I got this in a Wonkette Substack, which is also loads of fun, but not as nice as the Harris-Walz video. I thought I’d leave it up to everyone if they want to read the Wonkette piece, which, again, is hilarious and has the above video. But in case someone’s not up for that sort of humor, the video is set up separately.
Creepy Bigots Declare Tim Walz Race Traitor For ‘White Guy Tacos’ Joke by Rebecca Schoenkopf
No way that ‘weird’ label is sticking to THEM! Read on Substack
I initially wasn’t going to read this, but then I thought, well, let’s see if The Guardian is doing a little better on coverage parity than the other “big papers.” I think as far as exposing and telling news stories, The Guardian excels, but today I did not see what I’d hoped for, which is actual commentary or questions regarding the Don’s fitness for campaign and office, his ability to win, and if he should step down. I am disappointed, but at least the story of his campaign foundering is being told, unlike in other news media who try to behave as if the Don/Vance campaign is normal and not freakishly authoritarian and hateful. Anyway, here is this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/15/trump-campaign-leadership
Senior aides see challenges from enemies real and perceived as the ex-president struggles against Harris
Donald Trump has privately expressed faith in his campaign leadership and no firings are currently expected, but senior advisers find themselves in the most vulnerable moment as they struggle to frame effective attacks against Kamala Harris, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
The past month, starting with Joe Biden’s withdrawal and his endorsement of Harris to succeed him, which propelled her to draw roughly even in key swing state polls, has easily been the most unstable moment for the Trump campaign since its formal launch in late 2022.
In that period, Trump has often committed one unforced error after another as he tries to frame arguments against Harris, struggled to break through the news cycle hyping Democrats’ enthusiasm, and suddenly found himself on the defensive with a narrow window left until November.
The sudden difficulty for the Trump campaign to lay a glove on Harris has led to Trump’s allies seeing an opening for the first time to openly challenge decision-making by senior aides and privately challenge whether some advisers should remain in their positions or be sidelined.
And the past month has been bad enough for the Trump campaign that advisers have taken those challenges – whether from enemies real or perceived – as serious threats or slights that necessitate devoting time and effort to slap down.
In a statement referring to the campaign chiefs Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, a Trump spokesperson said: “As President Trump said, he thinks Ms Wiles and Mr LaCivita are doing a phenomenal job and any rumors to the contrary are false and not rooted in reality.
“This campaign is focused on winning, and anyone not focused on electing President Trump and defeating Kamala Harris is doing nothing but hurting every American. Detractors and lobbyists are waging a destructive battle of rumor and innuendo, and they are well known and will be remembered.”
The anxiety principally stems from Trump’s recent meeting on 2 August with Lara Trump, his daughter in law whom he installed as head of the Republican National Convention, and Kellyanne Conway, who ran his 2016 presidential campaign.
Reached by phone, Conway said the meeting was focused on strategy and she told Trump that he defeated a female candidate in 2016 and could do so again in November. She said she never mentioned any names or titles of senior advisers on the campaign.
But the meeting raised hackles internally when Trump later relayed what Conway had said, which was interpreted by senior advisers as an incursion into their territory and an attempt to pitch herself to run the campaign, the people said.
The roller-coaster of anxiety diminished after senior aides felt reassured that Conway was unlikely to come aboard, at least for now, with Trump questioning her new lobbying for Ukraine and her suggestion in 2023 that Trump endorse a 15-week federal abortion ban.
But an undercurrent of nervousness has persisted. At least one other faction in Trump world with ties to figures associated with the Trump 2016 campaign is weighing whether to appeal to the former president to shake up the leadership, according to a person involved in the discussions.
The summer months have historically been the time that Trump makes changes to his campaign chiefs, as he did in 2016 when he installed Conway and Steve Bannon and David Bossie to take the reins, as well as in 2020, when he replaced Brad Parscale with Bill Stepien.
The 2020 campaign in particular carries some scar tissue for advisers, who have privately recalled in recent weeks that criticism over decision-making led to Parscale’s ouster, even if in his case, it was over questionable spending rather than resetting attack lines against their opponent.
The anxiety over the palace intrigue comes as the Trump campaign continues to have a difficult time landing consistent attacks against Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, coming under fire for saying they intend to run the same playbook as against Biden.
The campaign’s bet is that the election will be defined on the same points as with Biden, the people said: the crisis on the US southern border, crime and inflation that has caused a rise in the cost of living.
