The Hill to Die On

Ann Telnaes’ resignation and the role of political satire in democracy

Guest Commentary by Chris Bidlack


On January 3rd, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish her satirical cartoon depicting billionaires like Jeff Bezos offering money to Donald Trump. This was the first time in her 17-year career at the Post that a cartoon was rejected due to its subject matter. The newspaper claimed the decision was not politically motivated, but Telnaes saw it as censorship.
 
While editorial decisions vary across different journalistic domains, political cartooning occupies a unique and crucial position in the media landscape. Unlike reporters covering sports, automotive, or lifestyle news for example, political journalists and cartoonists serve as chroniclers and visual commentators on pressing societal issues. Their work often challenges power structures and provokes critical thinking among readers, listeners, and viewers. 

Political news reporting and commentary stand in a category of their own, carrying far greater significance due to their impact on public discourse and democratic processes, compared to other types of publications. 

While specialized publications serve important roles in their respective fields, the core mission of our nation's newspapers and news media extends beyond mere reporting. Their ultimate charge is to safeguard democracy through coverage and analysis of our elected representatives' actions, court decisions, and the functioning of our government. As Thomas Jefferson put it, "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press."

Of course editors and owners of news publications always have the final say. And while some may not see the Telnaes resignation as the hill worth dying on, a strong argument can and should be made that her decision is exactly the hill on which to resign. 

The editorial autonomy of news publications is undeniable. However, a crucial distinction exists between journalists covering non-political domains and those reporting on national news and politics. The latter field holds such importance to our democracy that it's the only non-governmental entity explicitly protected in the Constitution. This underscores the weighty responsibility borne by political journalists and commentators in safeguarding press freedom and public discourse.

Those who argue that Ann Telnaes was foolish to give up her job when she always knew that her bosses had every right to quash any of her creations as they saw fit, are short-sighted. There are times when some journalists and commentators have an obligation to speak out when censorship precludes a significant idea from reaching the people. 

If I created cartoons for, say, an astronomy magazine, and my editor rejected my illustration of two scientists at a chalkboard where one is saying, "85% of the universe: no clue, but it's big," because it wasn't gettable, should I resign? No. No one would be deprived of an important idea if that cartoon didn’t appear. But conversely, if my editor demanded I create a cartoon mocking science and seriously portraying the Earth as only 6,000 years old, there’d be a strong case for me to quit. Similarly, Telnaes' cartoon addressed a critical issue of political influence and corruption, making its suppression a matter of significant public interest and a justifiable reason for her resignation.

Ann Telnaes saw the suppressing of her editorial idea for what it was: Abridging her Freedom of Speech, and with some irony, Abridging the Freedom of the Press, as the Constitution puts it. She knew that this was one of those moments. We should all applaud her courageous decision. 

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FRIDAY 1/10/25

Bezos v. Telnaes’ Cartoon

By Todd Lassa

Journalism in general and daily newspapers in particular faced existential peril long before Donald J. Trump won last November 5th’s presidential election. Big-town newspapers like the Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun are in the process of being stripped for parts by hedge fund managers. Gannett has been selling off many of its less-profitable papers, creating more “news deserts” across the country as it cuts staff from the newspapers it has kept. 

This made Amazon founder Jeff Bezos something of a journalism anti-hero when he purchased The Washington Post from the Graham family in 2018. Democracy might not die in darkness, after all. 

When Donald Graham, son of “legendary” WaPo Publisher Katherine Graham approached Bezos about buying the paper, according to a September 20, 2018 article in Forbes, Bezos said he had no interest in it because he knew nothing about newspapers. Donald Graham replied that the WaPo didn’t need an owner who understood journalism; it needed an owner who understood the Internet. 

We do not know whether Jeff Bezos has learned anything about the newspaper business in the last six years. We do know that he understands the incoming president, Donald J. Trump, has strong opinions about Big Tech and how social media outlets on the Internet treat him and his staunchest supporters. And that Trump does not like how he has been covered by the WaPo.

Inspired by Tesla/SpaceX/Starlink/Neuralink CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk’s tight embrace of MAGA and Trumpism nearly a year ago, leaders of some of the biggest tech companies in the world flocked to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the president-elect between November 6 and Thanksgiving, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Open AI CEO Sam Altman. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin, too, although according to U.S. News & World Report Google declined to confirm the meeting. 

Ann Telnaes’ cartoon in question for The Washington Post depicts her then-boss Bezos with Zuckerberg, Altman, Los Angeles Times (which like the WaPo declined to endorse a presidential candidate last November) Publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong and Mickey Mouse -- representing Disney’s ABC News, which settled a defamation lawsuit for $15 million, filed by Trump in December that it easily could have had dismissed -- genuflecting before Trump.

The president-elect’s inauguration committee has made out far better than Trump himself from ABC News’ Mickey Mouse settlement. It has collected $170 million for the January 20 festivities, a good portion of it from the tech industry. 

Zuckerberg contributed $1 million, the legal limit for each individual contribution. No doubt he’s saved at least that much by sacking Facebook’s fact-checking staff. Bezos easily saved his million-dollar contribution from a few of the recently announced layoffs of among 100 sacked WaPo staff.

In this, our latest Debate on The Hustings, guest pundit Chris Bidlack (left column) and Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay (right column) discuss the implications of Telnaes’ departure from Bezos’ Washington Post.

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FRIDAY 1/10/25

Much Ado About. . .

Anyone in business knows the old saw: “The customer is always right.”

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

The customer, of course, may not be right, but given that any business depends on customers, it is a good rule to keep the customers at the very least satisfied.

There is another rule that isn’t often stated but is arguably truer.

This is for the employees who work at a business: “Don’t piss off the boss.”

That can be job ending.

There is no one who has ever worked for someone else (i.e., most of us) who hasn’t come to the conclusion, perhaps on a regular basis, the that boss is a jackass.

This leads to two choices: (1) Suck it up and continue. (2) Quit.

(Some might suggest there is a third: Get fired. But that isn’t a choice; that’s a consequence.)

Which brings us to Ann Telanes, who had worked at The Washington Post until last Friday, when she quit.

Telanes quit because she submitted an editorial cartoon that showed, among other people, Jeff Bezos, the Washington Post’s owner, in an obsequious position vis-à-vis Donald Trump.

Telnaes told NPR, “I’ve never ever, since I’ve worked for the Post in 2008, been not allowed to comment on certain topics by having cartoons being killed.”

