Thanks, Robert, for this very detailed synopsis of today's events. I always look forward to reading your summaries and opinions.
I must admit, and perhaps it's petty of me, to a moment of glee and relief at this:
"Trump issued a plea before the trial, asking his supporters to “Rally behind MAGA” at the park across the street from the courthouse. Depending the source, it appears that less than a dozen supporters responded to Trump's call."
Perhaps his cultish followers are starting to come to their senses. One can hope.
I'd like to think that the Quadefendant's shenanigans are wearing on his supporters, but they seem to have developed an immunity to truth, decency, and the common good. As he becomes more desperate, he'll likely demand greater loyalty and perhaps will alienate more of his base.
I'm anxious to see how the judge deals with the Quadefendant's obvious violations of the gag order. Maybe instead of threatening incarceration, which the Q would twist into martyrdom, the judge should install a "time out" chair in the corner of the courtroom, and use that to punish his petulant behavior.
OH, dear, I shouldn't be laughing....but you made me laugh out loud as I picture TFG in his "time out" chair. Thank you for this bit of levity - every little bit helps balance the weight of these events. And thank you Robert for this summary of the day. Phew!
What is President Biden doing today ?? He’ll be in Florida 😎 with a Pro-Reproductive Freedom/Pro-Amendment 4 message !
Speaking of billboards,the DNC has placed them in major cities in Fl. They’re in English and Spanish and read: ➡️“Abortion is banned in Florida thanks to Donald Trump. He won’t stop until it’s banned nationwide.”
"Reality is a pesky thing—facts cling to reality effortlessly while lies clink and thud as they miss their mark." I just love this sentence! That is all.
Robbie and Robert, I agree a great and hopeful sentence. Yet, when I consider Trump voters I know, the "facts" that are clinging to their "reality" are very different from how I understand the world. Evils of the Deep State. Trump Did Nothing Wrong., etc. And the "facts" about Hitler and the Holocaust have corrupted discourse and "reality" for almost a hundred years. Something I never would have thought possible 60 years ago. Lies, hatred, and self-delusion have their adhesion too. And he struggle to surface those facts continues. I do feel we have turned a corner in public perception over the last few weeks. I hope the facts will become even more clingy in the day after day in the weeks ahead..
I had to seriously consider what I wanted to add to the conversation, that isn't snark nor unproductive.
First, these trials (and their delays) are so demonstrative of ("white") privilege.
Here's to finally "proving" "no one is above the law."
Second, the defense claims that "nothing he did was a crime"
- paying off people for silence, NDAs, "catch-and-kill" stories with tabloids, the sleaze of cheating on every one of his three wives
- which has a lot of people thinking, "then why did Michael Cohen go to jail?"
And why are hundreds who participated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol convicted and in jail while the person benefitting is free and apparently not being held to account? In fact, is the presumptive presidential candidate for what once was a major political party, but has been taken over as a loyalist cult?
Prosecutors are helping juries "connect the dots."
So many people I know have basically stopped watching all news.
It is an effort to protect their mental health and well-being.
The media needs to do MUCH better.
WORDS MATTER.
It's not "the hush money case" - it's "the election interference conspiracy."
The defense spent quite a bit of their opening statements hammering why it is "President Donald Trump" (when millions of "us" are saying it should be "Defendant Trump" or "Mr. Trump" or "Former President Trump.") Considering he is intent on ENDING the Presidency (and installing himself as dictator), it doesn't seem to me he deserves to be addressed in such a manner.
As for the WHINING that he cannot get a "fair trial" in New York
(with attacks on the Judge, the staff, the witnesses, the jurors, the state legal system and of course, the current administration, let's throw the entire kitchen sink in our victim-hood claims),
it brings to mind the lyrics from the genius Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON Musical
"They don't like you."
(Reference in context, from Act 2 of HAMILTON:
Asterisks denote Burr's lyrics, lines without asterisks sung by Hamilton.
Burr?
Since when are you a Democratic-Republican?
* Since being one put me on the up and up again
No one knows who you are or what you do
*They don't need to know me
*They don't like you
Excuse me?
*Oh, Wall Street thinks you're great
*You'll always be adored by the things you create
*But upstate
Wait
*People think you're crooked
*Schuyler's seat was up for grabs so I took it
I've always considered you a friend
*I don't see why that has to end
You changed parties to run against my father-in-law
Beverly, I appreciate that you avoided the “snarky and unproductive.” My sense is that in the last week with Trump criminal trial starting posts have had feel of exuberance that while understandable were quickly seeming to giddy.
Our goal, as Robert has regularly told us, is to focus on the message and get out the vote.
Voters today live in a bubble. In Today’s Edition Robert mentioned several initiatives the Biden Administration started and inaugurated over the past few days and as well read as I am I was unaware of some of them and did not see the appropriate news coverage of the events. Additionally a large majority of voters have tuned out the Trump trial and are not following the day to day courtroom drama because they have Trump fatigue. The reality is most voters have already made up their minds about Trump and who and what he is and there are some voters who still are unsure about Biden but they are not leaning towards Trump. Biden needs to keep performing as Trump begins disintegrating and becomes more volatile and out of control. The trial will demonstrate for everyone how unstable and unqualified Trump is to be our next President.
And I believe "Trump fatigue" may mean that many Independents and Disillusioned Republican "moderates" (whatever that means) .... will stay home or leave the presidential boxes empty when voting.
