Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Elon Body Odor

 Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Donald and His Bro Squad."


donald and his bros


I love it.  I also love Paul Rudnick.


It would not surprise me in the least -- both are clearly overcompensating.


Now to the awful Musk.  THE INDEPENDENT has a report entitled "Elon Musk once offered RFK Jr’s running mate Nicole Shanahan his sperm, claims report."  So what happened next?  She swallowed it thinking it was a snack and not a plan to have a child together?  Oh, that Nicole, don't go waiving anything in her face, not Nicole.   The report notes:



Shanahan wasn’t the only one to get such an offer from Musk, according to the Times report. The tech executive also offered his sperm to a couple he didn’t know well during a dinner party at the home of a well-known Silicon Valley executive last year.


So he just walks around whipping it out? I don't know why anyone would want to be with Ass Hair.  We all know that, right?  Elon was bald and has his ass hair transplanted to his scalp.  That's why he looks so weird.  Ass Hair no top your head never looks normal.  


On the topic of Ass Hair Elon, Ellie Abraham (INDY 100) reports:


Actor Robert Downey Jr. has opened up on his thoughts about billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk “cosplaying Tony Stark” in real life.

Downey is famous for playing the fictional billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, aka the superhero Iron Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In Iron Man 2, Stark and Musk even briefly shared a scene together while meeting at the Monaco Grand Prix, with screenwriter Mark Fergus saying the moment was fitting as Stark’s on-screen character was partly inspired by Musk.

But now, Downey himself has opened up about his thoughts on SpaceX co-founder Musk, speaking as a guest on the On with Kara Swisher podcast.

The actor was asked what his thoughts were on Musk “cosplaying Tony Stark” and he answered with brutal honesty, citing Musk’s behaviour.


He's not impressed -- nor should anyone else.  



The word “bombshell” has been so grossly overused for so long that it is guaranteed to make anyone’s eyes roll. But what other word fits?
With just a week until the presidential election, Donald Trump’s close ally and major economic adviser Elon Musk is warning supporters to expect economic chaos, a crashing stock market and financial “hardship” — albeit only “temporary” — if Trump wins.
 [. . .]

This is not the usual picture when a politician and his campaign promise austerity, hardship, deep budget cuts, a likely economic “overreaction” and a slump in the stock market. You usually hear those things proposed in a deep crisis, when desperate times supposedly demand desperate measures.

Instead, Musk’s agenda is like your new family doctor promising a major dose of brutal chemotherapy when you are perfectly healthy and cancer-free.

It can hardly help that Trump and Musk themselves are billionaires, and wouldn’t experience any of the hardship predicted for ordinary Americans. Musk, with an estimated net worth of $270 billion, is the richest man in the world.

Musk told supporters that the measures were needed because of the crisis of the skyrocketing federal debt.

He compared the U.S. to an individual, even though a country that controls its own currency cannot go bankrupt to itself. At one point he said spending was “bankrupting the company,” before correcting himself and saying “country.”

Musk did not address the issue of Trump’s proposed tax cuts, which the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says would add about twice as much to the national debt as the proposals of Democratic rival Kamala Harris. Musk’s concern with the ballooning national debt was focused entirely on cutting spending.

Musk also said cutting federal spending was needed to bring down inflation, even though it has already fallen to 2.4%.  




To be sure, delivering anything close to the $2 trillion figure floated by Musk would likely require taking an axe to popular entitlement programs like Social Security or Medicare. In the past, Trump has vowed not to touch them.

As Wizman pointed out, such a steep cut would exceed the amount of any individual outlay category during the 2024 fiscal year.

Treasury yields have fallen sharply since the Federal Reserve delivered its jumbo interest-rate cut in September. Many economists and market analysts have blamed a run of strong economic data for tamping down expectations that the Fed would need to cut rates aggressively to stave off a looming economic downturn, helping to push yields sharply higher.



Don't you think Donald Trump should have been sharing this plan -- and doing so a long, long time ago.  How does FOX "NEWS" plan on explaining this proposal to their audience?  They betrayed their audience with those puff pieces on Trump and the FOX "NEWS" audience is the 'news' network with the highest number of senior viewers.   Imagine if this had been presented accurately?  "Are you over 65?  Well a vote for Trump could mean the end of Medicare for you so, answer us this, are you ready to go back to working eight hour days five days a week?  It's that or going homeless, seniors."




"The idea that one can cut $2 trillion in wasteful and unnecessary programs is absolutely absurd,” said Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a center-right think tank. “There’s a long history of the fantasy that one smart businessman will just identify trillions in waste, but that’s just not how it works.”

More likely, Musk would need to pursue much broader cuts that include what are known as mandatory programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which are funded as a requirement of federal law. To achieve his savings, he would need to propose dramatic, structural changes to these and other benefits, from lessening payment amounts to limiting eligibility, perhaps even raising the retirement age.

“It would be borderline impossible if they’re not going to look at other parts of the budget,” said Marc Goldwein, the senior vice president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which advocates for deficit reduction.

By his math, Goldwein said that Musk would have to slash all spending, including defense and entitlements, by one third to accomplish his goal in a single year — or, by an unfathomable 80 percent, if these and other politically sensitive programs were off the table. That aligned with similar estimates from the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which has opposed past GOP cuts.

Even stretching those savings out over a decade, the typical Washington long-term budget window, would mean spending reductions ranging between 25 and 60 percent, Goldwein said.


"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, October 30, 2024.  Kamala Harris makes the case for electing her our next president while it turns out Donald Trump, in addition to all his hateful plans, is also planning to wreck the US economy.


