;)
The Commentariat -- March 5, 2019
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Michael Bloomberg, in a Bloomberg opinion piece, says he will not seek the Democratic nomination for president.
William Rashbaum & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "New York State regulators have issued an expansive subpoena to the Trump Organization's longtime insurance broker, the first step in an investigation of insurance policies and claims involving President Trump's family business, according to a person briefed on the matter. The subpoena was served late Monday on the company, Aon, one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world, as part of an inquiry by the New York State Department of Financial Services. It came just days after Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump's former fixer and lawyer, indicated in congressional testimony that the Trump Organization inflated the value of its assets to insurance companies."
Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday signaled the White House will not comply with a barrage of congressional investigations, accusing Democrats in the House of launching the probes to hurt his chances of winning reelection in 2020. 'It's a disgrace to our country. I'm not surprised that it's happening. Basically, they've started the campaign. So the campaign begins,' Trump told reporters at the White House after signing an executive order on veterans' suicide prevention." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The "disgrace to our country," obviously, is that Trump has made the investigations necessary.
Jeff Toobin in the New Yorker: "... Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has hired a veteran prosecutor with experience fighting Russian organized crime to lead his investigation of the Trump Administration. Last month, according to a committee source, Daniel Goldman, who served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 2007 to 2017, joined the committee's staff as a senior adviser and the director of investigations. The hiring of Goldman, who will be joined by two other former federal prosecutors on Schiff's staff, underlines Schiff''s decision to conduct an aggressive investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia...." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If Goldman's name sounds famililar, it's because until recently, he was an NBC analyst.
Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Three key House chairmen on Monday formally asked the White House and the State Department for documents and witness interviews related to ... Donald Trump's communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The leaders of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees are giving White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo until March 15 to turn over 'all documents and communications, regardless of form and classification, that refer or relate to any communications between President Trump and President Putin, including in-person meetings and telephone calls.'"
Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday attacked Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), accusing the House Judiciary Committee chairman of attempting to 'harass' his associates in a wide-ranging probe into Trump's administration, campaign and businesses. 'Nadler, Schiff and the Dem heads of the Committees have gone stone cold CRAZY. 81 letter sent to innocent people to harass them. They won't get ANYTHING done for our Country!' he tweeted. The president also referenced House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who on Monday made a sweeping request for documents and interviews related to Trump's conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said Democrats are ramping up their investigations 'now that they realize the only Collusion with Russia wa done by Crooked Hillary Clinton & the Democrats.'"
Caitlyn Oprysko of Politico: "One of ... Donald Trump's former White House lawyers said this week that special counsel Robert Mueller is an 'American hero' [citing Mueller's military service] and that the probe he is leading is not a 'witch hunt,' rejecting the president's repeated characterizations of the Russia investigation and the man leading it. In an interview on ABC News' 'The Investigation' podcast published Tuesday, Ty Cobb disputed many of the president's complaints about Mueller and his team.... He also said at least on the matter of Russian collusion, Trump would likely be exonerated."
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The Trump Scandals, Ctd. -- Predicate to an Impeachment
Manu Raju & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler on Monday announced a sweeping investigation into ... Donald Trump's campaign, businesses, transition and administration, a probe that would lay the groundwork for Democrats if they choose to pursue impeachment proceedings against the President. The Judiciary Committee on Monday sent letters to 81 people and entities -- including the White House, the Justice Department, senior campaign officials, Trump Organization officials and the President's sons -- marking the start of a broad investigation that will tackle questions including possible corruption, obstruction of justice, hush-money payments to women, collusion with Russia and allegations of the President abusing his office and using it for personal gain. They are demanding responses within two weeks." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "In the two months since they took control of the House, Democrats have begun investigating members of the president's cabinet, his businesses, his campaign, his inaugural committee and his ties to key foreign powers, including Russia and its attempts to disrupt the 2016 presidential election. But Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the Judiciary Committee chairman, made clear on Monday that the new majority intends to train its attention on actions at the heart of Mr. Trump's norm-bending presidency -- actions that could conceivably form the basis of a future impeachment proceeding.... In a statement released Monday, Mr. Nadler said that it was imperative to 'begin building the public record' of what he has contended are Mr. Trump's abuses." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Josh Kovensky & Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "We've taken the list of 81 witnesses and separated them out investigation-by-investigation, witness-by-witness. Below are the topics covered." --s ...