Agreed Bill. It must be disconcerting to be a Republican as you watch the House MAGA nonsense and Trump’s courtroom lies. Moreover, at some level it is a sad day for all of us to see a former president so broken.
Let’s hope that some of those Republicans show up at the polls to vote out the likes of MTG. We have high hopes to see Lauren Boebert return to her gun carrying restaurant days.
Overall happy about your reporting - but since when is it antisemitic to protest the mass killing of the Palestinian people? Biden needs to show moral clarity on this topic or he will deserve to lose the youth vote. I know there is antisemitism out there but let’s not lump that together with legitimate protests against the Israeli government.
What Biden has said is the students and many other US citizens do not have all,the facts and innocent people on both sides have been unnecessarily killed. Where are the protests on behalf of the Israeli’s held prisoner and Israeli killed by Hamas.
Jody, I think you make a good point. We need to respect all life and find the means to get Israel to differentiate Hamas from civilians. It is disheartening to hear accounts on NPR of entire families killed. My hope is that Biden will find a path forward with Israelis finding a replacement for Netanyahu and Palestinians finding leaders who can lead for peace.
Contrary to what you wrote, John D. Cooper, Israel DOES differentiate between civilians and Hamas fighters. Before Israel attacked Hamas in Gaza, it warned civilians where to move in order to minimize the likelihood of noncombatant casualties – thus at the cost of letting the Hamas enemy know where Israel would attack. Moreover, Israel provided advance warning to people in buildings they attacked. To the best of my knowledge, those actions have been *unprecedented* in the history of warfare.
Contrast it with Hamas and Hezbollah *intentionally* rocketing civilians in Israel, which has been treated as ho-hum by “peace” advocates.
Well Michael, I stand corrected and appreciate your response. My intentions was more focused on the tragedy of so many deaths after hearing a morning report on NPR. Guess it is too easy to misspeak while watching and reading about the horrors of warfare in 2024, regardless of where it is happening which is all too much. I am saddened by the global moment. 2024 and I’d like the think humanity has made some progress but it doesn’t appear that way with 24/7 news of global murder feeding our the industrial complex.
Thanks for the information about the action in Ohio. I am convinced that billboards can be an effective messaging tool. You can’t get away from billboards.
I would love to see billboards up with Trump’s statements about punishing women and how immigrants are poisoning the blood of this country. This could get info to the low information voter.
It's important to be careful though with putting up billboards with statements like that in places with poorly educated or cultist MAGA followers because he said what he said in the first place because they cheered and yelled "Yeah!" When you just repeat him you risk contributing publicity to his campaign.
It's important to remember we don't think like these people think. Any billboard that has you repulsed should be run past a sample MAGA audience to see if they are repelled or attracted. Perhaps a simple statement of outcome spelling out how a policy would hurt locals instead?
Every day, President Biden does more for the US accidentally than the Quadefendant did in 4 years on purpose. The best thing the Quadefendant did in 4 years for this country was lose the election, bigly!
Robert, this paragraph in Concluding Thoughts restores my hope in a fair outcome of the NY trial:
"The slow unfolding of the evidence is a positive aspect of trials. The mind is a causal inference engine. It attempts to impose patterns and explanations on facts that appear to be confusing and conflicting. That natural tendency favors discernment of the truth. Reality is a pesky thing—facts cling to reality effortlessly while lies clink and thud as they miss their mark."
The jurors see what we expect to be the whole, unvarnished, organized, and compelling story. We, on the other hand, see edited, curated, sound-bitten snippets designed to get our attention. Contributions to our fuller enlightenment, as you and Joyce Vance provide, give us a glimpse into the true reality, not the "reality TV" version. Now that it will soon be in their hands, I have confidence that the jury will decide based on the true reality.
Ohio is an interesting place. Well educated populace, sophisticated cities, great sports teams, and birthplace of 7 Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant (Point Pleasant), Rutherford Birchard Hayes (Delaware), James Abram Garfield (Orange Township - now Moreland Hills, Ohio), Benjamin Harrison (North Bend), William McKinley (Niles), William Howard Taft (Cincinnati), and Warren Gamaliel Harding (Corsica, now Blooming Grove). But recently, they've also managed to send Gym Jordan and JD Vance to Washington - two powerful people of questionable devotion to the truth.
Like many states the rural voters have been abandoned and ignored by Democrats historically and Trump was going to save them. When will they wake up and find out they have been conned.
True Stephen, but when will the Dems make a stronger push to pay attention to rural areas, field good candidates and no longer let them be wide open to Republicans who show no moral courage or competence?
Michael, I’m not sure that’s the case but I have trouble keeping track of all Judge Cannon’s weird orders; last I heard it was not “public” but only that defendant could have the list. I depend on podcast “Jack” with Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill, drops on Sunday mornings.
Let me add to my earlier comment: The suffering of the Palestinians would be eased if Arab countries were to allow immigration. This is not a trivial point.
Like I keep saying: Biden, best president of my lifetime! And probably among the top 3-4. He's amazing!
As for Trump, I would note that he looks absolutely miserable in that courtroom. I took a few photos of photos of him that I wish I could post here. I think just this court case is liable to leave him a shell of his former self. If I were the GOP, I'd be looking for someone else to run in his stead. I'm glad I'm not--on general principle.
