the attitude with arnie arnesen rethink the week Sept 15 airs on wnhnfm.org at noon to 1pm EST

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Arnie Arnesen

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Sep 14, 2025, 7:26:26 PM (5 days ago) Sep 14

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The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen

opening thoughts:Even Leavitt can’t spin the joke check to Epstein from “DJTrump” The press secretary's feeble deflection can't hide the experiences of multiple women

producers: Dave Scott and Stephanie Collins
Chloé LaCasse (the best of the attitude)
streaming live at wnhnfm.org noon&7pm EST on the dial-94.7FM Concord NH

podcasts available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attitude-with-arnie-arnesen/id1634055179

opening thoughts:

Even Leavitt can’t spin the joke check to Epstein from “DJTrump”The press secretary's feeble deflection can't hide the experiences of multiple women https://www.salon.com/2025/09/12/even-leavitt-cant-spin-the-joke-check-to-epstein-from-djtrump/

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is good at her job. Not only does she fulfill the traditional duty of spokesperson for President Donald Trump, but she also serves as chief gaslighter of the nation. Leavitt consistently contradicts reality with ease — it’s a skill that would cause mental collapse in a person with a conscience. On Tuesday, this knack for playing dumb was on full display when she was asked by a reporter about a telling page from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book, which was revealed earlier this week by the Wall Street Journal.

The book, compiled by Epstein associate and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, included a photo of Epstein holding what the Journal described as “a poster board-sized check for $22,500.” Presented to him by Joel Pashcow, a businessman, Mar-a-Lago member and mutual friend of Epstein and Trump, the fake check was a sort of in-joke, made to appear as if Trump had sent it to Epstein. The caption said it was for a “fully depreciated” woman that Epstein was selling to Trump.When asked about the photo, Leavitt performed a clever trick. “It is not Donald Trump’s signature on that check. The president did not sign that check.”No one had accused Trump of signing the check. Leavitt, who isn’t as stupid as she pretends, knew full well what was going on. Pashcow was teasing his two friends by suggesting Trump was dating a woman that Epstein had “depreciated.” The joke’s premise was that both Epstein and Trump saw women not as human beings, but as objects to be used however men see fit. As the word “depreciation” suggests, the metaphor here is that this woman was more like a car than a person; she had no rights that a man needed to respect.

rethink the week:

talkers:

Stephen Pimpare is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Master in Public Policy program at Vermont Law and Graduate School. He is the author of four books, numerous articles, and the Host of the New Books Network's public policy channel.

Lincoln Mitchell teaches political science and public policy at Columbia University. He is the author of nine books and his writings have appeared at CNN, Reuters, the New York Times, NBC, the San Francisco Examiner and numerous other media platforms. For more of Lincoln’s work you can subscribe to his Substack “Kibitzing with Lincoln” at /lincolnmitchell.substack.com/.”

Jamie Rowen is a professor of Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the founding director of UMass' Center for Justice, Law, and Societies. Her work focuses on both domestic and international criminal law. Her book, Worthy of Justice: The Politics of Veterans Treatment Courts in Practice, is forthcoming with Stanford University Press in December 2025.

topics:

The UK fired their ambassador to the US over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, Epstein’s best friend remains the President of the United States.

No state has fought harder than Utah, where Charlie Kirk was murdered, to welcome guns on college campuses. https://newrepublic.com/article/200333/gun-safety-measures-utah-kirk

“We are not free from consequences”: Charlamagne says Kirk knew “cost” of free speech The Breakfast Club host reflected on Kirk’s assassination and the need for gun reform https://www.salon.com/2025/09/11/we-are-not-free-from-consequences-charlamagne-says-kirk-knew-cost-of-free-speech/

Political Violence and the Reality Distortion Field Sadly, we’ve always had violence in America; what’s different today is the aftermath, and the battle to define political opposition amid violence. https://prospect.org/politics/2025-09-10-political-violence-reality-distortion-field-charlie-kirk/

Charlie Kirk in his own words: ‘prowling Blacks’ and ‘the great replacement strategy’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs

Virulent debater and clickbait savant: how Charlie Kirk pushed a new generation to the right https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/12/charlie-kirk-young-conservatives-social-media

Meet the New Conservative Cancel Culture, This Time With Government InformersProfessors who speak wrongthink in class are being summarily fired. https://prospect.org/education/2025-09-12-new-conservative-cancel-culture-government-informers/

Threat of National Guard Deployment Raises Stakes in NYC Mayoral Election Civil rights groups suggested voting early, voting with friends, and pledged ‘immediate litigation’ if Trump tries to disrupt the election.https://prospect.org/politics/2025-09-12-threat-of-national-guard-raises-stakes-new-york-mayoral-election-mamdani/

The Coming Crisis in Health Care and the Crisis We Already Have Why we can’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again https://prospect.org/health/2025-09-11-coming-crisis-in-health-care-and-crisis-we-already-have/

Venezuela says 11 killed in US boat strike were not gang members amid reports vessel was returning to shoresInterior minister says ‘murder has been committed’ while US Congress demands justification for attack https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/11/venezuela-boat-strike-tren-de-aragua-trump