#source: ron hicks

[arpov-blog-blog]

PECKER SCREWS TRUMP!

Pecker was called as the first witness against Trump.

Ron Filipkowski Meidas Touch Network

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker was the first witness called by the prosecution to testify against Donald Trump. He testified that he was a consultant from American Media Incorporated (AMI). Pecker said AMI publishes celebrity magazines like the Enquirer, Globe, InTouch, and Star. He said that he was the Chairman and CEO of the company.

Pecker said that the practice of his company was "checkbook journalism" where they would pay people who brought them exclusive stories. When asked to give the last four digits of his phone number, Pecker inadvertently stated his whole phone number, which may result in him getting a few calls later. 

Pecker said that his Editor-in-Chief at the Enquirer was Dylan Howard. Howard's job was to vet potential stories and then bring them to Pecker. Pecker was asked who his main sources were who brought them stories. He said limousine drivers, people who work for lawyers, and other professions that have access to famous people.

Pecker resumed his testimony on Tuesday morning after Trump's gag order hearing. He said that he has known Trump since the 1980s and they had a "great relationship." He said that when Trump was doing The Apprentice, he would let him know ahead of time who was about to be fired so he could have the story first. He said they typically spoke about once a month, but that changed in 2015 and he spoke to him more often when Trump ran for president.

Pecker said that he visited Trump at Trump Tower on multiple occasions, and that he observed him at work reviewing invoices and signing checks. He said he was "detail oriented ... almost a micro-manager" about his business affairs. Pecker said he first met Michael Cohen at bar mitzvah. 

He said that Trump introduced him to Cohen in 2007 and told him in 2015 that if anything came across his desk that pertained to him including any rumors about him that he should call Michael Cohen and let him know about it. He said that is when things started to get busy on the Trump front and he was contacted by Cohen "almost daily" during the 2016 campaign. 

Pecker said he was invited by Trump to his campaign announcement in June 2015 where he came down the golden escalator. In an email to Pecker, Michael Cohen wrote, "No one deserves to be there more than you." 

Pecker said he later attended a meeting in Trump Tower in August 2015 with Trump, Cohen, and Hope Hicks. Pecker said they asked him what his magazines could do to "help the campaign." Pecker said he told them that he could be their "eyes and ears" and told them he could tip them off about anything he heard, including "women selling stories." He said that the plan was for Cohen to purchase negative stories to "kill" them - prevent them from ever being published.

Pecker was asked who was the first one who brought up the subject of women. He said that he was, making a statement that was somewhat odd considering that Trump had been married to Melania for several years.

Pecker said he could also run stories about Hillary enabling Bill Clinton's alleged affairs with other women to make her look bad. He said that Trump and Cohen both really liked that idea a lot and encouraged him to do that. He said the relationship was mutually beneficial to both of them since sales of the National Enquirer went up and Trump's campaign benefitted.

Pecker said that he had never been paid to kill stories before since that is something that is the opposite of his business model - which is to sell as many magazines as possible. He agreed to do it but the agreement was never put in writing. He said he told his Editor Dylan Howard "we are going to try and help the campaign, and to do that I want to keep it as quiet as possible," and that they were the only ones who should know about the arrangement."

[popcultureartfan]

Object List/Sources

Ron English, Capn’ Cornstarch, 2015, Fiberglass Sculpture, 48 x 24 x 24 inches. Gift on behalf of the Joseph Gross Gallery.

Tim Rogerson, Darth Vader, 2023, Paint on Canvas, 30 x 29 inches. Copyright Lucasfilm.

Kibookied, I yam what I yam., 2022, Digital Art (Character Sculpture), 11.1 x 11.2 inches.

Vartan Garnikyan, The Starry Knight, 2015, Digital Art (Character Illustration), 6.3 x 9.5 inches.

Reis O' Brien, Schulz, 2024, Hand-painted Resin Figure, 4 inches tall.

Erin Hunting, Spongebob, 2015, Digital Art (Character Illustration), 4.2 x 6.4 inches.

Amar Stewart, Spiderman, 2024, Oil on Stretched Canvas, 18 x 18 x 1.25 inches.

Ian Glaubinger, THE ROCKETEER, 2023, Metallic Ink Screen Print, 9.2 x 9.2 inches.

Caley Hicks, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, 2022, Digital Art (Character Illustration), 9.1 x 9.1 inches.

MANU, Skeleton Cap, 2024, Digital Art (Character Illustration), 4.6 x 4.2 inches.

