News and commentary for understanding and coping with the years ahead...
Turning universities into right-wing propaganda factories
The authoritarian parallels
A compendium of the best reporting and commentary surrounding the pivotal 2024 elections in the United States. You will rarely find horse race coverage here, or the standard "both sides" BS that passes so often for political journalism. What you will find are links, with brief commentary, to work that I believe advances the conversation we should be having about America's – and the world's – future. Remember: Everything is at stake this year. (Unfortunately, some of the work I point to is behind paywalls.)
Harris’s comments went significantly further than her previous day’s attack on Trump’s increasingly authoritarian rhetoric, when she called him “unstable and unhinged” and “dangerous” in response to his branding of Democratic opponents as “the enemy within”. Trump had also advocated using the military against opponents he accused of plotting “chaos” on election day, although – as an opposition candidate – he has no power to do so.
The Guardian's article is one of many taking note of Trump's increasingly overt fascist beliefs and plans. Harris' willingness to call him out on this is welcome, if a bit belated. With the former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff – the highest military job, and one to which he was appointed by Trump – declaring Trump to be a fascist, there's less and less reason for others to elide the question. (Not that Big Journalism will dare to speak this simple truth, of course...)
...and yes, she can handle Fox "News"
I recommend that you watch this Fox "News" interview. The interviewer's constant interruptions reflected poorly on him, but Harris' responses demonstrated that she can handle the toughest questions, even if that means, on occasion, ducking them – something every candidate for office does. One key moment in this interview came when Baier played a clip of Trump responding to a question about his plan to send the military after his "enemies within" – and lied through his teeth, as always, to pretend he didn't say what everyone heard him say. The clip, Harris pointed out, wasn't the relevant one, which meant that Baier was misleading his audience. (Not for the first time, as CNN's Brian Stelter reminded us today.)
The US Federal Trade Commission is taking action against subscriptions that are difficult to get rid of. On Wednesday, it adopted a final “click-to-cancel” rule requiring businesses to make canceling a subscription as easy as signing up. Under the rule, businesses can’t force customers to cancel a subscription using a method different from how they signed up. For example, if you signed up for a subscription with an online form, companies can’t require you to call them or chat with a live agent to cancel. The FTC will also require businesses to clearly disclose the terms of their subscriptions and get customer consent before charging them.
I just went through the process of canceling a "membership" – in this case, the AAA emergency-assistance auto service – and can't wait for this rule, described at The Verge, to take effect. I'd bought the service online, but was told that I had to call the company to cancel. These relentless annoyances are designed for corporate welfare, not customer service, and the only reason we're going to have this federal rule is that the Biden administration appointed regulators who do their actual jobs. It's not coincidental that the two Republican commissioners (out of five total) voted against the rule. Please do the math to understand how a Harris administration could continue to work for consumer rights and real competition.
MAGA, Inc. is the top pro-Trump super PAC. It has raised over $300 million during the 2024 campaign, most of it from Republican billionaires, including Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald; Paul Singer, a hedge fund manager; Charles Kushner, the father of Jared Kushner and real estate magnate who went to jail for tax evasion and for retaliating against a federal witness (and whom Trump pardoned); and Timothy Mellon, the reclusive heir to the Mellon banking fortune, who has pumped in over $150 million. (Mellon also gave $25 million to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s failed presidential campaign.) MAGA, Inc., according to a memo it released this summer, aims to spend at least $100 million in ads to portray Harris as “the most radical liberal ever to run for President.”
A day before the letter was sent, Kaul put out a press release reminding Wisconsinites that voter intimidation is a crime. “The law not only prohibits individuals from taking any of these actions personally, but it also prohibits individuals from having a third party take these actions,” the release said. The groups said the messages were sent on Oct. 10 to voters aged 18-25, including young staffers at the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and voters who are part of the University of Wisconsin system.
In the last several weeks of political campaigns comes the sleaze. It's overflowing this year. Often, the sleaze merchants try to hide their identities, as seems to be the case in the Wisconsin mail designed to intimidate voters, especially young ones. But given the wide disparity in which candidates they favor – they're far more likely to support Harris than Trump – it's easy to see who stands to benefit if they are afraid to vote. The MAGA Inc. outfit is spitting in the public's face with its activities, which is unsurprising. No one will be held accountable for any of this, most likely. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for what'll arrive next; it'll be ugly.
Former President Donald Trump, who trails with women in recent national polls, participated in a Fox News town hall event on Tuesday in front of a female audience. He told a bunch of lies. The Republican presidential nominee made at least 19 false claims in the one-hour event that aired Wednesday morning – most of them debunked earlier in the campaign but some of them new, notably including an absurd claim that he is “the father of IVF.”
It goes without saying that the Murdoch family's Fox "News" wasn't remotely interested in correcting Trump's lies, in real time or later. And, needless to say the channel didn't disclose that the entire audience was made up of Trump supporters. In other words, the event was pure propaganda for a fascist, created and paid for by an organization that has done more than any other media company to poison our public discourse. CNN's Dale does important work for the rest of us.
Voting is just part of democracy, but it's the essential place to start. Make sure you're registered. Doublecheck in the fall, well before Election Day, because in some states Republican officials are removing people, mostly those who tend to vote for Democrats, from voting rolls.
Take your personal contact list, compare it to the national voter file, and find out which of your actual friends, family, co-workers and past acquaintances live in swing states and districts where a call or text from you could be hugely influential.
Please read Micah Sifry's advice – and take it! You still have time to make a huge difference.
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I spend a lot of time looking for essential coverage, and hope you'll help me by letting me know about the good stuff you find. Let me know.
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Robert Tait
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David Corn
Crystal Hill
Daniel Dale
Micah L. Sifry
