Another October Surprise, No Joy at Wrigley

E Minus 10: Emails found on devices used by disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner have thrown a wrench into the closing days of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

FBI Director James Comey told Congressional Republican leaders that emails related to the Clinton private email investigation cropped up in an unrelated case. That other case is the investigation into Weiner’s sexting with a 15-year-old girl. The pervy Weiner is the estranged husband of Clinton’s right-hand woman, Huma Abedin, and the FBI seized computers and devices that belonged to both of them.

Donald Trump said, “I think it’s the biggest story since Watergate.”

The Clinton email investigation had been closed. Criticizing Comey for making this latest announcement so close to election day, Clinton called a press conference yesterday and said, “We are calling the FBI to release all the information that it has. Let’s get it out.’’

The NY Times reports that tens of thousands of Abedin’s emails were backed up on her husband’s computer.

Speaking in New Hampshire amid chants of “lock her up,” Donald Trump declared, “Hillary Clinton’s corruption is on a scale we have never seen before. We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office.”

There’s only a couple of more days for October surprises in the election.

Econ 101: With increased consumer confidence and industrial production, the economy grew by 2.9 percent in the third quarter of the year, according to the Commerce Department. Economists say the numbers show the economy is moving ahead at a steady clip and the Federal Reserve may decide to increase interest rates. It’s one of the last major reports before the election and it’s contrary to Republican claims of a sour economy.

The Supremes: The Supreme Court has decided to enter the fray over transgender rights and hear a case about whether a transgender boy can use the girls’ bathroom at a Virginia high school. The case stems from the Obama administration’s order based on a 1972 which says that schools that receive federal money may not discriminate “on the basis of sex.” The legal question is whether the law, and Obama’s order, can also ban discrimination based on gender identity.

Public Opinion: The Denver Post editorial page has decided to end its unscientific online polls because the picture of public opinion they gather is basically worthless. In one recent poll, 51 percent of respondents said there is reason to be concerned about voter fraud, even though voter fraud is nearly nonexistent. Editor Chuck Plunkett wrote of the polls that, “The information they allow us to gather is such an untrustworthy representation of reality that any reporter who cited the results as credible in a story would, or at least should, be laughed out of the newsroom.”

No Joy: The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 last night in the first World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945. Cleveland now leads the series 2-1. Game four is tonight in Chicago.

Aging Admiral: A Russian naval battle group headed to the coast of Syria has been forced to refuel at sea after Spain and Malta refused their business because the Russians are going to join the Syrian civil war.

A headline on the Russian news service Sputnik reads, “Russian Naval Battle Group’s Deployment Off Syria Evidence of Fleet’s Power.” The flotilla’s centerpiece is Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, a Soviet-era ship that’s had random explosions and breakdowns, making it a joke on social media. The Kuznetsov, which has just 15 aircraft, has no catapult. The jets take off from a giant ski jump on the bow. The Russian fleet is not to be dismissed, though. It has a lot of firepower.

The Laureate Speaks: Bob Dylan finally told the Swedish Academy that of course he will accept the Nobel Prize for literature and that the award had left him “speechless.” Evidently. It took him two weeks to say anything about it.

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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