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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
September 10, 2024
Abortion, abortion, abortion: Harris has a surefire path to knock Trump off his game
But can we stop calling these candidate get-togethers “debates?”
By Lucian K. Truscott IV
Columnist
Published September 10, 2024 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) All that the thing on ABC tonight will have in common with a debate is two lecterns and two people...er, ah…one person and a mental health crisis in a jacket that doesn’t have the sleeves tied behind it. Other than that, to call these quadrennial Q&A sessions debates debases the moral and mental acuity of the viewing audience and the English language itself.
....(snip)....
Donald Trump is treated every single day by the various media that cover the presidential campaign as if he is a serious man. This is a grievous error, and Vice President Harris should not repeat it during the so-called debate. She does not have to fact-check Trump in real time. Every time he opens his mouth and another lie spills forth, all she has to do is look into the eye of the camera and utter those famous words of Ronald Reagan, “There he goes again,” followed by a reference to how dangerous it would be to have a man who spreads such lies as President of the United States.
....(snip)....
If Vice President Harris is going to practice anything in her preparations for tomorrow night, she should practice saying the word “abortion” and expel “women’s health” from her vocabulary. Everyone in this country knows that Donald Trump’s appointments to the Supreme Court resulted in the end of a national right to an abortion. Women are especially aware of this. Trump’s court didn’t return “women’s health” to the states. His court ended the right to abortion and enabled nearly half the states to either ban abortion outright or impose so many restrictions that abortions are not available to more than a third of the women in this country.
Harris should make the point that what Trump did to abortion rights, he will do to other rights – voting, housing, the right of children to have a meal at school, gay rights – and she should use the word “gay” rather than LGBTQ, which the right has dirtied as they have DEI. Forget the acronyms and dodges like “reproductive health” and say what you mean. Trump is against women and gays and Blacks and anyone who doesn’t bear a close resemblance to the people he plays golf with. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/10/abortion-abortion-abortion-harris-has-a-surefire-path-to-knock-off-his-game/
Abortion, abortion, abortion: Harris has a surefire path to knock Trump off his game
Abortion, abortion, abortion: Harris has a surefire path to knock Trump off his game
But can we stop calling these candidate get-togethers “debates?”
By Lucian K. Truscott IV
Columnist
Published September 10, 2024 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) All that the thing on ABC tonight will have in common with a debate is two lecterns and two people...er, ah…one person and a mental health crisis in a jacket that doesn’t have the sleeves tied behind it. Other than that, to call these quadrennial Q&A sessions debates debases the moral and mental acuity of the viewing audience and the English language itself.
....(snip)....
Donald Trump is treated every single day by the various media that cover the presidential campaign as if he is a serious man. This is a grievous error, and Vice President Harris should not repeat it during the so-called debate. She does not have to fact-check Trump in real time. Every time he opens his mouth and another lie spills forth, all she has to do is look into the eye of the camera and utter those famous words of Ronald Reagan, “There he goes again,” followed by a reference to how dangerous it would be to have a man who spreads such lies as President of the United States.
....(snip)....
If Vice President Harris is going to practice anything in her preparations for tomorrow night, she should practice saying the word “abortion” and expel “women’s health” from her vocabulary. Everyone in this country knows that Donald Trump’s appointments to the Supreme Court resulted in the end of a national right to an abortion. Women are especially aware of this. Trump’s court didn’t return “women’s health” to the states. His court ended the right to abortion and enabled nearly half the states to either ban abortion outright or impose so many restrictions that abortions are not available to more than a third of the women in this country.
Harris should make the point that what Trump did to abortion rights, he will do to other rights – voting, housing, the right of children to have a meal at school, gay rights – and she should use the word “gay” rather than LGBTQ, which the right has dirtied as they have DEI. Forget the acronyms and dodges like “reproductive health” and say what you mean. Trump is against women and gays and Blacks and anyone who doesn’t bear a close resemblance to the people he plays golf with. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/10/abortion-abortion-abortion-harris-has-a-surefire-path-to-knock-off-his-game/
September 10, 2024
There is a reason why Trump's Cold War callback is falling flat
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published September 10, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) Donald Trump is attacking Kamala Harris like it is the 1950s. He and his mouthpieces — most notably his vice-presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance — are effectively arguing that the vice president, like other women, should know that her rightful place is in the home and not in the Oval Office.
