;)
The Commentariat -- November 6, 2019
Many thanks to safari for all he did today. I'm back for now, but there's still some question -- possibly to be answered later in the week -- as to how things will go from here. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~
~~~ Update: Many thanks also to all you well-wishers. I'm not all stitched up, but I got a "conditional" release. Also, thanks to everyone who linked to news stories. I caught most of them below, but I didn't give you credit, as I dove right in to adding some links before I took the time to read today's Comments.
All the readers of RealityChex are wishing Marie a speedy recovery. Time zones don't allow me to include yesterday's election results, but here's a slimmed down version of today's news. Feel free to add to the info. with links in the comments section. --s
Some of what follows may be a little retro, as I'm trying catch up here.
Stefan Becket & Grace Segers of CBS News: "The House committees leading the impeachment inquiry released the transcript of testimony by the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor, who raised questions about whether the U.S. was withholding military aid to Ukraine to pressure the country to open investigations into President Trump's political rivals.... In his testimony, Taylor described a concerted effort to use U.S. leverage to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to commit to opening investigations into debunked allegations of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, as well as the gas company Burisma, which had hired former Vice President Joe Biden's son in 2014. Taylor said these efforts came via an 'irregular, informal channel of U.S. policy-making' consisting of Rudy Giuliani, then-special envoy Kurt Volker, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland. He said he became aware of the parallel policy-making paths when working to schedule a phone call with Zelensky in late June. Taylor said Sondland 'cut out' other officials who would normally participate in the call and 'requested that the call not be transcribed.'" The page includes a ScribD reproduction of the text of Taylor's testimony. ~~~
~~~ Adam Edelman of NBC News: "The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told House impeachment investigators last month that ... Donald Trump directed officials to tie military aid to Ukraine to demands that the country open political advantageous probes, according to a transcript of his testimony made public Wednesday.... Taylor said he and others 'sat in astonishment' as a White House Offic of Management and Budget official said during a July 18 inter-agency call that Trump had ordered a hold on military assistance to Ukraine, according to the transcript.... Taylor laid out in painstaking detail how U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland had told him that Trump was 'adamant' that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy himself publicly announce the Biden and 2016 investigations -- but that Trump nonetheless felt such an arrangement would not constitute a quid pro quo." ~~~
~~~ New York Times reporters are analyzing & highlighting Taylor's testimony. Michael Shear: "Mr. Taylor has become one of the star witnesses for the Democratic-led impeachment effort, appearing first in public hearings that will begin next week. That is partly because in his closed-door testimony, Mr. Taylor referred repeatedly to notes and memos, bolstering investigators' confidence in his recollections. Those documents could provide new and potentially explosive avenues of investigation for Democrats as they march toward writing articles of impeachment." Mrs. McC: Taylor's testimony, and his notes, are surely the reason Gordon Sondland had to, ah, "amend" his perjury testimony. Stories on Sondland's "amendment" linked below.
Trump's Impeachment Defense: Lie, Lie & Lie Again. Toluse Olorunnipa & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Standing before a crowd of supporters this week in Lexington, Ky., President Trump repeated a false claim he has made more than 100 times in the past six weeks: that a whistleblower from the intelligence community misrepresented a presidential phone call at the center of the impeachment inquiry that threatens his presidency.... It's a form of gaslighting that has become the central defense strategy for the president as he faces his greatest political threat yet. But the approach is coming under increasing strain as congressional Democrats release transcripts and prepare to hold public hearings presenting evidence that directly undercuts Trump's claims.... He has also pushed other specious arguments in his harried attempt to counter the growing evidence from witnesses implicating his administration in a quid pro quo scheme linking military aid to Ukrainian investigations targeting Democrats."
Dartunorro Clark of NBC News: "Public hearings in Congress will begin next Wednesday in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Wednesday. The open hearing on Nov. 13 will hear testimony from career diplomat William Taylor and State Department official George Kent and another on Friday will hear testimony from ousted Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Schiff said there will be additional announcements of witnesses[.]"
