Odds and Ends — 6 December 2024

…I have written my last op-ed for the Times. Yesterday, I resigned my position. I don’t want to continue to work for a paper that is appeasing Trump and facilitating his assault on democratic rule for craven reasons.
My resignation is a protest and visceral reaction against the conduct of the paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Soon-Shiong has made several moves to force the paper, over the forceful objections of his staff, into a posture more sympathetic to Donald Trump. Those moves can’t be defended as the sort of policy adjustment papers undergo from time to time, and that an owner, within limits, is entitled to influence. Given the existential stakes for our democracy that I believe Trump’s second term poses, and the evidence that Soon-Shiong is currying favor with the President-elect, they are repugnant and dangerous…
Trump has made it clear that he will make trouble for media outlets that cross him. Rather than reacting with indignation at this challenge to his paper’s critical function in a democracy, Soon-Shiong threw the paper to the wolves. That was cowardly.

Romanian Court Annuls Results of Presidential Election

Romania’s constitutional court has annulled the result of the first round of voting in the presidential election just days before the second round was due to take place.
The first round was won by Calin Georgescu, an almost unknown far-right Nato-sceptic who has previously praised Vladimir Putin.

Ex-Tulsi Gabbard Aides Say She Was a Devout Consumer of Kremlin Propaganda Network

Ric Grenell Went All Out to Be Secretary of State

As Ric Grenell made a bid after the election to be Donald Trump’s secretary of State, a flurry of social media posts from MAGA influencers started popping up, advocating for the president-elect to pick him.
Around the same time, an associate of Grenell had approached conservative social media influencers, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, offering paid contracts of as much as five figures to post favorably about Grenell.
One such contract outlined that the influencer would do so during ‘peak posting times,’ that ‘content must appear genuine,’ and it could not ‘appear as an overt advertisement or promotional message.’

https://twitter.com/briantylercohen/status/1864799609790324922

https://twitter.com/RubyRose2077/status/1864732238086025655

Trump’s Fans Are Suffering From Tony Soprano Syndrome

Some conservatives are embracing the villains in what are supposed to be cautionary tales.

White House Talks About Issuing Blanket Pardons

President Biden’s staff is debating whether he should issue blanket pardons for a swath of President-elect Donald Trump’s perceived enemies to protect them from the “retribution” he has threatened after he takes office.
The idea would be to pre-emptively extend executive clemency to a list of current and former government officials for any possible crimes over a period of years, effectively short-circuiting the next president’s promised campaign of reprisals.
White House officials do not believe the potential recipients have actually committed crimes, but they have grown increasingly worried that Mr. Trump’s selections for top Justice Department positions indicate that he will follow through on his repeated vows to seek revenge.

https://twitter.com/andrewperezdc/status/1864844180696048099

How One of the World’s Richest Men Is Avoiding $8 Billion in Taxes

https://twitter.com/_iamblakeley/status/1862295936392675452

Serendipity:

Time to freak out? How the existential terror of hurricanes can fuel climate change denial

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3 comments

@hivebuzz 74

20 days ago

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@zekepickleman 77

20 days ago

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@agmoore 75

20 days ago

Gosh, I wonder why

😄

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