Author: launchkits

Inauguration to Avoid

Commentary by Hugh Hansen

I salute Ms Obama and Ms Pelosi for following my lead and not attending.

I was sorry to end my Washington Post subscription, as prior to owner Jeff Bezos's capitulation I kind of preferred it to The New York Times.

Donald John’s verbal pronouncements seem so, so, so randomly connected to his next-day pronouncements that I haven’t the heart for tea leaf reading them anymore.

Wait until it’s on some sort of document necessarily shared with Congress, or particular federal bureaus/departments, then vomit, then fight or ameliorate it.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line, so that we may place your comments in the proper column.

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TUESDAY 1/21/25

A Peaceful Transfer, This Time

President Trump after his inauguration Monday pardoned 1,500 defendants of the January 6th attack of the US capitol, including rioters who attacked police. This included members of Oath Keepers and of Proud Boys, among them former national chair Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years for helping plot the insurrection, the AP reports.

By Todd Lassa

Donald J. Trump’s second official inauguration speech seemed a slight bit less-dark than it was eight years earlier, perhaps because it was held inside the Capitol Rotunda and thus no outdoor crowd for the new president to point to and declare the biggest ever in the history of inaugurations. Perhaps like the youngest of voters who have known little more than of Trump as the central political figure in their lives, we’re becoming accustomed to his style. Perhaps it was because Hilary Clinton laughed visibly when Trump declared he is renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” 

No mention so far of Greenland.

“The Golden Age of America begins right now,” Trump said, adding that the United States will “flourish and be respected all over the world. … I will, simply put, put America first.”

The US, he said, “will be far more exceptional than ever before.”

The new president said he would immediately remove the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change and end the “EV mandate” and allow you to buy whatever car you want to buy – including the internal combustion-powered ones that accounted for about 92% of the US market last year.

Like former Secretary of State Clinton, President Joe Biden stood behind Trump during the inauguration. He appeared alternately tired and bemused as Trump took the opportunity to paint the last four years under Biden’s leadership as having fallen so far it can’t get up – if not for its new, resurgent savior. 

“From this moment on, America’s decline is over,” Trump said. 

And there was the airing of grievances, as Trump claimed that “Over the past eight years, I’ve been tested and challenged more than any other president in history.” 

Adding “They tried to take my freedom and my life,” Trump concluded that the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania,* pretty much assured his victory last November.

“I was saved by God to make America great again.”

In the closest Trump could come to JFK’s promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, he said the nation would strive to “plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars …” a nod to his biggest benefactor, SpaceX/Tesla/Starlink CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk’s favorite cause. 

After Joe and Jill Biden copter’d out, Trump visited the Capitol Visitor Center where he addressed the citizens who could not watch his inauguration from outside – this included Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), on whom the president spent an inordinate amount of his 36 minutes there talking about plans for completing The Wall. 

The border is Trump’s number one issue, he said, not inflation.

“How many times can you say the price of an apple has doubled?” 

Though in later appearances Trump reiterated his promise to bring down prices, this seemed like another admission that slowing the rise of inflation, let alone reversing it, despite arguably being the major reason for his November victory, is a very difficult task best left to the Federal Reserve. 

The border will not be quite so problematic. Minutes after his inauguration, Trump’s officials shut down the mobile app CPB One that had allowed migrants to make appointments in order to enter the US through legal points of entry, The Hill reports.

*CORRECTION: This article initially misidentified the Pennsylvania town where there was an assassination attempt on Trump at one of his campaign rallies.

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TUESDAY 1/21/25

The Return of the Gilded Age?

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Management consultant Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence, is credited with a phrase that is important in all walks of life:

“Under promise and over deliver.”

The book was published in 1989. It was, and is, one of the most influential business books of all time.

Consequently, it is a bit surprising that legendary business maven, and now president, Donald Trump seems to have missed it.

Or maybe he doesn’t believe it.

He opened his inaugural address:

“The Golden Age of America begins right now.”

Now maybe he is simply stating that he is going to bring back the Gilded Age, a period in the late 19th century that generated great wealth — for industrialists and entrepreneurs, like many of the tech bros that surrounded him on inauguration day.

There was, it should go without saying, rife corruption during the Gilded Age.

The poster boy was Boss Tweed, a political operative (and a Democrat) who was convicted to stealing millions of dollars from the people of New York City, who could ill afford it.

And there were abuses in terms of patronage. This means that government jobs 

weren’t given to those most qualified to hold them (i.e., people who could actually do the work), but to political supporters and friends. Sound familiar?

But there was another characteristic of the Gilded Age: Regular people didn’t prosper.

It is largely thought that there were two key issues that led to Trump’s election:

  1. The economy
  2. The southern border

The latter is being addressed — at least visually — pronto.

But the former is the tricky bit.

People voted because they think he can bring down prices of everyday items like eggs.

People as in the “regular people.”

The MAGA base.

I recently went to a local diner for breakfast. There was a sticker on the front of the menu stating that the price for all egg dishes are increased by $1 due to the hike of the price of eggs. And that wasn’t a trivial hike because that place had offered a $3 breakfast special.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of eggs has increased by 38% over the last 12 months.

And here is a bit of irony: a major cause was a pandemic. Bird flu.

Can we have much in the way of confidence that there will be a concerted effort to wipe out bird flu, or will it “just go away”?

One thing that Trump said that may come back to bite him was his description of the fires in California:

“Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense.

“They’re raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting, but we can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.”

Anybody who has watched the fires on a newscast has seen nothing but women and men busting their asses, spraying and digging and doing all possible activities to put out the horrendous fires.

“Without even a token of defense”? “Everyone is unable to do anything about it”? What about those brave first responders? Are they doing nothing?

People know that’s not the case. They probably have friends or relatives who put their lives on the line every day just like the fire service personnel in California.

And the comment about “some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country. . . .don’t have a home any longer.”

What about the regular people who have had their insurance canceled? 

Why doesn’t he care about them? Because they didn’t donate millions to him?

If the price of eggs doesn’t go down, if there are tariffs applied across the board that raise prices at everywhere from the Home Depot to Kroger, if mom starts having trouble getting heath care coverage, if. . . .

Well, those regular folks helped put him on that podium, and he’s not going to leave.

But unless he does something to address their day-to-day existence, he’s going to find the love he basks in gone.

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TUESDAY 1/21/25

What’s Left

Comment: Twisted Logic

As we approach the presidential inauguration of a convicted felon, I find it absolutely mind-boggling that some politicians and potential candidates who have criminal histories are, in some cases, held to higher standards and are forbidden from holding office.

For instance, in 2022, Columbia Borough Council in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County voted to appoint a resident to fill a vacant seat. He was never sworn in because council discovered that he was a convicted felon who had served time in prison for mail fraud. The conviction rendered him ineligible to hold public office for 10 years. 

