Some interesting thinking.
- Watch Ohio
- Political shift
- The return of manufacturing
- Resurrection of Labor
- The new swing voter
Nov 8, 2023
Coming Soon
7 Things
Quick little roundup.
1) Abortion rights advocates won big victories in three states yesterday.
- In Ohio: Voters passed a constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion access, making it the latest state to take this step since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year.
- In Virginia: Democrats took control of the General Assembly, meaning they can stop Republicans, led by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, from introducing new abortion limits.
- In Kentucky: Voters reelected a Democratic governor who attacked his Republican opponent for supporting the deep-red state’s near-total ban on abortion.
2) Ivanka Trump will testify in her father’s New York civil fraud case today.
- The details: She is not a defendant in this case. But she will be the state’s last witness following testimony from her father, Donald Trump, and two of her brothers.
- In related news: The former president will skip a Republican primary debate in Miami tonight and host a rally nearby instead. The debate starts at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC News.
3) Israel’s endgame in the Gaza Strip is unclear after a month of war.
- What to know: Israel’s prime minister said Monday that Israel would control Gaza’s postwar security for an “indefinite period,” which reportedly concerned U.S. officials.
- In the U.S.: The House voted yesterday to censure the only Palestinian American member of Congress, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), over her comments about the war.
4) The Supreme Court appears likely to allow gun bans for domestic abusers.
- What happened? Justices seemed to agree yesterday that a federal statute preventing people under domestic-violence protective orders from possessing guns is constitutional.
- Why it matters: This case is the first big test of the court’s ruling last year which requires judges to decide challenges to the Second Amendment by finding examples in history.
5) Northern Greenland’s ice sheets are rapidly retreating.
- What to know: The vast floating ice shelves have lost 35% of their total volume since 1978, according to new research.
- Why it’s worrying: The ice shelves hold back glaciers from flowing into the sea. If more are lost to warming oceans, it could lead to significant sea level rise.
- In related news: Last month was the planet’s warmest October on record.
6) Nintendo is making the Legend of Zelda into a live-action movie.
- The details: The creator of the wildly popular video game series, Shigeru Miyamoto, revealed yesterday that he’s working on the film but said it will “take time” to finish.
- It will be tricky to pull off: The series’ main character, Link, doesn’t speak out loud. And the innovative games are famous for letting players choose their own pathways.
7) Cats might be more affectionate and articulate than we thought.
- How we know: Researchers watched 150 hours of cat videos to learn more about how felines express themselves. They found that cats can make nearly 300 facial expressions.
- What’s your cat saying? When cats are happy, they typically move their ears and whiskers forward and outward. When unhappy, they flatten their ears and lick their lips.
About Last Night
Moms for Liberty Candidates Taught a Lesson in 2023 Elections
The far-right group's school board candidates did not fare well in several important ballots across the U.S..
‘Moms for Liberty’ endorsed candidates fail to win seats in Linn Mar school board election
Moms for Liberty-backed candidates fail in Linn-Mar school board race results
School board elections: Moms for Liberty candidates get mixed results in Bethlehem, Nazareth areas
Ohio School board election results: What's next in the culture wars?
The communities where Moms for Liberty and Ohio Value Voters endorsed candidates bore the brunt of the culture wars throughout this election cycle.
Most incumbents keep their seats in major school board races across the state
Voters in Iowa's large school districts overwhelmingly picked progressive candidates over conservatives on November 7. In many urban and suburban districts,...
Iowa election results: Progressives elected to Johnston school board
The Johnston Community School District Board of Education is now held by a progressive majority after Tuesday's election.
Conservative challengers win some Cumberland County school board seats, are rebuffed in others
Nov 7, 2023
Overheard
Jim Jordan isn't quite creepy enough
for the House MAGA gang,
so they went with a guy
who shares porn with his son.
Today's Brian
Shut your mouth when you're out in the lobby, and say what you have to say in the courtroom, under oath.
Stop pretending you've had absolutely no agency over what happens in your life.
Take responsibility for your actions, and stop whining about a "rigged system" every time somebody holds you accountable for something you've done wrong.
Buncha whiny-butt pussies.
Uh Oh
Orcas sink another boat in Strait of Gibraltar
For years, the region’s killer whales have been bumping, biting and, in some cases, sinking boats. But many scientists caution not to ascribe motive to the animals.
The orcas have done it again.
On Oct. 31, a pod of killer whales swarmed a Polish yacht sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar. For 45 minutes, the orcas hit the vessel’s rudder and damaged the boat, according to the company that operated it. Despite rescue efforts, the yacht never made it back to shore, sinking near the entrance of the Moroccan port of Tanger Med.
“The crew is safe, unharmed and sound,” the Polish tour company Morskie Mile wrote in a Facebook post describing the demise of its boat.
Since 2020, orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar and along the Iberian Peninsula have been bumping and biting boats — oftentimes, yachts — in dozens of incidents that have frightened mariners and confounded scientists.
A recent spate of killer whales sinking boats delighted online observers who anthropomorphize the marine mammals and hail them as working-class heroes.
Are the orcas really out to get us? What to know about recent attacks
Fishing vessels and motorboats have all had their run-ins with orcas in the region, though sailboats appear to be the most popular target, according to a 2022 study. The tour agency Morskie Mile did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
No one is quite sure what is prompting the orcas to go after vessels — whether the whales are simply being playful, or had a bad run-in with a boat in the past, prompting the aggressive behavior.
Some scientists say the incidents should not be called “attacks” at all, since the whale’s motives are unknown. Perpetuating the idea that whales are out for revenge, they fear, may lead to retaliation by boaters.
