The Commentariat -- November 21, 2017

Late Morning Update:

Say What? AP: "Longtime Michigan Rep. John Conyers on Tuesday denied settling a complaint in 2015 from a woman who alleged she was fired from his Washington staff because she rejected his sexual advances.... Conyers, who answered the door at his Detroit home, told The Associated Press that he knows nothing about any claims of inappropriate touching and learned of the story from television just hours earlier. 'I have been looking at these things in amazement,' he said, referring to allegations of sexual harassment and assault being made against politicians and others." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Um, this won't be the end of the story. BTW, Conyers didn't deny the allegations; he denied knowledge that anyone had made a claim.

Jason Szep & Matt Spetalnick of Reuters: "A group of about a dozen U.S. State Department officials have taken the unusual step of formally accusing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of violating a federal law designed to stop foreign militaries from enlisting child soldiers, according to internal government documents reviewed by Reuters. A confidential State Department 'dissent' memo not previously reported said Tillerson breached the Child Soldiers Prevention Act when he decided in June to exclude Iraq, Myanmar, and Afghanistan from a U.S. list of offenders in the use of child soldiers. This was despite the department publicly acknowledging that children were being conscripted in those countries.... Keeping the countries off the annual list makes it easier to provide them with U.S. military assistance. Iraq and Afghanistan are close allies in the fight against Islamist militants, while Myanmar is an emerging ally to offset China's influence in Southeast Asia."

Norimitsu Onishi & Jeffrey Moyo of the New York Times: "Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, resigned as president on Tuesday shortly after lawmakers began impeachment proceedings against him, according to the speaker of Parliament. The speaker of Parliament read out a letter in which Mr. Mugabe said he was stepping down 'with immediate effect' for 'the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and the need for a peaceful transfer of power.'"

Gary Cohn wants to save morons from the estate tax. Spirit of the season, Gary; you're a great guy. New York Times Editors reprise some of the lies & fake rationales Republicans are pushing to eliminate the estate tax on the top 0.02 percent of Americans. Mrs. Mc. C: BTW, the No. 1 moron Cohn is sparing is his boss (and needy little heirs).

*****

@ay back yesterday (and the day before), Trump reminded us that every day is Pick on Black People Day. Looks as if his most recent performances were preludes to this: ...

... Karen DeYoung & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration has given nearly 60,000 Haitians with provisional legal residency in this country 18 months to leave, announcing Monday that it will not renew the Temporary Protected Status that has allowed them to remain here for more than seven years. The decision came after the Department of Homeland Security determined that the 'extraordinary conditions' justifying their presence in the United States following a 2010 earthquake 'no longer exist,' according to a senior administration official."

Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: "... Donald Trump's charitable foundation, which last year admitted violating federal rules on 'self-dealing,' is in the process of dissolving, according to newly filed documents.... The move fulfills a promise Trump made last December, when he said he would wind down the Donald J. Trump Foundation to avoid conflicts of interest. New York's attorney general ordered the foundation to stop soliciting contributions in October 2016.... The [state] attorney general's press secretary, Amy Spitalnick, said the foundation can't close just yet, however. 'As the foundation is still under investigation by this office, it cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete,' said Spitalnick.... Trump has not donated to the foundation since 2008 but it has received tens of millions of dollars during the past 10 years." ...

... BUT His "Charity" Is Still Doing Funny Business. David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "One of President Trump's golf courses paid back more than $158,000 to Trump's charitable foundation this year, reimbursing the charity for money that had been used to settle a lawsuit against the club, according to a new tax filing. The March 2017 payment came after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, launched an investigation into how the Donald J. Trump Foundation collects and disburses funds. The inquiry is ongoing.... During the probe, the foundation cannot raise money or give it away.... Along with that payment [from the Westchester golf club], the foundation received another $62,184 in reimbursements from unidentified sources.... Nonprofits are prohibited from participating in political campaigns. But the most prominent thing the Trump Foundation did in 2016 was to take part in a TV event advertised by Trump's political campaign, in which Trump held a fundraiser for veterans while skipping a Fox News-run GOP debate. Trump brought in more than $2 million to his foundation at that event, and gave some of the proceeds away during his presidential campaign rallies."

Trump Is a Moron, Ctd. Joseph Bernstein of BuzzFeed: "National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster mocked President Trump's intelligence at a private dinner with a powerful tech CEO, according to five sources with knowledge of the conversation. Over a July dinner with Oracle CEO Safra Catz -- who has been mentioned as a candidate for several potential administration jobs -- McMaster bluntly trashed his boss, said the sources, four of whom told BuzzFeed News they heard about the exchange directly from Catz. The top national security official dismissed the president variously as an 'idiot' and a 'dope' with the intelligence of a 'kindergartner,' the sources said. A sixth source who was not familiar with the details of the dinner told BuzzFeed News that McMaster had made similarly derogatory comments about Trump's intelligence to him in private, including that the president lacked the necessary brainpower to understand the matters before the National Security Council. Both Oracle and the Trump administration heatedly denied the comments that Catz later recounted.... Three of the sources said that McMaster disparaged multiple members of the administration to Catz, including [Secretary of State Rex] Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, and ... Jared Kushner.... '[Catz] said the conversation was so inappropriate that it was jaw-dropping,' another source told BuzzFeed News." ...

... digby: "I could easily see him saying it. I could just as easily see someone lying about it to cause a rift between McMaster and Trump. But it doesn't really matter. He is an idiot and a dope who has the intelligence of a kindergartener and he does not have the necessary brainpower to understand matter before the NSC. Nobody needs McMaster to say it privately. He's a fucking moron and everyone knows it." ...

... ** Adam Serwer of the Atlantic puts the fucking moron's candidacy & his presidency in its historical context: "It was not just Trump's supporters who were in denial about what they were voting for, but Americans across the political spectrum, who, as had been the case with those who had backed [David] Duke, searched desperately for any alternative explanation -- outsourcing, anti-Washington anger, economic anxiety -- to the one staring them in the face [-- racism]. The frequent postelection media expeditions to Trump country ... are a direct outgrowth of this mistake. These supporters will not change their minds because this is what they always wanted: a president who embodies the rage they feel toward those they hate and fear, while reassuring them that that rage is nothing to be ashamed of." ...

... AND, Speaking of History..., Dana Milbank: "... there is something truly historic about Trump -- his histrionics. He surely has no rival in trying to assert the historic nature of everything he does. A search of the White House website finds that the president and his team have declared their actions historic nearly 400 times in their first 10 months in office. Trump has always asserted that he is the best and the greatest, but his attempts to write himself into the history books have truly been history-making." Milbank goes on to name some of the things that Trump & mike pence have labelled "historic." pence is especially ridiculous; he calls the most routine functions "historic."

