Thursday, October 17, 2024

Disgusting Junior

Paul Rudnick. 



Poor Lindsey, so many years in the closet.  So many years.  What is left for him.  He's going to die in the closet and, right before the end, he's going to curse himself for never having been honest and for all the hiding. 

Crazy Robert Kennedy Junior doesn't know when to shut his mouth.  


Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signaled in a new video that if former President Trump wins in November, he could join the administration to work on agriculture policy.
Kennedy, who suspended most of his campaign earlier this year and backed Trump, outlined a list of priorities he said he would usher in for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) if Trump is elected.



“When @realDonaldTrump gets me inside the USDA, we’re going to give farmers an off-ramp from the current system that destroys soil, makes people sick, and harms family farms,” he wrote Monday on social platform X, just days after losing his mother, along with a video asking supporters to donate to his “Make America Healthy Again” cause.

The donation page is dedicated to fueling support for the former president.

“America’s current ag policy is destroying America’s health on every level. It’s destroying the economic health of farmers by forcing them to get big or get out,” Kennedy said the video. “Big corporate farms do just fine, while the small and medium family operators are squeezed to the point of collapse.”



Okay, he got a wrist slap when he used his campaign resources -- his mailing list, his campaign employees -- to send out a donation request from Donald Trump. Now he's using his Twitter feed -- a different resource -- to fund raise for the rapist and Convicted Felon Donald Trump?  Any efforts to get on the ballot should have been shot down.  

Let's also point out that the rapist that is Donald Trump has attracted Junior who refuses to answer assertions that he assaulted a baby sitter.

Birds of feather.

But mainly, let's point out that the family just wants silence in the wake of Ethel's death but Junior won't allow that.  His siblings feel that he made their mother's life too stressful in her final months.  Junior?  Junior never thinks about anyone but himself.

He's nuts.

Which is why he's bragging about his pay off for his endorsement which, for the record, is against the law.

I'm not a big TV person, you probably know that.  I like shows from time to time but not a big TV person.  That said, the eight episodes of FX's ENGLISH TEACHER were amazing.  That's the funniest show I've seen in a long time.  It wrapped up this week.  It's set in Austin, Texas.  It's about a gay English teacher in high school.  I really loved it.  If you have DISNEY+ or HULU or get FX somehow, you can stream all the eight episodes one after another and it is a binge-worthy program.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, October 16, 2024.  This week, Kamala Harris went to Pennsylvania and acted like a president while Donald Trump went to the same state and acted the fool.


Forget it, Donald Trump, that's not Sister Sledge singing "He's The Greatest Dancer" you're hearing, it's gasps of shock and horror and gales of laughter.  Via MSNBC's MORNING JOE this morning, let's go to the footage.



Voting in the US presidential election ends November 5th -- 19 days from now.  Many areas have already started early voting.  The closer the election gets, the stranger Convicted Felon Donald Trump gets.  Marianne LeVine (WASHINGTON POST) describes his recent Pennsylvania rally:


The town hall, moderated by South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R), began with questions from preselected attendees for the former president. Donald Trump offered meandering answers on how he would address housing affordability and help small businesses. But it took a sudden turn after two attendees required medical attention.

And so Trump, after jokingly asking the crowd whether “anybody else would like to faint,” took a different approach.

“Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?” he said.

For 39 minutes, Trump swayed, bopped — sometimes stopping to speak — as he turned the event into almost a living-room listening session of his favorite songs from his self-curated rally playlist.

He played nine tracks. He danced. He shook hands with people onstage. He pointed to the crowd. Noem stood beside him, nodding with her hands clasped. Trump stayed in place onstage, slowly moving back and forth. He was done answering questions for the night.


I don't know that those were his favorite songs.  Most of his favorite songs are ones he can no  longer play having been served with cease and desist orders from the artists themselves or, in the case of   Isaac Hayes' "Hold On, I'm Coming,"  from the artist's family.  At the rally, he made the mistake of playing "Hallelujah" -- Rufus Wainwright's version of the Leonard Cohen song thereby managing to offend two groups and artist and an artist's surviving family..  Ben Beaumont-Thomas (GUARDIAN) reports:


The estate of Leonard Cohen has issued a cease and desist order to Donald Trump, after a recording of Rufus Wainwright singing Cohen’s song Hallelujah was played at a bizarre campaign event.

Wainwright has also condemned Trump’s use of the song at the town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The singer characterised Hallelujah as “an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth. I’ve been supremely honoured over the years to be connected with this ode to tolerance. Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy. Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused. I’m not holding my breath.”


Big Tubby lumbering around the stage looked like a fool -- or a lurching beached whale -- thankfully Robert Kennedy Junior wasn't present or he might have mistaken him for a beached whale and cut his head off.  Hot and sweaty, lurching around like a bulky robot -- " bopping his head, swaying and meandering onstage to music," is how Herb Scribner (WASHINGTON POST) described it , it's no wonder Kamala Harris commented, "Hope he's okay."






Credit where credit’s due: The Washington Post got one very right.

Marianne LeVine’s recent article didn’t just report on Donald Trump’s latest campaign event—it unflinchingly showcased the sheer oddity of it. In a media environment in which Trump’s bizarre behavior often gets sanitized by political journalists, the Post delivered a straightforward account of an event that raises serious questions about Trump’s mental state.

[. . .]

LeVine’s article stands out because it doesn’t try to normalize this behavior. By providing context, direct quotes, and vivid descriptions, she allows readers to fully grasp the event’s peculiarity without resorting to sensationalism.

For instance, she notes:

“As Trump stood onstage in his oversize suit and bright red tie, swaying back and forth, it was almost as if he were taking a trip back to decades past.”

The article also highlights how this behavior feeds into existing concerns about Trump’s fitness for office. Vice President Kamala Harris has openly questioned his mental stability, and events like this only add fuel to that fire.

