;)
The Commentariat -- September 15, 2017
Afternoon Update:
It Ain't Just Facebook. Alex Kantrowitz of BuzzFeed: "Google, the world's biggest advertising platform, allows advertisers to specifically target ads to people typing racist and bigoted terms into its search bar, BuzzFeed News has discovered. Not only that, Google will suggest additional racist and bigoted terms once you type some into its ad-buying tool. Type 'White people ruin,' as a potential advertising keyword into Google's ad platform, and Google will suggest you run ads next to searches including 'black people ruin neighborhoods.' Type 'Why do Jews ruin everything,' and Google will suggest you run ads next to searches including 'the evil jew' and 'jewish control of banks.'"
Joel Currier & Christine Byers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Former St. Louis police Officer Jason Stockley was found not guilty Friday of murdering a man while on duty. St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson's highly anticipated verdict found the white former St. Louis police officer not guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the December 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith, a black drug suspect, after a high-speed pursuit and crash.... Protesters began gathering immediately. They tried to get on Interstate 64, but were blocked by police.... Police pepper-sprayed a few protesters in the early afternoon as they tried to block police from traveling on Tucker Boulevard between Clark Avenue and Spruce Street. More than 100 police, many with batons and riot shields, were there."
Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "... Donald Trump demanded an apology from ESPN on Friday 'for untruth,' days after one of the sports network's highest profile employees called the president 'a white supremacist. 'ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming),' Trump tweeted Friday morning. 'People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!' Trump's tweets were the president's first comments on the dispute between the White House and ESPN's Jemele Hill, a black journalist who co-hosts 'SportsCenter.'" ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I'd just like to take a moment to congratulate CNN on its choice of sports commentators. Host Brooke Baldwin had on a couple of "experts" discussing the Jemele Hill case. (See Akhilleus's commentary below [Update: now times two].) So this white guy prefaced his remarks with this: "I believe in two things -- the First Amendment & boobs." I am on meds, & I wasn't in the room with the teevee or paying much attention, but I did not make a mistake here. The "expert" did not say "boos" or "boons" or "boules." He said "boobs." So, well, no wonder this guy is so fond of free speech & all. And this is why I leave sports news to Medlar. ...
... Update. Okay, here's John Aravosis of AmericaBlog with video. The "expert" is named Clay Travis, & he works for -- you guessed it -- Fox Sports. Baldwin cut short the segment. Mediaite has video of the full segment.
Adam Cancryn of Politico: "Sen. Bill Cassidy Friday sought to rally support for the last-ditch Obamacare repeal plan he co-authored, saying he believes he's on the verge of winning the final votes needed to jam it through the Senate. Cassidy claims that as many as 49 GOP senators have expressed support but doesn't have a hard whip count with just days left to use a fast-track process allowing the bill to pass with a simply majority. And his search for the elusive 50 'aye' votes got harder Thursday, when Sen. Rand Paul announced his opposition."
Drew Harwell & Amy Brittain of the Washington Post: "On a weekend in early March, during one of seven trips by Trump and his White House entourage to the posh Palm Beach property since the inauguration, the government paid the Trump-owned club to reserve at least one bedroom for two nights. The charge, according to a newly disclosed receipt reviewed by The Washington Post, was $1,092. The amount was based on a per-night price of $546, which, according to the bill, was Mar-a-Lago's 'rack rate,' the hotel industry term for a standard, non-discounted price. The receipt, which was obtained in recent days by the transparency advocacy group Property of the People and verified by The Post, offers one of the first concrete signs that Trump's use of Mar-a-Lago as the 'Winter White House' has resulted in taxpayer funds flowing directly into the coffers of his private business.... It is not clear whether the invoice stemmed from a one-time occurrence or represented one of many Mar-a-Lago rooms that have been booked at government expense for presidential aides or other officials since Trump took office and began traveling there on a regular basis." ...
... Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Friday escalated a battle with government ethics groups by declining, even in the face of a federal court order, to release a comprehensive list of individuals visiting with President Trump at his family's Mar-a-Lago resort during the two dozen days he spent at the private club in Palm Beach, Fla., this year.... The refusal to disclose the full list of presidential visitors' names also brings renewe0d scrutiny to the president's private business empire and raises questions about why the administration would want to withhold information that could reveal possible conflicts of interest.... Mr. Trump visited Mar-a-Lago 25 times between his inauguration and the middle of May, when the club closes for the summer."
Kevin Rawlinson, et al., of the Guardian: "An explosion that injured 22 people at Parsons Green underground station in west London was a terrorist incident, the Metropolitan police have said.... Police later confirmed the blast was from an improvised explosive device. Investigators have recovered what appears to be a circuit board from the scene and are examining it for clues. NHS England said 22 people were receiving treatment at three hospitals and an urgent care centre in Parsons Green. None were thought to be in a serious or life-threatening condition." ...
... The Guardian has live updates of developments here. ...
... Nolan McCaskill: "British officials rebuked ... Donald Trump on Friday for claiming that the individuals responsible for setting off explosives in the London subway had been 'in the sights of' law enforcement who failed to be 'proactive.' Prime Minister Theresa May reproached Trump for his rhetoric in the wake of what police are investigating as a terrorist attack.... 'I never think it's helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation,' she said. 'As I've just said, the police and security services are working to discover the full circumstances of this cowardly attack and to identify all those responsible.' Trump earlier on Friday had used the latest attack to offer tough talk on terrorism, and seemed to get out ahead of U.K. officials -- although it's unclear what information, if any, the president used to allege that the suspects 'were in the sights of Scotland Yard.' 'Another attack in London by a loser terrorist,' Trump tweeted early Friday morning. 'These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!'" ...