Allow me to dissent in part. Fox News is calling Biden’s comments about the people who don’t understand the Palestinians his “good people on both sides” moment. I usually detest Fox but it calls this one correctly. There are so many errors in what he says that I don’t know where to begin. First, the plight of the poor Palestinian would end if Hamas would return the hostages and surrender. The poor Palestinians elected Hamas and have only themselves to blame for their current plight. Second, people who try to distinguish between antisemitism and anti-Zionism are ignorant of the centrality of Israel to the soul of a Jew. To take but one point, when Israel was created (by the UN) Jews were expelled from, eg, Iraq and Yemen. They were told to go to Israel. They did, and joined refugees from Europe after the Holocaust who likewise had nowhere else to go. Same with Russian refuseniks. The history of the Jews is the history of a people always fleeing persecution and with no refuge, except Israel. Even after the UN created Israel the Arabs constantly declared war on Israel. Fortunately the Jews who settled in Israel were intent on rebuilding their lives and not complaining. And they did. So I am fed up with anguished cries about the poor Palestinians. It is antisemitism pure and simple. I fear for US young Jewish children who now must grow up in this environment. Biden abets the antisemitism - not intentionally but by his own unthinking comments. He needs to call out the US protests for what they are.
Douglas, your comment is filled with truth and important perspectives. During our Seder last night I was reminded of the eons of persecution suffered by my wife's ancestors (I am not Jewish - just a respectful "None" who embraces history).
I don't think there is anything that Biden can say to "thread the needle" that will please us. While I completely agree that Netanyahu will spend an eternity in Hell (if there is one) for his approach to Gaza, blaming Biden is nonsense.
Gazans have been killed and starved in an attempt to stop the forever (ENOUGH!) terrorizing of Jews for as long as they have existed. It's all so complicated. Bibi cannot find and eliminate all of Hamas. Yet IMO, they are the ultimate evil. But every time a bomb kills the family of Palestinian kid, a new enraged member of Hamas is created. Killing off civilians by thousands won't eliminate a movement. Starving mothers and babies won't change things for the better.
And yet, Gazans have invited this horror by hosting and supporting Hamas who is dedicated to just one thing: the elimination of Israel and the deaths or expulsion of all Jews. You can't negotiate with monsters.
And yet, when Israel was created, 700,000 Palestinians were displaced - thrown off their land - owned for generations. The seeds were planted by colonial governments that allowed this crime against a people who had no part in the persecutions of WWII.
And so, after a chain of really dumb decisions, more really awful things are perpetrated. If one is a Jew (or loves a Jew) one asks where the publicity has gone about the slaughter, rape and kidnapping of peaceful, innocent, civilian Jews on October 7th? Where are the demonstrations about that?
And so, were the deaths of over 30,000 Gazans necessary? Were the many thousands in the process of starving to death now and in the future - the answer to the invasion of October 7th?
If a person really thinks that all humans are truly equal and have a right to a safe home with water and food - how can there be only one side to this insane conflagration?
Biden can only do so much. If America limits its support of Israel, Iran and Putin win. Biden's team has been working on an alliance between Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Arab states with Israel. Iran is their enemy and has tried to break up that effort by supporting their proxy Hamas.
And Putin encourages the whole thing - a distraction from his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
If people want to demonstrate, perhaps they should be doing so against the enemies in the background who enable all this. There are three sides to every story. "Your side, my side...and the truth."
Thank you for all that. I wish I understood why the US militarily supporting Bibi and the IDF, at least without requiring actual humane corridors, food water and working hospitals, or exits, would result in Iran and Putin winning. I don’t due to to my inability to really know and understand its complicated history and present. The Oct. 7 hostages for whom we should be demonstrating has been buried by Bibi’s rabid response/eclipse/ him destroying Gaza and killing 33,000 Palestinians. Demonstrating though is a right and a voice and to imagine there is not diversity and complicated views in the minds of those demonstrating is selling them short and I feel inaccurate. Because they object to 33,000 Palestinians being murdered does it mean they object to a Jewish homeland or any possible and complicated solution.
“ Because they [demonstrators] object to 33,000 Palestinians being murdered does it mean they object to a Jewish homeland or any possible and complicated solution?”
For many of the demonstrators, the answer seems to be, unfortunately, definitely yes.
I think people need to use more discernment looking at the “numbers” on the Gaza war:
• The purported 33,000 number for Palestinian deaths is reported by *Hamas*, that impartial organization. It includes Hamas *fighters* (more than 10,000 deaths, according to the Israel Defense Forces).
• “… when Israel was created, 700,000 Palestinians were displaced.” True, but during the same time interval, an approximately equal number of *Jewish* citizens were expelled from and dispossessed by Arab nations. Israel did not put them into “refugee camps”, but instead incorporated them into the citizenry. Incidentally, it should be no surprise that many of those uprooted new citizens became the nucleus of conservative Israeli parties – parties highly skeptical of Palestinian Arabs.
• “Killing off civilians by thousands won't eliminate a movement.” How does one apply that statement to Germany during World War II, where civilian casualties were certainly greater than in Gaza, physical destruction was even much greater, and much of the population starved?
• “ were the deaths of over 30,000 Gazans necessary?” Leaving aside the truthfulness of the 30,000 number: No, but many of the deaths occurred because Hamas located military facilities within or adjacent to civilian homes, hospitals, UN facilities, etc. Thereby they became legitimate and important military targets. Why aren’t people blaming Hamas?
Thank you for your response. All excellent points.
