;)
The Commentariat -- December 23, 2017
Eileen Sullivan & Michael Tackett of the New York Times: "President Trump signed the most consequential tax legislation in three decades on Friday, even as he complained that he has not been given credit for his administration's accomplishments during a turbulent first year. Mr. Trump decided against doing a formal signing ceremony early next year because television news networks questioned whether he would keep his promise to sign the legislation before Christmas. Mr. Trump said he saw the coverage Friday morning and hastily called his staff to say that the legislation needed to be signed 'now,' prompting a last-minute Oval Office ceremony for the president's greatest achievement in his first year in office." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Naomi Jagoda of the Hill: "Congress's tax scorekeeper said Friday that the tax-cut package President Trump signed earlier in the day won't fully pay for itself through economic growth. After accounting for macroeconomic effects, the bill would reduce federal revenue by $1.07 trillion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). While that's less than the $1.46 trillion price tag the JCT put on the bill before accounting for economic growth, the committee says the bill still isn't close to being deficit-neutral. The JCT's report was released hours after Trump signed the tax package int law at the White House. The president said that the tax cuts will be 'fantastic for the economy.'" Mrs. McC: Yeah, & Ivanka Trump said the tax heist would pay for itself. So the JCT must be wrong. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Jesse Drucker & Audrey Carlsen of the New York Times: "President Trump would save about $11 million on his taxes, if the new Republican tax overhaul were applied to his 2005 tax return, a New York Times analysis has found. The savings would be a roughly 30 percent cut. He would also save another $4.4 million on his eventual estate tax bill." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: "In wealthier, high-property-tax towns [in New York State]..., nearly all the residential property tax bills are more than $10,000. By prepaying next year's property taxes now, homeowners are hoping to deduct the payments on their 2017 federal taxes. On Friday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo [D-N.Y.] signed an executive order suspending provisions in state law that might have blocked some residents from prepaying next year's property taxes. Mr. Cuomo, a possible presidential contender, said the move was aimed at protecting residents from the 'divisive' Trump administration's tax law that is an 'economic dagger targeted for the heart' of New York.... He said some people may think the executive order was designed to 'circumvent' the tax bill President Trump just signed. 'You are damned right,' Mr. Cuomo said." See also Marvin S.'s comment at the end of yesterday's thread. ...
... ** Heather Long of the Washington Post on things you can do before January 1 to lower your tax bills for 2017 & 2018. Most of these work only if you itemize deductions. Mrs. McC: As for me, I'm giving more to charity this week & following Mrs. S.'s lead by trudging down to the local tax collector (can't drive; car stuck in snowbank!).
Adam Goldman & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Donald "Trump's verbal assaults [on the F.B.I.] have put [Director Christopher] Wray and his leadership team in a difficult position.... Mr. Wray ... has promised the F.B.I.'s work would be based on the 'facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice -- period.' Yet Mr. Trump and his allies in Congress are making that task much harder. Current and former F.B.I. officials say Mr. Trump's criticisms, and those of normally supportive Republican members of Congress, have damaged morale in some quarters of the bureau.... During a congressional hearing this month, Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, asked Mr. Wray about the political views of some of his top agents. F.B.I. officials said they were stunned that Mr. Gohmert singled out a seemingly random group of agents. Several of those mentioned had nothing to do with either the investigation into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information, or the F.B.I.'s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election.... Shortly after it was revealed early this month that a senior F.B.I. agent and counterintelligence lawyer who worked on both the Clinton and Russia investigations had made anti-Trump comments while exchanging texts, the president said in a Twitter post that the F.B.I.'s 'reputation is in Tatters.'"