....(snip)....
Trump, groping for effective avenues of attack and vulnerability against Kamala Harris, is now calling her a “Commie”, a “Marxist” and “Comrade Kamala,” falsely claiming that she wants to impose “Soviet-style price controls” on the American people. It is as though his mentor Roy Cohn, who was instrumental in the 1950s Red Scare, has been reanimated as a type of ghost who is advising the corrupt ex-president from beyond the grave.
In a sharp new essay at CNN, Stephen Collinson describes Trump’s strategy against Harris as his “feral political offensive.” Trump is not interested in winning the election against Harris based on policy but instead on attacking her humanity and personhood. The Washington Post details the logic behind Trump’s feral offensive:
....(snip)....
Attacking Harris as a “communist” or “socialist” also has deep roots in how African-American political leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had their reputations and political projects impugned and undermined by the country’s news media and political class (and as part of a concerted effort of sabotage and infiltration by the FBI and other law enforcement known as COINTELPRO). In that way, attacking Harris as a communist or socialist or “big city San Francisco liberal” is an attempt to trigger white racial resentment and white rage that Black people are inherently un-American and unpatriotic, seeking to take money away from “the makers” (white people) and give it to “the takers” (undeserving, lazy Black and brown people). .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/10/donald-cant-get-any-to-stick-to-kamala-harris/
Donald Trump can't get any attack to stick to Kamala Harris
Donald Trump can't get any attack to stick to Kamala HarrisThere is a reason why Trump's Cold War callback is falling flat
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published September 10, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) Donald Trump is attacking Kamala Harris like it is the 1950s. He and his mouthpieces — most notably his vice-presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance — are effectively arguing that the vice president, like other women, should know that her rightful place is in the home and not in the Oval Office.
....(snip)....
Trump, groping for effective avenues of attack and vulnerability against Kamala Harris, is now calling her a “Commie”, a “Marxist” and “Comrade Kamala,” falsely claiming that she wants to impose “Soviet-style price controls” on the American people. It is as though his mentor Roy Cohn, who was instrumental in the 1950s Red Scare, has been reanimated as a type of ghost who is advising the corrupt ex-president from beyond the grave.
In a sharp new essay at CNN, Stephen Collinson describes Trump’s strategy against Harris as his “feral political offensive.” Trump is not interested in winning the election against Harris based on policy but instead on attacking her humanity and personhood. The Washington Post details the logic behind Trump’s feral offensive:
With little chance of improving Trump’s standing, Trump’s advisers see the only option as damaging hers.
“What matters is their ability to prosecute a case to the point where she feels like she needs to answer questions and that she’s on defense,” said Josh Holmes, a prominent GOP consultant. “I think it’s a serious paper tiger we’re dealing with here. I don’t think for 60 days they can keep the train on the tracks.”
Republicans have already started pummeling Harris with attack ads. The bulk of television spending by the campaigns and their allied super PACs between Aug. 23 and Aug. 29 — 57 percent — were attacks on Harris, according to data from the media-tracking company AdImpact. Twenty-one percent were pro-Harris ads that drew a contrast with Trump, and another 14 percent were purely positive about Harris, the data showed. Only 8 percent were anti-Trump attack ads.
“This is a moment in the message arc of us seeking to define her, she’s seeking to define herself,” a Trump adviser said. “We have a defined candidate — everyone knows everything about the person. There’s lots of new information about Kamala Harris that people just don’t know.”
As another adviser told reporters last month: “If you think this race is going to be decided on likability, you’re making a grave error because neither one of them is going to be liked at the end of this race.”
....(snip)....
Attacking Harris as a “communist” or “socialist” also has deep roots in how African-American political leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had their reputations and political projects impugned and undermined by the country’s news media and political class (and as part of a concerted effort of sabotage and infiltration by the FBI and other law enforcement known as COINTELPRO). In that way, attacking Harris as a communist or socialist or “big city San Francisco liberal” is an attempt to trigger white racial resentment and white rage that Black people are inherently un-American and unpatriotic, seeking to take money away from “the makers” (white people) and give it to “the takers” (undeserving, lazy Black and brown people). .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/10/donald-cant-get-any-to-stick-to-kamala-harris/
September 10, 2024
From Afghanistan to Arlington, Kamala Harris can school Donald Trump on foreign policy
What Kamala Harris will have to say to win tonight's debate
By Austin Sarat - Dennis Aftergut
Published September 10, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) This is the second of a two-part series on tonight's first, and so far only scheduled, debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Read the first part here.
