How did you assemble this list? Carefully.
May 9, 2018 12:34 AM Subscribe
An endless day in US politics included: withdrawl from the Iran nuclear deal; a trip to North Korea (start by learning their leader's name); jaw-dropping revelations about payments made to Michael Cohen's Essential Consultants LLC from a company tied to a Russian oligarch questioned by Mueller's team and corporations including AT&T (with a Twitter team that didn't handle the news so well) and Novartis (Avenatti says to follow where the money went); more on Michael Cohen's financial difficulties as he pledged his apartment as collateral; more ethics problems for Scott Pruitt (and Hugh Hewitt); reports that Trump ignored warnings from the State Department about deporting 300,000 Central Americans and Haitians currently in the country legally; bogus statistics used to justify separating families at the border; Russian hackers posed as IS to threaten military wives; a report from the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russian targeting of election infrastructure; fair-housing advocates sued HUD for suspending fair-housing rules; the Department of Labor sought to allow teenagers to work longer hours in hazardous jobs; Alex van der Zwaan reported to prison; and primaries in four states (results cheat sheet).
Today: confirmation hearings for CIA Director nominee Gina Haspel, "a Referendum on (Un-)Accountability". Fatima Boudchar, who was tortured in a secret facility in Thailand, has A Few Questions for Gina Haspel.
Beyond the day's news (or, the list of articles that could be FPPs in and of themselves):
Jelani Cobb, William Barber Takes on Poverty and Race in the Age of Trump: "After the success of the Moral Monday protests, the pastor is attempting to revive Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s final—and most radical—campaign."
Just three months after Congress gave children's healthcare a 10-year lifeline, Trump reneges
Mari Uyehara, How Free Speech Warriors Mainstreamed White Supremacists
Greg Sargent, Trump is a disaster, and that’s helping Democrats. But not how you think. (Democrats are running on local issues and health care, not Trump scandals)
How The ACORN Scandal Seeded Today’s Nightmare Politics (more broadly, the danger in taking bad faith criticism seriously)
Death threats against abortion providers and patients nearly doubled in 2017
Here’s how ICE sent children seeking asylum to adult detention centers (featuring a dentist making sketchy age determinations)
Behind Erik Prince’s China venture: "The Blackwater founder has cut a lucrative security-training deal with Chinese insiders. But is it against U.S. interests?"
This is a really excellent @JedediahSPurdy essay arguing that the many authors warning about how democracy is in a period of global decline are not ambitious enough in offering solutions.
Vince McMahon’s WWE Is Pushing Anti-Iran Propaganda for Saudi Arabia
Mark Zuckerberg Doesn’t Understand Journalism
Facebook Does Not Understand the Conservative Grift
A beautifully done data journalism project from the Washington Post: America is more diverse than ever — but still segregated
Beyond the day's news (or, the list of articles that could be FPPs in and of themselves):
Jelani Cobb, William Barber Takes on Poverty and Race in the Age of Trump: "After the success of the Moral Monday protests, the pastor is attempting to revive Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s final—and most radical—campaign."
Just three months after Congress gave children's healthcare a 10-year lifeline, Trump reneges
Mari Uyehara, How Free Speech Warriors Mainstreamed White Supremacists
Greg Sargent, Trump is a disaster, and that’s helping Democrats. But not how you think. (Democrats are running on local issues and health care, not Trump scandals)
How The ACORN Scandal Seeded Today’s Nightmare Politics (more broadly, the danger in taking bad faith criticism seriously)
Death threats against abortion providers and patients nearly doubled in 2017
Here’s how ICE sent children seeking asylum to adult detention centers (featuring a dentist making sketchy age determinations)
Behind Erik Prince’s China venture: "The Blackwater founder has cut a lucrative security-training deal with Chinese insiders. But is it against U.S. interests?"
This is a really excellent @JedediahSPurdy essay arguing that the many authors warning about how democracy is in a period of global decline are not ambitious enough in offering solutions.
Vince McMahon’s WWE Is Pushing Anti-Iran Propaganda for Saudi Arabia
Mark Zuckerberg Doesn’t Understand Journalism
Facebook Does Not Understand the Conservative Grift
A beautifully done data journalism project from the Washington Post: America is more diverse than ever — but still segregated
Not to mention that Erik Prince's deals will mostly likely be harmful against the Chinese people's interests.
posted by runcifex at 1:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by runcifex at 1:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
As someone who had at least three "noisy" quips deleted from the last thread: a reminder to be better than me. (Just think of me as the lowest bar.)
As was pointed out towards the end of the last thread, Trump and more importantly the Republicans in general are what happen when rich, white men don't have to suffer consequences for their (literal) crimes. I've been thinking about this constantly the last few days. Republican officials (and by proxy the people who voted for them) have killed more people directly through their policies in just the last year than all of their imagined hoodlums have in the past century!
I mean, take the latest Cohen thing. Honestly, what possible consequence will AT&T suffer? Will Cohen suffer? Will anyone directly involved suffer? I'm guessing nothing at all, at the end of the day. A token fine dwarfed by the profits reaped by their illegal activity, at best.
I have no idea how this gets fixed. Maybe it doesn't.
posted by maxwelton at 1:04 AM on May 9, 2018 [85 favorites]
As was pointed out towards the end of the last thread, Trump and more importantly the Republicans in general are what happen when rich, white men don't have to suffer consequences for their (literal) crimes. I've been thinking about this constantly the last few days. Republican officials (and by proxy the people who voted for them) have killed more people directly through their policies in just the last year than all of their imagined hoodlums have in the past century!
I mean, take the latest Cohen thing. Honestly, what possible consequence will AT&T suffer? Will Cohen suffer? Will anyone directly involved suffer? I'm guessing nothing at all, at the end of the day. A token fine dwarfed by the profits reaped by their illegal activity, at best.
I have no idea how this gets fixed. Maybe it doesn't.
posted by maxwelton at 1:04 AM on May 9, 2018 [85 favorites]
That's what I keep coming back to, maxwelton. There are no consequences for bad behavior by Republicans, even when it involves running massive con jobs on the American people. The same people who brought us the Iraq War and the financial crisis have not only faced no accountability, they've been elevated to positions of even higher authority (see also: Gina Haspel). And GOP leadership in Congress is determined to let it happen (see also: Nunes trying to endanger an intelligence asset as Paul Ryan can't be bothered to stop this, which I can't believe I forgot to include in the FPP).
Jay Rosen's When the President’s own lawyer pictures him as a grifter (someone posted it in the last thread, thank you) has stuck with me. There's a strong case to be made that the daily madness we're experiencing is, not deliberate strategy because these people don't have strategy, but the inevitable consequence of the realization that exploding the news cycle on a daily basis is the only way to manage Trump, and everyone around him is figuring that out. Which means that the response to the Mueller investigation isn't the normal Presidential investigation playbook, but repeated deliberate efforts to crash into it at full speed. It's the endgame of Bannon's "flood the zone with shit" strategy.
posted by zachlipton at 1:17 AM on May 9, 2018 [56 favorites]
Jay Rosen's When the President’s own lawyer pictures him as a grifter (someone posted it in the last thread, thank you) has stuck with me. There's a strong case to be made that the daily madness we're experiencing is, not deliberate strategy because these people don't have strategy, but the inevitable consequence of the realization that exploding the news cycle on a daily basis is the only way to manage Trump, and everyone around him is figuring that out. Which means that the response to the Mueller investigation isn't the normal Presidential investigation playbook, but repeated deliberate efforts to crash into it at full speed. It's the endgame of Bannon's "flood the zone with shit" strategy.
posted by zachlipton at 1:17 AM on May 9, 2018 [56 favorites]
As was pointed out towards the end of the last thread, Trump and more importantly the Republicans in general are what happen when rich, white men don't have to suffer consequences for their (literal) crimes.
Yesterday on NPR, the host was desperately trying to draw equivalences with Republicans and Democrats in the Schneiderman case, pointing out several prominent Democrats accused of sexual misconduct and going so far as to ask if New York Democrats have a pattern. Nowhere did she point out that, from Franken to Weiner to Schniederman himself, all the Democrats have stepped down while Trump and Greitens cling to power and Roy Moore won his primary.
There's a problem here, but it isn't with Democrats.
posted by Gelatin at 2:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [182 favorites]
Yesterday on NPR, the host was desperately trying to draw equivalences with Republicans and Democrats in the Schneiderman case, pointing out several prominent Democrats accused of sexual misconduct and going so far as to ask if New York Democrats have a pattern. Nowhere did she point out that, from Franken to Weiner to Schniederman himself, all the Democrats have stepped down while Trump and Greitens cling to power and Roy Moore won his primary.
There's a problem here, but it isn't with Democrats.
posted by Gelatin at 2:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [182 favorites]
An endless day in US politics included
I'm a fan of Margin Call and its attempt to explain the financial crisis -that had occurred 3 years before the film's release- by covering a critical 24 hour period inside a bank. Some day, the challenge of summing up the fate of Trump's presidency in a similar way is going to be open to writers. It will be necessary because we either try to tell the whole gargantuan story (how many lines of MeFi threads on 45 so far I wonder?) in a sprawling drama/documentary - or we condense to a narrow time frame to get the essence.
So, I wonder when that critical 24 hours might be?
posted by rongorongo at 2:57 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'm a fan of Margin Call and its attempt to explain the financial crisis -that had occurred 3 years before the film's release- by covering a critical 24 hour period inside a bank. Some day, the challenge of summing up the fate of Trump's presidency in a similar way is going to be open to writers. It will be necessary because we either try to tell the whole gargantuan story (how many lines of MeFi threads on 45 so far I wonder?) in a sprawling drama/documentary - or we condense to a narrow time frame to get the essence.
So, I wonder when that critical 24 hours might be?
posted by rongorongo at 2:57 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
> Transactions adding up to at least $4.4 million flowed through Essential Consultants [Cohen's company] starting shortly before Mr. Trump was elected president and continuing to this January, the records show.
Just when you think you're inured to all this, something happens that still makes the jaw drop...
posted by humuhumu at 3:37 AM on May 9, 2018 [22 favorites]
Just when you think you're inured to all this, something happens that still makes the jaw drop...
posted by humuhumu at 3:37 AM on May 9, 2018 [22 favorites]
Just when you think you're inured to all this, something happens that still makes the jaw drop...
One of my take-aways from elementary Chaos Theory learned through fictional and film sources, is that when the system loses control, it enters a feedback loop where the magnitude of the swings up and down get greater and greater until the structure can't support the stress anymore, and collapses.
Trump's lost control of this.
As Barlow and Wier wrote, "Well you know it's gonna get stranger; So let's get on with the show"
The only way out is through. Despair is a sin. We will emerge from this stronger for the test.
posted by mikelieman at 4:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [93 favorites]
One of my take-aways from elementary Chaos Theory learned through fictional and film sources, is that when the system loses control, it enters a feedback loop where the magnitude of the swings up and down get greater and greater until the structure can't support the stress anymore, and collapses.
Trump's lost control of this.
As Barlow and Wier wrote, "Well you know it's gonna get stranger; So let's get on with the show"
The only way out is through. Despair is a sin. We will emerge from this stronger for the test.
posted by mikelieman at 4:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [93 favorites]
It's worth noting that despite $4.4 million flowing through a company Cohen ostensibly owns and controls, he had to use his personal personal funds to pay Stormy Daniels. This implies that the money flowing through his company is already spoken for, and likely isn't his at all. I.e., that passing funds through his company is a way of concealing transactions that are more disreputable and/or illegal than hush money for his clients' mistresses.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [154 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [154 favorites]
Happy Comeyversary, everyone.
posted by eirias at 4:17 AM on May 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by eirias at 4:17 AM on May 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
hat passing funds through his company is a way of concealing
This is why we need Muller and the process to go methodically and carefully. There are may legit businesses with flow. Cohen is scum but there may be little or nothing he's done that's illegal.
posted by sammyo at 4:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is why we need Muller and the process to go methodically and carefully. There are may legit businesses with flow. Cohen is scum but there may be little or nothing he's done that's illegal.
posted by sammyo at 4:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
It is going to take more than one term of a good US president serving to restore USA's standing in the world. You are not making it easy being your allies.
posted by bouvin at 4:29 AM on May 9, 2018 [53 favorites]
posted by bouvin at 4:29 AM on May 9, 2018 [53 favorites]
Thank you zachlipton though by the time I get through your thorough FPP links we will be into the next megathread.
posted by adamvasco at 4:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 4:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
I feel like there's never going to be a bottom to this; it's just scandals all the way down.
posted by octothorpe at 4:32 AM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:32 AM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
This is why we need Muller and the process to go methodically and carefully.
There are an awful lot of people in this country whose rights to due process I am more concerned over than Michael fucking Cohen. He'll be handled very carefully and professionally, I'm sure. Would that every American enjoyed the same level of treatment from the criminal justice system.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:41 AM on May 9, 2018 [97 favorites]
There are an awful lot of people in this country whose rights to due process I am more concerned over than Michael fucking Cohen. He'll be handled very carefully and professionally, I'm sure. Would that every American enjoyed the same level of treatment from the criminal justice system.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:41 AM on May 9, 2018 [97 favorites]
One of my take-aways from elementary Chaos Theory learned through fictional and film sources, is that when the system loses control, it enters a feedback loop where the magnitude of the swings up and down get greater and greater until the structure can't support the stress anymore, and collapses.
Trump's lost control of this.
I still can't believe that the twenty seconds starting here from Jim Jefferies's bit on Trump was ever intended to be taken as an actual action plan; and yet here we are.
posted by flabdablet at 4:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Trump's lost control of this.
I still can't believe that the twenty seconds starting here from Jim Jefferies's bit on Trump was ever intended to be taken as an actual action plan; and yet here we are.
posted by flabdablet at 4:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
I keep in mind that while this is all new to us, that Mueller's team has been digging into this for months, and if there's corporations paying "consulting fees" or more settlements to Trumps benefit that were paid from Essential's account that we don't know about yet, Mueller's team has orders of magnitude more knowledge than we do.
I don't think the delays over Cohen are a "justice delayed/justice denied" issue, but rather "The depth of potential wrongdoing, spanning multinational companies and paid access to the administration ( AT&T/FCC Net Neutrality, for example ) then it's going to take more time to plumb those depths.
posted by mikelieman at 4:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
I don't think the delays over Cohen are a "justice delayed/justice denied" issue, but rather "The depth of potential wrongdoing, spanning multinational companies and paid access to the administration ( AT&T/FCC Net Neutrality, for example ) then it's going to take more time to plumb those depths.
posted by mikelieman at 4:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
So, I wonder when that critical 24 hours might be?
No way to know until he’s out of office, of course. I just hope they don’t end with a nuke exploding.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 4:49 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
No way to know until he’s out of office, of course. I just hope they don’t end with a nuke exploding.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 4:49 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Just one day: via John Brennan - Twitter
Today, Donald Trump simultaneously lied about the Iranian nuclear deal, undermined global confidence in US commitments, alienated our closest allies, strengthened Iranian hawks, & gave North Korea more reason to keep its nukes. This madness is a danger to our national security.
posted by adamvasco at 4:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [86 favorites]
Today, Donald Trump simultaneously lied about the Iranian nuclear deal, undermined global confidence in US commitments, alienated our closest allies, strengthened Iranian hawks, & gave North Korea more reason to keep its nukes. This madness is a danger to our national security.
posted by adamvasco at 4:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [86 favorites]
This madness is a danger to our national security.
On the upside, any non-US actor with a genuine interest in seeing the US come undone would be well advised to do nothing at all rather than risk distracting Team Trump from the astonishingly effective measures already being taken toward that end.
posted by flabdablet at 5:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
On the upside, any non-US actor with a genuine interest in seeing the US come undone would be well advised to do nothing at all rather than risk distracting Team Trump from the astonishingly effective measures already being taken toward that end.
posted by flabdablet at 5:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
The other day I noticed that the Wikipedia article for an unusually homophobic local politician, which in past election cycles I'd added quotes from him to, was edited for the first time in years to add a minor biographical detail. At around the same time I got a notification from Wikipedia that there was an unsuccessful attempt to log in to my account from a new device.
My speculation is that the politician is planning to run for a new office and they or a PR agency hired by them was taking a shot at hijacking my account, to have an established account to do their edits with. Either way, Wikipedia evidently experienced an increase in hacking attempts in late 2016 and set up this failed-login notification system last year.
So, if you've ever edited a Wikipedia article on a political topic or political figure and haven't logged in recently, you might check to see if someone's been trying to guess your password.
posted by XMLicious at 5:03 AM on May 9, 2018 [92 favorites]
My speculation is that the politician is planning to run for a new office and they or a PR agency hired by them was taking a shot at hijacking my account, to have an established account to do their edits with. Either way, Wikipedia evidently experienced an increase in hacking attempts in late 2016 and set up this failed-login notification system last year.
So, if you've ever edited a Wikipedia article on a political topic or political figure and haven't logged in recently, you might check to see if someone's been trying to guess your password.
posted by XMLicious at 5:03 AM on May 9, 2018 [92 favorites]
It is going to take more than one term of a good US president serving to restore USA's standing in the world.
Maybe. OTOH, Trump is so uniquely horrible that he quite easily stands out as an aberration. I can easily see the rest of the world breathing a huge sigh of relief and opening their doors again, once the US elects a proper president.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe. OTOH, Trump is so uniquely horrible that he quite easily stands out as an aberration. I can easily see the rest of the world breathing a huge sigh of relief and opening their doors again, once the US elects a proper president.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
> Transactions adding up to at least $4.4 million flowed through Essential Consultants [Cohen's company] starting shortly before Mr. Trump was elected president and continuing to this January, the records show.
As chris24 cited barely more than 12 hours ago in the previous thread, Chris Hayes points out that "the basic structure of the Watergate scandal was: illegal, unreported donations funnelled into a slush fund then used to pay for off-book dirty tricks operations."
The information in the public domain establishes that the same thing occurred involving Cohen, Trump, and likely much of the Republican Party campaign apparatus. Not to mention likely money laundering for the Russian mob. And if we know these things, Mueller does too, and likely has evidence to prove it.
Republicans will no doubt circle the wagons, but there's little doubt at this point that flagrantly illegal activities occurred and are occurring in the cover-up, which likely involves Republican members of Congress. Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.
posted by Gelatin at 5:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [78 favorites]
As chris24 cited barely more than 12 hours ago in the previous thread, Chris Hayes points out that "the basic structure of the Watergate scandal was: illegal, unreported donations funnelled into a slush fund then used to pay for off-book dirty tricks operations."
The information in the public domain establishes that the same thing occurred involving Cohen, Trump, and likely much of the Republican Party campaign apparatus. Not to mention likely money laundering for the Russian mob. And if we know these things, Mueller does too, and likely has evidence to prove it.
Republicans will no doubt circle the wagons, but there's little doubt at this point that flagrantly illegal activities occurred and are occurring in the cover-up, which likely involves Republican members of Congress. Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.
posted by Gelatin at 5:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [78 favorites]
I can easily see the rest of the world breathing a huge sigh of relief and opening their doors again, once the US elects a proper president.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on May 9 [+] [!]
This is exactly why Obama did his "speedy tour of all the allies" after the election - and I think I remember reading as much in the news here. That Obama was going around saying, 'tighten the hatches, it's gonna get rough but it will only last 4 years.'
posted by From Bklyn at 5:11 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on May 9 [+] [!]
This is exactly why Obama did his "speedy tour of all the allies" after the election - and I think I remember reading as much in the news here. That Obama was going around saying, 'tighten the hatches, it's gonna get rough but it will only last 4 years.'
posted by From Bklyn at 5:11 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
Republicans will no doubt circle the wagons, but there's little doubt at this point that flagrantly illegal activities occurred...
Josh Marshall
If you have much experience covering political scandals, it's hard to look at tonight's revelations and not realize that a bunch of people are going to be going to prison.
posted by chris24 at 5:13 AM on May 9, 2018 [70 favorites]
Josh Marshall
If you have much experience covering political scandals, it's hard to look at tonight's revelations and not realize that a bunch of people are going to be going to prison.
posted by chris24 at 5:13 AM on May 9, 2018 [70 favorites]
Did McConnell photoshopping himself as Cocaine Mitch in response to Blankenship's loss come up yet?
posted by clawsoon at 5:13 AM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 5:13 AM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Good thing he lost, because never say never. I just watched John Oliver's bit on Blankenship, and it's astonishing those campaign ads aren't self-parody. It's as if he's under control by brain slugs, but, y'know, he IS a Republican.
posted by adept256 at 5:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 5:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
Stormy Daniels and Michael Avanetti are fucking heroes.
posted by Dashy at 5:31 AM on May 9, 2018 [70 favorites]
posted by Dashy at 5:31 AM on May 9, 2018 [70 favorites]
Stormy Daniels and Michael Avanetti are fucking heroes.
Yeah, it's hard to overstate Stormy's bravery. She and her child had already been threatened with harm. She was risking financial catastrophe. She's a woman who works in an industry that is mocked, denigrated and despised by many. Yet she went after the most powerful person in the world.
posted by chris24 at 5:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [247 favorites]
Yeah, it's hard to overstate Stormy's bravery. She and her child had already been threatened with harm. She was risking financial catastrophe. She's a woman who works in an industry that is mocked, denigrated and despised by many. Yet she went after the most powerful person in the world.
posted by chris24 at 5:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [247 favorites]
...it's astonishing those campaign ads aren't self-parody. It's as if he's under control by brain slugs, but, y'know, he IS a Republican.
Oh, hell, you should have seen the ads run by Todd Rokita here in Indiana. Real Timecube-level batshit insanity. I halfway hoped he would win, just so we could see just how insane his stuff would get. Who knows? Maybe he'll jump in as an independent? His non-congratulatory-congratulations to the winner certainly left the impression that he wouldn't give a single poop about splitting the republican vote in November.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:47 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Oh, hell, you should have seen the ads run by Todd Rokita here in Indiana. Real Timecube-level batshit insanity. I halfway hoped he would win, just so we could see just how insane his stuff would get. Who knows? Maybe he'll jump in as an independent? His non-congratulatory-congratulations to the winner certainly left the impression that he wouldn't give a single poop about splitting the republican vote in November.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:47 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Joe Donnelly could use all the help he can get, certainly. I hope that the nasty primary campaign at least dampens Republican enthusiasm. Donnelly is in the Senate because Dick Lugar was defeated in an ugly primary by an ultra-right-wing Tea Party figure who then got in trouble saying the quiet parts loud. That practice is now much more fashionable among Republicans, but I wonder if there are still, as there were six years ago, lines Indiana Republicans won't cross.
Then again, they went for Trump, so who knows?
posted by Gelatin at 5:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Then again, they went for Trump, so who knows?
posted by Gelatin at 5:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nah, Indiana gave us Mike Pence
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:08 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:08 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'd like to offer zachlipton my congratulations on choosing the perfect title for this thread. And of course Michael Avenatti for the perfect answer to the question. Period.
posted by valetta at 6:17 AM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by valetta at 6:17 AM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Mod note: A few deleted. Periodic reminder to keep the thread on track discussing the news rather than general chat, expressions of despair, how the dems are just as bad, long personal essays, etc.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:21 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 6:21 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Which means that the response to the Mueller investigation isn't the normal Presidential investigation playbook, but repeated deliberate efforts to crash into it at full speed. It's the endgame of Bannon's "flood the zone with shit" strategy.
Bannon is what passes for a strategic thinker on Team Trump, but the rest of them are like uncontrolled neural net learning processes, blindly searching for a winning tactic by trying everything. Giuliani, in his first week's disastrous media blitz, is like a concentrated dose of Ty Cobb or Jay Sekulow. Trump's first-season legal team made plenty of media gaffs themselves, only spread out over months (though of course never as incriminating). The problem is that Trump, in tune with his followers' worst impulses, will say things, then act on them when a sane politician/criminal defendant wouldn't touch them with a bargepole. (Speaking of which, Trump went on Twitter this morning to complain that despite everything going just swell for him, "91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake)" and contemplating taking away press credentials. While his supporters may or may not react to that enough for a follow-up, this is classic Trumpian lashing out after narcissistic injury and attempts to assert dominance.)
Compare this to Avenatti's in-your-face media strategy of constant TV appearances and continual Twitter updates, which have put Team Trump off balance and caused a lot of unforced errors. It incidentally also helps the crowdfunding efforts for Daniels's legal fees and, as we may be seeing with the leaks about Cohen's banking transactions, attracts evidence to bolster Daniels's lawsuit. While Mueller's official investigation necessarily has to work out of the public glare, Avenatti's leveraging the court of public opinion against Trump and COhen. Avenatti told Anderson Cooper last night, "Here's the bottom line, Anderson: It's working, OK? It's working in spades. And one of the reasons, one of the ways that it's working is because we're so out front on this, people send us information, people want to help our cause, people contact us with information."
Trump's just a bully abusing the bully pulpit of the presidency, but Daniels and Avenatti are publicly standing up to him. Because that's how you beat a bully.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:21 AM on May 9, 2018 [93 favorites]
Bannon is what passes for a strategic thinker on Team Trump, but the rest of them are like uncontrolled neural net learning processes, blindly searching for a winning tactic by trying everything. Giuliani, in his first week's disastrous media blitz, is like a concentrated dose of Ty Cobb or Jay Sekulow. Trump's first-season legal team made plenty of media gaffs themselves, only spread out over months (though of course never as incriminating). The problem is that Trump, in tune with his followers' worst impulses, will say things, then act on them when a sane politician/criminal defendant wouldn't touch them with a bargepole. (Speaking of which, Trump went on Twitter this morning to complain that despite everything going just swell for him, "91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake)" and contemplating taking away press credentials. While his supporters may or may not react to that enough for a follow-up, this is classic Trumpian lashing out after narcissistic injury and attempts to assert dominance.)
Compare this to Avenatti's in-your-face media strategy of constant TV appearances and continual Twitter updates, which have put Team Trump off balance and caused a lot of unforced errors. It incidentally also helps the crowdfunding efforts for Daniels's legal fees and, as we may be seeing with the leaks about Cohen's banking transactions, attracts evidence to bolster Daniels's lawsuit. While Mueller's official investigation necessarily has to work out of the public glare, Avenatti's leveraging the court of public opinion against Trump and COhen. Avenatti told Anderson Cooper last night, "Here's the bottom line, Anderson: It's working, OK? It's working in spades. And one of the reasons, one of the ways that it's working is because we're so out front on this, people send us information, people want to help our cause, people contact us with information."
Trump's just a bully abusing the bully pulpit of the presidency, but Daniels and Avenatti are publicly standing up to him. Because that's how you beat a bully.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:21 AM on May 9, 2018 [93 favorites]
Trump is so uniquely horrible that he quite easily stands out as an aberration.
I wish that were true; unfortunately 30-40% of the population thinks he's doing a good job. I would not be terribly surprised if he is re-elected in 2020. All it would take would be a major terrorist attack, good economic news, or some diplomatic success at just the right time, combined with a conservative supreme court upholding gerrymandering and voter suppression laws and there we are.
From the FPP: Fatima Boudchar, who was tortured in a secret facility in Thailand, has A Few Questions for Gina Haspel.
zachlipton did a great job assembling links for the FPP, but that one really stood out to me. If you can navigate the NYT paywall definitely read it. It makes the CIA's torture program personal in a way few other accounts have. This conclusion of hers is hard to argue with:
I also read that the C.I.A. says America’s foreign allies respect Ms. Haspel. Maybe so. But if America wants to persuade the Muslim world it means us no harm, if it wants to regain lost trust, the C.I.A. can’t ignore history in the hope that it will go away. People remember injustice for a long time. The only answer is to explain what happened.
posted by TedW at 6:21 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
I wish that were true; unfortunately 30-40% of the population thinks he's doing a good job. I would not be terribly surprised if he is re-elected in 2020. All it would take would be a major terrorist attack, good economic news, or some diplomatic success at just the right time, combined with a conservative supreme court upholding gerrymandering and voter suppression laws and there we are.
From the FPP: Fatima Boudchar, who was tortured in a secret facility in Thailand, has A Few Questions for Gina Haspel.
zachlipton did a great job assembling links for the FPP, but that one really stood out to me. If you can navigate the NYT paywall definitely read it. It makes the CIA's torture program personal in a way few other accounts have. This conclusion of hers is hard to argue with:
I also read that the C.I.A. says America’s foreign allies respect Ms. Haspel. Maybe so. But if America wants to persuade the Muslim world it means us no harm, if it wants to regain lost trust, the C.I.A. can’t ignore history in the hope that it will go away. People remember injustice for a long time. The only answer is to explain what happened.
posted by TedW at 6:21 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
Pence was on his way to losing his re-election bid as governor in Indiana after his policies led to an HIV epidemic in Evansville; signing up with Trump was his long-shot chance to stay in politics. Donnelly's opponent in 2012, Richard Mourdock, said that God intended for women to be raped and any resulting pregnancies were a gift.
Indiana voters are able (or at least used to able) to find specific reasons to vote against a republican, but are unable to generalize. So really Donnelly's future depends on Braun saying or doing something nasty where someone can hear or see it. Also the bar for what qualifies as "nasty" has shifted considerably.
posted by logicpunk at 6:23 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Indiana voters are able (or at least used to able) to find specific reasons to vote against a republican, but are unable to generalize. So really Donnelly's future depends on Braun saying or doing something nasty where someone can hear or see it. Also the bar for what qualifies as "nasty" has shifted considerably.
posted by logicpunk at 6:23 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
You know, the more I read about the taxi medallion collapse affecting Cohen, the more I wonder if we have it backwards- rather than him getting involved in Trump’s shadiness because he’s a shady guy, see, look at these taxi medallions, the more I wonder if he is a man who saw his finances collapsing and became vulnerable enough to see Trump as a lifeline.
There’s a reason security clearances check on financial stability, and it’s not about how much money you have, exactly, so much as the mismatch between how you live and the money you have. When people start to lose what they believe will be theirs or should be theirs, they are at their most dangerous.
posted by corb at 6:24 AM on May 9, 2018 [69 favorites]
There’s a reason security clearances check on financial stability, and it’s not about how much money you have, exactly, so much as the mismatch between how you live and the money you have. When people start to lose what they believe will be theirs or should be theirs, they are at their most dangerous.
posted by corb at 6:24 AM on May 9, 2018 [69 favorites]
There’s a reason security clearances check on financial stability, and it’s not about how much money you have, exactly, so much as the mismatch between how you live and the money you have.
If anyone had done due diligence on clearances, how could anyone in Cohen's circle have passed?
When people start to lose what they believe will be theirs or should be theirs, they are at their most dangerous.
Supported by the entire thread on entitled incel's terrorist attacks...
posted by mikelieman at 6:41 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
If anyone had done due diligence on clearances, how could anyone in Cohen's circle have passed?
When people start to lose what they believe will be theirs or should be theirs, they are at their most dangerous.
Supported by the entire thread on entitled incel's terrorist attacks...
posted by mikelieman at 6:41 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
The other day I noticed that the Wikipedia article for an unusually homophobic local politician, which in past election cycles I'd added quotes from him to, was edited for the first time in years to add a minor biographical detail. At around the same time I got a notification from Wikipedia that there was an unsuccessful attempt to log in to my account from a new device.
There was a large-scale attempt to break in to Wikipedia accounts last week thought to have been from a single disgruntled banned editor. PR editing can definitely be an issue on Wikipedia, but hacking into accounts would be a counterproductive way to do it.
posted by Tsuga at 6:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
There was a large-scale attempt to break in to Wikipedia accounts last week thought to have been from a single disgruntled banned editor. PR editing can definitely be an issue on Wikipedia, but hacking into accounts would be a counterproductive way to do it.
posted by Tsuga at 6:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
Some of the NYTimes comments on Haspel's nomination claim that detainee interrogation techniques never rose to the level of torture, were controlled, and stuck to approved methods. We'll never know. She destroyed the only historical record we had in defiance of a presidential order. We will never know what we did or didn't do. We will never be able to historically comes to terms with it. Putting her in charge of the C.I.A. confirms we don't care.
posted by xammerboy at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [74 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [74 favorites]
Some of the NYTimes comments on Haspel's nomination claim that detainee interrogation techniques never rose to the level of torture, were controlled, and stuck to approved methods. We'll never know. She destroyed the only historical record we had in defiance of a presidential order.
NPR has done a considerable amount of coverage of Haspel's nomination, including interviewing politicians and subject matter experts both in favor of and opposed to her elevation to CIA head, and somehow they consistently fail to mention this fact. It alone is disqualifying.
posted by Gelatin at 6:47 AM on May 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
NPR has done a considerable amount of coverage of Haspel's nomination, including interviewing politicians and subject matter experts both in favor of and opposed to her elevation to CIA head, and somehow they consistently fail to mention this fact. It alone is disqualifying.
posted by Gelatin at 6:47 AM on May 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
Destroying evidence is itself a goddamn crime.
The mind boggles.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [51 favorites]
The mind boggles.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [51 favorites]
Something tells me that if the Stormy Daniels NDA is thrown out, then that’s gonna be the beginning of the end for Trump. It’s not so much what Daniels might say out there, it’s what the other people covered by NDAs may be able to tell after they see the NDAs don’t hold up on court. We can only hope.
posted by azpenguin at 6:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 6:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
I would have expected McConnell (or rather, his social media person) to own the turtle comparisons well before leaning into "Cocaine Mitch". Hell of an act, what do you call it, etc.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
In all of the news about Cohen, and the primaries, and Gina Haspel, and North Korea, and Iran and Melania's best, it seems we've missed a big piece of news.
Not sure how the Mueller team is going to fight this but they're in court today so we'll find out.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:00 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
A federal judge has rejected special counsel Robert Mueller’s request to delay the first court hearing in a criminal case charging three Russian companies and 13 Russian citizens with using social media and other means to foment strife among Americans in advance of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Mueller's team asked for the delay, because the American law firm's discovery included basically every act of espionage the U.S. government has engaged in against any foreign country since 1945.
Not sure how the Mueller team is going to fight this but they're in court today so we'll find out.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:00 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Haspel being introduced by Saxby Chambliss and Evan Bayh. Appropriate. Chambliss cast the only committee vote against investigating torture in 2009. Bayh helped the CIA whitewash spying on its Senate investigators.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
When people start to lose what they believe will be theirs or should be theirs, they are at their most dangerous.
See: Trump voters. Motivated not by economics, but by a sense of (racialized and gendered) grievance and loss to Uppity Women and Those People.
I know I'm not the only one nostalgic for the days of Obama, but...talk about a squeaky-clean administration! I wish all our elected officials and their cabinets could be like that. I've heard various whiners and malcontents say (usually in regard to sexual harassment, but also in regard to other crooked stuff) "whyyyyy should we Democrats care? After all, the Republicans don't! We need to just WIN at any price and stop being prudes and puritans!" I think most Democrats and liberals are like me and think that putting decent, scandal-free people in office and not putting up with harassment or financial shenanigans is a FEATURE, not a bug.
The Trump administration is not just a disgrace, it's a laughingstock, especially given our national self-image as a shining light of democracy etc. etc. I remember reading about Berlusconi and feeling sorry for the Italian people. Oh, silly naive me. Little did I know we would get a Berlusconi of our very own!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
See: Trump voters. Motivated not by economics, but by a sense of (racialized and gendered) grievance and loss to Uppity Women and Those People.
I know I'm not the only one nostalgic for the days of Obama, but...talk about a squeaky-clean administration! I wish all our elected officials and their cabinets could be like that. I've heard various whiners and malcontents say (usually in regard to sexual harassment, but also in regard to other crooked stuff) "whyyyyy should we Democrats care? After all, the Republicans don't! We need to just WIN at any price and stop being prudes and puritans!" I think most Democrats and liberals are like me and think that putting decent, scandal-free people in office and not putting up with harassment or financial shenanigans is a FEATURE, not a bug.
The Trump administration is not just a disgrace, it's a laughingstock, especially given our national self-image as a shining light of democracy etc. etc. I remember reading about Berlusconi and feeling sorry for the Italian people. Oh, silly naive me. Little did I know we would get a Berlusconi of our very own!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
A beautifully done data journalism project from the Washington Post: America is more diverse than ever — but still segregated
I wonder how much segregation (by race, class or income) is "helped" by the need and desire to sell lots and houses in suburbs.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:08 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
I wonder how much segregation (by race, class or income) is "helped" by the need and desire to sell lots and houses in suburbs.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:08 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
the basic structure of the Watergate scandal was: illegal, unreported donations funnelled into a slush fund then used to pay for off-book dirty tricks operations.
What truly amazes me about the parallels between Watergate and Stupid Watergate is that Stupid Watergate all happened after Citizens United. The bar you have to clear to avoid having your activities described as "illegal unreported donations funneled into a slush fund then used to pay for off-book dirty tricks operations" is so low that it would make 20th-century mobsters blush. You just have to funnel it through PACs, you morons! It would take twenty minutes to set up the shell LLC in Delaware! The Supreme Court has given you carte blanche to use your money-expressing-itself-as-protected-speech, and do literally whatever the fuck you want with it, and it's all completely legal as long as you at least pretend to follow the rules! How do you mess up your political money laundering when it's this easy?!
I'm beginning to wonder if Trump has really hired the best people, guys.
posted by Mayor West at 7:14 AM on May 9, 2018 [91 favorites]
What truly amazes me about the parallels between Watergate and Stupid Watergate is that Stupid Watergate all happened after Citizens United. The bar you have to clear to avoid having your activities described as "illegal unreported donations funneled into a slush fund then used to pay for off-book dirty tricks operations" is so low that it would make 20th-century mobsters blush. You just have to funnel it through PACs, you morons! It would take twenty minutes to set up the shell LLC in Delaware! The Supreme Court has given you carte blanche to use your money-expressing-itself-as-protected-speech, and do literally whatever the fuck you want with it, and it's all completely legal as long as you at least pretend to follow the rules! How do you mess up your political money laundering when it's this easy?!
I'm beginning to wonder if Trump has really hired the best people, guys.
posted by Mayor West at 7:14 AM on May 9, 2018 [91 favorites]
rather than him getting involved in Trump’s shadiness because he’s a shady guy, see, look at these taxi medallions, the more I wonder if he is a man who saw his finances collapsing and became vulnerable enough to see Trump as a lifeline.
That's basically what happened to Manafort, although I think Cohen has been closer to the Trumps for a lot longer.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's basically what happened to Manafort, although I think Cohen has been closer to the Trumps for a lot longer.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trump Admits He Calls All Negative News ‘Fake’
Not really surprising, the open admission of what any other politician would talk around or not talk about at all is a hallmark of Trump.
posted by sotonohito at 7:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
Not really surprising, the open admission of what any other politician would talk around or not talk about at all is a hallmark of Trump.
posted by sotonohito at 7:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
Susmita Baral, Teen Vogue: California's Deserts Are at Risk for Resource Extraction Under Trump
Aside from Zinke’s recent announcement [opening up 1.3 million acres for mining], the Trump administration is reviewing 10.8 million acres of California desert, which has been called one of the largest intact ecosystems in the lower 48 states, protected by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). The review by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is in response to a 2017 energy executive order that called on federal agencies to review all regulations that could “potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy sources.”posted by ZeusHumms at 7:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
...
The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan was finalized in the last months of the Obama presidency, after years of work under that administration. The plan protects more than 22 million acres by directing energy development to regions where it would be least detrimental to the environment and local wildlife.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the conservation plan was righting a previous wrong, where the Obama administration dove into solar development without taking environmental impact into consideration earlier in the administration’s tenure. In addition to opening up swaths of land to indiscriminate renewable energy development, revoking the protection now could open up sensitive ecological areas to mining, grazing, and off-road vehicles.
What fantastic news that three Americans are returning home from their time in the North Korea gulag.
posted by lstanley at 7:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by lstanley at 7:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
What Went Down In The May 8 Primary Elections -- For Once, Republicans (And Democrats) Mostly Avoid Self-Inflicted Damage (Nate Silver for 538, May 8, 2018)
4 Takeaways From The Big Primary Kickoff Night (NPR, May 9, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 7:25 AM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
In West Virginia, Patrick Morrisey, the state’s attorney general, won the U.S. Senate primary over U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and Don Blankenship, the Trumpian former coal mining executive who was convicted on a charge related to the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster and recently spent a year in jail. The most important headline is that Morrisey has the potential to give incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin a tough race considering West Virginia’s increasingly Republican lean in national races. (Manchin easily won his primary, although the Democrat running to his left, Paula Jean Swearengin, performed respectably.)Bolded by me to emphasize the states in question. And there's further analysis and thoughts in the linked article.
...
In Ohio, Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine easily won their respective primaries, with the establishment-backed Cordray beating former presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich by a considerably wider margin than polls predicted. Ohio is increasingly red, but in a blue-leaning year with two experienced candidates — Cordray is the former Ohio attorney general and DeWine is the current one — the general election is likely to be competitive. As expected, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate; he’ll face incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was unopposed. As expected, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate; he’ll face incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was unopposed.
The night wasn’t entirely without success for upstart candidates. In Indiana, businessman and former state Rep. Mike Braun easily won the U.S. Senate primary over two U.S. representatives, Todd Rokita and Luke Messer. But Braun is much more in the mold of Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, a business owner turned conservative but fairly conventional U.S. senator, than he is of someone like Blankenship. Braun might make it ever-so-slightly harder for Republicans to knock off incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, who was unopposed — but if there are major red flags in Braun’s general election candidacy, they haven’t been discovered yet.
