newyorker--2020-10-16--“Time,” Reviewed: A Vital and Passionate Documentary About a Family’s Confrontation with Carceral In

“Time,” Reviewed: A Vital and Passionate Documentary About a Family’s Confrontation with Carceral Injustice

There are films to approach with a sense of awe and humility , films in which the images seem to be no mere representations of life but immediately and vulnerably alive themselves .
Garrett Bradley ’ s documentary “ Time ” ( which appears on Amazon , on Friday ) is one such film .
What ’ s missing from most movies is the feeling that they ’ re necessary—that the filmmakers are presenting events that matter to them personally , and creating images with any sense of personal urgency .
“ Time , ” by contrast , is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of emergency , of direst need , from the very start—and it ’ s a need that quickly leaps out from the lives and experiences of the people on-camera to illuminate and challenge the ongoing horrors of American history in the present tense .
Though Bradley is credited as the director , much of the footage in the movie wasn ’ t shot by her .
Rather , it was made by the movie ’ s principal subject , Sibil Fox Richardson , a.k.a .
Fox Rich , in the course of nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involvement with her .
Fox Richardson and her husband , Robert Richardson—who are Black—owned , in the nineteen-nineties , a hip-hop clothing store in Shreveport , Louisiana .
When it was in danger of going out of business , the couple took part in a bank robbery and were arrested .
Sibil pleaded guilty , was sentenced to twelve years ’ imprisonment , and was released after three and a half .
Robert , who went to trial , was sentenced , unconscionably , to sixty years without parole .
Upon her release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their six children , all sons , in an act of devotion and faith .
She was preserving for Robert as much as she could of the time that he missed , and she was doing so on the premise that , despite the seemingly ironclad sentence , he would be released early—because she was working relentlessly on his behalf , in legal efforts that she videotaped as well .
Nearly two decades into Robert ’ s sentence—when the youngest of the Richardson children were already grown—Bradley joined forces with Sibil to document @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( one son graduates from dental school ; another , in college , becomes an elected officer in school and plans a career in criminal-justice reform ) and Sibil ’ s persistent , diligent , carefully planned work petitioning judges to seek Robert ’ s release .
Sibil has also become an activist on behalf of prison abolition—she speaks frankly of it as a new form of slavery and considers herself an abolitionist , and she makes her case with passionate reason in public forums throughout the region .
Both to support the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very expensive legal proceedings , Sibil moved the family to New Orleans and became a successful businessperson , as the owner of a car dealership .
Through it all , she uninhibitedly affirms—and demonstrates—her fierce love for Robert .
The agonizing yet majestic particulars of the Richardsons ’ lives are brought together in a deft , freely associative montage ( the film was edited by Gabriel Rhodes ) that , true to the title , evokes time—its passage moment by moment , the power and the pain of memory , the keen sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , above all , the feeling that the time a person has is the substance of life .
What “ Time ” depicts , in showing the effects of the deprivation of time , is a sort of living death , a deprivation that eats away at one ’ s emotional and material core .
There is no biological death in the course of the film ; the story of the Richardsons isn ’ t one of wrongful killing .
Yet theirs is a story of violence nonetheless , the ambient threat of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the carceral regime and its grossly disproportionate impact on Black Americans .
“ Time ” depicts the ordinary , day-to-day activities of the Richardson family—Sibil ’ s appearance in a commercial for her company , her children ’ s successes in school and playful leisure , family outings and celebrations—and also how those activities are rendered bitterly , arduously , yet heroically extraordinary by the sheer burden that institutional racism imposes on them .
Sibil is well aware of the folly and the wrong of the crime that she and Robert committed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moving sequence in which she speaks to her church congregation of her remorse , her meetings with women who were victims of the robbery , and the wise counsel that one of them offered .
Yet she also details the depravities of incarceration , which lead her to question and challenge pat slogans and unchallenged assumptions of the penal system .
A sublime orator on the public stage of meeting halls and churches , Sibil also invests her day-to-day conversation and her cinematic monologues ( on-camera and in voice-over ) with a finely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense of purpose .
( Remarkably , most of the film ’ s music reinforces that devoutly exalted mood : it features piano works composed and performed by the Ethiopian composer—and nun—Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou , born in 1923 and now living in Jerusalem , which she recorded in the nineteen-sixties . )
Bradley renders all of the film ’ s footage in black-and-white , abstracting it somewhat from the incidentals and emphasizing the overarching , unifying themes , emotions , and ideas .
The entire family ( and , for that matter , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother , who speaks with a quietly oracular voice ) are present throughout , but it ’ s Sibil ’ s presence and voice that dominate the film .
“ Time ” is a sort of collective autobiography , a story of a family that is both unhappy in a way that many families , many Black families , are unhappy , and happy in its own way , because of its fierce devotion to remaining together—and to fighting for the shared cause of its unity , its reunification .
For decades , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with an evident sense of daily achievement and also with a sense of abeyance , of suspended animation that awaits Robert ’ s release and return .
Sibil films herself with a keenly self-conscious sense of moment ; she transforms the ordinary and humble home video to monumental dimensions , and Bradley ( working with the cinematographers Zac Manuel , Justin Zweifach , and Nisa East ) conveys the same urgency in Sibil ’ s presence .
The result isn ’ t to turn daily life into performance ; it is , rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a divine weight , a community responsibility , and a cosmic value on the expressions and gestures and activities of daily life—and to attempt to live in a way that honors the responsibility and the pressure that circumstances demand .
Watching “ Time , ” I found myself wanting to know more—to know anything—about the relationship between Bradley and Sibil ( and the Richardson family ) that provides the premise for the film .
For instance , press notes mention that the project was conceived as a short film , and that Bradley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s videotapes until after filming was done—it was only then , after Sibil provided her with the family ’ s video archive , that the director decided to expand the project to feature length .
( Sibil , who created much of the footage that ’ s seen in the film , is , in effect , the uncredited co-director . )
The occasional , if rare , deference to documentary conventions ( such as fadeouts of speech in montage sequences ) briefly break the film ’ s mood of elevated fervor and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the informational establishment from which the film ( produced by the New York Times ) emerges .
Yet Bradley ’ s self-elision comes off ( as such self-omissions seldom do ) as an act of cinematic humility before the enormity of the story that she was transmitting , and before the grandeur of Sibil ’ s journey and quest .