Another recent example, Mayor Sal Bonaccorso of Clark, New Jersey, resigned over charges of criminal activity. Bonaccorso is permanently barred from holding any future public office or public employment.

Rightly so, we don't trust those with felony convictions to run our local governments, but we're okay with allowing one to run the entire country? Twisted logic.

--Sharon Lintner

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Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes left the newspaper when an editor refused to run her cartoon calling out WaPo owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and other tech billionaires for visiting incoming President Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, on bended knee. 

In the left column below, guest pundit Chris Bidlack argues that Telnaes was standing up for freedom of speech and freedom of the press in leaving the Post when it would not publish her cartoon.

Scroll down the page using the trackbar on the far-right to read Bidlack’s commentary in this column.

Detail on Telnaes’ cartoon and departure is in the center column news/analysis. 

While you’re there, please be sure to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s counterpoint to Bidlack’s commentary, in which he argues that Bezos has the right not to be made fun of in his own newspaper. 

As always, you are encouraged to submit your own comments on this, and other issues covered in The Hustings. For that matter, we are happy to hear from you about issues we haven’t been covering that you believe we should. 

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line so that we post your comments in the appropriate column.

And don’t miss Substack on The Hustings.   

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MONDAY 1/13/25

…meanwhile…

JACK SMITH DROPS MIC -- Special counsel Jack Smith reports he has the evidence to convict Donald J. Trump for election interference if not for Trump’s win in last November’s presidential election. Scroll down this column for details.

FRIDAY 1/17/25

TikTok Ban Upheld – The US Supreme Court Friday upheld Congress’ ban of social media site TikTok (per SCOTUSblog). Under the law passed last year, TikTok is to shut down on Sunday short of divestiture of its US operations by Chinese owner ByteDance. However, a US official told The Associated Press that President Biden will not enforce the ban before he leaves office Monday. 

In its per curiam ruling Friday (not assigned to a specific justice) on TikTok v. Merrick B. Garland, SCOTUS noted that “for 170 million Americans TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”

Justices Sonya Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch issued separate opinions in support.

Upshot … What happens on the TikTok ban after President-elect Trump is inaugurated Monday? Though Trump signed an executive order, not implemented, to ban TikTok in the US near the end of his first term, he has apparently has made a u-turn on the issue and thus, like Biden, is not likely to enforce.

•••

Ceasefire Unceased – Israel’s security cabinet approved the Gaza ceasefire deal Friday after a delay by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, NPR reports, with his full cabinet expected to meet later in the day for full passage. Under the agreement scheduled to begin with Phase I Sunday, Hamas is to release three Israeli hostages, with another four to be released on day seven. The Israeli Defense Force is not expected to withdraw from Gaza until all hostages are released, according to Haaretz, but will allow residents north of the strip. 

•••

Anti-Russia Hawk Down – A hawkish supporter of US aid and military support to Ukraine for its defense against Russia, Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, is out as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) replaced Turner Thursday in a controversial move with MAGA Republican Rick Crawford, of Arkansas, Politico reports. Johnson also added to the committee five more Trump supporters who have been averse to continued aid to Ukraine; Ben Kline of Virginia, Pat Fall of Texas, Greg Steube of Florida, Claudia Tenney of New York and Ann Wagner of Missouri.

Meanwhile … UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made an unannounced visit with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to sign a “wide-ranging 100-year partnership” treaty, entailing defense, energy and trade, The Kyiv Independent reports. Kind of an in-your-face-Putin treaty short of full NATO membership for Ukraine.

•••

Treasury Secretary Hearings – Billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is said to be a shoe-in for as President-elect Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, with potential support even from some Democrats. Bessent’s top priority is to extend the Trump 45 tax cuts set to expire later this year, while conversely he could gently push back on Trump tariff threats.

In his opening statement before the Senate Finance Committee, Bessent said Trump’s economic policy presents a “generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans.” (Per The New York Times.)

But ranking committee Democrat Ron Wyden, of Oregon, considers such a “golden age” more of a “gilded age.” 

“Trump’s going to be waging this class war instead of fixing what’s broken about our tax system, which is that there’s a special set of rules that only applies to the ultra-wealthy,” Wyden said. “Mr. Bessent is a case in point.”

--TL

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Ceasefire in Trouble Already – Claiming that Hamas has “reneged on parts of the agreement,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday cancelled a cabinet meeting to vote on approval of the ceasefire agreement that would stop fighting on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. It seems unlikely that Phase I of the deal, which pretty much matches the proposal the Biden administration put out four months ago, but reportedly was pushed over the line by negotiators for the incoming Trump administration, will happen before President Biden officially leaves the White House. 

The way Haaretz puts it, President-elect Trump “scared” Netanyahu into agreeing to the deal with Hamas.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri refuted Netanyahu’s claim that Hamas had tried to make last-minute changes, according to Al-Arabi TV (per NPR). 

Two Israeli cabinet members have been very vocal in their opposition to the deal and have threatened to resign, thus collapsing Netanyahu’s government, according to the Morning Edition report. This raises the question of whether Netanyahu will scuttle the agreement to save his political career. 

Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry reported 81 killed and 188 wounded in Gaza between announcement of the agreement and the Israeli cabinet’s delay, Haaretz reports.

•••

Biden’s Farewell – President Biden touted the Gaza ceasefire agreement from the Oval Office in his farewell address to the American people Wednesday evening.

“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team,” Biden said, “and it will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed. Because that’s how it should be: Working together as Americans.”

The 46th president called out what he says are his administration’s successes, including strengthening NATO, keeping Ukraine free and pulling “ahead in our competition with China.

“I’m so proud of how much we’ve accomplished together for the American people, and I wish the incoming administration success. Because I want America to succeed.”

Then he warned about “the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultrawealthy people” without specifically naming Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg or any other tech billionaires.

“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 1/15/25

Israel, Hamas Agree to Ceasefire -- Negotiators for Israel, Arab countries and the US -- including from the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration -- have agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in an expected three-phase deal. In the first phase, Hamas will exchange some hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing Arab officials helping mediate the talks. The three parties met midday Wednesday local time in Doha, Qatar, to finalize the draft.

•••

Hegseth is Next Defense Secretary – Stop us if you’ve heard this sort of thing before. President-elect Trump will get what he wants with full (or nearly full) support of the Republican Party after some skepticism among a couple of moderates and/or dissidents. 

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was a potential block to Trump’s choice of ex-Fox News host Pete Hegseth to become the next Defense secretary. After a lengthy Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, Ernst, a former US Army lieutenant colonel who served in Kuwait and was concerned about Hegseth’s pre-nomination comments opposing women in combat, told Simon Conway of Des Moines’ Newsradio 1040; “Yes, I will be supporting President Trump’s pick for secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth,” The Hill reports. 