Martin Pengelly & Rowena Mason of the Guardian: "Trump claimed on Twitter that the terrorist attack involved 'sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard', despite no such information having been released publicly by police. He also blamed it on 'loser terrorists', promoted his travel ban and advocated a 'proactive and nasty' policy against Islamic State.... When the president tweeted, no suspect had been identified and no group or individual had claimed responsibility for the blast.... The broadcaster CBS disclosed the name of the bomber, Salman Abedi, citing US sources, at a time when British authorities were asking the media to withhold the information to protect the investigation. The New York Times then published detailed photographs of the bomb scene that had been taken by British investigators.... The security services that work under [the Foreign Office] will be infuriated by any sign that the US president has leaked intelligence information." Mrs. McC: According to TV reports, British commentators have accused Trump of -- once again -- leaking shared U.S.-U.K. intelligence.
*****
Flip-Flop-Flip-Flop, Flippity-Flip-Flop. Sheryl Stolberg & Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: "President Trump confirmed on Thursday morning that he supports legislation that would protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation and would deliver a 'massive' increase in border security -- but not with a wall on the southern border. Mr. Trump's comments, both in Washington and in Florida, affirmed the broad parameters of an agreement that Democratic leaders unilaterally announced Wednesday night after dinner with the president at the White House. In remarks to reporters as he left the White House on Thursday, Mr. Trump said, 'We're working on a plan for DACA.... The wall will come later.' Mr. Trump's comments seemed to contradict his own Twitter posts early Thursday morning when he said, 'no deal was made last night on DACA.' But they were very much in line with Democratic leaders' statements." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: That's nice. But Our Coy Mister's flip-flops are mostly a cruel game to unsettle the young people & families whose lives are directly & profoundly affected by Trump's decisions.
... Deal or No Deal? Sophie Tatum, et al., of CNN: "President Donald Trump is moving closer to a deal with Democrats that would protect hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation. But the parameters of any deal ... are up in the air as the White House and Congress grapple with the impact of a Wednesday dinner between Trump and Democratic leaders. The bombshell developments, which were first announced by Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi and reiterated by Trump himself Thursday morning, were met with immediate outrage from conservatives and put pressure on the President's Republican allies in Congress. A deal would be the second major Trump-Pelosi-Schumer pact this month, following the agreement on the debt ceiling and government spending." -- Akhilleus ...
... Maggie Haberman & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times shed some light on negotiations between Trump v. Chuck & Nancy during their White House dinner. "Senator Chuck Schumer had just finished outlining a new Democratic immigration proposal over a working dinner at the White House on Wednesday night when President Trump stopped him with a simple question: What is in it for me?" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: That's always the question, isn't it? Never mind the people who Trump & Republican MoCs would kick out of the country to satisfy their own racial biases & their bigot base. The sole consideration of Nasty party members is "What's in it for me?"
... Josh Marshall: "From what I can see, the Dems' play here is pretty straight forward. Push forward for that deal: DACA plus 'border security' minus the wall. If they get it, great. They save the Dreamers. If they don't, the process will still wreak havoc within the GOP. That coalition damage within the GOP is the second best way to save the Dreamers in 18 months. The first 'win' is far more precious. But they're both important wins in substantive and political terms." ...
... Elise Viebeck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republican leaders in Congress sought to reassert their authority with an unpredictable White House Thursday as President Trump dangled a potential deal with Democrats to allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States while postponing talk of a border wall. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), in his first public comments since Trump met with Democrats the previous night, agreed in broad strokes with his goal of protecting 'dreamers' and toughening U.S. border security. But Ryan dismissed the possible deal as preliminary discussions and insisted any agreement must have buy-in from GOP leaders. 'The president understands he has to work with the congressional majorities to get any kind of legislative solution,' Ryan said at a news conference on Capitol Hill." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yesterday, while recuperating from some minor surgery, I listened to some of the coverage on CNN & MSNBC of the latest episode of Donnie Meets Chuck & Nancy. The cable coverage included interviews with some MoCs who favored allowing DREAMers permanent status. These pro-DREAMer guys tried to answer questions about the economic impact of DREAMers. Sadly, none of these geniuses grasped the most fundamental economic benefit DREAMers promise: DREAMers, like all of us, are consumers. As it happens, DREAMers tend to be better consumers than most of us: they're younger & relatively well-educated so they need &/or want to buy a lot of stuff -- AND they qualify for jobs that provide them with the wherewithall to buy all that stuff. In a country where the population is growing older, you couldn't ask for a better way to boost the economy: a bunch of educated, assimilated young people ready on the cusp of a spending spree. We should not be debating whether or not to let DREAMers stay in the country; we should be looking around the world to find more of them.
Flip-Flop-Flip-Flop, Flippity-Flip-Flop. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Trump thrust himself back into the racial storms of Charlottesville on Thursday, repeating his charge that those resisting the neo-Nazis and white supremacists were as much to blame as the alt-right crowds who marched on the Virginia college town last month. Mr. Trump was characterizing his side of a conversation on Wednesday with Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, during which Mr. Scott, the Senate's only black Republican, said he confronted the president on his claim that 'both sides' were responsible for the violence that followed a torchlight protest against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. 'Especially in light of the advent of Antifa, if you look at what's going on there, you know, you have some pretty bad dudes on the other side also,' Mr. Trump said, referring to the anti-fascist group that clashed with neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Mr. Trump has offered constantly shifting statements about Charlottesville, alternately condemning the hate groups and declaring a moral equivalence between them and the counter-protesters." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump's defense of his "both sides" stance comes within several hours of the White House's announcing Trump would sign a unanimously-passed Congressional resolution condemning white supremacy. The AF1 remarks were inspired by the premise that Trump is never wrong & by the political expediency of reminding his racist base that he's one of them & can't help it if every member of Congress insists on dissing those nice Neo-Nazis & white supremacists.
