Historian Heather Cox Richardson used her post this morning to list the numerous insane things Trump has said in his rally speeches and recent social media posts. I can’t include them all, so I hope you’ll go read her entire piece.
Judging from his social media posts, Trump is panicking.
Shortly after noon yesterday, he posted that it was “no longer the Strait of Hormuz” driving up gasoline prices, but Ukraine’s strikes on Russia’s refineries. In fact, some oil tankers have indeed been passing through the strait but, as Spencer Kimball of CNBC explains, “only due to a major U.S. military commitment and at a high cost to the lives of tanker crews.” That policy was already too expensive to sustain, and now increased strikes from Iran are threatening it altogether.
Then, clearly incensed at reports that people are not turning out for his rallies, he posted pictures to prove the arenas were full, but those pictures were carefully cropped to avoid the empty upper decks shown in news photographs. “I never have empty seats—Never have, and never will!” he posted. “The Rallies are “HOTTER” than ever.” He added: “The New York Times, and many other Artificial Media Outlets, should be arrested for their dishonesty and disservice to our Country.”
Then he accused the New York Times of doctoring a picture of his Miami club, Trump National Doral, where he has announced he will hold this year’s Group of 20 (G20) summit of leaders from the world’s major advanced and emerging economies this December. His attempt to hold the G7 there in 2019 created an uproar even from Republicans about the blatant self-dealing.
There is less uproar now, leaving Trump free to complain that the New York Times “is a CROOKED outfit that caters to Lunatics who want to see our Country fail” and to warn that “Some day in the not too distant future The Times will be forced to close its dirty doors, and that will be a Great Day for America!” [….]
Then Trump posted a wild attack on Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, Annie Andrews, in an effort to boost his hand-picked candidate, Darline Graham, the late Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister. Begging people to vote for her, he wrote: “For years my dear friend Lindsey would say that, ‘Darline is the finest, most reliable, and one of the smartest people I have ever known.’ He would then always add, ‘Also, the most loyal!’ Oftentimes I would be upset with Lindsey for saying this, because I thought I had all of those qualities.”
Why is Trump suddenly interested in South Carolina? As William Kristol noted in The Bulwark today, new polls show that Andrews, a doctor who has refused to respond to what Kristol calls Trump’s revolting bigotry, is competitive against Graham, whose major qualification for the seat is that she is Graham’s sister….
With media stories noting that Republican candidates do not want to be seen with Trump, this morning he posted: “My Rally crowds and enthusiasm are unbelievable! Nobody has ever seen anything like it. We are flipping races all over the place. The Fake News knows it, but they don’t want to be truthful with their viewers. It’s all happening! The Dumocrats never counted on this….
About an hour and a half later, he posted: “MY RALLIES ARE SAVING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, AGAIN!!!”
And there is much more childish nonsense at the link. At this point, most people know what to expect from this horrible man, but he is getting worse. He no longer seems to have any inhibitions about what he says or does. At this point, I’m just holding on to the hope that the Democrats will take over the House and Senate in the midterm elections. I don’t think our country can survive two more years of this insanity.
Things are looking very bad for Republicans at the moment, and I’m afraid that Trump is going to try to interfere with elections. Will he send ICE to intimidate voters at the polls? Could he find a way to declare a state of emergency or even try to invoke the insurrection act? I wouldn’t put anything past him. He is definitely doing everything he can to suppress votes that might go to Democrats.
Jacob Knutson at Democracy Docket: ICE probed hundreds of voter registration groups across the U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the past year investigated hundreds of nonprofits across the U.S. that help people register to vote, according to new records analyzed by Democracy Docket.
The internal government documents, which were obtained by the legal nonprofit Democracy Forward*, showed that Homeland Security Investigations, ICE’s investigative arm, also contemplated sending undercover agents to investigate the organizations.
The investigations into the organizations were part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) extensive, resource-intensive search for illegal voting by noncitizens.
For years, President Donald Trump has used claims of noncitizens voting to call into question election results and push for stricter voting laws. In reality, noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare, and there is no credible evidence that it has swayed an election.
As part of its attempt to influence election procedures and restrict who can vote, the Trump administration has increasingly scrutinized nonprofits that conduct voter registration activities.
Also from Jacob Knutson at Democracy Docket: ICE shared voter data with Peter Thiel’s Palantir, new documents show.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shared voter data with Palantir, the data analytics and software giant co-founded by the conservative political activist and avowed skeptic of democracy Peter Thiel, according to internal government documents reviewed by Democracy Docket.
As of this summer, Palantir was preparing to enter the voter data into an expansive and controversial surveillance tool the company developed for ICE’s immigration enforcement operations across the country, the documents reveal.
Will ICE be at the polls in November?
That offers further evidence that ICE — the immigration agency that President Donald Trump rapidly expanded during his second term — is now being employed in the president’s multifront attack on elections….
It’s unclear precisely where ICE obtained the voter records. However, the data involved voters in at least six states: Missouri, Michigan, New Mexico, Connecticut, Georgia and Kentucky.
It’s also uncertain how that information would be pertinent to ICE’s operations, as state voter data would contain very little information on noncitizens. But Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed — erroneously — that illegal voting by noncitizens is widespread as they attempt to influence state election procedures, push for stricter voting laws and undermine election results.
The nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward* obtained the government documents through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against ICE seeking any information about the agency’s role in election-related operations. The records are a series of reports Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) — the immigration agency’s investigative arm — made for other parts of the Department of Homeland Security.
HSI shared the information with Palantir as part of DHS’s sweeping search for illegal voting by noncitizens before the upcoming midterms.
Thiel has been a major funder of Republican causes, including Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible,” he once wrote, explaining his strategy for achieving his libertarian goals.
As we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, Trump is actually trying to buy votes by claiming he will pay every adult in the country $5,000 if Republicans hold onto the House and Senate. He is also promising smaller amounts to certain groups and he’s used taxpayer money to buy TV ads praising himself.