Adam Schiff in a USA Today op-ed: "The president's corrupt pressure [on Ukraine] to secure its interference in our election betrayed our national security and his oath of office.... In the past few weeks, and despite the White House's continued obstruction, we have learned a great deal about what occurred.... What we have found, and what the American people will soon learn ... is that this is about more than just one call.... [W]e now know that the call was just one piece of a larger operation to redirect our foreign policy to benefit Donald Trump's personal and political interests, not the national interest.... [T]he Founders who devised our government understood that someday, a president might come to power who would fail to defend the Constitution or would sacrifice the country's national security in favor of his own personal or political interests, and that Congress would need to consider such a remedy. Tragically, that time has come." --s
** Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "A critical witness in the impeachment inquiry offered Congress substantial new testimony this week, revealing that he told a top Ukrainian official that the country likely would not receive American military aid unless it publicly committed to investigations President Trump wanted. The disclosure from Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, in four new pages of sworn testimony released on Tuesday, confirmed his involvement in essentially laying out a quid pro quo to Ukraine that he had previously not acknowledged. The testimony offered several major new details beyond the account he gave the inquiry in a 10-hour interview last month." The NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Andrew Desiderio >& Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Gordon Sondland, a key witness in the impeachment inquiry, revealed that he told a top Ukrainian official that hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid would 'likely' be held up unless the country's government announced investigations into ... Donald Trump's political rivals -- a major reversal from his previous closed-door testimony. The acknowledgment of a quid pro quo is an explosive shift that threatens to upend claims by the president's allies that military aid was not used as a bludgeon to advance his domestic political interests." --s ~~~
~~~ Tierney Sneed & Matt Shuham of TPM: "Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the EU, told House investigators about how he first got involved in Ukraine policy, the directive he received from President Trump to 'talk to Rudy' about Ukraine, and how the demands that Giuliani was seeking of Ukraine grew more 'insidious' over time.... In a dramatic turn, Sondland submitted revised testimony this week to clarify what he told the Ukrainians about a freeze on military aid.... Sondland recounted a previously reporting May 23 meeting with Trump, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and others, in which Trump gave the order that they talk to his personal lawyer about their dealings in Ukraine.... 'He just kept saying: Talk to Rudy, talk to Rudy,' Sondland said. Sondland said he didn't know what Trump was talking about, 'other than, he said: Ukraine is a problem.'... Sondland ... clarified that it was actually Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then-National Security Advisor John Bolton who had sanctioned the move [to get involved in Ukraine]." --s
Marianne Levine of Politico: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate would acquit ...Donald Trump if an impeachment trial were held today." --s
Zachary Basu of Axios: "Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he will not read any of the transcripts released Tuesday by the House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry, telling CBS News: 'I've written the whole process off.... I think this is a bunch of B.S.'... Graham ... told reporters on Sept. 25: 'If you're looking for a circumstance where the president of the United States was threatening the Ukraine with cutting off aid unless they investigated his political opponent, you'd be very disappointed. That does not exist.'" --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Very responsible, Lindsey. See no evil, hear no evil, give evil a pass. That oath you took about upholding & defending the Constitution is soooo overrated.
Betsy Swan & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump promised 'unwavering' support to Ukraine in a May 29 letter congratulating its new president on his election victory. He also invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House, saying the invitation was a sign of the United States' 'commitment' to the young democracy. Trump's letter, which a senior congressional aide shared with The Daily Beast, points to a sharp contrast between Trump's official, warm communications with Zelensky and the moves he actually wanted from Kyiv. The letter, dated May 29, is published here for the first time.... Over the course of the next two months, it became clear to State Department and White House officials that something was preventing a meeting between Trump and Zelensky.... In his infamous press conference last month, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said the letter to Zelensky was merely a 'courtesy.'"
Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "House Democrats want to hear testimony from acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney in their impeachment inquiry after he acknowledged Thursday that the administration held up military aid to Ukraine until Kiev launched a political investigation requested by President Trump. The three House committees running the impeachment inquiry -- Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight -- had issued a subpoena to Mulvaney earlier this month for documents. The deadline for the records is Friday." (Also linked yesterday.)
David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "Since the investigation began into President Trump's machinations in Ukraine, one of the most disturbing questions has been: Where is Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, who's supposed to shield his diplomats from political interference? And now we have the answer: Pompeo, in recent months, has essentially been in hiding, protecting himself while his subordinates took the hit -- evidently hoping to preserve his influence with Trump. Sometimes his deflections and denials have been outright misleading. Pompeo has badly tarnished his reputation in accommodating Trump. He joins the long list of those damaged by their service to this president.... [After Pompeo failed to prevent Trump from firing her,] Trump's groundless attacks against [Marie] Yovanovitch continued, as did Pompeo's silence.... When a transcript of the menacing July [25] call [between Trump & Zelensky] was released Sept. 25, Yovanovitch felt personally threatened, and she again asked for help. Pompeo said nothing publicly in her defense [and claimed on TV that his top aide Michael McKinley had not asked him to support Yovanovitch, even tho McKinley testified he had done so three times]. It's deeply troubling to see a powerful person such as Pompeo who is silent in the face of lies and who takes no action to protect his subordinates from wrongdoing." ~~~
~~~ Lauren Lantry of ABC News: "Newly released testimony of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's former senior adviser directly contradicts Pompeo's remarks in an interview last month on ABC's 'This Week.' According to deposition transcripts released by House Democrats on Monday, Pompeo aide Mike McKinley told lawmakers under oath that he approached Pompeo three separate times to voice his concerns over the State Department's lack of support for Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.... When asked what Pompeo's response was, McKinley said that the secretary said nothing.... But in an Oct. 20 interview on "This Week," Pompeo denied McKinley ever expressed his concerns." --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I would remind you here that Pompeo reportedly keeps a Bible open on his desk, which he claims to consult daily. I guess he missed all those instructive passages about helping others. Looks as if Mike is more a "prosperity gospel"-type.