Exploding Thanksgiving Turkey? Jonathan Chait: "... in the face of this mounting evidence and the warnings of some allies, Trump has remained -- by Trump's standards -- fairly calm [about the Mueller investigation]. Obviously, by the standards of a normal president, he is acting like a complete lunatic. But given Trump's patterns of spewing indiscriminate rage and abuse and lashing out at his enemies in wildly counterproductive fashion, he has conducted himself with notable restraint. Despite his barely concealed impulses, Trump has refrained from mass pardons or attempting to fire Mueller. The apparent reason for his serenity is that his lawyer, Ty Cobb, has placated Trump with promises that Mueller's probe would be over ... by Thanksgiving.... If Cobb has bought time with Trump by blowing sunshine up his ass, at some point Trump will stop believing his lawyer's absurdly copacetic analysis and start believing the people who are warning him about the Gambino-style roll-up under way.... At some point, Trump is going to blow." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is a pretty funny column. Chait equates a personal situation he & his wife endured with Trump's Cobb-induced expectation that everything will be fine. If you've ever taken off work to wait for the cable guy or sat by the phone like a teenager waiting for an important call that never came, you'll relate. ...

... Matthew Mosk of ABC News: "Travels by Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to meet with senior officials in Hungary during the 2016 presidential election are being closely examined by congressional investigators, given the increasingly close ties between Hungary and Russia and the role of the country as a hub for Russian intelligence activity. The Hungarian prime minister was the first foreign leader to endorse Donald Trump's candidacy. Though characterized as a low-level volunteer, Page held high-level foreign policy meetings with Hungarian officials before the 2016 presidential election.... The meetings included a 45-minute session in September 2016 with Jeno Megyesy, who is a close adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and focuses on relations with the United States, at his office in Budapest, where Page presented himself as a member of then-candidate Trump's foreign policy team."

Cecilia Kang & Michael de la Merced of the New York Times: "The Justice Department on Monday sued to block AT&T's $85.4 billion bid for Time Warner, setting up a showdown over the first blockbuster acquisition to come before the Trump administration. By challenging the deal, the Justice Department is taking a starkly different approach to antitrust issues than the Obama administration did. In 2011, for instance, the department approved a similar deal -- Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal -- after imposing numerous conditions on the transaction." ...

... Brian Fung of the Washington Post: "The move by the Justice Department's antitrust division is unusual because it challenges a deal that would combine two different kinds of companies -- a telecom with a media and entertainment company. Antitrust officials are relatively untested in the courts on opposing such deals and have rarely tried to squash them. If successful, however, the government's case would send a strong signal across the business world that Washington is no longer looking as kindly on such mergers.... There is also political risk for the Justice Department. Some Democrats have expressed concern that antitrust officials could be seeking to block the deal because the Trump administration has been highly critical of CNN, which is owned by Time Warner -- a charge that the department and the White House have denied." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: So is this JeffBo's gift to Trump? Just asking. It seems a little odd that the anti-regulation Trump administration would suddenly get all anti-trust.

Traffic Jam. Welcome to the Slow Lane of the Information Superhighway: Cecilia Kang: "The Federal Communications Commission is preparing a full repeal of net neutrality rules that require broadband providers to give consumers equal access to all content on the internet, putting more power in the hands of those companies to dictate people's online experiences. Ajit Pai, the chairman of the F.C.C., plans to reveal a sweeping proposal to scrap the net neutrality rules on Tuesday.... A rollback of net neutrality regulations would represent a significant victory for broadband and telecom companies like AT&T and Comcast and would amount to a strike against consumers."

Euan McKirdy of CNN: "A federal judge has permanently blocked ... Donald Trump's executive order to cut funding from cities that limit cooperation with US immigration authorities. US District Court Judge William Orrick issued the ruling on Monday in lawsuits brought by two California counties, San Francisco and Santa Clara. Orrick said Trump cannot set new conditions on spending approved by Congress. The ruling nullifies the executive order Trump signed in January, shortly after taking office, which was designed to crack down on so-called 'sanctuary cities,' municipalities that do not comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests for assistance with identifying and deporting undocumented immigrants.... A Department of Justice spokesman said the court had 'exceeded its authority' in its ruling, and vowed that the department would continue to follow Trump's direction with regard to the January executive order." Mrs. McC: Orrick is an Obama appointee. It would be such a shame of AG JeffBo, Evil Elf & Number 1 fan of Trump's sanctuary cities order, ended up in prison for defying a court order.

All the Best People, Ctd. Danny Vinik & Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "The Trump administration is leaning toward naming Thomas Brunell, a Texas professor with no government experience, to the top operational job at the U.S. Census Bureau, according to two people who have been briefed on the Bureau's plans. Brunell ... has testified more than half a dozen times on behalf of Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts, and is the author of a 2008 book titled 'Redistricting and Representation: Why Competitive Elections Are Bad for America.'... The pick would break with the long-standing precedent of choosing a nonpolitical government official as deputy director of the U.S. Census Bureau. The job has typically been held by a career civil servant with a background in statistics. It does not require Senate confirmation, so Congress would have no power to block the hire.... The fate of the Census under Trump has been closely watched by voting-rights advocates worried that the administration -- which has already made unsupported claims about voter fraud -- might nudge it in directions that over- or under-count some Americans. Subtle bureaucratic choices in the wording and administration of the Census can have huge consequences for who is counted, and how it shifts American voting districts."

** Tax "Reform." The GOP lie machine is cranked up to maximum, but it's Paul Krugman who's exploding: "... we're really looking at an unprecedented level of dishonesty here. But what happens when you try to explain what's going on? When Senator Sherrod Brown tried to point out, correctly, that the Senate G.O.P.'s tax bill heavily favors the rich, Senator Orrin Hatch exploded, calling it 'bull crap' and asserting that he grew up poor (which is relevant why, exactly?). Sorry, but this isn't the righteous anger of a man falsely accused of wrongdoing. It';s the rage con men always exhibit when caught out in their con." Mrs. McC: And here's a line for P.D. Pepe & me: "Oh, and a memo to journalists: If you play it safe by reporting this as 'Democrats say' that middle-class taxes will go up, you're misleading your readers: Those estimates come from the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress's own nonpartisan scorekeeper." In reading Krugman's column, one might think he wrote parts of it off Reality Chex. ...

... Kevin Drum: For some reason Republicans were all upset that their own Joint Committee on Taxation had calculated the effects of their tax "reform" bill on what-all was in the Senate version -- including repeal of the ObamaCare mandate. So the Tax Policy Center obliged their concern, & analyzed the bill minus the effects of repealing the mandate. "Among middle-class families, 50-70 percent will see a tax increase by 2027. Among the rich, that number is only 15-30 percent. And among the super-duper rich, almost no one sees a tax increase.... These charts ... come out every few days, and they're from reputable sources. And they all show a massive preference toward the rich. But Republicans like Orrin Hatch pretend to be outraged when anyone points this out. Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan stay scarce so they don't have to answer questions. Other Republicans insist that these analyses are totally bogus because they don't account for supercharged growth, and Fox News eagerly joins in. Donald Trump, who would reap tens of millions of dollars from this tax bill, routinely lies in public about how he'd 'get killed' -- and then tosses in a real thigh slapper: 'The deal is so bad for rich people, I had to throw in the estate tax just to give them something.'"

Derek Hawkins, et al., of the Washington Post: "A U.S. Border Patrol agent who was killed while on patrol in southwest Texas may have been beaten to death by attackers wielding rocks, according to the president of the National Border Patrol Council. Brandon Judd, president of the labor union, said Agent Rogelio Martinez died Sunday of blunt force trauma to the head.... Authorities have been searching for witnesses and potential suspects after Martinez was killed and a fellow agent was seriously injured.... By Monday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction for what he called the ;murder; of a Border Patrol agent." Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Sunday night, "Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt. We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!"

