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Wednesday, October 30, 2024

File opened 2024-10-24 01:36 AM.

I've been trying to collect my thoughts and write my up Top 10 Reasons to Vote for Harris vs. Trump. I posted an early draft -- just the top 10 list -- on Monday afternoon at Notes on Everyday Life, then blanked out and didn't get to the second part ("Top 5 Reasons Electing Harris Won't Solve Our Problems") until Tuesday afternoon (and well into evening). I updated the NOEL draft that evening, and finally posted the file in the blog. That pushes this file out until Wednesday, and Music Week until Thursday (which still fits in October).

As of Tuesday evening, this week's collection is very hit-and-miss (100 links, 6023 words), typed up during odd breaks as I juggled my life between working on my birthday dinner, writing the endorsement, and struggling with my big remodeling project.

The endorsement could do with some editing, although my initial distribution of the link has thus far generated almost no comment (one long-time friend wrote back to disagree, having decided -- "even in a battleground state" -- to vote for Jill Stein). A year ago I still imagined writing a book that might have some small influence on the election. In some ways, this piece is my way of penance for my failure, but the more I got into it, the more I thought I had some worthwhile points to make. But now it's feeling like a complete waste of time.

The birthday dinner did feel like I accomplished something. The Burmese curries were each spectacular in their own way, the coconut rice nice enough, the ginger salad and vegetable sides also interesting, and the cake (not Burmese, but spice-and-oats) was an old favorite. I should follow it up with a second round of Burmese recipes before too long, especially now that I've secured the tea leaf salad ingredients.

Slow but tangible progress on the bedroom/closet remodel. Walls are painted now, leaving trim next. Paneling is up in closet, where I still have the ceiling and quite a bit of trim. [Wednesday morning now:] I've been meaning to go out back and polyurethane the trim boards, so I can cut them as needed, first to shore up the ceiling. But it's raining, so I'll give that pass for another day, and probably just work on this straggling post. Laura's report of morning news is full of gaffes by Biden and Hillary Clinton, who seem intent on redeeming the dead weight of their own cluelessness by imposing it on Harris. With "friends" like these, who needs . . . Dick Cheney?

Posting late Wednesday night, my usual rounds still incomplete. I'll decide tomorrow whether I'll add anything here, or simply move on to next week (which really has to post before election results start coming in). For now, I'm exhausted, and finding this whole process very frustrating.

Top story threads:

Israel:

• Mondoweiss:

  • [10-21] Day 381: Israel pummels northern Gaza amid intensifying extermination campaign: "Israel's conditions for a ceasefire with Lebanon include allowing the Israeli army to continue operating in Lebanese territory. Meanwhile, Israel steps up its extermination campaign in northern Gaza, targeting its last remaining hospitals."

  • [10-24] Day 384: Israel continues to ethnically cleanse northern Gaza: "The ongoing extermination campaign in northern Gaza is displacing Palestinians from shelters as dozens of residents have been abducted by the Israeli army. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut's southern Dahiya district."

  • [10-28] Day 388: Ongoing Israeli assault rips through northern Gaza, shuts down Kamal Adwan Hospital: "The last functioning hospital in north Gaza is forced out of service as Israeli forces continue to besiege and bomb Jabalia and Beit Lahia. In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces continue to take heavy losses."

• Ruwaida Kamal Amer/Ibtisam Mahdi: [10-24] For Gaza's schoolchildren, another year of destruction, loss, and uncertainty.

• Tareq S Hajjaj: [10-25] Survivors of north Gaza invasion report Israeli 'extermination' campaign: "Survivors of the ongoing Israeli extermination campaign in north Gaza describe how the Israeli army is separating mothers from children before forcing them south, executing civilians in ditches, and directly targeting hospitals and medical staff."

• Shatha Hanaysha: [10-25] 'Our freedom is close': why these young Palestinian men choose armed resistance: "I met resistance fighters from the Tulkarem Brigade for an interview in the alleyways of Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. They talked about why they fight against Israel, and what their dreams are for the future." This is disturbing. I find it impossible to feel solidarity or even sympathy with people who would fight back against Israel, even if purely out of self-defense. But it is understandable, and has long been predicted, every time Israel has renewed its war on Gaza (going back at least to 1951): virtually all people, when oppressed, will fight back. That they should do so, why and why, is mostly a function of the people who are driving them to such desperate measures. We'd see less of this if only we were clear on who is responsible for setting the conditions that make such rebellion seem like the only recourse, especially if we made it clear that we'll hold those who control an area as the sole ones responsible for the rebellions they provoke. Sure, I can think of some cases where control was nebulous and/or revolts were fueled by external forces, but that is not the case with Israel in Gaza. Israel is solely responsible for this genocide. And if armed resistance only accelerates it, that is solely because Israel wants it that way.

• Gideon Levy: [10-25] Beatings, humiliation and torture: The IDF's night of terror at a Palestinian refugee camp: "Israeli soldiers abused people during a raid on a remote refugee camp in the territories. During their violent rampage, the troops detained 30 inhabitants, of whom 27 were released the next day."

• Mohammed R Mhawish/Ola Al Asi/Ibrahim Mohammad: [10-23] Inside the siege of northern Gaza, where 'death waits around every corner': "Limbs scattered on the streets, shelters set ablaze, hundreds trapped inside hospitals: Palestinians detail the apocalyptic scenes of Israel's latest campaign."

• Qassam Muaddi:

  • [10-24] Israeli army continues attempts to empty northern Gaza: "Following the Israeli army's claim to have displaced 20,000 Palestinians from Jabalia, local sources tell Mondoweiss that most of the displaced have relocated to other places in northern Gaza."

  • [10-29] Why Israel outlawed UNRWA, and what it could mean for Palestinian refugees: "Israel has banned the work of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in Israel and East Jerusalem. The move could have a major impact on the agency's life-saving work and is part of an ongoing campaign to erase Palestinian refugee rights."

• Jonathan Ofir: [10-28] Israeli journalists join the live-streamed genocide: "A mainstream Israeli journalist recently blew up a house in Lebanon as part of a news report while embedded with the military. The broadcast shows how mainstream genocidal activity has become in Israeli society."

• Meron Rapoport:

  • [10-30] With or without Sinwar, Netanyahu has no interest in ending the war.

  • [10-23] Conversing as unequals: Jewish-Palestinian partnership at a crossroads: "Awni Al-Mashni and I have spent years meeting with Israelis and Palestinians across the land to discuss visions for the future. Do we still have answers?"

• Christiaan Triebert/Riley Mellen/Alexander Cardia: [10-30] Israel Demolished Hundreds of Buildings in Southern Lebanon, Videos and Satellite Images Show: "At least 1,085 buildings have been destroyed or badly damaged since Israel's invasion targeting the Hezbollah militia, including many in controlled demolitions, a New York Times analysis shows." Same tactics, reflecting the same threats and intentions Israel is using on Gaza, except that you can't even pretend to be responding to an attack like Oct. 7. Hezbollah is being targeted simply because it exists, and Lebanon is being targeted because Israelis make no distinction between the "militants" they "defend" against and any other person who lives in their vicinity. The numbers in Lebanon may not amount to genocide yet, but that's the model that Israel is following.

• Oren Ziv: [10-22] 'Copy-paste the West Bank to Gaza': Hundreds join Gaza resettlement event: "In a closed military zone near Gaza, Israeli settlers, ministers, and MKs called to ethnically cleanse and annex the Strip -- an idea that is growing mainstream."

America's Israel (and Israel's America):

• Yaniv Cogan/Jeremy Scahill: [10-21] The Israeli-American businessman pitching a $200 million plan to deploy mercenaries to Gaza: "Moti Kahana says he's talking to the Israeli government about creating a pilot program for 'gated communities' controlled by private US security forces." By the way, the authors also (separately) wrote:

  • Yaniv Cogan: [10-06] Blinken approved policy to bomb aid trucks, Israeli cabinet members suggest.

  • Jeremy Scahill/Murtaza Hussain/Sharif Abdel Kouddous: [09-18] Israel's new campaign of "terrorism warfare" across Lebanon.

  • Ryan Grim/Murtaza Hussain: [10-29] Project 2025 creators have a plan to 'dismantle' pro-Palestine movement: "If Donald Trump wins next week, the Heritage Foundation has prepared a roadmap for him to crush dissent."

    The plan, dubbed "Project Esther," casts pro-Palestinian activists in the U.S. as members of a global conspiracy aligned with designated terrorist organizations. As part of a so-called "Hamas Support Network," these protesters receive "indispensable support of a vast network of activists and funders with a much more ambitious, insidious goal -- the destruction of capitalism and democracy," Project Esther's authors allege.