Aaron Blake at CNN: Trump is clearly trying to buy votes with taxpayer money.
President Donald Trump is ramping up his efforts to use taxpayer money and resources to help Republicans win the 2026 midterm elections.
And it’s not at all subtle.
At last month’s Republican midterm convention, he severely pushed the envelope by promising every adult US citizen $5,000 if Republicans hold both the House and the Senate. That was already stunning — to offer voters money for a specific outcome. But Trump has only continued pushing the envelope since then.
Over the last 10 days, he has run more than a dozen different government-funded ads that are geared toward promoting himself and his supposed accomplishments.
Last week, Trump held two separate White House events in which he made exaggerated promises about major economic projects in key states holding crucial Senate races.
Also last week, the administration sent $500 checks to nearly 1 million Obamacare recipients.
By Friday, the administration apparently found yet more money to send out: $90 for around 20 million senior citizens to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums.
And in recent days, Trump has re-upped his $5,000 pitch on social media and featured it prominently at rallies in Alabama and Oklahoma.
Read more at the CNN link.
Jonathan Cohn at The Bulwark: Donald Trump Is Buying Votes at $500 a Pop.
DONALD TRUMP IS HAVING the federal government send checks to millions of Americans, evidently in hopes they forget all the ways he and the Republicans have made health care harder to obtain and harder to afford.
Or, to put it more bluntly, Trump is using public money to buy votes.
Over the past month, the administration has announced two sets of payments. One of them—$500 per person—is going to about a million people who bought health insurance through HealthCare.gov, the online marketplace that is part of the Affordable Care Act. The other payments, $90 each, are going to about 20 million seniors and people with disabilities who have Medicare Part B, the portion of the program that pays for doctor visits and other outpatient services.
The official rationale for the $500 checks is that they are a “refund” going to people “overcharged” by the Biden administration for HealthCare.gov coverage. A letter accompanying the checks and sent with Trump’s signature says so, before listing off what Trump claims are his many accomplishments on health care, like the agreements he reached with major pharmaceutical companies.
“I am proud to return your money to you,” the letter states, “and I will never stop fighting to put the American People FIRST, restore Affordability, protect your hard-earned money, and lower the Cost of Healthcare.”
But just as those drug company agreements haven’t really produced huge savings, so these new $500 checks to HealthCare.gov buyers aren’t actually a refund for supposed overcharges. In reality, the money comes from
funds earmarked to finance operations for the Affordable Care Act, so that it can reach more people and function more efficiently.
Trump is raiding these funds, in ways that test or maybe even blow past the law’s limits. And this isn’t some isolated occurrence. Those checks represent just one instance of what has become routine since January 2025: Trump commandeering taxpayer dollars and official government channels for his own personal agenda, whether it’s putting up a ballroom or boosting the Republican brand or airing TV ads glorifying himself.
Read more at The Bulwark. It’s a long article, and very interesting.
This happened yesterday. Felicia Schwartz at MSNOW: Trump administration refuses international election monitors for first time in over 2 decades.
The Trump administration declined to invite election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to witness the midterms, meaning observers from the regional security group won’t be at a U.S. election for the first time in more than two decades.
Their absence comes as Democrats and election integrity experts have raised concerns about potential election meddling after the Department of Justice announced plans to send its own monitors.
Washington joins only Russia and Belarus in its decision to exclude OSCE observers.
The OSCE called the U.S. decision “regrettable” and Human Rights Watch said the move “fuels fears of serious human rights concerns around the upcoming elections.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told MS NOW the administration’s decision “risks undermining public trust in America’s safe and secure election system.”
“The Trump administration’s decision not to invite international observers to the United States is deeply antithetical to the spirit of freedom, democracy and transparency that defines our elections,” she said, adding that the U.S. should hold “itself to the same standards that we would expect of any other democracy.”
Asked why the U.S. did not invite observers this year, a State Department spokesperson said OSCE “should focus its limited resources on elections where it can have the greatest impact.”
The OSCE has observed every federal election in the U.S. since 2002. OSCE monitors typically visit some polling stations and issue a report about how the elections were conducted, among other activities.
Monitors do not interfere and have no enforcement power, with their access to polling stations decided by each state.
Read more at the link.
Apparently, Trump is also thinking about what to do if Democrats do win the House and Senate. He has been meeting with his old gang from 2020.
Brenden Racius at The Independent: Trump hosts election denier Tina Peters for strategy summit at White House as midterms look grim: insider.
President Donald Trump met with election denier Tina Peters at the White House this week to discuss “election integrity,” a former administration official has said.
President Donald Trump hosted election denier Tina Peters at the White House to discuss ‘election integrity’ this week, according to a new report (Getty Images)
A former Colorado elections clerk, Peters became a cause célèbre among Trump and his MAGA supporters after she was convicted for her role in a breach of election equipment and subsequently imprisoned. Her sentence was commuted this summer.
Ed Martin, a former interim U.S. attorney who represented numerous defendants charged in the January 6 Capitol riot, claimed the meeting between Trump and Peters took place on Monday.
“Well, let me break some news,” Martin told Real America’s Voice host Eric Bolling during a Monday interview. “Just hours ago, maybe two hours ago, Tina Peters, you know, from Colorado, was in the Oval Office meeting with the President on election integrity, and they were talking about the plans…”
The reported summit comes one month before the November midterms, with polls suggesting Republicans could lose seats, and potentially their majorities, in both the House and Senate. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Democrats will cheat in the midterms, echoing his longstanding, baseless assertions that the 2020 election was “rigged.”
“And so when Tina Peters, you know, famous Colorado clerk, was in the Oval Office today just two hours ago talking about this question, the president’s taking it seriously,” Martin said.
Martin also suggested Trump may act unilaterally if Congress failed to pass the Save America Act, GOP-backed legislation that would require proof of citizenship for new voters.
“If the Congress won’t pass the Save America Act and they won’t, then the president’s going to have to do what he’s going to do,” Martin added. “And it is not a local issue when it’s national security, and it’s clearly national security. So we’ll see how it plays out.”
