The Common Ills: Iraq snapshot

Tuesday, October 1, 2024. Robert Kennedy Junior has soaked the American taxpayers for a minimum of one million dollars, Donald Trump's desired 'purge' would impact Black Americans the hardest -- but don't tell DEMOCRACY NOW!, a 'climate activist' gets a platform to play both-sides, and so much other nonsense in the hours before Tim Walz debates the little weirdo JD Vance.

This is a US presidential election years and voting has already started in some areas (early voting) and voting will conclude in 34 days on November 5, 2024. That doesn't leave a lot of time for play but somebody tell that to Amy Goodman and DEMOCRACY NOW! In headlines, they include:

“An unprecedented tragedy.” Those were the words of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper after Hurricane Helene devastated a swath of the country from Florida to Tennessee. The storm’s death toll is nearing 100 and expected to rise as search and rescue teams reach areas cut off by catastrophic flooding and landslides. Millions have lost power in what is expected to become one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history.

At least 30 deaths occurred in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where the city of Asheville has been largely cut off after the Swannanoa River crested six feet above previous records, flooding entire neighborhoods. City officials in Asheville said residents may not have access to clean water for weeks after the storm severely damaged the city’s water treatment plant and piping system. Food and water are now being airlifted into Asheville since many roads leading into the area have been destroyed.

Hurricane Helene made landfall on Friday in Florida’s Big Bend as a 140 mile-per-hour Category 4 hurricane that had been fueled by abnormally warm water in the Gulf Of Mexico. On Saturday, Greenpeace posted a message on social media reading, “Hurricane Helene Must Be a Wake-up call for Climate Justice.”

Oh, it's a shame! It's a tragedy! But there's nothing we can do! That's what Amy DN! promoted there and especially in their segment where we were told that "The Republican Party is still deeply in denial. The Democratic Party is still deeply in denial."

As a general rule, fifty-year-old freaks sporting a 70s David Cassidy headaches aren't people I listen to -- we could go further into the weeds on this person but we'll leave it at that.

The fact is that the simplest thing we can do to stop climate change is to pressure our leaders. And we need leaders who are open to persuasion. Activist Bill McKibbes gasps that:

All of this is a way of saying something I’ve said too many times before: we’re out of margin.We’re now watching the climate crisis play out in real time, week by week, day by day. (117 Fahrenheit in Phoenix yesterday, the hottest September temperature ever recorded there, smashing the old daily mark by…eight degrees).

This means that our political leaders are finally going to have to make hard choices (or not, which is its own way of choosing). Brazil, for instance, is hoping to drill for oil at the mouth of the Amazon—which at least, given Brazil’s relative poverty, is somewhat understandable, if still insane. America’s politicians, under much less economic pressure, are facing similar choices, some of them as soon as the lame duck session after the November elections. Expect, for instance, a renewed push to open up new permits for LNG export terminals along the Gulf Coast. Pausing those permits was the most important step the Biden administration took to rein in Big Oil, and Houston’s been outraged ever since; it’s why they’re pouring money into the Trump campaign. And it’s why they have their errand boys in the Congress—outgoing Senator Joe Manchin, Wyoming’s John Barrasso—proposing a trade: permitting reform that would make it easier to build renewable energy in America, in exchange for ramping up LNG exports that would undercut renewable energy in Asia.

The numbers on whether this trade “makes sense” are complicated and contentious. Here’s a report from Third Way arguing yes, here’s a set of charts from the veteran energy analyst Jeremy Symons arguing that it will dramatically raise gas prices for those American consumers still tied to propane. New peer-reviewed numbers from the gold-standard methane scientist Bob Howarth at Cornell make it clear that these LNG exports are worse than coal; that prompted 125 climate scientists to write to the administration asking them to “follow the science.”

In the end, this decision will likely come down to politics. It’s not just Big Oil that’s willing to make such a trade—New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich, in line to be Democratic leader on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee when Manchin yachts back to West Virginia, has come out for the trade, assuredly because New Mexico gets a large share of its government revenues from taxing the natural gas under its part of the Permian basin. Northeastern Democrats will vote against, fearing not just climate destruction but the rise in gas prices as we send the commodity abroad. Meanwhile, the good people of the Gulf suffer from the grievous local environmental impacts of these giant plants, and the amount of methane in the atmosphere keeps rocketing up.