... Fortunately, the White House is responding in its usual measured manner: Democrats are harassing the President to distract from their radical agenda of making America a socialist country, killing babies after they're born, and pushing a 'green new deal' that would destroy jobs and bankrupt America.... The Democrats are more interested in pathetic political games and catering to a radical, leftist base than on producing results for our citizens. The Democrats are not after the truth, they are after the President -- Sarah Sanders (no link)
... Jill Lawrence of USA Today: "The impeachment process has begun. If you want to quibble, think of it as the pre-impeachment process. Whatever you call it, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler is not fooling around.... This isn't overkill, it's playing catch-up. What we're seeing now is the oversight and scrutiny that should have started on Day One of this administration. It's also laying the foundation for impeachment.... The list of alleged and potential misdeeds grows by the day. There are at least 17 law enforcement investigations that we know of into Trump's administration, transition, campaign, inauguration, foundation and business, and that is on top of multiple new and ongoing Capitol Hill investigations. [Michael] Cohen's public and private testimony last week gave Congress many new avenues to follow up, including new leads on the Trump Tower Moscow project and possible insurance fraud by the Trump Organization. Cohen also said he was talking to federal prosecutors in New York about another investigation into Trump wrongdoing but couldn't disclose what it was." ...
Michelle Goldberg: "In 1983, the married sociologists Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang published ... a book that sought to explain how Americans, in less than two years, went from overwhelmingly re-electing Richard Nixon to largely supporting his impeachment. The Watergate scandal, after all, wasn't a complete surprise. There was evidence of a White House connection to the break-in before the 1972 election; a George McGovern campaign ad featured a montage of damning Watergate headlines while a narrator intoned: 'This is about hidden funds. This is about deception. This is about the White House.' But somehow, the story didn't stick. 'The problem it signified was outside the range of and remote from most people's immediate concerns,' the Langs wrote. The details were confusing, 'their import difficult to fathom.'" Goldberg goes on to equate what House Democrats are doing now with what the Nixon-era Ervin Committee & House Judiciary Commitee did then. ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I don't think that's it. Rather, I suspect that we enjoy watching "great men" topple. It's no accident that Oedipus Rex has been a favorite (off & on) for nearly 2,500 years. I think plenty of people voted for Bad Boy Donald because they were tired of Hillary Clinton's boring, predictable competence. Just as people thought of Nixon as "Tricky Dick," so they knew Trump was a gaudy, shady character who made his money bloviating, stiffing contractors & duping people into buying his crummy products. He's the kind of huckster people want to watch go down in flames. Do I think most Trump voters were fully aware of these motivations? Nope. But I think that unacknowledged impulse is how the amorphous "public" can go from "loving" a candidate to hating a president*. Poll-wise, the same thing has happened to most recent presidents. The anomaly is Bill Clinton, who became more popular after events bore out everyone's worst expectations.
Matt Shuham of TPM: "... Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff and top economic adviser to pressure the Justice Department to intervene against AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2017, according to a New Yorker report. The Justice Department eventually did intervene, unsuccessfully. In late summer 2017, The New Yorker reported, a few months before the Justice Department formally filed suit to block the deal, Trump ordered Gary Cohn, then his chief economic adviser, to pressure the Justice Department to oppose the acquisition. The magazine, citing an unnamed 'well-informed source,' reported that Trump told White House chief of staff John Kelly and Cohn in an Oval Office meeting: 'I've been telling Cohn to get this lawsuit filed and nothing's happened! I've mentioned it fifty times. And nothing's happened. I want to make sure it's filed. I want that deal blocked!' According to the same source, Cohn, who announced his resignation in March 2018, told Kelly on the way out of the meeting: 'Don't you fucking dare call the Justice Department. We are not going to do business that way.'... The same New Yorker report, which focused on the relationship between Fox News and the President, also revealed that a Fox News reporter uncovered Trump's hush money payment to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, but that Fox News blocked the publication of the story. An executive reportedly told the reporter: 'Good reporting, kiddo. But Rupert [Murdoch], wants Donald Trump to win. So just let it go.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... If proven, such an attempt to use presidential authority to seek retribution for the exercise of First Amendment rights would unquestionably be grounds for impeachment. -- George Conway, husband of Kellyanne Conway