Washington Post opinions editor David Shipley, presumably her boss, told The New York Times that the reason the cartoon was rejected was because “we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition.”

Reporting about the incident often includes “Pulitzer Prize-winning” to modify Telanes’s name, as though this elevates the contretemps to Major National Issue status.

The Pulitzer Prizes were established through an endowment in Joseph Pulitzer’s will; they are meant to honor excellence in journalism.

Which is somewhat — no, fully — ironic inasmuch as Pulitzer made his fortune through yellow journalism. Yellow journalism opts for the “wow!” at the expense of the true.

Truth, justice and the American way? Phooey! 

Clearly Telanes has skills.

But there are a couple things about this that need to be considered.

  1. While she may be a highly talented cartoonist, anyone who is in the creative space knows that getting things killed by someone who has responsibility for it — either a boss or a client — is a fairly common thing. That she hasn’t had anything killed for 17 years is astonishing.
  2. That she has been honored with a Pulitzer and that her award is called out by some outlets makes this seem all the more extreme. It isn’t. A friend of mine has a Pulitzer. While he is an immensely talented writer and reporter, not everything he does is worthy of being chiseled in granite.

Let’s posit that Shipley is not being entirely forthcoming about the reason why he killed the cartoon. (I actually think that his explanation is the case, but that’s not so titillating.)

Let’s say that he killed it because it makes Bezos look bad.

While there are levels upon levels between the two, Bezos is ultimately Shipley’s boss. Shipley doesn’t want to piss off the boss. Period.

Is this an attack on the First Amendment?

Well, this gets to the point that Bezos owns it. This isn’t some sort of public-interest operation that is independent from all considerations other than abiding by the law. 

He bought it for purposes of ROI.

Simply consider this: Why would Bezos want something he owns to make fun of him?

I’ve never had a boss that paid me to publicly humiliate him or her.

Is it a bad thing that Bezos owns The Washington Post?

Some might argue that it is, if the newspaper is going to “cave” to the Trump administration. But is it better that he does and that it exists than if he didn’t and it ceased to exist?

While Bezos is the owner, in a sense he is also the customer for what Shipley and (formerly) Telanes produce: he buys work from them.

Even if Bezos had no idea of the cartoon and subsequent controversy, Shipley probably knows what lines can or cannot be crossed before the customer becomes concerned.

Meta’s (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) Mark Zuckerburg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and other executives have all ponied up cash for the Trump inauguration. This is a business decision they are making. Bezos contributed, too. Again, probably because it is a business decision. Will they all have better chances of making more money with Trump at least not feeling completely negative toward them (although this is undoubtedly a fool’s errand as his feelings about people lack any consistency: just think of all of the people who were in his first administration who went from being the best people to being losers)? Maybe.

The cartoon was spiked.

While some would like to clutch their proverbial pearls and think this is tantamount to a constitutional crisis, it is really about business.

Whether it is what Shipley said about avoiding repetitiveness or as speculated here it is about not pissing off the boss, it is all the concern of a product in the capitalist market, which The Washington Post is, not more than that.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large.

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FRIDAY 1/10/25

Civil Media for the Right and Left

Welcome to The Hustings, a post-social media political news/aggregate/analysis website free of echo chambers. We reject false equivalencies in favor of facts and context in the center column, with civil, respectful and thought-provoking opinions in the left and right columns.

If you’re new to the site, be sure to check out some of our recent debates. Go to Page 3  for discussions over the implications of Donald J. Trump’s November 5 win, with contributing pundits Ken Zino, Jim McCraw and Hugh Hansen in the left column, and Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay in the right column.

Our coverage and commentary on last October’s debate among vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz (remember him?) from Page 6 features commentary by contributing pundit Rich Corbett in the right column, whose pro-MAGA opinions push Pundit-at-Large Macaulay into the left column.  

Why not join our civil discourse? Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you lean right or left in the subject line, so we can post your opinions in the appropriate column.

Also be sure to read our free Substack page.

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MONDAY 1/6/25

…meanwhile…

President Biden gives a eulogy for long-time friend and ally Jimmy Carter, and all surviving US presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and President-elect Donald J. Trump will attend his funeral service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks sing Carter’s favorite song, John Lennon’s Imagine. Carter will be buried Thursday afternoon alongside his wife of 77 years, Rosalyn, in Plains, Georgia.  

THURSDAY 1/9/25

One Bill, Two Bills – Red bill, redder bill. Senate Republicans and House Republicans are struggling to come up with a legislative process to expedite President-elect Trump’s agenda (per the AP). House Republicans want a single reconciliation bill to prevent the Trump 45 administration tax cuts from expiring, to strengthen border security and fund deportation of immigrants and to boost oil and gas production. Senate Republicans figure two bills would get the tax cuts secured by avoiding a filibuster – reconciliation allows for a straight 51-vote majority.

Visiting Capitol Hill for the first time since his election victory, Trump at first told reporters he was looking for “one big, beautiful bill for everything.” But after a closed-door meeting with congressional Republicans, Trump said; “Whether it’s one bill or two bills, it’s going to get done.” (Per NPR’s Morning Edition.)

•••

Calling Justice Alito – Donald J. Trump spoke with US Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito just before the president-elect’s attorneys asked the court to quickly intervene to delay Trump’s Friday sentencing for his hush money/falsified business records conviction in New York, per The New York Times. Alito says Trump called for a routine job reference for a former law clerk who seeks a job in the incoming administration. 

It's not clear why, the NYT asserts, such a routine call would not come from an aide for the president-elect. 

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan has said he will not sentence Trump to jail or probation, but he does want the president-elect to appear in his court Friday. It would be an easy trip for Trump from President Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C., Thursday. He could take Amtrak’s Acela.

•••

Welcome readers of Columbia Spy.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 1/8/25

Trump Appeals to SCOTUS – President-elect Trump wants the US Supreme Court to quickly intervene and delay sentencing scheduled for Friday on his conviction last summer for falsifying business records in his hush money case, The Washington Post reports. New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan already has said he will not sentence Trump to jail time or probation, but the president-elect’s attorneys argue Trump is immune from criminal proceeding and have called for the postponement to “prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operation of the federal government.”

Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election is a New York State case, and therefore impervious to presidential pardon.

•••

This Means Potential Full-Blown Diplomatic Crisis – Donald J. Trump ran for re-election last year on a pro-peace, isolationist platform, in particular promising he will end the war in Ukraine possibly even before his January 20 inauguration. But his refusal as president-elect at a Mar-a-Lago press conference Tuesday to rule out a military invasion of Greenland (as Donald Trump Jr. was visiting its capital, Nuuk) and Panama came off as rather bellicose. (Trump also declared at his presser that the Gulf of Mexico is hereby renamed the Gulf of America.)