If Trump wins, there’s no need for a deal—the LNG projects will be approved, and permitting reform for renewables will be dead. If Harris wins and the Dems hold the Senate, at least there’s a chance that environmentalists can make it easier to build solar and wind without yielding on the massive carbon bomb and EJ disaster that is LNG export. That’s why I’m in Montana today, trying in my small way to help Jon Tester in his uphill fight to retain a Senate seat. And it’s why I’m in the swing states most of the time between now and November 5. Thousands of Third Act volunteers are deploying themselves far and wide to win this contest—you can join us on the Silver Wave tour in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. (Please join us, even if you haven’t reached sixty yet—we don’t check IDs and we love working with young people).

The bottom line is, we’re in a terrible corner now. That’s what all those pictures of floating cars really means. We don’t have room left to make tradeoffs and deals; physics isn’t in a bargaining mood. Every battle is dishearteningly existential now.

There isn't time to play and there isn't time to dither about choosing sides.

And it's not just the climate issue. Over the weekend -- DEMOCRACY NOW! missed this -- Donald Trump talked about allowing a brutal police response with no ramifications and how that would restore order. You can see just how privileged and narrow minded some on the left were as they ignored this topic. People of color -- and White people who can leave their own privilege -- got how serious this moment is.

A psychopath who wants back into the White House is preaching a purge and that's not news to Amy and the DN!ers. I don't think they have any Black staff -- certainly no Black staff on air. Is that why they didn't find this a news issue? Because such a purge would be largely against Black people. That's who already suffers from police violence the most.

But, hey, let's focus on everything else in the world and then we can play shocked after we've screwed over on own country by refusing to cover the stories that matter and presenting liars on air who play both-sides-are-bad when one side is truly evil and the other can be pressured.

There is no message to their segment from yesterday that we're not linking to other than: You are powerless.

What a way to rob the agency from people, what a proud moment for DEMOCRACY NOW!

In other news too many outlets are missing, Donald's ravings about immigrants just keeps getting worse. Mark Follman (MOTHER JONES) notes:

For much of 2024, Donald Trump has used demagoguery against migrants to campaign for the White House. In numerous recent speeches and media appearances, he has continued to inveigh about an alleged “invasion” coming across America’s southern border. He has falsely claimed that hordes of violent and “insane” foreigners have been taking over “hundreds” of cities and raping and killing “thousands of Americans.” His repeated vows to deport millions of undocumented immigrants draw roars of approval at his rallies.

Inflaming Americans’ fears about immigration and border security was a hallmark of Trump’s presidency and previous campaigns—and his extreme rhetoric, as I’ve previously reported, has marked spasms of violence, including a horrific mass shooting in 2019 in El Paso, Texas. Earlier this month, he and his running mate, JD Vance, magnified racist lies about Haitian immigrants supposedly stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio—provoking a wave of fear, bomb threats, and major disruption in that community.

Now, in the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Trump’s rhetoric about migrants has grown even darker and more foreboding. In three campaign speeches since Friday, he conjured disturbing images of mayhem and death and spoke of the nation as if it’s on the brink of destruction. With no basis in reality, he blamed this cartoonishly grim portrait of American carnage on his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“She let our American sons and daughters be raped and murdered at the hands of vicious monsters. She let American communities be conquered,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on Friday, emphasizing, “They’re conquering your communities.”

“These migrants,” Trump said the following day in Wisconsin, “they make our criminals look like babies. These are stone-cold killers. They’ll walk into your kitchen, they’ll cut your throat.”

In a lengthy diatribe that followed, he falsely claimed that Harris had “let in 425,431 people convicted of the worst crimes.” (This was one of several ways in which Trump wildly distorted data recently released by US Homeland Security that covers a 40-year period.) He declared that these were legions of criminals who “Kamala set loose to rape, pillage, thieve, plunder and kill the people of the United States of America.”

“Lock her up!” shouted someone in the crowd.

Trump further railed against Harris as being “mentally disabled” and supposedly responsible for tens of thousands of murderers pouring into the country. “I’ve been saying this for three years,” he went on, soon adding: “She’s letting in people who are going to walk into your house, break into your door, and they’ll do anything they want. These people are animals.”