Sources:

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ron-english-capn-cornstarch

https://diamondgalleries.com/products/darth-vader-original-painting-by-tim-rogerson

https://www.instagram.com/kibookied/

https://www.demilked.com/starry-knight-classical-paintings-batman-pop-art-vartan-garnikyan/

https://twitter.com/OGTinyGhost

https://www.instagram.com/erinhunting/

https://horse-hero.myshopify.com/collections/amar-stewart-1/products/spiderman-original-painting

https://www.instagram.com/hasunow/videos

https://www.instagram.com/thechicks914/

https://www.instagram.com/manufaves/

[atlanticcanada]

'Don't get too cocky': Black bear spotted at Moncton park

Despite the wet weather, Kyle Allen and his four-year-old son Benji decided to go for a bike ride at Moncton's Mapleton Park Monday morning.

They didn't know a bear had been spotted there a day before until they saw a sign at the entrance.

Not too worried about the warning, father and son entered the park and went for their ride in the rain.

"You just have to give them their distance, don't get too close. If they start approaching you, just back up slowly. Don't get too cocky with them, I guess," said Allen.

The city of Moncton posted a warning on social media Monday morning and signs have been put up at the park's main entrances.

Dan Hicks, the city's director of parks, said a black bear was sighted Sunday morning at a bird feeder.

He said bear sightings at Mapleton Park are not uncommon in the spring.

"This is the time of year where usually the females, as they're having new cubs, they kick last year's cubs out of the house so to speak, so the young ones are looking for new territory and they kind of wander around a bit until they find a spot that works for them," said Hicks.

Hicks said the city has removed all the bird feeders from the park trails to eliminate the source of food for the bears.

Jim Richard comes to the park every day, but didn't notice the signs until after he started his walk.

He's seen several bears in the wild in Ontario and wasn't phased at all by the warning.

"No, no I'm not. I've seen quite a few so I'm not worried about them," said Richard.

Same goes for Ron Furlotte who knew about the sighting before he got to the park.

"I've seen bears in the wild before and they run away. Any encounter I've had with a black bear, it runs away. I've had two or three," said Furlotte.

The signs did however deter Dale Barrio, who was bringing his dog for a walk.

"I have my dog with me and I don't want to risk him. I don't really want to risk myself either," said Barrio.

Hicks said the sighting is a cause for concern, but there's nothing to panic about.

"The best advice is not to engage with them, not to interact with them as much as possible. If you do end up having one show up when you're around, more often than not, they're more scared of you than you are of it," said Hicks.

Hicks said park-goers should keep their pets on leashes and if a bear is spotted, they should call the city to report the sighting.

Bears will typically move on, he said, and they don't ask for assistance from the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development unless there's a sign of aggression or odd behaviour, but that's rare.

"We've never had any serious encounters with wildlife up to now. It's been brief encounters," said Hicks.

Bear sightings can be reported to the city by calling its dispatch line at (506) 859-2643.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/NJShbCX

[whileiamdying]

FILM REVIEW; Snow Falling on Cedars: Prejudice Lingers in a Land of Mists

''Snow Falling on Cedars'' is an almost heartbreaking example of what can happen when a filmmaker becomes so overawed by his source that he confuses dramatic storytelling with the production of mammoth coffee-table art books. Bathed in deepening shades of snow-lit Prussian blue, this screen adaptation of David Guterson's popular 1994 novel is admirably high-minded and visually gorgeous but fatally anesthetized by its own grandiosity.

Frame by frame the movie, directed by Scott Hicks (of ''Shine'') and filmed by Robert Richardson (the virtuoso cinematographer behind several Oliver Stone movies), isn't just a series of shots but a sequence of exquisitely balanced photographic compositions. The piling on of so much visual beauty, however, only contributes to the sense of the movie as a frozen artifact cut off from the real world and designed to be viewed from behind a glass casement.

There's a lesson here about the aesthetics of mass-audience movies. Pretty pictures, as nice as they may be, are finally no substitute for a living, breathing screenplay. And ''Snow Falling on Cedars,'' like many an elegant coffee-table book, has a skimpy text (by Mr. Hicks and Ron Bass) that too often substitutes distilled, poeticized oration for everyday speech.

Hardly a moment passes when we're not conscious of the movie's messages about tolerance and forgiveness being shoved in our faces. Even when they are delivered by an actor as gifted as Max von Sydow, playing a defense lawyer who is the movie's official conscience, ''Snow Falling on Cedars'' rings with the hollow boom of a Sunday school sermon.

Perhaps the biggest mistake in translating the novel to the screen was to have the film imitate the book's intricate flashback structure. Flipping back and forth between the present and the past on the page is one thing. (It encourages your imagination to make leaps and allows you to take whatever time you need to bridge those transitions.) But when a movie does the same thing, the imagination is short-circuited, and there is hardly time for reflection. The film is so busy darting back and forth between past and present that from scene to scene its characters barely have time to breathe.

There are also far too many lingering close-ups of haunted faces. And a surreal montage that harks back to the early films of Alain Resnais (specifically ''Hiroshima, Mon Amour''), brings the movie to a dead halt. This might have been a coup de cinema in another film, but here it seems narratively evasive.

