Author: launchkits

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

…meanwhile…

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)

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. 

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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

Harris/Walz Campaign Stops

Scroll down the page with the trackbar on the far right to read highlights of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent campaign stops. 

Listen to our very first podcast, Pod on the Hustings on Substack.

Democratic campaign schedule:

•Friday, October 18: Kamala Harris appears in Lansing, Grand Rapids and Waterford, Michigan.

•Saturday, October 19: Tim Walz rallies in Omaha and Chicago.

•Tuesday, October 22: Tim Walz rallies in Madison, Wisconsin.

It's all in the past...

•Thursday, October 17: Kamala Harris appears in Milwaukee, LaCrosse and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

•Also on Thursday, Tim Walz appears with former President Bill Clinton in Durham, then continues on to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a solo appearance.

Be sure to visit our Substack page at https://thehustings.substack.com. 

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

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THURSDAY 10/17/24

About Second Place

By Stephen Macaulay

As of August/early September JD Vance had a favorability rating of 36% among Americans and Tim Walz edged him out by 5%, at 41%, according to Gallup.

This means that Walz was tied with Mike Pence in 2020 and Vance was tied with Mike Pence in 2016.

Mike Pence is likely not voting for either of the two men.

But what Gallup also found was that 19% of U.S. adults don’t know who Walz is and 17% don’t know who Vance is.

Which puts the two men squabbling on TV with each other in perspective.

What’s more, the citizens of Houston, Detroit, Baltimore, Kansas City, Atlanta, and San Diego all had something else to view last night that was a solid concern of more than a slice of their populations: Major League Baseball playoff games.

The last time the Tigers were in the playoffs, for example, Obama was president.

While John Nance Garner is the name of an individual that only Ken Jennings might get (“Who was the 32nd vice president?”), his comparison of the office to a bucket of warm spit is equaled by Will Rogers’ lesser-known “The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say, ‘How is the president?’”

Vance and Walz could have wrestled in a bucket of warm spit for nine minutes rather than the 90 spent talking and the effect might have been better.

It is commonly said that the purpose of a vice-presidential candidate is to serve as an attack dog for whoever is running for the top job. It is a shame that Don Rickles died in 2017 because he would have been superlative in that role.

But last night the two men were not attack dogs so much as somewhat-civil surrogates for their partners in politics.

Walz looked uncomfortable at the start, as though he wished he was wearing a Cabella’s cap and fishing at Lake Winnibigoshish.

Vance was his usual basilisk-like self.

The outlets that did fact-checking of what the candidates said pretty much indicated that Vance held forth with a litany of lies, although there was the tendency to be more euphemistic about what Vance said (“Misleading”? Really?). All I can say is that Vance must spend a whole lot of time in the confession booth.

While Walz wasn’t exactly a choir boy in some of his answers, The Washington Post’s fact checker seemed to go out of his way to throw shade at Walz, as though they were afraid the multiple “This is false” declarations appended to Vance’s lies would be a bit much for the readers.

Walz claimed:

“Donald Trump had four years. He had four years to do this. And he promised you, America, how easy it would be. ‘I’ll build you a big, beautiful wall, and Mexico will pay for it.’ Less than 2% of that wall got built, and Mexico didn’t pay a dime.”

And the Post assessed:

“The percentage is exaggerated. About 458 miles of a border barrier was built during Trump’s presidency, but most of it (373 miles) was replacement for existing primary or secondary barriers that were dilapidated or outdated, according to a January 22, 2021, report by Customs and Border Protection. About 52 miles was new primary wall, and 33 miles was new secondary wall. Trump had promised to build 1,000 miles of barrier, so even taking the lower numbers gets Trump 8.5 percent.”

Well, that’s one way of slicing the numbers. Another way is this:

The length of the border between the U.S. and Mexico is 1,954 miles. When Trump talked about his Wall, he didn’t mean fixed up portions or secondary structures. It was going to be a sight to behold, one that would strike fear into the hearts of anyone who dared gaze at it with a notion of trying to surmount it. (Fear, incidentally, is what the Trump-Vance team is big on when it comes to other countries.)

So Trump built 52 miles of wall. Which is 2.66% of 1,954.

Still, the overall assessment is that it was a tie.

In other words, fairly irrelevant.

Although there are those who claim there are those who are undecided or independent who’d be swayed one way or another — get serious:

  1. People vote for the person running for president, not the vice president.
  2. There was a lot of good baseball on last night.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings. A never-Trump conservative, his commentaries most often appear in our right column.