There are films to approach with a sense of awe and humility, films in which the images seem to be no mere representations of life but immediately and vulnerably alive themselves. Garrett Bradley’s documentary “Time” (which appears on Amazon, on Friday) is one such film. What’s missing from most movies is the feeling that they’re necessary—that the filmmakers are presenting events that matter to them personally, and creating images with any sense of personal urgency. “Time,” by contrast, is a film that virtually shrieks with a sense of emergency, of direst need, from the very start—and it’s a need that quickly leaps out from the lives and experiences of the people on-camera to illuminate and challenge the ongoing horrors of American history in the present tense.
Though Bradley is credited as the director, much of the footage in the movie wasn’t shot by her. Rather, it was made by the movie’s principal subject, Sibil Fox Richardson, a.k.a. Fox Rich, in the course of nearly twenty years prior to Bradley’s involvement with her. Fox Richardson and her husband, Robert Richardson—who are Black—owned, in the nineteen-nineties, a hip-hop clothing store in Shreveport, Louisiana. When it was in danger of going out of business, the couple took part in a bank robbery and were arrested. Sibil pleaded guilty, was sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment, and was released after three and a half. Robert, who went to trial, was sentenced, unconscionably, to sixty years without parole. Upon her release, Sibil began to videotape herself and their six children, all sons, in an act of devotion and faith. She was preserving for Robert as much as she could of the time that he missed, and she was doing so on the premise that, despite the seemingly ironclad sentence, he would be released early—because she was working relentlessly on his behalf, in legal efforts that she videotaped as well.
Nearly two decades into Robert’s sentence—when the youngest of the Richardson children were already grown—Bradley joined forces with Sibil to document both the family’s great occasions (one son graduates from dental school; another, in college, becomes an elected officer in school and plans a career in criminal-justice reform) and Sibil’s persistent, diligent, carefully planned work petitioning judges to seek Robert’s release. Sibil has also become an activist on behalf of prison abolition—she speaks frankly of it as a new form of slavery and considers herself an abolitionist, and she makes her case with passionate reason in public forums throughout the region. Both to support the family and to finance Robert’s very expensive legal proceedings, Sibil moved the family to New Orleans and became a successful businessperson, as the owner of a car dealership. Through it all, she uninhibitedly affirms—and demonstrates—her fierce love for Robert.
The agonizing yet majestic particulars of the Richardsons’ lives are brought together in a deft, freely associative montage (the film was edited by Gabriel Rhodes) that, true to the title, evokes time—its passage moment by moment, the power and the pain of memory, the keen sense of loss that it brings, and, above all, the feeling that the time a person has is the substance of life. What “Time” depicts, in showing the effects of the deprivation of time, is a sort of living death, a deprivation that eats away at one’s emotional and material core. There is no biological death in the course of the film; the story of the Richardsons isn’t one of wrongful killing. Yet theirs is a story of violence nonetheless, the ambient threat of oblivion that’s exemplified and embodied in the carceral regime and its grossly disproportionate impact on Black Americans. “Time” depicts the ordinary, day-to-day activities of the Richardson family—Sibil’s appearance in a commercial for her company, her children’s successes in school and playful leisure, family outings and celebrations—and also how those activities are rendered bitterly, arduously, yet heroically extraordinary by the sheer burden that institutional racism imposes on them.
Sibil is well aware of the folly and the wrong of the crime that she and Robert committed, and there’s a deeply moving sequence in which she speaks to her church congregation of her remorse, her meetings with women who were victims of the robbery, and the wise counsel that one of them offered. Yet she also details the depravities of incarceration, which lead her to question and challenge pat slogans and unchallenged assumptions of the penal system. A sublime orator on the public stage of meeting halls and churches, Sibil also invests her day-to-day conversation and her cinematic monologues (on-camera and in voice-over) with a finely rhetorical exaltation that resounds with a mighty sense of purpose. (Remarkably, most of the film’s music reinforces that devoutly exalted mood: it features piano works composed and performed by the Ethiopian composer—and nun—Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, born in 1923 and now living in Jerusalem, which she recorded in the nineteen-sixties.)
Bradley renders all of the film’s footage in black-and-white, abstracting it somewhat from the incidentals and emphasizing the overarching, unifying themes, emotions, and ideas. The entire family (and, for that matter, extended family, including Sibil’s mother, who speaks with a quietly oracular voice) are present throughout, but it’s Sibil’s presence and voice that dominate the film. “Time” is a sort of collective autobiography, a story of a family that is both unhappy in a way that many families, many Black families, are unhappy, and happy in its own way, because of its fierce devotion to remaining together—and to fighting for the shared cause of its unity, its reunification. For decades, Sibil and the family have lived both with an evident sense of daily achievement and also with a sense of abeyance, of suspended animation that awaits Robert’s release and return. Sibil films herself with a keenly self-conscious sense of moment; she transforms the ordinary and humble home video to monumental dimensions, and Bradley (working with the cinematographers Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach, and Nisa East) conveys the same urgency in Sibil’s presence. The result isn’t to turn daily life into performance; it is, rather, a sanctification, the placing of a divine weight, a community responsibility, and a cosmic value on the expressions and gestures and activities of daily life—and to attempt to live in a way that honors the responsibility and the pressure that circumstances demand.
Watching “Time,” I found myself wanting to know more—to know anything—about the relationship between Bradley and Sibil (and the Richardson family) that provides the premise for the film. For instance, press notes mention that the project was conceived as a short film, and that Bradley didn’t know of Sibil’s videotapes until after filming was done—it was only then, after Sibil provided her with the family’s video archive, that the director decided to expand the project to feature length. (Sibil, who created much of the footage that’s seen in the film, is, in effect, the uncredited co-director.) The occasional, if rare, deference to documentary conventions (such as fadeouts of speech in montage sequences) briefly break the film’s mood of elevated fervor and provide a not altogether welcome reminder of the informational establishment from which the film (produced by the New York Times) emerges. Yet Bradley’s self-elision comes off (as such self-omissions seldom do) as an act of cinematic humility before the enormity of the story that she was transmitting, and before the grandeur of Sibil’s journey and quest.


newyorker--2020-10-16--A Visit with Elvis Costello, Plus Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren

The largest of the swing states , Florida usually picks the winning candidate for President—by notoriously narrow margins .
Dexter @ @ @ @ @ of the race .
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren , leaders of the @ @ @ @ @ election and the state of our democracy .
And David Remnick talks with Elvis Costello @ @ @ @ @ ” his thirty-first studio album .
Two leaders of the progressive left discuss the state @ @ @ @ @ largest of the swing states , Florida usually picks the winning candidate for President—by notoriously @ @ @ @ @ reports on the state of the race .
The legendary artist on “ Hey Clockface @ @ @ @ @ album .

Illustration by Golden Cosmos; Source photograph by Santiago Felipe / Getty
The largest of the swing states, Florida usually picks the winning candidate for President—by notoriously narrow margins. Dexter Filkins reports on the state of the race. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren, leaders of the progressive left, discuss the election and the state of our democracy. And David Remnick talks with Elvis Costello about “Hey Clockface,” his thirty-first studio album.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren
Two leaders of the progressive left discuss the state of our democracy.
The Fight Over Florida
The largest of the swing states, Florida usually picks the winning candidate for President—by notoriously narrow margins. Dexter Filkins reports on the state of the race.
Elvis Costello Talks with David Remnick
The legendary artist on “Hey Clockface,” his thirty-first studio album.


newyorker--2020-10-16--The Great Coronavirus Divide: Wall Street Profits Surge as Poverty Rises

On Thursday , the Labor Department announced that new applications for unemployment benefits rose to almost nine hundred thousand last week , the highest level in a month and a half .
The jump followed announcements by the Walt Disney Company , Regal Cinemas , and other large companies that they are planning many thousands of new layoffs .
Many small businesses , too , are reducing their payrolls or turning temporary layoffs into permanent ones .
“ Risks to the labor market outlook are weighted heavily to the downside , ” Ryan Sweet , an economist at Moody ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The increased spread of the virus across much of the country could result in an even larger pullback in business activity than expected.
” All of this is happening at a moment when about ten million fewer Americans are employed than were in January , and when the big boost to jobless benefits that was contained in the CARES Act—six hundred dollars a week—has expired .
In the past three months , according to researchers at the University of Chicago and Notre Dame , the number of Americans living in poverty has risen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poverty rate has jumped from 9.3 per cent , in June , to 11.1 per cent , in September .
Looking at individual groups , the increase in the poverty rate has been largest among Black people ( from 18.2 per cent , in June , to 22.8 per cent , in September ) and people without a college education ( from seventeen per cent to 21.5 per cent ) .
“ These numbers are very concerning , ” Bruce D. Meyer , a University of Chicago economist , told Jason DeParle , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us people are having a lot more trouble paying their bills , paying their rent , putting food on the table.
” Amid all this gloomy news , at least part of the American economy is doing fine , however .
Or , to put it another way , a separate American economy is doing fine : the economy of Wall Street .
On Thursday , Morgan Stanley announced that , in the three months from July to September , it reaped $ 2.7 billion in profits , a rise of twenty-five per @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Goldman Sachs , Morgan Stanley ’ s principal rival , is doing even better .
On Wednesday , it announced quarterly profits of $ 3.62 billion , virtually double what the firm earned in the same quarter in 2019 .
During a conference call with financial analysts , David Solomon , Goldman ’ s chief financial officer , attributed the firm ’ s success to “ the strength of our diversified business.
” However , Solomon also pointed to a more immediate source of the company ’ s good fortune .
“ From @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ the markets continue to benefit from the unprecedented monetary and fiscal support by central banks and governments globally.
” Financial markets are the lifeblood of Wall Street firms , and the U.S. government , through the good offices of the Federal Reserve , has been going to enormous lengths to keep them afloat .
In March , some parts of the credit system got clogged up , and the stock market dived—a repeat of what happened in 2008 .
In response , the Fed slashed interest rates and used its electronic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which it then used to purchase various types of bonds .
Confidence was restored , and the markets shot back up , providing a huge boon to firms like Goldman and Morgan Stanley .
Another boost directly attributable to the pandemic came from a surge in the issuance of stocks and bonds , as many non-financial businesses sought to strengthen their balance sheets .
“ I would say it was an extraordinarily constructive and positive backdrop , ” Jon Pruzan , Morgan Stanley ’ s chief financial officer , told the Financial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to single out Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as winners from the pandemic , although they certainly have been .
( In the New Year , when the 2020 bonus season comes around , many of their employees stand to receive big payouts . )
Purely in monetary terms , the biggest winners of the coronavirus economy have been tech barons like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg , who have seen their huge fortunes get even more gargantuan , and other wealthy investors that have benefitted from the buoyancy of the stock market @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bezos ’ s net worth has risen by close to eighty billion dollars—a sum that even he may struggle to get his head around .
The important point isn ’ t whether tech billionaires or Wall Street bankers have done best in 2020 but that the pandemic has highlighted some glaring economic problems that have been building up for decades : lack of job security ; racial inequities ; stagnant wages ; an inadequate social safety net ; and a hopelessly lopsided distribution of income and wealth , in which the richest ten @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per cent of all the stocks and mutual funds .
In more normal times , defenders of the current economic system often argued that it rewards initiative and punishes lack of effort .
But the tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet weren ’ t responsible for the coronavirus , and neither were the Wall Street traders and investors who have benefitted so handsomely from the policy response to the virus .
If , over the next few months , the stock market finally cracks , which it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the air out of the paper fortunes of billionaires like Bezos , and also force Wall Street to share the pain that other sectors of the economy have been feeling .
But it will take more than a stock-market crash to create a post-pandemic economy that is fairer , more unified , and more resilient .
The first task is to pass another stimulus bill that extends more financial help to the jobless , to small businesses , and to states and municipalities that are being forced to cut jobs because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , Republicans in Congress are utterly failing to meet their responsibility in this area .
On Thursday , Mitch McConnell , the Senate Majority Leader , said that he wouldn ’ t bring a big spending bill to the Senate floor before the election .
McConnell explained that he couldn ’ t sell such a bill to the members of his caucus .
A more cynical explanation is that he ’ s trying to sabotage the economy for an incoming Biden Administration .
But even the passage of another big stimulus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be sufficient to bridge the gaping divide between the two economies that the pandemic has highlighted .
Among the other items on an agenda of real reform would be strengthening the social safety net ; boosting the bargaining power of workers ; reforming the tax system , particularly the taxation of business income and personal wealth ; and coming up with a new macroeconomic-policy framework that doesn ’ t rely as heavily on the Fed creating money to boost asset prices .
Joe Biden has a range of policy proposals that address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these challenges .
Make no mistake , though ; if he does get elected , he will face a formidable challenge .
More on the Coronavirus • To protect American lives and revive the economy , Donald Trump and Jared Kushner should listen to Anthony Fauci rather than trash him .
• We should look to students to conceive of appropriate school-reopening plans .
It is not too late to ask what they really want .
• A pregnant pediatrician on what children need during the crisis .
• Trump is helping tycoons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exploit the pandemic to maximize profits .
• Meet the high-finance mogul in charge of our economic recovery .
• The coronavirus is likely to reshape architecture .
What kinds of space are we willing to live and work in now ?