    This conspiratorial framing is part of a legal strategy to suppress speech favorable to Palestinians or critical of the U.S.-Israel relationship, by employing counterterrorism laws to suppress what would otherwise be protected speech . . .

    To achieve its goals, Project Esther proposes the use of counterterrorism and hate speech laws, as well as immigration measures, including the deportation of students and other individuals in the United States on foreign visas for taking part in pro-Palestinian activities. It also advocates deploying the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a law placing disclosure obligations on parties representing foreign interests, against organizations that the report's authors imply are funded and directed from abroad.

    In addition, the document also suggests using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, to help construct prosecutions against individuals and organizations in the movement. The RICO act was originally created to fight organized crime in the U.S., and particularly mafia groups.

    It occurs to me that the same laws and tactics could be used to counter Israeli political influence -- that that anyone would try that -- and that the audit trail would be much more interesting.

• Adrian Filut: [10-24] From Iron Dome to F-15s: US provides 70% of Israel's war costs.

• Tariq Kenney-Shawa: [10-29] Why the Democrats were Israel's perfect partners in genocide: "By masking support for Israel with hollow humanitarian gestures and empathy for Palestinians have diluted pressure to end the war."

• Akela Lacy: [10-24] How does AIPAC shape Washington? We tracked every dollar. "The Intercept followed AIPAC's money trail to reveal how its political spending impacts the balance of power in Congress."

• Mitchell Plitnick: [10-25] US efforts to entice Israel into minimizing its attack on Iran are only raising the chances for regional war: "The Biden administration is showering Israel with military aid and support to persuade it not to hit Iran's energy sector, but this will only increase Israeli impunity and push the region closer to war."

• Azadeh Shahshahahani/Sofía Verónica Montez: [02-26] Complicity in genocide -- the case against the Biden administration: "Israel's mass bombardment of civilians in Gaza is being facilitated, aided and abetted by the United States government." Older article I just noticed, but figured I'd note anyway. Reminds me that the only proper response to the "genocide" charge is to stop doing it. That at least enables the argument that you never meant the complete annihilation of everyone, because you stopped and left some (most?) target people still alive. Needless to say, the argument becomes less persuasive over time, where you've repeatedly missed opportunities to say this is enough, "we've made our point."

• Richard Silverstein:

  • [10-04] 32 Iranian missiles struck Israel's major air base.

  • [10-10] Teetering on the brink: US proposes attacking Iran.

  • [10-12] Yom Kippur: Atoning for genocide: "Let's make something clear from the start: Jews don't have to apologize for Israel's sins. Israelis must do that."

  • [10-21] Shin Bet alleges Iran spy network active for two years.

• Ishaan Tharoor:

  • [10-25] Is Israel carrying out de facto ethnic cleansing? "A pro-settlement Israeli group and some Israeli lawmakers gathered a couple miles from northern Gaza's blasted neighborhoods to rally around settling Gaza."

  • [10-28] The world beyond the election: Middle East in turmoil: "Whoever takes office in January will face a region being reshaped by an emboldened Israel and the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia."

  • [10-30] The world beyond the election: So much for democracy vs. autocracy. The Biden framing was mostly horseshit, mostly because America has never cared whether other countries practiced democracy, not least because we don't do a good job of it ourselves, and are certainly willing to throw it out the window if the polls look unfavorable. But also I suppose it was a subtle dig at Trump, who's always been Team Autocracy. That the ardor seems to have faded is less a change of view than acknowledgment that it hasn't worked so well. Then there is this line: "Biden once framed the successful defense of Ukraine as a rejection of a world 'where might makes right.'" But what is the US "defense" of Ukraine but an exercise in might making right? And if that case isn't clear cut enough for you, what else can you make of Israel?

Israel vs. world opinion:

• Ahmed Alqarout: [10-29] How Israel is trying to beat the 'axis of resistance' by dominating the regional supply chain: "Israel has been able to insulate itself from the effects of the economic blockade imposed by the 'Axis of Resistance' through supply chain warfare in the Middle East and the broader region."

• Michael Arria:

  • [10-29] 'Thousands of people will die': Gaza doctors describe impact of Israel barring medical NGOs: "Israel has barred at least six international medical NGOs that had been providing crucial support to Gaza's decimated healthcare sector. Doctors in the banned groups say the move could result in thousands of additional deaths."

  • [10-22] The Shift: Poll shows Trump with slight edge among Arab American voters: The poll was from Arab News/YouGov. The split was 45% for Trump, 43% for Harris, and 4% for Jill Stein. Of chose, 29% chose Gaza as their biggest issue. Both candidates got 38% when asked "who would be better for the Middle East," but respondents thought Trump was more likely "to successfully resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict" (39% to 33%). A recent poll from Arab American Institute produced similar results. For more on recent Arab-American polling:

  • Richard Eskrow: [10-18] Dems are afraid Gaza will cost them the election. They're not afraid enough.

  Many people are critics of Harris for not taking a strong stand against Israel's genocide, but Arria relays a case where Israel's supporters are attacking Harris for not being supportive enough:

  It seems pretty clear that Harris was referring to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and not the student's reference to genocide, but this didn't stop pro-Israel voices from attacking the Vice President.

  "A very dangerous precedent," tweeted former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. "I was disturbed to view the video in which Vice President Kamala Harris appears to confirm the charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. This is the first time that the White House has been linked to a libel which threatens Israel's legitimacy and security. I call on the U.S. administration to issue an immediate and complete denial."

  Just goes to show that Israel's front-line hasbara warriors realize that their arguments cannot withstand the admission of any doubt or ambiguity.

  • [10-24] The Shift: More campus crackdowns, DOJ lawyers call for Israel investigation: "Since the fall semester began last month we have seen schools implement a new round of repressive measures to crack down on Palestine activism."

  • [10-29] The Shift: Trump seeks to capitalize on voter frustration with Harris over Gaza: "The Trump campaign is clearly taking steps to capitalize on voters' frustration over Gaza. While Kamala Harris was getting booed by protesters in Michigan, Trump was also in the state making a play to Arab and Muslim voters."

  • [10-18] Samidoun's coordinator speaks out on the US and Canada's targeting of the group: Interview with Mohammed Khatib, European coordinator for the "Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network" group, accused of raising funds for the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine).

• Ramzy Baroud: [10-25] Israel's biblical wars of 'self defense': the myth of the 'seven war fronts'.

• Sam Biddle: [10-21] Meta's Israel policy chief tried to suppress pro-Palestinian Instagram posts: "Jordana Cutler, Meta's policy chief for Israel and the Jewish Diaspora, repeatedly flagged for censorship posts by Students for Justice in Palestine."

• Shane Burley: [10-01] US Jewish institutions are purging their staffs of anti-Zionists: "A months-long investigation found even the smallest hints of dissent are often met with unemployment."

• Sharaiz Chaudhry: [10-26] Generating consent for genocide: The BBC's complicity in Israel's crimes in Palestine and Lebanon: "The BBC is deceiving the British public and using its position to manufacture consent for Israel's genocidal assault in Palestine and Lebanon."

• Roy Eidelson: [10-23] The American Psychological Association is abandoning its commitment to human rights by refusing to speak out on Palestine: "The American Psychological Association claims to 'prioritize human rights advocacy,' but if its leaders want to truly honor that commitment they must recognize and address the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza today."

• Melvin Goodman: [10-28] The latest absurdities from the columnists of the New York Times: On Thomas L Friedman and Bret Stephens.

• Binoy Kampmark: [10-28] Crippling UNRWA: The Knesset's collective punishment of Palestinians.

• Ben Lorber: [09-05] The right is increasingly exploiting the horror of genocide: "Right-wing operatives are channeling the genocide in Gaza into mainstream antisemitism." This was bound to happen, although it's been slow to emerge, as most right-wing antisemites are actually big fans of Israel, and they're not especially sensitive to human rights abuses of any sort. [PS: On closer examination, I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion: that right-wingers were feigning horror at genocide to whip up antisemitic sentiments. Turns out this is mostly about a group called NatCon, where antisemitism claims the mantle of "Judeo-Christian nationalism" and supports genocide to the hilt.]

• Joseph Willits: [10-16] How Starmer's Labour government has enabled Israel's genocide.

Election notes:

• Charlotte Alter: [10-25] Some Democrats believe this might be an abortion election after all.

• Aaron Blake: [10-28] Can independent Dan Osborn win in Nebraska? And would it matter? "A new poll adds evidence that we could see a historic result in the Senate race, but it probably won't affect the chamber's majority."

• Julia Conley: [10-29] 'This is just the traceable money': $2 billion pumped into 2024 election by billionaire families.

• Bob Dreyfuss: [10-29] Pennsylvania's undecideds: "The 2024 election will likely turn on the Democrats' ground game."

