Survey says … A New York Times computer analysis of convicted felon Donald Trump’s rallies, interviews, statements and social media posts since 2015 finds his speeches “have grown darker, harsher, longer, angrier, less focused, more profane and increasingly fixated on the past.” (Gift link, underwritten by Chicago Public Square supporters.)
■ Journalism critic Mark Jacob: “Let’s talk about Trump’s lack of patriotism. He waves the flag, but he also wants to waive our civil rights.” (Illustration: Jonathan Franklin.)
■ Axios and Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei: “If he follows through on threats to jail or target media critics, that would be a debacle for democracy.”
■ Trump niece Mary L. Trump has no doubt: “If given the power, he will have his vengeance.”
■ Ctrl-Alt-Right-Delete columnist Melissa Ryan: Special prosecutor Jack Smith’s unsealed brief against Trump “exposes a playbook of harassment and violence that Americans must confront again in 2024.”
■ Ex-Times public editor Margaret Sullivan: “Smith’s explosive brief should have landed like an asteroid. (It didn’t.)”
■ Popular Information: A Trump campaign contest to let someone join him onstage in Pennsylvania over the weekend sure looks to have been a scam.
Tech bros’ split. Venture capital mogul Ben Horowitz, who endorsed Trump over the summer, is now a Kamala Harris backer …
■ … evidently putting him at odds with his Andreessen Horowitz cofounder—and University of Illinois graduate and web-browser pioneer—Marc Andreessen.
‘It’s like reading a ransom note and going This cursive is so lovely.’ Last Week Tonight host John Oliver has little patience for journalists praising vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s “civility” at last week’s debate.
■ Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch: “The far-right is advocating for the only freedom that seems to matter to them. The right to lie.”
■ Kamala Harris’ first late-night show interview since becoming the Democrats’ presidential candidate comes tomorrow night on Stephen Colbert’s show …
■ … a night after her running mate, Tim Walz, joins Jimmy Kimmel this evening.
■ Pod Save America host Dan Pfeiffer analyzes the mainstream media’s “fuming” over the Harris-Walz campaign’s media strategy.
■ The American Standard: Harris has been courting CEOs whose companies have been sued by the Justice Department.
Florida in fear. Updating coverage: The rise of Hurricane Milton marks the first time on record that three hurricanes have been churning the Atlantic Ocean simultaneously—and sets the stage for the state’s largest round of evacuations in seven years.
■ Columnist Brian Beutler: “Hurricane Helene lies are a trial run for the election.”
■ PolitiFact: An image of a little girl in a boat clutching a puppy amid rain and floodwaters, her face contorted in sorrow, is an AI fake.
■ The American Standard: “The Biden administration response to Helene has been good.”
‘There’s no such thing as a backdoor that only works when good guys use it.’ Tech watchdog and science fiction author Cory Doctorow: “State-affiliated Chinese hackers penetrated AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and others” using tech the FBI’s required every carrier to furnish under a law President Bill Clinton signed in 1994.
■ Add Comcast to the list of companies whose customers’ data has been stolen in a ransomware attack.
‘Free,’ but not forever. Chicago Public Square reader and Key West Voices publisher Bob Gold flags an issue with the feds’ latest round of free COVID-19 tests: “The packaging included the expected notice that the expiration date on the tests had been extended. Those we received were marked as originally expiring in December 2023, and have an updated expiration date of December 2024. In other words … a remaining shelf life of less than three months. It seems entirely plausible that the government has a surplus of old kits that are better off in the hands of people than in warehouses, but … what is the risk of using a test that has expired beyond the extended date?”
■ Short answer: Expired tests may render a “false negative” even if you’re actually sick. But positive results reliably indicate you’ve indeed caught the bug.
‘Extreme cause for concern.’ At least 41 of Chicago’s 50 Chicago City Council members are demanding a hearing into the mass resignation of the city’s school board.
■ Politico: Mayor Johnson was set this morning to “announce replacements to the public schools board at a church on the South Side.”
‘If you actually care about being embraced by readers in the future, perhaps you should avoid reflexive dismissal of every change that occurs on the way toward that future.’ After reading a former Northwestern University professor’s autobiography, columnist Neil Steinberg files a review it’s too bad someone else didn’t publish.
■ Steinberg’s Sun-Times colleagues are marking two years since they ripped down their website’s paywall …
■ … a possibility the paper’s then-new executive editor hinted at in a July 2022 edition of the Chicago Public Square podcast.
‘We take this very seriously and apologize for the oversight.’ Public Narrative regrets a technical failure that accidentally revealed the names, phone numbers and email addresses of respondents to its call for people interested in serving on one-hour focus groups to share insights and ideas for sustaining Chicago’s media.
■ The offer still stands—now with privacy protection: A $100 stipend for those accepted after filling out this really brief (like, one-minute) application form.
‘Now I know I can handle anything.’ Square supporter J.J. Tindall flaunts one of the hoodies in a new lineup of Squarewear.
■ Check ’em out here—including the return of T-shirts …
■ … all of which come with Raygun’s incredibly comprehensive any-reason return and exchange warranty …
■ … and get $5 off your purchase with any contribution—even just $1, once—to help keep Square coming.
■ PayPal’s an option, too.