That’s how French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot interpreted Trump’s words in comments to Newsweek via email. Barrot replied that Trump’s renewed interest in taking over Greenland, an autonomous territory of European Union and NATO member Denmark could “escalate” into a full-blown diplomatic crisis.

Barrot added that he does not believe Trump will use military force to take over Greenland, but said he believes the current global climate feels like “survival of the fittest.”

--TL

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TUESDAY 1/7/25

MPCUSA and Buy Greenland – Whither MAGA isolationist nationalism? President-elect Trump wants to Make the Panama Canal the US Again. In yet another “rambling” hour-long news conference at Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Trump “refused to rule out” using military force to take back the Panama Canal – returned to Panama in a treaty signed by President Carter – and suggested he would force Denmark to sell Greenland to the US, The New York Times reports. Trump insists Greenland is critical to US national security, while Greenland, a country of just 56,000 people, insists it is not for sale and only wants to go independent from Denmark. 

Elsewhere in Florida … Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, whom you will remember as a Trump appointee, has temporarily banned special counsel Jack Smith from releasing his final report on the January 6 Capitol attack investigation to the public. Smith was to have released the report on Friday.

•••

Social’s ‘Truth’ – Social media oligopoly Meta is ending its practice of fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a video posted by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In his “free speech” pitch, Zuckerberg, who on figurative bended knee dined with President-elect Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago the day before Thanksgiving, said “we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting in the US.” 

Meta has since donated the max-allowed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.

•••

Canada’s PM Steps Down – Justin Trudeau announced Monday he will step down as Canada’s prime minister as soon as his Liberal Party names a successor. Trudeau has faced several months of pressure from allies and opponents to resign as Canada faces high post-pandemic inflation and rising housing costs, according to NPR’s All Things Considered. 

“It has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” Trudeau said, referring to federal elections for the 45th Canadian Parliament, which are to be held on or before October 20.

He became leader of the Liberal Party in 2013 and was first elected prime minister in 2015, promising a more open immigration policy, greater taxes on the wealthy and more action to protect the environment. But Trudeau’s tenure was marked by a series of scandals early on, while critics say his open immigration policy went too far.

Trudeau, 53, is the son of Canada’s charismatic 15th prime minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who served from 1968 to 1979 and 1980 to 1984.

--TL

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MONDAY 1/6/25

It's Still Mike – Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has pulled victory from the jaws of defeat to retain his gavel for the beginning of the 119th Congress. Because of the GOP’s wafer-thin majority, Johnson could afford to lose just one vote and remain speaker. Johnson had already lost that single vote, as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) had committed to voting for third-ranked House Republican Tom Emmer, of Minnesota. 

During the first round of voting, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) … but there was no second round. House Republicans suspended the vote, then huddled, and got Norman and Self to flip for Johnson, thus giving the incumbent speaker the 218 votes he needed, according to CQ Roll Call. 

Johnson said afterward that he had promised “nothing” to Norman and Self for their flips.

Will the GOP’s thin House majority be a problem for the incoming administration? President-elect Trump mounted a heavy-duty phone call campaign to push for Johnson, and Roll Call figures it should have been easier. But in reality, it doesn’t look to be too tough a ride for Trump’s agenda, as the friction is coming from MAGA GOP’s right-flank. 

As Self put it in comments to reporters; “We had a talk about how we admire the Trump agenda. That’s what this was about. I’ll say it a dozen more times, but this is how we support President Trump as a House with a very narrow majority. How’s that gonna happen?”

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 1/6/25

‘Everybody’s Cryin’ Justice. . .’

By Stephen Macaulay

In the opening to his “2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary” Chief Justice John Roberts writes:

“In December 1761, a little more than one year into what would be a fifty-nine year reign, King George III decreed that from that date forward, colonial judges were to serve ‘at the pleasure of the Crown.’ This royal edict departed from the long-standing practice in England, enshrined by Parliament in the 1701 Act of Settlement, of allowing judges to retain their offices ‘during good behavior.’ The King’s order was not well received.”

Roberts goes on to point out:

“the ninth of twenty-seven grievances enumerated in the Declaration of Independence charged that George III ‘has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.’”

And here he brings it home:

“Before the American founding, no other country had found a way to ensure that the people and their government respect the law.”

Which is supplemented by this:

“At the end of the day, judges perform a critical function in our democracy. Since the beginning of the Republic, the rulings of judges have shaped the Nation’s development and checked the excesses of the other branches.”

Roberts spends much time wallowing in the past, citing people including his predecessor William Renquist and Alexander Hamilton, whose work was instrumental in the creation of the Federal judiciary.

And when he writes about the contemporary, it is to point out that the independence of judges is threatened by violence, intimidation, disinformation and “threats to defy lawfully entered judgments.”

Perhaps he is being somewhat coy. Doesn’t that reference to serving “at the pleasure of the Crown” sound suspiciously like the rhetoric we are hearing about the role of the Department of Justice in the forthcoming Trump administration?

Were Trump a younger man, would it surprise anyone if he did his damnedest to hold office for 59 years?

Isn’t there something of an analogue of “Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices” with Trump during his first administration repeatedly referring to the Supreme Court justices as “my judges”?

When Roberts emphasizes the word “and” in his line about ensuring “the people and their government respect the law” is he intimating that government officials — past, present and, yes, future — didn’t, aren’t or won’t respect the law?

Gallup research has found Americans’ confidence in the judicial system hit a new low in 2024, at 35%.

In another survey that specifically included Supreme Court Job Approval, 51% of Americans disapprove of the job it is doing and only 44% approve.

That is better than the 58% disapproval of September 2023. But when Gallup started tracking this metric in September 2000, the disapproval was 29% and approval 62%, a long way from where it has gotten to.

While much of this can be ascribed to the current hyper partisanship that exists in the country, isn’t a measure of it the result of the behaviors of some of the justices, whether it is those who have hung on too long or those who think that they are deserving of special benefits because their positions?

Roberts writes in his review of how the Federal judiciary came to be that Hamilton argued that because the judiciary would have “neither the sword nor the purse” — the powers of the Executive and Legislature — lifetime appointment would be the means  through which the judges could maintain impartiality.

Clearly that is no longer the case — assuming that it ever was.

Judges put on their robes one arm at a time like the rest of us would. But we would like to think that once they have those robes on they have measures of probity and honesty that transcends what the rest of us generally have.