In times when honest reporting is essential, the Post stepped up. 


The trainwreck is so hard to watch and yet so difficult to turn away from.  Matt Dixon, Emma Barnett, Dasha Burns, Vaughn Hillyard, Jake Traylor and Monica Alba (NBC) note:

Not only did the unorthodox event come just weeks ahead of Election Day in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, but it also came at a time when Democrats have tried to increasingly turn the attention to Trump’s mental acuity and the 78-year-old's fitness to serve as president. 

"Voters are just starting to tune in, and objectively they are seeing a diminished Trump, one who rambles for hours at end, makes no sense, freezes for 30 minutes and forces people to listen to his Spotify playlist. It’s bizarre and raises more and more concerns for voters," said a Harris campaign staffer who also previously worked for President Joe Biden.

Over the weekend, Harris released a summary of her medical history, using the moment to imply that Trump was not up to the task because he has so far refused to release his own.

“One must question … are they afraid that people will see that he is too weak and unstable to lead America,” she said. “Is that what’s going on?”

Harris appeared to double down on that sentiment after Trump’s town hall, writing on social media, "Hope he's okay," with a post from her campaign that noted that Trump looked “lost, confused and frozen on stage.”

There he was, on stage, big belly bouncing around ad he awkwardly danced by himself.  Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Dancing With Himself" worked Billy Idol into a comic about the whole thing.

dancing with himself


It's a joke, the whole thing, that makes you giggle out of being nervous because that's not the behavior of a sane person.  You can't stop laughing because you grasp that and you grasp how much he is hated by the people around him because none of them have the love to step in and say, "You're making a fool of yourself, maybe you need a nap or to take your meds?"




In other news out of Crazy Town, Jonathan Chait (INTELLIGENCER) details Donald's revenge tactics:

If Donald Trump believes any person stands between himself and power, he will brand them a criminal and threaten them with prison. He has said this about a wide array of Democrats, including all three presidential opponents he’s faced, numerous journalists, election officials, and a wide array of other targets.

Trump has recently added Google to his list of targets, insisting fantastically, ““It has been determined that Google has illegally used a system of only revealing and displaying bad stories about Donald J. Trump, some made up for this purpose while, at the same time, only revealing good stories about Comrade Kamala Harris” and that “This is an ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, and hopefully the Justice Department will criminally prosecute them for this blatant Interference of Elections. If not, and subject to the Laws of our Country, I will request their prosecution, at the maximum levels, when I win the Election, and become President of the United States!”

Trump has recently added Google to his list of targets, insisting fantastically, ““It has been determined that Google has illegally used a system of only revealing and displaying bad stories about Donald J. Trump, some made up for this purpose while, at the same time, only revealing good stories about Comrade Kamala Harris” and that “This is an ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, and hopefully the Justice Department will criminally prosecute them for this blatant Interference of Elections. If not, and subject to the Laws of our Country, I will request their prosecution, at the maximum levels, when I win the Election, and become President of the United States!”
,

Trump’s most devoted fans agree with this goal. His more embarrassed supporters wave it off as harmless rhetoric he’ll never be able to carry out. And whether Trump would be successful in his goal of corrupting the Justice Department to the point where it is used as his personal weapon is, to be sure, unknowable. The mere chance of success ought to be enough to disqualify him, but it is true that that chance is less than 100 percent.

 
Donald Trump's interviews aren't going much better than his rallies.  Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling (THE NEW REPUBLIC) writes of his BLOOMBERG NEWS interview yesterday:

Donald Trump’s sit-down interview Tuesday with the Economic Club of Chicago went completely off the rails as the Republican presidential nominee struggled to offer concrete answers to a business-minded crowd, and miraculously performed even worse as he was fact-checked live on stage.

The Bloomberg News-sponsored event was intended to cover massive ground. Bloomberg’s top editor John Micklethwait pressed Trump on issues ranging from immigration, proposed tariffs, the dissolution of some of America’s biggest corporations, foreign policy with regards to Taiwan, and ultimately to the country’s fate post-Election Day. But Trump, seemingly, wasn’t prepared with answers.

The former president elicited groans from the crowd while dodging questions about his proposed foreign tariff plan, which includes a 200 percent tariff (which Trump insinuated could even be as high as 2000 percent) on foreign cars.

Micklethwait then pointed out how a financial analysis of Trump’s economic policies estimated that they would add $7.5 trillion to the federal deficit—“more than twice the total for Vice President [Kamala] Harris.” But Trump failed to offer rational details in his defense.


Bloomberg Editor-In-Chief John Micklethwait did not take it easy on Trump, and it quickly became clear that the former president has no conception of the mechanics of or the potential ramifications of the economic platform he’s running on. Bluntly, the former president was incoherent when pressed with real questions about his policies.

Micklethwait spent most of the interview attempting to break Trump out of what the former president repeatedly referred to as “the weave,” his term for his rambling digressions — with ever-decreasing intelligibility — and general inability to focus on a given topic for more than a few seconds during his rallies and interviews.

Micklethwait didn’t weave along with Trump, however, repeatedly working to bring him back on topic and answer the actual questions. The grilling exposed Trump’s total cluelessness with regard to his own economic policy, and led Trump to attack Micklethwait as biased.

It was so bad that, as Ellie notes in another report for THE NEW REPUBLIC, Donald's cancelled his scheduled interview with CNBC:

Donald Trump abruptly backed out of yet another prearranged interview, notifying CNBC that the network’s anticipated sit-down interview with the Republican presidential nominee, scheduled for later this week, would not be happening.
The schedule change was revealed by Squawk Box’s conservative-leaning host Joe Kernan, who specified on air Tuesday that “Trump canceled.”
[. . .]

