October 4, 2024

The Stuttering Lede, Oct. 4th, 2024

31 days until we know if we can stop fascism

America isn't debating if Trump and Co. attempted a coup, conspiring to overthrow the Constitution to keep power despite losing reelection. Not really. They did it. America is debating whether it was bad or good—or at least acceptable—and if the perpetrators should be empowered. Nicholas Grossman

Elections 2024

• NYT writes that Kamala is walking a tightrope that few women can survive. Shannon Watts correctly adds, “I can’t stand these “playbooks” for how women can behave in acceptable ways so society will grant them power. Holding a mirror up to society’s misogyny is a far better service.”

• 5 key details in Special Counsel election case filing. This is from Fox News!!

• Trump: They stole the FEMA money like they stole it from a bank so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season. This is fascist xenophobia propaganda and a blatant lie and strategic misinformation.

• Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, has discussed US-Saudi diplomatic negotiations involving Israel with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman multiple times, said a source familiar with the discussions. Would that be in his official capacity as Son-In-Law of Convicted Felon Ex-President, as spelled out in Article II of the Constitution?

• Trump’s push for higher gas prices is misguided.

• FBI announced the seizure of 41 internet domains in an operation to counter Russian spear-phishing efforts undertaken by Center 18 of the Russian Federal Security Service.

• Without ever mentioning the name the great Helen Mirren is telling us exactly who the fucking Nazi is:

• Billy Ball didn't want to talk about politics right now, but there are liars out there taking advantage of other people's pain, especially on this platform, sohe wrote this last night.

• Two former Trump White House officials told me they had to show voter data to Trump to get him to release disaster funding to CA wildfire victims. He released it after learning that he had as many GOP supporters in Orange Co. as he did in Iowa.

• James Connor read through the evidence section—the first 85 pages—of Jack Smith filing on Trump’s private criminal efforts to stay in power despite knowing that he’d lost the election. The evidence is stunning. It’s clear why Trump did not want the public to see this testimony.

• Jack Smith’s October surprise: there is no objective, unbiased media.

• How Trump Could Punish His Enemies: a look at why legal experts are concerned.

• It's really incredible that there have not been major news stories on the Biden-Harris economic boom. That is the reality. Instead the major media outlets have turned reality on its head and made the economy an issue that Harris is supposed to apologize for.

Politics

• With all the arguments over whether MAGA Republicans are fascists, Mark Jacob reread William Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” to see how much the rise of Hitler and the rise of MAGA smell similar.

  

  Conclusion: They do. This thread lists 10 ways.

• Conservative activists in Texas are now calling for the state legislature to ban sexual wellness products from Walmart and CVS, saying they are “obscene” and lead to “grooming.”

• The Supreme Court’s immunity ruling is not a serious opinion for a serious democracy. It’s a dereliction of duty.

• Negotiators have reached an agreement on wages in the port strike, with union members returning to work tomorrow. From what I have been able to gather, this is a major victory for Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

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• Mike Lindell associate and former Mesa Clerk Tina Peters was sentenced today to 9 years in prison for her role in hacking Dominion voting machines to try and prove Trump won the 2020 election.

• The Rise of the Right-Wing Tattletale.

• The one lesson Benjamin Balthaser learned from the pandemic is that your employer will kill you if they think it’s good for the bottom line: doesn’t matter if it’s a slaughter house, plastic factory, university.

• Full List of Republicans Who Voted Against FEMA Relief Before Helene Battered Their Home States.

• Former MAGA candidate for Gov of NV Michele Fiore was just convicted of embezzling money from a charity to honor a fallen police officer to use it on her plastic surgery and daughter’s wedding.

• CNN reached out to Melania Trump’s book publisher to request an interview. After several exchanges, the publisher sent a contract with a price tag: $250,000. Now the publisher says it was a “miscommunication.”

• Trump Says He’s ‘Never Had a Glass of Alcohol.’ These People Say Otherwise.