... Annals of "Journalism," Ctd." Ronn Blitzer of Law & Crime: "The [New Yorker] article states that reporter Diana Falzone spent much of 2016 working on the story, and 'had obtained proof that Trump had engaged in a sexual relationship in 2006 with a pornographic film actress calling herself Stormy Daniels.' Falzone had also reportedly uncovered information related to the nondisclosure agreement that Daniels later signed, and how her attorney had worked with then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen.... Falzone was reportedly ready to go with this story in October 2016, but it never saw the light of day, despite having confirmation from Daniels' former manager and ex-husband, in addition to emails between Cohen and Daniels' former attorney. After getting the run-around from different editors, Falzone's article was eventually shot down for good by Ken LaCorte, who was the head of FoxNews.com, the New Yorker reported." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Matthew Yglesias of Vox argues that Fox "News" is far more influential than any "fake news" generated on social media: "Jane...Mayer['s New Yorker piece on Fox News killing the Stormy Daniels story] adds critical new insights into the arc of change at the network during a period when CEO Roger Ailes was deposed and then died, vice president Bill Shine left to become White House communications director, and the company's owner Rupert Murdoch has restructured his media holdings and prepared to pass the baton to his son.... Fox's propaganda broadcasting matters. It's a somewhat underexplored topic in political science research, but the information that's available suggests that right-wing propaganda broadcasting -- led by Fox but also including Sinclair Broadcast Group -- has a decisive influence on American politics.... [W]hile fake news is obviously not desirable, the evidence for its practical impact has been relatively slight compared to the evidence that mass opinion has been manipulated by traditional television broadcasting." --s ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I don't have an answer, but it's been clear for a long time that liberals, Democrats & traditional media must begin to educate the public on the danger Fox, Sinclair & other right-wing media pose. Media Matters is great at pointing out the Fox "News" lies of the day, but even I don't read Media Matters, so you can bet Fox viewers aren't checking to see what-all crap they're taking in on Fox. One thing ordinary citizens can do is shame Fox viewers. When your neighbor says he heard it on Fox, just tell him flat-out that Fox isn't "news"; it's right-wing propaganda. And the network is making a fool out of her.
Brett Samuels of the Hill: "An attorney representing Michael Cohen broached the idea of a pardon for the longtime Trump associate during a conversation last year with lawyers for the president, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The news outlet reported that Stephen Ryan allegedly discussed the possibility of a pardon with Trump attorneys Jay Sekulow, Rudy Giuliani and Joanna Hendon. The conversations reportedly took place in the weeks after the FBI raided Cohen's home, hotel room and office while the group reviewed seized files that may have qualified for attorney-client privilege. Ryan hinted that Cohen would consider cooperating with prosecutors if he did not receive a pardon, according to The Wall Street Journal.... Trump's attorneys rejected the idea of pardoning Cohen at the time, The Journal reported, but Giuliani left the door open to a pardon down the road. The former New York City mayor has consistently said the president is unlikely to pardon associates amid ongoing investigations. There's no indication Cohen himself knew of the conversations or personally requested a pardon, The Journal reported."
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Attorney General William Barr will not recuse himself from overseeing ... Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign, a Justice Department spokeswoman said Monday.... Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Monday that Barr had decided to assume the role overseeing Mueller's inquiry and that the department's ethics team concurred.... Barr's confirmation for a second stint as attorney general was complicated by the disclosure that he had written a 19-page memo last June expressing deep skepticism about aspects of Mueller's investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. During his confirmation hearing, Barr refused to say whether he would recuse from any role in Mueller's probe." ...
... Buh-bye. Morgan Chalfont of the Hill: "Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has left the Department of Justice. A Justice Department spokesman told The Hill that Whitaker's last day was Saturday but did not expand on the circumstances surrounding his departure or his plans after leaving. It is unclear where Whitaker might go, including whether he might seek another role in the Trump administration."
Dan Mangan: "Special counsel Robert Mueller on Monday notified a federal judge about an Instagram post by ... Donald Trump's friend Roger Stone that could be in violation of the judge's strict gag order on Stone. The filing by Mueller cited CNBC's story on Sunday detailing the post by Stone, which contained an image of him under the words "Who framed Roger Stone.' Mueller did not ask Judge Amy Berman to find that Stone broke her gag order."
Andy Kroll of Rolling Stone: "The family of Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee staffer whose unsolved murder in 2016 spawned a wave of conspiracy theories, has notched another legal victory against the proponents of baseless theories about Rich. On Monday, pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi retracted a nearly year-old column published on the website Infowars, run by another notorious conspiracy peddler, Alex Jones, that promoted the unfounded claim that Rich and his brother participated in the hack of the DNC and leaked documents to WikiLeaks. In addition to the retraction, Corsi apologized to the Rich family. Around midday Monday, Infowars formally retracted the column and published an apology that mirrored Corsi's.... Corsi's apology and retraction came after a series of negotiations between lawyers for Corsi and [Seth's brother] Aaron Rich...."
