;)
The Commentariat -- October 21, 2017
Afternoon Update:
With Obama's "Re-education camps" Defeated, Dr./Mrs. Tom Price Wants to Establish HIV Colonies. Politico: "The lawmaker wife of former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price asked this week whether the government could quarantine people with HIV to limit transmission of the virus that causes AIDS. Betty Price, a Georgia state representative from the Atlanta suburbs, made the inquiry during a Georgia House of Representatives study committee meeting about barriers to accessing adequate care. Price, an anesthesiologist, raised the question during an exchange with the director of the Georgia Department of Public Health's HIV/AIDS epidemiology section." Mrs. McC: This has been the top story on Politico for much of the day Saturday. I'd guess most readers -- even those familiar with Dr. Betty's husband Dr. Tom -- can't believe anyone could be such a monster. ...
... As Forrest M. asks, "Wouldn't it be better to work on getting a little more money for research and treatment? No, I guess not."
Akela Lacy of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday continued the White House's ongoing war of words with Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) over his response to the deaths of four U.S. troops in Niger. 'I hope the Fake News Media keeps talking about Wacky Congresswoman Wilson in that she, as a representative, is killing the Democrat Party!' President Trump tweeted Saturday morning." Mrs. McC: If you want to know what they're saying on Fox "News" but you can't stand to watch, just check TrumpyTweets. As for "killing the Democrat Party," I'd say Wilson is showing people how she stands up for her constituents.
O Really, O'Reilly? Emily Steel & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Last January, six months after Fox News ousted its chairman amid a sexual harassment scandal, the network's top-rated host at the time, Bill O'Reilly, struck a $32 million agreement with a longtime network analyst [-- Lis Wiehl --] to settle new sexual harassment allegations, according to two people briefed on the matter -- an extraordinarily large amount for such cases. Although the deal has not been previously made public, the network's parent company, 21st Century Fox, acknowledges that it was aware of the woman's complaints about Mr. O'Reilly.... It was at least the sixth agreement -- and by far the largest -- made by either Mr. O'Reilly or the company to settle harassment allegations against him. Despite that record, 21st Century Fox began contract negotiations with Mr. O'Reilly, and in February granted him a four-year extension that paid $25 million a year.... But by April, the Murdochs decided to jettison Mr. O'Reilly as some of the settlements became public and posed a significant threat to their business empire."
Raphael Minder of the New York Times: "The escalating confrontation over Catalonia's independence drive took its most serious turn on Saturday as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain announced that he would remove the leadership of the restive region and initiate a process of direct rule by the central government in Madrid. It was the first time that Spain's government had moved to strip the autonomy of one of its 17 regions, and the first time that a leader had invoked Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution -- a broad tool intended to protect the 'general interests' of the nation. The unexpectedly forceful moves by Mr. Rajoy, made after an emergency cabinet meeting, thrust Spain into uncharted waters as he tried to put down one of the gravest constitutional crises his country has faced since embracing democracy after the death of its dictator Gen. Francisco Franco in 1975."
*****
Today in the Kakistocracy:
Trump World Runs on Venom, Spite & Sadism. Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "Millions of Americans with insurance through the Affordable Care Act could find themselves locked into health plans they do not want for the coming year because of the Trump administration's schedule for the enrollment season that starts in less than two weeks. The complication arises when people who already have health plans under the law are automatically re-enrolled in the same plan. In the past, a few million consumers each year have been auto-enrolled and then were sent government notices encouraging them to check whether they could find better or more affordable coverage. This time, according to a federal document obtained by The Washington Post, the automatic enrollment will take place after it is too late to make any changes. Auto-enrollment will occur immediately after the last day of the ACA sign-up season, which the Trump administration has shortened, leaving the vast majority of such consumers stranded without any way to switch to a plan they might prefer." Emphasis added.
