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The New York Times Plays the ‘What If’ Game with Trump’s Desire for Revenge

The question isn’t ‘what if’? The question is how can it be stopped?

In one of its graphic layouts the New York Times has decided to play “What If” with Donald Trump’s desire for revenge and retribution should he be reelected in an article titled If Trump Wins, Could He Really Use the Justice Department to Jail His Rivals?

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The short answer is yes.

There’s really no “what if” about it. One of the most frightening discoveries many Americans came to over this past almost-decade is just how ill equipped our constitution and system of justice is when it comes to dealing with someone of Trump’s ilk. It’s always been that way but we’ve had (mostly) men of good character keeping us on the tracks. We’ve only had one instance in my lifetime (Nixon) that has tested the boundaries and limitations to the point of breaking. Things held then. They won’t this time around.

Dependent on the honor and integrity of those holding office those boundaries and limitations have been washed away like most of the top soil in Western North Carolina. When it comes to what used to be the Republican Party, the only honor that seems to exist in that crowd is the honor among thieves with no limitations on their lack of integrity.

To such a point that Trump feels completely free to talk about how he wants to leverage the Justice Department to set up his own reign of terror, and finds far too many cheering him on. You can almost smell the blood lust seeping out from under those red hats.

Now that we know Trump’s desires AND that he has a completely corrupted Supreme Court willing to grant him the leeway, this shouldn’t come as a surprise nor should it be a game of “What If?” We have a system that can’t stop it and individuals willing to gleefully take advantage of it to pursue harm.

As the Times points out, Trump could easily pull this off and “stay within the constitutional limits on presidential power.”

Regardless of who is elected, the only question is what are we going to do about it?

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Spread the Word: Today Is National Voter Registration Day

Today is a good day to check your voter registration or register if you haven’t.

Spread the word. Today, Tuesday September 17, is National Voter Registration Day. It’s a good day to reach out to your friends, family members, and neighbors and encourage them to register if they haven’t or to check their registration if they have.

Depending on where you live keeping up to date on your registration is as crucially important as registering. We all know that some states are working to purge voter rolls or make voting more difficult. Certainly you can take care of this on other days, but don’t let the clock run out on you.

You can go to this link to check your registration or register.

Bottom line it is up to you to make sure you’ve got things lined up or raise hell if others are working to keep you from voting.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

WSJ Seems Shocked That Nutballs are Looming on the Right

Looming Loomer Tunes

For some reason the Wall Street Journal Editorial Pooh-Bahs have just recently discovered that there is a “growing segment of the American Right” that’s gone off the deep end.

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Well, there is a reason. Apparently Trump is hanging out and flying around with right-wing nutball Laura Loomer who is apparently toxic enough to taint part of the great unwashed and possibly influence the thoughts of the decaying orange convicted felon/child rapist. The old guard of crackpot fascists are apparently just fine, but this is a racist crackpot too far.

In an editorial titled Donald Trump and Loomer Tunes the Editorial Board seems to have decided enough might just be enough to quit spinning its own conspiracies in favor of ditching a 9/11 truther like Loomer.

Another favorite quote from the editorial is “Ms. Loomer is usually described in the press as ‘far right,’ but that’s unfair to the fever swamps.”

For goodness sakes, let’s protect the fever swamps from any association with Trump’s rumored new squeeze. Fever swamp dwellers vote too, you know.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

The Real Kamala Harris Debate Story

The Kamala Harris debate victory puts all the rest of Trump’s previous opponents to shame.

Kamala Harris wiped the floor with Donald Trump’s comb-over in the debate last night. There’s no disputing her victory. As wonderful as it was watching it, it doesn’t mean there isn’t work to still be done in what continues to be a close election, and perhaps a closer post-election slew of legal fights. But the real story, from a 30,000 foot view is a bigger one.

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2024. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Kamala Harris is the first political candidate to take on Donald Trump in a debate and knock him off kilter, while winning walking away since he emerged as a candidate in 2015. Joe Biden, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Hilary Clinton, and others never bested the bully. They may have scored on points, may have technically been declared the winner, but not one of them knocked him off his stride.

