The Hundredth Gale: Farewell To the Twisted Oompa-Loompa
Finally, the sick felon, racist, sexual predator and garbage man lurches and teeters to the finish line. "Swollen, orange and sweaty," ever more vicious and unmoored, he raves to half-empty arenas: Democrats are "demonic," reporters should be shot, hate is a love fest, fluoride is evil, Pelosi is a bitch, the future will be "nasty." America is so done with it. Charlie Pierce: "Dear God, can't this shit just be over already?" Yes, soon. Please vote.
Trump's long plunge into the gutter, his "psychological decompensation," has quickened since his "fascist-themed freakshow" at Madison Square Garden, with its cabal of "master-race misfits": Techno authoritarian Elmo Musk, warning "America can't afford a 'C-Word' in the White House" to earn his gig as Czar of Cost-Cutting; Tucker Carlson, screeching to newly free Steve Bannon (the best people) that abortion is causing hurricanes 'cause, "You can't participate in human sacrifice without consequences"; racist "jackwad" Tony Hinchcliffe, who's "joked" the "best part of having a retarded child is not having to buy it Christmas gifts"; dead-eyed Stephen Goebbels, raging against those "on the wrong side of not being American enough." Sidney Blumenthal noted the sordid spectacle highlighted "the bigotry, cruelty, stupidity, and vulgarity that are Trumpism." It also echoed "early Hitler" with its "bellowing obscenities, racist sneers and violent threats," more chaotic Munich beer hall Brownshirts than the disciplined storm troopers of Nazi rallies that Thomas Mann dubbed "an immense wave of eccentric barbarism."
While minion Steven Cheung insists Trump is "the greatest orator in political history" and we're all too "stupid" to recognize his "achievements," the "not-normal" rhetoric and bizarre unraveling - yes this is a real photo - have prompted questions from even supporters: "It is hard to overstate how terrible morale is inside of this campaign." It's also sparked creativity, with satirical statues popping up in Philly, Boston, Phoenix, DC, Detroit, Madison, Portland OR. The guys who put the faux bronze turd on Pelosi's desk to honor Jan. 6 heroes also made a huge hand gripping a Charlottesville-style Tiki torch to fete "Trump and the very fine people he boldly stood to defend." And they erected a Trump statue "In Honor of a Lifetime of Sexual Assault," one hand obscenely curled, quoting him: "I just start kissing them. When you’re a star, they let you do it." (Sadly, it was quickly beheaded). As part of a "Crooked and Obscene" tour around swing states, others suspended a massive, naked, 6,000-pound Trump from a crane. Madison residents said it's "bringing people together - We all came together to point and laugh."
Still, the orange ghoul keeps trudging to bedraggled, half-filled "rallies." In Georgia, he was introduced by moronic Herschel Walker, now in glasses to look smarter, which must be why, right after Trump puts RFK Jr.'s brain worm in charge of health care, he's gonna put Walker in charge of a new wrap-around nuclear missile shield, "Trump Announces Dumbest Person You Know Will Lead Missile Defense." Walker: "It is time to vote for my friend and your friend Donald Trump Jr...Donald Trump...Jonald J. Trump." Mindless cheers all around. Trump babbles: "Where the hell is Biden? What in hell happened to that guy?...If I don't win this thing after all this talk I'm in trouble - will you please just go and vote?...We stand on the verge of the four greatest years in American history...It’s going to be so much fun. It’ll be nasty a little bit at times, but it’s going to be something...When I say insane asylums and Doctor Hannibal Lecter, does anybody know? They go crazy. They say, oh, he brings up these names. Well, that’s genius...Silence of the Lambs. Who the hell else would even remember that? I have a great memory." Still, many leave early.
