;)
The Commentariat -- March 3, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Zack Beauchamp of Vox: "... Trump's staff is disintegrating amid a series of mounting scandals....This has led to a weakening of the personnel wall between Trump and his more outlandish impulses. This whole mess played out in the tariff case: A piece in Politico suggests that Rob Porter -- the former White House staff secretary who resigned amid multiple allegations of domestic abuse -- had been organizing meetings designed to block imposition of new tariffs. 'Porter's resignation removed a fierce opponent of the tariffs from the West Wing and revived the chaotic policy review process that defined the early weeks of Trump's presidency,' Politico reports. White House staff chaos is letting Trump be Trump. That means feelings dictating outcomes, policymaking by pique -- consequences be damned. It's bad enough that this approach yielded dangerous tariffs. Imagine if the next time Trump is angry, he starts thinking about North Korea."
Emily Holden & Alex Guillen of Politico: "Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt dismissed evolution as an unproven theory, lamented that 'minority religions' were pushing Christianity out of 'the public square' and advocated amending the Constitution to ban abortion, prohibit same-sex marriage and protect the Pledge of Allegiance and the Ten Commandments, according to a newly unearthed series of Oklahoma talk radio shows from 2005. Pruitt, who at the time was a state senator, also described the Second Amendment as divinely granted and condemned federal judges as a 'judicial monarchy' that is 'the most grievous threat that we have today.' And he did not object when the program's host described Islam as 'not so much a religion as it is a terrorist organization in many instances.'" Mrs. McC: Hey, at least he's not just a climate-change denier. ...
... Perfect! Michael Biesecker of the AP: "... Donald Trump on Friday tapped a chemical industry insider to run the Environmental Protection Agency office that oversees emergency response to hazardous spills and cleanups of the nation's most toxic sites. The White House announced that Trump has nominated Peter C. Wright to serve as EPA's assistant administrator for Land and Emergency Management. Wright has worked as a corporate lawyer at Dow Chemical Co. since 1999. Despite Trump's campaign pledges to 'drain the swamp' in Washington, Wright's nomination is the latest example of the president appointing corporate lawyers or lobbyists to supervise federal offices that directly regulate their former employers."
Reuters: "Sweden's Electrolux..., Europe's largest home appliance maker, said on Friday it would delay a planned $250 million investment in Tennessee, after ... Donald Trump announced tariffs on imported aluminum and steel.... 'We are putting it on hold. We believe that tariffs could cause a pretty significant increase in the price of steel on the U.S. market,' Electrolux spokesman Daniel Frykholm said. Electrolux buys all the steel it uses in its U.S. products domestically."
*****
Governance by Temper Tantrum
Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "A day after stunning markets, Republican lawmakers and even his own advisers by announcing stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, President Trump doubled down on his approach on Friday, saying in a early morning tweet that 'Trade wars are good, and easy to win.' Mr. Trump appeared eager to defend his decision to levy sweeping tariffs on all imports of those metals, issuing a series of morning tweets explaining the need for tariffs. 'Our steel industry is in bad shape. IF YOU DON'T HAVE STEEL, YOU DON'T HAVE A COUNTRY!' he said in one tweet.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Alan Freeman of the Washington Post: "Canadians reacted with a mixture of anger, confusion and resignation this week to President Trump's promise to hit U.S. imports of steel and aluminum with hefty tariffs, upending decades of economic cooperation and integration.... Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tariff proposal 'absolutely unacceptable,' using the same phrase as Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, who also threatened retaliatory measures if Canada isn't exempted from the trade actions.... Under the Trump policies announced Thursday, steel imported into the United States would be slapped with a 25 percent tariff and aluminum with a 10 percent tariff. The announcement sent shudders through world markets and prompted a global outcry, with European allies and others threatening retaliation.... Canada is the largest exporter of steel and aluminum to the United States, supplying $7.2 billion of aluminum and $4.3 billion of steel to the United States last year." ...
... Eric Levitz: "Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president, told the German press Tuesday that should Trump make good on his protectionist promise, the European Union would slap retaliatory tariffs on goods produced in the home states of top Republican officials -- including the bourbon prepared in Mitch McConnell's backyard and Harley-Davidson motorcycles manufactured in Paul Ryan's. 'None of this is reasonable, but reason is a sentiment that is very unevenly distributed in this world,' Juncker said." ...
... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The week of wild policymaking has left lawmakers on Capitol Hill, investors on Wall Street and leaders around the world trying to make sense of it all. Republicans in Congress are wondering if Mr. Trump really intends to defy one of the party's most valued and powerful constituencies to push for gun restrictions that they say will never go anywhere in Congress. Corporate executives and foreign governments were guessing whether Mr. Trump will really follow through on his unscripted vow to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum and, if so, what that might mean.... On Thursday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia announced the development of an 'invincible' nuclear missile and even showed animation of a potential strike on Florida, where Mr. Trump spends many weekends, including this one. But the president had no response to the implicit threat...." ...
... He's Come Unglued. Stephanie Ruhle & Peter Alexander of NBC News: Trump's "public show of confidence belies the fact that Trump's policy maneuver, which may ultimately harm U.S. companies and American consumers, was announced without any internal review by government lawyers or his own staff, according to a review of an internal White House document. According to two officials, Trump's decision to launch a potential trade war was born out of anger at other simmering issues and the result of a broken internal process that has failed to deliver him consensus views that represent the best advice of his team. On Wednesday evening, the president became 'unglued,' in the words of one official familiar with the president's state of mind. A trifecta of events had set him off in a way that two officials said they had not seen before: Hope Hicks' testimony to lawmakers investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election, conduct by his embattled attorney general and the treatment of his son-in-law by his chief of staff. Trump, the two officials said, was angry and gunning for a fight, and he chose a trade war...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Gloria Borger of CNN: "Not since Richard Nixon started talking to the portraits on the walls of the West Wing has a president seemed so alone against the world. On source -- who is a presidential ally -- is worried, really worried. The source says this past week is 'different,' that advisers are scared the President is spiraling, lashing out, just out of control. For example: Demanding to hold a public session where he made promises on trade tariffs before his staff was ready, not to mention willing. 'This has real economic impact,' says the source, as the Dow dropped 420 points after the President's news Thursday. 'Something is very wrong.' Even by Trumpian standards, the chaos and the unraveling at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are a stunning -- and recurring -- problem." (Also linked yesterday.)
Time for Some Traffic Problems.... Michael Shear & Patrick McGeehan of the New York Times: "President Trump is pressing congressional Republicans to oppose funding for a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, using the power of his office to block a key priority for the region and his Democratic rivals, according to several people with knowledge of his actions. Mr. Trump urged Speaker Paul D. Ryan this week not to support funding for the $30 billion project, two people familiar with the conversation said. Th president's decision to weigh in forcefully against the so-called Gateway infrastructure project, which has been one of the United States' top transportation priorities for years, adds a significant obstacle to getting the project underway in the near future.... Mr. Trump has told Republicans that it makes no sense to give [Sen. Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer [D-N.Y.] something that he covets -- funding for the tunnels -- at a time that Mr. Schumer is routinely blocking Mr. Trump's nominees and other parts of his agenda, the person said." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The principal difference between this stunt & Bridgegate is that we're finding out about the motivation earlier in the cycle.
Gail Collins: "... of all the stupid-to-terrifying things going on in the White House, one of the most depressing may be that Jeff Sessions is becoming a sympathetic figure. Not that he hasn't kept trying to reingratiate himself.... How long do you think he'll last? Well, he's made it clear he doesn't intend to go on his own volition, and despite the massive churn in the administration, most of the departed have resigned under their own power. Trump, who we're discovering is terrible at firing people, has actually canned only three -- the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the acting attorney general and the F.B.I. director. Hmm, what do all those offices have in common?"
