Author: A.T.

Bill O’Reilly Needs An Editor

My one-time PARADE fellow contributing editor endorsed Trump Friday:

Vice President Harris looks like a nice person. Don’t know her or anyone who does.  So, I can’t bring any personal perspective to her candidacy.

I have known Donald Trump for more than 30 years. That’s both good and bad. I tend to overlook many of his controversial statements because I understand much of that is attention-getting theatre. I am solely focused on how he governed and what I believe he’ll do going forward. The rhetoric, to me, is a silly sideshow. Maybe I’m wrong about that.

Back to Kamala. Her strident belief in late-term abortion is disturbing. It’s not about a woman’s body solely – there’s another body that should be considered: the unborn but viable child.

To totally dismiss that fact, as Ms. Harris does, is cruel. I’m not wrong about this.

Yes, Bill; you are — as Pete Buttigieg explains so beautifully in just over a minute, here.

In addition, I see a sense of entitlement from the Vice President. She obviously believes she has no obligation to answer direct questions.  Based upon her time in the Senate, I see no problem-solving ability whatsoever.  Trump is a deal-maker. Harris is an artful dodger.

There are worse things. But I am wary. History can repeat itself. In 1920, Republican Warren Harding refused to answer questions but got elected anyway.

He was a disaster in the White House.

I know Kamala is not Harding, but I don’t know much else about her.  If elected, the odds are she will continue the Biden debacle.

That’s enough for me to pull the lever for Trump.

By “the Biden debacle,” Bill presumably does not mean our economy, the “envy of the world.”

Or our “astonishingly strong” Indo-Pacific and NATO alliances.

Or the record number of Americans with health insurance.

Or the steady decline in violent crime.

Or the taming of inflation with a “soft landing” few thought possible (“US inflation may soon undershoot Fed’s 2% target“).

Or our finally having begun to revitalize our crumbling infrastructure.

So to what debacle, exactly, does Bill refer?

The border?

Biden was days away from signing a bi-partisan border bill that would have fixed that problem, but Trump killed it.  That’s how brazenly he puts his own self-interest over the good of the nation.

PARADE had fact checkers and editors to keep writers like Bill and me on the straight and narrow.

“The Biden debacle” would never have made it into print.

Meanwhile . . .

Kamala makes him think of . . . Warren Harding?  

That’s odd, but okay.

Trump makes the world think of Mussolini and Putin and the guy whose book of speeches he kept by his bedside!

Hmmm.  Warren Harding . . . Mussolini . . .

Tough choice.

Though Harding died in office widely popular while Trump left with only 34% approval.  (Mussolini was executed by anti-fascists.)

Bill says, “I know Kamala is not Harding, but I don’t know much else about her.”

Really?

Well, then, perhaps before issuing his endorsement — in an election the whole world watches with bated breath — Bill could have taken 15 minutes to read her story.  And 15 more to see how her policies contrast with those of Project 2025.

It’s not too late to make calls for Kamala!

 

WHY We’re Going To Win

A lot of you liked Jimmy Kimmel’s message to Republicans.

If you missed it — watch!

This clip, just 56 seconds long, takes a more cathartic (though less likely to be effective) approach.

We’re going to win because look at all the groups who will skew heavily blue:

By my calculations, that adds up to 378% of the electorate.

Even so, given the stakes, we can’t let up.

It’s not too late to volunteer.

THANK YOU.

 

Jimmy Kimmel Brings It Home

For some reason, the embedded HTML code works just fine on the website — look! — but doesn’t come through in the email.

Which is a shame, because this is a must-watch /must-share video.

We’re gonna win.

 

Elon Musk’s Plan For Your Suffering When Trump Wins

Here’s the PRKR write-up that likely accounts for its recent sextuple.  To me, at least, the author’s case for this speculation is compelling.

Jeff Bezos’s response to the non-endorsement.  But at the end of the day — although I’m not one of those who’ve canceled their subscriptions — I think it’s clear he should have waited until a week after the election to institute this new policy.  That would have made all the difference.

Trump’s former Communications Director explains why she endorses Kamala Harris.  A beautiful plea for decency and honesty.

We led some of America’s largest companies. Here’s why we are voting for Harris.

As recent CEOs, mostly of large, publicly traded companies, we have more discretion to speak out. Each of us stays engaged with active CEOs on a regular basis, so we are confident we are capturing the sentiment of the majority of our peers in the business community. . . .

Elon Musk’s plan for your suffering when Trump wins.  It is insane.