This has been a worrying week for most people whose livelihoods depend on the state of the U.S. economy. On Wednesday, the number of new coronavirus cases hit almost sixty thousand. The number of deaths, while much lower than at its peak, in April, is now rising in more than twenty states. Without an end in sight to the pandemic, the economic rebound that began in the late spring, after Congress passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act and some of the initial lockdowns were eased, is showing signs of faltering.
On Thursday, the Labor Department announced that new applications for unemployment benefits rose to almost nine hundred thousand last week, the highest level in a month and a half. The jump followed announcements by the Walt Disney Company, Regal Cinemas, and other large companies that they are planning many thousands of new layoffs. Many small businesses, too, are reducing their payrolls or turning temporary layoffs into permanent ones. “Risks to the labor market outlook are weighted heavily to the downside,” Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Reuters. “The increased spread of the virus across much of the country could result in an even larger pullback in business activity than expected.”
All of this is happening at a moment when about ten million fewer Americans are employed than were in January, and when the big boost to jobless benefits that was contained in the CARES Act—six hundred dollars a week—has expired. In the past three months, according to researchers at the University of Chicago and Notre Dame, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen by about six million, and the poverty rate has jumped from 9.3 per cent, in June, to 11.1 per cent, in September. Looking at individual groups, the increase in the poverty rate has been largest among Black people (from 18.2 per cent, in June, to 22.8 per cent, in September) and people without a college education (from seventeen per cent to 21.5 per cent). “These numbers are very concerning,” Bruce D. Meyer, a University of Chicago economist, told Jason DeParle, of the Times. “They tell us people are having a lot more trouble paying their bills, paying their rent, putting food on the table.”
Amid all this gloomy news, at least part of the American economy is doing fine, however. Or, to put it another way, a separate American economy is doing fine: the economy of Wall Street. On Thursday, Morgan Stanley announced that, in the three months from July to September, it reaped $2.7 billion in profits, a rise of twenty-five per cent compared to a year ago. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley’s principal rival, is doing even better. On Wednesday, it announced quarterly profits of $3.62 billion, virtually double what the firm earned in the same quarter in 2019. During a conference call with financial analysts, David Solomon, Goldman’s chief financial officer, attributed the firm’s success to “the strength of our diversified business.” However, Solomon also pointed to a more immediate source of the company’s good fortune. “From a macroeconomic perspective,” he said, “the markets continue to benefit from the unprecedented monetary and fiscal support by central banks and governments globally.”
Financial markets are the lifeblood of Wall Street firms, and the U.S. government, through the good offices of the Federal Reserve, has been going to enormous lengths to keep them afloat. In March, some parts of the credit system got clogged up, and the stock market dived—a repeat of what happened in 2008. In response, the Fed slashed interest rates and used its electronic printing press to create trillions of dollars, which it then used to purchase various types of bonds. Confidence was restored, and the markets shot back up, providing a huge boon to firms like Goldman and Morgan Stanley. Another boost directly attributable to the pandemic came from a surge in the issuance of stocks and bonds, as many non-financial businesses sought to strengthen their balance sheets. “I would say it was an extraordinarily constructive and positive backdrop,” Jon Pruzan, Morgan Stanley’s chief financial officer, told the Financial Times.
It’s perhaps unfair to single out Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as winners from the pandemic, although they certainly have been. (In the New Year, when the 2020 bonus season comes around, many of their employees stand to receive big payouts.) Purely in monetary terms, the biggest winners of the coronavirus economy have been tech barons like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, who have seen their huge fortunes get even more gargantuan, and other wealthy investors that have benefitted from the buoyancy of the stock market. Since the end of February, Bezos’s net worth has risen by close to eighty billion dollars—a sum that even he may struggle to get his head around.
The important point isn’t whether tech billionaires or Wall Street bankers have done best in 2020 but that the pandemic has highlighted some glaring economic problems that have been building up for decades: lack of job security; racial inequities; stagnant wages; an inadequate social safety net; and a hopelessly lopsided distribution of income and wealth, in which the richest ten per cent of households own almost ninety per cent of all the stocks and mutual funds. In more normal times, defenders of the current economic system often argued that it rewards initiative and punishes lack of effort. But the tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet weren’t responsible for the coronavirus, and neither were the Wall Street traders and investors who have benefitted so handsomely from the policy response to the virus.
If, over the next few months, the stock market finally cracks, which it may well do, that would take some of the air out of the paper fortunes of billionaires like Bezos, and also force Wall Street to share the pain that other sectors of the economy have been feeling. But it will take more than a stock-market crash to create a post-pandemic economy that is fairer, more unified, and more resilient.
The first task is to pass another stimulus bill that extends more financial help to the jobless, to small businesses, and to states and municipalities that are being forced to cut jobs because their tax revenues have plummeted. Right now, Republicans in Congress are utterly failing to meet their responsibility in this area. On Thursday, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, said that he wouldn’t bring a big spending bill to the Senate floor before the election. McConnell explained that he couldn’t sell such a bill to the members of his caucus. A more cynical explanation is that he’s trying to sabotage the economy for an incoming Biden Administration.
But even the passage of another big stimulus, necessary as that is, wouldn’t be sufficient to bridge the gaping divide between the two economies that the pandemic has highlighted. Among the other items on an agenda of real reform would be strengthening the social safety net; boosting the bargaining power of workers; reforming the tax system, particularly the taxation of business income and personal wealth; and coming up with a new macroeconomic-policy framework that doesn’t rely as heavily on the Fed creating money to boost asset prices. Joe Biden has a range of policy proposals that address some, although not all, of these challenges. Make no mistake, though; if he does get elected, he will face a formidable challenge.
More on the Coronavirus


newyorker--2020-10-16--Daily Cartoon: Friday, October 16th

Daily Cartoon: Friday, October 16th

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“He did the early voting and then wanted to be cryogenically frozen until Inauguration Day.”


newyorker--2020-10-16--NBC Cancels Reboot of “The Apprentice” After One Episode

NEW YORK ( The Borowitz Report ) —In one of the more embarrassing television fiascos in recent memory , NBC @ @ @ @ @ cancel its reboot of “ The Apprentice ” after only one episode .
The reboot @ @ @ @ @ the flagging career of its star , was widely panned by critics and audience members @ @ @ @ @ the network ’ s decision to air it in the first place .
Even more @ @ @ @ @ the “ Apprentice ” reboot tinkered with the original ’ s winning format , transforming @ @ @ @ @ , nearly omniscient business mogul to a hapless incompetent beset by failure .
While a @ @ @ @ @ that the network would be scheduling “ no further episodes ” of the reboot , @ @ @ @ @ on November 3rd , insiders say .