The story unfolds as a series of flashbacks from the 1950 murder trial of Kazuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune), a young Japanese-American accused of killing a fisherman on his boat off the coast of the fictitious San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound. Most of the events are seen through the eyes of Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke), a morose young reporter covering the trial for the local newspaper. Many years earlier Ishmael and the defendant's wife, Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), were teenage lovers who met secretly in the hollow trunk of a cedar tree deep in the rain forest. The affair ends when it is discovered by Hatsue's mother, who is vehemently opposed to interracial relationships.

The film's strongest scenes look back to World War II when the island's Japanese-Americans were interrogated, rounded up and sent to internment camps for the duration of the war. The murder trial revolves around the bitterness surrounding a land deal on which Kazuo's family defaulted while imprisoned. During the trial, the prosecutor (James Rebhorn) blatantly appeals to the local whites' lingering anti-Japanese prejudice in speeches that play on the racist stereotype of Asians as treacherous and inscrutable.

As the movie jumps back and forth in time, we meet Ishmael's late father, Arthur (Sam Shepard), the crusading local newspaper editor who stood up to the anti-Japanese hysteria that swept the community after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Nine years later Ishmael, poring over evidence in the case, decides to strike his own blow for truth and justice.

''Snow Falling on Cedars'' may be dramatically inert, but it is well acted, and it succeeds in sustaining a mood of spellbound reflection. The endless swirling snow, the blue-lit fog and the rain forest with its dripping evergreens evoke a brooding interior landscape where memory and reflection loom solemnly over the present.

But even this mood is undermined by James Newton Howard's bombastic score, which suggests the romantic minimalism of Michael Nyman encrusted with heavenly vocal choirs. The overwrought score is the final lethal touch in a movie that buckles under the weight of its own pretensions.

''Snow Falling on Cedars'' is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has sexual situations.

SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS

Directed by Scott Hicks; written by Ron Bass and Mr. Hicks, based on the novel by David Guterson; director of photography, Robert Rchardson; edited by Hank Corwin; music by James Newton Howard; production designer, Jeannine Oppewall; produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Harry J. Ufland and Mr. Bass; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 130 minutes. This film is rated PG-13.

WITH: Ethan Hawke (Ishmael Chambers), James Cromwell (Judge Fielding), Richard Jenkins (Sheriff Art Moran), James Rebhorn (Alvin Hooks), Sam Shepard (Arthur Chambers), Max von Sydow (Nels Gudmundsson), Youki Kudoh (Hatsue Miyamoto) and Rick Yune (Kazuo Miyamoto).

Snow Falling on Cedars Director: Scott Hicks Writers: David Guterson (novel), Ronald Bass, Scott Hicks Stars: Ethan Hawke, Max von Sydow, Yûki Kudô, Reeve Carney, Anne Suzuki Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2h 7m Genres: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

[terrainofheartfelt]

A Blair Waldorf Moodboard

Fashion is the most powerful art there is.

Sources: (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

[salemoleander]

3rd Life SMP Webweave // sources under readmore

Pt. 1: thatsbelievable // Cliffs of the Upper Colorado River, Wyoming Territory / Thomas Moran // Caernarvon Castle / George Elbert Burr // Study for "Science Instructing Industry" / Kenyon Cox // mr_froodo // The Beheading of St. John Baptist / Fortunato Duranti // Wolf in White Van / John Darnielle // Slow Dance / Ron Hicks // Ancient Castle / Georgette Agutte // screenshotsofdespair

Pt 2: Brooding Silence / John Carlson // thatsbelievable // a-doctor-not-a-fangirl // Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead / Tom Stoppard // Tiktok comment by anothersomebodie // mountainqoats // stigmate // Suite Vénitienne / Sophie Calle & Jean Baudrillard 

Pt. 3: Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides / Anne Carson // Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead / Tom Stoppard // God's Idea / Da Loria Norman // Tangiers / Arnold William Brunner // molabuddy

[contrariian-archive]

PRETTY LADY, LOOK AT HOW HE’S SMILING—I THINK HE LIKES YOU !

percy & monty, for @lumbermint​

being alive, cover by eleri ward // ​source // the unbecoming of mara dyer, michelle hodkin // springtime, pierre auguste cot // absolutely smitten, dodie // 1952 (dancing couple), elliot erwitt // the best things happen while you’re dancing, danny kaye // the kiss, gustav klimt // tiffany & co ad // the worm king’s lullaby, richard siken // henry miller // lucky people, waterparks // letters to vera, vladimir nabokov // call down the hawke, maggie stiefvater // ron hicks // tiny love, mika

[rjt4]

Here are the results of a legendary meeting that way it was reported, we start with The Militant reported that: On September 19th, 1960 Fidel Castro traveled to the United States to address the United Nations, General Assembly.

