;)
Monday
Jul222019
The Commentariat -- July 23, 2019
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Olivia Beavers & Morgan Chalfont of the Hill: "One of former special counsel Robert Mueller's deputies, Aaron Zebley, may accompany him for his public appearance before Congress on Wednesday, according to Republican lawmakers and multiple sources familiar with the internal discussions. One Democratic source said Zebley is likely to join Mueller at the witness table on Wednesday, though several sources described the situation as fluid. A Republican source said they were told by the Judiciary Committee that Mueller requested Zebley join him for his public testimony. A spokesman for Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said as of Tuesday afternoon Mueller was the only witness expected for the hearing."
Here's the New York Times' story, by Stephen Castle, on Boris Johnson's becoming Conservative party leader & new British PM. More stories linked under Way Beyond the Beltway. ...
... "Ivanka Trump Congratulates Boris Johnson On Becoming PM Of Nonexistent Country." Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "Ivanka Trump congratulated British lawmaker Boris Johnson for his imminent appointment as prime minister of the ... 'United Kingston' instead of United Kingdom." "Look Daddy.....I'm governmenting!!!" wrote Twitter wag Kim. Thanks to forrest m. for the link.
Potemkin Village, HHS-Style. Emily Green of Vice: "When the Department of Health and Human Services wanted to show how well it was treating unaccompanied minors in its custody, it invited journalists and politicians to visit a new emergency shelter in Carrizo Springs, Texas, which had soccer fields, a gazebo, and well-equipped classrooms. Yet less than a month after it opened, that facility is shutting down...." Emphasis added. Read on.
Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "More than 2,000 migrants who were in the United States illegally were targeted in widely publicized raids that unfolded across the country last week. But figures the government provided to The New York Times on Monday show that just 35 people were detained in the operation."
Obed Manual in the Dallas Morning News: "An 18-year-old Dallas-born U.S. citizen has been in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more than three weeks, his attorney says.... [Francisco] Galicia wasn't allowed to use the phone for the three weeks he was in CBP custody, [his mother] said. Francisco's brother Marlon, who was born in Mexico, signed a voluntary deportation form after the CBP detained him for two days. "The Dallas Morning News reviewed a copy of the birth certificate [which Francisco's mother presented to CBP officials] and it lists Galicia as having been born at Parkland Memorial Hospital on December 24, 2000." Mrs. McC: Yes, but he "looks Mexican."
Trump's Tweets Led to Pipe Bombs. Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post: "Cesar Sayoc, the fanatical Donald Trump fan who mailed package bombs to the president's political opponents, is a cognitively limited sexual abuse survivor who thought of the now-president as a 'surrogate father' and came to believe in an 'alternative reality' fueled in part by Trump's attacks on his political opponents, his attorneys told a federal court on Monday. Sayoc has admitted to mailing pipe bombs to Democratic politicians, media figures and celebrities he perceived as Trump's enemies last fall, and pleaded guilty to several federal crimes in March.... 'A rational observer may have brushed off Trump's tweets as hyperbole, but Mr. Sayoc took them to heart,' according to Sayoc's attorneys."
Thanks, Betsy! Erica Green & Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: "Dream Center Education Holdings, a subsidiary of a Los Angeles-based megachurch, had no experience in higher education when it petitioned the federal Education Department to let it take over a troubled chain of for-profit trade schools.... The purchase was blessed [by the Education Department] despite Dream Center's lack of experience and questionable finances by an administration favorable to for-profit education. But barely a year later, the company tumbled into insolvency, dozens of its colleges closed abruptly and thousands of students were left with no degree after paying tens of thousands of dollars in tuition.... Company emails, documents and recordings show that part of why Dream Center kept going is that it thought the Education Department, which under [Betsy] DeVos has rolled back regulations on for-profit education, would try to keep it from failing. Mr. Barton emailed other Dream Center executives that the department's head of higher education policy -- Diane Auer Jones, a former executive and lobbyist for for-profit colleges -- had pulled strings to help the company's schools in their effort to regain a seal of approval from an accreditor, despite their perilous positions. In another instance, Dream Center's chief operating officer told faculty at an endangered campus that Ms. Jones was changing departmental regulations to help the schools obtain accreditation retroactively."
Ben Westcott, et al., of CNN: "Warplanes from four countries faced off Tuesday in a chaotic and unprecedented confrontation above a small, disputed island off the coast of South Korea and Japan. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a statement claiming they had fired more than 300 warning shots at a Russian A-50 command and control military aircraft early Tuesday morning after it had twice violated the country's airspace, the first such incident between the countries. Moscow furiously denied Seoul's account of the encounter, claiming that South Korean military jets had dangerously intercepted two of its bombers during a planned flight over neutral waters. But in a statement Tuesday afternoon, Japan's Ministry of Defense backed up South Korea's claims, saying the A-50 had flown over the islands and that Tokyo had scrambled fighters to intercept. In a further complication, both South Korea and Japan said that two Chinese H-6 bombers had joined the Russian military aircraft on sorties through the region as well."
