;)
The Commentariat -- March 5, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Beset, Bothered & Beleaguered Is He. Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump questioned Monday morning why the Obama-era Justice Department launched an investigation into his campaign in the midst of the 2016 election, positing that then-President Barack Obama had sought to kneecap the Trump campaign and bolster that of Democrat Hillary Clinton. 'Why did the Obama Administration start an investigation into the Trump Campaign (with zero proof of wrongdoing) long before the Election in November?' Trump wrote on Twitter, leveling allegations that dispute previously reported details. 'Wanted to discredit so Crooked H would win. Unprecedented. Bigger than Watergate! Plus, Obama did NOTHING about Russian meddling.'... Trump's morning accusations against his predecessor run counter to public reporting that Obama's Justice Department was in the midst of investigating the Russian connections of Trump campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos as the 2016 campaign was ongoing.... Vice President Joe Biden ... recalled that the White House sought bipartisan help in warning the American people of the Kremlin's interference campaign but were rebuffed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a charge McConnell's office has denied." ...
... Maybe this is what made Trump write another tall tale about President Obama ...
... Richard Paddock of the New York Times: "A Belarusian escort with close ties to a powerful Russian oligarch said from behind bars in Bangkok on Monday that she had more than 16 hours of audio recordings that could help shed light on Russian meddling in United States elections. The escort, Anastasia Vashukevich, said she would hand over the recordings if the United States granted her asylum. She faces criminal charges and deportation to Belarus after coming under suspicion of working in Thailand without a visa at a sex-training seminar in the city of Pattaya. Ms. Vashukevich, who described herself as close to the Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg V. Deripaska, said that audio recordings she made in August 2016 included discussions he had about the United States presidential election with people she declined to identify. Mr. Deripaska, a billionaire with close ties to Russia's president, Vladimir V. Putin, also has business ties to Paul J. Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman. Mr. Manafort is under investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel looking into the campaign's connections to Russia." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is the kind of story you're going to get, Trumpbots, when you put a mobster in the Oval. Go ahead, call it "populism." You're making me fondly recall the "scandal" of "Queen Nancy" Reagan's buying a lot of expensive White House china -- and not on the public's dime, either.
International Crime, Inc. Confab. Ruth Eglash & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ... arrived at the White House early Monday afternoon, just hours after reports from Israel said a former media adviser and confidant has turned state's witness in a far-reaching bribery case. In what appeared to be a sign of the political importance of the session to Netanyahu, the White House changed plans Monday morning and announced that reporters and cameras would be allowed into what had been an Oval Office meeting closed to the press. Jared Kushner ... was expected to attend the session despite losing his top-level security clearance. Kushner is also under scrutiny for mixing his business and government interests, and faces possible legal peril in the special counsel investigation." ...
... Kevin Liptak of CNN: "The traditional joint press conference that foreign leaders convene when visiting the White House was left off the schedule.... Trump offered no hint of concern at appearing alongside the scandal-plagued Netanyahu. Instead he offered an enthusiastic assessment of their ties."
Petty Crime. Katherine Sullivan for ProPublica: "In recent weeks, the Trump Organization has ordered the manufacture of new tee markers for golf courses that are emblazoned with the seal of the President of the United States. Under federal law, the seal's use is permitted only for official government business. Misuse can be a crime.... Versions of the seal have occasionally been put to personal use by past presidents.... In this case, the difference is that a private company is using the seal, said Richard Painter, vice chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington...." Thanks to MAG for the link.
Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "A $130,000 payment to a former adult-film star by ... Donald Trump's lawyer was flagged as suspicious and reported to the Treasury Department, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter. Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime lawyer, sent the money through an account he created at First Republic Bank, the report says. Stephanie Clifford, known in her films as Stormy Daniels, received the money under the pseudonym Peggy Peterson, according to previous reports. The payment, which Cohen said he paid out of his own pocket, was given to Clifford as part of an agreement not to discuss an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. According to the Journal, people familiar with the matter in the report said that Cohen later complained to friends that he had not been reimbursed for the money he sent Clifford."
Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "Paul D. Ryan, the Republican House speaker, criticized President Trump's proposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Monday, saying they could lead to a damaging trade war.... Mr. Trump has shown no sign that he plans to retreat from the trade action. On Monday, he used the tariffs to threaten two of the United States' closest trading partners, saying in a tweet that the tariffs would only 'come off' of Canada and Mexico if a new and 'fair' multilateral trade pact was signed." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: In case you're thinking all of a sudden it's Pauly Two Balls, think again: This from the Hill on Trump's steel & aluminum tariffs (March 1): "'The problem with any kind of tariff or tax hike on imports is that it doesn't make America more competitive or punish high-tax countries, it only hurts American industries by driving up manufacturing costs and, ultimately, costing jobs,' said Nathan Nascimento, executive vice president of Freedom Partners, a right-leaning group partly funded by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch." AND this from NBC News today: "... the Club for Growth, an organization with close ties to the billionaire Koch Brothers, slammed Trump's plan as both a philosophical and economic failure." Pauly is just having trouble serving two masters.
AND Ben Carson finds out that running a federal agency is harder than brain surgery. Mrs. McC: It isn't harder, Dr. Ben, it just takes a different skill set & different professional experience. You probably couldn't win Wimbledon, either.
*****
New York Times Editors: "Donald Trump sure has a problem with democracy.... There can be little doubt now that he truly sees no danger in ... Xi [Jinping]'s 'great' decision to extend his own rule until death. That craven reaction is in line with Mr. Trump's consistent support and even admiration for men ruling with increasing brutal and autocratic methods -- Vladimir Putin of Russia, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, to name a few."
Quote of the Day
What he has said he has said; if he says something different, it'll be something different. -- Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, explaining
tradeall of Trump's policiesPatrick's translation: Quid ille dixit quae et dixerunt. ...
... Anne Gearan & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration will not grant exemptions from its new aluminum and steel tariffs for allies such as Canada, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday, as he defended President Trump's sudden imposition of new trade premiums that are likely to hit Canada and Europe hardest." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... This is a pirated video, so I hope NBC doesn't take it down. David Cay Johnston does a good job of explaining Trump's excellent instant tariffs initiative. ...
... Luis Sanchez of the Hill: "British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday expressed 'deep concern' to President Trump over his announced plans to increase steel and aluminum tariffs. May told the president in a phone call that 'multilateral action was the only way to resolve the problem of global overcapacity in all parties' interests,' according to a Downing Street spokesperson." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Everything Is Going So Smoothly. Kirk Semple, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump International Hotel and Tower [in Panama City, Panama,] is President Trump's only hotel property in Latin America.... In recent days, guests have witnessed ... yelling and shoving matches involving security personnel and others, the presence of police in Kevlar helmets, and various interventions by Panamanian labor regulators, forensic specialists and a justice of the peace. The source of the drama? The businessman who recently purchased a majority stake in the hotel wants the Trumps out. And the Trumps, who have a long-term contract to manage the property, are refusing to go. In a letter ... to the hotel's other owners, the businessman, Orestes Fintiklis, likened the Trumps to leeches who had attached to the property, draining our last drops of blood.'... The Trump Organization, in turn, has accused Mr. Fintiklis of using 'thug-like, mob-style tactics.'... This past week, Panama's Public Ministry said it was looking into whether there had been any 'punishable conduct' in the dispute -- which means that an arm of a foreign government finds itself in the extraordinary position of investigating a business owned by the American president." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The Trump Panama sounds just like the Trump White House to me: yelling & shoving involving security personnel (think, for instance, Omarosa's pounding on the residence door as John Kelly had security staff grab her & unceremoniously "escort" her from the premises), "thug-like, mob-style tactics" (Trump), "leeches" (Trump family), "investigating a business owned by the American president" (Mueller).