Kamala Harris is campaigning to be the next president of the United States -- an election that wraps up in five days.  She gave a speech last night.  Ahead of the speech, THE PBS NEWSHOUR spoke with voters waiting to hear her.



I think a lot of us are all waiting until after the election to take that deep breath.  And there's still so much work to be done before election day.

The speech? Pretty amazing. 



Matt Lasio (RAW STORY) reports:


Tens of thousands of Harris supporters came out to hear her Tuesday night address at the Ellipse, the exact spot where the former president famously held his "Stop the Steal" rally before supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

It’s a brilliant strategy, according to former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) who served as a senior adviser on the Jan. 6 select committee.

“I think this is a master stroke,” Riggleman told Raw Story at the rally. “I think having this on the Ellipse right before the election, I think, it's the way to go.”

Harris’ Ellipse event comes on the heels of Trump’s racist, sexist and conspiracy-tinged Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday, which Riggleman said was perfect timing.

“The Madison Square Garden rally gave her the opportunity to provide a positive vision for America, where he tried to destroy America,” Riggleman said. “Madison Square Garden was the biggest October surprise self-own in political history.”

The former congressman said the Republican Party —a party he loves but felt forced to leave — is in shambles under Trump.

“It's a party for the unserious. I think that's the shame of it all, is that we have real issues globally, and these individuals are not prepared to deal with what America needs to deal with,” Riggleman said. “You gotta support sanity and rationality. Right now, the GOP is so infested with nativism and bad behavior, there's no way, I think, traditional center-right individuals would want to be a part of the party.” 


Today on MORNING JOE, they addressed and analyzed the speech.



Yesterday, others were speaking on Kamala's behalf including Senator Bernie Sanders, US House Rep AOC and our former First Lady Michelle Obama 



2024 is the year Michelle became the most effective speaker in the Democratic Party.  Over and over, she delivers and she connects.  A lot of things have taken place in Kamala's campaign over the last few months.  One of them is Michelle emerging as not just a good speaker married to a great one (Barack) but Michelle coming into her own and becoming our greatest speaker.  Marvel over that.  Think about the DNC convention and how Oprah gave an amazing speech but even there Michelle didn't just match Oprah, she surpassed Oprah and every other speaker that week.  


UAW's Shawn Fain spoke at the convention and has continued speaking out for Kamala.  Jake Johnson (COMMON DREAMS) reports:

United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain late Tuesday called for working class unity against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the final stretch of the 2024 race, warning that the former president would serve the interests of his own class and embolden the nation's executives to intensify their decades-long war on the labor movement.

Responding to members who question why the UAW is involved in the political process at all, Fain said during a video livestream that "we are up against a billionaire class that will not stop their attack on us at the bargaining table."

"They will not stop at the workplace, they will not stop at the border—they will take every inch we give them," said the president of the UAW, which has endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. "We don't engage in political activity because we like a candidate. We don't do it for ourselves, as your union leadership. We don't do it for the Democratic or Republican parties. We engage in politics as a union because it is core to our fight for economic and social justice."

Fain said that the United States is currently trapped in a "vicious cycle" in which the "ruling class has waged a one-sided class war on the working class, and they've been winning."

"We're in a vicious cycle where the billionaire and corporate class take more and more for themselves and rewrite the rules of the game to keep it that way," said Fain. "They use their insane wealth to buy off politicians and elections. The lap dogs of the billionaires then pass more laws that restrict unions and keep working-class people down. They consolidate the fruits of our labor into the hands of Wall Street and corporate America, and that cycle goes on and on."


This election matters.  Saturday, Rebecca explained:


it is telling and sad that racism exists at all but even more telling and sadder when we're looking at our left outlets like 'the nation' and 'democracy now' and seeing just how much racism still exists to this day.

and i know it's depressing.  it depresses me.  it makes me want to climb into bed and just pull the covers over my head.

but that doesn't make it go away.

so i do that for a moment or 2 and recharge and then get back out of bed and get ready to fight again.  and that's what we have to do.

vote.

vote like your life depends upon it because it does. all we have to do is vote.  if we vote, if all of us vote, we're done with trump.  we have the numbers on our side.

donald's cult has decreased since 2020.  

we have brave americans who are swing-voters, who are independents, who are democrats, who are greens, who are libertarians and who are republicans who get just how important this election is.  

we have the numbers on our side as long as we actually vote.  

we need to vote and we need to ask the people we know to vote for kamala as well. 

there's no secret math required.  there's no in depth strategy needed.  we have the numbers, we just have to turn out.

now i can't write constantly, i can' spend all day talking to 1 group after another.  i can't do that.  c.i. can and we're lucky to have people like that.  but just because i can't put hours and hours of time in on this doesn't mean i can't do anything.  

i can vote.  i can make sure my friends who are supporting kamala know how important this vote is and, say 1 of them needs me to watch their kids so that they can vote, or they need a ride to the polls so they can vote.  those are things i can do.  

and when it starts feeling overwhelming, just focus on what you can do and do that.  that's how we're going to win this election because we need president kamala harris.


I've already voted for Kamala.  Absentee because I knew I'd be speaking around the country.  And I mailed it long ago.  (In my state, it count if it arrives by November 12th.  I didn't chance it.  And if you have an absentee ballot to fill out, you might want to check about when it needs to arrive.  In California, it must be postmarked no later than November 5th  and it must arrive by November 12th.)  But that doesn't mean the job is done.  I'm still speaking to groups and I'm also calling friends and being a pest asking, "You did vote already, right?  No?  You're going to vote election day?"  We need to make sure that our friends and family members who need rides to the polls are getting them.  

