;)
Friday
Jun012018
The Commentariat -- June 2, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Trey-Trey Finds out the GOP Can't Handle the Truth. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Rep. Trey Gowdy has been a pitbull investigator for Republicans for years. Now, he's is in ... Donald Trump's doghouse for daring to challenge the president's unsupported claim that Democrats and their sympathizers in the FBI embedded a spy in his 2016 campaign. Trump allies have been pummeling Gowdy in recent days, branding him a gullible or clueless backer of the intelligence community. Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, labeled him 'uninformed.' Another Trump-tied attorney, Victoria Toensing, said Gowdy 'doesn't know diddly-squat' about the particulars of federal investigations. And Fox News host Lou Dobbs tagged him a 'RINO' -- a term for a fake Republican.... Now, after years shouldering the House GOP's weightiest and most politically explosive investigations, he's again drawn the ire of Trump-world. And this time, he's virtually alone, getting little support from his House colleagues."
Crooked Trumpery. Paul Krugman: "Even if you believe in the sanctity of free markets -- which you shouldn't -- you should recognize that markets are now driving a great transition to clean energy. So is the Trump administration accepting this market verdict? Of course not: as with trade, it's abusing powers granted to defend national security on behalf of destructive policies that have nothing to do with security. In this case, it's planning to force clean energy to subsidize dirty energy. Why? Probably the main reason is sheer corruption: coal moguls are key Trump backers, and he's trying to reward them. But there's also, I suspect, the sheer meanspiritedness that characterizes modern conservatism: 'Liberals want clean energy? Hah! We'll show them!'"
Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "The lobbyist whose wife rented a $50-a-night condo to Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has revised his disclosure reports after his firm concluded he had not properly disclosed additional efforts to influence Mr. Pruitt and the agency -- including appeals when Mr. Pruitt was living in the condo. The lobbying firm, Williams & Jensen, has refiled lobbying disclosure reports from 2017 to acknowledge that Steve Hart, the firm's former chairman, lobbied the E.P.A. on behalf of Coca-Cola and a government board from Puerto Rico helping the island address its fiscal debts. Lobbyists are legally required to disclose which agencies they target and the topic of their lobbying work. The revisions come after an outside review of the activities of Mr. Hart, whose wife, Vicki Hart, rented the condo to Mr. Pruitt. The E.P.A. chief lived in the unit from shortly after his confirmation in February 2017 until August 2017. Previously, both Mr. Hart and Mr. Pruitt -- in defending the condo lease as not representing a conflict of interest -- had said that Mr. Hart never lobbied Mr. Pruitt."
Russia Urges You to Wish Trump a Happy Birthday & Hate People of Other Races. Tim Johnson of McClatchy News: "A new Russian influence operation has surfaced that mirrors some of the activity of an internet firm that the FBI says was deeply involved in efforts to sway the 2016 U.S. elections, a cybersecurity firm says. A website called usareally.com appeared on the internet May 17 and called on Americans to rally in front of the White House June 14 to celebrate ... Donald Trump's birthday, which is also Flag Day. FireEye, a Milpitas, Calif., cybersecurity company, said Thursday that USA Really is a Russian-operated website that carries content designed to foment racial division, harden feelings over immigration, gun control and police brutality, and undermine social cohesion. The website's operators once worked out of the same office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the Kremlin-linked Internet Research Agency had its headquarters, said Lee Foster, manager of information operations analysis for FireEye iSIGHT Intelligence."
David Herszenhorn of Politico: "Spanish socialist leader Pedro Sánchez was sworn in as prime minister Saturday morning by King Felipe VI. The new premier took the oath of office at a ceremony at the Zarzuela Palace on the outskirts of Madrid. According to El Pais, it is the first time the ceremony was conducted without a Bible or crucifix. Sánchez used the word 'promise' rather than 'swear' in taking the oath of office, in accordance with legal language adopted to allow separation between church and state.... Sánchez won enough backing in parliament Friday for a motion of no confidence in his predecessor Mariano Rajoy, shortly after a court ruling in a graft scandal involving former officials from the prime minister's Popular Party. Rajoy is the first Spanish leader ever to be ousted in a no-confidence vote."