Mixing Business with "Public Service." Clayton Swisher & Ryan Grim of the Intercept: "The real estate firm tied to the family of presidential son-in-law and top White House adviser Jared Kushner made a direct pitch to Qatar's minister of finance in April 2017 in an attempt to secure investment in a critically distressed asset in the company's portfolio, according to two sources. At the previously unreported meeting, Jared Kushner's father Charles, who runs Kushner Companies, and Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi discussed financing for the Kushners' signature 666 Fifth Avenue property in New York City.... The failure to broker the deal would be followed only a month later by a Middle Eastern diplomatic row in which Jared Kushner provided critical support to Qatar's neighbors. Led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a group of Middle Eastern countries, with Kushner's backing, led a diplomatic assault that culminated in a blockade of Qatar. Kushner, according to reports at the time, subsequently undermined efforts by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to bring an end to the standoff.... The crisis followed a May visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by Kushner and ... Donald Trump, who subsequently took credit for Saudi Arabia and its allies' efforts against Qatar. The fallout has reshaped geopolitical alliances in the region...." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Eric Levitz: "The Gulf monarchies claimed that this act of aggression [against Qatar] was a response to Donald Trump's call for the Arab world to crack down on terrorists.... The United States had nothing to gain from a conflict between its Gulf allies. Qatar hosts one of America's largest and most strategically important air bases in the Middle East. Any development that pushes Doha away from Riyadh pulls it toward Tehran.... Donald Trump was more than happy to endorse the idea that his speech had moved mountains.... According to contemporary reports, his son-in-law was one of the only White House advisers to approve of this stance.... It's worth noting that the project the Qatari foreign minister refused to finance ... was Jared's baby -- his misbegotten, sickly, drowning baby ... -- 666 Fifth Avenue.... It looks like the president's son-in-law worked to sour relations with a key U.S. ally in the Middle East -- which has since drifted further into the orbit of a regime hostile to the United States -- because it refused to bail out his family's underwater real-estate investment." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has asked witnesses about [Jared] Kushner's efforts to secure financing for his family's real estate properties, focusing specifically on his discussions during the transition with individuals from Qatar and Turkey, as well as Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates, according to witnesses who have been interviewed as part of the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to sway the 2016 election.... Qatari government officials visiting the U.S. in late January and early February considered turning over to Mueller what they believe is evidence of efforts by their country's Persian Gulf neighbors in coordination with Kushner to hurt their country, four people familiar with the matter said. The Qatari officials decided against cooperating with Mueller for now out of fear it would further strain the country's relations with the White House...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Margaret Hartmann: "While the idea that the president himself may be secretly plotting to oust his daughter and son-in-law from the White House [according the NYT report by Mark Landler & Maggie Haberman, linked yesterday] is quite a juicy plot twist, it's also one of Trump's more astute staffing decisions. Not the part where he's incapable of firing them himself, of course, but his recognition that Jared and Ivanka are massive liabilities who contribute very little to the success of his administration. Why didn't anyone try to tell him that the president shouldn't hire his own family members?" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... John Cassidy of the New Yorker summarizes how Jared Kushner has "managed" his blatant conflicts of interest. And he reminds us that, unlike the President*, Kushner can be prosecuted under conflict-of-interest laws. Mrs. McC: Under current circumstances, even though written law says that a smoking gun isn't necessary, I'm afraid it would be hard to prosecute Jared. I'm reminded of Justice Kennedy's ridiculous majority opinion on Citizens United: "... independent expenditures do not lead to, or create the appearance of, quid pro quo corruption," he wrote. That is, just because there's a quid & a quo doesn't mean there's a pro, in Kennedy's pollyannaish view. It's unlikely the prosecution in a case against Jared could find an e-mail from him reading, "I have to take this meeting with the CEO of Citigroup. He's going to lend me $325 million," or testimony from White House staffers that Jared announced, "It's payback time. Qatar wouldn't lend my father half a bil, so I'm going to bury those emirs."
** John Kelly Is a Serial Liar. Abby Phillip, et al., of CNN: "White House chief of staff John Kelly continued to misrepresent his handling of the dismissal of former top aide Rob Porter on Friday, defiantly obfuscating on exactly what he knew -- and when -- about the extent of the abuse allegations against Porter's two ex-wives. In some instances, Kelly even directly contradicted some of the White House's public statements delivered last month. In a rare gathering with reporters in his White House office, Kelly mostly defended his own conduct and insisted that he never considered resigning over the fallout.... The new timeline presented by Kelly doesn't conform with what Kelly told a roomful of White House staffers at the end of the grueling week when Porter left the White House.... One source with knowledge of the situation told CNN that people inside the White House ... stat[ed] flatly that the chief of staff was not telling the truth.... Kelly told reporters that he learned of 'a serious accusation' against Porter on February 6, the day Daily Mail reporters began asking the White House for reaction. He described what he first became aware of as 'just the accusation of a messy divorce and maybe ... emotional abuse.' That claim was refuted by David Martosko, political editor of the Daily Mail, the publication that first broke the news about abuse allegations against Porter. Martosko said the first claim he brought the White House was from Jennifer Willoughby, one of Porter's ex-wives, who claimed Porter 'physically dragged her, naked, out of a shower.'... The Daily Mail also asked about an incident in which Willoughby filed a protective order against Porter after he appeared to have punched a glass panel on her front door."