More details from Matt Cohen at Democracy Docket: Election deniers Cleta Mitchell and Tina Peters want Trump’s commerce secretary to seize voting machines.
With Election Day less than a month away, anti-voting lawyer Cleta Mitchell and convicted election denier Tina Peters are pushing a scheme to have Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seize voting machines, as part of a broader effort for the Trump administration to interfere with the midterm vote.
The scheme has been circulating among election deniers since late last year, but Peters has led the effort to bring it to President Donald Trump’s attention since August. On Monday, Peters reportedly met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss election security issues, according to former U.S. Department of Justice pardon attorney Ed Martin.
Cleta Mitchell
Peters, Martin and other conspiracists have long pushed the false claims that voting machines are compromised because they use some foreign-made parts. Election deniers claim that poses a national security risk.
Now, they want the Trump administration to use that as justification to seize voting machines. And they believe that the commerce secretary already has authority to do that — a view that legal experts say is way off base.
Martin claims that Peters discussed this scheme with Trump during this week’s White House visit.
“They were talking about the plans, and the one thing that they know is that Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, of the Department of Homeland Security, came out in late August and conceded and said… ‘the machines for voting… use parts from China and Russia, and foreign places, and are therefore compromised,” Martin said….
It’s not exactly a new idea. For months, Peters and others have called on Trump to declare a national emergency to wrest control of aspects of voting from the states. But the latest scheme Peters is pushing revolves around a 2019 executive order Trump signed during his first term to protect U.S.-made technology, which Peters now wants to use to seize voting machines.
According to Ed Martin, Trump is taking all this seriously. All of these people are insane, but so is Trump.
Trump has reason to be worried.
Andrew Howard, Erin Doherty, and Lisa Kashinsky at Politico: Republicans enter triage mode as their election hopes continue to dim.
Republicans are flooding the electoral map with a deluge of advertising to defend their House and Senate majorities. But their once-towering financial advantage is starting to show its limits.
In recent days, Republican campaign groups began to make concessions to the punishing political environment, shifting money away from races they no longer believe to be winnable and falling back to reinforce another tier of seats in solidly red states that no longer look safe.
After abandoning a GOP-held Senate seat in North Carolina — a state President Donald Trump won three times — the outside groups began spending money to defend a seat in South Carolina. And they’re intensifying their advertising in Kansas, where Democrats haven’t won a Senate race in nearly a century.
In the battle for control of the House, national Republicans gave up on defending a blue-leaning seat in Nebraska held for a decade by retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon.
Those dispiriting setbacks signal that the party’s defensive position is weakening with a month still left in the campaign.
One national Republican strategist, granted anonymity to speak freely about the party’s predicament, said the GOP could wind up facing even worse losses than in President George W. Bush’s disastrous second term.
“If the bottom continues falling out like it has been,” this operative said, “this will be worse than 2006.”
As Trump’s approval continues to sag amid soaring gas and diesel prices driven by the war with Iran, Democrats are bullish that the map will continue to grow for them. And while Republicans still maintain a big outside money advantage, the recent moves show it’s not unlimited — with more tough decisions likely before Election Day.
Another national GOP operative, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the landscape, put it simply: “fires everywhere.” The latest comes in South Carolina, where no Democrat has won a Senate race in three decades.
Isaac Arnsdorf at The Washington Post (gift link): Half a billion dollars in GOP spending does little to move polls.
Since Labor Day, when President Donald Trump opened up his war chest for the midterms, Republicans have pumped half a billion dollars into competitive House and Senate races.
A month later, the polls haven’t moved in their direction.
High-quality public surveys show Democratic Senate candidates tied or leading in Alaska, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — the same as before Labor Day. Democrats’ lead on the generic congressional ballot has slightly widened since, from about six points to roughly nine, according to analyst Nate Silver’s polling average.
President Donald Trump and Sen. Darline Graham attend a campaign rally on Aug. 21, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Win McNamee, Getty Images
Notably, the surge of attack ads has not sunk the Democrats at the center of some of the most expensive races. More voters hold a favorable than unfavorable view of Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, according to a late September New York Times/Siena poll — despite more than $115 million spent attacking him. Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s favorability actually increased by five points since August, to 47 percent, Fox News surveys show, despite $76.2 million in attacks.
One factor: Republicans’ advantage looks bigger in dollars than in actual airtime, thanks in part to the timing of their purchases. In Senate battlegrounds, the GOP spent 26 percent more than Democrats did to secure just 7 percent more broadcast ads, according to AdImpact….
“They should be getting more for what they’re spending, and they’re not,” said Lauren French, a spokeswoman for the pro-Democratic Senate Majority PAC. “Can they spend their way out of a bad economy, a bad president, a bad candidate, and a bad message in Texas and Kansas?”
In a cycle with so many advantages for Democrats — an unpopular president, an unpopular war, inflation, the usual pattern of midterm swings — money was supposed to be the GOP’s ace. In particular, Republicans were counting on the more than $400 million in Trump’s super PAC, plus a similar amounthesays is held in a related nonprofit, to come to their rescue. Trump has said he will spend $400 to $500 million on the midterms and save some for 2028. So far, his super PACs have reserved more than $194 million in advertising, according to media tracker AdImpact.
But the super PACs didn’t turn on the money until Labor Day, so they faced higher prices for scarcer airtime compared with groups that reserved their ads earlier. In addition, super PACs pay full freight for TV ads, while campaigns pay discounted rates; that has benefited Democrats whose candidates have been better fundraisers in high-profile contests, whereas Republicans have relied more heavily on party committees and super PACs under Trump’s control.
In Texas, the discrepancy is especially pronounced as the expensive Senate, House and governor’s races drive up prices for limited inventory. Last week in the Dallas media market, Talarico’s campaign paid $950,000 for the average viewer to see its ads 10 times, according to a Democratic media buyer. By comparison, Paxton allies spent $4.65 million for the average viewer to see their ads 13 times — five times the money for just 30 percent more impact.
