;)
The Commentariat -- September 29, 2017
Afternoon Update:
Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday said that 'big decisions' loom about the cost of rebuilding of Puerto Rico in the wake of two severe hurricanes while relaying praise he said his administration had received from the island's governor for its recovery and aid efforts.... Trump did not clarify what 'big decision' are upcoming or how the price would factor into those decisions." Mrs. McC: I can't recall where Trump has raised this issue in regard to the Texas & Florida disasters. If you're looking for reasons Americans in the territories should be allowed to vote in federal elections, this is a big one. ...
AND now, kids, we break for a brief geography lesson from the POTUS*:
This is an island, surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water.
The lesson has concluded.
... Avery Anapol of the Hill: "San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on Friday morning ripped into acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke for calling the government's response to the devastation in Puerto Rico a 'good news story.' After hearing Duke's comments, Cruz told CNN it was 'irresponsible' to spin the island's devastation so positively.... 'Damnit, this is not a good news story,' she said. 'This is a people-are-dying story.'" ...
Gardiner Harris & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The State Department announced on Friday that it is pulling more than half of its staff out of the American embassy in Havana in the wake of mysterious attacks that have injured 21 people associated with the embassy. Some of those attacked have suffered significant injuries, with symptoms including hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance and visual problems, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping. But despite an intensive investigation by the F.B.I., the cause and perpetrators of the attacks remain a mystery, with some experts speculating that some kind of sonic weapon or faulty surveillance device may have been at fault. The department will also issue an advisory warning to American citizens who travel to Cuba that they could face unusual risks."
*****
Jesse Drucker & Nadja Popovich of the New York Times: "President Trump could cut his tax bills by more than $1.1 billion, including saving tens of millions of dollars in a single year, under his proposed tax changes, a New York Times analysis has found. On Wednesday, the White House announced a sweeping plan to cut a variety of taxes that would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy. The estimate of Mr. Trump's savings is based in part on information from his 2005 federal tax return. The analysis compares what his tax burden would be under current law with what it would be under the proposal.... 'I don't benefit. I don't benefit,' Mr. Trump said on Wednesday. 'In fact, very, very strongly, as you see, I think there's very little benefit for people of wealth.'... Mr. Trump's proposal to eliminate the estate tax would generate the largest tax savings. If his assets -- reportedly valued at $2.86 billion -- were transferred after his death under today's rules, his estate would be taxed at about 40 percent. Repealing the federal estate tax could save his family about $1.1 billion...." ...
... Heather Long of the Washington Post: "President Trump and congressional Republicans keep saying their tax plan doesn't help the rich. But that's not true. The nine-page outline released Wednesday is full of goodies that will make millionaires and billionaires happy. Republicans say it's a starting point, but it would have to be turned on its head to be anything other than a windfall for the wealthy. In fact, in nine pages, The Washington Post counts at least nine ways the wealthy benefit, including Trump himself." Long counts the ways. ...
... Shannon Vavra of Axios: "The Treasury Department has taken down a 2012 economic analysis that contradicts what Secretary Mnuchin has said about the effects of corporate tax cuts, the WSJ reports. What happened: Mnuchin said workers benefit the most from corporate income tax cuts. The 2012 analysis from the Office of Tax Analysis revealed that workers pay 18% corporate taxes, whereas owners of capital pay 82%, so cutting them impacts owners more."
Tomi Kilgore of MarketWatch: "A billionaire business shark [Mark Cuban] and a 'worldwide' pop star [Pitbull] have donated the use of their own planes, but the Trump administration is making U.S. citizens pay 'full fare' to be evacuated from hurricane-ravaged Caribbean islands. What's worse, the U.S. government, in accordance with a long-standing but discretionary policy, will hold the evacuees' passports as collateral until it gets its money.... This comes after President Trump faced a social-media backlash after tweets that some interpreted as blaming Puerto Rico for their problems...."