But the sudden cancellation echoes Trump’s refusal to appear on 60 Minutes last week, defying a long-held preelection tradition, stretching back to 1968, in which both U.S. presidential nominees participate in sit-down interviews to discuss the finer details of their policy stances.

During its Monday night broadcast last week, CBS News’s Scott Pelley said that Trump backed out of his scheduled interview with 60 Minutes at the last minute on the basis that they “would fact-check the interview.”

“We fact-check every story,” Pelley said.

Donald Trump's an abuser and, as Ava and I noted in "Diaper Duty" abusers see facts and fact checks as confrontations on their behavior.


Meanwhile, Kamala Harris continues her media appearances, rallies, interviews and more to get the message out.





At ESSENCE, Melissa Noel reports:

The Kamala Harris' campaign is making its most direct appeal yet to Black men, rolling out new policies, boosting programming and a targeted media blitz to win over a crucial part of the electorate. With Republicans eyeing Black male voters in a big way this election, the vice president's team is on the move and not leaving anything to chance.

On Monday, Harris introduced her "Opportunity Agenda for Black Men." The plan centers on providing up to 1 million fully forgivable loans of up to $20,000 for Black entrepreneurs and investing in training, mentorship, and apprenticeships for Black men in high-demand industries. Harris is also pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana—paired with a focus on ensuring Black men access wealth and jobs in that market.

"This agenda is a further realization of Vice President Harris' Opportunity Economy. An economy where people don't just get by, but get ahead. Where Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: to buy a home, provide for our families, start a business and build wealth," said Congressman and Harris-Walz Campaign Co-Chair Cedric Richmond in astatement shared with ESSENCE. 

"Donald Trump could care less about equipping hardworking Americans with the tools needed to get ahead. From being investigated by the Department of Justice for refusing to rent to Black tenants to falsely accusing the Central Park 5 and calling for their execution to spreading the racist birther conspiracy theory against President Obama, at every step of his life, Donald Trump put Black men down for his own personal brand. If he wins in November, he is telling us exactly what he'll do to Black men, Richmond added. 


I'm glad ESSENCE exists.  I'm a longterm subscriber to the print edition.  But it's an amazing, less than a month away from an election, ESSENCE can report on this very important proposal but COMMON DREAMS can't and won't.  Nor IN THESE TIMES.  Nor THE PROGRESSIVE -- an outlet with a token or two but the tokens know what they're allowed to cover, they know who's running the plantation.  That's a very important proposal and it's one that deserves serious exploration.  But so-called news outlets in 'independent' media can't be bothered.


We really need THE BLACK COMMENTATOR right now.  I know they had their planned hiatus and then they came back but the hurricanes have delayed them.   In the '00s, THE BLACK COMMENTATOR regularly led on the issues and could influence coverage that 'general' news sites (translation: We don't do Black issues) to cover a story.  

While Donald disgraced himself at a Pennsylvania campaign event, Kamala delivered a powerful speech on the same day.


THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good evening, Pennsylvania!  (Applause.)  Can we hear for Karen?  (Applause.)  Wow. 

Hey, everybody.  Hi.  All right.  Oh, it is good to be back in Pennsylvania.  (Applause.) 

Hey, everybody.  All right.  All right.  All right.  Come on.  We got work to do.  We got work to do.  Okay. 

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, sweetheart.  Hi.

Okay, okay, thank you.  Thank you everybody.  Thank you everybody.  (Applause.)

And I want to thank all of the leaders who are here.  Thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to be here this evening and for all of us to be together. 

Can we hear for Senator Fetterman — (applause); your next state attorney general Eugene DePasquale — (applause); Mayor Schember — (applause); Bob Casey, who could not be here tonight because he’s out doing what he needs to do to get reelected to the United States Senate.  (Applause.)

All right.  Okay, let’s get to work.  Let’s get to work. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!  (Applause.) 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Okay, so here’s the thing, Pennsylvania, we got just 22 days until Election Day — 22 days — (applause) — and we are nearing the home stretch. 

But here’s the thing, this is going to be a tight race until the very end.  Okay?  We are the underdog.  We are running like the underdog.  We have some hard work ahead of us.  But here’s the thing also: we like hard work.  (Applause.)  Hard work is good work.  And with your help, in 22 days, we will win.  (Applause.)  We will win. 

AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win!  We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We will win.  We will win.

And here’s why — and here’s why, because this election is about two very different visions for our nation.  One, his, focused on the past.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And ours, focused on the future.  (Applause.)

We are focused on issues that matter most to families across America, like bringing down the cost of living, investing in small businesses and entrepreneurs, protecting reproductive freedom — (applause) — and keeping our nation secure. 

But that is not what we hear from Donald Trump.  Instead, it is just the same old, tired playbook.  He has no plan for how he would address the needs of the American people and American families.  He is only focused on himself. 

Well, folks, it’s time to turn the page.  (Applause.)  It’s time to turn the page.  Turn the page, because America is ready to chart a new way forward.  (Applause.) 

And America is ready for a new and optimistic generation of leadership — (applause) — which is why Democrats, Republicans, independents are supporting our campaign — (applause) — because we need a president who works for all the American people.  (Applause.)  We are all in this together. 

And as you all know, this has been the story of my entire career.  My entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.  (Applause.)

As a young courtroom prosecutor, I stood up for women and children against predators.  As attorney general of California, I took on the big banks, fought to deliver $20 billion for middle-class families who faced foreclosure.  (Applause.) 

I stood up for veterans and students who were being scammed by for-profit colleges — (applause); for workers who were being cheated out of the wages they were due — (applause); for seniors facing elder abuse. 

And it is my pledge to you, as president, I will always fight for all the American people — (applause) — always.  And together — together, we all will build a brighter future for our nation.  (Applause.)  Together, we will build a future where we have what I call an “opportunity economy,” where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed — not just to get by, but to get ahead.  (Applause.)