Democrats have plenty of advantages, but Republicans hold the presidency, both houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court.
That’s it for me today. What do you think? What else is on your mind?
Seems like a good image to illustrate our current state of affairs. Just chaos…and what the fuck is a that old goat doing there?
Nuts.
This next post sets the mood perfectly:
We are fucked.
So let’s see some real political cartoons, via Cagle:
That last one is by an artist from Ukraine.
Have you seen this?
Every day I say the same phrase, what the fuck?
Stay safe, this is an open thread.
“Beware, the Malignant, Malicious MAGA Midwife Magician has resurfaced in recent days.” John Buss, @repeat1968
We’re definitely on the countdown to the Midterms. I wish Jimmy Carter were around to verify elections, especially in Georgia. The voter confusion and suppression methods underway in this country are worthy of giving us Banana Republic status. I was about to write about election stuff anyway when JJ brought to my attention a new Georgia law passed in March. It doesn’t take effect until 2028, but it sure does illustrate nefarious intent. Imagine a ballot without party affiliation next to the candidate’s name.
Both Georgia officials, like the D.A. Fannie Willis and voter-rights organization Democracy Docket are leading the charge to stop this. Laws and elections in every state matter. This is from June, but you can see why the fight continues.
Metro Atlanta district attorneys sued to block a new Georgia law that would strip party labels from district attorney and other local races in five Democratic-leaning counties, arguing the measure is an unconstitutional attack on Black and Democratic voters.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Fulton County challenging House Bill 369 (HB 369), which Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed into law last month. The law would make several county-level offices — including district attorney — nonpartisan beginning in 2028, but only in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.
Those five metro Atlanta counties are among the state’s most populous and Democratic-leaning. They also have large Black populations and all have Black women serving as district attorney — a fact the lawsuit and voting rights advocates have pointed to as central to the law’s impact.
The challenge marks the opening of a major legal fight over whether Georgia Republicans can selectively remove party labels from local races in the very counties where Democratic candidates have built power. In practical terms, nonpartisan elections mean voters would no longer see whether candidates for certain local offices are running as Democrats, Republicans or members of another party.
Boston argues the law is not a neutral change, but a targeted political maneuver by the Republican-controlled Georgia General Assembly to obscure party affiliation in counties where Democrats currently hold most elected offices.
You may read more at the link as it elucidates the three grounds on which the lawsuit challenges HB 369. We all remember the Musk Wisconsin voter bribes during the 2024 elections. He didn’t even face charges. So, is it illegal if the President tries it? “Is it legal? Trump promises Medicare and ACA checks without Congress ahead of midterm elections. Democrats are raising legal questions, but no court has blocked either payment yet.” This is from Scripps News. Joe St George has the story.
President Trump announced that more than 20 million seniors on Medicare will soon receive a direct deposit of nearly $100, drawing Democratic criticism and questions about whether the payments — made without congressional approval — are legal.
“I am pleased to announce over 20 million seniors on Medicare will still be receiving a deposit of nearly $100 directly into their bank accounts,” Trump said.
Trump said the money will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund. A White House fact sheet says most eligible seniors will receive $90 via direct deposit in early October. Those without direct deposit will receive a check.
The Medicare payment is not the only check the administration is cutting. Last month, Trump announced refunds to some people enrolled in Affordable Care Act health plans, saying they had been previously overcharged.
“Nearly 1 million hardworking Americans in 30 states will soon be getting refunds of $500 each,” Trump said.
On the campaign trail, Trump has also promised more money if Republicans win in the November midterm elections.
So far, no legal challenge has resulted in a court blocking either the $500 ACA refunds or the $90 Medicare payments, though Democrats have been sharply critical of both.
“If you want to BUY midterm votes, maybe start by not gutting everyone’s health care in the first place,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said, referring to the $500 ACA checks.
Also drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill is Trump’s use of taxpayer dollars to pay for commercials this campaign season. The White House says the spending is legal, but others disagree. Complaints have been filed with the FCC and broadcasters, though no judge has yet blocked the commercials from airing.
This story in the Washington Sun lets us know what some of the plans are for stopping voter suppression tactics by the Federal Government.”State Officials Are Trying to Get Ahead of Federal Agents at the Polls.
The Trump administration has left open the door to sending federal agents to polling locations on Election Day.
Democratic state officials and organizations across the country are preparing for a scenario in which the Trump administration deploys federal agents to the polls in November.
The administration has said it has no plans to send federal agents to polling locations on Election Day. But President Donald Trump and some of his close advisers have left voting rights organizations and state officials uneasy after deflecting when asked about whether they will be deployed.
“The deployment of federal power against its opponents and organizations and the public is really top of mind right now,” said EJ Juárez, executive director of the State Innovation Exchange, a network of progressive state legislators across the country. “We have a set of people in power that are very much set on changing the rules of the game midway through.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told lawmakers during a hearing in March that he would only send agents to the polls if there was a “specific threat,” but that he couldn’t “guarantee hypothetically what threat would be.” When asked Monday by Time magazine whether he would deploy federal agents, Trump said, “Haven’t thought of it.” He also refused to rule out using the Insurrection Act to declare a state of emergency leading up to the election.
“In the event that something unusual or unexpected or alarming occurs, we have procedures in place to elevate that problem to our office,” Shenna Bellows, Maine’s Democratic secretary of state, told The Washington Sun. “In collaboration with the attorney general’s office, we would be in court and getting orders from the court within hours, not days or months.”
Bellows’ office has been working with state and local officials nationwide through the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a component of the nonprofit Center for Internet Security. In February 2025, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency cut $10 million that Congress had appropriated to CIS, directly impacting the EI-ISAC’s work.
This week’s Rogue player in Orange Caligula’s cabinet is Rapey, Drunk, and Religious Crackpot Pete Hegseth. It’s just one thing after another with this one and it raises questions about Congressional oversight. This is from The Hill. Alexander Bolton has the lede. “GOP senators, blindsided by Hegseth, demand notice, transparency.” You would think Republican War Hawks would have an issue with all the crazy going on with that guy. Now, they figure it out?
