Links 10/9/16

Readers, you get a heaping double ration of links for your holiday reading pleasure. Also, there’s rather a lot happening. –lambert

Still No Deutsche Bank Agreement: Dillutive Stock Sale Coming Up? MishTalk (Furzy Mouse).

Deutsche Bank eyes asset management unit IPO FT

Germany’s Schaeuble says too much talk on Deutsche Bank Reuters

Tina keeps the rally in equities going FT

Get ready for a computerized ‘teammate’ in your car Yahoo Finance. Note the teleology that assumes “progress” from computer-assisted to autonomous.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived at a car crash — and stumbled on an ‘active’ meth lab in a minivan WaPo

Medicine as a Public Calling Michigan Law Review (Re Silc). Quaint.

Insulin Prices Soar While Drugmakers’ Share Stays Flat WSJ

Tenet Healthcare pays $513 million for fraud and kickbacks, whistleblower awarded $84 million The FCPA Blog (J-LS).

Revealed: The Scots firm at the heart of $1bn theft The Herald

rs

Brexit?

May’s Government Facing Split Over Plan to List Foreign Workers Bloomberg. “The minister said the immigration proposal had gone down like a ‘bag of vomit.'”

Theresa May’s Faustian pact with Brexiters damages UK InFacts (RS).

Every EU migrant can stay in UK after Brexit: all 3.6 million to have residency rules or get amnesty Telegraph (RS). “[T]he Home Office discovered that five in six could not legally be deported.” Oopsie.

Computers Seen as a Culprit in Pound’s Plunge WSJ

Black Injustice Tipping Point

96 Hours in Charlotte SB Nation

Clinton and Podesta Wikileaks Release

The WikiLeaks material is highly relevant to how Clinton would actually govern, as opposed to how she says she will govern. Because of the oddly timed release of the Trump hot mike tape, this story seems to be getting buried, so I’ll go into it in some detail. First some links:

Hillary Clinton’s Wall St speeches published by Wikileaks BBC. “Published,” and not “allegedly published,” or “appear to reveal” (WaPo).

In paid speeches, Hillary Clinton said she “represented” and “had great relations” with Wall Street Salon

Sanders supporters seethe over Clinton’s leaked remarks to Wall St. Reuters

Contradicting FBI view, Clinton’s leaked speeches portray her as computer savvy McClatchy

How the Clinton campaign decisions get made Politico

And now some quotes. Just to underline what we aleady know:

*CLINTON SAYS YOU NEED TO HAVE A PRIVATE AND PUBLIC POSITION ON POLICY*

*Clinton: “But If Everybody’s Watching, You Know, All Of The Back Room Discussions And The Deals, You Know, Then People Get A Little Nervous, To Say The Least. So, You Need Both A Public And A Private Position.”*

(The email is a compilation of quotes from Clinton’s paid speeches, not otherwise available. It begins: “Attached are the flags from HRC’s paid speeches we have from HWA.” The asterisked material is how the Clinton campaign staffer “flagged” the quotes they considered dangerous.) Since these quotes are from paid speeches, we can expect Clinton’s private position — expect, that is, if we assume that Clinton isn’t cheating her clients by failing to deliver value for money in terms of services to be rendered — to be a more accurate representation of her views than her public one. In other words, we’re looking at a pitch to the donor class, when Clinton was laying the groundwork for her campaign. In an oligarchy, this would be natural.

I believe I’ve mentioned to readers that my vision of the first 100 days of a Clinton administration includes a Grand Bargain, the passage of TPP, and a new war. So you can read the following as confirmation bias, if you will.

On the Grand Bargain and Social Security (Morgan Stanley, 2013):

But Simpson-Bowles — and I know you heard from Erskine earlier today — put forth the right framework. Namely, we have to restrain spending, we have to have adequate revenues, and we have to incentivize growth. It’s a three-part formula. The specifics can be negotiated depending upon whether we’re acting in good faith or not [!!].

Readers will of course be aware that the fiscal views intrinsic to Simpson-Bowles have been the perennial justification for Social Security cuts (“the progressive give-up formula”) and austerity generally. And if you think Democrat orthodoxy on SImpson Bowles has changed, see Robert Rubin today (below). If you buy Simpson-Bowles, you buy Social Security cuts. The policy is bad enough, but “depending upon whether we’re acting in good faith or not” is, to me, the real mind-boggler.

On trade (Banco Itau, 2013):

Hillary Clinton Said Her Dream Is A Hemispheric Common Market, With Open Trade And Open Markets. *”My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere.”

On “green,” see Clinton below on climate change. On trade, anybody with a “dream” like that will not surrender TPP lightly.

On war, Clinton said (Goldman Sachs, 2013):

Hillary Clinton Said One Of The Problems With A No Fly Zone Would Be The Need To Take Out Syria’s Air Defense, And “You’re Going To Kill A Lot Of Syrians.” “So we’re not as good as we used to be, but we still—we can still deliver, and we should have in my view been trying to do that so we would have better insight. But the idea that we would have like a no fly zone—Syria, of course, did have when it started the fourth biggest Army in the world. It had very sophisticated air defense systems. They’re getting more sophisticated thanks to Russian imports. To have a no fly zone you have to take out all of the air defense, many of which are located in populated areas. So our missiles, even if they are standoff missiles so we’re not putting our pilots at risk—you’re going to kill a lot of Syrians. So all of a sudden this intervention that people talk about so glibly becomes an American and NATO involvement where you take a lot of civilians.” [ Speech to Goldman Sachs, 2013 IBD Ceo Annual Conference, 6/4/13]

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

And speaking of beating the war drums, there’s this gobsmacking quote on climate change (tinePublic, 2014):

Clinton Talked About “Phony Environmental Groups” Funded By The Russians To Stand Against Pipelines And Fracking. “We were up against Russia pushing oligarchs and others to buy media. We were even up against phony environmental groups, and I’m a big environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians to stand against any effort, oh that pipeline, that fracking, that whatever will be a problem for you, and a lot of the money supporting that message was coming from Russia.” [Remarks at tinePublic, 6/18/14]

Wowsers. I wonder what 350.org thinks about that?

Avoiding Viruses in DNC/DCCC/CF Excel Files Another Word For It. For readers playing alone at home.

2016

Donald Trump Says Campaign Not in Crisis, and There Is ‘Zero Chance I’ll Quit’ WSJ. Trump: “Go behind closed doors of the holier-than-thou politicians and pundits and see what they’re saying. I look like a baby.”

Sex, Dice, and the Trump Tapes Corey Robin

Can You Believe Donald Trump Did That Thing? McSweeney’s

Many men talk like Donald Trump in private. And only other men can stop them. WaPo. The difference between these many men (at least the elite ones) and Trump is that Trump aspired to political power. The implicit Democrat narrative that Trump is a uniquely pernicious outlier is ludicrous on its face, as indeed this article urges.

Lewd Donald Trump Tape Is a Breaking Point for Many in the G.O.P. NYT. Except… This is the Republican establishment that (a) fielded 17 candidates none of whom could be bothered to do oppo even to the extent of listening to Trump’s public tapes on Howard Stern, that (b) failed to fund or unify behind a candidate to stop Trump when they had the chance, and that (c) is hated by the most powerful factions in its own base. I think they’re going to have to carry Trump to term.

GOP repudiation of Trump before 11/8? If so, then what? PrawfsBlog

Analysis: Republicans dropping Trump must answer: Why now? AP

RNC lawyers look at options for replacing Trump Politico and RNC halts Victory project work for Trump Politico

Paul Ryan heckled at Wisconsin festival over criticism of Trump Yahoo News.

Donald Trump, Ohio & the GOP meltdown Cincinatti Enquirier

Donald Trump’s pastor problem: 40 percent of Protestant ministers are still undecided WaPo

How the Golden State Became the Intellectual Capital of Trump’s GOP The American Interest (Re Silc).

Clinton-Trump battle too close to call in four swing states McClatchy. This is before Trump’s hot mike eruption; in terms of peeling off Trump voters, I would like to whether non-college-educated white women have shifted.

TV Ad Spending Reveals the States Where Trump and Clinton Are Fighting Hardest Bloomberg

Bernie Sanders Packs Schedule With Campaign Stops for Hillary Clinton Wall Street Journal

Hillary Clinton Is in Her Own Form of Climate Denial In These Times
The Disastrous Failure of Lesser Evilism Counterpunch

Howard Dean: How to Move Beyond the Two-Party System NYT. Oh, Hoho

AP Exclusive: Job hunt substantial part of Bayh’s last year AP. “Evan Bayh spent substantial time during his last year in the Senate searching for a private sector job even as he voted on issues of interest to his future corporate bosses, according to the former Indiana lawmaker’s 2010 schedule.” So what? Both party establishments accept the central doctrine of Citizens United, that absent a showing of quid pro quo, there’s no corruption. Move along, people, move along. There’s no story here.

The Last 100 Days: Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize edition Yahoo News

War Drums

Ukraine Is Going to Be a Big Problem for the Next U.S. President Foreign Policy

Imperial Collapse Watch

New Guantanamo Intelligence Upends Old ‘Worst of the Worst’ Myths Military.com (CL).

How U.S. Torture Left Legacy of Damaged Minds NYT

Exclusive: Snowden, Greenwald and Poitras donate US$20,000 to asylum seekers who sheltered whistle-blower in Hong Kong South China Morning Post

Class Warfare

Striking new research on inequality: ‘Whatever you thought, it’s worse’ WaPo (DK). Oddly, or not, no longer an issue in the election.

Over 94 Million Americans Are Outside the Labor Force and That’s Almost Certain to Rise WSJ

Slower Pace of Job Growth Continues Into the Fall Dean Baker, CEPR

Here’s how America should play its winning hand for long-run economic growth Robert “Bob” Rubin, WaPo. “[T]o achieve inclusive growth, we must address our unsound and economically harmful intermediate and longer-term projected fiscal conditions.”

This Was the Week the World Got Really Anxious About Globalization’s Future Bloomberg

Trump angst looms over economic elite at IMF meetings FT. I’m playing the world’s smallest violin.

Opinion: Don’t listen to the 400 richest Americans MarketWatch

Postcapitalism and the city Paul Mason

Ezra Klein on Media, Politics, and Models of the World Mercatus Center

Non-materialistic millennials and the Great Stagnation Library of Economic and Liberty (Re Silc). Moving away from “stuff”?

SF Bay ecosystem collapsing as rivers diverted, scientists report San Francisco Chronicle (DL).

We Use Words to Talk. Why Do We Need Them to Think? New York Magazine

Antidote du jour. Furzy Mouse reminds us that Thursday was National Badger Day:

badger

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

230 comments

  1. herman_sampson

    re: bayh : fellow senator dan coates did same thing (served in senate, retires to lobby, comes back to senate, retires).

    1. Steve H.

      I’m here in Indiana, and it is not on the radar how perfunctory was the swat-aside that Bayh did on Baron Hill when he took his place. Hill had a decent chance, without the baggage that Bayh is carrying. Pure power play, and Hill was not given a choice. The point is, the behind-the-scenes is dictating what is on the screen. Lest we forget, Pence is still the Governor of this great state.

      The next few weeks are going to be very noisy. So here are a couple of simple formulas to cut through to the chase:

      Mike Pence = Koch Brothers.

      Koch Brothers = Tea Party = Libertarian Party & Aleppo Gary.

      Libertarian Party is pulling about 10% in the polls.

      Here is a falsifiable prediction. Between now and the election, the Libertarian Party will throw its weight to the Republican nomination. I said before, the critical thing to look at is who the candidates choose for V.P. Trump chose the Koch guy, and they are part of a small pool who can negotiate with Trump for what he wants (whatever that is). Once Trump has his picture on the wall, and even the Koch Bros have to call him ‘President Trump,’ we end up with President Pence.

      We’ll see with those predictions. If Pence is President, I’ll suggest selling the condo in Megiddo. But what about the means?

      Lawrence Wilkerson has been explicit about the Dominionists in the military. I recently added Dominionist Special Forces to my short list of terrifying organizations. While there are thousands of people in the government (including Secret Service and FBI) who despise the Clintons, they may not be able to do more than stir up muddy waters.