BORDER SECURITY
Q: Let’s talk about the border. Polling suggests that Americans like Mr. Trump’s tough approach. What will you do about the border?
A: Tough on the border? I’ll tell you what he’s tough on. He’s tough on fellow Republicans who want to secure our borders when he thinks it’ll hurt him politically.
That’s why in February, he killed the toughest-in-history Senate border security bill that his own ally, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, negotiated. Trump stopped it. His Republican enablers gave in. He didn’t want his presidential opponent to get the credit. He wanted the problem to exist at this very moment.
....(snip)....
Your choice in this election is clear: Someone who will do something about border security or someone who just wants you to be afraid of a problem he could have helped solve. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/10/from-afghanistan-to-arlington-kamala-harris-can-school-donald-on-foreign-policy/
From Afghanistan to Arlington, Kamala Harris can school Donald Trump on foreign policy
From Afghanistan to Arlington, Kamala Harris can school Donald Trump on foreign policy
What Kamala Harris will have to say to win tonight's debate
By Austin Sarat - Dennis Aftergut
Published September 10, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) This is the second of a two-part series on tonight's first, and so far only scheduled, debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Read the first part here.
BORDER SECURITY
Q: Let’s talk about the border. Polling suggests that Americans like Mr. Trump’s tough approach. What will you do about the border?
A: Tough on the border? I’ll tell you what he’s tough on. He’s tough on fellow Republicans who want to secure our borders when he thinks it’ll hurt him politically.
That’s why in February, he killed the toughest-in-history Senate border security bill that his own ally, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, negotiated. Trump stopped it. His Republican enablers gave in. He didn’t want his presidential opponent to get the credit. He wanted the problem to exist at this very moment.
....(snip)....
Your choice in this election is clear: Someone who will do something about border security or someone who just wants you to be afraid of a problem he could have helped solve. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/10/from-afghanistan-to-arlington-kamala-harris-can-school-donald-on-foreign-policy/
September 9, 2024
Vengeance is Trump's only true campaign proposal
Even as the former president spouts incoherently about mass deportation and tariffs, he remains focused on revenge
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published September 9, 2024 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) After Donald Trump once again demonstrated his monumental ignorance with his answer to a question about child care at the New York Economic Club last week, I was curious about what people in that audience thought about him. There was some clapping and cheering but it wasn't his usual rally crowd so it's hard to tell how enthusiastic they were. The person who asked Trump the question, Girls Who Code CEO Reshma Saujani, told CNN that his word salad answer was insulting, which is true. But what did the Big Money Boyz in the crowd think of Trump's "economic" agenda focused on tariffs and tax cuts but not much else according to his rambling presentation?
"The GOP-leaning business elite I talk to," the Washington Post's Jeff Stein reported, "are convinced the Trump tariff threats are ultimately bluster, position-taking, bluffing."
Trump benefits in numerous ways from being the world's greatest liar. People can believe what they want to believe and these Masters of the Universe are free to think that he's just "blustering" and "buffing" and doesn't actually mean that he will impose policies that are likely to crash the economy. One suspects they think he'll just do what Republicans always do, which is hand out tax cuts to the wealthy, cut regulations, raise military spending and slash domestic programs wherever they can get away with it.
....(snip)....
Trump also made a startling comment in Wisconsin over the weekend about his plan for mass deportation of migrants. He said, "getting them out will be a bloody story."
....(snip)....
But there is one thing he keeps bringing up in his speeches and his rallies that I think he is very, very serious about. I've written about it here many times over the years because it is the one philosophical belief that he has spoken about consistently for decades: vengeance. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/09/vengeance-is-only-true-campaign-proposal/
Vengeance is Trump's only true campaign proposal
Vengeance is Trump's only true campaign proposal
Even as the former president spouts incoherently about mass deportation and tariffs, he remains focused on revenge
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published September 9, 2024 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) After Donald Trump once again demonstrated his monumental ignorance with his answer to a question about child care at the New York Economic Club last week, I was curious about what people in that audience thought about him. There was some clapping and cheering but it wasn't his usual rally crowd so it's hard to tell how enthusiastic they were. The person who asked Trump the question, Girls Who Code CEO Reshma Saujani, told CNN that his word salad answer was insulting, which is true. But what did the Big Money Boyz in the crowd think of Trump's "economic" agenda focused on tariffs and tax cuts but not much else according to his rambling presentation?