Trump Forgets "Forgotten Men & Women." Nancy Cook & Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "In his 14 months as president, Trump hasn't yet followed his predecessors' habit of dropping by local watering holes (even though he's made no secret of his love for junk food) or public service events either at home or on the road. He hasn't gone to a baseball game or stopped at a soup kitchen.... Outside Washington, Trump follows a careful routine of visiting factories or local law enforcement headquarters. When he stopped recently in Parkland, Florida, on his way to Mar-a-Lago, he took a smiling photo with a girl who had been shot at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a sharp contrast to images of [President] Obama sitting in a small room with his head in his hands grieving with the parents of first-graders killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. Trump promised the night of his victory to govern on behalf of 'the forgotten men and women of our country.' Yet as president, he rarely comes into contact with regular people except in the structured setting of the White House or during tightly orchestrated events set up by staff.... And in recent weeks, Trump's growing paranoia and profound frustration with his staff have further isolated him...."
This Russia (Etc.) Thing
** "Welcome, Foreign Hackers & Scammers." Love, Don & Rex. Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "As Russia's virtual war against the United States continues unabated with the midterm elections approaching, the State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has been allocated since late 2016 to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy. As a result, not one of the 23 analysts working in the department's Global Engagement Center -- which has been tasked with countering Moscow's disinformation campaign -- speaks Russian, and a department hiring freeze has hindered efforts to recruit the computer experts needed to track the Russian efforts. The delay is just one symptom of the largely passive response to the Russian interference by President Trump, who has made little if any public effort to rally the nation to confront Moscow and defend democratic institutions. More broadly, the funding lag reflects a deep lack of confidence by Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson in his department's ability to execute its historically wide-ranging mission and spend its money wisely." ...
... ** Jane Mayer has a long report in the New Yorker on Christopher Steele. Mrs. McC: It's no longer a mystery why Rex hasn't spent a dime on curbing Russian interference in upcoming elections.
"Mueller's Hit List." Jonathan Swan of Axios: Axios has reviewed a Grand Jury subpoena that Robert Mueller's team sent to a witness last month.... Mueller is subpoenaing all communications -- meaning emails, texts, handwritten notes, etc. -- that this witness sent and received regarding the following people: Carter Page, Corey Lewandowski, Donald J. Trump, Hope Hicks, Keith Schiller, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Roger Stone [and] Steve Bannon[.] The subpoena asks for all communications from November 1, 2015, to the present. Notably, Trump announced his campaign for president five months earlier -- on June 16, 2015." Mrs. McC: Hmm. These are all people who worked on the campaign. Some notable omissions: Jared Kushner, Michael Flynn, K.T. McFarland, George Papadopoulos, Kellyanne Conway, Donnie Junior. Of course the subpoenaed person could be one of these people.
Quinn Scanlan & Andres Del Aguila of ABC News: Reince Priebus, "the former chief of staff to ... Donald Trump, said the president sees Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recusing himself from the Russia probe as 'the original sin' and he will never 'let it go.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Nobody Thought He Would. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Russia will 'never' extradite any of its 13 nationals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller for interfering in the 2016 US election, Vladimir Putin said, even as he insisted they did not act on behalf of his government. Putin spoke in a second interview with Megyn Kelly of NBC, due to air in the US on Sunday and trailed extensively this week. Kelly, formerly of Fox News, first interviewed the Russian president in June 2017." ...
... He'll Fly Away. David Atkins in the Washington Monthly: "Trump is a classic grifter. And the modus operandi of the grifter is to play the con as long as he can, then pack up and run when the water gets hot and the bill comes due.... As the walls begin to close in on him, his friends and family, it is difficult to see how he lasts another year in the job, much less three. If he were a man of greater intelligence and discipline, he could theoretically negotiate subordinates to take the fall for him and right his ship of state. But Trump lacks the wherewithal and the command of loyalty to accomplish either one.... He will become increasingly chaotic and dangerous in the days before the end, only to sign some bizarre executive actions, declare victory on twitter under the premise that he had fulfilled his promise to make America great again, and fly off to Mar-A-Lago to go golfing and negotiate a new TV channel or Fox News contract. ...