• John Feffer: [10-23] Billionaires vs democracy: "The rich are trying to buy elections all over the world and consign democracy to the trash bin of history."

• Sarah Jones: [10-29] How did this become a gender-gap election: "Trump vs. Harris brings America's gendered political preferences into sharper focus."

• Tony Karon: [10-23] Voting in a time of genocide.

• Celinda Lake/Amanda Iovino: [10-30] A Democratic and a Republican pollster agree: This is the fault line that decides the election: Teases you with the "gender gap," the chart showing Trump +8 with men, Harris +9 with women (gap of 17 points), then offers you the 29-point gap by education, which shows Trump +10 for non-college, Harris +19 for college. Of course, both factors compound with a 43-point gap between non-college men (Trump +16) and college women (Harris +27), but non-college women still prefer Trump (+4) while college men go with Harris (+7).

• Nicole Narea: [10-27] What if Jill Stein or RFK Jr. decides the election? That you could even ask such a question shows that you understand nothing about third-party candidates, or at least their voters. Anyone who thinks that there is meaningful difference between the two major party candidates will vote for one or the other. Those who don't may register that opinion by voting for someone else, or they may just skip the whole process -- third-party voters are preferable, because at least they're showing respect for the process, just not for the two parties and their candidates. Stein and Kennedy decided to throw their names into the hat, but that's about it. Perhaps they made that decision hoping to spoil the election -- that's certainly the only message popular media has any interest in examining. But the voters' decisions are purely negative. Neither party has the right to claim third-party votes as rightfully theirs, because those votes were clear rejections of both parties.

  I've made what I felt was a pretty strong case that the two-party split really matters this year, and that one should vote for Harris vs. Trump. But the first commenter I got back disagreed and reiterated his decision to vote for Stein. I respect that.

• John Quiggin: [10-28] The end of US democracy: a flowchart:

  Go to the article for the chart, but each node has an assigned probability, which of course is just a wild guess, but this allows the possibility of adding them up:

  If the US were remotely normal, every entry on the left-hand edge ought to be equal to 1. Harris should be a sure winner, Trump shouldn't find any supporters for a coup, the MAGA Republicans in Congress should be unelectable and the moderate program proposed by Harris should be successful enough that Trumpism would be defeated forever.

  But that's not the case. There are two end points in which US democracy survives, with a total probability (excessively precise) of 0.46, and one where it ends, with a probability of 0.54. By replacing my probabilities at the decision nodes with your own, you can come up with your own numbers. Or you may feel that I've missed crucial pathways. . . .

  Note: Any Thälmann-style comments (such as "After Trump, us" or "Dems are social fascists anyway") will be blocked and deleted.

  The key here is "remotely normal, so that's the part you still have to puzzle out, and that's where the real problems and solutions lie.

• Catherine Rampell/Youyou Zhou: [10-22] Voters prefer Harris's agenda to Trump's -- they just don't realize it. Take our quiz." I hate these pieces, not least because they deliberately try to screw you over with misleading questions, but since I'm citing it, I figure I might as well score myself. The verdict was: "you supported 1 of Trump's policies and 4 of Harris's policies." The one "Trump proposal" I supported was: "Funding free online classes with money taken from private university endowments through taxes, fines, and lawsuits." I can see why Harris wouldn't have proposed that. I'm not wild about the funding mechanism, but private university endowments are a huge tax shelter that doesn't offer much public interest value, so I could see taxing them down. On the other hand, "free online classes" is a no-brainer. I think that continuing adult education is drastically underserved in America, and online classes would be a particularly cost-effective way of helping out. (I also favor free in-person classes, and I would fund it all from general funds, but I wasn't asked that.) The only thing that distinguishes this as a "Trump proposal" is that it's a bit harebrained. It's also a proposal that Trump will never lift a finger to implement, nor could he pass through his caucus.

• Eugene Robinson: The double standard for Harris and Trump has reached a breaking point: "One candidate can rant about gibberish while the other has to be perfect."

• Shaghayegh Chris Rostampour: [10-14] Why aren't Harris and Trump talking about nuclear weapons? "The threat is real and at times the call is coming from inside our own house." This doesn't really belong under "election," because, as noted, it's not something being contested, or even given much thought.

• David Sirota: How the 2024 election is normalizing corruption.

• David Wallace-Wells: [10-30] The election looks li ke an intramural squabble between billionaires: That, of course, is what you get when you reduce politics to a game of raising unlimited money.

• Endorsements:

  • Wajahat Ali: [10-29] Yes, I think Democrats are complicit in genocide. But Trump would be far worse: "There is simply no moral argument for allowing the former president to win in the name of opposing genocide."

    Donald Trump will be genocidal and a fascist. On Gaza, Trump promised he would let Israel "finish the job." That means fulfilling his mega-donor Miriam Adelson's wish of annexing the West Bank and standing pat as Israel moves to occupy northern Gaza on the graveyard of Palestinians. There's a reason why Israel's extremist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, wants Trump to win and says he will be better for Israel. . . .

    With Harris and Democrats, there is an opening for Americans to organize, push, and pressure her administration to halt Israel's genocide and pursue progressive healthcare and economic policies. Democratic allies include Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, labor organizations and communities of color who remain committed to social justice, equity and peace. With the Republicans and Trump, no such allies exist. There's simply a fascist and a white Christian nationalist regime in waiting.

  • Matt Bai: [10-30] George W Bush is running out of time: "He should take this chance to get right with history, because history will certainly be hard on him." I've long suspected that Bush had a streak of plain human decency that he managed to suppress during his eight years as president. He ended that streak in disgrace, which come to think of it, is also how he started it, with many even worse moments along the way. But at least he hasn't compounded that disgrace, as most other ex-presidents have done. His withdrawal and silence is really all the recognition we need (or can hope for) that he is at least somewhat cognizant of his failures. Doing anything else at this point would only compromise his last shred of dignity.

    By the way, it's easy enough to see Dick Cheney's endorsement as nothing more than a favor to his daughter, who might still hope to continue her political career -- not as a candidate but in some other capacity -- by endearing herself to Harris. While Cheney is the most certifiably evil character in recent American politics, he's always had a soft spot for the women in his life.

  • Ben Burgis: [10-25] There's no pride in a Dick Cheney endorsement.

  • Jackie Calmes: [10-20] Top 10 reasons not to vote for Donald Trump: Plus: "Finally, the bonus, a positive reason to vote Harris. She's not only among the most experienced applicants for the job ever, but also: She's not Trump."

  • The Guardian: [10-25] The Guardian view on the US election and foreign policy: the world can't afford Trump again.

  • William Lewis: [10-25] On political endorsement: The Washington Post, presumably as directed by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos, declined to endorse any presidential candidate this year, breaking with a practice that they've followed since 1976, even after it's been reported that they had a Harris endorsement ready to go. The publisher tries to explain this decision here. I'm not terribly bothered by this, probably because I deeply distrust the big money media anyway, especially their pretensions of independence. The Post, like the New York Times, goes out of their way to "balance" their proper news reporting -- never free from their own deep seated biases -- with right-wing "opinion" writers. However, many readers recognize Trump as not just a political opportunist but as such a perversely malign presence that they think he merits more rigorous scrutiny: that every mention that does not put his statements in historical context runs the risk of sanitizing and legitimizing ideas that most people upon reflection should find truly appalling. So this particular non-endorsement has elicited an interesting set of reactions, starting with economic sanctions:

    • Isaac Chotiner: [10-27] Marty Baron on the Washington Post's "spineless" endorsement decision: "The former executive editor discusses his relationship with the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, who was reportedly behind the last-minute call to kill an editorial supporting Kamala Harris."

    • Charles R Davis: [10-25] "This is cowardice": Ex-editor blasts Washington Post after Jeff Bezos blocks Harris endorsement.

    • Kevin T Dugan: [10-30] What Blue Origin stands to gain after Jeff Bezos muzzled the Washington Post: "The Amazon owner claims he didn't pull an endorsement of Kamala Harris to aid his rocket company."

    • Griffin Eckstein: [10-24] Los Angeles Times editor resigns after billionaire owner blocks Harris endorsement: "Mariel Garza said the owner's decision to cut Harris endorsement 'undermines the integrity of the editorial board.'"

    • Eszter Hargittai: [10-29] Washington Post cancellations.

    • Dana Milbank: [10-27] Why I'm not quitting the Post: "And why I hope you don't, either."

    • Alexandra Petri: [10-26] It has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to endorse Harris for president: "Isn't this what a newspaper is supposed to do?"

    • David Remnick: [10-30] Standing up to Trump: "Jeff Bezos endorsed a Trump-era slogan -- 'Democracy Dies in Darkness' for his newspaper, the Washington Post. Why wouldn't he let it endorse a candidate?"

