Oct. 18 Open Thread: The Ghost of James Bayard

Esquire’s Charles Pierce connects the dots from Jamal Khashoggi’s murder by the Saudis to the Constitution’s emoluments clause, and does so with the help of a quote from storied Delaware statesman James A. Bayard, who explained the need for the clause clearly and succinctly during the Constitutional Convention:

If presents were allowed to be received without number, and privately, they might produce an improper effect, by seducing men from an honest attachment for their country, in favor of that which was loading them with favors.

ProPublica delved into the Trump Organization’s crooked history to document the myriad ways the Trumps — yes, Ivanka too — committed blatant fraud by lying to investors and the media, and how they profit by the fraud while their “partners” frequently go tits-up.

Lots of stories this week pushing the idea that the American public is sick of partisanship. This story explains why the study that these pundits based their columns on is 95% bullshit.

Here’s a long-overdue move: Some major Facebook stockholders are pushing to have Mark Zuckerberg removed as the company’s CEO. He owns too much stock for it to work, but at least it’s now out there. Once again, the failure of the free market: A larcenous little twerp’s ability to write some code does not make him a capable or responsible CEO. He is an accomplished fraudster, however.

How fucked-up are Republicans? David Brat, the Virginia congressman who ousted Eric Cantor in a primary from the right, is in a tough re-election fight, so he has had to campaign under the pretense that he’s not a sociopath and has the emotional capacity of a normal human. He failed miserably when talking to a drug-addicted female inmate, telling her that if she thinks she has it tough, she should try dealing with the negative campaign ads that his opponent is running against him. Technically, self-pity is an emotion.

Charlie Pierce again, this time with his take on Elizabeth Warren’s attempt to end the slurs over her purported ancestry. It makes fine distinctions, so his argument will fly over most of the public’s heads.

Pierce also directs readers to the only salient criticism of Warren to come out of the entire incident: She never lifted a finger on Native American issues until she wanted to run for president.