This is an important election and I believe most of us realized that before Sunday when Donald Trump staged his hate rally in Madison Garden Stadium.  But that hate rally made it even more clear what's at stake.  At THE NEW REPUBLIC, Matt Ford explains:


Americans got a visceral taste of what a second Trump administration might look like on Sunday night, when Trump held a high-profile rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event featured prominent guests like Hulk Hogan and Dr. Phil, as well as a rare appearance by former first lady Melania Trump. But it was the lower-billed speakers who seemed to seek, and subsequently received, the most attention.

Tony Hinchcliffe, who against all odds identifies as a comedian, delivered a litany of racist invective as part of a stand-up routine. He described Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” and disparaged Latinos more broadly. “These Latinos, they love making babies too,” he told the audience. “Just know that. They do, they do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country.”


Hinchcliffe also suggested in one bit that Israel and Palestine could settle their differences with a game of rock paper scissors. “You know Palestinians will throw rock every time, and also we know Jews have a hard time throwing that paper,” he said, referencing antisemitic tropes about Jewish people and money. In another quip, he claimed that Black Americans would be “carving watermelons” instead of pumpkins for Halloween.

Other guests also leaned into racist comments and tropes. Grant Cardone, an influencer and corporate speaker, said that Harris “and her pimp handlers will destroy the country.” Tucker Carlson, an ex-Fox News host, mocked Harris in racist terms while claiming that Democrats would have a hard time stealing the election because of her.

“It’s gonna be pretty hard [for them] to look at us and say, ‘You know what? Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she’s just so impressive. As the first Samoan-Malaysian low-IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president. It was just a groundswell of popular support,’” he sarcastically told the crowd. Harris’s mother is a biomedical scientist who immigrated to the United States from India; her father is a Stanford University economics professor who originally hails from Jamaica.

[. . .]

The Madison Square Garden rally showed how much of Trumpism is about satisfying the basest, crudest, and most hateful impulses in American life—and how much his acolytes can’t wait to wield the federal government to do it.


Do you know who was at that hate rally?  You probably do.  You've probably been following it more closely than I have.  I was speaking over and over on Sunday.  It was near midnight when we made it back to the hotel.  Ava and I wrote our piece for THIRD and then I started working on the post here and that's when I found out about the hate rally.  I didn't register that Robert Kennedy Jr was present until I found this Tweet by David Corn.



And on the topic of Junior and also Elon Musk, let's note this video from Keith Edwards.



Junior being in charge of our federal health agencies?  That's offensive, outrages and outlandish.  Also noted in the video by Keith is Elon exposing the plan that's been hidden from the American people.   Elaine covered this yesterday in "Trump's plan is to wreck the economy:"


They want to destroy the economy.  That would tear apart America.  No wonder they want to keep this secret.  I doubt even 2% of registered voters would vote for Trump if they knew that was the plan.  Nikki McCann Ramirez (ROLLING STONE) notes:

On Tuesday, Elon Musk - the billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla - agreed in a social media post that Donald Trump's return to office would likely crash the economy.  

"If Trump succeeds in forcing through mass deportations, combined with Elon hacking away at the government, firing people and reducing the deficit – there will be an initial severe overreaction in the economy," user @FischerKing64 wrote on X. "Markets will tumble. But when the storm passes and everyone realizes we are on sounder footing, there will be a rapid recovery to a healthier, sustainable economy," he added.  

"Sounds about right," Musk replied. 

The billionaire has been heavily campaigning for Trump in the final weeks of the campaign, including by hosting a potentially illegal cash-for-signatures scheme and million dollar raffle for registered voters in key swing states. The former president has, in turn, vowed that Musk will be appointed as the head of a "government efficiency commission" under his administration, and be tasked with slashing wasteful spending. 


They want to wreck the economy.  Now that's happened before.  Could it happen here?  Yeah, Donald gets back in the White House, then, yes, they will intentionally destroy the economy. 


Why?  Because it will panic the American people.  They hope it will subdue the American people.  That's what they did in Iraq.  That's what Naomi Klein's "Baghdad Year Zero" was all about.  

They want to wreck the economy.  And whether it's what was done in Iraq or what was done in Russia or anywhere, this destroys life for the average person.  And that's the plan -- it's intended to do that.  


He wants to be president in order to destroy our country.  We need to grasp that and grasp just how important this election is.









This is not minor and it's truly outrageous.  It goes to how deceptive liar Donald Trump truly is.  He's refused to make pubic this scheme because he knows voters would reject him -- even many of the MAGA faithful.  So he lies about it.  Sunday, at his hate rally, he teased a secret that he and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson planned to reveal after the election.  I bet Trump has a ton of secrets he plans to reveal after the election.  But in a democracy?  Those things are supposed to be made transparent ahead of the election.  


That's why your vote is so important and this election is so important.  Erich Pica (COMMON DREAMS) notes:


 Jill Stein and the Green Party may seem to be an obvious choice for environmental advocates, yet they have failed to demonstrate that they are a real national party or can build a real national party.

This election comes down to a choice between a catastrophic dictator and a livable future for our planet.

Out of more than 519,000 elected offices in the United States, the Green Party currently holds 142 offices, none of which are statewide or federal offices. Even in California and New York, where there is rank-choice balloting and fusion battling, the Green Party has failed to make headway in electing candidates. The mayor of Oakland, California remains the party’s greatest electoral victory. Clearly this is not a political party worthy of a national ballot.

In contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris is a strong candidate with a climate record. As California attorney general, Kamala Harris stood up to corporate polluters and worked to further environmental justice. In California she vigorously defended multiple state-level consumer, public health, and animal welfare laws. And as vice president, she cast the deciding vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, one of the most important federal climate actions to date.

