;)
The Commentariat -- October 25, 2017
Afternoon Update:
Betsy Woodruff of the Daily Beast: "Alexander Nix, who heads a controversial data-analytics firm that worked for ... Donald Trump’s campaign, wrote in an email last year that he reached out to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about Hillary Clinton's missing 33,000 emails. Nix, who heads Cambridge Analytica, told a third party that he reached out to Assange about his firm somehow helping the WikiLeaks editor release Clinton's missing emails, according to two sources familiar with a congressional investigation into interactions between Trump associates and the Kremlin. Those sources also relayed that, according to Nix's email, Assange told the Cambridge Analytica CEO that he didn't want his help, and preferred to do the work on his own. If the claims Nix made in that email are true, this would be the closest known connection between Trump's campaign and Assange.... Robert and Rebekah Mercer, a billionaire father-daughter duo that spent big to boost Trump's presidential candidacy, are major investors in Cambridge Analytica." ...
... Adam Blake of the Washington Post: "The Post is reporting that the dossier's author, [Christopher] Steele, wasn't brought into the mix until after Democrats retained Fusion GPS. So while both sides paid Fusion GPS, Steele was only funded by Democrats.... Despite there being no proof the FBI actually paid Steele, Trump suggested it might have in a tweet last week -- along with 'Russia ... or the Dems (or all).' Of those three groups, only Democrats have been reported to have actually paid Steele. And again, that was already kind-of known.... Given Democrats' argument that Russia's interference on Trump's behalf was beyond the pale, the Clinton camp and the DNC paying a Brit for information would seem somewhat problematic.... But ... the British after all are, unlike the Russians, America's allies. Also, Steele was not acting as an agent of a foreign government, which is what would likely be required to prove collusion in the case of the Trump campaign and Russia. Separately, the firm that the Clinton camp and the DNC paid also has alleged ties to the Kremlin.... The firm has worked with both Democrats and Republicans over the years."
Javier Hernandez of the New York Times: "Xi Jinping of China has so many titles -- more than a dozen and counting -- that he has been called 'chairman of everything.'... On Wednesday, he gained another five-year term as the party's general secretary and introduced a new leadership team with no clear successor, prompting speculation that he intends to rule beyond the customary second term." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Look for some jealousy-fueled tweets from our own Little King, knocking Xi & threatened another international crisis between two nuclear powers. The president of us* still doesn't get why he has not been anointed the "President of Everything."
Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "A pregnant undocumented teenager in federal custody whose attempt to have an abortion set off a monthlong legal battle with the Trump administration terminated her pregnancy on Wednesday morning. She underwent the procedure a day after a court ruling forced federal officials to allow it. The teenager, who is 17 and is identified in court documents as Jane Doe, tried to illegally cross the border in Texas in early September and was apprehended. Her pregnancy was discovered during a physical exam, and since then she had been fighting in court to have an abortion."
Flying While Black. Lori Aratani of the Washington Post: "The nation's oldest civil rights organization, citing a 'troubling pattern of disturbing incidents,' urged travelers -- particularly those who are African American -- to rethink whether they should fly with American Airlines. In a statement released Tuesday night, officials with the NAACP said the travel advisory would remain in effect 'until further notice.'... In issuing the advisory, NAACP officials cited four recent incidents of 'troublesome conduct' by the airline and said they ''suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias on the part of American Airlines./ The incidents involved black passengers being removed from flights for various reasons...."
*****
Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Senator Jeff Flake, the Arizona Republican who has tangled with President Trump for months, announced on Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in 2018, saying he 'will no longer be complicit or silent' in the face of the president's 'reckless, outrageous and undignified' behavior. Mr. Flake made his announcement in an extraordinary, 17-minute speech on the Senate floor, in which he challenged not only the president but also his party's leadership. He deplored 'the casual undermining of our democratic ideals, the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedom and institutions, the flagrant disregard for truth and decency' that he said has become so prevalent in American politics. The remarkable moment came just hours after Mr. Trump had renewed his attacks on another critic in the Republican Party, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, saying he 'couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee.' Mr. Corker, appearing more weary than angry, said the president 'is debasing our country.'" ...
... Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "President Trump renewed his attacks on Senator Bob Corker on Tuesday, chastising him for his skepticism over a $1.5 trillion tax cut. Mr. Corker responded by going on national television to say that Mr. Trump was 'debasing' the United States and that the president struggled with the truth. Mr. Corker 'couldn't get elected dogcatcher in Tennessee,' Mr. Trump wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday. Mr. Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, is not running for re-election after serving in the Senate since 2007.... Mr. Corker, who supported Mr. Trump in the 2016 presidential election, told CNN on Tuesday that he would not do that again." The story includes each of Trump's insulting tweets about Corker. Mrs. McC: Right off the bat, I spotted two lies in the tweets -- lies which the media have exposed. Another of many instances in which Trump not only lies, he sticks to his lies. ...