Glenn Kessler, et al., of the Washington Post: "Powered by his two-hour stemwinder at the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 2 -- which featured more than 100 false or misleading claims -- President Trump is on pace to exceed his daily quota set during his first two years in office. The president averaged nearly 5.9 false or misleading claims a day in his first year in office. He hit nearly 16.5 a day in his second year. So far in 2019, he's averaging nearly 22 claims a day. As of the end of March 3, the 773rd day of his term in office, Trump accumulated 9,014 fishy claims, according to The Fact Checker's database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president. Trump's performance at CPAC is emblematic of his version of the truth during his presidency -- a potent mix of exaggerated numbers, unwarranted boasting and outright falsehoods. His speech helped push March 3 to his fourth-biggest day for false or misleading claims, totaling 104."
Erin Banco & Betsy Woodruff of the Daily Beast: "The Trump administration is still actively working to make a deal to send U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, according to two U.S. officials and two professional staffers at federal agencies.... American energy businesses are still hoping to cash in on Riyadh's push for energy diversification.... Professional staff and officials in the administration told The Daily Beast they are still concerned about the possible connection between efforts by private businesses to engage with Saudi Arabia on nuclear energy and the quiet, ongoing discussions between senior U.S. officials and Riyadh about a deal. Those government-to-government conversations, some of which took place in Riyadh, have often excluded professional staff and taken place behind closed doors, according to two individuals.... Jared Kushner met with MBS and other members of the Saudi government in Riyadh this week.
D. Parvaz of ThinkProgress: "President Donald Trump came back from his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi without striking any kind of agreement. And since he returned, he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been blaming that failure on almost anyone.... [T]he president ... blamed the North Koreans for wanting too much.... North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho ... said that Pyongyang had 'offered a realistic proposal' [and] only asked for a partial removal of U.S. sanctions.... In an interview with USA Today published on Sunday, [Mike] Pompeo was either unaware of that statement or in denial about it ever happening. National Security Adviser John Bolton ... [said] the talks collapsed owing to North Korea's unpredictability.... Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to blame 'the Democrats' for interviewing Michael Cohen[.]" --s
"The Cowardly Bully." Paul Krugman: "According to multiple news organizations, the U.S. and China are close to a deal that would effectively end trade hostilities. Under the reported deal, America would remove most of the tariffs it imposed last year. China, for its part, would end its retaliatory tariffs, make some changes to its investment and competition policies and direct state enterprises to buy specified amounts of U.S. agricultural and energy products. The Trump administration will, of course, trumpet the deal as a triumph. In reality, however, it's much ado about nothing much. As described, the deal would do little to address real complaints about Chinese policy, which mainly involve China's systematic expropriation of intellectual property. Nor would it do much to address Donald Trump's pet although misguided peeve, the imbalance in U.S.-China trade. Basically, Trump will have backed down. If this is the story, it will repeat what we saw on the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump denounced as the 'worst trade deal ever made.' In the end, what Trump negotiated -- the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, or U.S.M.C.A. -- was very similar to the previous status quo. Trade experts I know ... call it 'Nafta 0.8': fundamentally the same as Nafta, but a bit worse." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is Trump's MO, and he may, to a certain extent, know what he's doing. He has a major Trumpertantrum which makes a flawed or bad situation worse, then declares victory. Since he's actually doing nothing productive, these feints allow him to pretend he's busy saving the nation from some disaster brought on by incompetent and/or malevolent previous administrations. He can count on at least 30 percent of voters buying his bull and another 30-60 percent having no idea whether he's right or wrong. It's shameful retail politics, so it's Trump.
Sheri Fink & Caitlin Dickerson of the New York Times: "An average of 2,200 migrants a day are now crossing the nation's 1,900-mile border with Mexico, many after grueling journeys that leave them injured, sick or badly dehydrated. Yet most of the nation's Customs and Border Protection facilities along the border lack sufficient accommodations, staffing or procedures to thoroughly assess health needs or provide more than basic emergency care, a situation that has led to dangerous medical oversights.... A New York Times review of records and dozens of interviews with migrants, agents, researchers and health workers suggest that some of these deaths were not anomalies, but rather signs of entrenched problems that have repeatedly put detainees with medical conditions at risk."
