Thursday Reads

Posted: November 12, 2020 | Author: bostonboomer | Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Military, U.S. Politics | Tags: & Wilmer, Department of Defense, Donald Trump, Fox News, intelligence agencies, Jones Day, Porter, Robert O'Brien, Trump tantrums, Wright Morris & Arthur | 11 Comments

Good Morning!!

Prospects are not looking good for Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, but that doesn’t mean he won’t do serious damage to the government in his remaining lame duck weeks. The biggest problem for the transition to a real president is that Trump’s staff and most GOP elected officials are living in fear of Trump’s tantrums.

The Daily Beast: Trump’s National Security Adviser Tells Staff: Don’t Even Mention Biden’s Name.

President Donald Trump continues to refuse to cede the election. His national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, is enabling the mayhem, four senior officials told The Daily Beast.

O’Brien—once viewed as a potential check on Trump’s erratic national security demands—endorsed the installation of a pair of Trumpists at the Pentagon’s highest levels, while a defense secretary O’Brien has long opposed was fired by tweet.

One official claimed that O’Brien has been supportive of a peaceful transfer of power, joking in a Monday event about Trump’s loss and directing his staff to begin drafting transition materials. But three other officials told The Daily Beast that O’Brien has emerged as one of Trump’s biggest enablers at a decisive moment, supporting the president’s bid to retain power even though it is being waged through a nationwide disinformation campaign….

This week, officials say, O’Brien supported the removal of several top officials at the Pentagon and favored Christopher Miller, a former NSC official who moved to the National Counterterrorism Center, to replace Esper as secretary of defense. He also approved of the installation of Kash Patel as Miller’s chief of staff, officials said. Patel worked previously under O’Brien at the National Security Council. One senior official described Miller and Patel as “O’Brien’s boys.” Patel is also said to be close with another former NSC colleague, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who is now the Pentagon’s senior intelligence official.

A bit more:

Other officials familiar with the matter noted that O’Brien has also pushed national security officials to publicly embrace the absurd Trump message that the election has not been certified and that there are still legal battles playing out across the country that could turn in the president’s favor.

“If you even mention Biden’s name… that’s a no-go, you’d be fired,” one national security official said. “Everyone is scared of even talking about the chance of working with the [Biden] transition.”

Asked if officials in the White House feel comfortable saying Biden’s name in the West Wing, one senior White House official said, half-jokingly, “Sure, you can say his name. If you’re talking about who lost the election to the president.”

Behind closed doors, one official claimed, O’Brien has been much more forthcoming about Trump’s loss and the need to prepare for a transition. The problem, the other officials said, is that O’Brien hasn’t made that known to the commander in chief.

There’s much more interesting gossip at the Daily Beast link.

wu201109 On the other hand, some right wingers are speaking up, including John Yoo, Mike DeWine, and John Bolton.

The law firms representing Trump are also getting antsy. The New York Times: Growing Discomfort at Law Firms Representing Trump in Election Lawsuits.

Jones Day is the most prominent firm representing President Trump and the Republican Party as they prepare to wage a legal war challenging the results of the election. The work is intensifying concerns inside the firm about the propriety and wisdom of working for Mr. Trump, according to lawyers at the firm.

Doing business with Mr. Trump — with his history of inflammatory rhetoric, meritless lawsuits and refusal to pay what he owes — has long induced heartburn among lawyers, contractors, suppliers and lenders. But the concerns are taking on new urgency as the president seeks to raise doubts about the election results.

Some senior lawyers at Jones Day, one of the country’s largest law firms, are worried that it is advancing arguments that lack evidence and may be helping Mr. Trump and his allies undermine the integrity of American elections, according to interviews with nine partners and associates, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs.

At another large firm, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, based in Columbus, Ohio, lawyers have held internal meetings to voice similar concerns about their firm’s election-related work for Mr. Trump and the Republican Party, according to people at the firm. At least one lawyer quit in protest.

Tuesday Reads: Trump’s “Autocratic Attempt”

Posted: November 10, 2020 | Author: bostonboomer | Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics | Tags: Autocracy, autocratic attempt, autocratic breakthrough, Bálint Magyar, democracy, Department of Defense, Donald Trump, famous autocrats, GSA, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Mark Esper, NSA, Richard PIlger, U.S. nuclear arsenal, William Barr | 18 Comments

Good Morning!!

Benito Mussolini

The U.S. is going through a very dangerous time. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been elected decisively, but Trump and his GOP cult followers are trying to overthrow the election results. They are, in fact, attempting a coup.

Masha Gessen at The New Yorker, November 5: By Declaring Victory, Donald Trump Is Attempting an Autocratic Breakthrough.

The President of the United States has called the election a fraud. He has declared victory without basis, tweeting on Wednesday, “We have claimed” Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and perhaps Michigan—all states that were still counting votes. Donald Trump, who has been engaged in an autocratic attempt for the last four years, is now trying to stage an autocratic breakthrough.

I have borrowed the term “autocratic attempt” from the work of Bálint Magyar, a Hungarian sociologist who set out to develop analytical tools for understanding the turn away from democracy in many Eastern and Central European countries. I have found Magyar’s ideas surprisingly illuminating when applied to the United States.