Under my economic plan — and, by the way, you know, so, dude wants to talk about his plans, which really are about cutting taxes for the richest people.  Please do check out the Wall Street Journal or Goldman Sachs or the 16 Nobel laureates or Moody’s, who have all analyzed the plans and said mine will strengthen the economy, his will make it weaker.  (Applause.)  Okay?

So, under my economic plan, we will bring down the cost of housing — (applause) — and help first-time homebuyers — giving them $25,000 for down payment assistance, so you can just — (applause) — so you can just get your foot in the door.  You’ll do the rest.  You’ll save up.  You’ll work hard.  But just to help people get their foot in the door.  (Applause.)

We will help entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses.  How many small-business owners do we have here?  (Applause.)  Right?  I love our small businesses.  I love — you guys know — it’s a part of my story — you know, my mother worked hard.  We grew up — we lived in an apartment above a daycare center, and it was owned —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Woo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — by our — yes, daycare centers.  Bless you.  (Laughter.)

And it was owned by Ms. Shelton, who we think of and thought of as — as our second mother.  And she was a small-business owner.  And Ms. Shelton, she was like all of you who do this work.  You are business leaders, but you are community leaders.  You are civic leaders.  You mentor.  You hire locally.  I love our small businesses.  Small businesses are part of the backbone of America’s economy.  (Applause.)

So, you all know what I’m talking about.  And as we move forward, what we are going to do in terms of knowing that small businesses must get the support you need to start up and to grow. 

We will expand, under my economic policy, Medicare to cover home health care for seniors — (applause) — so more seniors can live at home with dignity.  And like so many of my priorities, it is born out of a personal experience. 

Look, when my mother got diagnosed with cancer, I took care of her.  And for any of you who have taken care of someone — a senior, in particular — you know what that’s like, and it’s about trying to cook something for them that they might enjoy eating.  It’s about trying to make sure that they have something that they can wear that won’t irritate their skin, right?  It’s about trying to, from time to time, find a way to just bring a smile to their face or make them laugh.  It’s about dignity.  It’s about dignity.  It’s about dignity.  (Applause.)

But far too many people who want and need to take care of family members, either you have to leave your job or spend down everything you have to be able to qualify for Medicaid.  That’s not right. 

I look at the sandwich generation.  So, we — we refer to folks who are raising young children and taking care of your parents, “the sandwich generation.”  You’re right in between balancing all of that.  It’s a lot of pressure, and you need and deserve to have the support to be able to handle all of that in a way that we know you are adding so much to our community, societies, and our economies. 

So, I have a plan, and my plan is to make sure Medicare — not so you have to pay down everything and get on Medicaid — so that Medicare helps pay for home health care — (applause) — so you can do the work you need to get done in terms of the seniors in your life. 

Under our plan, we will lower the cost on everything from health care to groceries. 

Look, I’m going to take on corporate price gouging, just like I’ve done before.  I’m going to do it again.  (Applause.)

And give a middle-class tax cut to 100 million Americans, including $6,000 during the first year of your child’s life — (applause) — knowing, again, the vast majority of parents want to parent their children well, but don’t always have the resources to do it.  And so, by expanding the Child Tax Credit that helps a young family buy a car seat, buy a crib, do the things in that so fundamental stage of their child’s development just to get them on the road to what they desire and want to do.  And we all benefit from it.  We all benefit from it.  (Applause.)

So, all of this is to say I will always put the middle class and working families first.  I come from the middle class, and I will never forget where I come from.  (Applause.)  Never forget where I come from.  Never. 

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So — so I just outlined for you a little bit — a little bit about my plan.  Now let’s talk about Donald Trump.  Well —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He — he had — he has a very different plan.  Take, for example, Project 2025.  Just google it. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It is a detailed and dangerous plan for what he will do if he is elected president. 

You know, you all probably heard me say Donald Trump — I think in our collective opinion, certainly mine — is — is an unserious man.  (Laughter.)  But the consequences of him ever being president again are brutally serious — brutally serious. 

So, on Project 2025 and his plan, Donald Trump will give billionaires and corporations massive tax cuts, like he’s done before, cut —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — cut Social Security and Medicare.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  The plan on that end is to get rid of the $35 cap on insulin for seniors —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — to make it easier for companies to deny overtime pay for workers. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You g- — you got to read the plan. 

I mean, the fact they put it in writing is a whole other thing to be discussed.  (Laughter.) 

And he plans to impose what I call a “Trump sales tax,” a 20 percent tax on everyday necessities, which economists have measured will cost the average American family more than $4,000 a year. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And on top of all of this, Donald Trump intends to get rid of the Affordable Care Act —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and he has no plan to replace it.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Concepts!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  You guys watched the debate.  (Laughs.)  Right.  He has, quote, “concepts of a plan.”  “Concepts.”

But seriously, think about it — in all seriousness, he’s going to then threaten health insurance coverage for 45 million people based on a concept?  (Laughter.)  The seriousness of this cannot be overlooked.  Think about that — taking us back to a time we all remember when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was?

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, we are not going back.  We are not going back.

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We are not going back.  No.  We —

And why are we not going back?  Because we will move forward — (applause) — because ours is a fight for the future.

And it is a fight for freedom, like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

And we all remember how we got here.  Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, and they did. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And now — now, in America, one in three women lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban.  Think about that.  Many of these bans have no exceptions, even for rape and incest, which is saying to a survivor of a crime of a violation to their body that you have no right to make a decision about what happens to your body next.  That’s immoral.  That’s immoral.

And let us agree: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do — not the government.  (Applause.)  No.  No. 

If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her rabbi, her pastor, her imam, but not the government telling her what to do.  Not a bunch of folks up at a state capitol telling her what to do, as though she doesn’t know what’s in her own best interest and they know better.  Come on. 