Later in the speech, he again highlighted alleged violence by “illegal aliens” and declared: “I will liberate Wisconsin from this mass migrant invasion of murderers, rapists, hoodlums, drug dealers, thugs, and vicious gang members. I will liberate our nation.”

I'm not in the mood for the idiot Jill Stein but if someone wants to call out NEWSWEEK for media malpractice, their article yesterday not only cited the heavily flawed CAIR study, it also mentioned other polling but didn't note Jill in those polls. Why? Because she's at 1 and 2 percent and because no poll reflects the flawed CAIR poll. Though Hill did boast that she was taking out the Democratic Party. Remember that if we get stuck with Donald Trump.

We got stuck with Robert Kennedy Jr, didn't we?

Creepy, crazy Robert Kennedy Junior was back in the news over the weekend. No, it doesn't involve him and another dead animal. No, another of his many affairs hasn't been exposed. Melissa Quinn and Caitlin Yilek (CBS NEWS) report:

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by independent presidential Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore his name to New York's general election ballot.

The unsigned order from the court leaves intact a lower court decision declining to place his name back on New York's ballot ahead of the Nov. 5 contest. Kennedy mounted an unsuccessful independent bid for the White House and, after suspending his campaign last month, is working to have his name removed from ballots in more than a dozen states.

Which is good news. But we need to remember this for the future. Junior was always running a fake campaign. He never should have been on the ballots to begin with. He's no longer pretending he's running for the presidency. Instead of crawling back under his rock and disappearing, he has spent weeks now trying to get on or stay on the ballots of states that he believes Kamala might win in and trying to get off the ballots of states that he feels Donald might be close to carrying if his voters vote for Donald instead.

It's all garbage. Maureen Groppe (USA TODAY) notes:

New York Attorney General Letitia James responded that Kennedy's request is "extraordinary and disruptive."

Tens of thousands of ballots already in voters' hands would have to be invalidated, James told the court, even though "Kennedy is no longer seeking the office for which he insists on the right to appear on the ballot and is imploring his supporters to vote for someone else."

Kennedy's lawyers said he was only asking to put his name on ballots yet to be printed.

Yes, he was just insisting that he be on the ones yet to be printed. Because the legal ploy there is to then challenge New York's election results by insisting it was unfair to voters that he was on some ballots and not others. Donald is expected to lose New York state. Junior saw this as a loophole that could throw the results into question.

He's garbage and he's a nutcase. Emma Specter (VOGUE) observes:

Bizarrely enough, the Olivia Nuzzi scandal is actually perhaps the most normal bit of gossip to emerge about Kennedy since he began his campaign in 2023. This past May, Kennedy attributed the memory loss and brain fog he experienced in 2010 to “a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died” (yes, really), and three months later, he confessed to dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park after picking it up from the side of the road upstate with the intent to consume its meat. The same month, a 2012 article resurfaced in which Kennedy’s daughter Kick recounted a story about her father beheading a dead whale and strapping it to the top of his minivan for a five-hour drive. (And then, of course, there are the even more unseemly parts of his story, from sexual-assault allegations to the fact that Kennedy pledged to not “take sides on 9/11.”)

He's a nut case and a greedy grifter that stuck us, the US taxpayer, with his Secret Service bill. He never should have gotten Secret Service protection. He didn't need it -- all the nuts were already supporting him. But he ran his fake campaign and stuck the American people with the bill for the Secret Service. The lowest estimate for that month's worth of coverage is $1,000,000. He soaked the American taxpayers for one million dollars. Someone needs to do a cost analysis of Junior's campaign and just how much it has cost the American taxpayer with his protection, with his frivolous lawsuits -- we're paying for the courts to entertain his lawsuits -- and so much more. In the end, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Junior's vanity run cost the US taxpayer five million dollars.

Tonight?

Tonight the debate will be between Tim Walz and Miss Sassy JD Vance. CBS has given up the pretense of journalism and will not be fact checking any response. They say that they will fact check online. So maybe the best we can all do is stream online? And not at the CBS feed. Stream or watch PBS, AP, CNN, MSNBC, ABC -- anyone but CBS since CBS made it clear that lies are okay with them, CBS made it clear that they don't want to do their actual job. Let's not reward them for their sloppy behavior. Good for Lawrence O'Donnell for calling out CBS' nonsense last night.