Trump campaign advisers and external allies agree that Trump needs to attack Harris on her policy records, but the execution has often been poor.
At the heart of the problem is Trump’s annoyance at being managed, one of the people said. And even as Trump tries to keep on message – for instance, to focus on how Harris has shifted her positions to whatever she finds politically expedient – it can be unnatural or come out botched.
When Trump spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists’ conference this month, he falsely suggested Harris had only recently decided to identify as Black because it brought her political benefits, in remarks that were egregious even by Trump’s controversial standards.
Conway told Trump at their meeting, which came days after the NABJ conference, that he should stick to policy differences and not engage in personal attacks. Several campaign officials chafed at Conway’s advice when they learned of it, one of the people said, saying they had advised the same thing and saw her as stepping on their turf.
by Robert Reich Go Kamala! Read on Substack
Friends,
On Tuesday, I noted that food prices remain high because there’s little to no competition across the entire food supply chain, which has allowed big corporations to engage in a price gouging free-for-all. https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/kamalaconomics
Four companies control most food industries, allowing them to coordinate prices instead of compete on the basis of lower prices. I offered this graph to illustrate the problem:
I urged that Harris announce that as president she’ll bust up food monopolies.
Well, I have it on good authority that on Friday she’ll announce a plan to prevent corporations in the food and grocery industries from unfairly jacking up prices on consumers.
She’ll call for the first-ever federal ban on corporate price-gouging in these industries.
Go Kamala!
Found it here: Read on Substack
The Elon Musk ❤ Donald Trump “interview” on X was an embarrassing cringefest, as expected. by Political Humor
And what’s with Trump’s weird lisp? Is that why he’s not campaigning? Is Dementia Donnie having denture problems?
Some nice morning music!
https://www.startribune.com/a-reality-check-on-the-tampon-tim-meme/600965646
Here is why the right / republicans are panicking. It is an attack on trans boys. This who line of they are putting them in the boy’s bathroom is really a way to say Walz supports trans kids. The truth is the bill doesn’t require the products be in any bathroom, just they be available to menstruating students and that includes trans boys. Ron and I off the top of our head thought of dozens of places in a school that they could be put instead of the bathrooms. Just a few, nurses stations, main offices, teachers could keep them in their rooms, a storage closet open to students, dispensers on doors or in hallways, student activity rooms, the rooms used for the gay straight clubs, so on. But even if they were in the boy’s bathrooms, what is the problem with that, other than the made up issue the right has with trans boys? That boys will see tampons and pads. Do these boys not have mothers or sisters? Have they never been in a store? Do they help unpack grocery bags? If boys do not know what these items are for, then they should be taught. It need not be a deep mystery and a shame for girls and women. It won’t turn them gay or trans, it won’t cause their spines to break. Below I post the important quote then the article. Hugs. Scottie
But the law’s actual language provides considerable flexibility for school districts to implement it, according to Deb Henton, the executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.
That might mean making these products available for free in various locations for all who need them, such as unisex bathrooms, girls’ bathrooms, the school nurse or the front office, but not necessarily in boys’ bathrooms. Henton, in an interview, lauded the “local control” the law provides for implementation, and said she’s fielded no concerns about its rollout.
At Anoka-Hennepin, the state’s largest school district, the free products are not found in traditional male-only bathrooms, a spokesman said. But they are provided for free to all in “nongendered bathrooms,” girls’ bathrooms or from health staffers.
A smart, compassionate new state law is spurring misinformed attacks on Minnesota’s latest vice presidential contender: Gov. Tim Walz.
Star Tribune
AUGUST 8, 2024 AT 8:14PMOpinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
•••
On Tuesday, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. By Wednesday, the opposition had mobilized with lightning speed for its one of its first political attacks, dubbing Walz “Tampon Tim” in reference to a new state law providing free menstrual products to school students.
The nickname was trending nationally this week on Twitter, an indicator of its political currency. Chaya Raichik, whose scurrilous “Libs of TikTok” account on X (formerly Twitter) has more than 3 million followers, was one of the first to amplify it. Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly added to the momentum, endorsing the nickname via tweet. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton weighed in from a different angle, with a tweet supporting the Minnesota measure.