Tierney Sneed of TPM: "It's been well over a year since President Trump's bogus voter fraud commission was disbanded. But the administration is still fighting in court efforts to get it to turn over certain internal documents from the commission to a Democratic member [Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap] who sued to have access to them." --s
David Dayen of The Intercept: "A remarkable report from the Pentagon's inspector general released this week reveals that TransDigm Group, a parts supplier, 'earned excess profit' on nearly every parts contract it made with the Defense Department. Pentagon procurement officials responded to the report by vowing to seek $16.1 million in voluntary refunds from TransDigm, the approximate amount of excess profits on $26.3 million in contracts.... Three Democrats — Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Tim Ryan of Ohio, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts -- requested the audit to see whether TransDigm was reaping excess profits in procurement." --s ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This report is a good example of why I'm never enthusiastic when the president (or president*) & Congress want to spend billions more on "our great military." We might have "the greatest military force the world has ever seen," but we have been paying for it with $400 hammers since we got our first tax statement.
Tracy Jan of the Washington Post: "Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson says he intends to leave his post at the end of President Trump's term. Carson made his remarks in a segment airing Monday evening on Newsmax TV, a conservative news outlet. In his two years leading HUD, Carson has dialed back civil rights enforcement at the agency and suspended Obama-era rules that had been aimed at fighting housing segregation and discrimination."
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday said that he expects a resolution blocking President Trump's emergency declaration to pass the Senate, but he does not believe lawmakers will be able to override a veto. 'I think what is clear in the Senate is that there will be enough votes to pass the resolution of disapproval, which will then be vetoed by the president and then in all likelihood the veto will be upheld in the House,' McConnell said while speaking to reporters in Kentucky.... McConnell added that while he was supporting Trump's emergency declaration, he was 'hoping he wouldn't take that particular path.' 'Yeah I am,' he said, asked if he was concerned about the precedent set for a Democratic president. 'That's one reason I argued obviously without success to the president that he not take this route.'" ...
... Sheryl Stolberg & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "... while a veto is highly unlikely to be overturned, the congressional majority that forces it will stand as a powerful rejection of the tactics Mr. Trump has used to fulfill his top campaign promise to build a wall on the southern border -- and will apparently be the first time since passage of the National Emergencies Act of 1976 that Congress has voted to overturn an emergency declaration."
Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrats will take floor action Wednesday in response to controversial remarks by Rep. Ilhan Omar about Israel, the second such rebuke of the freshman Democrat from party leaders in recent weeks. Pelosi and other senior Democrats have drafted a resolution to address the controversy, which ballooned over the weekend following a public clash between Omar and senior Jewish lawmakers. The resolution, which began circulating to members Monday night, comes after a backlash from top Democrats who accused Omar of anti-Semitism for referring to pro-Israel advocates' allegiance to a foreign country.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: While I agree Omar went too far in questioning her colleagues' allegiance to the U.S. (which is a violation of House rules), what about President Trump's claiming that some members of Congress who are immigrants -- here he did not name but likely was referring to Omar -- "hate our country"? Same difference, as we say in the South. As for anti-Semitism, let's look at Jim Jordan. (Rabid-Ohio)...
... Dan Mangan of CNBC: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on Monday blasted Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for an 'inane AND anti-Semitic' tweet that spelled billionaire hedge-fund operator Tom Steyer's last name with a '$.'... Steyer, whose father was Jewish, has been a prominent donor to Democratic candidates as part of his goal to have President Donald Trump impeached." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... ** MEANWHILE. Lamar White of the Bayou Brief: "Only a week before [Rep. Clay Higgins' (R-La.) remarkable performance as the clueless bartender for the Michael Cohen hearing], one of the congressman's top aides, District Director Jerod Prunty, tendered his resignation after being charged and arrested with two counts of 'pandering,' which, as it is apparently being applied in this situation, is a euphemism for human trafficking. The state's most recent iteration of the statutory definition of pandering dates back to 1978; it provides for significant civil penalties and mandatory jail time." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is the gist of the new part of the story, but for your own enjoyment you might want to read the whole post. I would say White is a great writer, but really, Brother Higgins gave White all his material.
Presidential Race 2020. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton ... said officially on Monday what has been unofficially clear for months: She is not running for president again in 2020. 'I'm not running,' Mrs. Clinton told a New York City television station, News 12. 'But I'm going to keep on working and speaking and standing up for what I believe.'"