** Today in Sexual Harassment News:

M.J. Lee of CNN: "A woman says Sen. Al Franken inappropriately touched her in 2010, telling CNN that he grabbed her buttocks while taking a photo at the Minnesota State Fair. It is the first allegation of improper touching by Franken, who is a Democrat, while he was in office.... Lindsay Menz, a 33-year-old woman..., reached out to CNN on Thursday hours after [Leeann] Tweeden made her story public. Menz said she wanted to share an 'uncomfortable' interaction that left her feeling 'gross.'... As her husband held up her phone and got ready to snap a photo of the two of them, Franken 'pulled me in really close, like awkward close, and as my husband took the picture, he put his hand full-fledged on my rear,' Menz said. 'It was wrapped tightly around my butt cheek.'" Menz told her husband & other family members at the time about the incident & wrote about it on Facebook as well. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Menz's account seems completely credible to me. I'm afraid Al is toast. If he did this once, he likely did it many times. Ask professional ass-grabber & retired President George H.W. Bush. ...

... Ed Kilgore: "What makes this allegation different from the earlier accusation by TV personality Leeann Tweeden (other than the lack of photo evidence) is that it occurred after Franken was elected to the Senate. That makes it squarely within the jurisdiction of the Senate Ethics Committee, which was already expected to investigate the Minnesotan, at his own request. The fate of Al Franken's political career, if it has not already been sealed, may depend on whether other women now come forward in response to fresh evidence that the senator had a problem that led to inappropriate if not criminal conduct." ...

... Brandon Carter of the Hill: "Two prominent progressive groups are calling on Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to resign in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against him. Credo Action and Indivisible called for Franken's resignation Monday after a second woman accused Franken of groping her without her consent. 'Sen. Al Franken had the chance last week to take full responsibility for past sexual harassment, sexual assault and any other behavior that demeaned women. He failed to do so,' Credo said in a statement. 'We believe that Sen. Franken should immediately resign from the U.S.Senate and that Gov. Mark Dayton should appoint a progressive woman to replace him.'" ...

... Nicole LaFond of TPM: "Sen. Al Franken's (D-MN) tribute to David Letterman will be [was] cut from Monday night's PBS special honoring the longtime comedian, according to a PBS spokesperson, who said including Franken would be a distraction in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against the senator."

... Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times is troubled by her call last week for Franken to resign, even in light of the new accusation by Lindsay Menz.

** Paul McLeod & Lissandra Villa of BuzzFeed: "Michigan Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat and the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who alleged she was fired because she would not 'succumb to [his] sexual advances.' Documents from the complaint obtained by BuzzFeed News include four signed affidavits ... from former staff members who allege that Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee, repeatedly made sexual advances to female staff that included requests for sexual favors, contacting and transporting other women with whom they believed Conyers was having affairs, caressing their hands sexually, and rubbing their legs and backs in public. Four people involved with the case verified the documents are authentic.... And the documents also reveal the secret mechanism by which Congress has kept an unknown number of sexual harassment allegations secret: a grinding, closely held process that left the alleged victim feeling, she told BuzzFeed News, that she had no option other than to stay quiet and accept a settlement offered to her.... The Conyers documents ... give a glimpse into the inner workings of the office, which has for decades concealed episodes of sexual abuse by powerful political figures." ...

     ... Margaret Hartmann has a good summary of the Conyers story, with additional commentary. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: There is no doubt that the allegations against Conyers are true. He really must resign now, & if he will not do so, the House must oust him, with full Democratic support. And, no, I don't care that BuzzFeed got its story from a right-wing nut.

Irin Carmon & Amy Brittain of the Washington Post: "Eight women have told The Washington Post that longtime television host Charlie Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them, including lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping their breasts, buttocks or genital areas. The women were employees or aspired to work for Rose at the 'Charlie Rose' show from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011. They ranged in age from 21 to 37 at the time of the alleged encounters. Rose, 75, whose show airs on PBS and Bloomberg TV, also co-hosts 'CBS This Morning' and is a contributing correspondent for '60 Minutes.'... Within hours of the publication of this story, PBS and Bloomberg LP immediately suspended distribution of the 'Charlie Rose' show. CBS announced that it was suspending Rose as it looked into the matter.... Rumors about Rose's behavior have circulated for years." "That's just Charlie being Charlie." his long-time producer Yvette Vega allegedly told one of Rose's victims when the victim told Vega of Rose's behavior toward her. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The stories the women tell are awful -- and credible. If you're curious about how "respectable" men get away with this crap, the article is a short course.

Laura McGann of Vox reports on an incident in which New York Times White House reporter Glenn Thrush "caught me off guard, put his hand on my thigh, and suddenly started kissing me. Thrush says that he recalls the incident differently.... Three young women I interviewed ... described to me a range of similar experiences, from unwanted groping and kissing to wet kisses out of nowhere to hazy sexual encounters that played out under the influence of alcohol.... I was -- and am -- angry. Details of their stories suggest a pattern. All of the women were in their 20s at the time. They were relatively early in their careers compared to Thrush, who was the kind of seasoned journalist who would be good to know. At an event with alcohol, he made advances. Afterward, they (as I did) thought it best to stay on good terms with Thrush, whatever their feelings." Thrush presents himself as an advocate for female journalists. "Eileen Murphy, the senior vice president of communications for the New York Times..., [wrote], 'We intend to fully investigate and while we do, Glenn will be suspended. We support his decision to enter a substance abuse program....'" ...

     ... The New York Times story, by Sydney Ember, is here.

** Kyle Whitmire of AL.com: Many Alabama voters say they believe Roy Moore but not his accusers. Then these voters should believe what Roy has said about how he first scoped out his wife -- it was at a junior college dance recital in which she performed a "special dance." Kayla would have been 15 years old at the time, by Whitmire's calculation. Years later, when he met her again, he said he remembered her from that "special dance." Kayla Moore is 14 years younger than Roy. ...

Jonathan Stempel of Reuters: "Twenty-First Century Fox Inc has reached a $90 million settlement of shareholder claims arising from the sexual harassment scandal at its Fox News Channel, which cost the jobs of longtime news chief Roger Ailes and anchor Bill O'Reilly. The settlement, which requires a judge's approval, resolves what are known as 'derivative' claims against Fox officers and directors, including: Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who are Fox's executive chairmen; James Murdoch, another son and its chief executive, and Ailes' estate. The defendants did not admit wrongdoing.... Monday's settlement calls for insurers of Fox officers, Fox directors and Ailes' estate to pay the $90 million to the New York-based company for the benefit of shareholders.... In a typical derivative case, shareholders sue in the name of a company to remedy wrongs inflicted by an alleged lack of oversight by a company's officers and directors."

Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "Jeanine F. Pirro, the high-octane host of a Fox News Channel show, was given a summons on Sunday for driving 119 miles per hour in upstate New York, according to the State Police. Ms. Pirro ... said in a statement that she was unaware that she was going nearly double the speed limit of 65 miles an hour." Mrs. McC: She should get her good friend & promoter Donald Trump to pardon her.