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)—In one of the more embarrassing television fiascos in recent memory, NBC has announced that it will cancel its reboot of “The Apprentice” after only one episode.
The reboot, which attempted to revive the flagging career of its star, was widely panned by critics and audience members, who seemed baffled by the network’s decision to air it in the first place.
Even more puzzling, the producers of the “Apprentice” reboot tinkered with the original’s winning format, transforming its star from a successful, nearly omniscient business mogul to a hapless incompetent beset by failure.
While a press release from NBC indicated that the network would be scheduling “no further episodes” of the reboot, a permanent cancellation could come on November 3rd, insiders say.


newyorker--2020-10-16--Joe Biden’s Refreshingly Trump-Free Town Hall

When Biden entered the Presidential race , in the spring of 2019 , his pitch to voters was that Democrats needed , first and foremost , to remove Trump from office .
His opponents spent the rest of the year ganging up on him for his refusal to embrace the ambitious social programs that the left wing of the Party has been calling for with increased urgency and confidence .
But though Biden continues to reject many of those ideas—on Thursday night , he called the Green New Deal the “ New Green Deal ” —he has picked up on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Elizabeth Warren helped popularize .
On the campaign trail , Biden used to stop himself from going into details , worrying that he didn ’ t want to “ bore ” voters .
On Thursday , he took the opposite approach , often rattling on at great length about statistics , dollars , and implementation wrinkles .
“ You have ninety-one of the Fortune 500 companies not paying a single solitary penny , ” he said , in response to a question about taxes .
“ You raise the corporate taxes back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fair tax , you ’ d raise one trillion three hundred billion dollars—by that one act !
If you made sure that people making over four hundred grand paid what they did in the Bush Administration—39.6 per cent—you would raise another ” —he checked a pamphlet he ’ d brought with him in the breast pocket of his suit jacket— “ it goes up to , let me get you an exact number here : another ninety-two billion dollars.
” Biden wound up delivering ninety minutes of nationally televised political discourse mercifully free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a rare night of policy detail so late in a Presidential campaign .
That voters had a choice—on another channel they could have been watching the President endorse dangerous conspiracy theories , but they were instead watching the Democratic nominee speaking wistfully about the potential environmental and economic benefits of turning chicken , cow , and horse manure into fertilizer pellets—only heightened the feeling that the event was its own , enclosed space .
That ’ s not to say that , eighteen days from the end of this election season , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come up .
The first question of the night came from a man named Nick Feden , a Democrat from Jenkintown , Pennsylvania , who asked Biden to explain how the governmental response to the pandemic would have been different if he ’ d been President , and how it might be different if he becomes President in January .
“ He missed enormous opportunities , ” Biden said , of Trump .
“ He didn ’ t talk about what needed to be done , because he kept worrying , in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The event ’ s host , ABC ’ s George Stephanopoulos , pressed Biden on how he himself would beat back the virus without causing further pain in an economy that , by Inauguration Day , will have been partially paralyzed for almost a year .
“ You can contain the pandemic by being rational , and not crush the economy , ” Biden said .
“ For example , I laid out a plan for how you can open businesses .
You can open businesses and schools if , in fact , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need , as well as the money to be able to do it.
” Biden didn ’ t shine at every moment—even he acknowledged that his hope of finding “ between four and eight ” Republican senators willing to “ move ” on areas of “ bipartisan consensus ” seemed , at best , like wishful thinking—but most of these moments were informative for the viewer .
When a student named Cedric Humphrey asked what Biden had to say “ to young Black voters who see voting for you as further participation in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them , ” Biden responded with a long answer that touched on criminal-justice reform , wealth attainment , educational opportunities , drug abuse , cybersecurity , redlining , and small-business loans—seemingly addressing the country ’ s general racial situation rather than the young Black man standing before him .
“ Cedric , did you hear what you need ?
” Stephanopoulos asked .
“ Uh , I think so , ” Humphrey replied .
On the subject of court-packing , Biden put the onus on the Republican-controlled Senate .
“ I have not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , before adding that if the Senate rushed to confirm Amy Coney Barrett , the judge that Trump has nominated to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , before Election Day , he might be open to “ alternatives.
” But he seemed to waiver on whether this was a procedural issue or a moral one , first making the case that the Constitution “ implies ” that a Justice shouldn ’ t be confirmed while an election is already underway , before finally landing on the argument that the Senate ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Here you got a lot of people not being able to pay their mortgage , not being able to put food on the table , not being able to keep their business open , not being able to do anything to deal with what ’ s going on to the economy as a consequence of COVID , ” Biden said .
“ And they have no time to deal with that , but they have time to rush this through ?
” Perhaps Biden ’ s best moment of the night came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the recent peace agreements announced between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors as “ a modern-day miracle , ” and asked Biden whether Trump doesn ’ t deserve “ some credit ” for his foreign-policy achievements .
“ A little , but not a whole lot , ” Biden said .
“ We find ourselves in a position where we ’ re more isolated in the world than we ’ ve ever been , our allies are going it alone .
America first has made America alone.
” Suddenly , Biden was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate Foreign Relations Committee .
He mentioned Iran , North Korea , South Korea , Japan , and China .
“ I would say we find ourselves less secure than we ’ ve been , ” he said .
“ I do compliment the President on the deal with Israel recently .
But , you know , you take a look , and we ’ re not very well trusted around the world.
” He spoke of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping , of the situation in Afghanistan , and of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what ’ s happened in everything from Belarus to Poland to Hungary , and the rise of totalitarian regimes in the world , ” Biden said .
“ This President embraces all the thugs in the world .
I mean , he is best friends with the leader of North Korea , sending love letters .
He doesn ’ t take on Putin in any way .
And he ’ s learned the art of the steal , from the art of the deal , by Xi in China .
So I would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no plan , no coherent plan , for foreign policy.
” The cameras caught Hoffman looking a bit stunned .
The challenge for Democrats this year has been to properly contend with the threat Trump represents , without ignoring the issues that the country will still be facing whenever Trump is gone .
On Thursday night , Biden struck that balance as well as he has at any time in this campaign , making a convincing case that a post-Trump future was within reach and projecting an image of a politician already assuming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s singular gift as a politician has been to make himself the subject of every conversation .
On Thursday night , Biden found other things to talk about .
Read More About the 2020 Election • The fall and rise of Kamala Harris .
• When a sitting President threatens to delay a sacrosanct American ritual like an election , you should listen .
• To understand the path Donald Trump has taken to the 2020 election , look at what he has provided the executive class .
• What happens if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The refusal by Mitch McConnell to rein in Trump is looking riskier than ever .
• Sign up for our election newsletter for insight and analysis from our reporters and columnists .