Key Republican senators say they were blindsided by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announced 20 percent reduction of the U.S. military’s general and admirals, and they’re voicing concerns about the lack of consultation with Congress and the possibility that qualified senior officers were sacked for political or ideological reasons.
Senior Republicans on Capitol Hill are questioning whether too many experienced and highly qualified generals and admirals are being pushed out because of politics and what impact it might have on military readiness in the future.
“I wouldn’t have made that a priority if I had been asked,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who said he was only informed of the 20 percent reduction shortly before it was announced.
“I didn’t get a long lead,” he said when asked if he got a heads up before Hegseth’s announcement Wednesday.
Wicker didn’t have many details about the significant reduction in senior ranks. “I think he’s probably interested in cutting out bureaucracy at the top level,” he speculated.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is handling the Pentagon’s request for an emergency supplemental spending package as well as the annual defense spending bill, said the sudden and large reduction of generals and admirals raises questions and concerns.
Collins said she didn’t get advanced notice of the steep reduction in military leadership ranks.
She noted she told Hegseth at a hearing earlier this year that his ouster of senior military officials was “deeply troubling” and risked “depriving us” of the “talent, dedication and patriotism” of women and people of color who were disproportionately pushed out.
That really doesn’t sound like they’ve figured too much out there. There’s no plan of action, of course. Just whining they’ve not been consulted. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want any one subjected to what Hegseth considers ethos. He’s obviously pickled his brain with booze and sent it out to be laundered to a brainwashing cult. I’m just hoping that folks that care about the folks who serve in America’s forces are worried enough to dump the Trumpers.
One last thing about the upcoming election. This from the link above at AlterNet. “Trump’s ‘desperation’ is showing as he races to red states: ex-Fox host.”
Longtime friend of President Donald Trump Geraldo Rivera thinks that President Donald Trump is growing more and more desperate.
Trump is headed to red states that are now dangerously close to electing Democrats on Nov. 3. While Trump pledged he’d be campaigning every day for Republicans, it appears there are many GOP candidates who don’t want to be seen with him.
Speaking to CNN on Monday, co-host Brianna Keilar asked Rivera, a former Fox News host, whether Trump’s efforts to “barnstorm” red states were a “Hail Mary” or something else.
“I see it as desperation more than anything else,” he said. He cited Latino voters as a good example. “Anyone who voted Republican — well not everyone — but two out of three have now decided to go the other way. Back, in many cases, to the Democrats. From Florida to Texas, to Arizona, California. I think that huge Latino belt in the southern part of the country is going to go overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly for the Democrats.”
Trump approval among Latino voters ranks at about 27 percent, according to a new NBC News/Telemundo poll taken at the end of September, Keilar cited. Disapproval is at 69 percent. She asked if he thought that was enough to really make a difference.
“I think cost of living is very important to voters. So is the war in Iran that the president started with no clear idea how to end. But I think really, if you were to ask me in my heart of hearts, Brianna, I think it is the absolute cruelty, the abject cruelty with which the Trump administration has administered its immigration policy.”
He suggested that the only way that Republicans can ever have any hope of salvaging the Latino voters of the future would be to abandon Trump’s abusive techniques.
Are we finally getting an example of bullies never win? This is another story from the Washington Sun that you might want to read. “Republicans in Safe Red States Are Breaking With Trump, Too. At least five GOP senators who are not on the ballot have criticized the president’s handling of the economy and policy priorities.” Avani Kalra has the story.
It’s not just vulnerable Republicans in swing districts distancing themselves from their party leader.
As President Donald Trump travels the country touting the “greatest” American economy in history, even senators in safe red states are beginning to push back on his rhetoric and policies.
“I’m not going to tell the voters, ‘Oh, it’s President Biden’s fault, and it’s not that bad, you shouldn’t believe your checkbooks,’” Sen. John Kennedy, whose home state of Louisiana swung for Trump by 22 points in 2024, told reporters before the Senate recessed for the elections.
“I also tell them the truth: The main reason for the resurgence in inflation is the Iran war. I think they appreciate the truth, but they’re angry,” Kennedy told The Washington Sun later. His term is up in 2028.
Such rhetoric is a surprising twist. Candidates in tough races often break with unpopular presidents, as they are doing this year. Lawmakers who aren’t on the ballot or who occupy safe seats seldom do. But suddenly they are, as if their states might not be as sheltered from the political headwinds sweeping the nation as history suggests, or perhaps they see hints that the winds could keep blowing for the rest of Trump’s term and beyond.
Kennedy is just one example of out-of-cycle Republicans increasingly criticizing Trump as his approval rating continues to drop. At least four other non-threatened GOP senators have split with the president in recent weeks.
Take West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice, who echoed Kennedy’s concerns that voters are frustrated by the cost of living. He told The Washington Sun that “Republicans,” not just the president, have made missteps while speaking with Americans about the economy.
West Virginia favored Trump by over 40 points, and Justice’s term is not up until 2031.
I’m reminded of James Carville’s old saying when he was running Bill Clinton’s first campaign for the presidency. “It’s the economy stupid!’ I can guarantee you that we’re living up to the Dismal Science reputation these days as we economists have to deliver the bad news about the economy daily. I promise this is it and I’ll got some lunch and lighten up. This is from MS NOW‘s Paul Waldman.
The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics fell far short of expectations: just 29,000 jobs created in September. Though not many people are losing their jobs, it is a bad time to be looking for one (just ask any graduating senior). And critically, wage growth was again lower than inflation, meaning that on average, Americans continue to fall behind on affording the necessities of life.
To look at President Donald Trump’s poll ratings, one would think we’re in the middle of an outright depression, not just a mediocre economy that isn’t providing the kind of security and opportunity people want. That may be explained by a yawning gap between what Trump promised and what he has delivered — especially for those people, including young men, who put the greatest hope in him to improve their lives.