When we look back at what we did to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Dresden - how do we feel? The most common narrative is that we did what we had to do to defeat the enemies who perpetrated horrors beyond the pale, beyond the imagination of most people. I'd make the case that we had no choice. Most of us in "western nations" may have some occasional debate as to whether it was too much...most have accepted that we did the only thing we could. It's not that different. The enemy would not surrender. Without effective action on our part, the lives of many more of our own were to be lost. And we might have had a future that looked like that portrayed in "The Man in the High Castle".
"Why aren't people blaming Hamas?" is the big question that doesn't seem to be asked often enough. However, I still maintain that even if Netanyahu claims he has killed or captured every Hamas fighter in Gaza, they will be reborn with support from the very rich Hamas leaders sitting comfortably in Qatar and of course, Iran. And while I agree that Hamas should be eradicated, is it a realistic goal? And is the project, conducted in this manner, worth the enmity that will be generated if it can never be completed?
If I had watched my family and friends be raped and murdered on October 7th and survived...I don't think I would have been shy about accepting a weapon and killing anything that looked like Hamas in Gaza. And if I were a young Gazan boy and I had to dig the bodies of my family out of the rubble...what would my worldview be?
The solutions to all this are way above my pay grade. I am grateful that we have Biden and Blinken at the helm. I hope peace will be on the table soon. I'm not optimistic.
A strong post, Bill. The entire mess is disturbing for lots of reasons - from history’s failures to Netanyahu and Abbas bad actors and death all around. No one with an ounce of compassion can take much comfort from the moment except perhaps for the continuing efforts by many Middle Eastern countries’ efforts to keep this from becoming a wider war.
The poor Palestinians elected Hamas and have only themselves to blame for their plight?
1) Hamas was elected in 2006 with 44.45% of the vote, winning 74 of the 132 seats. No further elections held since then.
2) It may be argued that it is necessary to prevent future Hamas attacks against Israel by bombing suspected Hamas headquarters and hideouts, and bombing the homes of Hamas leaders.
3) It cannot be argued that it is necessary to bring the millions of people in Gaza to the point of starvation. Hamas may be thought responsible, but not the Palestinians trapped there.
Inadequate as efforts to bring food into Gaza have been, please note the following: Can you cite any other full-on war in which food has been supplied to citizens of the side that *started* that war? I can’t.
Why doesn’t Israel receive even a morsel of credit for facilitating the feeding of a potentially enemy population? Is it because “world opinion” treats Israel differently?
My response to your first question is, No, but what does that have to do with this situation?
Your second question refers to a “potentially enemy population.” I imagine the animosity that ordinary Palestinians in Gaza felt towards Israel was less before Hamas gave Israelis a reason to seek retribution. A retribution which is widely seen around the world as completely disproportionate. At what point does prevention of future attacks like October 7 stop, and pure revenge begin?
Thank goodness for the daily transcript! That should keep some of the pundits and supposed news people from misreporting what happens there. The transcript will not reflect "sleepy" Donald Duck or when he cuts the cheese, nor will it show that he is not standing for the jury (a faux pas the two attorney-jurors may well pick up on and share with the others when deliberations begin). But he is certainly showing the very ordinary side of himself, the side that Melania no doubt sees, that fills those closest to him with contempt. JFK and Obama had award-winning photographers camera-ready 24/7 (almost) and every shot is a beloved moment of iconic praise, and this jury gets a fly-on-the-wall view of a base, lowly bully. I wish there was a video or photographic view of what transpires - although I do enjoy how much Donald supposedly hates the way he appears at the hands of the courtroom artists. Ha!
I applaud the new format and your effort to present a balanced picture. The current set of issues forces me to reflect that I do read news for entertainment more often than I would admit. So, hearing the important daily efforts made by Biden is good but sometimes like eating my vegetables and reading about the Trump trial (s) should be dessert.
Thanks, Robert, for this very detailed synopsis of today's events. I always look forward to reading your summaries and opinions.
I must admit, and perhaps it's petty of me, to a moment of glee and relief at this:
"Trump issued a plea before the trial, asking his supporters to “Rally behind MAGA” at the park across the street from the courthouse. Depending the source, it appears that less than a dozen supporters responded to Trump's call."
Perhaps his cultish followers are starting to come to their senses. One can hope.
It is important to be clear violent actions will not be tolerated.
It is even more important to uphold the rule of law.
Trump using Al Capone as his example says a lot.
(Oh, and Nelson Mandela, he is not and NEVER will be!)
I'd like to think that the Quadefendant's shenanigans are wearing on his supporters, but they seem to have developed an immunity to truth, decency, and the common good. As he becomes more desperate, he'll likely demand greater loyalty and perhaps will alienate more of his base.
I'm anxious to see how the judge deals with the Quadefendant's obvious violations of the gag order. Maybe instead of threatening incarceration, which the Q would twist into martyrdom, the judge should install a "time out" chair in the corner of the courtroom, and use that to punish his petulant behavior.
OH, dear, I shouldn't be laughing....but you made me laugh out loud as I picture TFG in his "time out" chair. Thank you for this bit of levity - every little bit helps balance the weight of these events. And thank you Robert for this summary of the day. Phew!
Great idea! Maybe add a dunce cap? Let's give him a taste of his own medicine, or should I say poison. That is a perfect punishment!
Not a chance that will happen
No, but it would make an amusing political cartoon, wouldn't it?
What is President Biden doing today ?? He’ll be in Florida 😎 with a Pro-Reproductive Freedom/Pro-Amendment 4 message !