. . Castro did not receive a warm welcome from the U.S. government during his visit to New York City in 1960.

The Cuban delegation moved to Harlem after being kicked out of the Shelburne Hotel amid a racist slander campaign in the press that included baseless charges – repeated to this day by the Associated Press – of plucking live chickens at the hotel.

I always remember when I met with Malcolm X at the Hotel Theresa (which was managed by the father of Harlemite Ron Brown’s, who was a former United States Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton), because he was the one who gave us support and made it possible for us to be accommodated there.

We had two choices: one was the patio in the United Nations; when I told this to the Secretary-General he was horrified at the thought of a delegation camping in tents there; and then we received Malcolm X’s offer, he had talked to one of our comrades, and I said: “That is the place, Hotel Theresa.” And there we went. – Fidel Castro

Ralph Mathews of the New York Citizen Call in 1960, reported that: To see Premier Fidel Castro after his arrival at Harlem’sHotel Theresa meant getting past a small army of New York City policemen guarding the building, past security officers, U.S. and Cuban. But one hour after the Cuban leader’s arrival, Jimmy Booker of the Amsterdam News, photographer Carl Nesfield, and myself were huddled in the stormy petrel of the Caribbean’s room listening to him trade ideas with Muslim leader Malcolm X.

Harlem was a more gracious host to Castro than high-society Midtown had been. Crowds gathered outside the Hotel Theresa, as the honored guest held court in his room. He received official visits from foreign leaders—like Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru—as well as American civil rights figures, such as Malcolm X, New York NAACP President Joseph Overton, and, according to some reports, Jackie Robinson. Juan Almeida Bosque, the Afro-Cuban army commandante, became an instant icon, with throngs of people trailing behind him on the street.

Dr. Castro did not want to be bothered with reporters from the daily newspapers, but he did consent to see two representatives from the Negro press. . .

We followed Malcolm and his aides, Joseph and John X, down the ninth-floor corridor. It was lined with photographers disgruntled because they had no glimpse of the bearded Castro, with writers vexed because security men kept pushing them back.

We brushed by them and, one by one were admitted to Dr. Castro’s suite. He rose and shook hands with each one of us in turn. He seemed in a fine mood. The rousing Harlem welcome still seemed to ring in his ears. . .

After introductions, he sat on the edge of the bed, bade Malcolm X sit beside him, and spoke in his curious brand of broken English. His first words were lost to us assembled around him. But Malcolm heard him and answered: “Downtown for you it was ice. Uptown it is warm.” The premier smiled appreciatively. “Aahh yes. We feel here very warm.”

The New Republic reports that the local Amsterdam News at the time, James L. Hicks commented that, “Though many Harlemites are far too smart to admit it publicly, Castro’s move to the Theresa and Khrushchev’s decision to visit him gave the Negroes of Harlem one of the biggest ‘lifts’ they have had in the cold racial war with the white man.”

Then the Muslim leader, ever a militant, said, “I think you will find the people in Harlem are not so addicted to the propaganda they put out downtown.”

In halting English, Dr. Castro said, “I admire this. I have seen how it is possible for propaganda to make changes in people. Your people live here and they are faced with this propaganda all the time and yet they understand. This is very interesting.”

“There are twenty million of us,” said Malcolm X, “and we always understand.” . . .

On his troubles with the Hotel Shelburne, Dr. Castro said: “They have our money. Fourteen thousand dollars. They didn’t want us to come here. When they knew we were coming here, they wanted to come along.” (He did not clarify who “they” was in this instance.) . . .

On U.S.-Cuban relations: In answer to Malcolm’s statement that “As long as Uncle Sam is against you, you know you’re a good man,” Dr. Castro replied, “Not Uncle Sam, but those here who control magazines, newspapers…”

Dr. Castro tapered the conversation off with an attempted quote of Lincoln. “You can fool some of the people some of the time,…” but his English faltered and he threw up his hands as if to say, “You know what I mean.”

https://youtu.be/UAcgbsPgCbo

Credits: 1) Via source. 2-6) Malcolm X and Fidel Castro. 7) Fidel Castro and Hotel Theresa workers Photographs via Source.8) Video via source. The Militant.

[juniper-tree]

Evangeline, Max, collages.

sources: 1 - Caryn Drexl, still ending and beginning still / Giacomo Carmagnola, Creepy il lupo / Al Mefer, Sleepwalking in Outer Space 2 - Anne Magill, Eclipse / Bradley G. Munkowitz, Tracy Arm Fjord / incense stock photo 3 - Ron Hicks, The Embrace II / Al Mefer, Sleepwalking in Outer Space

[buffleheadcabin]

Clifton Hicks - Run, Jimmy, Run | (Florie Stewart)

https://patreon.com/CliftonHicks gCGCE relative, f# B F# B E♭ actual. I learned this song from the recording of Florie Stewart on "The Pine Breeze Recordings" (Jubilee Records, Ron Williams et al.). Other sources were Doc Watson & Tom Ashley's "Run Jimmy Run," Moses Platt's "Run N***** Run," and Jackson Wells' "Run Boy Run."