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Trump wrote in a series of tweets Sept. 26, "Much of the island was destroyed, with billions of dollars ... owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with." As Akhilleus wrote in yesterday's Comments, "This seems beyond the pale even for a self-absorbed, sociopathic creep like Trump. And let's not even mention the irony of a guy who has gone Chapter 11 four times to escape repaying his own debts complaining about Puerto Rico's debt problems. A larger asshole, if ever discovered, would surely make anatomic history." ...
... ** Emma Niles of Truthdig: "Many are arguing that Trump should be doing more in the short term to help provide aid to the devastated island, but only a handful of critics are pointing out the long-term effects of neocolonialist economic policy, policy that needs to be examined if Puerto Rico's residents are ever going to get back on their feet." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. ...
... Poetic Justice? James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "Florida is rightfully considered the swingiest of swing states. Control of the White House in 2000 came down to a few hundred hanging chads -- and one vote on the Supreme Court. The past four statewide elections -- two governor's races and two presidentials -- were all decided by a single percentage point. So it could be quite politically significant that tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans, maybe more, are expected to permanently move into Florida as the result of Hurricane Maria.... Their citizenship entitles them to vote, and they tend to overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates." Emphasis original. Mrs. McC: Florida Democrats must knock themselves out to get former Puerto Ricans registered to vote.
Note to Trump & GOP from Their Favorite "News" Source. Victoria Balara of Fox "News": "Large majorities of voters favor granting work permits or citizenship to illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, according to the latest Fox News poll. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients, or Dreamers, who do not apply for renewal in time will lose their status starting in March 2018.... Donald Trump announced Sept. 5 he was ending the Obama-era program giving Congress a six-month window to act on the program.... Overwhelming majorities favor granting work permits (86 percent favor vs. 12 percent oppose) and U.S. citizenship (79-19 percent) to illegal immigrants under the age of 30 brought here as children, provided they pass a background check." ... Mrs. McC: Apparently Steve Bannon, Sean Hannity & Ann Coulter didn't get polled.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, in the Guardian, has a long piece on "Why we should have seen Trump coming". --safari
Paul Krugman: "... the trouble with Trump isn't just what he's doing, but what he isn't. In his mind, it's all about him -- and while he's stroking his fragile ego, basic functions of government are being neglected or worse. Let's talk about two stories that might seem separate: the deadly neglect of Puerto Rico, and the ongoing sabotage of American health care. What these stories have in common is that millions of Americans are going to suffer, and hundreds if not thousands die, because Trump and his officials are too self-centered to do their jobs."
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "On the surface, Trump and [Roy] Moore couldn't be more different.... [But] the movement that led to Trump has brought us to a place where Moore will probably soon sit in the United States Senate.... Trump is not a pious man, but by destroying informal restraints on reactionary rhetoric, he's made his party hospitable to the cruelest of theocrats. Moore's success is bound to encourage more candidates like him. The Republican establishment's borders have been breached. Its leaders should have built a wall."
Rachana Pradhan & Dan Diamond of Politico: "The White House approved the use of military aircraft for multi-national trips by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to Africa and Europe this spring, and to Asia in the summer, at a cost of more than $500,000 to taxpayers. The overseas trips bring the total cost to taxpayers of Price's travels to more than $1 million since May, according to a Politico review. Price pledged on Thursday to reimburse the government for the cost of his own seat on his domestic trips using private aircraft -- reportedly around $52,000 -- but that would not include the cost of the military flights. Price's wife, Betty, accompanied him on the military flights, while other members of the secretary's delegation flew commercially to Europe. HHS spokeswoman Charmaine Yoest said Price has reimbursed the agency for the cost of his wife's travel abroad, but declined to say when he did so." ...
... Bumpy Ride. Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: "After being rebuked by President Trump for racking up at least $400,000 in travel on chartered flights, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said on Thursday that he would pay back taxpayers for his part of the bill and stop flying on private jets. But that does not mean his job is safe. Mr. Trump has grown incensed by Mr. Price's liberal renting of expensive planes, which he views as undercutting his drain-the-swamp campaign message, according to several administration officials with direct knowledge of the president's thinking. Through intermediaries and the media, Mr. Trump has let it be known that offering reimbursement as repentance was no guarantee that Mr. Price would keep his job." ...