Speaking at Trump’s New York City rally over the weekend, Musk said he thinks he’d be able to cut about 30% of the federal budget.

For the record, this plan would match cuts implemented by Argentina’s far-right, pro-Trump president, Javier Milei, who has developed a cult following in today’s GOP. And if that’s Musk’s model, Americans have a lot to fear.

Those policies have helped skyrocket Argentina’s poverty rate to over 50% in the first six months of Milei’s presidency. The hardship Musk is predicting sounds quite hard, indeed. Between Trump repeatedly praising the Gilded Age and Musk priming everyday Americans for “hardship” if MAGA retakes the White House, it seems quite obvious that a vote for Trump is a vote for extreme wealth inequality and all the suffering that comes with it.

BONUS

The speech.

Did you see it?

We’re gonna win.

 

We ARE Gonna Win — And Thank Heavens For That

I sold 6% of my PRKR yesterday on its way up to $1.03 for reasons unrelated to where I think the stock will go.  I think it may trade in the $1.50 to $1.75 range as the appellate-court-mandated jury trial approaches this spring.  If the trial goes well, it could hit $3 or $4, and maybe climb higher over time.  If it goes really well, we might one day have a $10 or $20 stock.  As always: only with money you can truly afford to lose.

People forget: Trump left office with a rotten 34% approval rating.  Robert Reich offers 10 reasons why; The New Republic offers “the 100 worst things he’s done since descending that escalator.”  But chances are you need no convincing, so you maybe skip all that and just watch how truly presidential Trump can be at important moments (58 seconds).

82 American Nobel Prize winners endorse Kamala Harris:

“This is the most consequential presidential election in a long time, perhaps ever, for the future of science and the United States,” reads the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “We, the undersigned, strongly support Harris.”

One of them, for example, Explains How Trump Could Cause ‘Economic Chaos’.

→ No Nobel Prize winner has endorsed Trump.

Not one.

He does, however, have the support of Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, David Duke, the My Pillow Guy, and 140 or so associates who compiled Project 2025 . . .

. . . which, among so much else, would criminalize porn and shutter any Internet company that transmitted it.

Which is why this ad may not be so far far-fetched (26 seconds).  Fox News finds it vulgar (vulgar pro-porn ad for Dems shows man in sex act) but did us the favor of sending it viral to tens of millions of guys.

That might cost Trump some votes.  Not to mention his having just lost some of the support he had picked up among Hispanics.  (Watch!)

But keep volunteering until the very last minute to make certain we win, because this “enemies from within” stuff is no joke (60 seconds).

 

Why Kamala Will Win Pennsylvania

My friend Terry Allen offers:

13 Reasons I think Kamala will win PA (and get to 270 electoral votes while doing it).

  1. The polls say that the swing states are essentially deadlocked.  The party that turns out the most of its voters will win the battle. The democrats are ahead on the enthusiasm scale, evidenced by the far greater small donations they have received and the unprecedented number of volunteers.

  2. Roe v. Wade will inspire huge numbers (especially women) to come out and vote.  Every recent election that expanded state abortion rights has won big time, even in red states.

  3. Huge numbers of early voters makes it easier for democratic workers to winnow down the lists of registered voters they need to contact to make sure they vote.

  4. Taylor Swift and Beyonce have endorsed Kamala and encouraged young people who love them to register and vote. Young people are less likely to vote, but when they do, it’s usually for the more progressive candidates.

  5. There are more women than men in PA and women have averaged about 60-40% for Democrats. And women are more likely to vote than men.

  6. There are 600,000 people of Polish descent in PA, and Kamala was wise enough to warn them that their old country is where Putin will invade next if he wins Ukraine.

  7. The association of black farmers (many former Republicans) have endorsed Kamala.

  8. Trump fails every popularity poll.  Even people who plan to vote for him feels he is repugnant. When some moderate Republicans see the choice on the ballot, many will just not be able to check the name of the convicted felon and women assaulter.

  9. Trump has not even tried to expand his base.  His rallies are designed to appeal only to those people already on board. This base was not large enough to elect him in 2020, and Kamala seems to be a more formidable challenge than Biden was.

  10. Since Trump rode down the golden escalator cheered on by a crowd that he paid to be there 9 years ago, 36 million Americans have turned 18 and are eligible to vote.  The great majority of young people are more progressive, and care about the climate issue which the Democrats own.  On the other hand, since then, 18 million Americans have died, and older people tend to be more conservative (hence, Florida has recently become a red state).

