Another pre-autumn, fall-like day just past the noon hour this Thursday here in California’s Central Valley — more of the same, please, and thank you.
In the wake of T-Rump’s horrid, laugh-out-loud debate meltdown with Kamala Harris, his shitty, shifty running mate, JD Vance, has also descended the idiot’s staircase into further-bullshit land — last night he criticized Taylor Swift’s Harris/Tim Walz endorsement as coming from ‘“a billionaire celebrity who I think is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans.”‘
Steve Benen at MSNBC this morning refutes the hideous, ridiculousness of Vance’s lack of any self-awareness:
Americans are unlikely to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity who is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans? Unless Trump is planning to drop out of the 2024 race, Vance’s running mate happens to be a billionaire celebrity who is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans.
Just to add further shit to his already putrid resume, Vance this morning attacked immigration by lying about America’s prosperity:
The U.S. economy is **$10 trillion** clear of the next closest nation (China) and larger than every other country in the top 10 combined. Just a fundamentally unserious person. https://t.co/5acBeigIUo pic.twitter.com/CZ6Rd0w6z1
— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) September 12, 2024
And similar to the dog-eating lie, Vance revealed his inability to speak truthfully in any category — even in an attempt to display US stand in the world.
Phillip Bump at The Washington Post about an hour ago on Vance’s torrid bullshit:
The political goal is unsubtle, certainly. Even when presented with the fact that no evidence of the alleged pet-eating in Springfield, Ohio, exists, Vance encouraged his and Trump’s supporters to continue hyping the claim anyway. Elevating the idea that immigrants are scary or harmful is central to Trump’s politics, particularly this year.
But it also means that Vance ends up meandering into some dubious territory. As when he was asked during an interview on CNBC whether he didn’t acknowledge that there are also positive economic aspects to immigration.
But it also means that Vance ends up meandering into some dubious territory. As when he was asked during an interview on CNBC whether he didn’t acknowledge that there are also positive economic aspects to immigration.
“If the path to prosperity was flooding your nation with low-wage immigrants,” Vance replied, “then Springfield, Ohio, would be the most prosperous country — the most prosperous city in the world. America would be the most prosperous country in the world, because Kamala Harris has flooded the country with 25 million illegal aliens.”
The claim that “Harris has flooded the country with 25 million illegal aliens” is false for multiple reasons. First, that Harris is not centrally responsible for the administration’s immigration policies (overheated rhetoric about being “border czar” notwithstanding). Second, the total is wildly inflated, counting people stopped at the border among the “flood.” The actual number of immigrants entering the country — many of whom are given permission to stay while asylum claims are adjudicated — is far lower. Though, again, the immigrants at issue in Springfield, most of whom are from Haiti, are here legally and permitted to work, making them more obvious contributors to the economy than those without work permits.
But the most clearly ludicrous claim from Vance is his assessment that America isn’t the most prosperous country in the world. It is. And immigration plays an obvious role in that.
[…]
Vance is a politician, one running as part of a ticket predicated on presenting immigration as a central problem for the country and a central failing by his and Trump’s opponents. As such, Vance once again ends up wandering into dubious territory, this time suggesting that the country is not the wealthiest and most economically powerful in the world.
Not every American is wealthy, sure, even on a global standard. But it is broadly true that Americans enjoy more prosperity than residents of other countries — and that immigrants to the United States contribute to that prosperity.
Another brick in the wall built on lying and horse/bullshit.
And another endorsed aside from another great American singing talent in opposition to the shit-horror of the T-Rump and his asshole running mate — Linda Ronstadt.
Particulars via the Guardian:
In a Facebook statement released on Wednesday evening, the 78-year old multi-Grammy winner said: “Donald Trump is holding a rally on Thursday in a rented hall in my hometown, Tucson. I would prefer to ignore that sad fact. But since the building has my name on it, I need to say something.
“It saddens me to see the former president bring his hate show to Tucson, a town with deep Mexican-American roots and a joyful, tolerant spirit. I don’t just deplore his toxic politics, his hatred of women, immigrants and people of color, his criminality, dishonesty and ignorance – although there’s that,” Ronstadt added.
She went on to criticize Trump for his border policies, particularly his administration’s family separation policy which “made orphans of thousands of little children and babies, and brutalized their desperate mothers and fathers”.
Ronstadt also called Trump a rapist, saying: “Trump first ran for president warning about rapists coming in from Mexico. I’m worried about keeping the rapist out of the White House.”
E Jean Carroll, a New York writer, alleged Trump raped her in a department store in the city in the 1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim. A jury last year found Trump liable for the sexual assault.
In addition to Trump, the singer took aim at JD Vance, who has repeatedly criticized people without children as “childish cat ladies”, in addition to being “psychotic” and “deranged”.
“I raised two adopted children in Tucson as a single mom. They are both grown and living in their own houses. I live with a cat,” Ronstadt wrote, adding, “Am I half a childless cat lady because I’m unmarried and didn’t give birth to my kids? Call me what you want, but this cat lady will be voting proudly in November for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
Ronstadt has been an incredible performer for more than 50 years — a favorite with me for just as long. Although she’s had some health issues in recent times, she’s still a wondrous, enchanting songstress with an enormous catalog.
And to close us out this morning, a song that seems to convey the full beauty of her sound:
Wonder from the past to the future, or not, yet once again here we are…
(Illustration out front: Pablo Picasso’s ‘Agonizing Horse,’ found here.)