Saturday, March 29, 2025

Spineless White House Press Corps cowers and caves in lead-up to frivolous correspondents' dinner

 
Headline:  The Daily Beast, 3/29/2025

Liam Archacki reports:
On Thursday, Amber Ruffin had sparked MAGA rage when she said that she wouldn’t try to make sure that her jokes targeted both sides of the political spectrum during her set, as she had been instructed to do by the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA). 
She told hosts comedian Samantha Bee and Beast Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles that the Trump administration are “kind of a bunch of murderers,” adding that playing to both sides “makes them feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, ‘cause they’re not.” 
A Saturday letter from Eugene Daniels, the president of the WHCA, to its members announced that he had been “re-envisioning” the April 26 dinner “for the past couple of weeks.” The WHCA is independent from the White House.

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Just 1321 days to go until 2028 Election: Steve Bannon is assuming there will be an election in 2028

 
Headline: New York Post, 3/23/2025

Sounds like a good enough incentive to vote Democratic to me.  (If voting is still a thing in 2028.)

THE COUNTDOWN TO NOVEMBER 7, 2028
November 2024
Day 1460.  Philadelphia Inquirer launches 2028 presidential election guessing game campaign.  (11/8)
Day 1452.  Sports metaphor malpractice in journalism at NBC News edition. 
Day 1449.   And here's the first of many useless 2028 presidential polls.
Day 1448.  "It's a done deal!" proclaims Newsweek 
Day 1447.  Dear Western Journal, it's the polling silly season. 
Day 1443.  Fentanylizing of the pollsters.
Day 1440.  Return of the post-election silly season for pollsters. 
Day 1439.  Adding AOC to the mix.  

December 2024
Day 1438.  NewsNation limits the field.  
Day 1437.  More AOC buzz.  
Day 1435.  NPR ma.  (12.15kes sure Andy Beshear  gets into the mix.  
Day 1433.  Time for some folks to get a life!  
Day 1432.  Primary calendar jockeying begins! 
Day 1431.  Kentucky media keeps eye on Andy Beshear's presidential ambitions.  
Day 1429.  GOP horror movie.  
Day 1427.  A woman for President?  Democrats throw in the towel according to Rasmussen.
Day 1426.  Looney Laura Loomer has it all figured out.  
Day 1425.  They expect you to pay to see the list!  
Day 1424.  Panic at the Democratic Left.  
Day 1423.  Fawning over JD Vance is not a bold move, Mitt Romney.  
Day 1422.  Wow, just WOW, a vice-president emerges as GOP front-runner.
Day 1421.  Fuggedaboudit JD Vance!  Steve Bannon is all in for a third Trump term.  
Day 1420.  GOP polling averages!!!  
Day 1419.  Newsmax gets in the game.  
Day 1418.  Buttigieg buzz.  
Day 1417.  Newsom buzz.  
Day 1415.  Actually, most folks are focusing on the holidays right now.  
Day 1414.  National Review doesn't mince words.  
Day 1412:  Matt Gaetz is not  on the list of GOP challengers.  
Day 1411.  Politico sez “Let’s get it on, Dems!” 
Day 1410.  You mean like Donald Trump? 
Day 1408.  Politico jumps the gun.  

January 2025
Day 1407.  Correction:  Pundits are already looking to 2028.  
Day 1402.  As usual, the New York Times gets lost in the weeds and can't see the big picture. 
Day 1401.   Iowa GOP vows to keep status of first in the nation for what white people like 
Day 1400.  The Advocate foresees a crowded Democratic candidate pool party. 
Day 1396.  Oh dear, Joe Biden offers his 2 cents.  
Day 1394.  It's a rhetorical question, of course.  
Day 1390.  Reason #1,145,562 to ignore early polls.  
Day 1387.  GOP hopefuls DeSantis, Youngkin, and Haley left to wander in the wilderness.  
Day 1386.  Place your bests.  
Day 1385.  Place your bets (covering the spread).  
Day 1384.  GOP clearly has a bench problem (Donald Trump Jr. edition).  
Day 1383.  Donald Trump Jr. ranks 8th on this hit parade. 
Day 1382.  First Felon Donald Trump as White House squatter.  
Day 1381.  WaPo foresees a big Dem field in the race.  
Day 1380.  Trump Crime Family looks to take over the White House.  
Day 1379.  Get your facts straight, guys!  
Day 1378.  Blowing things up is not a sustainable GOP game plan. 
Day 1377.  Shaping up to be a complete shit show.  