Mark Stern of Slate: "[T]he First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the government from funding religious exercise and limits its ability to fund religious facilities.... Yet in 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court flipped the First Amendment on its head by ruling, for the first time ever, that the Constitution sometimes requires the government to provide public funds directly to a church.... And on Monday, Justice Brett Kavanaugh announced his intention to demolish the remainder of that wall by invalidating laws that bar government subsidization of religion.... Although the Supreme Court declined to hear [the case at issue,] Morris County, Kavanaugh wrote separately to condemn New Jersey's 'pure discrimination against religion.'... [Sam] Alito and Neil Gorsuch joined his opinion." --s
Supremes Rebuff GOP Whiners. Lee Davidson of the Salt Lake Tribune: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ended five years of legal battles by the Utah Republican Party to quash a 2014 election law that allows candidates to qualify for the ballot by collecting signatures and/or through the caucus-convention system. Justices refused to hear the party's challenge of that law, called SB54, rejecting the party's arguments that it unconstitutionally interferes with its right to choose how to select its own nominees."
Idiocracy. Ben Collins of NBC News: “A book that pushes the conspiracy theory Qanon climbed within the top 75 of all books sold on Amazon in recent days, pushed by Amazon's algorithmically generated recommendations page. 'QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening,' which has no stated author, ranked at No. 56 at press time.... The book claims without evidence a variety of outlandish claims including that prominent Democrats murder and eat children and that the U.S. government created both AIDS and the movie Monsters Inc.... Adherents of the Qanon conspiracy theory falsely believe that the world is run by a Satanic cabal helmed by ... Hillary Clinton, and that President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Robert Mueller are secretly working in tandem to eliminate the cabal.... The book ... is currently No. 9 in all books about politics, and No. 1 in all books about 'Censorship.'..." --s
Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "For just the second time since the global epidemic began, a patient appears to have been cured of infection with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The news comes nearly 12 years to the day after the first patient known to be cured, a feat that researchers have long tried, and failed, to duplicate. The surprise success now confirms that a cure for H.I.V. infection is possible, if difficult, researchers said.... Both milestones resulted from bone-marrow transplants given to infected patients. But the transplants were intended to treat cancer in the patients, not H.I.V. Bone-marrow transplantation is unlikely to be a realistic treatment option in the near future. Powerful drugs are now available to control H.I.V. infection, while the transplants are risky, with harsh side effects that can last for years. But rearming the body with immune cells similarly modified to resist H.I.V. might well succeed as a practical treatment, experts said."
Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "The number of heatwaves affecting the planet's oceans has increased sharply, scientists have revealed, killing swathes of sea-life like 'wildfires that take out huge areas of forest'. The damage caused in these hotspots is also harmful for humanity, which relies on the oceans for oxygen, food, storm protection and the removal of climate-warming carbon dioxide the atmosphere, they say.... In the longer term, the number of heatwave days jumped by more than 50% in the 30 years to 2016, compared with the period of 1925 to 1954.... 'This [research] makes clear that heatwaves are hitting the ocean all over the world.... The ocean, in effect, 'is spiking a fever,' said Prof Malin Pinsky, at Rutgers University[.]" --s
Way Beyond the Beltway
Al Jazeera: "The body of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was likely burned in a large oven at the Saudi consulate general's residence in Istanbul, an Al Jazeera investigation revealed. New details of the writer's murder by a Saudi assassination team were reported in a documentary by Al Jazeera Arabic that aired on Sunday. Turkish authorities monitored the burning of the outdoor furnace from outside the premises as bags believed to be containing Khashoggi's body parts were transferred to the Saudi consul's home after he was killed inside the consulate a few hundred metres away. Al Jazeera interviewed a worker who constructed the furnace who stated it was built according to specifications from the Saudi consul." Mrs. McC: Of course Saudi officials concocted this elaborate plan without the knowledge of the Saudi royals. You could ask Donald Trump.