Begin with the big picture, which could hardly be worse for Trump. His average approval on the economy is in the low 30s. On inflation — or “the cost of living” in some surveys — it’s even worse. Last week’s AP/NORC poll showed his approval on the cost of living at just 17%, the same number as in the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. Perhaps most shocking of all, in both polls, most Republicans said they disapprove of the president’s handling of the issue.
It was clearly a mistake for Trump to say on the campaign trail in 2024, “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One.” But that’s not all he hasn’t been able to deliver. Ever since he ran in 2016, he has offered a vision of a return to an America of the past, one in which manufacturing was the driver of the economy and the people who today feel they have been left behind — especially men, and especially men in rural areas — could rely on well-paid, secure jobs that offered not just a good living but also a sense of accomplishment and status.
We talked about how bad it is for Farmers, well the latest victims of Trump’s disastrous economy are Truckers. $6 diesel is basically putting them out of business. You may read more about that at News Week. Here’s the headline. “Mass Layoffs, Trucking Bankruptcies Mount Amid Diesel Price Shock.” The future does not look bright for the Trump Regime. Here’s a little John Lennon singing Nobody Loves You When You’re Down and Out! “What you say, what you say, what you say?”
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
October is finally here! My favorite month of the year. I just love this time, the best movies are always on TCM. The Food Channel has all those cool Halloween baking shows with pumpkin carvings. And the summer is officially over.
I have a few articles to share:
Cartoons via Cagle:
That last picture is my daughter’s cat Moo. She certainly is dramatic, isn’t she?
Take it easy today, this is an open thread.
Norma and Cats, by Treechild
There are some new developments in the Cornell gang rape story, which I devoted my post to on Wednesday. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has put Attorney General Letitia James in charge of the investigation and possible prosecution and called for changes in state rape laws. Hochul also criticized the handling of the case by Cornell and local district attorney Matthew Van Houten.
Adam Daly at amny: Cornell 7 case: Hochul backs closing NY consent-law gap as AG James takes over rape investigation.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday called for changing New York’s sexual assault laws to address cases in which a person becomes too intoxicated to consent after voluntarily using drugs or alcohol, as Attorney General Letitia James formally took over the criminal investigation into an alleged 2024 sexual assault at Cornell University.
Hochul said the “Cornell 7” case had exposed what she described as a gap in state law and pledged to work with lawmakers on legislation addressing voluntary intoxication.
“If someone is too intoxicated to consent, it should not matter whether they chose to use drugs or alcohol,” Hochul said during an Oct. 2 press conference at her Manhattan office. “Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period.” [….]
That bill, S.10632/A.101, would expand New York’s sexual assault law in cases where a person becomes incapable of consenting after voluntarily consuming alcohol or drugs.
Under the proposal, prosecutors could establish a lack of consent based on a person’s level of impairment, while also having to show that the person accused of the assault knew or reasonably should have known the other person was unable to consent.
The measure passed the state Senate but remains in an Assembly committee. Bronx Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, one of the bill’s sponsors, joined Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and other advocates Thursday to push for its passage in response to the Cornell case.
The New York Times (gift link): Hochul Rebukes Prosecutor’s Handling of Cornell Case.
In direct and sometimes furious remarks, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York on Friday questioned how Cornell University’s police department and the local district attorney handled sexual assault allegations made by a student who said she was raped at a fraternity house in 2024.
Ms. Hochul was speaking at a news conference in Manhattan on Friday morning, alongside the state attorney general, Letitia James, whom the governor has appointed to oversee the investigation into the allegations.
Yellow Cat, by Didier Lourenço
Ms. Hochul said she was concerned to learn that the student, identified as Jane Doe, had given an interview to the campus police about the episode that included an unequivocal statement that she had been raped. That language was missing in the condensed statement that was shared with the district attorney’s office in Tompkins County, N.Y., which decided not to file criminal charges.
“In what world would the police learn from the victim that she had literally been gang-raped” and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney, Ms. Hochul said.
A lawsuit filed by the student two weeks ago has reignited a national conversation about the persistent issue of sexual assault on college campuses. It has also plunged one of the country’s elite universities into crisis. Cornell’s campus newspaper, elected officials and celebrities have questioned how the case was initially handled by the district attorney and the university.
“When the Tompkins County district attorney announced that he was reopening the case, he pointed to Jane Doe’s statement that said it did not establish that a crime had occurred,” Ms. Hochul said. “But new reporting raises serious questions about the information his office relied upon when it made that decision.”
The district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, said in a statement after the news conference that he supported the appointment of Ms. James and that his office would cooperate fully with hers.
“It has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the university,” he said. “The focus has been and should continue to be on the victims.”
You can use the gift link to read the rest if you’re interested.
More on the district attorney’s failure to take the case seriously from Michael Rothfeld and Hurubie Meko at The New York Times (gift link): D.A. in Cornell Rape Inquiry Declined to Review Additional Evidence.
The Tompkins County district attorney said recently that the evidence he reviewed in 2024 made it impossible for him to bring charges in the Cornell University rape inquiry.
But records obtained by The New York Times show that the same district attorney’s office declined to review any additional evidence gathered by the campus police department beyond a six-page statement signed by the former student, now known as Jane Doe.
Cat And His Man, by Lena Ru
The decision not to review the additional evidence has not been previously reported.
On Nov. 25, 2024, a Cornell police investigator, Jeffrey Northrop, spoke to a member of the district attorney’s staff, Jeff Huddle, about additional interviews the police had done, the records show.
Prosecutors did not express interest, saying they agreed that based on the woman’s statement, “criminal charges would not be pursued in this case,” Mr. Northrop wrote in a note documenting their call.
By that point, the police had conducted numerous interviews, reviewed chat messages, logged anonymous tips, reached out to lawyers for some of the accused men and spoken to at least two others, the records show.
You can use the gift link to read more.