Ukraine/Russia

• Russian schoolbook with a "Russia map", presenting huge parts of Ukraine as "Russia", including Kherson and Zaporizhzhya, both cities fully under Ukrainian control (and Zaporizhzhya has never been occupied by Russia at all). This is Russia's "minimal position" for "negotiations".

• Ukraine 1941: German Nazis executing local population, proudly photograph it. Ukraine 2024: Russian Nazis executing local population, proudly video-record it.

• Mobilisation is a vital concept in deterring war. In the new essay Mick Ryan explores 21st century mobilisation through the lens of a Mobilisation Trinity: people, industry, and ideas.

• Good article on the reasons behind the Vuhledar fall.

• Ecocide, now a Russian war tactic.

• Ukraine’s east buckling under improved Russian tactics and superior firepower.

• 'Chinese Mercenaries' Fighting for Russia Killed in Ukraine.

• Ukraine ATACMS Strikes Destroy Long-Range Russian Radar Station Worth $100M.

• Russia Deploys 'Largest Non-Nuclear Bomb' in Ukraine.

Middle East

• I often do not agree with Owen Jones and his politics, but he is right: “What atrocity would Israel have to commit for our leaders to break their silence?”

• At least 28 on-duty medics have been killed in the past 24 hours in Lebanon, according to the WHO.

• With one exception, the 32 Iranian missiles that appear to have hit Nevatim air base damaged mostly sand and asphalt because they are so inaccurate. But a salvo this size on Tel Aviv would have led to massive casualties and destruction. 32 missiles struck Nevatim Air Base (pins): although three impact points are obscured by clouds in the 50 cm Skysat and had to be made with 3 m Dove images (white pins).

• Stopping Iran’s attack would have forced Israel to use sophisticated – and expensive – defences.

Tech

• Tesla recalls its Cybertruck for the fifth time in less than a year.

• It's not just you. If anyone in your FAMILY gave their DNA to 23&me, for all of your sakes, close your/their account now. This won't solve the issue, but they will (they claim) delete some of your data. And in the future avoid consumer DNA testing.

• In the wake of charges and Pavel Durov's arrest, neo-Nazi groups are fleeing Telegram and have found a new home on an unknown, privacy-focused app called SimpleX. One of its investors is Jack Dorsey.

• Trump’s “Freedom Cities” are weird, but let's go deeper.

  Peter Thiel & other pro-Trump tech billionaires are OBSESSED with building new corporate-run territories -- “network states.”

  They want to change how the entire planet is governed.

• New study debunks employers’ RTO argument that remote work entrenches inequality.

Mental Health

• FDA-Approved Antidepressant Treats Incurable Brain Cancer in Preclinical Trial.

Women Rights

• For migrant women who land in Colorado looking for jobs, a common answer emerges: No.

Climate Change

• Antarctica is ‘greening’ at dramatic rate as climate heats.

Misc.

• Kris Kristofferson became what Elvis wanted to be.

• Whisky growl, granite jaw and unflappable charisma: Kris Kristofferson was perfect as a lover or a fighter.

• David Gilmour vows to “absolutely not” ever perform with Roger Waters again. "I tend to steer clear of people who actively support genocidal and autocratic dictators."

• Taylor Swift Has Gained More Than 1.8 Million Spotify Followers Since She Endorsed Kamala Harris for President.

• After century of rumors, Atlantic Highlands hidden bootlegging tunnels may have been found.

• WTF: Burglar damages SS United States in Philly amid plans to turn ship into artificial reef.

• WTF2: US man, 81, sentenced to six months for creating giant hybrid sheep for hunting.

• Summing up higher education in 2024 in one headline:

• A Navy vessel, called the “Ghost Ship of the Pacific,” has been rediscovered and photographed, thanks to high-tech underwater drones.

• A junk dealer found a painting in a basement. Experts say it’s an original Picasso.

Humor