In the next few years we are going to see how well the members of the Supreme Court perform to the standard of independence from the other branches of government that Hamilton set forth in Federalist No. 78.

What are the odds that the Court’s Gallup numbers will rise any time soon?

Not good, I think.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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MONDAY 1/6/25

New Year for Left and Right

President Biden is expected to speak at the funeral for the 39th president, Jimmy Carter, and President-elect Trump has said he will attend. Scroll down the center column for details on President Carter’s funeral procession in Plains, Georgia, and Washington, DC. 

We are two-and-a-half weeks before "Day One" of the second Trump administration, so there is a lot to discuss. We have big plans for growth in 2025, including a new, more streamlined web design. Become a part of our quest for no-echo chamber, no-false equivalency civil media by voicing your opinion on current political issues. Email your comments to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you lean left or right with a note in the subject line.

Be sure to read, and subscribe to, our Substack newsletter.

President Biden is expected to speak at the funeral for the 39th president, Jimmy Carter, and President-elect Trump has […]

…meanwhile…

Speaker Vote Friday – Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) needs support of nearly all House Republicans – 218 of 219 -- to retain his speaker’s gavel when he comes up for a vote Friday afternoon. The House must choose a speaker by Monday in order to verify the November 5 presidential election, and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie already has said he will vote against Johnson, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

FRIDAY 1/3/25

Steel Barrier – President Biden has blocked the $14.9 billion sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel, The Washington Post reports, citing two administration officials. Biden has for months opposed sale of the iconic American company to the Japanese corporation despite potential of alienating a close ally. The Biden administration held off to past the presidential election before announcing its decision, which is expected to come officially on Friday.

--TL

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THURSDAY 1/2/25

Terrorism? – That’s a question regarding the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck apparently filled with fireworks and gasoline cans at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s morning – tying businesses of the president-elect and his new Mar-a-Lago habitué, Elon Musk. Law enforcement officials have not identified the explosion as a terrorist attack, though Musk on his X/Twitter has, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

The explosion, which killed an unidentified individual inside the truck and injured seven bystanders, occurred about six hours after a Ford F-150 Lightning driven by a US Army veteran and displaying an Islamic state flag avoided vehicle barriers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarters, killing 15 and injuring at least 35 more, about 3:15 am local time Wednesday. 

There are no connections between the two incidents as of yet, other than the Cybertruck and the Ford Lightning, which also is an electric pickup truck, were both rented via the Turo app. 

•••

Carter Funeral – The Joint Task Force for the National Capitol Region, which coordinates state funerals has announced the schedule for President Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession in Washington, DC and Plains, Georgia. 

Per U.S. News & World Report, services begin 10:30 am Saturday, January 4, with a motorcade through Plains to Carter’s childhood home with “a brief pause in front of the family’s farm.” There the National Park Service will ring its historic farm bell 39 times in honor of the 39th president. The motorcade proceeds through to the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta for a 4 pm service. He will lie in repose at the Carter Center from 7 pm Saturday to 6 am Tuesday, January 7, during which the public are invited to pay their respects. 

On January 7, the funeral travels to Washington for a procession along Pennsylvania Avenue to the US Capitol, followed by private services at the Rotunda for members of Congress to pay their respects. Carter will lie in state accompanied by a military honor guard to 7 am, Thursday, January 9, followed by a 10 am funeral at Washington National Cathedral.

President Biden is expected to speak at the funeral, and President-elect Trump has said he will attend. 

In the White House statement on the December 29 passing of President Carter, at age 100, Biden said that “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.

“He was a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism.”

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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THURSDAY 1/2/25

‘We’re [Not] Number 1!’

Ramaswamy reveals something many MAGAites don’t want to acknowledge

By Stephen Macaulay

First, let’s agree that no one wants illegal immigrants in the country. To be sure there may be all kinds of mitigating circumstances as to why they have broken the law to come to the U.S., but if we are a country of laws, not men, then upholding the laws is essential.

But there are illegal immigrants and there are immigrants.

In the last category there are people like, well, Elon Musk, who was born in Pretoria, South Africa, then moved to Canada before moving to the United States.

And let’s not forget that Melania Trump was born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia.

However, there are those in the Republican Party who paint all immigrants with a brush ladened with tar and are ready to run them on a rail out of town and out of the country.

This has become visible through the contretemps set off by Vivek Ramaswamy, who posted a message on somewhat social media about the need for an increase in the number of H-1B visas in order to have highly intelligent, high-skilled workers in the US.

Ramaswamy — who, incidentally, was born in Cincinnati, which is something that many of his sudden critics probably can’t imagine — went on to point out that too many Americans are not sufficiently interested in doing, well, the hard stuff.

He wrote that a society that “celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers”.

And engineers are important.

He also wrote there needs to be “more tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less ‘chillin’. More extracurriculars, less hanging out at the mall”.

(Presumably Ramaswamy spends too little time in the real world if he thinks that “hanging out at the mall” is still, as the kids say, “a thing.”)

These observations, caused considerable consternation among the anti-immigrant portion of the Republican Party, a portion that seems Super-Sized. 

Elon Musk, who probably doesn’t hire a whole lot of people for SpaceX or even Tesla who were regular attendees at Trump MAGA rallies, waded into the controversy by calling critics of Ramaswamy’s remarks “contemptible fools” and “hateful, unrepentant racists” who “will absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed.”

But really, who can blame these people, as they, too, probably, in Ramaswamy’s words, spent too much time watching “reruns of Friends” rather than a movie about relentless work and achievement like Whiplash?

One reason why there is this divide in perception between Ramaswamy, who has degrees from both Harvard and Yale Law, and those who eked out of high school is because the latter are often chanting, in effect, “We’re number one!” when it comes to anything from education to health care.

For example, according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), when it comes to “tertiary education,” or simply graduating college, the U.S. isn’t number one, but number nine.

Perhaps Trump is interested in making Canada the 51st state because it is number one.

The US follows not only Canada in the number of those who have finished tertiary education, but also Japan, Ireland, South Korea, United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, and Luxembourg.

And as health care is going to become another area of consternation, it is worth noting that the US doesn’t rank so high there, either.

According a 2024 study by The Commonwealth Fund, which describes itself as “a nonprofit private foundation supporting independent research on health policy reform and a high-performance health system,” when it comes to health care system performance measured among 10 countries, the US, despite spending considerably more than the others, ranks 10th, behind Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, and Germany.