    • Isaac Stanley-Becker/Aaron C Davis/Josh Dawsey/Christian Davenport: [10-30] For Jeff Bezos and his businesses, Washington has become more important: "Executives at companies founded by the billionaire Post owner have sought contact with trump. He argues he didn't end presidential endorsements out of self-interest."

    • Margaret Sullivan: [10-25] The Washington Post and LA Times refused to endorse a candidate. Why? Or more pointedly, why now?

    • Siva Vaidhyanathan: [10-29] The Washington Post is a reminder of the dangers of billionaire ownership.

  • J Michael Luttig: [10-29] My fellow Republicans, it's time to say enough with Trump. Also cites his previous endorsement from August.

  • Phil Mattingly: [10-23] 23 Nobel Prize-winning economists call Harris' economic plan 'vastly superior' to Trump's.

  • The New Yorker: Harris for President: "The Vice-President has displayed the basic values and political skills that would enable her to help end, once and for all, a poisonous era defined by Donald Trump."

  • Hamilton Nolan: [09-20] The weird and stupid Teamsters non-endorsement fiasco: "Refusing to endorse a presidential candidate will do nothing to stop Trump and the GOP's war on workers."

  • The Observer: [10-26] Americans who believe in democracy have no choice but to vote for Harris

  • Edith Olmsted: [10-25] "Extreme danger": Harris earns a stunning endorsement over Trump: "Kamala Harris has earned an eleventh-hour show of support from Palestinian,Arab, and Muslim community leaders." I cite their statement down in the "chatter" section.

  • Rick Perlstein: [10-23] Science is political: "For only the second time in its 179-year history, Scientific American has endorsed a candidate for president: Kamala Harris.

  • April Rubin:

    • [10-23] 23 Nobel prize-winning economists back Harris' economic proposals. This is up from [06-25], when 16 Nobel economists see a Trump inflation bomb.

    • [10-24] 82 Nobel-prize recipients in science fields endorse Harris.

  • Bernie Sanders: [10-30] How can I vote for Kamala Harris if she supports Israel's war? Here's my answer: "Trump says Netanyahu is doing a good job and Biden is holding him back. Even on this issue, Trump is worse."

  • Catherine Shoard: [10-30] Arnold Schwarzenegger endorses Kamala Harris: 'I will always be an American before I am a Republican': "The former Republican governor said that he was backing the Democrat because a Trump victory would mean 'four more years of bullshit.'"

  • Bret Stephens: [10-29] A conservative case against Trump: This one gives me no comfort. He's in the running for worst right-wing pundit in America, and much of his rationale centers on his understanding that Trump is less reliable than Harris when it comes to supporting war and genocide: among other things, he worries that "allow Putin to succeed in Ukraine, and Israel's threats from Russia's allies in Iran, Syria and Yemen will multiply."

  • Wikipedia: I ran this last week, but the lists keep growing:

    • List of Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign endorsements.

    • List of Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign endorsements.

    • News media endorsements in the 2024 United States presidential election.

Trump:

• Trump's Madison Square Garden spectacle:

  • Jamelle Bouie: [10-29] Trump is less confident than he says. His rally at Madison Square Garden proves it.

  • Matt Ford: [10-29] The Madison Square Garden rally is a vision of a second Trump term: "There's no clearer picture of a presidency than the people with whom a would-be president chooses to associate."

  • Melissa Gira Grant: [10-29] Trump wasn't kidding with that fascist rally. Just ask his ICE chief. "While Stephen Miller and Tony Hinchcliffe were hurling racist tropes at Madison Square Garden, former ICE acting Director Tom Homan was on CBS explaining what the actual policies of mass deportation would look like."

  • Sarah Jones: [10-28] Why did Trump's MSG rally call Kamala Harris the antichrist? "For his Christian-right supporters, the election will be fought as spiritual warfare."

  • Branko Marcetic: [10-28] Trump's hateful rally has no real answer from Democrats.

  • Christian Paz: [10-29] Trump's Madison Square Garden rally showed how racism is the beating heart of election denial: "Trump's lies about electoral fraud rest on an argument about nonwhite people."

  • H Scott Prosterman: [10-30] Echoes and parallels from 1939 -- Trump's Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden: I wonder if part of the point wasn't do evoke comparisons like this, figuring that, like most historically informed attacks on Trump, they'll only solidify his support?

  • Greg Sargent: [10-28] Trump's ugly racist rally finally unmasks his real closing argument: "The Madison Square Garden rally didn't devolve into a hate fest. The hate fest was the point all along."

  • Alex Shephard: [10-28] It's not just Trump we have to fear anymore: "Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden was a parade of foot soldiers in a hateful movement that has become even bigger than the man who founded it."

  • V (formerly Eve Ensler): [10-29] Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden: the ultimate daddy projection screen.

  • Jimmy Kimmel Live:

    • Trump's nuttiest rally of all time.

    • For Republicans we love: Post-MSG, a "special monologue" trying to reason with Republicans.

• Zack Beauchamp: [10-31] Inside Trump's ominous plan to turn civil rights law against vulnerable Americans. Late-breaking but important article.

• Jasper Craven: Trump's cronies threw the VA into chaos. Millions of veterans' lives are on the line again.

• David French: [10-27] Four lessons from nine years of being 'Never Trump': His section heads:

  • Community is more powerful than ideology.
  • We don't know our true values until they're tested.
  • Hatred is the prime motivating force in our politics.
  • Finally, trust is tribal.

• Susan B Glasser: [10-18] How Republican billionaires learned to love Trump again: "The former President has been fighting to win back his wealthiest donors, while actively courting new ones -- what do they expect to get in return?"

  Trump's effort to win back wealthy donors received its biggest boost on the evening of May 30th, when he was convicted in Manhattan on thirty-four criminal counts related to his efforts to conceal hush-money payments to the former adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. After the verdict, Trump walked out to the cameras in the courthouse and denounced the case brought against him as "rigged" and a "disgrace." Then he departed in a motorcade of black Suburbans. He was headed uptown for an exclusive fund-raising dinner, at the Fifth Avenue apartment of the Florida sugar magnate José (Pepe) Fanjul. . . .

  Trump was seated at the head table, between Fanjul -- a major Republican donor going back to the early nineties -- and Stephen Schwarzman, the C.E.O. of Blackstone, the world's largest private-equity fund, who had endorsed Trump the previous Friday. Securing the support of Schwarzman was a coup for the Trump campaign. . . .

  Trump was fund-raising off his conviction with small-dollar donors as well; his campaign, which portrayed him as the victim of a politicized justice system, brought in nearly $53 million in the twenty-four hours after the verdict. Several megadonors who had held back from endorsing Trump announced that they were now supporting him, including Miriam Adelson, the widow of the late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson; the Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, who said that the case against Trump was a sign of America turning into a "Banana Republic"; and the venture capitalist Shaun Maguire, who, less than an hour after the verdict, posted on X that he was donating $300,000 to Trump, calling the prosecution a "radicalizing experience." A day later, Timothy Mellon, the banking-family scion, wrote a $50-million check to the Make America Great Again super PAC.

  Many more names and dollar amounts follow.

• Margaret Hartmann: [10-29] Melania Trump plays normal political wife for one week only: "From appearing at Donald Trump's racist MSG rally to insisting he's 'not Hitler' on Fox News, Melania is now conspicuously present."

• Doug Henwood: [10-30] Trumponomics: "What kind of economic policy could we expect from a second Trump term?" A fairly obvious assignment for one of our more available left-wing economists, but he comes up with surprisingly little here, beyond income tax cuts and tariffs -- much-advertised themes that are unlikely to amount to very much. I suspect this is mostly because, despite the obvious importance of the economy, there isn't much of a partisan divide on how to run it. Trump would be harder on workers (especially on unions), and softer on polluters and all manner of frauds, but those are just relative shifts of focus. He would also shift public spending away from things that might be useful, like infrastructure, to "defense," including his "beautiful wall."

• Michael Isikoff: [10-28] Trump campaign worker blows whistle on 'grift' and bugging plot: "A bombshell email claims millions were funneled from campaign to 'overcharging' firms -- and some went to a top Kamala Harris donor."

• Robert Kuttner: [10-30] Why so much hate? "Trump has tapped into an undercurrent of crude hatred and encouraged his supporters to express it. Where does all this hate come from?"

• Steven Levitsky/Daniel Ziblatt: [] There are four anti-Trump pathways we failed to take. There is a fifth. Authors of two books that have many liberal fans -- How Democracies Die (2018), and Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point (2023) -- but never struck me as worth investigating, partly because their interest in democracy seems more concerned with formal elegance than with making government serve the people. The fifth path, when various legal schemes fail, is "societal mobilization" -- isn't that what we used to call "revolution"? The authors have written several "guest essays" over the years, including:

  • [2023-09-08] Democracy's assassins always have accomplices.