  11. More than 100 motorcyclists in Philadelphia (mostly black males) spent this weekend visiting areas outside that city where low voter turnout is the norm.  They stop at bars and restaurants and give a little speech describing why everyone should register and vote for Kamala.

  12. Over 3 million Americans have student loans, many of which have been forgiven by the Biden-Harris administration.  Every one of these people should be voting Democratic, especially since the Republicans have fought against loan forgiveness.

  13. Trump has been showing signs of dementia at his rallies, and his age is becoming as issue that he himself was broadcasting as dangerous when Biden was his likely challenger.

  14. (I believe in under-promising and over-delivering, just as Kamala does,) When both Trump and Kamala were in Texas with only 10 days until the election, Trump was either wasting money in a red state or he was worried that Cruz might be vulnerable, and Kamala was there (along with Beyonce and Willie Nelson) for the same reason.

  15. On Friday, October 25, Trump flew to Michigan to have a rally which was streamed by PBS.  He was 3 hours late, and many attendees had long since departed.  His words were watched by 47,000 PBS followers.  On the same day, Kamala gave a speech in Texas attended by 22,000, and PBS streamed it as well, but to an audience of 2.5 million, or more than 50 times as many people as those who tuned into Trump.

  16. Democrats are clearly winning the ground game in PA with so many volunteers.  The New York Times reported that 24,000 registered voters were contacted in one time period over which only 3000 Republicans were.

  17. Several busloads of students from the University of Virginia and the State of Washington arrived in PA to volunteer (reported to me by a long-time county-level Democratic worker and supervisor who said she had never seen the huge numbers of volunteers that have come on board this year).

Thanks, Terry.  Those are good reasons.

Several of my friends are on those buses.

Thanks to all of you who’ve helped pay for them.

 

A Republican Viewpoint Worth Considering

Like so many patriotic Republicans, this guy is clear-eyed:

Asked by a reporter at a Harris rally why I support Kamala Harris for President, I smiled. I am a Republican who got his start hanging door tags for Goldwater, campaigned for Republicans, and worked for President Reagan. So, I said, here are the reasons:

1.         I believe character matters. Mr. Trump has shown repeatedly that his character is frighteningly bad. Ms. Harris has shown that this is a core issue to her. On this alone, I would vote for her.

2.         I believe we must deal in truth. Laughingly, I said, if Mr. Trump’s mouth is moving and he isn’t eating, he is lying.

3.         I believe in the Constitution. I’ve traveled a lot for government and business outside of Western Europe and learned how important it is to understand that we are not a tribe. We have a creed, and it is the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Everything we do must be measured against it. In contrast, to paraphrase the line from Hamilton: “If we don’t know what Trump stands for, what will he fall for?”

4.         I believe debt matters. Mr. Trump’s policies will increase the national debt and drive-up inflation. Don’t take it from me – listen to the conservative economists in the WSJ. Here, I added that we owe it to the next generation to reduce the debt, not grow it.

5.         I believe in growing the middle class and enfranchising every American. This means thoughtful policies to support education, housing, job training and healthcare. As my father said, the GI Bill, which sent so many to college and trade school, was the real WWII memorial. Mr. Trump had a term to “fix Obama care.” Thankfully, his plan remained a figment of his imagination.

6.         I believe in equitable taxation. This means I think Mr. Trump’s tariff plan is wrong. It would tax the lower and middle classes, those that can least afford it, will harm the economies of our neighbors and drive-up immigration. And yes, the wealthiest of us have an obligation to our country. As Oliver Wendell Holmes supposedly said, “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”

7.         I believe in controlling our borders. This takes bipartisanship, not mass deportation. Mr. Trump doesn’t want to control our southern border he just wants an issue to use as a scare tactic. He had his chance.

8.         At this point, I think the reporter was sorry he spoke with me, but I had not touched on foreign policy. I made two points: Mr. Trump’s support for his fascist “bros” (think Putin and friends) is dangerous to us and to our allies. His lack of understanding of the transformative actions taken by the current administration through such as AUKUS to counter China is frightening in a candidate for president.

I thanked the reporter for asking me and closed by saying that while I disagree with some of Ms. Harris’ policy proposals (and on increasing the debt), these are issues we can discuss as Americans. With Mr. Trump I would be subject to arrest. I hope this gives the reader a way to think about the upcoming election.

D. E. Wilson, Jr. was Associate Counsel to the President; Deputy (and Acting) General Counsel, U.S. Treasury Department; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Departmental Management, U.S. Treasury Department; Deputy Director & General Counsel, Office of Administration, Executive Office of the President; Ronald Reagan Administration.