From the moment she strode across the stage and forced the coward to shake her hand while introducing herself she had him in her grasp. It was a spectacle to behold in these typically less than spectacular events.

Yes, I posted previously that we didn’t need a debate. I won’t say I was wrong then. I will say instead that we needed this moment, whether it was in a debate or not.

Kamala Harris wants to turn the page on this terrible Trump tale. Perhaps she’s also turning the tide. But we still have a ways to go.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Things We Know

Some things we know, yet somehow pretend we discover anew now and then. It’s not rocket science.

Rocket science.

Donald Trump is a convicted felon.

Donald Trump is a racist.

Donald Trump is a child rapist.

Donald Trump is a dangerous psychopathic narcissist.

Donald Trump’s agenda is in writing. It’s called Project 2025 sometimes masked as Agenda 47. It’s evil.

J.D. Vance is a self-serving opportunist and a useful idiot.

Both Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are bought and paid for looking to cash in further on you.

The party that used to be the GOP embraces and coddles criminals of all stripes instead of wanting to see them in stripes.

Those that support Trump/Vance/GOP will not be content until they can turn back the clock on the things that they irrationally fear.

If you think there’s a choice in this November’s election, or if you feel like debating what the choices are, you support all of the above. If you wonder why someone may vote for Trump, stop wondering. They support all of the above and either don’t care or think this is who we are or should be.

It’s that simple.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Birthday Wishes In This Insane Year

Wishin’ and hopin’ as another year passes.

Pick your metaphor. Pick your favorite song lyric from Hamilton. Pick your poison. The U.S. political and media world is nothing short of a mess as the GOP ~~Coronation~~, excuse me, Convention, continues in Milwaukee.

I’m not watching the event, but have seen enough highlights (lowlights?) to know that bending the knee has leapt beyond typical humiliating political expediency into something that absurdist playwrights, much less contemporary fiction authors, couldn’t possibly imagine. Public ass kissing may not be an Olympic sport, but if it was, America could field one helluva team based on the competition in Milwaukee.

It’s really not fair to blame the media for coverage of the event. They seem to know no better than a child sticking their hand in a fire and there’s nothing normal or predictable about this election cycle. There used to be journalists who would call things as they saw them. There also used to be dinosaurs.

Watching the watchers cover what looks like the closest thing we’ve seen to a Nazi rally in this country for several generations and not calling it what it is pisses me off. The media’s problem is that this is a playbook that’s been plagiarized from the 1930’s in ways that large language models must envy. But the media capitulated then and so here we are. Again. It may not be new, but it’s damn dangerous and they are trying to shoehorn that into an old world model that failed then and will fail again. Things may not be normal but they are too damn predictable. Guess what? That’s the damn story.

Set aside the clichés about not presenting both sides when one side says it’s raining and the other doesn’t. We’re witnessing a complete capitulation to something that’s beyond my understanding. If the red hat brigade takes power, most of those currently sucking up will be in line for internment camps once they’ve reported on how many migrant families have been separated. At least they will be credentialed.

Granted the media isn’t getting much help from the Democrats. That helpless bunch wants to play fair. Again. Thinking the high road will get them there, while the other side is tunneling out the ground underneath them is simply shrinking from the real challenge while grasping at straw men. The only fight they can seem to muster is one against themselves. Hell, they don’t even have the guts to really have that fight, much less finish it. But go ahead. Play nice.

So. Today is my birthday. Given family history I never thought I’d make it this far. But I have. I have two birthday wishes. Here’s the first: I’d love to see some Democratic politician when confronted with some MAGAt gish galloping their well rehearsed rhetoric say directly “take your white supremacist, fascist, misogynistic bullshit and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.” Hell. Don’t even wait to do it to their face, just do it in front of a camera. Often. Call them on their bullshit hourly. Make them defend against the comment.

For the uninitiated, that’s called politics.