[curlyfreaksword]

List of all infected GOP/Rose Garden Massacre attendees as of Oct 6th 2020:

1. ⁠Donald Trump - President

2. ⁠Melania Trump - First Lady

3. ⁠Hope Hicks - Trump Senior Council, former Trump WH communications director

4. ⁠Ronna McDaniel - RNC chair

5. ⁠Mike Lee (R, UT)

6. ⁠Rev. John Jenkins - president of the University of Notre Dame (attended SCOTUS nomination at Rose Garden)

7. ⁠Two unnamed journalists and one unnamed WH staffer

8. ⁠^

9. ⁠^

10. ⁠Michael D. Shear - WH correspondent for NYT

11. ⁠Thom Tillis (R, NC) - At WH on Sat

12. ⁠Kellyanne Conway - Former White House counselor, attended Rose Garden event

13. ⁠Kellyanne Conway's Daughter

14. ⁠Bill Stepien - Trump Campaign Manager

15. ⁠Ron Johnson (R, WI)

16. ⁠Chris Christie - Former Republican NJ Gov. Helped prepare Trump for debate.

17. ⁠Nick Luna - Trump Aide

18. ⁠Kayleigh McEnany - WH Press Secretary

19. ⁠Chad Gilmartin - Deputy to Press Secretary

20. ⁠Karoline Leavitt - Deputy to Press Secretary

21. ⁠Greg Laurie - Pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship, attended Rose Garden event

22. ⁠Jayna McCarron - Trump's military aid for Coast Guard

23. ⁠Unnamed - Active duty military valet to the president

24. ⁠Salud Carbajal (D-CA) - After exposed to COVID-positive senator Mike Lee (R-UT)

25. ⁠Al Drago - Photojournalist at Rose Garden event

26. ⁠Charles W. Ray - U.S. Coast Guard admiral

27. ⁠Harrison W. Fields - Assistant Press Secretary

28. ⁠Jalen Drummond - Assistant Press Secretary

29. ⁠Stephen Miller - WH senior adviser

ORIGINAL THREAD from reddit. More sources there as well.

[lovefrommagdalena]

Venus signs as Ron Hicks paintings.

Aries Venus

‘Impulsive’

Taurus Venus

‘Café Kiss’

Gemini Venus 

‘Spending More Time’

Cancer Venus

‘Welcome Advance’

Leo Venus 

‘Love On The Road’

Virgo Venus

‘Take Me Away’

Libra Venus 

‘Warmth of the Sun’

Scorpio Venus 

‘Slow Dance’ 

Sagittarius Venus 

‘The Italian Plaza’

Capricorn Venus 

‘The Embrace’

Aquarius Venus

‘Tell Me More’

Pisces Venus 

‘We’ve got each other’

sources: pinterest, http://www.ronhicks.com/welcome

[terrainofheartfelt]

Another Dair Moodboard

for the series floating castle dreams (a Little Women AU)

An odd paradox runs through Dan's mind. In the novels he’s read, marriage is always saved for the final chapter, the ending of a story, of the characters he’s come to know. But he remembers his father’s toasts at Serena and Nate’s wedding, and his second one to Lily, about marriage marking the beginning of something, the start of a new venture, a new story.

sources: (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

[verycleverboy]

Welcome to October 7th.

(cough cough)

Where we are today:

After spending the weekend at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment of his COVID-19 infection, President Donald Trump returned to the White House yesterday afternoon, where he is expected to continue treatment under quarantine.

The slim hopes there were that Trump would calm down and take his current situation seriously--and yeah, I know, but some people are just born suckers--were exploded yesterday when Trump's first full day out of the hospital was highlighted by an almost incoherent tweet storm, followed by a declaration out of nowhere that long-stalled talks over a second stimulus package were dead until after the election, and everyone had been instructed to dedicate their undivided attention to the Supreme Court nomination. The response was instantaneous: one spur-of-the-moment tweet shaved 600 points off the stock market before closing.

He walked back the stance slightly later on, saying he'd be willing to sign off on just the personal stimulus checks, part of a piecemeal approach that Democrats have repeatedly said was a nonstarter. For those who were depending on extended unemployment relief or waiting for a federal lifeline for their small businesses (or even larger ones, in the case of the airlines), the message from Trump and his party, with 27 days until the election, is what it's been all summer: Help isn't on the way. You're on your own. Please suffer quietly while we play confirmation games in the Senate.

