onfocus

On Friday, the Washington Post’s publisher, Will Lewis, announced that the paper would no longer make endorsements for president—after its journalists had already drafted an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. The decision was made by Jeff Bezos, the paper’s owner.

What’s the point of a billionaire owning a newspaper if he can’t use it to promote his interests? Disgusting how ungrateful these billionaires are to the country and institutions that put them in a position to make billions.

He said that, in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.

I’m afraid this is what many people find appealing about Trump. During a crisis it doesn’t work to have a deeply incurious, unserious, and cruel person at the helm as we found out with covid. Please vote for people who want to make government work beyond eternal personal revenge.

At one point during the event — which was ostensibly supposed to focus on Trump’s policy vision — the former president told his supporters, “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into our music. Who the hell wants to hear questions? Right?”

Sounds like the vibes were immaculate for Trump, but this is not normal presidential behavior. This isn't even stalling for time. This is a problem when this person wants to be commander in chief.

Historians: He’s a fascist. Political scientists: He’s a fascist. His own aides: He’s a fascist. The NYT: He shows a wistful longing for a bygone era of global politics.

That, in essence, is the issue with these headlines.

Breaking my rule about linking to Substack because the NYT coverage of the election has been abysmal. In a just world it would mean the end of the NYT. (It would be ok, we could get our word games somewhere else.) But maybe there are enough fascist-curious consumers and backers to keep it going. They just need one billionaire to weather any storm.

The United States imports a wide variety of items that cannot be produced in large enough quantities to satiate domestic demand. Basic foodstuffs such as coffee, bananas, avocados, cocoa and much more do not grow in U.S. climates. And there are no domestic replacements for wild-caught Chilean sea bass or yellowfin tuna.

Countering MAGA beliefs with logic isn't going to move any numbers, but it is good to make the rational case that Trump's economic plan would tank the economy. He's not good at business or economics. That’s a mythology that was created to sell garbage. Plus he's surrounded people who are out to prove the government doesn't work.

The letter is an effort to draw a contrast between the 59-year-old Democratic nominee and her 78-year-old Republican rival, Donald Trump, who is vying to become the oldest person ever elected to the Oval Office and has released relatively little detailed information about his own medical history.

Please remember that a vote for Trump is a vote for a potential Vance presidency and no one wants that.

For those Americans who are still tempted to return him to the presidency or to not vote in November, it is worth considering the assessment of Mr. Trump by those who have seen him up close.

Quotes from people who worked closely with Trump. They don’t paint a picture of competence.

He is not a disaster waiting to happen. He is a disaster that has already happened.

An article by Admiral Steve Abbot who served as deputy Homeland Security Adviser to President George W. Bush.

Trump elaborated on his proposal to eliminate the Department of Education by describing what he envisioned the agency would look like: “I think you will have like one person plus a secretary. You’ll have a secretary. The secretary will have one person plus a secretary. And all the person has to do is: Are you teaching English? Are you teaching arithmetic? What are you doing? Reading, writing and arithmetic. And are you not teaching woke? Not teaching woke is a very big factor. But we’ll have a very small staff.”

Trump should not be in charge of anything, and least of all the most powerful military in the world.

It alleges that he always planned to declare victory no matter the result, and laid the groundwork for this long before election day. It also accuses him of knowingly spreading false claims about the vote that he himself deemed "crazy".

Since the Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling threw a wrench into the case, we’re suddenly getting a clearer view of what Trump did on January 6th and it’s disgusting. Informed about the danger the violent mob posed to his Vice President Mike Pence, Trump reportedly replied, “So what?”

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced the introduction of new legislation to restore balance among the three branches of government, increase transparency to improve public trust in America’s courts, and modernize the courts to ensure greater access to justice for more Americans.

Thanks, Senator Wyden! There are good politicians out there working for their constituents. Wyden is consistently fighting the good fight.

But even as that was happening, the Vice President didn’t stoop to a contest of two truths, a contest over which truth voters might pick. She instead made it clear that the basis of the “truth” Trump offers, is a base of weakness and fear. She didn’t refute individual aspects of Trump’s truth. She instead kicked at its foundations, and showed how flimsy it is.

Interesting analysis of Harris' debate strategy. Rather than responding point by point to misinformation, she stayed on the task of dismantling maga mythology.