In his final, slurring, inglorious days, he's mused that in 2020 he "should have just stayed in office, because we did so well." He pantomimed performing oral sex on a microphone while ranting at it. He called Liz Cheney "a very dumb individual" he envisioned "standing with nine barrels shooting at her." He called Harris "a dumb person," suggesting, "Put Mike Tyson in the ring with Kamala." He threatened to "hit back" at Michelle Obama, because "she said bad about me." Mid-mumble, he suddenly realized, "I won't be doing this anymore...After today, this is, I'm just thinking..." Mid-somnolent fugue state, he blurted, "I'm a pretty smart guy, I have genetic...Fast race horses produce fast race horses. But I'm a very...I'm smart. I'm like...I tell this story. Thank you." A whistleblower "released the information on the 18, on the 800,000 cobs plus." Nancy Pelosi is "a bad person, she's an evil sick crazy b...", mouthes the word "bitch." The crowd brays at his awesome strategy with women voters repulsed by him. J.D. Vance follows in classy lock-step. "Tomorrow we're gonna take out the trash," he said in his final speech, "and its name is Kamala Harris."
Meanwhile, officials are better prepped this time around - Pennsylvania has warned "anyone who thinks it'll be fun to interfere in Tuesday's elections, fuck around and find out - you can have your fun in a jail cell" - and pundits, former Trumpers and a spineless media are finally, finally, what were they waiting for reminding America the real madman is far viler behind closed doors than any of us knew. For the 7,846th time, the bleak message goes out: "When someone tells you who they are, believe them." Tragically, rage at America's funding of and complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza continues to fester; the results in swing states like Michigan, with large Muslim populations, remain uncertain. On that painful score, John Oliver offers a thoughtful, impassioned plea to vote blue, and then keep fighting. Overall, notes a broad consensus, America wants the election, the MAGA horrors, the hell of Trump to be over "to return to a normal we almost can no longer imagine." Some cite Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 visual tone poem Koyaanisqatsi, scored by Philip Glass. In Hopi, it means "life in turmoil, life out of balance, a state that calls for another way of living."
In glad anticipation, activist and filmmaker Michael Moore wrote a "Dear John" letter to Donald John. "How are you? Are you doing okay? You don’t seem to be doing okay," he begins. After suggesting Trump "lay off the the amphetamines," he notes, "It seems like you are getting ready to try to steal another election," a move he calls "pathetic." "Donald, are you the biggest loser?" he asks, citing how many millions of votes he's lost every election by: "They weren’t illegal, Donald. They weren’t 'made up' votes. That’s how much people don’t like you." After listing everyone he maligns - lesbians, immigrants, Blacks, Swifties, the Deep State, his own peeps - and noting they don't like him either, he declares, "I'm showing you the door, Donald. I don't know if you can figure out how to open it, but I promise you: There are tens upon tens upon tens of millions of us who will open it for you." In the same spirit, author and analyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés urges Americans to "please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times," or losing hope. “It does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace," she writes, "but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale." Vote.
'This Is Climate Change': Devastating Flooding Kills More Than 70 in Spain
Spain's deadliest flooding in 30 years killed at least 72 people as torrential rain slammed the eastern region of Valencia on Tuesday, with some towns recording a year's worth of rain in a single day.
The flooding sent churning muddy water down narrow streets, tossing cars, downing trees, bulldozing bridges and buildings, and trapping people in rising flood waters.
"The neighborhood is destroyed, all the cars are on top of each other, it's literally smashed up," Christian Viena, who owns a bar in Valencia's Barrio de la Torre, toldThe Associated Press. "Everything is a total wreck, everything is ready to be thrown away. The mud is almost 30 centimeters (11 inches) deep."
As of Wednesday morning, officials reported 70 deaths in Valencia and two in the bordering region of Castilla La Mancha. However, the death toll could rise as search and rescue operations continue amid difficult conditions, such as power outages and blocked roadways. Many people remain missing with their fates uncertain.
This includes residents of Utiel in Valencia, whose mayor, Ricardo Gabaldón, told Spanish broadcaster RTVE that Tuesday was the "worst day of my life."
"We were trapped like rats," Gabaldón said. "Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to 3 meters (9.8 feet)."
One person who was rescued was Denis Hlavaty, who spent the night perched on the edge of the roof of a gas station where he works.
"It's a river that came through," Hlavaty told Reuters, adding, "The doors were torn away and I spent the night there, surrounded by water that was 2 metres (6.5-feet) deep."