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WEDNESDAY 10/2/24

Ohio Normal Meets Minnesota Nice

By Todd Lassa

How to summarize Tuesday’s debate on CBS News Tuesday night between Republican veep nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic veep nominee Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota? 

It was nothing like Veep the TV show, except for the almost self-referential -self-stereotyping of Minnesota nice by Walz, who started out shaky and nervous on the way to finding a bit of sympatico with Vance on a couple of issues. He even apologized a couple of times for interrupting Vance and CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.

Walz’s presence strengthened while discussing the abortion issue as Vance tried to advance Trump’s argument that it is all about states’ rights and falsely claimed the first Trump administration strengthened universal health care rather than repeatedly attempt to appeal Obamacare.

Walz and Vance agreed on the need to build affordable housing, 3 million units according to Walz, while Vance insisted it’s an immigration problem and consistently blamed Vice President Harris for letting in millions of illegals in the past three-and-a-half years. 

They agreed housing should not be commodities for financial institutions to manipulate and that local and state regulations that stifle construction of such housing should be eased, though neither knew how. Nor did either candidate mention how NIMBY is the key issue in stifling affordable housing construction.

Vance did raise the problem of the Harris/Walz home-building program triggering real estate inflation with up-front downpayment aid for, the Republican senator suggested, illegal aliens, which would pile on to the inflation for which he said Kamala Harris also is responsible. 

Vance noted the Trump-Vance solution is to seize federal lands and build the needed housing on it. Vance also repeated Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” mantra, prompting Walz to ask; “Are we going to drill and build houses on the same federal land?”

Vance and Walz agreed on the need for federal money to pay for paid medical leave “to make families stronger,” according to Vance. 

“I think there is a bipartisan solution here,” Walz responded. Trump/Vance seeks a $5,000 child-care tax credit while Harris/Walz have called for $6,000 for newborns followed up with $3,000 for children more than six-months old. Vance added a “school choice” style element in the way early child care is provided, saying churches and small-town communities should be eligible to receive such federal monies.

Though vice presidential debates are considered inconsequential auditions for a job not worth a bucket of warm spit, both Vance and Walz offered more substance and detail on policy proposals than Trump and Harris did in their single meeting. 

Whereas Vance repeatedly criticized Harris for failing to do anything about illegal immigration and inflation while she has been President Biden’s veep, Walz called out the Trump administration’s tax cuts mostly for the rich and its resulting $8 trillion increase in the federal debt. The Democrat cited warnings from economists -- including economists from the Wharton School (Trump’s alma mater) – that the Trump/Vance proposed tariffs would spur much higher inflation than we’ve had since the pandemic.

Without using the word “tariff,” Vance said the heart of Trump’s plan is to cut taxes, “but penalize companies that are shipping jobs overseas.”

Vance and Walz argued, civilly, it must be said, over the January 6th Capitol insurrection and freedom of speech. 

Vance cited Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Trump supporters. Walz said the Harris campaign’s support ranges from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to former veep Dick Cheney to Taylor Swift. (Expect an all-caps Trump response to the latter on Truth Social.)

Finally, Walz pressed Vance on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and noted that Mike Pence was not on the stage with him as a result of those efforts.

“Did he lose the 2020 election?” Walz asked Vance.

“Tim, I’m focused on the future. ...” 

Who won?: Did JD Vance win this one, or at least soften his image enough to improve his low favorability ratings, or was Tim Walz the winner? Email your thoughts about the vice-presidential debate to editors@thehustings.news and please, indicate your political leanings (those on the left are allowed to admit Vance won, and those on the right can give the win to Walz) in the subject line. Or simply enter your comments in the left or right column.

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WEDNESDAY 10/2/24

Vance Was Rock-Solid

By Rich Corbett

As a conservative voter, my reaction to the vice-presidential debate is that Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) was rock-solid. He reinforced Republican strength when it comes to the economy, border and foreign policy stability. 

Vance was likable, polite, connectable, professional and convincingly competent. By Vance answering the moderators with … “you asked the question, so I’ll answer the question” … it reminded voters just how few answers we have received from Kamala Harris on her flip-flopped positions. As a running mate, he definitely is an asset to former President Donald Trump. 

As for Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), he did no harm to Kamala Harris. He was good enough on the Democrat positions in talking about health care and abortion, but less convincing that Trump is a “threat to democracy” or that Americans would see much change from the last three-and-a-half years. His defense over his past embellishments such as a visit to Hong Kong and Tiananmen Square in his non-answer, “I’m a knucklehead at times,” was memorable, but a reminder that politicians mislead — lie — if they think it will benefit their political future. 