The Commentariat -- November 20, 2017

Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Trump called elephant hunting a 'horror show' Sunday and strongly suggested he will permanently block imports of elephant trophies from two African nations despite his administration's earlier approval of the practice. Following strong bipartisan criticism of the administration's decision to allow imports of trophy carcasses, a practice was halted under the Obama administration, Trump had moved Friday to put the imports on hold.... Trump wrote [on Twitter] that he would be 'very hard pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way helps conservation of Elephants or any other animal.'" ...

     ... Mrs Bea McCrabbie: You can't fool me. Trump doesn't care about anything or anybody who isn't named Donald J. Trump Senior, so why he is suddenly so into saving the elephants? Because he wants to punish Junior, the Great White Hunter, for royally screwing up the Russia thing: "That's the last time you get near an elephant's ass, Kid, unless I push your head up one at the zoo."

Donald Trump Is Still a Self-Absorbed, Whiney Prick. Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times: "A day after LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of the basketball players LiAngelo and Lonzo Ball, played down President Trump's involvement in getting LiAngelo safely out of China without any criminal charges, the president fired back on Twitter.... 'Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!'... Later in the day, Trump doubled down on his claim that LaVar Ball was ungrateful for his son's release: 'Shoplifting is a very big deal in China, as it should be (5-10 years in jail), but not to father LaVar. Should have gotten his son out during my next trip to China instead. China told them why they were released. Very ungrateful!'" ...

... AND since every day is Pick on Black People Day at the Trump House... Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump singled out Oakland Raiders football player Marshawn Lynch Monday morning, suggesting that the running back had shown 'great disrespect' by *sitting* for the U.S. national anthem and standing for the Mexican one before his team's game on Sunday, played in Mexico City.... Lynch has not publicly explained his anthem protests, but did arrive at a road game in Denver last month wearing an 'everybody vs. Trump' t-shirt."

Donald Trump Is Still Donald Trump. Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: Members of the White House staff who aren't completely crazy can't figure out how to explain why Trump has mocked Al Franken for a relatively minor sexual attack but won't say anything about Roy Moore's allegedly preying on teenaged girls.

** Mike Levine of ABC News: "Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team [is] investigating whether ... Donald Trump sought to obstruct a federal inquiry into connections between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives has now directed the Justice Department to turn over a broad array of documents, ABC News has learned. In particular, Mueller's investigators are keen to obtain emails related to the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the earlier decision of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the entire matter, according to a source who has not seen the specific request but was told about it. Issued within the past month, the directive marks the special counsel's first records request to the Justice Department, and it means Mueller is now demanding documents from the department overseeing his investigation.... Mueller's investigators now seek ... any [DOJ] communications with White House counterparts, the source said.... The latest move suggests the Special Counsel is still actively digging into, among other matters, whether Trump or any other administration official improperly tried to influence an ongoing investigation."

The Best People. Esme Cribb of TPM: "Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin on Sunday said he 'didn't realize' photographs of himself and his wife, actress Louise Linton, holding a sheet of the first $1 bills to bear Mnuchin's signature, would be posted online." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The photographer works for the AP, which, you know, takes photos for, um, publication. Contrary to your belief, Mr. Secretary, press photographers do not show up to take pictures for "Steve & Louise's Excellent Family Scrapbook." The photographer, Jacquelyn Martin, was surprised by just about everything Munchkin, et ux., did. Apparently she was unaware of just how egocentric & clueless these geniuses were....

... Lois Beckett of the Guardian: "As Republicans push for legislation that would cut taxes for the rich while increasing taxes on lower-income Americans, Trump’s treasury secretary [Steve Mnuchin] said he was flattered to be compared to a James Bond villain.... 'I guess I should take that as a compliment that I look like a villain in a great, successful James Bond movie,' the treasury secretary told Fox News on Sunday." --safari

Family Values! Lachlan Markay of The Daily Beast: "[T]he first family is far from the only group of relatives staffing the Trump administration. A Daily Beast examination of public records reveals that there are at least 20 families, joined by either blood or marriage, in which multiple members hold some federal post or appointment. They include the families of some of Trump's most prominent campaign supporters and agency officials, including one cabinet officer. The posts range from senior White House staff to more ceremonial and advisory positions." --safari: If you look closely at the picture, does Eric not have a giant booger peeking out of his nose??? Poor Eric!

There's Always More to the Story. Caroline Orr of Shareblue: "Former Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Ralph Shortey, who also served as the Trump's campaign chair in the state, agreed this week to plead guilty to child sex trafficking charges after getting caught earlier this year offering to pay a teenage boy for sex. According to The Oklahoman, Shortey was found in a hotel room with a teenage boy on March 9. A subsequent investigation by local and federal officials revealed a series of text messages in which Shortey offered to pay the teen in exchange for 'sexual stuff.'" In February, Shortey introduced a bill in the state legislature to punish "sanctuary cities," partly because he was concerned about immigrants who engaged in sex trafficking. "There's a trail of death from Honduras to the United States of America, and the families are giving their children and others over to coyotes and to human traffickers," Shortey argued. ...

     ... Mrs. McC: What with his being an admitted sex offender, it could be that Shortey isn't getting one of those jobs Trump has been handing out to "all the best people" -- who worked on his campaign. Well, at least till Shortey gets out on parole.

Ellie Smith of ABC News: "'I want to see changes in that [Senate tax] bill, and I think there will be changes,' Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on 'This Week' Sunday. She said one problem with the bill is the inclusion of a provision that would repeal the Affordable Care Act's mandate that most people must have health insurance or face a penalty." ...

... Mulvaney Claims He Will Oblige the Lady of Maine. Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that the administration wants to repeal part of Obamacare in Congress' tax bill but is 'OK with taking it out' if 'it becomes an impediment.... Donald Trump has called for Congress to include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate in its tax bill. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that doing so would save the government $338 billion over a decade but result in 13 million more Americans being uninsured by 2027." ...

... Kate Zernike & Abby Goodnough of the New York Times: People who receive subsidies to help cover the cost of health insurance "complicate the argument of Senate Republicans who are counting on repeal of the so-called individual mandate to free up hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for an array of tax cuts to corporations and individuals. They are assuming that without a mandate, many people would no longer buy insurance, so the government would spend billions of dollars less on the subsidies the health law provides to help those under a certain income level pay their premiums. But polling data, analysis from a private forecasting agency and interviews with people who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces suggest the savings could be far less, largely because many people who qualify for the subsidies will still want to take advantage of them.... Nearly 60 percent of people who buy their own insurance receive subsidies...." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In other words, Trump & Senate Republicans have dreamed up a lose-lose-lose situation. The cost of insurance will skyrocket as healthier people, who don't think they need insurance, will drop it, leaving the pool of insureds sicker. But the federal cost of paying out the subsidies also will skyrocket, because the higher costs of insurance will make more people eligible for the subsidies. In addition, people who suddenly get sick people will have to wait to sign up for insurance, so they'll be sicker by the time they get to the doctor. And let's not forget that the more unhealthy Americans are, the worse-off the economy. People who have jobs can't get to work regularly, so productivity will drop, lowering profits. Many businesses will have to shell out sick pay for non-working employees. People who don't get sick pay won't be able to buy as much stuff. That is, we'll have lower demand, so, necessarily, less supply. And GDP goes south. Idiots!

