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

The Confessions of Bea McCrabbie

Here's what I thought on November 9, 2016:

That Donald Trump would begin to "act presidential," at least to some degree. I believed much of his despicable campaign schtick was conscious performance & that he had a second act in him: playing president.

That Trump would not be completely irresponsible.

That Mitch McConnell & the House leadership team would push through its horrifying right-wing agenda in record speed & Trump would sign every bill. (I didn't count, of course, on some madman shooting & disabling whip Steve Scalise, but I don't think there's much Scalise could have done to alter what happened in his absence.)

That Trump, although not interested in details, would insist that some legislation he signed would attempt to adhere to some of his more populist campaign promises, & that Congressional Republicans, at first, would at least pretend to accommodate Trump's campaign rhetoric.

That about half of the country would be pleased & impressed with Republicans' "progress."

That Trump would be totally unethical.

That the inevitable scandals surrounding Trump would be fairly small-bore & predictable (like Price's & Munchkin's travel extravagances), and & that most Americans wouldn't care what a sleazebag Trump was because, after all, he would be performing as what many Americans believed was an "effective leader."

So I was right one time. Everything else I got completely wrong.

The Commentariat -- September 28, 2017

Damian Paletta & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Republicans on Wednesday proposed slashing tax rates for the wealthy, middle class and businesses, while also preserving popular tax deductions that encourage buying homes and giving to charity, according to a 9-page document obtained by The Washington Post. But the document, titled 'Unified Framework For Fixing Our Broken Tax Code,' leaves many key questions unanswered. In it, the White House and Republican congressional leaders do not identify the numerous tax breaks they say will be removed in order to offset some of the trillions of dollars in revenue lost by cutting tax rates. The framework is being presented to Republicans and the public Wednesday as a starting point for negotiations on revamping the U.S. tax code. Congress must vote the changes into law, and Republican leaders are now tasked with resolving controversial questions to unite their party -- and possibly some Democrats -- behind tax legislation." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "The tax plan that the Trump administration outlined on Wednesday is a potentially huge windfall for the wealthiest Americans. It would not directly benefit the bottom third of the population. As for the middle class, the benefits appear to be modest." ...

... Trump Voices Another "Believe Me" Tell. Adam Raymond of New York: "President Trump traveled to Indiana Wednesday to begin pitching his tax-reform plan, which he said will benefit the middle class at the expense of wealthy Americans like himself. 'They can call me all they want. It's not going to help,' Trump said of his rich friends. 'And it's not good for me, believe me.' That's not true. Trump's plan, which calls for reducing the number of tax brackets from seven to three, lowers the top rate from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, while repealing the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, both of which are paid almost entirely by the wealthy." ...

... WealthFare. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) ripped President Trump's long-awaited tax framework on Wednesday, arguing it would provide a financial 'windfall' for wealthy Americans. 'It seems that President Trump and Republicans have designed their plan to be cheered in the country clubs and the corporate boardrooms,' Schumer said from the Senate floor. He added the GOP tax plan should be called 'wealth-fare.'"...

... Flim Flam. Josh Barro of Business Insider: "The 'doubled standard deduction' in the GOP tax plan is a lie.... The plan would increase the standardized deductions available to taxpayers by 15% or less. Meanwhile, taxpayers who still wouldn't take the standard deduction under the Republican plan -- those who would instead deduct things like mortgage interest -- would pay tax on more of their income than they do now." Mrs. McC: I know you're shocked that Trump & the GOP would mislead you when they haven't done that since ... yesterday. Hope you didn't spend your "double deduction." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Jim Puzzanghera of the Los Angeles Times: "Many Californians face a big financial hit under the Republican tax plan, which would eliminate a major tax break that benefits state residents more than those anywhere else in the U.S. The federal deduction for state and local taxes allowed Californians to reduce their taxable income by $101 billion in 2014, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. The tax outline released Wednesday by President Trump and top congressional Republicans would ax the break, which largely benefits residents in states that are Democratic strongholds."...

