Author: A.T.

He Hates Us

ISRAEL/GAZA

Fantastic news.  Just as the Abraham Accords were a definite bright spot in Trump 1.0, we can only hope this first step toward peace comes off as planned and leads to 19 more.  And to a whole new era in the Middle East.

GOOD/EVIL

Listen to Rep. Bob Onder of Missouri:  ”

Everything has changed. If we didn’t know it already, there is no longer any middle ground.  Some on the American left are undoubtedly well meaning people, but their ideology is pure evil. They hate the good the truth and the beautiful and embrace the evil the false and the ugly.  And they literally will kill those with whom they disagree.”

Our ideology — affordable health care, equal rights, progressive taxation, consumer protection, soft power earned abroad, free speech, adherence to the Constitution, environmental protection, a minimum wage, reproductive choice, sensible gun safety, a preference for democracy over autocracy — is “pure evil”? 

We “hate the truth?”  So “alternative facts” are the real ones?  The Dominion voting machines really were rigged?  He never raped — or even met — E. Jean Carroll?

But Onder is just one over-zealous Congressman.

You’d never hear his leader saying such things.

Except that . . . oh, wait . . . you would.

The Speaker of the h=House:

> Trump Shares Meme Calling Dems the Party of “Hate, Evil and Satan” Amid His Demands for Them to Tone Down Rhetoric

> Trump Straight-Up Says He Hates Democrats

 

BOREF

Still alive and kicking: How WheelTug is Contributing to Ground Efficiency and Easing Airport Congestion.  With a $7.5 million market cap, the stock can fall 100%.  But there remains some slim chance they will raise the funds needed to gain FAA certification.  One day, it could sport a market cap 100X as high.

 

HOPE GOLD PRKR ANIX CHEESE

HOPE

How To Save The American Experiment

It’s not at all clear we can — Putin has been winning for a long time now — and the author doesn’t provide a specific road map.

But we’ve been here before, a century ago.

At the outset of the 1920s, a wave of attempted assassinations and political violence crested alongside new barriers to immigration, a campaign of deportations and a government crackdown on dissenting speech. America was fresh off a pandemic in which divisive public health measures yielded widespread anger and distrust. Staggering levels of economic inequality underlaid a fast-changing industrial landscape and rapidly evolving racial demographics. Influential voices in the press warned that a crisis of misinformation in the media had wrecked the most basic democratic processes.

Even presidential elections eerily converge. In 1920, national frustration over an infirm and aging president helped sweep the Democratic Party out of the White House in favor of a Republican candidate offering the nostalgic promise of returning America to greatness, or at least to normalcy. A faltering President Woodrow Wilson gave way to Warren Harding and one-party control over all three branches of the federal government.

Yet what is striking about the 1920s is that, unlike the German interwar crisis, America’s dangerous decade led not to fascism and the end of democracy but to the New Deal and the civil rights era. Across the sequence of emergencies that followed — the Great Depression and eventually World War II — the United States ushered in an era of working-class political empowerment and prosperity. The nation ended Jim Crow in the South and established free speech with court-backed protections for the first time in its history.

It is an interesting read by the author of The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America.

GOLD

With the metal topping $4,000 an ounce, our HYMC has more than doubled since discussed here in June.  I still think it could be a gold mine.  See also (though only vaguely related to our stock’s prospects) Paul Krugman yesterday: Ingots We Trust.

PRKR

It has jumped as well, presumably on this recent news: ParkerVision Granted Rule 54(b) Motion in Qualcomm Patent Case, Paving the Way for Immediate Federal Circuit Appeal.  One of its directors reportedly exercised options to purchase 800,000 more shares.

Endless waiting can often lead . . . nowhere.  And with so many shares now outstanding, the once dreamt of $10+ per share now seems fanciful.  But 5X or 10X from today’s 38 cents does not strike me as impossible, so I’m dreaming about that instead; albeit only with money I can truly afford to lose.