“We urge the media and public to avoid projecting narratives onto these animals,” a group of more than 30 scientists wrote in an open letter this summer. “In the absence of further evidence, people should not assume they understand the animals’ motivations.”
What we do know is that orcas are highly intelligent marine mammals that appear to learn from one another. Usually, that learned behavior is a hunting strategy, such as corralling and eating massive blue whales.
Other times, it is something stranger, such as when orcas near Seattle were observed “wearing” dead salmon as hats. Orcas, it turns out, can be victims of cultural fads, too.
One other thing is clear: Killer whales normally don’t hurt people. And humans are a bigger threat to them than they are to us.
Getting entangled in fishing gear or struck by speeding boats is a threat for all whales. With perhaps fewer than 40 individuals left, the orca population off the coasts of Spain, Portugal and Morocco is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Remember:
Nature bats last
Today's Today
There's always a lot riding on every election, and these odd-year elections are always considered harbingers of things to come.
(Pay wall - live updates)
Voters are heading to the polls Tuesday in several states with key offices and issues on the line. In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) is seeking a second term in a red state. In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves (R) is seeking reelection against a cousin of Elvis Presley. In Virginia, every seat in the General Assembly is on the ballot, and those races could determine whether Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) can further advance his political agenda. In Ohio, voters are deciding whether to add abortion rights to the state constitution and to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Today's Tweext
Dear #MAGA and #Trump2024
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) July 2, 2023
Watch me take apart your cult leader and his lifetime of lies like a lego set in 4 minutes.
Watch #DonaldTrumpLifetimeofLiespic.twitter.com/7Tf3gAksvv
Nov 6, 2023
It's Starting To Rain Shoes
The publisher of Mark Meadows’s book is suing the former White House chief of staff, arguing in court filings Friday morning that he violated an agreement with All Seasons Press by including false statements about former President Trump’s claims surrounding the 2020 election.
“Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff under President Donald J. Trump, promised and represented that ‘all statements contained in the Work are true and based on reasonable research for accuracy’ and that he ‘has not made any misrepresentations to the Publisher about the Work,’” the publishing company writes in its suit, filed in court in Sarasota County, Fla.
“Meadows breached those warranties causing ASP to suffer significant monetary and reputational damage when the media widely reported … that he warned President Trump against claiming that election fraud corrupted the electoral votes cast in the 2020 Presidential Election and that neither he nor former President Trump actually believed such claims.”
The suit comes after ABC News reported that Meadows received immunity to testify before a grand jury convened to hear evidence from special counsel Jack Smith, reportedly contradicting statements he made in his book.
“Meadows’ reported statements to the Special Prosecutor and/or his staff and his reported grand jury testimony squarely contradict the statements in his Book, one central theme of which is that President Trump was the true winner of the 2020 Presidential Election and that election was ‘stolen’ and ‘rigged’ with the help from ‘allies in the liberal media,’ who ignored ‘actual evidence of fraud,’” the company writes in the filing.
According to Meadows’s testimony, as reported by ABC News, Trump was being “dishonest” with voters when he claimed victory on election night. ABC reported that Meadows admitted Trump lost the election when questioned by prosecutors.
He also told prosecutors he has yet to see any fraud in the 2020 election that would shift Trump’s loss to President Biden, ABC reported.
The suit notes that the opening sentence to one chapter in Meadows’s book was, “I KNEW HE DIDN’T LOSE.”
The company is asking for the $350,000 it paid Meadows as an advance for the book, $600,000 in out-of-pocket damages, and at least $1 million each for reputational damage suffered by the company and loss of expected profits for the book, which they argue plummeted given Meadows’s involvement in numerous investigations regarding Jan. 6.
The suit reveals a long and tense relationship between Meadows and his publisher, which has published a suite of books from conservative figures.
In December 2021, All Seasons Press sent a letter to Meadows saying it would withhold the final of three $116,666 advance payments over concerns his book may contain false information. The suit also notes it planned to continue with publication “pending an investigation.”
A few days later the company got a letter from attorney Blake Meadows, whom the suit says is Meadows’s son, demanding the final installment.
“Mr. Meadows is aware of the specious allegations that were published regarding a portion of the book which was taken out of context, and which have already been addressed by both Mr. Meadows and former President Trump in multiple press releases,” Blake Meadows wrote, according to the suit.
All Seasons Press said it decided to publish the book “after conducting the appropriate due diligence and based upon repeated assurances from Meadows that facts in the Book were true.”
But it argues that as “rumors circulated in the media” that Meadows could be a cooperating witness with prosecutors, the book’s bottom line was harmed.
“As a result, public interest in the Book, the truth of which was increasingly in doubt, precipitously declined, and ASP sold only approximately 60,000 of the 200,000 first printing of the Book,” the suit states.
A request for comment made to Meadow’s attorney in the election interference case was not immediately returned, nor was a message left with Blake Meadows.
Meadows has previously suggested portions of his book were inaccurate, including a detail about how Trump tested positive for COVID-19 days before his first debate against now-President Biden.
Trump denied the claim and called it “fake news,” which led Meadows to say during an interview in December 2021 that the claim from his own book was “fake news.”
Meadows has not been charged in the federal government’s election interference case, but he has been charged in a sprawling racketeering and election law case in Georgia.
Today's Tweext
Here are 27 insane things Trump said he will do if he gets a 2nd term. This needs to be shared far and wide. Thanks to @TheJFreakinC for making this go viral on TikTok. pic.twitter.com/E1vlHXsH6F
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) October 21, 2023
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