Speaking of billboards,the DNC has placed them in major cities in Fl. They’re in English and Spanish and read: ➡️“Abortion is banned in Florida thanks to Donald Trump. He won’t stop until it’s banned nationwide.”
"Reality is a pesky thing—facts cling to reality effortlessly while lies clink and thud as they miss their mark." I just love this sentence! That is all.
Robbie and Robert, I agree a great and hopeful sentence. Yet, when I consider Trump voters I know, the "facts" that are clinging to their "reality" are very different from how I understand the world. Evils of the Deep State. Trump Did Nothing Wrong., etc. And the "facts" about Hitler and the Holocaust have corrupted discourse and "reality" for almost a hundred years. Something I never would have thought possible 60 years ago. Lies, hatred, and self-delusion have their adhesion too. And he struggle to surface those facts continues. I do feel we have turned a corner in public perception over the last few weeks. I hope the facts will become even more clingy in the day after day in the weeks ahead..
I had to seriously consider what I wanted to add to the conversation, that isn't snark nor unproductive.
First, these trials (and their delays) are so demonstrative of ("white") privilege.
Here's to finally "proving" "no one is above the law."
Second, the defense claims that "nothing he did was a crime"
- paying off people for silence, NDAs, "catch-and-kill" stories with tabloids, the sleaze of cheating on every one of his three wives
- which has a lot of people thinking, "then why did Michael Cohen go to jail?"
And why are hundreds who participated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol convicted and in jail while the person benefitting is free and apparently not being held to account? In fact, is the presumptive presidential candidate for what once was a major political party, but has been taken over as a loyalist cult?
Prosecutors are helping juries "connect the dots."
So many people I know have basically stopped watching all news.
It is an effort to protect their mental health and well-being.
The media needs to do MUCH better.
WORDS MATTER.
It's not "the hush money case" - it's "the election interference conspiracy."
The defense spent quite a bit of their opening statements hammering why it is "President Donald Trump" (when millions of "us" are saying it should be "Defendant Trump" or "Mr. Trump" or "Former President Trump.") Considering he is intent on ENDING the Presidency (and installing himself as dictator), it doesn't seem to me he deserves to be addressed in such a manner.
As for the WHINING that he cannot get a "fair trial" in New York
(with attacks on the Judge, the staff, the witnesses, the jurors, the state legal system and of course, the current administration, let's throw the entire kitchen sink in our victim-hood claims),
it brings to mind the lyrics from the genius Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON Musical
"They don't like you."
(Reference in context, from Act 2 of HAMILTON:
Asterisks denote Burr's lyrics, lines without asterisks sung by Hamilton.
Burr?
Since when are you a Democratic-Republican?
* Since being one put me on the up and up again
No one knows who you are or what you do
*They don't need to know me
*They don't like you
Excuse me?
*Oh, Wall Street thinks you're great
*You'll always be adored by the things you create
*But upstate
Wait
*People think you're crooked
*Schuyler's seat was up for grabs so I took it
I've always considered you a friend
*I don't see why that has to end
You changed parties to run against my father-in-law
*I changed parties to seize the opportunity I saw
*I swear your pride will be the death of us all
*Beware, it goeth before the fall.)
Beverly, I appreciate that you avoided the “snarky and unproductive.” My sense is that in the last week with Trump criminal trial starting posts have had feel of exuberance that while understandable were quickly seeming to giddy.
Our goal, as Robert has regularly told us, is to focus on the message and get out the vote.
Beverly, thank you for these snippets from Hamilton. It renews my desire to watch it again (on TV with closed captioning, of course!)
Voters today live in a bubble. In Today’s Edition Robert mentioned several initiatives the Biden Administration started and inaugurated over the past few days and as well read as I am I was unaware of some of them and did not see the appropriate news coverage of the events. Additionally a large majority of voters have tuned out the Trump trial and are not following the day to day courtroom drama because they have Trump fatigue. The reality is most voters have already made up their minds about Trump and who and what he is and there are some voters who still are unsure about Biden but they are not leaning towards Trump. Biden needs to keep performing as Trump begins disintegrating and becomes more volatile and out of control. The trial will demonstrate for everyone how unstable and unqualified Trump is to be our next President.
Yes, stephen. Yes to every word.
And I believe "Trump fatigue" may mean that many Independents and Disillusioned Republican "moderates" (whatever that means) .... will stay home or leave the presidential boxes empty when voting.
That is a fear I have and I hope it does not impact the election. Some Republicans would rather not vote for President than vote for a Democrat
Good: we should be pleased if those Republicans abstain.
Agreed Bill. It must be disconcerting to be a Republican as you watch the House MAGA nonsense and Trump’s courtroom lies. Moreover, at some level it is a sad day for all of us to see a former president so broken.
Let’s hope that some of those Republicans show up at the polls to vote out the likes of MTG. We have high hopes to see Lauren Boebert return to her gun carrying restaurant days.
Overall happy about your reporting - but since when is it antisemitic to protest the mass killing of the Palestinian people? Biden needs to show moral clarity on this topic or he will deserve to lose the youth vote. I know there is antisemitism out there but let’s not lump that together with legitimate protests against the Israeli government.
Hi, Jody. Biden didn't say this: "It is antisemitic to protest the mass killing of the Palestinian people."
What Biden has said is the students and many other US citizens do not have all,the facts and innocent people on both sides have been unnecessarily killed. Where are the protests on behalf of the Israeli’s held prisoner and Israeli killed by Hamas.