An A-Mazing "Coincidence." Judd Legum of Think Progress: "Billionaire investor and longtime Trump confidant Carl Icahn dumpe $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports. In a little-noticed SEC filing submitted on February 22, 2018, Icahn disclosed that he systematically sold off nearly 1 million shares of Manitowoc Company Inc. Manitowoc is a 'is a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions' and, therefore, heavily dependent on steel to make its products. Trump's announcement rattled the markets, with steel-dependent stocks hardest hit. Manitowoc stock plunged, losing about 6 percent of its value. Reuters attributed the drop to the fact that Manitowoc is a 'major consumer of steel.' As of 10:20 a.m. Friday, the stock had lost an additional 6 percent, trading at $26.21. Icahn was required to make the disclosure because of the large volume of his sale. The filing reveals that he began systematically selling the stock on February 12, when he was able to sell the stock for $32 to $34. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross publicly released a report on February 16 calling for a 24 percent tariff. But, as the chart in the SEC filing indicates, Icahn started selling his Manitowoc stock on February 12, prior to the public release of that report." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beth Reinhard, et al., of the Washington Post: "The 2016 election was less than a month away, and Donald Trump's attorney had blown the deadline for paying Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged affair with the future president. In an Oct. 17 email, an attorney for Daniels -- a porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford -- threatened to cancel the nondisclosure agreement by the end of the day. That very morning, Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, had created a limited liability company, public records show, that ultimately would serve as a vehicle for Daniels's payoff. But the money had not arrived. A second email to Cohen, a short time after the first, said Daniels was calling the deal off.... Ten days later, the $130,000 payment arrived, according to another email reviewed by The Post.... The timing of the Oct. 27 payment, 13 days after the initial deadline and just 12 days before the election, could be significant. Two complaints filed with the Federal Election Commission argue that the payment was intended to influence the Nov. 8 election and violated campaign finance law because it was not reported as an in-kind donation."
Trump's Wall Is Already Corrupt. Margery Beck of the AP: "A tiny Nebraska startup awarded the first border wall construction project under ... Donald Trump is the offshoot of a construction firm that was sued repeatedly for failing to pay subcontractors and accused in a 2016 government audit of shady billing practices. SWF Constructors, which lists just one employee in its Omaha office, won the $11 million federal contract in November as part of a project to replace a little more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of a current fence with post-style barriers 30 feet (9.1 meters) high in Calexico, California." Mrs. McC: Huh. Failing to pay subs, shady billing practices: why does that sound familiar?
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The FBI interviewed top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin around the holidays last winter -- more than a month and a half after the politically charged investigation into Clinton's email practices had seemed to conclude for a second time, according to people familiar with the probe. Agents were focused on how Abedin's and Clinton's messages ended up on a laptop used by former congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), Abedin's estranged husband, these people said. They considered their look at Clinton complete but still had questions about whether Abedin should have told them about the messages sooner, the people said.... The interview is important ... because it shows that even after the bureau had intimated publicly that its probe into Clinton was over, the FBI knew it still had work to do with one of her close aides." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: "Since ... Donald Trump signed the Republican tax bill in December, hundreds of retail companies have announced employee bonuses totaling more than $3 billion, which Republicans have said proves them right that the new law benefits regular Americans. But so far, companies have thrown a lot more money at their shareholders than at their workers. According to several estimates, firms have announced roughly $200 billion worth of stock buybacks this year, inflating the value of company shares by reducing their supply."
