Will Bunch/Philadelphia Inquirer:
At Texas rally, Trump all but promised a racially charged civil war if he’s indicted
In one of the most incendiary, dangerous speeches in U.S. history, Donald Trump promised at a Texas rally mayhem if he's criminally charged.
In fact, the man who’d occupied the White House little more than one year ago delivered one of the most incendiary and most dangerous speeches in America’s 246-year history. It included an appeal for all-out mayhem in the streets to thwart the U.S. justice system and prevent Trump from going to jail, as the vise tightens from overlapping criminal probes in multiple jurisdictions. And it also featured a stunning campaign promise — that Trump would look to abuse the power of the presidency to pardon those involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Witness tampering? Obstruction? Whatever it is, it’s within character.
Charlie Sykes/Bulwark:
And There It Is...
A stew of sedition and obstruction.
The distinguishing characteristic of the various Trump scandals/outrages is that they all take place in broad daylight, playing out in real time, without mystery or subtlety.
And so last night, the former president dangled pardons for the January 6th insurrectionists, and called for massive street protests if he ever faces criminal charges.
Dan Balz/WaPo:
Do Republicans love Donald Trump as they once did?
There are signs that some Republicans are less positive about him since the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. But his base holds firm, and that might be all he needs if he seeks the GOP nomination in 2024.
A new Marquette University Law School survey finds that 73 percent of Republicans nationally view Trump favorably. Meanwhile, the poll shows that 63 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Republican-leaning independents say they would like to see Trump run again in 2024.
“That’s an interesting gap between 73 percent liking him but only about 60 percent saying they would like him to run again,” said Charles Franklin, the director of the poll. “That still leaves him as the odds-on favorite in a primary today, but you can see a gap between continued affection for Trump in the party but the opportunity to think about future candidates rather than past candidates."
David Rothkopf/Daily Beast:
Trump’s Cheerleaders Forget How Weak He Was With Putin
They can’t defend their records as part of the worst administration in history, so they’re pathetically lashing out at Biden.
Even with Trump not occupying the White House, Republicans and the warped cogs in their giant message machine continue to see their mission as strengthening not the U.S. and our allies, but Russia; and serving not the national interests, but their own political self-interests.
Drawing on the Trump playbook, their approach is not only facts be damned, but that history never happened. It is once again: “Who are you going to believe, us or your lying eyes?”
They are taking short-term memory loss and turning into a movement, making cognitive dysfunction a requirement for admission into a MAGA fairyland in which rivers of Fox News disinformation continue to flow from the well-springs of Russian propaganda, in which heroes are magically transformed into villains, friends into enemies, and good into evil.
AP:
After huge pandemic losses, governments see rapid rebound
State and local governments lost at least $117 billion of expected revenue early in the pandemic, according to an Associated Press analysis, but many are now awash in record amounts of money, boosted partly by federal aid.
In response to the dramatic turnaround, governors, lawmakers and local officials have proposed a surge in spending as well as a new wave of tax cuts.
“The ultimate effect of the pandemic was a net positive,” said Stephen Parker, assistant city manager for the Los Angeles suburb of Upland, where sales tax revenues are soaring. “Isn’t that unbelievable? It’s just crazy to think of that.”
Paul Solotaroff/Rolling Stone:
He Spent 25 Years Infiltrating Nazis,the Klan, and Biker Gangs
We’ll come to the homegrown terrorists he foiled and the race war they tried to foment. To the journalists he saved from assassination and the synagogue marked for carnage in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. To the gun-rights march on the steps of a state capitol, where they planned to pick off cops and rallygoers. There’s time enough to valorize the work of Scott B., an undercover fed who breached far-right death squads and squashed their national web of terror cells. (Scott requested that his surname not be used for the sake of his family’s safety.) Last summer, when he retired at 50 from the FBI, Scott left the bureau as one of the most storied agents since Joe Pistone, the real-life Donnie Brasco. For two-plus decades, he cracked landmark cases and won every laurel they give to undercovers. Months out of the game, though, he can’t stop brooding over the threat he left behind. He knows better than anyone that it’s later than we think, and that each day brings us closer to the next 9/11 — this one launched by our own children.
But first, we need to talk about the ram. Because that ram — actually, a terrified goat with diarrhea — died for all our sins of the past four centuries.
Vincent Bevins/New York:
Despite Bolsonaro, Brazil Has Barely Any Anti-Vaxxers
Far more of the population is getting their shots than in the U.S.
The vast majority of Brazilians, however, are taking the shots as soon as they can get them. Here in São Paulo, the most populous state, the government is reporting that 100 percent of adult residents have received at least one dose. This is likely a little higher than the real figure, owing to population growth since the last Census and “vaccine tourists” who came to the country’s richest state to get their shot, but national surveys point to a vanishingly small anti-vaccine population. In July, only 5 percent of respondents told the pollster Datafolha they did not plan to get the vaccine, and the number may have gone down since then. In a September Ipsos poll, Brazilians showed the strongest support for booster shots among all the countries surveyed. Despite the fact that vaccines have arrived in Brazil much more slowly than they did in the U.S., far more Brazilians have received a shot than Americans have.
That means that a whole lot of Bolsonaristas are choosing to get vaccinated, no matter what their president says. Two things explain this apparent contradiction, experts say. First, Brazilians have deep trust in their public-health system, and especially its vaccination programs, which was built up over several decades. And second, Bolsonaro is unable, or unwilling, to modify his political tactics in the face of failure.
Nirav Shah (Maine CDC)/Twitter (and read the whole thing):
Welp, I spent last night continuing my research into the
#blizzard2022 #hoax.
Thankfully,
@Twitter and Facebook have helpful algorithms that pointed me in the direction of *real* experts who helped me round out my thinking.
I studied poignant, analytical memes from leading thinkers in finance, technology, and art sales.
To my surprise, their insights actually CONFIRMED all of my pre-conceived notions about this storm.
Thanks for the research help
@Twitter!
All of this research has led me to conclude that the hype around
#blizzard2022 is being driven by the weather-industrial complex.
In short, it is all
#propaganda.
I am concerned for our republic.