*****
Max Greenwood of the Hill: "The White House is preparing for a potential summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, is helping to set up the meeting, though the planning is still in its early stages, the Journal reported." Mrs. McC: Great. Bob Mueller can burst in with a gang of G-men & arrest them both. Perfect season finale.
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump announced on Friday that the summit meeting he had canceled with North Korea's leader would be held after all, the latest twist in a nuclear-edged diplomatic drama that has captivated and confused much of the world.... The reversal followed an Oval Office meeting on Friday afternoon with a high-ranking North Korean envoy who delivered a personal letter from Mr. Kim to Mr. Trump. The envoy, Kim Yong-chol, the former North Korean intelligence chief and top nuclear arms negotiator, became the first North Korean official to set foot in the White House since 2000 and only the second ever to meet with a sitting American president." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Julian Borger of the Guardian: "In a lavish show of hospitality, Trump escorted his visitor, a former spy chief and general who is under US sanctions, outside the White House for more informal talks and to pose for photographs with the North Korean delegation. Trump also appeared to accept the North Korean position that its denuclearisation would be a drawn-out process, and not an all-in-one surrender of the regime's nuclear arsenal, Trump officials had previously demanded.... In a dramatic downgrading of expectations from the summit, Trump said Singapore meeting would be a 'getting-to-know-you meeting, plus'.... The president said that North Korea's human rights record was not discussed in the meeting.... Kim was welcomed at the south lawn entrance in front of massed ranks of cameras and escorted to the Oval Office, where the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was waiting with Trump. The ceremonial arrival represented a propaganda coup for a regime that has endured decades of isolation."; ...
... Trump Touts a "Nice," "Interesting" Letter He Hasn't Read. Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: "President Trump figuratively dangled a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in front of reporters on Friday, as he confirmed that a June 12 summit is back on. 'That letter was a very nice letter,' Trump said at a White House news conference. 'Oh, would you like to see what was in that letter. Wouldn't you like? How much? How much? How much?' When a journalist asked whether the president could 'just give us the flavor of what the letter said,' Trump said, 'It was a very interesting letter. At some point, it may be appropriate and maybe I'll be able to give it to you, maybe.' A few minutes later, however, Trump said he hadn't even opened the letter, which was delivered by Kim Yong Chol, a high-ranking North Korean official who previously directed that country's spy agency." ...
... Some people thought Little Kim's Big Letter was ever so funny.
Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday broke with decades of protocol and commented publicly about the highly anticipated jobs report data 69 minutes before they were released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Treasury yields moved sharply higher within seconds of a tweet from Trump that said he was 'looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.' He had never issued such a tweet before. Bloomberg News data also showed that the value of the U.S. dollar moved sharply higher after the Twitter post compared with previous trades the mornings jobs data are released. That means traders were probably making investment decisions based on signals they took from Trump's post." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Now, as Donald signals he'll pardon Martha for a crime associated with insider trading, would be a good time for the feds to see whether or not any of Donald's phone friends made surprisingly excellent market moves in the hours between the time Trump got federal BLS reports & when those reports were made public. If they can't get him on "collusion" with Russia, maybe they can get Trump on insider trading. ...
... In her usual long-winded manner, Rachel Maddow introduces us to Trump's new BFF, Kim Yong Chol. He is, unlike Trump, a very talented guy. But not, for most of the world, in a good way:
... Russell Berman of the Atlantic: "To say the jobs report is closely held is an understatement. It is treated as a state secret until the moment the data is released to the public, so that no stock trader -- whether in the U.S. or abroad -- can get even the slightest advantage over anyone else.... There's even a federal rule barring employees of the executive branch from commenting on leading economic indicators, including the monthly jobs report, until an hour after they are released. Trump has broken this rule before, tweeting about a positive jobs report at 8:45 a.m. ET last August.... 'There is a big question about who he privately leaks data to and that should be investigated, tweeted Betsey Stevenson, formerly the chief economist at the Labor Department during the Obama administration."