Magyar divides the autocrat’s journey into three stages: autocratic attempt, autocratic breakthrough, and autocratic consolidation. The attempt is a period when autocracy is still preventable, or reversible, by electoral means. When it is no longer possible to reverse autocracy peacefully, the autocratic breakthrough has occurred, because the very structures of government have been transformed and can no longer protect themselves. These changes usually include packing the constitutional court (the Supreme Court, in the case of the U.S.) with judges loyal to the autocrat; packing and weakening the courts in general; appointing a chief prosecutor (the Attorney General) who is loyal to the autocrat and will enforce the law selectively on his behalf; changing the rules on the appointment of civil servants; weakening local governments; unilaterally changing electoral rules (to accommodate gerrymandering, for instance); and changing the Constitution to expand the powers of the executive.

Josef Stalin

For all the apparent flailing and incompetence of the Trump Administration, his autocratic attempt checks most of the boxes. He has appointed three Supreme Court Justices and a record number of federal judges. The Justice Department, under William Barr, acts like Trump’s pocket law-enforcement agency and personal law firm. Trump’s army of “acting” officials, some of them carrying out their duties in violation of relevant federal regulations, have made mincemeat of the rules and norms of federal appointments. Trump has preëmptively declared the election rigged; has incited voter intimidation and encouraged voter suppression; has mobilized his armed supporters to prevent votes from being counted; and has explicitly stated that he is changing the rules of the election. “We want all voting to stop,” he said on Wednesday morning, and vowed to take his case to the Supreme Court.

Please go read the rest at The New Yorker.

Ezra Klein makes a similar argument at Vox: Trump is attempting a coup in plain sight.

The Trump administration’s current strategy is to go to court to try and get votes for Biden ruled illegitimate, and that strategy explicitly rests on Trump’s appointees honoring a debt the administration, at least, believes they owe. One of his legal advisers said, “We’re waiting for the United States Supreme Court — of which the President has nominated three justices — to step in and do something. And hopefully Amy Coney Barrett will come through.”

If that fails, and it will, Mark Levin, one of the nation’s most popular conservative radio hosts, is explicitly calling on Republican legislatures to reject the election results and seat Donald Trump as president anyway. After Twitter tagged the tweet as contested, Trump’s press secretary weighed in furiously on Levin’s behalf.

That this coup probably will not work — that it is being carried out farcically, erratically, ineffectively — does not mean it is not happening, or that it will not have consequences. Millions will believe Trump, will see the election as stolen. The Trump family’s Twitter feeds, and those of associated outlets and allies, are filled with allegations of fraud and lies about the process (reporter Isaac Saul has been doing yeoman’s work tracking these arguments, and his thread is worth reading). It’s the construction of a confusing, but immersive, alternative reality in which the election has been stolen from Trump and weak-kneed Republicans are letting the thieves escape.

Francisco Franco, Spain

This is, to borrow Hungarian sociologist Bálint Magyar’s framework, “an autocratic attempt.” That’s the stage in the transition toward autocracy in which the would-be autocrat is trying to sever his power from electoral check. If he’s successful, autocratic breakthrough follows, and then autocratic consolidation occurs. In this case, the would-be autocrat stands little chance of being successful. But he will not entirely fail, either. What Trump is trying to form is something akin to an autocracy-in-exile, an alternative America in which he is the rightful leader, and he — and the public he claims to represent — has been robbed of power by corrupt elites.

“Democracy works only when losers recognize that they have lost,” writes political scientist Henry Farrell. That will not happen here.

It won’t happen, because the GOP is going along with Trump’s attempt.

Here’s the grim kicker: The conditions that made Trump and this Republican Party possible are set to worsen. Republicans retained control of enough statehouses to drive the next redistricting effort, too, and their 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court will unleash their map-drawers more fully. The elections analyst G. Elliott Morris estimates that the gap between the popular vote margin and the tipping point state in the Electoral College will be 4 to 5 percentage points, and that the GOP’s control of the redistricting process could push it to 6 to 7 points next time.

To say that America’s institutions did not wholly fail in the Trump era is not the same thing as saying they succeeded. They did not, and in particular, the Republican Party did not. It has failed dangerously, spectacularly. It has made clear that would-be autocrats have a path to power in the United States, and if they can walk far enough down that path, an entire political party will support them, and protect them. And it has been insulated from public fury by a political system that values land over people, and that lets partisan actors set election rules and draw district lines — and despite losing the presidency, the GOP still holds the power to tilt that system further in its direction in the coming years.

What happens when the next would-be autocrat tries this strategy — and what if they are smoother, more strategic, more capable than this one?

How is Trump’s autocratic attempt going so far? He has fired the Secretary of Defense and replaced him with a partisan loyalist.

Adolf HItler, Germany

The Independent: ‘God help us’: Fired defence secretary Mark Esper worries about ‘yes men’ under Trump.

In an exclusive interview with Military Times that dropped shortly after his abrupt firing, Mr Esper took exception with critics who have called him a “yes man”, the source of the derogatory nickname “Yesper” used by the president.

“Name another Cabinet secretary that’s pushed back… Have you seen me on a stage saying, ‘Under the exceptional leadership of blah-blah-blah, we have blah-blah-blah-blah?” Mr Esper said.