Julia Davis of the Daily Beast: "Standing beside an approving Donald Trump at a rally in Kentucky on Monday night, Republican Sen. Rand Paul demanded the media unmask the whistleblower whose report about the president's alleged abuse of power dealing with Ukraine sparked impeachment proceedings. American news organizations resisted the pressure, but -- in a 2019 re-play of 'Russia, if you're listening' -- Kremlin-controlled state media promptly jumped on it. Shortly after Sen. Paul tweeted out an article that speculated in considerable detail about the identity of the whistleblower -- with a photograph, a name, and details about the purported political history of a CIA professional -- Russian state media followed suit. As if on cue, the Kremlin-controlled heavy hitters -- TASS, RT, Rossiya-1 -- disseminated the same information. But unlike Rand Paul, one of the Russian state media outlets didn't seem to find the source -- Real Clear Investigations -- to be particularly impressive, and claimed falsely that the material was published originally by The Washington Post. This was the most egregious, but certainly not the only example of Kremlin-funded media cheerleading for Trump's fight against impeachment as proceedings against him unfold with growing speed." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If we had a real Justice Department -- and apparently we don't -- said DOJ would open a criminal case against Li'l Randy for outting the whistleblower, if indeed he has done so. Whistleblowers are protected under law, & Randy is not a journalist; he is a Senator who swore to uphold the Constitution & the laws.
Josh Kovensky of TPM: "Even as the impeachment inquiry gains momentum, Ukrainians who stand to benefit from probes into discredited allegations about the Bidens and the 2016 election have not stopped pushing for investigations. Andrii Telizhenko, a former Ukrainian diplomat who has peddled allegations of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 elections to help the Democrats, met with Rudy Giuliani in New York City -- last week.... NBC reported on Monday that a group of parliamentarians in Ukraine are reviewing the possibility of creating an investigative commission to examine allegations, such as those peddled by Telizhenko, of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election. One Ukrainian MP who is pushing for the commission's creation is Oleg Voloshyn, a former foreign ministry official who worked with Paul Manafort while he was a political consultant in the fledgling Eastern European nation." --safari: If Biden were ever elected, Benghaaaazi would dwarf in comparison to what the GOP is cooking up in Ukraine. (Also linked yesterday.)
Lachlan Markey of The Daily Beast: "Allies of President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani are circulating opposition research on Steve Bannon after the former White House strategist questioned Giuliani's work for the president and suggested he should be replaced." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Darren Samuelson & John Gerstein of Politico: "Only minutes after the first potential juror took the witness stand, Roger Stone abruptly left the courtroom, apparently ill [from food poisoning]. Moments later, a spectator started moaning and collapsed. Everyone from the judge to the spectators -- which included alt-right media activist ;Milo Yiannopoulos -- was left baffled. It was a fittingly unpredictable opening to the trial of the longtime conservative.... Stone is fighting charges he lied to Congress and obstructed its 2016 Russia investigation, and Tuesday was slated for jury selection." --s
Would You Stay up Till 3 am for This? Lachlan Markay & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "As Rudy Giuliani upended U.S.-Ukraine relations with a campaign of shadow diplomacy that landed his client..., Donald Trump, on the verge of impeachment, he was also exploring a gig as a television pitchman for an anti-fraud company run by two of the men he enlisted to dig up dirt on Trump's political foes in Ukraine. The company was called Fraud Guarantee, and it was run by Lev Parnas and David Correia, who were both arrested last month and charged with criminal violations of campaign-finance law -- charges to which both have pleaded not guilty. Parnas and Correia had used Fraud Guarantee to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to Giuliani, with whom they worked closely as he sought to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine and advance their own business interests in the country. According to two sources..., Parnas and Correia had plans to ... make [Giuliani] into Fraud Guarantee's spokesman and public face. Both sources described a key part of the plan: a television infomercial featuring Giuliani extolling the virtues of Fraud Guarantee and its services. Parnas and Correia wanted the ad campaign to start airing on U.S. cable-news channels shortly after Giuliani was finished representing Trump in matters pertaining to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's two-year investigation."