And it is my pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to restore the protections and reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)  Proudly sign it into law.  Yes, I will.  Yes, I will. 

So much is on the line in this election. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Love you!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So much is on — I love you back.  (Applause.)  And listen, so much — so much is on the line in this election. 

And we have to remember, this is not 2016 or 2020; the stakes are even higher, because a few months ago, the United States Supreme Court just told the former president that he would be essentially immune —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — from anything he does while he’s in office. 

Now, just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, right?

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He — he who has vowed, if reelected, that he will be a dictator on day one.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That he would weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.  He who has called for the, quote, “termination” of the Constitution of the United States.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

Lock him up!  Lock him up!  Lock him up!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well — well — well —

AUDIENCE:  Lock him up!  Lock him up!  Lock him up!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, hold on.  Hold on.  Hold on.  Hold on.  Hold on.  Hold on.  Hold on. 

Because see, here’s the thing, the courts will handle that.  Let’s handle November, shall we?  (Applause.)  We’ll handle November.  We’ll handle November. 

And we are clear.  Look, anybody who says they would terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States.  (Applause.)  Never again.  Never again.  Never again.

And so, after all these years, we know who Donald Trump is.  He is someone who will stop at nothing to claim power for himself.

And you don’t have to take my word for it.  I’ve said for a while now: Watch his rallies, listen to his words.  He tells us who he is, and he tells us what he would do if he is elected president.  So, here tonight, I will show you one example of Donald Trump’s worldview and intentions.

Please roll the clip.

(A video is played.)

AUDIENCE:  Booo — 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So — so, you heard him — so, you heard his words.  You heard his words coming from him.  He’s talking about the enemy within Pennsylvania.  He’s talking about the enemy within our country, Pennsylvania.  He’s talking about that he considers anyone who doesn’t support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It’s a serious issue.  He’s saying — he is saying that he would use the military to go after them.  Think about this. 

And — and we know who he would target.  And we know he — who he would target because he has attacked them before: journalists whose stories he doesn’t like, election officials who refuse to cheat by filling extra votes and finding extra votes for him, judges who insist on following the law instead of bending to his will. 

This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America and dangerous.  (Applause.) 

Donald Trump — Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged — (applause) — and he is out for unchecked power.  That’s what he’s looking for.  He wants to send the military after American citizens.  He — he has worked to prevent women from making their own health care decisions and threatened your fundamental freedoms and rights like the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.  (Applause.)

So, here in Pennsylvania, I say to those who know best: When freedom is on the line, Americans always answer the call.  We always answer the call.  (Applause.)

And in this election —

AUDIENCE:  Vote!  Vote!  Vote!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Vote.  Vote. 

And so, to your point, in this election, we will answer the call again, because it all comes down to this.  We are all here together because we know what’s at stake, and we are here together because we love our country.  We love our country.  We love our country.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.  That’s right.  We love our country.  And — and I do believe one of the highest forms of patriotim — patriotism that there is — one of the highest forms of patriotism is to fight for the ideals of our country.  (Applause.)  That is borne out of love of country to fight to realize the promise of America. 

So, Election Day is in 22 days — 22 days.  And here in Pennsylvania, early voting has already started.  (Applause.)  Yep.  And, Erie County, you are a pivot county.  (Applause.)  How you all vote —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.) 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And — and thank you, because how you all vote in presidential elections often ends up predicting the national result.  (Applause.)  Yeah.  Yes. 

AUDIENCE:  Erie!  Erie!  Erie!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  The chant is “Erie.”  “Erie.”  (Laughs.)  That’s right. 

And so, in Erie County, you can vote early in person at the Erie County Voter Registration Office — (applause) — from now until Tuesday, October 29th.  And so, now is the time to make your plan to vote. 

And if you have already received your ballot in the mail, please do not wait.  Fill it out and return it today or tomorrow, but please get it out. 

And remember the deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania is Monday, October 21st.  So, if you or anyone you know has not yet registered, now is the time because, look, the election is here and we need to organize.  We need to mobilize.  We need to energize folks.  And we need to remind everybody that their vote is their voice, and your voice is your power.  (Applause.)

So, Erie, I ask you, then, are you ready to make your voices heard?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in freedom?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in opportunity?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in the promise of America?  (Applause.)

And are we ready to fight for it?  (Applause.)

And when we fight —

AUDIENCE:  We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win. 

God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.) 


Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Dancing With Himself" went up last night and the night before his "Diaper Duty." went up.   The following sites updated:


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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

JD The Mental Moron Vance

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Dancing With Himself" went up earlier tonight.  


dancing with himself

Paul Rudnick.




Aaron Blake (WASHINGTON POST) notes the little weasel JD Vance:


Despite Vance’s framing, Raddatz had not granted the premise that the apartment complexes had been “taken over” by a Venezuelan gang; she merely cited “incidents” involving the gang.

Plenty of local officials, too, have described the problem as incidents, not a takeover. In fact, Coffman, after initially saying the gang took over apartment complexes, backed off that claim and said more than a month ago that “a Venezuelan gang is not in control of either of these two apartment complexes.” Local police and other officials also debunked this long ago, including before Trump said it at the Sept. 10 debate.



It’s also worth emphasizing just how far removed that reality is from what Trump continues to say about the situation. Trump has said not only that apartment complexes were taken over, but that the gang “took over large sections of a town, large sections of an area of Colorado.” He mentioned Aurora at the debate while accusing migrants of “taking over the towns.”

The difference here isn’t between taking over a city and taking over some apartment complexes; it’s between taking over a city and taking over … nothing.

Vance’s argument is apparently that Trump is using some license here to highlight a real issue — to use a falsehood to draw attention to an underlying truth. As with Springfield, he’s suggesting that the political ends justify the dishonest means.