Perhaps the worst news for Republicans came in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, where incumbent U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger was defeated by challenger Mark Harris. That will push the district, which was already expected to be competitive, further into toss-up status.
All in all, however, these are pretty minor wounds for a Republican Party that has done a lot of self-inflicted damage to itself in Senate and gubernatorial primaries in past years.
4 Takeaways From The Big Primary Kickoff Night (NPR, May 9, 2018)
Midterms, especially primaries, are won and lost by activists.Interesting thoughts, but no reasons for Dems to let up. We have a compromised president to impeach, as John Whitbeck, the chairman of Virginia's Republican Party, so helpfully reminded NPR listeners back on May 2nd. "If the Democrats take the House, they will impeach this president. And it's coming, if they have the majority." I realize that was an effort to excite the Republican base, but for anyone wondering about how to get rid of Trump, like independents who are upset at the current direction of the country under its mis-management, that's a pretty strong reason to vote for the Dems. Oh, and would you look at that -- Democratic, Republican Identification Near Historical Lows (Gallup polling, Jan. 11, 2018). It looks like there are fewer die-hard Republicans to rile up with threats of Democrats impeaching Trump.
And right now, if Tuesday night's primary results are any indication, Democrats appear to be in better shape structurally than the GOP. It's still very early in primary season to draw conclusions that are too sweeping, but here are four takeaways based on what's known from Tuesday night's elections in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and North Carolina:
1. Republicans dodge a bullet (with Blankenship's loss). Are they learning the lesson of Alabama?
...
Republicans over the past decade have lost roughly half a dozen Senate seats because of problematic candidates. That's something McConnell and his team have been throwing their hands up about for years.
...
2. McConnell isn't entirely off the hook.
Despite his team's gloating, the Republican Senate leader has become problematic for the party in some circles.
He remains the most unpopular senator (as of Oct. 31, 2017) in the country. And just 30 percent of even people in his home state (as of Dec. 22, 2017) of Kentucky approve of the job he is doing.
...
3. Republican voters continue to reject Washington.
To that point, there was ample evidence Tuesday night that there is quite a bit of angst in the GOP base toward Washington Republicans...
4. Democrats aren't facing primary headwinds yet — and might not.
While there have been signs of division on the Democratic side, it hasn't manifested very strongly.
Instead, the division so far has still mostly been on one side — with Republicans unhappy with Washington. There were opportunities Tuesday night for the more progressive wing of the party to flex its muscles, but it instead chose the pragmatic route.
...
posted by filthy light thief at 7:25 AM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
@natewessler (ACLU): 4th Circuit rules that in light of the immense privacy concerns, forensic searches of electronic devices seized at the border must be justified by individualized suspicion. US v. Kolsuz [link to opinion]
posted by melissasaurus at 7:31 AM on May 9, 2018 [85 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 7:31 AM on May 9, 2018 [85 favorites]
Very Important Briefing on Iran from Thing One & Thing Two at State, both recent graduates of the SHS School of Press Briefings.
Background Briefing on President Trump's Decision To Withdraw From the JCPOA
Background Briefing on President Trump's Decision To Withdraw From the JCPOA
MODERATOR: All right, thanks everybody. So we are glad to have with us today two folks to talk about the President’s decision today to withdraw from the JCPOA. This will be on background, embargoed until the end. Our two speakers with us today are [Senior State Department Official One], and next to him is [Senior State Department Official Two]. And so they’ll start with a few comments and then we’ll take some questions.posted by scalefree at 7:50 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
I think – you’d like to start?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Great, yeah. Hi.
MODERATOR: Senior State Department Official Number One.
The most important headline is that Morrisey has the potential to give incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin a tough race considering West Virginia’s increasingly Republican lean in national races.
Pat's got his head up Trump's ass, and Manchin needs to seize on that. I know and like Pat. But I don't want him in the Senate.
posted by jgirl at 7:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pat's got his head up Trump's ass, and Manchin needs to seize on that. I know and like Pat. But I don't want him in the Senate.
posted by jgirl at 7:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Garrett M. Graff: This is the biggest story you're not paying attention to tonight—the CIA officer who appears to have given up the entire US intel operation in China
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
Apparently November last year was when Mueller's team requested information from Novartis about their relationship and payments to Cohen. Seven months ahead of the news...
posted by Buntix at 8:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 8:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [48 favorites]
@MichaelAvenatti And now Novartis claims they hired Mr. Cohen for “healthcare” matters (they paid him approx $1 Million). Wow - he’s a doctor as well!! Very talented guy this Mr. Cohen. #basta
posted by scalefree at 8:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [71 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 8:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [71 favorites]
Feinstein to Haspel: This is probably most difficult confirmation I have had in the last 2 decades
Just like Pompeo, there’s no argument for any Democrat to vote for Haspel. None. Much less Feinstein. She has to go. If Rand Paul doesn’t flip back again*, Democrats can kill this nomination of a war criminal who covered up and destroyed evidence of war crimes, but there’s absolutely no universe in which they actually do.
* - he will
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:11 AM on May 9, 2018 [60 favorites]
Just like Pompeo, there’s no argument for any Democrat to vote for Haspel. None. Much less Feinstein. She has to go. If Rand Paul doesn’t flip back again*, Democrats can kill this nomination of a war criminal who covered up and destroyed evidence of war crimes, but there’s absolutely no universe in which they actually do.
* - he will
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:11 AM on May 9, 2018 [60 favorites]
I don't get how it can be a difficult decision either way.
If you think torture is great, then Haspel is an easy decision: you vote for her.
If you think the US shouldn't be engaging in torture then Haspel is also an easy decision: you vote against her.
I can't really wrap my mind around someone thinking this is a difficult decision. What, exactly, does Feinstein think is so amazing about Haspel that she believes her vote is difficult? And, again, especially for a California Democrat how is this a difficult decision?
Does she mean "it's going to be difficult justifying my pro-torture vote to my constituents"?
posted by sotonohito at 8:23 AM on May 9, 2018 [82 favorites]
If you think torture is great, then Haspel is an easy decision: you vote for her.
If you think the US shouldn't be engaging in torture then Haspel is also an easy decision: you vote against her.
I can't really wrap my mind around someone thinking this is a difficult decision. What, exactly, does Feinstein think is so amazing about Haspel that she believes her vote is difficult? And, again, especially for a California Democrat how is this a difficult decision?
Does she mean "it's going to be difficult justifying my pro-torture vote to my constituents"?
posted by sotonohito at 8:23 AM on May 9, 2018 [82 favorites]
Very Important Briefing on Iran from Thing One & Thing Two at State, both recent graduates of the SHS School of Press Briefings.
I'm sure I'll be embarrassed when I hear the answer, but: I don't understand what the issue is here? I'm assuming that the moderator used the person's actual name and "Senior State Department Official Number One" is just a redaction in the transcript, no?
posted by holborne at 8:25 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm sure I'll be embarrassed when I hear the answer, but: I don't understand what the issue is here? I'm assuming that the moderator used the person's actual name and "Senior State Department Official Number One" is just a redaction in the transcript, no?
posted by holborne at 8:25 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Thorzdad:
posted by bouvin at 8:26 AM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
Maybe. OTOH, Trump is so uniquely horrible that he quite easily stands out as an aberration. I can easily see the rest of the world breathing a huge sigh of relief and opening their doors again, once the US elects a proper president.The problem is that Trump has clearly established that any international treaty or deal with the USA has an expected expiry date at the end of the next election cycle, because that's when the American public is going to vote in the next yahoo regardless of (or rather in direct response to) the qualities of the incumbent.
posted by bouvin at 8:26 AM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
Avenatti: Wow - he’s a doctor
Love the Michelle Wolf callback
posted by mabelstreet at 8:28 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Love the Michelle Wolf callback
posted by mabelstreet at 8:28 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
I'm sure I'll be embarrassed when I hear the answer, but: I don't understand what the issue is here? I'm assuming that the moderator used the person's actual name and "Senior State Department Official Number One" is just a redaction in the transcript, no?
Yes. This is actually a fairly standard practice to prevent undue attention on the briefer, it just tickled my funny bone to see it in action with two briefers. The briefing itself is fairly long, the questions get quite pointed at times & the answers get vague & repetitious in proportion to that.
posted by scalefree at 8:35 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yes. This is actually a fairly standard practice to prevent undue attention on the briefer, it just tickled my funny bone to see it in action with two briefers. The briefing itself is fairly long, the questions get quite pointed at times & the answers get vague & repetitious in proportion to that.
posted by scalefree at 8:35 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just in case you were curious like I was: no, Blankenship cannot run as a third-party candidate in WV due to their "sore loser" law.
posted by mhum at 8:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by mhum at 8:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
So...the president had unprotected sex with lots of random women, and then he/his thugs make them sign NDAs. How has he NOT paid for an abortion at some point? People in earlier threads have been calling this for awhile, but all the evidence that continues to come out about him suggests that something extra shady really is hidden there. There was the speculation about him having a kid out of wedlock by the doorman, but that was at least 3-5 scaramucci's ago. Hopefully that would be career ending, to say nothing of him knocking up women and then making them abort.
And if it comes out he did pay for an abortion, it honestly won't matter at all now. We used to think something like that would...it won't. If it was something in the 90's, "that was years ago. he was a democrat back then and since has come around to god."
Sigh...it won't matter. I'm trying to be hopeful for November and voting out all the assholes that support him, but right now this guy seems to survive pretty much anything in the court of public opinion. Here's to hoping the court of law can at last hold him accountable.
posted by andruwjones26 at 8:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
And if it comes out he did pay for an abortion, it honestly won't matter at all now. We used to think something like that would...it won't. If it was something in the 90's, "that was years ago. he was a democrat back then and since has come around to god."
Sigh...it won't matter. I'm trying to be hopeful for November and voting out all the assholes that support him, but right now this guy seems to survive pretty much anything in the court of public opinion. Here's to hoping the court of law can at last hold him accountable.
posted by andruwjones26 at 8:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
That sore loser law would've kept Joe Lieberman out of the Senate for his last term.
What could have been...
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:47 AM on May 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
What could have been...
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:47 AM on May 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
I may very well have stolen this thought from someone here on the blue but,
If I were to write a cliche super villain story, with bumbling idiotic villains, they STILL wouldn't be this dumb. Because this is so dumb, it too powerful for suspension of disbelief. No one would believe it.
This shit makes some Venture Brother's villains seem like Lex Luthor.
posted by Twain Device at 8:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
If I were to write a cliche super villain story, with bumbling idiotic villains, they STILL wouldn't be this dumb. Because this is so dumb, it too powerful for suspension of disbelief. No one would believe it.
This shit makes some Venture Brother's villains seem like Lex Luthor.
posted by Twain Device at 8:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
right now this guy seems to survive pretty much anything in the court of public opinion.
30% of the country would vote for Stalin if he ran on a white entitlement platform.
posted by benzenedream at 8:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
30% of the country would vote for Stalin if he ran on a white entitlement platform.
posted by benzenedream at 8:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
There was the speculation about him having a kid out of wedlock.... Hopefully that would be career ending...
There's precedent otherwise, although "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa? Gone to the White House, ha ha ha!" was well before the time of anyone here.
posted by TedW at 8:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
There's precedent otherwise, although "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa? Gone to the White House, ha ha ha!" was well before the time of anyone here.
posted by TedW at 8:52 AM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
Thorzdad: "Oh, hell, you should have seen the ads run by Todd Rokita here in Indiana. Real Timecube-level batshit insanity. I halfway hoped he would win, just so we could see just how insane his stuff would get. Who knows? Maybe he'll jump in as an independent?"
I believe Indiana has a sore loser law, so he would be unable to run.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I believe Indiana has a sore loser law, so he would be unable to run.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
right now this guy seems to survive pretty much anything in the court of public opinion.
As long as he can remind people that Barack Obama was black, about 30 percent of the populace will be on his side.
This is the un-adressed heritage of america.
posted by rc3spencer at 8:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
As long as he can remind people that Barack Obama was black, about 30 percent of the populace will be on his side.
This is the un-adressed heritage of america.
posted by rc3spencer at 8:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
I believe Indiana has a sore loser law, so he would be unable to run.
TIL Indiana does indeed have such a law. Waddayaknow? Thanks!
posted by Thorzdad at 8:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
TIL Indiana does indeed have such a law. Waddayaknow? Thanks!
posted by Thorzdad at 8:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
There's precedent otherwise, although "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa? Gone to the White House, ha ha ha!" was well before the time of anyone here.
Holy shit. So Cleveland forced himself on a woman, she got pregnant, her child was taken from her, and she was committed to an insane asylum against her will.
Thanks for the reminder that our current troubles are not new.
posted by Melismata at 9:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [80 favorites]
Holy shit. So Cleveland forced himself on a woman, she got pregnant, her child was taken from her, and she was committed to an insane asylum against her will.
Thanks for the reminder that our current troubles are not new.
posted by Melismata at 9:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [80 favorites]
andruwjones26: And if it comes out he did pay for an abortion, it honestly won't matter at all now. We used to think something like that would...it won't. If it was something in the 90's, "that was years ago. he was a democrat back then and since has come around to god."
I haven't been able to nail down a solid source for this, but I think the Broidy/Bechard affair (assuming the official story is correct) happened within the last two years, involving multiple encounters from 2016 to 2017. So, if the David Dennison of the Bechard NDA (not to be confused with the Dennison of the Daniels NDA) was actually Trump, per the wild speculation... then the affair, cover-up, and abortion all involved Candidate Trump and/or President Trump, and the "changed man" excuse loses most of its power.
Of course, by the time this is all over, we're going to find out that not only was it really Trump and not Broidy that slept with Bechard, but the Story Daniels affair was actually with Broidy and not Trump, and then everyone involved agreed for some very stupid/criminal reason to swap blame for their respective trysts. Strangers Under The Bus
(To be totally clear, I really don't think that's remotely a possibility, and I retract any implication that Daniels, Avenatti etc could belying. I was speaking more about our anything-is-possible timeline than about those people.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:12 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
I haven't been able to nail down a solid source for this, but I think the Broidy/Bechard affair (assuming the official story is correct) happened within the last two years, involving multiple encounters from 2016 to 2017. So, if the David Dennison of the Bechard NDA (not to be confused with the Dennison of the Daniels NDA) was actually Trump, per the wild speculation... then the affair, cover-up, and abortion all involved Candidate Trump and/or President Trump, and the "changed man" excuse loses most of its power.
Of course, by the time this is all over, we're going to find out that not only was it really Trump and not Broidy that slept with Bechard, but the Story Daniels affair was actually with Broidy and not Trump, and then everyone involved agreed for some very stupid/criminal reason to swap blame for their respective trysts. Strangers Under The Bus
(To be totally clear, I really don't think that's remotely a possibility, and I retract any implication that Daniels, Avenatti etc could belying. I was speaking more about our anything-is-possible timeline than about those people.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:12 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Sore loser laws like the one on West Virginia’s books are exactly what they sound like — and they’re fairly common. All states save for three, Connecticut, Iowa, and New York, have these laws on the books to make sure that when candidates have lost, they are truly out of the race, according to a 2011 Georgetown Law Review article by Emory associate law professor Michael Kang.
The near omnipresence of sore loser laws is typically assumed to be a stable feature of twentieth-century politics, but their spread across the United States is surprisingly recent. As late as 1985, about half the states had a sore loser law or a functional equivalent that prohibited losing candidates in a party primary from appearing on the ballot in the general election. By 2007, however, almost every state had enacted one.No really guys, political parties are just private organizations. Private organizations which the government enforces your fealty and obeisance to.
posted by XMLicious at 9:16 AM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
then the affair, cover-up, and abortion all involved Candidate Trump and/or President Trump, and the "changed man" excuse loses most of its power
Let's not forget Michael Wolfe quoting Steve Bannon in Fire and Fury about the "hundred" women they had to pay off or manage out of the way during the campaign.
Trump has been a sexual predator for half a century; he would not have stopped during the campaign.
posted by suelac at 9:20 AM on May 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Let's not forget Michael Wolfe quoting Steve Bannon in Fire and Fury about the "hundred" women they had to pay off or manage out of the way during the campaign.
Trump has been a sexual predator for half a century; he would not have stopped during the campaign.
posted by suelac at 9:20 AM on May 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Politico: There were 20 open Democratic House primaries with women on the ballot Tuesday night, and voters selected a female nominee in 17 of them.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:20 AM on May 9, 2018 [96 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:20 AM on May 9, 2018 [96 favorites]
Btw, this list of federal political sex scandals in the U.S. is quite fascinating, rabbit-hole worthy for history buffs.
posted by Melismata at 9:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 9:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Reuters: AT&T payments Trump lawyer more than reported -- source familiar. That's really all there is to the story right now, that it was more than $200,000, but clearly this is going to keep getting worse.
I still want to know how and why AT&T knew to hire Essential Consultants for their "insights." How did Cohen market this scam?
posted by zachlipton at 9:23 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
I still want to know how and why AT&T knew to hire Essential Consultants for their "insights." How did Cohen market this scam?
posted by zachlipton at 9:23 AM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
And now Novartis says their contract with Cohen was $100,000/mo for a year (via Eamon Javers, CNBC).
posted by pjenks at 9:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by pjenks at 9:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
The Senate has forced a vote to restore net neutrality
posted by Artw at 9:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [153 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:30 AM on May 9, 2018 [153 favorites]
I still want to know how and why AT&T knew to hire Essential Consultants for their "insights." How did Cohen market this scam?
That name is good marketing in itself, these particular consultants really are essential if you want to pay to play in this administration.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
That name is good marketing in itself, these particular consultants really are essential if you want to pay to play in this administration.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Although it's not clear from that statement how much they actually paid.
@EamonJavers: Novartis: “In March 2017, Novartis had its first meeting with (Cohen)...Novartis determined that Michael Cohen + Essential Consultants would be unable to provide the services that Novartis had anticipated related to US healthcare policy matters,” decided not to engage further.posted by pjenks at 9:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Where the hell did all this money go? With all of this cash flowing in, why the hell did he need to take out a gigantic mortgage?
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Where the hell did all this money go? With all of this cash flowing in, why the hell did he need to take out a gigantic mortgage?
You've got to think that Robert Mueller and his team are really having a lot of fun at work every day.
posted by pjenks at 9:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [58 favorites]
You've got to think that Robert Mueller and his team are really having a lot of fun at work every day.
posted by pjenks at 9:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [58 favorites]
AT&T payments Trump lawyer more than reported -- source familiar. That's really all there is to the story right now, that it was more than $200,000, but clearly this is going to keep getting worse.
It's going to turn out that they also gave him all those phones that got seized.
posted by srboisvert at 9:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's going to turn out that they also gave him all those phones that got seized.
posted by srboisvert at 9:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Think your regional heatwave is bad? Sure, hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit in early May in Las Vegas, NV and Phoenix, AZ is unpleasant, but the arctic has its own heat spike, with temperatures 30 to 35 degrees F. above average (Weather.com video segment), and this is after a third winter of heat spikes.
That's totally normal, nothing to see here. *hops back in H2, guns it out of the parking lot, over the median, and nearly kills a bicyclist or two* Freedom!
posted by filthy light thief at 9:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [31 favorites]
That's totally normal, nothing to see here. *hops back in H2, guns it out of the parking lot, over the median, and nearly kills a bicyclist or two* Freedom!
posted by filthy light thief at 9:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [31 favorites]
Talking Points Memo: When asked if he deserves the Nobel Prize, President Donald Trump said that “Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it.”
OK, that was pretty funny, I'm going to give him a break on that one as long as he rots in jail
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:38 AM on May 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
OK, that was pretty funny, I'm going to give him a break on that one as long as he rots in jail
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:38 AM on May 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
Uhhh this looks suspicious as hell. Columbus Nova (which paid Michael Cohen) went on an at-right domain buying spree. They own CarlCuck.com (it's a 4chan thing, explained in the link), alt-right.co, alternate-rt.com [really, yes]), alt-rite.com, and others. And registered them in their own name and address during 2016-2017. None of them were actually used for anything, but "They were purchased in Columbus Nova's name by Frederick Intrater—the company's design manager, brother of CEO Andrew Intrater and cousin of Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who owns parent company Renova—using Columbus Nova's NYC address."
Where the hell did all this money go? With all of this cash flowing in, why the hell did he need to take out a gigantic mortgage?
This is what I keep coming back to as well. There were two Michael Cohen stories yesterday. One that his loans are in trouble and the bank made him put his apartment up as collateral to refinance, and the other is that millions of dollars were pouring into his account from Fortune 500 companies. Avenatti clearly didn't have enough evidence on Lawrence O'Donnell last night on this, but he hinted pretty hard that the interesting story is the outflow of money from Essential Consultants and said it didn't all go to Cohen personally. Given everything we know about Donald Trump, does he strike you as the person to let Cohen profit off him without insisting on a cut?
posted by zachlipton at 9:39 AM on May 9, 2018 [46 favorites]
Where the hell did all this money go? With all of this cash flowing in, why the hell did he need to take out a gigantic mortgage?
This is what I keep coming back to as well. There were two Michael Cohen stories yesterday. One that his loans are in trouble and the bank made him put his apartment up as collateral to refinance, and the other is that millions of dollars were pouring into his account from Fortune 500 companies. Avenatti clearly didn't have enough evidence on Lawrence O'Donnell last night on this, but he hinted pretty hard that the interesting story is the outflow of money from Essential Consultants and said it didn't all go to Cohen personally. Given everything we know about Donald Trump, does he strike you as the person to let Cohen profit off him without insisting on a cut?
posted by zachlipton at 9:39 AM on May 9, 2018 [46 favorites]
Thanks for the reminder that our current troubles are not new.
Oh, absolutely this - years ago, I was helping a theater company research past US political scandals for program notes for their latest play, and the comforting thing that I took away from that personally was that "there have always been scandals, and we as a country have still managed to muddle on."
The pessimist in me, however, is saying that "we've forgotten the past and were doomed to be repeating it now." or more accurately, we teach our history in a piss-poor way.
Trump has been reminding me a hell of a lot of Andrew Jackson - the populist appeal-to-the-common-man tone of his campaign and his administration, the wholesale scapegoating of an entire group of people, even the whispers of associations with a prostitute. And, i mean, we lived through it as a country, but many, many innocent people paid a terrible cost for it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Oh, absolutely this - years ago, I was helping a theater company research past US political scandals for program notes for their latest play, and the comforting thing that I took away from that personally was that "there have always been scandals, and we as a country have still managed to muddle on."
The pessimist in me, however, is saying that "we've forgotten the past and were doomed to be repeating it now." or more accurately, we teach our history in a piss-poor way.
Trump has been reminding me a hell of a lot of Andrew Jackson - the populist appeal-to-the-common-man tone of his campaign and his administration, the wholesale scapegoating of an entire group of people, even the whispers of associations with a prostitute. And, i mean, we lived through it as a country, but many, many innocent people paid a terrible cost for it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Where the hell did all this money go? With all of this cash flowing in, why the hell did he need to take out a gigantic mortgage?
He’s the bagman. The money isn’t his, it just flows through his LLC, and he probably gets a percentage, but it comes in and goes out. Who puts in and who receives are the fascinating questions, but Cohen is the fixer and the middleman who keeps it moving. To facilitate the Stormy payment, he took out a loan, knowing it would flow back to him as “consulting fees”.
posted by nubs at 9:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
He’s the bagman. The money isn’t his, it just flows through his LLC, and he probably gets a percentage, but it comes in and goes out. Who puts in and who receives are the fascinating questions, but Cohen is the fixer and the middleman who keeps it moving. To facilitate the Stormy payment, he took out a loan, knowing it would flow back to him as “consulting fees”.
posted by nubs at 9:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
I don't even believe that Michael Cohen would be able to unilaterally persuade these companies to pay him without the President's involvement. Why should the companies trust that this lawyer among many would be able to achieve the aims of their bribery? They would only do so if Trump himself had pointed them in the direction of Cohen or Essential Consultants.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
i'm starting to think that I would like to see this trump fellow's tax returns
posted by lazaruslong at 9:43 AM on May 9, 2018 [149 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 9:43 AM on May 9, 2018 [149 favorites]
Michael Cohen is (or was) a very rich man, and it's possible that his richness depends on the knowledge that withdrawals of his wealth can happen on demand at any moment, from his mob friends, and from his Trump friends, if those are indeed separate classes of friend.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:43 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:43 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
And if it comes out he did pay for an abortion, it honestly won't matter at all now.
And it shouldn't. Paying for an abortion is not something that should be considered shameful. In fact, you can pay for random strangers' abortions right now. Supporting anti-abortion laws is what is shameful, regardless of whether you have had or paid for the procedure yourself. Supporting a healthcare system that requires money to access it is what is shameful. Abortion, like all healthcare, should be free at the point of service. We already know that Republicans are hypocrites, but the problem - from our side - isn't that they pay for abortions (we all should, through our taxes), it's that they prevent others from accessing the procedure.
For example, a Dem could say: "I commend President Trump for ensuring that this woman could access the healthcare services that she needed. But women shouldn't have to depend on the benevolence of their paramours to access healthcare. We should repeal the Hyde Amendment and expand prenatal coverage to ensure that all women can access comprehensive reproductive health services, even if they haven't been intimate with the President."
posted by melissasaurus at 9:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [176 favorites]
And it shouldn't. Paying for an abortion is not something that should be considered shameful. In fact, you can pay for random strangers' abortions right now. Supporting anti-abortion laws is what is shameful, regardless of whether you have had or paid for the procedure yourself. Supporting a healthcare system that requires money to access it is what is shameful. Abortion, like all healthcare, should be free at the point of service. We already know that Republicans are hypocrites, but the problem - from our side - isn't that they pay for abortions (we all should, through our taxes), it's that they prevent others from accessing the procedure.
For example, a Dem could say: "I commend President Trump for ensuring that this woman could access the healthcare services that she needed. But women shouldn't have to depend on the benevolence of their paramours to access healthcare. We should repeal the Hyde Amendment and expand prenatal coverage to ensure that all women can access comprehensive reproductive health services, even if they haven't been intimate with the President."
posted by melissasaurus at 9:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [176 favorites]
Here are some lighter links:
Where the Story of Trump’s $400 Million Cash Spending Could Go Next
A Visual History of Trump Magazine Covers
409 Trump Nicknames
4 Remixes: Trump, Russia, Possible Collusion
Bing Bing Bong Bong
The old China remix
Trump's Insults and Comebacks
posted by growabrain at 9:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Where the Story of Trump’s $400 Million Cash Spending Could Go Next
A Visual History of Trump Magazine Covers
409 Trump Nicknames
4 Remixes: Trump, Russia, Possible Collusion
Bing Bing Bong Bong
The old China remix
Trump's Insults and Comebacks
posted by growabrain at 9:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: They would only do so if Trump himself had pointed them in the direction of Cohen or Essential Consultants.
Or if Cohen provided something in writing from Trump to them. You know, like a paper trail. Or an email trail, except Trump doesn't do email. So yeah, it's a paper trail.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Or if Cohen provided something in writing from Trump to them. You know, like a paper trail. Or an email trail, except Trump doesn't do email. So yeah, it's a paper trail.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Think your regional heatwave is bad? Sure, hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit in early May in Las Vegas, NV and Phoenix, AZ is unpleasant, but the arctic has its own heat spike, with temperatures 30 to 35 degrees F. above average (Weather.com video segment), and this is after a third winter of heat spikes.
I'm like a human weathervane, because I get migraines when there are sudden increases and drops in temperature and I also experience excruciating nerve pain. Don't cry for me friends, because I've got my medical marijuana. But I'll tell you this: I know very well when the weather is weird because I'm muffling my screams so I don't wake up the neighbors.
The last few weeks have been VERY weird. The neighbors must either think I'm being tortured or having some very intense sex.
posted by angrycat at 9:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
I'm staying sane by focusing exclusively on local politics, mutual aid, and direct action -
build the society you want to see *heads to new school picket line*
posted by The Whelk at 9:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
build the society you want to see *heads to new school picket line*
posted by The Whelk at 9:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
Treasury inspector general launches probe into possible leak of Michael Cohen’s banking records.
I mean, international confidence in the U.S. would plummet if people thought their hush money/bribery slush funds weren't private.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:54 AM on May 9, 2018 [45 favorites]
I mean, international confidence in the U.S. would plummet if people thought their hush money/bribery slush funds weren't private.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:54 AM on May 9, 2018 [45 favorites]
Hopefully it's the Inspector General that leaked them. The perfect crime.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
From the new (third) Novartis statement:
There are so many legal forms of grift in this country. Cohen could have gone off and got himself a lobbying gig, sold the same access and "insights" to hungry corporations, and been fine. Nobody blinks twice at AT&T or Novartis paying Trump-connected lobbyists. But legitimate lobbying firms have a weird insistence on making profits rather than funneling money around in suspicious front companies, so here we are.
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [91 favorites]
With the recent change in administration, Novartis believed that Michael Cohen could advise the company as to how the Trump administration might approach certain US healthcare policy matters, including the Affordable Care Act. The agreement was for a term of one year, and paid Essential Consultants 100,000 USD per month. In March 2017, Novartis had its first meeting with Michael Cohen under this agreement. Following this initial meeting, Novartis determined that Michael Cohen and Essential Consultants would be unable to provide the services that Novartis had anticipated related to US healthcare policy matters and the decision was taken not to engage further. As the contract unfortunately could only be terminated for cause, payments continued to be made until the contract expired by its own terms in February 2018.We're not even bothering to pretend anymore. They had one damn meeting and were all "oh nevermind, you're completely useless, we'll just pay you $100,000/month for the next year anyway?" No interview, no "hey is there actually anything you can do for us?" before you signed the contract?
There are so many legal forms of grift in this country. Cohen could have gone off and got himself a lobbying gig, sold the same access and "insights" to hungry corporations, and been fine. Nobody blinks twice at AT&T or Novartis paying Trump-connected lobbyists. But legitimate lobbying firms have a weird insistence on making profits rather than funneling money around in suspicious front companies, so here we are.
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [91 favorites]
One-million-two-hundred-thousand dollars. For, supposedly, nothing. Not worth reporting to your shareholders, eh?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
Treasury inspector general launches probe into possible leak of Michael Cohen’s banking records.
Sounds good, how about a probe into Michael Cohen's banking activity while you are at it? It seems like a few financial institutions might have been flagging his activity, what happened with that?
posted by nubs at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Sounds good, how about a probe into Michael Cohen's banking activity while you are at it? It seems like a few financial institutions might have been flagging his activity, what happened with that?
posted by nubs at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Melissasaurus, thanks for that link to the National Network of Abortion Funds. Just switched my Amazon smile recipient to them.
posted by mabelstreet at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by mabelstreet at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2018 [42 favorites]
IANAL but I believe Federal courts claim jurisdiction over bribery all around the world, even if the executives involved in these payments were at Novartis HQ in Switzerland. Perhaps foreign residents will want to co-operate with any investigation in the hope that they can continue to travel the world without being extradited to the US.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:03 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:03 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
In March 2017, Novartis had its first meeting with Michael Cohen under this agreement. Following this initial meeting, Novartis determined that Michael Cohen and Essential Consultants would be unable to provide the services that Novartis had anticipated related to US healthcare policy matters and the decision was taken not to engage further. As the contract unfortunately could only be terminated for cause, payments continued to be made until the contract expired by its own terms in February 2018.I suppose it's possible to draft a contract such that inability "to provide the services ... anticipated" does not constitute grounds for termination "for cause", but it seems implausible to me.
[Edited to correct a minor-yet-annoying typo]
posted by HillbillyInBC at 10:08 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
May 2017: Novartis to sever 250 U.S. workers days after announcing 500 cuts in Switzerland
So the same quarter they had 1.2 million to pay Cohen for "services", they laid off 750 employees and moved their data operations to Hyderabad.
posted by mochapickle at 10:09 AM on May 9, 2018 [66 favorites]
So the same quarter they had 1.2 million to pay Cohen for "services", they laid off 750 employees and moved their data operations to Hyderabad.
posted by mochapickle at 10:09 AM on May 9, 2018 [66 favorites]
Paying for an abortion is not something that should be considered shameful.
There's a huge, huge, difference between paying for an abortion out of the goodness of your heart because you think everyone should have access to abortions, and being a man who is paying for the abortion of your mistress because you're afraid everyone will find out you had sex with her if she has your baby, or who is who is paying for the abortion because it's cheaper than child support.
posted by corb at 10:15 AM on May 9, 2018 [55 favorites]
There's a huge, huge, difference between paying for an abortion out of the goodness of your heart because you think everyone should have access to abortions, and being a man who is paying for the abortion of your mistress because you're afraid everyone will find out you had sex with her if she has your baby, or who is who is paying for the abortion because it's cheaper than child support.
posted by corb at 10:15 AM on May 9, 2018 [55 favorites]
The Senate has forced a vote to restore net neutrality
And via Political Wire, several House Republicans have filed a discharge petition to force a vote on restoring DACA protections.
And via Political Wire, several House Republicans have filed a discharge petition to force a vote on restoring DACA protections.
If every Democrat supports the idea, which sources said is likely, 20 Republicans would have to break ranks and join them to trigger the votes.”posted by Gelatin at 10:15 AM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
Two sources intimately involved in the effort say at least 15 Republicans are ready to join.
There's a huge, huge, difference between paying for an abortion out of the goodness of your heart because you think everyone should have access to abortions, and being a man who is paying for the abortion of your mistress because you're afraid everyone will find out you had sex with her if she has your baby, or who is who is paying for the abortion because it's cheaper than child support.
And if you're running for President as the nominee of a party that believes that all abortions should be illegal, it's at the very least extremely ironic.
posted by Gelatin at 10:16 AM on May 9, 2018 [60 favorites]
And if you're running for President as the nominee of a party that believes that all abortions should be illegal, it's at the very least extremely ironic.
posted by Gelatin at 10:16 AM on May 9, 2018 [60 favorites]
Treasury inspector general launches probe into possible leak of Michael Cohen’s banking records.
Erg. What's Avenatti's exposure here?
posted by notyou at 10:25 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Erg. What's Avenatti's exposure here?
posted by notyou at 10:25 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I suppose it's possible to draft a contract such that inability "to provide the services ... anticipated" does not constitute grounds for termination "for cause", but it seems implausible to me.
Moreover, the very explanation that a company which has $50Bn in annual revenue would (intentionally) sign any consulting agreement without a termination for convenience clause is laughable on its face.
posted by Room 101 at 10:26 AM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Moreover, the very explanation that a company which has $50Bn in annual revenue would (intentionally) sign any consulting agreement without a termination for convenience clause is laughable on its face.
posted by Room 101 at 10:26 AM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
If I'm shelling out $100K/month I better be getting something in return. I don't care if the most Cohen can do is sling hash browns in the Novartis cafeteria for 20 hours/week, he'll be the worlds best paid lunch lady and he'll be proud to do it!
posted by PenDevil at 10:29 AM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 10:29 AM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
There's a huge, huge, difference between paying for an abortion out of the goodness of your heart because you think everyone should have access to abortions, and being a man who is paying for the abortion of your mistress because you're afraid everyone will find out you had sex with her if she has your baby, or who is who is paying for the abortion because it's cheaper than child support.
There's a huge difference if you're paying for that abortion while stacking the courts to make sure that no one else can.
posted by Miss Cellania at 10:29 AM on May 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
There's a huge difference if you're paying for that abortion while stacking the courts to make sure that no one else can.
posted by Miss Cellania at 10:29 AM on May 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
(Avenatti says to follow where the money went)
So the porn star's lawyer is...Deep Throat? C'mon writers, you're not even trying to hide it anymore. We are truly living in a simulation.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:31 AM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
So the porn star's lawyer is...Deep Throat? C'mon writers, you're not even trying to hide it anymore. We are truly living in a simulation.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:31 AM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
Bernie Sanders introducing bill for major overhaul of labor law, let workers unionize via card check, ban “right to work,” legalize secondary boycotts, & expand labor law definition of employee. Co-sponsored by Warren, Harris, Gillibrand, Brown.
Not going anywhere now, of course, but this is about moving the window and laying groundwork.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [103 favorites]
Not going anywhere now, of course, but this is about moving the window and laying groundwork.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [103 favorites]
Erg. What's Avenatti's exposure here?
Im guessing he is too smart to have taken anything illegally himself or to have asked about where any documents that found their way to him might have been procured. . . because at least he seems to smart to have done any of that.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Im guessing he is too smart to have taken anything illegally himself or to have asked about where any documents that found their way to him might have been procured. . . because at least he seems to smart to have done any of that.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I still want to know how and why AT&T knew to hire Essential Consultants for their "insights."
That is why corporations hire lobbyists. It's the lobbyist's job to tell you whose palm you have to grease to get your issues heard.
Michael Cohen had the title of National Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee. The job of the finance chairman is to collect money from lobbyists. That title indicates to the lobbyist that this is the person you need to talk to.
The lobbyist meets with Cohen and says "Who do I write the check out to?" and Cohen says "Make it out to Essential Consultants" and that is that. It ain't rocket science. It's a well established procedure.
posted by JackFlash at 10:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [30 favorites]
That is why corporations hire lobbyists. It's the lobbyist's job to tell you whose palm you have to grease to get your issues heard.
Michael Cohen had the title of National Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee. The job of the finance chairman is to collect money from lobbyists. That title indicates to the lobbyist that this is the person you need to talk to.
The lobbyist meets with Cohen and says "Who do I write the check out to?" and Cohen says "Make it out to Essential Consultants" and that is that. It ain't rocket science. It's a well established procedure.
posted by JackFlash at 10:34 AM on May 9, 2018 [30 favorites]
So the porn star's lawyer is...Deep Throat? C'mon writers, you're not even trying to hide it anymore. We are truly living in a simulation.
His (presumably) FinCEN source is Deep Throat. Avenetti's Woodward or Bernstein.
posted by scalefree at 10:38 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
His (presumably) FinCEN source is Deep Throat. Avenetti's Woodward or Bernstein.
posted by scalefree at 10:38 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
One thing I'm curious about in all of this is how cheap Trump is. If he was really a billionaire, why would he be satisfied with Novartis only paying him one million (+/-) for his services, a payment that carried a huge risk? Yes, I'm assuming the payment went directly to Trump with a small fee to Cohen.
Another thing I'm thinking about is that Obama was given the Nobel peace prize for not being Bush. What will the next Democratic president get? Sainthood while still living? Democrats should keep breathing and focus on the goal, not the drama. Whoever is not-Trump will receive all the love the world has to give.
posted by mumimor at 10:39 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Another thing I'm thinking about is that Obama was given the Nobel peace prize for not being Bush. What will the next Democratic president get? Sainthood while still living? Democrats should keep breathing and focus on the goal, not the drama. Whoever is not-Trump will receive all the love the world has to give.
posted by mumimor at 10:39 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Hours into his new job, Trump’s ambassador to Germany offends his hosts, in which we made a notorious Twitter troll an ambassador to a key ally, and they're relishing being offended on his first day of the job:
My super super limited quite-possibly-inaccurate understanding of the law is that financial institutions are prohibited by law from disclosing the existence of a SAR and that government employees are prohibited by law from disclosing the existence of a SAR except in the performance of "official duties consistent with Title II of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)." If someone leaked SARs to Avenatti, they could be looking at prison time (perhaps they somehow came through Congress or something instead?), but I don't think Avenatti or anyone who received the information has a problem. As best I can tell, it's the leaking that's a crime, not possession.
posted by zachlipton at 10:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
In a tweet following President Trump’s announcement to leave the Iran nuclear deal, Grenell wrote that “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.” Germany, alongside France and Britain, wants to stick to the deal Trump is seeking to scrap. And while Grenell’s post may not deviate from the official White House stance on future European business dealings with Iran, the timing and tone struck some German politicians, journalists and business executives as offensive and inappropriate.Erg. What's Avenatti's exposure here?
...
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Germany’s Der Spiegel newsmagazine that the tweet was an “impertinence.”
“This man was accredited as ambassador only yesterday. To give German businesses such orders … that’s just not how you can treat your allies,” Asselborn said.
My super super limited quite-possibly-inaccurate understanding of the law is that financial institutions are prohibited by law from disclosing the existence of a SAR and that government employees are prohibited by law from disclosing the existence of a SAR except in the performance of "official duties consistent with Title II of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)." If someone leaked SARs to Avenatti, they could be looking at prison time (perhaps they somehow came through Congress or something instead?), but I don't think Avenatti or anyone who received the information has a problem. As best I can tell, it's the leaking that's a crime, not possession.
posted by zachlipton at 10:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
One thing I'm curious about in all of this is how cheap Trump is. If he was really a billionaire, why would he be satisfied with Novartis only paying him one million (+/-) for his services, a payment that carried a huge risk? Yes, I'm assuming the payment went directly to Trump with a small fee to Cohen.