“At the end of the day, it’s as I said — you’ve got to pick your fights… I could have a fight over anything, and I could make it a big fight, and I could live with that —why? Who’s going to come in behind me? It’s going to be a real ‘yes man.’ And then God help us.”

The interview was conducted on 4 November, before Mr Esper’s replacement would have been known.

Trump also fired the three officials who were in charge of our nuclear weapons. NPR:

The Trump administration abruptly dumped the leaders of three agencies that oversee the nuclear weapons stockpile, electricity and natural gas regulation, and overseas aid during the past two days, drawing a rebuke from a prominent Republican senator for one of the decisions.

The sudden departures included:

Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the first woman to oversee the agency in charge of the nuclear stockpile. She was required to resign on Friday.

Bonnie Glick, deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. She was replaced by acting Administrator John Barsa, who had run out of time for his more senior role under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Neil Chatterjee, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He was replaced as chairman, though he will remain at FERC, an independent agency, as a commissioner.

The firings were overshadowed by the prolonged drama of the presidential election.

Hideki Tojo, Japan

Trump is expected to fire CIA director Gina Haspel and FBI director Christopher Wray, according to Axios.

He has named another yes man as general counsel at the NSA. The Washington Post: White House official and former GOP political operative Michael Ellis named as NSA general counsel.

The Pentagon general counsel has named a White House official and former GOP political operative to be the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, the U.S. government’s largest and most technically advanced spy agency, U.S. officials said.

The selection of Michael Ellis, which has not yet been announced, was made Monday, said officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The appointment was made under pressure from the White House, said a person familiar with the matter….

Ellis, who was chief counsel to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), a staunch supporter of President Trump and then-chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has been at the White House since early 2017, when he became a lawyer on the National Security Council and then this year was elevated to senior director for intelligence.

There’s much more at the link.

Bill Barr is also on the case. The New York Times: Barr Hands Prosecutors the Authority to Investigate Voter Fraud Claims.

Attorney General William P. Barr, wading into President Trump’s unfounded accusations of widespread election irregularities, told federal prosecutors on Monday that they were allowed to investigate “specific allegations” of voter fraud before the results of the presidential race are certified.

Augusto Pinochet, Chile

Mr. Barr’s authorization prompted the Justice Department official who oversees investigations of voter fraud, Richard Pilger, to step down from the post within hours, according to an email Mr. Pilger sent to colleagues that was obtained by The New York Times.

Mr. Barr said he had authorized “specific instances” of investigative steps in some cases. He made clear in a carefully worded memo that prosecutors had the authority to investigate, but he warned that “specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims should not be a basis for initiating federal inquiries.”

Mr. Barr’s directive ignored the Justice Department’s longstanding policies intended to keep law enforcement from affecting the outcome of an election. And it followed a move weeks before the election in which the department lifted a prohibition on voter fraud investigations before an election.

The head of the branch of the Justice Department that prosecutes election crimes resigned Monday hours after Attorney General William Barr issued a memo to federal prosecutors authorizing them to investigate “specific allegations” of voter fraud before the results of the presidential race are certified.

Richard Pilger, who was director of the Election Crimes Branch of the DOJ, sent a memo to colleagues that suggested his resignation was linked to Barr’s memo, which was issued as the president’s legal team mount baseless legal challenges to the election results, alleging widespread voter fraud cost him the race.

“Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications, and in accord with the best tradition of the John C. Keeney Award for Exceptional Integrity and Professionalism (my most cherished Departmental recognition), I must regretfully resign from my role as Director of the Election Crimes Branch,” Pilger’s letter said, according to a copy obtained by NBC News.

“I have enjoyed very much working with you for over a decade to aggressively and diligently enforce federal criminal election law, policy, and practice without partisan fear or favor. I thank you for your support in that effort.”

Kim Il-sung, North Korea

Finally, Trump is preventing the Biden transition team from beginning their work. The Washington Post: White House, escalating tensions, orders agencies to rebuff Biden transition team.

The Trump White House on Monday instructed senior government leaders to block cooperation with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, escalating a standoff that threatens to impede the transfer of power and prompting the Biden team to consider legal action.

Officials at agencies across the government who had prepared briefing books and carved out office space for the incoming Biden team to use as soon as this week were told instead that the transition would not be recognized until the Democrat’s election was confirmed by the General Services Administration, the low-profile agency that officially starts the transition.

While media outlets on Saturday projected Biden as the winner, President Trump has not conceded the election.

“We have been told: Ignore the media, wait for it to be official from the government,” said a senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.

The GSA, the government’s real estate arm, remained for a third day the proxy in the battle. Administrator Emily Murphy, a Trump political appointee who has lasted a full term in an administration where turnover has been the norm, is refusing to sign paperwork that releases Biden’s $6.3 million share of nearly $10 million in transition resources and gives his team access to agency officials and information.

So that’s where things stand right now, as we battle an out-of-control pandemic with no help from the federal government and the Supreme Court hears arguments that may end the Affordable Care Act and strip 20,000,000 people of health insurance.

Hang in there Sky Dancers! Take care of yourselves in this dangerous time.

Monday Reads: Presidential Pets and our first shelter dog in the White House

Posted: November 9, 2020 | Author: dakinikat | Filed under: 2020 Elections | Tags: Presidential pets | 34 Comments

The Clinton’s Cat Socks hogs the spotlight on the lawn of the White House.