That’s certainly a calculation that politicians make. But it’s rare you see them acknowledge it so forthrightly, because implicit in it is that you can’t strictly believe what they’re saying. And if you can’t trust Trump on this, what else can you trust him on? (The answer is: Not much, given Trump’s 30,000 false and misleading claims as president.)

Vance himself once asked such a question about Trump. He suggested in 2016 that Trump’s dishonesty made it hard to believe him when he denied sexually assaulting a woman.



The good thing for Vance is that the ass he's sucking belongs to a man who's a bigger liar than JD is.  But Miss Sassy is still a liar.   Daniel Dale (CNN) notes:


Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, falsely claimed Sunday that former President Donald Trump “didn’t go after his political opponents” during his presidency – an assertion that is contradicted by a mountain of evidence.

Vance, who said Friday that the attorney general would be the most important government official other than the president in a second Trump administration, was asked by ABC News host Martha Raddatz in an interview on Sunday if Trump would go after his political opponents. Vance said no, then added, “Martha, he was president for four years and he didn’t go after his political opponents.”


Facts First: Vance’s claim is false. As president, Trump publicly and privately pressured the Justice Department, and others in his administration, to investigate or prosecute numerous political opponents.

Trump made extensive behind-the-scenes efforts to get his political opponents charged with crimes. But you don’t have to rely on investigative reporting or the memoirs of former administration officials to know that Trump went after political opponents as president.

He often went after them in public, too.

As CNN reporter Marshall Cohen has noted, there is a long list of political opponents whom Trump publicly called for the Justice Department and others to investigate or prosecute. The list includes not only 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton and 2020 election opponent Joe Biden but also Biden’s son Hunter Biden, Democratic former Secretary of State John Kerry, Trump’s former national security advisor turned critic John Bolton, Democratic former President Barack Obama, unspecified Obama administration officials, the anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed by a Trump administration official critical of Trump, MSNBC host and Trump critic Joe Scarborough, former FBI director turned Trump critic James Comey, other former FBI officials, former British spy Christopher Steele (the author of a controversial dossier of allegations against Trump), and various congressional Democrats – including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.




Vance is a mental moron, a diaper changer as Isaiah noted yesterday.  He is not a leader because he has no center, he is a hollow chocolate bunny.  



"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Tuesday, October 15, 2024.  Every day the stakes in this election get higher.

Let's open with this from Kamala Harris noting a passing:


Lilly Ledbetter was a tireless leader in the fight for equal rights. 

After finding out that she had been systematically underpaid for nearly two decades compared to her male colleagues, Lilly became an advocate for equal pay. Her efforts contributed to the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which strengthened protections against pay discrimination, and which was the first bill signed into law during the Obama-Biden Administration.

I have always believed when we lift up the economic status of women, we lift up the economic status of families and communities – and all of society benefits. That’s why I co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act in the United States Senate, a bill that Lilly was a powerful supporter of, and which would further increase pay transparency. And that’s why I continue to fight for the Paycheck Fairness Act – to honor Lilly’s legacy, and continue building a more fair and equitable future for women, and all Americans.

Lilly’s advocacy has improved the lives of millions, and will inspire generations to come. Doug and I send our condolences and prayers to the Ledbetter family.


That's a passing of a life that mattered because she stood for something.  The United States is supposed to stand for something and if we allow our democracy to pass in this election, I wonder who would be left to note it.

He is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he is a toral fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.

That's what Gen Mark Milley, former Joint Chiefs of Staff, told journalist Bob Woodward who discussed his new book WAR with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC last night.







Milley’s assessment of the Republican candidate is rooted in first-hand experience: Trump handpicked Milley to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the general worked alongside the then-president for more than a year.

“No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump,” the general told Woodward. “Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.”

Milley went on to note that he feared a possible court martial in a second Trump term — despite the fact that he’s now a civilian — and those concerns are well grounded. After all, according to Trump’s former Defense secretary, Mark Esper, Trump set out to have two highly decorated retired military leaders — Stanley McChrystal and William McRaven — court martialed for saying things about the former president that he didn’t like.

(It was, of course, impossible to court martial civilians in private life, so the then-president talked to military leaders about the Pentagon recalling the retired general and admiral to active duty so that Trump could formally punisPeoh him.)

As for Milley, Trump used to target the retired general with juvenile taunts — calling the general a “dumbass” and an “idiot” — but it was last fall when the Republican falsely accused Milley of having committed a “treasonous act” in the wake of Trump’s 2020 defeat. “[I]n times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

The accusations were bonkers, though Milley felt the need to take “adequate safety precautions” to protect his family in the wake of the Republican’s radical offensive.

Or put another way, civil life in the United States now involves a former president falsely accusing his former handpicked Joint Chiefs chair of treason, forcing the decorated former general to fear that a politician’s enraged followers might harm his family. The former president’s political party doesn’t find any of this alarming, and Americans might soon return him to power.



People need to grasp that this not normal, this is not politics as usual.  When Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger speak out, they know they're risking their own safety -- from the nuts in Donald's cult to Donald himself if he becomes president again.    This isn't minor, this is about democracy, this is about the country we're going to live in and what type of country it is.



Part of Milley’s warning about Trump revolves around the former president’s promise to get revenge on his perceived political enemies. Trump has frequently told his supporters on the campaign trail: “I am your retribution.” Milley, who clashed with Trump in the White House and who has since been publicly critical of the current Republican presidential nominee, told Woodward that he’s afraid of being recalled from retirement to be court-martialed if Trump wins the election next month.

According to the Guardian’s report on Woodward’s book, Milley warned his former colleagues in Washington that Trump was “a walking, talking advertisement of what he’s going to try to do,” adding: “He’s saying it and it’s not just him, it’s the people around him.”