...Norm Ornstein of The Atlantic: "The end of September marks the 40th anniversary of the Food Stamp Act, the program that institutionalized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP ... 81 percent of SNAP benefits go to those who are working or to those we do not expect to work -- children, the elderly, the disabled. In other words, SNAP benefits the most vulnerable among us, especially those in dire poverty. It is one of the most successful programs we have had in our social safety net...Why write about food stamps now, other than the 40-year milestone? Because yet again, Republicans, including the Trump administration, are going after SNAP with a meat ax." --safari

**Grim outlook for SCOTUS. Ian Milhiser of ThinkProgress: "Neil Gorsuch ... is on a bit of a victory tour...On Thursday, Gorsuch ill speak to a conservative group at Trump's D.C. hotel. By headlining this event, Gorsuch will personally enrich the very man who appointed him to his lofty position. And he will enable the very mechanism that allows Trump to profit off the presidency.... Gorsuch, along with four of his fellow Republican appointees, have the power to set into motion a downward spiral in which the Supreme Court enhances the GOP's ability to win elections, thereby entrenching the Court's Republican majority -- and undermining the legitimacy of what's become an increasingly partisan institution." Read on. --safari

Humiliated into Helping Puerto Rico. Niraj Chokshi of the New York Times: The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would waive the Jones Act for Puerto Rico, a century-old shipping law that Puerto Rican officials said was hindering efforts to get supplies to the island. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced the decision on Twitter, saying that President Trump had authorized the waiver after a request from Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico." ...

... We have a lot of shippers and a lot of people that work in the shipping industry that don't want the Jones Act lifted. -- President Trump, Wednesday, accidentally admitting the real reason for curbing aid to Puerto Rico ...

... Lachlan Markay, et al., of The Daily Beast: "Over the course of the weekend, President Donald Trump grew increasingly irritated as media coverage portrayed him as inattentive to the devastation on the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. And so, he engaged in a now standard form of online catharsis: He sent out a series of off-key tweets in which he seemed to blame the hurricane-ravaged island for its own fate. When it was all done, Trump came off looking not only inattentive towards Puerto Rico's plight but also unconcerned. The insecurity that he felt about that earlier coverage has only intensified, aides and confidants say, with some conceding that the president has himself to blame." --safari

Nathaniel Weixel of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday said he is considering an executive order to allow health insurance to be purchased across state lines. Trump told reporters at the White House that he plans to issue a 'very major' executive order, probably next week, 'where people can go out across state lines, do lots of things, and buy their own health care.' Trump said the order is 'being finished now. It's going to cover a lot of territory and a lot of people -- millions of people.'... Experts said it's not clear what an executive order on selling insurance plans across state lines would do.... 'To do anything from a federal level would usurp states' ability' to regulate their own insurance markets, said Christopher Holt, director of health care policy at the right-leaning American Action Forum." ...

... Paul Demko & Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "... the idea [of selling health insurance across state lines] is broadly opposed by state insurance commissioners, consumer advocates and insurers, and has failed in states where it's been tried.... Most insurance experts find it hard to imagine how an executive order could supplant existing state regulations, and believe such a move would likely spark a legal challenge.... There's been zero interest from insurers.... Insurers in states with tough regulations are fearful of having to compete against out-of-state plans that don't have to adhere to the same rules.... Skeptics also worry that there wouldn't be any accountability for insurers that engage in shoddy business practices if state regulations are stripped away...." ...

... He's Not Happy about It. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Tom Price's apparent fondness for taxpayer-funded private jet trips has attracted the attention of President Trump, who on Wednesday said he was disappointed in his secretary of Health and Human Services, and would personally examine any financial malfeasance. 'I was looking into it, and I will look into it. And I will tell you personally, I'm not happy about it,' Mr. Trump told reporters before departing on a trip to Indiana.... 'I am not happy about it. I'm going to look at it. I am not happy about it, and I let him know it.'" Got that? He's not happy about it. (Emphasis added.) ...

... Lauren Fox, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday said 'we'll see' when asked if he would fire Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in the wake of reports he has used taxpayer-funded private planes for government business. ...

... Gail Collins takes a stab at picking Trump's worst Cabinet member, & she prominently features Price. Mrs. McC: I'm sticking with Pruitt. Then again, as Collins writes, "There's so much competition." Remember how Trump promised to "pick all the best people"? Of course we knew long ago that he had excelled in picking all the worst. ...

... Price Sabotages Mississippi Health Insurance Enrollment Prep as Repeal Fails. Dylan Scott of Vox: "For the past three years, the US Health and Human Services Department has partnered with a health advocacy group in Mississippi on an education tour before Obamacare enrollment started.... Up until Monday, Roy Mitchell, executive director of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, thought these events were going forward in the coming weeks as planned. He had even asked HHS just last week for biographies of the officials they'd be sending. But then two days ago, he received a short message from an agency official, which Mitchell shared with Vox: HHS wouldn't be doing any Obamacare marketplace events in the South this year. No further explanation was provided. 'HHS bailing out was the last straw for us,' Mitchell told me by phone Wednesday. 'It's clearly sabotage.'" ...