      This is where I go out on a limb: Jeffry Epstein liked to make recordings and films, he was a documentarian of pedophilia. Michael Hudson was told, “Unless they have something over you to blackmail you with, you’re not going to be able to get campaign funding. Because they believe that you might do something surprising,” and Epstein might have that about Bill. At least enough for a small force of Holy Warriors to ask him questions using 21st century extraction techniques. If he has film, that could provide the clarity lacking in this election.

      But that is a reach, I admit. It is not a reach to say the Koch Bros are as close as they will ever be to controlling the White House. We’ll have a clue within the next month, based on what Gary Johnson says. Hold me to the prediction, please.

  2. allan

    Podesta: If I didn’t know better, I’d say Podesta sounds like a garden variety racist.
    But surely Donna Brazile has a perfectly sensible explanation.

    On the other hand, Neera Tanden would wholeheartedly approve.
    The Center for American Progress by Perennial Overachievers.

    1. Howard Lippitt

      I do not think the email was written by Podesta but was instead the recipient of spam email from orca100@upcmail.nl. The whole email reads as a racist rant from the far right. Podesta is horrible enough without falsely accusing him of authorship of this trash.

      Howard

      1. Otis B Driftwood

        Howard is right. The link clearly shows the email is to Podesta from a racist with a particularly virulent hatred of muslims and gypsies. It’s a mistake to attribute this to Podesta.

        Look at the address list – quite a few people in media were the recipients of that rant. And yes, they all ought to know how to use their spam filter. But Podesta works for Clinton, so there you go.

  3. Hana M

    Does anyone remember Clinton talking about subprime mortgages in 06, 07? I was paying pretty close attention at the time and I don’t recall this. Surely if it’s true she would have used this in the campaign.

    “I also was calling in ’06, ’07 for doing something about the mortgage crisis, because I saw every day from Wall Street literally to main streets across New York how a well-functioning financial system is essential. So when I raised early warnings about early warnings about subprime mortgages and called for regulating derivatives and over complex financial products, I didn’t get some big arguments, because people sort of said, no, that makes sense. But boy, have we had fights about it ever since.” [Hillary Clinton’s Remarks at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd in San Diego, 9/04/14]”

    1. Otis B Driftwood

      Neither did I recall anything at all resembling a call to substantive action from Clinton, or (can you imagine?) Wall Street’s favorite lackey in Washington, Chuck Schumer.

      But after just a bit of googling, I found this from 2008, when HRC was running against Obama.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-tasini/sen-clinton-you-want-who-_b_93262.html

      Here’s the money quote from Clinton (remember now, this is 2008), where Clinton boldly calls for:

      …President Bush to appoint an Emergency Working Group on Foreclosures to address this question within the next three weeks. The group could be headed by eminent leaders like Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, and Bob Rubin – each of whom supports one of the remaining candidates in the Presidential race.

      Sound familiar?

      Aside from being morbidly funny, the fact that she did not, even at this late date in the crisis, recognize that Greenspan and Rubin were primary culprits speaks volumes about her lack of judgment and supposed intelligence. Unless calling in the arsonists to fight the fire they created is what passes for wise leadership these days.

      1. Hana M

        I just found this from 2007–I’ll give her credit on this (no pun intended!)

        “The presidential hopeful [Clinton] proposed a minimum 90-day foreclosure moratorium on owner-occupied homes tied to subprime loans, and called for an interest rate freeze on adjustable-rate mortgages for at least five years or until the loan is able to be converted to a fixed-rate mortgage.”

        “Clinton also called upon the mortgage industry to furnish regular reports detailing the number of mortgages that have been successfully modified.”

        http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/clinton-calls-for-foreclosure-moratorium-interest-rate-freeze/

  4. temporal

    “The progressive movement needs to make a call to Secretary Clinton to clarify where she stands really on these issues and that’s got to involve very clear renunciations of the positions that are revealed in these transcripts,” Chow said.

    Please, please. Just this one time tell me the truth. Or at the very least what I want to hear.
    I’m begging ya.

    1. Otis B Driftwood

      The writers and/or editor of that reuters article just couldn’t help themselves in making the LOTE evil case, could they:

      Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf said progressive voters would still choose the former first lady, even with misgivings.

      “I’d like to meet the Bernie Sanders supporter who is going to say, ‘Well I’m a little worried about her on international trade, so I’m going to vote for Donald Trump’,” he said.

      No, sir, many of us will instead be voting for Jill Stein.

      1. Steve C

        Elmendorf has always been a tool. Yves unmasked him several years ago. Then he wanted to explain things in a private phone call. The way things are done in DC. She told him if he there is a factual error, ask for a correction. But no back channel smoothing things over. No response. She published the whole correspondence. Like I’m supposed to listen to him about anything.

      2. Emma

        With regards to BOTH major parties’ candidates, Trump and Clinton (so NOT the Green Party/Jill Stein and Libertarian Party/Gary Johnson), there’s something about this present US Presidential election which is highly reminiscent of the April 1754 UK election. The London Evening Post of 9 March 1754 posed then, the following question which is still as relevant today: “Is any Candidate elected because his Character is unblemish’d, or his Abilities distinguish’d? No; he that gives the finest Treats, and the largest Bribes.”

        The ‘public-v-private’ face of Clinton is the perfect example. It’s perhaps the 2016 antithesis of that Rosa Parks segregated bus moment isn’t it? Just how many Americans today will now refuse to ride on the segregated bus of Hillary remains to be seen……

        How can Hillary Clinton be prepared to give power to the far less corrupt, when she constantly and deliberately presents two very different faces? And says one thing in public, and another in private.
        Back in 1955, Rosa Parks was motivated by the desire to do what was right and could be relied on to act as she thought right. Now in 2016 however, we blatantly see that Hillary Clinton is a very different woman who acts from an entirely different motive. That of self-interest, as Clinton only does what she thinks right when she believes it’s in her own interest. Hillary Clinton chooses NOT to use her wealth of resources, extensive network, and contacts, to instead ensure the most beneficial impact on the lives of average Americans.

        In reality, Hillary Clinton has forgotten, or simply never had any idea at all, of what her heroine, Eleanor Roosevelt recognized. Back in 1947 Eleanor Roosevelt forcefully expressed the need for balance between individual and social rights. She said “It is not that you set the individual apart from society but that you recognize in any society that the individual must have rights that are guarded.”

        As concerned citizens, both in public and in private, is Hillary Clintons’ standard, as opposed to that of Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and indeed Jill Stein of the Green Party, what we really want in a POTUS?

      3. Jeremy Grimm

        I’m going to vote for Stein too. Am I alone in not believing the low numbers for Stein in the polls? It sure seemed like a lot more than a few of the Sanders supporters in the little Sanders group I sat on the edge of intended to vote for Jill. I don’t know of any of them shifting to the Hillery camp.

        1. Carla

          Look, Sanders and everyone else is telling Stein voters that they will be responsible for putting the Donald’s hand on the nuclear button.

          I’m still voting for Stein, but I’m thinking the only others who will actually stick to their pledge to vote Green Party are NC regulars like you and me, Jeremy.

          1. Jeremy Grimm

            I would feel better with Trump’s hand on the nuclear button. He may be a vulgar troglodyte but he does seem moderately sane — an impression Hillary has never left with me. I hope I”m not alone. I like to think there are a lot of Democrat non-NC readers who might vote Green or for Trump and I’m pretty sure there are lot of Democrats who won’t show up at the poles this election.

        2. thoughtful person

          I don’t trust any polls these days, certainly not more than the msm did the exit polls in 2004.

          I’m wondering what the turnout will be, I suspect low.

          Blackboxvoting had plenty on our bs elections.

          1. HopeLB

            Hoping Duopoly Party turnout is so apathetically low, the Third Parties sweep it. Go Jill Stein!

        3. Otis B Driftwood

          You are not alone. I know this esteemed forum is unique, but I’ve talked to others in my neighborhood who will vote for Stein. Maybe the Stein voters all like me and don’t have landlines and are thusly immune to polling? ;)

  5. temporal

    I’m shocked that Trump would say rude things in private. Men (and women, don’t fool yourself) being rude. Huh. Never would have seen that coming. An entire entertainment industry called comedy, especially standup, based on levels of rudeness. Can’t be.

    World leaders like LBJ watching movies of animals copulating in the White House or bragging about having a Senator doing his bidding indicated by having the man’s p*cker in his pocket.

    Shocked.

    1. Tom Denman

      Yesterday John McCain again showed that he is a national treasure when he assailed Donald Trump’s “demeaning comments about women.” This voice of decency and reason in 1998 told a meeting of Republicans: “Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.” [1]

      McCain was joined in withdrawing support from Trump by his fellow neocon Condoleezza Rice. Rice demonstrated her superior judgement during the summer of 2001 when she systematically devalued intel that explicitly warned of an impending major terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

      The Republican hawks repudiating Trump are motivated not by his attitude towards women but by his refusal to kowtow to a War Machine that has bought and paid for Hillary Clinton.

      And given that it was already universally known that Trump is a despicable lout, these defections look a lot more like part of a larger orchestrated outrage than a spontaneous reaction to the Trump tape.

      [1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/sep/02/women.johnmccain

      1. hreik

        And then there’s this:

        Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain’s intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain’s hair and said, “You’re getting a little thin up there.” McCain’s face reddened, and he responded, “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt.” McCain’s excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

        http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/07/report-mccains-profane-ti_n_95429.html

        1. clinical wasteman

          Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair ran a great demolition series on MCain during his presidential campaign, with a lot about his disgusting behaviour towards his wife and general gilded misogyny. No link here because the theme recurred through too many articles, a lot of them the late Cockburn’s wonderful Friday ‘Diary’ column (if you missed those at the time, look them up and start reading anywhere; also St Clair has lately revived the tradition, and his diary is almost as good), but they should be easily searchable in the Counterpunch archive. Or you could find them in AC’s final book, ‘A Colossal Wreck’.

          1. Treadingwaterbutstillkicking

            Not surprising on the St. Claire reviving the Diary column.

            Friends at Counterpunch years ago told me that though Alexander was brilliant, Jeffrey did the vast majority of heavy lifting writing-wise. I think Alexander was the shmoozer and had most of the connections and hence most of the gossip but Jeffrey was the workhorse.

      2. fresno dan

        Tom Denman
        October 9, 2016 at 9:12 am

        I could go all Plato and shadows on the cave walls, but everything we see is filtered. Or emphasized.
        Very, very rich people, with very, very specific agendas, do the filtering and decide what you see, but more IMPORTANTLY, what you don’t.

      3. jrs

        maybe they are just repudiating for a reason Trump if anyone on earth would understand. They don’t want to be seen with a loser (when Trump loses the election).

      4. fajensen

        John McCain? Isn’t that the war hero who somehow killed more US sailors than the Viet Cong and somehow got away with it too?

        See, what’s wrong with Western Capitalism & Democracy is that somehow, for some obscure reasons, “we” keep all these crooks, nutters & morons around and even elevate them to positions of consequence, compounding the stupidity.

        Well, consequences have arrived, that’s for sure.

    2. Synoia

      I’m shocked that Trump would say rude things in private. Men (and women, don’t fool yourself) being rude.

      That’s at least 90% of the basis for English Humor.

  6. Robert Hahl

    Re: Badgers. From Hunter S. Thompson’s Rolling Stone obituary for Richard Nixon”

    “It was Richard Nixon who got me into politics, and now that he’s gone, I feel lonely. He was a giant in his way. As long as Nixon was politically alive — and he was, all the way to the end — we could always be sure of finding the enemy on the Low Road. There was no need to look anywhere else for the evil bastard. He had the fighting instincts of a badger trapped by hounds. The badger will roll over on its back and emit a smell of death, which confuses the dogs and lures them in for the traditional ripping and tearing action. But it is usually the badger who does the ripping and tearing. It is a beast that fights best on its back: rolling under the throat of the enemy and seizing it by the head with all four claws.

    “That was Nixon’s style — and if you forgot, he would kill you as a lesson to the others. Badgers don’t fight fair, bubba. That’s why God made dachshunds.

    1. tongorad

      Wow. Thompson could really write when he wanted to. Thanks for this. Now I think I’m gonna go find me some HST to read on this glorious Sunday morning in San Antonio.

  7. mad as hell.