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** Emily Cochrane, et al., of the New York Times: "White House and congressional negotiators reached accord on a two-year budget on Monday that would raise spending caps and lift the government's debt ceiling, likely averting a fiscal crisis but splashing still more red ink on an already surging deficit. If passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, the deal would stop a potential debt default this fall and avoid automatic spending cuts next year. The agreement would also bring clarity about government spending over the rest of Mr. Trump's term.... The agreement, struck by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, would raise spending by $320 billion, compared to the strict spending levels established in the 2011 Budget Control Act and set to go into effect next year without legislative action. Spending on domestic and military programs would increase equally, a key demand of Ms. Pelosi, offset by about $75 billion in spending cuts, far lower than the $150 billion in cuts that some White House officials initially demanded. The deal would lift the debt ceiling high enough to allow the government to keep borrowing for two more years, punting the next showdown past the 2020 elections." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... John Bresnahan & Burgess Everett of Politico: "... Donald Trump may have to hand out some new nicknames -- for himself -- after endorsing a bipartisan budget deal with Congress: 'Trillion Dollar Trump?' 'Deficit Don?' With a new bipartisan budget deal that does nothing to cut federal spending, Trump is on track for another $1 trillion deficit this year. And there's no reason to believe the following fiscal year will be any different, with ballooning deficits from higher spending, the 2017 tax cuts -- Trump's signature legislative achievement, which slashed revenue -- and none of the entitlement reforms long preached by Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. Candidate Trump bragged that he would pay off the entire federal debt in eight years, but President Trump is governing as if deficits don't matter. In fact, Trump is approaching the level of red ink from President Barack Obama's first term, when Obama racked up trillion-dollar deficits four years in a row. Trump is on pace to do the same, starting with this year's yawning deficit of more than $1 trillion, according to budget estimates. But there are huge differences: Trump has a growing economy with historically low unemployment and a soaring stock market, while Obama was battling a brutal downturn in the economy during the worst recession in 80 years, making it much harder to curb federal spending." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: It makes no sense to rack up deficits when the economy is in fairly good shape. The purpose of "fiat money" -- the government's ability to "print money" -- is to pump cash into the economy when it needs a boost during a recession or depression. But economists agree, in general, that the federal government should balance its budget & work toward getting the government in the black when the economy is mostly humming along because debt is expensive, especially when a good portion of that debt is to foreign entities. There can be exceptions: for instance, if government services like, say, infrastructure are in dire need of upgrades. (In theory, if all or most of the U.S.'s debt was owed to Americans, as it was after WWII, the national debt is not a net loss. Rather, it's a transfer from your grandkids to somebody else's grandkids or vice-versa.)
Almost every word out of Trump's mouth is a lie. Anderson Cooper calls him out:
... Michael Shear of the New York Times: "... ahead of the congressional hearings, Mr. Trump and his aides sought to dismiss them as nothing more than a desperate attempt to elicit from Mr. Mueller something that could justify impeachment proceedings. 'We had a total "no collusion" finding. The Democrats were devastated by it. They went crazy. They have gone off the deep end,' Mr. Trump said during a lengthy question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office, adding, 'All they care about is a phony investigation.' Mr. Trump's comments came after he posted about Mr. Mueller on Twitter earlier in the day, calling him 'highly conflicted' and saying that his testimony would be 'bad for him and the phony Democrats in Congress who have done nothing but waste time on this ridiculous Witch Hunt.' The president's tone was echoed by his aides.... But even as the president railed against Mr. Mueller online and in person, he also sought to continue his criticism of four Democratic congresswomen of color after a week in which his tweets about them dominated news coverage.... 'The "Squad" is a very Racist group of troublemakers who are young, inexperienced, and not very smart,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'They are pulling the once great Democrat Party far left, and were against humanitarian aid at the Border...And are now against ICE and Homeland Security. So bad for our Country!'... Mr. Trump went on to claim that 'there's no racial tension' in the United States.... 'It's nonsense, O.K.,' he said, referring to the Russia inquiry but then mentioning last week's vote. 'They tried an impeachment vote and they got slaughtered last week. They got absolutely slaughtered. It was the most ridiculous -- I didn't even know they were going to do it.'" And so forth. ...
... Gail Collins & Bret Stephens of the New York Times argue about whether Trump is a vile, evil schemer or "just a raving imbecile." Mrs. McC: I'm going with both. ...