"The fossil fuel industry increases the climate emergency, destroys the balance of critical ecosystems, and puts people's lives in danger."
The storm also canceled high-speed rail travel between Valencia and Madrid and Barcelona, and derailed one high-speed train near Malaga, though no one was injured.
While the rains had tapered off in Valencia by Wednesday morning, the rest of the country is not out of danger, as the storm is projected to move northeast.
"We mustn't let our guard down because the weather front is still wreaking havoc and we can't say that this devastating episode is over," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
told the nation on television Wednesday.
Even if the death toll does not rise, Tuesday's floods are already the deadliest in Spain since 1996, when a flood near the Pyrenees killed 87. They are also the deadliest in Europe since floods in 2021 that killed at least 185.
In the immediate term, Tuesday's deluge was caused by a phenomenon called a gota frÃa, or "cold drop," a storm formed as cold air moves over the warm Mediterranean. In Spain, these kinds of storms are also commonly referred to with the acronym DANA—for Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos, or isolated high-level depression.
However, scientists observe that the climate crisis is making rainstorms like this one more extreme, as warmer air can hold more moisture to dump when conditions are right. For Europe specifically, the warming of the Mediterranean causes more water to evaporate from its surface, super-charging rainstorms.
"Events of this type, which used to occur many decades apart, are now becoming more frequent and their destructive capacity is greater," Ernesto Rodriguez Camino, senior state meteorologist and a member of the Spanish Meteorological Association, toldReuters.
The Spanish flooding comes a little more than a month after record rainfall swamped Central Europe and Eastern Europe, in an event that scientists concluded was made approximately twice as likely and 7% more severe by the climate crisis fueled primarily by the burning of fossil fuels.
"When we talk about climate change and climate emergency, it's often perceived as an abstract concept far from our daily reality," Eva Saldaña, the executive director of Greenpeace Spain, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this is climate change: the intensification of extreme weather phenomenons like what happened tonight, with the level of destruction greater each time. Ignoring it causes deaths that we cannot allow."
In a post on social media, Greenpeace Spain said that fossil fuel companies including the Spanish Repsol should pay for the damages.
"DANAS are more intense every time due to climate change," the group wrote. "The fossil fuel industry increases the climate emergency, destroys the balance of critical ecosystems, and puts people's lives in danger."
Extinction Rebellion Global agreed. "These disasters are only getting worse, and stopping the industries and systems driving climate collapse is the only rational response," the group wrote on social media.
The U.S.-based Climate Defiance, meanwhile, shared images of flood-ravaged streets with dismissals often leveled at climate activists.
Yellow Dot Studios, Don't Look Up director Adam McKay's climate-focused media studio, also shared an image of cars dropped in piles in the street by the flood waters to call out the double-standard in how direct-action climate protests and the corporate crimes of the fossil fuel industry are punished.
Friends of the Earth Spain focused on the human impacts, arguing that urgent climate action meant "putting people's lives, and not economic models, at the center."
"Don't prioritize sending people to work in extreme and dangerous conditions," the group wrote. "It is a priority to take effective, ambitious, and urgent measures in response to the climate crisis we are living through."
How's Iceland's 4-Day Work Week Working? 'Incredibly Well,' Study Says
Iceland's economy grew more than all but one other rich European nation and its workers reported higher well-being, lower stress, and better work-life balance after the country reduced its standard work week from 40 to 36 hours, research published Friday affirmed.
The study—released by a pair of think tanks, London-based Autonomy Institute and Alda (Association for Sustainability and Democracy) of ReykjavÃk, Iceland—"offers new insight into the program of working-time reduction that has taken place in Iceland, following successful public sector trials in the country."
"After successful pilot schemes in the Icelandic national government and ReykjavÃk City Council between 2015 and 2019 which found improvements to employee well-being as well as productivity, historic labor agreements between Icelandic trade unions and employers 'embedded' the right to shorter hours for hundreds of thousands of workers," study authors Guðmundur Haraldsson, Jack Kellam, and Rowan Trickett noted.
The new report analyzed the results of studies conducted by the Social Science Research Institute at the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration "to understand job patterns,
work environment, and the reasons why individuals left paid employment" in 2021 and 2022.