Lex Luthor has been known to sell his consultant services as a billionaire businessman/supervillain. His fee is one million dollars per minute, with a ten-minute minimum, and this was back in the '80s. Trump is really undercutting himself here.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:49 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Lex Luthor has been known to sell his consultant services as a billionaire businessman/supervillain. His fee is one million dollars per minute, with a ten-minute minimum, and this was back in the '80s. Trump is really undercutting himself here.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:49 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
But can't Avenatti be said to have leaked it, also?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:49 AM on May 9, 2018
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:49 AM on May 9, 2018
Mr. Drumpf, Your Newest Nightmare Is A Website Called ResistanceHole
posted by logicpunk at 10:50 AM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by logicpunk at 10:50 AM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
One thing I'm curious about in all of this is how cheap Trump is. If he was really a billionaire, why would he be satisfied with Novartis only paying him one million (+/-) for his services, a payment that carried a huge risk?
I realize that Trump is only recently and marginally a politician, but as a group, they're incredibly cheap. A million bucks is on the order of what Paul Ryan's been handed by the Kochs and other billionaires in the last year or so for giving them many, many times more than that in tax relief. Even with all of the money flooding into politics nowadays, they're still by and large penny ante crooks compared to the high rollers.
posted by Copronymus at 10:55 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
I realize that Trump is only recently and marginally a politician, but as a group, they're incredibly cheap. A million bucks is on the order of what Paul Ryan's been handed by the Kochs and other billionaires in the last year or so for giving them many, many times more than that in tax relief. Even with all of the money flooding into politics nowadays, they're still by and large penny ante crooks compared to the high rollers.
posted by Copronymus at 10:55 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
But can't Avenatti be said to have leaked it, also?
It's (usually) legal to receive confidential documents and publish them. The famous case on this is NYT v United States, decided during Watergate (the real one, not Stupid Watergate). Avenatti isn't himself a newspaper, but he also has first amendment rights.
This isn't the first time SARs were leaked during Stupid Watergate. Buzzfeed got a look at Manafort's.
posted by BungaDunga at 10:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
It's (usually) legal to receive confidential documents and publish them. The famous case on this is NYT v United States, decided during Watergate (the real one, not Stupid Watergate). Avenatti isn't himself a newspaper, but he also has first amendment rights.
This isn't the first time SARs were leaked during Stupid Watergate. Buzzfeed got a look at Manafort's.
posted by BungaDunga at 10:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Heh, logicpunk, I was just about to post this:
Excuse Me, Mr. Trump, Sir, But, Respectfully, Dr. Trump, Mind You, Captain President, Sir, And There's Nothing You Can Do About It, Good Professor!
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:57 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Excuse Me, Mr. Trump, Sir, But, Respectfully, Dr. Trump, Mind You, Captain President, Sir, And There's Nothing You Can Do About It, Good Professor!
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:57 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
The blue wave is a trickle outside of large cities.
posted by jgirl at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
@AFP: #BREAKING Saudis will seek nuclear weapon if Iran does, minister says
First we got the bomb and that was good,
'Cause we love peace and motherhood.
posted by zachlipton at 11:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
First we got the bomb and that was good,
'Cause we love peace and motherhood.
posted by zachlipton at 11:01 AM on May 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
One thing I'm curious about in all of this is how cheap Trump is. If he was really a billionaire, why would he be satisfied with Novartis only paying him one million (+/-) for his services, a payment that carried a huge risk?
How many billionaires have your heard of who need to slap their names on steaks and get rich quick seminars because they don't really need the money?
posted by PenDevil at 11:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [63 favorites]
How many billionaires have your heard of who need to slap their names on steaks and get rich quick seminars because they don't really need the money?
posted by PenDevil at 11:06 AM on May 9, 2018 [63 favorites]
The blue wave is a trickle outside of large cities.
I'm guessing it's because people aren't paying attention. When the realities of the trade war and the the loss of immigrant labor reaches ordinary people, things will change. But it is obviously a big question wether that will happen before or after November.
posted by mumimor at 11:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm guessing it's because people aren't paying attention. When the realities of the trade war and the the loss of immigrant labor reaches ordinary people, things will change. But it is obviously a big question wether that will happen before or after November.
posted by mumimor at 11:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Lex Luthor has been known to sell his consultant services as a billionaire businessman/supervillain. His fee is one million dollars per minute, with a ten-minute minimum, and this was back in the '80s. Trump is really undercutting himself here.
Reminder that supervillain analogies never work for Trump because supervillains usually have things they're actually good at.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
Reminder that supervillain analogies never work for Trump because supervillains usually have things they're actually good at.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:07 AM on May 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
Juan Cole : Trump Warmonger moves on Iran are from Iraq Playbook............
people like Bolton who were part of the original plot have reemerged, or that the People’s Jihadi Organization (MEK) is an Iranian cell that is playing the role of Chalabi and has Bolton, Pompeo, Giuliani and others in its back pocket (it also has strong connections to Israeli intelligence). I don’t need to point out that Iran is being maneuvered into expelling UN inspectors so that a propaganda campaign can be waged. The United Arab Emirates, part of the current plot, even had its house organ Alarabiya do a “documentary” monstrously alleging that Iran was behind 9/11.
The stage is set.
posted by adamvasco at 11:11 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
people like Bolton who were part of the original plot have reemerged, or that the People’s Jihadi Organization (MEK) is an Iranian cell that is playing the role of Chalabi and has Bolton, Pompeo, Giuliani and others in its back pocket (it also has strong connections to Israeli intelligence). I don’t need to point out that Iran is being maneuvered into expelling UN inspectors so that a propaganda campaign can be waged. The United Arab Emirates, part of the current plot, even had its house organ Alarabiya do a “documentary” monstrously alleging that Iran was behind 9/11.
The stage is set.
posted by adamvasco at 11:11 AM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Even on the left, grifters gonna grift.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:12 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:12 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
The blue wave is a trickle outside of large cities.
That only cites data up to 2016. The whole idea of the Blue Wave is that it is/will be a 2018 phenomenon, and the empirical support for it comes from recent polls and special elections. Be Skeptical Of Anyone Who Tells You They Know How Democrats Can Win In November.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:13 AM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
That only cites data up to 2016. The whole idea of the Blue Wave is that it is/will be a 2018 phenomenon, and the empirical support for it comes from recent polls and special elections. Be Skeptical Of Anyone Who Tells You They Know How Democrats Can Win In November.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:13 AM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
The blue wave is a trickle outside of large cities.
I'm going to hold my pessimism until something bigger than "The Daily Yonder" starts Debbie Downering. We got a very nice blue wave in the Virginia suburbs and in Alabama, of all places.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:13 AM on May 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
More details keep coming out. STAT News (yes, STAT news is doing exclusives on the President's lawyer now, and that somehow makes sense), Trump’s lawyer pitched himself as a fixer to Novartis and got paid $1.2 million
posted by zachlipton at 11:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [66 favorites]
The curious relationship between one of the world’s biggest drug makers and President Trump’s personal lawyer began early last year when Michael Cohen, a longtime fixer for the president, reached out to Novartis’s then-chief executive officer Joe Jimenez, promising help gaining access to Trump and influential officials in the new administration, according to an employee inside Novartis familiar with the matter.That Cohen is the one who reached out to them, specifically selling access, is significant. Just how many companies was he marketing his services to? And that they're admitting they just paid for no services but kept paying anyway because they didn't want trouble with the president is a hell of a thing, seeing as they weren't paying the president.
Jimenez took the call and then instructed his team to reach a deal with Cohen. A one-year contract worth $1.2 million was signed with Cohen in February 2017. The company’s hope was that Cohen could help it navigate a bevy of uncertain issues facing the drug maker — from potential changes to the Affordable Care Act and tax reform to navigating reimbursement challenges for medicines.
“He reached out to us,” the Novartis employee said, providing STAT with the company’s version of events as it scrambles to contain the fallout from being entangled in the investigations surrounding Trump and his inner circle, including Cohen. “With a new administration coming in, basically, all the traditional contacts disappeared and they were all new players. We were trying to find an inroad into the administration. Cohen promised access to not just Trump, but also the circle around him. It was almost as if we were hiring him as a lobbyist.”
The employee could not explain why Novartis would have agreed to a deal with a lawyer with no background in health care and without deep Washington ties. The extent to which Novartis conducted any due diligence into Cohen or his track record as a Trump insider and Washington player is uncertain. Cohen and Jimenez could not be reached for comment.
In March 2017, a group of Novartis employees, mostly from the government affairs and lobbying teams, met with Cohen in New York to discuss specific issues and strategies. But the meeting was a disappointment, the insider explained, and the Novartis squad left with the impression that Cohen and Essential Consultants — the firm controlled by Cohen that Novartis was making payments to — may not be able to deliver.
“At first, it all sounded impressive, but toward the end of the meeting, everyone realized this was a probably a slippery slope to engage him. So they decided not to really engage Cohen for any activities after that,” the employee continued. Rather than attempt to cancel the contract, the company allowed it to lapse early in 2018 and not run the risk of ticking off the president. “It might have caused anger,” this person said.
posted by zachlipton at 11:22 AM on May 9, 2018 [66 favorites]
Oddly, this very afternoon I was in an initial meeting with a group of consultants/devs to get a project going. We're going to give them some money, they're going to give us some software.
What did the initial meeting consist of? Checking that we're all agreed on what's going to happen, and laying out the terms of the contract. That's right - we didn't decide to spend lots of money on people until we'd had that first meeting. Shocking, I know - and even more shocking, that's how it's always been.
So no, Novartis, your story is a lie (and a really poor one, at that). What are you hiding?
posted by Devonian at 11:24 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
What did the initial meeting consist of? Checking that we're all agreed on what's going to happen, and laying out the terms of the contract. That's right - we didn't decide to spend lots of money on people until we'd had that first meeting. Shocking, I know - and even more shocking, that's how it's always been.
So no, Novartis, your story is a lie (and a really poor one, at that). What are you hiding?
posted by Devonian at 11:24 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
Stephen Colbert talked to Kamala Harris (last week?) and it certainly sounds like there is quite a bit the public doesn't know yet about the investigation.
posted by Brocktoon at 11:26 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Brocktoon at 11:26 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
@AFP: #BREAKING Saudis will seek nuclear weapon if Iran does, minister says
And now we see a strategy.
posted by rhizome at 11:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
And now we see a strategy.
posted by rhizome at 11:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Dear Novartis,
In light of recent news that you paid Michael Cohen $100,000 per month to not do anything for you, please be aware that I can provide the same level of unservice at a fraction of the cost. I will gladly do nothing at all for you for $10,000 per month--an incredible 90% less than what you've been paying Mr. Cohen.
Sincerely,
kirkaracha
posted by kirkaracha at 11:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [102 favorites]
In light of recent news that you paid Michael Cohen $100,000 per month to not do anything for you, please be aware that I can provide the same level of unservice at a fraction of the cost. I will gladly do nothing at all for you for $10,000 per month--an incredible 90% less than what you've been paying Mr. Cohen.
Sincerely,
kirkaracha
posted by kirkaracha at 11:33 AM on May 9, 2018 [102 favorites]
If you're as childish as I am, you'll enjoy how the Twitterverse is offering its totally useless non-services to Novartis for various sums.
Way to get your company name in the news, guys! Oh how, their crisis PR firm must be enjoying this.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:35 AM on May 9, 2018 [28 favorites]
Way to get your company name in the news, guys! Oh how, their crisis PR firm must be enjoying this.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:35 AM on May 9, 2018 [28 favorites]
Hours into his new job, Trump’s ambassador to Germany offends his hosts
It is a measure of how utterly fucking batshit things are these days that I was at least 70% sure that it was going to be something like him goose-stepping around Berlin using a comb for a moustache and ranting in mock-German.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [52 favorites]
It is a measure of how utterly fucking batshit things are these days that I was at least 70% sure that it was going to be something like him goose-stepping around Berlin using a comb for a moustache and ranting in mock-German.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:36 AM on May 9, 2018 [52 favorites]
This is all very funny to joke about, but this is how the 1% operate. Someone drawing down a $100K salary for nothing just because no one wants to go through the awkwardness or legalities of terminating the contract is absolutely normal. Once you're in the door, windfalls like this are just part of the deal. The American media establishment has done a very good job of hiding just how good it is to live in that world, with all our thinkpieces about the poor old white rich men.
posted by TypographicalError at 11:39 AM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by TypographicalError at 11:39 AM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
Just how many companies was he marketing his services to?
And were there others paying into other LLCs, either via Cohen, or direct to Trump via his dozens of LLC shell companies.
posted by Buntix at 11:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
And were there others paying into other LLCs, either via Cohen, or direct to Trump via his dozens of LLC shell companies.
We don’t know the truth behind payments to the LLCs because these limited liability companies are what are known as “pass-through” entities. They do not pay corporate income tax; instead, their profits simply “pass through” to the owner — i.e., to Donald Trump — who then pays individual income tax on his taxable income.Oh, and in other Trump related massive stupids in international diplomacy: Trump angers Scots with ban on Irn-Bru at luxury golf resort
If Trump disclosed his tax returns, as is customary for presidential candidates, then those returns would contain fairly detailed statements regarding the incomes of these various entities. It would, of course, still be possible to conceal the true source of income through the use of further shell companies. A firm that wanted to pay Trump could, for example, create an indirectly controlled intermediary shell company, give money to that shell entity, and then have the shell entity hire DT Aerospace (Bermuda) LLC or whichever other Trump-owned firm it likes. But if we saw Trump’s books, we would at least see clear evidence of him getting paid by mystery entities that could then be investigated by Congress or by journalists on their own terms.
Without the tax returns, however, we know nothing.
posted by Buntix at 11:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Someone drawing down a $100K salary for nothing just because no one wants to go through the awkwardness or legalities of terminating the contract is absolutely normal.
It's a bullshit cover story. Cohen was paid the year's worth of money because the money was intended to bribe the President. This is not comparable to everyday corporate behavior.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [51 favorites]
It's a bullshit cover story. Cohen was paid the year's worth of money because the money was intended to bribe the President. This is not comparable to everyday corporate behavior.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:42 AM on May 9, 2018 [51 favorites]
I’m pretty sure large corporations bribe pols, in one way or another, with alarming regularity.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:46 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 11:46 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
"A no-show job is a paid position that ostensibly requires the holder to perform duties, but for which no work, or even attendance, is actually expected. The awarding of no-show jobs is a form of political or corporate corruption."
Just like the mob but much, much dumber. Just a bunch of Fredos.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
Just like the mob but much, much dumber. Just a bunch of Fredos.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
@svdate:
posted by zachlipton at 11:50 AM on May 9, 2018 [55 favorites]
NEW: Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, says the revelations about all the money Michael Cohen received through the same dummy corp he created to pay Stormy Daniels have nothing to with Trump. "There’s not involvement of the president in any of that," he said. "We can’t be responsible for what Michael Cohen is doing.”Trump last month:
Giuliani did concede that if, as mayor of New York, his personal lawyer had been accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for access to the mayor's office, he wouldn't have liked it. "I wouldn’t be happy about it. But I wouldn’t be investigated for it.”
Well, you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.Can't use Cohen to dodge questions in April and then say you have nothing to do with the guy in May.
posted by zachlipton at 11:50 AM on May 9, 2018 [55 favorites]
Trump angers Scots with ban on Irn-Bru at luxury golf resort
From the article, key details bolded by me:
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
From the article, key details bolded by me:
Scotland’s favourite non-alcoholic drink banned from Turnberry resort over its carpet-staining propertiesTrump's Mirror: It never fails.
The combination of colourants that give the fizzy drink its distinctive luminous orange hue are believed to be responsible for its notorious indelibility.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
Novartis didn't ask Cohen to do anything because he could not deliver the access he promised. They continued to pay him because if they stopped, the person they were trying to get access to would be mad. Hmm.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 11:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
Someone drawing down a $100K salary for nothing just because no one wants to go through the awkwardness or legalities of terminating the contract is absolutely normal
This is not my experience at all... Large corporations have entire departments devoted to not paying any contract they can possibly get out of. They will refuse entire bills if a single line item is out of order, and go back and forth for months negotiating it down. If Novartis' story were at all true they absolutely would have stopped paying after that first meeting went South. The only reason they would quietly keep paying is to avoid drawing attention to themselves (or because they were actually getting what they were paying for. Or both.)
posted by Roommate at 11:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
This is not my experience at all... Large corporations have entire departments devoted to not paying any contract they can possibly get out of. They will refuse entire bills if a single line item is out of order, and go back and forth for months negotiating it down. If Novartis' story were at all true they absolutely would have stopped paying after that first meeting went South. The only reason they would quietly keep paying is to avoid drawing attention to themselves (or because they were actually getting what they were paying for. Or both.)
posted by Roommate at 11:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
@kasie: BREAKING: @Sen_JoeManchin will vote YES on Gina Haspel nomination, he tells me
If you happen to live in West Virginia, call, etc...
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
If you happen to live in West Virginia, call, etc...
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
@AFP: #BREAKING Saudis will seek nuclear weapon if Iran does, minister says
Last night, Syria said Israel carried out an attack on a military base south of Damascus, which was used by Iranian forces.
Ha'aretz: Syria Blames Israel for Strike Near Damascus; Target Was Iranian Missiles Aimed at Israel. (Eight Iranians killed, monitor says ■ Israel opens bomb shelters, bracing for imminent Iranian attack ■ Military calls up some reserves ■ U.S. embassy issues travel warning for Golan Heights )
posted by zarq at 11:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Last night, Syria said Israel carried out an attack on a military base south of Damascus, which was used by Iranian forces.
Ha'aretz: Syria Blames Israel for Strike Near Damascus; Target Was Iranian Missiles Aimed at Israel. (Eight Iranians killed, monitor says ■ Israel opens bomb shelters, bracing for imminent Iranian attack ■ Military calls up some reserves ■ U.S. embassy issues travel warning for Golan Heights )
Israel believes Iran is determined to take revenge for the April 9 airstrike on Syria’s T4 airbase, which killed seven Iranian military advisers and members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Iran blames Israel for this attack.Netanyahu is currently in Moscow, seeking Putin's support. Iran and Russia are allies, so it's hard to predict where this is all going.
posted by zarq at 11:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Someone drawing down a $100K salary for nothing just because no one wants to go through the awkwardness or legalities of terminating the contract is absolutely normal
I'm really curious about where this statement comes from. Is it just a general sort of supposition about what you think it must be like, or is it borne from research or personal experience?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:55 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm really curious about where this statement comes from. Is it just a general sort of supposition about what you think it must be like, or is it borne from research or personal experience?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:55 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Sheesh, Cohen's jawdropping financial scandals keeping piling up and up and up, just like they did for Scott Pruitt. He's certain to suffer the same fate for it. There's a reason Donald's catchphrase is "You're Fired!", and this kind of swampiness is the last thing the president wants to associate himself with.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mick Mulvaney takes aim at CFPB’s student protection unit
posted by zachlipton at 11:57 AM on May 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
The student arm of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is being folded into another office at the agency, a consolidation that some fear will limit its ability to stand up for student loan borrowers.That Mulvaney views student loans as something people need to be educated about, rather than protected from, says it all.
In a memo obtained Wednesday by The Washington Post, Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the CFPB, informed staffers of a reorganization that will tuck the office of students and young consumers into the bureau’s office of financial education. The memo offers no explicit details on how the consolidation will affect employees or their duties, other than to say that the bureau will coordinate with the union before implementation of changes. A CFPB spokesman said the bureau has no further information at this time.
Still, advocacy groups, liberal lawmakers and former employees at the bureau are interpreting the news as an intentional move to dismantle the only unit in the federal government solely dedicated to protecting student loan borrowers from predatory actors in the financial sector.
posted by zachlipton at 11:57 AM on May 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
That Mulvaney views student loans as something people need to be educated about, rather than protected from, says it all.
He doesn't really care about educating people about them either. He's just shutting down the Bureau one department at a time.
posted by Etrigan at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
He doesn't really care about educating people about them either. He's just shutting down the Bureau one department at a time.
posted by Etrigan at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
I called the DC office of my Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) to ask whether she supported the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act. I was told the Senator had not issued any statements regarding the bill.
I said I was disappointed because on April 15th, she told Chuck Todd that she "would like to see the final text of that before I state whether I would support it or not". Then on April 26th the final text was released when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill, with the support of Ernst's colleague Senator Grassley (R-IA). Then on April 27th she told constituents that she would need to see the full text of the bill, apparently unaware that it had been released. Now, two weeks after the bill was released, she was remaining silent.
I asked the staffer whether she could suggest any reason that the Senator might be refusing to do her job, but the staffer could not. I suggested it might be because Senator Ernst was scared of the President, because of his mean tweets. I said I believed it was important that, since it turns out the President was running a slush fund to pay hush-money to his sexual partners in order to win an election and was then getting the payments reimbursed using million-dollar bribes from major corporations and thousands of dollars from a Russian oligarch sanctioned for election interference, the President should not be a King above the law and able to do anything he wants without facing justice.
I urged the Senator to follow the lead of Senator Grassley in supporting the bill, instead of remaining silent, like a coward. I was thanked and my comments will be passed along
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [91 favorites]
I said I was disappointed because on April 15th, she told Chuck Todd that she "would like to see the final text of that before I state whether I would support it or not". Then on April 26th the final text was released when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill, with the support of Ernst's colleague Senator Grassley (R-IA). Then on April 27th she told constituents that she would need to see the full text of the bill, apparently unaware that it had been released. Now, two weeks after the bill was released, she was remaining silent.
I asked the staffer whether she could suggest any reason that the Senator might be refusing to do her job, but the staffer could not. I suggested it might be because Senator Ernst was scared of the President, because of his mean tweets. I said I believed it was important that, since it turns out the President was running a slush fund to pay hush-money to his sexual partners in order to win an election and was then getting the payments reimbursed using million-dollar bribes from major corporations and thousands of dollars from a Russian oligarch sanctioned for election interference, the President should not be a King above the law and able to do anything he wants without facing justice.
I urged the Senator to follow the lead of Senator Grassley in supporting the bill, instead of remaining silent, like a coward. I was thanked and my comments will be passed along
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [91 favorites]
From the German story link comes this hidden gem: Trump’s ambassador to the Netherlands just got caught lying about the Dutch
There's a pattern here.
The question is whether Europe will permit war in its backyard. Refugee flows will only increase. These lunatics just want war, they don't care if its an Un or an Iran.
posted by infini at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
There's a pattern here.
The question is whether Europe will permit war in its backyard. Refugee flows will only increase. These lunatics just want war, they don't care if its an Un or an Iran.
posted by infini at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
It's a bullshit cover story. Cohen was paid the year's worth of money because the money was intended to bribe the President. This is not comparable to everyday corporate behavior.
Unfortunately it may be everyday corporate behavior specifically for Novartis. Novartis has been implicated in bribery scandals across the globe. It's their s.o.p.
posted by Justinian at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Unfortunately it may be everyday corporate behavior specifically for Novartis. Novartis has been implicated in bribery scandals across the globe. It's their s.o.p.
posted by Justinian at 12:02 PM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Sheesh, Cohen's jawdropping financial scandals keeping piling up and up and up, just like they did for Scott Pruitt. He's certain to suffer the same fate for it. There's a reason Donald's catchphrase is "You're Fired!", and this kind of swampiness is the last thing the president wants to associate himself with
We've really got to standardize on a /sarcasm tag.
posted by benzenedream at 12:08 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
We've really got to standardize on a /sarcasm tag.
posted by benzenedream at 12:08 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Fantastic thread. I'm going to do a perfunctory one next time just to lower the bar back down to a level most Mefites can achieve.
posted by msalt at 12:10 PM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by msalt at 12:10 PM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
Novartis didn't ask Cohen to do anything because he could not deliver the access he promised. They continued to pay him because if they stopped, the person they were trying to get access to would be mad.
I think this is closer to the truth. In a protection racket, you don't pay for someone to do something, you pay for them NOT to do something (burn down your shop, obstruct your merger, deny your clinical trial, etc.)
posted by sapere aude at 12:12 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
I think this is closer to the truth. In a protection racket, you don't pay for someone to do something, you pay for them NOT to do something (burn down your shop, obstruct your merger, deny your clinical trial, etc.)
posted by sapere aude at 12:12 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Someone drawing down a $100K salary for nothing just because no one wants to go through the awkwardness or legalities of terminating the contract is absolutely normal.
People keep saying this, but salaries are usually expressed as annual totals, i.e., in this case, $1.2M, not $100K.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:12 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
People keep saying this, but salaries are usually expressed as annual totals, i.e., in this case, $1.2M, not $100K.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:12 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
That Novartis would either have been approached for such payment, and didn't go to the FBI, or alternatively, attempted to set up such a bribe on their own, is absolutely awful.
Novartis has escalated from bribing doctors with kickbacks to bribing politicians; it's awful but it's not really surprising. This is a thing that they do. The only shock would be if they truly got nothing for the money, this time around.
posted by halation at 12:14 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Novartis has escalated from bribing doctors with kickbacks to bribing politicians; it's awful but it's not really surprising. This is a thing that they do. The only shock would be if they truly got nothing for the money, this time around.
posted by halation at 12:14 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Like, to give you an idea of how SOP this is for Novartis:
The alleged bribery scheme in Greece goes back a decade and encompasses 10 former ministers. Among the allegations are that Greece’s health minister from 2006 to 2009 took €40 million ($49 million) in exchange for ordering “a huge amount” of Novartis products, while the health minister working between 2009 and 2010 allegedly accepted €120,000 ($147,000) from the company and laundered it through a computer hardware firm.posted by halation at 12:17 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Mod note: Couple deleted; let's not go down the road of open-ended "will they get away with it"/"surely this" competing cynical vs optimistic predictions.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:19 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:19 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
In March 2017, a group of Novartis employees, mostly from the government affairs and lobbying teams, met with Cohen in New York to discuss specific issues and strategies. But the meeting was a disappointment, the insider explained, and the Novartis squad left with the impression that Cohen and Essential Consultants — the firm controlled by Cohen that Novartis was making payments to — may not be able to deliver.This implies:
“At first, it all sounded impressive, but toward the end of the meeting, everyone realized this was a probably a slippery slope to engage him. So they decided not to really engage Cohen for any activities after that,” the employee continued. Rather than attempt to cancel the contract, the company allowed it to lapse early in 2018 and not run the risk of ticking off the president. “It might have caused anger,” this person said.
- Novartis knew they were bribing the President.
- The President knew he was being bribed by Novartis.
And were there others paying into other LLCs, either via Cohen, or direct to Trump via his dozens of LLC shell companies.
That's a bit of an understatement. Trump has 564 LLC shell entities (google doc spreadsheet). That is not normal, even for a so-called billionaire.
There is no public information indicating how much money any of these hundreds of LLCs make nor the sources of their income. Any of these hundreds of LLCs could be used as a vehicle to secretly funnel money to Trump.
posted by JackFlash at 12:22 PM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
That's a bit of an understatement. Trump has 564 LLC shell entities (google doc spreadsheet). That is not normal, even for a so-called billionaire.
There is no public information indicating how much money any of these hundreds of LLCs make nor the sources of their income. Any of these hundreds of LLCs could be used as a vehicle to secretly funnel money to Trump.
posted by JackFlash at 12:22 PM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
Someone drawing down a $100K salary for nothing just because no one wants to go through the awkwardness or legalities of terminating the contract is absolutely normal
This is not my experience at all... Large corporations have entire departments devoted to not paying any contract they can possibly get out of. They will refuse entire bills if a single line item is out of order, and go back and forth for months negotiating it down.
EXACTLY. Show me one contractor or freelancer who has ever gotten paid promptly by any corporate accounting department. They know contractors can't do shit about it, and every day delayed is basically an interest free loan for them. So they'll spend like 5 months "losing" your W-9 before they deny payment because you billed the federal mileage reimbursement rate and not the state one or whatever.
I just spent my entire morning re-billing a corporate gig for the umpeenth time. The job itself took 3 hours, I have been sending paperwork back and forth for 6 weeks.
"We'll just keep sending this guy checks, too much trouble dealing with it" bull fucking shit this is a bribe.
posted by bradbane at 12:26 PM on May 9, 2018 [74 favorites]
This is not my experience at all... Large corporations have entire departments devoted to not paying any contract they can possibly get out of. They will refuse entire bills if a single line item is out of order, and go back and forth for months negotiating it down.
EXACTLY. Show me one contractor or freelancer who has ever gotten paid promptly by any corporate accounting department. They know contractors can't do shit about it, and every day delayed is basically an interest free loan for them. So they'll spend like 5 months "losing" your W-9 before they deny payment because you billed the federal mileage reimbursement rate and not the state one or whatever.
I just spent my entire morning re-billing a corporate gig for the umpeenth time. The job itself took 3 hours, I have been sending paperwork back and forth for 6 weeks.
"We'll just keep sending this guy checks, too much trouble dealing with it" bull fucking shit this is a bribe.
posted by bradbane at 12:26 PM on May 9, 2018 [74 favorites]
This is hideously corrupt.
No doubt.
And remember, folks, some of the same journalists, Republican legislators, conservatives -- including people you and I know personally -- and even Democrats who will view this with a shrug and say "They're just playing the game the way it's played" or, at best, will mumble that yeahitssortamaybebad absolutely will lose their shit at the thought that somewhere out there in America, a black woman is on welfare but also has a cell phone.
They will cry for thunder, fury, vengeance and punishment if they learn that a Latino family is lying about their address to get their child into a better school than the one they're zoned for.
They've already forgotten about the massive injustices caused by the Trump administration's immigration policies.
But this and other instances of white collar corruption? Meh.
I'm a 44 year old black man, and I've dealt with racism all the way back to the very beginnings of my memories in this life, and sometimes I still can't believe just how much racism factors into this country's approach to justice, fairness, charity, and public policy.
posted by lord_wolf at 12:28 PM on May 9, 2018 [247 favorites]
No doubt.
And remember, folks, some of the same journalists, Republican legislators, conservatives -- including people you and I know personally -- and even Democrats who will view this with a shrug and say "They're just playing the game the way it's played" or, at best, will mumble that yeahitssortamaybebad absolutely will lose their shit at the thought that somewhere out there in America, a black woman is on welfare but also has a cell phone.
They will cry for thunder, fury, vengeance and punishment if they learn that a Latino family is lying about their address to get their child into a better school than the one they're zoned for.
They've already forgotten about the massive injustices caused by the Trump administration's immigration policies.
But this and other instances of white collar corruption? Meh.
I'm a 44 year old black man, and I've dealt with racism all the way back to the very beginnings of my memories in this life, and sometimes I still can't believe just how much racism factors into this country's approach to justice, fairness, charity, and public policy.
posted by lord_wolf at 12:28 PM on May 9, 2018 [247 favorites]
Has anyone been listening to Pro Publica's Trump Inc. podcast? I am curious if I am getting that info in Metafilter already, or if they have even more.
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 12:30 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 12:30 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
The extent to which Novartis conducted any due diligence into Cohen or his track record as a Trump insider and Washington player is uncertain
Nor any due diligence on the contract it seems. I deal with contracts with foundations/other granting bodies fairly regularly and a constant boilerplate clause is one that allows for early termination of the agreement, with XX number of days of notice, no cause needed. It's in every fucking contract, never mind the amount, and we don't get to the contract stage without an awful lot of meetings and discussions about what, exactly, the contract is for in terms of deliverables and expected outcomes and so forth.
So for me to believe that Novartis issued a contract without such a clause, without even an initial meeting, means that either I believe their legal department is staggeringly inept in so far as crafting such agreements and doing any due diligence with regards to what the contract covers, or there is something else going on. I don't think Novartis got to where it is with staggeringly inept lawyers. This stinks of corruption more than week old fish wrap.
posted by nubs at 12:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Nor any due diligence on the contract it seems. I deal with contracts with foundations/other granting bodies fairly regularly and a constant boilerplate clause is one that allows for early termination of the agreement, with XX number of days of notice, no cause needed. It's in every fucking contract, never mind the amount, and we don't get to the contract stage without an awful lot of meetings and discussions about what, exactly, the contract is for in terms of deliverables and expected outcomes and so forth.
So for me to believe that Novartis issued a contract without such a clause, without even an initial meeting, means that either I believe their legal department is staggeringly inept in so far as crafting such agreements and doing any due diligence with regards to what the contract covers, or there is something else going on. I don't think Novartis got to where it is with staggeringly inept lawyers. This stinks of corruption more than week old fish wrap.
posted by nubs at 12:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
I’m pretty sure large corporations bribe pols, in one way or another, with alarming regularity.
Then-Vice President Spiro Agnew pled no contest to tax evasion and resigned in 1973 based on bribes he accepted as a Maryland official.
posted by Gelatin at 12:37 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Then-Vice President Spiro Agnew pled no contest to tax evasion and resigned in 1973 based on bribes he accepted as a Maryland official.
posted by Gelatin at 12:37 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Cohen got paid $1.2 million to do nothing for a year, but the state of Michigan thinks a poor person being unemployed for three months should have to lose their health insurance for a year.
posted by zachlipton at 12:41 PM on May 9, 2018 [155 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:41 PM on May 9, 2018 [155 favorites]
odinsdream: Listen, yall. I've worked with Novartis. There are very few people at the company who could approve a $100k payment as the first of twelve payments on a contract.
Given one of their very first statements on the matter -- i.e.: "any agreements with Essential Consultants were entered before our current CEO taking office in February of this year and have expired," -- it sounds like they are all too aware of this also and may have decided to hang it on the previous CEO.
posted by mhum at 12:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Given one of their very first statements on the matter -- i.e.: "any agreements with Essential Consultants were entered before our current CEO taking office in February of this year and have expired," -- it sounds like they are all too aware of this also and may have decided to hang it on the previous CEO.
posted by mhum at 12:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Teacher Pay Is So Low in Some U.S. School Districts (How Low Is It?) That They’re Recruiting Overseas (Dana Goldstein for New York Times, May 2, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [88 favorites]
The latest wave of foreign workers sweeping into American jobs brought Donato Soberano from the Philippines to Arizona two years ago. He had to pay thousands of dollars to a job broker and lived for a time in an apartment with five other Filipino workers. The lure is the pay — 10 times more than what he made doing the same work back home.Emphasis mine, because what the fuck is wrong with my country? Oh right, this is the invisible hand of the global market at work, sorry for my out-of-place concern.
But Mr. Soberano is not a hospitality worker or a home health aide. He is in another line of work that increasingly pays too little to attract enough Americans: Mr. Soberano is a public school teacher.
...
Among the latest states hit by the protests is Arizona, where teacher pay is more than $10,000 below the national average of $59,000 per year. The Pendergast Elementary School District, where Mr. Soberano works, has recruited more than 50 teachers from the Philippines since 2015. They hold J-1 visas, which allow them to work temporarily in the United States, like au pairs or camp counselors, but offer no path to citizenship. More than 2,800 foreign teachers arrived on American soil last year through the J-1, according to the State Department, up from about 1,200 in 2010.
...
Much like other foreign workers, he went into debt to find a job in the United States. He said he used savings and a bank loan to pay $12,500, about three years’ worth of his salary in the Philippines, to Petro-Fil Manpower Services. That is a Filipino company of Ligaya Avenida, a California-based consultant who recruits and screens teachers for the J-1.
The payment covered Mr. Soberano’s airfare and rent for his first few months in Arizona, as well as a $2,500 fee for Ms. Avenida and a fee of several thousand dollars to Alliance Abroad Group, a Texas-based company that is an official State Department sponsor for J-1 visa holders. The J-1 lasts three years, with the option for two one-year extensions. For each year he works in the United States, Mr. Soberano will owe Alliance Abroad an additional $1,000 visa renewal fee.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [88 favorites]
Do people think big companies never refuse to pay contractors who don't do their jobs? Do people think big companies never double dare those contractors to go ahead and sue for breach of contract if they really think a court will side with the contractor who failed to perform under the contract and, as a result didn't get paid?
I'm aware of at least one company that refuses to fully pay contractors who do perform their jobs.
posted by nubs at 12:51 PM on May 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
I'm aware of at least one company that refuses to fully pay contractors who do perform their jobs.
posted by nubs at 12:51 PM on May 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
Teacher Pay Is So Low in Some U.S. School Districts because retired, old white people flat out don't want their tax money to pay for the education of non-white children. And if states have to import other non-white people who are willing to work for extremely low wages to teach the kids of POC, they are ok with that. Reason #504,672 America Sucks
posted by pjsky at 12:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by pjsky at 12:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [49 favorites]
Novartis is full of shit. One, as everyone else has mentioned, they have many people devoted to squeezing dimes out of every contract. Two, the contract is not for some hourly rate or itemized services provided, it is just a big round number with lots of zeroes that an idiot mobster would choose as the price for talking to his bagman. Someone with half a brain would choose a less conspicuous number, randomize the payments, and itemize the hours of work to make it less obvious.
posted by benzenedream at 12:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 12:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Has anyone been listening to Pro Publica's Trump Inc. podcast? I am curious if I am getting that info in Metafilter already, or if they have even more.
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 3:30 PM on May 9 [+] [!]
Some of the same information is covered but there is a lot of narrative details that make it a very interesting and easy listen. Quite a bit of the early episodes deal with the Trump Org's recent dealings in India which I don't think have been in these threads too much.
posted by mmascolino at 12:58 PM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 3:30 PM on May 9 [+] [!]
Some of the same information is covered but there is a lot of narrative details that make it a very interesting and easy listen. Quite a bit of the early episodes deal with the Trump Org's recent dealings in India which I don't think have been in these threads too much.
posted by mmascolino at 12:58 PM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
This is why we need Muller and the process to go methodically and carefully. There are may legit businesses with flow. Cohen is scum but there may be little or nothing he's done that's illegal.
As people have noted before, valid grounds for impeachment is whatever the House thinks are valid. Usually this is said despairingly, as in "even if Trump is blatantly illegal, Republicans don't have to impeach him."
But it cuts the other way, too. Despicable behavior is always impeachable, whether or not it violates any laws or not. And Trump may be the perfect case for the wisdom of this approach.
posted by msalt at 1:04 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
As people have noted before, valid grounds for impeachment is whatever the House thinks are valid. Usually this is said despairingly, as in "even if Trump is blatantly illegal, Republicans don't have to impeach him."
But it cuts the other way, too. Despicable behavior is always impeachable, whether or not it violates any laws or not. And Trump may be the perfect case for the wisdom of this approach.
posted by msalt at 1:04 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Fox News: Oliver North: @realDonaldTrump Should Sanction Iran and Anybody Who Does Business With Them
I'm reporting live from the grave of Satire... but there is nothing to report. There is only silence here.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:07 PM on May 9, 2018 [155 favorites]
I'm reporting live from the grave of Satire... but there is nothing to report. There is only silence here.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:07 PM on May 9, 2018 [155 favorites]
Late to the thread as usual. But I helped get the Senate to vote on net neutrality.
And by helped I mean I called both my senators and urged them to support the petition.
posted by Gadgetenvy at 1:08 PM on May 9, 2018 [43 favorites]
And by helped I mean I called both my senators and urged them to support the petition.
posted by Gadgetenvy at 1:08 PM on May 9, 2018 [43 favorites]
EU rushes to arrange crisis meeting with Iran over nuclear deal
posted by mumimor at 1:14 PM on May 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
The European Union is scrambling to arrange a crisis meeting with Iran after Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement, as the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said Europe had a “very limited opportunity” to save the deal.The thing is that if EU governments stand up to the US on this, it will mean that they will get sanctioned by the US when they do it. Someone in the other thread noted that some EU countries already did this with regards to Cuba. But Spain making educational and even banking deals with Cuba is just nowhere near the big EU countries making energy and technology deals with Iran. If the EU is actually ready to run this risk, it either means they think Trump will be gone soon, or that deals with Iran are worth more than deals with the US. Or both.
A day after the US president broke with the landmark 2015 agreement and warned he would seek to hit European businesses that continued to trade with Tehran, the EU vowed to take steps to immunise firms from any US sanctions.
Foreign ministers aim to reassure Tehran that the nuclear deal is salvageable at a meeting currently slated for Monday in London which they are expecting their Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend.
posted by mumimor at 1:14 PM on May 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
Eric Geller of Politico: SCOOP: National Security Adviser John Bolton and his aides are considering eliminating the White House's top cybersecurity job.
Several sources say the situation is fluid, but one says it's a done deal.
The White House did not deny my story when I asked.
relevant image
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:15 PM on May 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Several sources say the situation is fluid, but one says it's a done deal.
The White House did not deny my story when I asked.
relevant image
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:15 PM on May 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Guys, I don't think it's normal to talk about a President (or any public official) as having "bagmen" or "fixers"...and yet the discourse seems to be that it's just, you know, something that happens.
posted by maxwelton at 1:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 1:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
What I didn't state clearly above: the article indicates that the EU is beginning to treat the US as an unreliable rogue state. It's wild.
posted by mumimor at 1:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 1:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
Novartis is full of shit. One, as everyone else has mentioned, they have many people devoted to squeezing dimes out of every contract.
I have a client who is a very large pharmaceutical firm whose policy is a 90-day payment window and they wait every second of that period before transferring the money to the payee's account. In addition, they will pay you earlier, but for draconian penalties that, if they were interest rates, would violate laws in most states. This squeezing of contractors is baked into their system and to negotiate your way out of it would require some heavy ammunition in terms of lawyers, guns, and money.