ANIX

This one is also showing signs of life: Anixa Biosciences Announces Completion of Final Patient Visit in Breast Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trial.  It will be interesting to see what sort of results they report December 11.  Not to mention last month’s headline: Anixa Biosciences and Moffitt Cancer Center Complete Dosing of Fourth Cohort in Ovarian Cancer CAR-T Clinical Trial; Multiple Patients Surpassing Median Expected Survival.  With a market cap under $200 million, the upside — for those with gambling money they can truly afford to lose — would seem to be a little bit enormous.

CHEESE

As promised . . .

When in Parma, see how it’s made.

We learned that each cow produces something on the order of 30 liters of milk a day.  Could that be true?  It must be exhausting!

The family cheese makers we visited contract with seven farms for the 9,000 gallons (liters? I should have taken notes) they receive each day (week?) in order to produce 18 wheels of cheese a day.  (Of that, I’m quite sure.)  Each weighs about 60kg at first, but as the saltwater they’ve soaked in dries, they get lighter — about 40 kg after a year (88 pounds), and even a little less if you buy a two- or three-year aged wheel.

THE MILK GETS PUMPED INTO VATS EARLY IN THE MORNING

BY THE TIME I’M AWAKE, THE CHEESMAKER HAS GONE HOME AND THE VATS ARE SPOTLESS

THE WHEELS FLOAT IN BRINE FOR A FEW DAYS (WEEKS?).  SOMEBODY TURNS THEM EVERY SO OFTEN SO THEY GET SOAKED ALL OVER:

THEN EACH GETS TIGHTLY WRAPPED WITH A SORT OF BRAILLE SLEEVE . . .

. . . TO IMPRINT THE DATE AND PLACE ON THE RIND:

AN INSPECTOR COMES EVERY THREE MONTHS TO TAP EACH WHEEL WITH A MALLET, LIKE YOUR DOCTOR TAPPING YOUR CHEST, AND GRADES EACH ONE AS #1 (GOOD) #2 (GOOD ENOUGH) OR #3 (SELL IT FOR PIZZA OR SOMETHING) THOUGH ONLY ABOUT 10% OF THE WHEELS ARE DEEMED INSUFFICIENTLY DENSE TO EARN THEIR LABEL

(SEE THE LITTLE MALLET? SHE’S NOT THE INSPECTOR, SHE’S THE GRAND-DAUGHTER OF THE ORIGINAL CHEESEMAKER GIVING THE TOUR)

THEN THE WHEELS GO INTO THE GIANT ADJACENT WAREHOUSE TO JOIN 10,000 OTHERS TO SIT IN 80% HUMIDITY AND JUST THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE FOR ONE OR TWO OR THREE OR EVEN MORE YEARS:

AND THEN WE EAT

I forgot to take a picture of that.

 

 

Vance (The Good One) And VoteVets

The cop-bludgeoning rioters who stormed the Capitol and aimed to hang Mike Pence have all been pardoned, their prosecutors fired.

Shoplifters in Portland, by contrast, pose a grave national threat.

Welcome to Trump’s America.

Joyce Vance yesterday:

This afternoon, Donald Trump was asked about invoking the Insurrection Act: “I’d do it if it was necessary. … If I had to enact it, I’d do that. If people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors, or mayors were holding us up. Sure, I’d do that.”

It’s hard to mistake what’s happening here. This is a president in the process of looking for excuses and seeing how far he can go until someone—right now it’s the courts—reins him in.

The Insurrection Act is the primary vehicle for circumventing Posse Comitatus, which prohibits the use of the military on American soil to enforce laws against American citizens. That is not the role the military plays in American democracy. The Insurrection Act is reserved for extreme situations like rebellions or invasions.

. . . Our system of federalism leaves policing crime on American streets up to the states. Sending troops into our cities is intended for true emergencies, when governors request assistance. There is no reason to believe police departments in Portland and Chicago can’t do their jobs, and every reason to believe they can. The question we have to ask is, why does an American president want to upset this balance, which has served for almost 250 years? There is no good answer to this question.