    I haven’t watched him in a while but I gotta feel concerned for CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Having to acknowledge the Russian punk band Pussy Riot on the air a couple of years ago. Now he has to acknowledge ” grab them by the pussy” has to be causing him some anguish. Because I’m sure he has never heard that before. Then again a seven figure salary will undoubtedly sooth some of that faux disgust.

    1. fresno dan

      mad as hell.
      October 9, 2016 at 8:53 am

      You know, on PBS Gwen Ifil’s Washington Week in Review, a woman correspondent ACTUALLY quoted the audio tape that has Trump saying he grabs a women’s “P” – except she SAID, apparently to “clean it up” a woman’s “kitty cat.”
      I spit up my Cabernet!!!

      Language – funny how the common name we use to name that small mammalian predator, star of countless Youtube videos, that we keep as pets also refers to womens’s sexual organs – except apparently the other name we use for the small mammalian predator can also be used (at least in hip hop videos), but isn’t as DIRTY…yet

      (hmmm, I thought you could only say kitty cat if you were actually referring to a….”cat” but you can’t say “kitty cat” if your referring to a “P” – odd…)

      I imagine I could saaaaay any word in such a way to make it sound dirty…

      1. Oregoncharles

        It’s a rule in English (and I’m sure many other languages): if you don’t understand what they’re saying, you assume it’s about sex.

        Hence, yes, substitute ANY word and it will stand in for, say, genitals, as long as it doesn’t make sense otherwise. A leer helps clarify intent, but not actually necessary.

        But I think you’re right: you wouldn’t normally specify “cat” if you’re talking about genitals; “kitty” is a very common, ummm, euphemism.

        As slang goes, “p…y” has the advantage that it’s inherently affectionate – though Trump didn’t use it that way. Incidentally, he was talking about the perks of power; that’s pretty universal human.

  8. antifud

    Durusau is reinventing the wheel. There’s a github full of yara rules at https://github.com/Yara-Rules/rules

    Once you install yara it’s very fast with no need to go through that concatenation business. The excel files trip an occasional rule but the comments suggest what to look for in the file.

  9. Angry Panda

    Quick hits on the Trump thing.

    a) Trump’s comments are, of course, deplorable. But I do not see how they are at all unexpected or out of character for Trump, especially given all the preceding stories about how he behaved on the set of The Apprentice, etc. I mean, what’s next, Breaking News – Sun Rises in East as Previously Thought?

    b) If you look at the electoral map (e.g. at RealClearPolitics) and make some reasonable poll-based assumptions (e.g. Virginia and Indiana break for Kaine and Pence, respectively), you end up with exactly three contested areas of the country.

    The Southwest – Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. Let’s say those are split 50/50, although so long as Trump keeps flogging the “illegal brown rapists” horse, who knows.

    The Rust Belt-ish – the Pennsylvania-to-Wisconsin arc around the Great Lakes (Penn, Ohio, Michigan, WI, MN, minus Indiana).

    Florida.

    So basically you’re looking at something like six states that are likely going to decide the whole contest, because everything else breaks 200-180 or 210-170 or some combination thereof.

    Are Trump’s comments going to have any influence whatsoever on his Rust Belt vote? Or are those people voting for him because of anti-trade, anti-establishment, anti-Clinton, whatever other factors? More bluntly, are the pro-Trump women in those states going to shriek in horror at his latest crudeness, or say something like “boys will be boys, but Clinton is still worse”? I don’t know. I doubt anyone in the media knows either. Maybe we’ll have an inkling in 1-2 weeks with fresh sets of polls.

    Are Trump’s comments going to really change the Florida-white-senior-citizen vote, or whatever bloc over there is (reportedly, per Politico) breaking 2:1 for him? I don’t know. I doubt anyone in the world knows. Maybe we’ll have a better view in 1-2 weeks (again).

    c) Given (a) and (b), as well as the similarly-timed Wikileaks release, as well as the similarly-timed “evil Russians are evil” release by the White House, as well as the upcoming debate…nah, I’m just going to call the whole thing a big set of coincidences and say the media is rightly focusing on the most important story of the hour and not at all willfully ignoring anything else of substance.

    1. NotTimothyGeithner

      Lambert noted Trump is already an ugly billionaire who has made horrid statements and noted it’s likely this is priced in.

      Three issues stand put:
      -it’s a claim from a very bizarre person with a history of ugly statements not an accusation
      -Bill is a serial predator. Lewinsky was an intern under his power. Hillary has been part of smear campaigns and is a purveyor of violence to boot. I recall Gaddafi was widely seen being raped before his death which produced laughter. Also how many people laughed at Shrub’s correspondents video where he looks for WMDs. First hand accounts of the occupations and wars have been spread for a long time now.
      -the glee from the uni-party and msm can only backfire when they are widely distrusted.

      Virginia is breaking for military contracts. Northern Virginia is largely “military Keynesianism” run amok. The vote there will break for whoever is least likely to move federal spending to other locations. They have to lay the mortgage on government salaries. Northern Virginia outside of a few small enclaves is such a dump. Without the spending, no industry will relocate there.

      1. Pavel

        British blogger John Ward (self-exiled to France, I believe) made similar and useful points today:

        * The recording is eleven years old.

        * It takes place in a locker room, where 97% of those mouthing off this morning have never been in their lives. It was the sort of male fantasy-boasting I listened to every Saturday before getting changed into my footie kit.

        * Nobody died. The US Ambassador wasn’t anally raped and dragged through the streets to a grisly demise. No whistleblower was taken out with a drone.

        * It didn’t take place in the offices of Goldman Sachs, it didn’t take place in the Oval Office, and there were no cigars involved.

        * If American men are shocked by this kind of talk, they’re either deaf or just never played sports.

        * From the day he first opened his mouth in this campaign, anyone with an iota of sensitivity could discern what kind of bloke he is: crude, narcissistic and misogynist. This tape is, therefore, not news.

        * The behaviour of his running mate evokes suspicion, I think. Mike Pence voted for Cruz in his home State, and is renowned for his nose being able to sniff a populist soundbite. Both he and Ryan (another Trump-hater in private) were quick to condemn Trump’s remarks unequivocally. Senior GOP movers, however, are reputed to have told the Vice-Presidential nominee that if he dumped Trump, they would make him the Republican candidate “by acclamation”.

        * The source of the story – the Washington Post – is the biggest non-surprise of all of all: the journalist involved there, David Fahrenthold, has written several stories about Trump’s charitable foundation (but ignored the infinitely more septic Clinton Foundation) while casting aspersions on his mental capacity to be President (while ignoring Clinton’s consistent inability to stand upright unaided.

        * Fellow Washpost blogger Richard Cohen wrote two months ago (with remarkable prescience) ‘The way to hurt Trump is to ridicule him. He is a man of immense pride, a pompous bloviator and a locker-room towel-snapper. Either ignore him or ridicule him.’

        * According to the Post, Farenthold knows the identity of the person who leaked the video to him, but will not disclose it. It seems the person works for NBC, who had a team working full-time to find lewd tapes of Trump during production of their programming featuring him. I understand, however, that NBC were going to leave airing the featured extract until Monday – after the Second TV Debate – and so an activist Democrat supporter downloaded the tape and gave it to Farenthold.

        –FARENTHOLD 451: Trump’s bonfire of vanities, or smoke blown in our eyes?

        I just cannot believe the level of outrage over this comments compared to the real outrages and crimes going on in the world today. Ironically, if Trump implodes, HRC will go on to win but more voters — assuming she has it safely in the bag — may vote 3rd party. In any case the victory will be a poisoned chalice. The most corrupt, dishonest, and disliked candidate as POTUS?

        1. Jim Haygood

          Probably the best political analogy is “Bill’s” Monica moment. The institutional D party reaction was, “It’s just about sex.”

          As for “Bill,” so for Trump. If it’s “just about sex,” Trump’s supporters (including women) will rationalize it away, just as their Democratic sisters did for “Bill.”

          Those for whom it’s a deal killer were opponents anyway. So nothing has really changed, except that the Clintons could end up getting hoisted on their own petard if the counterattack includes some really damning fresh dirt.

          1. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

            When your supporters are dying (Trump’s demographic core), this is the last thing they bother with.

        2. tongorad

          As it’s been noted many times, this is a wonderfully clarifying election cycle. High Dudgeon and outrage over this non-event is what passes for earnest reflection and analysis in some non-serious circles.

        3. comrade sd

          Take into account that the MPAA which represents the Producers (think major movie studios) is headed by former CT Senator Chris Dodd. In general the entertainment industry, of which news is a part, will be pulling for Clinton.

        4. OpenThePodBayDoorsHAL

          Aren’t we highlighting what is truly obscene about America: that sex is deemed to be much more disgusting and awful than violently killing another human being.

          Donald said despicable things about women. Hiilary sent many tens of thousands of them to a hideous death.

          But oh, no, violent death is our cultural touchstone and “entertainment”, from our movies to our video games, TV shows like National Geographic coo over the latest weapons of techno death-dealing, our gleeful war-monster politicians outdo each other with ever more maniacal justifications for killing even more people. (Conveniently we’re no longer allowed to see the coffins on the tarmac).

          But heaven forbid we show or even talk about men and women and the complicated ways their biology compels them to interact and reproduce. Or the beauty of their naked forms. No, that would be considered much too “obscene”.

          So on the day we rose in national outrage about some decades-old vulgar comments, 81 people at a wedding party were blown to bloody pieces, innocent men, women, and children violently torn apart courtesy our government and the policies put in place by our candidate and paid for by the top contributor to her foundation.

          That’s what I would call truly obscene and outrageous, not some offhand locker room banter.

          1. River

            Summed up perfectly in Apocalypse Now :” We train young men to drop fire on people, but their commanders won’t allow them to write “fuck” on their airplanes because it’s obscene!”

  10. Baby Gerald

    Incredible set of links, as always and nice work by our own Richard Smith. SLPs being used to front illegal operations– who would’ve thought? Excellent investigative work.

    The revelations being sussed-out from the Goldman Sachs speeches could be the last straw for Hillary’s campaign, tipping undecideds and ex-Sanders supporters further away from her. Public and private position, indeed. It’s also an apt term to describe people who answer polls and tell their friends and colleagues they’re voting for candidate A, while in fact voting for B,C, or D.

    The Trump hot-take comes as another deflection, but it seems that his base supporters could care less.

    On a lighter note, the Onion hits the nail on the head once again:

    Poll Finds 30% Of Americans Still Undecided Whether To Vote Out Of Fear Or Spite

      1. Jim Haygood

        If only we still had paper ballots, a nationwide mailing of ‘creepy clown’ stickers could undertaken to assist write-in voters.

      2. Tom Denman

        A neocon psycho (“We came, we saw, he died” and her threat to “totally obliterate” Iran) vs. a despicable lout (no explanation needed).

        I’m afraid of the psycho and will therefore take my chances with the lout.

            1. comrade sd

              With Clinton clearly leaning towards thermonuclear war with Russia, I’d say, yes, voting for the lout is in fact extremely important and may truly be a choice of survival. Of course, there remains the choice to sit this one out or vote third party.

              The stakes are quite high. None of which is helped by the hope option being a man who farts at the dinner party, pinches the daughters ass while regaling guests with his penis size.

              But, that’s what this election is coming down to.

              1. Baby Gerald

                You said it perfectly, comrade. What end it serves to antagonize Russia still eludes me and the only one of the two viable candidates that expresses the desire to maybe derail that unproductive crazy train is the brash lout.

  11. semiconscious

    the email linked to (& excerpted) that is said to be from clinton campaign manager podesta doesn’t appear to be from, or even to, john podesta?…

    1. JTMcPhee

      And therefore all the substantive email content released, this one snippet having been inaccurately characterized by someone in the commentariat as to provenance, is not credible, is impeached, is to be disregarded and dismissed.

      The defense rests.

    2. anti-social socialist

      Also, the alleged email that includes Maureen Dowd, Maggie Haberman, and Mika Brezinsky, among others, in a list of “HRC-friendly” reporters is not in the least credible.

  12. Jim Haygood

    Meanwhile, simmering on the back burner:

    Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer John Cryan failed to reach an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve a years-long investigation into its mortgage bond dealings during a meeting in Washington Friday, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported.