John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday lashed out at Samantha Bee.... 'Why aren't they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that's O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!'... Bee apologized Thursday for describing Ivanka Trump with a vulgarity on her show 'Full Frontal,' saying it was 'inappropriate and inexcusable' and that she had 'crossed a line.'... TBS later apologized in a separate statement.... Ivanka Trump ... sparked online outrage Sunday when she tweeted a photo of herself with her younger son around the same time as reports circulated that the U.S. government had lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children last year." Mrs. McC: Obviously, the "double standard" begins at 1600 Pa. Ave., with a president who condoned Roseanne Barr's racist remark but is infuriated by Bee's sexist language. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Bill Maher explains jokes to idiots:
John Harwood of CNBC: "... Donald Trump has embarked on an unorthodox follow-up to cutting the taxes American families pay: raising the prices of goods they buy. Higher prices will result directly from tariffs the White House plans to impose on steel and aluminum imports from allies such as Canada, Mexico and the European Union as well as other countries. The White House acknowledges that effect, while arguing the price increases will be tiny. But combined with additional tariffs against other imports from China and retaliatory steps by our trading partners, the measures Trump announced promise to make an impact. And mainstream economists across the political spectrum agree it will be negative.... Mark Zandi, an independent economist at Moody's Analytics..., estimated the net effects of trade conflicts Trump has initiated at 0.2 percent in reduced economic growth, 250,000 in lost jobs, and $210 in higher costs for an average family. Such a reduction in growth would wipe out half the projected boost in growth from the tax cuts Trump and the GOP Congress enacted last December.... The arithmetic could get worse. Also in the name of national security, the Trump administration is investigating whether to slap 25 percent tariffs on imported cars." ...
... AP: "French President Emmanuel Macron has told ... Donald Trump that the new U.S. tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian goods are illegal and a 'mistake.'... The European Union is planning retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and food goods in the coming weeks, once it calculates the exact cost to EU companies of the U.S. tariffs. Macron pledged the riposte would be 'firm' and 'proportionate' and in line with World Trade Organization rules.... As its first step to challenge the U.S. tariffs, the EU on Friday formally filed a request for consultations at the WTO. The two sides will discuss the matter and try to reach a deal. If that fails to solve the matter, after 60 days the EU can ask a WTO panel to rule on the case. The EU's trade chief, Cecilia Malmstrom, said that the U.S. decision to impose tariffs 'is further weakening the Trans-Atlantic relations.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "ZTE Corporation struck a contract with D.C. lobbying and public relations powerhouse Mercury Public Affairs on May 14, a day after Trump tweeted that he would consider lifting the penalties that had been imposed on the company as punishment for its violation of sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The Mercury consultant working on the account is Bryan Lanza, a veteran of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign. Less than two weeks after Lanza's work began, the Trump administration announced that it had reached a tentative deal to ease those penalties, a move criticized by lawmakers of both parties.... The swiftness of the Trump administration's efforts to reach an agreement with the company -- and the equally swift decision of that company to bring on a prominent Trumpworld figure -- underscores the new world of influence peddling in Washington D.C."
Katie Benner of the New York Times: "... by choosing to pardon political supporters whose cases largely failed to meet the basic guidelines for pardons, Mr. Trump could turn a slow and imperfect system into an unequal and unjust one, both liberal and conservative advocates warn, in which those with fame, money or access to the president's ear are first in line to receive clemency." ...
... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Dinesh D'Souza, the conservative author and filmmaker pardoned by President Trump, claimed victory on Friday over what he characterized as a political prosecution by the administration of President Barack Obama.... Carrie H. Cohen, then an assistant United States attorney who prosecuted Mr. D'Souza, noted on Friday that a judge considered the claim and rejected it. 'The court found no evidence to support D'Souza's claim that he was selectively prosecuted,' she said in an interview."