Last week, when the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that, in response to Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis, it intended to make the second planned debate a virtual event, the President, predictably, made a stink. His campaign issued a series of statements denouncing the “unilateral” decision, complete with empty threats and contradictory demands. Joe Biden, wisely, simply moved on. Within hours of the commission’s announcement, the Democratic nominee had struck a deal with ABC to hold a solo town hall in Pennsylvania, on Thursday, the night of the disputed debate. Trump eventually worked out an arrangement for a town hall of his own, in Florida, during the same time slot, on NBC.
When Biden entered the Presidential race, in the spring of 2019, his pitch to voters was that Democrats needed, first and foremost, to remove Trump from office. His opponents spent the rest of the year ganging up on him for his refusal to embrace the ambitious social programs that the left wing of the Party has been calling for with increased urgency and confidence. But though Biden continues to reject many of those ideas—on Thursday night, he called the Green New Deal the “New Green Deal”—he has picked up on the language of “plans” that Elizabeth Warren helped popularize. On the campaign trail, Biden used to stop himself from going into details, worrying that he didn’t want to “bore” voters. On Thursday, he took the opposite approach, often rattling on at great length about statistics, dollars, and implementation wrinkles. “You have ninety-one of the Fortune 500 companies not paying a single solitary penny,” he said, in response to a question about taxes. “You raise the corporate taxes back to twenty-eight per cent, which is a fair tax, you’d raise one trillion three hundred billion dollars—by that one act! If you made sure that people making over four hundred grand paid what they did in the Bush Administration—39.6 per cent—you would raise another”—he checked a pamphlet he’d brought with him in the breast pocket of his suit jacket—“it goes up to, let me get you an exact number here: another ninety-two billion dollars.”
Biden wound up delivering ninety minutes of nationally televised political discourse mercifully free of Trump’s derangements. It was a rare night of policy detail so late in a Presidential campaign. That voters had a choice—on another channel they could have been watching the President endorse dangerous conspiracy theories, but they were instead watching the Democratic nominee speaking wistfully about the potential environmental and economic benefits of turning chicken, cow, and horse manure into fertilizer pellets—only heightened the feeling that the event was its own, enclosed space.
That’s not to say that, eighteen days from the end of this election season, the subject of Trump didn’t come up. The first question of the night came from a man named Nick Feden, a Democrat from Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, who asked Biden to explain how the governmental response to the pandemic would have been different if he’d been President, and how it might be different if he becomes President in January. “He missed enormous opportunities,” Biden said, of Trump. “He didn’t talk about what needed to be done, because he kept worrying, in my view, about the stock market.” The event’s host, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, pressed Biden on how he himself would beat back the virus without causing further pain in an economy that, by Inauguration Day, will have been partially paralyzed for almost a year. “You can contain the pandemic by being rational, and not crush the economy,” Biden said. “For example, I laid out a plan for how you can open businesses. You can open businesses and schools if, in fact, you provide them the guidance that they need, as well as the money to be able to do it.”
Biden didn’t shine at every moment—even he acknowledged that his hope of finding “between four and eight” Republican senators willing to “move” on areas of “bipartisan consensus” seemed, at best, like wishful thinking—but most of these moments were informative for the viewer. When a student named Cedric Humphrey asked what Biden had to say “to young Black voters who see voting for you as further participation in the system that continually fails to protect them,” Biden responded with a long answer that touched on criminal-justice reform, wealth attainment, educational opportunities, drug abuse, cybersecurity, redlining, and small-business loans—seemingly addressing the country’s general racial situation rather than the young Black man standing before him. “Cedric, did you hear what you need?” Stephanopoulos asked. “Uh, I think so,” Humphrey replied.
On the subject of court-packing, Biden put the onus on the Republican-controlled Senate. “I have not been a fan of court-packing,” he said, before adding that if the Senate rushed to confirm Amy Coney Barrett, the judge that Trump has nominated to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, before Election Day, he might be open to “alternatives.” But he seemed to waiver on whether this was a procedural issue or a moral one, first making the case that the Constitution “implies” that a Justice shouldn’t be confirmed while an election is already underway, before finally landing on the argument that the Senate’s priorities are out of whack. “Here you got a lot of people not being able to pay their mortgage, not being able to put food on the table, not being able to keep their business open, not being able to do anything to deal with what’s going on to the economy as a consequence of COVID,” Biden said. “And they have no time to deal with that, but they have time to rush this through?”
Perhaps Biden’s best moment of the night came when a man named Mark Hoffman described the recent peace agreements announced between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors as “a modern-day miracle,” and asked Biden whether Trump doesn’t deserve “some credit” for his foreign-policy achievements. “A little, but not a whole lot,” Biden said. “We find ourselves in a position where we’re more isolated in the world than we’ve ever been, our allies are going it alone. America first has made America alone.” Suddenly, Biden was wearing his old hat as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He mentioned Iran, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and China. “I would say we find ourselves less secure than we’ve been,” he said. “I do compliment the President on the deal with Israel recently. But, you know, you take a look, and we’re not very well trusted around the world.” He spoke of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, of the situation in Afghanistan, and of the relationship with NATO. “You see what’s happened in everything from Belarus to Poland to Hungary, and the rise of totalitarian regimes in the world,” Biden said. “This President embraces all the thugs in the world. I mean, he is best friends with the leader of North Korea, sending love letters. He doesn’t take on Putin in any way. And he’s learned the art of the steal, from the art of the deal, by Xi in China. So I would respectfully suggest, no, there is no plan, no coherent plan, for foreign policy.” The cameras caught Hoffman looking a bit stunned.
The challenge for Democrats this year has been to properly contend with the threat Trump represents, without ignoring the issues that the country will still be facing whenever Trump is gone. On Thursday night, Biden struck that balance as well as he has at any time in this campaign, making a convincing case that a post-Trump future was within reach and projecting an image of a politician already assuming the posture of the Presidency. Trump’s singular gift as a politician has been to make himself the subject of every conversation. On Thursday night, Biden found other things to talk about.
Read More About the 2020 Election


newyorker--2020-10-16--The Presidential Town Halls Were Mister Rogers Versus Nasty Uncle Trump

I do not know who will win the election less than three weeks from now .
But I do know this : if Trump does lose , he ’ s right that his sheer unlikability will be a major contributing factor .
He ’ s a bully and a boor .
He ’ s overbearing , self-absorbed , impossible to shut up , and especially patronizing to women , which , of course , is one of the reasons why those suburban moms he is begging to vote for him are telling pollsters that they are decidedly against him .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ his Thursday-evening town hall , on NBC , offering those who tuned in a repeat of his harsh performance in his first debate against Joe Biden .
This time , Trump ’ s foil was not Biden , because Trump had refused to debate him on the terms set by the Commission on Presidential Debates , but Savannah Guthrie , the NBC News moderator .
Guthrie seemed to infuriate Trump with her quick questions and real-time fact-checking of some of his most egregious whoppers .
The President was loud , and increasingly red @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to respond .
He berated Guthrie and refused to answer questions .
He offered a sarcastic aside about how something she said was “ so cute.
” He lectured her on how “ underlevered ” he was .
None of that seemed likely to win over suburban women .
When Trump debated Biden , a couple weeks ago , Fox News ’ s Chris Wallace failed to stop Trump from going on the offensive , endlessly interrupting Biden and making a mockery of the debate rules .
On Thursday , NBC offered Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a national television audience .
Instead , he chose to double down—even with Biden appearing separately , at his own town hall over on ABC .
Answering questions from a real journalist for the first time since that debate and his subsequent coronavirus hospitalization , Trump was unrepentant about the pandemic , and even absurdly claimed that he had seen a study purporting to show that eighty-five per cent of those who wear masks get COVID-19 anyway .
In the debate , he had refused to denounce white supremacy .
This time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after Guthrie explained that the group falsely claims Democrats are “ a satanic pedophile ring ” engaged in an elaborate sex-trafficking conspiracy .
“ I don ’ t know about QAnon , ” Trump responded , before saying that at least the group is strongly “ against pedophilia , ” which he is , too .
The whole effect was more than a little unhinged , as captured in Trump ’ s most memorable exchange with the NBC anchor .
Why , Guthrie asked the President , had he chosen to tweet out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , suggesting that President Obama had killed the Navy ’ s SEAL Team Six in order to cover up the fake death of Osama bin Laden ?
When Trump responded that he was merely retweeting this insane and completely bogus story , so it was perfectly fine , Guthrie refused to accept his answer .
She said , “ I don ’ t get that .
You ’ re the President !
You ’ re not like someone ’ s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever !
” But , of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and his combative performance was no accident : it was just what the President wanted and , indeed , what he had planned for his encounter with “ fake ” NBC News , an insult that he tweeted hours before taking NBC ’ s stage .
Trump , win or lose , will end the race as he began it , in a blaze of name-calling and narcissism .
It ’ s far too late to rebrand the President , and the campaign , which last year ran an expensive TV ad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ he ’ s no Mr. Nice Guy , ” isn ’ t about to start trying .
Trump might not even be entirely wrong in pursuing his theory of the case .
He did not need a winsome personality to win the Presidency four years ago , a miracle that , for Trump , offers an all-purpose justification for whatever political folly he is currently engaging in .
And the truth is that he does still have a chance of beating Biden , remote as it seems .
On October 15 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton an eighty-five-per-cent chance of winning the election .
On October 15 , 2020 , the same Web site gave Biden an eighty-seven-per-cent chance of winning .
Both nationally and in a few battleground states , the polls are better today for Biden than they were for Clinton , but only marginally so .
Still , somehow , this time feels different—and it is , in some real ways .
Four years later , Trump is older , heavier , and far , far less coherent in the message he ’ s offering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the outsider , and he increasingly seems disconnected from the reality of the country he leads , ignoring the huge death toll from the pandemic and the economic pain and dislocation it has caused as he obsesses over a tangle of conspiracy theories that is vast and largely undecipherable even to those who are paying close attention .
After four years of this , many Americans are exhausted by it all , and particularly by the President ’ s relentless , polarizing , inescapable presence in their lives .
They could use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Thursday night ’ s town hall , Guthrie offered Trump a final word , asking him why voters should give him a second chance in office and inviting him to reflect on “ how you might improve.
” But self-criticism is hardly the President ’ s style , as Guthrie—and all of us—know so well by now .
“ I ’ ve done a great job , ” Trump responded .
“ Next year is going to be better than ever before.
” For days before the duelling town halls , Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been furious with the network for agreeing to host Trump at the same time that Biden was appearing on ABC .
But that criticism failed to account for Trump himself : with his big mouth and inevitable bluster , he remains , as always , his own worst enemy .
Minutes into the two town halls , the Trump campaign aide Mercedes Schlapp tweeted that Biden sounded like the late children ’ s-television host Mister Rogers , of zippered-cardigan fame .
She clearly meant it as an insult .
But who doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t that sort of what America needs after four years of binge-watching Trump , the political equivalent of World Wrestling Entertainment ?
Pete Buttigieg , who ran against Biden in the Democratic primaries , suggested as much in his own tweet : “ Just imagine turning on the TV , seeing your president , and feeling your blood pressure go down instead of up.
” In that sense , at least , the second debate may not have taken place with the two candidates standing on a stage next to each other , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Joe Biden , whichever channel you watched .
Read More About the 2020 Election • The fall and rise of Kamala Harris .
• When a sitting President threatens to delay a sacrosanct American ritual like an election , you should listen .
• To understand the path Donald Trump has taken to the 2020 election , look at what he has provided the executive class .
• What happens if Trump fights the election results ?
• The refusal by Mitch McConnell to rein in Trump is looking riskier than ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ newsletter for insight and analysis from our reporters and columnists .

