Russia Frees Americans Due to Fear of/Friendship with Trump
Trump single-handedly Good Cop/Bad Copped a global superpower
Aug. 2: Shapiro speculation/concern … Americans, non-Americans freed … Trump, Vance unable to see gender … U.S. rejects Venezuela “election” “results” …
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It’s Maybe Shapiro Maybe!
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) is possibly going to be announced as the Democratic Party’s possible vice presidential nominee any potential minute now or soon maybe.
The potential decision is seen as potentially killing much of the momentum unleashed by Vice President Kamala Harris, given Shapiro’s Republican positions on a number of important issues.
There’s Israel stuff, corporate stuff, education stuff, and more.
And all the allegedly-insider media signals are flashing GREEN for Shapiro. The New York Times, for instance, headlines that Shapiro canceled his weekend fundraisers. But deep down, the story tells us all the veep possibles have been advised to cancel their weekend events. But the cancellations of Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) don’t even get mentioned till the fourth graf! HMMM!
Then there’s the intriguing fact that the Harris campaign has said the first rally featuring both nominees will be on Tuesday. In Philadelphia. Which is inside Pennsylvania! HMMM2!
Harris has the chance to build on her momentum with a popular vice presidential pick. Or she could quash much of her momentum by picking Shapiro.
Here’s how The New Republic’s David Klion headlined Shapiro last week:
Klion inventories Shapiro’s seemingly unconditional support for Israel and hostility to its critics — even before the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.
There’s his embrace of the state’s BDS law, banning boycotts, divestment, or sanctions against Israel, which specifically targeted Ben (Jewish) & Jerry’s (Jewish) for refusing to sell their (Jewish) ice cream in (illegal) Israeli settlements.
Shapiro joined in the Republican ideological purge of college administrators. He helped get rid of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill. His office portrayed (non-violent) protesters as a threat to campus security. Seeking to “restore order,” as the Good Guy never says in movies, Shapiro suggested that towns send in local cops to, y’know, save everyone.
As Klion points out, another possible veep contender is also Jewish, but unlike Shapiro, hasn’t gone all Netanyahu on the Gaza conflict. Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) declined to attack the president of Northwestern University. “I’m not about calling for people to step down,” he said.
Shapiro also backed a Republican plan to siphon off $100 million in taxpayer money and shovel it at private schools including schools taught by Jesus. Shapiro eventually backed down because he was too far to the right for his state, which is good, but it doesn’t change that he thought it a good idea in the first place, which is bad.
Fellow Substacker Stephen Robinson has more ungood things on Shapiro. And then there’s income inequality and feeding the oligarchy. Just this week, Shapiro touted his plan to accelerate corporate tax cuts, knocking them from 8.99% to 4.99% by 2026.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is out there to Shapiro’s left on taxes, pushing a reduction of taxes on Social Security. Which pretty much everyone agrees also worsens economic inequality and is generally bad…but certainly sounds a lot better to voters than cutting corporate taxes!
Defending his corporate-tax slashing, Shapiro said earlier this year that his state’s voters want the two parties “to come together,” which apparently means Democrats coming to Republicans and Republicans continuing to move further away to ensure that Democrats have to keep coming to Republicans forever or until the seas swallow Pittsburgh.
BUT, BUT, BUTTIGIEG! Confused Newsfuckers can be forgiven at this point for asking, “But, but, TFN, we thought you were anti-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg!” So why attack Shapiro?!?
Okay, first of all, everybody settle down. What you have just read was not an attack on Shapiro. Your loyal TFN is not obliged to assemble a comprehensive picture of the man, including all his many good points, of which there are doubtless many. Shapiro has both a staff and a pliant press doing all of that. TFN is a corrective for pliant press. The point is not to make you think X or Y about anyone, but to share information that might aid your thinking about everyone.
Did I similarly chronicle some of the stuff I exposed about Buttigieg? Incisive Newsfucker, I did. And it’s worth noting that the Shapiro stuff above wasn’t exposed, it was all done in public. So who knows how well the media have dug into the guy?
Reporting on Buttigieg wasn’t about animus and neither is chronicling Shapiro’s positions. It’s also not about trying to influence outcomes. I don’t know who would be the best vice-presidential candidate! I do know that I want people to be informed.
Politicians respond to the political ecosystems in which they operate. If no one knows about their shortcomings, those ecosystems won’t change. Only by elevating and amplifying areas of concern can we terraform our political ecosystems to incentivize politicians to be (whatever we think is) better.
Russia Frees Americans Due to Fear of/Friendship with Trump
Russia yesterday freed three Americans in a prisoner exchange that only happened due to former President Donald Trump’s hard-nosed negotiating relentless global diplomacy potential to destroy Russia warm friendship with Russian President Vladimiar Putin existence.
The release included a number of non-Americans, who ostensibly also count. The freed dissidents and Kremlin critics included Pulitzer Prize-winning author Vladimir Kara-Murza, Oleg Orlov, Ukraine-invasion critic Ilya Yashin, associates of the late Putin critic Alexander Navalny, and others Trump has never heard of.
In return, Russia got back its own jailed dissidents non-violent protesters radical journalist/poets assassins.
Trump graciously allowed Pres. Joe Biden to announce the release in order to avoid spoiling the surprise.
The three freed Americans are Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal; Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and Paul Whelen, security official for an auto-parts company in Michigan (swing state!). Trump has long opposed Russia’s imprisonment of U.S. journalists, given his longstanding preference that journalists be imprisoned by the U.S.
Earlier this year Trump said that Putin would release Gershkovich “for me, but not for anyone else.”