Of course, the big question is will Miss Sassy show up for the debate tonight. After all, Donald Trump is too chicken to get back on the debate stage with Kamala Harris. And JD's not known for showing up when he's supposed to. As Chris Walker (TRUTHOUT) notes:

United States Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) has skipped every Senate vote since he was selected to be Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate back in mid-July.

The total number of votes Vance has missed over the past 10 weeks stands at 38, with more votes likely to come up between now and Election Day.

We'll wind down with Kamala's speech in Las Vegas on Sunday.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hey, Las Vegas. (Applause.)

Good evening, Nevada. (Applause.) Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. (Applause.) (Inaudible.)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you all. Thank you, thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)

And can we please hear it for Captain Quintero? (Applause.)

Oh, thank you all. Thank you, everyone. Oh, it is so wonderful to be back in Nevada. Thank you all. Thank you. (Applause.)

And happy Hispanic Heritage Month to everyone. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you all. It’s good to be back, and I want to thank everyone for all that you do.

I know we have some extraordinary elected leaders here, and I want to thank them for their incredible work and friendship. It is good to be with all the leaders who are here, including Representative Susie Lee, who is here — (applause); Steven Horsford — (applause); Dina Titus — (applause); the great General Ford — (applause); Senator Catherine Cortez Masto — (applause); Senator Jacky Rosen, who we’re going to send back to the United States Senate. (Applause.)

Thank you, everyone, and all the local leaders here. There are so many leaders here. It is good to be back with you. (Applause.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And wait a minute. We also tonight have here some of the Vegas Raiders, who won their game tonight. (Applause.) Thank you. Congratulations. Oh, congratulations. You came right from the game. Congratulations.

Give them an applause, right? (Applause.) Well done. Well done. Well done.

So, in all seriousness, everyone, before I begin, I want to say a few words about Hurricane Helene. And please have a seat if you’re able.

I want to talk about Hurricane Helene for a moment, and I know that everyone here sends their thoughts and prayers for the folks who have been so devastated by that hurricane and the ensuing events in Florida, in Georgia, the Carolinas, and other impacted states. And we know that so many have been impacted; some have died.

But I want to thank everyone for doing everything you can to think about them. Send them your thoughts. Send them your prayers.

I want to thank the first responders who have done so much. (Applause.)

And we will stand with these communities for as long as it takes to make sure that they are able to recover and rebuild.

Earlier today, I received an operational briefing from FEMA Director Criswell. More than 3,300 federal personnel have been mobilized. We are deploying food, water, and generators and working to restore water and power. (Applause.)

And the president and I have told state and local leaders we will provide whatever help they need in the days and weeks ahead.

And so, I thank you all for sending your best wishes to everyone there. Thank you. (Applause.)

So, Las Vegas, we have 37 days until the election. (Applause.) Thirty-seven days. And we know this will be a tight race until the very end.

And let’s level set. We are the underdog. We are the underdog, and we have some hard work ahead.

But here’s the thing. We like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work is good work. (Applause.)

And with your help, we will win in November. (Applause.) Yes, we will. Yes, we will. Yes, we will.

AUDIENCE: We will win! We will win! We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We will win.

AUDIENCE: We will win! We will win! We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We will win.

AUDIENCE: We will win! We will win! We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We will win.

And here’s why — and here’s why — and here’s why: Because we here know that this election is about two very different visions for our nation. And the contrast, I think, was quite clear in our debate.

Did you all see the debate? (Applause.) You saw — you saw the debate. You saw the debate. Yeah, yeah.

And in two days, I know we will cheer on Coach Walz when he debates J.D. Vance. (Applause.) Yeah.

But listen, also, their debate should not be the last word. I’m trying to debate Donald Trump again and — (applause) — I think he should debate again. The American people have a right to hear us discuss the issues. And as you say here in Las Vegas, I’m all in. I’m all in — (applause) — even if my opponent is ready to fold, so there you go.

But you will remember, in our first debate, I talked about issues like bringing down the cost of living, investing in small businesses, protecting reproductive freedom — (applause) — and keeping our nation secure. (Applause.)

But from Donald Trump, well, it was the same old, tired playbook — same old, tired playbook — with no plan on how he would address the needs of the American people.

Well, folks, it’s time to turn the page. (Applause.) It’s time to turn the page.