... Kate Nocera & Paul McCloud of BuzzFeed: "... a source ... told BuzzFeed News that all of the department's 10 regional directors were told to not to participate in state-based events promoting open enrollment -- a significant change from years past. The move follows a trend by the Trump administration of stepping away from past federal assistance for Obamacare and, particularly, of dialing back resources for the upcoming open enrollment period.... In a statement Wednesday night, department press secretary Caitlin Oakley said 'Marketplace enrollment events are organized and implemented by outside groups with their own agendas, not HHS. These events may continue regardless of HHS participation.' She went on to say that 'As Obamacare continues to collapse, HHS is carefully evaluating how we can best serve the American people who continue to be harmed by Obamacare's failures.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie Translation: As Obamacare continues to collapse, we're doing all we can to kill it. Besides, we're out of money for these fairly cheap & effective outreach programs, because we spent all our discretionary funds sending the Secretary on private jet excursions. ...

... Another Day, Another Lie. Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday said the attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare isn't dead, tweeting that 'we will have the votes on Healthcare' but not for Saturday's reconciliation deadline. 'We will have the votes for Healthcare but not for the reconciliation deadline of Friday, after which we need 60. Get rid of Filibuster Rule!' he tweeted. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell chose not to hold a vote on the Obamacare repeal bill written by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) after it became clear there wasn't enough support for it to pass." Mrs. McC: I heard Trump speaking to reporters & he used the present tense: "We have the votes." Mitch obviously noticed that wasn't true. ...

     ... Update: Here's a Trumpentweet, issued Tuesday morning, where he also uses the present tense: "With one Yes vote in hospital & very positive signs from Alaska and two others (McCain is out), we have the HCare Vote, but not for Friday!" So, yeah, a big fat lie, in keeping with the time-honored Trump tradition.

Jim Acosta, et al., of CNN: "Returning from a high-dollar fundraiser in Manhattan on Tuesday evening, an infuriated ... Donald Trump watched aboard Air Force One as Fox News called the Alabama Senate primary for Roy Moore against Trump's favored candidate, Luther Strange. What ensued was a barrage of angry venting at his political team and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had consolidated establishment GOP support behind Strange.... He went to bed 'embarrassed and pissed' following the election loss, according to a person familiar with his mindset. Trump, multiple sources said, was furious with McConnell ... and feels outdone by his former aide [Steve] Bannon[, who campaigned for Moore]." ...

... Frank Rich: "As the news of Moore's victory hit..., the Times tweeted that the results had delivered 'a blow to President Trump.' Nothing could be further from the truth. Both of the GOP primary candidates were far to the right, and both were full-throated Trump supporters. Yes, Trump, acting impulsively on sloppy political intelligence, had endorsed the loser, Strange, but the Moore victory only adds to Trump's power over the GOP. Moore was a Trumpist before Trump was: a nativist, homophobic, law-disdaining, white supremacist, theocratic Dixie judge -- a Bible-thumping regional variant on Joe Arpaio. He will be a vocal Trump ally in trying to drive what’s left of the GOP Establishment in Washington out of power." Mrs. McC: Do read on. Rich is usual funny, articulate & insightful self.

... Adolescent in the White House. Nicole Lafond of TPM: "During a private dinner with conservative activists at the White House this week, President Donald Trump complained about his fellow Republicans in the Senate, calling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 'weak' and physically mocking him and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Imitating McCain's thumbs-down gesture, which he used to indicate his no vote in the last Obamacare repeal vote in July, Trump reportedly mocked the gesticulation at the dinner, complete with a facial expression...Trump also physically mocked McConnell, according to Axios, which reported Trump mimicked McConnell's posture by slumping his shoulders and having a lethargic demeanor." --safari ...

... Alex Shephard of the New Republic: "'In private, President Trump has taken to physically mocking ... Mitch McConnell (slumped shoulders; lethargic body language) and Senator John McCain (imitating the thumbs-down of his historic health-care vote)...,' [citing Mike Allen of Axios].... This walks right up to a familiar line for Trump, who has a long history of mocking the disabled. (McConnell learned to walk after suffering from polio and McCain was tortured while a POW in Vietnam.)" ...