Edited for a typo.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:18 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
I have a client who is a very large pharmaceutical firm whose policy is a 90-day payment window and they wait every second of that period before transferring the money to the payee's account. In addition, they will pay you earlier, but for draconian penalties that, if they were interest rates, would violate laws in most states. This squeezing of contractors is baked into their system and to negotiate your way out of it would require some heavy ammunition in terms of lawyers, guns, and money.
Edited for a typo.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:18 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Guys, I don't think it's normal to talk about a President (or any public official) as having "bagmen" or "fixers"...and yet the discourse seems to be that it's just, you know, something that happens.
"Normal", like "Satire" and "irony" are dead words in 2018, with no meaning. They both want you to think that things being "not normal" is good, because politics and politicians, am I rite? as well as this is "normal" because "both sides do it." It's doublethink.
Reject the word. This is wrong, this is dangerous, this is corrupt, this is criminal. Demand justice be done, though the heavens fall. Now is the time to reclaim words like "integrity" and "consequence."
posted by nubs at 1:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
"Normal", like "Satire" and "irony" are dead words in 2018, with no meaning. They both want you to think that things being "not normal" is good, because politics and politicians, am I rite? as well as this is "normal" because "both sides do it." It's doublethink.
Reject the word. This is wrong, this is dangerous, this is corrupt, this is criminal. Demand justice be done, though the heavens fall. Now is the time to reclaim words like "integrity" and "consequence."
posted by nubs at 1:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
As people have noted before, valid grounds for impeachment is whatever the House thinks are valid.
"bribery" is explicitly enumerated in the clause about impeachment
posted by thelonius at 1:25 PM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
"bribery" is explicitly enumerated in the clause about impeachment
posted by thelonius at 1:25 PM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
This was astonishing:
posted by zachlipton at 1:25 PM on May 9, 2018 [72 favorites]
Q. Saudi Arabia said they would pursue a nuclear weapons program if Iran were to pursue one. Would they have the administration's support?It did sound like she was more caught unprepared by the question than anything else, and I appreciate that this isn't an area where you can just wing it, but remember when the Untied States would speak out against nuclear proliferation even when it involved countries that let you touch their orb? Those were better times.
Sanders: I don't know that we have a specific policy on that front... but we are [very] committed to making sure Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons.
posted by zachlipton at 1:25 PM on May 9, 2018 [72 favorites]
Trump has specifically suggested that Saudi Arabia, as well as Japan and South Korea, should have nuclear weapons. Sarah Sanders knocked it out of the park in terms of consistency! Three cheers.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
It sure sounds like Mark Warner is voting yes on Haspel:
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:42 PM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Warner, who has yet to announce whether he'll support Haspel, appeared more satisfied with her responses after the committee held a second, classified hearing with her in the afternoon. "We covered a lot of ground in the closed session this afternoon," he said, still reserving his decision. "I heard from the nominee more clarity than I heard this morning, particularly in terms of the kind of questions I asked about whether she believed that the interrogation techniques frankly aren't consistent with American values."We’re probably going to see the flood gates open and substantial Democratic support for a known torturer who destroyed evidence of her war crimes.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:42 PM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Re: Novartis: is it victim-blaming if I think they continued those payments out of fear of retaliation (i.e., extortion), and that the whole thing was sketchy as fuck from the start and they were clearly up to no good themselves?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:43 PM on May 9, 2018
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:43 PM on May 9, 2018
Novartis is not a victim. Paying a politician because you think they'll be mean to you if you don't pay them is the definition of bribery. Society and the economy works best when everyone is prevented from paying bribes.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:46 PM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:46 PM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
"I heard from the nominee more clarity than I heard this morning, particularly in terms of the kind of questions I asked about whether she believed that the interrogation techniques frankly aren't consistent with American values."
I'd be much more inclined to believe her if she said that before she agreed to oversee a program doing exactly that then destroying the evidence of it so the American people could see exactly what it was she did on our behalf rather than afterwards now that it's all over, nothing can be done & nothing can be known.
posted by scalefree at 1:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'd be much more inclined to believe her if she said that before she agreed to oversee a program doing exactly that then destroying the evidence of it so the American people could see exactly what it was she did on our behalf rather than afterwards now that it's all over, nothing can be done & nothing can be known.
posted by scalefree at 1:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Re: Novartis: is it victim-blaming if I think they continued those payments out of fear of retaliation (i.e., extortion)
Here's what I don't understand with this line of thinking that I'm seeing in a few places - what retaliation would Novartis be afraid of, exactly? What kind of shady shit are they involved in that they would worry about Trump and his hustlers? Revealing the existence of the meeting and the money just makes everyone look like shit; I don't see how Trump could extort them without revealing himself as the extortioner. Especially since the first meeting was set up by Cohen, not by Novartis - they could rightly point out that the President's lawyer tried to shake them down. And if they try to use the US government to beat down on Novartis from a regulatory perspective, I would have to expect that every pharmaceutical giant is going to be bringing some muscle to that fight.
posted by nubs at 1:53 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Here's what I don't understand with this line of thinking that I'm seeing in a few places - what retaliation would Novartis be afraid of, exactly? What kind of shady shit are they involved in that they would worry about Trump and his hustlers? Revealing the existence of the meeting and the money just makes everyone look like shit; I don't see how Trump could extort them without revealing himself as the extortioner. Especially since the first meeting was set up by Cohen, not by Novartis - they could rightly point out that the President's lawyer tried to shake them down. And if they try to use the US government to beat down on Novartis from a regulatory perspective, I would have to expect that every pharmaceutical giant is going to be bringing some muscle to that fight.
posted by nubs at 1:53 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Re: Novartis: is it victim-blaming if I think they continued those payments out of fear of retaliation (i.e., extortion), and that the whole thing was sketchy as fuck from the start and they were clearly up to no good themselves?
They were screwing us. Not each other.
posted by srboisvert at 1:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
They were screwing us. Not each other.
posted by srboisvert at 1:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Are there support groups for people trying to quit hitting refresh on poll trackers? I don't think watching the polls come in every day is good for me. D+11 awww yisssss. D+3 OH GOD. D+9 yay! D+4 NO WHY. Send help.
posted by Justinian at 1:56 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:56 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
You make a deal with the devil you can expect to get burned. Fear of retaliation is part of the price of doing business with Trump. Anybody who doesn't know that by now deserves to be taken.
posted by scalefree at 1:56 PM on May 9, 2018
posted by scalefree at 1:56 PM on May 9, 2018
[Public Relations] editing can definitely be an issue on Wikipedia, but hacking into accounts would be a counterproductive way to do it.
Not sure I agree. When evaluating edits, the reputation of a user is a big factor. People look to see how long you've been on Wikipedia, how many edits you've made, etc.
I was one of the people attempted to be hacked, and would provide a perfect target -- someone on Wikipedia for many years, lots of edits, involved in two ArbCom hearings, no discipline against me, and most importantly, I don't log on very often these days so someone could do a lot of stuff in my name without me noticing.
Thank heavens for that notification of the failed login, though.
posted by msalt at 1:57 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not sure I agree. When evaluating edits, the reputation of a user is a big factor. People look to see how long you've been on Wikipedia, how many edits you've made, etc.
I was one of the people attempted to be hacked, and would provide a perfect target -- someone on Wikipedia for many years, lots of edits, involved in two ArbCom hearings, no discipline against me, and most importantly, I don't log on very often these days so someone could do a lot of stuff in my name without me noticing.
Thank heavens for that notification of the failed login, though.
posted by msalt at 1:57 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
The question of whether Cohen got a kind of sweetheart deal from Novartis, in contrast to how a "normal" contractor would be treated, reminds me of the time Manafort was able to get a big loan after telling a bank that some huge credit-score-damaging credit card bills were the fault of Rick Gates... as though that excuse made sense even if it weren't a lie. (Just imagine telling your bank that an unpaid debt was racked up by your brother-in-law when you let him borrow your card, would they really be like "Oh, okay, I understand, we'll overlook that then, enjoy your new Toyota", or would they consider that itself an example of bad creditworthiness?)
It really is different rules for different classes (that's classes, not income levels -- Cohen's terrible with money, apparently a requirement for hanging out with this crowd, but he's well-connected). None of the people making these deals wants to be the one saying "no" to the sort of people you're not supposed to say "no" to. And just like with racism and sexism, it results in money being left on the table all the time.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:03 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
It really is different rules for different classes (that's classes, not income levels -- Cohen's terrible with money, apparently a requirement for hanging out with this crowd, but he's well-connected). None of the people making these deals wants to be the one saying "no" to the sort of people you're not supposed to say "no" to. And just like with racism and sexism, it results in money being left on the table all the time.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:03 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Lex Luthor has been known to sell his consultant services as a billionaire businessman/supervillain. His fee is one million dollars per minute, with a ten-minute minimum, and this was back in the '80s. Trump is really undercutting himself here.
First off, let me say that this at best a gross oversimplification, and more likely to be the product of rumor and innuendo; not to mention the rather fantastical inventions of jealous competitors and certain media figures.
My consulting work in the '80s was structured on a client-by-client basis, sometimes for a specific rate determined on the basis of the work required, sometimes for a flat fee, or for goods and/or services in kind. I have never circulated a rate card, on either a public or private basis.
I will not comment on the scandalous implications of the "supervillain" remark for now, other than to say that those who do not wish to have dealings with my attorneys would do best not to repeat it.
posted by Alexander J. Luthor at 2:04 PM on May 9, 2018 [164 favorites]
First off, let me say that this at best a gross oversimplification, and more likely to be the product of rumor and innuendo; not to mention the rather fantastical inventions of jealous competitors and certain media figures.
My consulting work in the '80s was structured on a client-by-client basis, sometimes for a specific rate determined on the basis of the work required, sometimes for a flat fee, or for goods and/or services in kind. I have never circulated a rate card, on either a public or private basis.
I will not comment on the scandalous implications of the "supervillain" remark for now, other than to say that those who do not wish to have dealings with my attorneys would do best not to repeat it.
posted by Alexander J. Luthor at 2:04 PM on May 9, 2018 [164 favorites]
Feinstein was signaling earlier that she'd vote yes. Warner is now saying he's going to vote yes.
I'm afraid I'm not seeing a lot of advantage to the Big Tent philosophy. It seems mostly to give our enemies victory and the still media precious label of bipartisanship on the very worst of their policies and people.
Does Warner think his re-election chances hinge on support for torture? Is torture really that popular among Democratic voters in Virginia?
For that matter, Warner isn't up for reelection until 2020, does he really think the voters in Virginia have such a hard on for torture that they'll remember his vote against Haspel and vote against him over three years later because of it?
And Feinstein is in California, not exactly a swing state where there's the argument to be made that the Democratic candidate must vote Republican in order to keep getting reelected.
If it was McCaskill or Manchin voting yes there'd be at least an excuse for it.
So are the people who have no electoral excuse indicating that they'd vote yes on torture because they're granting permission to all Democratic Senators to cast a pro-torture vote, or what?
posted by sotonohito at 2:06 PM on May 9, 2018 [35 favorites]
I'm afraid I'm not seeing a lot of advantage to the Big Tent philosophy. It seems mostly to give our enemies victory and the still media precious label of bipartisanship on the very worst of their policies and people.
Does Warner think his re-election chances hinge on support for torture? Is torture really that popular among Democratic voters in Virginia?
For that matter, Warner isn't up for reelection until 2020, does he really think the voters in Virginia have such a hard on for torture that they'll remember his vote against Haspel and vote against him over three years later because of it?
And Feinstein is in California, not exactly a swing state where there's the argument to be made that the Democratic candidate must vote Republican in order to keep getting reelected.
If it was McCaskill or Manchin voting yes there'd be at least an excuse for it.
So are the people who have no electoral excuse indicating that they'd vote yes on torture because they're granting permission to all Democratic Senators to cast a pro-torture vote, or what?
posted by sotonohito at 2:06 PM on May 9, 2018 [35 favorites]
mumimor: What I didn't state clearly above: the article indicates that the EU is beginning to treat the US as an unreliable rogue state. It's wild.
Yup, it's pretty wild that it's taken over a year of Trump to get here.
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: Eric Geller of Politico: SCOOP: National Security Adviser John Bolton and his aides are considering eliminating the White House's top cybersecurity job.
Yup, unreliable rogue state seems about right. "Vector for future attacks against democracies around the world" is another, wordier way of putting it.
Reminder: On Thursday, March 22nd, Atlanta, Georgia became the latest city to fall victim to ransomware attacks targeting city governments. Atlanta joins the likes of Sarasota, Florida; Englewood, Colorado; Hinesville, Georgia; Farmington, New Mexico; and Leeds, Alabama as cities that have recently been hit with ransomware attacks.
It's not just the theft of elections at stake - this is about the stability of governments large and small across the US.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:07 PM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
Yup, it's pretty wild that it's taken over a year of Trump to get here.
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: Eric Geller of Politico: SCOOP: National Security Adviser John Bolton and his aides are considering eliminating the White House's top cybersecurity job.
Yup, unreliable rogue state seems about right. "Vector for future attacks against democracies around the world" is another, wordier way of putting it.
Reminder: On Thursday, March 22nd, Atlanta, Georgia became the latest city to fall victim to ransomware attacks targeting city governments. Atlanta joins the likes of Sarasota, Florida; Englewood, Colorado; Hinesville, Georgia; Farmington, New Mexico; and Leeds, Alabama as cities that have recently been hit with ransomware attacks.
It's not just the theft of elections at stake - this is about the stability of governments large and small across the US.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:07 PM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
‘Trump, Inc.’ Podcast: Where’d Trump’s Record Inauguration Spending Go? ‘It’s Inexplicable’
posted by jgirl at 2:08 PM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 2:08 PM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
So are the people who have no electoral excuse indicating that they'd vote yes on torture because they're granting permission to all Democratic Senators to cast a pro-torture vote, or what?
They're playing stupid games where if they think if they vote yes on this horrible thing the Republicans will come to the table and vote for something on some future date.
posted by dilaudid at 2:09 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
They're playing stupid games where if they think if they vote yes on this horrible thing the Republicans will come to the table and vote for something on some future date.
posted by dilaudid at 2:09 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
They're playing stupid games where if they think if they vote yes on this horrible thing the Republicans will come to the table and vote for something on some future date.
They've had a decade plus to learn the futility of that gambit and at some point incompetence has to be judged as indistinguishable from malice.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:13 PM on May 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
They've had a decade plus to learn the futility of that gambit and at some point incompetence has to be judged as indistinguishable from malice.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:13 PM on May 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
@AFP: #BREAKING Saudis will seek nuclear weapon if Iran does, minister says
Translation: the Saudis have a nuclear weapon.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:14 PM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Translation: the Saudis have a nuclear weapon.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:14 PM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Or they just honestly support (or cheerfully tolerate) torture as a tool of American foreign policy. We don't need to invent some gambit to explain politician's actions.
posted by The Gaffer at 2:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by The Gaffer at 2:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
Novartis is not a victim. Paying a politician because you think they'll be mean to you if you don't pay them is the definition of bribery. Society and the economy works best when everyone is prevented from paying bribes.
Bribery does not become okay just because the person you're bribing demanded it.
Though it does seem we've taken another step on the road to becoming a banana republic.
posted by Gelatin at 2:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Bribery does not become okay just because the person you're bribing demanded it.
Though it does seem we've taken another step on the road to becoming a banana republic.
posted by Gelatin at 2:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
this is about the stability of governments large and small across the US.
To elaborate - many of these ransomware attacks are similar to the huge WannaCry ransomware attacks from a year ago, where systems are encrypted, potentially effecting every department in a jurisdiction or limiting impacts to more mundane yet still critical electronic bill-paying and records systems, but the successful attacks have been wide-spread (embedded map with links to additional news stories).
posted by filthy light thief at 2:17 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
To elaborate - many of these ransomware attacks are similar to the huge WannaCry ransomware attacks from a year ago, where systems are encrypted, potentially effecting every department in a jurisdiction or limiting impacts to more mundane yet still critical electronic bill-paying and records systems, but the successful attacks have been wide-spread (embedded map with links to additional news stories).
posted by filthy light thief at 2:17 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Paying a politician because you think they'll be mean to you if you don't pay them is the definition of bribery.
No, they were approached, so it's extortion on the part of the politician. Bribery is if you volunteer to pay them to do or not do something for you
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:18 PM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
No, they were approached, so it's extortion on the part of the politician. Bribery is if you volunteer to pay them to do or not do something for you
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:18 PM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Warner: "I heard from the nominee more clarity than I heard this morning, particularly in terms of the kind of questions I asked about whether she believed that the interrogation techniques frankly aren't consistent with American values."
So she's okay with saying it in private to get a vote but unwilling to say it in public? That's pretty screwed up. Nobody can go back to her public statements when she changes her mind once in office.
posted by JackFlash at 2:21 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
So she's okay with saying it in private to get a vote but unwilling to say it in public? That's pretty screwed up. Nobody can go back to her public statements when she changes her mind once in office.
posted by JackFlash at 2:21 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
> [...] sometimes I still can't believe just how much racism factors into this country's approach to justice, fairness, charity, and public policy.
I almost wonder that if they called it anything other than white-collar crime, would half of Wall Street be in jail by now. Please forgive my delayed Whorfian realization that the mental shorthand of "white crime" could explain why it isn't prosecuted as heavily or demonized as much in the public discourse.
Also, this comment pairs well with maxwelton's earlier point regarding rich white men who fail to face consequences for their crimes that ultimately cause more devastation than the stereotyped and marginalized groups they wail about through their various mouthpieces.
There is certainly an educational component to this. That if people understood the degree to which these crimes damage the lives of others—even indirectly—they would treat them more traditionally as villains. However, I've already complained about the failure of America's public information systems plenty before and don't have any immediate solutions other than to shrug and remind people that no one is taller than the guillotine.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 2:23 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
I almost wonder that if they called it anything other than white-collar crime, would half of Wall Street be in jail by now. Please forgive my delayed Whorfian realization that the mental shorthand of "white crime" could explain why it isn't prosecuted as heavily or demonized as much in the public discourse.
Also, this comment pairs well with maxwelton's earlier point regarding rich white men who fail to face consequences for their crimes that ultimately cause more devastation than the stereotyped and marginalized groups they wail about through their various mouthpieces.
There is certainly an educational component to this. That if people understood the degree to which these crimes damage the lives of others—even indirectly—they would treat them more traditionally as villains. However, I've already complained about the failure of America's public information systems plenty before and don't have any immediate solutions other than to shrug and remind people that no one is taller than the guillotine.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 2:23 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Chris Hayes:
An anecdote from the 1990s that illustrates how Donald Trump thinks about money and his almost comical obsession with being cut in on profits he thinks he's entitled to. (Provided by someone who witnessed it)posted by zachlipton at 2:26 PM on May 9, 2018 [100 favorites]
Back in the 1990s, Tower Records had a store in Trump Tower, and in those stores were "listening stations," where you could listen to a bunch of new CDs. The store would also add local indie bands' CDs to listening station rotation if they paid $100. Somehow Trump gets wind of this, and someone from Trump Tower tells their contact at Tower Records that Trump *wants a cut of the $100* from each local band paying to be in the listening station! Donald Trump! The guy with his name on the building wants in on the $100!
It didn't go anywhere, because it was an absolutely absurd ask. But think of that in context of what we're learning about the money Cohen was bringing in off of his own proximity to Trump.
Are there support groups for people trying to quit hitting refresh on poll trackers? I don't think watching the polls come in every day is good for me. D+11 awww yisssss. D+3 OH GOD. D+9 yay! D+4 NO WHY. Send help.
In all semi-seriousness you should watch Bob Newhart's "stop it" skit, so you will understand why I'm telling you to stop it or I'll bury you alive in a box.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 2:33 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
In all semi-seriousness you should watch Bob Newhart's "stop it" skit, so you will understand why I'm telling you to stop it or I'll bury you alive in a box.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 2:33 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
So she's okay with saying it in private to get a vote but unwilling to say it in public?
And I think the reason for this is that Haspel's first loyalty is not to the Constitution, not to the American people, not even to Donald Trump. Her first loyalty is to her fellow spooks in the CIA. That is why she destroyed the tapes. That is why she is unwilling to say anything disparaging, even today, about their torture techniques.
That's a good reason you don't put someone from the rank and file in charge of the CIA. Incidentally, that's the same reason Congress put in a rule that you don't put a general in charge of the Defense Department.
posted by JackFlash at 2:39 PM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
And I think the reason for this is that Haspel's first loyalty is not to the Constitution, not to the American people, not even to Donald Trump. Her first loyalty is to her fellow spooks in the CIA. That is why she destroyed the tapes. That is why she is unwilling to say anything disparaging, even today, about their torture techniques.
That's a good reason you don't put someone from the rank and file in charge of the CIA. Incidentally, that's the same reason Congress put in a rule that you don't put a general in charge of the Defense Department.
posted by JackFlash at 2:39 PM on May 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
I am eagerly awaiting the revelation that specific dates of money flowing in and out of Michael Cohen's various LLC's lines up with the specific dates that Republicans had meetings w/Trump and or made announcements of resignations/retirements. Also, Michael Avenatti is beating Trump at his own game and I love it.
posted by pjsky at 2:47 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by pjsky at 2:47 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
It got worse. WSJ, Trump Lawyer Helped Recruit Corporate Client With Ties to Kushner Probe
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen helped a law and lobbying firm land a corporate client with ties to Kushner Cos., the family company of White House adviser Jared Kushner that is currently the subject of a federal probe.The whole excuse for this was that this had nothing to do with the administration and was just Kushner Co. folks freelancing (despite the use of a photo of Trump in the investor presentation). That they happen to have gone through Cohen is a sign that's not exactly true.
Under a 2017 contract with Squire Patton Boggs, Mr. Cohen was paid $500,000 a year to help it drum up business, prosecutors said in a recent filing in federal court in New York, where Mr. Cohen is under investigation for potential bank fraud and campaign-finance violations. He also received a cut of any fees it collected from clients he referred.
Among five clients Mr. Cohen delivered to Squire Patton Boggs—before the firm terminated the contract with him in early March—was U.S. Immigration Fund LLC, according to court filings and Nicholas Mastroianni II, U.S. Immigration Fund’s chief executive. The Florida company connects businesses with foreign investors through a U.S. visa program.
...
U.S. Immigration Fund last year organized a trip to China for several Kushner Cos. officials, including Mr. Kushner’s sister Nicole Meyer, to seek investors for commercial-and-residential towers in Jersey City, N.J., the Journal has reported. Ms. Meyer pitched potential investors on participating in a program known as EB-5, which provides permanent U.S. residency to immigrants who invest at least $500,000 in certain job-creating businesses.
...
Squire Patton Boggs has received $370,000 from U.S. Immigration Fund to lobby Congress and the administration on reforming the EB-5 visa system, according to lobbying reports. The firm hasn’t represented the company on any legal matters, according to a firm spokesman.
U.S. Immigration Fund and developers have beat back efforts by lawmakers to change EB-5 rules to ban the program’s use to finance projects in wealthier areas instead of in rural and high-unemployment areas
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
Justinian: "Are there support groups for people trying to quit hitting refresh on poll trackers? I don't think watching the polls come in every day is good for me. "
I say this in all seriousness and with all kindness: please DO use your favorite ad blocker to block them from your screen. (For example, with UBlock Origin you can use the eyedropper tool to select the poll and block that div permanently. I have used this extensively for "Trending Stories" divs, which do ME no good.)
Those polls are causing you pain and in my opinion are worse than worthless to you (and, I would argue, to nearly everyone). Cut them right out of your life, and maybe replace them with something - anything! - inspiring, like this article about Rev. William Barber from the text of this post.
posted by kristi at 3:10 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
I say this in all seriousness and with all kindness: please DO use your favorite ad blocker to block them from your screen. (For example, with UBlock Origin you can use the eyedropper tool to select the poll and block that div permanently. I have used this extensively for "Trending Stories" divs, which do ME no good.)
Those polls are causing you pain and in my opinion are worse than worthless to you (and, I would argue, to nearly everyone). Cut them right out of your life, and maybe replace them with something - anything! - inspiring, like this article about Rev. William Barber from the text of this post.
posted by kristi at 3:10 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
she believed that the interrogation techniques frankly aren't consistent with American values.
Interrogation techniques? Fuck you, Senator. SAY IT or GTFO.
posted by petebest at 3:11 PM on May 9, 2018 [33 favorites]
Interrogation techniques? Fuck you, Senator. SAY IT or GTFO.
posted by petebest at 3:11 PM on May 9, 2018 [33 favorites]
@AAhronheim: #IDF says 20 projectiles were fired towards #Israel's forward defensive line in the #GolanHeights by troops belonging to #Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted several projectiles. No injuries or fatalities reported.
Also, Cohen's lawyers are disputing in court some of the random weird payments in Avenatti's report, such as the wire transfer from a Kenyan bank was actually for someone else named Michael Cohen. Which makes it all the more interesting where Avenatti got this information.
posted by zachlipton at 3:22 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, Cohen's lawyers are disputing in court some of the random weird payments in Avenatti's report, such as the wire transfer from a Kenyan bank was actually for someone else named Michael Cohen. Which makes it all the more interesting where Avenatti got this information.
posted by zachlipton at 3:22 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Reminder: On Thursday, March 22nd, Atlanta, Georgia became the latest city to fall victim to ransomware attacks targeting city governments. Atlanta joins the likes of Sarasota, Florida; Englewood, Colorado; Hinesville, Georgia; Farmington, New Mexico; and Leeds, Alabama as cities that have recently been hit with ransomware attacks.
It's not just the theft of elections at stake - this is about the stability of governments large and small across the US.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:07 PM on May 9 [17 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
These hackers are the 21st century pirates. Just as governments organized navies to combat piracy on the high seas, so they must organize to combat piratical hackers riding the Internet waves.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:27 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's not just the theft of elections at stake - this is about the stability of governments large and small across the US.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:07 PM on May 9 [17 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
These hackers are the 21st century pirates. Just as governments organized navies to combat piracy on the high seas, so they must organize to combat piratical hackers riding the Internet waves.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:27 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Watching Hari Kondabolu's Netflix special and at one point he fails into despair..and says
"Remember when Joe Biden was considered a loose cannon."
posted by srboisvert at 3:29 PM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
"Remember when Joe Biden was considered a loose cannon."
posted by srboisvert at 3:29 PM on May 9, 2018 [37 favorites]
These hackers are the 21st century pirates. Just as governments organized navies to combat piracy on the high seas, so they must organize to combat piratical hackers riding the Internet waves.
What makes you think these attacks aren't primarily promulgated by governments?
posted by dilaudid at 3:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
What makes you think these attacks aren't primarily promulgated by governments?
posted by dilaudid at 3:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
@annafifield: Did Kim Jong Un just call Trump the "supreme leader" of the U.S.? Yes he did. "He exchanged with Mike Pompeo the appraisal and view on the acute situation of the Korean peninsula... and the stance and opinions of the supreme leaderships of the DPRK and the U.S. on their summit."
Speaking of supreme leaders, Salem executives pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively, emails show
posted by zachlipton at 3:34 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Speaking of supreme leaders, Salem executives pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively, emails show
"What I have been hearing on TMA... has not been in the spirit of 'supporting the GOP nominee,'" one Salem executive, Terry Fahy, general manager at Salem, wrote in an email to Shapiro and Krauss on July 19, 2016. "In fact, it seems that the show gets into negative minutiae of the Trump campaign and the GOP convention (e.g. criticizing Trump for having his kids speak at the convention.) Do we really need a side by side audio comparison of Trump's wife's speech with Michelle Obama's? How is that ultimately relevant to the big picture and advance the cause?"One exec suggested Ben Shapiro approach it like a trial lawyer: "You suspect your client is guilty, but you are paid to get him off. The jurors will ultimately decide his fate."
...
In his June 2016 email to Shapiro and Krauss, Boyce said that, at his suggestion, Atsinger had written to two other popular Salem hosts, Hugh Hewitt and Michael Medved, "a very well stated case for supporting the GOP nominee because we have to beat Hillary."
Boyce went on to assert that in the wake of Atsinger's message to him, Hewitt had begun to modify his position and had gone on to write an article for The Washington Post about why he found it necessary to vote for Trump. That prompted Atsinger to say, according to Boyce's email, "Wow he took a lot from my email to him and turned it into an article." (In the email, Boyce also said, "It should be noted that nobody put the hammer to Hugh or Michael. We simply reminded them that they are privileged to work for a company that actually HAS a political world view. ... And we reminded them that we have to focus on the ultimate goal, regardless of the circumstances facing us today.")
posted by zachlipton at 3:34 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
National Security Adviser John Bolton and his aides are considering eliminating the White House's top cybersecurity job.
What's the big deal? The Bush administration demoted the national coordinator for terrorism. What could possibly go wrong?
posted by kirkaracha at 3:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
What's the big deal? The Bush administration demoted the national coordinator for terrorism. What could possibly go wrong?
posted by kirkaracha at 3:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
What makes you think these attacks aren't primarily promulgated by governments?
As were many pirates.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:46 PM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
As were many pirates.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:46 PM on May 9, 2018 [39 favorites]
I just called Senator Feinstein, and her phone lines seem busier than usual. I had a shortish speech prepared for the voicemail system:
During my prep for the call, I found a story that Feinstein's not impressed with Haspel today:
I am calling to ask the Senator to vote AGAINST Gina Haspel as head of the CIA. I greatly appreciate the Senator's consistent statements that torture is both morally wrong and illegal. I ask her to make clear that a person who has committed the crime of torturing someone is forever disqualified from heading a US government agency, as is anyone who has destroyed evidence, which is also illegal.... but I shortened it a bit when I finally got through so the staffer could move on to other calls.
I have been happy to vote for Senator Feinstein in the past. I hope she will continue to earn my vote by voting against every disqualified nominee, and speaking out very publicly about their disqualifications.
During my prep for the call, I found a story that Feinstein's not impressed with Haspel today:
"If she were asked for the agency, by the president, to do something which was considered wrong and illegal, would she just refuse to do it?" Feinstein asked. "She didn’t answer that question directly."posted by kristi at 3:47 PM on May 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
Feinstein said that torture had always been outlawed, waving off legal justifications for the interrogation program cited by Haspel during her public hearing on Wednesday.
Another day, another data survey... apparently by having an unblocked phone number registered with political orgs, I'm a prime candidate for polling. (Suggestions for how to skew the results in interesting or useful ways are welcome; so far, I've just been honest.)
This one was an "M.R.S. Public Opinion Poll." Of course, you can't Google for that. I got her to repeat the name, so I'm sure I didn't mis-hear it. It doesn't match any of 538's ratings list, but I know that doesn't mean anything.
Someone really, really wants to know about how the Superintendent race is going.
Starting questions
Are you registered to vote?
In what state?
What's your zip code?
What year were you born?
Questions about the upcoming California primary
1) Have you already voted in person, by absentee ballot or are you likely to vote?
2) How likely are you to vote in the primary?
3) How favorable an opinion (very fav, somewhat fav, no opn, somewhat unfav, very unfav) do you have for each of these people:
Gavin Newsom | Travis Allen | Antonio Villaraigosa | Amanda Renteria | Marshall Tuck | John Chiang | John Cox | Delain Eastin | Tony Thurmond
4) If the election were held today, which would you vote for Governor?
Gavin Newsom (D) | John Chiang (D) | Delain Eastin (D) | Travis Allen (R) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | John Cox (R) | Amanda Renteria (D)
5) If that person weren't running, which would you vote for?
6) Who would you vote for Superintendent of Public Instruction?
Lily Espinoza Ploski | Marshall Tuck | Tony Thurmond | Steven Ireland
7) If that person weren't running, which would you vote for?
8) How much have you heard about billionaires wanting to divert money from public to charter schools?
A great deal | Some | Not too much | Nothing at all
9) If you knew a candidate were backed by those people, would it make you more or less likely to support the candidate?
Statistics questions
What political party are you affiliated with? (R, D, I, other)
How Liberal-Conservative are you? (Very, Somewhat, Neither, Somewhat, Very)
Do you have children under 18?
What level of education have you completed?
Are you Latino or Hispanic?
Are you Black, White, Asian, Native American, or Other?
Do you or anyone in your houshold belong to a union?
Verify your first name.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:47 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
This one was an "M.R.S. Public Opinion Poll." Of course, you can't Google for that. I got her to repeat the name, so I'm sure I didn't mis-hear it. It doesn't match any of 538's ratings list, but I know that doesn't mean anything.
Someone really, really wants to know about how the Superintendent race is going.
Starting questions
Are you registered to vote?
In what state?
What's your zip code?
What year were you born?
Questions about the upcoming California primary
1) Have you already voted in person, by absentee ballot or are you likely to vote?
2) How likely are you to vote in the primary?
3) How favorable an opinion (very fav, somewhat fav, no opn, somewhat unfav, very unfav) do you have for each of these people:
Gavin Newsom | Travis Allen | Antonio Villaraigosa | Amanda Renteria | Marshall Tuck | John Chiang | John Cox | Delain Eastin | Tony Thurmond
4) If the election were held today, which would you vote for Governor?
Gavin Newsom (D) | John Chiang (D) | Delain Eastin (D) | Travis Allen (R) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | John Cox (R) | Amanda Renteria (D)
5) If that person weren't running, which would you vote for?
6) Who would you vote for Superintendent of Public Instruction?
Lily Espinoza Ploski | Marshall Tuck | Tony Thurmond | Steven Ireland
7) If that person weren't running, which would you vote for?
8) How much have you heard about billionaires wanting to divert money from public to charter schools?
A great deal | Some | Not too much | Nothing at all
9) If you knew a candidate were backed by those people, would it make you more or less likely to support the candidate?
Statistics questions
What political party are you affiliated with? (R, D, I, other)
How Liberal-Conservative are you? (Very, Somewhat, Neither, Somewhat, Very)
Do you have children under 18?
What level of education have you completed?
Are you Latino or Hispanic?
Are you Black, White, Asian, Native American, or Other?
Do you or anyone in your houshold belong to a union?
Verify your first name.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:47 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
With a new administration coming in, basically, all the traditional contacts disappeared and they were all new players. We [i.e., Novartis] were trying to find an inroad into the administration. Cohen promised access to not just Trump, but also the circle around him. It was almost as if we were hiring him as a lobbyist.
I initially thought that the Trump administration's slow pace of appointments was just because they weren't prepared / didn't know / didn't care. The worst thing I imagined was that Trump was trying to get bribes from the appointees themselves.
I'm still sure there was a lot of incompetence and maybe some corruption over appointments, but the initial lack of officeholders meant that power was centralised and Cohen could shake companies down in exchange for access to the administration. That money had to be flowing to Trump some way, which means that the delays were policy, not happenstance. But Novartis probably represents an early version of the shakedown:
Among five clients Mr. Cohen delivered to Squire Patton Boggs—before the firm terminated the contract with him in early March—was U.S. Immigration Fund LLC, according to court filings and Nicholas Mastroianni II, U.S. Immigration Fund’s chief executive. The Florida company connects businesses with foreign investors through a U.S. visa program.
Here's the slightly-more sophisticated version: there's a program that can effectively allow wealthy people to buy US visas, but those visas are discretionary. Kushner's family have projects that they market to (predominantly Chinese IIUC) investors. The projects aren't attractive because they're profitable, but because of the implication that they're associated with the President's family and therefore offer a better path to a US visa. The problem is, how does Trump get his share? You can't give him the money directly, because that would be really blatant. Answer: the Kushners pay a "lobbyist" for "access" to the administration. The "lobbyist" hires Michael Cohen as an "advisor". Cohen has his own way of delivering the money to Trump. The reason we can know this is: why the hell would the Kushners need to pay anyone for access to Jared's father-in-law? Either he's willing to help them or he isn't; there's no way that Cohen can be giving them any more help.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:54 PM on May 9, 2018 [46 favorites]
I'm still sure there was a lot of incompetence and maybe some corruption over appointments, but the initial lack of officeholders meant that power was centralised and Cohen could shake companies down in exchange for access to the administration. That money had to be flowing to Trump some way, which means that the delays were policy, not happenstance.
We all laughed and laughed at the incompetence of the Transition Era Trump Team when they visited the West Wing and Kushner seemingly blurted out in surprise and dismay -- "We have to hire ALL these staffers?"
What WE didn't know is that Kushner wasn't dismayed by the size of the task of hiring all those staffers -- he was dismayed that there would be so many staffers in the room watching how TrumpCo worked. So they found a way not to hire so many staffers.
posted by notyou at 4:01 PM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
We all laughed and laughed at the incompetence of the Transition Era Trump Team when they visited the West Wing and Kushner seemingly blurted out in surprise and dismay -- "We have to hire ALL these staffers?"
What WE didn't know is that Kushner wasn't dismayed by the size of the task of hiring all those staffers -- he was dismayed that there would be so many staffers in the room watching how TrumpCo worked. So they found a way not to hire so many staffers.
posted by notyou at 4:01 PM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
What the hell. What the high holy hell. If ever there was an even I couldn't this would be it.
EXCLUSIVE: Steve Bannon was target of bribery plot by top Qatari who invested in Ice Cube's basketball league to get to Trump's strategist and boasted 'Mike Flynn took our money', rapper claims in court.
posted by scalefree at 4:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [63 favorites]
EXCLUSIVE: Steve Bannon was target of bribery plot by top Qatari who invested in Ice Cube's basketball league to get to Trump's strategist and boasted 'Mike Flynn took our money', rapper claims in court.
posted by scalefree at 4:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [63 favorites]
ProPublica, Russian Oligarch-Linked Firm That Paid Michael Cohen Was Also Represented by Trump Lawyer Marc Kasowitz
Kasowitz happens to have represented Columbus Nova in a commercial matter. Cohen was working out of Kasowitz's office in February 2017 around when the payments began. A Columbus Nova spokesman says it's all a coincidence.
posted by zachlipton at 4:19 PM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
Kasowitz happens to have represented Columbus Nova in a commercial matter. Cohen was working out of Kasowitz's office in February 2017 around when the payments began. A Columbus Nova spokesman says it's all a coincidence.
posted by zachlipton at 4:19 PM on May 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
A Columbus Nova spokesman says it's all a coincidence.
[narrator voice] It was not a coincidence.
posted by nonasuch at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
[narrator voice] It was not a coincidence.
posted by nonasuch at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
scalefree, I had to read that headline half a dozen times before I could even begin to parse it
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
Melissa Repko, Dallas News: AT&T: We gave information to Mueller regarding payments to Trump lawyer
AT&T spoke with Mueller back in November and December 2017 regarding their payments to Cohen.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
AT&T spoke with Mueller back in November and December 2017 regarding their payments to Cohen.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
It still sounds a little silly to say that Donald Trump is part of the Russian mob. It should sound no sillier than saying that German-Irish Tom Hagen was part of la Cosa Nostra.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Steve Bannon was target of bribery plot by top Qatari who invested in Ice Cube's basketball league to get to Trump's strategist and boasted 'Mike Flynn took our money', rapper claims in court.
Has some headline writer been playing Mad Libs again?
posted by azpenguin at 4:26 PM on May 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
Has some headline writer been playing Mad Libs again?
posted by azpenguin at 4:26 PM on May 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
Man, after all these efforts to do some good faith bribery Qatar sure is getting screwed. Saudi bought a lot of favourite with that stupid-ass orb I guess. Learn to package your gifts nicely, Qatar!
posted by Artw at 4:29 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:29 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Sitting on a Qatar Airways flight about to depart for Doha. We’ve been rerouted to fly over Paris, presumably to avoid... complications from the Syria-Iran-Israel airspace.
posted by Superplin at 4:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by Superplin at 4:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [33 favorites]
About once every 6 to 8 weeks Napolitano breaks the Fox Fourth Wall and issues astonishingly rational warnings to the president. The occasional Judge Nap Moment of Clarity might be his only decent legal counsel.
Fox News Judicial Analyst Issues Dark Warning To Trump Over Michael Cohen
“Why was a Russian billionaire giving a half-a-million dollars to the president’s lawyer at the time the lawyer was paying not only Stormy Daniels but, according to Rudy Giuliani, other women to remain silent about their relationships to the president?” Napolitano asked, adding that an indictment could be imminent. “The president’s lawyer getting indicted can’t be good for the president,” he said. Napolitano then directed his remarks at Trump: “When the government is attacking your lawyer, it’s attacking you. Mr. President, please be wary of all of this.”
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:33 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Fox News Judicial Analyst Issues Dark Warning To Trump Over Michael Cohen
“Why was a Russian billionaire giving a half-a-million dollars to the president’s lawyer at the time the lawyer was paying not only Stormy Daniels but, according to Rudy Giuliani, other women to remain silent about their relationships to the president?” Napolitano asked, adding that an indictment could be imminent. “The president’s lawyer getting indicted can’t be good for the president,” he said. Napolitano then directed his remarks at Trump: “When the government is attacking your lawyer, it’s attacking you. Mr. President, please be wary of all of this.”
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:33 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Judge Napolitano appears to be accusing Trump of serious criminality, and his take-away is that the President needs to fire all the cops immediately. Now That's What I Call Jurisprudence™
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:47 PM on May 9, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:47 PM on May 9, 2018 [55 favorites]
Steve Bannon was target of bribery plot by top Qatari who invested in Ice Cube's basketball league to get to Trump's strategist and boasted 'Mike Flynn took our money', rapper claims in court.
So, a Bannon associate was approached, promised money, given a little money, and did NOT setup a meeting with Bannon to get the rest of it?