Committee Democrats attacked Hegseth for his lack of experience, infidelity and allegations of sexual and financial misconduct. Hegseth also faced questioning about his Jerusalem Cross tattoo, a symbol of the Christian far-right.

“In fact, interestingly, recently I attended briefly the memorial ceremony of former President Jimmy Carter, on the floor of our National Cathedral,” Hegseth replied, according to Newsweek. “On the front page of the program was the very same Jerusalem Cross.”

That does not mean Hegseth is not a devotee of Christian Nationalism. USA Today has reported that Hegseth is a follower of Idaho pastor Doug Wilson’s Communion of Reformed Evangelical Church, which has been strengthening ties with Hegseth’s Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship in Nashville. 

Such key players in the Christian Nationalism movement led a concerted effort to assure that Hegseth would have strong Republican support in the Senate (where he needs only a majority to be confirmed) leading up to the committee hearing. 

Upshot… After just one nominee, ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) had to withdraw his nomination, GOP support for Hegseth is a good indication Trump will get his way with the rest of his nominees, though there’s still the question of confirming Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) for National Intelligence director and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as national health secretary. 

Wednesday… Committee hearings are to be held for Pam Bondi, replacement nominee for Gaetz as Trump administration attorney general, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be secretary of state. Rubio, of all nominees, is considered the easiest shoo-in with likely support even from some Democratic senators.

--TL

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Enough to Convict – Former special counsel Jack Smith says he has the evidence to convict former President Donald J. Trump for interference in the 2020 election results, if not for Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, according to his 137-page final report released by the Department of Justice early Tuesday.

Trump “engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort to overturn the legitimate results of the election in order to retain power,” Smith says in his report's conclusion. 

Smith resigned as special counsel before Trump could fire him after next Monday’s presidential inauguration. But Smith and his team of investigators now face investigation themselves by the Republican-majority 119th Congress in the coming months, likely to be led by the incoming president’s close allys. 

“While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters,” Smith writes in the introduction. “I believe the example our team set for others to fight for justice without regard for the personal cost matters. The facts, as we uncovered them in our investigation and as set forth in my Report, matter. Experienced prosecutors know that you cannot control outcomes, you can only do your job the right way for the right reasons. I conclude our work confident that we have done so, and that we have met fully our obligations to the Department and to our country.”  

But not the other report … Judge Aileen Cannon – yes, the federal district judge in Florida appointed by Trump 45 – issued the five-page order Monday allowing the Justice Department to release the elections interference report but not the report from Smith’s investigation of Trump’s alleged refusal to return classified documents after he left office – the case she oversaw -- according to The New York Times.

That investigation led to the FBI’s seizure of classified government documents at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022. 

Cannon ordered prosecutors and Trump defense attorneys to appear before her on Friday to argue whether Smith’s report on the classified documents case should be released to Congress.

Reaction ... Insert standard Trump insults of Smith and his investigators here.

--Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 1/13/25

This Week – The House and Senate are in session Monday through Thursday, and the Senate only is in session Friday. Monday is the fourth anniversary of President-elect Trump’s second impeachment, for incitement of the January 6th attack on Capitol Hill. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate. 

Welcome – Readers of Columbia Spy.

Confirmation Week I – Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, Pam Bondi for US attorney general and Marco Rubio for secretary of state are key Senate confirmation hearings beginning Tuesday, Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition. 

As the most controversial Trump nominee now that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has withdrawn his nomination to be AG, former Fox News host Hegseth will face the toughest questioning beginning Tuesday. 

Senate committees also will question Interior Department secretary nominee Doug Burgum and Veterans Affairs nominee Doug Collins on Tuesday. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to take Wednesday and Thursday for its hearing on Bondi’s nomination to head the Justice Department, CQ Roll Call reports. Wednesday also is the day for Rubio to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations committee. John L. Ratcliffe, nominee for CIA director will appear before the Intelligence committee. Nominee for Homeland Security secretary, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and nominee for Office of Management and Budget chief Russell Vought will appear before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee on Wednesday.

A confirmation hearing for former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to be director of national intelligence appears to be delayed for a week, but not for the reasons you might expect – Gabbard is considered an ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and years ago met with now-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. But Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) described Gabbard’s delay as a “paperwork problem.”

“She now has a top-level security clearance,” Barrasso told CBS News’ Face the Nation Sunday. “She is the right person to keep America secure and safe.”

Others, this week … Chris Wright for Energy secretary, Scott Turner for Housing and Urban Development secretary, Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary, Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary and Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency director are also scheduled for committee hearings this week.

•••

Are You Ready for Some Trump Tariffs? – After decades of catching up with Western Europe, Japan and the United States with its odd mixture of communist authoritarianism and state-supported capitalism, China has reached nearly $1 trillion in trade surplus for 2024, according to the nation’s General Administration of Customs. Even adjusted for inflation, China’s $990-billion trade surplus last year “far exceeded” any in the world in the last century, according to The New York Times, including the US after World War II.

Automakers in the European Union are battling stiff competition from Chinese makers of affordable electric vehicles, while in the US, President-elect Trump has threatened a tariff on all Chinese goods of up to 60%.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 1/13/25

What’s Right

Comment: Let’s Start With a Clean Slate

For those raising alarm about alleged threats to "democracy" while ignoring the blatant overreach of unelected bureaucrats and activist judges against President-Elect Donald J. Trump, it’s clear you’ve succumbed to a narrative driven by Democrats and the biased media. The weaponization of government institutions by partisan actors has exposed just how fragile our republic has become under the influence of radical leftist ideology.

For years, Democrats have leveraged every tool in their arsenal — be it impeachment attempts, endless investigations, or politically motivated indictments — to undermine those who challenge their grip on power. This lawfare isn’t about justice; it’s about silencing dissent and punishing anyone who dares stand in their way.

The Constitution and rule of law are meant to serve as safeguards against tyranny, yet they are being bent and twisted to suit the whims of a political elite that cannot abide opposition. Conservatives and independent thinkers should take heed: today’s targeted leader could be tomorrow’s silenced citizen.

As Americans, we must demand accountability, transparency, and an end to the misuse of power for partisan ends. Without these, the freedoms that define this nation risk becoming relics of a bygone era, sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. Let's start with a clean slate next week and give President Trump an opportunity to prove his competence and ability to lead America and all our citizens towards a brighter tomorrow. 

--Rich Corbett

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Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It does not guarantee the right to criticize a newspaper owner via editorial cartoon by a staffer for that newspaper, Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay argues in his right-column commentary below. 

Scroll down the page using the trackbar on the far-right to read Macaulay’s commentary on Ann Telnaes’ editorial cartoon for The Washington Post criticizing the newspaper’s owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (along with other tech billionaires) for taking an “obsequious position” toward incoming President Donald J. Trump.