Good Day Sky Dancers!

I’ve always enjoyed watching the interaction between our Presidents and their Pets! Their interactions with pets and kids really tells a lot about who they are and if they’re capable of being empathetic and kind. The first rescue pet was LBJ’s Yuki and I remember those antics well! The first shelter rescue dog in the White House will be the Biden’s German Shepard mix Major. “‘Major’ day: Biden’s German shepherd Major to become first rescue dog in the White House.”

President-elect Joe Biden’s adopted German shepherd, Major, will become the first rescue dog to live in the White House.

The Bidens adopted Major in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association after fostering the German shepherd.

Major joins Champ, the Bidens’ other German shepherd, in accompanying the incoming first family. Presidential pets are a tradition in the White House.

So, sue me, I think the relationship between presidents and their pets and the kids in the country just speaks volumes about character. I look forward to seeing a lot of both Champ and Major who are the Biden Family pets. It will also be nice to have grandchildren romping about the gardens again. We will undoubtedly get more normal views of both families and holidays. I cannot imagine Dr. Biden talking about having to do fucking Christmas stuff. Although I’m waiting to see what happens in the Second Family’s resident with our new second Gentleman! Can you imagine we’re actually going to have four years of normal sane people capable of being kind and empathetic? I’ve missed that so much! Although, poor Baron does seem more of Melania’s pet at times whenever we get proof of life from them.

Meanwhile, the Freak-in-Chief still intends to file frivolous lawsuits, have huge covid-19 super spreader events, and raise money. This is from Axios and the keyboard of Alyana Treene.

President Trump plans to brandish obituaries of people who supposedly voted but are dead — plus hold campaign-style rallies — in an effort to prolong his fight against apparent insurmountable election results, four Trump advisers told me during a conference call this afternoon.

What we’re hearing: Obits for those who cast ballots are part of the “specific pieces of evidence” aimed at bolstering the Trump team’s so-far unsupported claims of widespread voter fraud and corruption that they say led to Joe Biden’s victory.

Fueling the effort is the expected completion of vote counting this week, allowing Republicans to file for more recounts.

What’s next: Team Trump is ready to announce specific recount teams in key states, and it plans to hold a series of Trump rallies focused on the litigation.

In Georgia: Doug Collins, the outgoing congressman who lost to Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a special election to fill former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s seat, will be leading the campaign’s recount efforts. The team has also redeployed 92 staffers from Florida to Georgia, doubling its group on the ground.

In Arizona: Kory Langhofer, former counsel for Trump’s 2016 transition, will serve as lead attorney.

In Pennsylvania: Porter Wright’s Ron Hicks is heading up the legal effort.

Nationwide: They’re assembling additional surrogates and lawyers.

“We want to make sure we have an adequate supply of manpower on the ground for man-to-man combat,” one adviser said.

The group is also staffing a campaign-style media operation.

The team led by Trump communications director Tim Murtaugh is now a surrogate messaging center. It will pump out “regular press briefings, releases on legal action and obviously things like talking points and booking people strategically on television,” one adviser said.

They’ll also make a big play to raise money for their legal defense fund.

Trump’s formal legal team includes 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien, lawyer Justin Clark, and senior advisers Jason Miller and David Bossie.

Reps. Jim Jordan and Scott Perry, as well as former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, are also advising.

Trump’s team claims there is “no daylight” between them and the White House — chiefly senior adviser Jared Kushner and current Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

“We all have the same goal in mind, which is using the legal process over the next many days and weeks ahead to make sure that the president is re-elected,” one adviser said.

First Lady Grace Coolidge with Laddie Buck and Rob Roy

The Washington Post has an article today listing all the GOP and Trump allegations of voter fraud and irregularities. All of them to date are unsubstantiated. How much time and money will we be spending on this snipe hunt?

Republicans have made claims of election irregularities in five states where President-elect Joe Biden leads in the vote count, alleging in lawsuits and public statements that election officials did not follow proper procedures while counting ballots in Tuesday’s election.

So far, they have gone 0 for 5.

Since Election Day, President Trump has repeatedly claimed that a broad conspiracy of misdeeds — apparently committed in both Republican and Democratic states — had cost him the election.

“I WON THE ELECTION, GOT 71,000,000 LEGAL VOTES,” Trump tweeted on Saturday, after returning to the White House from his Virginia golf course. “BAD THINGS HAPPENED WHICH OUR OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE.” Trump’s campaign has encouraged donors to contribute to a legal-defense fund so he can fight the cases in court.

I personally believe the biggest share of what’s going on here beside saving Trump from reality is the bottom line indicating it’s just another grift.

I rather feel any self respecting dog would run away from Melania and Orangecheetolini. A cat would likely find a hidey hole and stay there.

Joe Biden announced his Covid-19 Pandemic team today and Pfizer believes it has trials to show its vaccine is working for 90% of it’s trial patients.! They’re applying for “Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA as soon as final data meets safety milestones, which it expects to happen in the third week of November.” This is from CBS.

“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19,” Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen. With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis,” he continued.