Amateurs at grifting.
You approach Trump with anything, and he reflexively says, "Talk to Cohen, he's my lawyer", then Cohen launders the money through EC, LLC, , and sets up access. ( See AT&T / FCC / Net Neutrality Deregulation )
posted by mikelieman at 4:59 PM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
So, a Bannon associate was approached, promised money, given a little money, and did NOT setup a meeting with Bannon to get the rest of it?
Amateurs at grifting.
You approach Trump with anything, and he reflexively says, "Talk to Cohen, he's my lawyer", then Cohen launders the money through EC, LLC, , and sets up access. ( See AT&T / FCC / Net Neutrality Deregulation )
posted by mikelieman at 4:59 PM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
We’ll always have the many Infrastructure Weeks.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:01 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Another promise broken.I’m the guy pushing a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. With negative interest rates throughout the world, it’s the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Shipyards, ironworks, get them all jacked up. We’re just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. It will be as exciting as the 1930s, greater than the Reagan revolution — conservatives, plus populists, in an economic nationalist movement.As it turned out, we have reprised much of the excitement of the 1930s — presidents demanding the imprisonment of journalists and members of the opposing party, Nazis holding torchlight parades — but no infrastructure bill has materialized. After months of inaction, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced today, “I don’t know that there will be one by the end of the year.” And so the once-fabled infrastructure bill has died a quiet death.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:01 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
An anecdote from the 1990s that illustrates how Donald Trump thinks about money
It is known. (Spy Magazine, July 1990)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:05 PM on May 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
It is known. (Spy Magazine, July 1990)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:05 PM on May 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
EXCLUSIVE: Steve Bannon was target of bribery plot by top Qatari who invested in Ice Cube's basketball league to get to Trump's strategist and boasted 'Mike Flynn took our money', rapper claims in court.
Well, that's it. That's the last fucking straw for me.
We are living in a god-damn computer simulation.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:17 PM on May 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
Well, that's it. That's the last fucking straw for me.
We are living in a god-damn computer simulation.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:17 PM on May 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
That didnt take long:
Iranian Force Launches Missiles at Golan; Syria Says Intercepted Rockets Launched by Israel
posted by adamvasco at 5:21 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Iranian Force Launches Missiles at Golan; Syria Says Intercepted Rockets Launched by Israel
posted by adamvasco at 5:21 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Man, after all these efforts to do some good faith bribery Qatar sure is getting screwed.
One of the things that does lend credibility to Novartis's claim they kept paying in order not to offend Trump is that he is a sociopathic man-baby. If You Want to Understand Trump, Understand This: Revenge Is What He Cares About Most.
Not that that makes it more convincing, for $1.2 million they would have negotiated a compromise at the very least. They had reciprocal dirt on Cohen and Trump. Chances are all the currently known payments were just the upfront "commitment fee" favoured by scammers everywhere, anyway. The first yes and shared guilt on which many criminal enterprises are founded.
Wonder who paid how much to get Pruitt his job. That Trump hasn't just defenebused him already suggests it must be a lot.
posted by Buntix at 5:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
One of the things that does lend credibility to Novartis's claim they kept paying in order not to offend Trump is that he is a sociopathic man-baby. If You Want to Understand Trump, Understand This: Revenge Is What He Cares About Most.
Not that that makes it more convincing, for $1.2 million they would have negotiated a compromise at the very least. They had reciprocal dirt on Cohen and Trump. Chances are all the currently known payments were just the upfront "commitment fee" favoured by scammers everywhere, anyway. The first yes and shared guilt on which many criminal enterprises are founded.
Wonder who paid how much to get Pruitt his job. That Trump hasn't just defenebused him already suggests it must be a lot.
posted by Buntix at 5:32 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Wonder who paid how much to get Pruitt his job.
Cohen was (is still?) the Deputy Finance Chair of the RNC though all of this too. I suspect if we could get a long look at the RNC's books that's where the real professional bribery from the Kochs and Adelson and Mercer is hiding. We're hearing about the low hanging fruit of clumsy approaches to Ice Cube and Cohen mixing the Stormy money with cold approaches from confused corporations who aren't sure who they need to bribe now after 2016.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:39 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Cohen was (is still?) the Deputy Finance Chair of the RNC though all of this too. I suspect if we could get a long look at the RNC's books that's where the real professional bribery from the Kochs and Adelson and Mercer is hiding. We're hearing about the low hanging fruit of clumsy approaches to Ice Cube and Cohen mixing the Stormy money with cold approaches from confused corporations who aren't sure who they need to bribe now after 2016.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:39 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
I really can’t wait to get back to work, y’all.
posted by dogheart at 5:56 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by dogheart at 5:56 PM on May 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
It hadn't occurred to me that the EB-5 visas would be another reason Trump wants to kick out all the foreigners and build a huge wall. He's scheming to take a cut from foreign EB-5 investors, and the harder it is to get into the country, the bigger the potential market for for EB-5 applicants.
Not that you can even draw the conclusion that fewer overall refugees and immigrants == more EB-5 investors, but I don't doubt that Trump would see it in such simplistic terms. Totally jives with his shithole country remarks.
posted by p3t3 at 5:59 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Not that you can even draw the conclusion that fewer overall refugees and immigrants == more EB-5 investors, but I don't doubt that Trump would see it in such simplistic terms. Totally jives with his shithole country remarks.
posted by p3t3 at 5:59 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
WaPo, ‘I’m crushing it’: How Michael Cohen, touting his access to President Trump, convinced companies to pay millions
Sen. McCain put out a statement opposing Haspel, citing her "refusal to acknowledge torture’s immorality." More on today's hearing from Spencer Ackerman, Gina Haspel Stonewalls on Discussing Her Role in CIA Torture
posted by zachlipton at 6:03 PM on May 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
President Trump had been sworn into office, and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, saw a golden opportunity.----
From his perch in a law office on the 23rd floor of New York’s Rockefeller Center, Cohen pitched potential clients on his close association with Trump, noting that he still was the president’s lawyer, according to associates. He showed photos of himself with Trump and mentioned how frequently they spoke, even asking people to share news articles describing him as the president’s “fixer.”
“I’m crushing it,” he said, according to an associate who spoke to him in the summer of 2017.
...
Cohen was able to sign up such lucrative clients because many companies at the time were anxious to hire Trump insiders. Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign aide who in January 2017 opened a consulting firm, Avenue Strategies, in partnership with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, said there was more potential business than they could handle.
“When we opened our doors, the phone just rang and rang and rang. . . . We turned a lot of business away. My guess is that anybody who was perceived as close to Trump, their phones were ringing like ours. It was like shooting fish in the barrel.”
A Cohen friend described the lawyer’s appeal to corporations: “Probably no one in the country who understands the mechanics of Trump world better than Michael Cohen.”
...
“This has destroyed him,” said one of Cohen’s closest friends, bemoaning the behavior of those who once courted but have now abandoned Cohen. “The whole thing is so horrible.”
Sen. McCain put out a statement opposing Haspel, citing her "refusal to acknowledge torture’s immorality." More on today's hearing from Spencer Ackerman, Gina Haspel Stonewalls on Discussing Her Role in CIA Torture
posted by zachlipton at 6:03 PM on May 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
“I’m crushing it,” he said, according to an associate who spoke to him in the summer of 2017.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 6:16 PM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
Novartis' explanation might be bullshit, but this takes the shit cake:
Korea Aerospace Industries confirmed to The Washington Post that it paid $150,000 to Cohen’s company, but spokesman Oh Sung-keon said that it was unaware of Essential Consultants’ connection to Trump. The company said it paid Cohen’s firm “to inform reorganization of our internal accounting system.”
FFS! Because Cohen is widely known as an expert in this?
posted by duoshao at 6:31 PM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
Korea Aerospace Industries confirmed to The Washington Post that it paid $150,000 to Cohen’s company, but spokesman Oh Sung-keon said that it was unaware of Essential Consultants’ connection to Trump. The company said it paid Cohen’s firm “to inform reorganization of our internal accounting system.”
FFS! Because Cohen is widely known as an expert in this?
posted by duoshao at 6:31 PM on May 9, 2018 [44 favorites]
JFC, I'm starting to understand why the lowest-paid workers in organizations have such an impossible time getting decent pay raises.
posted by Rykey at 6:36 PM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 6:36 PM on May 9, 2018 [38 favorites]
If their internal accounting system needs to manage a lot of money laundering I imagine Cohen's expertise would be invaluable.
posted by chiquitita at 6:56 PM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by chiquitita at 6:56 PM on May 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
FFS! Because Cohen is widely known as an expert in this?
And the claim that they didn't know "Essential Consultants" had anything to do with Trump is just a mindbogglingly stupid lie. It's not like Essential Consultants had any employees! Who did they think was running the LLC?
posted by BungaDunga at 6:57 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
And the claim that they didn't know "Essential Consultants" had anything to do with Trump is just a mindbogglingly stupid lie. It's not like Essential Consultants had any employees! Who did they think was running the LLC?
posted by BungaDunga at 6:57 PM on May 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
“This has destroyed him,” said one of Cohen’s closest friends, bemoaning the behavior of those who once courted but have now abandoned Cohen.
Opportunistic shitbags gonna be opportunistic shitbags. For $75,000 a month, I'll hang out with Michael and make him feel better. (Payment up front; may not actually show up).
posted by nubs at 7:00 PM on May 9, 2018 [22 favorites]
Opportunistic shitbags gonna be opportunistic shitbags. For $75,000 a month, I'll hang out with Michael and make him feel better. (Payment up front; may not actually show up).
posted by nubs at 7:00 PM on May 9, 2018 [22 favorites]
And the claim that they didn't know "Essential Consultants" had anything to do with Trump is just a mindbogglingly stupid lie. It's not like Essential Consultants had any employees! Who did they think was running the LLC?employees! Who did they think was running the LLC?
David Dennison, natch.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:00 PM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
David Dennison, natch.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:00 PM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
If their internal accounting system needs to manage a lot of money laundering I imagine Cohen's expertise would be invaluable.
Actually, yeah, this is the same firm that just had a gigantic fraud/embezzlement scandal.
posted by rue72 at 7:07 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Actually, yeah, this is the same firm that just had a gigantic fraud/embezzlement scandal.
posted by rue72 at 7:07 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Just for kicks, I googled "Novartis," and they are based in Emeryville, California. Howdy, neighbors! There's this guy named Xavier Becerra who would love to know more about you, I'm sure! Speaking of crimes that states can prosecute...Trump has gone out of his way to antagonize California, and if that bites him in the butt bigtime, I will cheer.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:13 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:13 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
If their internal accounting system needs to manage a lot of money laundering I imagine Cohen's expertise would be invaluable.
Given that Mueller's team has apparently cut through their structuring and mixing like a hot knife through butter, I'm not sure "expertise" would how I would classify Cohen's skills.
posted by mikelieman at 7:13 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Given that Mueller's team has apparently cut through their structuring and mixing like a hot knife through butter, I'm not sure "expertise" would how I would classify Cohen's skills.
posted by mikelieman at 7:13 PM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Russia-linked company that hired Michael Cohen registered alt-right websites during election (WaPo):
A company at the center of widening questions involving President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen is listed as the organization behind a string of websites targeted toward white nationalists and other members of the alt-right.posted by peeedro at 7:20 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Columbus Nova, a company whose U.S. chief executive, Andrew Intrater, and Russian investment partner Viktor Vekselberg have both reportedly been interviewed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team, is listed as the registrant behind a handful of domains for websites named after the alt-right that were created during the 2016 election.
It is unclear if any of these websites were launched or ever hosted content.
These sites include Alt-right.co, Alternate-right.com, Alternate-rt.com, Alt-rite.com, and other similar combinations, which were all registered in the two days following a speech given by then candidate Hillary Clinton in August 2016 in which she excoriated the far-right movement known for its extremist, racist, anti-Semitic and sexist viewpoints. The sites are not currently operational.
Rosie M. Banks: "Just for kicks, I googled "Novartis," and they are based in Emeryville, California."
They're headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:27 PM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
They're headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:27 PM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Grab-bag of ratings changes from Sabato:
posted by Chrysostom at 8:36 PM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
TN Senate: Likely GOP => Leans GOPMeanwhile, Cook now rates the OH-12 special as Toss-up. And Gonzales moves NC-09 to Tilts GOP.
WV Senate: Leans Dem => Toss-up
MA gov: Likely GOP => Safe GOP
NC-09: Leans GOP => Toss-up
OH-16: Likely GOP => Safe GOP
posted by Chrysostom at 8:36 PM on May 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Trump White House quietly cancels NASA research verifying greenhouse gas cuts
Republicans really do want to kill the planet. They're existential threats to humanity.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:52 PM on May 9, 2018 [88 favorites]
Republicans really do want to kill the planet. They're existential threats to humanity.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:52 PM on May 9, 2018 [88 favorites]
zachlipton: [Cohen:] We turned a lot of business away. My guess is that anybody who was perceived as close to Trump, their phones were ringing like ours.
This sounds like there are more "associates" of Trump who are likely points of access, and as such, illegal activities on various fronts.
As we're playing tiny violins for people whose day has past (or their day has come?), let us not forget James O'Keefe -- James O’Keefe Can’t Get No Respect -- The muckraking conservative just wanted journalists to take him seriously. They never did, and now he’s out for blood. (Tim Alberta for Politico)
Behold, the puff piece we didn't need -- "O’Keefe, the undercover sting artist and conservative folk hero, needed a new jacket and shirts to fit over the body armor recommended by his security consultants."
That's right - it's ridiculously long. So you think there'd be space to cite the issues with what O'Keefe has done, right?
posted by filthy light thief at 8:52 PM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
This sounds like there are more "associates" of Trump who are likely points of access, and as such, illegal activities on various fronts.
As we're playing tiny violins for people whose day has past (or their day has come?), let us not forget James O'Keefe -- James O’Keefe Can’t Get No Respect -- The muckraking conservative just wanted journalists to take him seriously. They never did, and now he’s out for blood. (Tim Alberta for Politico)
Behold, the puff piece we didn't need -- "O’Keefe, the undercover sting artist and conservative folk hero, needed a new jacket and shirts to fit over the body armor recommended by his security consultants."
It was nearly a decade ago that O’Keefe snuck onto America’s political landscape with his takedown of ACORN, the liberal community organizing behemoth that was defunded after he and Hannah Giles posed as a pimp and prostitute and secretly videotaped employees advising them how to shelter an off-the-books brothel. In the years since, nothing and everything has changed. O’Keefe, 33, is still a leper to the American left and a menace in the eyes of a media complex that frowns on his clandestine tactics. Yet gone is the young, emaciated, caffeine-and-adrenaline-fueled lone wolf whose maxed-out credit card financed the purchase of basic recording devices at Best Buy; in his place is a muscular man who has gained 60 pounds thanks to relentless diet and exercise, who built Project Veritas into a sprawling, high-tech operation, and who last year raised more than $7 million from an expectant donor base that sees O’Keefe as a guerrilla leader on the front lines of America’s culture war.Barf barf barf. Oh, and if reading isn't your thing, you can spend an hour listening to Politico's cover article for May/June 2018.
That's right - it's ridiculously long. So you think there'd be space to cite the issues with what O'Keefe has done, right?
Journalism has a dark side, and James O’Keefe has embraced it. But as proven by the recent sting operation by a British TV channel on the data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica, undercover reporting has been, and still can be, a devastatingly effective tool for exposing wrongdoing. O’Keefe, the best-known sting artist this side of the Atlantic, has a chance to rehabilitate the practice—and himself. Perhaps he cannot change; perhaps he is destined to remain a fringe player whose bloodiest scalps—and there have been plenty—go unappreciated.Yes, pretending to be a pimp to take down the most successful voter registration effort in recent times is totally the same as airing the filth of Cambridge Analytics.
“You have to understand,” said the voice on the phone. “Project Veritas is one-third CIA, one-third James Bond and one-third Mike Wallace.” O’Keefe had called to confirm his participation in this story, but he was struggling to reconcile his organization’s secretive approach with a reporter’s prying questions.Prying questions into how awesome and ripped he is? Thanks, Timmy!
posted by filthy light thief at 8:52 PM on May 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 House:
** Odds & ends:
** 2018 House:
-- Major Dem donors planning to dump up to $10M into swing districts.** MS Senate special:
-- Friendly reminder not to pay attention to daily generic ballot drops, just watch the average. Current 538 average is D+6.8 (47.2/40.4).
-- Tupelo mayor drops out of race , leaving Mike Espy as the sole Dem.** 2018 Senate -- FL: FAU poll has Scott up 44-40 on Nelson [MOE: +/- 3.0%]. This is a bit of an outlier so far - there have been several recent polls with a narrow Nelson lead.
-- GS Strategy poll has interim Senator Hyde-Smith leading with 30, Espy 22, and nutball McDaniel 17 (Shelton got 4) [no MOE listed].
** Odds & ends:
-- Vox update on what happens next in the NY AG situation.posted by Chrysostom at 9:22 PM on May 9, 2018 [20 favorites]
-- Interesting development in Missouri. MO GOP was afraid that initiatives on the ballot would drive up Dem turnout, so they wanted to move the date for voting on the initiatives to the primary date. Now embattled gov Greitens is planning to leave them in November, in what can only be seen as a middle finger towards GOP legislature planning to impeach him.
Masha Gessen, Taking Children from Their Parents Is a Form of State Terror
Another possible explanation is that Putin and the system he has created have consistently, if not necessarily with conscious intent, restored key mechanisms of Soviet control. The spectacle of children being arrested sends a stronger message than any amount of police violence against adults could do. The threat that children might be removed from their families is likely to compel parents to keep their kids at home next time—and to stay home themselves.posted by zachlipton at 10:14 PM on May 9, 2018 [65 favorites]
A few hours after Putin took his fourth oath of office, in Moscow, Attorney General Jeff Sessions addressed a law-enforcement conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. He pledged to separate families that are detained crossing the Mexico-U.S. border. “If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child will be separated from you,” Sessions said. The Attorney General did not appear to be unveiling a new policy so much as amplifying a practice that has been adopted by the Trump Administration, which has been separating parents who are in immigration detention from their children. The Times reported in December that the federal government was considering a policy of separating families in order to discourage asylum seekers from entering. By that time, nonprofit groups were already raising the alarm about the practice, which they said had affected a number of families. In March, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the hundreds of families that had been separated when they entered the country with the intention of seeking asylum.
The practice, and Sessions’s speech, are explicitly intended as messages to parents who may consider seeking asylum in the United States. The American government has unleashed terror on immigrants, and in doing so has naturally reached for the most effective tools.
From the NY Post's Page Six: Don Jr. moving on from Vanessa with Fox host Kimberly Guilfoyle. In other news, I just threw up a little in my mouth.
posted by Lyme Drop at 10:22 PM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Lyme Drop at 10:22 PM on May 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
Once again it's Conspiracy Theory time at the MetaFilter MegaThread. Get out your tinfoil hats & strap yourselves in, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Our entry point to this Conspiracy Theory is a tweet by President Trump:
@realDonaldTrump Candace Owens of Turning Point USA is having a big impact on politics in our Country. She represents an ever expanding group of very smart “thinkers,” and it is wonderful to watch and hear the dialogue going on...so good for our Country!
Seems harmless enough. So who is Candace Owens? Let's turn our Wayback Machine to Spring 2016, towards the end of the main action of the GamerGate madness. Candace Owens, a victim of online bullying unrelated to GamerGate, decides to strike back with a decisive move & announces that she's setting up a website called Social Autopsy to expose & name Internet trolls so those hurt by them can take vigilante justice. The original target of GamerGate, Zoe Quinn, tries to warn her off this obviously bad idea. The swamps of GamerGaters respond as well by attacking Candace because she is a woman, African American & in their eyes an SJW. Candace somehow combines these two, decides that Zoe is actually running GamerGate herself & launches a massive stream of consciousness attack on Zoe. It unfolds predictably badly & the KickStarter Candace hoped to fund Social Autopsy with is cancelled. Candace continues to strike out at various people who are not GamerGate trolls, for instance Washington Post writer Caitlin Dewey & Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. I'm sure there's much more drama involving Candace who is clearly now a confused & disturbed woman but that would probably double the length of this post for no discernible reason so I'll spare you. The only event that's really relevant to us is that Candace got appointed President of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that attacks college professors they feel are too liberal or something.
Which brings us (almost) up to present day & Trump's tweet. A few weeks ago confused celebrity Kanwe West posted this tweet:
@kanyewest I love the way Candace Owens thinks
Apparently he sees Candace as a fellow contrarian against the dominant narrative of African Americans as an abused underclass. Trump sees this, decides to double the number of African American friends he has & tweets his support of Candace & TPUSA.
And now here we are at the end of the post. It is now safe to unstrap your safety harnesses (which do not at all resemble straitjackets, I resent the implication), remove your tinfoil hats & dispose of them as you see best.
posted by scalefree at 10:38 PM on May 9, 2018 [51 favorites]
Our entry point to this Conspiracy Theory is a tweet by President Trump:
@realDonaldTrump Candace Owens of Turning Point USA is having a big impact on politics in our Country. She represents an ever expanding group of very smart “thinkers,” and it is wonderful to watch and hear the dialogue going on...so good for our Country!
Seems harmless enough. So who is Candace Owens? Let's turn our Wayback Machine to Spring 2016, towards the end of the main action of the GamerGate madness. Candace Owens, a victim of online bullying unrelated to GamerGate, decides to strike back with a decisive move & announces that she's setting up a website called Social Autopsy to expose & name Internet trolls so those hurt by them can take vigilante justice. The original target of GamerGate, Zoe Quinn, tries to warn her off this obviously bad idea. The swamps of GamerGaters respond as well by attacking Candace because she is a woman, African American & in their eyes an SJW. Candace somehow combines these two, decides that Zoe is actually running GamerGate herself & launches a massive stream of consciousness attack on Zoe. It unfolds predictably badly & the KickStarter Candace hoped to fund Social Autopsy with is cancelled. Candace continues to strike out at various people who are not GamerGate trolls, for instance Washington Post writer Caitlin Dewey & Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. I'm sure there's much more drama involving Candace who is clearly now a confused & disturbed woman but that would probably double the length of this post for no discernible reason so I'll spare you. The only event that's really relevant to us is that Candace got appointed President of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that attacks college professors they feel are too liberal or something.
Which brings us (almost) up to present day & Trump's tweet. A few weeks ago confused celebrity Kanwe West posted this tweet:
@kanyewest I love the way Candace Owens thinks
Apparently he sees Candace as a fellow contrarian against the dominant narrative of African Americans as an abused underclass. Trump sees this, decides to double the number of African American friends he has & tweets his support of Candace & TPUSA.
And now here we are at the end of the post. It is now safe to unstrap your safety harnesses (which do not at all resemble straitjackets, I resent the implication), remove your tinfoil hats & dispose of them as you see best.
posted by scalefree at 10:38 PM on May 9, 2018 [51 favorites]
Somehow my reaction to that news is "Of course he did."
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:39 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:39 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
George Will, Trump is no longer the worst person in government
Hoosiers, of whom Pence is one, sometimes say that although Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky and flourished in Illinois, he spent his formative years — December 1816 to March 1830 — in Indiana, which he left at age 21. Be that as it may, on Jan. 27, 1838, Lincoln, then 28, delivered his first great speech, to the Young Men’s Lyceum in Springfield. Less than three months earlier, Elijah Lovejoy, an abolitionist newspaper editor in Alton, Ill., 67 miles from Springfield, was murdered by a pro-slavery mob. Without mentioning Lovejoy — it would have been unnecessary — Lincoln lamented that throughout America, “so lately famed for love of law and order,” there was a “mobocratic spirit” among “the vicious portion of [the] population.” So, “let reverence for the laws . . . become the political religion of the nation.” Pence, one of evangelical Christians’ favorite pin-ups, genuflects at various altars, as the mobocratic spirit and the vicious portion require.posted by zachlipton at 10:41 PM on May 9, 2018 [49 favorites]
It is said that one cannot blame people who applaud Arpaio and support his rehabilitators (Trump, Pence, et al.), because, well, globalization or health-care costs or something. Actually, one must either blame them or condescend to them as lacking moral agency. Republicans silent about Pence have no such excuse.
There will be negligible legislating by the next Congress, so ballots cast this November will be most important as validations or repudiations of the harmonizing voices of Trump, Pence, Arpaio and the like. Trump is what he is, a floundering, inarticulate jumble of gnawing insecurities and not-at-all compensating vanities, which is pathetic. Pence is what he has chosen to be, which is horrifying.
That was a straightforward telling of the Candace Owens origin story. It was even covered here. I'm seeing no lies, although the chronology of the kickstarter might be wrong, and I'm pretty sure she's head of ""urban outreach"" (how she sleeps at night is left as an exercise to the reader. I'm guessing in a pile of dark money.)
posted by Yowser at 10:46 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 10:46 PM on May 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
I might have got that detail wrong, apologies. It's perilous terrain to navigate out here in Conspiracy Corner what with all the mirrors.
posted by scalefree at 10:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 10:49 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
One last development in Conspiracy Corner; Candace posts a tweet that threatens to open up a new front in the war of Everybody vs Candace:
@RealCandaceO One email, one phone call, and I am now putting together a legal fund to go after publications that think they can smear and libel black conservatives who dare to think for themselves.
Do you guys remember Gawker?
Yeah, me neither.
Stay tuned.
posted by scalefree at 10:57 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
@RealCandaceO One email, one phone call, and I am now putting together a legal fund to go after publications that think they can smear and libel black conservatives who dare to think for themselves.
Do you guys remember Gawker?
Yeah, me neither.
Stay tuned.
posted by scalefree at 10:57 PM on May 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
By now, I think most of you will be aware of Katy Tur, a journalist and victim of Trump's election campaign. She actually came to my hometown, in Brisbane, Australia. Really so close I could have walked to where she gave her interview to Australian public radio, in the form of her participation in one of our top podcasts, Conversations.
I caught it today, and a couple things that struck me were these:
Localization: She remarked that she did not vote, the interviewer took an audible intake of breath, which was echoed by the audience. Where I live, that's illegal, and in reflex towards the audience, Katy wished that voting was mandatory in the US too.
Also paraphrased, upon learning of the election win: I was ill. We were exhausted from facts and truth being unimportant. Instead of the relief expected from a loss, we realised this nausea would last four more years.
Katy Tur is promoting a book called Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History.
posted by adept256 at 11:38 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
I caught it today, and a couple things that struck me were these:
Localization: She remarked that she did not vote, the interviewer took an audible intake of breath, which was echoed by the audience. Where I live, that's illegal, and in reflex towards the audience, Katy wished that voting was mandatory in the US too.
Also paraphrased, upon learning of the election win: I was ill. We were exhausted from facts and truth being unimportant. Instead of the relief expected from a loss, we realised this nausea would last four more years.
Katy Tur is promoting a book called Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History.
posted by adept256 at 11:38 PM on May 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
I 100% have you beat in terms of Conspiracy Corner: specifically, Columbus Nova pointedly denies owning or controlling Daybreak, the company that runs EverQuest II and a few other MMOs. This is despite
(Buying the owners of World of Warcraft would have been even more astonishing but they are, as far as I am aware, not for sale.)
posted by Merus at 11:43 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
- the CEO, Jason Epstein, being employed by Columbus Nova,
- the MMO community being well aware they're owned by Columbus Nova and thus Renova, because it's always good to understand from what direction the next inexplicable, devastating shutdown is coming from,
- the MMO community being very careful documenters, and
- the mysterious cancellation of EverQuest Next, an incredibly promising reinvention of the classic game, about a year after Columbus Nova bought it (which makes me think there's some classic private equity fuckery going here as well).
(Buying the owners of World of Warcraft would have been even more astonishing but they are, as far as I am aware, not for sale.)
posted by Merus at 11:43 PM on May 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Who Ordered Black Cube’s Dirty Tricks?,
Trita Parsi, NYRB (Note: there’s no answer to this question in this opinion piece).
posted by AwkwardPause at 12:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trita Parsi, NYRB (Note: there’s no answer to this question in this opinion piece).
posted by AwkwardPause at 12:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's way, way, WAY past Trump's bedtime & boy does it show. He has to meet the released prisoners on the tarmac for the photo op. Can he make it through the event without a glitch?
@PressSec .@POTUS lands at JBA to welcome home the three returnees - incredible night for America.
posted by scalefree at 12:06 AM on May 10, 2018
@PressSec .@POTUS lands at JBA to welcome home the three returnees - incredible night for America.
posted by scalefree at 12:06 AM on May 10, 2018
@annafifield: Kim Dong-chul (front) was detained a year before the 2016 election so he probably didn’t know until yesterday that Donald Trump is president.
I'm thrilled they're home, and boy would that be a surprise to find Donald Trump greeting you at the airport.
So, uh, what's Trump's negotiating strategy now that Kim has handed him this?
Update: @annafifield: As these three men, one of whom just told us he'd been doing hard labor in North Korea, were kept on the tarmac, Donald Trump suggested he'd just broken the record for television ratings at 3am.
There's something very wrong with this man.
posted by zachlipton at 12:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [78 favorites]
I'm thrilled they're home, and boy would that be a surprise to find Donald Trump greeting you at the airport.
So, uh, what's Trump's negotiating strategy now that Kim has handed him this?
Update: @annafifield: As these three men, one of whom just told us he'd been doing hard labor in North Korea, were kept on the tarmac, Donald Trump suggested he'd just broken the record for television ratings at 3am.
There's something very wrong with this man.
posted by zachlipton at 12:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [78 favorites]
Bill Clinton Goes Into North Korea to Rescue Two Captive Journalists
My recollection of that is that Bill went in on the downlow, made the deal, got the Americans back, and were home before anyone knew what was happening.
Dunno how Trump is gonna do it. Hillary was SoS at the time, and she had a state department. They've got Pompeo, and a frankly, naked diplomatic apparatus.
posted by adept256 at 12:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
My recollection of that is that Bill went in on the downlow, made the deal, got the Americans back, and were home before anyone knew what was happening.
Dunno how Trump is gonna do it. Hillary was SoS at the time, and she had a state department. They've got Pompeo, and a frankly, naked diplomatic apparatus.
posted by adept256 at 12:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
My recollection of that is that Bill went in on the downlow, made the deal, got the Americans back, and were home before anyone knew what was happening.
CIA advised him not to smile as that's one of the biggest gets for Kim. I think he did pretty well. Of course the Orange Idiot will just give that away for free.
posted by scalefree at 12:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
CIA advised him not to smile as that's one of the biggest gets for Kim. I think he did pretty well. Of course the Orange Idiot will just give that away for free.
posted by scalefree at 12:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Dunno how Trump is gonna do it.
With an overtly disgusting photo-op, it turns out.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:28 AM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
With an overtly disgusting photo-op, it turns out.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:28 AM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm quite confused by the whole thing to be honest, I watched a bit of the live feed and it looked like Pompeo and the three detainees came down the stairs of the plane and into a bus that they said was taking them to see President Trump.... Now I'm seeing Trump come out of the plane with them...
posted by Wilder at 3:47 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Wilder at 3:47 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Paying a politician because you think they'll be mean to you if you don't pay them is the definition of bribery.
No, they were approached, so it's extortion on the part of the politician. Bribery is if you volunteer to pay them to do or not do something for you
Can we just settle on "racketeering"?
posted by Gelatin at 4:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
No, they were approached, so it's extortion on the part of the politician. Bribery is if you volunteer to pay them to do or not do something for you
Can we just settle on "racketeering"?
posted by Gelatin at 4:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
Judge Napolitano appears to be accusing Trump of serious criminality, and his take-away is that the President needs to fire all the cops immediately. Now That's What I Call Jurisprudence™
Josh Marshall said way back at the beginning that regardless of whether the Trump mob is guilty of various crimes, they sure act like they're guilty. As if there were other, more serious crimes at the core that Team Trump didn't date let anyone close to.
It's well worth noting that Trump's ostensible defenders seem not to even bother with the premise that the president is actually innocent of the bribery, corruption, money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice everyone is talking about, but rather proceeding with how to best shield our crook of a president from the consequences of his crimes. And that list includes many elected Republicans -- Devin Nunes springs readily to mind.
posted by Gelatin at 4:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
Josh Marshall said way back at the beginning that regardless of whether the Trump mob is guilty of various crimes, they sure act like they're guilty. As if there were other, more serious crimes at the core that Team Trump didn't date let anyone close to.
It's well worth noting that Trump's ostensible defenders seem not to even bother with the premise that the president is actually innocent of the bribery, corruption, money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice everyone is talking about, but rather proceeding with how to best shield our crook of a president from the consequences of his crimes. And that list includes many elected Republicans -- Devin Nunes springs readily to mind.
posted by Gelatin at 4:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
The guerrilla warriors fighting for government health care (Christopher Wilson for Yahoo News, May 9, 2018) -- a look at Tim Faust and other DSA activists who are "spreading the gospel" of Medicare for All (the header image is of Faust captured in the pose of a preacher, arms outstretched). Living in NYC, Faust and others travel around the country to promote the radical idea that healthcare shouldn't bankrupt people.
The really radical thing is that DSA is getting good coverage for this "policy" point. Fuck yeah, DSA!
posted by filthy light thief at 4:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [44 favorites]
The really radical thing is that DSA is getting good coverage for this "policy" point. Fuck yeah, DSA!
posted by filthy light thief at 4:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [44 favorites]
Greitens Declines to Block Liberal Ballot Measures (Washington Examiner via PoliticalWire)
“Greitens faces possible impeachment in the Republican-controlled state legislature over twin scandals involving an extramarital affair and mismanagement of a charity. But the governor is defiant, and in a move interpreted as a shot at Republicans demanding his resignation, he is choosing not to exercise his authority to shift a trio of popular Democratic initiatives to the August primary.”
“Republicans fret that the initiatives will supercharge Democratic turnout in the midterm, providing a lift to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).”
Republicans must cheat to win. Crime pays. 180 days left
posted by petebest at 5:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
“Greitens faces possible impeachment in the Republican-controlled state legislature over twin scandals involving an extramarital affair and mismanagement of a charity. But the governor is defiant, and in a move interpreted as a shot at Republicans demanding his resignation, he is choosing not to exercise his authority to shift a trio of popular Democratic initiatives to the August primary.”
“Republicans fret that the initiatives will supercharge Democratic turnout in the midterm, providing a lift to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).”
Republicans must cheat to win. Crime pays. 180 days left
posted by petebest at 5:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive and one of the front-runners in Maryland's crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary, died suddenly this morning. I walked past some of his staffers setting up a campaign office just three days ago. Obviously this is going to confuse the primary, but it's far too soon to say how.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's not a radical idea. It's the norm here and in other places. The real radicalism is supposing that your kidneys are fungible and can be traded. Your health is the first part in life, liberty and the pursuit of whatever. It's not capital, it's your right to be alive.
posted by adept256 at 5:04 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 5:04 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
RIP Infrastructure Week, We hardly knew ye
*doffs cap*
Trump admits infrastructure promise isn't happening (Jonathan Chait, NYMag)
The tax cut probably dealt the fatal blow to infrastructure. Republican leaders convinced Trump that the tax cut would give them a popular accomplishment that they could tout in the midterm elections (it didn’t). . . .
Trump’s promise to “build the next generation of roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, sea ports and airports that our country deserves” appears destined to go unmet. We will always be able to look back on Trump’s first term and remember the many, many Infrastructure Weeks, which brought Americans of all walks of life together to appreciate the importance of transportation development. The real Infrastructure Week was not in any bill, it was in our hearts all along.
posted by petebest at 5:13 AM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
*doffs cap*
Trump admits infrastructure promise isn't happening (Jonathan Chait, NYMag)
The tax cut probably dealt the fatal blow to infrastructure. Republican leaders convinced Trump that the tax cut would give them a popular accomplishment that they could tout in the midterm elections (it didn’t). . . .
Trump’s promise to “build the next generation of roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, sea ports and airports that our country deserves” appears destined to go unmet. We will always be able to look back on Trump’s first term and remember the many, many Infrastructure Weeks, which brought Americans of all walks of life together to appreciate the importance of transportation development. The real Infrastructure Week was not in any bill, it was in our hearts all along.
posted by petebest at 5:13 AM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
It's not a radical idea. It's the norm here and in other places.
I SUSPECT he MAY have been speaking rhetorically.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:13 AM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
I SUSPECT he MAY have been speaking rhetorically.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:13 AM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Some good news for the Fall: Donald Trump Jr. plans big midterm role
posted by octothorpe at 5:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
I thought he was off running the business.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
Daily Beast: Special Counsel Mueller’s Team Questioned Blackwater Founder Erik Prince
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has spoken with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. It was not immediately clear what questions Mueller’s team had or what information Prince shared with the special counsel.
posted by stonepharisee at 6:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has spoken with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. It was not immediately clear what questions Mueller’s team had or what information Prince shared with the special counsel.
posted by stonepharisee at 6:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
Daily Beast: Special Counsel Mueller’s Team Questioned Blackwater Founder Erik Prince
So, we have Cohen selling access, and Prince selling access. I was skeptical that we would ever hit the nirvana of a RICO prosecution, but reviewed the statutes after Gelatin's reference to racketeering, aaaand ( /me shrugs ), here we are. I take comfort in the thought ( however misplaced ) that this is coming to a head soon, and the boil will soon pop.
Hmm.. A boil is an apt analogy, I think. We COULD HAVE lanced it earlier ( House impeachment ), but they let it fester....
posted by mikelieman at 6:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
So, we have Cohen selling access, and Prince selling access. I was skeptical that we would ever hit the nirvana of a RICO prosecution, but reviewed the statutes after Gelatin's reference to racketeering, aaaand ( /me shrugs ), here we are. I take comfort in the thought ( however misplaced ) that this is coming to a head soon, and the boil will soon pop.
Hmm.. A boil is an apt analogy, I think. We COULD HAVE lanced it earlier ( House impeachment ), but they let it fester....
posted by mikelieman at 6:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
As possibly the only MeFite who's met Erik Prince (multiple times), may I just say, Please God I don't ask for much but please get him in prison just for a little bit please please please.
posted by Etrigan at 6:19 AM on May 10, 2018 [129 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 6:19 AM on May 10, 2018 [129 favorites]
Nunes and Gowdy are getting read into the classified Mueller source:
NEWS: In move to potentially end standoff amid GOP threats of holding Sessions in contempt, DOJ invites Nunes and Gowdy to a classified Thurs briefing on material department warned could risk human lives if disclosed. Nunes had issued subpoena for it.
So the persons name will be on FOX tomorrow.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:22 AM on May 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
NEWS: In move to potentially end standoff amid GOP threats of holding Sessions in contempt, DOJ invites Nunes and Gowdy to a classified Thurs briefing on material department warned could risk human lives if disclosed. Nunes had issued subpoena for it.
So the persons name will be on FOX tomorrow.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:22 AM on May 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
As possibly the first of many MeFites to ask: tell us more about meeting Erik Prince!
posted by notyou at 6:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by notyou at 6:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
Eh, not much to tell.
But I will say that I've met a lot of people (famous, in- and non-) in my day. There are very few of them that more than a decade later, I still remember exactly how big a dickhead they are based on a few almost identically dickheaded interactions.
posted by Etrigan at 6:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
But I will say that I've met a lot of people (famous, in- and non-) in my day. There are very few of them that more than a decade later, I still remember exactly how big a dickhead they are based on a few almost identically dickheaded interactions.
posted by Etrigan at 6:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
Nunes and Gowdy are getting read into the classified Mueller source:
Given the state of the investigation, and that Nunes could be a suspect, I believe there is a non-zero chance that the DOJ will "honeypot" Nunes and Gowdy, and give them misleading information to see if it appears in the wild.
posted by mikelieman at 6:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
Given the state of the investigation, and that Nunes could be a suspect, I believe there is a non-zero chance that the DOJ will "honeypot" Nunes and Gowdy, and give them misleading information to see if it appears in the wild.
posted by mikelieman at 6:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
Update: @annafifield: As these three men, one of whom just told us he'd been doing hard labor in North Korea, were kept on the tarmac, Donald Trump suggested he'd just broken the record for television ratings at 3am.
This is loathsome, but then it somehow manages to get worse:
Uhhh.
posted by marshmallow peep at 6:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [107 favorites]
This is loathsome, but then it somehow manages to get worse:
But the feel-good moment from the prisoners’ release also contained these words from the president: “We want to thank Kim Jong-un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people." - NBC News
Uhhh.
posted by marshmallow peep at 6:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [107 favorites]
Essential Consulting, LLC
The name of Cohen's firm is a tip-off to anyone remotely schooled in the consulting world. I spent years providing land use economic consulting services to government agencies usually, but not always, after prevailing over my competition in rounds of proposals, interviews, and contract negotiations. Every now and then, either early before proposals were accepted or late during the contract negotiation stage, we would be made to understand that we needed to supplement our team with a specific local player. We would get nervous.
Most of the time it was fine, even if it seemed like the arrangements were a little hinky or reflected a favor granted; these people truly offered useful insider perspectives, could arrange meetings with elusive folks, etc. They ran their businesses under simple names like "Joe Blow Associates" or "The [CityName] Group" and were open about the extent of their contacts. They attended meetings and tracked their time and expenses in conventional ways, submitting invoices according to whatever the client's requirements dictated, etc.. They had stationery and domain names. In short, they were professional, even if they were trading in connections and influence more than any particular expertise.