. . . We all know what Portland and Chicago have in common with other cities Trump has threatened with military might, like Los Angeles and Memphis. It’s that they are run by Democrats. This is about control and intimidation, not about fighting crime. National Guard troops aren’t trained to do that like police are, because of the longstanding prohibition against using the military for domestic law enforcement purposes.

That didn’t stop Secretary of Defense Hegseth from calling up 400 members of the Texas National Guard on Sunday, apparently with Governor Abbott’s blessing, to be deployed “where needed, including in the cities of Portland and Chicago.”

It’s well worth reading in full.

Here’s what VoteVets thinks:

Donald Trump wants to invade Democratic states he doesn’t like with Guard Troops from Republican states he does like.

This is the President of the United States militarizing American cities against their will for absolutely no reason, other than as a show of force. It is illegal. It is outrageous. It’s against everything this country stands for. And it would put American Soldiers in a place they should never be — facing off against American citizens.

And while Donald Trump is trying everything in his power to antagonize people into conflict, Troops don’t want to be used for political fights.

It’s not why these men and women joined the Guard. They signed up to serve, to help out during disasters, and to defend American citizens with their lives, if necessary. But Trump and Pete Hegseth are doing everything they can to destroy the Military and remake it in their image. It’s absolutely sick.

We are not going to sit by and let them do this to our brothers and sisters.

VoteVets is on the frontline of every political fight involving our Troops and Donald Trump’s abuse. We’re one of the only organizations that can do this work. And we truly need your assistance.

If you can afford it, make a donation to VoteVets and support our mission as we continue to square off against Trump and his administration on Capitol Hill, in the court room, and at the ballot box.

Vance concludes:

. . . Let’s not lose sight of how crazy this is or be afraid to call it out.  What stops Trump? We do. When there is pushback, TACO: Trump always chickens out. It’s time to educate the people around us about what’s going on—a surprising number of people are blissfully unaware. Trump backs down in the face of sustained opposition. Let’s give him a reason to do just that.

Join Indivisible.

Make plans to peacefully protest with friends October 18.

Fund the opposition party (or “my” dinner — it all goes into the same pot.)  An adequately funded DNC is not the only thing we need in order to prevail — but it is an absolutely necessary thing.

 

Tomorrow (Or Soon): What I learned About Making Cheese

But today:

CHINA

Fareed Zakariah riffed on the same Foreign Affairs article I did:

As America fumbles, China races ahead.  “Xi is building the future while Trump pushes tariffs and fights the woke wars.”

His take is, as always, not to be missed.

CHICAGO / QUANTICO

Jennifer Rubin states the obvious: We Found the ‘Enemy from Within’ — He’s in the White House

But she states it so well.

And if you somehow missed accounts of the assault on 7500 South Shore Drive, read hers.

SCOTUS

Christopher Armitage asks: Has the Supreme Court Become a Republican Tool to Move Us Into Dictatorship?

→ Ever so sadly so.

Join Indivisible.

Make plans to peacefully protest with friends October 18.

Fund the opposition party (or “my” dinner — it all goes into the same pot.)  An adequately funded DNC is not the only thing we need to prevail — but it is an absolutely necessary thing.

 

A Little Truth — And A Big China

David Kass at Americans for Tax Fairness:

The government shutdown crisis was manufactured by Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. They wrote and passed their “Big Ugly” tax law (OBBBA) that delivered $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, mostly to the rich and corporations.[1] They gutted healthcare, food assistance, and essential services to pay for it. Now they are refusing to negotiate on a bill that Democrats are demanding re-invests in healthcare access and affordability.

This is not a budget fight. It is a political choice to put billionaires first and working Americans last. Republicans knew their tax law would blow a hole in the national debt. They knew it would trigger automatic cuts to Medicare under the PAYGO law. They knew it would raise healthcare costs for millions of families. And they went forward anyway.

