Israel Bombs Lebanon to "De-escalate" Conflict - The Monday AM Quickie 9/23/24
RIP to Fredric Jameson, one of the country's foremost post-war intellectuals and literary critics. Let the magisterial obituaries and tributes flow. He deserves it. -Jacob
Subscribe to the AM Quickie's NEW paid newsletters here!
THE BIG NEWS
Israel Bombs Lebanon to "De-escalate" Conflict
After detonating thousands of booby-trapped pagers in Lebanon last week, Israel has continued bombing Hezbollah sites and exchanging fire with the militant group. The current strategy, according to Axios reporter and unofficial Israeli government stenographer Barak Ravid, is "de-escalation through escalation." That apparently means Israel will continue to attack Hezbollah assets and bomb southern Lebanon, with a notional idea of pushing toward a diplomatic solution that could allow Israeli citizens return to the northern part of the country, which has faced periodic rocket attacks from Hezbollah for the last year.
If this sounds like a grotesque reversal of normal thinking, you're right! But it's the latest rhetorical maneuver for the Biden administration, and their media mouthpieces, to justify their continued capitulation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his genocidal war machine. So far, it seems Israel has succeeded in Hezbollah announcing an "open-ended battle" with Israel. And Netanyahu, as usual, has given little indication that he has a genuine interest in diplomacy over more war-making that could help shore up his fragile political position.
While Israel sets southern Lebanon aflame, the IDF is still bombing Gaza, killing at least 22 people in a strike on a school over the weekend. In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers are causing carnage – tearing up roads, destroying infrastructure, making arbitrary arrests, and killing people. Video emerged of Israeli soldiers pushing four Palestinian people off of a building. Yesterday, Israeli forces stormed Al Jazeera's offices in Ramallah and ordered the broadcaster to close for 45 days. And Israeli settler violence, blessed by the IDF, continues to drive West Bank Palestinians from their homes.
There was no shortage of atrocities against Palestinians to witness this weekend on social media. The Biden administration, if it's even watching, doesn't seem to care.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Feds Search NYPD Commissioner's Home
Thomas Donlon has officially been the interim NYPD commissioner for less than two weeks, but he's already displaying the qualities of an Eric Adams appointee: federal agents just raided his house. "Investigators executed search warrants at Donlon's homes on Friday after receiving a tip that he retained classified documents from an investigation he was involved in more than two decades ago," according to a local ABC affiliate.
Donlon worked for the FBI for decades and was a senior official in the George W. Bush GWOT years. He then had a profitable career in the private sector before returning to public service. He was only appointed to replace the previous police commissioner, Edward Caban, who resigned after it emerged that the feds were also investigating him as part of one of the many inquiries into Adams administration corruption.
In a brief and exceedingly vague statement, Donlon claimed that federal agents "took materials that came into my possession approximately 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department." Okay!
The Polls Are Kinda Sorta Looking Good for Kamala Harris
It's still painfully close, but new polling has shown positive movement for Vice President Kamala Harris. According to the Washington Post, she leads Trump in three out of five battleground states, with North Carolina tied (at least until the Mark Robinson "Black Nazi" news has time to percolate). NBC News has Harris ahead by five points, 49 percent to 44 percent. CBS' latest poll puts Harris four points ahead. The most important thing to note is that all of these polls are within the margin of error. Also, we are not terribly scientific poll watchers here at AMQ HQ. But as Harris tours the country, more voters are saying they like what they see.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Top Mark Robinson Staffers Quit As Dems See NC in Play Several high-level staffers for self-proclaimed "Black Nazi" and porn forum enthusiast North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson quit over the weekend, including his campaign manager and finance manager. Robinson's gubernatorial campaign has imploded amid revelations that he is – to put it generously – insane. via WaPo.
- Chechen Dictator Accuses Musk of Bricking His Cybertruck Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a Putin loyalist who has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, claimed that Musk gifted him a Tesla Cybertruck and later remotely disabled it. Kadyrov further claimed that Chechen forces have used two Cybertrucks in Ukraine. If Musk does have any kind of relationship with Kadyrov, it would violate all kinds of laws and sanctions. via CNN.
- New York City Sheriff Under Investigation By New York City Anthony Miranda, the NYC sheriff and an ally of Mayor Eric Adams, is being investigated by the city's Department of Investigation. The nature of the investigation isn't clear, but the sheriff has lately been on the warpath closing down illicit cannabis shops and even mom and pop stores selling a little weed under the counter. via Politico.
- Elon Musk Caves to Brazilian Authorities After weeks of histrionics over his refusal to abide by a Brazilian judge's orders to appoint an X company representative in Brazil and suspend some accounts deemed in violation of the law, Elon Musk has acceded. While the right wing has cried censorship at the judge's decision to crack down on disinformation, Brazilian officials have also expressed concern that their occasionally fragile democracy now has to deal with the threatening influence of the world's richest man. via WaPo.
SOME NUMBER
120
That's how many baseball games the Chicago White Sox have lost this year, tying the record set by the 1962 Mets. And there are six more games left in the season, meaning there are new nadirs of embarrassment to be discovered. Play on!