And then there were the others. They had cute/stupid firm names--think "Kelly Konsultants"--or ones that strung a bunch of buzzwords together (e.g., "Strategic Advantage Advisors, LLC) or were simply grandiose like, um, Essential Consulting, LLC. They were often in love with their own names and sported crappy home-brewed logos with their initials on shields with crossed swords and the like. Their business cards were flimsy and featured Hotmail addresses. They lacked business basics, like EINs and DUNS/CAGE numbers, liability insurance, and audited financial statements. They couldn't ever meet in their offices because "Suite 175" actually meant Box 175 at whatever Mailboxes Etc. had the grandest street address. Or, if they did volunteer to host a meeting, it was always in the office of "another client" which would turn out to be their main employment, because the consulting operation was a side hustle.
But even these folks were better than some. The worst showed up to the interview and possibly the kick-off meeting, where they'd talk a big game, but never to be seen again (in truth, sometimes to our relief). They wanted to be paid up front or immediately upon invoicing, counter to standard industry practice (in which sub-contractors are paid after the prime receives payment from the client, which is often attempting to delay for as long as possible). If you tracked them down they were openly incredulous that you expected them to actually do any work, let alone whatever their sub-contract detailed as their tasks. Their purpose was obvious and they laughed at or were irritated by the out-of-town rubes who wouldn't just leave them alone to their scam.
I can tell you with absolute confidence that from its name alone Essential Consulting, LLC would set off alarm bells in all but the completely unsophisticated. Or the corrupt.
posted by carmicha at 6:41 AM on May 10, 2018 [128 favorites]
The name of Cohen's firm is a tip-off to anyone remotely schooled in the consulting world. I spent years providing land use economic consulting services to government agencies usually, but not always, after prevailing over my competition in rounds of proposals, interviews, and contract negotiations. Every now and then, either early before proposals were accepted or late during the contract negotiation stage, we would be made to understand that we needed to supplement our team with a specific local player. We would get nervous.
Most of the time it was fine, even if it seemed like the arrangements were a little hinky or reflected a favor granted; these people truly offered useful insider perspectives, could arrange meetings with elusive folks, etc. They ran their businesses under simple names like "Joe Blow Associates" or "The [CityName] Group" and were open about the extent of their contacts. They attended meetings and tracked their time and expenses in conventional ways, submitting invoices according to whatever the client's requirements dictated, etc.. They had stationery and domain names. In short, they were professional, even if they were trading in connections and influence more than any particular expertise.
And then there were the others. They had cute/stupid firm names--think "Kelly Konsultants"--or ones that strung a bunch of buzzwords together (e.g., "Strategic Advantage Advisors, LLC) or were simply grandiose like, um, Essential Consulting, LLC. They were often in love with their own names and sported crappy home-brewed logos with their initials on shields with crossed swords and the like. Their business cards were flimsy and featured Hotmail addresses. They lacked business basics, like EINs and DUNS/CAGE numbers, liability insurance, and audited financial statements. They couldn't ever meet in their offices because "Suite 175" actually meant Box 175 at whatever Mailboxes Etc. had the grandest street address. Or, if they did volunteer to host a meeting, it was always in the office of "another client" which would turn out to be their main employment, because the consulting operation was a side hustle.
But even these folks were better than some. The worst showed up to the interview and possibly the kick-off meeting, where they'd talk a big game, but never to be seen again (in truth, sometimes to our relief). They wanted to be paid up front or immediately upon invoicing, counter to standard industry practice (in which sub-contractors are paid after the prime receives payment from the client, which is often attempting to delay for as long as possible). If you tracked them down they were openly incredulous that you expected them to actually do any work, let alone whatever their sub-contract detailed as their tasks. Their purpose was obvious and they laughed at or were irritated by the out-of-town rubes who wouldn't just leave them alone to their scam.
I can tell you with absolute confidence that from its name alone Essential Consulting, LLC would set off alarm bells in all but the completely unsophisticated. Or the corrupt.
posted by carmicha at 6:41 AM on May 10, 2018 [128 favorites]
I believe there is a non-zero chance that the DOJ will "honeypot" Nunes and Gowdy
It's relatively certain that Nunes is dirty as fuck and will immediately hand information over to the most damaging possible recipients, but it's less clear what Gowdy's game is. There appear to be limits to exactly what sort of bullshit he's willing to do or endorse, and Nunes occasionally rubs up against them and Gowdy rebels.
On an unrelated note, goddamnit I could have been content the rest of my life never having to hear Candace Owens's name again. Why can't the second acts in American lives go to good, smart people?
posted by jackbishop at 6:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
It's relatively certain that Nunes is dirty as fuck and will immediately hand information over to the most damaging possible recipients, but it's less clear what Gowdy's game is. There appear to be limits to exactly what sort of bullshit he's willing to do or endorse, and Nunes occasionally rubs up against them and Gowdy rebels.
On an unrelated note, goddamnit I could have been content the rest of my life never having to hear Candace Owens's name again. Why can't the second acts in American lives go to good, smart people?
posted by jackbishop at 6:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
Uhhh.
Trump has never met a strongman dictator he didn't envy and suck up to. Putin, Xi, Kim. There's a very obvious pattern.
posted by jaduncan at 6:47 AM on May 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
Trump has never met a strongman dictator he didn't envy and suck up to. Putin, Xi, Kim. There's a very obvious pattern.
posted by jaduncan at 6:47 AM on May 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
Oh, and covering up for Erdogan's bodyguards beating up American protestors.
posted by jaduncan at 6:51 AM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 6:51 AM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
Don Jr. moving on from Vanessa with Fox host Kimberly Guilfoyle. In other news, I just threw up a little in my mouth.
She also dated the Mooch! Girl knows how to pick 'em.
She also dated the Mooch! Girl knows how to pick 'em.
She was also linked to Anthony Scaramucci last year when he briefly separated from his wife, Deidre Ball, and was (even more briefly) White House comms director.posted by kirkaracha at 6:56 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Trump has never met a strongman dictator he didn't envy and suck up to. Putin, Xi, Kim. There's a very obvious pattern.
It's his narcissism. It's a compulsion, he has no control over it. When he thinks of someone he's about to do business with he has to praise them so they'll like him, even if it's wildly inappropriate. It's an itch he has to scratch.
posted by scalefree at 6:57 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's his narcissism. It's a compulsion, he has no control over it. When he thinks of someone he's about to do business with he has to praise them so they'll like him, even if it's wildly inappropriate. It's an itch he has to scratch.
posted by scalefree at 6:57 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
In which Scott Pruitt contemplates the best way to jump from the frying pan into the fire.
Scott Pruitt Is Trying to Fix His Ethical Nightmare With…Another Ethical Nightmare
Scott Pruitt Is Trying to Fix His Ethical Nightmare With…Another Ethical Nightmare
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing investigations into his housing arrangements with a lobbyist, his travel expenses, and his security detail. He has authorized raises for staff in spite of being told not to by the White House, and allegedly retaliated against EPA whistleblowers. This adds up to at least 11 audits and investigations from the Office of Inspector General and Government Accountability Office, with more news of his ethical lapses seeming to break every day. In order to address these problems, according to the New York Times, the former Oklahoma attorney general has decided he is going to need extra help from a private legal defense fund.posted by scalefree at 7:05 AM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
[...]
One of the basic questions is where the money for this fund would come from. “The usual suspects [are] the people who shouldn’t donate, people with a stake before the EPA,” Clark added. “So who else is going to do this? There are restrictions on the ability of government officials to accept anything of value from people who are regulated by their agency. Especially in light of Pruitt’s history of getting things of value from those who have a fate in government action, there’s even more reason to be concerned about a legal defense fund set up for him.”
Pruitt’s base would likely be eager to help, but this presents another snag. His staunchest supporters hail from the fossil fuel industry, which would be considered a “prohibited source.” And the Office of Government Ethics decided last fall that anonymous donations aren’t allowed for funds set up for government employees.
“OGE has given some guidance on legal defense funds. Pruitt cannot accept gifts from prohibited sources (entities with business before the agency), and he should not accept gifts from anonymous sources,” Virginia Canter, executive branch counsel for Citizens for Responsibility Ethics in Washington (CREW), says. “He also should be reporting all donations received by his [legal defense fund], and gifts that exceed $375 are required to be reported as part of his public financial disclosure report.”
It's his narcissism. It's a compulsion, he has no control over it. When he thinks of someone he's about to do business with he has to praise them so they'll like him, even if it's wildly inappropriate.
Maybe. I've always just assumed that he's a barely hidden fascist who would love to have the amount of power they have. Because, yes, raging narcissism.
posted by jaduncan at 7:05 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
Maybe. I've always just assumed that he's a barely hidden fascist who would love to have the amount of power they have. Because, yes, raging narcissism.
posted by jaduncan at 7:05 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
The very fact that the North Korean dictator could imprison these men, force them to work at labor camps, then free them in a big media event... that gives Donald tremendous, beautiful chills. If he could create an Apprentice revival without any legal or moral limits, it would be something like that.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:13 AM on May 10, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:13 AM on May 10, 2018 [48 favorites]
Conservative MSNBC host Hugh Hewitt decides to take a cue from his friend Scott Pruitt & try out this whole "corruption" thing. It does not go well for him.
Hugh Hewitt used his MSNBC gig to praise efforts to weaken a law that his firm’s client is accused of violating.
Hugh Hewitt used his MSNBC gig to praise efforts to weaken a law that his firm’s client is accused of violating.
Hugh Hewitt repeatedly used his employment at MSNBC to praise the Trump administration's efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act, calling it one of the “accomplishments” of President Donald Trump's first year in office. But Hewitt and MSNBC did not disclose that one of his law firm’s clients is an oil and gas company that is currently litigating allegations it violated the environmental law.posted by scalefree at 7:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [23 favorites]
CNN: Mike Pence tells Mueller 'it's time to wrap it up'
"Our administration has provided more than a million documents; we've fully cooperated in it, and in the interest of the country, I think it's time to wrap it up," Pence said in an interview.
Translation: "Mueller probably has enough to put me in the Oval Office but doesn't yet have enough to put me in prison."
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [119 favorites]
"Our administration has provided more than a million documents; we've fully cooperated in it, and in the interest of the country, I think it's time to wrap it up," Pence said in an interview.
Translation: "Mueller probably has enough to put me in the Oval Office but doesn't yet have enough to put me in prison."
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [119 favorites]
If the press starts salivating over Trump being there for the prisoner release and Trump starts crowing about it then NK would be quick to realise that it would be easier to give up prisoners for concessions from the US than things like an actual wind down of their nuke program.
posted by PenDevil at 7:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 7:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Benghazi was four fucking years, they don’t get to tell anyone when an investigation is over.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:22 AM on May 10, 2018 [163 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:22 AM on May 10, 2018 [163 favorites]
The attack on Iranian military outposts and supplies in Syria by Israel is the most extensive strike they have undertaken in that country in decades. The largest since the disengagement agreement was signed in 1974. It reportedly hit every Iranian military installation in Syria.
It's also the first time Israel and Iran have gone head to head in a while. The Iranians usually prefer to operate remotely, to allow plausible deniability. They fund and supply weapons and other goods to Hezbollah in Lebanon, etc. They set up military installations in Syria. Both Lebanon and Syria border Israel, so this gives the Iranian regime a tactical advantage
There have been a few photos taken over the years by Israelis living in the Golan Heights of rocket casings launched from Lebanon with Iranian markings. But this is a significant escalation. Israel is now accusing them of launching a rocket attack on military installations in the Golan Heights.
Syria has been warned not to respond by Israel.
One of the targets of last night's attack was a former Russian base in central Syria, T-4 which was targeted in February after an Iranian drone (purportedly carrying explosives) entered Israeli airspace. The drone was reportedly launched from T-4.
This was expected, after Trump walked away from the nuclear agreement with Iran. Iran has been saber rattling about destroying Israel for months. (Well, years, but more frequently since February.) Israel has of course been loudly accusing Iran of nuclear shenanigans and worse to anyone who will listen. Business Insider (rather hyperbolically) seems to think Putin gave his blessing for this attack. Europe is scrambling to see if they can defuse the situation before an all-out war erupts.
The question now is whether Iran will push Hezbollah to attack.
The White House has condemned Iran and accused them of provoking a response. Suprisingly enough, both the UK and Germany are as well.
posted by zarq at 7:25 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
It's also the first time Israel and Iran have gone head to head in a while. The Iranians usually prefer to operate remotely, to allow plausible deniability. They fund and supply weapons and other goods to Hezbollah in Lebanon, etc. They set up military installations in Syria. Both Lebanon and Syria border Israel, so this gives the Iranian regime a tactical advantage
There have been a few photos taken over the years by Israelis living in the Golan Heights of rocket casings launched from Lebanon with Iranian markings. But this is a significant escalation. Israel is now accusing them of launching a rocket attack on military installations in the Golan Heights.
Syria has been warned not to respond by Israel.
One of the targets of last night's attack was a former Russian base in central Syria, T-4 which was targeted in February after an Iranian drone (purportedly carrying explosives) entered Israeli airspace. The drone was reportedly launched from T-4.
This was expected, after Trump walked away from the nuclear agreement with Iran. Iran has been saber rattling about destroying Israel for months. (Well, years, but more frequently since February.) Israel has of course been loudly accusing Iran of nuclear shenanigans and worse to anyone who will listen. Business Insider (rather hyperbolically) seems to think Putin gave his blessing for this attack. Europe is scrambling to see if they can defuse the situation before an all-out war erupts.
The question now is whether Iran will push Hezbollah to attack.
The White House has condemned Iran and accused them of provoking a response. Suprisingly enough, both the UK and Germany are as well.
posted by zarq at 7:25 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
Benghazi was four fucking years, they don’t get to tell anyone when an investigation is over.
I mean, sure, but if Mueller waits until all the crimes that he committed are out, he’s never going to be done, because Trump keeps committing crimes.
posted by corb at 7:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
I mean, sure, but if Mueller waits until all the crimes that he committed are out, he’s never going to be done, because Trump keeps committing crimes.
posted by corb at 7:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
President Supervillain is back, after long hiatus. For those of you not familiar:
PSA to prevent confusion: I take real Trump quotes and photoshop them into comics.posted by achrise at 7:32 AM on May 10, 2018 [35 favorites]
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Thursday encouraged Supreme Court justices flirting with retirement to immediately step down, saying he would like to push through a nominee before the midterm elections.
“I just hope that if there is going to be a nominee, I hope it’s now or within two or three weeks, because we’ve got to get this done before the election,“ he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “So my message to any one of the nine Supreme Court justices, if you’re thinking about quitting this year, do it yesterday.“
The supposedly Trump-skeptic wing of the elected GOP is happy to keep a traitor in power if it gives them the opportunity to destroy the Judicial Branch forever.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:40 AM on May 10, 2018 [43 favorites]
“I just hope that if there is going to be a nominee, I hope it’s now or within two or three weeks, because we’ve got to get this done before the election,“ he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “So my message to any one of the nine Supreme Court justices, if you’re thinking about quitting this year, do it yesterday.“
The supposedly Trump-skeptic wing of the elected GOP is happy to keep a traitor in power if it gives them the opportunity to destroy the Judicial Branch forever.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:40 AM on May 10, 2018 [43 favorites]
A new report on the very different paths Minnesota and Wisconsin took toward labor policy and how it effected thier economies
posted by The Whelk at 7:46 AM on May 10, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 7:46 AM on May 10, 2018 [44 favorites]
I would love to see Democrats use a variant of the same argument McConnell used -- since President Trump may not be in office much longer, we should leave any Supreme Court appointments to the next president.
(Yes, I know, Pence. But hey, one at a time, and there's a chance he'll be gone too.)
posted by martin q blank at 7:46 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
(Yes, I know, Pence. But hey, one at a time, and there's a chance he'll be gone too.)
posted by martin q blank at 7:46 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
This link: Robert Mueller Likely Knows How This All Ends was posted by filthy light thief in the previous thread. It's a good reminder of how Mueller operates. He is conservative, detailed and methodical.
posted by zarq at 7:47 AM on May 10, 2018 [38 favorites]
1. Mueller always knows more than we think. Every single indictment has been deeper, broader, and more detailed than anyone anticipated. This “misunderestimating” of what Mueller knows has been true of both the public and media reports, and of his witnesses and targets: Both Rick Gates and Alex van der Zwaan were caught in lies by Mueller’s team, who have known far more specific information than their targets first realized. Presumably, Mueller’s questions to Trump are informed by even more evidence that we haven’t seen.
2. Mueller is building a bulletproof case. Paul Manafort spent the spring trying to argue that Mueller was a loose cannon, a reckless, out-of-control prosecutor straying far beyond his assignment. His court case, though, proved just the opposite: The release this spring in court of a previously classified memo by Rod Rosenstein makes clear just how cautiously and conservatively Mueller is proceeding legally. One of the key members of Mueller’s team, Michael Dreeben, specializes in looking down the road at potential legal pitfalls and how cases might appear not just at initial trials but in later appellate courts. And Dreeban’s work has paid obvious dividends: After reviewing the evidence in Manafort’s effort to dismiss the charges against him and Mueller’s highly detailed 282-page rebuttal, Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort’s lawyers, “I don’t really understand what is left of your case.”
posted by zarq at 7:47 AM on May 10, 2018 [38 favorites]
“I just hope that if there is going to be a nominee, I hope it’s now or within two or three weeks, because we’ve got to get this done before the election,“ he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “So my message to any one of the nine Supreme Court justices, if you’re thinking about quitting this year, do it yesterday.“
Which, once again, signals that Republicans themselves believe that holding onto the House is a lost cause and that their Senate majority is not long for this world. Good.
As for a potential Democratic Senate, it should follow the McConnell precedent.
posted by Gelatin at 7:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
Which, once again, signals that Republicans themselves believe that holding onto the House is a lost cause and that their Senate majority is not long for this world. Good.
As for a potential Democratic Senate, it should follow the McConnell precedent.
posted by Gelatin at 7:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
I would love to see Democrats use a variant of the same argument McConnell used -- since President Trump may not be in office much longer, we should leave any Supreme Court appointments to the next president.
They would probably argue that the McConnell "3/5" rule only applies to Black Presidents.
posted by zarq at 7:56 AM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
They would probably argue that the McConnell "3/5" rule only applies to Black Presidents.
posted by zarq at 7:56 AM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
btw, zarq, *terrific* comment above on the Israel/Iran conflict. hope someone with more ambition and time than I have can make that a FPP. It's worthy of its own discussion and elaboration. now back to my deadlines.
posted by martin q blank at 8:02 AM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by martin q blank at 8:02 AM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
filthy light thief: Teacher Pay Is So Low in Some U.S. School Districts (How Low Is It?) That They’re Recruiting Overseas
Following up to my own comment/article link above - my wife told me that at her little, rural New Mexico high school, their new computer teacher is coming from the Phillipines, and they're interviewing four other individuales from the Philipines for the English teacher position. It's a beautiful location that's a short drive from a major metro area, but the pay's not great and it's a stressful job with decreasing job satisfaction (WaPo, 2015), which is even impacting "downstream" supply - there aren't enough people getting the education to become teachers to fill current vacancies.
But high turn-over is a good thing, says Office of Personnel Management Director Jeff Pon -- speaking at a town hall on civil service today said he wants working for the government to be more like the private sector - more flexible, less permanent.
Now, let's look to theloony left: Likely 2020 Democratic Candidates Want To Guarantee A Job To Every American (NPR, May 8, 2018) - the article highlights policy positions from Corey Booker, Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Elizabeth Warren and fellow Democatic Sens. Kamala Harris and Jeff Merkley, and these last four have co-sponsored S.2746 - Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act of 2018.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:02 AM on May 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
Following up to my own comment/article link above - my wife told me that at her little, rural New Mexico high school, their new computer teacher is coming from the Phillipines, and they're interviewing four other individuales from the Philipines for the English teacher position. It's a beautiful location that's a short drive from a major metro area, but the pay's not great and it's a stressful job with decreasing job satisfaction (WaPo, 2015), which is even impacting "downstream" supply - there aren't enough people getting the education to become teachers to fill current vacancies.
But high turn-over is a good thing, says Office of Personnel Management Director Jeff Pon -- speaking at a town hall on civil service today said he wants working for the government to be more like the private sector - more flexible, less permanent.
And that's a key component for updating the workforce. I don't believe that we should look at a federal job for 30 years and then retire and then have a, you know, lifetime retirement anymore.That's right, Jeff T.H. Pon thinks that "lifetime retirement" 1) isn't realistic/ suitable/ something any more, and that working for 30 years isn't enough to permit you to stop working. Is he also talking about Social Security? Unclear. Oh, and Pon said this during Public Service Recognition Week, when Trump acknowledging the nation's civil servants for, quote, "their hard work and willingness to serve their fellow citizens." Yet at the same time, the administration wants to cut federal retirement benefits and freeze salaries next year.
Now, let's look to the
posted by filthy light thief at 8:02 AM on May 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
If the dirt on Mike Pence that surely exists (he was indictment recipient Manafort's pick for VP after all) finally comes to light, I look forward to finding out that he was a minor member of the administration, responsible only for the minor areas of domestic and foreign policy and hardly informed at all about the real business of MAGAing.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:04 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:04 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
Trump announced on Thursday that his meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, will be held on June 12 in Singapore.
posted by monospace at 8:12 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
"We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!"So stay tuned!
posted by monospace at 8:12 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
I see it's "cops beating up on old men" time at the Senate today. Must be Thursday.
@LawyerRogelio Former 27-year CIA officer Ray McGovern just protested at the Senate confirmation hearing for torturer Gina Haspel.
Police responded by violently brutalizing the 78-year-old whistleblower, throwing him to the ground and dislocating his arm.
posted by scalefree at 8:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [66 favorites]
@LawyerRogelio Former 27-year CIA officer Ray McGovern just protested at the Senate confirmation hearing for torturer Gina Haspel.
Police responded by violently brutalizing the 78-year-old whistleblower, throwing him to the ground and dislocating his arm.
posted by scalefree at 8:16 AM on May 10, 2018 [66 favorites]
Feinstein is a no(!) on confirming Haspel.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [95 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 8:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [95 favorites]
jesus fucking christ
nice how they get him entirely under control and take care to drag him out of view of the chamber before viciously throwing him on the ground. the man is lucky he didn't end up with worse than a dislocated arm, and lucky someone managed to film what happened to him.
posted by halation at 8:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
nice how they get him entirely under control and take care to drag him out of view of the chamber before viciously throwing him on the ground. the man is lucky he didn't end up with worse than a dislocated arm, and lucky someone managed to film what happened to him.
posted by halation at 8:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
he was a minor member of the administration, responsible only for the minor areas of domestic and foreign policy and hardly informed at all about the real business of MAGAing
...according to the Kasich adviser (who spoke only under the condition that he not be named), Donald Jr. wanted to make him an offer nonetheless: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?posted by kirkaracha at 8:22 AM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.
Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?
“Making America great again” was the casual reply.
lucky someone managed to film what happened to him.
Yep. Now he doesn't have a he said/police said resisting arrest charge to justify the dislocation.
posted by jaduncan at 8:23 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
Yep. Now he doesn't have a he said/police said resisting arrest charge to justify the dislocation.
posted by jaduncan at 8:23 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
Feinstein is a no(!) on confirming Haspel.
That's a reminder that pressure from constituents (and a primary candidate from the Left) works.
posted by notyou at 8:25 AM on May 10, 2018 [42 favorites]
That's a reminder that pressure from constituents (and a primary candidate from the Left) works.
posted by notyou at 8:25 AM on May 10, 2018 [42 favorites]
...according to the Kasich adviser (who spoke only under the condition that he not be named), Donald Jr. wanted to make him an offer nonetheless: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?
When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.
Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?
“Making America great again” was the casual reply.
I remember that — but that didn't seem to happen for Pence?
posted by mumimor at 8:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.
Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?
“Making America great again” was the casual reply.
I remember that — but that didn't seem to happen for Pence?
posted by mumimor at 8:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yep. Now he doesn't have a he said/police said resisting arrest charge to justify the dislocation.
Major props to Ray. Even as he's being thrown around to the ubiquitous cries of "stop resisting!" he keeps on message, explaining to whoever will listen why he's protesting.
posted by scalefree at 8:31 AM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
Major props to Ray. Even as he's being thrown around to the ubiquitous cries of "stop resisting!" he keeps on message, explaining to whoever will listen why he's protesting.
posted by scalefree at 8:31 AM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
I remember that — but that didn't seem to happen for Pence?
Neither did the Making America Great part.
posted by scalefree at 8:32 AM on May 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
Neither did the Making America Great part.
posted by scalefree at 8:32 AM on May 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
Trump also signed the JUST Act yesterday, which stands for "Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today." It 'requires the State Department to report to Congress on the steps that dozens of European countries have taken to compensate Holocaust survivors or their heirs for assets seized under Nazi German and Communist rule.'
Poland is predictably freaking out about all of this, as they're the only country who have actively been trying to silence discussion of their potential culpability in WWII war crimes.
Perhaps their Żyd na szczęście tchotchkes will help them.
posted by zarq at 8:43 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
Poland is predictably freaking out about all of this, as they're the only country who have actively been trying to silence discussion of their potential culpability in WWII war crimes.
Perhaps their Żyd na szczęście tchotchkes will help them.
posted by zarq at 8:43 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
Feinstein is a no(!) on confirming Haspel.
I wonder if McCain being a no (for now, he’ll flip) cuts off the good bipartisan argument for many Dems who would otherwise sell out. You’ve got to assume Manchin and Jones are hard locks though, no way in hell are they going to let this opportunity slip by.
posted by Artw at 8:46 AM on May 10, 2018
I wonder if McCain being a no (for now, he’ll flip) cuts off the good bipartisan argument for many Dems who would otherwise sell out. You’ve got to assume Manchin and Jones are hard locks though, no way in hell are they going to let this opportunity slip by.
posted by Artw at 8:46 AM on May 10, 2018
I don’t think McCain will ever actually cast a vote in the Senate again, he’s against Haspel and speaking out against her, but it’s to influence others. He won’t be coming back to Washington.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:50 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:50 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
I assume McCain is stuck in Arizona and therefore is a non-vote, which amounts to a "no" in the context of a close confirmation battle. Let's be honest, McCain will probably never set foot in the Senate again - he's drawn up a list of preferred successors (including his wife, WTF), and may just be timing his departure to take advantage of that AZ law that says the governor makes an appointment rather than having a special election if it's late enough in the season.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 8:53 AM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 8:53 AM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
That’s exactly it. If he’s still with us, I’d expect him to resign June 1 when he can assure a Republican will fill his seat until 2020.
Because McCain is still party over country, like he’s been his whole life.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:55 AM on May 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
Because McCain is still party over country, like he’s been his whole life.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:55 AM on May 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
Like a bloated, portly fake billionaire rolling off a hooker after a hot 45 seconds of passionate sex, Donald Trump’s ardor for Rudy Giuliani seems to have cooled.
If the White House leaks are any barometer, it sounds more and more as if Donald wants Rudy to get his money off the nightstand and the hell out of his room at the No-Tell-Motel. This is what happens when you work for Trump, and Rudy is old enough, crafty enough, and knows Trump well enough to have known better
posted by growabrain at 9:00 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
If the White House leaks are any barometer, it sounds more and more as if Donald wants Rudy to get his money off the nightstand and the hell out of his room at the No-Tell-Motel. This is what happens when you work for Trump, and Rudy is old enough, crafty enough, and knows Trump well enough to have known better
posted by growabrain at 9:00 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
Giuliani resigns from law firm amid legal work for Trump, Katelyn Polantz, CNN [contains autoplay video]
statement pdf via Courthouse News
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 9:01 AM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
statement pdf via Courthouse News
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 9:01 AM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
Like a bloated, portly fake billionaire rolling off a hooker after a hot 45 seconds of passionate sex, Donald Trump’s ardor for Rudy Giuliani seems to have cooled.
The analogies (like the above) that the author of this piece uses are gross and disgusting in every way. Wilson can find no other way to express such things without talking sleazily about high school cheerleaders, etc?
posted by zarq at 9:07 AM on May 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
The analogies (like the above) that the author of this piece uses are gross and disgusting in every way. Wilson can find no other way to express such things without talking sleazily about high school cheerleaders, etc?
posted by zarq at 9:07 AM on May 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
Is the JUST Act an attempt by the Republican Trump administration to punish European countries in some way?
posted by Yowser at 9:08 AM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 9:08 AM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
You’ve got to assume Manchin and Jones are hard locks though, no way in hell are they going to let this opportunity slip by.
This will never make sense to me. Are there really lots of people in West Virginia that will look at that vote and say "well, I was on the fence about that Manchin fellow until he voted for the torturer, I guess he's alright!"? Are there more of those than there are people who will look at Manchin's capitulation and just give up on the whole mid-term in disgust? His opponent got 30% of the primary vote so there seem to be plenty of people in WV who would are tired of him and would like to see that seat move left, aren't they more likely to stay home the more he votes like a Republican? The Pod Save America guys are actual Dem operators and they were expressing confusion about this too, so I guess at least I'm in good company.
posted by contraption at 9:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
This will never make sense to me. Are there really lots of people in West Virginia that will look at that vote and say "well, I was on the fence about that Manchin fellow until he voted for the torturer, I guess he's alright!"? Are there more of those than there are people who will look at Manchin's capitulation and just give up on the whole mid-term in disgust? His opponent got 30% of the primary vote so there seem to be plenty of people in WV who would are tired of him and would like to see that seat move left, aren't they more likely to stay home the more he votes like a Republican? The Pod Save America guys are actual Dem operators and they were expressing confusion about this too, so I guess at least I'm in good company.
posted by contraption at 9:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
The analogies (like the above) that the author of this piece uses are gross and disgusting in every way. Wilson can find no other way to express such things without talking sleazily about high school cheerleaders, etc?
That whole piece is actually a paean for Giuliani, so what did you expect? But Trump is a bridge too far for the author, you see. Sadly, this is probably a good example of a nevertrump Republican.
posted by Behemoth at 9:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
That whole piece is actually a paean for Giuliani, so what did you expect? But Trump is a bridge too far for the author, you see. Sadly, this is probably a good example of a nevertrump Republican.
posted by Behemoth at 9:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
"well, I was on the fence about that Manchin fellow until he voted for the torturer, I guess he's alright!"
I know otherwise rational and even socialist people who are strongly pro-torture. I blame it on Hollywood.
posted by mumimor at 9:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
I know otherwise rational and even socialist people who are strongly pro-torture. I blame it on Hollywood.
posted by mumimor at 9:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
Is the JUST Act an attempt by the Republican Trump administration to punish European countries in some way?
Nope.
From ABC: "The law does not give the U.S. any powers to act against any country and does not single out Poland."
posted by zarq at 9:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
Nope.
From ABC: "The law does not give the U.S. any powers to act against any country and does not single out Poland."
posted by zarq at 9:15 AM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
I just assumed it was some bullshit act of whataboutism to deflect from oppressive actions by Trump regime allies.
posted by Artw at 9:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 9:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
‘#BeBest’: Schumer reminds Trump of the first lady’s initiative after mean tweet, John Wagner, WaPo
Trump took aim at Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) during a series of late-morning tweets [...]Schumer warns Trump against 'quick, bad' deal with North Korea, Reuters
Schumer did not take long to fire back and did so with just a seven-character response: “#BeBest.”
U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that the release of three detained American citizens was “no great accomplishment” of North Korean President Kim Jong Un and that President Trump was weakening U.S. foreign policy by exalting the release.posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 9:22 AM on May 10, 2018 [62 favorites]
The Americans should never have been detained in the first place, Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Their release should not be exalted, it should be expected. It is no great accomplishment of Kim Jong Un to do this.”
“We know that this is an extremely complicated situation,” Merkel said. “The escalations of the past few hours show us that it is truly about war and peace. And I can only call on all sides to exercise restraint here.”
posted by infini at 9:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by infini at 9:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [19 favorites]
Giuliani resigns from law firm amid legal work for Trump, Katelyn Polantz, CNN [contains autoplay video]
statement pdf via Courthouse News
I am going to laugh *so hard* when Trump sacks Rudy and Rudy has nowhere to go.
posted by jaduncan at 9:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
statement pdf via Courthouse News
I am going to laugh *so hard* when Trump sacks Rudy and Rudy has nowhere to go.
posted by jaduncan at 9:27 AM on May 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
Are there really lots of people in West Virginia that will look at that vote and say "well, I was on the fence about that Manchin fellow until he voted for the torturer, I guess he's alright!"?
In 2002, chickenhawk Saxby Chambliss decisively defeated war hero Max Cleland, who had lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam, in part by running ads pairing Cleland with Osama bin Laden and "questioning the commitment to homeland security" of Cleland, as Wikipedia delicately puts it.
Misleading representations of legislative votes are common in politics, but I can well imagine that, while few West Virginia voters would be swayed in Manchin's favor by his confirmation vote, he wants to avoid the way a vote against her would be portrayed to low-information voters. Which doesn't at all excuse his vote, but may help explain it.
Trump didn't invent sleazy Republican politics; in many ways, he took advantage of the opportunities that decades of sleazy Republican politics prepared for him.
posted by Gelatin at 9:37 AM on May 10, 2018 [33 favorites]
In 2002, chickenhawk Saxby Chambliss decisively defeated war hero Max Cleland, who had lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam, in part by running ads pairing Cleland with Osama bin Laden and "questioning the commitment to homeland security" of Cleland, as Wikipedia delicately puts it.
Misleading representations of legislative votes are common in politics, but I can well imagine that, while few West Virginia voters would be swayed in Manchin's favor by his confirmation vote, he wants to avoid the way a vote against her would be portrayed to low-information voters. Which doesn't at all excuse his vote, but may help explain it.
Trump didn't invent sleazy Republican politics; in many ways, he took advantage of the opportunities that decades of sleazy Republican politics prepared for him.
posted by Gelatin at 9:37 AM on May 10, 2018 [33 favorites]
Are there really lots of people in West Virginia that will look at that vote and say "well, I was on the fence about that Manchin fellow until he voted for the torturer, I guess he's alright!"?
There are a ton of people out there who have really gone hard with the following thought process:
1. There is gridlock in DC, no one is compromising or working together.
2. Both parties are to blame for this.
3. Therefore, bucking a party-line vote in any circumstance or for any reason is an unalloyed good.
Right now we're in the last week of a State House primary race* in my district between a Democrat who votes with Republicans constantly (and is frequently the ONLY PA Dem caucus to vote across the aisle) and a DSA-backed Progressive. A ton of conversations about this race devolve pretty much instantly into "The incumbent is good because he's an independent thinker who doesn't vote with his party a crapton!" The actual issues he's crossing the aisle to vote on are immaterial. All people are looking at are "does he cross the aisle: yes/no." These are low-info voters who like to think of themselves as also "independent thinkers". I am fairly certain WV is full of this same kind of thinking.
[*New scandal in this race, which has turned out to be way more high drama than anticipated, is that the GOP has no one on the ballot for their primary--they never do, this is a Dem-only district, so the incumbent has come out and asked Republicans to write him in on their ballot. That way, if he loses his primary, he can run as a Republican! To a really shocking number of people, this is further proof that he's an "independent thinker" and not a power-hunger old boy who doesn't know when it's time to pack it in and go home.]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:44 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
There are a ton of people out there who have really gone hard with the following thought process:
1. There is gridlock in DC, no one is compromising or working together.
2. Both parties are to blame for this.
3. Therefore, bucking a party-line vote in any circumstance or for any reason is an unalloyed good.
Right now we're in the last week of a State House primary race* in my district between a Democrat who votes with Republicans constantly (and is frequently the ONLY PA Dem caucus to vote across the aisle) and a DSA-backed Progressive. A ton of conversations about this race devolve pretty much instantly into "The incumbent is good because he's an independent thinker who doesn't vote with his party a crapton!" The actual issues he's crossing the aisle to vote on are immaterial. All people are looking at are "does he cross the aisle: yes/no." These are low-info voters who like to think of themselves as also "independent thinkers". I am fairly certain WV is full of this same kind of thinking.
[*New scandal in this race, which has turned out to be way more high drama than anticipated, is that the GOP has no one on the ballot for their primary--they never do, this is a Dem-only district, so the incumbent has come out and asked Republicans to write him in on their ballot. That way, if he loses his primary, he can run as a Republican! To a really shocking number of people, this is further proof that he's an "independent thinker" and not a power-hunger old boy who doesn't know when it's time to pack it in and go home.]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:44 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
Law360: EXCLUSIVE: Draft Bill Would Overhaul Immigration Courts
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is considering introducing sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration court system and establish independent tribunals with trial and appellate divisions, according to a draft of the bill obtained exclusively by Law360 on Thursday.posted by melissasaurus at 9:46 AM on May 10, 2018 [34 favorites]
The bill proposes to establish an Article I tribunal, which is set up by Congress to review agency decisions, to deal with immigration cases. Trial immigration judges would hear cases involving removal, application for admission, cancellation of removal, rescission of adjustment of status, asylum applications, bonds, detention, parole, and assessment of certain civil penalties. Appellate immigration judges would review those decisions, as well as any that impose administrative fines and penalties and final orders of removal.
The Federal Circuit, rather than other circuit courts, would review further appeals of immigration cases, with the bill proposing expansions of the appeals court to accommodate the additional caseload.
@DSenFloor: The Senate confirmed Michael Brennan to be Judge for the 7th Circuit, 49-46.
@samstein: Fairly important moment here. Brennan did not have a blue slip from Tammy Baldwin, making him the first judge confirmed without one from his home state senator. (Franken didn’t return one on Stras but was not in the Senate when Stras was confirmed)
So that's another norm that applies only to Democrats but not to Republicans. And a complete victory for McConnell's court packing plan.
Zoe Tillman, Republicans Have A Plan To Push Through Trump’s Judicial Nominees, And There’s Little Democrats Can Do To Stop Them
@samstein: Fairly important moment here. Brennan did not have a blue slip from Tammy Baldwin, making him the first judge confirmed without one from his home state senator. (Franken didn’t return one on Stras but was not in the Senate when Stras was confirmed)
So that's another norm that applies only to Democrats but not to Republicans. And a complete victory for McConnell's court packing plan.
Zoe Tillman, Republicans Have A Plan To Push Through Trump’s Judicial Nominees, And There’s Little Democrats Can Do To Stop Them
The day before Bounds’ hearing, the Senate pressed ahead with a proposed rules change to speed up judicial confirmations. McConnell has moved this week for votes on six appeals judges, including 7th Circuit nominee Michael Brennan, over the objection of one of his home state senators, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin. And an influential conservative advocacy group announced last week that it is launching a million-dollar ad campaign to back those efforts.There is a new campaign to fight this, not that there's really a fight to be had besides winning the Senate. Dem Groups Are Ratcheting Up the Judicial Wars—And They’re Targeting Fellow Democrats
There aren’t any signs the nominations will slow down. Since January, the White House has announced more than four dozen judicial nominees; the latest batch was sent to the Senate earlier this week. There are 148 current vacancies across the federal courts, and more than 30 upcoming vacancies have been announced. There are 81 nominees pending in the Senate, and the White House continues to vet candidates.
Democrats say Republicans are ceding too much power to the White House when it comes to nominations. During Wednesday’s hearing, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said that if blue slips no longer have the power to hold up a nomination, the White House will have no reason to defer to the historical practice of designating certain seats on the regional appeals courts to represent each of the states covered by that circuit. That could hurt Republicans as well as Democrats, he said.
In a rare political volley in the judicial wars, a trio of outside Democratic-aligned groups is going after members of its own party in a newly launched ad campaign.In case you're wondering why the position was open for Brennan, well, it's exactly as hypocritical as you'd expect from McConnell:
The campaign, spearheaded by the new outfit Demand Justice, demands that Democratic senators commit to voting en masse against any of Donald Trump’s judicial nominees should Senate Republicans advance one without the formal sign-off of his or her home-state senator.
Brennan does not have a blue slip from one of his home-state senators, Tammy Baldwin. But what’s further enraged Democrats is the history of the post he is set to occupy. For years, that seat on the Seventh Circuit was held open because Wisconsin’s other senator, Republican Ron Johnson, refused to return his own blue slip for President Barack Obama’s nominee, Victoria Nourse. Brennan himself was quoted as applauding the resulting vacancy.posted by zachlipton at 9:57 AM on May 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
“We know that this is an extremely complicated situation,” Merkel said. “The escalations of the past few hours show us that it is truly about war and peace. And I can only call on all sides to exercise restraint here.”
It's not that complicated. Iran's been threatening Israel and attacking them by proxy for years. At some point something was going to give, and they're finally getting their hands slapped for it.
posted by zarq at 10:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's not that complicated. Iran's been threatening Israel and attacking them by proxy for years. At some point something was going to give, and they're finally getting their hands slapped for it.
posted by zarq at 10:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mediaite, WATCH: Policy Advisor For Trump-Tied ‘America First’ Group Praises Nazis: They Should’ve Kept ‘Going’ (Exclusive)
posted by zachlipton at 10:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [52 favorites]
Juan Pablo Andrade voiced his love for the Third Reich — in a video obtained by Mediaite — while attending a Turning Point USA conference, which is a youth conservative organization, endorsed by everyone from Trump to Senator Marco Rubio, known as much for racism as it is for diaper-wearing.The article also goes into detail on Svbervi, another TPUSA white supremacist and what he was doing there:
...