Ken Dilanian & Courtney Kube of NBC News: "A senior congressional aide who has been briefed on the deaths of four U.S. servicemen in Niger says the ambush by militants stemmed in part from a 'massive intelligence failure.'... There was no U.S. overhead surveillance of the mission, he said, and no American quick-reaction force available to rescue the troops if things went wrong. If it weren't for the arrival of French fighter jets, he said, things could have been much worse for the Americans."
David Choi of Business Insider: "... Donald Trump said White House chief of staff John Kelly was 'offended' that a Congresswoman was listening to the commander in chief's condolence call to the widow of one of the four US soldiers in Niger.... 'He was so offended, because he was in the room when I made the call and so were other people,' Trump said. 'And the call was a very nice call. He was so offended that a woman would be -- that somebody would be listening to that call.'" ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Okey-dokey. It's "offensive" that "somebody ... a woman" would listen to a conversation which unnamed White House staffers also overheard. I suppose that's not a double standard because a despot & his minions are way more equal than others. ...
... Louis Nelson of Politico: "[Sarah Sanders] on Friday aggressively defended chief of staff John Kelly's accusations against a Florida congresswoman, denying that he had misrepresented her remarks during a FBI field office dedication and slamming the famously behatted Rep. Frederica Wilson as 'all hat, no cattle.'"
... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a reporter Friday that it would be 'highly inappropriate' to get into a debate with 'a four-star Marine general' over whether he misstated facts." It's worth reading the whole report of the exchange. Mrs. McC: I have never or seldom heard such arrogant horseshit."...
... Brandon Carter of the Hill: "Old tweets posted by President Trump in which he attacked generals resurfaced Friday after the White House said it was 'inappropriate' to criticize them.... In July 2016, Trump called out retired four-star Gen. John Allen, saying he 'failed badly' in the fight against ISIS and called his record 'BAD.'... In September of last year, Trump also attacked retired four-star Gen. Colin Powell for 'his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: And what about that time a year ago when Trump told Matt Lauer, "I think the generals have been reduced to rubble.... They have been reduced to a point where it's embarrassing to our country." Then he insinuated he would fire them and get "different generals." How "appropriate" was that, Ms. Huckleberry?
... David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "A video of a 2015 dedication of an FBI building in South Florida shows that White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly was wrong when he stated Thursday that Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.) had boasted of securing funding for the project. Kelly's criticism of Wilson, during which he referred to her as an 'empty barrel,' drew swift denials from the congresswoman's staff and denunciations from her supporters, who said the retired Marine Corps general was inaccurate and out of line. A White House spokesman issued a statement Thursday evening saying the White House stands by Kelly's account.... [Kelly said in the briefing that Wilson] 'talked about how she was instrumental in getting the funding for that building, and how she took care of her constituents because she got the money, and she just called up President Obama, and on that phone call, he gave the money, the $20 million,'... But a video from the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale of Wilson's remarks at the April 10, 2015, dedication shows that she said no such thing.... Wilson did recount [at the dedication ceremony, which Kelly also attended] how she went into 'attack mode' to ensure that Congress and Obama expedited a bill to name the building after two fallen FBI agents.... When initially told that such legislation could take as long as a year, Wilson recalled, 'I said -- I'm a school principal -- and I said, excuse my French, "Aw, hell no, we're going to get this done.'" Wilson spread credit to others for helping in the effort, including House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). She also told the stories of the heroism of the two agents." ...
... The New York Times report, by Yamiche Alcindor & Michael Shear, is also a good read.
... The Sun-Sentinel video of Wilson's full speech is here. ...
Dear Gen. Kelly, A word of unsolicited advice: the next time you plan to go out & lie about somebody, make sure there's no video tape. Hint: if prominent public figures attend an event of local interest, there's apt to be a recording. s/Mrs. Bea McCrabbie. P.S. You did make a total ass of yourself, you know, and you won't be able to live it down.