... Eric Levitz of New York: "The Trump tax cuts are zipping through Congress at the legislative version of light speed.... Tax policy is about a lot more than generating revenue. Every tax code rewards certain kinds of economic activity and disincentives others. In the United States, we are especially reliant on tax incentives for shaping our industrial policy and providing social welfare. The tax bills sprinting through the House and Senate would restructure these incentives, in ways that the public scarcely appreciates, and that even experts need more time to fully understand.... Here's a rundown of ten consequences those cuts could have for our economy" --safari ...

... Jonathan Chait of New York: "In such a compressed period of time, they couldn't avoid opening up enormous opportunities for gaming and arbitrage even if they wanted to. And there's little reason to believe they want to, with their plan essentially having been created by and for the business lobby. The tax code is imperfect now. Once the Republicans get through with it, it will be in desperate need of reform." --safari ...

... Rebekah Entralago of ThinkProgress: "... Mick Mulvaney told CNN's Jake Tapper Sunday that the president 'is not going to sign a bill that raises taxes on the middle class, period.' Unfortunately for Mulvaney, both the House and Senate tax bills would do just that, but he's now trying to spin millions of people losing their health insurance as them getting a tax break." --safari ...

... AND Ivanka Trump Is Not an Economist

We spend less than any country in the developed world on children between the ages of zero and 5. It's just a fact, we don't invest enough resources. -- Ivanka Trump, remarks during an interview with Tucker Carlson, November 6

Trump uses the factoid to advocate for the GOP tax plan, which she says would help middle-income families pay the high cost of child care.... Trump pulled her talking point from an Obama-era CEA white paper advocating for expanding pre-kindergarten programs. And even though the white paper found that the United States spends less than almost every OECD country on early-childhood education, the proposed tax cuts wouldn't boost the United States' rank. And more important, the tax cuts Trump cites could increase taxes on 40 percent of families with children.... The missing context helps to explain why she stumbled through the talking point in her interview. -- Nicole Lewis of the Washington Post

Esme Cribb: "Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) has no plans to resign after a radio host accused him of forcibly kissing and groping her years ago, according to a spokesperson. 'No,' a spokesperson for Franken told the Star Tribune on Saturday. 'He is spending time with his family in Washington, D.C., and will be through the Thanksgiving holiday.'"

Liz Mair in The Daily Beast: "For at least two years now, Western politics has been rocked by attempt after attempt to bring down the establishment and put outsiders of diverse and frequently conflicting political philosophies in charge of government. Those movements have largely failed.... The establishment still reigns, even if the names and faces have been shuffled a bit. But it may well be wiped out thanks to sexually harassing, threatening, assaulting, and predatory behavior it has too long tolerated, and which is now being exposed, ending careers, threatening some members with potential criminal records, and more." --safari

Senate Race

Jones Stands Alone. Jess Bidgood of the New York Times: "... the Democratic candidate [for the Senate special election in Alabama, Doug] Jones, is a respected former prosecutor best known for convicting two Ku Klux Klan members for the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, who was raising the possibility of a truly competitive race even before the accusations against Mr. Moore. But opportunity has knocked on the door of a Democratic operation with the lights out. With a fairly anemic state party, there is little existing infrastructure for routine campaign activities like phone banks or canvassing drives. National Democrats, while helping to pour in money, are taking pains to keep the race at arm's length, figuring their presence could hurt rather than help Mr. Jones. There are no beloved statewide officeholders or popular party elders to rally the troops." ...

... The Editors of Al.com, which is produced by Alabama's major newspapers, endorse Democrat Doug Jones for Senate. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Brian Stelter of CNN: "The Alabama Media Group stripped the editorial across its Sunday front pages. The unusual step comes 10 days after misconduct allegations first surfaced against [Roy] Moore, the Republican nominee for the state's Senate seat. The editorial doubles as an endorsement of Moore's opponent, Democrat Doug Jones. It appears in The Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register and The Huntsville Times and it is prominently featured on the papers' shared website AL.com." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: Roy "Moore's camp has twice threatened the Alabama Media Group, home to AL.com, according to a letter from a lawyer for the company. 'You have accused AL.com of making "false reports and/or careless reporting" about multiple subjects related to your clients,' reads the letter from John Thompson of Lightfoot Franklin White LLC. 'Your letter demands that AL.com retract and recant its prior stories and that it "cease and desist" from any further reporting about your clients,' reads the letter. 'AL.com hereby rejects your demand,' it continues.... The letter states, 'You have not explained how anything that AL.com has reported is untrue, inaccurate or erroneous, nor do you provide any support for your position.'... Not content to merely play defense against the threats from Moore, the AMG letter notes that litigation from the Senate candidate would 'also reveal other important information about your clients.'"

Not Good. Lois Beckett of the Guardian: "Resistance to a ban on military-style assault weapons is strongest among millennials, according to a new Quinnipiac poll released this week. It's a finding that experts said might be driven by the popularity of first-person shooter video games such as Call of Duty and the increasing prominence of military-style guns in the consumer market. A large majority of Americans say they support a ban on the sale of assault weapons." --safari ...

... John Naughton in the Guardian argues that it is the tech elites' ignorance more than their crass materialism that has led them to create such a giant mess: "Now mathematics, engineering and computer science are wonderful disciplines -- intellectually demanding and fulfilling. And they are economically vital for any advanced society. But mastering them teaches students very little about society or history -- or indeed about human nature. As a consequence, the new masters of our universe are people who are essentially only half-educated. They have had no exposure to the humanities or the social sciences, the academic disciplines that aim to provide some understanding of how society works, of history and of the roles that beliefs, philosophies, laws, norms, religion and customs play in the evolution of human culture. We are now beginning to see the consequences of the dominance of this half-educated elite." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I'll have to add that their tremendous success has made these masters of the universe remarkably arrogant. They don't think anyone whom they deem less successful can tell them anything. When President Obama (whom many people would say has been mighty successful) warned Mark Zuckerberg of the consequences of Facebook's spreading fake news, Zuckerberg blew off Obama; in fact, he told the president his warning was "crazy."

** Timothy Shenk of the New Republic: Political scientists Karen Orren & Stephen Skowronek argue that the Framers did not have in mind the kind of government that Barack Obama envisioned: one that "gets stuff done." "As Antonin Scalia observed with characteristic snark, the Constitution 'contains no whatever-it-takes-to-solve-a-national-problem power.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Alexia Campbell of Vox: "The head of Puerto Rico's public utility company [Ricardo Ramos], PREPA, resigned Friday afternoon following a series of blunders in the effort to restore Puerto Rico's power grid.... As of Friday, less than half of the island had power.... The ongoing lack of power is the central factor in the $20 billion to $40 billion in economic losses the island has sustained since the storm.... Chief among PREPA's gaffes is the $300 million contract it signed with Whitefish Energy, a tiny Montana company that was hardly equipped to rebuild Puerto Rico's fragile power grid.... A House committee released the results of its investigation [of the contract] on Monday, and the conclusions were harsh. PREPA was 'inept' and 'dysfunctional.'... The Whitefish deal seriously damaged the credibility of Puerto Rico's government in the eyes of Congress and the American public." --safari

Way Beyond

Jeffrey Moyo of the New York Times: "Robert Mugabe, 93, who ruled Zimbabwe with an iron grip until the military placed him under house arrest last week, stunned the nation on Sunday night by refusing to say whether he would resign. Many political observers and fellow Zimbabweans had been expecting Mr. Mugabe to step down as president after nearly 40 years in power. But the embattled president gave a 20-minute televised speech that acknowledged problems in the nation -- and he vowed to soldier on."...