... Calvin Woodward of the AP: "TRUMP tweets Tuesday: 'Bob Corker, who helped President O give us the bad Iran Deal & couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee, is now fighting Tax Cuts.'... THE FACTS: Trump, who spelled Tennessee right the first time, continues to label Corker an enabler of the Iran nuclear deal when he was a leading critic of it.... Trump contended, also in a tweet, that Corker decided not to seek another term next year because he 'couldn't get re-elected.'... But the president has not substantiated his claim that Corker made that decision because he failed to secure his endorsement.... In fact, Trump urged Corker to run during a private meeting in September, AP learned. And Corker's chief of staff, Todd Womack, said Trump called Corker after that to ask that he reconsider his decision to leave the Senate. Trump 'reaffirmed that he would have endorsed him, as he has said many times,' the aide said." ...
... Nolan McCaskill of Politico: Sarah Sanders "on Tuesday fought back against blistering attacks from Sens. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, calling the retiring Republicans 'petty' for their harsh words about ... Donald Trump while praising their exits as 'the right decision.'" Mrs. McC: Apparently Sanders doesn't know that "petty" means "small." Corker & Flake went big. ...
... Charles Pierce: "It is true that Flake had a long push up a dirt road to get re-elected, and it is also true that his departure, along with that of Brave Bob Corker, accelerates the process by which the Republican majority in the Senate is transforming itself into a babbling replica of the Republican majority in the House, a process that is evidence enough of the virulence and the spread of the prion disease that has been eating away at the party's higher functions for four decades.... It's hard to parse Flake's logic as anything but abject surrender to the monster that finally chewed itself out of the lab.... I find it hard to reconcile this existential threat to the country's politics with Flake's decision to leave office instead of fighting it.... His party is bound to get crazier, and the president* is completely around the bend." ...
... MEANWHILE. Three Cheers for Trump. Profiles in Cowardice. Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Just hours after publicly trading insults with a key GOP senator..., Donald Trump kept to the script and held a 'productive,' hour-long meeting with Senate Republicans, according to several senators. Trump outlined at length his accomplishments since taking office, and hen asked for Senate Republicans to help him push through a major tax-reform package. The assembled GOP senators responded to Trump's appearance with three standing ovations." Emphasis added.
Trump Sends Pence out to Help Financiers Screw Customers. Jessica Silver-Greenberg of the New York Times: "Senate Republicans voted on Tuesday to strike down a sweeping new rule that would have allowed millions of Americans to band together in class-action lawsuits against financial institutions. The overturning of the rule, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-to-50 tie, will further loosen regulation of Wall Street as the Trump administration and Republicans move to roll back Obama-era policies enacted in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. By defeating the rule, Republicans are dismantling a major effort of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog created by Congress in the aftermath of the mortgage mess. The rule, five years in the making, would have dealt a serious blow to financial firms, potentially exposing them to a flood of costly lawsuits over questionable business practices."
E-Mails! Russia! Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Leading House Republicans announced on Tuesday two new probes, one into how the Obama administration's Justice Department handled a deal that gave Russia control over 20 percent of the U.S. uranium supply and the other into how it investigated Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state. The parallel investigations -- both of which involve the House Oversight Committee working in cooperation with another panel -- formally revive issues that the Trump campaign used to try to discredit his Democratic rival during the 2016 presidential race and later the conduct of then-FBI Director James B. Comey. Democrats were quick to charge that the GOP-led probes were 'designed to distract attention' from the various investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including alleged ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin." Mrs. McC: No kidding. Looking forward to more slapstick antics from chair Devin Nunes. ...
... Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times has a more detailed story on these farces. "Representatives Elijah E. Cummings and John Conyers Jr., the top Democrats on the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, said in a joint statement that the investigations amounted to 'a massive diversion to distract from the lack of Republican oversight of the Trump administration and the national security threat that Russia poses.'" ...
... Louis Jacobson & John Kruzel of PolitiFact attempt to explain the Russian uranium story.
A Tale of the Dossier. Adam Entous, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about President Trump's connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said. Marc E. Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, to conduct the research. After that, Fusion GPS hired dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community, according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... Fusion GPS gave Steele's reports and other research documents to Elias." ...