Key findings include:
- 62% of people working reduced hours reported being more satisfied with their schedule;
- 97% of workers thought that shorter working hours had made it easier to balance work with their private life, or at least kept the balance the same as before (with more than half, 52%, thinking it had improved); and
- 42% of those who had moved to shorter hours thought that it had decreased stress in their private life, vs. 6% who felt it had increased.
In 2023, Iceland's economy expanded by 5%, a growth rate second only to that of Malta among rich European economies, according to the International Monetary Fund's latest World Economic Outlook, published earlier this week. That is much higher than the country's average growth rate of almost 2% in the decade between 2006 and 2015.
Elon Musk Touts Arrival of 'Men' to Usher Fascist Trump to Victory
After election watchers expressed shock over the weekend regarding evidence of women backing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in large numbers in traditionally conservative states, right-wing billionaire Elon Musk shared his own theory on Tuesday about the dynamics that will soon decide the winner of the U.S. presidential race.
"The cavalry has arrived," said Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX who has spent nearly $120 million on a super political action committee aimed at electing Republican nominee Donald Trump. "Men are voting in record numbers. They now realize everything is at stake."
Musk appeared to project confidence that voters had heard the plea he posted on X, his social media platform, at 2:43 am on Monday: "Men must vote!"
Musk has appeared at numerous rallies for Trump in recent weeks, and has used X to promote the former president's campaign. On Tuesday The New York Timesreported that he plans to spend election night with Trump at the nominee's Florida estate, prompting fears that the two men will use X to spread rampant misinformation.
But other high-profile Trump backers, including Turning Point Action executive director Charlie Kirk, have suggested they recognize that the large gender gap between Trump and Harris supporters could favor the Democratic candidate, with women showing up in larger numbers to vote early in recent weeks.
"Early vote has been disproportionately female," said Kirk last week, imploring men to vote for Trump "NOW."
Musk issued the rallying cry to men who support Trump days after pollster J. Ann Selzer, whose poll of Iowa voters is hailed as the "gold standard" survey in the Midwestern state, released her final poll before the election, showing Harris winning by three points. She noted that women older than 65 and independent women in particular have swung toward the vice president and that many respondents spoke about abortion rights; one of the nation's strictest abortion bans went into effect in Iowa in July.
While the winner of Iowa's electoral votes and of the presidential election won't be known until Tuesday night at the earliest, the poll led numerous political observers to posit that the Republican Party's attacks on reproductive rights could significantly dent Trump's support among women.
On Tuesday, Musk was joined by Ryan Girdusky, a conservative commentator who was recently removed from a panel on CNN for making an Islamophobic remark to progressive commentator Mehdi Hasan, in attempting to rally men to propel Trump to victory.
"It's not just Kamala Harris, it's every institution propping her up and tearing men down," said Girdusky on right-wing streaming service Real America's Voice. "This is the day you get to sit there and throw a human Molotov cocktail at the system, and his name is Donald Trump."
In recent weeks the Harris campaign has directly targeted women from conservative parts of the country, reminding them in an ad that their vote is private and that they can vote for the Democratic nominee even if they've traditionally voted Republican.
For his part, Trump's comments about women in the final days of the campaign have ranged from a promise to "protect" women "whether they like it or not" to his laughter at a rallygoer's joke about Harris having been a prostitute.
Responding to Musk's post on Tuesday, one mental health professional pointed him to a recent misogynistic post by Trump supporter Robert J. O'Neill, a former Navy SEAL who was involved in the Obama administration's operation that killed Osama bin Laden and who recently threatened young men who expressed support for Harris online.
"Your cavalry is a dying breed," the social worker said. "You're going to lose."
'Direct Result of Trump': Texas Woman Died Because Doctors Feared Abortion Ban
The case of Josseli Barnica, a 28-year-old Houston resident who arrived at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest Hospital on September 2, 2021, was devastating—a planned pregnancy that was ending in a miscarriage at 17 weeks—but the treatment she needed was straightforward and recognized as the standard of care by obstetricians around the world, reported ProPublica on Wednesday.