Jennifer Dlouhy of Bloomberg: "Trump administration officials are making plans to order grid operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants in an effort to extend their life, a move that could represent an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets. Although the memo describes a planned Energy Department directive, there was no indication ... Donald Trump had signed off on the action nor when any order might be issued." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. Oh, Here's the "Indication." Steve Mufson of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to halt the shutdown of ailing coal and nuclear power plants that he said were needed to maintain the nation's energy mix, grid resilience and national security.... The Trump administration has been preparing to invoke emergency powers granted under Cold War-era legislation to order regional grid operators to buy electricity from ailing coal and nuclear power plants.... The idea of declaring an emergency under the Defense Production Act of 1950 ... and Section 202 of the Federal Power Act has been promoted by the chief executives of the coal-mining firm Murray Energy and the Ohio utility FirstEnergy, both of whom have contributed heavily to Trump's political activities.... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an independent agency, unanimously rejected an earlier proposal by the Energy Department that would have favored coal and nuclear plants.... Environmental groups, natural-gas producers, and Republicans and Democrats who have pushed for greater competition in electricity markets all condemned the latest signal that the administration might be moving closer to imposing the Energy Department's plan." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If you're thinking of using the Trump/Perry "energy" model to teach the kids how corruption works, be sure to throw in the Scott Pruitt/Joseph Craft example, which Steve Eder, et al., of the NYT outline in the story linked below. ...
... Steve Mufson & David Lynch of the Washington Post: "President Trump is increasingly intervening in the economy, making decisions about corporate winners and losers in ways that Republicans for decades have insisted should be left to free markets -- not the government. The shift amounts to a major change in the GOP's approach to the management of the economy, and it promises to shape the success of everything from American agriculture and manufacturing to the companies that produce the nation's electricity. On Friday, citing national security, Trump ordered the Energy Department to compel power-grid operators to buy from ailing coal and nuclear plants that otherwise would be forced to shut down because of competition from cheaper sources. The order came one day after the president imposed historic metals tariffs on some of the country's strongest allies and trading partners. Now the Commerce Department is further picking winners and losers as it weighs thousands of requests from companies for waivers from the import taxes. 'It replaces the invisible hand with the government hand,' said Mary Lovely, a Syracuse University economist. 'You're replacing the market with government fiat.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The reporters, exercising their best both-sides-do-it journalistic skills, write, "Of course, Trump isn't the only one to tinker with market forces. President Barack Obama backed subsidies for wind and solar power. And about 30 states have adopted laws mandating minimum purchases of renewable energy. Obama also won passage of a health-care reform package that created winners and losers." But improving the world's climate & Americans' health is in no shape or form the same as rewarding big donors for worsening the world's climate & Americans' health. There was never any suggestion that the Obama administration chose "winners & losers" based upon who was contributing the most to Obama and his Cabinet members. One of these things is not like the other. Trump & crew are intervening in the economy for corrupt purposes, & they comprise a fine example of how authoritarian governments disregard the best interests of the nation for their own gain.
John Brennan, in a Washington Post op-ed: "The esteem with which I held the presidency was dealt a serious blow when Donald Trump took office. Almost immediately, I began to see a startling aberration from the remarkable, though human, presidents I had served[: Bush I, Bill Clinton, Bush II & Barack Obama].... Mr. Trump ... has shown highly abnormal behavior by lying routinely to the American people without compunction, intentionally fueling divisions in our country and actively working to degrade the imperfect but critical institutions that serve us.... On the international front, Mr. Trump pursues policies that are rooted in uninformed campaign promises, a determination to upend actions of his predecessors and an aversion to multilateral engagements. His ad hoc and frequently impulsive approach to national security is short-sighted and dangerous.... As someone who had the rare privilege of directly serving four presidents, I will continue to speak out loudly and critically until integrity, decency, wisdom — and maybe even some humility -- return to the White House."
