Who By Bomb?
Who By Bomb?
Plus: Accounts of abuse at the hands of the Texas National Guard
Given the upcoming election, my next few newsletters will look more like a “commonplace book” than any sort of composed entry. Thanks!
Every year around the high holidays, I think about Unetanneh Tokef. Given the recent expansion of Israel’s war – not just in North Gaza and the West Bank, but now Lebanon and even allegedly “firing on UN peacekeepers” – I’m still thinking about it, particularly this bit:
On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
How many shall pass away and how many shall be born,
Who shall live and who shall die,
Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not,
Who shall perish by water and who by fire,
Who by sword and who by wild beast,
Who by famine and who by thirst,
Who by earthquake and who by plague,
Who by strangulation and who by stoning,
Who shall have rest and who shall wander,
Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued,
Who shall be at rest and who shall be tormented,
Who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low,
Who shall become rich and who shall be impoverished.
But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severe decree.
Some news items I think are important:
I’ve just published an extensive investigation of alleged abuse perpetrated by the Texas National Guard as part of Operation Lone Star, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) multi-billion-dollar effort to militarize Texas’ border with Mexico, which has gone on for years even though the state has no legal grounds to enforce its own pseudo immigration law. My sources included Texas soldiers who’ve spoken to me in recent months, the medical director at a shelter for migrants near the border, and several attorneys and activists groups who’ve recorded – and conveyed either to me directly or in public reports – accounts of abuse. Please read it!
60 Minutes has come under fire for airing an edited answer from Vice President Kamala Harris, who was responding to a question about how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to not be responding to American pressure regarding the war. TV programs edit interviews for many reasons, including time and clarity. There are also troubling uses of editing in TV news, and I uncovered one of those instances, from CNN, late last year. What sticks out to me about the 60 Minutes situation more is that both versions of Harris’ answer are meaningless word salad.
I attended a vigil – well, two of them really, organized by both American Jews and Israelis – to mark the anniversary of Oct. 7. Here are some observations from the scene.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-head of the organization that won the Nobel peace prize this year – the anti-nuclear-weapon group Nihon Hidankyo – said upon learning of the award: “I thought those fighting hard for peace in Gaza would deserve it... The images of children in Gaza covered with blood held by their parents remind me of Japan 80 years ago. (Children) lost their fathers in the war and lost their mothers with the nuclear bomb. They became orphans.”
Roger Stone, Trump confidante and sometimes-advisor, told an undercover journalist that “when they throw us out of Detroit” – an apparent reference to the “riot” Republicans discussed trying to start in a Detroit ballot-counting location in 2020 – “you go get a court order, you come in with your own armed guards, and you dispute it.”
From the prolific videographer Ford Fischer: “General Michael Flynn was asked at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival Friday night if he'd ‘sit at the head of a military tribunal to not only drain the swamp, but imprison the swamp, and on a few occasions, execute the swamp.’ General Flynn says ‘What your sentiment is about is accountability’ and that ‘I definitely believe we need accountability.’ ‘There's a way to get after this, but we have to win first.’ ‘These people are already up to no good, so we gotta win first. We win, and then Katie Bar the door. Believe me, the gates of hell, my hell will be unleashed.’”
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa collected testimonies in the New York Times: “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza.” Among her findings: “44 doctors, nurses and paramedics saw multiple cases of preteen children who had been shot in the head or chest in Gaza.” That’s just the start of her accounting.
Israel arrested the American journalist Jeremy Loffredo after he reported on the location of an Iranian missile strike. He has been released from custody for now. See coverage in The Intercept, The New Republic, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
What I’ve Written
HuffPost, “JD Vance Was Asked Whether He Will Accept The 2024 Election Results. His Response Is Telling.” (Oct. 2, 2024)
HuffPost, “Trump: Immigrants Have Brought ‘Bad Genes’ Into The Country” (Oct. 7, 2024)
HuffPost, “Accounts Of Abuse Emerge At The Texas Border” (Oct. 11, 2024)
What I’m Reading
NYT, “Biden Expands Asylum Restrictions At The Southern Border” (Sept. 30, 2024)
Local10, “Jurors find former Florida Sen. Frank Artiles guilty in ‘ghost candidate’ case” (Sept. 30, 2024)
HuffPost, “Israel Is Preparing A Risky Incursion Into Lebanon — As Biden Stands By” (Sept. 30, 2024)
Nevada Independent, “As GOP files (and loses) election lawsuits in Nevada, Dems say it’s a plan to sow distrust” (Oct. 1, 2024)
HuffPost, “Nearly 100 U.S. Health Workers Who Served In Gaza Demand Arms Embargo To Israel” (Oct. 2, 2024)
HuffPost, “U.S. School Vaccination Rates Fall As Exemptions Keep Rising” (Oct. 2, 2024)
HuffPost, “Amid Lebanon Bloodshed, Key House Democrats Say U.S. Must End Israeli 'Culture Of Impunity'” (Oct. 4, 2024)
Aric Toler, satellite images, “South of Gaza City: 2022 vs. last week.” (Oct. 4, 2024)
Reuters, “Special Report: Emails show early US concerns over Gaza offensive, risk of Israeli war crimes” (Oct. 4, 2024)
Mother Jones, “False Claims of Voter Fraud Lead to Real Instances of Voter Suppression” (Oct. 5, 2024)
HuffPost, “A Quiet Rebellion On Gaza Is Growing Among Civil Servants Across The West” (Oct. 5, 2024)
HuffPost, “The Year That Israel Collapsed Gaza’s Health Care System” (Oct. 7, 2024)
HuffPost, “Ron DeSantis Sends Ominous Threat To TV Station That Aired Pro-Choice Ad” (Oct. 8, 2024)
Arizona Republic, “House Majority Leader Steve Scalise pushes debunked FEMA claim in Phoenix” (Oct. 8, 2024)
Middle East Monitor, “Ben-Gvir orders arrest of Palestinian teacher following TikTok dance video” (Oct. 8, 2024)
HuffPost, “'I Want To Believe': Advocate For Israeli Hostages Keeps Hopes Pinned On Joe Biden” (Oct. 9, 2024)
Texas Tribune, “Judge reportedly strikes down Texas law that Ken Paxton frequently uses to investigate companies and nonprofits” (Oct. 11, 2024)
HuffPost, “Retired Gen. Mark Milley Calls Trump ‘A Total Fascist’” (Oct. 11, 2024)
Ken Klippenstein, “Trump Camp Worked With Musk’s X to Censor My Reporting” (Oct. 11, 2024)
HuffPost, “What Real People Get About Kamala Harris' Big New Idea That The Political Set Can't Grasp” (Oct. 11, 2024)
NYT, “Musk Is Going All In To Elect Trump” (Oct. 11, 2024)
HuffPost, “This Swing County Is The Country’s Post-2020 Election Nightmare” (Oct. 13, 2024)
AP, “US will send a missile defense system and troops to run it to Israel to aid defense against Iran” (Oct. 13, 2024)
What I’m Listening To
The “El Tiny” takeover of NPR’s Tiny Desk programming during National Hispanic Heritage Month – including performances by Sheila E., The Marías, Nathy Peluso, and most of all, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso.