Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Two quick housekeeping updates. First, Rosie is doing well after her treatment today. Just two more to go. Thank you for all the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.
Second, today was a much longer day than I was expecting. Nothing bad, just long. So just the basics tonight.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
War for Ukraine Day 936: A Brief Monday Night UpdatePost + Comments (8)
Trump’s assassination attempts aren’t going to be long-lasting stories primarily because discussion just how easy it was for this nutter, who had multiple prior gun charges, including possession of a weapon of mass destruction, to get an assault rifle and carry it around in Florida. Trump can whine all he wants, and his surrogates can spread nonsense about how Democrats’ critique of Trump caused a registered Republican who supports a Vivek/Haley ticket to try to take a shot at him, but come on. There’s no sane place on earth where this guy should be anywhere near a weapon.
Democrats’ desire to issue statements decrying violence don’t quite cut it (via Tom Sullivan):
Within minutes of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, the Unity Statements began to popcorn out.
Every Unity Statement is different, but there are certain stylistic requirements that a Democratic political figure knows to follow.
First, the statement maker’s spouse’s name should be included prominently somewhere: “Becky and I were sad to hear…” “Corey and I were deeply shaken by the news…” “Charlie and I join together…” The inclusion of the spouse is important here because it signals that this is a special kind of statement. More Christmas card vibes than political statement vibes. The normal rules are suspended. There will be no jabs here, no stridency, maybe not even any truth. […]
Third, a Democratic Unity Statement must mention temperature. Specifically, it should suggest that the temperature has risen too high. Though it may be Republicans who are overwhelmingly responsible for raising the temperature, planetarily and politically, in a respectable Unity Statement, this cannot be said. Instead, it should be argued that the temperature be lowered. Who knows how it got raised, and who really cares? And the Democratic statement maker must immediately volunteer to participate in the lowering of what they may have had no part in raising. […]
Here, though, are some of the problems with the Unity Statement as we have been experiencing it.
It places the burden of healing the country on those not responsible for wounding it.
It asks well-meaning, earnest people to stop doing what they never were doing in the first place, while all but conceding that the people who are still doing it will not stop.
It deplores crimes against the common good without being interested in perpetrators.
It exonerates the victim who is the object of the statement from any complicity they might have had in creating the conditions that led to the statement having to be made.
It elevates the promptings of politeness over the promptings of honesty.
It substitutes a vague idea of “coming together” for the urgent and vital work of stopping an ongoing campaign of sowing hatred, disinformation, distrust, and enmity.
As Josh Marshall put it, we all know Trump started this fire. His campaign based on violence against opponents: for example, Junior posted picture of a hammer and underwear when someone bashed in Paul Pelosi’s head with a hammer. His campaign tells lies about immigrants that lead to bomb threats and school closings. His party squawks and squeals at even a hint of an assault rifle ban.
Trump is going to have to follow his own advice and get over it, because his campaign and his party demands that we live in a world where it’s too damn easy to get a gun.
Trump Wants All the Political Benefits with None of the Honest DiscussionPost + Comments (124)
Saw this view from outside the main library in Mom’s town and it struck me as Betty Creckerish.
Two views from Mom’s Third (top) floor balcony, one an endview and the other looking across the street. Trees galore!
Here’s racist-ass Rich Lowry on racist-ass Megyn KKKelly’s “show” saying the N-word with the hard R. That’s not a word someone accidentally blurts out unless they use it on a regular basis. And knowing who he is, that tracks. pic.twitter.com/nXswy6pKFg
— 😱 Scary Larry 😱 🇺🇦✊🏻🇺🇸🗽 (@aintscarylarry) September 16, 2024
Well, he wouldn’t have been my first bet, but the National Review editor who became internet famous for sharing his excitement that ‘I think Sarah Palin just winked at me, through the tv!’ got caught on video explaining (to professional bigot Megyn Kelly) ‘… Only two Springfield residents calling to complain about Haitian [N-word]… ah, migrants taking geese from ponds… ‘
(MAGAt response is that he said ‘migger’, but both #RichLowry and #HardR are currently trending on Twitter.)