• Nick Licata: [10-29] Trump's playbook to win regardless of election night results.

• Nicholas Liu: [10-30] RFK Jr. claims Trump promised him "control" of CDC and federal health care agencies.

  • Andrew Prokop: [10-31] Trump really could empower RFK Jr. to wreck public health: "Even if Kennedy can't get Senate confirmation, he could still wield vast influence if Trump wins."

• Amanda Marcotte:

  • [10-25] "Daddy's home": Tucker Carlson's bizarre troll distills Trump's false promise to male voters: 'Trump wants dudes to believe he can bring women to heel, but instead, he'll leave men sadder and lonelier."

  • [10-28] Trump campaign's obsessive hate may not boost him, but it will cause long-term damage: "A deluge of swing state ads suggest trans people cannot co-exist peacefully with cis people."

  • [10-28] Elon Musk's "illegal" past doesn't feel like hypocrisy to MAGA -- Trump's hate rally in NYC shows why.

  • [10-30] In dual rallies, Trump celebrated fascism, but Kamala exposed its true face: "MAGA made a petulant case for white supremacy, but on the site of January 6, Harris reminded voters of its violence."

• Nicole Narea: [10-29] Would Trump's mass deportation plan actually work? "Here's what history tells us." Related here:

  • Christian Paz: [10-25] Polls say voters back "mass deportation." That's misleading. "Americans' opinions on immigration are more complicated than any one question can capture."

• The New Republic: [10-21] The 100 worst things Trump has done since descending that escalator: "Some were just embarrassing. Many were horrific. All of them should disqualify him from another four years in the White House."

• Timothy Noah:

  • [10-25] The influential men who disdain Trump -- but won't endorse Harris: "History will remember that Fraidy-Cats like Jeff Bezos and Mitt Romney went AWOL during their country's hour of need." Part one, followed by:

  • [10-29] The swelling ranks of influential men knuckling under to Trump: "More on the big shots -- from Mark Zuckerberg to Sean O'Brien -- who Trump has successfully intimidated into obeisance."

• Paige Oamek: [10-15] Trump's campaign manager has raked in an insane amount of money: "How in the world did Chris LaCivita make this much money from a campaign?"

• Rick Perlstein: [10-30] What will you do? "Life-changing choices we may be forced to make if Donald Trump wins."

• Molly Redden/Andy Kroll/Nick Surgey: [10-29] Inside a key MAGA leader's plans for a new Trump agenda: "Key Trump adviser says a Trump administration will seek to make civil servants miserable in their jobs." Spotlight here on Russell Vought, "former acting director of the Office of Management and Budget." Also on Vought:

  • Jake Johnson: [10-28] Leaked videos reveal Project 2025 architect's plan for far-right 'shadow' government: "Russell Vought, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget during Trump's first term, said he wants to inflict 'trauma' on career civil servants and bulldoze opponents of the Republican nominee."

• James Risen:

  • [10-25] Mainstream media was afraid to compare Trump to Hitler. Now the press has no excuse. "Statements by John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff, have made it nearly impossible for the media to avoid Hitler comparisons." Kelly's comments did pop up among the late show comics, but I wouldn't expect much more.

  • [10-22] Americans need a closing argument against Trump: "Too many Americans seem to be ignoring the risks that another Trump presidency would pose to the US. This is a warning to them." Included here because the author casually mentions: "Trump is a fascist who wants to overthrow the United States' democratic system of government." That's under the first section here, which is just one of several:

    1. Threat to democracy
    2. Imprison political opponents
    3. Eliminate reproductive rights
    4. Concentration camps and mass deportations for immigrants
    5. Create a theocracy
    6. Increase censorship and destroy the media
    7. A puppet for Putin
    8. Dictator for life

    Actually, I don't see many of these things happening, even if Republicans take Congress, and the last two are total canards. No one aspires to be a puppet, but aside from that, the rest are at least things Trump might think of and wish for. What separates Trump from the classic fascists has less to do with thought and desire than with checks and balances that make it hard for any president to get much of anything done. Still, a bad president can do a lot of damage, and any would-be fascist is certain to be a very bad president. As Trump has already proven, so we really shouldn't have to relitigate this.

  • [10-03] The reason Netanyahu and Putin both want a Trump victory: "Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu both want Donald Trump to win so they can prolong and intensify their brutal wars."

• Asawin Suebsaeng/Tim Dickinson: 'American death squads': Inside Trump's push to make police more violent.

• Sean Wilentz: Trump's plot against America: "A leading historian looks back at Philip Roth's novel and how it perfectly predicts the rise of Trump and his willing collaborators."

• No More Mr. Nice Blog:

  • [10-28] It's world-historical fascism, but it's also ordinary white-guy bigotry.

    Did yesterday's rally seem like the work of an organized, dangerous fascist party? Yes -- but the rally's rhetoric also seemed like ordinary casual conversation among bigoted white men when they think no one can hear them. Remember the cops who beat Rodney King in 1991 and sent messages to one another describing Black citizens involved in a domestic dispute as being "right out of 'Gorillas in the Mist'"? Remember the police official responsible for investigating workplace harassment in New York City being fired in 2021 after it was revealed that he'd written racist posts in a police discussion group called the Rant? . . .

    This is how bigoted men talk. Among cops, it reinforces a sense of grievance that often leads to brutality. It'll do the same thing among Trumpers if they win -- and, to a lesser extent, if they lose. This is a rising fascist movement, but it's built on ordinary hatreds that aren't new and that predate Trump's political career.

  • [10-24] Fascism and other matters.

  • [20-21] Donald Trump, relatable fuckup?

    I think young men find Trump's campaign-trail lapses relatable. It's not just that they might really believe Haitians in America are eating people's pets, or might enjoy Trump's smutty anecdotes. I think they also might notice that Trump is being accused of campaign incompetence or dementia -- and that endears him more to them.

    After all, many of them were diagnosed with ADHD because they couldn't sit still in school or stop disrupting class. They might not like Trump's taste in music, but they can relate to someone who shows up and just doesn't feel like doing the work.

    They appreciate the way Trump suggests that he not only can solve all the world's problems, but can do it quickly and easily -- he conveys a sense that he can succeed at many things without doing any hard work. That's what they want to do!Why are young men attending college at lower rates than young women? Aren't they attending the same schools as their sisters? Being good in school has always been seen as weird and unmanly by most Americans, and I think that mindset is having a greater and greater impact on young men's choices. Boys with good grades are seen as weird losers and not very masculine -- they're like girls, who are allowed to be good in school. It's much cooler to be an amusing fuckup.

    When we express horror at Trump's latest baffling act on the campaign trail, I think we sound, to these young men, like annoyingly responsible scolds. Obviously, they like Trump's offensive humor because they like offending people, but they also relate to Trump's refusal to restrain his speech because trying to avoid giving offense to people is hard work. It's almost like schoolwork, and the same people are good at it, for the same reasons -- because they're grade-grubbing goody-goodies who seem to like spoiling everyone else's fun.

  • [10-29] No, Trump is still not "a spent and exhausted force": Disputes the Jamelle Bouie piece I cited above.

  • [10-30] A war at home is still a war, guys:

    This is a reminder of one reason Donald Trump is winning over some young men, apart from the bro-ishness and misogyny of his campaign: Trump and his surrogates have young men convinced that a vote for Harris is a vote for war. Trump regularly says that a Harris presidency will lead to World War III, while he'll instantly, magically, and single-handedly end all the major wars taking place right now and prevent future wars by means of a slogan, "Peace Through Strength." Harris, regrettably, has welcomed the support not only of Liz Cheney (who has stood up for the rule of law in recent years) but also of her father, whom nobody admires these days and who was unquestionably a warmonger.

• Seth Meyers: [10-31] A Closer Look: Trump's embarrassing garbage stunt might be his most surreal photo op ever.

Vance, and other Republicans:

• Zack Beauchamp: [10-23] The banality of Elon: "When it comes to politics, Elon Musk's ideas are utterly, revealingly conventional."

• Dan Diamond: [10-30] Mike Johnson vows major changes to Affordable Care Act if Trump wins election. This, of course, led to:

  • Emine Yücel: [10-30] Trump camp attempts damage control after Johnson caught being too explicit about gutting ACA.

  • Dylan Scott: [10-31] Republicans are serious about cutting people's health care: "Donald Trump's election could allow the GOP to gut Medicaid and protections for preexisting conditions."

• Tony Romm: [10-29] Musk's plan to cut $2 trillion in US spending could bring economic turmoil. And why does anyone care what Musk thinks? Oh yeah, because Trump's his bitch.