Emily Goldberg of Politico: "A majority of American voters say Donald Trump is not 'fit to serve as president,' according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, with 51 percent of respondents saying they are embarrassed to have Trump serve as president. The poll reports that 59 percent say Trump is not honest, 60 percent say he does not have good leadership skills and 61 percent say he does not share their values.... Fifty percent of white voters say Trump is fit to serve, while 94 percent of black voters say he is not fit for the role; Hispanic voters are split 60 percent to 40 percent.... Men are divided 49 percent to 49 percent, while 63 percent of women say Trump is not fit."

The Guardian: "Rapper 50 Cent has claimed that Donald Trump's team offered him $500,000 to make an appearancein Trump's presidential campaign. The musician and actor was discussing the Trump administration on US radio station Hot 97 when he mentioned the president's proposal, adding that he believed it was motivated by a desire to appeal to black voters...'They wanted to pay me $500,000 as part of the campaign just to make an appearance.' [Curtis] Jackson revealed that he turned down the offer, as it would have sullied his reputation. 'I was like, "Nah, that's not good money,"' he said. 'That's not worth it!'" --safari

Norman Eisen & Anne Weismann in a Washington Post op-ed: "At issue [in the Kushner, et al., private e-mail revelations] is the Presidential Records Act, a post-Watergate statute Congress enacted to establish public ownership of presidential (and vice-presidential) records. It obligates the White House and those who work there to preserve all records relating to their official duties. Despite these legal requirements, the first eight months of President Trump's administration have been marked by stories of deleted presidential tweets, by the use within the White House of messaging applications that destroy the contents of messages as soon as they are read, and now by White House staff using personal email accounts to conduct government business.... The emerging pattern makes clear these are the actions of public officials who fail to respect and observe the rule of law.... These and other lapses are not simply 'technical' violations of a somewhat obscure law; they have real-life consequences on matters of great public interest and urgency." ...

... Ashley Feinberg of Wired: "According to the records held by the New York State Board of Elections, Jared Corey Kushner is a woman." Mrs. McC: Either Kushner (a) is an admirably evolved metrosexual or (b) is incapable of filling out complex paperwork, like the one-page voter registration form. If (a), good for him; if (b), he's the ignoramus we thought he was. (Okay, there's a slight possibility the Board of Elections made an input error on the sex designation. But that's not nearly as funny.) ...

... BUT remember, he's an exemplary businessman ...

... Predatory Capitalism. Betsy Woodruff of The Daily Beast: "One of Jared Kushner's real estate companies has been sued. A class action lawsuit filed in Maryland State Court this morning alleges that Westminster Management, a company owned by ... [Kushner], charged its tenants improper fees, and then used their failure to pay those fees as a basis to threaten them with eviction.... According to the suit, Westminster Management charged late fees that are higher than allowed by Maryland state law." --safari

Daisuke Wakabayashi & Scott Shane of the New York Times: "For three weeks, a harsh spotlight has been trained on Facebook over its disclosure that Russians used fake pages and ads, designed to look like the work of American activists, to spread inflammatory messages during and since the presidential campaign. But there is evidence that Twitter may have been used even more extensively than Facebook in the Russian influence campaign last year. In addition to Russia-linked Twitter accounts that posed as Americans, the platform was also used for large-scale automated messaging, using 'bot' accounts to spread false stories and promote news articles about emails from Democratic operatives that had been obtained by Russian hackers.... The House Intelligence Committee announced on Wednesday that it would hold a public hearing on the matter of Russian influence next month, and a Senate aide said Facebook, Twitter and Google have been invited to testify at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Nov. 1." ...

... Ben Collins, et al., of the Daily Beast: "The Facebook group United Muslims of America was neither united, Muslim, nor American. Instead..., it was an imposter account on the world's largest social network that's been traced back to the Russian government. Using the account as a front to reach American Muslims and their allies, the Russians pushed memes that claimed Hillary Clinton admitted the U.S. 'created, funded and armed' al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State; claimed that John McCain was ISIS' true founder; whitewashed blood-drenched dictator Moammar Gadhafi and praised him for not having a 'Rothschild-owned central bank'; and falsely alleged Osama bin Laden was a 'CIA agent.'... The imposter account bought Facebook advertisements to reach its target audience. It promoted political rallies aimed at Muslim audiences. And it used the Twitter account 'muslims_in_usa' and the Instagram account 'muslim_voice' to pass along inflammatory memes under cover of the UMA.... The Kremlin-backed trolls did all this while simultaneously using other accounts to hawk virulently Islamophobic messages to right-wing audiences on Facebook...." ...