UPDATE: We are proud to announce, along with @BioNTech_Group, that our mRNA-based #vaccine candidate has, at an interim analysis, demonstrated initial evidence of efficacy against #COVID19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

— Pfizer Inc. (@pfizer) November 9, 2020

Here is the announcement of the Presidential Elect Biden’s Task Force from Axios. It specifically lists the participants and their credentials. It’s considered a crisis team.

The task force will be led by three co-chairs: former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith from Yale University — as Axios’ Hans Nichols first reported Saturday.
Beth Cameron, who served as senior director for global health security and biodefense in the Obama administration, and Rebecca Katz, co-director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University, are advisors to the Transition on COVID-19 and will work closely with the advisory board.

President George H.W. Bush holds one of first dog Millie’s six puppies for the press at the White House in Washington on Mar. 29, 1989. Millie gave birth on March 27, 1989 with First Lady Barbara Bush serving as midwife according to spokeswomen.

Politico reminds us that this winter will be tough as the Virus could overwhelm our healthcare system.

The country’s health care system is already buckling under the load of the resurgent outbreak that’s approaching 10 million cases nationwide. The number of Americans hospitalized with Covid-19 has spiked to 56,000, up from 33,000 one month ago. In many areas of the country, shortages of ICU beds and staff are leaving patients piled up in emergency rooms. And nearly 1,100 people died on Saturday alone, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

“That’s three jetliners full of people crashing and dying,” said David Eisenman, director of the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters. “And we will do that every day and then it will get more and more.”

The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts 370,000 Americans will be dead by Inauguration Day, exactly one year after the first U.S. case of Covid-19 was reported. Nearly 238,000 have already died.

The task force Biden announces Monday will be staffed with public health experts and former government officials, many of whom ran agencies duringthe Obama and Clinton administrations — including former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, New York University’s Dr. Celine Gounder, Yale’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, former Obama White House aide Dr. Zeke Emanuel and former Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita, who is now an executive vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Shahpar said that even before Biden takes control of government in January, he and his team can make a difference by breaking with Trump’s declarations that the virus is “going away,” communicating the severity of the virus’ spread and encouraging people to take precautions as winter approaches.

First Lady and President Kennedy enjoy a veritable pack of pooches while vacationing with their children. JFK owned many pets in during his presidency including ponies, dogs, parakeets, and a rabbit.

So, if you’re interested in learning more about First Pets you can check out this NBC page “First Pets: Dogs, Cats and a Raccoon Among Past Presidential Best Friends”. You can see Taft’s cow who was tasked with putting fresh milk and butter on the table. Grace Coolidge–pictured above–also had a racoon. Hoover had an Opossum!

There are also pictures of Nixon’s Dog Checkers and FDR’s dog Fala. Both of these dogs became famous during presidential elections and speeches. So far, Champ and Major have avoided the wrath of the Orange one.

Then there’s the story of Romney and the dog in a cage on top of the car!!! The photo of the poor dog kicked off a Dogs Against Romney Campaign!

But, eventually we will have a team in the White House and big in the Departments that do the work of all of us putting things back together. I woke up the last few days thinking how relieved I will be that the future of our children will not be impacted by Betsy DeVos. Our Public lands and sacred sites in our National Park System will once again be protected and cherished for future generations. I’d kind’ve like to think all those pets of Teddy Roosevelt would be happy about that.

Dogs were an important part of Teddy Roosevelt’s existence, and he made room for numerous ones. There was Rollo, a friendly St. Bernard, Sailor Boy, a Chesapeake retriever, and Manchu, a black Pekingese given to daughter Alice by the last empress of China.

Blackjack, a Manchester terrier, was terrified of the family cat, Tom Quartz. Whenever the dog was near, the cat took great pleasure in chasing him away.

Pete, a bull terrier, would happily have stayed at the White House, but he was finally exiled to Sagamore Hill, the family’s country house on Long Island. Pete had a propensity for nipping at the heels of White House visitors. He took his final nip from the French ambassador, ripping the fellow’s pants. With that, he was banned from Washington by the president. Pete found that living with the staff at Sagamore Hill was just fine.

So, pretty soon, Champ and Major will start living their dog’s lives in the White House.

What a relief! I’m sleeping better, are you?

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?

Lazy Caturday Reads

Posted: November 7, 2020 | Author: bostonboomer | Filed under: just because | 23 Comments

Good Morning!!

UPDATE: CNN and MSNBC have now called the election for Biden.

BREAKING: JOE BIDEN WILL BE PRESIDENT-ELECT, NBC NEWS PROJECTS. https://t.co/gGS2tyKRy9 pic.twitter.com/s17hCZDvBR
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 7, 2020

I don’t have the energy to rewrite this post….it’s still ridiculous that it took this long.

Will the networks call the election before January 20, 2021? If we have learned one thing during this endless week, it’s that we don’t need the media to call our elections. Anyone with half a brain can see that Biden is the winner, but NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and FNN are terrified to say it for fear of Trump tantrums.

I genuinely can't believe that I slept overnight, woke up, and turned on the TV only to find Kornacki STILL patiently explaining that it's no longer possible for Trump to win Pennsylvania or the election

Is this hell? Did we all die and go to hell? pic.twitter.com/9OHITGINOj
— brynne ridley (@BrynneRidley) November 7, 2020

Ball-less wonders at @CNN @MSNBC @nytimes et al who are scared of hurting Trump's feelings: He's going to be on the golf course for 4 hours, it's safe to call the election. https://t.co/IErMe8Z9jB
— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) November 7, 2020

It’s hilarious that anchors on CNN and MSNBC have been forced to defend their networks’ refusal to bring an end to the madness.