Kati Pohjanpalo & Frances Schwartzkoff of Bloomberg: "Almost daily revelations are exposing the breadth of suspicious activity that has enmeshed banks that had previously been bywords for probity.... The ... reports are part of a broader OCCRP investigation into what it calls the Troika Laundromat. It's the fourth such scheme that the group has uncovered with the help of news media. The others were the Proxy Platform, the Russian Laundromat, and the Azerbaijani Laundromat.... A picture is forming of Nordic banks that, often via their Baltic units, became hubs for Russian criminals who channeled funds to the West." --s
Juliette Garside & Caelainn Barr of the Guardian: "A charity run by Prince Charles received donations from an offshore company that was used to funnel vast amounts of cash from Russia in a scheme that is under investigation by prosecutors, the Guardian can reveal. Money flowing through the network included cash that can be linked to some of the most notorious frauds committed during Vladimir Putin's presidency. In all, it is estimated that $4.6bn (£3.5bn) was sent to Europe and the US from a Russian-operated network of 70 offshore companies with accounts in Lithuania. The details have emerged from 1.3m banking transactions obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Lithuanian website 15min.lt. Shared with media partners including the Guardian, the data represents one of the largest ever banking leaks.There is no suggestion that end recipients of funds were aware of the original source of the money, which arrived via a disguised route." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Canada. Ian Austen of the New York Times: "Another minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada quit in protest on Monday over accusations that [Trudeau] and his aides tried to influence a criminal case against a multinational Canadian company accused of bribing the Libyan government. The unexpected resignation, by Jane Philpott, who led the treasury board, inflames a growing political crisis that has already cost Mr. Trudeau his former justice minister and his top aide.... With a federal election looming seven months away, Mr. Trudeau must now not only salvage his reputation as someone who promised an open approach to politics, but may be in peril of losing control of his position as leader of the Liberal Party, which would end his time as prime minister."
Vatican. Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Pope Francis announced on Monday that he would open archives from the pontificate of Pius XII, possibly allowing historians to shed light on the actions of the pope during World War II, in particular his response to the Holocaust. Some critics of Pius XII maintain that he was shamefully silent during the Nazi massacre of Jews during the war, while others claim he saved thousands of lives by tasking the Roman Catholic Church with assisting victims of persecution." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Venezuela. Ana Herrero & Rick Gladstone of the New York Times: "Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader who defied a travel ban and left the country more than a week ago, returned Monday in what could turn into a new showdown with President Nicolás Maduro." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Reader Comments (7)
The Dems just unloaded a major cannon blast to pierce the inner wall of the White House. Who knows what will come tumbling out after upon contact? I imagine a lot of sordid creations scurrying from the light. Dems need to stay focused, treading carefully to squash the bugs and follow the dirt trail its festering source.
Because if this bear hunt only catches deer in headlights, we'll be setting up the Greatest Grievance campaign that will aid and abet the disasterous reelection of Agent Orange.
@safari: Yes, I agree–-tread carefully–-that deer in the headlights needs to be kept alive, not bumped off by cars going sixty miles an hour.
Whitaker: He leaves. Does this mean he will not be back for another hearing that would, probably, reveal he lied to Congress?
The wonderful Katy Tur (who is with child) busts Trump's latest lie (at CPAC) and she's got the video to prove it.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-russia-hack-claim_n_5c7ddc46e4b07fa0e23496cc
Katy was one of the reporters who was with Trump from the very beginning and from the very beginning was warning us about him and about his fervid followers. Her description of leaving a campaign rally, and responding to a guy who rapped on her window by rolling it down to hear what he had to say, consequently received his spittle right in her face unnerved her to such an extent that she shook for hours after.
Last night the PBS News Hour had a long segment on the effects of the Tornado. There I sat on my couch in a warm room within an intact house next to my best beloved and I wondered how I would deal with that kind of devastation. What happens to you when you lose everything within a country that is not war torn––in a country where you never think this kind of thing would happen to you–––and then it does.
And I thought––best be prepared.
Hold onto your buns! AO-C is coming for your hamburgers. David Remnick gives us a taste of the GOP's apoplexy over "that girl" who has given them nightmares and shivers regarding her determination to do something about our climate disaster. It's quite extraordinary that they excoriate her for wanting to find ways to alleviate a disaster but are absolutely gaga about the guy who is destroying the very fabric of our democracy.
Their "green on the outside but red on the inside" watermelon slam is laughable––to imply that Alexandria is touting communistic methods is enough to make one want to spit those seeds in their faces. How long are these fuckers are going to harrass her? She's handling it well so far, but it will take its toll; as she has said, "it's like having another job having to deal with this."
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-is-coming-for-your-hamburgers
Bea,
I believe you're right about the "how the mighty have fallen" thing. That's part of the explanation anyway for the public dramas with abrupt, though ultimately unsurprising, turns of plot that people so often perform.
Toss in the sneaking admiration many have for the successful con artist (and we have to give the Pretender that), people's avidity for a handy scapegoat when things aren't to their liking and the mythic underpinnings of our complicated relationship with our chosen leaders explored in Joseph Campbell's work, and we might begin to understand how people suddenly turn their back on those they had supported, even admired, only a short time ago.