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I'll bet Kelly is writing his letter of apology to Wilson right now. And Ms. Huckleberry is phoning up reporter Chip Reid to apologize, too. Oh, no, turns out she was ready with a follow-up lie. From Wagner's report: "Pressed on the discrepancy Friday by veteran CBS News correspondent Chip Reid during the daily news briefing, Sanders said that Wilson had 'also made quite a few comments that day that weren't part of that speech and weren't part of that video that were also witnessed by the many people who were there.' Asked by Reid what those comments were, Sanders characterized them as 'exactly' what Kelly had described during his appearance in the briefing room Thursday." Tarring & feathering is way too good for that giant, lying sack of shit. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: It's possible that Kelly truly did not remember what Wilson said in her speech. Unless somebody says something unusual, I don't necessarily remember what-all s/he said a couple of years later; I may recall only a "general impression" of the tone & thrust of the speech. But if Kelly "misremembered" what Wilson said, it's because his impression of Wilson's remarks was highly negative, so negative that it morphed in his mind to something different -- and worse. So you have to ask yourself what caused Kelly's negative feelings about Wilson. Was she too assertive? Too "unsacred"? Too powerful? Too black? Whether Kelly purposely made up the gist of his attack on Wilson or if he accidentally "forgot," he has exposed himself as just another Trump sycophant willing to trash Trump's critics with lies, galling sanctimony, and more than a touch of misogyny & racism. If he thought his little speech would change some hearts & minds, he was right. I had not formed an opinion of his character before, and now I have. As his boss would say, "It's not good." ...
... Washington Post Editors: "WHITE HOUSE Chief of Staff John F. Kelly owes Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.) an apology.... To bolster [his negative] characterization [of Wilson], he offered up his remembrance of the dedication of the FBI building in memory of two FBI agents who had been killed in the line of duty. He claimed Ms. Wilson used the occasion to take unseemly credit for securing federal funding for the building.... Mr. Kelly got it all wrong. [Wilson] did not say she got money for the building. She was generous and graceful in sharing credit for how legislation naming the building was fast-tracked. And she spent most of her nine-minute speech praising the FBI agents killed in a gunfight with drug dealers." ...
... Dara Lind of Vox: "... when Kelly waxed nostalgic about the days when certain things were 'sacred' -- women, religion, and battlefield sacrifice -- he wasn't just echoing the complaints of so many who support Donald Trump.... He was saying that there are Americans who have kept the flame of American greatness alive -- those who serve the country for a living -- and that the best thing the rest of America can do is keep a respectful distance. Maybe it's an understandable bit of chauvinism from a career Marine. But that doesn't stop it from being a worrisome attitude when it becomes an unquestioning fealty to anything those people can do while in uniform. Kelly's rhetoric can be reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's character Col. Jessup in A Few Good Men -- 'I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it' -- but Jessup was the villain." ...
... John Donnelly of Roll Call: "In the hours after ... Donald Trump said on an Oct. 17 radio broadcast that he had contacted nearly every family that had lost a military servicemember this year, the White House was hustling to learn from the Pentagon the identities and contact information for those families, according to an internal Defense Department email. The email exchange, which has not been previously reported, shows that senior White House aides were aware on the day the president made the statement that it was not accurate -- but that they should try to make it accurate as soon as possible, given the gathering controversy. Not only had the president not contacted virtually all the families of military personnel killed this year [as he said], the White House did not even have an up-to-date list of those who had been killed.... Since [Trump made his false claim], the Associated Press contacted 20 families and found that half had not heard from Trump.... The internal document also sheds light on how the White House staff, on this and other occasions, has had to go into damage-control mode when the president makes inaccurate statements." ...
... Hey, Don't Forget It's "Character Counts Week"! How'd That Go? David Graham of the Atlantic: "First the president, and then his chief of staff, made a series of easily disprovable false claims. Trump, by needlessly calling attention to his condolences to soldiers, revealed himself to have been negligent. Meanwhile, his untruths about both calling the soldiers and, based on [John] Kelly's account, the content of his call have managed to somehow even further degrade his honesty. Kelly, too, has besmirched himself. Like H.R. McMaster, he entered the Trump administration enjoying nearly universal respect.... Kelly is demonstrating how quickly the job of defending Trump can destroy a carefully earned reputation. Between his own inaccurate account of the Florida event and [Sarah] Sanders's doubling down on his version, reporters will now know just how seriously to take Kelly when the White House next sends him out to try to clean things up." ...