 Detail on Telnaes’ cartoon and departure is in the center column news/analysis. 

While you’ve scrolled down, do not miss guest pundit Chris Bidlack’s defense of Telnaes’ cartoon and her resignation from the WaPo after an editor rejected the cartoon.

As always, you are encouraged to submit your own comments on this, and other issues covered in The Hustings. For that matter, we are happy to hear from you about issues we haven’t been covering that you believe we should. 

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line so that we post your comments in the appropriate column.

And don’t miss Substack on The Hustings.   

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MONDAY 1/13/25

Left to Your Devices

Last Friday, the real CEO of The Onion’s owner Global Tetrahedron, Ben Collins, told NPR’s All Things Considered he hopes to use his company’s purchase out of bankruptcy of Alex Jones’ Infowars as a way to fight extremist conspiracy theories dominating social media. We applaud this: If The Hustings had a better sense of humor (and the necessary funds) we would try to do exactly the same thing.

Instead, we are here to bring together citizens from various points on the left and right sides of the political horseshoe to discuss and argue – in a civil manner – real, fact-based news/news aggregate, and push back against the same sort of social media BS. We are the anti-X/Twitter.

No echo chambers. No false equivalency. Facts, useful analysis and context for political animals and the politically curious. 

No matter which side of the political horseshoe you are on, we humbly solicit your thoughts and opinions on the latest political news and issues.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line – you do not have to tow your side’s line on a specific issue, but we do want to post your comments in the appropriate column – right or left.

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TUESDAY 11/19/24

Trump’s AG and Russian Missiles

Joe Biden became the first US president to visit ‘Earth’s lungs,’ the Brazilian rainforest, Sunday, on his way to a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.  (White House photo) ... Biden later skipped the official G20 photo and refused to answer reporters' questions.

Bondi – President-elect Trump’s quick pivot from ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as his choice for attorney general to a “fellow loyalist” (Politico) from Florida, Pam Bondi, happened so quickly Thursday it seems like it has to have been planned this way all along. The remaining question is whether Gaetz might try to reclaim his House seat, as Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay predicted, or whether he might run for Florida governor when Ron DeSantis is term-limited out in two years. 

If Gaetz wants to return to the House, that would reignite the Ethics Committee’s investigation. But even if he doesn’t, the committee still may release its investigation of him.

Bondi was Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019 when she defended Trump in his first impeachment trial. She reappeared with Trump on the campaign trail in the final days of this year’s campaign, according to Politico and in the interim has served as the co-chair of the America First Policy Institute’s law and justice division, an organization described as a “Trump administration in waiting.”

Trump reportedly picked Gaetz after a Trump jet flight in which the president-elect was unhappy with his AG choices, and the then-representative suggested himself. Was Bondi to be shadow-AG to Gaetz? Was all this folderol over the Gaetz pick some sort of television performance art worthy of The Apprentice? (Trump’s TV show, not the new movie about Roy Cohn and DJT.)

•••

Correction – Russia hit Dnipro, Ukraine, not with an intercontinental ballistic missile as reported Thursday, but with an “experimental” intermediate-range ballistic missile. Like an ICBM however, the “Oreshnik” (Russian for “hazel”) missile could carry a nuclear warhead although this one didn’t. Vladimir Putin described Oreshnik on Russian TV, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

“This is an obvious and serious increase in the scale and brutality of war,” Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram messaging app.

--TL

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...meanwhile...THURSDAY 11/21/24

Gaetz Withdraws -- Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) he is withdrawing his name to become President-elect Trump's US attorney general, Reuters reports.

•••

ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu – Alleging Israel has used starvation as a weapon and directs attacks against civilians, the International Criminal Court Thursday has issued an arrest warrant for war crimes for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant (per The Wall Street Journal). ICC prosecution drew praise from many countries, but outrage from the Biden administration and much of US Congress last May when it first sought the warrants. Several Hamas leaders who were also named in the ICC warrant have been killed by the Israeli Defense Force.

•••

ICBMs Hit Dnipro, Ukraine – Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Dnipro Thursday morning, Kyiv’s air force reported according to The Kyiv Independent. ICBMs are capable of carrying nuclear warheads – though obviously not in this case. The ICBM triggered a country-wide air raid alert. 

•••

Gaetz Headed for Hearing – It looks like President-elect Trump’s choice for attorney general, ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is headed for a Senate confirmation hearing, as Republican members of the Judiciary Committee said he should be given the opportunity to address misconduct allegations (per CQ Roll Call). 

“I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, top Republican on Judiciary. “I have seen this movie before.”

Meanwhile… Speaking of unverified, the House Ethics Committee will not release findings of its investigation of Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and drug use, committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) announced. The committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) indicated a 5-5 split between Republicans and Democrats on whether to release the report. At least one committee Republican would have to vote with the five Democrats to break the tie. Wild said the committee will reconvene Dec. 5 to further consider the matter, per NPR.

•••

Speaker Backs Mace – Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has backed Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in her efforts to keep the first transgender woman elected to the House of Representatives out of women’s restrooms.

“Transgender women should not use women’s bathrooms in the House,” Johnson said Wednesday (per Roll Call). “All single-use facilities in the Capitol and House Office Building – such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms – are reserved for individuals of that biological sex.”

Mace called for the restrictions earlier this week ahead of Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), who will be sworn into the 119thCongress January 3.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 11/20/24

Billionaires, TV Stars – Donald J. Trump’s appointee for Commerce secretary, chief of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald Howard Lutnick, is the billionaire. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the television physician with nine daytime Emmys and a history of promoting quack medicine, whom the president-elect has chosen to lead the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (including the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare) is the latest on the growing list of TV stars.

Oz is best-known politics-wise as the Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania who lost to Democrat John Fetterman in the 2022 midterms.. 

Linda McMahon bridges both descriptions as a retired pro-wrestler who with her husband, Vince, founded Titan Sports, which became World Wrestling Entertainment – better known as the WWE. McMahon, who ran the Small Business Administration for Trump from 2017-19 is his choice to become what Newsweek says “may be America’s last Education secretary.”

Trump also has named his first term’s national intelligence director, John Ratcliffe, to become head of the CIA, 

As for the elephant in the elephant’s room, there is much speculation among the punditocracy that Trump’s chosen attorney general, ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, is actually, in political animal terms, a “sacrificial lamb” meant to divert the Senate’s attention from Trump’s other choices. Theory goes that were a few Republican senators to join Democrats in defeating Gaetz’s nomination, he would move on to run for Florida governor in a couple of years. 

But Trump has made it clear he wants Gaetz to be his AG, which seems more a case of the president-elect testing how far he can push things – his “mandate,” or agenda. Or as Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project nonprofit formed to defend Trump against criminal charges against him told The Washington Post at Mar-a-Lago: “It’s a hostile takeover on behalf of the American people.”