Far from number one.

Yet populist chants and slogans don’t allow there to be discernment of what’s really going on.

All Americans can be proud of the accomplishments of Silicon Valley, which is certainly a number one.

Tesla, which is a global leading player in electric vehicles (the leading player until China’s BYD ascended), was established in California, as was SpaceX, another remarkable global player.

According to new data from the US Census Bureau, there are more foreign-born people living in California — 26.7% of its total population — than any other state.

Coincidence?

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THURSDAY 1/2/25

Left and Right Columns for You

“The Political World Just Lost Its Bipartisan Meeting Space,” reads the title of columnist Jonathan Martin’s latest piece in Politico Magazine. Martin is referring to David Axelrod, chief strategist for Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns and a onetime political reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

Martin “came to praise Axe, not bury him in a shroud of bygone-day nostalgia for civil discourse” for The Axe Files. Axelrod has wrapped up his eight-year-old podcast, which contained “candid, deeply personal and extended interviews with the leading figures for both parties.”

The Axe Files, in other words, managed to achieve what we are attempting in earnest – create a space for civil discourse among people all along the left and right halves of the political “horseshoe.” (If you are not familiar with the Horseshoe Theory, check out this description by the Vanderbilt Political Review. Personally, we learned about the theory from ‘60s-era standup comic Mort Sahl.)

While Axe interviewed well-known politicians and political operatives on his podcast, we are here for professional politicians and engaged, interested voters alike – political animals of various levels of interest.

To participate, send us your thoughts and opinions on any political news/news aggregate and analysis from the center column, and/or other comments from the right or left in those columns. Email us at editors@thehustings.news and please let us know how you lean, politically, in the subject line so that we post your civil comments in the appropriate column.

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MONDAY 12/23/24

Jimmy Carter

October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024, the 39th president (D) of the United States, 1977 – 1981. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 2002. (Photo: The Carter Center)

HOLIDAY 12/23/24 -- 1/1/25

Our Holiday Break: We are taking off for Festivus (Monday, the 23rd), Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza and will return after New Years, on Thursday, January 2. Happy Holidays to all.

•••

Why Gaetz Won’t be AG – Eponymous host of The Matt Gaetz Show on One America (ahem) News Network and former nominee to be attorney general by President-elect Trump regularly paid women for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl, between the time he joined Congress in 2017, and 2020, according to a 37-page House Ethics Committee report released Monday, The Wall Street Journal reports. The committee report, which the former Republican representative from Florida had asked a federal judge to block from release, also says Gaetz accepted impermissible gifts, including lodging and transportation for a 2018 trip to the Bahamas. 

Gaetz is suing the House Ethics Committee for defamation.

•••

Biden Commutes 37 Sentences – President Biden commuted sentences for 37 of 40 men on federal death row, The New York Times reports. All 37 had been convicted on murder charges and will continue to serve life sentences after the commutations. The three federal prisoners who still face execution are Robert D. Bowers, 52, who in 2018 killed 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; Dylan Roof, 30, the white supremacist who killed nine Black parishioners in a 2015 shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina church; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 31, who with his brother killed three and maimed more than a dozen in the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon.

•••

Bully Tariffs – President-elect Trump wants to take back the Panama Canal over – irony alert – tariffs of 50 cents to $300,000 the country charges US ships crossing the canal to get between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. 

“It was given to Panama and to the people of Panama, but it has provisions, you gotta treat us fairly and they haven’t treated us fairly,” Trump told Turning Point’s “American Fest” Sunday, according to The Hill.

“Take it back,” an audience member shouted. 

“That’s a good idea,” Trump replied. 

The US handed it over to Panama in 1999, in an agreement forged during the Carter administration. 

How much in control … is the incoming Trump administration? We saw last week when a continuing resolution that would have suspended the debt ceiling so that Trump & Co. (World’s Richest Man Elon Musk) could quickly begin cutting corporate taxes at-will that its power is not as absolute as his “mandate” with an under-50% popular vote win might suggest. Hard-line Freedom Caucus House Republicans (who basically are Obama-era Tea Partiers gone full-MAGA) voted down that CR, despite a threat by Musk to use a small chunk of his estimated $400 billion to primary Republicans who don’t fall into line.

After they didn’t fall into line, Musk dropped the threat. 

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 12/23/24

The Predictable Harris Loss

By Stephen Macaulay

After Mitt Romney’s loss to Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, the Republican Party performed what was described as an “autopsy.”

They wanted to figure out (1) why they lost the election (remember, Romney’s bona-fides were much more substantial than Obama’s were, and if nothing else, Romney looked (and looks) absolutely “presidential”) and (2) what they needed to do so that the next time they would be successful.

So there was the “Growth and Opportunity Project.”

And arguably Donald Trump, who is not known for being a big reader, didn’t bother with it and he went his own way, which proved to be rather successful as he completely upended the conventional thought about presidential politics.

While the conventional Republicans talked about the importance of a “big tent,” Trump manifests images of luxury Palm Beach living for people who would be more likely to vacation in a tent rather than in a beach-side condo.

What Trump was selling was making regular people’s — as opposed to the political class — lives better. He was going to “Make America Great Again,” and as those folks are “America,” that meant them.

(If we go back to one of the causes of Romney’s loss was because he seemed to plugged in to the financial class, something that regular folk have a hard time with as they only deal with banking institutions when trying to get a home equity loan to finish the basement. The whole notion of “capital” is completely foreign to them. While it might be thought that Trump’s wealth would have been a negative, given that he spent money on what the monied class would consider outré, he was someone the regular folk were fine with because they knew if they had a chance. . . . Which goes to explain why some $270 million in lottery tickets are bought each day in the U.S. — nearly one $1 ticket for every American over the age 18.)

After Kamala Harris’s loss the Democrats are undertaking their own version of the “Growth and Opportunity Project,” trying to determine why, given all of the apparent flaws and flubs of Donald Trump, he was able to trounce the Harris-Walz ticket.

Which will undoubtedly become a document that will be better ignored by the next set of Democratic candidates.

What appears to be incomprehensible to many of the people who are hand-wringing and excoriating Trump’s pre-inauguration picks, policies and positions is that with few exceptions, the regular people don’t care.

During the campaign the Democrats talked a lot about “saving democracy” and how “Trump represented an existential threat.” (1) Most people didn’t see Hamilton. (2) And even more people have no idea who Jean-Paul Sarte was/is.

Trump, on the other hand, talked about how he was going to turbocharge the economy and make it better for people. That is something people can not only understand but get behind.