... Josh Dawsey of Politico: "Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was the beneficiary of at least one of the Russian-bought political ads on Facebook that federal government officials suspect were intended to influence the 2016 election. Other advertisements paid for by shadowy Russian buyers criticized Hillary Clinton and promoted Donald Trump. Some backed Bernie Sanders and his platform even after his presidential campaign had ended, according to a person with knowledge of the ads." ...

     ... As Harry Enten of 538 said, "... the number of votes cast for Stein in the three states that proved to be pivotal (Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) exceeded Trump's margin of victory over Clinton."

... Dylan Byers of CNN: "At least one of the Facebook ads bought by Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign referenced Black Lives Matter and was specifically targeted to reach audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore...." ...

... Deb Reichmann of the AP: "Russian internet trolls are exploiting the controversy over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to stir up divisions in the United States, a Republican on the Senate intelligence committee said Wednesday. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said paid social media users, or 'trolls,' were hashtagging 'take a knee' and 'boycott NFL' to amplify the issue. They were taking both sides of the argument this past weekend, and pushing them out from their troll farms as much as they could to try to just raise the noise level in America and to make a big issue seem like an even bigger issue,' Lankford said at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee."...

...Denise Clifton of Mother Jones: "Millions of tweets were flying furiously in the final days leading up to the 2016 US presidential election. And in closely fought battleground states that would prove key to Donald Trump's victory, they were more likely than elsewhere in America to be spreading links to fake news and hyper-politicized content from Russian sources and WikiLeaks, according to new research published Thursday by Oxford University...[F]ake news from Twitter reached higher concentrations than the national average in 27 states, 12 of which were swing states -- including Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan, where Trump won by slim margins...While it's unclear what effect such content ultimately had on voters, the new study only deepens concerns about how the 2016 election may have been tweaked by nefarious forces on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media." --safari

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator who has aggressively pushed to dismantle regulations and downsize the organization, is threatening to reach outside his agency and undermine the Justice Department's work enforcing antipollution laws, documents and interviews show. Under Mr. Pruitt, the E.P.A. has quietly said it may cut off a major funding source for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. Its lawyers handle litigation on behalf of the E.P.A.'s Superfund program seeking to force polluters to pay for cleaning up sites they left contaminated with hazardous waste. The E.P.A. reimburses the Justice Department for that work, paying more than $20 million annually in recent years, or enough for 115 full-time employees, budget documents show. But Mr. Pruitt has signaled that he wants to end those payments...." ...

... Brady Dennis & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "... Scott Pruitt has taken at least four noncommercial and military flights since mid-February, costing taxpayers more than $58,000 to fly him to various parts of the country, according to records provided to a congressional oversight committee and obtained by The Washington Post."

Darryl Fears of the Washington Post: "As Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke blasted many within his department for being disloyal to the Trump administration's agenda this week, the agency's inspector general's office continued a probe into whether officials acted inappropriately when they abruptly reassigned dozens of senior workers.... The reassigned workers include Joel Clement, a climate scientist who was removed from his job as director of policy analysis and reassigned to a revenue accounting position for which he has no experience. Clement became a whistleblower when he publicly complained about his switch from his longtime role, in which he assessed climate impact on Alaska Native communities."

Capitalism Is Awesome, After All. No Bonus but a Helluva Consolation Prize. Liz Moyer of CNBC: "The abrupt departure of Equifax's chief executive officer on Tuesday has not dampened the criticism of the company since it disclosed a massive data breach earlier this month. As in other recent corporate scandals, the departure of Richard Smith was swift if not inevitable. The credit reporting company said he was retiring effective immediately and he wouldn't get a bonus for this year, though he is eligible to walk away with at least $18.4 million in pension benefits." (Also linked yesterday.)

A'Hunting He Will Go. Jacqueline Thomsen of the Hill: "Donald Trump Jr. went hunting in Canada after giving up his Secret Service protection, The New York Times reported Wednesday." Donnie was bow-hunting moose.