Jamie Ross of The Daily Beast: "[In a tweet] Donald Trump offered to send the U.S. military to Mexico to wage 'WAR' against drug cartels after an ambush left at least nine American moms and kids dead on Monday." --s
Sarah Burris of RawStory: "Over the weekend, President Donald Trump attended the UFC mixed martial arts match at Madison Square Garden where he brought several Republican leaders and members of his family. Like the World Series, Trump was booed there too, though not as loudly. Now the Washington Post is reporting that the Republican National Committee shelled out $60,000 for Trump to attend the event with his friends and family." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Ursula Perano of Axios: "Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago is struggling to bring in business amid political backlash against the president, the Washington Post reports. Where it stands: County documents show profits between 2015 and 2018 for the hotel have fallen 89%, from $16.7 million to $1.8 million." --s
Corporate Swamp Creatures. Sarah Okeson of DC Report: "The attorney[James Danly] Trump nominated for a seat on a federal commission that oversees pipeline construction and other energy projects wants to impose the legal equivalent of the three monkeys that see no evil in assessing how oil and gas companies are destroying our planet.... Danly used [his] hands-off approach in a case involving the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. when he and other commission attorneys said that limitations in the Natural Gas Act ;meant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission didn't have to look at possible greenhouse gas emissions.... Danly has been influenced ;by the Federalist Society, the same people who helped bring us Brett Kavanaugh and are stacking the appellate courts with closed-minded, right-wing justices. The Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources is scheduled to consider his nomination on Tuesday." --s
Brett Forrest of the Wall Street Journal: "Erik Prince, a private security contractor and informal adviser to President Trump, is in discussions to purchase a Ukrainian aerospace manufacturer that the U.S. is trying to prevent China from buying.... The Trump administration has approached Mr. Prince and at least one other potential buyer from the private sector about Motor Sich..., a leading maker of helicopter and airplane engines.... [T]he U.S. wants to scuttle its pending sale to a group of Chinese companies to keep Beijing from acquiring vital defense technology.... In recent weeks, Mr. Prince has discussed the company with Ukrainian officials and visited the company's main plant, according to people briefed on the matter.... Mr. Prince ... is the executive director and deputy chairman of Frontier Services Group, a Hong Kong- and Beijing-based private security contractor." Article firewalled --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Amy Knight of The Daily Beast: "Following a recent conference of foreign security and law enforcement agencies, the head of Russia's State Security Service, the FSB, made the surprising announcement that Russia and the United States have resumed cooperation on cybersecurity.... In response to queries about [Gen. Alexander] Bortnikov's statement, spokespersons for both the CIA and the DEA told The Daily Beast that they had no comment, and the FBI has not responded at all." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Sean Naylor of Yahoo! News: "A U.S. withdrawal from Syria will strain the links that the U.S. intelligence community has painstakingly built with both Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish forces, according to current and former government officials with long experience in the Middle East.... A U.S. withdrawal from Syria would place the United States' ability to get ... intelligence at risk and could result in the compromise of some U.S. intelligence techniques, according to current and former government officials.... 'We could be blind, especially if we're not cultivating those relationships in eastern Syria,' said a former U.S. government official with close ties to the Kurds." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Ross Barkan of the Guardian: "For the millions who feel enraged and despondent over Trump's ennobling of white supremacists or his insidious environmental and immigration policies, trying to remain an informed citizen can amount to an exercise in psychic torture. It's not easy reading, every day, about the degradation of whatever democratic norms America has left.... What recourse, then, do citizens have against a deranged, all-powerful executive who can lay waste to the planet many times over? Election Day is still a full year away. In the absence of a vote, all that is left is protest. If it all feels, at times, irrelevant to Trump's band of Republican nihilists, there is still a necessity to taking action, to demonstrating mass resistance against such hate." --s (Also linked yesterday)
Elections 2019
Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Democrats won complete control of the Virginia government for the first time in a generation on Tuesday and claimed a narrow victory in the Kentucky governor's race, as Republicans struggled in suburbs where President Trump is increasingly unpopular. In capturing both chambers of the legislature in Virginia, Democrats have cleared the way for Gov. Ralph S. Northam, who was nearly driven from office earlier this year, to press for measures tightening access to guns and raising the minimum wage that have been stymied by legislative Republicans. In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin, a deeply unpopular Republican, refused to concede the election to his Democratic challenger, Attorney General Andy Beshear. With 100 percent of the precincts counted, Mr. Beshear was ahead by 5,100 votes. Mr. Beshear presented himself as the winner, telling supporters that he expected Mr. Bevin to 'honor the election that was held tonight.'" ~~~
~~~ Philip Bailey & Joe Sonka of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers threw another wrench into the state's razor-thin gubernatorial outcome late Tuesday night, saying that the legislature could decide the race. Stivers' comments came shortly after Gov. Matt Bevin refused to concede to Attorney General Andy Beshear, who led by roughly 5,100 votes when all the precincts were counted. 'There's less than one-half of 1%, as I understand, separating the governor and the attorney general,' Stivers said. 'We will follow the letter of the law and what various processes determine.' Stivers, R-Manchester, said based on his staff's research, the decision could come before the Republican-controlled state legislature. Under state law, Bevin has 30 days to formally contest the outcome once it is certified by the State Board of Elections. Candidates typically ask for a re-canvass of voting machines and a recount first." ~~~