It's All GREAT! Emily Tillet of CBS News: "[President] Trump, joined by First Lady Melania Trump, arrived at the Fort Myers area where he thanked first responders and is later slated to speak in the Naples area after he receives additional briefings on recovery efforts in the region. Vice President Mike Pence and a White House delegation of cabinet officials also joined the president on the trip. Mr. Trump tweeted early Thursday morning that he would be visiting the area to see 'our GREAT first responders and to thank the U.S. Coast Guard, FEMA etc.' He called the impacts a 'real disaster' and said that were was 'much work do.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Akhilleus: Well, no one has ever accused Donald Trump of not having a way with words. Describing the devastation of Irma as a "real disaster" and talking about "GREAT first responders" will no doubt rival Churchill's most powerful speeches of WWII. But as usual, Trump cannot resist putting his own spin on the truth, at one point saying that "power is being restored rapidly...great job!", implying imminent restoration of power. According to a story in yesterday's NY Times, power restoration will take weeks not days. According to Robert Gould of Florida Power and Light, "This is going to be a very, very lengthy restoration, arguably the longest and most complex in U.S. history...." But rather than say exactly that, Trump's choice is to grandstand. He hungers for applause even when there's no crowd. ...
... Emily Holden of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Thursday discounted any link between climate change and the intense hurricanes that ravaged Florida and the Gulf Coast while talking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from storm-stricken Fort Myers and Naples[.] 'We've had bigger storms than this,' Trump said when asked if the highly destructive Hurricane Harvey and record-breaking Hurricane Irma were changing his views of climate change." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: That's pretty funny because just hours before, on his way to Florida, Trump said to reporters, in regard to Hurricane Irma, "Historically there's never been anything like this." So what? Trump got down to Florida & discovered the storm's devastation was no big deal, after all? This loon will say anything, do anything. Presumably, he was speaking to the same travelling press in these conflicting characterizations of Irma. Why don't these stenographers ask him to make up his mind? They're content, apparently, to let the Biggest Liar have it both ways.
... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "For the second time in two weeks, President Trump visited a state rocked by a hurricane. And after drawing criticism for his lack of empathy the first time around in Texas, Trump set about avoiding that narrative in Florida. And he did it well.... Appearing in Naples on Thursday, Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Vice President Pence passed out sandwiches and bananas and shook hands with those in the Hurricane Irma-stricken community.... Trump also focused almost exclusively on empathy in his comments about the hurricane[.]... But even as he was passing the empathy test, Trump wasn't exactly shedding his skin.... While passing out food, Trump encouraged one man who complained about Barack Obama golfing during a hurricane to share that claim with the cameras. This seems to refer to the popular Internet complaint that Obama was golfing during Hurricane Katrina, but George W. Bush was president at the time. So even while empathizing and doing himself some good, Trump can't help but rehash old feuds and push dubious narratives."
Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Shortly after learning in May that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate links between his campaign associates and Russia, President Trump berated Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an Oval Office meeting and said he should resign, according to current and former administration officials and others briefed on the matter. The president blamed the appointment of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, on Mr. Sessions's decision to recuse himself from the Justice Department's Russia investigation -- a move Mr. Trump believes was the moment his administration effectively lost control over the inquiry. Accusing Mr. Sessions of 'disloyalty,' Mr. Trump unleashed a string of insults on his attorney general. Ashen and emotional, Mr. Sessions told the president he would quit and sent a resignation letter to the White House, according to four people who were told details of the meeting.... Mr. Trump told Mr. Sessions that choosing him to be attorney general was one of the worst decisions he had made, called him an 'idiot' and said that he should resign.... In addition to Mr. Sessions, Vice President Mike Pence; Donald F. McGahn III; the White House counsel; and several other aides attended the meeting.... Mr. Sessions would later tell associates that the demeaning way the president addressed him was the most humiliating experience in decades of public life.... Mr. Trump ended up rejecting Mr. Sessions's May resignation letter after senior members of his administration argued that dismissing the attorney general would only create more problems for a president who had already fired an F.B.I. director and a national security adviser. Mr. Trump once again, in July, told aides he wanted to remove Mr. Sessions, but for a second time didn't take action." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: On the bright side, it's always nice to hear someone berate & humiliate JeffBo. ...
... Ethics, Schmethics. Darren Samuelson of Politico: "The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has quietly reversed its own internal policy prohibiting anonymous donations from lobbyists to White House staffers who have legal defense funds. The little-noticed change could help President Donald Trump's aides raise the money they need to pay attorneys as the Russia probe expands -- but raises the potential for hidden conflicts of interest or other ethics trouble. 'You can picture a whole army of people with business before the government willing to step in here and make [the debt] go away,' said Marilyn Glynn, a former George W. Bush-era acting OGE director who worked in the office for 17 years." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Akhilleus: So Trump gets the OGE to reverse itself on whether or not anonymous donors can help pay for the mountain of upcoming legal bills for all Trumpy administration persons of interest in the Russia-Collusion probe. Pretty much everyone has lawyered up. That's a lot of anonymous donations. Why even bother with a fucking ethics office? Trump is just going to change the rules to suit himself, or ignore ones he doesn't like. Might as well dispense with it altogether. And once again, when a survivor of the Bush Debacle is appalled, how bad must things really be? ...
... Manu Raju of CNN: "Former national security adviser Susan Rice privately told House investigators that she unmasked the identities of senior Trump officials to understand why the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates was in New York late last year, multiple sources told CNN. The New York meeting preceded a separate effort by the UAE to facilitate a back-channel communication between Russia and the incoming Trump White House. The crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, arrived in New York last December in the transition period before Trump was sworn into office for a meeting with several top Trump officials, including Michael Flynn..., Jared Kushner, and ... Steve Bannon, sources said....Rice's previously undisclosed revelation in a classified setting shines new light on a practice that had come under sharp criticism from the committee chairman, California Rep. Devin Nunes, and President Donald Trump, who previously accused Rice of committing a crime. But her explanation appears to have satisfied some influential Republicans on the committee, undercutting both Nunes and Trump and raising new questions about whether any Trump associates tried to arrange back-channel discussions with the Russians."