If voters came to the debate not knowing JD Vance or with a negative impression, he likely improved his stature and may have advanced the Trump/Vance ticket. For Tim Walz and his “neighborly guy” image, it disappeared to what seemed artificial anger over January 6th. He appeared far more nervousness than Vance and had difficulty in defending himself and Harris, but quickly deflect into to blaming Trump. It was a hard sell after three-and-a-half years of Biden/Harris. 

Corbett is a longtime reader and a contributor to The Hustings’ right column.

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WEDNESDAY 10/2/24

Left and Right

As the United Nations wraps up its annual General Assembly in Manhattan Friday, we seek your comments – whether you lean to the left or to the right – on the serious issues that have come up this week, including …

•Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s argument for continuing and expanding Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon, as war in Gaza continues to grind on (see center column).

•President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan for Ukraine and its defense against Russia (see center column, again).

•President Biden’s final UN General Assembly address (scroll down this page using the scrollbar, to Thursday’s center column, then scroll down with the center scrollbar to Wednesday’s page). 

There’s also thorough coverage of the Federal Open Market Committee’s interest rate cuts in the center column.

Further down the LEFT COLUMN this page, don’t miss …

•“No Debate Inflation” by Kate McLeod.

•“MVP Performance from Harris and Team” by contributing pundit Ken Zino.

Pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay has been burning up the RIGHT COLUMN this page, with …

•“Where Have You Gone, Edward Gibbon?”

•“The Art of the Fraud”

•“First Impressions” and

•“There’s Reality, Then There’s Trump”

As always, we welcome and encourage your civil comments on our content from the center, left and right columns. Email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

You can sign up for our free Substack newsletter here.

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FRIDAY Sep. 27, 2024

Netanyahu Speaks

MONDAY 9/30/24

It’s All About Iran, Again – When he speaks before the United Nations General Assembly Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will emphasize more than ever that Iran is the international community’s primary antagonist, Haaretzpredicts, even as Israel proceeds toward all-out war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu’s speech comes after he dismissed the international community’s insistent – futile – proposal of a three-week ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

•••

On Zelenskyy, Harris and Trump – The White House’s short readout of Vice President Harris’ meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Thursday indicates no movement on Zelenskyy’s request to be able to launch US missiles into Russia. Instead, it reiterates “the importance of continued, strong US support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression, President Zelenskyy’s plans for victory, and efforts to secure a just and lasting peace based on the will of the people of Ukraine and the UN Charter.”

Biden’s announcement … Harris’ meeting with Zelenskyy followed President Biden announcing additional aid of nearly $8 billion to Ukraine for long-range strike weapons, air defense and additional F-16 pilot training, according to TheWarZone, which adds that $5.5 billion will come from Presidential Drawdown Authority and $2.4 billion from the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative.

Meanwhile … At gilded, American flag-bedecked Trump Tower, Donald J. Trump announced he would meet with Zelenskyy in New York Friday morning. 

“America is paying only a small fraction of the money the United States of America is paying,” Trump told reporters, “and we have an ocean between Russia and ourselves. They don’t.”

The Republican presidential nominee reiterated his administration’s success in forcing European members of NATO to “pay up” on their dues, and repeated that he knows Vladimir Putin “very well” and will make a peace deal with Russia and Ukraine “very quickly.”

Poland’s view … NPR’s Steve Inskeep interviewed Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in New York for Morning EditionFriday.

“We will continue to support Ukraine irrespective to anything anybody does. Europe has contributed to Ukraine even more than the US,” Sikorski asserted. “Your assistance is crucial because it’s weighted towards military assistance, which is what Ukraine needs most.”

The European Union “transfers roughly 1.5 billion euros per month” to Ukraine to pay officials wages and pensions, he said. “On this one, we’re really not a free ride. We’ve really rallied around.”

Sikorski said Poland believes continued support for Ukraine eventually will result in victory against Russia, as Putin does not have infinite resources, including troops. 

“This is a colonial war. Hopefully Europe’s last. It’s been going on for too long, two-and-a-half years, but most colonial wars take about a decade. Anything shorter than that will be a bonus. Personally, I think that Russia will start running out of resources in about 18 months to two years,” he said.

Sikorski further asserted that like Poland and the rest of Europe, Ukraine’s defense has widespread, bipartisan grassroots support in the US. 

“When people hear about Putin’s war crimes, stealing children to be Russified? I mean, how sicko do you have to be to do that?”

Presumably, Trump, who knows Putin “very well,” understands.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

FRIDAY Sep. 27, 2024