... Kailani Koenig of NBC News: "Former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on Sunday said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell 'watered down' a warning about Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 election and defended the Obama administration's response to foreign meddling in the campaign. The language in a September 2016 letter from congressional leaders to state election officials was drastically softened at McConnell's urging, McDonough said in an ... interview Sunday on NBC's 'Meet The Press.'... Asked if it was watered down at the insistence of McConnell and only McConnell, McDonough responded, 'yes.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Khorri Atkinson of Axios: "The Trump administration on Sunday lambasted Russia's involvement in a deadly ongoing military operation in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, saying the country has dropped bombs -- at 'least 20 daily' between February 24 and 28 -- on innocent civilians." Mrs. McC: Trump must have been napping.
Let Bankers Be Swindlers. Erica Werner & Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "The Senate is preparing to scale back the sweeping banking regulations passed after the 2008 financial crisis, with more than a dozen Democrats ready to give Republicans the votes they need to weaken one of President Barack Obama's largest legislative achievements. Congress's appetite for pulling back bank regulations shows the renewed clout of the financial sector in Washington, not just in the GOP but also among Democrats. Eight years after nearly every Senate Democrat backed a sweeping set of new rules for financial firms large and small, the party is now split, with moderates, several of them facing tough midterm election contests, working with the opposing party. The core of the new bill exempts about two dozen financial companies with assets between $50 billion and $250 billion from the highest levels of scrutiny by the Federal Reserve...."
Gina Colata & C.J. Chivers of the New York Times: "Perhaps no one knows the devastating wounds inflicted by assault-style rifles better than the trauma surgeons who struggle to repair them. The doctors say they are haunted by their experiences confronting injuries so dire they struggle to find words to describe them.... What follows are the recollections of five trauma surgeons. Three of them served in the military, and they emphasized that their opinions are their own and do not represent those of the armed forces. One has treated civilian victims of such weapons in American cities. And a pediatric surgeon treated victims of a Texas church shooting last year." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Beyond the Beltway
Sarah Jorgensen, et al., of CNN: "The West Virginia legislature argued for hours but could not agree Saturday on how much to raise teachers' pay -- meaning the teachers strike may well extend into an eighth day Monday. About 20,000 teachers have been on strike since February 22, keeping 300,000 students out of the classroom. Teachers' unions have vowed their members must receive a 5% pay hike before returning to work."
Way Beyond
Melissa Eddy & Katrin Bennhold of the New York Times: "Germany's Social Democrats voted in favor of forming another government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, ending nearly six months of political limbo and setting Europe's economic powerhouse on a path to the political stability it craves -- at least for now. The results announced on Sunday clear the way for Ms. Merkel, who was long considered a de facto leader of Europe, to remain in the chancellery in Berlin for another four years. It will also allow her to work with President Emmanuel Macron of France on overhauling the European Union in what many consider a crucial year."
Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "Italians registered their dismay with the European political establishment on Sunday, handing a majority of votes in a national election to hard-right and populist forces that ran a campaign fueled by anti-immigrant anger.... In Sunday's vote, preliminary results showed, the parties that did well all shared varying degrees of skepticism toward the European Union, with laments about Brussels treating Italians like slaves, agitation to abandon the euro and promises to put Italy before Europe. The most likely result will be a government in Italy -- a founding European Union nation and the major economy of the Mediterranean -- that is significantly less invested in the project of a united Europe. All the while, geopolitical competitors from Russia to China are seeking to divide and weaken the bloc."
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Reader Comments (25)
Angela Merkel has filled the void created by the ignorance of the current American President. She is now the most important leader in the free world.
There can be no doubt, at this point, that Trump is in the pocket of, and perhaps in cahoots with, Vladimir Putin in Russia’s ongoing attacks on American democracy and the very existence of this country. This very evening, responsible parties in the government, especially those in command of the president*s own party, should be asking hard questions, demanding instant clarification and instructing Trump that should the Mueller investigation turn up the slightest hint—even a whiff of—collusion, by anyone in his campaign, impeachment proceedings would begin immediately without detailed answers as to the reasons for his weak and cowardly response to unprovoked attacks on the sovereignty of the nation he swore to protect from all enemies foreign and domestic.