“The only thing the Nazis didn’t get right is they didn’t keep fucking going!” Andrade exclaimed to Svbervi and several other fellow conference attendees in a hotel room that Mediaite learned was paid for by TPUSA.
Several sources with knowledge of TPUSA’s operations, who spoke to Mediaite on the condition of anonymity, said Svbervi was added to a “blacklist” of activists that the nonprofit’s leadership wanted to keep away from their Student Action Summit to avoid controversy. The list was later scrapped in an effort to boost attendance numbers, sources said.Andrade works for America First Policies, which Pence has done 20 events with. That's the dark money group that was running secret polls for Trump and employs Carl Higbie, who was fired from the Trump administration after KFILE discovered he was really really bigoted. Pence is in bed with these people.
posted by zachlipton at 10:06 AM on May 10, 2018 [52 favorites]
cjelli: That feels a lot more #BeLegal that it does #BeBest.
Sounds very Republican, just like Haspel's response to Feinstein:
But then he pivots oh so well, looking back to the prior president when talking about the Iran nuclear deal, mentioning Obama by name four times in a few minutes, instead of talking about how Trump might be able to renegotiate anything.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:08 AM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
Sounds very Republican, just like Haspel's response to Feinstein:
DIANNE FEINSTEIN: Were you an advocate for destroying the tapes?This is a different tale than Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told NPR's Audie Cornish mere moments later:
HASPEL: Senator, I absolutely was an advocate if we could within and conforming to U.S. law and if we could get policy concurrence to eliminate the security risk posed to our officers by those tapes and the consistent legal...
FEINSTEIN: And you were aware of what those tapes contained?
HASPEL: No, I never watched the tapes.
She was the No. 2 person in that department. Her supervisor directed her to draft the cable that you're talking about. She did so. She gave the cable back to her boss. Her boss then made the decision as far as destroying the tape. So it's guilt by association. I mean, simply because she was there, to me, doesn't disqualify her at all.Risch is your standard pivoting politician, who responds to questions about future use of torture by saying "Look, we have a law against that now," as if laws can't change, particularly when the president (as a mere nominee in 2016) said "waterboarding is just fine, but we should go much further, and I got a standing ovation, a standing ovation" (as the crowd cheers). Risch goes on to say "And so we need to quit talking about that and look forward not backward."
But then he pivots oh so well, looking back to the prior president when talking about the Iran nuclear deal, mentioning Obama by name four times in a few minutes, instead of talking about how Trump might be able to renegotiate anything.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:08 AM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
soren_lorensen
There are a ton of people out there who have really gone hard with the following thought process:
1. There is gridlock in DC, no one is compromising or working together.
2. Both parties are to blame for this.
3. Therefore, bucking a party-line vote in any circumstance or for any reason is an unalloyed good.
Yes. And it's crucial to recognize how much this view can coexist with actual (not strong, but genuine) beliefs about the subject. They're personally against torture, see. If they ran things, it would be illegal, for sure, but they don't run things so is it really their place to say?
According to this New Yorker article: In polls taken in 1968, only three per cent of voters who objected to Johnson’s policy in Vietnam were also sympathetic to antiwar protesters. Food for thought.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
There are a ton of people out there who have really gone hard with the following thought process:
1. There is gridlock in DC, no one is compromising or working together.
2. Both parties are to blame for this.
3. Therefore, bucking a party-line vote in any circumstance or for any reason is an unalloyed good.
Yes. And it's crucial to recognize how much this view can coexist with actual (not strong, but genuine) beliefs about the subject. They're personally against torture, see. If they ran things, it would be illegal, for sure, but they don't run things so is it really their place to say?
According to this New Yorker article: In polls taken in 1968, only three per cent of voters who objected to Johnson’s policy in Vietnam were also sympathetic to antiwar protesters. Food for thought.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Brooklyn Comedian (Jake Flores) Whose Joke About ICE Got Him a Visit From Homeland Security
So I made this joke on Saturday. I went out that night, went to a concert, came back home, and was asleep on my couch. I woke up and heard someone banging on the door. I was feeling delirious. It’s loud, aggressive banging on this metal door, like BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG. If I had recognized it for what it was, I probably wouldn’t have opened the door, but I thought it must be this repair guy and I wasn’t thinking.
I open the door and there are four guys, and they say “Homeland Security” and hold a badge up like they’re in a movie. I’ve been arrested a lot of times, and I didn’t get the feeling that’s what they were going for because cops are the ones that come in and immediately arrest you and want to assert all this dominance. These were nerds, lanyard guys. They sort of came in and made their statement pretty quickly, and I thought, “I’m either going to get arrested or not.”
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:17 AM on May 10, 2018 [40 favorites]
So I made this joke on Saturday. I went out that night, went to a concert, came back home, and was asleep on my couch. I woke up and heard someone banging on the door. I was feeling delirious. It’s loud, aggressive banging on this metal door, like BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG. If I had recognized it for what it was, I probably wouldn’t have opened the door, but I thought it must be this repair guy and I wasn’t thinking.
I open the door and there are four guys, and they say “Homeland Security” and hold a badge up like they’re in a movie. I’ve been arrested a lot of times, and I didn’t get the feeling that’s what they were going for because cops are the ones that come in and immediately arrest you and want to assert all this dominance. These were nerds, lanyard guys. They sort of came in and made their statement pretty quickly, and I thought, “I’m either going to get arrested or not.”
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:17 AM on May 10, 2018 [40 favorites]
Atom Eyes, that interview is great, not least because he really talked to the ICE guys and they clearly were less informed than he was about a lot of the policy issues that drive their own agency priorities. Fascinating and horrifying. But at least he wasn't hurt or arrested.
posted by suelac at 10:23 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by suelac at 10:23 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
In case you're wondering why the position was open for Brennan, well, it's exactly as hypocritical as you'd expect from McConnell
Republicans did this dance with blue slips before during the Bush Administration, and we can thank Patrick Leahy for reinstating the practice to allow Republicans to block Obama nominees Trump is now appointing.
If Democrats retake the Senate, they’ll hand Republicans the same weapons back again, same as always. Because Democrats do not play the same game.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:28 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
Republicans did this dance with blue slips before during the Bush Administration, and we can thank Patrick Leahy for reinstating the practice to allow Republicans to block Obama nominees Trump is now appointing.
If Democrats retake the Senate, they’ll hand Republicans the same weapons back again, same as always. Because Democrats do not play the same game.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:28 AM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
“The only thing the Nazis didn’t get right is they didn’t keep fucking going!” Andrade exclaimed to Svbervi and several other fellow conference attendees in a hotel room that Mediaite learned was paid for by TPUSA.
Right, because if they had kept going, they certainly would not have promptly obliterated the grandparents and great-grandparents of Juan Pablo Andrade and Cesar Subervi (the other alt-right goon I think the article is misspellingly referencing?).
Is it cognitive dissonance and denial, or are they actually this dumb?
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:32 AM on May 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
Right, because if they had kept going, they certainly would not have promptly obliterated the grandparents and great-grandparents of Juan Pablo Andrade and Cesar Subervi (the other alt-right goon I think the article is misspellingly referencing?).
Is it cognitive dissonance and denial, or are they actually this dumb?
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:32 AM on May 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
If Democrats retake the Senate, they’ll hand Republicans the same weapons back again, same as always. Because Democrats do not play the same game.
T.D. Strange, what is the point of this constant trashing of Democrats for things they might do in the future? Are you trying to kill all morale before a blue wave?
There’s obvious benefit to cataloging the mistakes of the past to make sure we don’t repeat them in the future, but that’s not what this is. This is fatalism and learned helplessness. I’m really not sure what you’re trying to accomplish.
posted by schadenfrau at 10:33 AM on May 10, 2018 [70 favorites]
T.D. Strange, what is the point of this constant trashing of Democrats for things they might do in the future? Are you trying to kill all morale before a blue wave?
There’s obvious benefit to cataloging the mistakes of the past to make sure we don’t repeat them in the future, but that’s not what this is. This is fatalism and learned helplessness. I’m really not sure what you’re trying to accomplish.
posted by schadenfrau at 10:33 AM on May 10, 2018 [70 favorites]
Is it cognitive dissonance and denial, or are they actually this dumb?
Speaking from personal experience with a brother and uncle who are both alt-right shit stirrers and really do not like to be associated with being Jewish, it is a combination of toxic masculinity, anger and cognitive dissonance all wrapped up in a shit blintz.
posted by Sophie1 at 10:43 AM on May 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
Speaking from personal experience with a brother and uncle who are both alt-right shit stirrers and really do not like to be associated with being Jewish, it is a combination of toxic masculinity, anger and cognitive dissonance all wrapped up in a shit blintz.
posted by Sophie1 at 10:43 AM on May 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
There’s obvious benefit to cataloging the mistakes of the past to make sure we don’t repeat them in the future
It's certainly possible for politicians to misread the sentiments of their constituents, or just to ignore them, but Democratic voters right now do not seem to be in a forgiving mood at all. We had a SCOTUS seat and then arguably the Presidency itself stolen by the Republicans, and Trump and his despicable crew are actively and deliberately causing harm and suffering without the thin veneer of amiability the previous Republican president -- who also lost the popular vote the first time around -- would at times show.
More people protested Trump's inauguration than attended it. The Democrats held firm and prevented Obamacare's repeal, and while they didn't prevent the tax cut, they did prevent any claim of "bipartisanship." The message sent by candidates in the primary was not one of "let bygones be bygones." While "fecklessness" has for far too long naturally followed the word "Democratic," we're now at a point where Dianne Freaking Feinstein sees no upside in voting to confirm a tainted CIA nominee. We will be disappointed in them, yes -- especially red state Democrats like Manchin -- but in the midterms as in the past few special elections, Democrats seem to see their path to victory as appealing to other Democrats rather than some mythical "swing voter." Selling out their constituents time and again hardly seems to be a clever strategy for retaining a hard-won incumbency, and nor does helping Republicans install a bunch of hostile judges.
posted by Gelatin at 10:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [37 favorites]
It's certainly possible for politicians to misread the sentiments of their constituents, or just to ignore them, but Democratic voters right now do not seem to be in a forgiving mood at all. We had a SCOTUS seat and then arguably the Presidency itself stolen by the Republicans, and Trump and his despicable crew are actively and deliberately causing harm and suffering without the thin veneer of amiability the previous Republican president -- who also lost the popular vote the first time around -- would at times show.
More people protested Trump's inauguration than attended it. The Democrats held firm and prevented Obamacare's repeal, and while they didn't prevent the tax cut, they did prevent any claim of "bipartisanship." The message sent by candidates in the primary was not one of "let bygones be bygones." While "fecklessness" has for far too long naturally followed the word "Democratic," we're now at a point where Dianne Freaking Feinstein sees no upside in voting to confirm a tainted CIA nominee. We will be disappointed in them, yes -- especially red state Democrats like Manchin -- but in the midterms as in the past few special elections, Democrats seem to see their path to victory as appealing to other Democrats rather than some mythical "swing voter." Selling out their constituents time and again hardly seems to be a clever strategy for retaining a hard-won incumbency, and nor does helping Republicans install a bunch of hostile judges.
posted by Gelatin at 10:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [37 favorites]
In other news, there's a pretty good rundown of "Trumpism" over at NYMag today (by Eric Levitz). The takeaway paragraph for me:
posted by suelac at 10:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [89 favorites]
You cannot expel immigrants who have been thriving in the U.S. for two decades, out of concern that they might prove unable to assimilate. You can’t deport a population that has a higher labor-force participation rate than native-born Americans on the grounds that it will be a burden on the U.S. economy. You cannot claim that your immigration policy is motivated by concern for public safety, when you move to deport law-abiding longtime residents — even though your diplomats warn that doing so will benefit criminal gangs and smugglers. And you certainly can’t claim that your hard-line immigration agenda puts the interests of all American citizens first, when you’re trying to separate hundreds of thousands of American citizens from their mothers and fathers. None of the polite restrictionist arguments apply.It's damning, but it will make no difference.
posted by suelac at 10:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [89 favorites]
FWIW, it would be really cool if the Democrats could all vote in a bloc. I know that a Wyoming Democrat and a Massachusetts Democrat have different constituencies, but the appearance of unity would go a long way to mitigate my squeemishness. Having ANYONE support a torturer should be a show-stopper.
posted by mikelieman at 10:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 10:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
There’s obvious benefit to cataloging the mistakes of the past to make sure we don’t repeat them in the future, but that’s not what this is. This is fatalism and learned helplessness. I’m really not sure what you’re trying to accomplish.
Maybe my tone is too fatalistic, but the point was it’s not just Manchins and McCaskills that allowed the staggering amount of judicial openings for Trump, it was the most liberal members of the party too. Assigning proper blame is critical to expressing enough anger that they never do it again. And the proper blame for the judicial failures should placed on the entire party, except maybe Harry Reid, who saw this coming.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:51 AM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Maybe my tone is too fatalistic, but the point was it’s not just Manchins and McCaskills that allowed the staggering amount of judicial openings for Trump, it was the most liberal members of the party too. Assigning proper blame is critical to expressing enough anger that they never do it again. And the proper blame for the judicial failures should placed on the entire party, except maybe Harry Reid, who saw this coming.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:51 AM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
More people protested Trump's inauguration than attended it. The Democrats held firm and prevented Obamacare's repeal, and while they didn't prevent the tax cut, they did prevent any claim of "bipartisanship." The message sent by candidates in the primary was not one of "let bygones be bygones." While "fecklessness" has for far too long naturally followed the word "Democratic," we're now at a point where Dianne Freaking Feinstein sees no upside in voting to confirm a tainted CIA nominee. We will be disappointed in them, yes -- especially red state Democrats like Manchin -- but in the midterms as in the past few special elections, Democrats seem to see their path to victory as appealing to other Democrats rather than some mythical "swing voter.
I agree with this, and I think that pressure from constituents - "we're here, we vote, and we're watching you" - plays a huge part in how much more accountable and more spineful Democratic officeholders have become. Democratic voters (as a whole) have woken up and realized that it's not enough to vote for a President and then take a nice long nap and then complain when the President doesn't wave a magic wand and make it all better. Or stay home because "There's something about her I don't like and anyway I have principles" and find that there's now a dangerous out of control overgrown toddler in the White House.
Now that constituents are watching them, Democratic congresspeople have gone from "Third Way" to Jobs For All and Health Care For All and now, Unions For All.
And while senators from conservative states like Manchin are always going to be more conservative themselves - they have to represent their constituents - the important thing is that they vote along with the rest of the Democrats, as a bloc. Turncoats are more worrisome to me than conservative Democrats.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:59 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
I agree with this, and I think that pressure from constituents - "we're here, we vote, and we're watching you" - plays a huge part in how much more accountable and more spineful Democratic officeholders have become. Democratic voters (as a whole) have woken up and realized that it's not enough to vote for a President and then take a nice long nap and then complain when the President doesn't wave a magic wand and make it all better. Or stay home because "There's something about her I don't like and anyway I have principles" and find that there's now a dangerous out of control overgrown toddler in the White House.
Now that constituents are watching them, Democratic congresspeople have gone from "Third Way" to Jobs For All and Health Care For All and now, Unions For All.
And while senators from conservative states like Manchin are always going to be more conservative themselves - they have to represent their constituents - the important thing is that they vote along with the rest of the Democrats, as a bloc. Turncoats are more worrisome to me than conservative Democrats.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:59 AM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
Is it cognitive dissonance and denial, or are they actually this
Intersectional nazism comes from a calculation that they will be last, that the Nazis will never get around to them, and a lack of caring about whoever the Nazis do get to while they enjoy whatever benefits being a Nazi from an unusual background gives them (extra cover, fawning media profiles for doing the work of normalization, etc...) I’m sure it works out for some of them, but even if it doesn’t they are Nazis regardless.
posted by Artw at 11:00 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Intersectional nazism comes from a calculation that they will be last, that the Nazis will never get around to them, and a lack of caring about whoever the Nazis do get to while they enjoy whatever benefits being a Nazi from an unusual background gives them (extra cover, fawning media profiles for doing the work of normalization, etc...) I’m sure it works out for some of them, but even if it doesn’t they are Nazis regardless.
posted by Artw at 11:00 AM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Turncoats are more worrisome to me than conservative Democrats.
New York's experience with the "IDC" (aka "Traitors") should be instructional.
posted by mikelieman at 11:01 AM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
New York's experience with the "IDC" (aka "Traitors") should be instructional.
posted by mikelieman at 11:01 AM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
I’d classify putting pressure on Democrats to be better as profound optimism - accepting and excusing bad behaviorist is the fatalistic attitude.
posted by Artw at 11:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:03 AM on May 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
I’d classify putting pressure on Democrats to be better as profound optimism
So would I. I don't think continually expressing the belief that Dems will fail us falls into that category, though. It is the main thing that drives me away from these threads despite how useful they are.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
So would I. I don't think continually expressing the belief that Dems will fail us falls into that category, though. It is the main thing that drives me away from these threads despite how useful they are.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
In certain respects, Donald Trump has been a far more “normal” Republican president than many pundits had predicted (or are willing to admit).
I mean, most everyone knew he was a criminal corporatist who cheated with an enemy adversary to get elected, and who was going to hire a bunch of other criminals as soon as he got into office. Seems like a normal Republican to me.
posted by gucci mane at 11:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
I mean, most everyone knew he was a criminal corporatist who cheated with an enemy adversary to get elected, and who was going to hire a bunch of other criminals as soon as he got into office. Seems like a normal Republican to me.
posted by gucci mane at 11:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
I think CNN is perhaps slightly overselling the prisoner release story with their top headline right now: "Trump basks in global triumph"[real].
posted by contraption at 11:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by contraption at 11:11 AM on May 10, 2018 [19 favorites]
And the proper blame for the judicial failures should placed on the entire party
As much as it's fun to blame the Democrats for standing by political norms and thus losing to the Republicans... It's kind of a losing game in itself. I don't really think there was a winning strategy against the GOP... they didn't care what happened in the game and their only goal was to destroy anything they could. Being the party that actually had goals means the Dems had to play a game, even if they knew it was rigged. This isn't going to change.
I really feel that the actual blame lies with the voters who consistently rewarded these assholes with more and more power the more they shit on the system.
posted by cirhosis at 11:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
As much as it's fun to blame the Democrats for standing by political norms and thus losing to the Republicans... It's kind of a losing game in itself. I don't really think there was a winning strategy against the GOP... they didn't care what happened in the game and their only goal was to destroy anything they could. Being the party that actually had goals means the Dems had to play a game, even if they knew it was rigged. This isn't going to change.
I really feel that the actual blame lies with the voters who consistently rewarded these assholes with more and more power the more they shit on the system.
posted by cirhosis at 11:14 AM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
Military analyst on Fox advocates for torture: "It worked on John [McCain]. That's why they call him 'Songbird John'"
posted by PenDevil at 11:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 11:20 AM on May 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
NRA President Oliver North Says Parkland Gun Control Activists Are Criminal Civil Terrorists.
It's utterly macabre that they've doubled down on attacking school children who are survivors of a mass shooting.
North also continues the NRA's attempt to brand itself as a "civil rights organization."
posted by zarq at 11:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [70 favorites]
It's utterly macabre that they've doubled down on attacking school children who are survivors of a mass shooting.
North also continues the NRA's attempt to brand itself as a "civil rights organization."
posted by zarq at 11:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [70 favorites]
I mean, there are a lot of valid reasons to not respect John McCain, but...imagine what kind of person you have to be to go on live TV and call a military veteran and a member of your own party - one who is probably literally on his deathbed - "Songbird" because he (allegedly?) gave up information while being tortured by the enemy during a war.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [76 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on May 10, 2018 [76 favorites]
> Military analyst on Fox advocates for torture: "It worked on John [McCain]. That's why they call him 'Songbird John'"
More from the Fox Torture Apologia Desk: Hannity Explodes After Being Confronted By ThinkProgress About Previous Offer To Be Waterboarded For Charity
Brave Sir Hannity ran away...
posted by tonycpsu at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [47 favorites]
More from the Fox Torture Apologia Desk: Hannity Explodes After Being Confronted By ThinkProgress About Previous Offer To Be Waterboarded For Charity
Brave Sir Hannity ran away...
posted by tonycpsu at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [47 favorites]
because he (allegedly?) gave up information
No evidence McCain was a traitor [Politifact]
posted by Buntix at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [19 favorites]
No evidence McCain was a traitor [Politifact]
posted by Buntix at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2018 [19 favorites]
Military hat on: you are supposed to give up some information after a certain point, because once it is known you are captured everything that you know is supposed to be changed. One of the reasons that interrogation is focussed so much on the first couple of days after capture is that people talk when in shock, but the other is that the information given might be fresh enough to be useful. After that, you are explicitly instructed to give away the information that you feel might be enough to bargain for the welfare of yourself and others, because, again, it is entirely intended that nothing secure will now depend on that information.
It is fundamentally not up to the interrogated service member to ensure the safety of operations beyond that first period. So, uh, not that I love or even like McCain, but whoever is briefing this can go die in a fire.
posted by jaduncan at 11:29 AM on May 10, 2018 [138 favorites]
It is fundamentally not up to the interrogated service member to ensure the safety of operations beyond that first period. So, uh, not that I love or even like McCain, but whoever is briefing this can go die in a fire.
posted by jaduncan at 11:29 AM on May 10, 2018 [138 favorites]
Vietnam POWs were tortured to make propaganda statements, for the most part, not to obtain information. They worked out a system where they could give a little when they reached the point where they were fucking dying, and then fall back and start resisting again.
That any armchair tough guy would criticize those men in public is beyond contemptible.
posted by thelonius at 11:36 AM on May 10, 2018 [78 favorites]
That any armchair tough guy would criticize those men in public is beyond contemptible.
posted by thelonius at 11:36 AM on May 10, 2018 [78 favorites]
Score one more for loving the troops, btw.
posted by jaduncan at 11:40 AM on May 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 11:40 AM on May 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
"Maybe my tone is too fatalistic, but the point was it’s not just Manchins and McCaskills that allowed the staggering amount of judicial openings for Trump, it was the most liberal members of the party too. Assigning proper blame is critical to expressing enough anger that they never do it again. And the proper blame for the judicial failures should placed on the entire party, except maybe Harry Reid, who saw this coming."
Can you explain how the most liberal members allowed judicial openings? I see the vote for Michael Brennan was 49-46. That's a lot of votes against. I'm not aware of liberal senators voting to open up more judicial seats. Can you clarify?
... a lot of times I feel like Democratic senators, including my own (Harris and Feinstein), are doing the best they can - voting against Trump nominees, voting AND speaking out against appalling legislation like the catastrophic tax bill and scrapping Obamacare - but they don't have the majority and they can't actually do much more than that. I'm happy to hold them accountable for bad positions and bad votes (Feinstein did vote for a few Trump nominees, after all), but when they're blamed for things they can't actually control, and especially when they're lumped in with, well, Manchin, as if all of them were as ready to vote with Trump on everything all the time, I think it's misleading and adds to the narrative that all Democrats are useless and spineless and sell-outs, which I think is really harmful to the narrative I work hard to keep telling myself: there is a way out, it's a lot of work, but there are a lot of people working on this with us, including our Democratic legislators, and we need to do everything we can to recognize and support good ideas, good actions, good votes, and good public servants, so we can grow MORE of all those things.
posted by kristi at 11:40 AM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
Can you explain how the most liberal members allowed judicial openings? I see the vote for Michael Brennan was 49-46. That's a lot of votes against. I'm not aware of liberal senators voting to open up more judicial seats. Can you clarify?
... a lot of times I feel like Democratic senators, including my own (Harris and Feinstein), are doing the best they can - voting against Trump nominees, voting AND speaking out against appalling legislation like the catastrophic tax bill and scrapping Obamacare - but they don't have the majority and they can't actually do much more than that. I'm happy to hold them accountable for bad positions and bad votes (Feinstein did vote for a few Trump nominees, after all), but when they're blamed for things they can't actually control, and especially when they're lumped in with, well, Manchin, as if all of them were as ready to vote with Trump on everything all the time, I think it's misleading and adds to the narrative that all Democrats are useless and spineless and sell-outs, which I think is really harmful to the narrative I work hard to keep telling myself: there is a way out, it's a lot of work, but there are a lot of people working on this with us, including our Democratic legislators, and we need to do everything we can to recognize and support good ideas, good actions, good votes, and good public servants, so we can grow MORE of all those things.
posted by kristi at 11:40 AM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
Military analyst on Fox advocates for torture: "It worked on John [McCain]. That's why they call him 'Songbird John'"
McInerney's a retired three-star Air Force general. He's also a birther.
Worth remembering:
Less than a year after McCain's Navy bomber was shot down he was offered an unconditional release by the North Vietnamese. His father had been named the commander of our Pacific forces. He had been injured in the crash and hadn't yet healed. The easy, sane option for him was obvious. McCain stayed. He refused release because the North Vietnamese were holding other American prisoners who had been there longer. And he was tortured and kept in solitary confinement for two years because of it.
Two years.
He hasn't always done the honorable thing as a Senator. He hasn't always made the right decisions. And he's broken some promises.
But John McCain chose to stay in hell on Earth because he had a sense of honor, duty and decency.
And that treasonous slimeball of a three star general should get down on his knees and thank him for his service, because if anyone on this planet deserves to be shown respect for what he endured at the hands of an enemy during wartime, it's John McCain.
posted by zarq at 11:41 AM on May 10, 2018 [111 favorites]
McInerney's a retired three-star Air Force general. He's also a birther.
Worth remembering:
Less than a year after McCain's Navy bomber was shot down he was offered an unconditional release by the North Vietnamese. His father had been named the commander of our Pacific forces. He had been injured in the crash and hadn't yet healed. The easy, sane option for him was obvious. McCain stayed. He refused release because the North Vietnamese were holding other American prisoners who had been there longer. And he was tortured and kept in solitary confinement for two years because of it.
Two years.
He hasn't always done the honorable thing as a Senator. He hasn't always made the right decisions. And he's broken some promises.
But John McCain chose to stay in hell on Earth because he had a sense of honor, duty and decency.
And that treasonous slimeball of a three star general should get down on his knees and thank him for his service, because if anyone on this planet deserves to be shown respect for what he endured at the hands of an enemy during wartime, it's John McCain.
posted by zarq at 11:41 AM on May 10, 2018 [111 favorites]
We've been seeing this for decades, where Republicans smear legitimate heroes. What I don't get is why service-people keep on voting for Republicans.
posted by mumimor at 11:42 AM on May 10, 2018 [68 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 11:42 AM on May 10, 2018 [68 favorites]
That's why they call him 'Songbird John'
Just out of curiosity, I googled the phrase "Songbird John" to see who "they" were and all I see are:
1) Media references to McInerney saying that just now on Fox
2) Posts on far-right/white supremacist blogs and message boards
So, the people McInerney is referring to as his source for this? They're Nazis. Fucking Nazis.
Whatever you think of John McCain or of the threats our country faces, we need to make absolutely clear that the people arguing for expanded torture are doing so while shaking hands with the all-time champion Worst Humans On Earth.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [87 favorites]
Just out of curiosity, I googled the phrase "Songbird John" to see who "they" were and all I see are:
1) Media references to McInerney saying that just now on Fox
2) Posts on far-right/white supremacist blogs and message boards
So, the people McInerney is referring to as his source for this? They're Nazis. Fucking Nazis.
Whatever you think of John McCain or of the threats our country faces, we need to make absolutely clear that the people arguing for expanded torture are doing so while shaking hands with the all-time champion Worst Humans On Earth.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:45 AM on May 10, 2018 [87 favorites]
FWIW, it would be really cool if the Democrats could all vote in a bloc. I know that a Wyoming Democrat and a Massachusetts Democrat have different constituencies, but the appearance of unity would go a long way to mitigate my squeemishness. Having ANYONE support a torturer should be a show-stopper.
Yeah, and by the way, let's talk about "bipartisanship" for a minute. Before 2001, it used to be an unquestionably bipartisan position that the US was opposed to torture; the Bad Guys did it but we didn't was at least the official position that everybody agreed to.
Acceptance of torture only became a partisan issue as a reaction to the incompetence of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, whose incompetence let one massive terrorist attack occur on their watch already, and who were terrified of it happening again, lacked the competences to actually achieve that goal, and were hellbent on attacking Iraq. Torture was their answer, and Republicans suddenly had to pretend that not only was that okay, but only a traitor would think otherwise (see Chambliss, Saxby, mentioned above).
Now we have Trump and the Russians, and Republicans once again, steadily, defining deviancy down. And all the while appealing to their base that they, and only they, are Real Americans -- a sentiment whispered by Republicans all my life but loudly, if stupidly, asserted by Sarah Palin.
It's high time for Democrats to assert their patriotism -- by which I do not mean flag-waving, military-industrial-complex-funding, and ultimately hollow and cowardly style of the Republicans, but the belief shared by many Americans that we believe in values that are not to be discarded when the going gets rough. That America can be great because it can be good. That we are, in fact, stronger together.
And that the divisive politics of the Republicans, who seek to parlay a 50.1% majority into ruling as if they had 100% support, is tyrannical and inherently illegitimate. And for that reason, as much as for his sketchy election, so is Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 11:46 AM on May 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
Yeah, and by the way, let's talk about "bipartisanship" for a minute. Before 2001, it used to be an unquestionably bipartisan position that the US was opposed to torture; the Bad Guys did it but we didn't was at least the official position that everybody agreed to.
Acceptance of torture only became a partisan issue as a reaction to the incompetence of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, whose incompetence let one massive terrorist attack occur on their watch already, and who were terrified of it happening again, lacked the competences to actually achieve that goal, and were hellbent on attacking Iraq. Torture was their answer, and Republicans suddenly had to pretend that not only was that okay, but only a traitor would think otherwise (see Chambliss, Saxby, mentioned above).
Now we have Trump and the Russians, and Republicans once again, steadily, defining deviancy down. And all the while appealing to their base that they, and only they, are Real Americans -- a sentiment whispered by Republicans all my life but loudly, if stupidly, asserted by Sarah Palin.
It's high time for Democrats to assert their patriotism -- by which I do not mean flag-waving, military-industrial-complex-funding, and ultimately hollow and cowardly style of the Republicans, but the belief shared by many Americans that we believe in values that are not to be discarded when the going gets rough. That America can be great because it can be good. That we are, in fact, stronger together.
And that the divisive politics of the Republicans, who seek to parlay a 50.1% majority into ruling as if they had 100% support, is tyrannical and inherently illegitimate. And for that reason, as much as for his sketchy election, so is Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 11:46 AM on May 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
"Trump basks in global triumph"[real]
There were 11 American hostages released from North Korea while Obama was president.
posted by chris24 at 11:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [80 favorites]
There were 11 American hostages released from North Korea while Obama was president.
posted by chris24 at 11:48 AM on May 10, 2018 [80 favorites]
What I don't get is why service-people keep on voting for Republicans.
Racism and reactionary grievance, same as in town.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:52 AM on May 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
Racism and reactionary grievance, same as in town.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:52 AM on May 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
NRA President Oliver North Says Parkland Gun Control Activists Are Criminal Civil Terrorists.
Make no mistake about it, the rancid neologism "civil terrorists" means that the Parkland youth have been more effective at shaming the NRA and its supporters than the NRA has been at intimidating its opposition.
posted by Gelatin at 11:52 AM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
Make no mistake about it, the rancid neologism "civil terrorists" means that the Parkland youth have been more effective at shaming the NRA and its supporters than the NRA has been at intimidating its opposition.
posted by Gelatin at 11:52 AM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
I searched for "songbird john," or "songbird mccain," and I can second that it's absolutely white supremacist and white supremacist-adjacent sites. Unfortunately in the future sites like metafilter will be listed in google, so it's hard to prove this going forward.
posted by Yowser at 11:56 AM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 11:56 AM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
Military hat on: you are supposed to give up some information after a certain point, because once it is known you are captured everything that you know is supposed to be changed.
Several years ago my employer sent us to one of those corporate leadership seminars, and one of the motivational speakers was a former POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. He related that the captured Americans worked out a clandestine communication system because they were forbidden to talk to each other, and that one of the ways they used it was to encourage each other when one gave up information to the enemy -- because, he said, one always would, and then would be left alone with his shame. His fellow pilots would tell the torture victim that it was okay, that they had been there and done the same, that they understood and did not blame him.
But even though I have never been in the military, I know that a prisoner isn't supposed to always resist no matter what, but only to the best of their ability. Criticizing McCain this way would be a vile and disgusting insult to every POW who has ever been tortured even if it wasn't done purely as political grandstanding, as this was.
posted by Gelatin at 11:58 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
Several years ago my employer sent us to one of those corporate leadership seminars, and one of the motivational speakers was a former POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. He related that the captured Americans worked out a clandestine communication system because they were forbidden to talk to each other, and that one of the ways they used it was to encourage each other when one gave up information to the enemy -- because, he said, one always would, and then would be left alone with his shame. His fellow pilots would tell the torture victim that it was okay, that they had been there and done the same, that they understood and did not blame him.
But even though I have never been in the military, I know that a prisoner isn't supposed to always resist no matter what, but only to the best of their ability. Criticizing McCain this way would be a vile and disgusting insult to every POW who has ever been tortured even if it wasn't done purely as political grandstanding, as this was.
posted by Gelatin at 11:58 AM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
Unfortunately in the future sites like metafilter will be listed in google, so it's hard to prove this going forward.
Which is why it's good that we're calling bullshit on it now. We're putting the pieces together right this minute, so future internet people don't have to.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:59 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
Which is why it's good that we're calling bullshit on it now. We're putting the pieces together right this minute, so future internet people don't have to.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:59 AM on May 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
What I don't get is why service-people keep on voting for Republicans.
Racism and reactionary grievance, same as in town.
Some background on who enlists in the military.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:02 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Racism and reactionary grievance, same as in town.
Some background on who enlists in the military.
In 2013, 44% of all military recruits came from the South region of the U.S. despite it having only 36% of the country's 18-24 year-old civilian population.My take-away is that, given this background, white service people would be voting more Republican even if they weren't in the military - because white people in the South are a huge Republican bloc. And white people vote Republican because, yep, racism and reactionary grievance - which makes some people vote against their own best interests in the name of Yay Team.
On the above map, some of the lowest rates of state-by-state enlistment are in New England and the Northeast, Maine notwithstanding. The Northeast of the U.S. was the most underrepresented region of the country for recruitment in 2013: Despite having 18% of the 18-24 year-old civilian population only 14% of new enlistments came from this area.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:02 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
This leaves only one question. Is it Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney, USAF (ret) who hangs out on white supremacist websites, the writers of talking points that he uses to smear a retired US airman without researching the truth of them, or both?
But, future internet people, let it be known it would be one of these options. You know, since we are recording things for Google and the internet record.
posted by jaduncan at 12:05 PM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
But, future internet people, let it be known it would be one of these options. You know, since we are recording things for Google and the internet record.
posted by jaduncan at 12:05 PM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, whose incompetence let one massive terrorist attack occur on their watch already
Two terrorist attacks. "We face a second wave of terrorist attacks in the form of deadly anthrax that has been sent through the U.S. mail." -- George W. Bush.
George W. Bush: 0-2 on preventing terrorist attacks
posted by kirkaracha at 12:09 PM on May 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
Two terrorist attacks. "We face a second wave of terrorist attacks in the form of deadly anthrax that has been sent through the U.S. mail." -- George W. Bush.
George W. Bush: 0-2 on preventing terrorist attacks
posted by kirkaracha at 12:09 PM on May 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
Can you explain how the most liberal members allowed judicial openings?
Republicans changed the rules of blue slips to hurt Clinton and help Bush. Democrats led by Leahy changed them back, allowing McConnell to block many more nominees and stockpile openings for the next Republican president, Trump. It has nothing to do with the votes, and everything to do with manipulating the rules of the Senate to benefit Republican presidents and allow asymmetric Republican obstruction.
Brennan Center:
Former Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy never once deviated from the blue slip tradition, and 18 Obama appointees never got hearings. All but one was a woman or a minority, part of Obama’s commitment to bring more diversity to the courts. Leahy took heat for that from fellow Democrats, and had to fend off then Senate leader Harry Reid, who wanted him to suspend the blue slips so Obama could get more judges.
Leahy fiercely defends the blue slip as vital for the senate to advise and consent. He believes Grassley will honor his pledge, saying that in their 30-year relationship, Grassley has never broken his word.
Except it was obvious he would, and now has.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:10 PM on May 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
Republicans changed the rules of blue slips to hurt Clinton and help Bush. Democrats led by Leahy changed them back, allowing McConnell to block many more nominees and stockpile openings for the next Republican president, Trump. It has nothing to do with the votes, and everything to do with manipulating the rules of the Senate to benefit Republican presidents and allow asymmetric Republican obstruction.
Brennan Center:
In 1998, under the Clinton Presidency, Chairman Orrin Hatch (R–UT) changed the official text of the blue slip to “No further proceedings on [a] nominee will be scheduled until both [affirmative] slips have been returned.”The Unheralded Death of the Blue Slip
In 2001, after President George W. Bush was elected, Chairman Hatch (R) reinstituted Biden’s policy: a withheld blue slip was significant, but did not halt nomination proceedings.
2001-2003: Chairman Leahy’s (D) blue slip policy was that two positive blue slips were necessary to consider a nominee.
2003-2005: Chairman Hatch’s (R) policy was that negative blue slips were significant but not dispositive.
2005-2007: Chairman Arlen Specter’s (R–PA, switched to D in 2009) policy was that a negative blue slip halted district court nominations, but not circuit court nominations.
2007-2015: Chairman Leahy’s (D) policy – throughout the Bush and Obama presidencies – was that a negative blue slip halted nomination proceedings.
Former Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy never once deviated from the blue slip tradition, and 18 Obama appointees never got hearings. All but one was a woman or a minority, part of Obama’s commitment to bring more diversity to the courts. Leahy took heat for that from fellow Democrats, and had to fend off then Senate leader Harry Reid, who wanted him to suspend the blue slips so Obama could get more judges.
Leahy fiercely defends the blue slip as vital for the senate to advise and consent. He believes Grassley will honor his pledge, saying that in their 30-year relationship, Grassley has never broken his word.
Except it was obvious he would, and now has.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:10 PM on May 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
Trump administration to reconsider housing bias protections [Reuters]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said it will reconsider the 2013 rule issued during the Obama administration that laid out when so-called disparate impact claims can be brought against lenders, insurers and other major players in housing under federal fair housing law.posted by melissasaurus at 12:12 PM on May 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
The potential reduction of Iranian crude into the European market as result of renewed sanctions will likely benefit US crude exporters, which have enjoyed an increasingly large share of that market, an S&P Global Platts analysis showed.
– Iran Light, Iran Heavy offer European refiners best value
– WTI cracking margins increasingly profitable in ARA, Med
– US sour Mars delivering near parity with Iran Heavy
Oil prices also traded higher Tuesday amid a report from Bloomberg News, which said that Saudi Arabian officials were seeking $80 a barrel on Brent crude to support the valuation of its energy giant, Aramco, before its initial public offering. "We believe oil prices will get higher in this year and also get higher in 2019, so we are trying to pick the right time," the prince told Time in reference to the IPO.
Oil prices posted their biggest daily gains in a month, rising to fresh 3½ year highs Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear pact, triggering renewed economic sanctions that could reduce the oil supply of an already increasingly tight market.
Dow jumps more than 150 points as energy shares rally after Iran deal fallout
Closing Bell Exchange: Unique opportunity to get into energy stocks
Local economist predicts South Texas oil boom with U.S. departure from Iran
posted by infini at 12:14 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
– Iran Light, Iran Heavy offer European refiners best value
– WTI cracking margins increasingly profitable in ARA, Med
– US sour Mars delivering near parity with Iran Heavy
Oil prices also traded higher Tuesday amid a report from Bloomberg News, which said that Saudi Arabian officials were seeking $80 a barrel on Brent crude to support the valuation of its energy giant, Aramco, before its initial public offering. "We believe oil prices will get higher in this year and also get higher in 2019, so we are trying to pick the right time," the prince told Time in reference to the IPO.
Oil prices posted their biggest daily gains in a month, rising to fresh 3½ year highs Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear pact, triggering renewed economic sanctions that could reduce the oil supply of an already increasingly tight market.
Dow jumps more than 150 points as energy shares rally after Iran deal fallout
Closing Bell Exchange: Unique opportunity to get into energy stocks
Local economist predicts South Texas oil boom with U.S. departure from Iran
posted by infini at 12:14 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Hang on, is that an orb I see there shining warmly in the distance, Samwell, my fren?
posted by infini at 12:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by infini at 12:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
What I don't get is why service-people keep on voting for Republicans.
Lifestyle, mostly. Military lifestyle is /very/ ideal-1950s American - because of the way housing works, you can have as many kids as you want and still afford to keep them. Military family housing is usually fairly spacious, with lawns and safe playgrounds, military schools are nice, military childcare is inexpensive. Patriotic holidays are well celebrated. People go hunting and fishing. Bases are basically small company towns.