... Ed Kilgore describes th revelation as "another blow to the reputation of the Clinton campaign, and at a minimum a distraction to the work of federal investigators looking into the Trump-Russia connection." Mrs. McC: I actually think it's great that Clinton, indirectly, introduced us to the "golden rain" story. But then I'm meaner than a junkyard dog. Too bad Hillary never used it. ...
... Kevin Drum: "This is nuts. Republicans are now planning an investigation into the ridiculous myth that Hillary Clinton turned over America's precious bodily fluids uranium to the Russians. Also Devin Nunes apparently has more to say about her emails. And I guess the infamous Steele Dossier is also up for grabs.... Has anyone notified Republicans that Hillary lost and will never be running against them again?"
Jeff Toobin expounds on Mitch McConnell's latest means of turning the federal judiciary as a bastion of right-wing ideologues. McConnell is refusing to honor the "blue slip" tradition of allowing home-state senators to effectively nix a presidential appointment. Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link, & for her comment. Mrs. McC: There is no circumstance in which it would make sense to use the term "fair play" & "Mitch McConnell" in the same sentence. McConnell is no turtle; he's a snake.
Et Tu, Poppy? Tom Porter of Newsweek: "Former President George H.W. Bush has apologized for an 'attempt at humor' after being accused of sexual assault by actress Heather Lind. Lind, in a now-deleted Instagram post Tuesday, accused Bush, 93, of touching her from behind during a photo-op while in his wheelchair. She said Bush's wife, Barbara, was standing beside him during the 2014 photo-op for American Revolutionary War drama Turn: Washington's Spies. 'He didn't shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side. He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again. Barbara rolled her eyes as if to say 'not again'.'" ...
... Akhilleus: This is an attempt at "humor"? Laugh? I thought I'd die. Even "funnier", Lind was told by Poppy's security staff that it was her fault for standing so close to the ex-president's wheelchair. She should know better. She was just egging him on. What is going on here? Old guys in wheelchairs are still grabbing women then saying it was just a joke? And Barbara was right there? Jesus.
Paul Ryan: A Tower of Jello. Bob Bryan of Business Insider: "House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday deflected questions about the escalating war of words between President Donald Trump and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee hours ahead of a GOP policy lunch on tax reform....' So all this stuff you see on a daily basis on Twitter this and Twitter that, forget about it,' Ryan said. 'Let's focus on helping people, improving people's lives, and doing what we said we would do that accomplishes that. That's what we're focused on.'"
...Akhilleus: According to Man of the People, Lyin' Ryan, the attacks by Senators Flake and Corker on Trump amount to little more than an inconsequential dust up, a Twitter feud. First, only Trump the Coward used Twitter to express his position. Flake stood up before the entire Senate and Corker appeared live on CNN to deliver their messages. Weasels like Ryan who are not man enough to anything but grovel simply wish the whole thing can go away so they can back to the business of fleecing the voters. The last thing an amoral slug like Ryan wants is a national debate about the hollow, wretchedly deceitful state of the Republican Party.
Numbers Don't Lie: FiveThirtyEight. Tracking the pro-Trump votes taken by Bob Corker and Jeff Flake. Corker voted with Trump 86.3% of the time. Jeff Flake, 90.0%.
...Akhilleus: Their declarations of woe at the state of the nation under Trump are belied by their decisions to side with Trump on pretty much everything he wants. If these guys are the saviors, we're in bigger trouble than we imagined. And if you have a chance, run down the list of things they voted on with Trump. The vast majority are repeals of Obama era regulations and laws, things like repeals of environmental, banking, employment, healthcare, and consumer safeguards.
News Ledes
Rolling Stone: "Fats Domino, the genial, good-natured symbol of the dawn of rock and roll and the voice and piano behind enduring hits like 'Blueberry Hill' and 'Ain't That a hame,' died Tuesday at the age of 89.... A contemporary of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, Domino was among the first acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was reportedly only second to Presley in record sales thanks to a titanic string of 11 top 10 hits between 1955 and 1960."
ABC News: "Two men were fatally shot early Wednesday morning on the campus of Grambling State University in northern Louisiana, authorities said. The suspect fled the scene, according to the Lincoln Parish Sheriff's Department, which said it doesn't believe the suspect was a GSU student. The suspect has not been apprehended. Police said they believe there was an altercation in a dorm room on campus, which led up to the shooting in a courtyard outside."
Share Article
Reader Comments (17)
"I Rise today to say, ENOUGH!" Jeff Flake
Margaret Chase Smith was the first senator in her day to stand up and call foul on Joe McCarthy–-her colleagues remained silent.