~~~ How Stivers & Cohort May Try to Overturn the Election Results. Kate Riga of TPM: "Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) explained the 'antiquated' procedure, found in the state's constitution, to TPM.... ~~~ Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Democrats' claim of victory Tuesday in Kentucky's gubernatorial race, as well as the Democratic takeover of the Virginia state legislature, left Republicans stumbling and increasingly uncertain about their own political fates next year tied to an embattled and unpopular president. Many allies of President Trump rushed to explain away the poor performance of incumbent Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) as an anomaly, while other GOP veterans expressed alarm about the party's failure in a state where Trump won by nearly 30 percentage points in 2016 -- and where he just campaigned this week. Although Bevin was controversial and widely disliked, he was also a devotee of the president, embracing Trump's agenda and his anti-establishment persona. And in the contest's final days, Bevin sought to cast his candidacy as a bulwark against House Democrats' impeachment inquiry of Trump." Julia Terruso of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "The political forces that shaped last year's midterm elections showed no signs of abating Tuesday, as voters turned on Republicans and establishment Democrats alike in races from Philadelphia and Scranton to the suburbs of Delaware and Chester Counties.... Locally, Democrats will hold all five seats on the Delaware County Council, a Republican stronghold since the Civil War, and also assumed a majority on the legislative body in Chester County. In Bucks County, Democrats captured the Board of Commissioners for the first time since 1983. And in Philadelphia, a third-party insurgent candidate weakened an already marginalized GOP by securing one of the at-large City Council seats reserved for minority parties -- a seat Republicans have held for decades." Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "Juli Briskman, who famously flipped off ... Donald Trump's motorcade in a viral 2017 photo, won her race Tuesday night for a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in Virginia. Briskman, a former marketing executive and local Democratic activist, unseated eight-year incumbent Republican Suzanne Volpe. She will represent the Algonkian District on the board, which serves more than 400,000 residents.... Briskman made national news in October 2017 when a White House photographer traveling with the president snapped a picture of her riding her bicycle and giving the middle finger to Trump's motorcade as it passed her.... Her employer at the time, government contractor Akima LLC, fired her over the photo. Briskman went on to sue Akima LLC. In the meantime, one of her friends set up a GoFundMe page for Briskman, a single mom of two, which raised a whopping $142,000." ~~~ ~~~ Paul Schwartzman of the Washington Post (via the Bangor Daily News): Briskman "acknowledged that her notoriety helped her raise $150,000 for the race.... As it turns out, Briskman's district includes a certain golf course owned by a certain president." Mrs. McC: That would be the Trump National Golf Club. Let's hope Briskman can find something wrong with the club's tax status or something. Put some $$$ on that middle finger. Chantal Da Silva of Newsweek: "For the first time in nearly 40 years, Democrats have taken control of Columbus, Indiana -- the hometown of Vice President Mike Pence. On Tuesday, Columbus voters saw four Democrats elected to City Council seats, with only three Republican incumbents claiming re-election victory." Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "The world's people face 'untold suffering due to the climate crisis' unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists.... The statement was a collaboration of dozens of scientists and endorsed by further 11,000 from 153 nations. The scientists say the urgent changes needed include ending population growth, leaving fossil fuels in the ground, halting forest destruction and slashing meat eating." --s Beyond the Beltway Florida. Where Not to Live. Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post: "The librarians of Citrus County, Fla., had what seemed like a modest wish: A digital subscription to the New York Times. For about $2,700 annually, they reasoned, they could offer their roughly 70,000 patrons an easy way to research and catch up on the news. But when their request came before the Citrus County commission last month, local officials literally laughed out loud. One commissioner, Scott Carnahan, declared the paper to be fake news.' 'I agree with President Trump,' he said. 'I will not be voting for this. I don't want the New York Times in this county.' In a move that is generating intense online backlash, all five members of the commission agreed to reject the library's request. The discussion took place Oct. 24, the same day the Trump administration announced plans to cancel federal agencies' subscriptions to the Times and The Washington Post. While there's no apparent connection -- the Citrus County meeting began several hours before the Wall Street Journal broke the news of the new edict -- the controversy unfolding in central Florida highlights how politicians nationwide are parroting the president's disparaging rhetoric about the media." (Also linked yesterday.) Way Beyond Syria. Juan Cole: "The semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeast Syria today accused Turkish forces of conducting ethnic cleansing campaigns in the Kurdish region they have occupied between Tel Abyad and Ra's al-Ayn.... The Kurds called on the United Nations to intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing, and urged it not to fall for the Turkish ploy of bringing in its mercenaries and characterizing them as 'refugees.' Despite an agreement between Turkey and Russia that Ankara would halt its invasion, Foreign Policy reports that Turkey is attempting to go deeper into Syria than the 20 miles it had agreed upon, which will result in more Kurds being displaced." --s (Also linked yesterday) U.K. Dan Sabbagh & Luke Harding of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson was on Monday night accused of presiding over a cover-up after it emerged that No 10 refused to clear the publication of a potentially incendiary report examining Russian infiltration in British politics, including the Conservative party [before the coming elections, despite being approved for release]...Fresh evidence has also emerged of attempts by the Kremlin to infiltrate the Conservatives by a senior Russian diplomat suspected of espionage, who spent five years in London cultivating leading Tories including Johnson himself. It can now be revealed that Sergey Nalobin -- who once described the future prime minister as 'our good friend' -- lives in a Moscow apartment block known as the 'FSB house' because it houses so many employees from the Kremlin's main spy agency ... Committee members were ... briefed on an extraordinary -- and for a while an apparently successful -- attempt to penetrate Conservative circles by Nalobin, who instigated a pro-Kremlin parliamentary group, the Conservative Friends of Russia. Conservative Friends of Russia held its 2012 launch party in the Russian ambassador's Kensington garden, with about 250 Russian and British guests present, including Tories who went on to play a prominent role in the referendum campaign." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~ ~~~ Patrick Wintour of the Guardian: "Universities are not adequately responding to the growing risk of China and other 'autocracies' influencing academic freedom in the UK, the foreign affairs select committee has said. The report, rushed out before parliament is suspended pending the election, finds 'alarming evidence' of Chinese interference on UK campuses, adding some of the activity seeking to restrict academic freedom appears to be coordinated by the Chinese embassy in London." --s
Hadas Gold & Donie O'Sullivan of CNN: "A controversial policy allowing politicians to run false ads on Facebook will extend to the United Kingdom as the country prepares to vote in a historic December election, Facebook confirmed to CNN Business. The policy is being championed by Facebook executive Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom who himself once complained about 'lies' spread during the 2016 Brexit referendum." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
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Reader Comments (33)
Oh no! Whatever this is, I hope it is not serious and that you will be back very soon. Do not know what I would do without Realitychex in the morning and checking for late morning and afternoon updates.