February 2025
Day 1376.  Remember when John Edwards topped the polls in 2007, 22 months before the election?  
Day 1375.  Welcome to your Sunday morning buzzkill. 
Day 1372.  The GOP is a cult from which, apparently, there is no escape.  
Day 1371.  The crazy is already well underway
Day 1367.  Trump flips off Vance.
Day 1364.  Ooooo…Freedom Caucus Crazy Godfather Ron DeSantis hits double digits.
Day 1358.  Keep in mind, this is from the cartoon show otherwise known as The Daily Mail.
Day 1357.  First Felon Donald Trump never wanted to leave in the first place. 
Day 1355.  First Felon Donald Trump never wanted to leave in the first place.
Day 1351.  Democratic strategists inject element of horror into contest
Day 1350.  The other 48% haven't been paying attention

March 2025
Day 1346.  No, the Democrats are not looking for a fraud, serial liar, con man, carnival barker and felon to lead the party
Day 1338.  Rahm reading to run
Day 1337.  Pete Buttigieg's U.S. Senate decision has tongues 
Day 1336.  Long irrelevant Newsweek jumps the gun
Day 1331.  Gavin Newsom becomes first casualty of 2028 Democratic presidential campaign.
Day 1330.  Already the silly season at CNN
Day 1329.  There's no stopping him if this spinelessness continues
Day 1327.  Plurality of Dem poll respondents pick the name of previous party candidate.  That’s a big WOW, huh?
Day 1326.  Media hand-wringing and pearl-clutching over Dems as the GOP tears down democracy and  opens wide the door to authoritarianism
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Kristi Noem: Too clueless and performative to grasp the enormity of the situation

 
Headline:  New York Times, 
Dachau/CECOT photo stack:  South Dakota Department of Propaganda


What do you wear on a visit to one of the world’s most notorious prisons? 
If you’re Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary who visited El Salvador’s massive Terrorism Confinement Center on Wednesday, the answer was a white long-sleeve top, gray slacks and a baseball cap emblazoned with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement logo. 
Oh, and a gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona that sells for about $50,000.

Related posts:
2025
Feeling snookered yet, South Dakota?  Maybe your ex-governor, Melania wannabe Kristi Noem, will come to your rescue.  (3/15)

2024
Dear Maggie Haberman:  Maybe Kristi Noem can go as Melania's alternate.  Who would know the difference?  Best, Retiring Guy,, (11/13)
Meet MAGA Makeover Queen Misti Kristi, America's latest laughingstock.  (5/25)

2023
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Louisiana Sen. Dr. Bill Cassidy abandons guiding medical principle: First, do no harm (chapter 21)

 
Dr. Bill is chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).  He voted to confirm RFKjr as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  He should have known better but couldn't find his spine.

Headline:  STAT, 3/27/2025

John Wilkerson reports:
On Thursday morning, Cassidy said, the two had breakfast to discuss Kennedy’s plans to lay off 10,000 Health and Human Services Department employees. And while the meeting took place two days after a report that the department had tapped vaccine critic David Geier to conduct a study looking for a link between immunizations and autism, the Louisiana senator said that issue did not come up. 
Cassidy said it’s not clear that Kennedy has actually chosen Geier for the study. “Let’s get it confirmed first and then we can talk about it,” he said.  [emphasis added]

And on the same day!!

New York Times, 3/27/2025


Dr. Bill chose to preserve his political future over saving lives.  Unconscionable!  America deserve an explanation and an apology!


Related posts:
Chapter 1.  (3/10/2025)   Censored
Chapter 2.  (3/10/2025)
Chapter 3.  (3/10/2025)
Chapter 4.  (3/11/2025)
Chapter 5.  (3/12/2025)
Chapter 6.  (3/12/2025)
Chapter 7.  (3/13/2025)
Chapter 8.  (3/14/2025)
Chapter 9.  (3/14/2025)
Chapter 10.  (3/14/2025)
Chapter 11.  (3/14/2025)
Chapter 12.  (3/14/2025)
Chapter 13.  (3/15/2025)
Chapter 14.  (3/18/2025)
Chapter 15.  (3/19/2025)
Chapter 16.  (3/19/2025)
Chapter 17.  (3/21/2025)
Chapter 18.  (3/22/2025)
Chapter 19.  (3/26/2025)
Chapter 20.  (3/28/2025)