Senator Ed Brook was the first Republican to have the guts to stand up and disparage Nixon. He was one of a dying breed–-a liberal Republican. He was also black.
Last night on MSNBC Mickey Edwards and Gordon Humphrey, both former Republican senators of stature, were in agreement that Trump needed to go––that he was a toxic influence on the country and on the party. They also encouraged the Republicans now in Congress, which they emphasized is the first branch of government, to ignore Trump and carry on without him.
What happened yesterday on the Senate floor was huge. If other republicans follow suit in even small ways, which probably isn't going to happen, we are on our way for significant change. But even without others following suit the cat is now out of the bag and it looks bedraggled, angry and near death.
But Jeet Heer wonders:
"Flake thinks that the Trumpization of the GOP is temporary, arguing, “This spell will pass, but not by next year.”
"But Flake’s own actions raise the natural question: Isn’t the Trump spell likely to last all the longer if anti-Trump Republicans retreat from politics?"
AOL post: "Poll: Fewer than a third of Americans back Trump tax plan". This will influence nothing.
@PD Pepe: What is aggravating these "maverick senators" is not Trump's policy - as if he had any consistent policies -- but his behavior.
For instance, the only GOP senators to vote yesterday against a strong consumer protection rule were Lindsey Graham & John Kennedy (La.) That is, Trumpence, Flake, Corker, McCain, et al., were all on the same page in favoring Wall Street over its victims.
These "brave" senators are fine with Trump's acts of destruction; they just want him to whack the American people more politely -- and without insulting them personally.
These senators are not my idea of heroic champions of the average American.
@Bea–-I agree.
Something that has been on my mind even without Kate's constant reminder of judicial seats, is the many federal judges that need to be placed. A tradition called the "blue slip" which was recently wielded by Al Franken, has long allowed senators to block judicial nominees from their home state, but it looks like McConnell is not going to honor this. This means that Trump's pick for the many now vacant seats will be filled with young (mostly men) highly qualified, deeply conservative with records that suggest hostility to voting rights, women's rights, gay rights, etc. Here's the run-down by Jeffrey Toobin:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/will-democrats-lose-their-last-tool-to-block-trumps-worst-judicial-nominees
Regarding Flake, Corker, and McCain, I've said before that it's important to remember that it's not as if any of these guys have been champions of democracy and fair play prior to this. All of them, at some point, have toed the line for Trump. McCain famously did not on one very important point, and he deserves credit for that, but I'm not sure that he didn't do it to stick a finger in the eye of a coward who called him a loser for being a POW.
The other guys have nothing to lose now. I'm looking for a Republican who has it all on the line and will stand up and say "Enough." I'd like to think that Flake's broadside yesterday might cause one or two of them to saddle up and begin turning things around but I have zero faith in anyone in congress with an R after their name. Zero. It's nice that Murkowski and Collins helped save what was left of the ACA but they'll still pull the lever for plenty of other Trumpish offal.
As the Flakes and Corkers (and even McCains) are extirpated, the Senate will be moving more and more into LaLa land. We make fun of the whack jobs like Gohmert and Farenthold, but pretty soon the Senate will be full of clowns just as stupid.
The most amazing thing, to me, is that we are rapidly getting to a place (almost there now) where we will be ruled by a cowardly president, a cowardly House, and cowardly Senate. And low information voters and those with fantasy axes to grind against the hated others, will vote these jamokes right back in.
It's even more ridiculous that almost all of these people are outraged by what they deem as disrespect for the flag and the anthem when my question to them is "Whatever became of the home of the brave?" What we have now is the hovel of the whiners, the fearful, and the haters.
Although it's commendable to hear senators stand up and speak their mind, it's not brave unless they've got something to lose.
Ain't that a shame? Fats is dead!
There are many other obits I'd rather find in the news these days! Darn.
Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) really should join the gang of Senate GOP "dissidents," because I really want to write about Boozman, Corker & Flake, which sounds like a good name for, say, a Kentucky law firm.
Mrs. B,
Sounds like a corker of a story for flakes on the booze.
Silly Randy, Science is for Grownups!
Well, it prob'ly comes as no surprise that a guy who certifies himself as a "doctor" able to stick sharp objects in your eye is no fan of the concept of peer review. The idea of professional and learned review has been around since Henry Oldenburg, secretary of the Royal Society, developed it in the 17th century. Peer review has long stood as a bulwark against bullshit and the sort of skullduggery popular in Confederate circles.