But just one day earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court, stacked with right-wing justices appointed by former President Donald Trump, had allowed a six-week abortion ban to go into effect in Texas, threatening doctors with prosecution and jail time if they acted to help patients like Barnica while a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.
The law pushed doctors at the hospital to delay the care Barnica needed for 40 hours, leaving her vulnerable to the infection that killed her three days after she was finally provided with treatment.
Barnica's case is the latest reported by ProPublica, which is examining the cases of pregnant patients who have died after being denied healthcare because of the abortion bans and restrictions now in effect in 21 states.
Barnica, an immigrant from Honduras who had a young daughter, arrived at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest after experiencing cramps and bleeding. An ultrasound showed that a miscarriage was taking place, with Barnica's cervix dilated to 8.9 centimeters.
But doctors detected fetal cardiac activity, so they could not provide Barnica with medication to expedite a delivery of the miscarried fetus or a dilation and evacuation procedure to clear the uterus of fetal tissue—both of which would have allowed Barnica to begin healing from the miscarriage and protected her from developing an infection such as sepsis.
Doctors announced on September 5 that they could no longer detect a fetal heartbeat, and gave Barnica medication to help her deliver.
But the damage was done. Barnica experienced increasingly heavy bleeding, and her husband rushed her back to the hospital on September 7. He was shocked to learn that she had died the next day, with "sepsis" involving "products of conception" listed as the cause of death.
ProPublica asked more than a dozen OB-GYNs and maternal-fetal medicine doctors to review Barnica's case, which is still being reviewed by a Texas commission that examines maternal deaths and determines whether they were preventable.
But a four-page summary and timeline of Barnica's hospital visits as well as an autopsy report clearly showed that her death was "preventable," said the experts, who called the case and the hospital's failure to provide standard miscarriage care "horrific" and "egregious."
The hospital told ProPublica it had a responsibility "to be in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations" and did not respond to questions about Barnica's case.
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said Wednesday that she was "disgusted and hurt" to learn that Barnica had died because of the state's abortion ban.
"NO PERSON should have to die while losing a child—something that is beyond their control or choice!" said Crockett.
Barnica is one of two Texas women whose abortion ban-related deaths ProPublica is planning to report on this week, as voters across the country head to the polls for early voting ahead of the November 5 election.
Last month, the outlet reported on Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, two women in Georgia who died because of that state's six-week ban after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
Reproductive rights advocates have emphasized in recent weeks that such cases are the direct result of Trump's selection of right-wing justices for the Supreme Court and the passage of abortion bans across the country—which Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has said should be determined by the states.
"As more deaths are announced, it's clear that pregnant people in states with abortion bans have no expectation of safety. Josseli Barnica died from a delay in miscarriage care caused by a Texas abortion ban," said Greer Donley, a legal expert who specializes in abortion law.
Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin called Barnica's death "heartbreaking, preventable, and the direct result of Trump and the MAGA agenda."
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has spoken about Thurman's death since ProPublica reported on the case last month, saying, "She should be alive today" at a campaign event. Her campaign has aired an ad featuring the woman's family that ties her death to Trump's anti-abortion rights agenda.
Trump has publicly mentioned Thurman's death only once, to joke that a town hall he held on Fox News would get "better ratings" than a press call Thurman's family was having the same day.
"This is such an unfathomable tragedy, brought forth by Republicans and their pro-life bullshit," said Daily Kos reporter Emily C. Singer of Barnica's story on Wednesday. "Vote like your life depends on it, because it does."
'This Is What We're Funding': At Least 50 Children Killed in Israeli Strikes on Jabalia
The United Nations children's agency on Saturday condemned the Israel Defense Forces' "indiscriminate strikes on civilians in the Gaza Strip" after at least 50 children were reportedly among those killed in attacks on Jabalia refugee camp in the northern part of the enclave.
Northern Gaza has been under siege since early October, when Israel resumed its attacks there, claiming it was targeting Hamas militants.
The current situation in northern Gaza has been called "apocalyptic" by leading humanitarian groups in recent days, with women and children making up the majority of the hundreds of people killed, and Israel imposing a near-total blockade on humanitarian aid.