What’s actually interesting about the discussion, IMO, is that the professional Wingnut Wurlitzer has decided to double down on the ‘Americans are worried about their pets, their dogs and cats, but not the geese, ha ha ha!’
Monday Evening Open Thread: ‘Sparklepants’ Lowry Steps on His… TonguePost + Comments (105)
Is this getting much play? It was bad enough when he screwed with the satellite system in Ukraine.
The guy gets away with everything, including undermining democracy.
So fucking frustrating!
https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1835661394147946934
Open thread.
The New York Times reports something amazing:
On Sept. 11, despite the excitement of the moment, Kendric was unable to keep his eyes open as he lay in his hospital bed at Children’s National Hospital in Washington because of the drugs he had been given in preparation for his treatment.
His life with the disease has been punctuated by episodes of excruciating pain, requiring days in the hospital as doctors tried to control it. Sickle cell eroded his hip bones. It prevented him from riding a bike or playing soccer or even going outside when the temperature was below 55 degrees Fahrenheit because cold often brought on intense pain.
Now he could see a future — in a month or so — without pain from sickle cell.
“I can’t wait to start my new life,” he told his mother, Deborah Cromer….
Kendric was lucky. His insurer was cooperative. He also rose to the top of the list because of the severity of his disease…
In a month, if all works as intended, he should be making blood cells that will not sickle — the cells will have a normal hemoglobin gene.
There are a pair of gene therapy treatments for sickle cell disease that are highly likely cures. This is stunning and amazing.
It is also wicked expensive. The cheap cure is as expensive as a replacement level veteran bullpen arm while the more expensive treatment is equivalent to the salary cap charge of a mid 1st round NFL draft pick. And this leads to problems.
One of the big hold-ups has been insurers and hospitals figuring out payment and prior authorization. Insurers want to be very careful about paying for only highly likely successes while hospitals are wary about holding a massive cash receivable that won’t be paid for months if not years. One of the challenges is that the treatment is usually a single contract period cash expenditure even as the benefits hopefully accrue in the form of bike riding and reduced hospitalizations over decades. There is a time mismatch.
As more of these types of treatments and cures come down the pipeline, these types of mismatches will be ever more important.
By now, you’ve probably spotted two predominant targets of our strategic GOTV fundraising this cycle: 1) the newly-energized youth vote, and 2) the fast-growing swing states of Arizona and North Carolina. After the last census, Michigan and Pennsylvania (and even California) each lost one electoral vote. North Carolina gained an electoral vote (16 votes). Arizona held steady at 11.
Arizona and North Carolina are the future. Both are rapidly growing and diversifying and attracting domestic and international migration. Our efforts are about November 2024, but they are also an investment in the future.
This eleventh-hour push is to get additional boots on the ground with two of our great partners in the Grand Canyon State and help fund candidates that could flip the state Legislature, flip two Republican Congressional seats, change the makeup of the State Supreme Court and protect the integrity of the vote in the crucial County of Maricopa (Phoenix).
Four Directions needs little introduction here. They’ve mastered the art of paid relational organizing in Indian Country. Relational organizing is the best strategy out there to reach otherwise unreachable voters – through their friends and family. Four Directions already has the infrastructure set up and rolling on Arizona’s reservations – our contributions will provide stipends for additional workers to get out the vote in the community. Arizona’s native community represents over 5% of the state’s population, and the Native vote exceeds the margins of victory in previous elections. Remember, Joe Biden won Arizona by just 10,500 votes in 2020!
Worker Power has grown in size and sophistication since we first supported them in Arizona and Georgia in 2022. But they still need us.
We’re helping underwrite a team of well-trained paid canvassers in two strategic state Legislative districts in the Tucson area – the critical counties of Pima and Pinal are the primary focus of our Worker Power Fall GOTV team.
This is a strategic trifecta: supporting Harris, flipping a vulnerable Congressional seat (Ciscomani) and helping retain and flip legislative seats that could cost the Republicans their narrow majority in the State House. Worker Power has a goal of hiring 500 canvassers to knock on 1.3 million doors in AZ this cycle.
– 2 Congressional candidates
– 4 State Legislative incumbents/challengers
– Maricopa County Recorder