The second wish is that I’d love to see a headline somewhere that says, “The GOP has nominated a convicted felon to run for president.” The lede should read: “The party once proud to wrap itself in the mantle of law and order has now disrobed and re-draped itself as the party that welcomes and supports criminality.” Tell me, what’s not factual about that?

I won’t get either of those wishes. I’m pissed about that. And I’m pissed that it looks like I’m going to be around to watch what this country stood for during the six plus decades of my life rapidly decline and disintegrate during what’s left of it.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

New York Times Calls Trump Unfit But Misses the Larger Story

Making a point while missing the larger one.

The New York Times is out with a highly produced (perhaps over produced) editorial denouncing Donald Trump a week before he’s coronated as the Republican nominee at the GOP Convention in Milwaukee. Titled Donald Trump Is Unfit To Lead, the editorial is unequivocal and unforgiving in its damning the candidate, pointing out most of the flaws most could recite as a catechism these days. CleanShot 2024-07-11 at 08.29.30@2x.

There’s one large exception to that list of flaws. Not once in the editorial does the editorial board mention that Trump is a convicted felon running for the office of the presidency while out on bail. Call me crazy, but that does seem somewhat important.

With the focus on the candidate, the Times also completely looks away from the only reason we’re even faced with Trump still dominating our lives: that the Republican Party has either completely and cowardly surrendered to the decaying orange child rapist’s wishes hoping he’s the sign of some rapture to come, or they’ve just decided to out themselves as what they’ve always been.

There is a discussion about what the party used to stand for, but the editorial choice focuses on the candidate’s character rather than party and platform issues such as Project 2025.

Character is indeed the root of the discussion, as it always has been in most places except the pages of the New York Times. If any publication had insight into Trump’s character it would be the Times, but that’s a story constantly and consistently on their doorstep they’ve largely ignored until now. So, it’s good to see it finally have focus here. Even so, granting a free pass to the character-less characters who’ve allowed us to reach this point after having multiple chances of preventing it the week before they convene in Milwaukee ignores the larger questions and dangers we face.

The omission is as damning as the belated slams against the candidate.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Sunday Morning Reading

Steering clear of politics (mostly) here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share.

It’s a tough weekend to put this Sunday Morning Reading column together in the wake of last week’s U.S. Presidential debate. I’ve never seen so many knees jerk so violently at once leading me to assume there are quite a few bruises caused from crashing them against computer desks. So, I’ll be avoiding politics this morning. Perhaps. Maybe. We’ll see.

Did you know that milk is the latest front in the culture wars dividing America? Tony Diver tells us how.

Yes, it’s political but no, it isn’t about recent events specifically, so once again I highly recommend you check out The Split by Steve Radlauer and Ellis Weiner. The Split, now up to Chapter 34, is a terrific serialization of all things political, social, and well… all things.

James B. Stewart and Benjamin Mullen take a long look at the future of streaming in The Future of Netflix, Amazon and Other Streaming Services. It’s a worth your time kind of read even though it takes awhile, but it more than hints that none of the titans of this industry has a clue.

The entertainment industry isn’t the only place run by folks without a clue. Check out The Federal Reserve’s Little Secret by Rogé Karma. Apparently those folks pulling the strings on interest rates don’t have much of one either.

And speaking of titans of industry and god-like powers David Todd McCarty thinks If Someone Asks If You’re A God, You say Yes.

On the Artificial Intelligence front Wired has been doing some good work lately reporting on on that front. Check out Lauren Goode and Tom Simonite’s This Viral AI Chatbot Will Lie and Say It’s Human.

Also check out Elizabeth Lopatto’s Perplexity’s Grand Theft AI. Sounds human to me.

Joan Westenberg has an interesting think piece on the misconstruing and appropriation of the message of George Orwell’s 1984 in “This Is Just Like 1984.” Great piece.

I said I’d avoid the political hot potato of the presidential debate. It’s not that I lied, or changed my mind, it’s that this piece is too good to not recommend. Check out Natasha MH’s view in The US Presidential Debate Reminded Me of My Divorce.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.You can also find me on social networks under my own name.