This election comes down to a choice between a catastrophic dictator and a livable future for our planet. Trump did irreparable damage under his first administration, handing favors to Big Oil billionaires and rolling back over 100 environmental rules and protections. Trump has repeatedly proven his presidential bid is solely for selfish gain, and that he will always put his own interests and his rich buddies above the American people.

If you deeply care about the fight for a more healthy and just planet, and if you deeply care about building power, then I believe—regardless of our policy disagreements with Vice President Harris—that we must support her in this election. Third-party candidates threaten to take votes away from Harris by painting themselves as an alternative to Democrats, but they will only spoil votes in Trump’s favor. I urge those who care about climate, democracy, and social justice to reject the Stein smokescreen and instead support Vice President Harris for President of the United States. Vote like the future of our planet depends on it, because it does. 



Sunday's hate rally has been followed by more troubling issues for Trump.  James Bickerton (NEWSWEEK) reports that 



"Pockets" of the crowd who attended Donald Trump's rally at Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion on Monday left as the former president was delivering his address, according to a local journalist.

Footage posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Greg Bluestein, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, showed significant numbers of empty seats early in Trump's speech at the 8,600-capacity venue, with an entire top tier appearing nearly empty. Bluestein later posted a longer video at roughly the "hour-mark" of Trump's address, which showed the number of attendees in some seating sections had further thinned out.

Georgia, which Trump won in 2016 but lost to President Joe Biden in 2020, is one of the key swing states that may end up determining the 2024 presidential election. Recent polling indicates the race remains razor tight, with an analysis of recent surveys published on Monday by election website FiveThirtyEight giving Trump a 54 percent chance of victory, against 46 percent for Harris.

On Monday, around 40 minutes into Trump's Georgia address, Bluestein shared an 11-second video from the arena showing substantial clusters of empty seats. He wrote: "Pockets of the crowd at Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion start to leave as Donald Trump's speech continues."


Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Trick or Treason" went up last night.  The following sites updated:


Posted by at

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Trump's plan is to wreck the economy

 Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Trick or Treason" went up a little while ago.


trick or treason

Love it.  Paul Rudnick.





I'll let Laura Loomer and Marjorie Taylor Greene duke it out on their own, I don't have a bet on either dog in that fight.  Instead, let's focus this evening on the Donald Trump plan to tank our country's economy. Alex Henderson reports:


In an October 29 post on X, formerly Twitter, Politix.fm's Brian Beutler argued that some MAGA Republicans are seriously talking about tanking the U.S. economy on purpose in order to give the country a full-fledged MAGA makeover.

Beutler highlights a tweet posted by far-right Trump supporter @FischerKing64, who acknowledged that some of the things Trump is proposing — including "mass deportations" and "firing" government employees in big numbers — could, in fact, create an economic crisis.

@FischerKing64 tweeted, "Markets will tumble. But when the storm passes and everyone realizes we are on a sounder footing, there will be a rapid recovery to a healthier, sustainable economy."

Beutler, in response, warned that @FischerKing64 is making an argument for crashing the economy on purpose.




In private speeches delivered in 2023 and 2024, Russell Vought, who served as Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, described his work crafting legal justifications so that military leaders or government lawyers would not stop Trump’s executive actions.

He said the plans are a response to a “Marxist takeover” of the country; likened the moment to 1776 and 1860, when the country was at war or on the brink of it; and said the timing of Trump’s candidacy was a “gift of God.”

ProPublica and Documented obtained videos of the two speeches Vought delivered during events for the Center for Renewing America, a pro-Trump think tank led by Vought. The think tank’s employees or fellows include Jeffrey Clark, the former senior Justice Department lawyer who aided Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election result; Ken Cuccinelli, a former acting deputy secretary in the Department of Homeland Security under Trump; and Mark Paoletta, a former senior budget official in the Trump administration. Other Trump allies such as former White House adviser Steve Bannon and U.S. Reps. Chip Roy and Scott Perry either spoke at the conferences or appeared on promotional materials for the events.


Vought does not hide his agenda or shy away from using extreme rhetoric in public. But the apocalyptic tone and hard-line policy prescriptions in the two private speeches go further than his earlier pronouncements. As OMB director, Vought sought to use Trump’s 2020 “Schedule F” executive order to strip away job protections for nonpartisan government workers. But he has never spoken in such pointed terms about demoralizing federal workers to the point that they don’t want to do their jobs. He has spoken in broad terms about undercutting independent agencies but never spelled out sweeping plans to defund the EPA and other federal agencies.

Vought’s plans track closely with Trump’s campaign rhetoric about using the military against domestic protesters or what Trump has called the “enemy within.” Trump’s desire to use the military on U.S. soil recently prompted his longest-serving chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, to speak out, saying Trump “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”




They want to destroy the economy.  That would tear apart America.  No wonder they want to keep this secret.  I doubt even 2% of registered voters would vote for Trump if they knew that was the plan.  Nikki McCann Ramirez (ROLLING STONE) notes:

On Tuesday, Elon Musk - the billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla - agreed in a social media post that Donald Trump's return to office would likely crash the economy.  

"If Trump succeeds in forcing through mass deportations, combined with Elon hacking away at the government, firing people and reducing the deficit – there will be an initial severe overreaction in the economy," user @FischerKing64 wrote on X. "Markets will tumble. But when the storm passes and everyone realizes we are on sounder footing, there will be a rapid recovery to a healthier, sustainable economy," he added.  

"Sounds about right," Musk replied. 

The billionaire has been heavily campaigning for Trump in the final weeks of the campaign, including by hosting a potentially illegal cash-for-signatures scheme and million dollar raffle for registered voters in key swing states. The former president has, in turn, vowed that Musk will be appointed as the head of a "government efficiency commission" under his administration, and be tasked with slashing wasteful spending. 