Now, said Catherine Russell, executive director of the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), "the entire Palestinian population in North Gaza, especially children, is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and the ongoing bombardments."
In addition to the attacks on residential buildings this weekend in Jabalia, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that an attack on a healthcare center in Gaza City injured at least six people, including four children. The facility was participating in a polio vaccination drive, the second round of inoculations for children across Gaza.
"The Sheikh Radwan primary healthcare center in northern Gaza was struck today while parents were bringing their children to [get] the life-saving polio vaccination in an area where a humanitarian pause was agreed to allow vaccination to proceed," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "These vital humanitarian-area-specific pauses must be absolutely respected. Ceasefire!"
Russell said the vehicle of a UNICEF staffer who was working on the vaccination campaign was attacked by "what we believe to be a quadcopter while driving through Jabalia—Elnazla."
The staff member was not injured, but Russell said "the attacks on Jabalia, the vaccination clinic, and the UNICEF staff member are yet further examples of the grave consequences of the indiscriminate strikes on civilians in the Gaza Strip."
"Civilians and civilian structures, including residential buildings, as well as humanitarian workers and their vehicles, must always be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law," said Russell. "Yet these principles are being flouted over and over again, leaving tens of thousands of children killed, injured, and deprived of essential services needed for survival."
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that at least 43,341 people have been killed in Gaza and at least 102,105 have been injured since Israel began its assault on the enclave more than a year ago in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack. Women and children make up most of those killed, even as Israel and the United States, the largest international supporter of the IDF, have insisted the military is targeting Hamas.
"How can this inhumane situation be tolerated by the Biden-Harris administration?" asked Nina Lahoud, who has served as a special adviser and peacekeeping officer at the U.N., after the death toll among children in Jabalia over the weekend was reported. "How many more Palestinian kids need to die to take urgent action?"
Peace Advocates Fear Trump May Hand Israel 'Full Control of Gaza and the West Bank'
"We in the anti-war movement must redouble our efforts to end the genocide and wars in the Middle East," said one campaigner.
While many critics of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris opposed the Democratic presidential nominee due to the Biden-Harris administration's nearly unconditional support for Israel's annihilation of Gaza, peace advocates on Wednesday warned that Republican President-elect Donald Trump could lift the few guardrails the Democrats had placed on Israel and unleash the key ally to seize all of Palestine.
"A Harris victory would not have stopped Israel's genocide in Gaza or drive to war across the Middle East, but Trump's racism, Islamophobia, and bigotry, and his close relationship with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, could well enable Israel to pursue its desire for full control of Gaza and the West Bank," Lindsey German of the London-based Stop the War Coalition said in a statement.
"We face an extremely dangerous situation worldwide."
Israel has gradually and systematically seized more and more Palestinian lands since illegally occupying the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967. The goal of Israel's far right is expansion of Israeli territory to include what proponents call "Greater Israel," which is based on biblical boundaries that stretched from Africa to Turkey to Mesopotamia. Netanyahu has repeatedly displayed maps showing the Middle East without Palestine, all of whose territory is shown as part of Israel.
On Wednesday, far-right Israelis including senior government officials like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich celebrated Trump's win. They are openly plotting ways to steal more land, including by ethnically cleansing Palestinians during the current war on Gaza, through home demolitions and forced expulsions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and by expanding Jewish-only apartheid settlements that are illegal under international law.
David Friedman, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump's first term, recently released a book advocating Israel's annexation of all of Palestine, a policy "based first and foremost on biblical prophecies and values," according to the author. Friedman envisions a situation in Palestine akin to the U.S. conquest and rule of Puerto Rico, in which Palestinians don't have voting rights but are granted limited autonomy so long as they act in accordance with Israeli law.
Powerful Trump backers also support annexation. Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson's wish list for the president-elect's second term includes Israeli annexation of the West Bank and U.S. recognition of the move.
During Trump's first term, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ended a 30-year State Department policy under which Israeli settler colonies in the occupied West Bank were viewed as inconsistent with international law. Pompeo later explained that as an evangelical Christian, his position was based on the biblical belief that Israel is God's "promised land" for his "chosen people," the Jews.