... Ben Lefebvre of Politico: "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his aides have taken several flights on private or military aircraft, including a $12,000 charter plane to take him to events in his hometown in Montana and private flights between two Caribbean islands, according to documents and a department spokeswoman. Zinke is at least the fourth senior member of the Trump administration to have used non-commercial planes at taxpayer expense, along with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and HHS Secretary Tom Price.... Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift said Zinke's charter or military plane trips were booked only after officials were unable to find commercial flights that would accommodate Zinke's schedule, and that all were 'pre-cleared by career officials in the ethics office.'"
Jake Tapper of CNN: "In his closed interview with the staff of the Senate intelligence committee..., Jared Kushner did not share the existence of his personal email account, which he has used for official business, CNN has learned.... The chair and vice chair of the committee were so unhappy that they learned about the existence of his personal email account via news reports that they wrote him a letter via his attorney Thursday instructing him to double-check that he has turned over every relevant document to the committee including those from his '"personal email account" described to the news media, as well as all other email accounts, messaging apps, or similar communications channels you may have used, or that may contain information relevant to our inquiry.'" CNN obtained a copy of the committee leaders' letter via Kushner's attorney Abbe Lowell when Lowell unwittingly sent the correspondence to a UK prankster who imitates senior White House staff. ...
... Josh Dawsey & Andrea Peterson of Politico: "The White House has launched an internal probe of private email use, pulling batches of emails on the White House server to and from private accounts of senior aides, according to four officials.... The effort began this week after Politico reported that Jared Kushner and a number of other senior White House officials used private email accounts throughout the year to conduct government business. Of particular interest is [Jared] Kushner and Ivanka Trump's private email domain, because they still work in the White House, two officials said. Accounts of other White House officials also are being reviewed."
Elizabeth Dwoskin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Twitter said Thursday that it had shut down 201 accounts that were tied to the same Russian operatives who posted thousands of political ads on Facebook, but the effort frustrated lawmakers who said the problem is far broader than the company appeared to know. The company said it also found three accounts from the news site RT -- which Twitter linked to the Kremlin -- that spent $274,100 in ads on its platform in 2016. Despite the disclosures, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) questioned whether the company is doing enough to stop Russian operatives from using its platform to spread disinformation and division in U.S. society. Warner said Twitter's presentation to a closed-door meeting of Senate Intelligence Committee staffers Thursday morning was 'deeply disappointing' and 'inadequate on almost every level.' Twitter also made a presentation to House Intelligence Committee staffers in the afternoon. The company 'showed an enormous lack of understanding ... about how serious this issue is, the threat it poses to democratic institutions,' a visibly frustrated Warner said." ...
... Brian Feltman of New York: "'On average,' Twitter announced in a blog post [Thursday] afternoon, 'our automated systems catch more than 3.2 million suspicious accounts globally per week -- more than double the amount we detected this time last year.' Twitter is a public, searchable platform, which means it doesn't face the same transparency issues as Facebook, where privacy filters and ad-sales mechanisms prevented users from seeing, for example, all of the posts put up by a given account (at least until recently).... Twitter remains a valuable and important news hub, even if it can't reach the scale of a Facebook or a Google. News spreading fast on Twitter is likely to make its way into papers and onto TV .. or, potentially, commented on or retweeted by the president himself. Hijacking Facebook might help persuade the electorate, but hijacking Twitter might help persuade our doofus president."
... The Twitter statement is here. ...