The fact that this will never happen, and that no branch of government currently under the control of Republicans—executive, legislative, or judicial— will act to prevent further treason or hold accountable the figure most responsible for treasonous actions already in the books, is more “incontrovertible” proof that the entire apparatus of that party and its president are allied with a foreign enemy against the United States of America. Voters should act accordingly, but there is now serious doubt that should they do so, there is no guarantee that their will will be considered genuine or valid.
There has been no war, no acts of espionage, no attacks on this nation in its long history as deadly as that now being waged by the insolent coward hiding in the White House. The greatest enemy this nation has ever faced, the one now contemplating a lifetime of uncontested autocratic rule as he sells us out to a foreign power, is Donald J. Trump and his Party of Traitors.
Aid and comfort to the enemy...
In a report of Trump’s giddy hope that he too might become a Chinese style dictator for life, Fox “news”, after mentioning this astounding statement, goes on to rip China for this move, conveying the contrary sentiments of those in and out of China and calling the move by Xi “alarming”.
No such words were used to describe the stated hope of Fox’s favorite little dictator to follow in Xi’s authoritarian footsteps.
Apparently it’s not alarming if their guy mentions how much he craves such power. One can only imagine the battalion of winger tops blown had Obama ever hinted at coveting such dictatorial powers for life.
More traitors.
https://news.google.com/news/amp?caurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fworld%2F2018%2F03%2F04%2Fpresident-for-life-not-bad-idea-trump-says-china-proposal.html#pt0-992538
The quote of the week is in this WaPo article, from Commerce Sec Ross: “What he has said he has said; if he says something different, it'll be something different.”
Mr. Ross was speaking on TV about DiJiT's pronunciemento on steel and aluminum tariffs, but it is a nice synopsis of how they now do business at the top: whatever he says, and it may change, and I can't predict what we may do even though I am the Secretary of (whatever).
Sounds more dictatorial in Latin: "Quid ille dixit quae et dixerunt."
Or Queens-ese: "What he said."
I'm wondering whether Doofus decided to do this trade thingy as a distraction from the Hopey Hicks, Jared, Ruskie business. Rile up this nation along with other nations and start a little trade war––he really would be that vindictive and stupid.
The shape of our country is like a drowning pool but in the make-believe-world of film, "The Shape of Water" won bigly. And one of many highlights at the Oscars, Jordan Peele won that golden statue for best original screenplay, "Get Out!"––first black director to win that award. This years Oscars had a different flavor–-and certainly diverse colors–-some it due to Jimmy Kimmel, but much of it due to the women.
Patrick, more.
Chaos in motion. The NYT this morning:
White House Defends Tariffs, but Leaves Room for Change
'Top aides indicated that some companies could be exempt from a plan to impose aluminum and steel tariffs even as they left room for the president to change his plans.'
So the POTUS declares a new policy, the entire world goes into motion to deal with it and now no one knows what the policy really is.
World, learn that you should not pay attention to the POTUS up front. Give him a week or two.
How $225,000 Can Help Secure Pollution Loopholes at Trump's EPA:
Ever heard of "gliders" in relation to trucks? I certainly didn't. These are trucks that are manufactured without engines , later retro-fitted with rebuilt ones that are then exempt from rules on modern admissions controls. This story illustrates once again how Pruitt and the Trumpies are polluting the air we breathe on a daily basis unless you live far, far away on a deserted island but even then...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/politics/epa-pollution-loophole-glider-trucks.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad
Dear PDPepe (aka Mrs. Malaprop) "...that are then exempt from rules on modern admissions controls." Actually, aside from being a slip of the fingers on the keyboard, it kinda makes sense and does apply to the DJT administration.
Thanks for the morning chuckle!
Recidivists in Charge
Confederates are like career criminals. They can only abide straight time for so long before returning to their gangster ways. So, under Bush, all sorts of banking regulations were tossed so the money side of the mob could make a killing. Problem was, they almost killed the world economy. Talk about the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Then Sheriff Obama comes along with some other adults, Democratic senators, and banking regulations are restored along with a few new ones to try to protect against the latest confidence schemes invented by the Wall St. Gang.
Sheriff Obama’s Term ends and we get Little Caesar who has never met a consumer protection regulation he hasn’t tried to strangle in its crib. At the same time, members of the Senate Gang decide to say “Enough of this shit” and return to the gangster life that almost croaked everyone the last time around. But they don’t care about that as long as they get their cut before the next economic crisis comes along.