The consequences are staggering. Families are facing half a trillion dollars in mandatory cuts to Medicare. ACA healthcare premiums will rise more than 75% on average on January 1st, with over 4 million people expected to lose coverage.[2][3] Federal workers are being furloughed, fired, or forced to work without pay. Families that rely on SNAP are facing food insecurity. Seniors, people with disabilities, and working parents are being sacrificed to protect tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.

Republicans are not seeking compromise. They are blocking any effort to restore healthcare funding. They are rejecting proposals that would roll back even the most damaging parts of their own tax law. And while they play political games in Washington, working families across America pay the price.

Tell Congress to reject any government funding bill that sacrifices working people to protect billionaire tax breaks.

Join the Patriotic Millionaires, if you are one.

Lots there to ponder, even if you’re not.

From their website:

America currently faces two interrelated problems: 1) authoritarianism and 2) the destabilizing level of inequality that led to its rise.

If we do not solve both problems, democratic capitalism in America will fall to authoritarian forces by 2028. The fall of democratic capitalism in America will open the door to global oligarchic dominance which, exacerbated by AI and climate change, will become permanent.

The solution to this problem is surprisingly simple: structure the economy so that it naturally produces the results needed for a rich, stable and free nation.

CHINA

An important article in Foreign Affairs: The Real China Model: Beijing’s Enduring Formula for Wealth and Power.  Concluding:

If the United States is to compete effectively, its policymakers must spend less time worrying about how to weaken their rival and more time figuring out how to make their country the best and most vigorous version of itself.

The current Administration is doing it almost all wrong.

 

Slotkin + Noonan v. Hegseth (and Jesus)

Watch Senator Slotkin grill the Secretary of Defense (two minutes).

Compare her bio with Hegseth’s — it is as deeply impressive as his is not.

Peggy Noonan roasts him in the Wall Street Journal:

. . . His unprecedented extravaganza this week, in which he summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Virginia’s Quantico Marine Base to listen to him speak . . . was, as a former general said by phone, “just flat-out bizarre.” It was embarrassing to watch. He made everyone in the audience look smaller, which made their profession look smaller. How does that help America?

Mr. Hegseth instructed them as if from a great height. What he told them is that the woke progressive era in the U.S. military is over. He will have a reset to the “warrior ethos.”  “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. . . . We are done with that s—.”

OK. Understood. Understood, in fact, since he was appointed. Mr. Hegseth could have reiterated all this by secure video conference, or just sent a video.

Instead he dragged commanders from their stations to be his audience. So he could pose with a giant American flag behind him like George C. Scott in “Patton,” only Scott delivered a great speech. Mr. Hegseth gave a TED Talk, a weirdly self-reverential one. He paced the stage like a strutting, gelled bantam, like an amped-up actor with rehearsed gestures and expressions and voice shifts.

“You might say we’re ending the war on warriors. I heard someone wrote a book about that.” Mr. Hegseth is author of a book called “The War on Warriors.” I guess he wants us to buy it.

There was braggadocio: “To our enemies, FAFO. If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.” He used “lethal” and “lethality” a lot, like a young Hollywood scriptwriter dreaming up some mad right-wing Army officer because he watched “Platoon” too much as a child, as perhaps Mr. Hegseth did. The frantic drama: “This is a moment of urgency, mounting urgency.” “We became the Woke Department.” “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals.”

The retired general later sighed on the phone and said: “I would like you to note that his hero, Norman Schwarzkopf, was fat. And George Patton wasn’t exactly a gazelle.” Sound military leadership has little to do with physical fitness and everything to do with strategic judgment.

Mr. Hegseth also seemed preoccupied with reimposing the military’s height requirement. There goes young Napoleon.

What are we doing in this dangerous world having the head of the Defense Department prance around like this and embarrass the generals he used as his backdrop? Why do his highly placed defenders in the administration think this is good for the White House, or even for Mr. Hegseth?