... Stifling Mueller. Bill Barr's DOJ Is at It Again. Eliana Johnson, et al., of Politico: "Justice Department officials have communicated to Robert Mueller that the department expects him to limit his congressional testimony this week to the public findings of his 448-page report, according to one current and one former U.S. official familiar with the preparations. In extensive discussions since the former special counsel was subpoenaed to testify on June 25, department officials have emphasized that they consider any evidence he gathered throughout the course of his investigation to be 'presumptively privileged' and shielded from public disclosure. The Justice Department is 'taking the position that anything outside the written pages of the report are things about which presidential privilege hasn't been waived,' the former U.S. official said. The White House and the Justice Department, meanwhile, have signaled they don't intend to place lawyers in the room during Mueller's highly-anticipated testimony...." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Oh, Wait. It Gets Worse. David Shortell, et al., of CNN: In the letter, Associate Deputy AG Bradley "Weinsheimer told Mueller that DOJ policy prevents him from commenting on the legal conclusions his office made 'with respect to uncharged individuals, other than information contained within the portions of your report that already have been made public.' Weinsheimer also said Mueller should not testify about portions of the public report that have been redacted or about uncharged third parties." Mrs. McC: So nothing about Trump Sr., Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, etc., etc. ...
... Fox "News" has Weinsheimer's letter here. ...
... Rebecca Fishbein of Splinter: "So, as expected, everyone glued to their TVs at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday will more or less get a rehash of Amazon's #17 bestseller mashed up with a rotating series Congresspeople trying to shove in their 15 minutes (Mrs. McC: I think that's 5 minutes, but whatever). Democrats say they hope Mueller reiterating the report on live television will at least get people talking about impeachment again, but since the House's summer recess starts just a few days after Mueller testifies, that's probably a pipe dream. And in the end, after all this, President Trump will get to tweet some nonsense about how even dragging Mueller in front of Congress hasn't gotten him in any trouble. Anyway, Mueller would like everyone to know that he really doesn't want to do this, so thanks for fucking up his retirement." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe Mueller will surprise us, but he is a No Surprises kind of guy, so the odds are long. Mueller has a history of doing "thorough" investigations & writing reports signifying little or nothing. I'd say Rod Rosenstein hired Mueller with Mueller's NFL whitewash in mind. Mueller knows who's paying his tab & he acts accordingly. The people the special counsel prosecuted were people of no consequence to Trump: a campaign manager & a national security advisor Trump had fired, a personal lawyer who "ratted," factotums whose names Trump probably can't remember (or spell), a bunch of Russian hackers who will never go to trial. If you think the fix was in from the get-go, you're probably not a ridiculous cynic or conspiracy theorist.
International Policy by Bluster. Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "President Trump said Monday he could end the war in Afghanistan 'in a week,' but that doing so would cause millions of deaths. Instead, the president said during a White House meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan that he wants Pakistan's help to bring an end to the nearly 18-year-old conflict.... 'If I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth.... It would be over in -- literally, in 10 days.'" ...
... But Wait. It Gets Worse. Jonathan Chait of New York: "India and Pakistan have been at daggers drawn over Kashmir for as long as both countries have existed.... It is, in short, a very sensitive topic. President Trump today announced, in a meeting with Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi had invited him to mediate the subject. India heatedly denied having extended such an offer, having long maintained that it will not accept outside mediation.... With Khan beside him, Trump shared his alleged private conversation with Modi. 'He actually said, "Would you like to be a mediator or arbiter?" I said, "Where?" He said, "Kashmir." Because this has been going on for many, many years. I was surprised at how long.'... Maybe Modi decided that what he needed to settle his highly delicate, decades-long, blood-soaked international rivalry was the intervention of an erratic narcissist who probably couldn't locate the disputed territory on a map."
Trump May Show off His Corruption to World Leaders. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "The Trump administration, which next year will host the leaders of the world's most powerful economies for the G7 summit, is down to its final few choices after completing site surveys of possible locations -- and Trump National Doral, President Trump's 800-acre golf club in Miami, is among the finalists." Mrs. McC: Maybe the members will kick the U.S. out of the G-7 because we now so resemble a third-world nation. (Also linked yesterday.)
While we're listening to Trump lie about everything, his minions are doing terrible stuff:
Tom Polansek of Reuters: "The Trump administration on Tuesday will propose a rule to tighten food stamp restrictions that would cut about 3.1 million people from the program, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said. Currently, 43 U.S. states allow residents to automatically become eligible for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, if they receive benefits from another federal program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, according to the USDA. But the agency wants to require people who receive TANF benefits to pass a review of their income and assets to determine whether they are eligible for free food from SNAP, officials said. If enacted, the rule would save the federal government about $2.5 billion a year by removing people from SNAP, according to the USDA.... Donald Trump has argued that many Americans now using SNAP do not need it given the strong economy and low unemployment, and should be removed as a way to save taxpayers as much as $15 billion."