We have got to elect Kamala Harris.  Trump and his crooks are crazy.

"Media: The double standard" (Ava and C.I., THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW):

 For example, what do you write for BREAKNG POINTS?  "She's got a brain and he's got the herps, Krystal pairs up with the king of the twerps"? You can hum it and it's accurate -- as accurate as anything Saagar serves up on BREAKING POINTS -- but it wouldn't help pull in an audience. 

 

 Last week, the little twerp was offended by that his sexual master Donald Trump was being exposed for a Nazi fetish.  


 

 Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, who served first under Trump as his secretary of homeland security, then as his chief of staff, delivered interviews this week in which he described his former boss as a fascist as well, offering up alternate descriptors of “authoritarian” and “dictator,” for the thesaurus-minded among readers. He also recalled that Trump “commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too,’” a replay of a 2021 sound bite, and in another interview recalled Trump speaking wistfully of “Hitler’s generals,” resurfacing another old chestnut that made headlines in 2022 and subsequently appears to have vacated the population’s minds.

 

Kelly recalled asking for clarification that Trump meant Hitler’s generals, and upon receiving it, Kelly reminded Trump, “You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?” There have been two apparent assassination attempts on Trump in the past three months alone.

Trump's admiration of Hitler is so old-hat that his late ex-wife Ivana Trump revealed in a 1990 Vanity Fair article that Trump kept a collection of Hitler’s speeches, My New Order, in a cabinet beside his bed.

 

At DEFENSE ONE, James Kitfield noted:


As a coda to two decades covering the post-9/11 conflicts as a correspondent, I wrote a book in 2021 profiling the 25 Medal of Honor recipients from the nation’s longest wars. Theirs are stories of never surrendering despite harrowing odds, of facing death and finding the courage and faith not to be cowed, of wearing their profound scars -- both physical as well as mental -- like badges of honor. There is wisdom and warrior fierceness in those narratives, but also acts of profound tenderness and love. The common theme running throughout is troops united in a cause greater than themselves, caught in a brush with eternity and choosing to risk and even forfeit their own lives to save their brothers in arms. Their heroism and self-sacrifice is awe-inspiring, and explains why those privileged to lead them in combat consider these uniformed volunteers and their teammates America’s “New Greatest Generation.”

Donald Trump cannot fathom any of that.

As if we needed reminding, the former and possibly future commander-in-chief continues to prove in the crudest terms imaginable that he views the U.S. military from a deep well of incomprehension, not as a sacred trust to be honored by any leader, but rather as an instrument of self-aggrandizement and brute force. That was the message behind Trump’s recent description of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he has bestowed on supporters and major campaign donors, as “much better” than the Medal of Honor, because service members who receive the nation’s highest military honor have either “been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead.”

Militaries always have an irresistible allure to “wannabe dictators,” to borrow a phrase from Gen. Mark Milley, whom Trump appointed Joint Chiefs chairman. Trump has made no secret of his yearning to deploy the active force onto the streets of America to strike fear into his domestic political opponents, who he chillingly called “the enemy from within” in a recent Fox interview. He has also repeatedly telegraphed his intention to use the military to quell a supposed crime wave in Democratic-led cities, and to conduct the largest deportation in our nation’s history of immigrants and “radical left thugs” that “live like vermin” inside the United States and are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

Given Trump's Nazi-esque rhetoric, it’s not surprising -- yet still extraordinary -- that his former chief of staff, retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, recently confirmed that Trump repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler’s generals for their perceived blind loyalty, and wanted U.S. military leaders more in the mold of the German Wehrmacht under the Nazis. Nor is it surprising that Milley, now retired, has called his former boss the “most dangerous person to this country” and a “fascist to the core.”

Decades of covering the U.S. military as a reporter taught me that even retired generals and admirals are instinctively resistant to engaging in partisan politics. They have been inculcated from their first days as cadets or newly minted lieutenants with the principle that the military must stay above the partisan fray in a democracy and submit to civilian authority. Their leaders know that the nonpartisan nature of the U.S. military helps explain why it has long remained the nation’s most respected institution.

I also know from talking with many of Milley’s contemporaries, both on-the-record and privately, that they share his dire assessment, and genuinely fear for their country should Trump return to the Oval Office. That’s why so many of the most notable military and national security leaders of the past two decades of war have recently broken with long tradition to publicly warn that he is manifestly unfit to serve again as commander-in-chief. No fewer than 741 former high-ranking national security and military leaders -- including 233 general and flag officers, 15 four-star generals, and 10 former service secretaries -- recently signed a letter endorsing Kamala Harris for president. They warn that Trump is “too impulsive and ill-informed” to entrust with the world’s most powerful fighting force.


That's disturbing.  And when the craven can't deny the disturbing charges, they work to distract.  


So Donald's fan boy Saagar last week launched an attack on Gen Kelly and Saagar launched a defense of the Nazis. Trump likes Nazis?  Well so what, Saagar insists, "I mean, by the way, I've tried to avoid this discussion but, you know, what's his name -- Kelly brought up like 'Oh, did you mean Bismarck's generals, did you mean the Kaiser's generals, did you mean Hitler's generals?'  There is a discussion to be had about who the best generals were between Bismarck, Kaiser and Hitler or whatever.  Don't forget Heinz Guderian was never prosecuted by the Nuremberg trials.  He was the chief of staff of the  Wehrmacht under Hitler."


Saagar's defending a War Criminal.  No, he wasn't tried at Nuremberg.  That's because the Americans captured him and he ratted out his fellow Nazis so the American government protected him and refused to turn him over to the governments of Poland or Russia -- both of which wanted to try him for War Crimes. There's no excuse for Saagar defending and justifying Guderian.  There's no excuse for defending Nazis.  That's not open to debate.