But there still are 29,000 votes in Philadelphia left and Trump might win 100% so we can’t make call. https://t.co/xMhm8JLfV8
— Armando (@ArmandoNDK) November 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/AlisynCamerota/status/1325073742486237184?s=20

There is certainly no excuse for not calling Nevada, but I think the network bosses are afraid if they allow that, it will mean that Biden will pass 270 in the Fox News and AP calculations. They don’t want to hurt Trump’s delicate feelings until they absolutely have to. Maybe they think he’ll gradually catch on that he’s lost and they won’t have to break the news to him.

Anyway, it’s clear that Biden has won and the media should be barred from making “calls” in future elections. We don’t need them to do the math for us.

Some stories to check out today while we continue the interminable wait for the votes to be counted.

Bess Levin at Vanity Fair: It Sure Sounds Like Trump May Barricade Himself in the Oval Office and Refuse to Come Out if Biden Wins.

By now you’ve likely heard that after pulling ahead in Georgia and, most crucially, Pennsylvania, Joe Biden will very likely be the next president of the United States. As you’ve probably also heard, Donald Trump is taking it as well as everyone had expected, ranting and raving about all kinds of made-up fraud, demanding counts be stopped in one state and continued in others, and filing numerous lawsuits that stand little chance of holding up in court because they have no merit (and, in some cases, have led judges to believe the lawyers attached to them have recently suffered traumatic brain injuries). At this point, a quasi reasonable person might say to himself, Okay, I’m going to cut my losses, salvage my last atom of dignity, and admit defeat. But obviously Donald Trump is not reasonable and he has no dignity. So instead he’s decided he’ll keep fighting this thing well beyond the point that it’s hugely embarrassing to do so, and even after that fails, refuse to acknowledge that he lost and that Joe Biden is going to be president.

Yes, like George Costanza deciding to just go back to the office on Monday as if he didn’t quit the Friday before, Trump apparently thinks he can just go on being president even if the American people have fired him. According to CNN, Trump reportedly has not prepared a concession speech and “in conversations with allies in recent days has said he has no intention of conceding the election.” The decision to go full delusional has obviously been strengthened by staffers, such as Mark Meadows, who “have not attempted to come to terms with the president about the reality of what is happening” and have instead fed into his claims of fraud; Vice President Mike Pence, who’s been soliciting money for a legal defense fund; and his adult children, who’ve been spouting absurd conspiracy theories on Twitter as they watch the ultimate opportunity for nepotism slip away. While Trump has apparently admitted to some people that he knows the electoral math has no chance of working out in his favor, he has “maintained that a prolonged court battle and corrosive rhetoric about election fraud would sow enough doubt to allow him to refuse to accept the results.”

And while the majority of the president’s inner circle is more than happy to go along with this sad alternative reality, a few members have reportedly grown worried that, eventually, someone will have to sit Trump down and explain that little Donny’s not going to be president anymore—and at this point, it seems unlikely anyone will be able to get through to him short of slapping him across the face and screaming, “YOU LOST! IT’S OVER!” Yes, this is an actual thing allies of the president of the United States are actually grappling with.

Click the link to read the rest.

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Says He Will Keep Fighting as Aides Doubt Path Forward.

President Trump said Friday he would continue to fight election results that showed him on the cusp of losing to former Vice President Joe Biden. Privately, people familiar with the conversations say, advisers are urging him to prepare for that eventuality.

Mr. Trump’s campaign on Friday named David Bossie, one of the president’s closest political confidants, to head up its legal team. The addition of Mr. Bossie, who is not a lawyer, comes three days after polls closed and after some lawsuits challenging results had been dismissed while others remained active.

Some advisers have privately said they see little path forward, politically or legally, that would prevent Mr. Trump from becoming the first president to lose reelection since 1992.

Among the president’s advisers, finger-pointing over the campaign’s legal strategy has intensified in recent days, White House and campaign aides said. Aides have expressed acute frustration over what many see as a slapdash legal effort, complaining that—even though Mr. Trump spent months telegraphing his intent to fight the election outcome in the courts—there wasn’t enough planning ahead of Election Day and has been little follow-through on decisions made this week. For days after the election, advisers said they didn’t know who was in charge of the strategy.

One more tidbit:

The president’s mood, an adviser said, is “black.” He has spent the last few days seething over the vote count as it increasingly moves in Mr. Biden’s favor. He spent much of the day Thursday on the phone with advisers urging them to use every tool available to fight what is expected to be an election victory for Mr. Biden. A short speech Thursday evening in the White House briefing room offered a window into the president’s frustration, as he accused Democrats, pollsters and the news media of stealing the election from him.

Advisers expect the president to let his campaign’s legal efforts play out before conceding the race. One adviser, asked if he expected the president to concede the race, replied via text message: “Lol.”

Read the rest at the WSJ. There’s no paywall on this one.

There’s another coronavirus outbreak at the White House. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has tested positive, and he tried to keep it a secret. He was everywhere at Trump’s illegal election night party in the people’s house so others are now testing positive. Biden will need to get that place fumigated before he moves in.