... Donie O'Sullivan & Dylan Byers of CNN: "A social media campaign calling itself 'Blacktivist' and linked to the Russian government used both Facebook and Twitter in an apparent attempt to amplify racial tensions during the U.S. presidential election, two sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN. The Twitter account has been handed over to Congress; the Facebook account is expected to be handed over in the coming days. Both Blacktivist accounts, each of which used the handle Blacktivists, regularly shared content intended to stoke outrage. 'Black people should wake up as soon as possible,' one post on the Twitter account read. 'Black families are divided and destroyed by mass incarceration and death of black men,' another read. The accounts also posted videos of police violence against African Americans. The Blacktivist accounts provide further evidence that Russian-linked social media accounts saw racial tensions as something to be exploited in order to achieve the broader Russian goal of dividing Americans and creating chaos in U.S. politics during a campaign in which race repeatedly became an issue." ...
... Jessica Schneider of CNN: "Trump administration lawyers are demanding the private account information of potentially thousands of Facebook users in three separate search warrants served on the social media giant, according to court documents obtained by CNN. The warrants specifically target the accounts of three Facebook users who are described by their attorneys as 'anti-administration activists who have spoken out at organized events, and who are generally very critical of this administration's policies.'... The American Civil Liberties Union, representing the three Facebook users, filed a motion to quash the warrants Thursday." The warrants seek personal information on everyone who visited the targeted sites. In other words, if you clicked on the disruptj20 page, DOJ wants the ability to look into your activities. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is fairly hilarious. Trump has no trouble pretending that Russia did not use social media to influence the 2016 elections, But his DOJ is all upset & issuing subpoenas because some activists are targeting Trump & Co.
Mike DeBonis & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: The House erupted "Thursday in [a] great roar [to greet Rep. Steve] Scalise [R-La.] as he made a surprise return to a packed House chamber and addressed his colleagues for the first time since ... a lone gunman, targeting GOP lawmakers practicing in Virginia for a charity baseball game, wounded Scalise and four others on June 14.... He gave special recognition to the two Capitol Police officers serving on his security detail, David Bailey and Crystal Griner, who were at the Alexandria ballpark and fired shots that are credited with preventing [the shooter] from harming more people.... Scalise used his speech to highlight the lifesaving work of one of the unheralded players in the shooting incident: Rep. Brad Wenstrup
AFP: "Emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from livestock are larger than previously thought, posing an additional challenge in the fight to curb global warming, scientists have said. Revised calculations of methane produced per head of cattle show that global livestock emissions in 2011 were 11% higher than estimates based on data from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC)...After rising slowly from 2000 to 2006, the concentration of methane in the air has climbed 10 times more quickly in the last decade, according to earlier research.... Methane accounted for about 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2015, according to the IPCC." --safari
Neil deMause of the Guardian: "The Atlanta Falcons' new stadium, which hosts its fourth ever NFL game on Sunday, is a technological marvel: the iris-shaped retractable roof; the mammoth video 'halo board' that rings the ceiling aperture; the concession stands that sell hot dogs for a throwback $2 price. And, best of all, the $1.6bn edifice cost Georgia taxpayers a relatively inexpensive $200m. Or the stadium cost the public at least $700m, more than any other building in NFL history. Definitely one of those. The funding saga for Mercedes-Benz Stadium points up the elusive nature of US public sports subsidies in the modern age." --safari
Way Beyond the Beltway
Oliver Holmes of the Guardian: "More than 60 people are presumed dead after a boat carrying Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar capsized, the UN migration agency has said.... Survivors of the accident on Thursday told IOM staff that the boat was carrying about 80 people, including 50 children, who were believed to be fleeing violence in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state. The boat overturned in rough waters off Bangladesh." --safari
Share Article
Reader Comments (11)
HOW CAPITALISM IS WORSENING THE RESPONSE TO PUERTO RICO'S CRISIS:
"America is the one that made sure that P.R's money went to American bond holders before doing things like buidling up their infastructure and building up their society."
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/capitalism-worsening-response-puerto-ricos-crisis/
I can't get my mind around that good ole boy Judge Roy Moore who might very well be part of our esteemed Republican body if he beats Doug Jones in the next election. If this were even a few years ago I'd say, no way! would this fruitcake even come up for a vote, but the no's have become a rousing "oh yeah, baby, times are a changing."