. . . Mr. Hegseth has always had bad press, from the scandals that emerged after his nomination through fairly constant reports about chaos in his office. I thought and said early on he was a poor choice—a television host playing a culture warrior who lacked the weight and gravitas the Pentagon needed. This week the Daily Mail, not an immediate foe of all things Trump, had a story in which Mr. Hegseth was described as paranoid, “crawling out of his skin,” fearful and suspicious.

. . . You know why people say something’s wrong with this guy? Because it appears something is wrong with this guy.

Speaking of fat commanders, it’s not just Hegseth’s hero Norman Schwarzkopf who was fat; it’s Hegseth’s bone-spurred commander-in-chief.

BONUS

James Talarico: “Jesus spent most of his time healing the sick. Today, we have politicians in Congress with ‘Christ-follower’ in their Twitter bios — but they’re trying to kick the sick off their healthcare. And they’re willing to shut down the government to do it.”

Watch (70 seconds).

Join Indivisible.

Make plans to peacefully protest with friends October 18.

Fund the opposition party (or “my” dinner — it all goes into the same pot.)  An adequately funded DNC is just one of the things we need to prevail — but it is an absolutely necessary thing.

 

Handing The Mic To . . .

Glenn Sonnenberg, whose daily musings I rarely miss.  Yesterday’s:

Good morning,

This evening marks the beginning of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. It is a time of introspection, cataloguing of life’s successes and failures, and pursuing self-improvement.

Among the most important lessons of Yom Kippur is that not only should we acknowledge our own mistakes but we should forgive those who have wronged us.

Accepting an apology—accepting contrition—arguably is just as important as acknowledging one’s own faults. We hold it within ourselves to free those who have wronged us from the burden of what they have done. In an era that is marked by playing “gotcha” with those who have erred, a little bit of compassion and humility can go a long way to repairing our politics, our society, and our personal relationships.

We are living in a moment where people condemn professors, politicians, pundits and friends—often at the cost of their reputations or employment—solely because of a misplaced word or possessing a view with which someone might disagree. What is needed, instead, is a little understanding and a little compassion. A slip of the tongue should be perceived as that, and nothing more. It seems we are in an era where giving someone the benefit of the doubt is a sign of weakness. I’m not suggesting we blindly accept bad behaviors or allow ourselves to be wronged multiple times. Certainly, repeated transgressions point to a deeper problem.

We are all human and, by definition, flawed in many respects. Mistakes are made. Hopefully, we learn from them, as we all are works in process. We should struggle to accept that everyone else similarly is a work in process, with their own challenges. We have to stop being so quick to judge others (lest we be judged…!).

A word on the present condition of our politics and our civil discourse… We would all do well to acknowledge that those with whom we disagree are, with rare exception, people of good will (and this is not to suggest that there aren’t bad actors or profoundly bad behaviors). But most people are not, as some might suggest to us, our enemies. Most of our fellow citizens share our values. They simply disagree on priorities and implementation. They have a different perspective. They are not to be vanquished; rather, we should make every attempt to understand where they come from and why they hold the views that they do. We have much healing to do in the months and years ahead. I hope our society and our institutions are strong enough to allow that to happen.

To all I may have harmed, whether through an intentional act or inadvertently or through indifference, I apologize. I’ll try to do better. And to anyone who thinks they have wronged me, it’s all good. I either don’t remember or don’t care, so forget about it!

For all who observe this day, may it be a meaningful experience and may you have an easy fast.

Have a good day,

Glenn

Echo, ditto, bravo, peace.

Tikkun Olam.

 

The Great Former Senator From Minnesota And My T-Shirt

AL FRANKEN BOILS IS IT DOWN:

This week, Senate Democrats voted to shut the government down because of health care. Republicans want to keep all the Medicaid cuts and get rid of subsidies on the Affordable Care Act that have been in place since the pandemic, thereby increasing premiums by an average of 114%.