... Sly Bob. Jason Burke & Emma Graham-Harrison of the Guardian: "Zimbabwe's powerful war veterans have claimed that Robert Mugabe swapped speeches to avoid resigning during a televised address to the nation on Sunday night, as they repeated their call for him to go.... His rambling address on Sunday offered no substantial concessions to his critics, the tens of thousands who have marched calling for his resignation, or the army commanders who led the military takeover last week.... Amid the continuing confusion, CNN reported on Monday that Mugabe has agreed to stand down and has drafted a resignation letter, citing a source familiar with his negotiations with the military. Under the terms of the deal, Mugabe and his wife, Grace, would be granted full immunity, CNN said." --safari

Philip Oltermann of the Guardian: "Exploratory talks to form Germany's next coalition government collapsed shortly before midnight on Sunday when the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) walked out of marathon negotiations.... [T]he four parties involved missed several self-prescribed deadlines to resolve differences on migration and energy policy.... The euro slid in Asian trade overnight thanks to the uncertainty in Europe's powerhouse nation." --safari

Gated Countries. Rupert Neate of the Guardian: "Construction has begun on a $2bn (£1.5bn) scheme to reclaim land from the sea around Monaco so that more luxury apartments can be built for the thousands of extra millionaires expected to move to the principality in the next 10 years. Nearly 35 in every 100 Monaco residents are millionaires and more of the global super-rich want to join them. Around 2,700 more are expected to call Monaco home by 2026, according to research by estate agent Knight Frank, taking the total to 16,100 out of a total population of under 38,000." --safari

News Ledes

New York Times: "The Argentine Navy disclosed on Monday that the crew of a missing submarine had been ordered to return to its home port on Wednesday after reporting a battery failure. The revelation was the first official confirmation that the Navy had known since Wednesday -- when the submarine vanished -- that the vessel was contending with equipment malfunction and might have the lost the ability to propel itself.... A multinational effort is underway to try to locate the submarine and its 44-member crew, amid mystery about what happened to the vessel.... The disclosure about mechanical failure is likely to add to fears that the crew has been lost."

New York Times:"Della Reese, the husky-voiced singer and actress who spent almost a decade playing a down-to-earth heavenly messenger on the CBS series 'Touched by an Angel' and became an ordained minister in real life, died on Sunday night at her home in Encino, Calif. She was 86."

New York Times: "Charles Manson, one of the most notorious murderers of the 20th century..., died on Sunday in Kern County, Calif. He was 83 and had been behind bars for most of his life."

The Commentariat -- November 19, 2017

Afternoon Update:

The Editors of Al.com, which is produced by Alabama's major newspapers, endorse Democrat Doug Jones for Senate. ...

... Brian Stelter of CNN: "The Alabama Media Group stripped the editorial across its Sunday front pages. The unusual step comes 10 days after misconduct allegations first surfaced against Moore, the Republican nominee for the state's Senate seat. The editorial doubles as an endorsement of Moore's opponent, Democrat Doug Jones. It appears in The Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register and The Huntsville Times and it is prominently featured on the papers' shared website AL.com."

Jason Burke & Emma Graham-Harrison of the Guardian: "Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, is facing the end of his 37-year rule, as he prepares to address the nation after his party sacked him as its leader and told him to resign as head of state. Expectation was mounting that he would resign on Sunday night after Zimbabwean state TV said he would 'address the nation live from State House'. In an extraordinary meeting in Harare, the capital, on Sunday morning more than 200 Zanu-PF leaders voted to sack Mugabe as the party's leader and demanded that the 93-year-old 'resign forthwith from his position as head of state' or face impeachment."

*****

Steve M.: "We're now living in an era of post-popularity democracy. Republicans simply believe, with good reason, that they don't need popular proposals in order to retain power. They believe they can survive extraordinarily unpopular proposals [like their current tax bill], because gerrymandering, vote suppression, disciplined propaganda efforts by Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media, and massive amounts of money from the plutocrats who like what they propose will get them through.... Republican voters will put up with anything from their party's elected officials as long as those officials make clear that they're defying the wishes of the hated Democrats." --safari

Juliet Eilperin & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "A combination of public and private pressure prompted President Trump to overturn his administration's recent move to allow elephants shot for sport in Zimbabwe and Zambia to be imported back to the United States as trophies, according to interviews with several individuals briefed on the decision. Trump's announcement Friday that he was putting the decision 'on hold' until he could personally review it marked animal welfare activists' first federal victory since the president took office in January, and came just hours after the White House press secretary had defended the idea of renewing the controversial trophy imports.... Political appointees at Interior did press for [lifting the ban on importing trophy elephant remains], which is a top priority for hunting industry allies of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.... A similar change affecting African lion trophies had gone mostly unnoticed since it took effect last month, and it is not clear whether Trump was aware of that earlier decision.... It is unclear who will conduct the review of the import decision, since Trump vowed on Twitter to do it himself, and whether lion trophy imports will also face fresh scrutiny."

Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "The top U.S. nuclear commander said Saturday he would push back against President Trump if he ordered a nuclear launch the general believed to be 'illegal,' saying he would look to find another solution. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told an audience at the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday that he has given a lot of thought to what he would say if a president ordered a strike he considered unlawful.... Hyten said he has been trained every year for decades in the law of armed conflict, which takes into account specific factors to determine legality -- necessity, distinction, proportionality, unnecessary suffering and more. Running through scenarios of how to react in the event of an illegal order is standard practice, he said." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: We'll have to wait to see what better-informed analysts than I have to say, but right now U.S. law gives the president the final say or whether or not to launch a nuclear strike. Hyten seems to be suggesting he has the final say -- based on a document that describes itself not as definitive law or even as the "official" Army position but as a "teaching document." On its face, Hyten's description of the scenario in which he would "school" the president on the law & the president would demur sounds ridiculous. It seems to me that if this President -- or any president -- told the nuclear commander to launch a strike & the commander declined, the POTUS could relieve him of his command & go down the line (Saturday-night-massacre style) until he found an officer who would comply with the presidential order. In any even, Hyten's claim does not make me feel all better about the what the Crazy Guy in the White House might do to "start World War III," as Bob Corker worries.

The Daily Beast: "President Trump's aides and advisers have made a habit of showing him only positive polls to cheer him up, Politico reports. Aides and advisers cited in the report said they show him polls 'designed to make him feel good,' usually those that focus solely on his base.... Several senior aides and advisers said the Trump administration only becomes concerned when support slips in his base." --safari

Jeremy Herb & Evan Perez of CNN: "The attorney for Jared Kushner ... is pushing back against the Senate Judiciary Committee after the panel accused Kushner of not disclosing key documents.... Attorney Abbe Lowell wrote that there were no 'missing documents' as the committee has alleged, while criticizing the panel's leaders for going to the media on Thursday with their accusations.... Lowell went point-by-point through the panel's letter to argue that Kushner was being forthcoming with the documents that had been turned over." ...