Some kid who makes a mistake, steals a car and gets 5 to 10 for it probably gets out and says “Never again”. The guy who makes a career out of boosting cars spends every day in the slammer dreaming of better ways to hot wire a Jag. Just like those in the Senate now getting ready for their next heist.
And when it all turns to shit and they’re sent back to prison, they’ll dream of breaking out one day and doing it all over again.
They’re not a political party. They’re a branch of organized crime.
@PD Pepe wrote, "I'm wondering whether Doofus decided to do this trade thingy as a distraction from the Hopey Hicks, Jared, Ruskie business."
According to numerous reports, several people inside the White House have said that Trump made his tariff pronouncement in a pique over all the other messes he wrought last week. I'd say at least half of Trump's crazy moves are made to paper over the most recent crazy move.
@MAG: There are some admission controls in the Trump White House. (1) If you ever said anything bad about Trump, you don't get a job. (2) If you think of any aspect of science as fact-based (instead of just one "theory"), you don't get a job.
BTW, one of the most clever -- and confounding -- things confederates have managed to do is undermine the scientific method. Everything I know about it is what I learned in the 7th grade, but what I know is that scientists develop hypotheses, then test them. If the hypothesis holds up to tests & retests, it becomes a working theory. Sure, new information is always challenging old theories -- putting them to the test -- but many general theories have held up for decades or even centuries, even as scientists may learn more about what underlies those solid theories.
But confederates/flat-earthers have used the very basis of scientific research as a "proof" that nothing "scientific" is true. It's all just "theory," not "fact." Therefore, other "theories" are just as good -- like god made the world in six days & fracking can't pollute drinking water & we need more guns. There is a vast, right-wing conspiracy against, among other things, science.
@BeaMcCrab: Yes. What you point out about 'admission controls' is the (as was my second thought) appropriate take-away! It certainly is Trump's M.O.
End Times are here. Again.
Jim Bakker (yeah, that guy, you remember, convicted felon, rapist, all around asshole, finagler of money from Christianist rubes?), whose name immediately prompted a "Is that guy still alive?", sez that the death of Billy Graham is a sure sign that the end is coming.
Oh...is that why it took them so long to stick him in the ground? Every time I'd read a new story about how they're having ANOTHER viewing of the body, I'd think to myself "Jesus, are ever gonna bury this fucking guy?"
But back to the end of the world. We need a count, like the WaPo is doing with Trump's lies, for the number of times evangelical con artists have predicted the end of the world (and a horrible death for all liberals, natch). Of course, they've been right every time.
But ol' Jim here has been hitting the hooch pretty hard it seems. He's been a predictin' machine. Predictin' this and predictin' that and tellin' everyone what god wants. Just last week, apparently, he said that Jesus told him that Trump's plan to arm teachers must be carried out. Don't know if Jesus said anything about bump stocks though. (If it was me, I'd ask Jesus if the Cubs will make it back to the World Series this year. Might as well ask about important stuff, right?). Bad hurricanes have been caused--directly--by Barack Obama (god sez so), and also, anyone who makes fun of him (ol' Jim, that is) will be punished by god. I better get ready. Hope it's not the thunderbolt thing, I hate that one. Oh yeah, my favorite is that if Trump is impeached, Christians will start a second civil war. Because the first one was so much fun, I guess.
But never mind all those convictions for mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, and lengthy prison sentence, not to mention his side job as sexual deviant. He's a Man of God, dammit. And a Confederate. So send money.
By the way, better make the check payable to CASH. The end might be here sooner than you think.
Like Trump, another con man, this asshole has never done a hard day's work in his life (unless you count those years in the prison laundry). But still, people send him money to keep telling them that the world is ending any day now, and all the people they hate (us, mostly, and Obama) will soon be dead.
Another stop on the Confederate Train to Hell.
Bea, you raised a good point. My hypothesis (idea) is that 90% of Americans and 100% of 'flat earther' types believe that a theory is just an idea. As you pointed out it is much more than that. From Wikipedia
'A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Such fact-supported theories are not "guesses" but reliable accounts of the real world.'