EU Charges Apple with Violating DMA Rules

The EU charges Apple with violations of the DMA

The friction between Apple and the European Union just took another turn. The EU has charged Apple with DMA rules violations dropping the dubious distinction on Apple of being the first “gatekeeper” company to be so charged. It’s a preliminary ruling and Apple has until March 2025 to respond to this preliminary ruling.

If the charges stick, the potential remedy is for Apple to be fined up to 10 percent of its annual global revenue. quite a bite of the Apple.

This comes on the heels of last week’s pot-stirring announcement that Apple’s new, but yet unreleased and untested, Apple Intelligence features won’t be rolling out in the EU (and other markets) until next year. As I said then, this is all going to be one big negotiation with legal and political shots fired by both sides.

At the root of the charges is “steering,” which the EU sees as key to a competitive market. Bottom line, the EU wants gatekeeper companies to allow software developers to be able to “steer” potential customers to their products free from closed App Store and other gatekeeper restrictions. Apple joins Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft in the EU”s list of gatekeepers.

The EU is also challenging Apple’s moves to come into compliance by charging a Core Technology Fee that most complain violates the intention to allow side loading of apps.

This will bounce back and forth over the next nine months and will probably become even more contentious given quotes like this from Thierry Breton, the EU internal market commissioner: “Apple’s new slogan should be ‘act different.’

Apple has released the following statement:

“Throughout the past several months, Apple has made a number of changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission. We are confident our plan complies with the law, and estimate more than 99% of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business terms we created. All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the opportunity to utilize the capabilities that we have introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the web to complete purchases at a very competitive rate. As we have done routinely, we will continue to listen and engage with the European Commission.”

The Financial Times seems to be the front lines where both the EU and Apple are waging this battle. The Verge also has a writeup on the news. I’m sure there will be more. Intelligent or not.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Apple and the EU Squabble Over Inclusion of Apple Intelligence and Other New Features

Apple and the EU squabbles continue now over new features.

It’s a Friday free-for-all between Apple and the European Union. Miffed at, or stymied by, the EU’s DMA regulations, Apple announced in the Financial Times that all of the ballyhooed (but still not seen in the real world) Apple Intelligence features along with a few others might not be coming to the EU when they launch in the U.S this fall or even this year.

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John Gruber of Daring Fireball has the full statement from Apple as reproduced here:

Two weeks ago, Apple unveiled hundreds of new features that we are excited to bring to our users around the world. We are highly motivated to make these technologies accessible to all users. However, due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we do not believe that we will be able to roll out three of these features — iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence — to our EU users this year.

Specifically, we are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security. We are committed to collaborating with the European Commission in an attempt to find a solution that would enable us to deliver these features to our EU customers without compromising their safety.

Apple PR is obviously hard at work here and I’m sure the EU’s PR operations will be following suit shortly. I’m particularly entertained by the phrase “we do not believe.” It’s also fascinating to watch the sideshow of reactions that might turn into something more: how Apple users on their respective sides of the pond are responding to this. Generally speaking from the early reactions I’ve seen the majority of American sympathies tend to lean towards Apple, while it’s just the opposite in Europe. But it’s early and it’s a Friday.

The timing of this suggests an opening salvo in further negotiations given that none of the features in question have been rolled out yet. However, according to Gruber a few of the non Apple Intelligence features (iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay Screen Sharing) are scheduled to roll out in the next betas to be released. iPhone Mirroring is one of the sexier features announced, so it will be interesting to see how that is handled with the next round of betas.

It is obvious that at some point down the road there will be some sort of compromise. Apple doesn’t want to lose the EU market no matter what those who suggest Apple should just pull out of the EU markets might say. And somehow I doubt EU Apple users will exert enough pressure to change any strong position the EU might cling to.

In the meantime the sideshow commentary in addition to the news will make for an interesting Summer beta season.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.