The above would appear to demonstrate that the President’s emotional state is even more unhinged than usual, and the speculation (not to mention a certain style of headline) has been zeroing in on the manic episodes that are a known side-effect of the steroid treatment Trump has been taking. The impression is that there’s still a lot that’s being kept from us, and the main thing the West Wing has been open about since the President’s diagnosis is that they have no intention of being open about anything related to the current state of affairs.

Physician to the President Dr. Sean Conley maintains that Trump’s recovery is continuing in a positive direction, but the memorandum begins with the one line that has been casting a long shadow over any hope of honesty:

“I release the following information with the permission of President Donald J. Trump.” 

In 2015, Trump’s personal physician Dr. Harold Bornstein released a hyperbole-laden assessment of the then-candidate’s health status: “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Like Conley’s status report, there we no real negatives. The main difference was that Borstein’s letter sounded a lot like a Trump-penned press release. 

Borstein later revealed there was a reason that letter sounded so Trumpian. "He dictated that whole letter. I didn't write that letter." 

Folks, this could be some hard-earned paranoia talking, since there’s no major reason to assume that a Borstein level of hijacking is happening with Conley, apart from his Walter Reed declaration that he was intentionally skewing towards optimism over the weekend while dodging (and sometimes backtracking on) a lot of key questions. But if some of us feel like we smell a rat in a sunshine-and-rainbows status report, it’s because that rat was caught in this particular corn crib once before.

HIPAA rules entitle every American citizen to a certain expectation of privacy when it comes to medical records. If you want to allow even another member of your family to be able to talk about your condition with your doctors, you have to sign off specific names. That means the onus of allowing transparency in the case of Donald J. Trump, a man whose health (for better or for worse) has international implications, falls on the full consent of Donald J. Trump himself. But since Borstein’s revelation came days after members of the Trump Organization seized his Trump-related medical records in what he characterized as a “raid” on his office, it’s safe to assume that’s not going to happen....not until it’s too late, anyway.

Meanwhile...

The Trump/Pence team continues to openly mock the medically-recommended safety measures that, had they been applied consistently, would've kept the President out of the hospital. Trump is still making the claim that COVID-19 is no worse than the flu, which by any metric is demonstrably false and highly dangerous, while Pence and his team made a last-minute attempt yesterday to flex on the previously agreed-to plexiglas guards in front of the podiums. His debate with Kamala Harris is scheduled for tonight.

Since Trump loves Citizen Kane, while not necessarily understanding that Kane isn't the hero of the movie, let's end this wall of words with a quote that he probably hasn't figured out yet either.

“You're the greatest fool I've ever known, Kane. If it was anybody else, I'd say what's going to happen to you would be a lesson to you. Only you're going to need more than one lesson. And you're going to get more than one lesson.”

Will Trump's next lesson come from the disease or the electorate? Either way, we're in for a long, dark October. Stay warm, everybody.

First Lady Melania Trump, who did not join her husband at Walter Reed, continues to rest at the White House during her recovery.

Other confirmed positives for COVID-19:

(This is not intended to be a complete list, and is based on news reports concerning those who are known to have been in contact with other infected individuals in connection with recent events. Status changes and additions since yesterday’s megapost will be listed in bold. Updated throughout the day as new information becomes available from the CNN, NBC News, and CBS News live update pages, supplemented by other sources.)

White House

Hope Hicks: Began showing symptoms on Wednesday, tested positive on Thursday morning. Was not in attendance at Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination event on September 26th.

Nicholas Luna, personal assistant to the President: Luna is a “body man”, whose duties require him to be in close proximity to the President at all times.

Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary:  She was not aware of the Hicks diagnosis when she addressed the press on Thursday.

Stephen Miller, Senior Advisor to the President: Was already working remotely and self-isolating, announced positive test on Monday. His wife, Katie Miller, is Vice President Pence’s director of communications, had coronavirus several months ago.

Chad Gilmartin and Karoline Leavitt, members of Kayleigh McEnany’s staff.

Assistant White House press secretary Jalen Drummond: Another McEnany staffer who tested positive Monday morning

Unidentified staffer: Military personnel directly assigned to support the President in the Oval Office and residence, diagnosed over the weekend per CNN.

Three initially unidentified members of the White House press corps and an unidentified staffer who works with the media. Per the White House Correspondents’ Association president Zeke Miller: Individual #1 attended a Sunday briefing and tested positive on Friday after exhibiting symptoms on Thursday. Individual #2 (later confirmed to be Michael Shear of the New York Times) was part of the press pool which traveled to last Saturday’s Pennsylvania rally; also exhibited symptoms on Thursday and tested positive on Friday. Individual #3 was in the press pool for the Barrett Rose Garden event and also travelled with the press pool on Sunday. #3 exhibited symptoms on Wednesday and tested positive Friday afternoon. The press at the Barret event were confined in a crowded “penlike enclosure” behind the invited guests (per Washington Post).