Which likely is why Li'l Randy is now very much against it. Then again, he could just be THAT fucking stupid.
Yup. The Littlest Libertarian has put forward legislation that "...would fundamentally alter how grant proposals are reviewed at every federal agency by adding public members with no expertise in the research being vetted."
Got that? Jamokes with "no expertise in the research being vetted" will make the decision on funding. Sound like a good idea?
The basis of peer review, according to Wikipedia "...is the process of subjecting an author's scholarly work, research, or ideas to the scrutiny of others who are experts in the same field..."
But that's just too high falutin' and stuffy for a reg'lar guy like Li'l Randy. Pshaw to all that "expertise" flummery. Let's invite Joe the Plumber to give us his opinion on human genome research. I'm sure he'll have all sorts of wicked cool ideas. "Hey, how 'bout we find the gene that makes lib'ruls so fuckin' studid. Heh-heh-heh." Yeah, Joe. Sounds like just the thing we should spend money on.
Aqua Buddha is also concerned--terribly concerned--that taxpayers aren't getting their money's worth by scientific research that is not wingnut approved. There has to be some kind of clear payoff, or else. The fact is that much research doesn't necessarily have an immediate monetary return. That's why they call it "research proposal", not "business plan".
And if the idea of letting Joe Shit the Ragman make decisions on proposed environmental, medical, and physics research projects isn't enough for you, Li'l Randy also proposes to gut the National Science Foundation's ability to conduct in-house oversight of projects it funds, as well as disallowing any objections to "citizen reviewers" who might have a conflict of interest. So, a study on the release of toxins into the environment could be reviewed by a lobbyist for the chemical industries and deep sixed by that guy. Sure, why not? And leave us not forget that the Little One is the same idiot who once screamed that Ebola could be transmitted by someone looking at you the wrong way. How the fuck did he ever get a degree in science?
It's not just Trump we have to worry about. Every single one of these pretentious lamebrains and ideological misanthropes is a danger to us, the United States, and the world.
Too bad about Fats. Somewhere in the great musical beyond, he's walkin' to New Orleans. I was lucky enough to see him once, years ago. He killed.
Fare thee well, big man.
@Akhilleus: Why, you seem to be suggesting that the self-certified doctor does not know what "peer review" means. Au contraire. It's true he didn't know, so he looked it up. Due diligence!
Anyhow, he found out that "peer" means "look keenly or with difficulty at someone or something." In fairness to your supposition, Randy did get a little mixed up with "review" and "revue," & he ended up determining it was a kind of low comedy show.
Ergo, Li'l Randy's understanding of "peer review" is a bunch of clownish dummkopfs unable to make sense of a bunch of long-winded grant proposals with big ole words & graphs & all. Government of, by and for the people. Clearly, there is no place for biased, elitist scientists & pointy-headed experts nosing around a "peer review" (or "peer revue," if you want to be precise).
Stick it in your eye, you Democrat regulatin' bureaucrats.
Mrs. B.,
A "peer" revue could also have a burlesque quality to it. Perhaps some ophthalmological ogling is involved. In light of the news of Poppy doing something a bit more than ogling, and given the pussy-grabbing predilections of the little king, it wouldn't surprise me to find that a wingnut revue involving peering would be of the salaciously voyeuristic variety.
Any way you look at it, any and every thing to do with Confederates these days involves perfidious scumbaggery and a louche loathsomeness that debases everyone coming into contact with their odious worldview.
Ewwww...a well soaped shower is highly recommended.
To get your minds off the news of the day, always "sad".
Today is International Pasta Day. Have been collecting dozens
of different pastas since the last trip to Italy. Every village seems
to have something different.
I'm sure Melania is cooking up something terrific, pasta wise, for
the president*. Nah, none of that foreign stuff for confeds.
Forrest,
In celebration of International Pasta Day (gives me an excuse to do pasta tonight, btw), pasta makers have been busy creating specially designed styles just for il piccolo re:
Twitterini: twisty curlicues of insult dough
Pussigrabini: say no more
Douche di baggo: ditto
Accidentini di mafiosi: spaghetti for criminal shits
Vaffaculini: 'nuff said
Odio democratziatini: for haters of democracy; special for Trumpado
Melania can choose from any of these for il piccolo re. I'd suggest ketchup on top. He won't know the difference.
FOUR QUITTERS WALK INTO A BAR...
to swap stories from an administration they couldn't serve. This is a most interesting collective–-with pictures!
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/trump-quitters/
the terrible turnip may not be the president of everything but....
he is the <P>resident <O>f <S>omething aka TuPOS