Is that what Saagar really wants BREAKING POINTS to be known as?  An apologist for Hitler?


There's no excuse for the nonsense.  Real stakes are at play in this election.




"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Tuesday, October 29, 2024.  The hate rally in Madison Square Garden promoted a range of reactions  -- and we note some of them including one sour grapes gal whose been overlooked.


Let's start with a new ad from Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.



Yesterday in Philadelphia, Kamala spoke with reporters:


THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi.  Good morning, everyone.  Good morning. 

Well, it is good to be back in Philadelphia, and we’re going to have a — an active day of speaking with folks in various neighborhoods around town and really highlighting something you hear me say often, which is: I truly believe it’s a lived experience to know the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. 

And so, we’ll be visiting with folks in different parts of town, talking with them about what we all have in common and — and a collective desire to bring the country together and to set a tone that really is about unifying our country around common desires and challenges, whether it be bringing down the prices of everyday necessities or what we can do to invest in our small businesses and lift up our families. 

And this obviously will be in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who increasingly is using dark and divisive language, even more than he — he has done in the past. 

He talks about America being the garbage can of the world and just continuously, I think, demeans the character and nature of who we are as America and who the American people are.  And clearly, it is intended to keep fanning the flames of — of hate and division; referring to beautiful American, historic American cities like Detroit and Philadelphia in such disparaging words.  And as we said, even just this morning, I think people are ready to turn the page.  And — and that is about all I have.


     AIDE:  Julia —

     (Cross-talk.)

     AIDE:  Hold on.  Julia.

     Q    Oh, thank you.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi.

 Q    Madam Vice President, Pennsylvania has been such a focus of this election for both campaigns.  What do you make of some of the activity that Elon Musk is involved in in this state?  Do you — do you worry about, you know, any little difference, including (inaudible) —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I haven’t really been paying attention.  I’m focused on our work.  (Laughs.)  But thank you for asking.

     (Cross-talk.)

Q    Madam Vice President, you’ve talked about new homebuyers and $25,000 for them. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.
    
Q    What about people who are currently in their homes as neighborhoods gentrify and prices go up?  What would you do for them?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, for cor- — current homeowners, there are — still facing the challenges, whether it be what we need to do around an issue I’ve addressed over the last four years, dealing with fair appraisal values and making sure that the appraisal system is fair, especially for people living in minority- and Black-owned communities — in terms of housing and home- — high levels of homeownership, we’ve seen bias there. 

But also just bringing down the price of everyday living, whether it be groceries and what I’m going to do to address things like price gouging, or what we need to do to expand the Child Tax Credit to help people have more resources at the fundamental phases of their child’s development; the work that we are doing that is about small businesses.

A lot of neighborhoods, as we know here in Philadelphia and around the country — those homeowners often are also small-business owners and need more support.  So, a lot of my plan is about giving them tax cuts, but also cutting a lot of the red tape so that they can continue to grow and prosper. 

So, there are a multiple — multitude of issues that affect homeowners, including, obviously, the challenges for homeownership itself. 

     AIDE:  Joey.

Q    Yeah, Madam Vice President, are you getting the turnout that you need right here in Philadelphia to win Pennsylvania, particularly among Black voters?  Are you concerned that you’re going to get the level that you need to to win this state?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’m very excited about the reports that we’re getting about enthusiasm here in Philadelphia.  And to your point, Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory, and it is the reason I’m spending time here, have been spending time here.  But I’m feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that is here and the commitment that folks of every background have to vote and to — to really invest in the future of our country. 

I think people are exhausted with things as they’ve been, and they’re prepared to act on their feelings about that.

     AIDE:  Akayla.

Q    Madam Vice President, the former president has said he’s spoken to Prime Minister Netanyahu multiple times this month.  Are you concerned that those conversations are undermining what the administration is trying to do in the Middle East?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No.  And I do believe that it is critically important that we, as the United States of America, be an active participant in encouraging, one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out, but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the day after, and we have to fulfill that responsibility.


     AIDE:  O.J.

Q    Yes, Vice President Harris, as you go out in the community today, what is it that you can do or do you have a strategy to dispel all the informa- — all the mi- — misinformation in the political ads and what —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — your opponent is spewing?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, to your point, there is a lot of misinformation, and he’s putting tens of millions of dollars into various TV markets around the country.  And what I’m heartened by is that folks in the community, when I am there, they are aware of it and, frankly, don’t want to be played.  They are aware of fact. 

And what I am seeing is that not only are they aware of the misinformation, but they are also aware, if not eager, to know and hear more details about my plan for them, whether it be, again, on the issue of homeownership; bringing down costs; investing in small businesses; investing in families, including families with children.  And — and folks are very receptive to that. 

I think people really do want to know and see and feel that their leaders and that their president is prepared to do the hard work of thinking about them, not themselves, unlike Donald Trump, and has a plan that will be implemented on day one.  And I’ve been very clear about that as well. 

Look, just imagine the Oval Office on January 20th.  It’s going to be one of two people.  It’s going to be either Donald Trump or me. 

If it’s Donald Trump, you can see what’s going — what that day is going to be.  It will be him sitting at that desk, stewing over his enemies list.  He is full of grievance.  He is full of — of dark language that is about retribution and revenge. 

And so, the American people have a choice.  It’s either going to be that or it’ll be me there, focused on my to-do list, focused on the American people and getting through that list of — of goals and plans to improve the lives of the American people. 

     AIDE:  Last one.  Jeff.