--TL

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TUESDAY 11/19/24

On the 1,000th Day – Ukraine on Tuesday fired six US-made ATACMS – Army Tactical Missile System – missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region, sparking a fire but with no initial damage or casualties, Russia’s defense ministry said, according to the AP. The attack comes on the 1,000th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and two days after President Biden eased restrictions of Ukraine’s use of American-made weapons, which in turn prompted Dictator/President Vladimir Putin to lower the Kremlin’s threshold for using nuclear arms (per The New York Times).

The Biden administration “strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the lame-duck president told leaders at the G20 summit in Brazil.

United Russia Minister of Parliament Maria Butina said Monday that the US is “actually pushing the world to a very dangerous red line,” (per the BBC). Yes, that’s the same Maria Butina who five years ago pleaded guilty before US District Judge Tanya Chutkin to conspiracy charges for infiltrating conservative groups, including the National Rifle Association, for the goal of advancing Russian interests.

Meanwhile… President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented in an address Tuesday to Ukraine’s parliament a 10-point plan for “internal resilience,” The Kyiv Independent reports.

“Ukraine may need to outlive someone in Moscow to achieve all the goals,” Zelenskyy said. 

Zelenskyy was criticized earlier this autumn, before Donald J. Trump won the November 5 presidential election, for presenting a victory plan that focused primarily on requests from external parties while lacking domestic reform, according to the Independent’s report.

•••

Another Fox Celeb for Trump’s Cabinet – President-elect Trump has named Fox Business’ The Bottom Line host Sean Duffy to be his transportation secretary (per The Hill). Duffy was US representative for Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019, where he was a loyal supporter of Trump during his first presidential term, according to his Wikipedia page. Duffy began his television career in a slew of MTV reality shows; The Real World: Boston, Road Rules: All Stars and Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons. He is married to Rachel Campos Duffy, co-host with Trump’s choice for Defense secretary Pete Hesgeth on Fox & Friends: Weekend.

Meanwhile… Senate Republicans and “people around Trump” say the president-elect has been told that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has “little chance” of confirmation as attorney general, Politico reports, adding that the GOP senators are “privately hoping” Trump “doesn’t make them walk the plank.”

ICYMI… Trump has nominated Chris Wright, CEO of the Denver-based fracking company Liberty Energy to be his Energy secretary; former US Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) from 2015-23 to head the Environmental Protection Agency; and John Ratcliffe, Trump’s national intelligence director from 2020-21 to head the CIA.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 11/19/24

Drive, He Said

“There’ll be spandex jackets, one for everyone. . . .”

By Stephen Macaulay

In announcing fellow former reality TV player Sean P. Duffy as his selection to be the Secretary of Transportation, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social:

“Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and full fill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”

Which is an absolutely consistent statement with all of the other statements that Trump tends to make about things.

First, let’s give Trump a pass for his tendency to capitalize Nouns whenever He wants to make a Point about Something. Maybe He thinks that’s what the Kids are doing.

The nation’s Infrastructure is currently being maintained and rebuilt as a result of the Biden Administration’s $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law November 15, 2021.

Trump, during his presidency, rolled out with various “infrastructure weeks.” There were numerous infrastructure plans.

None of these came to fruition.

Remember, during his first two years in office the Republicans controlled the House and Senate (January 2017 to January 2019).

Similarly, during Biden’s first two years (January 2021 to January 2023) the Democrats controlled both, too.

But Biden got something done with regard to infrastructure.

The most curious aspect of Trump’s announcement about Duffy — who, it should be noted, was on MTV’s Road Rules: All Stars, which put him and his colleagues in a Winnebago traveling around America, presumably hands-on experience for running an organization in charge of the US transportation system — is the “our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel.”

Does anyone know when The Golden Age of Travel occurred?

Perhaps this was about the time when Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which created the interstate highway system. That was in 1956, when Trump was 10. 

Big-finned Cadillacs. Cheap gas.

But then there’s this: In 1957 the traffic fatality rate was 5.9 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled — now it is down to 1.17 deaths.

So much for Golden. More like Bloody.

But then there’s claim “elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”

That is possibly more perplexing than “Golden Age.”

Now the Department of Transportation does have the Federal Aviation Administraation under its purview, which could be the “elevate” aspect.

But then there’s “all Americans.”

According to the Bureau of Transportation, in 2022 US airlines carried some 853 million Americans.

The same year, according to AAA, Americans made 227 billion trips by auto.

That means the air trips are 0.38% of the number of car trips.

So presumably Trump plans to do something to the ground-based travel experience for Americans. Whatever it is must be special. Flying cars for everyone, perhaps?

Let’s face it: that Truth Social post is like other pronouncements made by Donald Trump in that it sounds good (who doesn’t want a Golden Age of Transportation or an elevated Travel Experience?) but is quite meaningless.

What are the metrics for these things? How will it be known if he accomplished it?

And therein lies part of the rhetorical genius of Donald Trump: sound and fury signifying nothing.

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Monday’s center column, “Is Our Democracy Done?” asks whether Donald J. Trump’s incoming term already is proving to be as authoritarian, even fascist, as the failed Democratic presidential campaign had warned, as evidenced by his four most controversial staff and cabinet choices. Scroll down with the far-right trackbar to read our news aggregate and analysis.

The center column is accompanied by Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s commentary, “Matt Gaetz: A Very Clever Man,” on how the ex-US representative from Florida could return to the House sans the Ethics Committee report on him. Scroll down further to read Macaulay’s “Help Wanted. Experience Irrelevant.”

Scroll down yet further, but still on the home page, to read Macaulay’s reaction to the November 5 elections, “Those Who Need to Know Don’t.” Read contributor Hugh Hansen’s left-column response, “Silver Linings?”

Email your own Comments, whether pro-MAGA, never-Trumper right, moderate left or progressive – or virtually anything in-between as long as you are civil – to editors@thehustings.news.

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TUESDAY 11/19/24

Silver Linings?

By Hugh Hansen

As a generally moderate friend said in response to the results, "This is why we can't have nice things." The electorate displayed so much id, so little superego. It is painful to realize how deeply I've misjudged our society -- I'm reminded of sci-fi stories in which advanced aliens are waiting until our species reaches a certain level of ethical enlightenment before welcoming us into Galactic citizenship -- well, the wait is apparently going to be longer than I'd thought.

And there are silver linings pretty much any of us can find. 

Mine: It is valuable to know I've misjudged, so I can rejudge more accurately; Elissa Slotkin pulled it out here in Michigan, due in some small part to the work done by me and my friends; my town, which went for President Biden by 9 votes, went for Vice President Harris by 40-some, ditto; I've gained an hour of leisure time in the morning by not reading the news for a while, and feel better to boot.

 Big One: It brings home how many millions of people who aren't well-off, highly educated white men have faced election news which brought them no comfort or hope over the history of our country. 