Even Donald Trump has moments of self-awareness. During an interview last week with Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing talk-radio host whom he honored with the Medal of Freedom earlier this year, the President briefly abandoned his puffery to admit that he might be defeated—and that his own nastiness would be the reason why. “Maybe I’ll lose,” he told Limbaugh, “because they’ll say I’m not a nice person.” He added, “I think I am a nice person,” before pivoting back to his trademark name-calling. A few days later, the political liability of his brutish persona was clearly on Trump’s mind again. “Can I ask you to do me a favor?” he begged “suburban women” at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Monday. “Will you please like me, please, please?”
I do not know who will win the election less than three weeks from now. But I do know this: if Trump does lose, he’s right that his sheer unlikability will be a major contributing factor. He’s a bully and a boor. He’s overbearing, self-absorbed, impossible to shut up, and especially patronizing to women, which, of course, is one of the reasons why those suburban moms he is begging to vote for him are telling pollsters that they are decidedly against him.
Trump was certainly no nice guy in his Thursday-evening town hall, on NBC, offering those who tuned in a repeat of his harsh performance in his first debate against Joe Biden. This time, Trump’s foil was not Biden, because Trump had refused to debate him on the terms set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, but Savannah Guthrie, the NBC News moderator. Guthrie seemed to infuriate Trump with her quick questions and real-time fact-checking of some of his most egregious whoppers. The President was loud, and increasingly red in the face, as he struggled to respond. He berated Guthrie and refused to answer questions. He offered a sarcastic aside about how something she said was “so cute.” He lectured her on how “underlevered” he was. None of that seemed likely to win over suburban women.
When Trump debated Biden, a couple weeks ago, Fox News’s Chris Wallace failed to stop Trump from going on the offensive, endlessly interrupting Biden and making a mockery of the debate rules. On Thursday, NBC offered Trump a chance to recoup in front of a national television audience. Instead, he chose to double down—even with Biden appearing separately, at his own town hall over on ABC. Answering questions from a real journalist for the first time since that debate and his subsequent coronavirus hospitalization, Trump was unrepentant about the pandemic, and even absurdly claimed that he had seen a study purporting to show that eighty-five per cent of those who wear masks get COVID-19 anyway. In the debate, he had refused to denounce white supremacy. This time, he refused to denounce QAnon, even after Guthrie explained that the group falsely claims Democrats are “a satanic pedophile ring” engaged in an elaborate sex-trafficking conspiracy. “I don’t know about QAnon,” Trump responded, before saying that at least the group is strongly “against pedophilia,” which he is, too. The whole effect was more than a little unhinged, as captured in Trump’s most memorable exchange with the NBC anchor.
Why, Guthrie asked the President, had he chosen to tweet out a wild conspiracy theory earlier this week, suggesting that President Obama had killed the Navy’s SEAL Team Six in order to cover up the fake death of Osama bin Laden? When Trump responded that he was merely retweeting this insane and completely bogus story, so it was perfectly fine, Guthrie refused to accept his answer. She said, “I don’t get that. You’re the President! You’re not like someone’s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever!”
But, of course, that is exactly what Trump is, and his combative performance was no accident: it was just what the President wanted and, indeed, what he had planned for his encounter with “fake” NBC News, an insult that he tweeted hours before taking NBC’s stage. Trump, win or lose, will end the race as he began it, in a blaze of name-calling and narcissism. It’s far too late to rebrand the President, and the campaign, which last year ran an expensive TV ad during the World Series literally bragging that “he’s no Mr. Nice Guy,” isn’t about to start trying.
And so Trump has been out there on the campaign trail this week, the coronavirus be damned, raging at Hillary Clinton and the forthcoming “rigged” election. He has been promising that Mexico is paying for his gigantic, beautiful border wall, and talking about the Russiagate “hoax” and Hunter Biden’s e-mails. Four years ago, Clinton was a “monster”; today, that is what Trump calls Kamala Harris, the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate.
Trump might not even be entirely wrong in pursuing his theory of the case. He did not need a winsome personality to win the Presidency four years ago, a miracle that, for Trump, offers an all-purpose justification for whatever political folly he is currently engaging in. And the truth is that he does still have a chance of beating Biden, remote as it seems. On October 15, 2016, the Web site FiveThirtyEight gave Clinton an eighty-five-per-cent chance of winning the election. On October 15, 2020, the same Web site gave Biden an eighty-seven-per-cent chance of winning. Both nationally and in a few battleground states, the polls are better today for Biden than they were for Clinton, but only marginally so.
Still, somehow, this time feels different—and it is, in some real ways. Four years later, Trump is older, heavier, and far, far less coherent in the message he’s offering. He’s the incumbent, not the outsider, and he increasingly seems disconnected from the reality of the country he leads, ignoring the huge death toll from the pandemic and the economic pain and dislocation it has caused as he obsesses over a tangle of conspiracy theories that is vast and largely undecipherable even to those who are paying close attention. After four years of this, many Americans are exhausted by it all, and particularly by the President’s relentless, polarizing, inescapable presence in their lives. They could use a little nice.
At the end of Thursday night’s town hall, Guthrie offered Trump a final word, asking him why voters should give him a second chance in office and inviting him to reflect on “how you might improve.” But self-criticism is hardly the President’s style, as Guthrie—and all of us—know so well by now. “I’ve done a great job,” Trump responded. “Next year is going to be better than ever before.”
When Trump’s hour on NBC was finally over, I switched the television to ABC, where there were still thirty minutes left in Biden’s town hall. It was all dulcet tones and policy wonkery. After listening to Trump, the Biden show sounded soothing, and even a bit boring. Turning the channel to the former Vice-President exchanging civilized words with George Stephanopoulos and an auditorium full of earnest Pennsylvanians was like stumbling into a meditation room after being trapped at a barroom brawl. If Trump was Guthrie’s crazy uncle, Biden was his sensible, long-winded brother.
For days before the duelling town halls, Democrats and even some journalists at NBC had been furious with the network for agreeing to host Trump at the same time that Biden was appearing on ABC. But that criticism failed to account for Trump himself: with his big mouth and inevitable bluster, he remains, as always, his own worst enemy. Minutes into the two town halls, the Trump campaign aide Mercedes Schlapp tweeted that Biden sounded like the late children’s-television host Mister Rogers, of zippered-cardigan fame. She clearly meant it as an insult. But who doesn’t like Mister Rogers? Isn’t that sort of what America needs after four years of binge-watching Trump, the political equivalent of World Wrestling Entertainment?
Pete Buttigieg, who ran against Biden in the Democratic primaries, suggested as much in his own tweet: “Just imagine turning on the TV, seeing your president, and feeling your blood pressure go down instead of up.” In that sense, at least, the second debate may not have taken place with the two candidates standing on a stage next to each other, but it nonetheless had a clear winner in Joe Biden, whichever channel you watched.
Read More About the 2020 Election