    Concerns about Deutsche Bank’s ability to pay the $14 billion opening settlement bid from the Justice Department sent the lender’s stock to a record low last month. The bank, which set aside 5.5 billion euros ($6.2 billion) for litigation at the end of June, may face additional penalties to wrap up other outstanding investigations.

    Cryan, a Briton who speaks fluent German, has sought for the last three weeks to reassure investors that Deutsche Bank can weather the formidable obstacles to its financial health.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-08/deutsche-bank-s-cryan-doesn-t-reach-accord-with-u-s-bild-says

    A bankster is haunting Europe.

  13. timbers

    Germany’s Schaeuble says too much talk on Deutsche Bank – Reuters

    The key word is “talk”. If you take this literally it makes perfect sense and Hillary would know what to do as this quote of her in the latest Wikileaks trove over at MoonofAlabama makes clear:

    *CLINTON SAYS YOU NEED TO HAVE A PRIVATE AND PUBLIC POSITION ON POLICY*
    Clinton: “But if everybody’s watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.”

    Can’t have the little people becoming nervous. Then they might start asking questions and want to know what their government is doing and start paying attention. Then they won’t do their national duty and go shopping. Clinton will know how to continue the ponzi scheme of higher debt Michael Hudson talks about in the earlier link by saying one thing in public while doing another in private.

    1. Uahsenaa

      German sources have him using the word Gerede, which is more like “chitchat” or “tittle tattle,” meaning not just talk but idle talk. The headline of this Frankfurter Rundschau article also characterizes his comments a little differently: Idle Talk About Deutsche Bank Worries [literally “nerves”] Schäuble.

      The Reuters article is paraphrasing him correctly, mind you, but the use of Gerede/gereden casts the talk in a very particular light.

      1. ewmayer

        Right about “Gerede”, but “nervt” is not “worries”, but “annoys”, as in “gets on my nerves”. Which makes more sense in the “idle chatter” context.

    2. Jeremy Grimm

      I like that you punched at that Clinton quote again. I think the words should be worked into a song along with some of her other great revelations. I don’t have the skills but someone could make a great song and video from these words!

  14. Tom

    The selective outrage regarding Trump’s boorish behavior and Hillary Clinton’s bloodthirtsy and dangerous policy stances is profound.
    In 2013, Clinton says,

    “To have a no-fly zone you have to take out all of the air defenses, many of which are located in populated areas. So our missiles, even if they are standoff missiles so we’re not putting our pilots at risk— you’re going to kill a lot of Syrians,” Clinton admitted. She then expressed concern that would make that “intervention that people talk about so glibly” a full-fledged “American and NATO involvement where you take a lot of civilians.”

    3 days ago, a Rueters report says:

    “In a departure from the Obama administration, [Clinton] supports the establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria and has called for an intensified air campaign by the U.S.-led coalition.”

    See, it’s okay when Clinton ‘glibly’ advocates for military escalation that is guaranteed — by her own admission — to kill innocent civilians. Like a Hindu goddess of death, she is in her rights to decide when it is acceptable to “take” civilians.

    But god forbid Trump mentions wanting to f*ck someone who he thinks is attractive. There is no place for that kind of talk in Hillary’s civilized world!

    1. ProNewerDeal

      Trump admitted to past sexual assualts, “hitting on married women by kissing them & grabbing their p***y”.

      Far worse than expressing sexual desire towards another person. Agreed that HClinton is worse. Trump sexually assaulting 10s of women, is lower on the scale of moral atrocities than killing 1000s of innocent civilians.

      Speaking of killing innocent civilians, your friendly reminder that the entire Real Basket of Deplorables cohort of US politicians, including 0bama, P Ryan, HClinton, Trump; kill 45K USians/yr per Harvard Public Health Profs, by their continual blockage of Canada-style MedicareForAll, e.g. another ANNUAL killing of 1000 of innocent (USian) civilians.

      1. Pavel

        I believe part of the context is that Trump is boasting how his fame gets him a lot of beautiful women and sex. This is undoubtedly true — just look at Rupert Murdoch’s recent marital history. The boasting (and vulgarity) are such a part of his personality. It’s odious and I wouldn’t want any of my female friends to associate with him, but compared to killing 500,000 kids with Iraqi sanctions, I’d say it’s relatively unimportant in the scheme of things.

        1. JTMcPhee

          Henry Kissinger: “power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” He got to screw Jill St. John, and a whole lot of Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, and me and my fellow troops, among others.

          We’re all screwed, us ordinary people. Don’t even have the option of “laying back and enjoying it.” Too bad we don’t have an organizing principle we can coalesce around, to defeat the parasites and mass murderers and enable a world of decency and comity and viable stability…

        2. Starveling

          How much of Trump’s talk there was mere bravado locker room banter? I wager a guy like him- with his bombast and wealth- had gold digger beauty queen types throwing themselves at him for decades. It might be poor optics, but it sounds like the sort of stuff I’d hear in any all-male grouping outside of a church function.

          Hell, I’ve had female coworkers in mixed company talk that way about guys after one too many drinks after hours. Is it lewd? Yeah. Would I speak that way? Oh, heavens no, the girl would murder me.

          But I’m not going to hang a guy for a fish story. Anyhow, with Bill… why would Clinton want this sort of thing as a topic of debate a month before game day? Trump is caught being a lewd braggart, Clinton covered up for her husband’s numerous sexual adventures for decades.

          1. JTMcPhee

            It’s the topic because it taps all the keys on the Great Wurlitzer that plays out the tune called The Fall of Empire. The Clantonistas and all of us USians who are wedded to “more of the same-getting just a little worse each day” and trained to dance to the for the Wurlitzer’s tune are used to this “Gotcha!” game, and love to play along, even if it kills them…

            A long ago friend was a nurse who attended Lyndon Baines Johnson during one of his admissions to Bethesda, I think it was for the gall bladder surgery. Reported the nurses had to learn the “Lyndon Hop” ( this , for reference, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4fHXqmJbOc&list=PL76VvneNY1tqEst8Kbr15XLYg74dvTB22&index=6 )to keep out of the reach of that old Liberal (?) lecher. Remember it was LBJ who bragged that his “friend” wasn’t maybe all that long, but it “was as big around as a potato.” And this, for more fun: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/10/links-10916.html#comment-2682611

            And any more, who effing cares? “Look forward, not backward!”

  15. tgs

    Hillary: To have a no fly zone you have to take out all of the air defense, many of which are located in populated areas. So our missiles, even if they are standoff missiles so we’re not putting our pilots at risk—you’re going to kill a lot of Syrians.

    And why is it that all the r2p humanitarians are calling for a no-fly zone? To protect Syrians. Obviously the most humane way to do that is to ‘kill a lot of Syrians’.

        1. tgs

          At least she won’t use the dreaded barrel bombs. We will ensure that they die humanely via high-tech weapons.

  16. John

    Is anyone surprised by the speeches? HRC’s inner Goldwater Girl peeks out in private before friendly audiences. On trade she parsed her opposition such that there was a way to approve TPP and the rest of the alphabet soup of corporate takeover and destruction of national sovereignty “trade pacts.” After all the USA must be the hegemon even if we have to burn down the world to keep that position.

    1. cjm

      I have been thinking this for awhile. I don’t need to see the transcripts of paid speeches. Mrs. Clinton said exactly what her audience wanted to hear.

        1. lyman alpha blob

          Yes looks like she’s been foaming the runway in private with the anti-Putin propaganda before taking it public during the campaign.

          Maybe somebody forgot to pay the vig to the Clinton Foundation for that Russian uranium deal with State.

    2. timbers

      Not surprised, no. But IMO has definite implications.

      For example, IMO now that we have in writing that Hillary has 2 positions on issues (a public and private position) it is 100% fair that debate moderators and the media ask Clinton aggressively which position she is giving in her responses – her public or private position?

      Won’t happen with our media, but IMO this should now be standard operating procedure for the media with regard to Hillary and would be completely fair, prudent, and necessary to inform the public and voters.

      1. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

        The debate is setting up to be the mother of all debates.

        If the media won’t focus on the public/private position issue (and Obama did the same in 2008 regarding NAFTA, I recall), then Trump can force them to by putting that front and center in the debate.

          1. timbers

            Exactly.

            And this isn’t hard – coming up with ways to attack Clinton. For example how about referring to her as Hillary “two positions” Clinton and asking voters while looking into the camera “Which position do YOU think Hillary will support once in office: the promise she made to you, or the one she made to Wall Street? What position will Hillary “two positions” support when if office? You decide.”

            It’s not rocket science.

          2. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

            He should wear a jacket that has ‘PUBLIC’ on the left and ‘PRIVATE’ on the right side.

            And a tie that says ‘OPEN BORDERS.’

            On the back of the jacket, it reads ‘PHONE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS.’

            1. timbers

              Brilliant. Or how about: Hillary Clinton – Public email, private email. Public position, private position letter on each side of the jacket you describe.

  17. ProNewerDeal

    HClinton & Trump are pushing the We Suck Less TM notion to its limits. These duopolists already had the worst disapproval ratings in history, among all duopolist nominees stretching back to 1980. I suppose now the disapproval ratings will get even worse.

    I feel bad for swing state voters, with the tough choice of whether they should support one crap samwich to avoid a crappier samwich, or should they just vote for an actually good candidate in Dr. Jill Stein.

    Lambert “I believe I’ve mentioned to readers that my vision of the first 100 days of a Clinton administration includes a Grand Bargain, the passage of TPP, and a new war.”

    Bummer, that is deeply depressing. Lambert is a skilled commentator on US politics, I fear his HClinton assessment is correct.

    It seems every President since Sep11 or perhaps even Reagan is trying to out-crappify the prior President. HClinton crappier than 0bama crappier than Bush43.

    Note to self: scale back on the news podcast clips & instead listen to music in its place. Excessive US politics news is harmful for my spirit

  18. Pavel

    So I just went to the NY Times “Politics” page at 9:30AM (Eastern Time). Here is a list of the articles, in order. For your reading pleasure or convenience, I have bolded the articles not about Donald Trump. Note their position in the list.

    Lewd Donald Trump Tape Is a Breaking Point for Many in the G.O.P.
    By JONATHAN MARTIN, MAGGIE HABERMAN and ALEXANDER BURNS

    Inside Trump Tower in Manhattan. Donald J. Trump is facing increasing pressure in his own party to end his candidacy.
    Pressure built on the candidate to withdraw from the presidential campaign as party leaders urged the G.O.P. to shift its focus to down-ballot contests.

    Donald J. Trump waves to supporters outside Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.
    NEWS ANALYSIS

    Donald Trump’s Conduct Was Excused Again and Again. But Not This Time.
    By MICHAEL BARBARO and PATRICK HEALY
    It turns out that even the most self-interested members of the political class, the true weather vanes swinging in the wind, have their limits.

    Why Republicans Are Probably Stuck With Donald Trump
    By ALAN RAPPEPORT
    Unless he becomes incapacitated or quits, getting rid of him is, legally and logistically, “the equivalent of a triple bank shot.”

    Donald Trump the Showman, Now Caught in the Klieg Lights
    By JIM RUTENBERG 5:00 AM ET
    Donald J. Trump deftly used the blending of news and entertainment to build a brand, and then a campaign. But all that drama has turned into a big, messy show.

    Graphic: More Than 150 Republican Leaders Don’t Support Donald Trump. Here’s When They Reached Their Breaking Point.
    By KAREN YOURISH, LARRY BUCHANAN and ALICIA PARLAPIANO
    Which statements caused Republicans to bail on Donald Trump.

    Presidential Debate: What to Watch For
    By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE 5:00 AM ET
    To achieve anything resembling a victory, Donald J. Trump needs to focus on the most compelling parts of his message: trade, the threat of terrorism, and the creation of jobs.

    Women React With Fury to Donald Trump’s Remarks, but Some Offer Support
    By ABBY GOODNOUGH and WINNIE HU
    What to tell a 10-year-old daughter? Why hasn’t Mr. Trump outgrown the locker-room talk? These are among the questions being asked across the country.

    Men Say Trump’s Remarks on Sex and Women Are Beyond the Pale
    By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
    Men of many backgrounds and parts of the country had varied opinions on how men talk, but they agreed that Mr. Trump’s version was unacceptable.

    Donald Trump’s Long Record of Degrading Women
    By THE NEW YORK TIMES
    The candidate has a history of insulting or unwelcome conduct that goes back several decades, The New York Times has found.