Campaign personnel

Chris Christie: Attended the Barrett nomination event and was part of Trump debate prep. Christie, whose asthma puts him in a higher risk group, checked himself into Morristown Medical Center as a precautionary measure.

Kellyanne Conway: Attended the Barrett nomination event and was part of Trump debate prep. The initial news came in the form of a string of snarky Tiktok posts on Friday from her daughter Claudia, followed much later by a confirmation from Kellyanne herself.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel: Isolating at home since September 26th, tested last Wednesday.

Bill Stepien, current Trump 2020 campaign manager: In the White House on Monday, in Cleveland for Tuesday’s presidential debate, traveled with Trump and Hicks aboard Air Force One afterwards.

US Congress

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Per CNN: “Johnson was not at the Amy Coney Barrett ceremony because he was quarantining from a prior exposure, during which he twice tested negative for the virus, according to the spokesperson.” He was exposed “shortly after” returning to Washington.

Sen. Mike Lee, (R-UT): Attended the Barrett nomination event.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC): Attended the Barrett nomination event.

Military

Admiral Charles Ray, Vice Commandant of the US Coast Guard: Recently attended several meetings with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Nearly all the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including chairman General Mark Milley, are in precautionary quarantine.

Gen. Gary L. Thomas, assistant commandant of the US Marine Corps

Others

University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC: Attended the Barrett nomination event. Jenkins was told that he didn’t need to wear a mask to the event after he and other guests tested negative at the White House.

Thirteen employees at Murray’s restaurant in Minneapolis: Catered a party attended by President Trump on September 30th, although none of them were in close proximity to the President.

Confirmed negatives:

(Because of the nature of COVID-19, this list is subject to change.)

Mike and Karen Pence: The Pences have been testing daily since the announcement of the Trumps’ diagnosis.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner: Recently traveled with Hope Hicks

Barron Trump

Eric Trump: At debate.

Lara Trump: At debate.

Donald Trump Jr.: Flew on Air Force One to Cleveland debate, did not fly back.

Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff

Pat Cipollone, White House counsel

Dan Scavino, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Director of Social Media

HHS Secretary Alex Azar

Attorney General Bill Barr

Defense Secretary Mark Esper

WH Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany

Justin Clark, deputy campaign manager

Rudy Giuliani: Was in Trump debate prep.

Jason Miller: Was in Trump debate prep.

Alice Marie Johnson: Flew on Air Force One to Cleveland debate.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett: Barrett and her husband had coronavirus earlier this year and recovered, per AP News.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA): Tested out of "an abundance of caution” because of Steve Mnuchin meeting earlier this week.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): Few on Air Force One to Cleveland debate, did not fly back.

DNC Chairman Tom Perez: In front row for Tuesday’s debate.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO):  Attended the Barrett nomination event, was seen there without a face covering.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Precautionary quarantine because of close contact with COVID-19-positive individuals.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE): Precautionary quarantine because of close contact with COVID-19-positive individuals.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK):  Precautionary quarantine because of close contact with COVID-19-positive individuals.

All of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Status unknown as of Tuesday midday:

Kimberly Guilfoyle (at debate)

Alyssa Farah, White House Director of Strategic Communications

Robert O’Brien, national security adviser (tested positive for coronavirus in July)

Tiffany Trump (at debate)

Derek Lyons,  Counselor to the President

Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R-IA), Senate pro tem: Declined to be tested, claiming physician’s advice as his reason; attended a meeting Thursday with Sen. Mike Lee.

30-50 donors who were in close contact with President Trump during an in-person event held at Trump’s Bedminster golf club on Thursday night. According to the official story, the event was held hours before President Trump’s positive test came back, but Hicks’s positive came back immediately before he left (although for a variety of reasons, the validity of that timeline is up in the air).

And because they’re stuck in this story, too:

Joe and Jill Biden: negative, committed to regular testing on all campaign event days.

Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff: negative

Previous megaposts, in case you’re a masochist: October 2 3 4 5 6

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

Heather Cox Richardson

I try to give us all a break on the weekend, but today seems like a day for which we need a record.

The president remains at Walter Reed Hospital. His condition is unclear. His doctors gave a cheery if vague picture of his health this morning, but minutes later, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows gave an off-the-record report to the press pool that told a different story. “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning, and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” Meadows said. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.” Meadows had been caught on tape asking to go off the record, so his identity was revealed.

Furious, Trump went to Twitter to say he was “feeling well!” In the evening, he released a four-minute video showing him sitting up at a conference table, saying in a rambling monologue that he would be back to campaigning soon. The video had been edited.