"The GOP-leaning business elite I talk to," the Washington Post's Jeff Stein reported, "are convinced the Trump tariff threats are ultimately bluster, position-taking, bluffing."
Trump benefits in numerous ways from being the world's greatest liar. People can believe what they want to believe and these Masters of the Universe are free to think that he's just "blustering" and "buffing" and doesn't actually mean that he will impose policies that are likely to crash the economy. One suspects they think he'll just do what Republicans always do, which is hand out tax cuts to the wealthy, cut regulations, raise military spending and slash domestic programs wherever they can get away with it.
....(snip)....
Trump also made a startling comment in Wisconsin over the weekend about his plan for mass deportation of migrants. He said, "getting them out will be a bloody story."
....(snip)....
But there is one thing he keeps bringing up in his speeches and his rallies that I think he is very, very serious about. I've written about it here many times over the years because it is the one philosophical belief that he has spoken about consistently for decades: vengeance. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/09/vengeance-is-only-true-campaign-proposal/
September 9, 2024
The ties that bind
Susan J. Demas
September 9, 2024 9:03 am
Last month, my husband and I piled our two kids and way too much stuff into our car for our annual summer trip to the Shenandoah mountains.
....(snip)....
But I’m especially grateful because our blended family had to be built from the ground up a decade ago. My husband and I made a pact to always put the children first, even at the expense of our careers, and never regretted it. We both owned our own businesses and worked at home so we could be there more for our kids in their tweens and teens, which provided a strong foundation, especially during the pandemic.
....(snip)....
But it’s not a real family, if you read Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for a second Donald Trump term.
“Married men and women are the ideal natural family structure because all children have a right to be raised by the men and women who conceived them,” according to “The Family Agenda” section.
....(snip)....
Here’s how they want the next president (Trump) to reengineer our country:
“Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society. Unfortunately, family policies and programs under President Biden’s HHS are fraught with agenda items focusing on ‘LGBTQ+ equity,’ subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage. These policies should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families.” ...................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/09/09/the-ties-that-bind/
The ties that bind
The ties that bind
Susan J. Demas
September 9, 2024 9:03 am
Last month, my husband and I piled our two kids and way too much stuff into our car for our annual summer trip to the Shenandoah mountains.
....(snip)....
But I’m especially grateful because our blended family had to be built from the ground up a decade ago. My husband and I made a pact to always put the children first, even at the expense of our careers, and never regretted it. We both owned our own businesses and worked at home so we could be there more for our kids in their tweens and teens, which provided a strong foundation, especially during the pandemic.
....(snip)....
But it’s not a real family, if you read Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for a second Donald Trump term.
“Married men and women are the ideal natural family structure because all children have a right to be raised by the men and women who conceived them,” according to “The Family Agenda” section.
....(snip)....
Here’s how they want the next president (Trump) to reengineer our country:
“Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society. Unfortunately, family policies and programs under President Biden’s HHS are fraught with agenda items focusing on ‘LGBTQ+ equity,’ subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage. These policies should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families.” ...................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/09/09/the-ties-that-bind/
September 9, 2024
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man was arrested for attacking a police dog and using Facebook to threaten law enforcement on Tuesday, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Matthew Mead, 38, requested to speak with a sergeant to “make sure law enforcement is on the same page as me,” to ensure he wouldn’t be pulled over for a suspended license.
....(snip)....
The suspect then warned authorities that the next deputy to pull him over would get shot, after expressing his “extreme discontent” with law enforcement following several traffic infractions which led to a $500 fine. These citations “added fuel” to his hatred for authorities, the report said.
During the call, officials said Mead made a post on Facebook, tagging the sheriff’s office saying, “It’s official! Extortion is going to meet bullets!! F*** that driver’s license…warning to pigs…make contact…get shot.”
....(snip)....