    John McCain Withdraws Support for Donald Trump After Disclosure of Recording
    By ALAN RAPPEPORT
    Mr. McCain became the latest party leader to distance himself from the nominee after a recording showed Mr. Trump speaking about women in lewd and degrading terms.

    Paul Ryan, Reluctant Supporter, Weighs Response to Donald Trump’s Remarks
    By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
    Mr. Ryan uninvited Mr. Trump from a rally on Saturday, and said he was “sickened” by Mr. Trump’s remarks about women. But he did not withdraw his support.

    Graphic: Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Reject Donald Trump’s Words, Over and Over, but Not His Candidacy
    By LARRY BUCHANAN, ALICIA PARLAPIANO and KAREN YOURISH
    How the two top Republicans in Congress have responded to Mr. Trump’s comments.

    Donald Trump Apology Caps Day of Outrage Over Lewd Tape
    By ALEXANDER BURNS, MAGGIE HABERMAN and JONATHAN MARTIN
    A vulgar discussion recorded in 2005 on a soap opera set added to evidence that Mr. Trump has a record of sexist behavior.

    Donald Trump’s Apology That Wasn’t
    By MAGGIE HABERMAN
    In a video expressing regret over his lewd comments, Mr. Trump remained defiant, calling the disclosure a “distraction” and used it to renew political and personal attacks on Hillary Clinton.

    Donald Trump: King of the Old Boys’ Club, and Perhaps Its Destroyer
    By SUSAN DOMINUS
    A taped conversation involving the Republican nominee shows a world women rarely see, and may not forget before Election Day.

    Can’t Find a Plan on HealthCare.gov? One May Be Picked for You.
    By ROBERT PEAR
    Under a new policy to make sure people maintain insurance coverage in 2017, the government may automatically enroll them.

    What Options Does the U.S. Have After Accusing Russia of Hacks?
    By DAVID E. SANGER and NICOLE PERLROTH
    Pentagon and intelligence officials have been debating how to deter future attacks while controlling the potential escalation of a cyberconflict.

    To Redefine Homestretch, Hillary Clinton Cues the Children
    By NICK CORASANITI
    “Measure,” a new ad that begins with girls checking their heights against wall rulers, aims to stand out near the end of a negative campaign season.

    Leaked Speech Excerpts Show a Hillary Clinton at Ease With Wall Street
    By AMY CHOZICK, NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and MICHAEL BARBARO
    According to documents posted online by WikiLeaks, Mrs. Clinton displayed an easy comfort with business and embraced unfettered trade in paid speeches to financial firms.

    Newly Released Hillary Clinton Emails Offer Glimpse at Husband’s Advice
    By STEVEN LEE MYERS and ERIC LICHTBLAU
    The State Department began releasing emails the F.B.I. collected during its investigation into her use of a private email server.

    Billy Bush, a cousin of former President George W. Bush, in August.
    Billy Bush Says He’s Ashamed by Lewd Talk With Donald Trump
    By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM and JOHN KOBLIN
    Mr. Bush, a cousin of President George W. Bush, said he was “less mature, and acted foolishly“ in a 2005 conversation with Mr. Trump about women.

    http://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/

    Imagine if the sexual harassment and rape claims against Bill Clinton were given the same amount of exposure? We know Trump is a lewd, sexist, buffoon, but it was Bill who lied for six months about getting blowjobs from a 20 year old intern in the Oval Office.

    The Guardian this morning has a huge front page spread about Trump but not a mention of the Wikileaks release of the Podesta emails.

    The MSM just don’t give a shit about their credibility.

    1. fresno dan

      Pavel
      October 9, 2016 at 9:47 am

      I just have to note this. I remember how well argued and coordinated the defense of Bill Clinton was. I believed it at first. Do you remember that he couldn’t have possibly had sex in the oval office because it is sooooo busy??? (I still think the most outrageous lie is trying to convince people that the president works hard). I could imagine the president having a tryst…but in the Oval office!?!!?? don’t be ridiculous.

      That people come in and out (dirty side long glance) of the oval office all day unexpectedly????
      And of course, the despicable character assassination of Monica …by “pro women” people.

    2. HBE

      Guess what every single one of those trump articles have in common. Comments are turned off.

      Wouldn’t want the plebs muddying the narrative or bringing up bill clinton would we now NYT.

      1. Pavel

        I noticed that as well. Same at the Guardian — their main anti-Trump pieces today have comments turned off. Mustn’t have the “plebs” mention Bill Clinton’s past or bring up the Wikileaks Podesta emails!

      2. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

        Like a school lecture.

        You listen until the class is over.

        Only when you’re lucky do you get a chance to ask some questions.

  19. jfleni

    RE: Get ready for a computerized ‘teammate’ in your car.

    All of a sudden, the yuppie-nerds really find out that they cannot make “driverless” anything, hence the “teammate” gibberish.

    The absolute best “teammate” I ever had in dozens of subway systems was the skilled and careful driver. Pay him well to keep you safe. not the raving yuppie-nerd!

    1. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

      Freeways will be 100% empty self-driving cars, speeding towards their pre-programmed destinations, with no humans in them.

      Big city streets are completely filled with busy robots, coming and going. Again not one human can be seen.

      That’s the future.

        1. JTMcPhee

          In the power plants, mobile and fixed robots go about the orchestrated tasks of keeping the power flowing, unconcerned about temperature, radiation levels, or chemical constituents of the ambient atmosphere…

      1. Uncle tungsten

        And those pesky Russians will hack it and cause gridlock and USA will be defeated and not one Russian bullet fired.

  20. edmondo

    So even after Hillary says she’s going to renounce every campaign promise she made two hours after the polls close, Bernie can’t wait to get out on the campaign trail urge us to vote for our own extinction?

    Donald may be “The Apprentice” but Bernie has got to be “The Biggest Loser”

    1. Pavel

      Bernie is the Biggest Frigging Sellout, if you ask me. He spends 6 months railing against HRC’s policies and now is out promoting her. He is dead to me now.

      I can see the expediency of a reluctant endorsement at the convention, but he’s lost his credibility with this behaviour. They must’ve threatened him with loss of his Senate committee positions or something.

      1. DarkMatters

        …or offered to fund his foundation and invite hi to expensive lectures. Carrot or stick, carrot or stick; so hard to tell. I imagine the stick is avoided when possible; no point in bringing needless ugliness into what could be a nice relationship.

      2. Roger Smith

        Especially now that he got his speeches and… go figure, Clinton is a liar who has public policy stumps and then the real, big money positions.

    2. Waldenpond

      IOKIYAD. When Rs are repugnant, you must denounce. When Ds are repugnant, you must have more appearances the corrupt candidate and sell, sell, sell.

      People are angry nbc held onto these for years. Why oh why weren’t these made public during the primaries? For the same reason wl didn’t make the HC e-mails public during the primary. Clicks, eyes and celebrity. It’s all October surprises now.

    3. mk

      After he lost the primary, Bernie said that he would do whatever he can to make sure Trump is not our next president. He’s keeping his word. I appreciate this man has integrity. I’ll hold any judgement until after the election.

      1. Jeremy Grimm

        I agree with you. But I also wonder whether someone is holding one of Sanders grandchildren and/or his favorite dog or he’s received warning of a special contractor waiting off Church Street for an unguarded moment when he or his wife are exposed.

        1. PhilU

          I think he might have bought into the Trump is Hitler-esk narrative. That would understandably hit a little close to home for him.

      2. Kurt Sperry

        This. I hate what he’s doing, but I’d hate it more if he broke his own word. I actually believe Sanders thinks Clinton is a meaningfully lesser evil than Trump. Me, I’m not sold on that, but he’s entitled to his own opinion. He put himself in a spot with no good options.

    4. Jeremy Grimm

      Which campaign promises do you mean? [I know you mean the promises she’s making to us unwashed.]

      I think Hillary will keep her promises to those who really matter to her.

      1. Iowan X

        Jeremy, I think he’s gonna hold out for action on everything in the D Platform at a minimum, plus no TPP for starters. He’s pretending that the D’ are honest brokers. Which is wise for the minute.

  21. fresno dan

    Contradicting FBI view, Clinton’s leaked speeches portray her as computer savvy McClatchy

    Pretty simple
    charged with a computer facilitated crime – computer illiterate
    charged with generating funds from Silicon valley financiers – computer savvy…

      1. Synoia

        Not forthright at all:

        Public Position: I’m with you.

        Private Position: Fuck the Rubes, I’m with you.

  22. Pat

    Similar to choosing Clinton for President despite her record of leading from behind on good things and disastrously wrong choices in financial policy and oversight, Foreign Policy and civil rights, choosing to listen to one thing Richard Rubin says after decades of evidence that he couldn’t find his hands in front of his face on a sunny day… Oh wait these are only failures and disasters if you aren’t part of the in crowd.

    I believe we will know how serious Trump is if he manages to shift the conversation tonight to Clinton’s own quotes and what they mean. He will have to say his prepared piece in answer to the planted questions and refuse to let them get under his skin, ignore the bait to attack back on that. Who knows if he can. But there is a ton of material both in those emails AND from the hurricane where Clinton is extremely vulnerable. Attack her on the record of her actions and of the Foundation in Haiti and tie her to the dead from the hurricane (justified). Point out what her statements regarding the trade deals, Social Security, Medicare. even sending your kids to war. He has an opportunity and material, but can he or will he use it?

    1. katiebird

      That’s exactly what I have been saying to my Facebook friends and family who are postive this is over and that he will even drop out…. We will know tonight if he seriously wants to win. The election is in his reach (as it was in Bernie’s although that was a tougher job) …. Will he go for it?

      1. NotTimothyGeithner

        GOP numbers rose during the Schaevo circus. Democrats who were never voting Republican moved to super definitely never voting Republican and loudly predicted the collapse of the GOP. The whole Schaevo incident was a cooked up response to Shrub’s SS privatization scheme.

        Democrats did well in the off year elections that year, but their margins matched their organizing efforts. The GOP vote pattern was fairly similar. Around the late Spring, Iraq popped up in the news and GOP numbers tanked. Democratic numbers stayed low until Representative Murtha became an outspoken critic of the war when their numbers rose, but even then the Democratic gains were largely where the had organized.

        Despite predictions of Schaevo destroying the GOP, policy damaged them. In the absence of an alternative, the GOP won’t self destruct.

        1. Jim Haygood

          Indeed, neither wing of the Depublicrat duopoly is viable without its essential foil, upon which every calamity that befalls us must be blamed.

          Should the GOP self-destruct, the D party would fail or splinter within months.

    1. NotTimothyGeithner

      And tomorrow, their subscription office will be flooded with cancellations. The GOP hive mind simply doesn’t work this way.

      When people buy newspapers for the op-eds, they want to read what they already think. The newspapers themselves are largely purchased as local papers of record or status symbols. The Union Leader endorsed Hillary, and New Hampshire isn’t breaking for Hillary. The Union Leader is a huge deal.

      I know Team Blue is excited, but Palin, McCain (Team Blue seems to love his deranged positions), Shrub, Jeb, Reagan, Nixon, Rick Scott, Graham, Thurmond, Helms, Mittens…do you see where I am going?…haven’t destroyed the GOP. Partisan politics matters, believe it or not. By the end of the week, every Republican outside of the ones close to retirement will have apologized and declare war on “micro aggressions.”

    2. fresno dan

      John Zelnicker
      October 9, 2016 at 10:13 am

      Once you get past the BRANDING (repub versus dem) isn’t it just obvious that Hillary would have been to the comfortable with most of the repub candidates, on most issues, except for a very, very few social issues, and even there not significantly outside repub suburban norms???

      The parties in my view are the biggest impediment to critical thinking there is – their downfall can’t happen soon enough.

      But I agree – this is YUUGE! Its kinda like the death of Sears.

    3. lyman alpha blob

      I get where you coming from but is it really that surprising that an ultra right wing paper endorses an ultra right winger?

      Also breaking: water wet

      Do we still need more proof that Nader was right?

      And isn’t it ironic that it took a master of kayfabe reality TV star like Trump to get so many of these supposedly partisan hacks to play it straight?