Rebecca Solnit commented on the implications of Cornell rape case at The Guardian: We live in a rape-prone society. The horrific Cornell case reveals what that looks like.
Sometimes a story is so so appalling, it captures the public’s attention, including the attention of people who don’t focus on the issue otherwise. Such is the case with the alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University.
For feminists who focus on violence against women or anyone who has ever cared about campus rape, the claims made in Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit against the alleged perpetrators may be unusual in its severity – but we know the statistics that show that somewhere between 20% and 25% of women college students will be the victim of a sexual assault (no statistics tell us what percentage of men students will be rapists).
This makes the public outcry to punish seven male students miss the point, which is that there are tens of thousands of campus rape stories, few of which make the news.
We know that nearly every campus in the US has a plethora of rape victims and rapists. We also know how it often happens. The Johns Hopkins University “student well-being” blog summarizes a key aspect:
“The ‘Red Zone’ is a period of time that lasts from the start of the fall semester through Thanksgiving break when the majority of sexual assault occurs on college campuses … It’s a six-to-10-week time frame when many students are going to parties, gatherings, and other social events to celebrate their return to campus. Data shows that over 50% of sexual assaults that occur on college campuses occur during this time. New students can be especially vulnerable during this period, due to their unfamiliarity with the campus, new social experiences, and the resources available to survivors.”
We know that the Greek system that sets the rules for most sororities and fraternities does not permit alcohol at sororities, which makes fraternities the hosts of the alcohol-saturated parties, which sends young women into enemy territory, which is where they are sometimes manipulated to get them drunk and stranded and abused.
The Hopkins blog notes: “Alcohol is the tool that is most commonly used by perpetrators in cases of sexual assault … A person who is incapacitated by drugs or alcohol is not able to consent.” We know that fraternities often make the news for their excesses and abuses, including sometimes-harmful-to-fatal hazing of their own potential members.
We know the Cornell student newspaper editorial that brought this case to light declares that 15% of all students there have experienced “nonconsensual sexual contact” and a disproportionate fifth of those incidents took place at fraternities.
Painting by Serbian artist Vladimir Dunjić
Solnit notes that the Trump administration is making campus rapes even less likely to be punished.
The non-profit organization Human Rights Campaign reports that the Department of Education just rescinded a Biden-era Title IX rule: “Specifically, this move puts back in place rules for colleges and universities from the first Trump administration that suppress the voices of survivors of rape and sexual assault and make it easier for their perpetrators to get away with their actions.” It also affects LGBTQ+ students.
The Trump administration appears comfortable in the company of alleged perpetrators. Last year, it intervened on behalf of Andrew Tate, who is charged with several counts of rape, trafficking and assault against women. This past week, administration members selected Russell Brand, likewise awaiting trial on multiple charges of sexual assault, to co-moderate a panel at a Maha conference on 29 September, and then there’s Trump, who has been held liable for sex abuse, and the allegations against the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. (All of the men deny wrongdoing.) [….]
Sexual assault arises in part through both the entitlement and the desire to abuse and dehumanize women, which is in part about definitions of both masculinity and femininity: masculinity in that domination, violation and degradation are seen as status-enhancing, femininity in the perception that women’s bodies are for men to use, women’s voices and rights to be ignored.
I’ve quoted too much, but there’s still more to read at The Guardian link.
Unsurprisingly, Trump sympathizes with the Cornell rapists. Ryan Prosser at Metro.UK: Trump says he feels ‘bad’ for Cornell 7 and calls investigator by ‘racist’ nickname.
Donald Trump used a racist nickname to refer to Cornell 7 investigator Letitia James as he admitted feeling ‘badly’ for the accused rapists.
Sick boy with a cat, by John Bowen (Welsh, 1914-2006)
The US president called the New York attorney general ‘Peekaboo’ James, branding her ‘corrupt’ after she was appointed to probe the case.
‘Why would the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, appoint a Corrupt Prosecutor, Letitia “Peekaboo” James, to represent the State in the highly controversial Cornell University rape case?’, he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump had previously told the press he believed Cornell University was a ‘fine school’ that would do ‘what’s right’ in response to the allegations that seven of its fraternity members had drugged and gang-raped a female student for hours at a house party.
But he told reporters that he felt for the seven alleged rapists, insisting they ‘wouldn’t get a fair hearing’ with James in charge.
He said: ‘Letitia James is a corrupt person. She’s totally corrupt and I can’t imagine it. I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at because they won’t get a fair shake.’
Quiet, Piggy.
You’ve probably heard about the horrible failed execution in Tennessee.
Emily Cochrane at The New York Times (gift link): With Christa Pike Unconscious, Another Execution Attempt Is in Doubt.
Christa Pike was unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator in a Nashville hospital a day after surviving a botched execution attempt, her lawyers said in a court filing, raising questions about whether the state could legally try to execute her again.
As of Thursday evening, Ms. Pike, 50, was critically ill, they wrote in the Friday filing in Davidson County Chancery Court, and both of her arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she arrived at the hospital.
Her condition sets the stage for an unprecedented ethical and legal quagmire: A future attempt to execute Ms. Pike could hinge on whether she is determined to be capable of what the Supreme Court has described as a “rational understanding” of the reason she is to be put to death.
And although Gov. Bill Lee has paused executions for now, the front-runner to be elected governor next month, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, said that she would try again to execute Ms. Pike, who was convicted of the 1995 murder of a classmate….
Friday’s disclosure about Ms. Pike’s condition is the most detailed update since she survived two rounds of pentobarbital, the drug used as part of Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, on Wednesday evening. But it also underscored the legal and medical complexities that lie ahead for Ms. Pike, her lawyers, the doctors and nurses treating her, and her loved ones.
“Hospital staff are working to save Ms. Pike’s life and to clear the pentobarbital from her system,” the lawyers wrote in an emergency court filing. In a separate statement, they said she was also receiving treatment for “significant injuries to both arms.”