Social-media users swiftly took sides as well, and as usual, facts and context were missing, especially from those who see the new law as evidence of a radical Minnesota under Walz’s leadership. But a closer, more informed look at the issue should yield a different conclusion. This is good and necessary policy. Providing free menstrual products is a practical, compassionate remedy to address an under-the-radar reason for student absenteeism. Some families can’t afford menstrual products, and when that happens students stay home instead of going to class, falling behind as they do.
There’s a lot of talk about closing educational achievement gaps in Minnesota and elsewhere, particularly for low-income students. The new state law, which has a price tag of about $2 million a year, is an actual solution to help address this, one that’s relatively low-cost. And there’s real-world data to back it up. New York City schools reported a 2.4% increase in attendance after a state law went into effect requiring free period products for students, according to the advocacy group Alliance for Period Supplies.
Minnesota is far from alone in providing this type of assistance. More than half of the nation’s 50 states have taken steps to help students who struggle to afford tampons and pads. Ohio, led by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, now requires period products in schools and has provided $5 million in funding for this, the Alliance for Period Supplies reports. Alabama and Georgia provide grants for schools to make free products available.
Other states, such as Washington, Nevada, Illinois and Utah, require schools to provide these products, though they didn’t fund them. To Minnesota’s legislators’ credit, the new law provides dollars to schools and is not an unfunded mandate.
Other background information is also useful as the dubious online debate continues.
The new law went into effect in January and applies to students in grades four through 12. The legislation itself was passed during the 2023 session as part of a broader educational bill, which Walz then signed. Rep. Sandra Feist, DFL-New Brighton, was the bill’s chief author in the Minnesota House. Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, a retired teacher and DFLer from Eden Prairie, championed the measure in Minnesota Senate.
But the most powerful advocates for it came from outside the State Capitol. Young Minnesotans reached out to Feist about this issue. After Feist introduced it, these students testified on its behalf as the legislation made its way through various committees. Among them was Elif Ozturk of Golden Valley, who is now 18 and will attend Columbia University this fall.
In an interview, Ozturk told an editorial writer she got involved after seeing other students struggle to afford these products in junior high. She spoke to counselors and was told that some students had to leave class or couldn’t attend because they lacked pads or tampons. Ozturk dug into the issue and discovered that other states had taken steps to help students’ access these products. She thought Minnesota should do the same.
“If we don’t talk about it, it’ll never be fixed. These people who are in power, predominantly old men, have no clue what young girls go through every single day,“ Ozturk said.
Other advocates for the law’s passage: school nurses, who testified movingly about how students struggle to afford these products and the educational and emotional consequences when they can’t.
A specific but ill-informed attack on the new Minnesota law is in dire need of a reality check. Critics contend, wrongly, that it mandates menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms. This has unfortunately been used to stoke ongoing culture wars over transgender individuals.
But the law’s actual language provides considerable flexibility for school districts to implement it, according to Deb Henton, the executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.
That might mean making these products available for free in various locations for all who need them, such as unisex bathrooms, girls’ bathrooms, the school nurse or the front office, but not necessarily in boys’ bathrooms. Henton, in an interview, lauded the “local control” the law provides for implementation, and said she’s fielded no concerns about its rollout.
At Anoka-Hennepin, the state’s largest school district, the free products are not found in traditional male-only bathrooms, a spokesman said. But they are provided for free to all in “nongendered bathrooms,” girls’ bathrooms or from health staffers.
There’s nothing radical about Minnesota’s new law. Instead it’s a smart, low-cost measure to address educational achievement gaps, one that many states are embracing. Weaponizing this measure is laughably out of touch and likely to backfire not only with women, but all who care about them.
More cogent commentary!
https://vixenstrangelymakesuncommonsense.blogspot.com/2024/08/twgb-thrill-of-crowd.html
(snip-embedded tweet of photos from various people at Harris-Walz rallies, on page)
There are a handful of stories percolating around TrumpWorld that are pretty fascinating to me–for starters, yesterday, we found out that the Trump Campaign had been HACKED! Possibly by foreign actors hostile to the United States, with the intent of influencing the election!
To which my first reaction as a 2016 Clinton voter is:
<<<<HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA>>>>
But no, really, that is horrible. The details are a little funky, though. The hack seems to have been an exploit due to a phishing email–shouldn’t campaigns be totally training their people on how not to get “reeled in” by now? Also, Politico got a trove of docs from “Robert” from an AOL email address which included a dossier on JD Vance.
