The Washington Post Bends the Knee to Trump
Plus: A Message for Haley Voters Still on the Fence
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BENJAMIN WITTES: The Washington Post Bends the Knee to Trump
I NEVER EXPECTED TO SEE THE DAY when the Washington Post would kneel before Donald Trump.
These are not Senate Republicans or conservative donors. This is not a group of people who cower in the face of authoritarianism. The Post editorial board, the writers who write anonymous opinion essays in the name of the paper itself, is a group of bold, pro-democracy intellectuals who have traditionally taken—individually and collectively—courageous stands about democracy and human rights around the world.
ERIC S. EDELMAN: Trump’s National Security Advisers Fall Flat Defending Him
THE LATEST EFFORT TO GIVE SHAPE, form, intellectual coherence, and respectability to Trump’s bluster and impulsiveness on matters of national security is New York Times columnist Ross Douthat’s conversation with Robert O’Brien and Elbridge Colby.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Bret Stephens: Pray Kamala Wins [YouTube]
Beg to Differ: Why One Never Trumper Can't Endorse Kamala Harris
The Secret Podcast: It Might Happen Here 🔐 [YouTube Preview]
Across the Movie Aisle: Scary Book Season! 🔐
George Conway Explains it All (to JVL): Trump's Endless Corruption, Giuliani’s Final Humiliation [YouTube]
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TIM MILLER: A Message for Haley Voters Still on the Fence
Four years ago, I sat in my Oakland bedroom with hair down to my shoulders and two coronavirus test kits on the nightstand, tapping out a final plea to the reluctant Trump-voting aunt in all of our lives. That person who recognizes Trump’s flaws but is still planning to vote for him because of ideology, or party, or social pressure, or an abiding belief in the danger of Democratic governance.
CATHY YOUNG: 101 More Reasons Trump Is Unfit to Be President
IN JUNE 2020, Amanda Carpenter compiled a timeline of Trump outrages titled “100 Reasons Trump Is Unfit to Be President.”
It’s time for an update.
BILL RYAN: Stephen Volk’s Real-World Horror
I DON’T REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST HEARD about Ghostwatch, the controversial made-for-TV horror film structured like and presented as a real, live news program purporting to be an investigation of paranormal activity, that aired on BBC1 on Halloween in 1992. It starred the late Michael Parkinson, a real British news host who acted as the show’s host, a role he plays with solid professionalism until the horror being investigated gets out of hand and creeps into the studio. When I learned of it, I was fascinated by the potential, though I wasn’t able to actually see Ghostwatch until years later. The wait was worth it: I now count it as one of the great horror films of the 1990s. If a large part of the film’s meta elements were lost on me—since, as an American, I was unfamiliar with the English TV personalities appearing as themselves—I was able to appreciate the concept, and, in any case, I was able to catch up on what I later learned was the rather alarmed reaction from the general British public, a not-insubstantial segment of whom were angry that the BBC would trick them in this way. It’s not every day public television makes viewers believe that a horror unfolding before them was real, that something unspeakable may have happened to Michael Parkinson before their eyes.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Friday! I am travelling today, and due to the surplus of content, today’s Overtime will be shorter than usual. Also: look for a Double Overtime tomorrow, as we will likely have more weekend content. We’ll also be doing a livestream on Sunday, so clear your afternoon! Go Dodgers.
Clay Higgins Built His Brand on Law and Order… He Pals Around With a Man Guilty of Incest. (Mother Jones)
Life doesn’t always imitate Veep… Sometimes, it’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
‘Stop Counting Votes, or We’re Going to Murder Your Children’ A haunting essay in The Atlantic. 🎁
The ‘Black Insurrectionist’ was actually white. The deception did not stop there. (AP)
Freedom Caucus leader endorses radical proposal… for North Carolina to hand its electoral votes to Trump (Politico)
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.