... Steve M. is not worried about a military coup. He thinks Trump is too cowardly to engineer it.
... Weird Update. Judd Legum of ThinkProgress: Lara Trump -- wife of Eric -- told Fox "News" she had read a transcript of the conversation between her fat fucking father-in-law & Mrs. Johnson, and she pretty much confirmed what Rep. Wilson & John Kelly said about the conversation. "Lara Trump, paraphrasing the conversation, says her father-in-law told Johnson 'your husband went in to battle, you know, knowing that he could be injured, knowing that he could be killed.'... It's also unclear why Lara Trump [-- who is not a government official & does not work in the White House --] would have access to official White House transcripts of the call while the general public does not.... Update: ... Sarah Sanders denies there is a transcript of the call." Who are you going to believe? Somebody dumb enough to marry Eric or somebody who stands on a podium & lies most every day of the week? Its' a conundrum. ...
... Oh, Mah Stahs & Gahtahs. Mrs. Wilson Has Given Mr. Graham the Vapahs. Addie Baird of ThinkProgress: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Friday that Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) 'started something that was rude' by questioning Trump about his comments to a Gold Star widow. '[Wilson] is not a big fan of the president,' Graham said, talking to reporters at the Capitol Friday. 'I think she started something that was rude. I would never do that.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Oh, like that time way last month when you accused Jimmy Kimmel of spouting "absolute garbage" even though the "absolute garbage" was actually your own bill?
Brianna Ehley, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump overrode his own advisers when he promised to deliver an emergency declaration next week to combat the nation's worsening opioid crisis. 'That is a very, very big statement,' he said Monday. 'It's a very important step. ... We're going to be doing it in the next week.' Blindsided officials are now scrambling to develop such a plan, but it is unclear when it will be announced, how or if it will be done, and whether the administration has the permanent leadership to execute it, said two administration officials.... Trump's off-script statement stunned top agency officials, who said there is no consensus on how to implement an emergency declaration for the drug epidemic, according to interviews with officials from the White House, a half dozen federal agencies, state health directors and lobbyists."
Trump Erases Advice & Consent Clause from Constitution. Andrew Restuccia & Nahal Toosi of Politico: "The Trump administration is pushing the limits of an obscure federal law that restricts nominees from serving in federal positions before they're approved by the Senate. A Politico review has identified four officials at three different agencies doing substantially similar work to the position for which they have been nominated -- despite not yet getting a green-light from the Senate.... Lawyers and other experts said the moves -- including by the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget -- to have unconfirmed nominees show up for work appears to skirt the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which prohibits most people who have been nominated to fill a vacant government position from performing that office's duties in an acting capacity." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This idea of checks & balances among the three branches of government is so 18th century.
When the President Does It, It's to Protect His Own Interests. Seung Min Kim & John Bresnahan of Politico: "... Donald Trump has personally interviewed at least two potential candidates for U.S. attorney positions in New York, according to two sources familiar with the matter -- a move that critics say raises questions about whether they can be sufficiently independent from the president.... The Southern District of New York is an especially notable position since it has jurisdiction over Trump Tower. Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney there, has said he had been told that Trump would keep him on despite the change in administrations. Yet he was among those abruptly fired by Trump in March. 'It is neither normal nor advisable for Trump to personally interview candidates for US Attorney positions, especially the one in Manhattan,' Bharara tweeted Wednesday.... Documents submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year showed Trump met with Jessie Liu, the candidate for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, earlier this spring as she was being interviewed for the federal prosecutor post.... 'The U.S. attorney for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York -- like the U.S. attorney for Washington D.C. -- would have jurisdiction over many important cases, including those involving President Trump's personal and family business interests,' [Sen. Dianne] Feinstein [D-Cal.] said in a statement Thursday. She added: 'There's no reason for President Trump to be meeting with candidates for these positions, which create the appearance that he may be trying to influence or elicit inappropriate commitments from potential U.S. attorneys. U.S. attorneys must be loyal to the Constitution -- not the president.'" ...