_______________________________________________

Your Thoughts?

We are using this column, which is meant to provide those on the left with space for opinion and commentary, to invite those on the left and on the right to provide thoughts on Tuesday’s elections, including Donald J. Trump’s victory in the presidential race. 

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

In addition to Trump’s win, Republicans gained Senate seats, according to The Associated Press. The count as of Wednesday morning was 52 Republicans to 42 Democrats, with eight seats to be determined.

We still await results for 57 seats in the House of Representatives. Currently, 198 Republicans and 180 Democrats have been elected to the 119th Congress.

Abortion Initiatives

Voters in Arizona, Missouri and Montana have passed ballot measures expanding abortion rights in those states (AP). In Florida, 57% voted to overturn an abortion ban, but that number fell short of the 60% needed to pass.

Voters in Colorado, Nevada and Maryland enshrined abortion rights into their constitutions, and in New York State, voters backed a reproductive rights measure that bars unequal treatment based on pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care and autonomy, and sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability.

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WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

…meanwhile…

Question: Now that Donald J. Trump has decisively won a second term, will the president-elect again embrace Project 2025, which obviously was written for him in the first place?

FRIDAY 11/8/24

Racist Text Messages to Black Youth, Adults – The FBI and several state attorneys general have opened inquiries into racist text messages sent to Black men, women and children that started to appear Wednesday, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. The texts have gone out to Black middle-school, high school and college students, including the 17-year-old son of St. Louis’ mayor, according to the report, and say the recipients have been chosen for “some sort of indentured servitude.” (Listen to NPR’s report here.)

NPR tried calling phone numbers associated with the texts, to no avail. There is no indication yet whether the texts might be related to election day bomb threats at polls or pre-election day misinformation and disinformation thought to have come primarily from Russian hackers.

•••

EU to Abandon Ukraine? – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told an informal conference of European Union leaders in Budapest Friday that the EU must rethink its support for Ukraine following Donald J. Trump’s election victory, Reuters reports. Orbán, who is a close friend of both Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, said Europe cannot finance the war without US support. 

Trump has promised to “end” the war via negotiations between Putin – who has fortified his aggression with North Korean army troops – and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

“The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war,” Orbán told state radio (a product of his own authoritarian rule).

Meanwhile … The Biden White House is rushing to process about $50 billion in guaranteed loans to Ukraine before January 20. 

Speaking at the EU leaders’ conference in Budapest Thursday, Zelenskyy said this: “There should be no illusion that a just peace can be brought by showing weakness. Peace is a reward only for the strong.”

•••

Newsome Jumps Trump – Gov. Gavin Newsome Thursday issued a proclamation calling for a special session of the California legislature “to safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.” It is set to begin December 2, the day newly elected members of the state senate and assembly will be sworn in. 

“The special session will focus on bolstering California legal resources to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families,” the proclamation states. 

Newsome is a likely candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination who was considered in the running after President Biden stepped down from his re-election bid and before Vice President Kamala Harris was named his successor.

The special session will assure California “won’t be flat footed come June,” said Attorney Gen. Rob Bonta, (per the Los Angeles Times). “You can be sure that as California attorney general, if Trump attacks your rights, I’ll be there. If Trump comes after your freedoms, I’ll be there. If Trump jeopardizes your safety and well-being, I’ll be there.”

James Gallagher, the California assembly’s Republican leader, responded thusly: “This special session is a shameless political stunt. The only ‘problem’ it will solve is Gavin Newsome’s insecurity that not enough people are paying attention to him.”

Newsome v. Musk? … Lots of context here. In addition to the civil rights issues AG Bonta mentions above, Sacramento is concerned Trump will seek to gut California of its ability to set its own emissions standards established during Gov. Ronald Reagan’s administration. Later, during the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (also a Republican), California established a zero-emissions mandate, which had stemmed early losses at Tesla as it sold EV credits to automakers that fell short of the standard. 

But by the ‘10s, CEO Elon Musk, who appears headed to the Trump White House as a government waste-reduction czar, said he would have preferred Tesla to stand on its own without the ZEV credits. 

•••

Casey Defeated in PA – The Associated Press has called Pennsylvania’s US Senate seat for Trump-backed Republican challenger David McCormick, former CEO of the world’s largest hedge-fund. However, three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D) had not conceded as of Friday morning, saying at least 100,000 ballots – including provisional, military and overseas – are yet to be counted, according to the AP, which reports McCormick leads by 31,000 votes.

The Senate count now stands at 53 Republican, including McCormick, to 45 Democratic, with two races yet to be called. In the House of Representatives, Republicans have 211 seats to 199 Democratic seats, with 25 races to be called, and 218 necessary for the majority.

--TL

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THURSDAY 11/7/24

This Just In -- Ex-president/President-elect Donald J. Trump has named a top political aide, Susie Wiles, as chief of staff. She will become the first woman in the role.

•••

UPDATE – The Federal Reserve lowered its target interest rate by ¼ points to the 4 ½% to 4 ¾% range, while reiterating it remains “strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2% objective.” Whether meant intentional or not, the commitment seems to warn about potentially inflationary policies like tax cuts and tariffs.

II -- Chairman Jerome Powell said he does not expect the general election to influence the Fed's rate setting in the future, though the next president or Congress could enact fiscal policy that "could have effects over time that do matter." (Per Marketplace.) Powell also said he will not step down as Fed chairman if President-elect Trump asks him to, according to Marketwatch.

Another Rate Cut? – The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by another ¼-point when it concludes its Board of Governors meeting Thursday afternoon, according to NPR’s Morning Edition. This would mark the second benchmark rate cut since the Consumer Price Index fell close to the Fed’s 2% target late this year. In September, the Fed cut the rate by a half-point as the CPI came down to 2.5% from its end-of-pandemic high of 9.1% in June 2022.

Fed up? ... While Thursday’s expected cut was considered the second of many, the economic policies of President-elect Donald J. Trump could potentially blunt that. Specifically, another tax cut financed by hiked tariffs on imported goods would potentially re-fuel inflation. Trump already has spoken of taking executive control of the otherwise independent Fed and is unlikely to re-appoint its chair, Jerome Powell, when his term from the first Trump administration expires May 15, 2026.

•••

Zelenskyy Promotes ‘Peace Through Strength’ – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his most-pointed response to President-elect Trump’s vow to work out a peace plan between Ukraine and Russia, at the European Political Community Summit in Budapest Thursday, per The Kyiv Independent.

“There should be no illusions that a just peace can be bought by showing weakness,” Zelenskyy said. “Peace is a reward only for the strong.”

Trump has said he can “solve” it in a day, as he has promised for a number of other issues, which apparently means handing over parts of Ukraine already claimed by Vladmir Putin’s Russian army. 