The Politicians on the Supreme Court. E.J. Dionne: "... Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, argued this week before the Supreme Court..., is an effort to overturn 41 years of settled precedent for the purpose of crippling the American labor movement. The claimant, Mark Janus, an Illinois state social worker, argues that his First Amendment liberties are violated because he has to pay an 'agency fee' to the union even though he is not a member and might disagree with its politics.... The anti-labor consortium sought to force the case up to the Supreme Court at a moment when it hoped a conservative majority would reflexively take its side. [Justice] Kennedy asked a pro-union lawyer: 'If you do not prevail in this case, the unions will have less political influence; yes or no?' The answer was yes.... To which Kennedy candidly commented: 'Isn't that the end of this case?' But in making a point of his own, Kennedy also underscored that a labor setback would clearly benefit the Republican Party.... A 5-to-4 anti-labor ruling would remind us why Senate Republicans refused even to consider Judge Merrick Garland's nomination for the seat now occupied by Justice Neil M. Gorsuch." ...
... Dahlia Lithwick: "As [Trump] explained, in an extremely twirly gun control meeting at the White House on Wednesday, due process in dealing with people who might have mental illnesses is, in fact, overrated.... '... Take the guns first, go through due process second....'... This is the same Trump who can't stop talking about executing suspected drug dealers. It's the same Trump who pardoned convicted former Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the same Trump who persistently threatened to jail his political opponents, including Hillary Clinton, if he won the presidency. This is the man who spent a small fortune taking out ads seeking the death penalty for the Central Park Five before they had even been tried and refused to acknowledge when they were exonerated.... Now consider the many times Trump has used the absence of 'due process' to justify his own action and inaction. The most famous recent example would be after his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, resigned following accusations by two ex-wives of domestic violence.... '... There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?' 'Due process' to Trump, then, is mostly just something owed by newspapers, complaining women, or voters to his buddies."
... ** NRA = Bad Guy with Guns. Julia Belluz of Vox: "A brief, partial respite from gun injuries is expected when some 80,000 gun owners descend on Dallas for the annual National Rifle Association convention. That's because the convention has historically coincided with a temporary -- and dramatic -- drop in gun-related injuries, according to a new analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine.... The gun injury rate actually fell by nearly 20 percent nationwide during NRA conventions." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: NRA membership should come with a heavy tax to help pay for the high costs NRA members impose on law enforcement. The NRA claims to have nearly 5 million members, meaning the vast majority of NRA members don't go to the conventions. It is reasonable to posit, then, that an unknown but significant number of other card-carrying NRA members are responsible for the gun injuries that do occur during the convention. Any way you look at it, the NRA is a pox on the U.S. ...
... Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "The best available evidence suggests two major National Rifle Association gun policy prescriptions -- what are known as 'stand your ground' self-defense laws and permissive concealed carry laws -- increase homicides and violent crime. That is according to a massive new study by the RAND Corporation, an independent think tank." ...
... Bart Jansen of USA Today: "How many airline passengers does it take to kill a $40 million tax break for Delta Air Lines? Only 13. The Georgia legislature removed a jet-fuel tax break from a larger tax package Thursday. Lawmakers were upset that Delta, which is headquartered in Atlanta, dropped the National Rifle Association from a discount-fare program in an effort to appear neutral on gun policy. After the firestorm, Delta will review all its marketing programs to avoid those that might become political, CEO Ed Bastian announced Friday. But the airline said only 13 passengers ever bought tickets with an NRA discount. That translates into each discount costing the airline about $3 million in tax breaks."
Beyond the Beltway
Campbell Robertson & Jess Bidgood of the New York Times: "A statewide teacher strike in West Virginia entered its seventh day on Friday, with teachers defying efforts by the state's governor and union leaders to end the walkout with a deal to raise pay. Earlier this week, James C. Justice, the governor, announced a plan to raise teachers' salaries by 5 percent, and state union leaders said teachers would return to work on Thursday. But teachers across the state have refused, saying they will not return until the State Legislature completes the deal, and counties across the state have kept schools closed.... The walkout began last Thursday after months of simmering tension over myriad issues, including proposed changes to teachers' health insurance plans that would have raised monthly premiums for many."