Here is a man who says homosexual conduct should be illegal, 9/11 was a punishment from God, and said Keith Ellison should not be allowed to take office because––"the Islamic faith rejects OUR God."
And here is a man that had Palin, Gorka, and Bannon rallying round for him.
And here is a man that the president* views as "he's a good man, I think he will do a very good job."
How absolutely bizarre is this? It has come to the point where one plus one does indeed equal three and no questions asked.
@PD Pepe: See Michelle Goldberg's column, which I just linked. Moore ran for governor twice (2006 & 2010) & lost in the primaries. But as Goldberg writes, Moore actually has quite a lot in common with Trump, & Trump's rejection of "normal" boundaries has opened the door for other nutjobs.
The migration of Puerto Rican residents to the Florida mainland could prove disastrous for Confederates in that state if these people could be registered to vote.
And then allowed to do so.
With that in mind, Governor Scott is initiating a new policy. Anyone moving to Florida who registers as a Democrat has to wait 12 years before being allowed to vote, and that only after attending forced re-education programs. There will also be a slight registration fee of $7,500 each. Liberals will call this a poll tax, no doubt, but it's a way of keeping down administrative expenses, pure and simple.
Also, a language test will be administered. In order to demonstrate sufficient capability with English, those signing up to vote (after the 12 year re-education and the poll...,er, I mean, administrative fee, has been paid) new residents will be required to recite, from memory, Ronald Reagan's inaugural addresses and any three chapters from Bill O'Reilly's latest bestseller, "Killing Whites".
Remember, democracy is too important to be left to the voters.
It's certainly a good thing that Steve Scalise survived that insane shooting from earlier in the summer. He was lucky there was a doctor on hand (Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-OH) a former combat surgeon, to provide immediate medical care that likely saved his life (see link, above).
This got me to wondering how many physicians are in the ranks of the members of Congress. As far as I can tell, there are 15. Two Democrats and the rest Republicans.
Which got me to further wonder how many of those Republicans are against the ACA.
All of them.
Interesting, don't you think? That medical doctors, sworn to save lives, support the repeal of a program that does just that, and are all ready to vote to replace a working healthcare plan with one written in crayon on a cocktail napkin because ideological fealty requires them to abandon their oath to first do no harm.
As a kid, I found it beyond me, when reading about the Civil War, how human beings could vote to keep other human beings in chains, to be whipped, beaten, tortured, starved, raped, and treated worse than dogs. It astounded me.
Fifty plus years later, I'm astounded all over again.
Happy, happy. Joy, joy!
The Trumpies certainly live in a much different universe than the rest of us. As we've noticed, Trump himself has yet to run out of back slaps for himself and his incompetent lackeys regarding what he considers as his own "best ever" handling of the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico (that island place, you know, the place surrounded by water; otherwise, the little king woulda driven the biggest truck in the whole world--evah--straight into San Juan! A truck full of MAGA hats!).
Yesterday, riffing on Trump's lies about how great and fabulous and amazing and all those other dubitable hyperboles he applies to his astonishing indolence, his acting DHS secretary (because he hasn't had an actual secretary in months), Elaine Duke, calls the whole Puerto Rico disaster "a really good news story!"
Well, happy, happy, joy, joy, Elaine. Where the fuck did you grow up? My Little Pony Land?
The mayor of San Juan is not so happy, happy:
"After hearing Duke's comments, [San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín] Cruz told CNN it was 'irresponsible' to spin the island's devastation so positively.
'Maybe from where she’s standing, it’s a good news story,' the mayor said. 'When you’re drinking from a creek, it’s not a good news story. When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a good news story.'
Cruz said that as the situation on the island continues to worsen, people are scrambling to find food, especially in rural areas where supplies are not able to reach as easily. 'This is a people-are-dying story.'"
