Here's Donald, Martyr in Chief, after multiple women have called him out for inappropriate groping:

“I take all of these slings and arrows, gladly, for you,” Mr. Trump said to cheers in West Palm Beach. “I take them for our movement, so that we can have our country back. Our great civilization here in America and across the civilized world has come upon a moment of reckoning.”

Trump is imploding. He continues to insist all these women's claims against him are lies, and the product of some grand conspiracy. The latest polls in Pennsylvania have Hillary way ahead. I disagree that this is some watershed moment for women, like Ferguson. I think it's about Donald Trump, not a cause. Who wouldn't be reviled by him except the staunchest, most irrational Clinton haters? The sheer number of claims simply make them impossible for him to overcome. He has no path to win. No one wants a groper-in-chief for President.

As Bob Dylan put it decades ago, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." So what is his goal at this point? Trump must know he's going down in flames. Can he avoid his brand going down with him? What about his kids? Are they privately in denial or mortified? Will Melania stay with him after the election?

Ultimately, I think history books will marvel at his arrogance and narcissism -- he really seems to believe that people love him so much they will fail to see him as the Emperor with No Clothes and overlook the growing number of accusations against him -- accusations that include not just groping, but bigotry against immigrants and Muslims, inflating his wealth while downplaying his business failures, and misogyny -- as well as his bizarre admissions, like bragging about avoiding federal taxes. How delusional. [More...]

Via Carol Rosenberg at the Miami Herald, who has been covering Guantanamo Bay from the beginning: Mustafa al Hawsawi, 48, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

He is alleged to have helped the hijackers with money, Western clothing, traveler’s checks and credit cards.

He was held by the CIA until transferred to Guantanamo in 2006. He is still there, awaiting trial with the other 9/11 detainees. He will undergo rectal surgery this week. The Pentagon has confirmed the surgery but doesn't want to talk about why he needs it. His lawyer, Walter Ruiz, a Naval Reserve officer, is talking,

[al Hawsawi] has sat gingerly on a pillow at the war court since his first appearance in 2008. But the reason was not publicly known until release of a portion of the so-called Senate Torture Report on the CIA program in December 2014, which described agents using quasi medical techniques called “rectal rehydration” and “rectal re-feeding.”

“Mr. Hawsawi was tortured in the black sites. He was sodomized,” Ruiz told reporters Monday evening, advising them to “shy away from terms like rectal penetration or rectal rehydration because the reality is it was sodomy,” he said. Since then, he said, he has had “to manually reinsert parts of his anal cavity” to defecate.

“When he has a bowel movement, he has to reinsert parts of his anus back into his anal cavity,” Ruiz said, which “causes him to bleed, causes him excruciating pain.”

Simply disgusting.[More...]

Yom Kippur began at sundown last night. It is the holiest Jewish holiday. A time to fast, pray and repent.

Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement" and refers to the annual Jewish observance of fasting, prayer and repentance. Part of the High Holidays, which also includes Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. In three separate passages in the Torah, the Jewish people are told, "the tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: You shall practice self-denial."(Leviticus 23:27). Fasting is seen as fulfilling this biblical commandment. The Yom Kippur fast also enables us to put aside our physical desires to concentrate on our spiritual needs through prayer, repentance and self-improvement.

Yom Kippur is the moment in Jewish time when we dedicate our mind, body, and soul to reconciliation with God, our fellow human beings, and ourselves. We are commanded to turn to those whom we have wronged first, acknowledging our sins and the pain we might have caused. At the same time, we must be willing to forgive and to let go of certain offenses and the feelings of resentment they provoked in us. On this journey we are both seekers and givers of pardon. Only then can we turn to God and ask for forgiveness: “And for all these, God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, and grant us atonement.”

To those of you observing the holiday, G’mar Chatimah Tovah - May You Be Sealed for a Good Year (in the Book of Life). (I hope I got that right.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

• GOP nears all-out civil war as party clashes over Donald Trump (Chicago Tribune)
• The GOP Tumbles Toward Anarchy
  (Washington Post)
• Donald Trump's Sad Lonely Life(New York Times, David Brooks)

Don't think this means your vote doesn't matter. It does, check your voter registration today. It's not just the presidency but control of the House and Senate that's at stake.

Some suggestions for those at or approaching retirement age:

• Cuenca, Ecador
• Algarve, Portugal
• Ambergris Caye, Placencia or Cayo, Belize
• Panama
• Costa Rica
• Medellin, Colombia
• Uruguay

Best places to retire 2016 (health care, residency permits, cost of living, and much more factored in)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: Hillary won (not a surprise.) The New York Times editorial on Trump's performance, Mr. Trump Goes Low:

Sniffing and glowering, Mr. Trump prowled behind Mrs. Clinton as she presented herself again as the only adult on stage, the only one seeking to persuade the great majority of Americans that she shares their values and aspirations. Mr. Trump, by contrast, fell back on the tricks he has learned from his years in pro wrestling and reality television, making clear how deep his cynicism goes.

Update: Shorter version of the debate:

[More...]