Consider this: Harris, apparently, felt constrained about criticizing Biden’s policies. Bidenomics — vis-à-vis the regular folks, not those who have invested in the markets (yes, yes, people who have 401(k) plans from their employer makes them investors in the market, even though they might not be aware of it) — wasn’t showing up in the form of better prices at Kroger or Walmart. That is what people know and understand.

Would Trump, had he been in the same position as Harris, hesitated to make it clear that it was going to be his way, not his predecessors?

Damn right.

Trump consistently said he will make things better for people. While that may or may not be the case, what is the case is that people felt the odds would be better for them by electing someone who talked about that rather than someone who generally gave that a swerve.

Today Trump says he’s going to straighten out the media. Given the state of newspapers in the US, for most people the “media,” a word they’d be unlikely to use, is what they see on Fox News because if a newspaper still remains in their locale, it is become ridiculously expensive — and when is the last time you saw a kid on a bike flinging papers on porches? They simply don’t care. It is not them. It is not anyone they know. It doesn’t make a difference.

There is consternation about the flaunting of political norms. Given that those norms have been kicked to the curb since 2015, isn’t it fair to say that they are no longer norms?

Maybe instead of hiring high-priced consultants and analysts if the Democrats want to win the next time out, the party pooh-bahs need to spend more time with the regular people in ways that governors and mayors do in their states and cities. What matters are things like roads (and while the Biden administration has done a great job in this regard, what percentage of regular people know that today?), schools teaching math and science, and the ability to take the family out every now and then at a place somewhat fancier than the local McDonalds. Things like that.

When people are wearing ballcaps with a politician’s slogan on them long after the election you’ve got to realize that there is more there than is likely to be sussed out by a think tank.

-30-

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MONDAY 12/23/24

From the Left

Where is Macaualay’s admiration for the right?

Mr. Mccaulay, you're labeled on Substack as pundit-at-large for The Hustings who writes "primarily for the right (conservative) column." If you're truly a man of the Right, how about a few more admiring Ted Cruz opinions? How about a positive Chuck Grassley profile? Maybe a story or two on the some of the recent invaluable contributions of Rudy Giuliani or Marjorie Taylor Greene? Maybe write about the beneficial influences of Rick Scott? Or discuss the countless contributions of Jim Jordan from his wrestling coach days through today? Come on man, step up to the plate and swing that club! Conservative America and right-column readers of The Hustings are counting on you!

--Chris Bidlack

•••

Submit your comments on the latest political news/news aggregate and/or on other commentary in our left or right columns to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

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MONDAY 12/16/24

…meanwhile…

WINTER SOLSTICE 2024

We’re Solvent -- …to March 14, the date to which the 118th Congress has kicked the can. Just after the federal government’s budget expired midnight Saturday morning, the Senate passed the “slimmed down” continuing resolution but without a provision to raise the debt ceiling in order to allow another Trump tax cut, by 85-11 vote. The Senate’s vote closely followed 366-34 passage by the House, Roll Call reports, easily surpassing the two-thirds threshold required under the chamber’s suspension of rules procedure. 

The bill is roughly 120 pages versus the first CR, at 1,547 pages, voted down last Wednesday. President Biden was to sign it Saturday. 

“Though this bill does not include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said before the final vote; “provide emergency aid for communities battered by natural disasters, no debt ceiling, and it will keep government open with no draconian cuts.”

The bill includes about $100 billion in disaster aid for victims of hurricanes Milton and Helene, and the 2023 Maui fires in Hawaii and a one-year extension of the farm bill. Removing the debt ceiling increase, which DOGE Czar Elon Musk and President-elect Trump wanted to happen during Biden’s lame-duck period was key for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

“Everything else” in the bill “is a win for the American people, and the debt limit is out,” Jeffries said.

The CR gives the incoming 119th Congress, with Republicans’ 53-47 majority, to March 14 before they reach the federal budget can once again.

--TL

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FRIDAY 12/20/24

Uh oh – Yeah, X-Twitter/Tesla/SpaceX/Nueralink-CEO/DOGE Czar/world’s-richest-man/Bond-villian/shadow-president Elon Musk’s sinking of the first of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) continuing resolutions earlier this week has backfired. Thirty-eight House Republicans Thursday rejected Johnson’s second CR, slimmed-down and containing removal of the debt ceiling through the entire upcoming Trump administration. With all House Democrats joining the dissenting Republicans to vote it down, 174-235, we are headed for likely partial shutdown of the federal government after midnight Friday.

After a “marathon” of meetings in Speaker Johnson’s office Thursday, CQ Roll Call reports, the House suspended rules to push the second CR through with a two-thirds vote requirement. While the first failed CR would have suspended the debt ceiling until January 2 (Happy New Year!), yesterday’s failed CR would have suspended it to January 30, 2027, or 10 days after Trump’s successor is inaugurated. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) argued for sticking with the original CR deal.

But President-elect Trump was all over that second, “slimmed-down” CR even if 38 hardline otherwise heavy-MAGA House Republicans were not.

“Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People,” Trump truth socialed on Truth Social. (Though reeking of Trump’s signature superfluous capitalization, perhaps "Deal for the American People" can become the president-elect’s post-Reagan theme, like the “New Deal” or “Morning in America.”)

Democrats opposed the “slimmed down” CR with the four-plus year debt ceiling suspension because they fear the suspension would make it easy for Republicans to run roughshod over Congress with heavy tax cuts. Favoring the rich. Like Elon Musk.

--TL

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THURSDAY 12/19/24

Musk Xes CR – DOGE Czar Elon Musk put the kibosh on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) bipartisan continuing resolution for the federal budget Wednesday, with a barrage of tweets to threaten a partial shutdown of the government at midnight Friday. President-elect Trump and veep-elect JD Vance issued a lengthy tweet – rather than a Truth Social post, interestingly – Wednesday calling Johnson’s CR deal “a betrayal of our country” and demanding Johnson raise the debt ceiling immediately so it’s under President Biden’s watch and yet ready for “Day One” of the new administration, according to Politico.

“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch,” Trump-Vance posted on X-Twitter.

It’s a sort of yang to the yin of Trump’s kibosh put on the bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year.

Thursday’s Politico Playbook notes that Trump likely wasn’t paying much attention to the CR, which would keep the federal lights on to March 14, until Musk stepped in.

