Home of the Brave

Election Day Special: Those Who Stood

I recently saw Bill Clinton speak at a conference. The whole place was waiting for him to give us some insider info on why we didn't need to worry so much about the upcoming election. Instead, he joked about his age and how thin his blood is. That led to a request that if he ends up in jail, Trump picks one in an area with a warm climate. However this election turns out, I'm confident that Bill Clinton's joke will remain just that. But there's no doubt that speaking out about Trumpism has its risks. That's why, in this age of so much cowardice from the enablers to those who chose to stay silent during this election, I want to spend this election day with a note of gratitude for those who spoke up. I can’t say many good things about Donald Trump, but I’ll give him this: Donald Trump is a values clarifier. He’s a living, breathing, pontificating reminder of which values you cherish and what you’re willing to stand up for. We’ve spent countless hours analyzing the character of Donald Trump. That’s a settled issue. The real character being tested right now is ours. And many people have passed that test, regardless of the risk to their personal brands, their bottom lines, or the relentless hate and verbal abuse they know they're guaranteed to get from the other side. This includes the never-Trump politicians who are members of the GOP (and were even members of the Trump cabinet) who had the guts to put country over party. It includes business leaders like Reid Hoffman and Mark Cuban who know that stability and rule of law are required for business to thrive, and who also know going against Trump could cost them. And it includes celebrities and other public figures, especially those with massive crossover audiences who they risk alienating and angering. At this point, it's relatively easy for someone like me to keep telling the truth about Trump. I'm only internet famous (at best) and most of those who respond with hate and threats have long ago unsubscribed. But that's not the case for someone like Jimmy Kimmel, who is regularly threatened by Trump and his supporters. It's not true for people like Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift who play to audiences that include plenty of people who will vote for Trump. In an ordinary time, making your political opinions known wouldn't be risky and it certainly wouldn't represent a heroic act. But in an ordinary time, one of the candidates for president doesn't tell his followers, "I hate Taylor Swift" and fantasize about seeing his political opponents on the wrong end of a firing squad. I'll be honest. When I lie in bed awake worrying about America, I mostly get sad and angry about the cowardice we've seen from politicians and public figures. But today I want put that negativity aside and focus on the positive aspect of the story. Someone told me you could lead with joy and come out on top.

+ If you missed it yesterday, I gave my final prediction/non-prediction: It's All Greek to Me.

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Notching a Tie

I'm already icing my scrolling thumb, but I don't suggest you spend the entire day parsing social media posts (unless you're absolutely sure your bubble is secure from bad news). I'm not going to fill this newsletter with a bunch of election day headlines because most of them won't mean much until the polls close. So let's start with the one place where they're done counting: The tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch. The result in the presidential race: A 3-3 tie. Because, of course.

+ WaPo (Gift Article): Hypnosis? Colonoscopy? What some people will do to avoid Election Day. (I continue to believe that the best way to deal with Election Day stress is to take a few handfuls of ivermectin and shove a UV light up into your insides.)

+ What are some election keys as the race unfolds? If I get an invite to the White House Hanukkah party, that's a good sign. I'll leave the other signals to Dan Pfeiffer: How to Watch Tonight's Results and Stay Somewhat Sane.

+ The race for the Senate: Here are the top races to watch.

+ On what could be the issue of day in many big races, including the biggest: Voters in 10 states are deciding whether to strengthen access to abortion.

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Your Day, Women's Day

One key thing to watch is how big the turnout among women is. Dahlia Lithwick in Slate: Women Vote. They Will Again in 2024. "I can’t believe I still have to explain this sh-t."

+ A less election related story with a similar theme: Nobuko Oshiro: Okinawa’s only female karate grandmaster.

+ This section's headline comes from the song Shaking the Tree from Peter Gabriel and Yossou N'Dour.

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The Unrest of Us

No matter how things go today, you can count on Trump declaring victory and flooding the zone with misinformation and election fraud falsehoods. The good news is that he won't be doing it from the White House this time. The bad news is that this time he has help. "Having manipulated the platform’s recommendation algorithm to show his posts to more users, he can single-handedly push election narratives to millions of people with the tap of a button. (Over the past day he has become obsessed with the euthanization of a TikTok-famous squirrel at the hands of the state, which he has presented as an example of government overreach.)" X’s plan to interfere with the election. "Elon Musk’s effort to deny Kamala Harris an election victory is already underway. Can it work?"

+ If you want to correct the record, you won't be doing it from Mar-a-Lago: Trump campaign denies and revokes journalists’ election night credentials after critical coverage.

+ It's sad that we have to fortify the Capitol, the White House, and vote counting venues in many parts of the country. So far we've seen some fake bomb threats from Russia and the arrest of a guy trying to enter U.S. Capitol with a torch and flare gun. While the vote will be secure and we hope everyone stays safe, we can expect more of this. One of the candidates incites it, repeatedly. Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: "Tired Trump is often the most revealing version of Trump, and so perhaps it’s no mistake that at that Pennsylvania rally, Trump finally admitted publicly what he had privately told some of his advisers four years ago—that he did not willingly depart the White House after his 2020 defeat. 'I shouldn’t have left,' he said. Trump’s 2024 campaign of vengeance was born out of that moment. No matter what anyone says, it is not over yet." Even Losing May Not Stop Trump’s Campaign of Vengeance. (Win or lose, the campaign of democracy, decency and grace won't stop either.)

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Extra, Extra

Peace Out: America stops to vote, but world just keeps on keeping on. NYT: Netanyahu Fires Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant. "Mr. Gallant was pushing for a cease-fire deal in Gaza that would secure the release of hostages, and his dismissal removes the main proponent in the government for such an agreement." There are big protests.

+ Road and Belt: "Japan is planning to build an automated cargo transport corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, dubbed a 'conveyor belt road' by the government, to make up for a shortage of truck drivers." Japan plans automated cargo transport system to relieve shortage of drivers and cut emissions. (It might make sense to build one of these between Amazon and my front door.)

+ Q Factor: "It was in 1964 when Sinatra and Jones collaborated for that first studio album, It Might as Well Be Swing. At the time Sinatra was a commercial colossus, with a blockbuster career in film and music. But as he neared age 50, with jazz quickly giving ground to rock’n’roll, it appeared as if Sinatra, AKA the Chairman of the Board, wouldn’t remain on top for much longer." Quincy Jones and Frank Sinatra: the audacious partnership that rocketed them to another planet.

+ Kissless and Tell: BBC: Never been kissed - Japan's teen boys losing out on love. "A new survey of Japanese high school students has revealed that four out of five 15-18-year-old boys have yet to reach the milestone. And things aren't looking much different for the girls, with just over one in four female high schoolers having had their first kiss." (Seems like there's a workable solution if both groups are willing to work together.)

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Bottom of the News

"The seizure — and euthanasia — of Peanut, whose Instagram account has more than 750,000 followers, at the hands of New York state conservation agents sparked outrage from fans. The incident was quickly embraced by the Trump campaign and Republicans as a symbol of dangerous consequences of government overreach." WaPo (Gift Article): Republicans call to ‘avenge’ Peanut the squirrel’s death at ballot box. (Speaking for all liberal vegetarians who feel guilty that they might be hurting vegetables when they cut them, I say NO. The pro-squirrel movement is ours.)