Priscilla Alvarez of CNN: "The Trump administration is planning to expand a procedure to speed up deportations to include undocumented immigrants anywhere in the US who cannot prove they've lived in the US continuously for two years or more. The change casts a wider net of undocumented immigrants subject to the fast-track deportation procedure known as 'expedited removal,' which allows immigration authorities to remove an individual without a hearing before an immigration judge." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Ed Kilgore of New York: "Send them back" is not just a racist, xenophobic Trumpbot chant; it's policy. "According to one estimate, it would instantly expose 300,000 people to quick deportation for the first time. And because the burden of proof for establishing the time of residence is on the immigrant, it could well be applied to many more who have been in the country for much longer than two years.... The general police-state atmosphere, of course, will be significantly enhanced by the expansion of authorized expedited deportations far beyond the border.... Unsurprisingly, advocates for immigrants and their communities are gearing up for a legal battle to stop the new policy's implementation[.]" ...
... Owen Daugherty of the Hill: "The Illinois Republican County Chairmen's Association (IRCCA) shared and later apparently deleted a movie poster-style meme labeling four Democratic minority congresswomen the 'Jihad Squad.' The post was shared on the group's Facebook page early Saturday morning and featured images of Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib(Mich.).... Mark Shaw, president of the IRCCA, issued a statement Sunday night after the post was deleted. 'I condemn this unauthorized posting and it has been deleted,' Shaw wrote in a post on the group's Facebook page. 'I am sorry if anyone who saw the image was offended by the contents.'" Mrs. McC: "I'm sorry if you're offended that we're racists." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Meet Your Trump Voters. Stephanie Saul & Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "As President Trump presses his attacks against four women of color in Congress, suggesting they are unpatriotic and should leave the country, many voters in [Port Huron, Michigan,] are embracing his 'America -- Love It or Leave It' message, saying they do not see it as racist. And though they dismiss Mr. Trump's Twitter broadsides as excessive or juvenile, they voiced strong support for his re-election and expressed their own misgivings about the four women. 'They happen to be black or colored,' Dennis Kovach, 82, said of the women, as he watered the lawn of his home near the lake this weekend. 'But I don't think that viewpoint is a racist viewpoint....' ... As Mr. Trump signaled his intent last week to rely on nationalism and identity politics to propel his re-election campaign -- portraying Democrats as out of sync with American values -- his message did not appear to be backfiring with the conservative voters he hopes to bring out in force in 2020."
Trent Spiner of Politico: Vice President "Pence abruptly canceled his trip to Manchester, N.H., earlier this month but never said why he was pulled from Air Force Two at the last minute.... Among the problems was a federal law enforcement probe involving individuals Pence would likely encounter ..., [at least one of whom] was under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration for moving more than $100,000 of fentanyl from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. Jeff Hatch ... a former New York Giants player ... who agreed in federal court Friday to plead guilty and will face up to four years in prison, works for an opioid addiction treatment center in southern New Hampshire that Pence was set to visit." Mrs. McC: Aah, I still think pence was called off the tarmac because Trump wigged out & staff thought it might be 25th Amendment time (just kidding).
... Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "A Facebook post by a Louisiana police officer suggesting that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 'needs a round' drew criticism on Sunday from officials in the city where he works. The officer, Charlie Rispoli, a 14-year veteran of the police department in Gretna, La., referred to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, in a post on Thursday as 'this vile idiot.' The post continued, saying she 'needs a round -- and I don't mean the kind she used to serve,' a reference to her past work as a bartender, according to a screenshot of his comment obtained by The Times-Picayune of New Orleans." (Also linked yesterday.)
... ** See Nisky Guy's comment in yesterday's thread. The Snopes report Nisky Guy cites is here. Mrs. McC: I tweeted Vigdor & e-mailed the NYT editors to bitch about it. I expect a response (and I have not received one as of 9:30 pm ET Monday, nor has the story been corrected). This omission is a real candidate for the "Annals of 'Journalism,' Ctd." header. ...
... Update. Adios. Chad Calder of the Times-Picayune: "The Gretna Police Department fired two officers Monday, just days after one of the officers posted a comment on social media that suggested U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be shot. The author of the Facebook post, Charlie Rispoli, and another officer who 'liked' the post, Angelo Varisco, were both fired for violating the department's social-media policy, Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson announced at a press conference.... Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about the local incident for the first time Monday afternoon, saying, 'This is Trump's goal when he uses targeted language & threatens elected officials who don't agree w/ his political agenda. It's authoritarian behavior.'"
Presidential Race 2020
Déjà vu All Over Again. Michael Sallah, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "Two unofficial envoys reporting directly to Donald Trump's personal lawyer have waged a remarkable back-channel campaign to discredit the president's rivals and undermine the special counsel's inquiry into Russian meddling in US elections. In a whirlwind of private meetings, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman -- who pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into Republican campaigns and dined with the president -- gathered repeatedly with top officials in Ukraine and set up meetings for Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani as they turned up information that could be weaponized in the 2020 presidential race. The two men urged prosecutors to investigate allegations against Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden. And they pushed for a probe into accusations that Ukrainian officials plotted to rig the 2016 election in Hillary Clinton's favor by leaking evidence against Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chair, in what became a cornerstone of the special counsel's inquiry. They also waged an aggressive campaign in the United States, staying at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, and meeting with key members of Congress as they joined in a successful push that led to the removal of the ambassador to Ukraine after she angered their allies in Kiev." (Also linked yesterday.)