Ana Swanson of the New York Times: A year ago, "Mr. Trump pledged to build roads and bridges, strengthen 'Buy America' provisions, protect factories from unfair imports and revive industry, especially steel. But after a year in office, Mr. Trump has not enacted these policies. And when it comes to steel, his failure to follow through on a promise has actually done more harm than good.... Foreign steel makers have rushed to get their product into the United States before tariffs start.... That surge of imports has hurt American steel makers, which were already struggling against a glut of cheap Chinese steel." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: It's amazing how many Trump voters knew he was a non-stop liar but still thought whatever he said that profited them was the one true thing.
Mattathias Schwartz in New York: "Multiple news organizations have calculated that the death toll [in Puerto Rico] from Hurricane Maria exceeds 1,000; the New York Times, reviewing mortality data from previous years, identified an increase of 1,052 deaths during the first 42 days alone. This, too, is surely an incomplete reckoning. Even as the federal government winds down its response, withdrawing personnel and equipment, some homes are not expected to regain electricity for months. Experts are warning that, with the ballooning mosquito population and lack of clean drinking water, Puerto Rico is at risk of an epidemic. Though Donald Trump has mostly ignored it, he is presiding over a historic tragedy. By the time the island returns to normalcy, Maria could easily have surpassed Katrina to become the country's deadliest natural disaster in living memory." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Dana Milbank: "President Trump awarded himself a 10 out of 10 score two months ago for his response to Hurricane Maria, which leveled Puerto Rico." Milbank reiterates the dire, deathly situation in Puerto Rico today. "In October, when Trump was tossing 'beautiful, soft' rolls of paper towels at Puerto Ricans, he offered lavish promises of aid and said Wall Street lenders were 'going to say goodbye' to Puerto Rico's $72 billion debt. But the debt was not written off, and disaster-relief aid has been inadequate and piecemeal. Now, Trump and congressional Republicans are hitting Puerto Rico with an additional, man-made catastrophe.... Rather than give Puerto Rico special tax treatment [in the tax heist law], which it urgently needs, Trump and his congressional allies gave employers a powerful reason to move jobs off the island. You might recognize this pattern, even if you don't care about Puerto Rico and the suffering of the more than 3 million Americans there. Trump comes in with razzle-dazzle and self-congratulation, promising great things to come. Then, when the cameras are off, comes the quiet collapse."
... Merry Crassness. Get Your TrumpTrash Here! David Nakamura & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "For two decades, the commander in chief has doled out distinguished-looking coins as personal mementos. Now, the presidential 'challenge coin' has undergone a Trumpian transformation. The presidential seal has been replaced by an eagle bearing President Trump's signature. The eagle's head faces right, not left, as on the seal. The 13 arrows representing the original states have disappeared. And the national motto, 'E pluribus unum' ... is gone. Instead, both sides of the coin feature Trump's campaign slogan, 'Make America Great Again.'... In addition to his signature, Trump's name appears three times on the coin, which is thicker than those made for past presidents. And forget the traditional subdued silver and copper: Trump's coin, a White House aide marveled, is 'very gold.' The aide said the president, whose real estate properties are known for their gilded displays of wealth and status, was personally involved in redesigning the coin.... Some ethics experts questioned the unprecedented decision to include a campaign slogan on the coins, which are often distributed to members of the military."
Elizabeth Drew, in the New Republic, argues that Trump actually has a lot of "accomplishments" under his belt: "... after his first calendar year in office, his paltry legislative achievements notwithstanding, an unpopular president -- the most unpopular ever in a first year -- is having a broad and lasting impact on this country's domestic arrangements. No matter how long he turns out to have served, his sizeable footprints will be very difficult to erase."