newyorker--2020-10-15--The Growing Threat of American Political Violence

On August 15 , 2012 , Floyd Lee Corkins II walked into the Washington , D.C. , office of the Family Research Council with fifteen Chick-fil-A sandwiches , fifty rounds of ammunition , and a semi-automatic pistol .
Corkins ’ s goal was to shoot as many employees of the conservative Christian organization as possible and then smear the sandwiches on their faces as they died .
Corkins , a twenty-eight-year-old man from suburban Virginia who had volunteered at a local L.G.B.T.Q .
community center , intended the murders to be a political statement .
He supported gay marriage ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the leaders of the Family Research Council opposed it—the organization further maintains that homosexuality is “ harmful to the persons who engage in it ” and “ to society at large.
” When Corkins arrived at the office , he wounded an unarmed building manager , who managed to wrestle him to the ground and disarm him , before anyone else was hurt .
Corkins had planned to go to another conservative group later that day and carry out a second mass killing .
The F.B.I .
case agent assigned to the shooting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specialist in investigating violent extremist groups , from the Aryan Nations to Al Qaeda .
In his view , Corkins ’ s act fit the legal definition of domestic terrorism as established by Congress in the Patriot Act , following the 9/11 attacks : a violent crime intended to “ intimidate or coerce a civilian population ” or to “ influence the policy of a government.
” But the new federal law did not specifically designate domestic terrorism a federal crime , and included no penalty .
So Corkins became the first person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ act of terrorism under a District of Columbia law that had also been passed in response to 9/11 .
He expressed remorse , pleaded guilty , and was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison .
O ’ Connor , who was the vice-president of the F.B.I .
Agents Association at the time , began unsuccessfully lobbying members of Congress to enact a law that would designate acts of domestic terrorism a federal crime .
To this day , he supports the idea .
O ’ Connor contends that such a measure would give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ combat the intentional use of violence to achieve political goals .
He also believes that it would further enshrine and encourage peaceful , First Amendment-protected political activity .
“ We should effect change by protests—nonviolent protests—and by voting , ” O ’ Connor told me .
“ Those are the two ways.
” Since the attacks in Charlottesville , Pittsburgh , El Paso , and other cities , the debate over how to respond to domestic terrorism has intensified .
But both Democrats and Republicans in Congress , along with the American Civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal law-enforcement officials the enormous political power that comes with being able to declare an individual a “ terrorist.
” They cite the Bureau ’ s history of illegally surveilling , harassing , and profiling political , racial , and religious groups , from Black civil-rights organizations to the John Birch Society to Muslim Americans .
Opponents also point out that some protest groups on the left and the right , such as Greenpeace and organizations that oppose abortion , intentionally break the law during demonstrations .
Critics say that making domestic terrorism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recipe for suppressing dissent .
O ’ Connor argues that failing to confront the rising number of perpetrators of political violence carries a different set of risks .
He says that the coronavirus pandemic , mass layoffs , and apocalyptic campaign rhetoric have created the greatest potential for political violence in the United States that he has seen in twenty-three years of investigating extremism .
Mary McCord , a former federal prosecutor who also supports a new domestic-terrorism measure , called the current election season “ hugely dangerous , ” adding , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we should throw up our hands and say we can ’ t trust law enforcement.
” Last week , federal and state officials charged thirteen men with plotting to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer , the Governor of Michigan , and accused them of surveilling her vacation home , conducting tactical training , and discussing an attack on the state capitol .
On Tuesday , reports emerged that the group also considered kidnapping Virginia ’ s Governor , Ralph Northam .
O ’ Connor , who retired from the Bureau last year , said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scheme shocked and worried him .
“ Usually , when you have an event that involves extremist ideology , it ’ s one or two people , ” he said .
“ They were going to rallies and asking others to join.
” Earlier this year , Christopher Wray , the director of the F.B.I , announced that the Bureau had more than a thousand investigations into violent extremism under way in all fifty states .
In testimony to Congress in September , he warned that the perception of government overreach , racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extremism—D.V.E.
, in Bureau parlance— “ remain constant.
” He noted , “ More deaths were caused by D.V.E.s than international terrorists in recent years .
In fact , 2019 was the deadliest year for domestic extremist violence since the Oklahoma City bombing , in 1995.
” ( Wray was referring to an attack on a federal building that killed a hundred and sixty-eight people , one of the deadliest acts of domestic terrorism in American history . )
A quarter century later , O ’ Connor and other experts contend that rampant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the radicalization process.
” O ’ Connor , who said he strives to be nonpartisan , accused both political parties of inaction : “ One side wants the white supremacists to be prosecuted , and the other side wants Antifa to be prosecuted .
It should not matter what the person looks like when they commit an act that looks like domestic terrorism.
” He added that individuals on either side of the ideological spectrum have engaged in political violence , but that , statistically , right-wing extremist attacks have been far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more property damage , but , if you look at the death rate , it ’ s not even close , ” he said .
He described the Michigan plot as textbook domestic terrorism .
“ It ’ s extremist violence based on anti-government political views .
It ’ s political violence , ” he said .
“ Call it what it is.
” Matthew Feldman , a professor at the University of York who studies right-wing extremism , said that November 3rd has all the hallmarks of being a potential “ trigger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is growing on both sides , but he , too , believes that the far right represents a more lethal threat .
“ At the fringes on the right , a narrative is building that the left is stealing the election , ” he said , warning that extremists may decide that “ their way of life ” will disappear “ if they don ’ t take action.
” But , he added , would-be attackers often await a signal from leaders that violence is acceptable .
“ Scholars have long talked about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the top , ” Feldman told me .
“ One of the surest signs of these trigger events is an increasingly apocalyptic tone .
And , of course , the biggest culprit has been Donald Trump.
” As O ’ Connor put it , “ In my thirty-five years in law enforcement , I ’ ve not seen the country as divided as it is today .
It ’ s amazing times .
It ’ s the perfect storm.
” This week , a federal law-enforcement official acknowledged the danger and told me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” individuals planning or engaging in violence .
“ We ’ ll take appropriate action , ” he said .
The greatest responsibility , though , lies with the President and other elected leaders .
Exhibiting restraint in the weeks ahead will produce more political benefit for themselves , and for the public , than further talk of Armageddon .
Read More About the 2020 Election • The fall and rise of Kamala Harris .
• When a sitting President threatens to delay a sacrosanct American ritual like an election , you should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump has taken to the 2020 election , look at what he has provided the executive class .
• What happens if Trump fights the election results ?
• The refusal by Mitch McConnell to rein in Trump is looking riskier than ever .
• Sign up for our election newsletter for insight and analysis from our reporters and columnists .

On August 15, 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins II walked into the Washington, D.C., office of the Family Research Council with fifteen Chick-fil-A sandwiches, fifty rounds of ammunition, and a semi-automatic pistol. Corkins’s goal was to shoot as many employees of the conservative Christian organization as possible and then smear the sandwiches on their faces as they died. Corkins, a twenty-eight-year-old man from suburban Virginia who had volunteered at a local L.G.B.T.Q. community center, intended the murders to be a political statement. He supported gay marriage; the owners of the restaurant chain and the leaders of the Family Research Council opposed it—the organization further maintains that homosexuality is “harmful to the persons who engage in it” and “to society at large.” When Corkins arrived at the office, he wounded an unarmed building manager, who managed to wrestle him to the ground and disarm him, before anyone else was hurt. Corkins had planned to go to another conservative group later that day and carry out a second mass killing.
The F.B.I. case agent assigned to the shooting was Tom O’Connor, a specialist in investigating violent extremist groups, from the Aryan Nations to Al Qaeda. In his view, Corkins’s act fit the legal definition of domestic terrorism as established by Congress in the Patriot Act, following the 9/11 attacks: a violent crime intended to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population” or to “influence the policy of a government.” But the new federal law did not specifically designate domestic terrorism a federal crime, and included no penalty. So Corkins became the first person to be charged with committing an armed act of terrorism under a District of Columbia law that had also been passed in response to 9/11. He expressed remorse, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison.
O’Connor, who was the vice-president of the F.B.I. Agents Association at the time, began unsuccessfully lobbying members of Congress to enact a law that would designate acts of domestic terrorism a federal crime. To this day, he supports the idea. O’Connor contends that such a measure would give law-enforcement officials additional tools and resources to combat the intentional use of violence to achieve political goals. He also believes that it would further enshrine and encourage peaceful, First Amendment-protected political activity. “We should effect change by protests—nonviolent protests—and by voting,” O’Connor told me. “Those are the two ways.”
Since the attacks in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, El Paso, and other cities, the debate over how to respond to domestic terrorism has intensified. But both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, remain leery of giving federal law-enforcement officials the enormous political power that comes with being able to declare an individual a “terrorist.” They cite the Bureau’s history of illegally surveilling, harassing, and profiling political, racial, and religious groups, from Black civil-rights organizations to the John Birch Society to Muslim Americans. Opponents also point out that some protest groups on the left and the right, such as Greenpeace and organizations that oppose abortion, intentionally break the law during demonstrations. Critics say that making domestic terrorism a federal crime is both unnecessary and a recipe for suppressing dissent.
O’Connor argues that failing to confront the rising number of perpetrators of political violence carries a different set of risks. He says that the coronavirus pandemic, mass layoffs, and apocalyptic campaign rhetoric have created the greatest potential for political violence in the United States that he has seen in twenty-three years of investigating extremism. Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor who also supports a new domestic-terrorism measure, called the current election season “hugely dangerous,” adding, “I just don’t think we should throw up our hands and say we can’t trust law enforcement.”
Last week, federal and state officials charged thirteen men with plotting to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, and accused them of surveilling her vacation home, conducting tactical training, and discussing an attack on the state capitol. On Tuesday, reports emerged that the group also considered kidnapping Virginia’s Governor, Ralph Northam. O’Connor, who retired from the Bureau last year, said that the size and the scope of the scheme shocked and worried him. “Usually, when you have an event that involves extremist ideology, it’s one or two people,” he said. “They were going to rallies and asking others to join.”
Earlier this year, Christopher Wray, the director of the F.B.I, announced that the Bureau had more than a thousand investigations into violent extremism under way in all fifty states. In testimony to Congress in September, he warned that the perception of government overreach, racism, and other dynamics fuelling domestic violent extremism—D.V.E., in Bureau parlance—“remain constant.” He noted, “More deaths were caused by D.V.E.s than international terrorists in recent years. In fact, 2019 was the deadliest year for domestic extremist violence since the Oklahoma City bombing, in 1995.” (Wray was referring to an attack on a federal building that killed a hundred and sixty-eight people, one of the deadliest acts of domestic terrorism in American history.)
A quarter century later, O’Connor and other experts contend that rampant online conspiracy theories are “adding gasoline to the radicalization process.” O’Connor, who said he strives to be nonpartisan, accused both political parties of inaction: “One side wants the white supremacists to be prosecuted, and the other side wants Antifa to be prosecuted. It should not matter what the person looks like when they commit an act that looks like domestic terrorism.” He added that individuals on either side of the ideological spectrum have engaged in political violence, but that, statistically, right-wing extremist attacks have been far more lethal. “Leftists have caused more property damage, but, if you look at the death rate, it’s not even close,” he said. He described the Michigan plot as textbook domestic terrorism. “It’s extremist violence based on anti-government political views. It’s political violence,” he said. “Call it what it is.”
Matthew Feldman, a professor at the University of York who studies right-wing extremism, said that November 3rd has all the hallmarks of being a potential “trigger moment.” He told me that polarization is growing on both sides, but he, too, believes that the far right represents a more lethal threat. “At the fringes on the right, a narrative is building that the left is stealing the election,” he said, warning that extremists may decide that “their way of life” will disappear “if they don’t take action.” But, he added, would-be attackers often await a signal from leaders that violence is acceptable. “Scholars have long talked about a kind of license that comes from the top,” Feldman told me. “One of the surest signs of these trigger events is an increasingly apocalyptic tone. And, of course, the biggest culprit has been Donald Trump.”
As O’Connor put it, “In my thirty-five years in law enforcement, I’ve not seen the country as divided as it is today. It’s amazing times. It’s the perfect storm.” This week, a federal law-enforcement official acknowledged the danger and told me that authorities were “looking out for” individuals planning or engaging in violence. “We’ll take appropriate action,” he said. The greatest responsibility, though, lies with the President and other elected leaders. Exhibiting restraint in the weeks ahead will produce more political benefit for themselves, and for the public, than further talk of Armageddon.
Read More About the 2020 Election