Congressional Races 2020
Abby Livingston of the Texas Tribune: "Former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis is running for Congress. Early Monday morning, Davis announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in Central Texas' 21st District. She is challenging U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a freshman Republican from Austin.... Davis is a fierce national advocate for abortion rights, while Roy has built his reputation in his first six months in Congress as a conservative firebrand. Davis lives in Austin but spent much of her adult life in Fort Worth, where she served on the City Council and in the state Senate. In 2013, Davis became a national figure when she filibustered an omnibus anti-abortion bill. Later that fall, she announced her campaign for Texas governor. Despite strong fundraising, she lost to Republican Greg Abbott by over 20 percentage points."
Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News: "Alex Morse, the mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, announced Monday that he will mount a primary challenge against Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee who has been criticized by progressives for not pushing harder for the release of ... Donald Trump's tax returns." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jared Holt of Right Wing Watch IDs the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank, as increasingly going all white nationalist. The Institute has granted a fellowship to "One America News Network pundit Jack Posobiec, a notorious 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theorist with past ties to extreme-right figures...." Nonetheless, Claremont is pretty mainstream in Trump World: "In May, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the organization's 40th Anniversary Gala in California." Oh, and Claremont is the go-to place for conservatives "opposing LGBTQ equality and immigration issues...."
** Jane Mayer of the New Yorker does an autopsy on Al Franken's resignation from the Senate. It was a hit job, & a number senators who called for his resignation admit now they made a big mistake. "A big part of Franken's political problem was the way the story broke. KABC-AM released [Leeann] Tweeden's material on its Web site, giving it the look of a proper news story. In reality, the station, which is owned by Cumulus Media, was a struggling conservative talk-radio station whose survival plan was to become the most pro-Trump station in Los Angeles." (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Puerto Rico. Frances Robles & Alejandra Rosa of the New York Times: "Hundreds of thousands of people swept through the capital of Puerto Rico on Monday, shutting down a major highway and paralyzing much of the city in the latest in a series of furious protests over the island's embattled governor, Ricardo A. Rosselló. The protest was one of the largest ever seen on the island, as Puerto Ricans streamed into the capital on buses -- and some on planes from the mainland -- in a spontaneous eruption of fury over the years of recession, mismanagement, natural disaster and corruption that have fueled a recent exodus." ...
... The Interview Did Not Go Well. Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "During his first television interview since the scandal broke out over leaked private chats that have resulted in near-unanimous calls for his resignation, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló struggled to come up with a single name when Fox News anchor Shepard Smith pressed him to offer up anyone who currently supports him. With hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans taking to the streets of San Juan on Monday to demand Rosselló's resignation after the governor said he wouldn't step down on Sunday, Smith pointed out that 'corruption is rampant' on the island before highlighting why the profanity-laced leaked chats have caused such backlash." ...
... Frances Robles & Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times are liveblogging the protests in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "Thousands of Puerto Ricans shut down traffic on a major highway in San Juan early on Monday, assembling for what is expected to be one of the largest protests the island has ever seen against Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló, who has resisted persistent calls for his resignation. People arrived by the busload hours before the demonstration was scheduled to begin, carrying Puerto Rican flags, protest signs and whistles. They broke into chants demanding the ouster of Mr. Rosselló, who said on Sunday that he will not seek re-election in 2020 but will remain in office -- and face possible impeachment." (Also linked yesterday.)
Way Beyond
Austin Ramzy of the New York Times: "A brazen overnight attack by a mob of men with sticks and metal bars who were apparently targeting antigovernment protesters raised tensions in Hong Kong to new levels on Monday after weeks of demonstrations, prompting fears of violence spiraling beyond the authorities' control. Dozens of people, including journalists and a pro-democracy lawmaker, were injured in the assault in and around a train station in Yuen Long, a satellite town in northwestern Hong Kong near the border with mainland China." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... With a Wink & a Nod from Trump. Jen Kirby of Vox: "It's unclear who exactly the train station attackers were, but many suspect them of having ties to Hong Kong's powerful triads: organized criminal gangs often referred to as the 'Chinese mafia.' There is also speculation among activists the attackers were at the very least encouraged by the Chinese central government in Beijing, which backs Carrie Lam's government and has been trying to quell these protests for weeks. The lackluster police response to emergency calls from victims during the mob attack is adding to the perception that the Hong Kong government and its Chinese backers sanctioned the assault as a way to send a strong message to demonstrators.... President Xi Jinping asked ... Donald Trump to curb his criticism of China over the Hong Kong protests as a condition for restarting trade talks. On Monday, answering questions from reporters, Trump said that Beijing has behaved 'very responsibly.' 'I hope that President Xi will do the right thing,' the president added. 'But it has been going on a long time.'"