2118d069ca73ea62ec719709476ae0f8 Bloomberg: Trump’s Aides Frustrated After Meadows’s Silence on Infection.

Some of Donald Trump’s White House and campaign aides are frustrated that the president’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, didn’t issue a statement after he tested positive for coronavirus this week, instead informing only a close circle of advisers.

His infection was not widely known across Trump’s staff until late Friday, after Bloomberg News reported it. He tested positive on Wednesday, according to a senior administration official.

A small circle of people were aware earlier in the week that Meadows had become infected but were told to keep it quiet, several people said….

The White House Medical Unit conducted contact tracing during the latest outbreak, according to people familiar with the matter. Throughout the pandemic, the unit’s guidance for contract tracing has been to reach out to people in close proximity with the infected person for 15 minutes or more, within 48 hours of the diagnosis.

That excluded many aides who had crossed paths with Meadows at large events around Election Day, including a visit to campaign headquarters on Tuesday and a party at the White House that night….

At least four other White House officials have been infected, including Cassidy Hutchinson, one of Meadows’s closest aides, and Charlton Boyd, an aide to senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner, according to several people.

A senior Trump campaign aide, Nick Trainer, is also infected, according to people familiar with the matter.

Politico Playbook reports that Matt Gaetz has also tested positive.

ANOTHER HIGH-PROFILE MEMBER OF THE PRESIDENT’S circle tested positive: GOP Rep. MATT GAETZ of Florida told multiple people on Capitol Hill and in the White House that he too had contracted the virus. GAETZ and his staff did not reply to a request for comment.

I wonder if someone will tell Trump he lost while he’s on the golf course? I hope he has a public tantrum and throws his clubs all over the place.

Have a nice weekend Sky Dancers!

Friday Reads: No One Wants to Tell King Lear the Truth

Posted: November 6, 2020 | Author: dakinikat | Filed under: 2020 Elections | Tags: Trump is LOSING it and the Election! | 28 Comments

King Lear and the Fool in the Storm
Louis Boulanger

Meantime we shall express our darker purpose.
Give me the map there.

KING LEAR, Act One, Scene One

Good Day Sky Dancers!

Just a few more days–if not today–and we will have a definitive answer to the 2020 presidential election. Control of the Senate will likely have to wait until a Georgia runoff in January. There are some really big omens for the future elections given that some traditionally red states have turned into battleground states and Ohio and Florida are likely just part of the red wedge. There is still a blue wall it just doesn’t include Ohio any more.

As you can see, I’m in mind today of King Lear and his Great Stage of Fools. And why wouldn’t I think of the mad king as we wait these months until January?

This is from CNN: “Trump has told people he has no plans to concede even if his path to victory is blocked.” Which Republican fool will be the voice of reason for this Mad King?

Facing a disappearing pathway to victory, President Donald Trump offered little indication on Friday he was prepared to concede defeat, leading those around him to wonder who might be able to reckon with a leader who has given virtually no thought to leaving the White House.

Even as vote totals now show him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in key battlegrounds, Trump has not prepared a concession speech and in conversations with allies in recent days, he has said he has no intention of conceding the election, people familiar with the matter said.

So far he has been bolstered in his stance by those closest to him, including his senior advisers and his adult sons, who have mounted an aggressive effort in the courts to challenge the results and have pressured other Republicans into defending him.
Top aides, including his chief of staff Mark Meadows, have not attempted to come to terms with the President about the reality of what is happening. Instead, they have fed his baseless claim that the election is being stolen from underneath him.

The House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has also fed this delusional take on the election. This is from ABC News “House GOP leader defends Trump’s call to stop vote count”.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday attempted to explain the president’s rhetoric demanding “all voting stop” after Tuesday — referring to vote counting – but McCarthy insisted he meant only that new votes should not be cast after Election Day.

“The people vote, up until Election Day, not the days after,” McCarthy told reporters. “That’s exactly what the president was expressing.”

During his remarks from the White House early Wednesday morning, Trump argued for all “voting to stop,” asserting Democrats would use mail-in ballots to steal the election.

“We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at four in the morning and add them to the list, OK?” Trump said.

From WAPO and Amber Phillips: “Top Republicans are giving Trump a pass on his ‘illegal vote’ claims. Even if some aren’t going all in on it, they’re using language Trump wants them to use.”

With President Trump on the verge of losing reelection, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) didn’t have to tweet this on Friday morning:

Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted. Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes.

That's how Americans' votes decide the result.

— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) November 6, 2020

Tina Packer,King Lear
Publisher: Scholastic Press (2004) cover artnqa

But he did. McConnell wasn’t saying exactly what Trump has been saying — that the election is fraudulent because Trump is losing. The first part of his tweet is in line with exactly what is happening: Votes legally cast are being counted.

But then McConnell used language that mirrors what the president has been using: “illegal” “observe,” don’t count certain ballots. And because of that, it’s very easy for the president and his supporters to read what they want to hear from McConnell’s tweet: That even top Republicans think the results that could soon give Democrat Joe Biden the presidency aren’t legitimate.

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” Trump said at the White House on Thursday night. “If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.”