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Keeping tabs on authors in LINKcat: Dennis McDougal

 
LINKcat

\New York Times, 3/26/2025

Sam Roberts reports:
Mr. McDougal was the author of more than a dozen books, including “Angel of Darkness,” his first, published in 1991, about the serial killer Randy Kraft; and “Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times” (2008). 
“The Last Mogul” (1998), about the talent agent and head of Universal Studios Lew R. Wasserman, was reviewed in The New York Times, which said that Mr. McDougal “marshaled reams of documents and hundreds of interviews to show exactly how MCA used its muscle — from making friends with Presidents to strong-arming network executives and devising intricate tax shelters for star clients.” 
His other biographies included one of Bob Dylan in 2014 and the forthcoming “Citizen Wynn: A Sin City Saga of Power, Lust, and Blind Ambition,” about the casino tycoon Steve Wynn.



Related posts:
2025
Melody Beattie.  (3/24)
John Casey.  (3/5)
Nathalie Dupree.  (1/19)
Edna Ferber.  (1/15)
David Lodge.  (1/6)
Tom Robbins.  (2/11)

2024
Dorothy Allison.  (11/13)
Paul Auster.  (5/9)
John Barth.  (4/3)
David Boaz.   (6/13)
Caleb Carr.  (5/26)
Shirley Conran.  (5/25)
Robert Coover.  (10/12)
Frederick Crews.  (6/28)
Nelson DeMille.  (10/3)
Anne Edwards.  (2/4)
Richard Ellis.  (6/1)
Ellen Gilchrist.  (2/15)
Gary Indiana.  (10/30)
Sue Johnson.  (6/7)
Barry Kemp.  (6/1)
Elias Khoury.  (10/4)  
Ella Leffland.  (10/9)
Hal Lindsey.  (12/6)
Alice Munro.  (5/19)
Terry Robards.  (6/8)
Thomas Rockwell.  (10/14)
Tom Shales.  (1/21)
Ross Terrill.  (8/14)
Vernor Wing . (4/1)
Dan Wakefield , (3/17)

2023
Martin Amis . (5/31)
Richard Anobile.  (3/18)
Russell Banks.  (1/11)
A. S. Byatt.  (11/18)
Ted Bell.  (2/8)
Tim Dorsey.  (12/10)
Herbert Gold.  (11/24)
David Harris.  (2/8)
Paul Johnson.  (1/15)
Milan Kundera . (7/17)
Cormac McCarthy.  (6/19)
Kevin Phillips.  (10/19)
Betty Rollin.  (11/26)
Norman Rush.  (4/7)
Mimi Sheraton.  (4/9)
Charles Simic.  (1/16)
Donald Spoto . (2/18)
D. M. Thomas.  (3/31)
Fay Weldon.  (2/2)
Bill Zehme.  (4/1)

2022
Roger Angell.  (5/24)
Melissa Bank . (8/7)
Raymond Briggs.  (8/20)
Thomas Cahill. (11/16)
Philip K. Dick.  (11/20)
Bruce Duffy,  (3/13)
Todd Gitlin . (2/8)
Rebecca Godfrey.  (11/11)
Ron Goulart.  (2/7)
Doris Grumbach . (11/10)
Robert Hicks.  (3/8)
Thomas Hoving.  (12/19)
Maureen Howard.  (3/19)
Hilary Mantel.  (9/26)
Nancy Mitford.  (4/4)
P. J. O'Rourke.  (2/24)
Julie Powell.  (11/5)
Thomas Pynchon.  (12/17)
Dennis Smith.  (1/27)
Susie Steiner . (7/27)
Larry Woiwode . (5/19)

2021
F. Lee Bailey.  (6/11)
Kim Chernin . (1/10)
Angelo Codevilla.  (10/10)
Stephen Dunn.  (6/29)
James R. Flynn.  (1/30)
Larry Flynt.  (2/12)
Lucinda Franks.  (5/11)
Joseph Galloway.  (8/25)
Norman Golb.  (2/22)
Charles Grodin.  (5/20)
Maria Guarnascheilli , book editor. (2/18)
James Gunn.  (2/21)
Tony Hendra . (3/7)
Norman Juster.   (3/16)
Donald Kagan.  (8/20)
His King . (4/9)
Lyn Macdonald.  (5/15)
Janet Malcolm.  (6/18)
Peter Manso , (4/10)
Ved Mehta.   (1/12)
Marie Mongan.  (3/22)
Deborah Rhode.  (1/28)
James Ridgeway.  (2/16)
David Swensen . (5/13)
Bryan Sykes.  (1/14)
Athan Theoharis.  (6/14/)
Ed Ward.  (5/16)
Michael Thomas.  (8/19)
Adam Zagajewski.  (3/27)