This story is one told by criminal defense lawyers to juries during opening argument when a snitch is going to testify. In our version, the story is not about a female, but a Rocky Mountain former, who lets in a snake to protect it from the cold. I've written about it a few times.

There was a Rocky Mountain farmer. He loved all God's creatures. One time, as he was out clearing the snow from his long driveway he found a mostly frozen snake. He brought him inside and put him in front of the fireplace so he'd thaw out. He and the snake developed a relationship. A few nights later, he bent down in front of the fireplace to stick another log on the fire. As he bent down, the snake jumped up and bit him in the as*. The farmer, knowing he was going to die, was crushed and said to the snake, "How could you do that to me, after all I've done for you?" To which the snake responded, "You knew what I was when you brought me in here."

[More...]

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the War in Afghanistan. It began on October 7, 2001, four weeks after the 9/11 attacks, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. It supposedly ended in 2014.

It sounds like it just changed names from Operation Enduring Freedom to Operation Freedom Sentinel. In 2015, more than 10,000 U.S. troops were active in Operation Freedom Sentinel. Today, U.S. Army General John Nicholson, the Commander of Resolute Support forces and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, visited Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, the largest Afghan province and met with elder tribe leaders. He told them the U.S. would not let the Taliban win. [More...]

You knew this was coming. CNN has now published more lewd recordings of Donald Trump from the Howard Stern radio show:

Trump’s years of interviews with Howard Stern, in which he commented on his daughter’s physique, having sex with women during menstruation, interracial sex and getting out of relationships with women over the age of 35.

I'm not linking to the CNN article about the recordings due to auto-play video.

The Rolling Stones played at Coachella in the Desert yesterday. They opened with Start Me Up. The full version, including their entrance is below:

Mick Jagger may be the most unique, inimitable performer on the planet. He's an international treasure.

The Stones just released their first new studio album in a decade. It's a blues album. They played Ride 'Em On Down at the Desert show. Here's a clip of the audio of another song on the new album, Just Your Fool.

More from their Desert performance: Gimme Shelter (with Voice alumna Sasha Allen, who joined the Stones' "touring lineup" this year); You Can't Always Get What You Want and Sympathy for the Devil.

Here's a terrific video featuring Keith Richards and You've Got the Silver from Santiago Chile this March.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome, except Donald Trump. There are several Thump threads open for commenting.

Actor Robert De Niro on Trump: 56 seconds that will make your day. De Niro calls Trump “a dog,” “a pig,” “a con,” “a bulls—t artist … who doesn’t know what he’s talking about” and “an idiot.”

Transcript below:[More...]

You can watch Donald Trump's lewd recording at at the Washington Post here.

He is beginning to creep me out. We shouldn't elect a President who makes you feel like taking a shower every time you hear him speak. I don't think he's changed a bit.

Seriously, exactly what kind of change does he offer? He's just a carnival barker. If he loses, which I have no doubt he will, his "Trump" brand will be inexorably tainted. Who would be a big enough chump to buy something that says "Trump" on it? I won't be surprised if NBC changes the name of Celebrity Apprentice before Arnold Schwarzenegger takes over hosting duties in January.

The only place for Trump after this election is the media -- as in his own media company. He'll probably try to become a media mogul and buy or start a new right wing cable news channel and online news outfit. There's a sucker born every minute who will want to watch his show -- even if just to revel in how far he's fallen. [More...]

The 4 am update from the National Hurricane Center:

WESTERN EDGE OF MATTHEW'S EYEWALL APPROACHING CAPE CANAVERAL...

During the past hour, a sustained wind of 46 mph (74 km/h) and a gust of 70 mph (113 km/h) were reported at Melbourne, Florida, while a gust of 45 mph (73 km/h) was reported at Orlando, Florida.

Miami missed the brunt of Matthew, which has been downgraded to a Category 3 Storm. Even so, the danger from the storm is still very real and serious. [More...]

President Obama today commuted the sentences of 102 inmates, bringing the number of commutations this year to 590 and 774 in total during his presidency. Here are their names and a brief description of their original sentences.

President Obama granted clemency to 102 inmates on Thursday, as he continues to release federal inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses. Obama has now commuted the sentences of 774 federal inmates, more than the previous 11 presidents combined.

With 590 commutations this year, the president has commuted more individuals’ sentences in one year than in any single year in U.S. history, White House officials said.

Obama's approval ratings are at the highest level of his second term. [More...]

Update: Big Tent Democrat is staying put in the Palm Beach area because his parents won't leave. Follow him on Twitter here -- good photos.

Palm Beach is under a mandatory evacuation order. Hurricane Matthew is expected to be a Category 4 storm before touching down in Florida Thursday night. Right now it's over the Bahamas. (Warning: Auto-play video, it's unavoidable everywhere.) Matthew may also loop back and hit Florida a second time, after heading to the Carolinas. Miami and Broward are in the direct path. Even central Florida (Orlando and Tampa) aren't safe.

The latest update (#32) from the National Hurricane Center: [More...]