newyorker--2020-10-17--Excerpts from Poseidon’s Boat Blog

Excerpts from Poseidon’s Boat Blog

FOR EONS , MEN HAVE TRAVERSED MY ROILING WATERS IN THEIR PUNY VESSELS .
I ’ m sorry—the caps lock was on .
For eons , men have traversed my roiling waters in their puny vessels .
Although I ’ m both feared and revered as the Lord of the Sea ( and also of earthquakes , storms , and , of course , horses ) , no one ever stops to ask , “ Hmm , I wonder what Poseidon has to say about all these little boats attempting to cross His mighty domain ?
” Well , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expressed here , in Poseidon ’ s Waterlogged Boat Blog , which I ( Poseidon ) will update regularly .
Thanks for reading , but don ’ t correct my grammar , lest I strike ye down in a whirling rage with briny bilge and orca innards !
This nomenclature would be like me , Poseidon , calling myself a “ powerman.
” True power is having a 2006 Josh Lucas film named after you .
Rating : 🔱 [ one out of five tridents ] The perfect boat .
.
.
for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( My son Triton still lives at home . )
I ’ m sorry—I promised myself that I wouldn ’ t let the boat blog become a place where I just vent about Triton .
This is the last time I ’ ll mention him .
From here on out , it ’ s strictly boats .
These crafts are skulking cowards , not unlike my son Triton .
Always slinking about in Davy Jones ’ s Locker ( my basement ) .
I let him live rent-free in my golden underwater palace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ocean ’ s depths , listening to self-care audiobooks .
I don ’ t care what anyone says— “ the doldrums ” is not a medical condition .
Saw this snappy vehicle sailing through the waters just the other day .
Thought to myself , What brung ye here , snappy thing ?
Decided that I wanted to keep it for myself , so I tossed its wailing captain into a watery grave , where the harpies got him .
For ten long years , I , the Dread Emperor , made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from his family , all because he wouldn ’ t let my large son Polyphemus eat him .
Polyphemus , now there ’ s a son !
So large , so hungry , with his own cave and everything .
Anyway , I find yachts a bit showy .
I burned my trident-gripping hand on one of these—not on the boat itself , but on the steam .
No one told me about the hot steam !
These are the things you don ’ t learn when you spend your childhood among a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ son-hungry father .
I would have LOVED to have cushy accommodations in a golden underwater palace and a famous-writer father with a well-trafficked boat blog on the verge of corporate sponsorship .
Flat-bottomed , plankton-encrusted , and self-propelled .
One of those adjectives does not describe my son Triton .
Can you guess which one ?
For a long time , I thought that this was a garish whale .
I was , like , O.K.
, that whale is floating atop the brine ?
Which I did not sanction ?
Then I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whale , but a large boat featuring a massive water slide .
Lo , I intend to lop off that water slide via a brutal nor ’ easter wind .
It ’ ll slice through the air with the precision of a Joe ’ s Crab Shack sous-chef , striking down the passengers , mid-revelry .
I dare any of my readers to conjure a crueler punishment for hubristic passengers of the god-defying , water-slided mega-cruise !
FOR TEN PER CENT OFF AT JOE ’ S CRAB SHACK , USE PROMO CODE WHYTRITON @

FOR EONS, MEN HAVE TRAVERSED MY ROILING WATERS IN THEIR PUNY VESSELS. I’m sorry—the caps lock was on.
For eons, men have traversed my roiling waters in their puny vessels. Although I’m both feared and revered as the Lord of the Sea (and also of earthquakes, storms, and, of course, horses), no one ever stops to ask, “Hmm, I wonder what Poseidon has to say about all these little boats attempting to cross His mighty domain?”
Well, I’ve got some opinions—opinions to be expressed here, in Poseidon’s Waterlogged Boat Blog, which I (Poseidon) will update regularly. Thanks for reading, but don’t correct my grammar, lest I strike ye down in a whirling rage with briny bilge and orca innards!
Speedboat
This nomenclature would be like me, Poseidon, calling myself a “powerman.” True power is having a 2006 Josh Lucas film named after you.
Rating: 🔱 [one out of five tridents]
Jet Ski
The perfect boat . . . for gliding away from your responsibilities, Triton. (My son Triton still lives at home.) I’m sorry—I promised myself that I wouldn’t let the boat blog become a place where I just vent about Triton. This is the last time I’ll mention him. From here on out, it’s strictly boats.
Rating: 🔱 🔱
Submarine
These crafts are skulking cowards, not unlike my son Triton. Always slinking about in Davy Jones’s Locker (my basement). I let him live rent-free in my golden underwater palace, and he drags his heels across the ocean’s depths, listening to self-care audiobooks. I don’t care what anyone says—“the doldrums” is not a medical condition.
Rating: 🔱
Sea-Doo 2020 Personal Watercraft
Saw this snappy vehicle sailing through the waters just the other day. Thought to myself, What brung ye here, snappy thing? Decided that I wanted to keep it for myself, so I tossed its wailing captain into a watery grave, where the harpies got him.
Rating: 🔱 🔱 🔱 🔱
Yacht
For ten long years, I, the Dread Emperor, made Odysseus’ life hell and kept him from his family, all because he wouldn’t let my large son Polyphemus eat him. Polyphemus, now there’s a son! So large, so hungry, with his own cave and everything. Anyway, I find yachts a bit showy.
Rating: 🔱 🔱
Steamboat
I burned my trident-gripping hand on one of these—not on the boat itself, but on the steam. No one told me about the hot steam! These are the things you don’t learn when you spend your childhood among a flock of lambs, hidden from your son-hungry father. I would have LOVED to have cushy accommodations in a golden underwater palace and a famous-writer father with a well-trafficked boat blog on the verge of corporate sponsorship.
Rating: 🔱
Barge
Flat-bottomed, plankton-encrusted, and self-propelled. One of those adjectives does not describe my son Triton. Can you guess which one?
Rating: 🔱 🔱 🔱
Carnival Ocean Liner
For a long time, I thought that this was a garish whale. I was, like, O.K., that whale is floating atop the brine? Which I did not sanction? Then I realized that it wasn’t a whale, but a large boat featuring a massive water slide. Lo, I intend to lop off that water slide via a brutal nor’easter wind. It’ll slice through the air with the precision of a Joe’s Crab Shack sous-chef, striking down the passengers, mid-revelry. I dare any of my readers to conjure a crueler punishment for hubristic passengers of the god-defying, water-slided mega-cruise! FOR TEN PER CENT OFF AT JOE’S CRAB SHACK, USE PROMO CODE WHYTRITON.
Rating: 🔱 🔱 🔱 🔱
Lifeboat
Adorable.
Rating: 🔱 🔱 🔱 🔱 🔱