"Please Send Money," -- Love, Roy. AP: "Former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore is pleading for money to pay for his legal bills as he fights a lawsuit against a woman who says he molested her when she was 14. Moore said on a campaign Facebook page Thursday that his 'resources have been depleted.' The link indicated that Moore had raised just $32,000 of a $250,000 fundraising goal."
"It's Okay, I'm a Fireman." Rudy Harper of KCTV Kansas City: "Police say a racial slur was hurled at a child at a Hooters off Metcalf Avenue [in Kansas City, Kansas]. KCTV5 News spoke to a witness who was at the restaurant and he said he was dumbfounded by a statement the firefighter made to police. 'He basically said get that little "blank" up off the floor,' the witness recounted. 'The n-word started to get thrown around.'... [The man] spat at the child.... The witness said he was even more shocked when police came inside and interview the man in question, who told police he was a first responder. 'I didn't catch what the officer said to him, but his immediate response was "It's ok, I'm a fireman," like that was supposed to blanket cover everything for him,' the witness said." ...
... Mrs. McC: I guess we have to assume the fireman is white, which Harper doesn't bother to specify. This kind of reporting pisses me off: there are "people" and there are "black/Hispanic/Asian/Arabic, etc. people." I was going to assume Rudy Harper was white, too, but, but but sure looks as if he's black. C'mon, Rudy. you can do better.
Way Beyond
Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was questioned by the police on Friday as a possible suspect in a third bribery case, the weightiest so far in a string of corruption investigations that are jeopardizing his political future. Officers questioned Mr. Netanyahu about a case involving Shaul Elovitch, an Israeli telecommunications tycoon accused of using his popular Hebrew news site to provide positive coverage of Mr. Netanyahu and his wife in return for regulatory and financial benefits worth tens of millions of dollars."
Rick Gladstone of the New York Times: "Uzbekistan has freed a reporter who was incarcerated for nearly two decades on sedition charges, the longest-known prison term served by a journalist, human rights advocates said Friday. The reporter, Yusuf Ruzimuradov, 64, who worked for a newspaper banned by the Uzbek authorities, had been held since 1999.... While human rights groups welcomed the news of Mr. Ruzimuradov's release, they said many antigovernment critics remained incarcerated, including some scheduled for trial next week."
Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "... stories -- told by sisters using pseudonyms -- were revealed Thursday in an exposé about how nuns are exploited by the leaders and institutions of the Roman Catholic Church. The article, by the French journalist Marie-Lucile Kubacki, was published in the March edition of Women Church World, the monthly magazine on women distributed alongside the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. The stories amount to a distress signal about the unfair economic and social conditions many nuns experience, as well as the psychological and spiritual challenges that many face.... Though convents also depend on the money generated by the sisters living there, many nuns, unlike priests, are not paid, or are poorly paid, when they attend conferences or when they preach, she said. But the article, 'The (Nearly) Free Work of Sisters,' noted that it was not just a question of money. A bigger problem, the article pointed out, is that many sisters say that while male vocations are valued, the work of women is not."
News Ledes
Washington Post: "A man standing in a crowd of more than 100 people fatally shot himself along the north fence line of the White House at midday Saturday, according to witnesses. Philipos Melaku-Bello, who was manning a nearby peace vigil, said the gunman was standing just inside the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue, across from Lafayette Square. The man fired several shots at 11:46 a.m., although none appeared to have been directed at the White House, according to the Secret Service. He then dropped to the ground as people fled the area.... President Trump and the first lady were at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at the time of the shooting."
Weather Channel: "Residents along the New England coast were warned that additional flooding was possible Saturday, one day after Winter Storm Riley killed at least seven people and knocked out power to 2 million homes and businesses. Deaths have been reported in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, and Virginia, where two people were killed. Two of the victims -- a 6-year-old boy in Chester, Virginia, and an 11-year-old boy in Putnam Valley, New York -- were children. The governors of Maryland and Virginia declared states of emergency due to the conditions. National Guard members were activated in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to assist in the aftermath."
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Reader Comments (8)
Steel, steel, steel.
The front page of our local paper has two articles about the steel and aluminum tariffs, "Local Steel Fabricators Pan Tariffs" is by the local writer and a NYT article about retaliation.