• Matt Sledge: Mitch McConnell group funneled cash to a PAC pitting Arab and Jewish voters against Harris.

• Benjamin Wallace-Wells: [10-28] The improbable rise of JD Vance.

• Jessica Washington/Shawn Musgrave: Inside Ron DeSantis's quest to trample the wioll of Florida voters on abortion.

Harris:

• James Carville: [10-23] Three reasons I'm certain Kamala Harris will win: Spoken like the hack-consultant he's always been:

  1. Trump is a repeat electoral loser. This time will be no different.
  2. Money matters, and Harris has it in droves.
  3. It's just a feeling.

  His feeling?

  For the past decade, Trump has infected American life with a malignant political sickness, one that would have wiped out many other global democracies. On Jan. 6, 2021, our democracy itself nearly succumbed to it. But Trump has stated clearly that this will be the last time he runs for president. That is exactly why we should be exhilarated by what comes next: Trump is a loser; he is going to lose again. And it is highly likely that there will be no other who can carry the MAGA mantle in his wake -- certainly not his running mate.

• Lydie Lake: [10-30] Harris's final push before election day: "Kamala Harris delivered her closing argument in a charged pre-election rally near the White House."

• Colleen Long/Darlene Superville/Nadia Lathan: [10-25] Beyoncé and Kamala Harris team up for Houston rally. One big thing they talked about was abortion, including how in Texas "the infant death rate has increased, more babies have died of birth defects and maternal mortality has risen.

• Chris Megerian/Colleen Long/Steve Karnowski: [10-17] Following death of Hamas leader, Harris says it's 'time for the day after to begin' in Gaza. If by "day after" you mean the day after the killing ends, that's been overdue since Oct. 8, 2023 (and really many years before), but the statement would seem to reject the idea that the war has to go on until there are no Palestiniains left to kill, which seems to be Netanyahu's agenda.

• Christian Paz: [10-24] How "Trump is a fascist" became Kamala's closing argument: "Brat summer is over; 'Trump is a fascist' fall is in." I chased this piece down after Nathan J Robinson tweeted:

  One of the main mistakes Hillary Clinton made was making her central message "Trump is bad" without offering a positive case for why she would be a good president. The error is being repeated.

  A quick search reveals more complaints about this as a strategy, along with much consternation that Harris is blowing the campaign, possibly letting Trump win. I get that the "Trump is a fascist" jab is suddenly fashionable thanks to the Kelly quote, although it's been commonplace for years among people who know much about the history of fascism, and are willing to define it broadly enough that a 78-year-old American might qualify. I'd say that Trump is a bit more complicated and peculiar than simply being a generic fascist, although sure, if you formulated a generic F-scale, he would pass as a fascist, and it wouldn't be a close call. But I have two worries here: one is that most Americans don't know or care much about fascism -- other than that it's a generic slur, which judging from his use of the word (e.g., to slam "radical leftists") seems to be his understanding; the other is that there are lots of other adjectives and epithets that get more surely and much quicker to the point of why Trump is bad: even fancy words like sociopath, narcissist, oligarch, and misanthrope work better; as well as more common ones like racist, sexist, elitist, demagogue; you could point out that he's both a blowhard and a buffoon; or you could settle for something a bit more colorful, like "flaming asshole." Or rather than just using labels/names, you could expand on how he talks and acts, about his scams and delusions -- sorry if I haven't mentioned lies before, but they come in so many flavors and variations you could do a whole taxonomy, like the list of fallacies (many of which he exemplifies -- at least the ones that don't demand much logic).

  As for Robinson's complaint, I think that's typical of left intellectuals, who've spent all their lives trying to win people over on issues. Politicians have to be more practical, especially because they have to win majorities, while all activists can hope for are incremental gains. Harris has a lot of planks in her platform, and if you're seriously interested in policy, there's a lot to talk about there (and not all good, even if, like most leftists, you're willing to settle for small increments). But to win an election, she needs to focus on the elements that can get her majority support.

  And the one key thing that should put her over the top is that he's Donald Trump, and she isn't: that the only chance we voters have of getting rid of Trump is to vote for her. To do this, she needs to focus relentlessly on his negatives. She doesn't need to toot her own horn much, as every negative she exposes him for is an implicit contrast: to say "Trump is a fascist" implies that "I am not." That may not be saying much, but it's something, and it should be enough. And Robinson, at least, should know better. I find it hard -- I mean, he's just co-authored a book with Noam Chomsky -- seriously expects any Democrat to offer "a positive case for why she would be a good president." All any voter can do is pick one item from a limited, pre-arranged menu. Sometimes you do get a chance to vote for someone you really like or at least respect, but quite often the best you can do is to vote against the candidate you most despise.

  That choice seems awfully clear to me this year. Unfortunately, it appears that many people are still confused and/or misguided. At this point, I don't see any value in second-guessing the Harris campaign. I have no reason to think they don't want to win this as badly as I want them to win. They have lots of money, lots of research, and lots of organization. They think they're doing the right things, and I hope and pray they're right. It's endgame now, so let them run their last plays. And if they do lose, that will be the time to be merciless in your criticism. (That'll be about the only fun you'll have in the next four years. By the way, if you want a head start, check out this book.)

  • [08-08] "Trump is weird" will only get Kamala Harris so far: This is an older article by Paz, kicking off the "voters want to hear from Harris about Harris, not Trump or Biden" mantra.

  • Brian Bennett: [10-25] Why Harris' closing argument is focused more on Trump than her.

  • Sidney Blumenthal: [10-28] We are witnessing the making of a fascist president in real time.

  • Anand Giridharadas: [10-23] Real men reject fascism: "A note on Harris's closing argument."

  • Susan B Glasser: [10-24] Donald Trump and the F-word: "Kamala Harris embraces the 'fascist' label for the ex-President, without any certainty that it will disquality him."

  • Dylan Matthews: [10-23] Is Trump a fascist? 8 experts weigh in. "Call him a kleptocrat, an oligarch, a xenophobe, a racist, even an authoritarian. But he doesn't quite fit the definition of a fascist." Had the head writer read the article, they would have seen that it all depends on the definition, and here 8 "experts" are all over the map, although they all pretty much agree that Trump is an awful person and a dangerous politician who is up to no good. Unless you're writing a comparative historical analysis of right-wing political movements, that should be understanding enough to vote against him.

  • Jan-Werner Müller: [10-29] No, Trump is not a fascist. But that doesn't make him any less dangerous.

  • Robert Reich: [10-21] Trump's closing argument: full-throated fascism.

  • Alex Shephard: [10-25] This is what's missing from the fascism argument against Trump: "Yes, of course he's a threat to American democracy. But voters need to know how it affects them."

  • Michael Tomasky: [10-25] The best reason for calling Donald Trump a fascist? Easy: He is. "The famous 'closing argument' should be multipronged. But the f-word must be prominent in the mix."

  • Jonathan Weisman: [10-17] Harris and Democrats lose their reluctance to call Trump a fascist: "Since Gen. Mark Milley was quoted as saying Donald Trump is 'fascist to the core,' a term avoided by top members of the Democratic Party is suddenly everywhere." For me, the word "fascist" packs a lot of info in a small package. For others, that info may be undecipherable, in which case the charge rings hollow, or perhaps just scatalogical. But obviously you don't get to be a general without studying a bit into WWII, which is where Milley and Kelly are coming from.

  • Marc A Thiessen: [10-24] Harris's closing argument is dishonest, desperate and hypocritical: "Trump isn't a fascist, and he didn't say he would use the military against his political opponents." But still not nearly as "dishonest, desperate and hypocritical" as this (or pretty much any) Thiessen column. Here's just one example:

    • Veronica Stracqualurst: [10-14] Trump suggests using military against 'enemy from within' on Election Day.

• Jennifer Rubin: [10-27] To understand the US economic success is to love Harris's plan: "Kamala Harris's economic proposals would build on the remarkable US comeback since the pandemic."

Walz, Biden, and other Democrats:

• Aaron Blake: [10-30] Did Biden call Trump supporters 'garbage'? It comes down to an apostrophe. "Republicans have long strained for a new Hillary Clinton-"deplorables" moment, but Biden's defense is entirely plausible." It mostly comes down to "who gives a fuck." I'm not in favor of epithets applied to broad swathes of people, but anyone offended by this is awfully thin-skinned.

  • Paige Oamek: [10-30] Trump trashes Democrats after claiming what Biden said was mean: "Donald Trump is back to his usual self, mere hours after complaining about Joe Biden's 'garbage' comment." Of course, I could have filed this in the Trump section, with so many other dumb and/or mean things he's saying, but I wanted to stress what I meant by thin-skinned.