... Benjamin Hart of New York: "Either Jared Kushner is trying to hide something, or his memory is very poor for a 36-year-old. On Friday, the New York Times and NBC News reported that the 'Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite' Kushner failed to disclose to Senate investigators involved a banker with close ties to Vladimir Putin.... Kushner's failure to disclose the records is just the latest example of his consistent evasiveness on all things Russia-related.... Kushner continues to dissemble about which Russians he spoke to and when he spoke to them."

Trump's Russian Rendezvous? Tony Doris of the Palm Beach Post: "Days before President Trump flies into town for Thanksgiving, one of the world's most expensive yachts, owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, sailed into the Port of Palm Beach Friday afternoon. The 533-foot Eclipse, valued at $400 million to $500 million, comes equipped with a pool, helipad, submarine and room for a crew of 92, according to marine websites.... According to the MarineTraffic app, she plans to head south on the Intracoastal Waterway, toward downtown West Palm Beach. Note to Transportation Security Administration: That would put a Russian submarine within a mile or so of the winter White House. Bloomberg Politics has reported that presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner has met Abramovich one-on-one and with their wives on a number of occasions. No word on whether Abramovich, 51, said to be a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has met President Trump or will spend time with him during the stay."

Caroline Orr of Shareblue: "Despite repeated denials, it is now clear that the Trump campaign had extensive and prolonged contact with Russians, and that senior officials -- including Corey Lewandowski and recently indicted Paul Manafort, two of the campaign's three managers, as well as Trump's son and son-in-law -- were aware of it. According to a count by the Washington Post, Trump campaign officials interacted with Russians at least 31 times throughout the campaign, including at least 19 known meetings. These contacts involve at least nine members of the Trump campaign -- at least, that's how many have been made public. All of this occurred as Russia was also manipulating social media, paying U.S.-based activists, and weaponizing hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee in an effort to influence the 2016 election. 'The Russians were all over the Trump campaign,' wrote Adam Goldman, one of the authors of the latest New York Times piece [on Trump campaign contacts with "Alexander Torshin, a leading figure in Russian President Vladimir Putin's party who has been linked both to Russian intelligence services and organized crime.]. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Also yesterday, Ken Delanian of NBC News was reporting on MSNBC that Donald Trump, Jr., met with Torshin at an NRA dinner, after Kushner sent out a campaign memo saying Torshin's efforts should be squelched. According to Delanian, the White House (or Junior's attorney; I forget) said that Junior & Torshin were not sitting at the same table at the NRA meeting & the two just happened to stop & chat at some point during the event. Okay, then; everything's good. I cannot find a print version of Delanian's on-air reporting.

Tany Basu of The Daily Beast: "Beyond making graduate education impossible for the foreseeable future should it pass, the new tax bill has the potential to stymie fundamental science research in labs. Here's how. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that passed the House by 227 Republican votes on Thursday repeals Section 1204 of the new bill, which, under the current tax code, offered an exemption for 'Interest Payment on Qualified Education Loans, Tuition & Related Expenses, Interest on United States Savings Bond, Qualified Tuition Reduction, and Employer-Provided Education Assistance.' In plain English, that means that tuition waivers were not considered taxable income and were therefore exempt. The proposed new tax code, however, views that waiver as taxable income." --safari ...

... AND here's how the GOP "tax reform" bill will also raise unemployment among well-educated young people. Jessica Silver-Greenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "... in 19 states, government agencies can seize state-issued professional licenses from residents who default on their educational debts. Another state, South Dakota, suspends driver's licenses, making it nearly impossible for people to get to work. As debt levels rise, creditors are taking increasingly tough actions to chase people who fall behind on student loans. Going after professional licenses stands out as especially punitive. Firefighters, nurses, teachers, lawyers, massage therapists, barbers, psychologists and real estate brokers have all had their credentials suspended or revoked." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is much like debtors' prison, which -- although it has been illegal in the U.S. since some time in the 1800s -- persists in municipalities that jail people who can't afford to pay fines (Ferguson, Mo., for instance). It's a Catch-22. Can't afford to pay off your education loans? Then you can't work in the field in which you're trained (and would probably pay you more than the crappy jobs you could get outside your area of expertise). Obviously, as the punitive GOP tax bill would make the cost of education appreciably higher, the number of grads who can't pay down their student loans will increase. The GOP "tax reform" bill is an anti-jobs bill designed to hurt the best workers the most. ...

... The Hits Just Keep on Coming. Here's another winner in the "Worst Part of GOP 'Tax Reform'" contest: ...

... Washington Post Editors: "MONEYBALL POLITICS took a great leap forward when the Supreme Court opened the door to campaign contributions from corporations and unions in the 2010 case Citizens United v. FEC. Now the Republican-controlled House has passed a tax bill that, should it become law, would unleash another tidal wave of change. It would permit churches, charities and foundations to engage in candidate-specific politicking and enable donors to reap tax breaks for political contributions for the first time.... Churches and church-affiliated groups generally don't even have to file IRS returns, so there will be no information about who these contributors are.... Churches, charities and foundations already enjoy the right to advocate for issues. There is no need to give these groups a new cash window and make them servants of special interests seeking to further warp the nation's electoral politics."

Kathryn Watson: "Outspoken Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona was heard on a hot mic Saturday saying the Republican Party will be 'toast' if it is defined by figures like President Trump and Alabama Republican Roy Moore. Flake, whose comments were caught on a microphone of ABC local affiliate KNXV, was speaking with a friend at the time after finishing a town hall on tax reform. '[If we] become the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast,' Flake is overheard saying to Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles." ...

... Max Greenwood of the Hill: "Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Saturday declared there was 'no news here,' after reports surfaced of the Arizona Republican warning that the GOP will be 'toast' if it aligns itself with President Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R). 'No news here,' Flake tweeted. 'I've been saying this to anyone who will listen.'"

Senate Race

William Saletan of Slate: "... many of [Roy] Moore's supporters ... believe that if you have the right principles, all other truth follows.... With God, and with a good man like Moore, there can be no error. This mentality, known in Christian scholarship as 'presuppositionalism,' sustains evangelical support for President Trump, according to Molly Worthen, a professor at the University of North Carolina.... People who think this way dismiss inconvenient facts.... Anyone who claims that Moore is innocent, or that it's impossible to know who's telling the truth, is up against a mountain of evidence." Saletan runs down the evidence, along with Moore's self-incriminating remarks.

Bob Brigham of RawStory: "A South Carolina preacher is continuing to support Republican senate nominee Roy Moore in Alabama, an apparent reversal of his previously claimed focus on wanting to protect children from sexual predators. Pastor Franklin Raddish of the Capitol Hill Independent Baptist Ministries has dismissed recent allegations of powerful men as attacks that are part of a so-called 'war on men.' 'More women are sexual predators than men,' Rev. Raddish claimed. 'Women are chasing young boys up and down the road, but we don't hear about that because it's not PC,' Rev. Raddish alleged." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Sorry I haven't done much today. But I'm all tuckered out because I always spend Saturday nights chasing young boys up & down the road. (Medlar has a tendency to get aggravated about this, but as I've explained to him again & again, it's all good because on Sunday I go to Rev. Raddish's church & confess my sins, which of course washes them away.)