This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.
Dominique Jackson of the Raw Story: "Berkeley, California attorney Alexander Stern, released a bombshell report on Friday that suggests ... Donald Trump may be under a sealed indictment without even knowing. The report gathered eight leading criminal law professors across the country. The Department of Justice has argued that indicting President Trump could distract him from his presidential duties, but Stern said a sealed indictment could take away that concern.... A sealed indictment would remove the statute of limitation concern." Stern's analysis is here. Mrs. McC: I've been suggesting this for a long time. However, it's only a theory. There's no evidence Mueller has actually requested an indictment Trump, & I doubt he would do so until his team was wrapping up its investigation.
Carol Lee & Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "A close friend of Jared Kushner has come under scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for his proximity to some key meetings between Trump associates and foreign officials, according to five people familiar with the matter. Richard Gerson, a hedge-fund manager in New York, was in the Seychelles in January 2017, less than two weeks before ... Donald Trump's inauguration and around the time Trump associate Erik Prince secretly met with Russian and United Arab Emirates officials, including Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, four of the people said. While in the remote Indian Ocean island nation, Gerson met with Prince Mohammed -- also known by his initials as MBZ -- and communicated with a Lebanese-American businessman with close ties to the UAE, George Nader, who had organized the Erik Prince meeting, according to text messages Gerson sent at the time and a person familiar with the meeting.... Gerson had met Nader just weeks earlier when Trump officials, including Kushner, gathered for a secret meeting with MBZ at a Four Seasons hotel in New York.... Counterintelligence investigators have been scrutinizing UAE influence in the Trump campaign since before Mueller was appointed as special counsel, and the probe has continued in coordination with Mueller's team, according to two people briefed on the investigation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stephanie Clifford..., has sought help for his legal battle against Mr. Trump from leading Democratic operatives. Mr. Avenatti contacted an official in the network of liberal groups led by David Brock, while someone associated with Mr. Avenatti's law firm was in touch with two people connected to major Democratic donors, according to people familiar with the conversations. But the discussions do not appear to have led to any financial help for the high-profile legal and public relations fight being waged by Mr. Avenatti and Ms. Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Rick Gladstone of the New York Times: "A bitter divide over who is to blame for scores of Palestinian deaths from Israeli fire at protests near Gaza’s border shifted Friday to the United Nations, where the United States vetoed a measure backed by Arab countries to protect Palestinians and condemn Israel. Nikki R. Haley, the American ambassador to the United Nations, described the measure, a United Nations Security Council resolution drafted by Kuwait, as one-sided. She accused the measure's authors of inexplicably absolving Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza and organized the protests. The United States, a permanent Security Council member with veto power, was the sole no vote on the measure, which was enough to defeat it. Ten members voted in favor and four abstained. A separate American resolution proposed by Ms. Haley, which would have condemned Hamas for the Gaza violence, failed to gain any support from fellow Council members."
Steve Eder & others at the New York Times detail Scott Pruitt's deep, corrupt ties to "Joseph W. Craft III, a billionaire coal executive who has engaged in an aggressive campaign to reverse the Obama administration's environmental crackdown on the coal industry. Mr. Craft and his wife donated more than $2 million to support President Trump's candidacy and inauguration."
Brady Dennis & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: EPA Administrator Scott "Pruitt spent $1,560 on 12 customized fountain pens from [a] Washington jewelry store..., each emblazoned with the seal of the Environmental Protection Agency and the signature of its leader, Scott Pruitt." The staffer who authorized the rush order was Millan Hupp, Pruitt's head of scheduling and advance and a trusted confidante dating to his Oklahoma days. "In recent weeks, Pruitt has blamed some of those questionable expenditures on the agency's rank and file, arguing that he often played no role in the decision to spend large sums of money.... But ... the order of fountain pens -- each of which cost taxpayers $130 -- shows that ... top aides rather than career staffers often were the ones signing off on them."
Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "A federal study found signs that surveillance devices for intercepting cellphone calls and texts were operating near the White House and other sensitive locations in the Washington area last year. A Department of Homeland Security program discovered evidence of the surveillance devices, called IMSI catchers, as part of federal testing last year, according to a letter from DHS to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on May 22.... 'This is a huge concern from a national security perspective,' said Laura Moy, deputy director of Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology. 'People have been warning for years ... that these devices were used by foreign agents operating on American soil.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Timberg doesn't mention it, but I bet you'll recall this Politico story, published May 21: "... Donald Trump uses a White House cellphone that isn't equipped with sophisticated security features designed to shield his communications, according to two senior administration officials -- a departure from the practice of his predecessors that potentially exposes him to hacking or surveillance." Trump said secure phones were "too inconvenient." In other words, assuming the DHS findings are correct. it's a safe bet that somebody who should not be privy to Trump's calls is listening in on the POTUS*.
Senate Race. Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp will be going into the congressional midterm elections knowing she's received support for at least one piece of legislation by the unlikeliest of groups: the Koch political network. Americans for Prosperity, an arm of the influential network supported by conservative billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, is unleashing a digital advertising campaign on Friday thanking Heitkamp for co-sponsoring the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protect Act, a bill that rolls back Dodd-Frank regulations mainly on community banks, or those with less than $100 billion in assets. It recently passed in Congress with bipartisan support.... The move to support Heitkamp comes only two months after the Koch network launched a six-figure ad buy attacking her for voting against the Republican tax reform bill in December." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Andrew Kirell, et al., of the Daily Beast: "MSNBC and Joy Reid on Friday both finally commented on the latest round of hateful old blog posts unearthed by various outlets. They did not, however, address Reid's initial and unsubstantiated claim that the posts were fake. And more than a month after the controversy began, many of Reid's MSNBC colleagues are embarrassed by the network's handling of it.... Jonathan Capehart will fill in for Reid on this week's AM Joy at least one day this weekend...."
Beyond the Beltway
Jason Hancock of the Kansas City Star: "With moving trucks parked outside his official residence, Gov. Eric Greitens on Friday signed more than half of the bills approved by lawmakers during the 2018 legislative session (for a total of 77). Among the most high-profile bills Greitens signed: legislation making it a felony to threaten to disseminate or distribute a sexually explicit image taken without consent. Greitens faces possible criminal charges stemming from allegations that he took a nude photo without consent of a woman with whom he had an affair in 2015 and threatened to release it if she ever discussed the relationship. A judge assigned Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker to review the allegations to consider filling charges. The new law can't be applied retroactively to Greitens." Mrs McC BTW: If you're over your KC Star limit for the month, as I am, you can open the story in a private windows.
Gov. Greitens also signed a number of pardons & sentence commutations on his last day in office. Looking down the list provided by KMOT-TV, St. Louis, they all appear to be cases with merit, unlike your typical Trump pardon.
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Reader Comments (12)
The May 21 story about trump's un-secure cell phone is, of course, a reprise of stories from a year before. I remember the same picture and the same article on Steve Benen's Maddowblog early in this disastrous presidency. The story didn't get any traction back then, even when the comparison with the HRC email server was raised. There is just too much shit hitting the windshield.
@Nisky Guy: You're right. Steve Benin, Jan. 26, 2017: "When Donald Trump spoke to the New York Times about his transition to presidential life, he mentioned a surprising detail: Trump is still using 'his old, unsecured Android phone, to the protests of some of his aides.'
"It’s a curious choice. In case anyone’s forgotten, for over a year, the political world decided that the single most important story in the United States in 2016 was Hillary Clinton’s use of an unsecured email server, which could’ve been vulnerable to a cyber-attack (which, by all appearances, never happened). Trump repeatedly attacked Clinton over her I.T. practices.