America is ready to chart a new way forward — (applause) — ready for a new and optimistic generation of leadership — (applause) — which is why Democrats, Republicans, and independents are supporting our campaign, because we know we need a president who works for all the American people. (Applause.)

Enough of the division. Enough of the hate. We are all in this together. (Applause.)

And you all know, for my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people. The people. (Applause.)

From being a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland, I stood up for women and children against predators. (Applause.) As attorney general of California, I took on the big banks — (applause) — and delivered $20 billion for middle-class families who faced foreclosure. (Applause.) I stood up for veterans and students being scammed by for-profit colleges — (applause) — for workers who were being cheated out of their wages. (Applause.)

And I pledge to you, as president, I will fight for all Americans. And together, we will build a brighter future for our nation. (Applause.)

We will build a future that includes thinking about our economy in a way that it is about lifting everyone up. We will build what I call an “opportunity economy” so that every American has an opportunity to own a home, to build wealth, to start a business. (Applause.)

And let me tell you, I love our small businesses, of which I’ve met so many right here in Vegas. (Applause.)

You know, growing up, our mother worked very long hours, and so, my sister Maya and I would go over two doors down to Ms. Shelton’s house. She — we called her our second mother. And Ms. Shelton was a small-business owner. So, I know, since I was a young child, who our small businesses are, who our small-business owners are.

Small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy. (Applause.) I know that. I know that. And Latina small-business owners are the fastest growing segment of our economy. (Applause.)

So, my plan is about tapping into that ambition, those aspirations, those dreams, those incredible ideas, that strong work ethic that people have, also understanding not everybody gets handed $4 million on a silver platter and files for bankruptcy six times.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, my plan is about saying we’ve got to help entrepreneurs, startups out, and I will give a $50,000 tax deduction to help entrepreneurs start their small businesses. (Applause.) Because right now, that tax deduction is $5,000. Can’t nobody start a small business in 2024. So, we’re going — we are going to make it something what — where it is doable to lift folks up.

We also need to build more housing in America. (Applause.) My mother saved up for years, until I was a teenager, when she was able to buy our first home. And right now, a serious housing shortage is part of what is driving up cost. So, we will cut the red tape and work with the private sector to build 3 million new homes — (applause) — and provide first-time home buyers with $25,000 down-payment assistance — (applause) — so you can just get your foot in the door. You’ll do the rest.

And we must lower the cost of living, because while our economy is doing well by many measures, prices for everyday things like groceries are still too high. You know it, and I know it.

So, I have a plan that includes lowering costs on everything from health care to groceries, including I will take on the corporate price gouging that we know — (applause) — has resulted in jacking prices up, often around tragedies and emergencies.

We will give a tax cut to 100 million more Americans, including $6,000 during the first year of a child’s life — (applause) — knowing that the vast majority of our young parents have a natural desire to parent their children well but not always the resources to do it. And that $6,000 in extending and expanding the Child Tax Credit will help buying a crib, buying a car seat, doing the things that are so critical in that first phase of life.

I will also make sure good-paying jobs are available to all Americans, not only those with college degrees. (Applause.) Because we need to recognize the value of additional paths, such as apprenticeships and technical programs. (Applause.) And so, as president, part of how I’m going to push this forward is I will get rid of unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs — (applause) — understanding that having a college degree is not the only measure of the skills and experience of a worker. (Applause.) And when we do that with the federal workforce, I’m coming to ask the private sector — challenge you to do the same. (Applause.)

So, all of this is to say I will always put the middle class and working families first. I come from the middle class, and I will never forget where I come from. (Applause.) Never.

Now, Donald Trump has a different plan.

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Just google “Project 2025.”

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Which, I have to say, I still can’t believe they put that thing in writing. (Laughter.) They printed it up. They bound it. They handed it out. Just google it. It is a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he would do if he were elected again as president.

Donald Trump will give billionaires and corporations massive tax cuts again —

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT: — cut Social Security and Medicare —

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — and impose what I call a “Trump sales tax,” which would be a 20 percent tax on everyday basic necessities —

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — which economists have measured would cost the average family nearly 4,000 more dollars a year in everyday expenses.

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And on top of all this, Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable Care Act.

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And he has no plan to replace it.

He has, quote, “concepts of a plan.” (Applause.) “Concepts.”