  • Jonathan Chait: [10-30] Biden 'garbage' controversy is pure Republican hypocrisy: "Conservative snowflakes have a fainting spell over his stumble."

  • Eric Levitz: [10-30] The big lie behind Biden's "garbage" gaffe scandal: "Only one presidential candidate is pledging to treat Americans who vote against him as enemies."

• Joseph Bullington: [08-19] Republicans will weaponize rural suffering as long as Democrats ignore it: "JD Vance is a poser, but he's telling a dangerously compelling story about rural America that Democrats are doing nothing to defuse."

• Adam Johnson: [07-12] The best counter to Project 2025 is a Progressive Project 2025: "If President Biden -- or any Democratic replacement -- wants to get back in the race, they need a positive moral vision to run on, not just dire warnings." Obviously, the subhed is dated, and even if true (which it probably isn't), it's too late to affect the 2024 election. I'm not opposed to articulating "a positive moral vision" -- after Gaza, I'd even welcome a negative one, like "not that" -- but naming it "2025" implies you're seeking to power to implement big changes almost immediately, and that is neither realistic nor a very conducive vibe.

• Nicholas Lemann: [10-28] Bidenomics is starting to transform America. Why has no one noticed?

• Branko Marcetic: [10-23] The US isn't moving right -- the Democrats are.

• Li Zhou: [10-26] Michelle Obama made the case for abortion rights in a way Joe Biden never could: "In a searing speech, Obama laid out exactly what's at stake."

Supreme Court, legal matters, and other crimes:

• Ian Millhiser:

  • [10-28] A new Supreme Court case could change the result of the presidential election.

  • [10-28] The Trumpiest judges in America want to toss out thousands of lawfully cast ballots.

  • [10-28] If Harris wins, will the Supreme Court steal the election for Trump? "It depends on how much Harris can run up the score."

  • [10-30] The Republican Supreme Court just blessed an illegal voter purge: "This is the latest in a string of favors this Court has done for the Republican Party."

Climate and environment:

• Andrea Mazzarino: [10-27] The All-American ravages of extreme weather.

• Olivia Rosane: [10-30] 'This is climate change': Devastating flooding kills more than 70 in Spain. Death count now seems to be at least 95, with more missing.

Business, labor, and Economists:

• Dean Baker:

  • [10-21] The Biden-Harris job boom: "Donald Trump seems to have forgotten what the economy was like when he left office. He talks as though it was booming and then Biden sank it. In fact, the opposite is the case."

  • [10-22] CNBC hides the extent to which Trump tax proposal would hurt moderate and middle-income families.

  • [10-23] Patent monopolies and pharmacy benefit managers: protectionism leads to corruption.

  • [10-28] Four more items in the wages outpacing prices debate.

• Paul Krugman:

  • [10-21] Trump on the Civil War, in his own words: "It's hard to compromise with those who consider any criticism a threat."

  • [10-24] How Trump could bankrupt Social Security: "Retirement benefits for millions of Americans are on the line."

  • [10-28] Trump's biggest con: pretending he's on the side of working men and women: "He's even more antilabor and pro-plutocrat than orthodox Republicans."

Ukraine and Russia:

• Sam Bull: [10-25] Diplomacy Watch: Ukraine and allies reeling as war heats up: "Russian progress and North Korean involvement prompt tough words and fu nding surge from US."

• Ariel Petrovics: [10-31] Why sanctions on Russia are literally backfiring.

• Lydia Polgreen: [10-29] We've just had a glimpse of the world to come. She's talking about "a lavish global summit in the Russian city of Kazan," the BRICS conference, where "Vladimir Putin looked like the cat who ate the canary." US sanctions were supposed to isolate Russia, to cripple its economy, and bring them back begging for peace and mercy. How has that worked out?

  • Amelia Nierenberg: [10-21] Understanding the BRICS summit: "The group, which seeks to rebalance the global order away from the West, will meet on Tuesday." Here's a primer.

  • Sarang Shidore: [09-01] American power just took a big hit.

• Aaron Sobczak: [10-24] Advocates demand Biden declassify Ukraine strategy: "We don't want a situation where we're engaged in a war without an achievable plan for victory."

Elsewhere in the world and/or/in spite of America's empire:

• Noam Hurowitz: [10-23] Meet the world's least popular president: "With a 92 percent disapproval rating, Peru's Dina Boluarte is testing the very limits of disdain."

• Nick Turse: [10-23] The global war on children.

Other stories:

• Ross Rosenfeld: [10-30] How America's craven plutocrats busted the myth of the business hero: "The members of the billionaire executive class have billed themselves as great men of history beyond scrutiny and reproach. his is the year that shattered that illusion." Sorry to break this, but that illusion has been pretty thoroughly debunked at least since Ida B. Wells. And while I appreciate the occasional Harris supporter in their ranks, she isn't really that much of a reach: arguably she'll do better by them than their culturally simpatico golf cheat buddy.

• Jeffrey St Clair: [10-25] Roaming Charges: Antic dispositions: Some tidbits:

  • More than half of Trump's supporters don't believe he'll actually do many of the things he claims he'll do (mass deportations, siccing the military on domestic protesters and political rivals), while more than half of Harris's supporters hope she'll implement many of the policies (end the genocide/single-payer) she claims she won't. And that pretty much sums up this election.

  • Barnett R. Rubin, former US diplomat: "Why do people keep saying that US politics is polarized? Look at the big picture. Genocide enjoys broad bipartisan support."

  • Fox News' Brian Kilmeade defended Trump's statement that he wants the "kind of generals that Hitler had." Kilmeade: "I can absolutely see him go, it'd be great to have German generals that actually do what we ask them to do, maybe not fully being cognizant of the third rail of German generals who were Nazis or whatever." Kilmeade and Trump may not be "cognizant" of the fact that several "German generals" (von Stauffenberg, Friedrich Olbricht, and Ludwig Beck) tried to blow Hitler to bits and Germany's most famous General, Rommel, was forced to kill himself after being implicated in the plot.

  • Hours after the Washington Post announced its decision not to endorse [Kamala Harris, directed by Post owner Jeff Bezos], the Associated Press reported that Donald Trump met with executives from Blue Origin, the space company owned by Bezos that has a $3.4 billion NASA contract to build a spacecraft to take astronauts to the moon and back.

  • Eugene Debs: "I'd rather vote for something I want and don't get it, than vote for something I don't want and get it."

  • Trump: "I worked a shift at McDonalds yesterday." A McDonalds shift is eight hours, not 18 minutes . . . Dukakis in a tank looked less ridiculous.

  • Sounds familiar . . . [followed by a tweet which reads: "In 1938, Benito Mussolini closed off a wheat field & did a photo shoot showing him harvesting hay in order to portray himself as a common working man. He was surrounded by workers who had been vetted as loyal to the party." Includes a picture of the shirtless Fascist with cap and aviator goggles.]

  • Since 2001, forest fires have shifted north and grown more intense. According to a new study in Science, global CO2 emissions from forest fires have increased by 60% in the last two decades.

  • Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon called for the public execution of women who falsely claim to have been sexually assaulted: "MeToo would end real fast . . . All you have to do is publicly execute a few women who have lied."

  • Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, on why he wants to abolish the Dept. of Education: "We formed that department so little Black girls could go to school down South, and we could have integrated schooling. We don't need that anymore."

  • Edward Luce, associate editor of the Financial Times: "Hard to overstate what a sinister figure Elon Musk is. Never seen one oligarch in a Western democracy intervene on anything like this scale with unending Goebbels-grade lies." Musk is the most obnoxious kid in middle school who is running the campaign of the school bully for student council without even being asked because even the school bully doesn't want to be around him . . .

Obituaries

• Barbara Dane: She started as a folksinger, and I heartily recommend her Anthology of American Folk Songs (1959), better than her memorably titled 1973 album, I Hate the Capitalist System, but she also recorded albums with Earl 'Fatha' Hines, Lightnin' Hopkins, and the Chambers Brothers, and I liked her 2016 jazz album Throw It Away enough for an A-.

  • Alex Williams: [10-25] Barbara Dane, who fought injustice through song, dies at 97: "She was highly regarded as a folk, blues and jazz singer. She was also ardently left-wing and prioritized social change over commercial success."

  • Jackson Albert Mann: [10-26] Socialist singer Barbara Dane was a true American radical.

• Fethullah Gulen:

  • Ishaan Tharoor: [10-21] Fethullah Gulen, Muslim cleric and target of Turkey's Erdogan, is dead: "Turkish authorities accused him of being the mastermind behind a 2016 coup attempt to topple the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan."

• Phil Lesh:

  • Jon Pareles: [10-25] Phil Lesh, bassist who anchored the Grateful Dead, dies at 84.