That is what this shutdown is about. Democrats want people to have health care and Republicans don’t give a damn. And polls show that the majority of voters get it — a Navigator poll showed that 48% of Americans would blame Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 26% blaming Democrats.

As the cost of living continues to rise under Trump, his approval rating has gone below 40%. Americans want (need) to pay for health care. And yet Trump and the Republicans are making it even more inaccessible.

I’m proud of Democrats for taking a stance on this issue. At the end of the day, Republicans don’t care if people are hurt. Democrats do.

→ You know?  Not to say they won’t throw out the occasion roll of paper towels; but it’s really kinda true.

POSTCARD FROM LISBON

I made T-shirts for our trip because it’s so embarrassing — and deeply sad — to have to admit you’re from America these days . . . a country whose current leadership is aligned with bullies, murderers, and dictators; anti-science, anti-health, anti-climate, anti-free speech, anti-consumer, anti-labor, anti-professionalism, anti-reproductive rights, anti-due process.

So far, I’ve gotten a lot broad smiles and thumbs up.

That said, I want to stress that the “hate” meant here is hate like “I hate limoncello” (I really do, and now that we’re in Italy they thrust it upon us everywhere we go).

Or “I hate not getting enough sleep.”

Or “I hate tax loopholes for the rich.”

That’s the kind of hate on my T-shirt.

As in: “deeply dislike” . . . “reject.”

NOT hate like “I’d like to punch him in the face!” or “Jews will not replace us!” or tying someone to a fence in the brutal cold and beating him to death for being gay.

Or calling your opponents “scum.”

That kind of hate has no place on anyone’s T-shirt.

Also:

How can I be so short?  I must be standing in a pothole.

 

A Smart, Tough Way To Resist?

Must-watch JB Pritzker speech — surely Carl can’t be okay with what the regime is doing.

And governors may have a legal way to resist.

Obviously this should be done, if at all, with extreme care to avoid violence.  But . . .

Governors! Arrest ICE agents!

In part:

The critical fact is that ICE’s administrative warrants, Forms I-200 and I-205, are signed by ICE officers, not judges. They’re glorified paperwork. Federal courts have repeatedly ruled these don’t authorize home entries. ICE’s own training materials admit agents “must obtain voluntary consent” before entering homes with these papers.

So when ICE breaks down a door with only administrative paperwork, that’s burglary under California Penal Code 459. When they haul away citizens without probable cause, that’s kidnapping under Penal Code 207. When they point weapons at unarmed families, that’s assault under Penal Code 245.

Factually, Trump can’t pardon state crimes. The president’s pardon power only covers federal offenses. State prosecutions are completely beyond MAGA reach.

Every prosecution, even one that ultimately fails, forces change. ICE agents would need personal lawyers. Federal defense attorneys won’t automatically represent them on state charges. That’s thousands of dollars from their own pockets, or the law enforcement union, win or lose. During prosecution, agents become cautious. Operations slow. Every agent wonders if they’re next. Supervisors second-guess tactics. The entire machinery of deportation grinds slower.

Discovery proceedings, the part where ICE has to hand over internal emails and training documents, would expose their real policies. What are they telling agents behind closed doors? What corners are they instructing them to cut? Public scrutiny changes behavior even without convictions.

Media coverage shifts the narrative. Instead of “ICE enforces immigration law,” headlines read “ICE agents arrested for breaking and entering.” Public opinion matters, even to federal agencies.

If you’re a governor — and even if you’re not — read it in full?  It’s not long; and begins with a call to citizen action.

Venezuelans fleeing the land of opportunity.

As are gay and trans native-born citizens I know.

And soon others?

Join Indivisible.

Make plans to peacefully protest with friends October 18.

Fund the opposition party (or “my” dinner — it all goes into the same pot.)  An adequately funded DNC is just one of the things we need to prevail — but it is an absolutely necessary thing.