** U.K. BBC: "Boris Johnson has been elected new Conservative leader in a ballot of party members and will become the next UK prime minister." Mrs. McC: Now don't tell me Britain's Conservative party isn't packed with numnits. ...
... Here's the Guardian's story, by Heather Stewart.
News Lede
AP: "Behind America's late leap into orbit and triumphant small step on the moon was the agile mind and guts-of-steel of Chris Kraft, making split-second decisions that propelled the nation to once unimaginable heights. Kraft, the creator and longtime leader of NASA's Mission Control, died Monday in Houston, just two days after the 50th anniversary of what was his and NASA's crowning achievement: Apollo 11's moon landing. He was 95."
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Reader Comments (22)
Re: Anderson Cooper’s Report (above)
tRump: “There’s no Nothing.”
Which means: ”There’s Something”.
Gotta love a stable genius.
When Ken requests, I deliver–-chop, chop! From the historical archives:
And I am so disappointed that Al Franken ––really Al? you thought that was funny? ––fucked up. He's one of our best and I'm afraid he might have to resign*. Advice for any young buck thinking of going into politics––your past might very well become front and center and due you in if you don't mind your P's and Q's. [except for the Lie-in King who remains untouchable]
*Is there a difference between bad behavior BEFORE you become a senator or representative versus bad behavior while serving? And is there some kind of judging on said behavior? Roy Moore's is deplorable while Al's is stupid, invasive, and supposedly directed at one woman. According to Jackie Spear there are known congressman now serving that are sexual harassers–- was Al one of them I wonder? If Al resigns will the others be outed?
November 17, 2017
Something that has been my mind ever since I read Marie's comments from yesterday regarding the Roger Stone involvement with LeeAnn Tweeden––specially this last paragraph:
"But there's another, darker possibility, and that is that Tweeden herself was in contact with Roger Stone. Even worse, Tweeden could have showed him the photo & Stone could have coaxed her into inventing the story about the unwanted kiss. I want to think that's not what happened. Whatever the case, the (oxymoron warning!) Senate ethics committee should seek an explanation for Stone's curious foreknowledge of the post."
When I listened to her many renditions of the unwanted kiss planted on her during a skit rehearsal with Franken I detected a kind of rehearsed rendition that made me uneasy. Here is a woman who worked at Hooters–-was actually one of the top Hooters of the Year–-was pictured nude in Playboy and I wondered about those experiences––the possible sexual harassment that must surely accompany those endeavors. And I wondered why she would come out now about her anger at what she claims was this unwanted kiss. I also wondered why after seeing the picture of Al with his hands on her breasts she didn't immediately lay it on the line with him––he really wasn't in a position to interfere with her job. Why now? She is a known conservative and I can't help wondering if indeed there is "a darker possibility" to all this. Given our atmosphere of asininity I'm leaning towards the dark.
Re: the latest Franken butt grab: I put myself in the shoes of Menz and the feel of Al's hand around my behind would have immediately caused my ire and resulted in stopping the photo taking right then and there–––"What the hell, Al?' I'd say. Her husband was the one taking the picture, for Pete's sake. Were these people so intimidated by the fact that he was a senator they were willing to let this go? Then coming out now and accusing him of sexual harassment? All this for Franken must be mortifying because I think HE didn't think this was anything close to sexual harassment. I hate to think he'd have to leave–-we need him now more than ever. Women have voices––if someone makes you queasy for any reason–-speak up! "When you hug me like that it makes me uncomfortable, please don't do that anymore." If that doesn't deter him, don't plea, give him the knee.
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Jane Mayer's piece, so thorough, so well done as she always does, and so pathetic. This has ruined Al's life, although he seems to be striving for some sanity--is writing and has a pod- cast. He was railroaded and many who deserted him now regret it. Lessons learned here? don't bet on it.
Something that may help cheer up Ken; George Conway suggests
trump should start a line of greeting cards once he is out of office.
Some examples:
Sorry to hear you have windmill cancer. Sad.
Hope this $130,000 check (that I know nothing about) finds you
well. Now STFU and go away
Congradulations on your collage gratuation.
Thinking of me.
https://news.yahoo.com/george-conway-trump-greeting-cards-
073936783.html?soc_src=hl-viewer&soc_trk=ma
The Al Franken affair, like so many others, is an example of Democrats hitting themselves in the head with a shovel, thus saving Republicans from having to make any extra effort.
This happens time and time again. And, of course, Democrats would rather talk policy than talk about the country being destroyed by a vicious authoritarian and his brownshirts. We’re above such things.
Impeachment? Horrors! Don’t mention the word. But here’s my 600 page treatise on the Ex-Im Bank. Study it carefully, there’ll be a test in the morning. Oh, what’s all that noise? Stormtroopers and white supremacists marching down the street setting homes on fire? Well, never mind. Those people will hear our message and be completely on board with our environmental plan, I’m sure of it. We just have to understand them. Meanwhile, let’s pick out Democrats whose transgressions are too much for Fox viewers. We’ll kick them back in line so no one can say anything bad about us.