... "The Extraordinary Arrogance of Trump." Paul Callan of CNN: "The President has the legal right to conduct such interviews because as the nation's chief executive he is the nominal head of the entire Justice Department and is also the highest ranking law enforcement authority in the United States.... Exercising this right, though, is an act of extraordinary arrogance by a President who should have learned a lesson from the Comey and Bharara fiascos. The real question many will have is whether the President is using personal interviews to either demand or inspire loyalty from his newly minted federal legal top guns."
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Reader Comments (10)
Often hard to figure what people are thinking and even more difficult to be certain what motivates their thoughts and the actions that follow them.
Gen. Kelly, who I understand it would be inappropriate for me to criticize, presents exactly that kind of problem. Why? one has to ask.... if one might ask an honest question or two without seeming to criticize.
Is Gen. Kelly's public reputation as even-tempered, if a bit buttoned down, and entirely incorruptible simply overblown?
Or can one get by with certain thought patterns and locutions in the military that simply won't fly in more public discourse?
Of is he simply the kind of old school chauvinist who anyone who knew him well would have feared was bound to say something embarrassing in the glare and under the pressure of the peering public eye?
Or is he proof the raging epidemic of corruption that infests the Executive so virulent that no one in its reach can long remain immune?
Not criticizing, but still wondering like mad.
Ken,
But say you did intend some criticism of John Kelly. According to SHS, you would be waaaay out of line. No one criticizes a four star Marine general!
Oh yeah? Since when?
First, the guy is now a lying political apparatchik taking taxpayer money working for the lyingest president in history. Since when is asking questions of or being critical of a political operative considered beyond the pale? Well, I suppose if you’re talking about an authoritarian junta or a dictatorship. Or the Trump administration.
These people find new ways everyday to upend and defile the norms of an open and democratic society. So now you can’t criticize the glorious leader, you can’t criticize the military, and you can’t even ask political operatives a question about their proven lies. No wonder Trump loves anti-democratic, fascists and authoritarian strongmen.
I’m not worried about WWIII as much as I’m concerned about Trump’s War on America and democratic standards. He’s as dangerous and ignorant a demagogue as we’ve ever seen in this country.
Bea inspired me:
Sarah Sanders: Big mouth, all horseshit.
That this woman thinks one cannot criticize a four star General (and I imagine anyone high up in the military) is ludicrous. As reporters seem to be getting more aggressive in their questions to her, they need to be even more so. Someone should have asked her "why."
Here's an alternate reading of Kelly's remarks to the press:
Trump is in a characteristic rage. He orders Kelly to go out in public & defend his president against all the fake news. Kelly is appalled by the idea, he's upset that Trump has invoked the memory of his son, but he eventually agrees to meet the press. In the course of the unsettling conversation with Trump, the presidunce asks Kelly if he knows “that woman.” Kelly lets on that he met Wilson a couple of years back at a federal building dedication in Miami. At some point, Kelly tell Trump Wilson was one of the speakers. “Oh yeah? What did she say”? Trump asks. Kelly can't really remember, but he tells Trump he thinks she went on about how she got federal money to construct the building. “Well, you put that in that she's just a stupid, ugly braggart,” the Biggest Braggart of All Time says.
As Kelly is hastily preparing his remarks, he asks a staffer to Google the event to see if s/he can find an account of the speech; maybe reports will show some unsavory remark Wilson made that Kelly can use to defame her, as Trump asked him to do. Oops! The staffer finds out Wilson's speech was mostly about praising the heroism of the FBI agents for whom the building was named; that is, when she wasn't praising Republicans John Boehner & Marco Rubio for helping her get the building named for him. But Kelly feels he has to stay true to the account he gave Trump, so he makes something up & publicly lies about his remembrance. Maybe he figures he'll get caught. Maybe he doesn't think that's a bad thing – it will show the public what-all he has to go through to work in the Trump-crazy White House. And he does all this – he trashes his own reputation – to stay in the White House & save us from Trump. He's a hero!