In his briefing to reporters, Dr. Sean Conley dated Trump’s diagnosis to Wednesday, a day earlier than Trump had admitted publicly. That new information meant that Trump was contagious at Tuesday’s debate, and that he knew he was contagious when he attended a fundraiser at his Bedminster golf club on Thursday, maskless. It would also mean that Trump knew he was sick before his adviser Hope Hicks’s diagnosis. After the press conference, the White House released a document saying that Conley had misspoken.

Over the course of the day, more members of Trump’s inner circle announced they have tested positive for coronavirus: former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Nick Luna, Trump’s personal assistant, are all infected; Christie is in the hospital. It also became clear that the White House had made little or no effort to trace who had contact with the infected officials.

Meanwhile, White House sources told reporters that Trump had fought against going to Walter Reed Hospital so close to the election, fearing he would look weak. His doctors gave him no choice. He finally gave in, but waited until after the stock market closed on Friday to make the trip. He is not being treated with hydroxychloroquine, which he repeatedly touted as an effective cure for Covid-19, but rather with the anti-viral drug remdesivir.

Trump has built his case for reelection on the idea that the coronavirus either is not that serious or has run its course. He has ridiculed the idea of wearing masks, and refused to follow the safety protocols health experts recommended. Now he and his wife are sick, and coronavirus is spreading through his inner circle, apparently through a super spreader event last weekend at the White House, when Trump announced he was nominating Amy Coney Barrett to take the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump’s strategy of downplaying the virus to convince Americans it was over has backfired spectacularly, with the nation watching aghast as the disease spreads through the White House and officials there seem unable to come up with a straight story about what’s happening. Interviewed by Isaac Chotiner for the New Yorker, Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, who has long-time sources in the White House, said that people there are “incredibly anxious…. For their own safety. For the safety of the country. I think they are scared for the president…. And I think they are just shell-shocked.”

According to Haberman, Trump “is very, very reluctant to have information about his health out there…. Any perception of weakness for him is some kind of psychic wound.” She explained how the upcoming election makes this sentiment particularly powerful right now. “This is his worst nightmare. Not just getting sick with this, but any scenario where he is out of sight and being tended to and Joe Biden is out campaigning.”

Indeed, Biden has taken to the campaign trail. With just a month left before the election, he is on the road while Trump’s campaign is paralyzed. Biden adviser Anita Dunn explained to Politico that he is practicing what he has been preaching. “There is no reason not to show the country that, yes, you can go about your business—if you do it safely, if you wear masks, if you socially distance…. The vice president has talked about this since March.”

The timing of the Trumps’ illness coincided with the final push from the Biden campaign. It has pulled its negative ads out of respect for the Trumps, it says, but had likely planned to anyway in order to focus on an uplifting message of change in the last month of the campaign. In any case, at this point the Biden campaign hardly has to draw attention to how poorly the administration had handled the coronavirus pandemic. With Trump in the hospital with Covid-19, it’s pretty obvious.

“They all know it’s over,” a Republican close to the Trump campaign told Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman. Another said, “This is spiraling out of control.”

It was a bad week politically for the president anyway. It was only a week ago—on Sunday—that the New York Times released information about his taxes, revealing that he is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and has avoided almost all U.S. taxes for years. Just two days later—Tuesday—the first presidential debate saw Trump blustering and bullying in what he thought was a demonstration that his supporters would love. Maybe members of his base did, but a New York Times/Siena College poll released today indicates that most voters were repelled by Trump’s behavior. Biden is up seven points among likely voters in Pennsylvania, and five points in Florida. By Thursday, we knew that Hope Hicks had tested positive for coronavirus, and shortly after midnight, in the early hours of Friday, we knew that the president and the First Lady had also tested positive.

If there was any good news in all this for the Trump campaign, it was that the tape released Thursday of the First Lady saying “who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” and “Give me a f****** break” about children separated from their parents has largely been forgotten. So has the statement of former national security adviser H.R. McMaster that the president is “aiding and abetting” Putin because he refuses to acknowledge that Russians are attacking the 2020 election.

Despite the growing crisis in the administration, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is still trying to get Barrett confirmed before the election, even if nothing else gets done. He has announced the Senate will not conduct business again until October 19, meaning it cannot take up the coronavirus bill the House just passed. Nonetheless, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to consider Barrett’s nomination, despite the fact that two members of the committee are infected with coronavirus. Those two say they will quarantine for just ten days so they can emerge in time for Barrett’s confirmation hearings beginning on October 12.

And while we are watching coronavirus infect the president and those around him, it also continues to spread around the rest of the country. The United States as a whole on Friday saw the highest count of new cases since August: 54,411. Deaths are down, but still 906 Americans died on Friday from Covid-19.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

Heather Cox Richardson