Get well soon!!!
Pat
I'm betting on just a single night for observation only.
I'll try to help out if I can figure out how to get into the page editor again.
Us old folks is tough. You'll be back slinging! All the good vibes the old dawg can conjure.
I'll be praying for you. How does an agnostic do that, you wonder.
Put all beliefs aside and think positive thoughts.
You'll be back soon. I'm thinking only positive thoughts. Ciao.
"I gut nuthin'"
I sincerely hope that this is what happened in the hospital and that nuthin is wrong with you now.
Speedy recovery.
Sending best wishes for a good diagnosis and a speedy recovery. From a faithful fan.
You see Marie how much you are loved? You best tell that doctor of yours to hurry up and fix you proper and if we all could we would be by your bedside and sing happy songs and maybe even toss down some brew and wish you a speedy get up and go.
I've said this before but you have made this site an oasis in the desert for which we are eternally grateful.
Get well fast! Thanks for all your efforts.
Dear Bea, Mrs. McC. & Marie of Romania,
I’ve just returned from voting with time to log-on to RC. (! ! !)
If we knew - and were local to - each other (and you were to wish), I’d happily serve as your MTh (Yup - licensed by The State of NY), lay advocate & all purpose gopher. Besides the aforementioned, I’ve been on the In Patient receiving end. I’m practiced in both sides.
“Sending” you healing thoughts and vibrations from NYC. And while those words make for a New Age-y translation of “thoughts & prayers”, they are most sincere.
Rest. Recover. Return. Rejoice!
Wishing you strength and good health Mrs. Bea McC. You have been on the front lines bearing the stress of transmitting and translating the daily bad tidings from the WH, which we are so appreciative of. If a vacation is part of the prescription, you really deserve it. Get well soon. We'll miss you.
Tuesday’s Election Results
November 5, 2019 at 10:00 p.m. EST
Democrats projected to flip Virginia Senate and House, taking control of state government for the first time in a generation
“Democrats gained control of both houses of the Virginia General Assembly Tuesday, with election results suggesting that the party had completed a historic sweep of the state’s government.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/polls-open-in-virginia-balance-of-power-in-state-government-is-at-stake/2019/11/05/bdb57972-ff5b-11e9-8501-2a7123a38c58_story.html
Kentucky Governor Results / November 5, 2019 9:02 pm EST
Democrat Andy Beshear Defeats Republican Matt Bevin
“It’s a win for Democrats in a very conservative state.”
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/5/20949770/kentucky-governor-election-results-andy-beshear
Marie,
Please tell that doctor to do whatever quickly (and painlessly)! We’ll try to carry on until your hopefully rapid recovery.
Poetic Justice
Virginia cyclist who flipped off Trump wins Loudoun County seat representing his golf club
November 5, 2019 at 10:41 p.m. EST
“A legion of reasons propel political neophytes to run for office, but none may be as unusual as what inspired Juli Briskman, the cyclist who gave President Trump the finger two years ago and found herself without a job and at the center of a national uproar.
On Tuesday, Briskman got a new job, winning a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors — ousting a Republican in the process.
‘It’s feeling fantastic, it’s feeling surreal,” Briskman, 52, a Democrat, said by telephone as she celebrated her victory. ‘The last two years have been quite a ride. Now we’re helping to flip Loudoun blue.’”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-cyclist-who-flipped-off-trump-wins-loudoun-county-seat-representing-his-golf-club/2019/11/05/e8aa11dc-003d-11ea-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html
Dearest Bea,
Hope you will be feeling fine and dandy soon, safe and cozy in your own bed. Wishing you all the best.
Marie,
I am frequently amazed that you have been able to sift through the morass of (increasingly awful) news on a daily basis and provide a cogent summary for us to digest, if we can bring ourselves to look at the screen. There are days when my head is ready to explode, just from looking at the tasty morsels served up here. Best wishes!