Trump wrongly said that Gershkovich “will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at the time that “There aren’t any contacts with Donald Trump.” Which was a burn on Trump but also a burn on those who claim Russia will do anything not to burn Trump.
Russia’s statement could mean simply that Trump says things based on nothing more than enjoying the feeling words make when they leave the blob of head fat, water, protein, carbohydrates, and salt that does his thinking. Or it means that Trump is so powerful that even the IDEA of him is getting shit done, motherfuckers!
Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), Trump’s likely-to-be-regretted vice-presidential nominee, yesterday revealed the role played by The Idea of Donald Trump.
“[W]e have to ask ourselves: Why are they coming home? And I think it’s because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump’s about to be back in office, so they’re cleaning house… [I]t’s a testament to [The Idea of] Donald Trump’s strength.”
Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) confirmed the covert involvement of The Idea of Donald Trump. “The reason why Russia wanted to do this deal now is they think President Trump is gonna win, and they don't want to deal with him,” Burgum said, explaining how terrified Putin is of his good friend.
Biden — who attempted to use relentless and multilateral diplomacy to arrange the complex prisoner swap, the largest ever — lacked Trump’s advantages here.
Trump himself could count on Putin to do the release “for me” despite not even discussing it — the way soulmates can be apart for years and reconnect instantly, c’mon, we’ve all been there! — while, simultaneously, The Idea of Donald Trump evoked such terror that Putin caved pre-emptively the same way people shit their pants before they get on the roller-coaster.
That’s right, Trump is so good at presidenting that he can Good Cop/Bad Cop nuclear superpowers all by himself while still a private citizen!
MEANWHILE, IN REALITY LAND It turns out that Biden was working on the prisoner swap before his attempted debate with Trump, while his own party was clamoring for him to step down, and after he did.
Biden could have benefited politically by revealing how much effort he was putting into the deal at the time — as critics were portraying him as unable to president.
Biden said nothing, to avoid jeopardizing the deal — even though it would have helped him defend his campaign right as it was collapsing. (Yes, I know, that would’ve tanked the deal, which would’ve hurt him. You and your fair points. SMDH.)
“On the Sunday that he announced that he wasn’t going to run — in those same hours, he was dealing with this issue and making calls,” U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake told Politico. “I thought that was quite extraordinary,” said Flake, a Republican former senator.
Trump apparently did jack shit for Whelan, who was imprisoned in 2018, other than tell his family not to squawk about it.
Trump and Vance Perform Gender Transition on Olympic Boxer
Rapist and former President Donald Trump, along with Sen. JD Vance, an auxiliary gender-police officer, made a female boxer into a man yesterday.
The unscheduled elective procedure took place just one day after Trump said Vice Pres. Kamala Harris had turned herself Black and two days after Trump stripped Jewish Democrats of their Jewishness.
Yesterday’s controversy began with Algerian Olympian Imane Khelif defeating Italy’s Angela Carini, who quit the bout 45 seconds in after, she said, getting hit harder than she ever has in her life.
Khelif reportedly was disqualified from competing in a prior competition due to elevated levels of testosterone. No wait, having XY chromosomes. Which can happen in women…almost as if gender isn’t a strictly siloed construct.
Trump wrote/screamed: “ “I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS!”
Vance wrote, “This is where [Vice President] Kamala Harris's ideas about gender lead: to a grown man pummeling a woman in a boxing match. This is disgusting, and all of our leaders should condemn it."
Actually, it’s where Vance’s ideas about gender lead. Khelif grew up in Algeria, where transgender surgery doesn’t exist and is, in Vancian style, illegal. Her passport says she’s a woman person.
And, in case anyone needs more, here’s a list of some women who have beaten Khelif in the ring:
So, if Khelif is getting beat by other women, it’s fair to assume that if she were forced to box men, as Trump and Vance suggest, we would see grown men pummeling a woman in a boxing match. Which Vance thinks is disgusting, and all of our leaders should condemn.
Wait, wait. I have it, suspense-suffering Newsfuckers! I’ve found the ultimate proof that will satisfy Trump and Vance. There’s no way she’s a man. According to Khelif’s bio on the archived website of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, her hobbies include cooking.
TKO!
Two Quickies
The U.S. has officially recognized Edmundo González as the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election, which is awkward for incumbent Pres. Nicolás Maduro, who has officially recognized himself as the winner. In a heartening development, multiple South American nations are pressuring Maduro to release voting records which will verify his victory but also don’t exist.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s surprise presidential campaign raised $310 million in July, the most raised ever in a single month by an incompetent DEI hire. Or anyone else.
Recommended Reading
The essential Revolving Door Project writes about the corporate pressure on Vice President Kamala Harris, her record resisting it, and the political bounty that awaits her if she does so again.
TCB
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Go get ‘em, kids. And stay cool out there this weekend…!
As a Pennsylvanian, I want to say that Josh HAS strongly condemned Bibi but no sensible, public education-loving Keystonian can understand why he can't quit the hateful school voucher program that thankfully hasn't passed after 2 tries. I also hate his fear of the fracking industry (or love of their money). He did himself no favors covering for a staffer's sexual harrassment and hung the bill for it on us taxpayers. Personally, I feel like we've only gotten 2 years out of our 2022 Shapiro investment and, in a totally non-partisan manner, I endorse Tim Walz for VP because every time I hear him speak I burst into happy tears and think about leaving PA for the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota. OTOH, if Josh goes to WDC, it gets him out of our Governor's seat and puts a GREAT 35-year-old Progressive into it. Go Austin Davis!!
Re: trump just thinking something to make it so. Don’t forget he did unclassify all those secret docs he stole using the same Jedi mind trick.