Robert Reich has an excellent post that supports what you’re saying. https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/the-most-important-thing-i-teach?r=dpmrd&utm_medium=ios
Jody, I think you make a good point. We need to respect all life and find the means to get Israel to differentiate Hamas from civilians. It is disheartening to hear accounts on NPR of entire families killed. My hope is that Biden will find a path forward with Israelis finding a replacement for Netanyahu and Palestinians finding leaders who can lead for peace.
Contrary to what you wrote, John D. Cooper, Israel DOES differentiate between civilians and Hamas fighters. Before Israel attacked Hamas in Gaza, it warned civilians where to move in order to minimize the likelihood of noncombatant casualties – thus at the cost of letting the Hamas enemy know where Israel would attack. Moreover, Israel provided advance warning to people in buildings they attacked. To the best of my knowledge, those actions have been *unprecedented* in the history of warfare.
Contrast it with Hamas and Hezbollah *intentionally* rocketing civilians in Israel, which has been treated as ho-hum by “peace” advocates.
Well Michael, I stand corrected and appreciate your response. My intentions was more focused on the tragedy of so many deaths after hearing a morning report on NPR. Guess it is too easy to misspeak while watching and reading about the horrors of warfare in 2024, regardless of where it is happening which is all too much. I am saddened by the global moment. 2024 and I’d like the think humanity has made some progress but it doesn’t appear that way with 24/7 news of global murder feeding our the industrial complex.
Thanks for the information about the action in Ohio. I am convinced that billboards can be an effective messaging tool. You can’t get away from billboards.
I would love to see billboards up with Trump’s statements about punishing women and how immigrants are poisoning the blood of this country. This could get info to the low information voter.
It's important to be careful though with putting up billboards with statements like that in places with poorly educated or cultist MAGA followers because he said what he said in the first place because they cheered and yelled "Yeah!" When you just repeat him you risk contributing publicity to his campaign.
It's important to remember we don't think like these people think. Any billboard that has you repulsed should be run past a sample MAGA audience to see if they are repelled or attracted. Perhaps a simple statement of outcome spelling out how a policy would hurt locals instead?
Every day President Biden does more for the future of the US than Donald Trump did in four years
Every day, President Biden does more for the US accidentally than the Quadefendant did in 4 years on purpose. The best thing the Quadefendant did in 4 years for this country was lose the election, bigly!
Robert, this paragraph in Concluding Thoughts restores my hope in a fair outcome of the NY trial:
"The slow unfolding of the evidence is a positive aspect of trials. The mind is a causal inference engine. It attempts to impose patterns and explanations on facts that appear to be confusing and conflicting. That natural tendency favors discernment of the truth. Reality is a pesky thing—facts cling to reality effortlessly while lies clink and thud as they miss their mark."
The jurors see what we expect to be the whole, unvarnished, organized, and compelling story. We, on the other hand, see edited, curated, sound-bitten snippets designed to get our attention. Contributions to our fuller enlightenment, as you and Joyce Vance provide, give us a glimpse into the true reality, not the "reality TV" version. Now that it will soon be in their hands, I have confidence that the jury will decide based on the true reality.
Ohio is an interesting place. Well educated populace, sophisticated cities, great sports teams, and birthplace of 7 Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant (Point Pleasant), Rutherford Birchard Hayes (Delaware), James Abram Garfield (Orange Township - now Moreland Hills, Ohio), Benjamin Harrison (North Bend), William McKinley (Niles), William Howard Taft (Cincinnati), and Warren Gamaliel Harding (Corsica, now Blooming Grove). But recently, they've also managed to send Gym Jordan and JD Vance to Washington - two powerful people of questionable devotion to the truth.
Like many states the rural voters have been abandoned and ignored by Democrats historically and Trump was going to save them. When will they wake up and find out they have been conned.
The whole thing is racism. Visceral. The European ethnics in places like Youngstown hated Obama. Tim Ryan was abandoned by the DNC.
The former chair of the Republican Party and the former speaker of the Ohio House are in stir. Many Republicans. i.e. Kasich will not support Trump.
IMHO Sherrod Brown can get people registered and cuts through a lot of the hostility. This is the FT 6 plan:
Ohio is a crucial swing state! Democrats we register here can help us hold the Senate, as well as take back the House & keep the White House in 2024!
To save our Senate majority, we must re-elect Sherrod Brown (D)!
To save our House majority, we need to re-elect Greg Landsman (OH-01), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) and Emilia Sykes (OH-13).
To do this, we need to register OH Democrats – especially to vote by mail. This is a job for Field Team 6!
DEMOCRATS…
...are the only major party fighting Trumpism and the extremist MAGA Republicans.
...and the only party fighting for abortion rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.
...are fighting for access to health care, affordable college, and climate rescue.
REPUBLICANS...
...are waging a national war on voting rights.
...are fighting to eliminate access to healthcare.
...support Trump’s racist, sexist, anti-democracy agenda.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Registration deadline for the Special Election (if held) on August 6, 2024 is July 8, 2024.
Registration deadline for the General Presidential Election on November 5, 2024 is October 7, 2024.
Absentee ballot application deadline for the General Presidential Election is October 29, 2024.
If you need help getting an ID, contact VoteRiders.org or call/text 1-844-338-8743.
Polls are open 6:30am-7:30pm on election day.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/actions
With Trump, lying is instinctual. Habitual. Long standing practice. What's hard to know is when he is not fabricating something.
Nationally I'm involved with discrete groups seeking to flip votes.