Warren warns … Prior to the CR shutdown, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) emailed the Trump transition team to warn that Musk, the CEO and major stockholder of Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, among companies that have major contracts with the federal government, should sign an ethics pledge, she told NPR’s Morning Edition in a Wednesday interview. Warren told NPR’s Michel Martin that she warned of Musk’s violations of the Trump transition team’s own ethics rule. Trump spokesperson Carolyn Leavitt has responded on several news outlets, referring to Warren as “Pocahontas.”

On the bubble … Is Speaker Johnson still useful to Trump?

--TL

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THURSDAY 12/18/24

The Fed Speaks – And it’s upbeat about today’s economy, which means it likes what the Biden administration has done to try and normalize it since the COVID pandemic, along what it has done to tamper inflation.

To that point, the Fed’s Open Market Committee has “lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by ¼% to 4 ¼- to 4 ½%.” It’s the third cut this year in the Fed’s slow u-turn on steady increases in response to high coronavirus/post-coronavirus inflation. First cut was in September, by half a point, followed by a quarter-point cut in November. 

Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that as the Consumer Price Index has hovered closer to 3% than the Fed’s target of 2%, next year’s cuts will be more modest and less frequent than previously hinted at; maybe two in all of 2025. He said Wednesday’s quarter-point cut was far from a slam-dunk.

“Today was a close call, but we decided it was the right call. From here, it’s a new phase, and we’re going to be cautious about further cuts,” Powell said (per The Wall Street Journal). 

Indeed, 11 of the 12 FOMC members, including Powell and his vice chair John Williams voted for the cut, while member Beth Hammack preferred to maintain the 4 ½% to 4 ¾% rate range. 

Next year’s tepid outlook and conservatism over rate cuts sent the stock market to a major fall Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off 1,123 points, or -2.58%, to 42,326,87. 

How will Trump respond? … Citing high employment and strong GDP growth, Powell said, “again, the US economy has been just remarkable.” It is all but guaranteed the president-elect will take credit for the current economy. But what about next year’s economy, especially if the FOMC curbs interest rate cuts due to a return to rising inflation? 

Powell says he will not step down as Fed chair before his current term is up in 2026, just in time for the midterm elections. Perhaps this year’s rate cuts under Powell could be blamed for any rise in inflation next year?

As crypto creeps up … Then there is the question of crypto currency. Thanks to a push by the nation’s tech oligarchs and to his family’s establishment of its own crypto coin, Trump has flipped on the issue and now apparently wants to fill a virtual Fort Knox with the stuff. 

Asked by an Axios reporter at Wednesday’s FOMC press conference whether the Fed will look into buying up some of the coins for itself, Powell responded that it is not allowed.

“We’re not looking for a law change,” he said.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 12/18/24

Hammer Time – Congress hammers out a kick-the-can plan to keep the federal lights on. Choose your continuing resolution cliché. Lawmakers have released a 1,547-page spending bill to fund the government past December 20 – that’s Friday, when Congress is scheduled to go home for the holidays – and on to March 14, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. 

The CR includes about $100 billion for federal funding to mitigate natural disasters, including the aftermath of hurricanes Milton and Helene, and the 2023 Maui fires in Hawaii. It would extend the five-year farm bill by one more year, rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and allow Washington, D.C., to redevelop the 174-acre RFK Stadium site that has been fallow since 2019.

Prospects … The House Freedom Caucus objects to the CR’s “reckless spending,” but when push comes to shove, to utilize another cliché, the House and Senate will pass it this weekend in order to avoid a government shutdown. Then it will become freshly inaugurated President Trump’s problem, though of course he will have help from Republican majorities in both chambers for the 119th Congress.

--TL

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TUESDAY 12/17/24

Russian Chemical Weapons Chief Killed – Ukrainian prosecutors have previously charged Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Armed Forces’ radiation, chemical and biological defense troops with using banned chemical weapons in its war against Ukraine. On Tuesday, explosives attached to a scooter near a house in Moscow’s Ryazanky Prospect blew up, killing Kirillov and his aide, The Kyiv Independent reports, citing a source with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). 

The news outlet has not independently verified the report.

Question is … Will this sort of thing give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy better leverage when he is forced to sit down with Donald J. Trump and Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war?

•••

Got $200b? – There are questions of how SoftBank’s Mayoshi Son will raise the $100 billion over four years he has pledged to artificial intelligence and emerging technologies projects that will create 100,000 jobs in the US, in a joint announcement Monday with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Mayoshi will either have to sell off some holdings or raise some two-thirds of that in new venture capital. Mayoshi has about $30 billion cash to invest, according to The Wall Street Journal. That didn’t stop Trump from negotiating upward.

“Would you make it $200 billion?” Trump said to Mayoshi. Art of the Deal-style negotiations, after all.

“I will try to make it happen,” Mayoshi replied, fighting the president-elect for the room’s oxygen.

“Alright, 200,” Trump dealt back. 

“He’s a great negotiator,” Mayoshi replied. Mission accomplished; Trump has captured the nation with the promise of job growth by a wily entrepreneur from Japan.

Second chance … Repeating history, not so much. Mayoshi pledged $50 billion to the nation for Trump’s first term, in December 2016 after securing the $100 billion from Middle Eastern countries for the SoftBank vision Fund. Mayoshi invested that in such high-profile flops as WeWork, the construction-focused company Katerra and a robot pizza-delivery company. 

The WSJ helpfully notes that such private backing of a new administration often fails to work out, pointing to a high-profile Trump announcement of a $10 billion, 13,000-job investment by FoxConn in a liquid crystal plant in Wisconsin in 2018. Despite heavy tax incentives from the state, it never happened.

--TL

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MONDAY 12/16/24

Trump 47, So Far – President-elect Trump and his team have sucked so much air out of the lame-duck Biden White House that it seems fair to ask; How is Trump 47 doing, so far? 

Trump was accompanied by both his choice for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and by his back-up for that cabinet post, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at the Army-Navy game in Landover, Maryland, last Saturday. In the days leading up to the game, which Navy won 31-13, Team Trump clawed back so much support from skeptical Senate Republicans that it would be a wonder that DeSantis bothered to show up.

Except … in showing up, DeSantis seems to be taking a page from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) who kissed Trump’s ring at Mar-a-Lago just one month after his second impeachment, for his (“alleged”) leadership of the mob at the Capitol on January 6,, 2021. Trump has his reason for inviting the governor formerly known as Ron DeSanctimonius to the football game: The next president wants daughter-in-law Laura Trump to be appointed senator from Florida after Marco Rubio inevitably is confirmed to be the next secretary of state, according to The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter.