  • Brett Wilkins: [10-25] Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead founding bassist, dies at 84.

• Lewis Sorley:

  • Lewis Sorley, 90, who said the US won (but then lost) in Vietnam, dies: [10-30] Military historian. I've always hated the very idea of his book, A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam, where he claimed that America could have and should have won the war in Vietnam, but was sabotaged by the peace movement, a fickle media, and weak-willed politicians. In Sorley's worldview, the war should have gone on forever.

• Also:

  • Claire Daly, master of the baritone saxophone, dies at 66.
  • Teri Garr, comic actress in offbeat roles, is dead at 79.
  • Gary Indiana, acerbic cultural critic and novelist, dies at 74.
  • Rudy May, a stingy master of the curveball, dies at 80.
  • Fernando Valenzuela, pitcher whose screwballs eluded batters, dies at 63.

Books

• Ta-Nehisi Coates: The Message

  • Hamid Dabashi: [10-17] How Ta-Nehisi Coates broke free of liberal Zionism.

  • Adam Johnson: [10-18] Ta-Nehisi Coates is challenging the cognitive dissonance of pro-Israel liberalism: "Coates is taking critiques of Zionism into the mainstream, chipping away at Israel's increasingly dubious liberal self-image."

• Juan Cole: Gaza Yet Stands:

  • Juan Cole: [10-26] Gaza Yet Stands: Juan Cole's new book.

Music (and other arts?)

• Rick Lopez: [10-24] Update.01 to The Sam Rivers Sessionography: A Work in Progress: Fulfilling his subtitle, with a very substantial addition, on top of a "magnificent" and "gorgeous" (to quote my own blurb) 764-page book that already seemed definitive. By the way, those words were written in advance of this "press release" quoted on page 3:

  Michael Hull's Fifth Column Films has begun work on a feature-length documentary about Sam Rivers through the lens of The Sam Rivers Sessionography, a book by Rick Lopez. Rivers was a musical genius who spent his life obsessed with creating intricate compositions that pushed music to places no one else could conceive of. It's only fitting that his biographer has invented an entirely new way to understand the life of an artist through a minutely detailed portrait that could only flower from the uniquely focused mind of Lopez. Rivers was a massive talent who has been mostly forgotten by the American jazz scene and is rarely included in the conversation about great masters of the art. Lopez's book and this film aim to correct that oversight, and make the case that Sam Rivers should take his place in the pantheon of the 20th century.

  Full disclosure: Michael Hull is my nephew. He started in Jason Bailey's Wichita-based film crew (e.g., My Day in the Barrel), produced a film Smokers no one has heard of, wrote a novel that hasn't been published and, most relevant here, made the superb documentary Betrayal at Attica. I've admired Lopez since I first discovered him twenty-some years ago, so the idea of introducing him and Mike was blindingly obvious. (I was also the person who introduced Mike and Liz Fink, although the gestation period on that project took much longer.) We have some money invested in this project, which you can take as a caveat if you wish, but I regard more as a vote of confidence. Still some ways to go, but here's a preliminary trailer and more information.

• John McWhorter: [10-24] It sounded like dancing, drinking and sex. It blew people's minds. I only noticed this piece on "the long, syncopated journey from Scott Joplin to Beyoncé" because Allen Lowe complained about it: "his views of ragime are just bizarre and beneath even the most minimal amount of knowledge, full of stereotypes and really thirdhand historiography"; Phil Dyess-Nugent added: "Having made his name writing about some things he seemed to understand, John McWhorter has since demonstrated his cluelessness on a vast array of subjects." That's my general impression of the few columns I've read, especially since his ridiculous Woke Racism book. This I'm less sure about, maybe because I don't know or chare that much about ragtime (or, I might as well admit, Beyoncé), so I'm mostly just noting a lot of name-dropping and connect-the-dots that favors obvious over interesting.

• Riotriot: [10-30] Takes by the ocean: Zambian nightlife and spongian jawbox.

Chatter

• Peter Daou [10-27]

  QUESTION: Who is worse for Palestinians, Trump or Harris?

  ANSWER: Harris is worse for Palestinians.

  WHY?

  1. Harris and Biden are already culpable for a year-long genocide.
  2. Like Trump, Harris vows to keep giving Israel unconditional support.
  3. Therefore, Trump can never match Harris's death toll.
  4. Rewarding Harris's war crimes with a vote emboldens Netanyahu and opens the floodgates for future tyrants.
  5. If Trump wins and Democrats suddenly decide massacring children is wrong, Trump will face much greater resistance to letting Israel commit atrocities.

  Bottom line: Voting third party is the only moral choice, but if liberals insist on comparing Trump to Harris, Harris is worse for Palestinians.

  I found this immediately after posting my preliminary draft on who to vote for president and why, so I've already explained why I disagree with Daou's conclusion so strongly. But perhaps I should stress one very important point, which is that voting is not a moral choice; it is a political choice. I'm not going to write a disquisition on the difference, but will insist that it is a category error to vote based on morality. As for Daou's five points:

  1. True, but the order is wrong, like saying "Speer and Hitler are already culpable," where the clearest charge against Speer (and Harris) is not breaking with their leader. By the way, Biden is more like Speer than to Hitler -- in playing follow-the-leader, but also given their critical position in the arms pipeline.
  2. Not false, but Harris (unlike Trump and Graham) has never said "finish the job," and she's not unaware of the human toll Israel's "self-defense" is taking, so I'd say that continued "unconditional support" is slightly less likely from her. Admittedly, that's a thin reed she has often taken pains to cover up.
  3. No way of predicting, but no reason to underestimate Trump's capacity for getting people killed. His general contempt for most of the world suggests quite the opposite.
  4. Clearly, massively false. Netanyahu's preference for Trump is widely known, not only through his own words and acts but through mutual donors like Myriam Adelson.
  5. Hard to know where to begin with this variation on "if the fascists win, the revolution will hasten." Ever hear of "moral hazard"? Sure, some Democrats may learn to blame the genocide on Trump -- as some Democrats came to blame Nixon for Vietnam -- but most will simply be shocked and search for scapegoats to blame, especially "pro-Palestinians" like Daou.

  Daou's conclusion that "Harris is worse for Palestinians" is horribly wrong, even if "Harris is no good for Palestinians" may well be true. But I wouldn't be much swayed if one could argue that one candidate would be good or better, because I've never looked at this conflict through that prism. I never quite bought the argument that "Palestinians have dug their own graves," but I did have sympathies for Israel at one point, which may be why I still wish to emphasize that genocide is bad (and I mean really bad) for Israel (and for America, which is implicated not just due to recent arms support but via longstanding cultural and political mores), and that in itself is reason enough to oppose it. (And sure, it's even worse for the killed than the killers, and that's another reason to oppose it, but it doesn't have to be the only one.)

  Some more comments on Daou's tweet:

  • Nathan J Robinson: Peter, this doesn't make sense. It could absolutely get worse under Trump. Any pressure to provide any aid whatsoever to Gaza will disappear. Greater pressure may be brought on Egypt to let Israel fully ethnically cleanse Gaza. Don't assume this is as bad as it can get.

  • Andrew Revkin: I sense @RudyGiuliani would disagree with you, @peterdaou, on who's worse for Palestinians. Here's how he explained the Trump plan at the #MSGRally tonight in his own words.

  • Films For Action: When we think of Trump in power again, we recall that even a genocide can get much worse. Trump just said that Netanyahu must "go further" in Gaza while criticizing Biden for "trying to hold him back." The full statement is highly worth reading: [link to Arizona Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and Progressive Democrats Statement on Presidential Election].

  • Shadowblade: Who moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?

  • Jonathan Blank Films: [Link to 'Trump would be the worst': Palestinians react to US presidential race.]

• Nathan J Robinson: [12-27] [comment attached to a clip of Tucker Carlson's MSG rally rant] The level of uncontrolled rage is terrifying, but I think if Trump is elected you will see it get far worse. The amount of overt racism will increase, the view of Democrats, leftists, migrants being scum in need of elimination. JD Vance has made clear that Pinochet is the model.

• Mehdi Hasan: [10-30] Donald Trump is going around telling Michigan Muslims he'll end the war, be the peace president, and how pro-Muslim (!) he is.

  Meanwhile, Dems sent Bill Clinton to lecture Michigan Muslims on how it's all Hamas's fault that Israel is massacring kids and killing civilians holding white flags.

  Whether or not they end up losing Michigan, at this point the Dems deserve to lose Michigan. Sheesh.

• Aaron Rupar: [10-31] Trump on Liz Cheney: "Let's put her with a rifle standing there with 9 barrels shooting at her. Let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the cuns are trained on her face."

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