Goodbye Cassini. Mika McKinnon of Astronomy: "After 13 years and hundreds of orbits around Saturn, Cassini is in its final fall towards the gas giant. Before the dawn breaks [Friday], the spacecraft will be vaporized. Now, we reflect on Cassini's many triumphs, and stand vigil to witness the spacecraft's last moments, pushing the boundaries of what engineering can do one final time. NASA's Cassini spacecraft launched on October 15, 1997, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It slung around Venus, Earth, and Jupiter, using the gravitational potential of each planet to redirect its path during its seven-year journey to Saturn.... Today, Cassini takes its final photograph, calls home with its last pre-packed data, and transitions to continuous real-time transmission to squeeze science out of every last final second before destruction. At 12:58 p.m. Pacific time on September 14, 2017, the Cassini spacecraft will look around Saturn's system for the final time." -- Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
And Hello Bridenstine! Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "If confirmed, Jim Bridenstine would be the first NASA administrator in the post-Apollo era who wasn't yet born when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. He's a politician and a Navy aviator, not a rocket scientist, whose credentials have already been criticized by Florida's two U.S. senators. And the congressman's comments expressing skepticism about the role humans have played in climate change have sparked controversy. But in the days since President Trump announced that Bridenstine was his pick to lead the space agency, the 42-year-old conservative Republican House member from Oklahoma has lined up some key support from members of Congress and industry groups." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Akhilleus: "Support builds for Bridenstine?" Of course it does! Trump looks at science denier Bridenstine as "good for business", meaning the plan of turning NASA into a wholly owned subsidiary of various for profit corporations. There's nothing wrong with making money, but NASA's mission from the beginning has been much more aligned with scientific discovery. Technologies invented for space missions have likely expanded profitable undertakings on planet Earth. But under a Trump appointee, it's unlikely any more pure science missions like Cassini will get off the drawing board. And look for another essential part of NASA's core mission to crash and burn, the careful observation and study of climate change here on Earth. So farewell Cassini, and farewell to a lot more, potentially.
Paid to Lie. Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: "Sean Spicer claims it was his job to say whatever President Trump told him to say. 'That's what you sign up to do,' the former White House press secretary said Wednesday on ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' late-night show. Revisiting his memorable briefing-room debut -- a tirade against the media in which he falsely claimed that Trump's Inauguration Day crowd was the largest in history -- Spicer basically admitted that he was willing to lie for Trump.... 'Look, your job as press secretary is to represent the president's voice,' Spicer replied, 'and to make sure that you are articulating what he believes, [what] his vision is on policy, on issues and on other areas that he wants to articulate. Whether or not you agree or not isn't your job.'.. .But do 'other areas' include matters of fact? Whether Trump's crowd was the biggest ever is not a matter of opinion. It is objectively true or false -- and it happens to be false. What Spicer is saying here is that he believes his job was not merely to defend political decisions with which he disagreed but to make false statements, if asked to do so by the president." ...
... Akhilleus: The job description for the entire Trump administration. Liars all. And is this how Spicer will be introduced in his new gig as motivational speaker? "And now, please welcome that well known paid liar, Sean Spicer! Yeah, big round of applause for Sean."
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in a Washington Post op-ed: "Since President Trump took office, he and his administration have expressed their intention to sabotage the Affordable Care Act by creating instability in state insurance markets. As governors and other leaders across the nation warned, the Trump administration's actions could threaten the health care and indeed the lives of millions of people across our nation. Unfortunately, here in Virginia, we have seen many of those fears come to fruition.... Instead of solving the problem, the Trump administration continues to sabotage the Affordable Care Act by refusing to guarantee the cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments that insurers rely upon to offset lost revenue from providing subsidies to low-income individuals. The Trump administration has furthered this instability in the insurance markets by slashing outreach and enrollment efforts by 90 percent, cutting in-person assistance funding by 41 percent and discontinuing enforcement of the mandate that people buy insurance. And, to add insult to injury, those Virginia consumers reeling from the loss of the plans they had will have only 45 days this year in which to choose a new one -- if one is available to them at all -- because the Trump administration has cut the window in which people can shop for coverage in half. These actions ... show no understanding of how insurance markets work and no concern for the impact on people's lives and health."
Paul Krugman looks for some clarity: "On Wednesday Donald Trump demanded that Congress move quickly to enact his tax reform plan. But so far he has not, in fact, offered any such plan. Not only is there no detailed legislative proposal, his administration hasn't even settled on the basic outlines of what it wants. Meanwhile, 17 Senate Democrats -- more than a third of the caucus -- have signed on to Bernie Sanders's call for expanding Medicare to cover the whole population. So far, however, Sanders hasn't produced either an estimate of how much that would cost or a specific proposal about how to pay for it. I don't mean to suggest that these cases are comparable: The distinctive Trumpian mix of ignorance and fraudulence has no counterpart among Democrats. Still, both stories raise the question of how much, if at all, policy clarity matters for politicians' ability to win elections and, maybe more important, to govern."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. As I Was Climbing up the Wall, I Found It Wasn't There at All. Chaffetz & Doocy as Deconstructionist Lit Critics. Jon Levine of Mediaite: "Fox & Friends took viewers on a trip down gaslight alley on Thursday, with the show hosts scrambling to make sense of the alleged deal between Donald Trump and 'Chuck and Nancy' to save DACA and punt the border wall until later. With the President doing major damage control this morning, it was left to ex-Congressman and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz to pick up the pieces. Chaffetz expounded on a theme from Trump this morning, insisting that the wall was 'already there.'... 'The president doesn't need Congressional authority to build the wall, it's already there,' said Chaffetz 'He needs funding so it's solely in the camp of the United States Congress to fund what the president promised he would do. He'll build it but Congress has to step up and actually fund it.'... Minutes later, Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy floated the idea that the whole wall might have been 'symbolic' and that maybe we would get to a point where 'they won't build the wall.'"