NPR had a solid, fact based interview that asked all of the questions I was thinking:
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/02/590384420/economist-ned-hill-looks-at-potential-impacts-of-tariffs-on-steel-producing-stat
Fickle and Feckless
Poor Roy. Now that he’s no longer in a position to help the mad king and congressional Confederates impose a hard right agenda on godless blue state libruls, all those Forever Roy holy rollers want nothing to do with him. When he still had a chance to force the Bible down everyone’s throats he was their darling, no matter how many young girls he molested. Now that he lost and needs money, he’s just a dirty old man.
It’s all about power and political control with these people, and being able to step on those they consider their enemies (it’s a long list). If you can’t help achieve those goals, to hell with you. So now they apparently have discovered that Moore is a disgusting pervert who should be in jail. Funny how that didn’t matter before.
What a Trump day! He manages to piss off every country in the world we do business with. Wall Street is dizzy and it's hard to find one economist who thinks trade wars are a good thing.
And as Bea pointed out, we now have 'Tunnelgate'. For those not familiar with 'Bridgegate' in NJ, two public employees were convicted for doing dirty work, in this case punishment for political reasons. So a POTUS punishing Schumer (and millions of citizens) for political reasons by using your public position is exactly the same game. (I wonder if the lawyers for the felons will use this event).
And I want to point out that if the new tunnel is not built soon, we are looking at an economic disaster.
I may have overdone this. It's just another Trumpday.
I think the president* is using that Magic 8 Ball that was
referenced yesterday.
"Should I start a trade war?" "Without a doubt".
I'm just thankful he didn't ask about starting a nuclear war.
Whenever I hear the name, Marion, which is rare, I always think of "The Music Man"––Marion the librarian–- and so I associate that name with songs and books. Not any more, however! Yesterday read a New Yorker piece where a 78 year old woman named Marion Hammer (absolutely the perfect last name for this witch) has been the NRA's Florida lobbyist for FOUR decades and is known as the most influential gun lobbyist in the U.S. In 2011, Rick Scott's first year in office, Marion managed to push a statue through that punishes local officials who attempt to establish gun regulations stricter than those imposed at the state level. Officials can be fined thousands of dollars and removed from office. All the loose gun laws in Florida are, in large part, due to the immoral influence of Marion the Hammer. Her methods make LBJ's (I've got your pecker in my pocket) pale in comparison. This woman cuts you off at the knee and throws you out on the curb for the turkey vultures to nimble on. No wonder Florida is so snuggly wrapped with the NRA. And I must say, I found this story shocking–-that this woman yields this much power and for so long––quite amazing and horrific.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/05/the-nra-lobbyist-behind-floridas-pro-gun-policies
The term "unglued" to describe our deranged president* is so apt. He has been pasted together with thin skins, fat shins, hair spray and face spray, long ties, tongue tieds, and on a daily basis spouts massive lies. He has become undone––things fall apart when the center cannot hold and in this case there is no center.
The Georgia legislature denied a tax break not only to Delta but to all airlines operating out of Hartsfield Jackson. Of course Delta, the largest, was the target. Few news stories mention the other airlines.
The strategy appears to have been successful publicity for Casey Cagle, the lieutenant governor and candidate for governor who introduced the legislation. Republican, of course.
Cripes! If only I had had too much to drink last night, but I didn't have anything stronger than H20, because how else can I explain that I find myself most embarrassingly somewhat in agreement with Larry Kudlow* see commentary: CNBC.com : " Mr. President, tariffs are really tax hikes "
*(Even more distressing, Arthur Laffer was a contributor to the piece).
The story about the child being ... I can't find the words. The scene just blows my mind. I read what I could find on Google news, there is apparently, or was, denial that it happened. But the police report has plural witnesses, not just the initial anonymous one and the "alleged" is confirmed to be a firefighter
My brother is a retired firefighter. Yeah, this could happen in some outfits. The only time I've known him to say shit was about 15 years ago and I got up and left the restaurant, and he's 9 years younger than I so 60 years old. I think I can say he must have absorbed racism and misogyny in one or more of his work environments. While we're not particularly close these days he came to the hospital when I broke my hip (although I was on meds and barely remember seeing his big beard) and I sent him a birthday card.
Anyway, so much trouble going down. I gotta get coffee and set a spell.