Medlar's Sports Report. Matt Bonesteel of the Washington Post: "Rick Pitino survived the tawdriest of scandals during his tenure as coach of the Louisville men's basketball team, first a 2009 extortion attempt during which he admitted to having sexual relations with the wife of his team's equipment manager, then a 2015 scandal in which a former Cardinals staffer arranged for strippers and prostitutes to have sex with players and recruits.... But Pitino could not survive allegations that, in the grand scheme of college basketball scandals, barely rise above sordid: That an executive from Adidas, which outfits the Cardinals' athletic teams, and others conspired to steer top recruits to Louisville via six-figure payments to their families, in one instance enlisting the aid of one of Pitino's assistants. Those allegations, unveiled Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York after a years-long undercover investigation by the FBI, proved to be Pitino's undoing. On Wednesday, Pitino was placed on unpaid administrative leave by Louisville..., likely ending a career that earned him a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013." ...

... With an Assist from Safari. Adam Peck of ThinkProgress: "On Tuesday morning, the United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York announced that they had arrested ten people, including four assistant coaches from top-tier Division I college basketball programs for their alleged roles in corruption scandals involving funneling money to prized recruits.... The indictments...sent shockwaves around the college basketball world. Though only four coaches were initially arrested for their roles ... the implication is that Tuesday's news is just the tip of the iceberg.... Players in the NBA and other professional and even amateur sports leagues sign endorsement deals all the time. Only in the NCAA is it known as a rules violation...The NCAA's draconian bylaws governing how and when 'student-athletes' can be financially compensated are almost entirely to blame for the current drama." --safari

Beyond the Beltway

John DiStaso of WMUR (Manchester, NH): "Democrat Kari Lerner of Chester pulled off a surprising upset win in a Rockingham County special New Hampshire House election Tuesday, defeating Republican former state Rep. James Headd of Auburn by 39 votes in a district in which Republicans have a 2-1 advantage in registrations." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Smiley of the Miami Herald: "Florida's Democratic Party picked up a crucial seat in the Florida Senate Tuesday in a special election triggered months ago by a Miami Republican's alcohol-fueled tirade at a bar near the state Capitol. Riding an election-day and early-voting surge, Annette Taddeo topped State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz in the race to claim Senate District 40, a southwest Dade seat resigned in the spring by former Sen. Frank Artiles. The victory gives Democrats 16 seats in the chamber and hands Taddeo her first campaign win in a political career filled with second-place finishes.... Taddeo previously lost races for U.S. Congress and as Charlie Crist's running mate in the 2014 governor's election...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Washington County (Pa.) fire chief Paul Smith has resigned in wake of his use of a racial slur to refer to Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. 'The media dragged my fire company and township into this as well as my family,' Smith told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a statement.... Smith ... called Tomlin a 'no good N***er' on his Facebook page. He then added 'Yes, I said it.' He also blamed the media for labeling him a racist. 'I am not the racist the media portrays me as,' Smith said." Mrs. McC: I don't know who's worse: "the very fine people" in the Charlottesville white-supremacist/neo-Nazi crowd or guys like Smith who indignantly claim they're not racists. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... digby: Paul Smith is "just one guy. But there are millions like him and Trump is activating their racism for his own gain. Dividing this country is what he does." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

Martin Chulov of the Guardian: "More than 92% of voters in Iraqi Kurdistan have opted for independence, according to election monitors, in an overwhelming endorsement of a proposed split from Baghdad that has sparked increasing threats of air and land blockades that could be imposed as early as Friday. The result came after Iraq's parliament authorised the prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to send troops into areas disputed between Arabs and Kurds that were contentiously included in the ballot. Euphoria on the streets of Erbil in recent days has been met with sharply increasing tension in the region, which is likely to escalate in the wake of the result." --safari...

...Update: Juan Cole: "The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding that the Iraqi army take control of the province of Kirkuk and reclaim the Kirkuk oil fields as a national patrimony. The parliament also demanded that the government arrest and try Kurdistan president Massoud Barzani for treason...the Baghdad government is using its international recognition to impose an air flight ban on Iraqi Kurdistan in the wake of this week's referendum.... As isolating as the Iraqi moves are, Turkey can hurt the KRG even more badly. PresidentTayyip Erdogan is threatening to cut off oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan through the Cayhan pipeline. Turkey is also ceasing food exports to Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraqi Kurdistan is landlocked and surrounded by hostile governments who do not want it to secede from Iraq. In going ahead with the referendum, Barzaniput his country on a collision course with the whole world." --safari

News Lede

New York Times: "Hugh Hefner, who created Playboy magazine and spun it into a media and entertainment-industry giant -- all the while, as its very public avatar, squiring attractive young women (and sometimes marrying them) well into his 80s -- died on Wednesday at his home, the Playboy Mansion near Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 91."