1. Veterans. As of this morning, targeting FL, NC. https://danielsolomon.substack.com/p/flip-those-votes?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=742145&post_id=143883596&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=zc69i&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
2. FT 6. https://www.fieldteam6.org/actions
3. https://danielsolomon.substack.com/p/youre-invited?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=742145&post_id=143616766&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=zc69i&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
True Stephen, but when will the Dems make a stronger push to pay attention to rural areas, field good candidates and no longer let them be wide open to Republicans who show no moral courage or competence?
https://www.bluetent.us/organization/rural-democracy-initiative
Good link.
The are in some swing states like Pa and Ohio.
What is going on with Florida case? Think I heard Cannon decided to make witness list public. Is this enough to get Smith to toss her?
Michael, I’m not sure that’s the case but I have trouble keeping track of all Judge Cannon’s weird orders; last I heard it was not “public” but only that defendant could have the list. I depend on podcast “Jack” with Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill, drops on Sunday mornings.
Let me add to my earlier comment: The suffering of the Palestinians would be eased if Arab countries were to allow immigration. This is not a trivial point.
Like I keep saying: Biden, best president of my lifetime! And probably among the top 3-4. He's amazing!
As for Trump, I would note that he looks absolutely miserable in that courtroom. I took a few photos of photos of him that I wish I could post here. I think just this court case is liable to leave him a shell of his former self. If I were the GOP, I'd be looking for someone else to run in his stead. I'm glad I'm not--on general principle.
Let the blue tsunami sweep the country.
Allow me to dissent in part. Fox News is calling Biden’s comments about the people who don’t understand the Palestinians his “good people on both sides” moment. I usually detest Fox but it calls this one correctly. There are so many errors in what he says that I don’t know where to begin. First, the plight of the poor Palestinian would end if Hamas would return the hostages and surrender. The poor Palestinians elected Hamas and have only themselves to blame for their current plight. Second, people who try to distinguish between antisemitism and anti-Zionism are ignorant of the centrality of Israel to the soul of a Jew. To take but one point, when Israel was created (by the UN) Jews were expelled from, eg, Iraq and Yemen. They were told to go to Israel. They did, and joined refugees from Europe after the Holocaust who likewise had nowhere else to go. Same with Russian refuseniks. The history of the Jews is the history of a people always fleeing persecution and with no refuge, except Israel. Even after the UN created Israel the Arabs constantly declared war on Israel. Fortunately the Jews who settled in Israel were intent on rebuilding their lives and not complaining. And they did. So I am fed up with anguished cries about the poor Palestinians. It is antisemitism pure and simple. I fear for US young Jewish children who now must grow up in this environment. Biden abets the antisemitism - not intentionally but by his own unthinking comments. He needs to call out the US protests for what they are.
Douglas, your comment is filled with truth and important perspectives. During our Seder last night I was reminded of the eons of persecution suffered by my wife's ancestors (I am not Jewish - just a respectful "None" who embraces history).
I don't think there is anything that Biden can say to "thread the needle" that will please us. While I completely agree that Netanyahu will spend an eternity in Hell (if there is one) for his approach to Gaza, blaming Biden is nonsense.
Gazans have been killed and starved in an attempt to stop the forever (ENOUGH!) terrorizing of Jews for as long as they have existed. It's all so complicated. Bibi cannot find and eliminate all of Hamas. Yet IMO, they are the ultimate evil. But every time a bomb kills the family of Palestinian kid, a new enraged member of Hamas is created. Killing off civilians by thousands won't eliminate a movement. Starving mothers and babies won't change things for the better.
And yet, Gazans have invited this horror by hosting and supporting Hamas who is dedicated to just one thing: the elimination of Israel and the deaths or expulsion of all Jews. You can't negotiate with monsters.
And yet, when Israel was created, 700,000 Palestinians were displaced - thrown off their land - owned for generations. The seeds were planted by colonial governments that allowed this crime against a people who had no part in the persecutions of WWII.
And so, after a chain of really dumb decisions, more really awful things are perpetrated. If one is a Jew (or loves a Jew) one asks where the publicity has gone about the slaughter, rape and kidnapping of peaceful, innocent, civilian Jews on October 7th? Where are the demonstrations about that?
And so, were the deaths of over 30,000 Gazans necessary? Were the many thousands in the process of starving to death now and in the future - the answer to the invasion of October 7th?
If a person really thinks that all humans are truly equal and have a right to a safe home with water and food - how can there be only one side to this insane conflagration?
Biden can only do so much. If America limits its support of Israel, Iran and Putin win. Biden's team has been working on an alliance between Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Arab states with Israel. Iran is their enemy and has tried to break up that effort by supporting their proxy Hamas.
And Putin encourages the whole thing - a distraction from his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
If people want to demonstrate, perhaps they should be doing so against the enemies in the background who enable all this. There are three sides to every story. "Your side, my side...and the truth."
Thank you for all that. I wish I understood why the US militarily supporting Bibi and the IDF, at least without requiring actual humane corridors, food water and working hospitals, or exits, would result in Iran and Putin winning. I don’t due to to my inability to really know and understand its complicated history and present. The Oct. 7 hostages for whom we should be demonstrating has been buried by Bibi’s rabid response/eclipse/ him destroying Gaza and killing 33,000 Palestinians. Demonstrating though is a right and a voice and to imagine there is not diversity and complicated views in the minds of those demonstrating is selling them short and I feel inaccurate. Because they object to 33,000 Palestinians being murdered does it mean they object to a Jewish homeland or any possible and complicated solution.