Q    Madam Vice President, can you give us a sense of your internal polling at the campaign and how that is making or influencing your decisions on what to do over the next nine days?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, to be very frank with you, my internal polling is my instinct.  (Laughs.)  I let the campaign people deal with the poll- — all that other stuff.  And I am responding to what I’m seeing. 

I mean, just two nights ago, we had 30,000 people show up — I think it was actually more than 30,000 people — with an incredible amount of enthusiasm.  If you see the people showing up last night, every event that we do — and the feeling is one of energy and excitement. 

What I love about the folks who are showing up is it’s every walk of who we are as a country and as Americans, every race, age, gender, from all different kinds of backgrounds together under one roof.  It’s very exciting.  The number of young people.  You know, I’ve begun to really point out the first-time voters who are there, because now people are actually registered.  And — and it’s — it’s very exciting.  And the momentum is with us.



     Q    Do you need to win Pennsylvania —

     AIDE:  Thank you.

     Q    — to win this election (inaudible)?

     AIDE:  Thank you.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Pennsylvania will be key, no doubt.  No doubt.



Olivia Rosane (COMMON DREAMS) reports:


Bishop and Poor People's Campaign co-chair Rev. William Barber II joined more than 1,000 religious leaders on Sunday in endorsing U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris for president over former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Other prominent faith leaders who have signed on to the endorsement include Rev. Kevin R. Johnson of New York City's Abyssinian Baptist Church; Rev. Teresa L. Smallwood, vice president and dean of academic affairs at North Carolina's United Lutheran Seminary; and the Rev. Andrea C. White, who teaches theology and culture at New York City's Union Theological Seminary. Barber and the other leaders offered their endorsement in their personal capacities and not on behalf of any congregation or institution they are affiliated with.

"In a moment like this, I am compelled to be clear that every voter must make a choice, and my choice is to oppose the dangerous politics that Trump and the MAGA movement have unleashed by supporting the ticket that can defeat this potential for American fascism," Barber wrote in a statement explaining his endorsement on social media.

"I'm endorsing Harris and Walz because we are in the midst of a crisis of civilization and democracy."

Barber gave several reasons for his opposition to Trump, including the former president's frequent lies, embrace of guns, inflammatory anti-immigrant statements, and economic agenda that favors the wealthy over the poor and marginalized. In particular, he blamed Trump for undermining the strong economy he inherited from former President Barack Obama by giving massive tax cuts to the wealthy while refusing to raise the minimum wage

"I must oppose Donald Trump and his policies of catering to the greedy, attacking healthcare, and working against living wages," Barber wrote.

He also alluded to Trump's violent rhetoric, such as his recent threat to deploy the National Guard against his political enemies if elected.

"I must prophetically oppose Trump's candidacy because he is threatening to use the office of the president for retaliation and destruction and refers to himself as the only answer to the troubles of America, which is a form of idolatry," Barber said.

In contrast, Barber said he was endorsing Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz because they "are seeking to speak truthfully about the issues of our nation, and, at the same time, to lead us toward a way of working together on issues that matter."

In particular, Barber praised their economic agenda, such as their commitment to increasing wages and expanding healthcare access. He also said they would offer equal protection to all U.S. residents and tackle the climate crisis.

"I'm endorsing Harris and Walz because we are in the midst of a crisis of civilization and democracy," Barber said. "We don't need more despotism. We must work together for a Third Reconstruction."


Endorsements continue to be made.  Except by two large newspapers.  There's THE LOS ANGELES TIMES which was already unimportant.  It was only for their two US senators's sake that they were available in DC -- and that dates back to when the two senators were Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.  It's an unimportant little paper that bleeds readers both online and offline.  The other is THE WASHINGTON POST.  In both cases, their money bags owners decided not to endorse.  And did so after the paper's editorial boards had completed the endorsements.


Jeff Bezos and no name (he is a no name, the owner of THE LOS ANGELS TIMES, and let's keep him that way) insist that they are doing journalism and so they're just going to provide information and not tell people how to vote.  


Maybe the first clue that the wrong person owns a paper is when they say something like that.  Editorials are journalism.  They're not reporting, no.  But they are journalism -- as is any opinion column.  


More to the point, Bezos and no name both bought papers in order to have influence.  Which, please note, means they're not killing off editorials.  They're just killing off endorsements in the presidential campaign.


This has resulted in a lot of commentary -- some might say too much.


For example, bitter, failed journalist Glenn Greenwald.  As Sam Seder has explained in his podcast, Glenn's been attacking Rachel Maddow and others for years just because she stopped inviting him as a guest on her program.  All those 'critiques' he offered?  Just the sour grapes of a loser turned away.  He better that soon to be released prisoner in the US is lying or at least can prove the relationship the prisoner says he and Glenn had online is true.  That will really put the nail into Glenn's coffin with the public.


If the prisoner is telling the truth and you recoil because the prisoner is even uglier than Glenneth, just remember that Glenneth was feeling lonely because his husband was in the hospital.  Oh wait.  That excuse only make GG more disgusting, doesn't it?


Glenneth knows all about press freedom.  You may remember he quit THE INTERCEPT.  As he told it, they would not publish his column on the Hunter Biden laptop.  He told them to publish it as is and they wouldn't.  We defended Glenn and I would so on that for anyone.  But we also noted how dumb Glenn was.  If he had a contract -- and this half-wit faux lawyer said he did -- that required THE INTERCEPT to publish what he wrote, then why quit?


Why walk out on money you're owed and a place you created.  All you have to do is file and appear before a judge.  Most likely, THE INTERCEPT would have published the column the minute they learned Glenny had filed a lawsuit.  