Andrew Restuccia & Seung Min Kim of Politico: "About 100 of ... Donald Trump's nominees have been kicked back to the White House, prolonging an unusually high number o vacancies across his administration and escalating the Senate's long-running nominatio wars. While the Senate agreed to keep roughly 150 of Trump's picks for consideration next year, it refused to do so on roughly 100 others, according to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office. That means the White House will have to renominate them if Trump wants them installed.... Any one senator can object to allowing a nominee to be carried over. Though it's likely Democrats are responsible for most of the rejections, Republicans also could have triggered some, too.... Democrats said the caliber of Trump's nominees warranted [the holds]. In an interview earlier this week, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said he would look for obstacles to oppose nominees with 'egregious conflicts of interest,' an 'appalling lack of knowledge about the job,' or 'who are inclined to destroy the very agencies that they're assigned to support the mission of.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Wow! Haley Invites Some Lucky Diplomats to a Party! Julia Manchester of the Hill: "U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley issued thanks to the countries that did not vote for a U.N. resolution condemning the United States' decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Haley on Thursday sent invitations to a January reception to the eight countries that voted 'no' on the resolution, as well as the 35 countries that abstained from the vote and the 21 that did not cast a vote. Haley's invitation asks the nations who voted 'no,' abstained from voting or didn't cast a vote 'to a reception to thank you for your friendship to the United States.'" Mrs. McC: How stupid is this? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Nor shall he comfort the afflicted, nor give alms to the poor, nor suffer the little children. -- The Gospel According to Jefferson B.S. (1:13)
Donald's Helper. Evil Elf Celebrates Christmas by Whacking Disabled, Poor, Children, Etc. Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "The Justice Department wiped a wide swath of 'guidance documents' off the books on Thursday, withdrawing 25 documents -- including one addressing integration of people with disabilities in state and local government programs and another on standards for assessing citizenship status discrimination. The Justice Department, in announcing the move, stated the 25 documents were 'unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper.' Several -- though not all of them -- were issued during President Barack Obama's administration." ...
... Taylor Dolven of Vice highlights perhaps the most egregious of the 25 "improper" guidelines: one that "advised courts against slapping poor people with large and unnecessary fines and fees." Related story linked yesterday. ...
Oh, and there's this:
* Editor's Note: The choristers featured in the video, despite what you may think you saw, are not "children." They're not young men. They're not boys. ...
... "For unto Us a Child an Unmarried Individual under the Age of 18 Is Born." Mica Rosenberg of Reuters: "The U.S. Justice Department has issued new guidelines for immigration judges that remove some instructions for how to protect unaccompanied juveniles appearing in their courtrooms. The new memo removes suggestions contained in the 2007 memo for how to conduct 'child-sensitive questioning' and adds reminders to judges to maintain 'impartiality' even though 'juvenile cases may present sympathetic allegations.' The new document also changes the word 'child' to 'unmarried individual under the age of 18' in many instances." Mrs. McC: The Trumpenspeak police are everywhere.
... Watch this segment: it's the essence of the Trump presidency*:
The Trump Russia Scandal
Raphael Satter, et al., of the AP: "... the hacking group known as Fancy Bear ... [targeted] at least 200 journalists, publishers and bloggers.... The AP identified journalists as the third-largest group on a hacking hit list obtained from cybersecurity firm Secureworks, after diplomatic personnel and U.S. Democrats. About 50 of the journalists worked at The New York Times. Another 50 were either foreign correspondents based in Moscow or Russian reporters like Lobkov who worked for independent news outlets. Others were prominent media figures in Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics or Washington. The list of journalists provides new evidence for the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Fancy Bear acted on behalf of the Russian government when it intervened in the U.S. presidential election. Spy agencies say the hackers were working to help Republican Donald Trump." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have sought bank records about entities associated with the family company of Jared Kushner..., according to four people briefed on the matter. In recent weeks, prosecutors from the United States attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank, the giant German financial institution that has lent hundreds of millions of dollars to the Kushner family real estate business. Mr. Kushner, who was the Kushner Companies' chief executive until January, still owns part of the business after selling some of his stake." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Billy House of Bloomberg: "... Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon and his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski have been asked to testify to House lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Both men were sent letters this week by the House Intelligence Committee asking them to testify in early January.... The committee hasn't yet received a response from either Bannon or Lewandowski. The invitation, which didn't come in the form of a subpoena compelling them to testify, was for a 'voluntary interview' in the committee's offices, which means it would be held behind closed doors, the official said." (Also linked yesterday.)
Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court ruled Friday against President Trump's latest travel ban, saying that it 'exceeds the scope of his delegated authority,' but that it was ultimately for the Supreme Court to decide. A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Seattle affirmed the decision of a federal judge in Hawaii who ruled on Oct. 17 that the order was unlawful on statutory grounds. The ruling on Friday was a procedural but important step. This month, the Supreme Court allowed the ban -- the third version issued by the Trump administration -- to take effect for now, and encouraged the appeals courts to rule on the case, a sign that it intended to take up the matter. The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is considering a similar ruling out of Maryland."
NEW. Voter Fraud Commission Is Total Fraud. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "... Donald Trump's commission investigating voter fraud must give one of its Democratic members access to more of the panel's records, a federal judge ruled Friday night. U.S. District Court Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap appeared to have been denied documents needed to be an active player in the deliberations of what is formally known as the President's Advisory Commission on Election Integrity."
Rick Gladstone & David Sanger of the New York Times: "The United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Friday that significantly choke off new fuel supplies and order North Koreans working overseas to return home within two years, in what may prove the last test of whether any amount of economic pressure can force it to reverse course on its nuclear program. The sanctions, adopted by a vote of 15 to 0, were the third imposed this year in an escalating effort to force the North into negotiations. China and Russia joined in the resolution, though American officials have charged that in recent months the Russians have secretly been opening new links to the North, including new internet connections that give the country an alternative to communicating primarily through China." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Annie Karni of Politico: "... Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, has been accused of unwanted touching by a singer and longtime Trump supporter whose potential 'MAGA'-inspired congressional bid in Florida has been endorsed by the president himself. Joy Villa -- who drew headlines for wearing a 'Make America Great Again' dress to the Grammys earlier this year -- was celebrating the president's first year in office at a holiday party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington in late November when Lewandowski slapped her behind. After she objected, he dismissed her concerns and slapped her behind again, Villa said in an interview Friday.... Villa's recollection of the incident was corroborated by a friend who witnessed the exchange.... Villa's allegation against Lewandowski also comes at a moment when his star appears to be rising again with Trump." Mrs. McC: So out of character for such a nice, respectful dude.
John Brenahan of Politico: "The House Ethics Committee announced late Thursday that it was expanding its investigation into GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold to include allegations he improperly used official resources for campaign activities, as well as lying to the panel. Farenthold is already under investigation over claims that he sexually harassed at least one former staffer. Thursday's announcement, however, means the stakes have gone up dramatically for the Texas Republican, as misuse of official resources is a potential violation of both House rules and federal law. Farenthold has already announced he will retire due to the scandal surrounding the harassment allegations."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Just Kidding Edition. Judd Legum of Think Progress: "Some right-wing media outlets went to extreme lengths to discredit the women accusing Roy Moore of child sex abuse. Now, two men in charge of organizations involved in those smear campaigns claim they actually believed Moore's accusers all along.... In an interview with CNN, Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex Marlow said the claims of Leigh Corfman, who said she was sexually assaulted by Moore when she was 14, 'had a lot of credibility.'... James O'Keefe, the founder of the pseudo-journalism outlet Project Veritas, told Mediaite that he believed Moore's accusers. He didn't let that belief interfere with his work trying to discredit them, however, because 'it's not my subject matter.' O'Keefe claims his effort was about 'bias in the media.' O'Keefe tasked an operative to pose as a fake Roy Moore rape victim and approach Washington Post reporters with a false story.... The operation failed after the Post did basic background research on the woman, but the clear purpose was to undermine the credibility of the real accusers in the Washington Post's initial report -- which O'Keefe now says he believes was accurate." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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Reader Comments (8)
Just go away.
Sometimes, you just know from the title/headline/author name that you are going to hate yourself for having bothered to click on a link. Such is the case with a WAPO commentary titled: A solution for Mueller: The Watergate model and especially when you see the author's name: Kenneth Starr and whose closing line is "...Honor needs to be restored to the battlefield."