Dan Merica of CNN: "Hillary Clinton told CNN on Wednesday that it is time to abolish the Electoral College, part of a sweeping interview where the former Democratic nominee sought to explain why she lost the 2016 election. Clinton, in the interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, displayed her animus for fired FBI Director James Comey, reflected on her love for the people -- namely former President Bill Clinton -- who helped her get through the crushing loss and blasted the arcane election body that she believes helped Donald Trump win the presidency."
NEW. Andrew deGrandpre of the Washington Post: "Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government rescinded a visiting fellowship offered to Chelsea Manning, the former military intelligence analyst who spent seven years in prison for leaking classified government secrets, after the university faced forceful backlash from CIA Director Mike Pompeo among others. 'I now think that designating Chelsea Manning as a Visiting Fellow was a mistake, for which I accept responsibility,' Douglas W. Elmendorf, the school's dean, wrote in a 700-word statement released shortly after midnight Friday.... Earlier Thursday, in a stern letter of his own, Michael Morell, a former CIA leader who spent more than three decades at the agency, resigned from Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.... The school's invitation to Manning, Morell said, all but endorsed her decision to break the law.... On Twitter ..., [Manning] accused the school of suppressing 'marginalized voices' and caving to pressure from the CIA."
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd.
Julia Angwin, et al., of ProPublica: "Until this week, when we asked Facebook about it, the world's largest social network enabled advertisers to direct their pitches to the news feeds of almost 2,300 people who expressed interest in the topics of 'Jew hater,' 'How to burn jews,' or, 'History of "why jews ruin the world."' To test if these ad categories were real, we paid $30 to target those groups with three 'promoted posts' -- in which a ProPublica article or post was displayed in their news feeds. Facebook approved all three ads within 15 minutes. After we contacted Facebook, it removed the anti-Semitic categories -- which were created by an algorithm rather than by people -- and said it would explore ways to fix the problem, such as limiting the number of categories available or scrutinizing them before they are displayed to buyers."
Sam Levin of the Guardian: "Google systematically pays women less than men doing similar work, according to a class action-lawsuit accusing the technology company of denying promotions and career opportunities to qualified women who are 'segregated' into lower-paying jobs. The complaint, filed Thursday on behalf of all women employed by Google in California over the last four years, provided the most detailed formal accounts to date of gender discrimination and pay disparities at the company after months of criticisms and a growing chorus of women publicly speaking out."
** Anna Fifield of the Washington Post: "North Korea fired another missile from the Pyongyang area early Friday morning, with the Japanese public broadcaster NHK reporting that it flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said that the missile was launched from a site near the capital, Pyongyang, and fired in an easterly direction at about 6:30 a.m. local time. The Japanese government is still assessing the launch, but it immediately triggered emergency alerts in Japan."
War Games, Russian Style. Staff Reuters: "Russia accused the West on Thursday of 'whipping up hysteria' over large-scale military exercises currently underway in eastern Europe and denied charges that they were being conducted with a lack of transparency. The exercises ... started on Thursday and will last until Sept. 20. They are being conducted on military ranges in Belarus, western Russia, Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad and in the Baltic Sea. 'We reject complaints of these exercises not being transparent,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. 'We believe that whipping up hysteria around these exercises is a provocation.'... But NATO officials say the drills will simulate a conflict with the U.S.-led alliance intended to show Russia's ability to mass large numbers of troops at short notice in the event of a conflict. Amid allegations about Moscow's aggressive ambitions from its post-communist neighbors, Russia's defense ministry has said that it does not intend to use the drills as a springboard to attack Lithuania, Poland or Ukraine." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Akhilleus: Putin holds war games in which Russia demonstrates how quickly it could invade a NATO country but says that there's no reason to worry. It's like Tony Soprano showing a new shop owner in town pictures of all the guys he's had beaten up then complaining if the guy overreacts. And not for nothin' but how much will you bet me that, had this occurred on Obama's watch, a certain orange haired man now strangely living in the White House, would rip him as being weak for not immediately massing troops on the border of Belarus in response to this display of military aggression?
Senate Race
Sinners in the Hands of a Vindictive God. Andrew Kaczynski & Nathan McDermott of CNN: "Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore suggested earlier this year that the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks might have happened because the US had distanced itself from God. Moore, a hardline conservative running against fellow Republican and incumbent Sen. Luther Strange in a runoff primary race, made the comments in February during a speech at the Open Door Baptist Church...."
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Reader Comments (14)
"But Our Coy Mister's flip-flops are mostly a cruel game to unsettle the young people & families whose lives are directly & profoundly affected by Trump's decisions." (Mrs. MG)
TO OUR COY MISTER:
Had we world enough and time, sir,
your coyness might very well be fine,
But since it stinks of cogent collusion
Me thinks you are covering up a crime
Big time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It really is quite remarkable that this man who is fumbling around in the dark, grasping at everything and anything that will boost his self image is the leader of the free world. It still sometimes feels as if we are in a really bad dream and we'll wake up and say, "Whew!"
Yesterday when I watched him pass out sandwiches and bananas, I wondered again––WHAT exactly does he do? He resides––and talks–-but what exactly has he done to pass any of the things he says he wants passed. He's like an overseer, the kind that sits under a shady tree sipping a cool drink while watching and directing others.
When I read about the damage done to the AFCA by this administration (see Terry McAuliffe's piece above) the word "sabotage" is perfect. So I'm waiting––when someone will say to a Republican guest on their program who says the ubiquitous. "Obama care is a disaster" that no, it isn't but you people are insuring that it will be and then proceed to spell out the facts.
Watched the Maddow/ Clinton interview last night. A cozy exchange–-the two women connect well. The concern Hillary has with Tillerson was troubling––said he hasn't reached out to other secretaries of state –-certainly didn't reach out to her–-which is not the usual mode of operation especially when you have a job you are really not qualified for. So we are flying blind and on the seats of our pants and in a time when missiles are going off helter skelter.
Gosh, how I'd like to have a bit of Marvel's sun right now.