Maybe the problem has something to do with the quality of education. When you and I went to school it was a different world.
@Marvin
I wish it were possible to blame idiocy on the schools. Well, I guess we can BLAME them, but I'm guessing (positing?) that while educational standards and interests have changed mightily since (and to some extent, because) we genuinely attempted to universalize education when we de-segregated in the sixties and decided that every child had to have a high school education (now we judge schools on graduation rates), today's schools are not blameless, they are hardly the whole story.
From my personal knowledge of those shifts in educational content and approach I know many other things have been at work, too, none of which would surprise RC readers to hear about.
Don't have time for a long meditation of the way things were and how they've changed, but would point out that a large number of people our age (which means they would have gone to school at about the same time we did--at least through high school--and many beyond) voted for the Pretender, a fact which would leave the schooling variable less potent than otherwise.
Ken - I went to excellent schools. In all my classes, all those years, there were plenty of obtuse people. I'm sure I was one at times.
So I'd say your theory is validated QED.
Chutzpah, and then some!
According to a piece on CNBC.com "In recent weeks, the Trump Organization has ordered the manufacture of new tee markers for golf courses that are emblazoned with the seal of the President of the United States. Under federal law, the seal's use is permitted only for official government business. " Misuse can be a crime "
Patrick and Bea,
What if the apparent chaos is an intended distraction from possibly rampant insider trading by heaven only knows how many public "servants"? Mr. Ross has a history with both steel and coal. Here's a summary of one part of his steel "experience":
"In 2001, when LTV, a bankrupt steel company based in Cleveland, decided to liquidate, Ross was the only bidder. Ross "suspected" (my quotation marks) that President Bush, a free trader, would soon enact steel tariffs on foreign steel, the better to appeal to prospective voters in midwestern swing states. So in February 2002, Ross organized International Steel Group and agreed to buy LTV’s remnants for $325 million. A few weeks later, Bush slapped a 30 percent tariff on many types of imported steel—a huge gift. "
No kidding......
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/columns/moneyandmind/10279/
I wonder if any US media representatives have asked Ross or Navarro about their current holdings? And how do US citizens find out what insiders, in addition to Carl Ichan, have been doing in the period preceding this supposedly unplanned and irrational pronouncement by the President . https://thinkprogress.org/trump-ichan-steel-imports-cf7deb8beaf0/
George Will, whom I seldom read, had a prescient column in the January 28 edition of the Washington Post on the phony patriotism in this latest "government" travesty. He concludes with a quote from a 19th century free trader, Henry George, "... with protectionism a nation does to itself in peacetime what an enemy tries to do to it in war."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-protectionism-is-not-about-protecting-america-at-all/2018/01/26/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-protectionism-is-not-about-protecting-america-at-all/2018/01/26/
(Disclosure to any new readers: I live in a small country with few natural resources other than earth, water and forests and one that has prospered by trading all over the world, for centuries.)
With the economic ignorance of the Glorious Leader on embarrassing display (again), I came across a resource RC readers might find educational. It's a map of the biggest companies in each of the fifty states (Trumpy needs to be reminded that he is president* of all fifty, not just the red states, including states that don't feature industries favored by the little dictator).
The "biggest" is determined by each company's market capitalization: "Market Cap refers to the total dollar value of a company’s available shares. For example, if a company has 30 million outstanding shares worth $150 apiece, the company’s market cap value would be $4.5 billion."
It's an easy way to quickly compare the value of various companies for purpose of investment.
Unlike a such a map 50, even 30 years ago, there aren't all that many manufacturing companies (at least not what you would have seen back then). No auto manufacturers, for example. There's Lockheed Martin (Maryland), and Proctor & Gamble (Ohio), but no Ford or GM. And no steel or aluminum companies either.
You'll find energy companies, communications: Dish (Colorado), Comcast (Pennsylvania), and Sprint (Kansas), financial industries: JP Morgan (New York), food: Coca-Cola (Georgia), Yum! Brands (Kentucky), Kraft-Heinz (Illinois), pharmaceuticals: Eli Lily (Indiana), CVS Caremark, and a few real estate developers (no Trumps--too small).