"And yet, here we are. The New York Times added that the president’s use of an old smartphone 'raises concerns that its use could be exposing him and the nation to security threats.'”
Of course this was days after Trump took office. A year-and-a-half later, there's no excuse. Except -- rules are for chumps, not for Trumps.
Sounds fishy to me, like collusion in plain sight no need to set up a back channel just feel free to listen in as Trump squawks. Anyone else remember the story over a year ago about how the CIA was first on to Carter Paige, it was from eavesdropping on Russian spy's talking using papers embedded within listening devices. Makes you wonder what kind of spook gear is in that "nice interesting" giant envelope from the North Koreans.
As first time commenter but obsessively longtime loyal reader please know that I am immensely grateful to you Mrs. Bea McCrabbie for all your hard work in maintaining this wonderful site your insights and those of your regular commenters are not to missed and I appreciate you all.
@Julia. Thanks for writing. I heard on teevee last night that a security team examined the envelope for possible contaminants before allowing Kim to hand it over to Trump. Wonder if anybody noticed Kim -- a remarkable master spy -- surreptitiously stick a bug to the underside of the Resolution desk during that impromptu 80-minute chat.
Summit with North Korea, summit with Russia, summits all around! How about a summit with Nigeria? Oops, sorry, shithole country. We don’t do summits with shitholes. Maybe the little king can get another summit with France. They threw him a swell parade last time. What’s that? We pissed off France and the entire EU to make Foxbots happy? Oh well. Maybe he can get a summit with Duterte. After all, he’s already summitting with two of the most murderous dictators in the world. Might as well line ‘em all up.
Summits for everyone!
It’s so much more fun to govern by tweet and photo-op!
Hey, think Putin will give him a bigger envelope than Kim? The race is on!
Rachel might be long-winded (I find myself saying–"ok, ok, we got it already") but the tales she weaves are fascinating and significant. Lots of laughs I had last night at her rendition of that little spy guy eyeing everything in the oval office and yes, possibly sticking one of those nifty listening devices under the Donald's desk.
The NYT's piece on the United Nation's squabble is an important report. This sentence sums it up:
"The U.S. has become increasingly isolated at the United Nations when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict."
Couple this with Brennan's op/ed in the Wash/po, with Canada's fury at us over trade, with our other allies dumbfounded at our dumb founding and it looks like we are losing face day by day––Uncle Sam's tears are up to our ears; time to save ourselves?
Niall Ferguson's leaked emails show what's really going on in the campus free speech fight. A tid-bit here: John Rice Cameron is one of the right-wing "getting the dirt on liberals" guys working with Ferguson; he's the son of Susan Rice. Imagine the family conversations.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/1/17417042/niall-ferguson-stanford-emails
Yesterday I thought a lot about the word, cunt. I personally find the word jarring and its sound unpleasingly guttural (it's of Germanic origin–Kunte), and the Bee busting of her use of that word has caused much back and forth discussions. It has been mentioned that Trump himself has used that word on three occasions and years ago John McCaine called his wife a cunt in front of several journalists. And I wondered about the use of that word and its history. My husband gave me, years ago, a fat book on American slang so I looked up cunt. Well, my friends, there are two full pages crammed with information on this four letter word–-even going back to 1645. Many of our novelists have used the word–-here are just a few: Dos Passos, Henry Miller, Henry Roth, Philip Roth, and in Ellison's "Invisible Man" we find this:
"A pat on the back and a piece of cunt with no passion?"
I also learned that the words Bitch and Cunt can be interchanged such as in "It's goona be a bitch/cunt to fix this casket."
So––given the kerfuffle over this one word, I'm wondering why the multitude of words that flow out of Trump's mouth that are labeled LIES don't get the same kerfuffle? Yes, the word cunt used to humiliate Ivanka was harsh, but these lies are destroying and deceiving multitudes not to mention a whole country.