First of all, wow and thanks for the amazing breadth and depth of today's commentariat. We RCers are spoiled daily, expecting to find a run-down of important matters, breaking through the noise of the MSM. But today's is particularly engrossing. So many subjects to comment on:
Regarding the DACA "deal", either way it ends, we have to give Chuck and Nancy a high-five. They've moved Drumpf toward a position of protection of the undocumented, sown panic within the GOP, and clusterfucked messaging on the Confederates' part, exactly at the moment they're supposed to be doubling down on "comprehensive tax reform" (which is still MIA). I say "Bravo".
One thing I think "Chuck & Nancy" caught onto, which hasn't been commented on much, if at all, is the incompetence of the internal communications of the White House. We've seen time and again foreign leaders talking with Donald, then publishing their read-out of the talks (as per normal protocol), but with the White House team way behind schedule. Rather than a mutual understanding of the talks, they've turned into unilateral position papers, with the White House showing up late, either confirming or denying the various talking points. I think Chuck & Nancy saw this, got together, and intentionally played this weakness to their advantage. Right out of the meetings they immediately set the parameters of what occurred, and, as per usual, the Drumpfs have to counter, on the defensive. But the damage is already done, because no one really believes this administration, whether they actually accidentally tell the truth or, more likely, are lying through their teeth.
On another note: "While passing out food, Trump encouraged one man who complained about Barack Obama golfing during a hurricane to share that claim with the cameras." Our current president* is such a fucking small person. He enrages me daily with his bullshit pandering to the worst, darkest forces of our society, but his anti-Obama fetish is absolutely extraordinary. I'm starting to wonder if Drumpf doesn't secretly compare Melanie to Michelle, and his small hands to the size of Obama's And being Barak has to be so hard right now, after 8 years of believing in this country's inherent good, and reading about this psychopathic obsession and white nationalism every week. The Obamas are clearly stronger than me. I'd self-exile and say "fuck it."
Lastly: "The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has quietly reversed its own internal policy prohibiting anonymous donations from lobbyists to White House staffers who have legal defense funds." This. This is amazing. Orwell would be proud: When ethics invites corruption. And a painfully Drumpfian business model emerges:
1. Break any and all rules and norms necessary going for a project (being president* in this case).
2.Come under scrutiny by said rules broken. Scoff, grandstand, and smear everyone involved.
3.*Outsource* the costs of any legal fees accrued.
4. Get off unpunished/pay paltry fine.
OR, now, option 5. Guarantee the *pardon* pill to anyone involved.
6. Reconvene mobsters, scheme, rinse & repeat.
Made in America.
The Jemele Hill situation deserves serious contemplation and review.
The short intro, in case you haven't heard about it, is this: Hill, a co-anchor of ESPN's flagship program, Sports Center, made a comment on Twitter about Kid Rock (terrible musician and narcissistic wingnut douchebag) who is contemplating a run for the Senate and who announced that he's not a racist, that he "loves black people". Hill brought up the consistent use of Confederate flags in his act. After further discussion, Hill maintained that Trump, whom Kid Rock supports, natch, is a white supremacist.
Full stop.
Confederate heads explode all across the nation. No one can say that about the Glorious Leader! Especially not some uppity black chick! The idea. Harumph, harumph.
This outrage is channeled by none other than current Trump mouthpiece Sarah Huckabee Sanders (who gets more obnoxious by the hour) who stated that Hill should be fired for her comment. Trump also went on the rampage about "failing" ESPN with its "terrible programming!" demanding that ESPN "apologize for untruth".
Okay. Deep breath.
First things first. I don't know if Kid Rock is a racist or not. But he uses Confederate flags onstage and he supports a known racist, Donald Trump. Oh, I'm jumping the gun a bit. That bit about Donald Trump being a white supremacist? He is. That was gonna be number two. Anyway, back to Kid Rock. So here's the thing. Maybe he does "love" black people. I don't know. He started out in his career as a musician to be a rapper. He was terrible. Now, as a tweet on Hill's site reminded readers, he gave that up and is singing about Tennessee hills. Okay, fine. No big deal there. He failed as Snoop Dogg so now he wants to be Johnny Cash. Whatever. But the Confederate flags are a problem. Kid Rock grew up in Detroit. He can't fall back on the "it's my heritage" bullshit. And given the very loud controversy surrounding what that symbol meant and still means, if you foreground it, and you support racists, what do you think people are going to be saying? That you're a brother to African Americans? Or that you're a fan of the KKK?
We've already taken care of number two. Trump IS a racist. There's no getting around it. There's no denying it. His entire career has been built on racism and he is STILL doing that both sides dance about Charlottesville.
Next we come to SHS demanding that Hill be fired by ESPN for saying a something she claimed is a lie. My initial reaction is that, if she's suggesting that someone be fired for lying, how is it that she still has a job? How is it that Trump hasn't already resigned in disgrace?
Hill's problem stems from her connection to ESPN. Her Twitter page has ESPN all over it and a large part of the umbrage comes from this alignment. I don't think anyone would have had a case had she done this on the "Jemele Hill personal Twitter account" that made no mention of the network.
Now about that assessment by National Personnel Director Sanders that Hill's comment is a "fireable offense". Sanders apparently believes that the job of press secretary includes being national hall monitor and decider of the fate of Americans she doesn't like. Comey should be prosecuted. Hill should be fired. What's next, the Boston Symphony Orchestra should only be playing pieces of which Donald Trump approves?
But Sanders' demand may be treading on illegal turf. The former director of the Office of Government Ethics (ethics...remember those? Quaint old ideas now banished by Trump and his cronies), Walter Shaub, brings up a law that Sanders should know about (but doesn't, and clearly doesn't care):
"This law essentially states certain government employees -- including the president, vice president and 'any other executive branch employee' -- are prohibited from influencing the employment decisions or practices of a private entity (such as ESPN) 'solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation.'
Breaking this law can lead to a fine or imprisonment up to 15 years -- possibly both -- and could lead to disqualification from 'holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.'"