Milley was pointing in particular to how Steve Bannon — who rose to White House strategist after chairing Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and who is now in jail for being found in contempt of Congress — has threatened him. “We’re gonna hold him accountable,” Bannon has said of Milley.

Woodward’s book also details a tense Oval Office discussion Milley had with Trump and his second secretary of defense, Mark Esper. Trump reportedly wanted to get revenge on, or potentially court-martial, William McRaven, the retired Navy admiral who led the 2011 mission in which al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed. Trump was enraged that the retired admiral publicly criticized him.

Milley told Woodward he was able to mollify Trump by saying he would “take care” of it but then warned McRaven and other former military commanders to keep off the “public stage” for a while and ease up on their criticisms of Trump.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a HuffPost request for comment about Milley’s reported comments to Woodward.

Milley’s stories about Trump in the White House are similar to recollections from other military figures, including retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, who was Trump’s chief of staff. As noted by the Guardian, Kelly said Trump reportedly insisted that generals should be “like the German generals” serving under Adolf Hitler during World War II, who were “totally loyal.”

On the campaign trail this year Trump has said he’d be a “dictator” on his first day in office. He has also repeatedly used explicitly fascist rhetoric while talking about immigrants in the United States.

Milley is not alone in his assessment that Trump is a fascist.

Robert Paxton, considered one of the foremost scholars of fascism, initially declined to call Trump a fascist during his rise to the White House in 2016, but he changed his tune after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Trump’s incitement of the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 removes my objection to the fascist label,” Paxton wrote at the time. “His open encouragement of civic violence to overturn an election crosses a red line. The label now seems not just acceptable but necessary.” 



That's pretty serious but MEDIA MATTERS' Tyler Monroe notes the media silence that has greeted this:

  • National broadcast news networks and print outlets buried recent comments from Donald Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired Gen. Mark Milley calling the former president “fascist to the core.” Almost all broadcast news shows and the major newspapers ignored the comments, with only NBC’s Meet the Press and The Washington Post covering Milley’s “fascist” remarks. 

    Reporting surfaced on October 11 that Milley called Trump “fascist to the core” in comments reported in journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book War. The comments were the latest in a long back and forth between Milley and Trump, with the former president previously suggesting Milley be executed for his comments that Trump was “shameful” and “complicit” in the January 6 attack.

    Broadcast and print news almost completely ignored Milley’s characterization of Trump as “fascist.” From October 11, when the comments were first reported, through 12 p.m. ET on October 14,  ABC’s Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and This Week; CBS’ Mornings, Evening News, and Face the Nation; and NBC’s Today and Nightly News all failed to mention Milley's comments. Among corporate broadcast news programs, only NBC's Meet the Press discussed the comments at all, with anchor Kristen Welker asking former Rep. Liz Cheney about Milley's comments.

    Media Matters also reviewed print articles across five of the top U.S. newspapers by circulation for coverage of Milley's comments and found only one article in The Washington Post mentioning them. The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal all failed to cover Milley's comments calling Trump fascist. 

    On the October 11, 2024, edition of All in with Chris Hayes, Ian Bassin stressed the need for the American press to put the comments from Milley on “banner headlines.”

  • Milley's description of Trump as a fascist is just the latest example of a former Trump official denouncing the extremism of the former president.





    • Over the weekend, J.D. Vance tried to argue that Donald Trump will not target his political enemies if he’s reelected president. Yet at around the same time, Trump was confirming the opposite point with a new rant Fox News, declaring flatly that he’ll use the military to target the “enemy within.” Indeed, Trump regularly says openly at his rallies that in a second term, he will persecute unnamed enemies of MAGA. We talked to Politico reporter Myah Ward, author of a great new piece on what he’s been saying at these rallies, about how blatant he is now being about his second-term intention to grotesquely abuse presidential power. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.


    With all that's going on, you'd think FAIR would be very busy noting how the news outlets work overtime to make Donald sound sane and to ignore his racist threats but, as a former FAIR staffer pointed out to me last night on the phone, FAIR apparently can no longer cover more than one topic.  And everything it's done in October -- which we're halfway through with -- has been on Gaza.  

    Donald's made very clear what he plans to do -- kill Palestinians -- but let's all pretend that didn't take place and let's all pretend -- like FAIR does -- that things are safe and sound in the US and we can put all of our attention across the ocean because we're not in the midst of an election -- certainly not one that'll determine whether we remain a democracy or become a fascist state.


    Former President Donald Trump's one-time National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is ramping up his apocalyptic rhetoric to a new and dangerous extreme, Ja'han Jones wrote for MSNBC's "ReidOut Blog."

    Flynn, who was fired from Trump's administration and took a plea deal for lying to federal investigators about his ties to Russia before being pardoned by Trump, has since descended into extreme conspiracy theory circles, in particular forming close ties to the QAnon movement, which believes Trump must save America from Satanic child sex trafficking cannibals. He has previously suggested the U.S. should undergo a military coup like that in Myanmar.

    His latest rhetoric suggests he hasn't backed down from that position at all, Jones wrote.

    Flynn recently spoke at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, sponsored by a radical schismatic sect of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, which worships the AR-15 as a holy instrument ordained by God. And when an attendee in the crowd asked him about the possibility of military tribunals and executions of Trump's enemies, Flynn promised a lot more than that if the former president secures victory.

    “I think a lot of people actually think like you do, and I think that that’s your right and our privilege. ... There’s a way to get after this, but we have to win first,” said Flynn. "I’m about winning. We have to win. And these people are already up to no good. So, we gotta win first. We win, and then, 'Katy, bar the door.' OK? Believe me: The gates of hell — my hell — will be unleashed."


    Let's wind down with the speech Kamala gave on Sunday in North Carolina:

    THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, church.  Good afternoon.

    Oh, please have a seat.  Please have a seat.  (Laughter.) 