A police dog was sent to his vehicle to detain Mead, following a series of failed stun gun attempts, when he began striking the dog with a chair. The report said he grabbed the dog’s collar and harness, putting him into a headlock. ..............(more)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-man-attacks-police-dog-200940699.html
Florida man attacks police dog, threatens deputies: affidavit
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man was arrested for attacking a police dog and using Facebook to threaten law enforcement on Tuesday, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Matthew Mead, 38, requested to speak with a sergeant to “make sure law enforcement is on the same page as me,” to ensure he wouldn’t be pulled over for a suspended license.
....(snip)....
The suspect then warned authorities that the next deputy to pull him over would get shot, after expressing his “extreme discontent” with law enforcement following several traffic infractions which led to a $500 fine. These citations “added fuel” to his hatred for authorities, the report said.
During the call, officials said Mead made a post on Facebook, tagging the sheriff’s office saying, “It’s official! Extortion is going to meet bullets!! F*** that driver’s license…warning to pigs…make contact…get shot.”
....(snip)....
A police dog was sent to his vehicle to detain Mead, following a series of failed stun gun attempts, when he began striking the dog with a chair. The report said he grabbed the dog’s collar and harness, putting him into a headlock. ..............(more)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-man-attacks-police-dog-200940699.html
September 9, 2024
The political whiplash effect is Harris-Walz's secret weapon
As happy and joyful warriors for democracy, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz present as antidotes to Donald Trump
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published September 9, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) This summer in politics has been a whirlwind. Democrats went from what seemed like almost certain defeat by Donald Trump to President Joe Biden stepping aside and handing the political torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. These last eight or so weeks also included the Republican and Democratic Party’s national conventions, an assassination attempt on Trump’s life, and a disastrous first debate between Biden and Trump. Many political experts have described this series of events as being some of the most consequential and rapid in recent American history in the shortest amount of time. We are now on the eve of one of the most anticipated presidential debates in history.
As I have tried to make sense of this summer, and the Age of Trump more generally, I have kept returning to the image of a car going around a racetrack in an endless circle at high speed and unable to stop. It is loud, fast, and disorienting while at the same time being very tedious and repetitive. Those of us in this car — and watching it from the stands — are suffering from motion sickness. With the sudden change of political fortunes in these last weeks, it feels as if the American people have gotten a whiplash or a concussion.
....(snip)....
During her first major televised interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, on Thursday, Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, provided an example of what that could look like. Harris, as expected, was confident and poised as she explained her policy positions and how her thinking has changed over the years. She dismissed Trump’s absurd claims about her racial identity in such a manner that it made him look even more ridiculous — as though that is possible. CNN’s host, Dana Bash, as is typical for the mainstream news media, recycled Republican and right-wing talking points and accusations as though they were truth and not partisan attacks. Harris and Walz deflected them, and in total did an excellent job of staying on message and credit-claiming for her accomplishments as Biden’s vice president. In short, Kamala Harris looked “presidential.”
....(snip)....
But at its core, Harris and the Democrats are trying to revitalize a faith and belief in the presidency, democracy, government, and a type of healthy normal that has been so greatly diminished by the Age of Trump. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/09/the-political-whiplash-effect-is-harris-walzs-secret-weapon/
The political whiplash effect is Harris-Walz's secret weapon
The political whiplash effect is Harris-Walz's secret weapon
As happy and joyful warriors for democracy, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz present as antidotes to Donald Trump
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published September 9, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) This summer in politics has been a whirlwind. Democrats went from what seemed like almost certain defeat by Donald Trump to President Joe Biden stepping aside and handing the political torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. These last eight or so weeks also included the Republican and Democratic Party’s national conventions, an assassination attempt on Trump’s life, and a disastrous first debate between Biden and Trump. Many political experts have described this series of events as being some of the most consequential and rapid in recent American history in the shortest amount of time. We are now on the eve of one of the most anticipated presidential debates in history.
As I have tried to make sense of this summer, and the Age of Trump more generally, I have kept returning to the image of a car going around a racetrack in an endless circle at high speed and unable to stop. It is loud, fast, and disorienting while at the same time being very tedious and repetitive. Those of us in this car — and watching it from the stands — are suffering from motion sickness. With the sudden change of political fortunes in these last weeks, it feels as if the American people have gotten a whiplash or a concussion.
....(snip)....