In February, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reversed the so-called Pompeo Doctrine, declaring Israeli settlements to be "inconsistent with international law"—even as he provided diplomatic cover for the war on Gaza for which Israel is on trial at the International Court of Justice for alleged genocide.
According to Israeli media reports, Trump has pushed Netanyahu to wrap up the Gaza war before he takes office next January. Many observers fear that could mean Israeli forces ramp up already devastating attacks that have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while wounding more than 102,000 others and displacing, starving, and sickening most of Gaza's population.
United Nations human rights officials said last week that Israeli forces are creating an "apocalyptic" situation in northern Gaza, where the invaders are being accused of carrying out the so-called General's Plan to starve and then ethnically cleanse Palestinians from parts of the coastal enclave in order to make way for Israeli recolonization.
"We face an extremely dangerous situation worldwide, with a growing arms race," warned German. "We in the anti-war movement must redouble our efforts to end the genocide and wars in the Middle East. We also need peace in Ukraine, for the West to stop arming Ukraine, and for an end to the escalation of militarism and conflict aimed at China in the Pacific."
Watchdogs Vow Accountability for Trump Crimes Despite Presidential Win
Public Citizen said it would "mobilize Americans to resist Trump's agenda of cruelty and corruption."
Government watchdogs on Wednesday said they are "not going anywhere" and will continue pushing for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to face accountability for his 34 felony counts and other alleged crimes, even as the Republican and his allies threatened the special counsel who has been prosecuting him.
"Trump will still be sentenced for the 34 felony counts on which he has been convicted, and other pending legal proceedings must
also move forward,"
said Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert, co-presidents of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, which spent Trump's first term exposing corruption and unethical profiteering in his administration.
The group pledged to "mobilize Americans to resist Trump's agenda of cruelty and corruption" as it was reported that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, was in talks with the DOJ to wind down the federal prosecutions.
Under DOJ policy, a sitting president cannot face prosecution while in office.
Smith filed charges against Trump over the allegations, but the cases were thrown into uncertainty by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in July that held presidents have legal immunity for "official acts" while in office.
In legal filings that were unsealed last month, Smith argued Trump should not be entitled to immunity from prosecution because he "resorted to crimes" when he attempted to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump said in recent weeks that he would fire Smith "within two seconds" if he won the presidency.
His allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), have also demanded an end to what they call "lawfare" against Trump, with Scalise
saying Wednesday that the election results proved American voters want federal and state officials in to "immediately terminate the politically motivated prosecutions of President Donald Trump."
Graham wrote on the social media platform X on Wednesday, addressing Smith and his team, that "it is time to look forward to a new chapter in your legal careers as these politically motivated charges against President Trump hit a wall."
Trump was convicted of 34 state felony counts in New York for falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced on November 26, but his lawyers are likely to ask for an indefinite delay.
There's also state case in Georgia stemming from Trump's attempts to reverse his 2020 loss.
The work of ensuring Trump is "not about the law," said Weissman and Gilbert, "will continue in earnest [and] will be more important in 2025 than ever before."
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said Trump's victory "is making the urgency of accountability and checks on the presidency clearer than ever before."
"We're going to keep standing up against corruption and authoritarianism," said CREW, "as we have been for years."
Public Citizen was among more than 200 groups that announced a virtual event called "Making Meaning of the Moment," planned for November 7 at 8:00 pm. More than 20,000 people had registered as of Wednesday evening.
Is US House 'Only Hope' for Blocking Worst of Trump's Return?
"How much damage is done at the federal level to the progress we have made will... depend on the election outcomes inthe House of Representatives and the role it will play," said one climate expert.
While Republicans have won the White House and U.S. Senate as of early Wednesday afternoon, control of the House of Representatives remains too close to call—and may be the only governmental firewall against the GOP's fascist federal agenda.
Democrats went into the Tuesday election hoping to flip the House, which is now narrowly controlled by Republicans. There are 435 seats in the lower chamber, so the party to secure 218 of them will have the majority.