So, here’s the thing, though. We can laugh about many things, but the consequences of this are quite serious — quite serious. Because think about it: He’s going to threaten health coverage and health insurance for 45 million people in our country based on a concept and take us back to when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions. You remember what that was like?

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, we are not going back. (Applause.) We are not going back.

AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back! We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re not going back. We — we will move forward and — (applause) — and we will take on the biggest issues facing our nation.

We have talked about the economy. We have talked about what we can do in terms of investing in the ambition, the aspirations of our country. We will take on the issue of immigration. We will take on a number of issues.

On the subject of immigration, we must have comprehensive immigration reform — (applause) — with strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship — (applause) — including for hardworking immigrants who have been here for years, including our DREAMers — (applause) — including our DREAMers.

And I was attorney general of a border state. I prosecuted transnational criminal organizations who traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings. And as president, I will double the resources for the Department of Justice to go after those transnational cartels — (applause) — and take action to stop the flow of fentanyl coming into our country, which is destroying entire communities. (Applause.)

These are serious problems, and we know Donald Trump won’t solve them.

When he was president, he did nothing to fix our immigration system. (Applause.) And earlier this year, we had a chance to pass the toughest bipartisan border security bill in decades, and Donald Trump tanked the bill because he thought that that bill, if passed, would have hurt him, and he’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. That’s not the kind of president we want.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: As president, he cruelly separated families and plans to do it again.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And he continues to fan the flames of fear and division.

Look, we need a president who cares more about solving problems than playing political games and demeaning people full

time. (Applause.) We’re tired of that. We’re — we’re done with that.

So, Nevada, ours is a fight for the future and it is a fight for freedom — (applause) — like the fundamental freedom of a woman to be able to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do. (Applause.)

And we remember how we got here. Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court — the court of Thurgood and RBG —

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — so that they would do as they did and overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade. And now one in three women in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban —

     AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — many with no exceptions, even for rape and incest. It is immoral. Immoral.

And let us agree, one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government shouldn’t be telling her what to do. (Applause.) If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government telling her what to do with her body. (Applause.) Come on.

And with Jacky Rosen back in the United States Senate — (applause) — when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. (Applause.) Proudly sign it into law.

And, Nevada, you know I’m traveling all over our country. Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on other hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote, the freedom to join a union, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride — (applause) — and the freedom to be safe from gun violence — (applause) — which after 1 October Nevada proved that smart gun safety laws are just common sense. (Applause.)

So, look, generations before us, generations of America led the fight for freedom, and the baton — well, it’s now in our hands. It’s now in our hands. (Applause.)

And it all comes down to this. We are here together. You came out on a Sunday evening. We are here together because we know what is at stake, and we are here together because we love our country. We love our country. We love our country. (Applause.)

     AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT: That’s right. That’s right.

     AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And I do believe — I do believe that one of the highest forms of patriotism that we could show is to then fight for the ideals of our country. That’s what this is about. It is a fight to realize the promise of America. (Applause.)

And I know the people of Nevada; you are Battle Born. You are Battle Born. (Applause.) Yes, you are. And we are all ready for the work ahead. Thirty-seven days. (Applause.) Thirty-seven days.

And here in Nevada, every voter will receive a ballot in the mail, and in-person early voting starts October 19th. (Applause.)

So, now is the time to make your plan for how you are going to vote. Okay? And I’d ask you to start making your plan now for how you are going to vote. And if you choose to vote by mail, do not wait. Fill out your battl- — ballot, sign it, and send it back right away. (Applause.) Okay? And tell your neighbors.

Because, folks, the election is here — (applause) — and we need to energize and organize and mobilize. And remember, your vote is your voice. Your voice is your power. Don’t ever let anybody take your power from you. Never. (Applause.) Never. Don’t let anybody silence you ever.

So, Las Vegas, today, I ask you, are you ready to make your voices heard? (Applause.)

     Do we believe in freedom? (Applause.)

     Do we believe in opportunity? (Applause.)

     Do we believe in the promise of America? (Applause.)

     And are we ready to fight for it? (Applause.)

     And when we fight —

     AUDIENCE: We win!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT: — we win.

God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. God bless you. (Applause.)

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Tuesday, October 01, 2024

Iraq snapshot