In a statement, Luke Ihnen, who represents Ms. Pike through the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, said that “we are working closely with those closest to Christa to respect her wishes, safeguard her privacy and protect her rights as a patient during this extraordinarily difficult time.”
In my opinion, the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment and should be abolished.
Sam Levin at The Guardian: Outgoing prison chief in Christa Pike case oversaw five ‘botched’ executions, lawyers say.
Tennessee’s prison chief is under fire and resigning after the failed execution of Christa Pike, which lawyers say was the fifth “botched” execution under his leadership across two states since 2022.
Willem den Ouden, Ferry with cat
Frank Strada, the commissioner of the Tennessee department of correction, has faced mounting questions about the state’s highly secretive death penalty protocols since Wednesday evening when Pike became the first death row prisoner in the US to to be injected with lethal drugs and survive.
Witnesses said Pike, 50, was heard choking and struggling an hour after receiving the first injection of pentobarbital, a sedative, and after a second dose failed to kill her she was hospitalized in critical condition.
The scrutiny on Strada comes as Pike’s failed execution has sparked international outrage, with lawyers and advocates calling for a national halt on executions in the US. Pike’s lawyers have called the process “cruel and torturous”, and one death penalty expert said it was the worst botched execution in modern history.
Bill Lee, Tennessee’s Republican governor, on Saturday announced that Strada would step down from his role this month, the Associated Press reported. Lee also suspended executions in the state until the end of the year and ordered an independent inquiry.
Read more at The Guardian link.
Trump’s taxpayer-paid ads are coming fast and furiously.
Betsy Klein at CNN: ‘God made Trump’ ad and at least 12 others are part of controversial taxpayer-funded ad campaign.
The Trump administration has created at least 13 campaign-style ads as part of its controversial taxpayer-funded, multi-million-dollar effort to promote President Donald Trump and his policies.
Yet-to-be-aired spots include a trio of ads highlighting the US military and operations in Iran and Venezuela, one called “God Made Trump” and another recapping the UFC fight he hosted at the White House. Republicans and Democrats alike have questioned the wisdom of spending so much taxpayer money on the ads, which the White House has defended as public service announcements.
CNN has obtained clips of 12 ads, which range from 15 seconds to three minutes long, including two that have already aired. They appear in a Dropbox account — which was shared with CNN — run by LMD, the agency that has been given the government contract for the ad buys. Each ends with “Paid for by the U.S. Government” at the bottom of the screen. Another ad that is not in the Dropbox account, “Final Battle,” has also aired in recent weeks.
The three ads that have already aired have appeared on TV networks including CBS, CNN, MS NOW, Fox News and Fox. It’s not clear if all of the ads will air on television or digital platforms.
Asked for comment, the White House on Friday afternoon pointed to a just-posted video compilation of the president criticizing CNN.
Henry Sturgis Drinker with cat, by Cecilia Beaux, 1898
While each of the ads has a different theme, many of them include imagery of the president and audio with positive reviews from news reports, which is likely to intensify criticism that the campaign is using taxpayer dollars to help Trump personally. They also include patriotic images — including the cap toss at a military graduation, fireworks over Mount Rushmore and military flyovers.
First lady Melania Trump, who has been a rare presence at the White House during the president’s second term, is featured in many of the ads. There are also images from Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement, the border wall, his escalator presidential-campaign announcement and the tongue-in-cheek framed photograph of an auto pen signifying former President Joe Biden on Trump’s “Presidential Walk of Fame.”
CNN previously reported that Trump has personally driven the video ads, including helping select the imagery and videos used, according to a source familiar with the matter. Two Trump advisers familiar with the ads said that they were being created in-house by the White House video team — which is part of the communications team, responsible for the administration’s public messaging — though at least one of them was produced by a pro-Trump meme group.
Maggie Haberman, Hamed Aleaziz, Shane Goldmacher, and Jonathan Swan at The New York Times(gift link): Trump Directed Use of Taxpayer Money for Ads Praising His Presidency.
President Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, setting in motion a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter.
The ads have run across cable and network television — on Fox News, CNN and MS Now, with football games on Fox and with national newscasts on CBS, ABC and NBC, including “Meet the Press,” which Mr. Trump is known to watch.
Lady in Pink Dress, by Barbara Perrine Chu
Mr. Trump was eager to see the laudatory ads on the air and told Russell T. Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to come up with the money from within the government, the people said. Mark Paoletta, the budget office’s counsel, and Will Scharf, the White House counsel, both said it would be legal to use D.H.S. funds. The president and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, both spoke with Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, about the ads.
On Sept. 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection — which falls under D.H.S. — awarded the contract to LMD, a Maryland marketing firm, federal records show….
The taxpayer-funded ads have been criticized by Democrats and even some Republicans as a possible violation of federal laws against using taxpayer dollars for “publicity or propaganda purposes.” And they come as the president is also directing spending from his super PAC — MAGA Inc., which entered the fall with $400 million — for which he has been raising money since he won re-election in 2024.
It was not clear why taxpayer funds, and not money from the super PAC, were used for the spots.
The White House has called the ads public service announcements and said they are appropriate because there is no “call to action” to vote for any candidate. Some of his aides also noted that Mr. Trump is not running for office now, in an attempt to blunt criticism of the ads as violating federal laws about the use of public money.
When pressed by a reporter on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said: “If somebody said that that’s wrong, I’ll gladly pay the money.”
Yeah, right.
Those are the stories that interested me today. What do you think? What else is on your mind?
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The Sky Dancing banner headline uses a snippet from a work by artist Tashi Mannox called 'Rainbow Study'. The work is described as a" study of typical Tibetan rainbow clouds, that feature in Thanka painting, temple decoration and silk brocades". dakinikat was immediately drawn to the image when trying to find stylized Tibetan Clouds to represent Sky Dancing. It is probably because Tashi's practice is similar to her own. His updated take on the clouds that fill the collection of traditional thankas is quite special.
You can find his work at his website by clicking on his logo below. He is also a calligraphy artist that uses important vajrayana syllables. We encourage you to visit his on line studio.
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