Daniel Politi of Slate: Tony Perkins, "the head of the Family Research Council, allegedly kept quiet about claims that an Ohio Republican lawmaker assaulted a teenage boy in a hotel two years ago. Perkins was told that then-candidate for the Ohio legislature Wesley Goodman's allegedly fondled a supporter's son during a conference in Washington, according to the Washington Post.... The apparent actions by Goodman apparently didn't come as a surprise to Perkins who referred to 'similar incidents' in a letter. Perkins called on Goodman to step down from the race, but he continued and eventually won a seat in the legislature in November. Goodman, now 33, resigned his seat earlier this week after state lawmakers learned about 'inappropriate behavior related to his state office,' according to Ohio's House speaker. Goodman, who is married and repeatedly touted his faith and anti-LGBT views, was reportedly seen having sex with a man in his office."

Gubernatorial Race?

Max Greenwood of the Hill: "Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill apologized on Saturday for posting on Facebook a day earlier bragging about his sexual exploits. O'Neill, who is running for Ohio governor as a Democrat, received massive backlash Friday for detailing his sexual history with '50 very attractive females,' in response to mounting sexual misconduct allegations against prominent political figures.... [However, he qualified his apology.] 'If I offended anyone, particularly the wonderful women in my life, I apologize,' he wrote on Facebook Saturday. 'But if I have helped elevate the discussion on the serious issues of sexual assault, as opposed to personal indiscretions, to a new level ... I make no apologies.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: You think you've "elevated the discussion" in boasting about your "blondes" & "redheads"??? You were a pig on Friday & you're a pig today ... AND you're toast. Pulled pork on a hot bun, maybe, with a side of anus of oinker.

Katie Rogers & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A day after the latest in a dizzying series of sexual assault revelations enveloped Senator Al Franken and rattled the Capitol, politicians and comedians were left trying to assess the line between predatory behavior and an inexcusable mistake, as calls mounted for him to resign." The reports cites numerous former colleagues -- all women -- who said Franken was not sexually abusive. Mrs. McC: We might want to bear in mind, of course, that women at Fox "News" said the same thing about Roger Ailes., who definitely was a sexual predator. ...

... Mark Stern of Slate writes a compelling case for Al Franken's resignation from the Senate: "The hypocrisy of Franken's reaction is galling. Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the senator wrote an impassioned Facebook post declaring that sexual harassment is 'appalling' and 'far too common.' He added that it 'takes a lot of courage to come forward, and we owe them our thanks.' Franken then praised Gretchen Carlson for writing about 'the disappointing responses women often face when they go public both embolden harassers and encourage victims to stay silent.' Now Franken has issued the exact kind of 'disappointing response' that Carlson bemoaned, attempting to dismiss the accusation against him as a botched joke that his victim misremembered."

Mark Townsend of the Guardian: "The Observer has gained access to a secret hitlist of almost 100 prominent individuals targeted by Harvey Weinstein in an extraordinary attempt to discover what they knew about sexual misconduct claims against him and whether they were intending to go public. The previously undisclosed list contains a total of 91 actors, publicists, producers, financiers and others working in the film industry.... The names, apparently drawn up by Weinstein himself, were distributed to a team hired by the film producer to suppress claims that he had sexually harassed or assaulted numerous women." --safari ...

... Wherein Maureen Dowd argues that rampant sexual assault by powerful men like Harvey Weinstein is all the Clintons' fault.

The Source of Their Rage? Rank Hypocrisy. David Ferguson of RawStory: "The New York Times Nicholas Kristof reported Saturday on the results of the annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which found that people living in so-called blue states have lower rates of teen pregnancy, divorce and prostitution than their counterparts in conservative states.... In a survey of 32 states, the states with the highest percentage of teens who are sexually active were Mississippi, Delaware, West Virginia, Alabama and Arkansas. As Kristof noted, 'All but Delaware voted Republican in the last presidential election.'... Of the 10 states with the highest teen birth rates, nine voted Republican in 2016. Of the 10 states with the lowest teen birth rates, nine voted Democratic.... Red state marriages are more likely to end in divorce, the survey found. Furthermore, rates of marital infidelity and prostitution are higher in conservative states." --safari ...

     ... Kristof's column is here. Among the reasons for the red state/blue state dichotomy Kristof reports: "When evangelical kids have sex, they're less likely to use birth control -- and that may be a reason (along with lower abortion rates) that red states have high teen birthrates.... [In blue states, parents] believe in comprehensive sex education and reliable birth control.... Statistical analysis suggests that religious conservatives end up divorcing partly because they marry early, are less likely to go to college and are disproportionately poor. So the deeper problem seems to be the political choices that conservatives make, underinvesting in public education and social services (including contraception). This underinvestment leaves red states poorer and less educated -- and thus prone to a fraying of the social fabric." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This phenomenon has been evident for a long time. It's bad news for the Republican/libertarian view of social services. The fact is that liberal values, translated into programs that tend toward equalizing opportunities, have myriad social & economic benefits. Young people who have reasonable hopes of a sunny future are much more likely to take the precautions necessary to ensure that future. Most Reality Chex readers know that because, to some degree or another, that's what they did.

Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Navy said a Japanese tugboat 'drifted into' a destroyer during a scheduled exercise Saturday, causing 'minimal damage' to the warship and no reported injuries. The USS Benfold, a guided-missile destroyer, appears to have sustained scrapes on its side and remains at sea, according to the Navy's 7th Fleet, which is based in Japan. The tugboat lost propulsion before drifting into the warship, the Navy said in a statement.... This incident occurred amid heightened scrutiny of the 7th Fleet in the wake of numerous embarrassing accidents, including two fatal collisions involving guided-missile destroyers.

Beyond the Beltway

Election Results. AP: "LaToya Cantrell, a City Council member who first gained a political following as she worked to help her hard-hit neighborhood recover from Hurricane Katrina, won a historic election Saturday that made her the first woman mayor of New Orleans. The Democrat will succeed term-limited fellow Democrat Mitch Landrieu as the city celebrates its 300th anniversary next year." ...

     ... The Times-Picayune story, written before most results were in, is here.

Max Greenwood: "A former Oklahoma state senator has pleaded guilty to a child sex trafficking charge, The Oklahoman reported Saturday. Former state Sen. Ralph Shortey, a Republican, had been accused of offering to pay a 17-year-old boy for 'sexual' stuff' earlier this year. Federal prosecutors will drop three additional child pornography charges against him in exchange for his guilty plea.... Child sex trafficking carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life in prison." --safari

Way Beyond

Puppets. Julian Borger in the Guardian: "The same patterns were apparent in the Brexit vote, Donald Trump's shock victory, the surge of the Front National in France and the dramatic ascent of Five Star Movement in Italy, from the pet project of a comedian, Beppe Grillo, to the second most powerful force in Italy. In all cases, libertarians [Assange, Snowden, Farage] viscerally opposed to centralised power made common cause with a brutally autocratic state apparatus in Moscow, an American plutocrat with a deeply murky financial record, and the instinctively authoritarian far right. All in the name of disruption of government and liberal norms in western democracies. So why are the pioneering crusaders of total transparency and freedom of information lining up alongside the most powerful exponents of disinformation and disruption?" --safari

News Lede

Tennessean: "Country Music Hall of Famer, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and Grand Ole Opry member Mel Tillis died early Sunday morning at the Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida...."