Oh well, la-di-da. Another day in Trump World. Tout va bien in Trumpy's Merrie Kingdom where tax breaks are coming for the king and his billionaire pals. No time for pesky brown people dying somewhere with water all around (how inconsiderate of them!) who are unwilling to play along with Confederate Happy Talk.
Can't you just hear Trumpy Talk after the Holocaust? "Well, it's not so bad. Not EVERYONE is dead! C'mon, cheer up. Besides, some of those Nazis are really nice people."
Another world. And if you're a rational person or have a shred of decency, as they used to say down Maine, you can't get there from here.
I came across this comic that explains why no one listens to anyone else and resists change, the Backfire Effect.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe
IN A NUTSHELL
Four WaPo headlines at 2pm on 9/29/17
BREAKING NEWS
Report: GOP tax plan would provide major gains for richest 1%, uneven benefits for the middle class
The analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center challenges President Trump’s promise about the effects of the proposal. Nearly 30 percent of taxpayers with incomes of $50,000 to $150,000 would see a tax increase within a decade — despite Republican promises that the plan is designed to provide relief to middle-class Americans. The majority of people making $150,000 to $300,000 would also be hit with higher taxes.
‘I’m going to work until I die’: The new reality of old age in America
People are living longer, more expensive lives, often without much of a safety net. As a result, record numbers of Americans older than 65 are working — now nearly 1 in 5. Although some work by choice rather than need, millions of others are entering their golden years with alarmingly fragile finances.
VA chief went to Europe for meetings — but also to Wimbledon and on a river cruise
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was accompanied by his wife on the working vacation. The government paid for her flight and meals because she was traveling on “approved invitational orders.”
Amid criticism of hurricane response, Trump again refers to ‘tremendous’ debt in Puerto Rico
Mary Jordan & Kevin Sullivan Washington Post The new reality of old age in America. "...gonna work 'til I die."
Excerpts from the article:
“The little people are drowning, and nobody wants to talk about it,” Joanne said. “Us middle-class, or lower-class, people are just not part of anything politicians decide.”
Last year, the Molnars grew more optimistic when they heard Trump promising in campaign speeches to help the “forgotten people.” Like a majority of older voters, Joanne voted for Trump. She said she thought maybe a businessman, an outsider, would finally address the economic issues that matter to her.
“We’ll see. I’m just getting a little worried now,” Joanne said. “I just think he’s not going to be helping the lower class as much as he thought he would.” BOLDFACE added.
(Me: Really, Joanne? You think?)
The recent battle to repeal Obamacare was “kind of scary,” she said, noting that Trump supported legislation that would have slashed Medicaid and left more people without government-subsidized insurance. Although the effort failed, Joanne and Mark remain nervous.
(Me: Let's see. How does this work? Voted for Trump, but fears loss of Obamacare).
Tongue not quite far enough up president*'s butt.
Greedy, pompous, self-serving, insider-trading, Confederate, Hippocratic Oath reneging asshole, Tom Price, trying desperately to keep his cushy sinecure at HHS, has his tongue so far up Trump's ass, he can tell what he had for breakfast.
"'The president is a remarkable leader. I'm incredibly privileged to serve in his Cabinet and work on behalf of the American people,' Price told Fox News."
Oh, bite me, asshole.
Price is a self-aggrandizing, slimy chiseler who has cost taxpayers over one million smackers just since May. But all of a sudden, he's found Jesus and he wants (sniff, sniff) to pay back some (about 5%) of what he gouged US taxpayers out of. Whadaguy. Price made dozens of health industry stock trades while he was in charge of....information about health industry stock trades, or at least had prior knowledge of such trades. How that isn't worthy of a lengthy jail sentence I couldn't say.
Nonetheless, "'The president is a remarkable leader. I'm incredibly privileged to serve in his Cabinet and work on behalf of the American people,' Price told Fox News."
Okay. I was wrong. He can tell what Trump had for dinner last night.
Price resigned. He did it before the weekend started so’s the Donald could have a stress free weekend of golf.