Meanwhile, the minions of the Mad King are up to this:

6abc:
Philly police investigating alleged plot to attack Pennsylvania Convention Center

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Is Trump campaign urging Pennsylvania supporters to mail late ballots?

King Lear RSC (1983) designed by The Drawing Room, illustration by Ian Pollock Commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company, Theatre Poster

And from Justin Baragona at The Daily Beast: “Newt Gingrich: Bill Barr Should Arrest Poll Workers”. WTF?

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich seemingly demanded on Thursday night that Attorney General Bill Barr use federal agents to arrest election workers in Pennsylvania and that election results in the state should be tossed.

With former Vice President Joe Biden getting closer to an electoral victory as mail-in votes in Pennsylvania continue to break heavily for him, President Donald Trump threw a televised tantrum on Thursday and doubled down on his baseless claims that the election is being stolen from him and he’s the rightful winner.

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us,” Trump said. Team Trump, meanwhile, continued to file and threaten lawsuits in states where the president is trailing or could potentially lose.

Fox News host and informal Trump adviser Sean Hannity devoted the bulk of his Thursday night broadcast to proposing a new strategy to the president and his campaign: demand that Pennsylvania, the tipping point state, just re-do its election.

After selling Trump-boosting Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz on the idea, the Fox News star then checked in with Gingrich, asking him about the focus of one of the Trump campaign’s recent lawsuits.

“Let’s see. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, all of them, a lot of them mention partisan observers are permitted to be present when ballots are counted,” Hannity stated. “But we get report after report that they are not being allowed to observe. Is that a violation of law? And how do you remedy that?”

“My hope is that President Trump will lead the millions of Americans who understand exactly what’s going on,” Gingrich fumed. “The Philadelphia machine is corrupt. The Atlanta machine is corrupt. The machine in Detroit is corrupt. And they are trying to steal the presidency. And we should not allow them to do that.”

Did the Russians give Komprat to Trump on these folks are they just all naturally grifting, lying, thugs?

Nancy Cook from Politico writes this: “Trump prepares to launch a second term early, even without winning. He may fire department heads like the FBI’s Chris Wray and Pentagon chief Mark Esper. He could sign base-pleasing executive orders. He might resume travel.” BTW, Esper submitted his resignation letter today. Biden is going to spend his first weeks undoing all those executive orders I’m sure.

President Donald Trump has struggled to convince the country he already won the election. So he’s just going to do the next best thing: Act like he’s starting his second term early.

Trump and his aides have settled on a plan for him to take full advantage of his existing perch at the White House to look as presidential as possible, according to three people briefed on the strategy. He may fire a few Cabinet members and top aides, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and Defense Secretary Mark Esper. He could sign a slew of base-pleasing executive orders. He might even resume his travel schedule. Meanwhile, Trump’s team is planning to mount even more legal challenges and cast evidence-deficient aspersions on the integrity of ballots.

Exclusive: Defense Sec. Esper has prepared a letter of resignation, according to three current defense officials. https://t.co/HNSRqAe8CQ

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 5, 2020

CIA Director Gina Haspel is supposedly next on the chopping block.

King Lear – Maria Surducan

Business Insider and their related business DDHQ have already called the election for Biden.

Given all the waiting and confusion since Election Day, news consumers would be rightfully perplexed about why some outlets declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election on Friday morning while others held off.

Insider and our partners at Decision Desk HQ called the race for Biden while many other outlets had not.

DDHQ President Drew McCoy, a longtime campaign analyst, told us why he felt comfortable with the call.

Since the 2012 election, DDHQ has been calling everything from national races to local contests. It gained a more prominent reputation nationally in 2014 when it was the first service to call House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s upset defeat in his reelection bid.

Ultimately, it came down to when Pennsylvania would no longer be winnable for President Donald Trump as votes from Philadelphia and other precincts continued to be tallied.

So why the call? “Because the data led us there,” McCoy said.

“Obviously we’ve known for a while that Philadelphia was counting votes. We knew what they had,” he continued. “Homework led us to a benchmark. We weren’t going to simply call it if, you know, Joe Biden had a 20-vote lead or something like that. It had to be a substantial lead that met certain benchmarks.”

While there are still more votes to count in Pennsylvania, McCoy said that a particular batch that came out on Friday morning pushed Biden over the top.

Pundits treated Trump's shattering of the Blue Wall with mystical reverence. Now Biden is:

* Rebuilding blue wall
* Hastening shift of Sun Belt
* Scoring large popular vote win

And you're telling me this isn't a rejection of Trump? I don't think so:https://t.co/XjzJDm0H7c

— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) November 6, 2020

So, we’re assuming we’re looking at a President Biden and a Vice President Harris and we’re just waiting to see what it takes to pry him out of the People’s House and what crazy things a Mad King losing it can do.

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?

	Mama Lopez on Sunday Easter Cartoons
	Mama Lopez on Sunday Easter Cartoons
	dakinikat on Lazy Caturday Reads
	bostonboomer on Lazy Caturday Reads
	Mama Lopez on Lazy Caturday Reads
	Anonymous on Lazy Caturday Reads
	bostonboomer on Lazy Caturday Reads

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UPDATE: CNN and MSNBC have now called the election for Biden.

Friday Reads: No One Wants to Tell King Lear the Truth

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UPDATE: CNN and MSNBC have now called the election for Biden.

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