Contract law is not vague.  Contract law is very specific.  I made millions for doing nothing but filing against someone I had a contract with when they refused to honor it.  I was iffy on endorsing anyway but I did like the product -- a shampoo -- and when they failed to honor their end of the written contract -- at the very start -- I filed and in the end got the money and didn't even have to record one commercial.  


Glenn's the biggest idiot on the block.  I've always noted -- as far back as the '00s -- two things about the wretched Glenneth Greenwald: He promoted the war on Iraq and he didn't know a damn thing about the law.


So maybe it's his bitterness that makes him attack various columnists for THE WASHINGTON POST right now?


Or maybe it's just his well known stupidity.


Well known and otherwise, we're seeing a lot of stupidity as six days remain in this US presidential election.  A lot of stupidity from people who should know better and should grasp how important it is that we elect Kamala Harris.  But she's a woman.  And she's Black.  And she's this and she's that and they just can't seem to get behind her.  


Really?  Brandy Zadrozny (NBC NEWS) reports:




U.S. intelligence agencies have identified domestic extremists with grievances rooted in election-related conspiracy theories, including beliefs in widespread voter fraud and animosity toward perceived political opponents, as the most likely threat of violence in the coming election. 

In a Joint Intelligence Bulletin that was not distributed publicly but was reviewed by NBC News, agents from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warn state and local law enforcement agencies that domestic violent extremists seeking to terrorize and disrupt the vote are a threat to the election and throughout Inauguration Day. 

The report identified the potential targets as candidates, elected officials, election workers, members of the media and judges involved in election cases. The potential threats include physical attacks and violence at polling places, ballot drop boxes, voter registration locations and rallies and campaign events.

The October internal report was among several intelligence documents obtained through public records requests by Property of the People, a nonprofit group focused on government transparency. Federal agents regularly provide that type of threat assessment to state and local law enforcement agencies through formal bulletins. Before Jan. 6, 2021, they were more reluctant to distribute them because of concern that investigations of Americans might appear to violate free speech protections.

“The United States remains in a heightened, dynamic threat environment and we continue to share information with our law enforcement partners about the threats posed by domestic violent extremists in the context of the 2024 election,” DHS spokesperson Mayra Rodriguez said in a statement. “Violence has no place in our politics, and DHS continues to work with our partners to evaluate and mitigate emerging threats that may arise from domestic or foreign actors.”

Still, the reports “are not typical election threat intelligence,” said Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People. “The documents are unmistakably a product of a radically heightened threat environment.”

Former President Donald Trump has claimed elections have been rigged against him since 2016, when he won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote. In 2020, he and his allies ramped up false claims of cheating — lies the courts quickly struck down — but the claims became fuel for a violent attack at the Capitol, which aimed to overturn the election.


Add to that Sunday when Convicted Felon Donald Trump held his hate rally in Madison Square Garden -- see yesterday's snapshot.  Here's AOC on CNN addressing that hate rally.


And Greg Evans (DEADLINE) reports:


  Comic and podcaster Marc Maron is calling out his peers who use their positions to drive what he terms “the new fascism” just a day after right-wing comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made racist and sexist jokes at Donald Trump‘s Madison Square Garden rally.

Other comics also slammed Hinchcliffe who, among other things, called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage.”

Tweeted Michael Ian Black, “I think America just found its next Jim Breuer!”

Maron’s statement, posted in full on his WTF With Marc Maron website and shared in part on social media, did not specifically name Hinchcliffe, but the message seems clear.   

















We noted reactions yesterday and there are some more.  A lot of reactions have been noted.  There's one though that everyone keeps missing.


Drivel.


I wasn't aware of Donald's hate rally and how awful it was on most of Sunday.  I was speaking to one group after another about the importance of voting for Kamala and making her our next president.  It was after 10:00 pm when we finally got done speaking.  At which point, Ava and I wrote "Media: The double standard."  I then wrote the Sunday night piece here.  I was pulling from things that had happened that day -- and that's when I learned of the rally.  And I came across garbage.


I left a comment noting that it was drivel.


I need you to picture Sunday and the hate rally.  Think about how offended you were.


Because apparently not everyone was.  Marianne Williamson elected to make Sunday night about how there is good on both sides and we need to love each other and we need to know that we will come together and blah blah blah.


Drivel.


In the face of threats of violence from the far right and  following what took place in Madison Square Garden hour before she posted, Marianne taped a garbage video. 


What is the point?  You'll note that she can't endorse Kamala but she can do videos making excuses and apologies for those taking part in a hate rally.  


Sour grapes?  Maybe so.  She wanted the nomination.  She thought she had it sewn up.  She got all these YOUTUBERS to get on board with her in 2023 and she just knew they were going to take her to the nomination.  That didn't happen.  In fact, some of the YOUTUBERS pimping her pimped way too hard thereby ensuring that she wouldn't get the nomination.


Then with no traction at all, she dropped out.  This was followed by a re-merence when some people were trying to get Joe Biden not to run and voting "uncommitted."  So she relaunched her failed campagn and we saw her faila gain and drop out again.


Then, after dropping out twice, when Joe finally stepped aside, she announced she wanted the nomination.  No one gave a damn about what she wanted.  And as she realized that, she refused to rally behind Kamala which was bad enough for a Democrat.  But she also began excusing away things that cannot be excuse.  Sunday the hate rally took place at Madison Square Garden and, before teh day concluded, Marianne had another one of her grifting videos up saying we're all wonderful and we're all going for the same thing.


No, dear, that's a lie.


Some of us are going for freedom and equality and smoe of us are going for hate and violence.


Only in your airhead dot hose goals seem similar.


Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "From Big Nose's Harlem Mansion" went up last night.  The following sites updated:

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