Shaub goes on to say that Sanders' remark doesn't entirely meet the "partisan political affiliation" standard--although I think you could make a good case that it does--but still and all, for someone in her position, to try to influence the hiring and firing of employees of private corporations is highly inappropriate.
Not something the Trumpies care about, though, so...
The short of this very long comment is that we are moving very quickly to a totalitarian state wherein criticism of the Glorious Leader can get you fired, and maybe soon, much worse. In fact, ESPN, according to some reports, did actually try to force Hill off the air. They now claim that there was no attempt to do so, but it appears that other potential anchors turned them down after learning of the reason. It looks like they had no choice but to let her go on. This is what's truly chilling. One word from the Glorious Leader's henchmen, and corporations scramble to make amends.
Can you see a day, soon, when gigantic pictures of the GL decorate major public spaces in this country? I can.
And worse? So can he.
"What's in it for me"?
Is that the title of Trump's memoir of his time in the White House? It's a good one. A bit of truth, for a change. Can he resign and start work on it right away, please? I'll "promise" to buy it, if so.
It seems that the Trump/Republican function has only one purpose.
'Prove' that the black former POTUS is not 10x as smart as they are.
Sorry guys, some facts just can't be hidden.
American Comment
Well, since it's Friday, I'm up for a little Kultcha, or to be more accurate, Kultcheral Criticism.
Two movies coming out shortly will be playing up what seems to have become a trend lately, films with "American" in the title, "American Assassin" and "American Made". And no surprise, they're both about white guys, guns, and blowing shit up.
A piece on bustle.com (by a writer with the wonderful film history name of Olivia Truffaut-Wong*), is worth a read if you're so inclined. Her premise is that most of these "American" films are about and largely aimed at, white males. And not just any old white males, but right-wing white males. The film "American Sniper" from a couple of years ago, became a huge hit among wingers, especially those whose view of America is that of a Valhalla for white macho men who shoot guns and kill black and brown terr'ists by the dozen.
For many on the right, macho depictions of patriotism have become a "litmus test for conservative values". You can see this in the ways even deserters and draft dodgers like The Decider, Rushbo Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, and the current Glorious Leader have left the dangerous dirty work to others but revel in the imagery of WAR and KILLING the BAD GUYS, dammit. It's become a sort of "patriotic correctness" to dismiss, with great vehemence, any talk of "diplomacy" and "peace" and go straight for the jugular with your Sylvester Stallone autographed Rambo Knife (™). Think of Bush strutting around on that aircraft carrier with his flight suit on, Trump boasting about "bombing the shit" out of his enemies, and Dick Cheney snarling about retribution from the safety of his hidey hole.
"This, in turn, begs the question: if putting 'American' in a movie title makes it political, does it now make it representational of conservative values? If the film is about the military, odds are, the answer is to be yes. American Assassin and American Sniper both embrace the the conservative platform that the United States can beat the world into submission with a superior military. It's a belief that President Donald Trump has endorsed frequently and with enthusiasm. 'Hopefully we'll never have to use it, but nobody is going to mess with us.'"
And there's a larger problem. If the term "American" becomes inextricably linked (and it pretty much has) with white male militarism, what does that say to all those non-white, non-male Americans? That you're not a real 'merican? Trump and the entire Republican Party apparatus have made that a subtext of every utterance and action of theirs for decades.
"...it's problematic if the overall trend of 'American' films align with white male conservative views. Not only does this promote the idea that patriotism belongs to one political party, it also helps create a wedge between the overwhelming majority of white men serving in political positions and everyone else (aka women and people of color)."
And this doesn't even take into account that much of this imagery is largely fictional or fantastical. The image of the take no prisoners, unbeatable American Warrior is a fantasy. And a dangerous one. The idea, which Trump runs on about at length, that our military is the Greatest Ever (and in terms of firepower, it certainly is) which can defeat any foe and overcome any obstacle, will continue to get us into trouble. Clearly, this idea of unbeatable superiority isn't true (ask Ho Chi Minh). But maintaining this fiction is an obstacle to serious real world solutions. The sight of a lying draft dodger parading his fake military bona fides across the planet is not just humorous, it's perilous.
It doesn't have to be this way. But as long as the right sees the term "American" as their sole property, it probably will be.
Just the opinion of one American.
*In case you were wondering about the name...
Olivia (de Havilland), (Francois) Truffaut, and (James) Wong (Howe). Pretty cool.
More self-serving bullshit from President* Irresponsible Piece of Shit.
London bombing timeline:
3:20 am (eastern) bomb goes off in London subway car.
6:42 am (eastern) President* I Know Everything tweets that terrorism ("loser terrorist") is to blame.
8:00 am (eastern) Metropolitan Police release a statement that says terrorism could be involved.
More than an hour before any official statements, Donaldo is whining about his travel ban.
Interestingly, I've heard many Trumpy apologists claim that the Glorious Leader could not be faulted, never mind called a racist, for waiting days before coming out and grudgingly suggesting that maybe it wasn't cool for Nazis to kill innocent protesters (but immediately backtracking on that by saying that, well you know, Nazis are people too, and pretty fine ones at that, and that murdered protester's friends were to blame as well). The reason? He was being careful, trying to get all the "facts", not rushing to judgement. You know, that sort of lying bullshit.
Facts don't matter to Trump. That whole line of defense is more suspect than the claim that Joe Arpaio is a hero.
Anyway, more crap from the crap hole.
This movie-american-whiteguy-blow stuff up type of cinema has always bothered me because of its black&white presentation of conflict and solutions for conflict.
"Dunkirk," on the other hand, makes the viewer experience the disorientation, the thirst, the cold, the damp, the claustrophobia, the terrible helplessness, the desperation of combat -- all without the audience seeing even a shadow of the enemy until the last frames. IF one is able to get a combat vet to talk about "what was war like, daddy?", you get stories like that, about the cold, the damp, the boredom, the horrible or absent food, the claustrophobia, etc. much more down in mood and many shades of dark. no black and white.