During her first major televised interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, on Thursday, Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, provided an example of what that could look like. Harris, as expected, was confident and poised as she explained her policy positions and how her thinking has changed over the years. She dismissed Trump’s absurd claims about her racial identity in such a manner that it made him look even more ridiculous — as though that is possible. CNN’s host, Dana Bash, as is typical for the mainstream news media, recycled Republican and right-wing talking points and accusations as though they were truth and not partisan attacks. Harris and Walz deflected them, and in total did an excellent job of staying on message and credit-claiming for her accomplishments as Biden’s vice president. In short, Kamala Harris looked “presidential.”
....(snip)....
But at its core, Harris and the Democrats are trying to revitalize a faith and belief in the presidency, democracy, government, and a type of healthy normal that has been so greatly diminished by the Age of Trump. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/09/the-political-whiplash-effect-is-harris-walzs-secret-weapon/
September 9, 2024
Tens of thousands of homes and buildings were threatened Sunday by an out-of-control wildfire burning in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles, amid a days-long heatwave that pushed temperatures into the triple digits across the region.
State firefighters said three firefighters had been injured and more than 35,000 structures were threatened, including single and multi-family homes and commercial buildings, while authorities issued evacuation orders for several areas. Thunderstorms expected later in the day could make conditions even more challenging.
The so-called Line fire was burning along the edge of the San Bernardino national forest, about 65 miles (105km) east of LA. As of Sunday morning, the blaze had charred about 27 sq miles (70 sq km) of grass and chaparral, leaving a thick cloud of dark smoke blanketing the area.
“Afternoon thunderstorms could cause new ignitions and potentially influence activity around the fire perimeter,” state firefighters said in a Sunday morning update. “Hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms are expected to challenge firefighters for the next few days.” ................(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/08/wildfire-line-fire-los-angeles-san-bernardino-evacuations
Wildfire near LA forces evacuations and threatens tens of thousands of buildings
Tens of thousands of homes and buildings were threatened Sunday by an out-of-control wildfire burning in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles, amid a days-long heatwave that pushed temperatures into the triple digits across the region.
State firefighters said three firefighters had been injured and more than 35,000 structures were threatened, including single and multi-family homes and commercial buildings, while authorities issued evacuation orders for several areas. Thunderstorms expected later in the day could make conditions even more challenging.
The so-called Line fire was burning along the edge of the San Bernardino national forest, about 65 miles (105km) east of LA. As of Sunday morning, the blaze had charred about 27 sq miles (70 sq km) of grass and chaparral, leaving a thick cloud of dark smoke blanketing the area.
“Afternoon thunderstorms could cause new ignitions and potentially influence activity around the fire perimeter,” state firefighters said in a Sunday morning update. “Hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms are expected to challenge firefighters for the next few days.” ................(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/08/wildfire-line-fire-los-angeles-san-bernardino-evacuations
September 9, 2024
(Salon) Florida voters who signed a petition to place a pro-choice abortion referendum on the ballot this November say they have been visited by police who are investigating claims of fraud at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration, the Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday.
Last year, DeSantis, a Republican, signed into a law a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. In response, pro-choice campaigners gathered and submitted nearly one million signatures to place on the ballot Amendment 4, a referendum that would overturn the ban and restore reproductive rights in the state.
Now Florida's Department of State is claiming it suspects fraud in the signature-gathering process. In an email to county election officials, the department's Brad McVay requested that they hand over their already-verified petitions so that the signatures can be reexamined, claiming without evidence that those who circulated the petitions "represent known or suspected fraudsters," Tampa Bay television station WTVT reported. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/08/florida-oppose-the-states-6-week-abortion-ban-say-they-are-being-visited-by-police/?in_brief=true
Florida voters who oppose the state's 6-week abortion ban say they are being visited by police
(Salon) Florida voters who signed a petition to place a pro-choice abortion referendum on the ballot this November say they have been visited by police who are investigating claims of fraud at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration, the Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday.
Last year, DeSantis, a Republican, signed into a law a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. In response, pro-choice campaigners gathered and submitted nearly one million signatures to place on the ballot Amendment 4, a referendum that would overturn the ban and restore reproductive rights in the state.