ON THE SHOW TODAY
9/23: Happy Monday! Sam and Emma speak with Rob Larson, professor of economics at Tacoma Community College, to discuss his recent book Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Dems Jubilant As Their Opposition Self-Immolates In Front of Everybody
Jeet Her joined the show to talk about the recent cascade of hilariously bad Republican news.
Matt Taibbi: WTF Happened To This Guy?
Sam has known the one-time scourge of Wall Street for more than 20 years, and he has some thoughts about his reactionary turn.
PARTING WORDS
"You look like a group who looked at the self-checkout counters at CVS and thought, 'This is the future.'"
-- Comedian John Mulaney roasting the attendees at the annual Dreamforce conference put on by the software giant Salesforce. The hired entertainment for the event, Mulaney went a little rogue and told the thousands of techies in attendance, "If AI is truly smarter than us and tells us that [humans] should die, then I think we should die. So many of you feel eminently replaceable."
Anniversary Sale!
It's the 20th anniversary of The Majority Report, and we have the merch to prove it! Buy some swag at shop.majorityreportradio.com and help us keep going for another 20 years. Thanks!
Quickie Discount Code Corner
Hey check it out! Stuff on sale!
Join Sam on the Nation Magazine Cruise! 7 days in December 2024! https://nationcruise.com/mr/
Check out Seder's Seeds at sedersseeds.com!
It's growing season, so it's time to get your very own Seder's Seeds! Go to https://sedersseeds.com and get 15% off your entire order when you enter the discount code Majority
IAC Laser Engraving: Visit https://iaclasers.com and use Coupon Code MAJORITY10 at checkout to save 10% on your order. They have also updated their site recently, so if you’ve visited in the past, you’ll want to visit again and check out the new products.
Fast Growing Trees: This Spring Fast Growing Trees has the best deals online, up to half off on select plants and other deals. And listeners to our show get an ADDITIONAL 15% OFF their first purchase when using the code MAJORITY at checkout. That’s an ADDITIONAL 15% OFF at https://FastGrowingTrees.com using the code MAJORITY at checkout. https://FastGrowingTrees.com code MAJORITY. Offer is valid for a limited time, terms and conditions may apply.
Earthbreeze: Right now, my listeners can receive 40% off Earth Breeze just by going to https://earthbreeze.com/majority! That's https://earthbreeze.com/majority to cut out single-use plastic in your laundry room and claim forty percent off your subscription.
Blueland Cleaning Products: Blueland has a special offer for listeners. Right now, get 15% off your first order by going to https://Blueland.com/MAJORITY. You won’t want to miss this! https://Blueland.com/MAJORITY for 15% off.
Prolon: Right now, Prolon is offering The Majority Report with Sam Seder listeners 10% off their 5-day nutrition program. Go to https://ProlonLife.com/MAJORITY.
ExpressVPN: Stop handing over your personal data to the Big Tech monopoly that mines your activity and sells your information. Protect yourself with the VPN I trust to keep me safe online. Visit https://ExpressVPN.com/majority. That’s https://ExpressVPN.com/majority to get three extra months free.
Ritual: Essential for Men is a quality multivitamin from a company you can actually trust. Get 40% off your first month for a limited time at https://ritual.com/MAJORITY. This offer is only available through January 31st. Start Ritual or add Essential For Men to your subscription today.
ZBiotics: Go to https://zbiotics.com/MAJORITY to get 15% off your first order when you use MAJORITY at checkout. You can also sign up for a subscription using my code - so you can stay prepared no matter the time or occasion. ZBiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee so if you’re unsatisfied for any reason, they’ll refund your money, no questions asked.
Henson Shaving: Henson Shaving is giving my audience a 2-year supply of blades for FREE. Just go to https://HENSONSHAVING.com/MAJORITY, That’s https://HENSONSHAVING.com/MAJORITY. Add a razor and 100-pack of blades to your cart, then enter code MAJORITY to get the blades for free.
Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://shopify.com/majority. Go to https://shopify.com/majority now to grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in.
LiquidIV: Revive yourself for the New Year. Grab your Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier Sugar-Free in bulk nationwide at Costco or get 20% off your first order when you go to https://liquidiv.com/majorityrep at checkout. That’s 20% off your first order when you shop better hydration today using promo code MAJORITYREP at https://liquidiv.com.
Nutrafol: Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com/men and enter the promo code TMR. Find out why over 4,000 healthcare professionals recommend Nutrafol for healthier hair.
Sunset Lake CBD: Sunsetlakecbd is a majority employee owned farm in Vermont, producing 100% pesticide free CBD products. Use code Leftisbest and get 20% off at http://www.sunsetlakecbd.com.
CozyEarth: IF you’ve never tried Cozy Earth, I've got awesome news! You can SAVE up to 35% off Cozy Earth right now! But hurry... this offer won't last. Go to https://CozyEarth.com and enter mypromo code MAJORITY REPORT at checkout for up to 35% off on your first order! That's https://CozyEarth.com promo code MAJORITY REPORT.