So, let me get this straight: a hacker using a basic scammer skillset, with an AOL account, dumps docs on a Trump-friendly outfit that includes info on the Appalachian-adjacent Yale albatross that rumor has it some Trump advisors want to deep-six? And of course, having learned their lesson from eight years ago (and Trump being Republican) the very scrupulous media will not lend our enemies aid and comfort by divulging wrongfully obtained materials?
I’m just saying you could be forgiven if a little part of you wanted to believe this was an inside job. I mean, I don’t doubt the campaign could have been exploited But there is exploited, and then there is….
Anyway– in other news Trump is obviously going batshit over Kamla Harris’ crowds: he’s claiming they aren’t real, but AI.
The “reflection of the mirror like finish” picture is something I saw on Twitter from D’Souza–obviously a recommended source for all your TrumpWorld bullshit needs. And cheating about CROWD SIZE is even worse than cheating about the ballot box, didn’t you know?
But of course, obliging Trump sheeple forwarded actual AI-generated crowd pictures they themselves created to get mad at.
There’s something dark here, of course: Trump always cared about crowd size. It’s the first humiliating lie he made Sean Spicer insist on–the Trump inauguration was the biggest, Period. It’s not the mere showman’s desire for grandiosity with him–it’s the narcissistic/strongman complex. The crowd size is one way to visually demonstrate strength. It’s a way of saying his is the voice of the people because the people are with him. This is why he now references that his crowd on 1/6 was so great. Compared to the historic March on Washington.
But by casting uncertainty on his opponent’s crowd size, he is making the game interesting again: it’s a conspiracy against him! The impeachments, the “STOLLEN” election, the various criminal indictments and other court cases, the attempted assassination by “them” (Crooks and who else, it is never clear and never going to be), a hack and now the media are conspiring to make his crowds look SMALL! (They always did–he always insisted they never panned their cameras to show his true crowd size. The lying press!)
Appalling lies are his crutch. He claims no one knows Kamala Harris’ last name. She has been Kamala Devi Harris her whole life. Her last name comes from her Jamaican-born father of African descent. Maybe he is thinking of Shady Vance, his running mate, who is the real one with some authenticity questions. After all, he was never Trump, and called him “Hitler” and now he’s lovey-dovey?
Maybe I should just let everyone know that now that Vance is going out to parking lots and doing uncomfortable interviews like this Sunday, some MAGAs wonder how he would do at the top of the ticket. (Don’t worry Boss, he will get Fuentes back! But for whom?)
I’m just saying. People do wonder that. Since Trump doesn’t want to get his ass out there, I guess the crowds will decide.
Doesn’t that make things interesting? (Watch for Trump to lie about the ballot box too. I hear he does that.)
DISCLAIMER: While I don’t claim any psychological expertise, Trump seems to me to be a person with a severe psychopathology with respects to his self-esteem, and is not just a sufferer, but a carrier. As Trump descends in fortune or feels cornered, he will encourage “his people” to feel the same way. It is not a healthy dynamic for our country. This is why his loss this time around needs to be fairly thorough.
Singer jabs at ex-president for playing My Heart Will Go On at campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday
(I may not care for all of Celine Dion’s music as much as many people do, but I’ve seen over time that she’s an excellent human, and she has wonderful talent. I saw this story in the Guardian, and had to bring it here.)
https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/aug/10/celine-dion-trump-music
Nina Lakhani Sat 10 Aug 2024 16.19 EDT
Celine Dion, the Canadian pop icon, has rebuked and mocked the Donald Trump campaign for unauthorized use of her hit song about the sinking Titanic as a musical interlude during a recent rally.
Dion, beloved by millions of people for her tear-jerking ballads, issued a strong and somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement on Saturday, a day after Trump played a video clip of My Heart Will Go On from the film Titanic at a campaign event in Bozeman, Montana.
A statement published on X and on Dion’s Instagram account, which has more than 8m followers, said: “Celine Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc, became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing My Heart Will Go On at a Donald Trump/JD Vance campaign rally in Montana.
“In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use.
“… And really, THAT song?”
(snip-capture of the X, on the page)
The song is featured in the 1997 Oscar-winning film about the 1912 shipwreck, though is more about love, loss and resilience than a large ship crashing into an iceberg.
The response on social media was mostly mocking. (snip-More)
Scottie's Playtime 