump’s World Liberty Finance crypto company sued Trump, accusing him and his family of corruptly profiting in more than $2 billion dollars in crypto deals, including a $500 million dollar deal with the UAE through a brother of Mohammed bin Salman. The suit claims that this deal violates the Constitution, which prohibits accepting gifts from foreign countries.
–New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced it will direct $8 million dollars to healthcare nonprofits so they can deliver gender-affirming care to patients under 18.
–Chiricahua, the Land of Standing Up Rocks in south-eastern Arizona, has become the nation’s newest national park after the passage of a bipartisan law. The law preserves tribal access for traditional ceremonies.
Best online conversation of the past week:
–Fox News’s Scott Jennings (the guy who thought he was going to get the job of press secretary and still might): “I’m going to warn you right now, when Donald Trump leaves office, there will be an effort to erase his name from everything.”
–Devin Duke: “Thanks for motivating Democratic voter turnout, Scott!”
Best comment of the day, from Jonathan Bernstein: “I am thoroughly confused by a string of good news in the news and am going to try really hard to just accept it as good news without worrying about jinxes or what comes next or what have you.”
Keep calm and carry on,
Connie Willis