Meanwhile, President Biden is rushing to distribute before he leaves office a remaining $50 billion in Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loans, backed by interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets, reports Morning Edition.

•••

That’s a Wrap – Justice Department special prosecutor Jack Smith is expected to wrap up his two cases against president-elect/ex-President Donald J. Trump – conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 election and hoarding of classified documents -- before Trump’s January 20th inauguration (per NPR’s All Things Considered). Because a sitting president cannot face trial, that gives Smith 74 days as of Thursday to present his case. Afterward, he faces potential retribution from the once and future prez.

•••

Next House – Control of the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress remains undecided, with 40 seats yet to be called. As of Thursday morning, there are 205 Republican, and 190 Democratic victors, with 218 needed for control. It may take weeks before numbers are final, according to The New York Times.

New Senate … Republicans already have taken the Senate, with 52 seats. Democrats now have 44 seats. Key races in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania have yet to be called.

--TL

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Trump Will Be #47; GOP Takes Senate

WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

There will not be the long, drawn-out ballot count in the battleground states that virtually everybody (including us) had predicted. North Carolina and Georgia fell to Donald J. Trump before midnight Tuesday, while blue counties in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan were showing smaller margins for Kamala Harris than for Joe Biden four years earlier and Trump’s margin in key red counties in most states grew from 2020.

Trump, 78, was leading the popular vote Wednesday morning for the first time in three elections, 71.39 million to 66.45 million, according to the AP.

The once and future president did not wait for the AP to call Wisconsin and leap past the 270 electoral vote threshold when he made his victory speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, about 2:30 am EST. 

“Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,” Trump told his crowd, referring to an assassination attempt last July in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another last September at Trump International Golf Club in Florida. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the first foreign leader to hail Trump’s victory, The Guardian reports, writing on social media: “The biggest comeback in US political history! Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on his enormous win. A much-needed victory for the world!”

It probably doesn’t need to be repeated that Orbán is the only European Union leader allied with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump’s “huge victory” a “powerful recommitment” to the US-Israeli alliance, according to Haaretz. 

Prior to the market’s opening Wednesday morning, stocks rallied and bitcoin soared, “with investors piling into trades that align with a second Trump presidency,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “The dollar and Treasury yields both jumped, reflecting bets that Trump’s policies could widen the budget deficit and stoke inflation, while tariffs would strain trading partners.”

Meanwhile, myriad media outlets report that exit polls indicate male Latino support for Trump nearly reached 50%; Evelyn Pérez-Verdía, founder of We Are Más, cited the gender gap and told NPR’s Morning Edition the president-elect’s support was up 13 points among Latinos from 2020.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

Those Who Need to Know Don’t

By Stephen Macaulay

I will admit that I have underestimated the amount of fear and uncertainty that evidently exists throughout America. The fear of the Other, whether that is someone who is going to sneak across the southern border and rape and pillage or someone who is undergoing sex reassignment. The uncertainty that comes from a memory of the not-too-distant past of shelves being without toilet paper.

We want someone who will save us from that. And while Tucker Carlson’s “Daddy” comment may be perceived as creepy, that’s what I suspect many of our fellow citizens were looking for: Someone who will be in control, someone who will assuage the fear and uncertainty simply because he rails against those people who probably sent the toilet-paper-producing jobs overseas.

Were it not that the numbers for Trump are so commanding it would be easy to say that this is an election that the Democrats lost.

They did lose it — bigly — and maybe they did so because they played the rules that have been relegated to the trash can of history.

For weeks after Harris was, in effect, anointed, there were many who were critical of her lack of fulsome articulation of her plans and policies. And she did a mealy-mouthed job of trying to explain what she would do, which became rather tiresome when she kept talking about her upbringing.

Meanwhile, Trump just kept warning people of the “invasion” and the prospects of “World War III” and the “evil” nature of his opponent.

Haitians eating cats and dogs in Ohio was certainly a more striking image than any comprehensive housing plan.

“But that’s not the way it is done!” the Democrats cry. “People need to know policies!”

No they don’t.

One of the things that the Democrat procedural wonks don’t seem to recognize is that for many people 280 characters is all they want or need — at most. And they would probably prefer a GIF.

Hell, this commentary has gone on far too long by that metric.

Trump won. Harris lost. And soon we’ll see the consequences.

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WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

Counterpoints Welcome

So long as you keep them civil.

For Monday’s front page, we posted synopses of the Trump/Vance platform in the right column and the Harris/Walz platform in the left column, both as they appear in donaldjtrump.com and kamalaharris.com, and without commentary. 

In today’s right column, Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay offers his critique of the Trump/Vance platform. We are sure there are pro-MAGA readers who may have something to say about the Harris/Walz platform and/or Macaulay’s commentary. As always, you are welcome to submit your comments for posting in the right column. 

Left-leaning readers also are invited to comment on the platforms and on our pundit-at-large’s opinion piece. 

Go to the COMMENT section of the left or right columns, as appropriate, or email editors@thehustings.news  and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

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TUESDAY 11/5/24

Trump Wins

WEDNESDAY 11/6/24

Not Even Close -- The Associated Press called Wisconsin for Donald J. Trump just before dawn Eastern time, to give the once and future president 277 electors to Vice President Kamala Harris' 224.

"This was a movement like nobody's ever seen before," Trump said at a victory gathering in West Palm Beach, Florida, before the AP call, "and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There's never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond."

The Republican Party also took control of the Senate Tuesday night. The House of Representatives remains close.

•••

Nabs Georgia, North Carolina – Just after 1 am Eastern time Donald J. Trump led Kamala Harris 247 to 210 in the Electoral College vote count as called by the AP, with 270 needed to win. Trump is leading in Pennsylvania for its 19 electoral votes, at 51.2% to 47.8%, with 91% of the vote in.

Trump also is leading in the key swing states of Michigan, 51.4% to 46% with 59% in, and Wisconsin, 51.4% to 47.2% with 84% counted. Trump has a slight lead over Harris in Arizona, at 49.9% to 49.2%, with 51% in. Just 4% of the votes were counted in Nevada, where Trump was leading 71.5% to 26.8%.

--TL

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ELECTION DAY 11/5/24

Scroll down one page with the trackbar on the far right to read …

<<<<<<<<<<Kamala Harris’ platform in the left column.

Donald J. Trump’s platform in the right column. >>>>>>>>>>

Shape of the Count to Come? -- First-in-the-nation-to-vote Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, finished counting its six ballots at 12:12 am Tuesday. The result, reports The New York Times: Three votes for Kamala Harris. Three votes for Donald J. Trump.

•••

Yet More Misinfo, Disinfo – Late Monday night as Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald J. Trump were wrapping up their presidential election campaigns, the Office of the Director of National Security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI said in a joint statement, according to The New York Times, that foreign adversaries led by Russia were “conducting additional influence operations intended to undermine public confidence in the integrity of US elections and stoke division among Americans.”