Sarah Okeson is guilty of lazy writing when she writes:
The Federalist Society is providing lists of names, not appointing judges. The appointing is being done by the [expletive deleted] Republicans under the direction of [family blog] Mitch McConnell.@Bea McCrab: You've given your readers quite a jolt! Hope your hospital stay is short and that you'll be just fine! Warmest wishes for a quick recovery—and back to providing us with your pithy reviews!
Another old atheist who would pray for you if I knew which direction to face. I hope you are well soon. Thanks Marie.
Bea/Marie,
Not much good at the cheery get well soon sort of thing, but am doing my best. Grateful as I am to Safari's contribution, I already miss Bea's acerbic presence and am sitting here this morning grunting in mental effort to send continent-spanning thoughts her way that might hasten her return.
We wish you a speedy and full recovery, Marie.
Ken and Anne
Oh noooo! So sorry to hear you have been imprisoned-- stay away from the food! Tea and toast will keep you happy... Adding my good wishes to those spinning your way. I am imagining you digested one too many pithy/pissy remarks by Ms. Lindsey and "fool poisoning" was your fate! All jokes aside, you mean a lot to us-- take good care of yourself and get back out here on the front lines soon. We will miss you, our port in a storm!
Marie: the worst part should be that you are not allowed to laugh until the stitches close!*
Seriously here's hoping for painless resolution and full speedy recovery.
*no, I have no information about Marie's condition, the stitches reference is just essential to the joke.
Looks like we have our very own Superman––our hero who saves the day––safari––we thank you sir, for taking up the reins; much appreciated!!!!
And wow! look who makes an appearance: Jack Mahoney–-so good to hear from you again.
But back to business: Here is a piece by Chris Hedges that I urge you to read–-it's not pretty and it sort of socks you in the gut. He starts out by telling us this:
"Our democracy is not in peril––we do not live in a democracy. The "image" of our democracy is in peril. The deep state––the generals, bankers. corporates, lobbyists, intelligence chiefs, government bureaucrats and technocrats –––is intent on salvaging the brand."
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-enemy-within/
Billy Barr has been a busy boy and I think when all the rats are deconed he will join the party.
Are the results in Kentucky and Virginia harbingers for 2020? One swallow doesn't make a summer but here we see a few more birds that landed on that political branch.
And Marie––if you're listening–-could you keep us informed as to your situation? We don't want your emails, we want YOU!
And on to politics:
The impeachment inquiry is revealing the existence of what should be the isolationist, anti-UN, build-a-wall, hide-in-the-heartland tin foil hat Republican's worst nightmare, and they, of course, are too dim to discern it:
An international cabal of monied thugs in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Russia, Brazil, pulling the strings, and the Pretender is not just among them, but eagerly dancing to their tune.
Oh, the painful irony...
Civility for me but not for thee...
So, one of the states with the closest proximity to the toxicity of the Orange Menace and his party of thugs and traitors has gone the other way, turning the state bright blue.
Then I hear that soon-to-be former Speaker of the House in Virginia, Kirk Cox, is finger-wagging at Democrats instructing them that now would be a good time for them to remember the importance of civility.
This is straight out of the confederate playbook. When in power, screw the opposite side any way you can. When out of power, whine and cry and plead for civility, leaving voters to think that it's the Democrats who are vicious assholes.
It's hysterical that a member of the Party of Traitors, who supports a treasonous, violence promoting thug, is all of a sudden interested in civility. When in power, R's couldn't spell the word if they had an open dictionary in front of them with the entry circled in red. Because then it's time for winning at all costs, for ratfucking with glee, for character assassination, lying, scheming, gerrymandering, purging voter rolls of Democrats, and generally assaulting not only decency and civility, but the law as well. All in the name of "We're the Only Ones That Matter".
But as soon as they're in the shade, it's time for Emily Post.
Okay, Kirk, we'll make sure the Democrats all wear white gloves and sip their tea properly.
Right after your\ass is out of the speaker's chair.
Maybe the trip I just made to the backyard compost pile in the foggy dark brought it to mind but I now remember one of my right-wing father's many bogeymen: The Tri-Lateral Commission (wonder what happened to it?) a purported cabal of internationalist puppeteers whom in his later years my increasingly paranoid father feared controlled his life.
Whatever that bogeyman was, I would like to ask my father, whose notions of strict morality had him on his knees every night praying to his God, if he'd now be willing to trade that awful Commission even up for a Pretender, a Giuliani and a Pompeo.
Here's Ryan Grim's breakdown of the results of yesterday's votes: Note what he has to say about Biden:
Trump flipped the bird
Nov 6
Public post
Since 2016, there has been a slew of special elections and three general elections — 2017, 2018, and 2019. All have gone terribly for Republicans. Tuesday night was a mess for them. The deeply unpopular Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin -- who Trump rallied for, begging voters not to humiliate him by letting him lose -- lost to Attorney General Andy Beshear, whose father, as a former governor, expanded Medicaid.