“ Because they [demonstrators] object to 33,000 Palestinians being murdered does it mean they object to a Jewish homeland or any possible and complicated solution?”
For many of the demonstrators, the answer seems to be, unfortunately, definitely yes.
I think people need to use more discernment looking at the “numbers” on the Gaza war:
• The purported 33,000 number for Palestinian deaths is reported by *Hamas*, that impartial organization. It includes Hamas *fighters* (more than 10,000 deaths, according to the Israel Defense Forces).
• “… when Israel was created, 700,000 Palestinians were displaced.” True, but during the same time interval, an approximately equal number of *Jewish* citizens were expelled from and dispossessed by Arab nations. Israel did not put them into “refugee camps”, but instead incorporated them into the citizenry. Incidentally, it should be no surprise that many of those uprooted new citizens became the nucleus of conservative Israeli parties – parties highly skeptical of Palestinian Arabs.
• “Killing off civilians by thousands won't eliminate a movement.” How does one apply that statement to Germany during World War II, where civilian casualties were certainly greater than in Gaza, physical destruction was even much greater, and much of the population starved?
• “ were the deaths of over 30,000 Gazans necessary?” Leaving aside the truthfulness of the 30,000 number: No, but many of the deaths occurred because Hamas located military facilities within or adjacent to civilian homes, hospitals, UN facilities, etc. Thereby they became legitimate and important military targets. Why aren’t people blaming Hamas?
Michael,
Thank you for your response. All excellent points.
When we look back at what we did to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Dresden - how do we feel? The most common narrative is that we did what we had to do to defeat the enemies who perpetrated horrors beyond the pale, beyond the imagination of most people. I'd make the case that we had no choice. Most of us in "western nations" may have some occasional debate as to whether it was too much...most have accepted that we did the only thing we could. It's not that different. The enemy would not surrender. Without effective action on our part, the lives of many more of our own were to be lost. And we might have had a future that looked like that portrayed in "The Man in the High Castle".
"Why aren't people blaming Hamas?" is the big question that doesn't seem to be asked often enough. However, I still maintain that even if Netanyahu claims he has killed or captured every Hamas fighter in Gaza, they will be reborn with support from the very rich Hamas leaders sitting comfortably in Qatar and of course, Iran. And while I agree that Hamas should be eradicated, is it a realistic goal? And is the project, conducted in this manner, worth the enmity that will be generated if it can never be completed?
If I had watched my family and friends be raped and murdered on October 7th and survived...I don't think I would have been shy about accepting a weapon and killing anything that looked like Hamas in Gaza. And if I were a young Gazan boy and I had to dig the bodies of my family out of the rubble...what would my worldview be?
The solutions to all this are way above my pay grade. I am grateful that we have Biden and Blinken at the helm. I hope peace will be on the table soon. I'm not optimistic.
A strong post, Bill. The entire mess is disturbing for lots of reasons - from history’s failures to Netanyahu and Abbas bad actors and death all around. No one with an ounce of compassion can take much comfort from the moment except perhaps for the continuing efforts by many Middle Eastern countries’ efforts to keep this from becoming a wider war.
The poor Palestinians elected Hamas and have only themselves to blame for their plight?
1) Hamas was elected in 2006 with 44.45% of the vote, winning 74 of the 132 seats. No further elections held since then.
2) It may be argued that it is necessary to prevent future Hamas attacks against Israel by bombing suspected Hamas headquarters and hideouts, and bombing the homes of Hamas leaders.
3) It cannot be argued that it is necessary to bring the millions of people in Gaza to the point of starvation. Hamas may be thought responsible, but not the Palestinians trapped there.
4) How useful is blame in finding solutions?
Inadequate as efforts to bring food into Gaza have been, please note the following: Can you cite any other full-on war in which food has been supplied to citizens of the side that *started* that war? I can’t.
Why doesn’t Israel receive even a morsel of credit for facilitating the feeding of a potentially enemy population? Is it because “world opinion” treats Israel differently?
My response to your first question is, No, but what does that have to do with this situation?
Your second question refers to a “potentially enemy population.” I imagine the animosity that ordinary Palestinians in Gaza felt towards Israel was less before Hamas gave Israelis a reason to seek retribution. A retribution which is widely seen around the world as completely disproportionate. At what point does prevention of future attacks like October 7 stop, and pure revenge begin?
Thank goodness for the daily transcript! That should keep some of the pundits and supposed news people from misreporting what happens there. The transcript will not reflect "sleepy" Donald Duck or when he cuts the cheese, nor will it show that he is not standing for the jury (a faux pas the two attorney-jurors may well pick up on and share with the others when deliberations begin). But he is certainly showing the very ordinary side of himself, the side that Melania no doubt sees, that fills those closest to him with contempt. JFK and Obama had award-winning photographers camera-ready 24/7 (almost) and every shot is a beloved moment of iconic praise, and this jury gets a fly-on-the-wall view of a base, lowly bully. I wish there was a video or photographic view of what transpires - although I do enjoy how much Donald supposedly hates the way he appears at the hands of the courtroom artists. Ha!
I applaud the new format and your effort to present a balanced picture. The current set of issues forces me to reflect that I do read news for entertainment more often than I would admit. So, hearing the important daily efforts made by Biden is good but sometimes like eating my vegetables and reading about the Trump trial (s) should be dessert.