Fight misinformation, disinformation … Confused over what you are reading about today’s election on Facebook and X-Twitter, or watching on TikTok and YouTube and the like? The Brennan Center for Justice has this handy guide to voter misinformation.

•••

Wait For It – As in 2020, swing states Pennsylvania and Michigan were not allowed to count early ballots until Tuesday, November 5. Wisconsin’s rules have changed and this year election workers have already begun tabulating the early ballots.

•••

Abortion on the Ballot – Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota have ballot measures to roll back bans on abortion, the AP reports. South Dakota, in fact, has two competing ballot initiatives, according to NPR. In addition, AP says, Colorado and Maryland have measures that would protect abortion rights via their state constitutions. Initiatives to maintain access are on the ballots in Montana and Nevada, and a New York law would ban discrimination against women on the basis of “pregnancy outcome, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

•••

Trump’s Last Rally – Donald J. Trump began what he called his “last rally” after midnight Tuesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he got “kind of sentimental” NPR’s Morning Edition reports.

“But here’s the good news: All we were doing is putting ourself in a position where we could win tomorrow if you show up,” Trump said. 

Earlier, Trump held a rally in Pittsburgh with conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly, whom he once called “nasty” for her question during the first 2016 GOP primary debate on Fox News, of whether Trump has the temperament to be president. 

“He got mocked by the left by saying he would be a protector of women,” Kelly told the rally crowd Monday evening. “He will be a protector of women and it’s why I’m voting for him. He will close the border and he will keep the boys out of women’s sports where they don’t belong.”

•••

Harris on Rocky Steps – That’s the steady sort of rocky, as in the steps up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Sylvester Stallone runs in his 1976 movie, Rocky.

Harris called the “famous steps, a tribute to those who start as the underdog, and climb to the victory.”

Celebrities speaking at Harris’ final push were Oprah Winfrey, Fat Joe and Philly native DJ Jazzy Jeff. Lady Gaga, The Roots and Ricky Martin performed. 

“We are done with it,” Harris said of the “most consequential” presidential election of our lifetime. “America is ready for a fresh new start, where we see our fellow Americans, not as an enemy but as a neighbor.”  

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 11/5/24

A Quick Review of a Shaky Platform

By Stephen Macaulay

How many people who plan on voting for Trump have actually taken the time to go to his official website — www.donaldjtrump.com — and have looked at his presidential platform?

Probably not many. Because he doesn’t offer much in the way of anything but empty bluster or problems that actually exist.

For those who are interested in so-called “kitchen-table” issues, the planks of that platform are pretty flimsy. And if we want to build a stronger America, substantive plans are needed.

So, to review, here are the 20 points of his platform.

1. Seal the border and stop the migrant invasion. 

One might think that when he was president and had a Republican Congress he would have gotten that wall built and paid for by Mexico, that there wouldn’t have simply been a reduced number of illegals crossing the border when he was in office, but that he would have sealed it. None of that happened.

2. Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.

This is a red-meat item. . .until people realize that their family members, friends or neighbors are mistakenly caught up in this operation.

3. End inflation, and make America affordable again.

Sounds good, but there is nothing to substantiate how he would make that happen. Arguably the reason inflation is as high as it is is a hangover from the COVID crisis which, as you may not recall, he didn’t handle very well.

4. Make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!

Perhaps someone needs to tell him the U.S. currently is “the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!” As of August 2024 the U.S. produces 21.91 million barrels of oil per day. Saudi Arabia is number two, back at 11.13 million. Looks fairly dominant.

5. Stop outsourcing and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower.

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, certainly no booster of the Democrats, as of September 2024,“Manufacturing employment fell slightly in September, losing 7,000 employees from August but remaining above pre-pandemic levels. Job growth in the sector has slowed in the past year, yet remains well above pre-pandemic levels with 12,917,000 manufacturing employees in September. The sector averaged 12,648,000 employees pre-pandemic (2017–2019).” So arguably, the U.S. is a greater manufacturing superpower now than when Trump was in office.

6. Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips!

Notice there is no detail of how big those cuts will be for workers. And going back to the previous item, in Q4 2017, pre-pandemic and when Trump was in office, there were 153.9 million people employed in the U.S. In September 2024 there were 161.86 million people employed. MAGA? And as for the “no tax on tips” — sounds good, but wouldn’t a higher minimum wage work more efficiently?

7. Defend our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms 

From whom? Isn’t he the guy who is suing CBS and who is threatening his political opponents? And Harris has said that she owns a Glock, so who is threatening gun rights? And since when has there been an issue related to freedom of religion? Maybe he’s concerned with the Bibles he’s hawking.

8. Prevent World War III, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country -- all made in America 

Is WW III something anyone has been concerned with. . .until he started making it seem like it is imminent? And it seems fairly clear that his answer to the fighting in Europe is surrendering to Putin. And as for the Middle East, there seems to be no plan. No surprise there.

9. End the weaponization of government against the American people.

Is this a problem for the American people, or just the many people in his sphere who have been found guilty of manifold malfeasances?

10. Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders.

“Using the FBI data, the violent crime rate fell 49% between 1993 and 2022, with large decreases in the rates of robbery (-74%), aggravated assault (-39%) and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter (-34%).”—Pew Research Center. Here’s the thing: He can claim there is a problem, then “solve it.”

11. Rebuild our cities, including Washington DC, making them safe, clean, and beautiful again. Remember when Trump was going to transform Atlantic City? How did that work out?

12. Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without question, the strongest and most powerful in the world.

For a man who denigrates the men and women who have given their lives in service to their country, this is rich.

13. Keep the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.

If he follows through on his isolationist plans, forget about that.

14. Fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age. 

Remember his tax cuts for the workers? Where will the funding for these programs come from? Mexico?

15. Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations.

First, there is no “electric vehicle mandate.” Second, remember the e. coli issue that recently broke out at McDonalds due to some contaminated produce? Bet some of the things that the provider of the produce ignored were considered to be “burdensome.” Just think if these regulations were gone.

16. Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.

Who decides what is “inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content”? Somehow his sensitivity to race, women and political opponents makes him a dubious arbiter.

17. Keep men out of women's sports.

This is one of 20 things that the want-to-be president is concerned with? 

18. Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.

Didn’t he say something about freedom of speech in point seven?

19. Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship

Does this mean that there should be only same-day voting? If so, why has he been promoting early voting? While there certainly should be vetting of voters, this is a non-problem that he is vigorously ginning up so he can blame something else if he loses.

20. Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success.

Laudable. But where is anything in his list that will actually do that?

The presidential election shouldn’t be treated like a popularity contest. 

Trump may be more popular than Harris, but the presidency isn’t about throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks or making things up on the fly or gutting our freedoms while claiming the actions make us freer.

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TUESDAY 11/5/24