  23. fosforos

    Do we use words to think? First ask, who do you mean by “we?” Like every such speculation I’ve ever seen, this one is totally “blind to the elephant”–that is, it has no consciousness whatsoever, in words or any other form, of the existence of a large group of thinking humans–people born profoundly deaf, who can read and write, or talk in sign, but have never heard a sound, let alone a “word.” And so, nobody ever “thinks” to ask a profoundly deaf thinker HOW she thinks!

    1. Jeremy Grimm

      Also what about those of us who think with words — but also think with images and shapes or tokens from other senses?

      1. BecauseTradition

        Yep. I remember reading that only 10% of the population is verbally minded; the rest are visually minded.

    2. TalkingCargo

      And of course there’s the question of what humans did before they developed language. Guess they didn’t think at all, but then how did they develop language?

  24. Anne

    Well, and just so you know, the way the DNC is handling the public v. private comments of one Hillary Clinton is to declare all the leaked material suspect because it’s “postmarked Russia,” according to Donna Brazile, whom I just watched on This Week – so she says she hasn’t read them, and is advising that no one read them. If you don’t read them, that ends the discussion, which obviously was her goal.

    And it worked, as near as I can tell. Brazile hammered the public remarks only, so there you have it: just like the DNC hack that showed the games being played with the Sanders candidacy, the Wikileaks release on the paid speeches is delegitimized with one word: Russia.

    Not that Stephanopolous seemed all that reluctant to let her off the hook – he can say he brought it up, but we all know today isn’t about Clinton, it’s once again about Trump.

    I will say this: the town hall debate could be pretty interesting.

    1. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

      You can censor or burn books, backed by the secret police.
      ,
      Or you can urge people not to read.

      Depending how well the test subject is trained, the task can be as easy as calmly saying this: I suggest you don’t waste time reading them.

      1. Jeremy Grimm

        I think our public schools are doing a very nice job teaching people to hate reading. They were very successful at training my kids in spite of all my efforts to the contrary.

  25. allan

    It looks like the Saudi attack on the funeral in Yemen that killed 82+ people and wounded hundreds
    was carried out using US-made MK-82 bombs.

    Surely John Kerry will call for a war crimes investigation … oh, wait:

    GenDyn gets $39 million contract modification for foreign military bombs [UPI]

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) — General Dynamics – Ordnance and Tactical Systems has been awarded a $39 million modification to a foreign military sales contract for various bomb bodies.

    The contract falls under the U.S. Army and involves sales to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, France and Iraq.

    The modification calls for 162 MK82-1 bomb bodies, 7,245 MK82-6 bomb bodies and 9,664 MK84-10 bomb bodies. …

    1. fresno dan

      allan
      October 9, 2016 at 10:38 am

      Only barrel bombs can commit atrocities – Western, “liberal” modern advanced expensive high tech weapons have special self righteous code imprinted in them that prevents the slaughter of the TRULY innocent…

      “Ordnance and Tactical Systems has been awarded a $39 million modification to a foreign military sales contract for various bomb bodies”
      Oh, and it helps the economy…i.e., the richest, and isn’t that who the economy is for?

      1. allan

        Hearts and minds:

        Thousands of armed Yemeni protesters call for investigation into wake bombing [Reuters]

        Thousands of Yemenis, many of them armed, gathered at the United Nations headquarters in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Sunday calling for an international investigation into an air strike on a wake this weekend that was widely blamed on Saudi-led forces.

        The attack – that killed at least 140 people on Saturday – hit a hall where rows of the city’s notables had gathered for the wake of the interior minister’s father.

        The Saudi-led coalition has denied any role in the incident, believed to be one of the deadliest strikes in the 18-month-old war in which at least 10,000 people have been killed. …

        And when the Saudis deny any role in a mass-casualty attack, you can take it to the bank.
        Or at least Tony Podesta’s bank account.

    1. integer

      Heh. I liked this little exchange in the comments:

      Zach Bee
      Of all the words you could chant, in the entire english language, they pick the ONE that rhymes with liar? What does Hillary! Fire! Even mean? I thought that was a joke at first. Wow.

      Moh Moony
      Spot on mate. No one ever accused Hillbots of being very bright.

      beidoll
      I kept thinking it should have been “Fire Hillary”. I’d fire her before I’d hire her.

      Thanet Taout
      LOLOLOLOL

      1. cnchal

        What does Hillary! Fire! Even mean? I thought that was a joke at first. Wow.

        That’s the same type of mistake as made by McDonalds when they called a sandwich the McWrap.

        1. Jeremy Grimm

          Forgive me — I haven’t been in a fast food restaurant for many years — did McDonalds really sell a sandwich called the McWrap? If they did I would sure like to lay hands on some of the posters and sales literature. Such mindless self-parody is too funny.

            1. Jeremy Grimm

              THANKS! That is too funny! Some unbelievably bad marketing and bad planning for McDonald’s. I even did a search using DuckDuck to make sure you weren’t pulling my leg with a site someone dummied up for a joke. Doesn’t anybody at McDonald’s have and ear? Are they deliberately promoting a self-parody? Do they ask if you’d like toilet paper with your McWrap or do they put toilet paper in instead of a napkin?

  26. fresno dan

    (The email is a compilation of quotes from Clinton’s paid speeches, not otherwise available. It begins: “Attached are the flags from HRC’s paid speeches we have from HWA.” The asterisked material is how the Clinton campaign staffer “flagged” the quotes they considered dangerous.) Since these quotes are from paid speeches, we can expect Clinton’s private position — expect, that is, if we assume that Clinton isn’t cheating her clients by failing to deliver value for money in terms of services to be rendered — to be a more accurate representation of her views than her public one. In other words, we’re looking at a pitch to the donor class, when Clinton was laying the groundwork for her campaign. In an oligarchy, this would be natural.

    ===============================================
    Sorry, but as I have said before, I don’t believe Clinton’s speeches are important – they are just a McGuffin to deflect from the real travesty occurring in plain site – what Lloyd Blankfein tells Clinton at the gladhanding after the speech….
    As someone once told me in Washington, nothing TRULY important is ever committed to paper.

  27. Jim Haygood

    Lolita Express Monday — just another tequila sunrise:

    A blockbuster book detailing the exploits of the infamous billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein hits shelves on Monday. Sources close to the 63-year-old Brooklyn native have advised him to be “unreachable and out of the country” this weekend when the preliminary media blitz gets underway.

    “Filthy Rich,” a collaborative effort between best-selling author James Patterson and investigator John Connolly, is set to reopen old wounds for Epstein, who served 13 months in prison following a 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl.

    Epstein has reportedly settled numerous similar cases out of court. The blockbuster book is also expected to further embarrass celebs who once partied with Epstein.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/confidential/pedophile-billionaire-jeffrey-epstein-braces-book-release-article-1.2819009

    An absolutely remarkable aspect of this “news” article is that while it mentions Trump as a celebrity who partied with Epstein, the name “Bill Clinton” is entirely missing. That’s despite documentary proof that “Bill” took 21 flights on the Lolita Express.

    Just another MSM advertorial for Hyena Rodent Clinton.

    1. Steve H.

      Hey Jim, I’ve got a comment in moderation that touches on this. Specific to Epstein, I’ll say the Koch brothers are as close to the White House as they will ever get, and that Epstein was adamant about getting evidence about the people he serviced. Epstein is far deeper scum than a mere pedophile, while the Koch bros and Pence may have a truly fundamentalist moral streak. The period of time between now and the election could be very dangerous for Epstein.

      1. Jim Haygood

        Now that the Politics of Personal Destruction are in full play, certain parties had better hope that Epstein’s settlements, compelling his victims to silence in exchange for hush money, hold up.

        After all, if one of them has already spent all her settlement money, she’s effectively judgment proof in case she tells her story in violation of the settlement.

        As ol’ Saddam Hussein used to say, “Anything is possible now, my brothers.

        1. Lambert Strether Post author

          I’m thinking one of the hidden dynamics of this election is that the Clinton campaign is so awash in cash that Brock can outbid Manafort and Stone, no matter the offer.

          1. OpenThePodBayDoorsHAL

            Thank you Citizens United, next time maybe we can save all the hand-wringing and just set up an auction amongst billionaires, highest bidder gets the Oval Office as their plaything, just send out an email on November 10 and tell us who won.

          2. Steve H.

            Charles Koch: 42.8 Billion.

            If (IF) the Koch-clan really is hardline in their beliefs, then every penny is the Lord’s anyway. As long as they win.

  28. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

    Trump: “Go behind closed doors of the holier-than-thou politicians and pundits and see what they’re saying. I look like a baby.”

    What’s it like inside the restrooms at the White House or Capitol Hill? Must be very colorful.

    Here, we are looking at public and private etiquette. Unless you’re a saint or infallible, many of us work like that.

    Hence, surveillance.

    1. jrs

      meanwhile those who can buy stuff do so mostly to fill the neverending emotional void of life under capitalism. Truth.

      1. Pepe Aguglia

        Truth

        Agreed except I’d say “the neverending emotional void of a purely materialistic life.” Capitalism is conducive to, but not necessarily a sufficient condition for, a materialistic mindset.

      2. clarky90

        I think of poor Robin Williams. Youngish, healthyish, rich, loved around the World, famous, happily married……. And he kills himself? The “success formula” is flawed. Look somewhere else!

        1. Pepe Aguglia

          healthyish

          You got that wrong. He was driven to suicide by an undiagnosed (or misdiagnosed) neurological disorder

  29. justanotherprogressive

    Note to anyone who plans to watch the debate (I know, I’m using the term loosely) tonight. If Donald Trump truly is a “false flag”, he will let Hillary put him on the defensive about his locker room comments. If he is not a “false flag”, he will keep hammering the issue of “Which Hillary are we talking to tonight”?
    I’ve already got my bets in place…..

  30. Roger Smith

    This is the question I want to here from one of the audience plants tonight at the debate:

    Mrs. Clinton, as you know excerpts were recently released from your paid Wall Street Bank speeches were leaked online. These excerpts were gathered by your campaign staff and in one quote you said quote, “You Need Both A Public And A Private Position” on policy issues. If I cast my vote for you in November, how do I know if I am voting for the Public Hillary or the Private Hillary?

    If I had the chance to ask two questions?

    Mrs. Clinton, also highlighted by your staff in the recently leaked speech excerpts, you claimed that much pipeline and fracking resistance comes from fake environmental organizations supported by Russia. What do you have to say to the hundreds or possibly thousands of Native Americans and other volunteers in North Dakota currently striking against the Dakota Access Pipeline?

    You can probably gauge the legitimacy of this debate by whether or not the first question is asked.

    1. fresno dan

      “What do you have to say to the hundreds or possibly thousands of Native Americans and other volunteers in North Dakota currently striking against the Dakota Access Pipeline?”

      Clintoon:
      Well, we know that humans first migrated to North America across the Bering strait….so yes, they are all Russian commies….

    1. fresno dan

      Kim Kaufman
      October 9, 2016 at 12:31 pm

      The Clinton campaign likes to use glitzy, intimate, completely off-the-record parties between top campaign aides and leading media personalities. One of the most elaborately planned get-togethers was described in an April, 2015, memo — produced, according to the document metadata, by deputy press secretary Jesse Ferguson — to take place shortly before Clinton’s official announcement of her candidacy. The event was an April 10 cocktail party for leading news figures and top-level Clinton staff at the Upper East Side home of Clinton strategist Joel Benenson, a fully-off-the-record gathering designed to impart the campaign’s messaging
      ===============================================
      With apologies to Upton Sinclair
      Its hard to get a reporter to find something out when their cocktail depends on their not finding it out…

      1. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

        Not finding out is already assumed.

        The parties were and still are to ensure unified messages.

  31. John Merryman

    A prediction and question; Trump will prove to be the Republican Boris Yeltsin. Any guesses as to who will be the Putin? Chaffetz?

    1. ambrit

      Seriously now, which Republican Party? I see at least two Republican Parties emerging from this imbroglio.

      1. Jeremy Grimm

        I’m still hoping the Greens might somehow emerge as a second party to contend with the Republicrats.

  32. jash

    Debate audience share???

    Will NFL cancel prime – time?

    WIll a “selected” audience member ask Trump the P***Y question?
    Will Martha handle it?

    Will Hillery again trot out the victim card and bring all the cathouse under it’s shield?
    Will YOU be able to stomach more or less than 30 minutes?