    Bishop O’neal, I thank you so very much.  We — we’ve had some time to visit before we came out into the sanctuary, and I just thank you for the leadership that you have provided for so long. 

    You know, in times of crisis, and — and we’re looking at the images of the aftermath of the hurricane.  But it — it is easy in these moments of crisis to — to question our faith, to sometimes lose our faith for a moment, because what we see is so hard to see that we lose faith or a vision of those things we cannot see but must know.  (Applause.)

    And you are such a leader in all of those ways, and I thank you.  (Applause.)  I’m honored to be with you.  I’m honored to be with you.  I’m honored to be with you.  Thank you.

     And, KCC family, thank you for welcoming me today.  (Applause.)  (Laughs.)  Thank you.  And thank you for the opportunity to allow me to worship with you.  It does my heart and soul good. 

    So, scripture teaches, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  (Applause.)

    So, I first encountered the words of Galatians as a young girl at 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland, California, which is where I sang in the children’s choir and first learned the teachings of the Bible.  My earliest memories of those teachings are about a loving God, a God who asks us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to defend the rights of the poor and the needy. 

    And so, at an early age, I learned that faith is a verb.  It is something we show in action and in service.  And we show it by heeding the words of my pastor, who Bishop spoke with yesterday, Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown, who often invokes the words that we all know: One must do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. 

    That truth is important at all times and especially in moments of difficulty and disaster, especially in moments like this, as we navigate storms that have inflicted so much harm across our country.

    And to all those who have loved ones who have been affected by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, Doug and I, my husband, are holding of you close in our hearts and in our prayers.  And we are thinking of everyone who has been affected by these storms. 

    Now, I know Helene’s impact was further west, but I also know that the people of Greenville, like all Americans, have been inspired by the way communities are coming together, Bishop, in the wake of these storms.  Amid ruined homes, downed power lines, swollen rivers that have been choked with debris, we have seen — we have seen children rescued by neighbors in a kayak; we have seen those who have lost everything gathering donations for others. 

    You know, it’s been my experience to see that in a moment of crisis, isn’t it something when you know that, often, it is the people who have the least, give the most?  (Applause.)  Right?

    Moments of crisis, I believe, do have a way of revealing the heroes among us, the angels among us, and of showing us all the best of who we are.  And these hurricanes have revealed heroes around all of us, heroes who do not ask the injured or stranded whether they are a Republican or a Democrat — (applause) — but who simply ask, “Are you okay?”; who ask, “What can I do to help?” — heroes who, as I like to say, see in the face of a stranger, a neighbor. 

    Yet, church, there are some who are not acting in the spirit of community.  And I am speaking of those who have been literally not telling the truth — lying — about people who are working hard to help folks in need; spreading disinformation, when the truth and facts are required.  And the — the problem with this, beyond the obvious, is it’s making it harder, then, to get people lifesaving information, if they’re led to believe they cannot trust. 

    And that’s the pain of it all, which is the idea that those who are in need have somehow been convinced that the forces are working against them in a way that they would not seek aid.  

    And let’s let that sink in for a moment.  Right now, fellow Americans are experiencing some of the most difficult moments in their lives.  Yet, instead of offering hope, there are those who are channeling people’s tragedies and sorrows into grievance and hatred.  And one may ask, “Why?”  And I think, sadly, frankly, the motives are quite transparent: to gain some advantage for themselves, to play politics with other people’s heartbreak.  And it is unconscionable. 

    Now is not a time to incite fear.  (Applause.)  It is not right to make people feel alone.  That is not what — and this is a church full of leaders — that is not what leaders, as we know, do in crisis. 

    Now is a time to bring folks together, to come together, to be there for one another, and follow the example of all of the heroes all around us.  And now is the time to live up to the fundamental values that reflect our nation at its best: the values of compassion and community and honesty and decency — the values that define the people of Greenville, the — the people of North Carolina, and — and the people like a fellow who I met recently.  His name is Eddie Hunnell.  And I’m going to tell you a quick story about Eddie Hunnell.

    So, I met him in Charlotte the other week.  He was visiting Grassy Creek for his son’s wedding when he saw a woman in the raging floodwaters.  First, he tried to rescue her by canoe.  When that didn’t work, this ma- — a perfect stranger, he’s watching — he jumped in the river and pulled her ashore. 

    And when I talked with Eddie about his act of courage, here’s what he said to me.  He said, “Well I didn’t feel I had a choice.”  But, of course, he had a choice.  Of course, he had a choice.

    But his choice was to take a risk for the sake of another.  Didn’t even reflect on the risk he might have been taking.  (Applause.)  Right? 

    His choice was to follow his conscience.  His choice was, in the words of Isaiah, to be “a refuge for the needy in their distress.”  (Applause.)  He chose to remember that we are all in this together.

    And if that is true during a terrible storm, it is also true when the storm passes.  (Applause.)  It is true in our everyday lives.

    When Paul wrote his letter to the church in Galatia, he knew folks might feel the weight of the burden of doing good, that they may feel a temptation to turn away from others in their time of need, to believe, “What does it matter?”  But Paul reminded them and us that God calls us not to become weary of doing good. 

    Because we each have the power — God tells us this — the power, each one of us, to make a difference.  And that tells us that the measure of our strength will be clear when we see what we can do to lift other people up — (applause) — just as Eddie did and as the heroes and the angels in this church and all over are doing after these storms.  Across North Carolina, Florida, and impacted communities, we are witnessing faith in action.  (Applause.)

    So, I close with this.  Let us continue to look in the face of a stranger and see a neighbor.  (Applause.)  Let us recognize that when we shine the light in moments of darkness, it will guide our feet onto the path of peace.  And let us always remember that while weeping may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning.  (Applause.)  (Laughs.) 

    Thank you.  May God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.

    Thank you, church.  (Applause.) END    


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