(((haroldfeld)))

Something is going horribly wrong in the Senate race in Michigan. And I am going to keep calling it out. On the one hand, the Republicans are conducting a campaign of blatant anti-Muslim fear mongering. Mike Rogers, Donald Trump and the rest of the GOP need to knock it off. Mike needs to personally and repeatedly denounce hate against Muslims. But now, at the same time, we have TWO ads from the Democratic side that ALSO traffic in hate and intolerance — causing alarm for some Black and Jewish voters. Seriously— WTF ???? The first ad was from Rebellion PAC (NOT the official Abdul El-Sayyed campaign). It suggested that Americans can’t buy groceries because the USA sends so much money to Israel. That is a lie. The USA spends less than 00.1 percent of our federal budget on support for Israel. But this ad pretends bananas cost too much because the Jewish state is bleeding us dry. TOTALLY nuts. And yet — this kind of thinking has always put Jewish lives at risk. Blaming Jews for everyone’s economic problems has a long, bloody history. Abdul did try to separate himself from the ad. He accurately noted that his campaign didn’t produce it. But the problem is: if you listen, Abdul actually NEVER DENOUNCED the CONTENT of the ad. He never said, “This ad is wrong.” He just said, “Hey, it wasn’t me.” 😬😬😬 That ad — and Abdul’s refusal to forthrightly denounce it — is scaring some Jewish Democrats in Michigan, who now are more reluctant to vote for him. In other words, that one ad alone is jeopardizing our party’s shot at taking back the U.S. Senate. BUT IT GETS WORSE! Then Abdul’s formal, official campaign put out its OWN ad — which features none other than the vile and contemptible Tucker Carlson (!!!). As you know, Tucker Carlson is a rabid, anti-Black bigot who also traffics in anti-Jewish stereotypes. He is anathema to most Black people and most Jews. No Democrat should ever celebrate the words of a white nationalist who actively undermines the safety of Black people and Jewish people. Moreover, given the importance of Black and Jewish Democrats to our victory in Michigan, the decision to include Tucker Carlson in any Democratic ad there is truly baffling. Why am I speaking out about this now? Because I want Democrats to build a winning coalition — now and into the future. Chasing off any Black or Jewish voters is a path to defeat — both in the short term and the long term. As proud Democrats, it can feel uncomfortable or risky to speak against intolerance in our own party, especially just days before a national election. It would be easier for us to let this stuff slide, shut up and close ranks. But that would make us hypocrites. For 10 years, we Democrats have watched with dismay and disgust as Republicans (who know better) have refused to challenge ANY bad ideas or bad actions in their own ranks. As a result, their party curdled into a cult — one that is now wrecking the country AND falling apart. As Democrats, we should not make the same mistake. Anti-Muslim hate is wrong. Period. Anti-Jewish hate is wrong. Period. Tucker Carlson’s white nationalism is wrong. Period. All candidates in Michigan need to say that clearly— and then pull down/denounce any ads that normalize hate or elevate hate mongers.

MAKING AMERICA SAFE AGAIN 🇺🇸 Today, I announced the FCC will vote to authorize prisons to jam contraband cellphones for the first time ever. Almost 500,000 inmates now have access to them and 25,000 phones are seized in jails annually. Inmates are using them at exceptionally high rates to order hits, run drug operations, enable CSAM abuse of young kids, and many more awful acts. We are now giving state and local prisons & jails a tool they’ve been denied for years. Grateful for the chance to get this across the finish line.

FAA looking at what can be done about GPS interference

Another interesting development for $NN ...

Somewhat revised "American Schools of Antitrust" for those who wish to print on a tea towel. Didn't include contemporary figures

Really great piece by @tamzinbooth on how the states are filling the void for antitrust enforcement while the federal enforcers are sleeping. A partner at a pro-merger economics consulting firm says "Uncertainty over whether and when states will intervene is acting as an invisible tax on dealmaking and a drag on the U.S. economy." A good thing, actually! nytimes.com/2026/10/17/busin…

Can the echo chambers surrounding Israel and Palestine be broken? A few days ago, I spent an unusually intense day in five engagements with policymakers, officials, diplomats, journalists, former executive branch figures, and commentators. I began with a briefing to a parliamentary committee in a major European Union country on UNRWA funding and Gaza’s humanitarian needs. I urged support for UNDP efforts to clear waste that is driving infestations and health risks and encouraged the committee to see UNICEF as a platform for broader educational services. I argued that UNRWA is no longer a viable vehicle for humanitarian delivery in postwar Gaza and that its role there should be assessed separately from its work in the West Bank and neighboring Arab states. I then spoke with government officials about Palestinian politics and the barriers to near‑term change. After that, I met regional diplomats to discuss concrete policy steps that could reshape Gaza’s trajectory and, over time, the broader Israeli and Palestinian conflict. Later, I attended a discussion of Brink, Brett McGurk’s account of his years as President Biden’s Middle East coordinator and a senior diplomat across several administrations. Moderated by David Ignatius of The Washington Post, the conversation examined the conflicting goals that have defined the aftermath of October 7: freeing Israeli hostages, securing a ceasefire, and removing Hamas from Gaza. I ended the day with journalist and analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, whose remarks spanned Gaza, settler violence, Israeli politics, and the elusive prospect of Israeli and Palestinian peace. Across those five engagements, I heard sharply different views on Palestinian politics, Israeli society, October 7, the war in Gaza, and the broader conflict. One theme connected them all: echo chambers. They shape how information spreads, how people react to it, and how personal and public attitudes form, especially when people refuse to consider unfamiliar ideas. Some participants were genuinely open to perspectives that challenged their assumptions. Others responded instantly with counterarguments, more interested in asserting their case than in an honest exchange. Some spoke only to their own circles and repeated familiar lines. Others, even within those same circles, were willing to question conventional thinking and explore new possibilities. Consider these two examples: in parts of the pro‑Palestine movement, Israel is cast as an inherently illegitimate, colonial, genocide-committing enterprise, reinforced across academic, activist, political, and journalistic spaces. In parts of the pro‑Israel movement, settler violence in the West Bank is minimized or reflexively blamed on Palestinians despite video evidence, official acknowledgments, and a long record of extremism enabled and protected by the Israeli government. The difference is that “pro‑Palestine” narratives increasingly reach mainstream global audiences, while pro‑Israel advocates often speak mainly to one another, doing little to arrest Israel’s declining diplomatic and reputational standing. The question is whether either community can break out of its echo chamber and engage honestly with the other, and critically, whether outside observers can resist forming their own echo chambers from information that is limited, curated, manipulated, or incomplete.