    What is Putin position on the P***Y question?

    Will Trump finally allow Bill’s posse to attend the event?

    1. Kokuanani

      I am SO happy there’s an NFL game tonight. I am not watching a minute of the “debate.” Can discover everything post-disaster.

  33. a different chris

    Don’t ever forget the Farm Bureau when counting up the a-holes:

    >With close to 40 million people in California, he said, “the idea that we can just sort of stop diverting from our rivers — the argument hardly even needs to be made against it.”

    Sure, dude, every calorie produced on California farms goes to Californian eaters… no? Ok ever calorie goes to Americans… no? Well wtf are you talking about, then? Sounds kindof like I just pretty easily made said argument.

  34. Alex morfesis

    Billy bush and nancy both worked for trump enterprise at that time…miss usa anyone ?? And obviously she couldn’t afford to quit after this “horrid” experience…

    working the nite shift at mister panos diner was the only way to pay for her kids braces…

    At one point yesterday, according to deadline, the variety website, trump had yanked pence events off the official campaign website

    Was this a pence coup attempt ??

    And did he actually “make a move”(whatever that means) on nancy, or was it his small handed imagination…

  35. fresno dan

    Clinton Talked About “Phony Environmental Groups” Funded By The Russians To Stand Against Pipelines And Fracking. “We were up against Russia pushing oligarchs and others to buy media. We were even up against phony environmental groups, and I’m a big environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians to stand against any effort, oh that pipeline, that fracking, that whatever will be a problem for you, and a lot of the money supporting that message was coming from Russia.” [Remarks at tinePublic, 6/18/14]

    ========================================================
    environmentalists are commies? I’ll bet their gay too!

    1. optimader

      she is a paranoid neocon, but we know that. Her enemies list I’m sure makes Nixon’s look quaint. At least there were bonefide MSM journalists, before their extinction, to be on his. Now the Sisyphean ball is pushed uphill by “looney” bloggers.

  36. Dave

    About that San Francisco Bay ecosystem collapse. One of Governor Jerry Brown’s main donors is benefiting from it. We get to vote whether to approve any bond issue over $2 billion dollars in November. That may stop the two giant water sucking tunnels that have been approved and which would send even more water away from the bay to donor’s lands.

    The other publicly funded project, High Speed Rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles, just happens to have its first segment being built near the fields owned by the same donor, irrigated by taxpayer financed water, got subdivisions? Gee, what a coincidence.
    The following was originally linked from NC in 2013, IIRC.

    https://www.nsfwcorp.com/dispatch/resnicks-valley/

    Extract: A Journey Through Oligarch Valley
    By Yasha Levine

    Note: This is an extract from Yasha Levine’s special feature in this month’s NSFWCORP Print Edition.
    Beverly Hills agri-billionaires Lynda and Stewart Resnick are the newest and oddest landlords in California’s Oligarch Valley. You might not recognize the name, but you’ve certainly seen their luxury Fiji Water bottles at your local 7-Eleven, or maybe you’ve seen Palin family dropout Levi Johnston hawking the Resnicks’ Paramount brand pistachio nuts on TV. If nothing else, you’ve eaten their Sunkist oranges….

    The water bank was designed by California’s Department of Water Resources to function as an emergency reservoir. In wet years, it would collect excess water shipped down the California Aqueduct from Northern California and hold enough water to keep Los Angeles hydrated nearly two years in case of prolonged drought. The water bank was supposed to serve as a last-line defense to protect urban users. But in 1995 California water bureaucrats tweaked a couple of arcane water regulations and handed the water bank over to a small clique of Oligarch Valley landlords.

    Once water entered the water bank, it stopped being a public resource. From that point, the owner could sell it to the highest bidder. “This means they become middlemen making profits on state-supplied water,” reported Redding’s paper Record Searchlight. “If they choose to, they can dry up vast areas of productive agriculture and ship the water to municipalities south of the Tehachapi range.”

    Stewart Resnick masterminded the scheme, and emerged with a majority stake in the new Kern County Water Bank. In fact, the Resnicks dominated and controlled the water bank so thoroughly that it’s become a de facto extension of their private agribusiness”

    1. Waldenpond

      I haven’t read the details on that bill yet, but I was just polled and asked if voters would be able to block dams and aquaducts. The person did not know and was surprised by the question. Also was shocked I wouldn’t support the school bonds. They aren’t supposed to demonstrate any emotion… I let them know I wouldn’t vote for one dime for private schools. Want to do a bill for public schools, I’m all in. Private schools can purchase their own schools and fund their own renovations. But it’s CA, the school bonds will pass.

  37. rich

    Hillary Finds Rules Onerous and Unnecessary

    John Podesta served as the head of President elect Obama’s transition team, which had health reform a top priority. White House Health Reformer Nancy-Ann DeParle supposedly disposed of all conflicting assets in 2009.
    How then did she receive a gain from her earn out from MedQuest, a medical imaging company?

    Nowhere on her prior two disclosures did she indicate residual private equity stakes in MedQuest or any other healthcare firms, where she served as a board member.

    After designing PPACA Nancy-Ann DeParle returned to her private equity underwriting (PEU) roots. PEUs leverage political connections to earn monstrous gains. It appears public servants can keep their residual private equity stakes and not declare them. For the greed and power class it’s all so onerous and unnecessary.

    http://peureport.blogspot.com/

    They’re with her….

  38. Hierophant

    Does anyone else remember this TV show that was on HBO, it featured 4 women sitting around talking about sex. It was very crude and vulgar. It featured nudity. Women loved it. They even made a couple of movies…

    The rank hypocrisy of this thing is galling.

    See the mindless masses get led to the abattoir.

    HRC in her speeches talks about a no-fly-zone in Syria, how it would result in many civilian casualties. And three days ago there she is advocating for a no-fly-zone. But Trump made some off-color jokes about how his fame is attractive to women and how he uses this to his advantage. So we have one candidate presently advocating the wholesale slaughter of human beings, and one candidate who made a dumb joke in private over a decade ago. And which one is being vilified in the media?

    1. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

      In a gender equality society, a woman can joke about how her fame is attractive to men, as well, unless we say women are nobler, but I think that’s stereotyping.

      That brings us to fame and concentration of power, of any kind. It happens when we forget we are all great or capable of greatness. When we forget, we empower those we falsely believe to be greater than us.

    2. fresno dan

      Hierophant
      October 9, 2016 at 2:05 pm

      “it featured 4 women sitting around talking about sex.”
      I thought they mostly talked about shoes….but they all seemed to have foot fetishes.
      Whether they got off more on the shoes or the men was never clear to me
      ;)

    1. Jeremy Grimm

      All the muck about Trump turned my mind in a downward direction. All the interest in what Trump is up to behind closed doors — lead me to wonder what sort of creature Hillary is? Is she really the long suffering wife of a wanton philanderer or is there more to her?

      1. Massinissa

        She would have divorced him in a heartbeat if she thought it would be beneficial to her career.

        It would be destructive to her personal ambitions and to the Clinton Foundation so she wont. And she knows all about his philandering from the 90s to today, mark my words. It just doesn’t enter the equation.

        Alls fair in love and politics.

        1. johnnygl

          Okay, it’s worth pointing out that it’s her call if she is willing to endure philandering. But knowing that her husband assaults and maybe even rapes women, and to actively smear, harass and intimidate the victims to keep a lid on things… This puts a person in another universe of physchopath!!!!

          1. Jeremy Grimm

            Taking my thoughts down, down, … down … How does Hillary dress for intimate encounters and what is her favorite material in which to dress? What sort of partner or partners grace her bed? What sort of intimacies does she most enjoy? What sort of toys or tools does she like to employ? — And NO I am not visualizing anything NOR interested to do so. I am suggesting as others have that giving Hillary a “bye” on Trump-like thoughts, words, behaviors is most nicely to be called “sexist”. Given my distaste for her, I can at best credit Hillary with being more circumspect than Trump.

            1. JohnnyGL

              With all the leaking going on…can a candidate sex tape be too far off? What if Trump and Hillary had a fling years ago? That would be fitting, in a way.

        2. NotTimothyGeithner

          My first year roommate was in a emotionally abusive relationship for over two years in college. At one point, his fraternity held an intervention, but people get weird when they are in love.

          Since I was living with the two of them, I had a front row to this monstrosity of a relationship. It’s quite the eye opener. My guess is Hillary is into Bill more than is commonly realized.

          It’s occurred to me she is trying to impress Bill.

  39. MyLessThanPrimeBeef

    We use words to talk. Do we need them to think?

    It’s possible, or it was possible to think without words.

    Most likely, cave men hunted in an organized way before the invention of words. They must be doing some thinking, in order to organize.

    And as has been posted here before, words (used alone) distort, bias, limit and confine what we can think. In that way, when one learns Imperial English, one becomes an Imperialist in many subconscious ways…one may want one’s native country to be more like the empire, or the West.

    1. Jeremy Grimm

      We use words to talk — but they are only one among the many tools we use to communicate with speech. Consider the meaning conveyed through gesture and voice inflection and through associations of spoken words calling up other words, other images and sensations and triggering flickers of intuition. The Whorf hypothesis is fun to play with but I suspect Amundsen’s mushers had an appreciation for the qualities of snow similar to that of some Inuit though they lacked the broad vocabulary of special words for the snow contained in the Inuit language. I think words are needed tools for communication — but less necessary for cognition.

  40. jash

    I guess the survival was/is instinct, no thinking required. But, it helps, at least nowadays.

    I never thought how to catch a ball, at least not that I realized at the time.

  41. knowbuddhau

    Whaddya mean, “was”? Being there, doing that, loving it (at least now and zen I am). ;)

    Awareness without words is old hat to Zen.

    A special transmission outside the scriptures;
    No dependence on words and letters;
    Direct pointing to the mind of man;
    Seeing into one’s nature and attaining Buddhahood.

    I find myself just seeing, just being, sans narration, more and more lately. It’s nice. I highly recommend it.

  42. allan

    Yves to the white courtesy phone:

    $1.6 Million Bill Tests Tiny Town and ‘Bulletproof’ Public Pensions
    [NYT Dealbook]

    … But then came those letters, thrusting Loyalton onto center stage of America’s public pension drama. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or Calpers, said Loyalton had 30 days to hand over $1.6 million, more than its entire annual budget, to fund the pensions of its four retirees. Otherwise, Loyalton stood to become the first place in California — perhaps in the nation — where a powerful state retirement system cut retirees’ pensions because their town was a deadbeat. …

    Some see a test case taking shape for Loyalton and for other cities with dwindling means. “Nobody has forced this issue yet,” said Josh McGee, vice president for public accountability for the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, which focuses in part on sustainable public finance. …

    It never stops.

  43. meeps

    Thanks for the meaty links selection today. Lambert’s not been twiddling his thumbs!

    I can attest to the sharp increase in the price of insulin, although Humalog, which the WSJ quotes at $254.80, is the price AFTER the pharmacist finds and applies “an online $40.00 discount coupon.” That “discounted” price is what I pay for 1 vial at my local pharmacy (more in New Mexico, where I had to fill a scrip once this summer). The mother in the WSJ piece buys two vials for her son to cover 6 weeks, which seems right (I require a vial a month, more or less), so if the person at the point of sale isn’t “comping” her a “discount coupon” she could, indeed, be paying $600.00 or more.

    I can also attest to a 400% increase in 6 months for one of my generic prescriptions. My pharmacist claims there’s only one manufacturer making it now, which I can’t verify. In any case, I’d pin a rose for the monopolies and these new and innovative rackets squarely on the politicians who will “never, ever” replace bad laws or enforce good ones.

    Not that I expect the deadliness of industry rackets to be topics for “debate” tonight, or at any time between now and the election.

    Too many people still labor under the illusion that the ACA clause that said insurers can’t deny plans to people with pre-existing conditions means that those people can buy affordable plans with useful coverage. Buying the cheapest plan available (this from Connect for Health Colorado, with a monthly premium of $804.71, an annual per person deductible of $5500.00 and estimated out-of pocket costs of $6500.00 per person) means that a diabetic buying such a policy will pay that premium (somehow?) AND pay for $300.00 insulin (plus test strips, etc.) for all or most of the year with little or no policy benefit. How is this not THE ISSUE for which every politician must be held to account?