In the meantime, City Hall is on fire and there’s a lynch mob down the street all screaming “Send her back!!!”
Oh never mind. Here’s my plan for free tuition; if there are any schools left, that is.
Listening to Trump during his meeting with Imran Khan yesterday was, for me, like shouting at a person whose hearing is impaired. "That's not true!" I kept saying after almost every other word that came out of this doofus's mouth. The biggest whopper was the one about Modi (see story above)––lying for Trump is like breathing––it just comes naturally. The vitriol he slung at the mayor of P.R. was not only unfair but nasty and vicious and completely inappropriate in front of a visiting foreign entity.
and by the way–-Modi is looked at by many as erratic and clueless. He, too, lies. A people's mandate secured through bluff and bluster has now empowered Modi to fulfill the dream cherished by such Hindu fanatics as Gandhi's assassin: the transformation of India from a secular democracy into a Hindu nation is very likely.
Although as Napoleon always said:
"What counts is what the people think is true."
AK-- absolutely. So tired of everyone on the Dem side being soooo flexible and forgiving and thorough with research, and careful with words. There'll be nothing left to save when they get around to it...
OF COURSE, Mueller has been told what he can't talk about. It remains to be seen whether he will be a true patriot and out these mobsters, or whether he will flounder on the hill of "DOJ guidelines." I am not optimistic. These people are Nazis, plain and simple.
My sense about the Mueller appearance is that it will be a huge waste of time. The fix is in just as it was during the entire investigation, the outcome of which was predetermined: Trump cannot be found guilty of anything. Thus a lot of dancing around but never getting to the point. It's like a Plato's Cave report.
Mueller shows us shadows on the wall but leaves the interpretation up to us. Naturally, confederates all say, "Look, that shadow says 'Complete exoneration'" Even though it's a shadow of a guy with a gun sticking up an old lady on the street. "No, no" sez Barr, "That's a nice man offering that old lady a funny looking popsicle. Isn't that cute? Those Democrats...they're sumpthin' else."
The fix is in again. Mueller has always been a good soldier. He does what he's ordered to do and now he's been ordered to speak no evil.
Waste.Of.Time.
Actually, it's even worse. After this sham of a hearing, confederates and their criminal boss will all jump up and down and say "See? See? We toldja. Complete exoneration!" Of course they won't mention the fact that Mueller had been ordered to give only his name, rank, and serial number. "NOW time to investigate Democrats!" And, of course, the fix will be in on that too. Any Democrat who ever said a bad word about the Glorious Leader will be found guilty of treason and sent to the Gulag (a dog pen in Kris Kobach's back yard).
Nancy Pelosi will say a prayer, Chuck Schumer will announce that he's preparing legislation to something, something, something, it'll be ready by 2020, and everyone will go back to watching Trump pound more nails in the nation's coffin, while Junior, Little Dracula, and Javanka run out the back door with piles of loot from the treasury.
Woke this AM to more TLC from RC'ers.
What a thoughtful band of brothers and sisters to be so concerned about my mental health.
Did like the greeting cards, forrest, and appreciated PD's dip into her archives. Thanks.
A fundamental problem for Democrats, one for which I have no solution: they/we lack the kind of anger and nastiness our opponents possess and are eager to deploy.
All those cliches about bringing a pocketknife to a gunfight, making omelets without breaking eggs, and nice guys (Franken) finishing last apply.
When you look at our history, the major changes we have experienced, our beginnings as a country, our expansion across the continent, our major change of direction in the 1860's, all involved literal wars, small and large. The shift of power from capital to labor (since reversed) brought its own episodes of bloody strife. Even when we or history says we won, we lost some of our humanity in the process
The challenge is to engage in a struggle with the barbarians without being changed by it, brutalized by the experience to the degree that we end up no different from those we oppose.
Non-violent protest might be the only way out of the dilemma. The many demonstrations mounted by the good guys that have erupted since the Pretender's ascension are a step in that direction but so far the ones I've seen are too easily shrugged off.
What we need is a demonstration of militancy that does not leave us indistinguishable from all that we're against, and in the present pass I'm not sure where we'll find it.
The ballot box may not be enough.
@Akhilleus: I'd say your First Take on Today's American History is spot on, as Boorish Johnson might put it. (That "Boorish" started out as a typo, but it seems so right.)
Marie,
Yes! Boorish Johnson it is! Now Britain has their very own narcissistic liar at the helm. Good luck, mates. You’ll need it. Righty-right wingers around the world get more craven, crazy, and vituperative by the day. Brits, like Americans, are consumed by a made up issue (Brexit and immigration) fomented and pushed by wingers as a way of stirring up hatred, racism, and extreme partisanship. Other much more important issues are pushed to rear.
Healthcare? Hell no. But look over there! A brown person!! Aieeee!