PD,
Glad you liked that "Vox" piece on the rats scurrying about in Stanford's Hoover Tower, too. And yes, those Rice family get-togethers must be a hoot.
Perhaps because Hoover was already on my mind (and wishing to prove I could approach things more even-handedly than do the denizens of his namesake Tower?), rose to Bret Stephen's bait this morning and sent this to the NYTimes:
"Getting complicated things--like the global economy and American's preferred position in the world-- right in a short piece is just plain hard. This time around you do a decent job, I think, but would offer three additional thoughts.
First, about the book you wrote too soon. ('American in Retreat,' which I had somehow missed): Some of what you lamented as Obama's "retreat" from world leadership was his natural and sane reaction to both the kind of world "leadership" represented by the Iraq debacle and by the emergence of significant economic rivals like China and the European Economic Union. Wishing things are otherwise does not make them so, even at book length.
Hoover and the tariff lobby he heeded, as you say under immense pressure, did screw up, but that was before the Depression and all it taught us about how global economies work. For that era, ignorance is some excuse. For ours, none at all.
The only reasonable explanation for Trump's tariff actions other than the short term political benefit you mention he might hope to gain in some parts of the country is his severely damaged psyche. He's a bully, pure and very--in the sense of ignorance--simple. He thinks he can cow anyone with threats. It's his modus operandi. He's been doing it for years both on and off tv and when he can't do it himself he hires lawyers to do it for him.
For Trump tariff imposition is both a handy club and a new toy. What more could a simple-minded bully with the mind of a toddler want?
This will not end well."
@Ken: Your impressive NYT's comment led me to read Bret for myself; poor thing is having to wrestle with his once dumping of Obama's foreign policies and realizing what a "feckless" foreign policy really looks like. So glad, Ken, that you write letters to your local rag and send comments to the Times; we need as many voices like yours as possible.
P.S. I was amused at Bret's mention of Sarah Palin's snarky remark about Obama. Haven't heard from her for a long time–-wonder if she still thinks Trump is good enough to eat.
I read an opinion piece in a Canadian paper this morning musing on the most effective responses to Trump from other countries: instead of retaliatory tariffs and the like, make it personal to him & family and friends. Like, nationalize or condemn properties (Panama), maybe close or inspect golf courses, that kind of thing. Or, China could yank Ivanka's patents here and there. You know, take the toddler's toys away from him and put him in timeout. How 'bout that?
PD,
Thanks. I'm on a roll. Couldn't resist the Krugman piece either, not to argue but to add...
"Though I came to deplore the kind of conservatism my father embraced in his later years, especially its element of racism that became more prominent as the years passed, I always recognized in him the presence of a moral compass. He did have a lively sense of right and wrong and lived most of his life listening to and acting on what it told him.
Many conservatives of his generation I knew similarly possessed some kind of moral code, and while they became increasingly uncomfortable with the social and demographic changes that assaulted them as they aged and were therefore ripe for the Right's plucking, they seldom lost touch with some internal voice that constantly reminded them that they were not the only person on the planet and that selfishness was much more sin than virtue.
For today's conservatives self-centered greed (if we leave the anti-abortion hysterics and the racists behind, tho' self-centeredness certainly goes a long way to explain those behaviors, too), is all that's left to guide them. It explains everything they do in Congress and even in the SCOTUS, where the Citizens United decision further imbalanced power relationship in our elections and their new definitions of quid pro quo corruption now make it impossible to prosecute successfully.
Because it is wholly absent, searching for any kind of moral or intellectual consistency in 21st century is a fool's errand....though it does make for a nice op-ed column.
Thanks for this one."
That...and likely too much...said, the sun's out and I'm off to a little league baseball game.
They lost the game, so my grandson's team is not tired of winning.
And I see I left out a word in the previous post. Should have been 21st century CONSERVATISM.
My brain or my fingers lost the word. Losers, both.
@Ken Winkes: But not as bad as "Winkwa." (See yesterday's Comments.)