Various decision desks have called 179 to 193 House seats for Democrats and 200 to 210 for Republicans. The Associated Pressnoted that "vote-counting can take weeks in California, where most voters use mail-in ballots."
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who won his ninth term on Tuesday, toldThe Hill early Wednesday that "in terms of the power trifecta, the House is the only hope for Democrats to maintain a check on our out-of-control Donald Trump," now the president-elect.
"The House is the only hope for Democrats to maintain a check on our out-of-control Donald Trump."
"The results tonight are grim... for the country, and Democrats offer those who believe in constitutional democracy the only hope of presence in the White House and an enabling Republican Senate," Connolly said. "So a lot is hinging on district-by-district results tonight."
The AP has called flips in New York's 19th and 22nd Congressional Districts, with Democrats Josh Riley and John Mannion ousting Republican Congressmen Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams, respectively. Democrat Laura Gillen is also on track to beat GOP Rep. Anthony D'Esposito in the state's 4th District; she has declared victory.
"Our livable future was on the ballot this year, and New York's climate movement delivered," declared Food & Water Action New York state director Laura Shindell, whose group endorsed Gillen and Riley. "New Yorkers voted like our lives depended on it, rebuking the dangerous pro-corporate Project 2025 interests seeking to boost climate-killing fossil fuels, dismantle clean air and water safeguards, and spread misinformation and distrust about the reality of the crisis we face."
"New York's newest congressional representatives have the backing of the state's grassroots climate movement—now, it's time to get to work fighting for our livable future against all odds, and delivering the climate wins that won them their seats," Shindell said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) similarly welcomed the "critically important" wins in his state on social media. Redistricting also helped Democrats pick up seats in Alabama, where Shomari Figures won the state's 2nd Congressional District, and Lousiaina, where former Congressman Cleo Fields claimed victory in the newly drawn 6th District.
However, the GOP has picked up two seats in Pennsylvania—with Republicans Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan beating Democratic Reps. Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright, respectively—plus three in North Carolina, thanks to redistricting. Republican Tom Barrett also flipped an open seat in Michigan's 7th Congressional District.
As Bloombergreported Wednesday:
Democratic House control would force Republicans to negotiate on trillions of dollars worth of provisions in the 2017 tax law that expire at the end of next year. It also would provide a check on Trump's "America First" foreign policy agenda, providing perhaps some hope to Ukraine and other allies of continued support.
The House under Democratic control also impeached Trump twice during his first term in office. He was never convicted by the Senate.
Key issues on the minds of progressive lawmakers and advocates across the country on Wednesday included reproductive freedom and the climate emergency.
"How much damage is done at the federal level to the progress we have made will... depend on the election outcomes inthe House of Representatives and the role it will play," Chitra Kumar, managing director of the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote Wednesday.
Food & Water Action executive director Wenonah Hauter said in a statement that "control of the House is still undetermined, and it's critical that every vote be counted."
"If Democrats retake the House, it will be essential that they stand strong against Trump's reactionary agenda," Hauter stressed. "We've seen Trump's playbook before and we're prepared to confront him head-on—through the courts, in Congress, and through determined grassroots organizing that has been responsible for great progress in the face of adversity for generations."
Even if Democrats don't win a House majority, progressive organizers remain determined to combat the far-right agenda.
"Our story does not end with this election result; we have a lot of work ahead of us. The future we are dreaming of is worth fighting for."
"Despite the deeply disappointing results of the election yesterday, our work to build a better future for our families and our nation does not end here," said MoveOn Political Action executive director Rahna Epting in a statement. "Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans will continue to try and divide us in hopes we give up and clear the path for them to dismantle our democracy and take away our freedoms."
"As exhausted and defeated as we all may feel right now, giving up is not an option. The organizers, change-makers, and heroes before us have sacrificed far too much for us to drop the baton and surrender now," she continued. "Our story does not end with this election result; we have a lot of work ahead of us. The future we are dreaming of is worth fighting for."
Acknowledging the tens of millions of people who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and a Democratic Congress, Epting added that "together, we can defeat the far right by staying engaged, mobilizing our communities, and remaining defiant guardrails against their fascist vision for our country."