The price of eggs … Then there’s inflation, for which Trump apparently has lost confidence within himself in being able to turn into deflation with a wave of the executive order drill-baby-drill wand, in this case to make the US the world’s biggest oil producer, up from its current position as world’s largest oil producer. 

“It’s hard to bring things down once they are up,” Trump told Time magazine in its cover story naming him Person of the Year. “You know, it’s very hard.”

This raises a couple of points:

  1. No matter what you think of Trump’s snagging of Time’s once-vaunted Person of the Year award, it was rather brilliant of the magazine’s editors to get a comprehensive interview with the president-elect out of it.
  2. Biden, as well as the Harris/Walz campaign had tried in vain to convince voters that the inflation rate is coming down – that is, prices still go up, but closer to the ideal rate of 2% per year – and that it rose past 9% a couple of years ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump 45’s weak response. Not to mention bird flu affecting chickens’ egg production (coffee is next, thanks to the way climate change has affected beans in Brazil and Vietnam).

Meanwhile … Next up as Team Trump continues to push for Senate Republican support for Hegseth as Defense secretary, the president-elect’s pick for Health and Human Service secretary, anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., meets with 20 GOP senators this week to argue for his cause, NPR reports.

•••

Another Win for Trump – How bad, how ominous, is ABC News’ $15 million settlement with Donald J. Trump over the differences in New York state law between the words “rape” and “sexual abuse”? 

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos used the word “rape” in referring to E. Jean Carroll’s successful libel suit against the former and future president, in a contentious interview on This Week with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), a former Trump critic-turned-supporter who had earlier revealed she had been raped as a teenager. The judge in the case had said “pointedly” that Trump was found liable for what he did for what Americans would commonly call “rape” but was technically considered sexual abuse under New York State law according to NPR media reporter David Folkenflik, speaking on Morning Edition. 

In addition, Folkenflik noted, ABC News and Stephanopoulos should have been given wide latitude in Trump’s defamation suit had they let it go to court, because Trump is a public figure. ABC News will contribute $15 million to Trump’s presidential library and post a “statement of regret.”

In The Bulwark, a never-Trumper center-right publication, William Kristol warns that ABC News’ – or perhaps more pointedly, its owner Disney’s – easy capitulation is a clear sign that the president-elect, and such Trump acolytes as his planned appointment for FBI director, Kash Patel will aggressively go after media outlets whom they feel have aggrieved Trump.

“I really shouldn’t be the one to do it,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago presser Monday. “It should be the Justice Department … or someone else. But I have to do it.”

In the wide-ranging press conference, Trump repeated his vow to sue pollster Ann Selzer for a “bombshell” report in the Des Moines Register showing him behind Vice President Kamala Harris in Iowa, and said he would sue CBS News’ 60 Minutes for its alleged edit of an interview with Harris ahead of the election, and the Pulitzer Prizes for awarding The Washington Post and The New York Times for their coverage of what he calls the 2016 Russian election interference “hoax” (per Mediaite).  

In other words, regarding that threatened suit against the Pulitzers, “Russia, Russia, Russia.” … Which, after all, Vladimir Putin assured Trump was not Russia, at their 2018 meeting in Helsinki.

•••

The Next Joe Manchin? – Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) joined Donald J. Trump’s Truth Social last Tuesday, and promptly used the social media platform to call for a pardon for the president-elect over his conviction in a New York State court on charges he falsified business records.

“The Trump hush money and Hunter Biden cases were both ******** and pardons are appropriate,” Fetterman said on Truth Social Tuesday evening, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Since November 5th, Fetterman has expressed support for some of the president-elect’s cabinet and department-head choices, and says he admires Trump’s new right-hand man, Tesla/SpaceX/X-Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 12/16/24

Post-Election Optimism

By Rich Corbett

A palpable sense of optimism has swept across America since the November elections. The nation, having navigated a period of intense political division, now looks forward with renewed hope and confidence. The election results have sparked a collective sense of relief and of possibility, with many Americans believing that the future holds great promise under the leadership of President-elect Donald J. Trump, his cabinet picks, and a Republican controlled House and Senate.

One big reason for this optimism is the emphasis on an America First agenda and a “second chance” for Trump. A strong America and freedom-loving leadership defeated the fascists and autocrats during World War II and the communists of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, resulting in extraordinary innovations and prosperity for much of the world. A strong and prosperous United States makes for a safer, more peaceful world. 

Leaders from both major parties have expressed a commitment to working together to address the country's most pressing issues. All Americans desire to return to values in line with a sense of fairness and common-sense principles. 

Some thought this bipartisan approach would happen under President Biden, who in 2020 campaigned on “unity.” Politically centered citizens yearned for this, but instead of unity, the Biden/Harris administration veered radically to the left. If there is a "spirit of cooperation” taking place, it is being demonstrated by Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat. If more Democrats with moderate views, like Fetterman, would commit to cooperating with Republicans, we would get a more harmonious national discourse.

The election also has injected new energy into the American economy with Trump’s promises of innovative policies aimed at stimulating growth, relaxing heavy handed central planning and excessive government regulation, helping businesses create better jobs, supporting small businesses and reducing tax burdens. All have been met with enthusiasm. Economic indicators are already showing signs of improvement, with consumer confidence on the rise. The focus on sustainable development and technological advancement is poised to drive economic progress and enhance the quality of life for millions of Americans.

The election has highlighted the importance of advancements in such fields as artificial intelligence, clean energy, and biotechnology. Investments in research and development will spur technological breakthroughs, drive economic growth and improve quality of life. America's tradition of innovation is poised to continue, paving the way for a future marked by progress and prosperity.

Finally, the 2024 election has reinvigorated civic engagement, especially on social media platforms that invited robust, balanced debate. Several platforms had previously discouraged the discussion of issues censored by left-leaning moderators, often under pressure by politically biased bureaucrats. Mainstream media also had noticeably veered even further from journalistic principles. They are no longer viewed as reporting the news but are often viewed as “opinionists.” Americans also proved their “civic engagement” with historic voter turnout, which reflected our deep-seated belief in the democratic process. This robust engagement underscores a vibrant democracy where every voice matters and collective action can drive meaningful change.

Hope is alive again in America. Patriots who believe in the USA should embrace this "second chance" with optimism. Let’s help our country move forward with a sense of renewed energy and a determination to build a better and more prosperous America for all.

Corbett writes My Desultory Blog.

•••

Submit your comments on the latest political news/news aggregate and/or on other commentary in our right or left columns to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

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MONDAY 12/16/24