Now Florida's Department of State is claiming it suspects fraud in the signature-gathering process. In an email to county election officials, the department's Brad McVay requested that they hand over their already-verified petitions so that the signatures can be reexamined, claiming without evidence that those who circulated the petitions "represent known or suspected fraudsters," Tampa Bay television station WTVT reported. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/08/florida-oppose-the-states-6-week-abortion-ban-say-they-are-being-visited-by-police/?in_brief=true
September 8, 2024
Justice delayed is political: Trump’s election interference case must continue ahead of the election
The federal trial of Donald Trump on January 6-related charges must proceed without further delay
By Praveen Fernandes - Donald K. Sherman
Published September 8, 2024 8:58AM (EDT)
(Salon) The Supreme Court conservative majority’s opinion in Trump v. United States has rightly drawn considerable criticism. Its conclusion that former presidents enjoy presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts committed during their presidency is flabbergasting. As legal scholars across the ideological spectrum have explained, this immunity finds no support in the Constitution’s text and history, or the Supreme Court’s own precedent. A blistering dissent by Justice Sotomayor (joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson) exposes this rootlessness and expresses “fear for our democracy.”
That’s not where the harm ends. The Court’s slow pace in handing down its decision is already largely responsible for delaying for more than 200 days the federal criminal trial of Donald Trump for alleged January 6-related crimes.
But even though the D.C. District Court has only recently been able to restart its proceedings, Americans already know a lot about Donald Trump’s actions and responsibility for January 6 through rigorous fact-finding developed by two other governmental bodies: (1) the bipartisan House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol; and (2) the Colorado state court system, which adjudicated Anderson v. Griswold.
....(snip)....
There are good reasons for wanting the federal trial of Donald Trump on January 6-related charges to proceed without further delay, and good reasons to laud Judge Tanya Chutkan’s attempts to keep the trial on track in D.C. District Court. Criminal trials, with their juries of everyday Americans and their high standards of proof—beyond a reasonable doubt versus the lower preponderance of evidence standard used in civil trials—are often considered the gold standard when it comes to understanding culpability for bad acts. But the absence of a guilty verdict in an ongoing criminal trial doesn’t mean the American public lacks information about January 6 and Trump’s involvement. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to the fact-finding of the bipartisan Select Committee and the Colorado courts, we know a lot. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/08/justice-delayed-is-political-trumps-interference-case-must-continue-ahead-of-the/
Justice delayed is political: Trump's election interference case must continue ahead of the election
Justice delayed is political: Trump’s election interference case must continue ahead of the election
The federal trial of Donald Trump on January 6-related charges must proceed without further delay
By Praveen Fernandes - Donald K. Sherman
Published September 8, 2024 8:58AM (EDT)
(Salon) The Supreme Court conservative majority’s opinion in Trump v. United States has rightly drawn considerable criticism. Its conclusion that former presidents enjoy presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts committed during their presidency is flabbergasting. As legal scholars across the ideological spectrum have explained, this immunity finds no support in the Constitution’s text and history, or the Supreme Court’s own precedent. A blistering dissent by Justice Sotomayor (joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson) exposes this rootlessness and expresses “fear for our democracy.”
That’s not where the harm ends. The Court’s slow pace in handing down its decision is already largely responsible for delaying for more than 200 days the federal criminal trial of Donald Trump for alleged January 6-related crimes.
But even though the D.C. District Court has only recently been able to restart its proceedings, Americans already know a lot about Donald Trump’s actions and responsibility for January 6 through rigorous fact-finding developed by two other governmental bodies: (1) the bipartisan House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol; and (2) the Colorado state court system, which adjudicated Anderson v. Griswold.
....(snip)....
There are good reasons for wanting the federal trial of Donald Trump on January 6-related charges to proceed without further delay, and good reasons to laud Judge Tanya Chutkan’s attempts to keep the trial on track in D.C. District Court. Criminal trials, with their juries of everyday Americans and their high standards of proof—beyond a reasonable doubt versus the lower preponderance of evidence standard used in civil trials—are often considered the gold standard when it comes to understanding culpability for bad acts. But the absence of a guilty verdict in an ongoing criminal trial doesn’t mean the American public lacks information about January 6 and Trump’s involvement. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to the fact-finding of the bipartisan Select Committee and the Colorado courts, we know a lot. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/09/08/justice-delayed-is-political-trumps-interference-case-must-continue-ahead-of-the/
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