Bevin went after the health care law, trying to roll it back, and also tried to strip teachers of their pensions. And people fought back.
If that wasn’t humiliating enough, remember Juli Briskman? She was the Virginia lady on the bike who famously flipped Trump’s motorcade the bird in 2017 and lost her job for it. Now she’s an elected official.
She was one of scores of wins in Virginia, as Democrats flipped the Senate and will now fully control the state government. Ralph Northam, who never resigned, now has a window to push through sweeping progressive change in the state.
In both Kentucky and Virginia, Republicans ran heavily on this “infanticide” nonsense, accusing Democrats of being literal baby killers. It is notable — and Democrats should take notice, but they probably won’t — that the anti-abortion messaging, despite how hard Republicans pounded on it, did not work for them. Abortion is now a losing issue for Republicans.
In Scranton, Pennsylvania — Joe Biden’s birthplace — an insurgent who refused to run as a Democrat, saying she didn’t trust the corrupt local party (a wise move in Scranton) beat the Democrat in the mayoral race.
In Philadelphia, the Working Families Party went all in, backing two candidates who ran third-party bids. Typically, WFP allies with Democrats, but this time they ran on their own, aiming for two spots the city charter reserves for minority party councilmembers. Since the ‘50s, those seats have been held by Republicans. It looks like at least one of those, Kendra Brooks, is going to win, knocking out a Republican and shifting the balance of power left in the city council. Here’s Akela Lacy on that race.
The Kentucky race has implications for Mitch McConnell, as one of the potential candidates who’d be most formidable against him, sports radio host Matt Jones, said he was watching Bevin’s race before deciding whether to get in. Amy McGrath, who’s already in, has more than $10 million but virtually no chance to win. Charles Booker, a a progressive Louisville state legislator, is also looking at the race. He told me tonight to “stay tuned!” when I asked if he was jumping in.
Joe Biden, meanwhile, spent the evening with a small group of ultra-wealthy donors, at a fundraiser hosted by a fracking developer and a health care industry executive. He used his time there to go after Warren for being “elitist.”
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) is out with its first endorsements of the 2020 cycle: Kara Eastman (NE-2), JD Scholten (IA-4), Dana Balter (NY-24), Jessica Cisneros (TX-28), Arati Kreivich (NJ-5; running against Josh Gottheimer), Morgan Harper (OH-3), Marie Newman (IL-3), Rep. Katie Porter (CA-45), and Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49).
They also endorsed Stephen Smith, running a very interesting populist campaign for governor in West Virginia.
New piece in ProPublica about Pence's meddling (mild descriptor) in USAID, favoring Christian groups of his choosing, while ignoring established process for selecting recipients.
"Last November, a top Trump appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development wrote a candid email to colleagues about pressure from the White House to reroute Middle East aid to religious minorities, particularly Christian groups......Decisions about U.S. aid are often no longer being governed by career professionals applying a rigorous review of applicants and their capabilities. Over the last two years, political pressure, particularly from the office of Vice President Mike Pence, had seeped into aid deliberations and convinced key decision-makers that unless they fell in line, their jobs could be at stake."
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-mike-pences-office-meddled-in-foreign-aid-to-reroute-money-to-favored-christian-groups
Rest easy. Recover quickly. No worries. See you back as soon as you can return. Miss you.
Peace and love sent your way!
Mulvaney dismissed DiJiT's letter invitation to Zelenskii to visit the White House:
"... Mulvaney said. “I don’t remember a serious conversation about setting up an actual meeting. There were no dates discussed.” "
(Daily Beast linked above)
That letter appears to have been drafted by someone in the State Department (where such letters would normally be drafted) who had not been clued in to the drug deal. The fact that it got out of State indicates that the whole Department was unaware of the shakedown.
It would normally have been cleared by someone on Bolton's staff if not Bolton himself; those NSC people could either have been out of the drug deal loop (it was May, before most could see that things weren't as they should be) or they let it move forward to see what Mulvaney would do.
Mulvaney doesn't actually run a competent White House staff, so the letter got to DiJiT's desk.
DiJiT will sign anything put in front of him, secure in the knowledge that he can fire people if he later doesn't like what he did.
But the letter went out.
No wonder everyone was confused.
For Mulvaney later to say that inviting a foreign head of government is just being polite, with no intention of follow-through, reveals jaw-dropping stupidity. Once a President signs off on such an offer the receiving party NEVER stops trying to cash it.
Marie,
Welcome back. Hope the answers to the remaining question(s) are good news.
On another subject.
Don, Jr.: Chip off the old blockhead.
https://nypost.com/2019/11/06/donald-trump-jr-tweets-possible-identity-of-white-house-whistleblower
Don't know if all the quotations are reliable, but most of this rings true.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/thanks-to-trump-booster-rand-paul-russian-media-are-naming-the-alleged-ukraine-whistleblower
In short, many Russians and one important Syrian acknowledge that our doofus leader is good for our enemies. Almost wrote "his enemies," but that might be a mistake.
Very much hope you're feeling better soon, Marie.
Lotta love out here for you.