    1. clarky90

      If you are interested, Dr Jason Fung and Dr Ron Rosedale can get you off of insulin by going on a High Fat (80%), Low Carb (10%) and low protein (10%). It does not take long at all. The protein % varies according to your age and activity. Young weight lifters need more protein than oldies. Pregnant and breast feeding mothers need more too.

      This is what I have been doing for the last 6 months and I swear to God that I feel great.

      You could start here;
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi5S1VdMM8k

      Go to youtube and search Jason Fung or Ron Rosedale. All the best. When you are drug free, you will feel/be much safer in this predatory world.

  44. ewmayer

    o “Avoiding Viruses in DNC/DCCC/CF Excel Files | Another Word For It” — No Microsuck, no Excel seems to work pretty well for me.

    o “Donald Trump’s pastor problem: 40 percent of Protestant ministers are still undecided | PraPo” — I was unaware that Protestant ministers are a huge voting bloc. Interesting!

    o “Bernie Sanders Packs Schedule With Campaign Stops for Hillary Clinton | Wall Street Journal” — Got to keep fighting for that Dem-convention platform! Because, historically speaking, few presidents have ever dared to “go against the platform”, right, Bernie?

    o “This Was the Week the World Got Really Anxious About Globalization’s Future | Bloomberg” — If your “world”, like Bloomberg’s, is populated by “Davos Man” types, that is. That’s the only world that matters!

    o “We Use Words to Talk. Why Do We Need Them to Think? | New York Magazine” — Because those two faculties evolved together? Also, maybe we “need words to think” mostly when we’re thinking about verbal things?

    o “How U.S. Torture Left Legacy of Damaged Minds | NYT” — Thanks, NYT, for this piece, so refreshingly devoid of 0bama-lagacy-burnishing spin: “But even as President Obama continues transferring people from Guantánamo and Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, promises to bring back techniques, now banned, such as waterboarding … President Obama banned coercive questioning on his second day in office and his administration has whittled the prison population to 61, down from nearly 700 at its peak.”

    To be fair, 0bama has made significant progress in whittling the prison population down, often in the face of congressional intransigence – and note not just the nasty GOP, as the Wikipedia article on Gitmo notes, “On 20 May 2009, the United States Senate passed an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 (H.R. 2346) by a 90–6 vote to block funds needed for the transfer or release of prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.” But he has also sent quite conflicting signals himself, e.g. “On 7 January 2011, President Obama signed the 2011 Defense Authorization Bill, which, in part, placed restrictions on the transfer of Guantanamo prisoners to the mainland or to foreign countries, thus impeding the closure of the facility.” What, no line-item veto of the verbiage related to the prisoners, POTUS?

    But the president has been pushing the DOJ (similarly hard as he’s been pushing the TPP, no less) to prosecute all the responsible war criminals for the atrocities of Gitmo, right? And thankfully all those thousands of surgically precise drone strikes in Dronemaster69’s vastly ramped-up program of same leave few psychological scars!

    1. Jeremy Grimm

      NO FAIR lumping so many comments together — and no fair making such brief comments. How do you expect anyone to quibble and mince words with you? You’ll be stuck dealing with incorrigibles like me! Hah!

      — The DNC must be enabling MS Excel Macros.

      — Like you I am curious how big the Protestant ministerial voting block is. Are protestants — protestants — following the guidance of their ministers as they march to the voting booth? I thought protestants were more feisty than that — I mean the name “protestant”!?

      — Not sure what your Sanders comment means exactly. I would ask whether smart Senators in small states know better than to lock horns with a Democratic machine after they’ve been handed their hat and shown the door — but required to kiss big fat butt before they can squirm out.

      — I don’t know whether Davos man is the only creature who matters (a relative of Neanderthal man?) but if this is the week the world finally got anxious about globalization I think it is a week which should be celebrated with liberal libations for all. Time to worship Bacchus/Dionysus — and I think I will.

      — Words — see above.

      — Torture and Gitmo — what can I say? I am truly appalled by just how stupid and sadistic our government can be.

  45. Jim Haygood

    NYT headlines I never clicked on:

    Jennifer Weiner
    How Does She Do It?

    Hillary Clinton, the seasoned adult, has to stand next to Donald Trump, the petulant child

    New version of the “deplorables had a temper tantrum” meme for loser Democrats.

    Why can’t everyone be enlightened? /sarc

  46. fresno dan

    http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/how-to-rebuild-the-republican-party/503282/

    Their guy (Trump) did win 4 million more votes in the 2016 primaries than Mitt Romney won in 2012—despite the 2016 runner-up winning more than twice as many votes as the 2012 runner-up.

    Their guy easily bested every challenger against him: the hugely well-funded Jeb Bush, tough guy Chris Christie, the winsome and bilingual Marco Rubio, the true conservative Ted Cruz, the tough-as-nails Scott Walker, fellow outsider CEO Carly Fiorina … a gamut of styles and talents.

    Meanwhile, anti-Trump conservatives will be thrust back into exactly the position they held from 2013 to 2015: exponents of an ideology that does not command majority assent even within the Republican coalition, never mind the country as a whole. Repeal Obamacare; end the Medicare guarantee for people under age 55; offer big tax cuts to corporations and the richest taxpayers; pass constitutional amendments to stop abortion and same-sex marriage; back immigration reform that increases the flow of low-wage labor into the economy; take no action on climate change or other environmental concerns: that message has been tried and found wanting again and again since 2009, and it’s not going to appeal any more strongly after November. Whatever else Donald Trump did, he confirmed that a majority of Republican voters also want a message that secures health coverage, raises middle-class incomes, and enforces borders and national identity.
    ============================================================
    After Trump – what happens to the repub party? I think Trump has irrefutably and definitively exposed that the establishment republican party “platform” is anathema to a majority of republicans (as well as most Americans). The dems may not REPRESENT their ostensible backers, but at least they don’t flat out shout that the problem with the country is that the rich aren’t rich enough (they whisper it behind closed doors when they collect contributions). How it will happen, what it will be called, I don’t know, but at some point people will see that their economic interests and the 1% don’t coincide.

    I saw one interesting thing on the political shows this Sunday – a progressive said most of them were fooled by Obama – they all understand that Hillary will be as bad as Bush, if not worse…
    interesting bedfellows coming up.

  47. GMoore

    I read NC and have tried to join the conversation, but my words are never posted. Maybe they are but your moderators take a long time to vet new people. The following is one reason I’m voting Stein [besides the 5% necessary for new parties to get funding.]

    Why aren’t you all enraged that Hillary REALLY does have Parkinsons and this youtube video by a respected doctor proves it. Don’t censor me, watch it and make up your own mind. All progressive voters should be seething at the events of this year. As someone above said “I’ll vote the lout.” I haven’t made up my mind, but tonight will help me. No matter, Hillary should be in jail along with Blum and Podesta – but in any case, she is in the advanced stage of Parkinsons, which is plenty of punishment without the law.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=582fpY_Xmwc

    and this follow up by the Good Doctor which shows how NBC KNOWS and edits video to hide Parkinsons.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OezFQluUVS0

    I have had enough of the DNC. We need a major realignment.

    1. Yves Smith

      You did get caught in moderation because you are a newbie but those links are not up to NC standards.

      1. The MD is an anesthesiologist and is in no way qualified to opine on neurology.

      2. It’s considered a violation of medical ethics to diagnose someone who is not a patient, which means someone you have not examined in person.

  48. cwaltz

    Far worse than expressing sexual desire towards another person. Agreed that HClinton is worse. Trump sexually assaulting 10s of women, is lower on the scale of moral atrocities than killing 1000s of innocent civilians.

    I’m going to save this statement to remind myself that “progressives” are perfectly content with sacrificing women and then I’m going to remind them when they want me to help them fight Trump that they should go screw themselves.

  49. cwaltz

    Well, I think I’m done with this site.

    Quite frankly over the last few days I’ve questioned whether or not I belong on a site that would make excuses such as “it’s common for guys to do it” , “or it’s no big deal because they are just words”, or my ever favorite “at least he’s not dropping bombs on people” crap to mansplain why it’s “better”(haha it’s funny “no women were harmed in the making of this war, nevermind that 13% of sexual assault victims go on to commit suicide) for a guy to act like Trump does towards women.

    Everyone has a line and I think I’ve hit mine.

    I have no interest in aligning myself with people who would excuse misogyny at the best and sexual assault at the worst with “she’s worse” arguments.

    None. Nada. Zilch.

      1. cwaltz

        I’m not voting for either. If Trump had any chance with me, I assure you all the mansplaining of why this was/is “no big deal” ended it.

        I don’t need a bunch of guys to tell me what I should or should not reasonably be appalled by or how many women can be verbally or physically molested as an acceptable amount(in my opinion one was too many and in an adult world would have prompted an apology from anyone with even an iota of common human decency.) Even though I’m just a female(and not even a “10” since apparently this is important and “common” criteria for rating females) I can make my own determination on what is and isn’t a “big deal.”

        1. PhilU

          Everyone is entitled to draw their line where they will… Personally, I’ve seen a bunch of people who would be more likely to punch either candidate in the face than ignore their shortcomings. I think it is so blatantly obvious that it is inappropriate for anyone seeking office that when we see the MSM’s pearl clutching and pretending they are going to convince anyone but the echochamber that already agree with them it just makes people go a little insane.

          No one is excusing it. It just gets to be one more thing that is largely irrelevant as to what the president will accomplish policy wise but the only thing that gets talked about. I seriously doubt that there is anyone on this site that would not opt in favor of crushing both Trump and Clinton with a boulder.

          I also doubt either one of them would get a single vote from any of us if we were allowed to be the only voters in the election. Unfortunately we are stuck in this sick sad world with little to no influence in the way we live our lives. It’s cathartic to point out the rank hypocrisy of the elites, and that really is all we are doing.

        2. Yves Smith

          Since when am I a guy? And I told you loudly and clearly I HAVE been pressured for sex by a superior, and also dealt with men who trash talk. The two are often not the same and yet you insist on conflating the two. It also happens that there is a ton of casual sex in the entertainment business, vastly more than in other walks of life.

          This is all about understanding evidence and analytical rigor. You are letting your emotional investment in this issue have you go off half cocked (pun intended).

          Now women may come forward who say Trump did abuse them. I’ve said if anything will encourage them to come forward, this tape will, and we’ll know a lot more in the next two weeks. But you keep insisting that the tape is a smoking gun when it isn’t.

          1. cwaltz

            I’m insisting that I see a pattern of behavior that I believe is being ignored. I’m insisting that I’m seeing people excusing behavior because “he hasn’t bombed anyone”(which if anyone is analytically honest may be because he has not had the opportunities she has). His treatment of women(who make up half the population) is problematic.

            I am an emotional person and for the most part I’m okay that I allow my heart to help me make decisions. The fact that I do that though does not mean I discount what my head says. I’m not an impulsive person. I’m looking at what I see as an end game when I make choices. I’m weighing what values are an important part of who I am and what things I might be open to compromising on.

            My heart says that when it comes to women that Trump is a pig(and the fact that anyone would argue “behavior is common” should be cause for reflection on how our gender is or isn’t valued.) My head says that Trump in the White House may be disastrous for women. His type of behavior will be normalized and women will be set back further. You may disagree. However, there hasn’t been any real discussion on what Trump might mean towards the female half of the population beyond “he’s not Hillary.”

            I have a great deal of respect for you and for what you have built(and honestly I did not see you make comments like the one I posted above this one which said that it would be okay if Trump sexually assaulted a few women because……war in the ME) I want you to know I didn’t make my decision lightly. It was one I pondered from the moment I saw some of the responses to a link I sincerely thought most people would just see as pretty horrible but probably not a deal breaker. Yesterday my intent was to ignore the commentary. As I read through though more and more I felt like doing so would be disrespectful to my sisters, to every women who had a guy reduce her to her body parts or actually had a guy who thought he could get away with putting his hands on her. By last night it felt clear to me I couldn’t. Right or wrong, it’s my line.

    1. Foy

      Hi cwaltz. Everyone has their red line and I can understand why this is yours. I really hope you don’t go but if you do decide to leave I would just like to say that I’ve always enjoyed reading your comments and thoughts over the years and want to thank you for your regular contributions. You’re one of the ones that has made the commentary section of NC required reading for me each day. Cheers

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