Whadda presumptuous jerk!
" Sometimes a scandal is so vast, so pervasive, that it’s difficult to see it; it begins to look normal." Elizabeth Drew
Let us hope we will never see this destruction of our country as "normal" and since the consensus by now is that Trump is NOT normal perhaps there is some semblance of sanity that will prevail. To be able to overturn much of this damage in the future will be, as Drew speculates, tough going. A scenario I'm hoping for is the take-over of the Senate and House by the Democrats which will certainly put a jab into the ribs of Republicans which then might change some of their mythical minds–––especially if many of their constituents are dying from lack of health care––but hey, I'm reaching for the moon here and clinging on to MY myth of things working out for the best–– in the end the crooks and liars getting their just desserts.
It’s worth noting as the first Year of Trumpism comes to a dreary end that many of the Trump “accomplishments” would have been possible without a cackling, conniving, supine Confederate congress, a right-wing media hardened against the most basic tenet of America’s founding, equality for all, and a playing field ridiculously tilted by illegal vote suppression and outrageous, anti-democratic gerrymandering, salted by a Supreme Court dedicates to ideological victory for their political allies as opposed to anything resembling justice, and a generation of outright lies and ad hominem attacks on any person or idea deemed insufficiently authoritarian by a reckless and misogynistic news outlet.
Withiut all of that, and we won’t even mention assistance from an antagonistic foreign power, the little king would nothing more than an out of work carny sideshow showman, deep in debt to foreign gangsters, a sad loser.
Should have been “impossible”. Damn iPhone.
Continuing on with things gone wrong: Besides having Ayn Randian people heading our agencies, and young very conservative whipper snappers elected as "judges for life" in our lower courts, and ill-prepared others nominated for federal courts, we have dipwads as diplomats representing our country in other countries. Case in point:
Remember Pete Hoekstra? that little bull dog of a man who interrogated Obama's people like they had just murdered his mother? He is now the US Ambassador to the Netherlands. Watch this video and see his accusation to a Dutch journalist of "fake news"––he is then shown a video of him saying exactly that.
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/12/22/16809994/trump-netherlands-ambassador-pete-hoekstra-muslim-no-go-zone
PD,
What I find most interesting about our ambassador is that like your post a lot of media say Trump ambassador, not US. In other words, the real problem isn't just the quality of the ambassador but the quality of the person who appointed him.
It looks like the new word for US foreign policy is 'embarrassed'.
I have a good feeling that the GOP tax heist is not going to age well with time as long as Donald is in the White House. He's a terrible messenger, even with his bestest of words.
Donald incarnates corporations. He is one. All he knows is corporations. He's lived his whole life trying to get rich quick to fit in with the richy riches of the world, the same who own and run the corporations benefiting today.
So far he's been gushing at how much corporations are going to WIN now and how generous their outpouring has been to their cherished workers. He'll keep praising the corporate boards and the soaring stock market every week next year as evidence of his masterful legislation.
The problem? Only the 33% Believers are going to reprogram their brains to believe that trickle down economics actually works and that stingy corporations are suddenly going to rain down benefits on their employees.
Low and middle-wage earning Americans live in the machine of neo-liberalism every day and are perfectly cognizant of the realities that presents. Selling this tax cut by lauding the good will of corporations is a dead end deal for a large majority of Americans. And his corporate blustering will drown out the Kochs and McConnells trying to sell their lies in prettier packages.
The GOP will ultimately have to rely on Trump's endless lying machine to bend public opinion in their favor. But not even Donald blowing his voodoo smoke up our asses will convince Americans that he's changed the rules of neo-liberal capitalism. Without growing bank accounts, and more than a few dollars a month, cynical scepticism will hold rank.
the eagle looking to the right was also popular with the Nazis. Do you think that the white supremacists have noticed?