2020
Ben Bova.  (12/17)
Clive Cussler.  (2/29)
Betty Dodson  (11/11)
Pete Hamill.  (8/6)
Shere Hite. (9/13)
A, E, Hotchner.  (2/18)
Roger Kahn.  (2/15)
Randall Kenan.  (9/29)
John Le Carre . (12/23/2020)
Johanna Lindsey.  (1/15)
Barry Lopez.  (12/29)
Alison Lurie.  (12/7)
Charlers Portis.  (2/19)
Julia Reed.  (9/8)
John Rothchild.  (1/22)
Gail Sheehy.  (9/3)
Jill Paton Walsh.  (11/29)
Charles Webb.  (6/30)

2019
Warren Adler . (4/23)
Kate Braverman.  (10/28)
Stephen Dixon.  (11/12)
And Jenkins . (3/10)
Judith Krantz.  (6/27)
Paule Marshall.  (8/27)
Martin Mayer.  (8/3)
Wright Morris.  (7/25)
Toni Morrison.  (8/12)
Anthony Price.  (6/17)
John Simon.  (12/1)
Sol Stein.  (9/30)
Brad Watson.  (8/2)
Lonnie Wheeler.  (7/15)
Herman Wouk . (5/20)

2018
Neal Thompson.  (6/17)
Barbara Kafka.   (6/8)

2017
Kit Reed.  (10/1)

2016
E. M. Nathanson.  (4/10)

2015

2014

2013

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Trump carnival barker corruption: Pay to play the pardon way

 
Pic of Trevor:  Wikipedia
Headline:  New York Times, 3/28/2025

Jack Ewing reports:
Since 2016, Mr. Milton has contributed $2.85 million to a long list of conservative elected officials, political action committees and state Republican committees, according to federal campaign records. 
That includes at least $930,000 donated to the Trump campaign or political action committees that have supported Mr. Trump’s candidacy, and $285,000 to the Republican National Committee, according to the records. 
Mr. Milton also contributed $750,000 to the MAHA Alliance, a political action committee that tried to persuade supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to back Mr. Trump after Mr. Kennedy dropped out of the presidential race. Mr. Milton contributed $121,000 directly to Mr. Kennedy’s campaign in September, after it was suspended, the records show.

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Elon Musk shows off his "what-was-I-thinking" haircut

 
Headline:  New York Times, 3/28/2025


John Leland reports:
New Yorkers once embraced Teslas as that rare signifier of liberal green virtue that actually had some giddyap under the hood — an anti-S.U.V. that didn’t drive like a cup of herbal tea. But now, as the cars are being overshadowed by their company’s leader, that embrace is shading toward regret, like a what-was-I-thinking haircut in an old class photo.  [emphasis added]

Related posts:
2025
More problems for Elon Musk: Apparently, his Cybertruck can't hold it together.  (3/16)
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More problems for Elon Musk: Apparently, his Cybertruck can't hold it together

 
Screengrab:  YouTube
Headline:  Mashable, 

Matt Binder reports:
Tesla stocks are tumbling, Tesla sales are falling, and people are protesting Tesla's showroom locations — Elon Musk and his EV car company are not having a great few weeks. 
Now, it seems like a production issue with Cybertruck has snuck in just in time to cap this week off. 
According to electric vehicle news outlet Electrek, Tesla delivery agents are reportedly telling customers that their Cybertruck deliveries are on hold due to a production issue where trims are "flying off" the truck.

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Marco Rubio plays good little soldier for First Felon Donald Trump

 
ICE captures one of Little Marco's "lunatics". 

Headline:  New York Times, 3/28/2025

The first 3 words sum it up for in-over-his-head Little Marco as Secretary of State.

Edward Wong reports:
“I don’t know actually if it’s primarily student visas,” he said. “It’s a combination of visas. They’re visitors to the country. If they’re taking activities that are counter to our foreign, to our national interest, to our foreign policy, we’ll revoke the visa.”


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