@PD Pepe: I have a pretty elastic imagination, but I can't come up with a single scenario that might even partially vindicate Sanders.
Lock 'em up! Tom Price's wife, Betty Price, Republican state
Representative of Georgia, says people with HIV should be
quarantined, and the U.S. would be safer if they "died more readily
as in the past".
This is a Representative of the people of her district, all of the
people. Wouldn't it be better to work on getting a little more
money for research and treatment? No, I guess not. That would
show empathy, which is anathema to her kind.
But her husband could spend a fortune flying around the country by
private jet on the taxpayer's dime and think nothing of it. These
people!
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/people-hiv-quarantined-says-georgia-
185021729.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=1_03
In the meantime, while all this foofaraw is swirling around Kelly and Sarah Sanders, Trump has just given himself the power to recall 1,000 retired pilots to active duty in the Air Force.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/20/air-force-recall-many-1-000-retired-pilots-address-serious-shortage/785344001/
He has done so "by expanding a state of national emergency declared by President George W. Bush after 9/11."
That's SIXTEEN years of a state of emergency.
This is what dictatorship looks like, my friends.
@Mrs. McCrabbie: You nailed my thoughts perfectly on a likely behind-the-scenes scenario that went down re Kelly's remarks on Wilson, et al. BTW wonder if Kelly's a drinking man? Can only image the liquor stock he needs to maintain his sanity! (Or, for that matter, anyone else who is a member of this presidunce's* Cabinet).
Couldn't watch the Paul Ryan video (linked yesterday), gave up after about four or five minutes. I know, one usually sez: after a (comedic/or other fail) "...don't give up your day job." In this case, hey Ryan...GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB as well!
A $32 million settlement in a sexual harassment case?? No one pays that kind of money for something that, according to Loofah Boy, “never happened”. A lot of money paid out by the Murdochs and their shareholders for stuff that “never happened”. And I’m not talking just about Loofah Boy. I’m talking about the guy running Fox News and half a dozen other sexual predators slithering through the fairly unbalanced swamp.
Despite Loofah Boy’s legion of lies and laughable protestations of complete wingnut patriotic innocence, no one pays that kind of dough unless abuse occurred, was frequent, documented, and can be proved.
The fact that all those holier than thou right-wing Christians continue to have their noses glued to Fox 24/7 is proof of one of two things. Either they see no problem with women being sexually harassed and molested, or they’re despicable hypocrites.
Probably both.
Vodka tonics for all after reading that wonderful Betty Price, perfectly mated with her monster husband, wants to quarantine people with HIV/AIDS and hopes they die soon. Will not allow Paul Ryan's nasty voice to enter the house and The Worst President In History has gifted himself with retired pilots instead of training new ones... the gift that keeps on giving. Bring on the vodka. Happy Saturday, everyone...
It's OKIYAFR - it being sexual harassment, criticising generals*, slagging off Gold Star families and so on and on. I know that senior military people can be so far up themselves they see daylight, and I'm very uncomfortable with all these generals* in such senior government positions. A big brave general* setting up for a fight with a black, Democratic Congress woman is a threefer for the base.
The questions that should be asked are why is Africom intelligence (at #108) at 30% of what they need? Why were these forces compromised due to lack of intelligence, and only finally covered by the French? Two scoops donny and Mr. Rex, and that other general*, Matthis, are responsible for the deaths of these four soldiers. Why haven't they told us exactly and accurately what happened? They expected the Obama administration to tell us precisely what happened within hours of Benghaaaazi? Why are Africom required to operate without the resources they need? Dems should go for the jugular. Why am I hearing crickets? I want to hear Toooongo Toooongo for the next three years.
A gracious "merci" to M. Macron wouldn't go astray.
If you think the * means I don't respect these generals*, you'd be correct.