It ain't superficially logical, but it does make wacky human sense.
But it's still irrational behavior, and it still makes me nuts.
It's been a while now since being smart, professional, and proficient have become undesirable attributes in certain political circles, but the Trump administration demonstrates how the complete lack of these qualities not only costs money, but could contribute mightily to domestic and international instability which in some cases, could lead to a destabilization leaning towards the catastrophic.
Take the Trump/Kushner approach to "peace" between Israelis and Palestinians. First, move the US embassy to Jerusalem, thus clearly supporting Netanyahu's anti-Palestinian, anti-peace agenda and giving a great big middle finger to Palestinians.
Then, cut off all aid to Palestinians. Hundreds of millions of dollars, gone (more about this in a bit).
And now, close what had been the de facto US embassy serving the Palestinian communities. It was the US Consulate General in Jerusalem and it has served as a link between the United States and the Palestinian territories since the Oslo accords in the early 90's. Now it's closed. Trump officials claim that this closure represents no change in policy (they could be right there--the Trump policy toward Palestinians is "Fuck you") and is, instead, a move toward efficiency. Hold on. Can you really put "efficiency" and "Trump" in the same sentence without adding some form of negation? An analogy might be something like Trump:efficiency::good health:three-pack-a-day-habit. Well, you get the idea. Efficiency has nothing to do with it.
The ostensible idea is to force Palestinians back to the table and further, to force them to accept whatever harebrained scheme Kushner has cooked up (which is likely some version of "Do what we tell you and we'll let you live. Maybe.").
There doesn't seem to be an understanding of the history of the thing at play here. Palestinians are unlikely to come, hangdog, to "peace" negotiations because you're sticking more needles into them. "Unlikely" as in "never". Have these guys not been paying attention? But Trump seems to think, as ever, that bullying is the way to get whatever you want. He's out of his league here. These boyos are serious and now they're even more desperate. One Palestinian official described this as the last nail in the coffin.
What's the best way to stop terrorism? Short circuiting the recruitment of future terrorists. How do you do that? By killing all chance of hope of survival? Um....no. The Trump moves guarantee (I almost wrote "almost" but decided there is no "almost" here) a gigantic uptick in terrorist recruitment. This is the "peace" plan?
And since we're talking about history, and the need to pay attention, how 'bout that Hanoi summit? The cleanup crew is in full swing now. I see that John Bolton is trying to act as the voice of reason (John Bolton!). He sez, "Well, those North Koreans, they're just so darned unpredictable!" No they're not. They're incredibly predictable. They do what is in their best interest. And if their best interest is using a summit to increase their standing in the world while giving up nothing, then great. Big fail there.
And now I see that Kushner is redoubling efforts to make sure that Saudi Arabia has nuclear capability.
Great.
And since Trump has jettisoned the Iran Nuclear treaty, and put nothing in its place, what do you think the powers that be are talking about in Tehran? "Oh, hey, I see that the Saudis are getting nukes. How 'bout we get a move on and get us some nukes too?"
This is about as pure a recipe for future disaster (and not all that far in the future) as you could dream up. Does no one think of these things? Can they not do basic sums?
I also read that Kusher is meeting with the Saudis without benefit of any foreign affairs professionals.
Great. Again.
The lack of knowledge, experience, professionalism, and basic smarts are the hallmarks of the Trump presidency. And it shows.
@Akhilleus
Congressional rules aside, does all that business in the Near East you have so well just described seem like an expression of some kind of allegiance to a foreign government?
It does to me.
Hard to figure how they figure unless, as you do, you assume they don't.
Or that their figuring never goes beyond any immediate financial or political advantage that might be gained. And since many of the real problems we face are long term and complex (Israel-Palestine, global warming) this administration will never even acknowledge them, let alone deal with them.
Nice to hear that Gary Cohn stepped in to tell Trump's Chief of Staff not to go ahead with the plan to monkey wrench the AT&T-Time Warner deal because Trump didn't like his coverage. The fact that he had to go out of his way to make sure John Kelly didn't follow through however, is not so nice.
He recognized that he probably needed to put an exclamation point on the statement "This is not how we do business" in case Kelly just went along to get along, something he mostly did during his stint as Trump water carrier, at least until even he couldn't take it anymore.
But who took over for Gary Cohn, a guy who knew actual economics, and at least had an idea of how things should go? Larry Kudlow. A guy who pretends he knows about economics on the TV. Think Kudlow would say "That's not how we do business"?
All the best people.