Trump's posturing about nuclear war is absolutely terrifying, because his mind, if it thinks at all, is only black and white in form. What is the purpose of ginning up the base to fight a war? Who benefits?
NYT: Trump’s Remarks on Attack ‘Unhelpful,’ British Officials Say
In other words; Trump, SHUT UP!
Is Harvard's inability to withstand the slightest nudge from conservatives a sign of coming times for the US? The administration withdrew it's acceptance of Michelle Jones to its PhD program after 2 professors flagged her application for "minimizing her crime to the point of misrepresentation". In fact staff members of Harvard's History and American Studies departments had taken it upon themselves to type Ms Jones application into Harvard's online system since Ms Jones was unable to while in prison for murder.
Later Harvard rescinded a Visiting fellowship it had given Chelsea Manning after protests from CIA directors Pompeo and Mellon. The fellowships are offered to people who have "significantly influenced world affairs" even if their actions are"abhorent to some members of our community". A definition which fits both Manning and Mellon who had resigned his Fellowship in protest against Manning. Later Manning was told she was "welcome to speak with Harvard students and perform the duties of a fellow, just without the title".
Mellon, an ex-acting CIA director has criticized the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report on enhanced interrogation techniques and is a proponent of the CIA's targetted killings by drone. In 2002-3 he gave Bush daily intelligence briefings. He told Chris Mathews in 2015 that he knew that Cheney was lying about Irag's weapons of mass destruction. He has apologized to Powell for misinformation in his UN presentation. So a man who was complicit in leading the US to the invasion of Iraq, choosing administration over country, protests one who followed her conscience. And wins
A follow-up on my earlier comment about the Jemele Hill situation.
After checking out the link Marie provided about a CNN segment in which a Fox Sports ASSHOLE came on to support right-wing attacks on Hill and make clear his abiding affinity for...boobs, I was a bit taken aback. Yup. I replayed it several times and he finally, after being asked several times by the host, Brooke Baldwin, said that one of the two things that never let him down was "boobs".
Whadaguy.
This is not just part and parcel of the Fox world, this sort of misogynistic, perverted focus on women as sexual objects (hey, I'm a guy; I like boobs too, but more importantly, I'm interested in a woman as a complete person, and parts that aren't boobs, the mind, for instance) seems to be the essence of the Fox milieu for male commentators. Not everyone, I'm sure. But it is SO prevalent (look at all the sexual harassment suits against Fox--this isn't an accident) as to be a major feature, not an aberration, of the Fox media landscape.
But I'd like to respond to what I'm sure will be the dominant attack point in this situation. And to make that point in an even more definitive way, this Fox asshole, Clay Travis, who made this comment in the first place, went on Twitter to express amazement--utter amazement--that anyone would have a problem with him stating that tits were the second most important thing in his life: "Just went on @cnn and said I only believe in two things completely, the first amendment and boobs and the host lost it."
Oh, really. And why do you think that happened?
Maybe if you weren't a chauvinistic, misogynistic creep it wouldn't have come up.
But here's another thing to consider.
Travis brings up the issue of Curt Schilling, a former baseball analyst for Fox who was fired for posting a derogatory and incendiary cartoon about transgendered people, whipping up fury, hatred, and intolerance against them.
Yes. Schilling was fired. According to Travis, he was fired for being "too conservative". No, douchemonkey. He was fired for being an intolerant bigot. And not only that, but Schilling has had a long history of such comments. This wasn't a one time thing. He's also a collector of Nazi memorabilia. Maybe if he was just a WWII collector, it might not be such a big thing, but add to that all the other bigoted statements, well, then you have a serious pattern. No such pattern exists for Hill.
And here's something else Travis forgot. Schilling was hired for his baseball knowledge. He was hired to provide color for baseball games. That's IT. Hill was hired for her opinions. Which she provided. She probably should have separated her connection with ESPN from her statement, but her job is to give opinions. Schilling's was not.
That's a yuuuuge difference. But a difference that scumbags like Travis are too dense to appreciate,.or unwilling to consider if it in any way damages their penis-oriented worldview. In journalism circles, it's the difference between a beat reporter and a feature columnist. The beat reporter is tasked with providing just the facts. "The fire department showed up and got the cat out of the tree. Mr. Jones was elated." He or she does not get to insert their opinion about how terrible it was for taxpayers that the fire department had to get Mr. Jones's kitty cat out of that tree, and how irresponsible cat owners can be. That's not his fucking job. That's the purview of the feature columnist.
So, once again, it's a case of wingers trying to make it all about "both sides", but in this situation, as in most cases, they are completely wrong. They always want to make exceptions for Confederate bigots, but those whose opinions they hate? That's different.
How you like them apples, Travis, you boob?
Victoria,
I'm looking forward to the Ken Burns "Vietnam" documentary beginning this Sunday. Listening to a review of this project, I heard a clip of a Vietcong soldier, which I was reminded of while reading your comment about the distinctly non-black and white aspects of war. This man, recalling his years as a soldier fighting in his home country, said that no one wins in a war. There are no winners.
It strikes a chord. I've never been in combat but friends who have been have told me that, in their opinion, there are only two outcomes to war: you die, or you survive. Winning and losing are abstract concepts. It's not like a football game where you're carried off the field at the end. Everyone, to an extent, loses. There are certainly instances where war is unavoidable. But considering the human carnage, it should be a last resort, unlike Bush's War of Choice. Everyone loses something.
I'm 100% convinced that ignoramuses like Trump--for whom winning is the only thing--will never understand that. Which is funny, given how often he's been a loser.
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/09/13/Tucker-Carlsons-go-to-sports-expert-is-a-racist-conspiracy-theorist-and-his-credo-is-all-w/217923
Media Matters had a post about this Travis asshole the other day showing what a misogynistic loser he is. His "satirical" book he wrote is truly appalling. His jealousy is probably driving him insane, everyone is talking about a black woman that has his dream job.
Betrump v: To deceive, cheat; to elude, slip from
A little piece for all the logophiles here.