I shared it with my friend in Pennsylvania (item #1 yesterday) and asked where he disagrees.  I’ll let you know how he responds, if he does.

 

We’re Gonna Win

James Carville: Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win

I’ll add a fourth: we just have to.  We can’t let the light go out on the democracy that so many died to create and defend.

Geraldo Wishes He ‘Bailed’ on Ex-‘Hangout Buddy’ Trump ‘A Lot Sooner’: ‘So Disappointed In My Kind of Blindness’

“When push came to shove, he was revealed by his own actions to be exactly the person that his critics were saying that he was,” [Rivera] said.

I hope you saw Kamala on CNN last night.  She was so, so good.

Not perfect, as her supporters and critics will note for one reason or another.

But — and here’s the point — twice as good as you or I would have been (well, I, anyway) and a thousand times better than the alternative.

She will make a great president.

Help!  

(And yes, help!)

THANK YOU!

 

Your Money / Your Vote

I’ll get to that for those who don’t own these stocks.

But first:

PRKR closed at 69 cents last night, up from 16 cents in August.  It’s tempting to take a quick quadruple; for those of us who first bought shares nearly seven years ago at $1, it looks a little different.  On the one hand, there’s been huge dilution, as the company issued zillions more shares to raise cash to stay afloat.  On the other hand, a great many more phones have now been sold with Parker’s technology inside, and a great deal of interest has accrued on whatever a jury might find has been owed over the 20 years the company believes Qualcomm (and other giants) have been using its patented technology for free.

(The one time Parker’s patent claim against Qualcomm did reach a jury, more than a decade ago, they unanimously awarded $173 million and the judge initially said that the companies would presumably be working out a licensing agreement for future sales.  Months later, though, he was somehow persuaded to throw the whole thing out.)

There’s much more to be said about this, but my bottom line is that, for now at least, I see more upside than down.  I’m holding all my shares.

BOREF traded zero shares yesterday on the news that former FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has joined WheelTug’s board.  (BOREF owns about half of WheelTug.)  After 25 years of your hearing from me about this stock, I guess you can be forgiven for not jumping up and down.  (It was around $3 then; it’s around $3 now.)  But to me, the news is hopeful.  Babbitt adds a lot of credibility.

Ryan S.:  “To get a sense of him, here’s an interview he did a while back.  His portion starts at 13:40, but I’ve linked to the spot where he refers briefly to ‘electric nose wheel’ technology.”

At $3, BOREF is valued at $15 million.  If Borealis is ever able to unlock the literally billions in annual savings to the airline industry its technology promises — a huge if — its reward could be a $1 billion market cap — $200 a share.  I’m not for a minute suggesting this will happen; it’s just why I own a ridiculous number of shares, purchased with money I can truly afford to lose.  (And with “limit” orders.  The stock trades so thinly, even a small “market” order could be filled at a much higher price than you expected to pay.)

Crazy speculations aside . . .

. . . what if you’d just like to vote for a party that can do okay with the economy and your portfolio?

A century of historical data shows that both the economy and stock market do far better under Democratic administrations than Republican.

That’s just true.  Look it up.

But what about now, under Biden?

And what about looking forward, under Harris?

I’ve previously noted that:

America’s economy is bigger and better than ever — The Economist. 

[It] has left other rich countries in the dust — also The Economist.

The U.S. economy is the envy of the world, but too many Americans have forgotten why — Philadelphia Inquirer

And I’ve linked to:

Economists Say Inflation, Deficits Will Be Higher Under Trump Than Harris — The Wall Street Journal

And I’ve urged you to share these must-watch 8 minutes with any business-minded folks who agree Trump is a horrible person but plan to vote for him anyway.

What I’d like to add today are these two follow-ons:

> This Economic Myth Needs to Go Away: 60% of Americans Are Not Struggling to Get By

(The much smaller percentage who are living paycheck to paycheck would be smaller still if we elect a president who cares about them.)

Indeed . . .

> Surprise!  Groceries are getting cheaper!

It’s one of the series of “good news” graphs you’ll find in the piece if you scroll down.

None of this is to say we should tell unhappy voters that they’re wrong to be unhappy.  We should tell them we feel their pain — because Kamala, being an empathetic human, who grew up poor, actually does — and we should show them how we’re going to take the country to ever better days, as Presidents Clinton and Obama did, as President Biden has, and as Vice President Harris will.  She has plans!  Not just concepts of plans — plans.

BONUS

Can you spot the celebrity ‘deepfakes’ in a new ad warning against election disinformation?