You find big oil and gas in places you'd expect, Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, coal in Wyoming. A number of companies are not household names, such as Altria in Virginia, a giant producer of tobacco products (market capitalization of $127.14 billion), which means users of those products require the medical and insurance products offered by CVS Caremark (Rhode Island) or United Health Group (Minnesota). Pharmaceutical and biotech companies dominate in New Jersey (Johnson & Johnson) and Massachusetts (Bio-gen). Chemical companies are represented by Dow (Michigan) and DuPont (Delaware).
Some companies are inextricably linked to the states in which they reside, Apple (California), Microsoft (Washington), Nike (Oregon), and Wal Mart (Arkansas), a combined market cap of well over a trillion dollars.
You'll find some surprises too. In deep red Florida, the 800 lb. gorilla is NextEra Energy, a clean energy company with a market cap of $57 billion. Take that, wingers!
Still and all, an interesting thumbnail view of which companies rule in each of the states, companies, as you might expect, that pull a lot of political weight in their own states and elsewhere across the map.
This link is the map. This link offers a thumbnail of each company, a bit more information. It's a step-through gallery, which I hate, but it's all I got.
Fox is outraged by the Oscars and the "divisiveness" of Jimmy Kimmel and many of the presenters and winners. I mean, come on, how dare these people suggest that women are important, that immigrants aren't cattle, and that black people can do more than shine shoes and eat watermelon. The idea! Now that is some divisive shit, right there.
You see, only Fox gets to be divisive.
(No link, because fuck that. Additional clicks makes Fox more money, so to hell with them. You'd waste your eyesight anyway.)
MAG,
Now if Trump would put his smirking kisser on golf balls (or that ludicrous tough guy stare he uses on his tweety site), I'd buy me some of those. I'd find the nearest driving range and hit a bucket of those suckers: Trump face, meet club face.
He'd probably charge $50 for each ball (all made in China), MAGA, baby, MAGA.
I think I'd be awfully careful if I were Anastasia Vashukevich, that escort who claims to have the goods on Russian meddling. She might end up with plutonium in her oatmeal. Putin kills people for looking cross-eyed at him. If he thought there was someone in a lock up in Thailand who could kneecap him and prove that he was behind the little dictator's electoral win, she might accidentally on purpose fall off a 70 story building while on, er, um...work release. Yeah, that's it. Work release. Oops. How awful. Oh well...
@Akhilleus: Good news! There are several places you can buy golf balls with Trump's smirking face on them. Zazzle has a pack of three, discounted for $14.41. Surrounding Trump's kisser is the promise of "A Good Lie Every Time."
@Akhilleus: That was my first thought about Vashukevich, too. There's no way she'll make it alive to the U.S., even if the audio tapes are fictional.
BTW, after reading Jane Mayer's article on Christopher Steele, linked above, I think it's fair to consider the POTUS* a "Russian asset." (This is my supposition, not Mayer's or Steele's.) There are several provisions in the Constitution that are designed to prevent exactly this. And up until now, the intent of those provisions has been superfluous: I can't recall that in the past we've had a president who reasonably might be accused of being an asset of an adversarial country -- like one that, say, boasts of nuking Tampa or, say, is behind an armed attack on U.S. soldiers.
Marie,
I am definitely forwarding that Zazzle link to all my friends who play golf. "A good lie every time" is perfect.
As for Vashukevich, she's toast. I know she was trying to find a Get Out of Jail card, but if she thinks the United States government, under the thumb of the little dictator is going to help her, she shows her sad naivete. She will be disappeared by the end of the week. I don't know what the law enforcement situation is in Bangkok, but I'm guessing an envoy from Moscow with a phalanx of agents in black leather jackets carrying saps, weapons, and tasers won't be given a very hard time if they want to "talk" to a hooker who has threatened the new czar and his American puppet.
Hitchcock, in "North by Northwest" put it like this.
Goodbye, Ms. Vashukevich, wherever you are.
Trump won't send roses.