Ivanka trump congratulates Boris Johnson on becoming PM of
nonexistent country. Wonder if the Prince of Whales is familiar
with United Kingston.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ivanka-trump-typo-boris-johnson-
141205335.html
United Kingston! Hey, isn’t that where they have Big Bob and the Vicky and Tony Museum? I’m sure Ivanka always likes to pop into BuckingBronco Palace to see Queen Lizzie Borden. Those Trumps! Very big brains. Good on geography too!
It's not nice to make fun of the mentally deficient, but with this
gang of retards now in charge of the White House, how can one
help but.
@forrest.morris: Yes, I was thinking exactly the same thing as I gleefully posted your link to Ivanka's congratulatory tweet. I make typos all the time, but if I held a high government position, I'd make sure a sharp aide reviewed my tweet before sending it & warned me of not just typos but also of possible negative connotations. It's just a shame Ivanka didn't type "Boorish Johnson," as I did.
Yeah. There is so much to hate, yes, I think I mean hate about this gang of idiots and what they are doing to the country I grew up loving and even admiring for the fitful progress it has made on behalf humanity, but it is entertaining when this family of self-proclaimed stable geniuses repeatedly and publicly demonstrates they are anything but.
When I laugh at them, the occasional comic relief they provide, while woefully inadequate recompense for the misery they inflict and the hurt they cause to everything and everyone they touch, is more than welcome.
And in their case, no shame is attached to the laughter.
@Ken Winkes: Exactly my feelings re: the Trumpies' constant demonstrations of their profound unfitness for any government job that doesn't require them to lift trash bins into garbage trucks in Queens (and I don't really think they're fit for that, either). The Germans call it schadenfreude. But, like you, I acknowledge that it is "woefully inadequate recompense for the misery they inflict."
Is anyone in the Party of Traitors concerned that the Orange Menace just threatened to nuke an entire country and everyone in it? "Wipe Afghanistan off the map"? Who makes threats like this? What is he, in the fifth grade? "I'ma kill you. Yah!"
Well, maybe he'll be making out with a mullah one of these days. He threatened to nuke North Korea and now he sends that country's murderous tyrant love notes decorated with kissy faces.
He better watch out. Putin will only put up with so much cheating.
The rest of the world has to put up with a loudmouth maniac who thinks it's statesmanlike to threaten another sovereign nation with thermonuclear destruction just to show them who's the boss.
My wife and I have been re-watching late Season 1 of The West Wing. It is physically painful for me at times, seeing scenes of a White House that is trying to make life better for all Americans, and knowing it is now pure fiction.
With Boris Johnson now the UK Prime Minister, can we now start referring to Trump as "Americas' Boris Johnson"? Education excepted, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two silly blondes.
Bobby Lee,
The NYTimes, among others, eagerly hopped on the similarities.
Their editorial lead:
"Boris Johnson Is About to Collide With Reality
He has thrived on theatrics. As prime minister, he faces Brexit’s final act."
But don't you think Boris' disheveled hair looks like it actually grew on his head, unlike the Pretender's, which always appears stolen from some unfortunate animal and awkwardly glued on his empty pate?
I wonder if we will soon be adding Robert Mueller's congressional testimony to the long list of Trump's obstruction charges. If Mueller follows the DOJ's advice and limits his testimony he may soon find his name not just on the report's credits page.
NiskyGuy,
But you have to love that first episode in which Jed Bartlett comes into a meeting in which Evangelical douchebags have insulted the Jewish guys and are demanding that their requirements be met. Jed larns them the First Commandment and then tells them to get their sorry asses out of the White House until they disown their racist, homophobic, knuckledragging, religious nutjob followers. Those first few seasons (the Aaron Sorkin seasons) comprised some of the best television ever made.
And the West Wing troupe is as vivid as any collection of characters from Dickens or Dumas or Wharton. Josh, Toby, Donna, Abbey, CJ, Sam, Zoey, Amy, Charlie, Roger Rees as that crazy British ambassador who used to piss off Leo, and of course, Mrs. Landingham: "You know, if you don't want to run again, I respect that. But if you don't run because you think it's gonna be too hard or you think you're gonna lose, well, God, Jed, I don't even want to know you." Who doesn't need a Mrs. Landingham in their life? (I had my mom.)
And that scene where Bartlett made that asshole winger radio creep stand up when he walked into the room: "In this building [the White House], when the president stands, nobody sits!" Perfection!
When you watch/listen to those Sorkin West Wings, think about this: could you improve on the language, structure, or pacing of the dialogue? Sorkin had his problems, but man, his dialogue burns.
Now you're making me want to go home and binge on the West Wing (not like I haven't done it before).
Well, it could be worse (binging on "Three's a Crowd". But no one in Sorkin's universe was anywhere near the treasonous fucks now running things in Washington.
Christ. Fiction is often our savior. Would that we had real Democrats like those West Wing people.