Whether or not it’s necessary or fair, right now the stereotype is that the Democrats are the friends of urban living and the Republicans are the friends of the small town-lifestyle. And military members are usually living away from their home of record where they vote and don’t have time to research every candidate on their absentee ballot - so they tend to straight-ticket things more than most.
posted by corb at 12:19 PM on May 10, 2018 [34 favorites]
Lifestyle, mostly. Military lifestyle is /very/ ideal-1950s American - because of the way housing works, you can have as many kids as you want and still afford to keep them. Military family housing is usually fairly spacious, with lawns and safe playgrounds, military schools are nice, military childcare is inexpensive. Patriotic holidays are well celebrated. People go hunting and fishing. Bases are basically small company towns.
Whether or not it’s necessary or fair, right now the stereotype is that the Democrats are the friends of urban living and the Republicans are the friends of the small town-lifestyle. And military members are usually living away from their home of record where they vote and don’t have time to research every candidate on their absentee ballot - so they tend to straight-ticket things more than most.
posted by corb at 12:19 PM on May 10, 2018 [34 favorites]
Military family housing is usually fairly spacious, with lawns and safe playgrounds, military schools are nice, military childcare is inexpensive.
Medicare and Military Housing for All?
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:21 PM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
Medicare and Military Housing for All?
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:21 PM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
NPR: FEC Says That Candidates Can Use Campaign Funds For Child Care
posted by melissasaurus at 12:23 PM on May 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
The Federal Election Commission has ruled that federal candidates can use campaign funds to pay for child care costs that result from time spent running for office.Link to opinion: pdf
On Thursday, the FEC ruled unanimously, 4-0, in favor of New York Democratic House candidate Liuba Grechen Shirley.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:23 PM on May 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
Medicare and Military Housing for All?
previously on MetaFilter
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:28 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
previously on MetaFilter
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:28 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
What I don't get is why service-people keep on voting for Republicans.
Not disputing the other responses here, but I'd point first to that huge portion of servicepeople coming from the South. That's a big factor, particularly when you consider how much of this is driven by sheer volume of voices.
It's also worth noting which party is more willing to cut defense spending. To military people, that has huge implications of "They're Taking Our Jobs!" Even if it makes sense to cut defense spending, even if the defense budget is bloated and stupid and so much of it is wasted, it's easy to manipulate the messaging of that into "Hey, Sarge, they're gonna cut your job before you get to retirement." There's a huge legacy mindset effect there when you consider the ups and downs of Reagan & Bush the Elder vs. Clinton (who tried to wind down Cold War spending) vs. Bush the Dumber.
That said, there are definitely liberals and Democrats and left-leaning people in the service. We're not talking about a monoculture. The military probably has more conservative voters than liberal, but it's not an overwhelming split. It's just fairly consistent.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:30 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
Not disputing the other responses here, but I'd point first to that huge portion of servicepeople coming from the South. That's a big factor, particularly when you consider how much of this is driven by sheer volume of voices.
It's also worth noting which party is more willing to cut defense spending. To military people, that has huge implications of "They're Taking Our Jobs!" Even if it makes sense to cut defense spending, even if the defense budget is bloated and stupid and so much of it is wasted, it's easy to manipulate the messaging of that into "Hey, Sarge, they're gonna cut your job before you get to retirement." There's a huge legacy mindset effect there when you consider the ups and downs of Reagan & Bush the Elder vs. Clinton (who tried to wind down Cold War spending) vs. Bush the Dumber.
That said, there are definitely liberals and Democrats and left-leaning people in the service. We're not talking about a monoculture. The military probably has more conservative voters than liberal, but it's not an overwhelming split. It's just fairly consistent.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:30 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
Medicare and Military Housing for All?
True story: joining the Army made my dad a radical, full-bore BETTER RED THAN DEAD socialist, because he saw so many marginalized people given at least somewhat equal resources relative to everybody else that served alongside them. And yet he seems to have been an extreme outlier, because so many seem drawn to the worst versions of conservatism and/or libertarianism during and after serving. The fact that the most taxpayer-subsidized population--to the tune of trillions of dollars per decade--is so rabidly anti-safety net never fails to enrage me. Every time some service member or veteran brings up TANSTAAFL after living on free lunches for years or even decades at a time, I'm reminded how insanely selfish they have become because that 50's-era American Dream™ bullshit hasn't been killed off.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:33 PM on May 10, 2018 [67 favorites]
True story: joining the Army made my dad a radical, full-bore BETTER RED THAN DEAD socialist, because he saw so many marginalized people given at least somewhat equal resources relative to everybody else that served alongside them. And yet he seems to have been an extreme outlier, because so many seem drawn to the worst versions of conservatism and/or libertarianism during and after serving. The fact that the most taxpayer-subsidized population--to the tune of trillions of dollars per decade--is so rabidly anti-safety net never fails to enrage me. Every time some service member or veteran brings up TANSTAAFL after living on free lunches for years or even decades at a time, I'm reminded how insanely selfish they have become because that 50's-era American Dream™ bullshit hasn't been killed off.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:33 PM on May 10, 2018 [67 favorites]
Whether or not Greenberg Traurig would condone handling hush-money, pseudonymous, hidden and NDA-protected payments with their client's knowledge, and at their client's direction, is left unanswered.
IIRC one is a violation of the Bar's code of ethics, and the other is not. That IS a notable distinction, and I applaud the way Greenberg-Trauing navigated these shoals.
posted by mikelieman at 12:33 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
IIRC one is a violation of the Bar's code of ethics, and the other is not. That IS a notable distinction, and I applaud the way Greenberg-Trauing navigated these shoals.
posted by mikelieman at 12:33 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Military family housing is usually fairly spacious, with lawns and safe playgrounds, military schools are nice, military childcare is inexpensive.
Medicare and Military Housing for All?
Military medical care is also totally covered, too (at least until you have PTSD or some other ongoing issue and they'd rather find a bullshit way to push you out of the service on something other than an honorable discharge so you don't get VA benefits). The entire rationale behind the removal of my wisdom teeth was, "Hey, you're getting out soon, if we do this for you now you won't have to pay for it."
I bring this up because there's a lot of blind ableism in our society--it's not just the military, but the whole problem sure intersects. A lot of conservative bullshit about college tuition and medical benefits and such will go to bullshit arguments like "Why don't you join the military and earn it?" In addition to ignoring the fact that you shouldn't have to, this also completely, blindly ignores the fact that the military really isn't for everyone. That's not a moral failure on anyone's part, and it's bullshit to judge people on that.
Yet when you have "earned" your benefits, it's easy to fall into a resentful argument of "Why didn't they earn it like I did?" without ever considering how many people literally can't "earn it" (again, acknowledging that it's bullshit to even expect this).
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:38 PM on May 10, 2018 [35 favorites]
Medicare and Military Housing for All?
Military medical care is also totally covered, too (at least until you have PTSD or some other ongoing issue and they'd rather find a bullshit way to push you out of the service on something other than an honorable discharge so you don't get VA benefits). The entire rationale behind the removal of my wisdom teeth was, "Hey, you're getting out soon, if we do this for you now you won't have to pay for it."
I bring this up because there's a lot of blind ableism in our society--it's not just the military, but the whole problem sure intersects. A lot of conservative bullshit about college tuition and medical benefits and such will go to bullshit arguments like "Why don't you join the military and earn it?" In addition to ignoring the fact that you shouldn't have to, this also completely, blindly ignores the fact that the military really isn't for everyone. That's not a moral failure on anyone's part, and it's bullshit to judge people on that.
Yet when you have "earned" your benefits, it's easy to fall into a resentful argument of "Why didn't they earn it like I did?" without ever considering how many people literally can't "earn it" (again, acknowledging that it's bullshit to even expect this).
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:38 PM on May 10, 2018 [35 favorites]
Anyway, in happier news, the Louisiana House passed HB265, which would restore full voting rights to 70,000 people on probation or parole. It still has to make it through the Senate and the governor's desk, but it's a good start.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:42 PM on May 10, 2018 [54 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 12:42 PM on May 10, 2018 [54 favorites]
Lifestyle, mostly. Military lifestyle is /very/ ideal-1950s American - because of the way housing works, you can have as many kids as you want and still afford to keep them. Military family housing is usually fairly spacious, with lawns and safe playgrounds, military schools are nice, military childcare is inexpensive.
Indeed, growing up as a military dependent is one of the main reasons I am a Socialist to this day. I've seen how well socialism does actually work, AND it was my childhood.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:42 PM on May 10, 2018 [39 favorites]
Indeed, growing up as a military dependent is one of the main reasons I am a Socialist to this day. I've seen how well socialism does actually work, AND it was my childhood.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:42 PM on May 10, 2018 [39 favorites]
AFP, US says Iran nuclear inspections must continue: officials
I trust North Korea is taking notes on all of this.
posted by zachlipton at 12:45 PM on May 10, 2018 [57 favorites]
"We expect Iran will continue to implement the Additional Protocol and cooperate with the IAEA whether or not the JCPOA remains in place," one senior administration official said.These would be the IAEA inspections Trump ridiculed. Our position is now that we can rip up the deal, but still expect Iran to comply with it. That is pretty Trumpian; same theory by which he didn't pay his creditors but expected them to uphold their end of the bargain.
I trust North Korea is taking notes on all of this.
posted by zachlipton at 12:45 PM on May 10, 2018 [57 favorites]
A lot of conservative bullshit about college tuition and medical benefits and such will go to bullshit arguments like "Why don't you join the military and earn it?" In addition to ignoring the fact that you shouldn't have to, this also completely, blindly ignores the fact that the military really isn't for everyone. That's not a moral failure on anyone's part, and it's bullshit to judge people on that.
I really, truly think that if we are ever to have a compromise on this kind of thing in this country, it will be something like the CCC - where in order for taking a job in public service, you are provided with a wage, healthcare, access to good housing, education for your kids, etc. Because while you're right - the military is not for everyone - everyone has a place in public service. Everyone has a place in serving their community. You can serve your community in so many ways. Even the most severely disabled can still serve. And then you get away from the 'people who don't want to work' narrative, because people will be working, just for good purposes. Teachers, social workers, firefighters, doctors, childcare workers. There are so, so many ways to do something good.
posted by corb at 12:47 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
I really, truly think that if we are ever to have a compromise on this kind of thing in this country, it will be something like the CCC - where in order for taking a job in public service, you are provided with a wage, healthcare, access to good housing, education for your kids, etc. Because while you're right - the military is not for everyone - everyone has a place in public service. Everyone has a place in serving their community. You can serve your community in so many ways. Even the most severely disabled can still serve. And then you get away from the 'people who don't want to work' narrative, because people will be working, just for good purposes. Teachers, social workers, firefighters, doctors, childcare workers. There are so, so many ways to do something good.
posted by corb at 12:47 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
That is pretty Trumpian; same theory by which he didn't pay his creditors but expected them to uphold their end of the bargain. . . AND then sue them for more money. It's the always-be-a-bully defect of his mind. Not room for any actual ideas in that head, just knock everyone down, and then kick. Repeat.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 12:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Even the most severely disabled can still serve.
No. Some people can't. Some people literally take more out of the system than they can ever put back in, under any realistic metric. That's why we need to get away from a "Public service earns citizenship" outlook and just go with "Everyone deserves certain basic things because everyone just does."
posted by Etrigan at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [187 favorites]
No. Some people can't. Some people literally take more out of the system than they can ever put back in, under any realistic metric. That's why we need to get away from a "Public service earns citizenship" outlook and just go with "Everyone deserves certain basic things because everyone just does."
posted by Etrigan at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [187 favorites]
The Post dug into Hannity's real estate empire. Turns out he's as much of an asshole as a landlord as he is otherwise. At Sean Hannity properties in low-income areas, an aggressive approach to rent collection
posted by zachlipton at 1:07 PM on May 10, 2018 [85 favorites]
But a Washington Post analysis shows that managers at Hannity’s four largest apartment complexes in Georgia have taken an unusually aggressive approach to rent collection. They have sought court-ordered evictions at twice the statewide rate — in a state known for high numbers of evictions and landlord-friendly laws — and frequently have done so less than two weeks after a missed payment.The amount of bad behavior that has come out because Trump slept with Stormy Daniels (and because she's has the incredible guts to come forward) is astonishing.
Property managers at the complexes sought to evict tenants more than 230 times in 2017, court records show. At one, a 112-unit subdivision in a suburb west of Atlanta, 94 eviction actions were filed last year, records show.
Among the tenants Hannity’s property managers sought to evict, records show, were a former corrections officer and her wife, who fell behind while awaiting a disability determination; a double amputee who had lived in an apartment with her daughter for five years but did not pay on time after being hospitalized; and a single mother of three whose $980 rent check was rejected because she could not come up with a $1,050 cleaning fee for a bedbug infestation.
posted by zachlipton at 1:07 PM on May 10, 2018 [85 favorites]
I really, really look forward to the day a few years from now when the book is published that says "And then the mob people said 'oh, fuck!' when Trump was elected, because they knew that everything would be exposed then."
posted by Melismata at 1:10 PM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 1:10 PM on May 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
I think housing, health care, and other necessities ought to be provided for everyone. (I also think that the amount of bureaucratic hoops to jump through must be curtailed as well. I think that serves just to degrade recipients.) With the amount of food that gets wasted, I think that some kind of EBT card (aka food stamps, just not "stamps" anymore) can be provided for everyone as well.
But I'm also in favor of a jobs-for-everyone or modern day Works Progress Administration. I really do like the idea of a mincome, but I think it could be combined with a WPA because there is so much work to be done on our infrastructure, caring for our children and elderly, getting addicts clean and sober, and our arts, our written word, and our music. There's bunches and tons of work to do! And I think Corb has a point - joining the military shouldn't be a necessity for people who want to work (and have college funded for them) - a musician, for instance, could be part of a WPA, same with a writer, an addiction counselor, childcare provider, etc.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:12 PM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
But I'm also in favor of a jobs-for-everyone or modern day Works Progress Administration. I really do like the idea of a mincome, but I think it could be combined with a WPA because there is so much work to be done on our infrastructure, caring for our children and elderly, getting addicts clean and sober, and our arts, our written word, and our music. There's bunches and tons of work to do! And I think Corb has a point - joining the military shouldn't be a necessity for people who want to work (and have college funded for them) - a musician, for instance, could be part of a WPA, same with a writer, an addiction counselor, childcare provider, etc.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:12 PM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
It looks like prescience, but it was probably a combination of basic research and educated guessing, when the Onion published this on Tuesday: Sean Hannity Informs Building Tenants About Deep-State Conspiracy Forcing Him To Triple Rent
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
... the military really isn't for everyone.
Including the Commander in Chief, apparently.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:17 PM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
Including the Commander in Chief, apparently.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:17 PM on May 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
I really, truly think that if we are ever to have a compromise on this kind of thing in this country, it will be something like the CCC - where in order for taking a job in public service, you are provided with a wage, healthcare, access to good housing, education for your kids, etc.
Other people have already touched on why this is a bad idea, but it's also really bad framing to call it a "compromise." We've already been down this road before, and as always it's been conservatives who undid any good work that has existed. To call it a compromise is just more of the same bothsides-ism and rightward pushing of the Overton Window that got us into the shitstorm we're in today. It's the same as trying to "compromise" on really awful proto-fascist stuff like blatantly racist voter suppression that so-called"moderates" supported and largely continue to (quietly) support.
posted by zombieflanders at 1:22 PM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
Other people have already touched on why this is a bad idea, but it's also really bad framing to call it a "compromise." We've already been down this road before, and as always it's been conservatives who undid any good work that has existed. To call it a compromise is just more of the same bothsides-ism and rightward pushing of the Overton Window that got us into the shitstorm we're in today. It's the same as trying to "compromise" on really awful proto-fascist stuff like blatantly racist voter suppression that so-called"moderates" supported and largely continue to (quietly) support.
posted by zombieflanders at 1:22 PM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
Fox Business host apologizes after analyst says torture 'worked on' McCain
Fox Business Network host Charles Payne apologized on Thursday, after an analyst who appeared on his show said that torture "worked on" Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
"This morning on a show I was hosting, a guest made a very false and derogatory remark about Senator John McCain. At the time, I had the control room in my ear telling me to wrap the segment, and did not hear the comment," Payne tweeted. "I regret I did not catch this remark, as it should have been challenged. As a proud military veteran and son of a Vietnam Vet these words neither reflect my or the network's feelings about Senator McCain, or his remarkable service and sacrifice to this country."
Ah, the classic Spontaneous Ephemeral Deafness defense.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:22 PM on May 10, 2018 [55 favorites]
Fox Business Network host Charles Payne apologized on Thursday, after an analyst who appeared on his show said that torture "worked on" Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
"This morning on a show I was hosting, a guest made a very false and derogatory remark about Senator John McCain. At the time, I had the control room in my ear telling me to wrap the segment, and did not hear the comment," Payne tweeted. "I regret I did not catch this remark, as it should have been challenged. As a proud military veteran and son of a Vietnam Vet these words neither reflect my or the network's feelings about Senator McCain, or his remarkable service and sacrifice to this country."
Ah, the classic Spontaneous Ephemeral Deafness defense.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:22 PM on May 10, 2018 [55 favorites]
We have a lot of infrastructure deficiencies. This is the perfect time for a WPA type of program. Our national parks need a lot of work. This is the perfect time for a CCC type of program. In the older neighborhoods in Tucson, there's sidewalks here that still have the WPA stamp on them from when they were built (and the WPA sidewalks tend to still be in good shape.) In national parks all over the place, there are buildings and paths and trails and such that were built the the CCC that are still in use. Any Grand Canyon hiker who has hiked up Bright Angel trail has spent some time resting in one of the resthouses that were built 80-ish years ago, and River Trail, a trail that took a lot of complicated work, is in use every single day by hikers and by the mules that can't cross the Silver Bridge and need to use Black Bridge. Bring these types of programs back.
posted by azpenguin at 1:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 1:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [31 favorites]
I really, truly think that if we are ever to have a compromise on this kind of thing in this country, it will be something like the CCC - where in order for taking a job in public service, you are provided with a wage, healthcare, access to good housing, education for your kids, etc.
As of today, this country can't even do that much for active service members and their families.
If a new CCC program were to be launched, the current system's problems would need to be fix first.
posted by zarq at 1:28 PM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
As of today, this country can't even do that much for active service members and their families.
The report found that about 23,000 active-duty service members received food stamps in 2013, according to U.S. Census data. Information from the Department of Defense Education Activity showed that in September 2015, 24 percent of 23,000 children in U.S. DoDEA schools were eligible for free meals, while 21 percent were eligible for reduced-price meals.The VA's backlog for health care services and claims is well documented.
If a new CCC program were to be launched, the current system's problems would need to be fix first.
posted by zarq at 1:28 PM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
Ah, the classic Spontaneous Ephemeral Deafness defense.
FWIW, as someone who has worked a job where I had to wear a radio earpiece while also juggling customers and phones, I believe Payne. When you have someone talking in your ear, your comprehension/perception of other speakers right in front of you goes straight to hell, and you can miss a lot. It's not out of the realm of possibility, and ultimately the responsibility for McInerney's comments lies with McInerney.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:31 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
FWIW, as someone who has worked a job where I had to wear a radio earpiece while also juggling customers and phones, I believe Payne. When you have someone talking in your ear, your comprehension/perception of other speakers right in front of you goes straight to hell, and you can miss a lot. It's not out of the realm of possibility, and ultimately the responsibility for McInerney's comments lies with McInerney.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:31 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
Bring these types of programs back.
It won't work without universal healthcare coverage. The WPA was founded and dissolved before the advent of public health insurance. Hell, penicillin didn't come into widespread use until the early 1940's. Most health insurance access today is provided by employers, not a state or a federal government. Medicare and Medicaid already creak along, and their range and depth of coverage aren't ideal.
To do this, we would have to expand the ranks of medicare and medicaid to cover everyone employed by a new WPA. Which Republicans do not want to do.
posted by zarq at 1:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
It won't work without universal healthcare coverage. The WPA was founded and dissolved before the advent of public health insurance. Hell, penicillin didn't come into widespread use until the early 1940's. Most health insurance access today is provided by employers, not a state or a federal government. Medicare and Medicaid already creak along, and their range and depth of coverage aren't ideal.
To do this, we would have to expand the ranks of medicare and medicaid to cover everyone employed by a new WPA. Which Republicans do not want to do.
posted by zarq at 1:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Anybody else get the feeling that Trump is going to strike a "deal" with North Korea that basically mirrors the deal he just violated with Iran? Except that NK already has nukes? So basically a worse version of the Iran deal which he touts as a major achievement while simultaneously calling the Iran deal the worst deal in history?
I would put that at about 60% at this point. The odds of North Korea actually giving up nukes are less than 10%. The odds of them giving up nukes without requiring a complete withdrawal of US forces from South Korea are less than 1%.
posted by Justinian at 1:37 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
I would put that at about 60% at this point. The odds of North Korea actually giving up nukes are less than 10%. The odds of them giving up nukes without requiring a complete withdrawal of US forces from South Korea are less than 1%.
posted by Justinian at 1:37 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
I just noticed a couple weeks ago that in the city park I run in, all of the stone bridges and steps (this is Pittsburgh, so there are a lot of both) have "WPA 1939" carved into them. Those bridges and steps have been there for nearly 100 years, they're solid and well-made, and have lasted infinitely better than the infrastructure put in in the 1970s-Present.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:58 PM on May 10, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:58 PM on May 10, 2018 [56 favorites]
azpenguin: We have a lot of infrastructure deficiencies.
American Society of Civil Engineer's Infrastructure Report Card agrees: D+ in aggregate, with only rail scoring a B (which is by-and-large privately owned, so it's not really a fair comparison when the cost to move goods includes the cost to maintain the infrastructure), and similarly, ports score a C+ (though there's a mix of private and public ownership here), as does solid waste (ditto private ownership).
Bridges are the only outlier of public infrastructure, and that's because bridge failures are catastrophic, so bridge maintenance has been a priority at the state level, going so far that the state departments of transportation evaluate all public vehicular bridges in their state.
Otherwise, it's a sea of Ds for aviation, dams, drinking water, energy, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, public parks, roads, schools, transit and wastewater.
Caveat: America’s infrastructure gets a D+. That’s not as bad as it sounds. (Washington Post, 2013 -- snarky URL reads "good news Americas infrastructure is now 5 percent less shoddy")
posted by filthy light thief at 2:11 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
American Society of Civil Engineer's Infrastructure Report Card agrees: D+ in aggregate, with only rail scoring a B (which is by-and-large privately owned, so it's not really a fair comparison when the cost to move goods includes the cost to maintain the infrastructure), and similarly, ports score a C+ (though there's a mix of private and public ownership here), as does solid waste (ditto private ownership).
Bridges are the only outlier of public infrastructure, and that's because bridge failures are catastrophic, so bridge maintenance has been a priority at the state level, going so far that the state departments of transportation evaluate all public vehicular bridges in their state.
Otherwise, it's a sea of Ds for aviation, dams, drinking water, energy, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, public parks, roads, schools, transit and wastewater.
Caveat: America’s infrastructure gets a D+. That’s not as bad as it sounds. (Washington Post, 2013 -- snarky URL reads "good news Americas infrastructure is now 5 percent less shoddy")
experts say we should approach this figure skeptically. The ASCE is very good at pointing out engineering deficiencies in our infrastructure — but not so good on whether it's actually beneficial to upgrade. "We need this report to point out problems," says Joshua Schank of the Eno Center on Transportation. "But if you're thinking about policy, you have to think more broadly than that."Still, with current funding levels, existing debt burdens, aging infrastructure and increasing use (due to increasing population), infrastructure nation-wide is definitely in need of improvement.
Indeed, it's worth noting that the ASCE always gives U.S. infrastructure poor grades. From reading past reports, you'd get the impression that it's a miracle the United States is even a functioning country. And it's hardly surprising that an engineering group is in favor of trillions in additional spending on civil-engineering projects.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:11 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
... the military really isn't for everyone.
Including the Commander in Chief, apparently.
I was fine with that fact when it was Barack Obama and I'm basically fine with it when it's Donald Trump, up to the point when one starts using the military to burnish one's status as a tough guy and denigrating those who did serve -- or their parents -- because of political disagreements.
posted by Gelatin at 2:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
Including the Commander in Chief, apparently.
I was fine with that fact when it was Barack Obama and I'm basically fine with it when it's Donald Trump, up to the point when one starts using the military to burnish one's status as a tough guy and denigrating those who did serve -- or their parents -- because of political disagreements.
posted by Gelatin at 2:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
Sudden Departure Of White House Global Health Security Head Has Experts Worried. That's the guy on the National Security Council who coordinates global health situations, but we wouldn't need to worry about anything like that because it's not like there's a anything—*is handed piece of paper* fast moving Ebola outbreak in the DRC.
This is the kind of crisis not of Trump's own making that everyone has been worried about. The Obama administration took great care to coordinate a global response in 2014. It's unlikely the current inhabitants can do so, or even can be bothered to try.
posted by zachlipton at 2:16 PM on May 10, 2018 [31 favorites]
This is the kind of crisis not of Trump's own making that everyone has been worried about. The Obama administration took great care to coordinate a global response in 2014. It's unlikely the current inhabitants can do so, or even can be bothered to try.
posted by zachlipton at 2:16 PM on May 10, 2018 [31 favorites]
This is the perfect time for a WPA type of program.
A lot of reasons why these kinds of “compromises” aren’t really compromises in good faith. Conservatives nipped and bit at the WPA (like say limiting employment to one person per household) until it couldn’t get big enough to threaten the existing power structure and then instantly turned around to destroy whatever gains made.
posted by The Whelk at 2:18 PM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
A lot of reasons why these kinds of “compromises” aren’t really compromises in good faith. Conservatives nipped and bit at the WPA (like say limiting employment to one person per household) until it couldn’t get big enough to threaten the existing power structure and then instantly turned around to destroy whatever gains made.
posted by The Whelk at 2:18 PM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
Since we have a president who ran on a platform of rebuilding infrastructure and "making America great again," it sure seems like a great time for Democrats get on board with a retro-styled, FDR-referencing, Great-Society-reviving slate of reforms that makes taxing the plutocrats and using the proceeds to fix the infrastructure and build a new middle class their explicit top priority. Call it the WPA, call it something new, just fucking say it unashamedly and often. Wanna grab headlines away from Trump's spectacle? Talk about wealth redistribution and don't flinch when you say it. Tax the rich, restore America.
posted by contraption at 2:23 PM on May 10, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by contraption at 2:23 PM on May 10, 2018 [44 favorites]
Our position is now that we can rip up the deal, but still expect Iran to comply with it. That is pretty Trumpian
For those keeping score at home, this is also pretty much the grand plan of the Brexiteers - who are now whining mightily every time the EU says that the UK cannot in fact continue to play with all the nice things now that it's leaving the club. The argument was literally 'they need us more than we need them'; turns out this isn't the case. But the EU is now being blamed for everything, at least by the rancid side of the press and the Brexit wingnuts, so this is exactly what you should expect to happen as 45's bright ideas come home to roost - always, always, always the other side's fault for not kow-towing while being stiffed.
posted by Devonian at 2:24 PM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
For those keeping score at home, this is also pretty much the grand plan of the Brexiteers - who are now whining mightily every time the EU says that the UK cannot in fact continue to play with all the nice things now that it's leaving the club. The argument was literally 'they need us more than we need them'; turns out this isn't the case. But the EU is now being blamed for everything, at least by the rancid side of the press and the Brexit wingnuts, so this is exactly what you should expect to happen as 45's bright ideas come home to roost - always, always, always the other side's fault for not kow-towing while being stiffed.
posted by Devonian at 2:24 PM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
Report of the Senate Judiciary Committee Minority Members:Review of Republican Efforts to Stack Federal Courts (PDF; via @lawrencehurley)
posted by melissasaurus at 2:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 2:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
Oh. More workplace bullying (and human rights abuses). NYT, Homeland Security Secretary Was Close to Resigning After Trump Berated Her
Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, told colleagues she was close to resigning after President Trump berated her on Wednesday in front of the entire cabinet for what he said was her failure to adequately secure the nation’s borders, according to several current and former officials familiar with the incident.posted by zachlipton at 2:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [37 favorites]
Ms. Nielsen, who is a protégée of John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, has drafted a resignation letter but has not submitted it, according to two of the people. As the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Ms. Nielsen is in charge of the 20,000 border agents who work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Mr. Trump’s anger toward Ms. Nielsen at the cabinet meeting was part of a lengthy tirade in which the president railed at his entire cabinet about what he said was their lack of progress toward sealing the country’s borders against illegal immigrants, according to one person who was present at the meeting.
...
During the meeting, Mr. Trump yelled about the fact that the United States has a porous border and said that more needs to be done to fix that. When members of his cabinet pointed out that the country relies on day-laborers who cross the border each day, Mr. Trump said that is fine, but continued to complain, one person said.
Ms. Nielsen viewed the president’s rant as directed mostly at her and told associates after the meeting that she should not continue in the job if the president did not view her as effective. One person close to Ms. Nielsen said she is miserable in her job.
...
One persistent issue has been Mr. Trump’s belief that Ms. Nielsen and other officials in the department were resisting his direction that parents should be separated from their children when families cross illegally into the United States, the people said. The president and his aides in the White House had been pushing a family separation policy for weeks as a way of deterring families from trying to cross the border illegally.
If I had a nickel for every time a member of the Trump regime was reportedly "close to resigning" I'd have a lot of nickels. You either have dignity, honor, and self-respect or you don't. You get no points for almost having a spine and standing up to the bully-in-chief.
Another way to word these headlines is "Kirstjen Nielsen abjectly fails major personal test."
posted by Justinian at 2:39 PM on May 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
Another way to word these headlines is "Kirstjen Nielsen abjectly fails major personal test."
posted by Justinian at 2:39 PM on May 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
@MarshallCohen: CNN can now confirm that AT&T paid Michael Cohen a total of $600,000 and that the payments were made throughout 2017, essentially all year. @brianstelter reports that Cohen got $50,000/month. A spokesman for AT&T declined to describe how the company struck the deal with Cohen.
We're just going to have one of these "found some more money" stories every day, aren't we?
posted by zachlipton at 2:40 PM on May 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
We're just going to have one of these "found some more money" stories every day, aren't we?
posted by zachlipton at 2:40 PM on May 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
One person close to Ms. Nielsen said she is miserable in her job.
That sucks for anyone not directly supporting trump in word, thought, and deed. In this case, I'll allow it.
posted by petebest at 2:42 PM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
That sucks for anyone not directly supporting trump in word, thought, and deed. In this case, I'll allow it.
posted by petebest at 2:42 PM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
One person close to Ms. Nielsen said she is miserable in her job.
She's in the process of transforming into a brilliantly translucent winged dignity wraith. Sure, the chrysalis stage involves some pain and misery, but the ability to float nearly unseen once she wriggles, damp and shiny, from the cocoon is well worth it.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:53 PM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
She's in the process of transforming into a brilliantly translucent winged dignity wraith. Sure, the chrysalis stage involves some pain and misery, but the ability to float nearly unseen once she wriggles, damp and shiny, from the cocoon is well worth it.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:53 PM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
The Hill says this happened. White House official mocked ‘dying’ McCain at internal meeting
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [77 favorites]
Special assistant Kelly Sadler made the derisive comments during a closed-door White House meeting of about two-dozen communications staffers on Thursday morning.Republicans should remember this is the reward for a lifetime of service to the party. And that the White House can't even be bothered to deny it is a hell of a thing.
“It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway,” Sadler said, according to a source familiar with the remarks at the meeting.
The White House did not deny the account of Sadler’s remarks, which came amid a discussion of Haspel’s nomination and McCain’s opposition to it.
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [77 favorites]
it sure seems like a great time for Democrats get on board with a retro-styled, FDR-referencing, Great-Society-reviving slate of reforms that makes taxing the plutocrats and using the proceeds to fix the infrastructure and build a new middle class their explicit top priority. Call it the WPA, call it something new, just fucking say it unashamedly and often.
I wanted Obama to do something like this when he took office. It was a great opportunity for it. Since Trump took positions all over the map, I agreed with him that we need to improve our infrastructure, but I never l believed he actually had a plan to do it.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
I wanted Obama to do something like this when he took office. It was a great opportunity for it. Since Trump took positions all over the map, I agreed with him that we need to improve our infrastructure, but I never l believed he actually had a plan to do it.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sure, the chrysalis stage involves some pain and misery, but the ability to float nearly unseen once she wriggles, damp and shiny, from the cocoon is well worth it.
They basically dissolve themselves into an amorphous mess of protein-rich goo during the chrysalis stage, which does sound like it could be painful.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:58 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
They basically dissolve themselves into an amorphous mess of protein-rich goo during the chrysalis stage, which does sound like it could be painful.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:58 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
Nielsen was the flunky who, in defense of Trump's "shithole countries" epithet, claimed with a straight face that she didn't know whether Norway was majority white. I will commence playing my sad song for her as soon as I can locate a violin small enough for the occasion.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:59 PM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 2:59 PM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
It got worse again. Cohen’s $600,000 deal with AT&T specified he would advise on Time Warner merger, internal company records show
posted by zachlipton at 3:01 PM on May 10, 2018 [48 favorites]
The internal documents reveal for the first time that Cohen’s $600,000 deal with AT&T specified that he would provide advice on the $85 billion merger, which required the approval of federal antitrust regulators.Again, Trump described Cohen as his lawyer in the present tense last month: "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael."
Trump had voiced opposition to the merger during the campaign and his administration ultimately sided against AT&T. The Department of Justice filed suit in November to block the deal, a case that is still pending.
...
It is unclear what insight Cohen — a longtime real estate attorney and former taxi cab operator — could have provided AT&T on complex telecom matters.
...
A “scope of work” describing Cohen’s contract in an internal AT&T document shows that he was hired to “focus on specific long-term planning initiatives as well as the immediate issue of corporate tax reform and the acquisition of Time Warner.”
He was also directed to “creatively address political and communications issues” facing the company and advise the company on matters before the Federal Communications Commission.
posted by zachlipton at 3:01 PM on May 10, 2018 [48 favorites]
I totally get and agree with the pushback against a "Starship Troopers" style service-earns-citizenship scheme, but I wonder if that's what corb really intended to suggest? The benefits of the welfare state* should be universal, not contingent on work, but the right to do good and meaningful work that contributes to your society should itself be a guarantee of the welfare state. This is basically the idea behind a federal jobs guarantee, after all. The good society should provide for the basic needs of its members, including the need to feel that they have earned their place in that society.
* Note, welfare state in the original and legitimate sense of "a state having the goal of providing for the common welfare of its citizenry," not the later Republican boogeyman sense of "poor people who look and act different from you are mooching off you"
posted by biogeo at 3:14 PM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
* Note, welfare state in the original and legitimate sense of "a state having the goal of providing for the common welfare of its citizenry," not the later Republican boogeyman sense of "poor people who look and act different from you are mooching off you"
posted by biogeo at 3:14 PM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
It's ok, tho:
The documents specified that Cohen, who was not a registered lobbyist, was to spend none of his time engaged in lobbying. They described his work as advising the company, not contacting federal officials.posted by pjenks at 3:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yes of course, Cohen is a well known subject matter expert when it comes to medicine, telecommunications, corporate mergers, and the military aircraft industries.
posted by rhizome at 3:38 PM on May 10, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 3:38 PM on May 10, 2018 [43 favorites]
Just a reminder, Trump's infrastructure plan was to give huge tax breaks to companies, cross his fingers, and hope they build stuff. If Trump had a plan to solve homelessness, the details would include mass incarceration and forced manual labor. There are two things he cares about: Getting rid of anyone who isn't white, and enriching billionaires.
posted by xammerboy at 3:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 3:55 PM on May 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
Just a reminder, Trump's infrastructure plan was to give huge tax breaks to companies, cross his fingers, and hope they build stuff.
Of course, but he did campaign on how shitty our national infrastructure is and how he, as a Big Important Dealmaking Builder, was the guy to cut through the red tape and fix it all up. It's absolutely incumbent on Democrats challenging him to agree with the premise (which is largely true,) point out his abject failure to fix it and lack of any plan to do so, and lay out the obvious policy platform to do it for real. Hell, let's have a big media blitz on the topic and call it Infrastructure Week.
posted by contraption at 4:05 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
Of course, but he did campaign on how shitty our national infrastructure is and how he, as a Big Important Dealmaking Builder, was the guy to cut through the red tape and fix it all up. It's absolutely incumbent on Democrats challenging him to agree with the premise (which is largely true,) point out his abject failure to fix it and lack of any plan to do so, and lay out the obvious policy platform to do it for real. Hell, let's have a big media blitz on the topic and call it Infrastructure Week.
posted by contraption at 4:05 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
I used to believe that conservatives were primarily driven by money. I found that wasn't true when I would explain that a lot of healthcare, housing solutions, food programs, etc. save money. There is a healthcare solution in place now. It's called go to the emergency room when your situation is life threatening and the costs to society will be enormous. Free, pro-active healthcare could save society a lot of money. Cheaper and better healthcare? There's no downside to this.
But they don't want healthcare because they don't want someone getting something for "free". They would rather pay more money, have less themselves, deny someone a basic necessity, than give away a "hand-out". It's hate and stupidity. If a community work program could change this, I would go for it.
posted by xammerboy at 4:09 PM on May 10, 2018 [62 favorites]
But they don't want healthcare because they don't want someone getting something for "free". They would rather pay more money, have less themselves, deny someone a basic necessity, than give away a "hand-out". It's hate and stupidity. If a community work program could change this, I would go for it.
posted by xammerboy at 4:09 PM on May 10, 2018 [62 favorites]
Uhhhh WHAT?
@kenvogel + @EricLiptonNYT + @LFFriedman: During trip to Italy, SCOTT PRUITT dined at a 5-star restaurant with a Cardinal who is a climate change skeptic, even though @EPA staff knew the Cardinal was under investigation for child sex abuse. But they omitted the Cardinal's name from schedules released under FOIA.
...
Documents show that there was also discussion of Cardinal Pell giving EPA's Scott Pruitt and senior members of his EPA team a private tour at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. This tour apparently did not take place. But it was planned. [a later tweet explains that the tour actually did take place] Here is a State Department Doc.
Agency staff had vetted the schedule--before the trip--and learned that Cardinal Pell was under investigation.
...
Bury the lead:: SCOTT PRUITT dined at a 5-star restaurant with a Cardinal who is a climate change skeptic, even though @EPA staff knew the Cardinal was under investigation for child sex abuse. The Cardinal's name is not included in schedules released at least so far under FOIA.
posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on May 10, 2018 [72 favorites]
@kenvogel + @EricLiptonNYT + @LFFriedman: During trip to Italy, SCOTT PRUITT dined at a 5-star restaurant with a Cardinal who is a climate change skeptic, even though @EPA staff knew the Cardinal was under investigation for child sex abuse. But they omitted the Cardinal's name from schedules released under FOIA.
...
Documents show that there was also discussion of Cardinal Pell giving EPA's Scott Pruitt and senior members of his EPA team a private tour at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. This tour apparently did not take place. But it was planned. [a later tweet explains that the tour actually did take place] Here is a State Department Doc.
Agency staff had vetted the schedule--before the trip--and learned that Cardinal Pell was under investigation.
...
Bury the lead:: SCOTT PRUITT dined at a 5-star restaurant with a Cardinal who is a climate change skeptic, even though @EPA staff knew the Cardinal was under investigation for child sex abuse. The Cardinal's name is not included in schedules released at least so far under FOIA.
posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on May 10, 2018 [72 favorites]
ok starting to get more concerned about what's been going on inside Pruitt's sound-proof privacy booth
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [38 favorites]
@MattLaslo: INTERESTING: "We don't have to worry about [AG Jeff] Sessions," @ChuckGrassley tells me on his effort to pass criminal justice reform that, unlike a new House effort, includes changing mandatory minimums. "You don't have to know why. We just don't have to worry about him."
I have absolutely no idea what this means. All I know is that every single thing I've posted in this thread today has gotten increasingly weird.
posted by zachlipton at 4:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [60 favorites]
I have absolutely no idea what this means. All I know is that every single thing I've posted in this thread today has gotten increasingly weird.
posted by zachlipton at 4:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [60 favorites]
In most administrations you get fired because your scandal(s) are embarrassing or otherwise politically-inconvenient for your boss, but if Pruitt ever gets fired it'll be because Trump got worried that people might start thinking Pruitt is even more corrupt and venal than he is.
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:45 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:45 PM on May 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
During trip to Italy, SCOTT PRUITT dined at a 5-star restaurant with a Cardinal who is a climate change skeptic, even though @EPA staff knew the Cardinal was under investigation for child sex abuse. But they omitted the Cardinal's name from schedules released under FOIA.
It's impressive how many ethical breaches it's possible to fit into two sentences.
posted by octothorpe at 4:52 PM on May 10, 2018 [118 favorites]
It's impressive how many ethical breaches it's possible to fit into two sentences.
posted by octothorpe at 4:52 PM on May 10, 2018 [118 favorites]
SCOTT PRUITT dined at a 5-star restaurant with a Cardinal who is a climate change skeptic, even though @EPA staff knew the Cardinal was under investigation for child sex abuse.
That a covered-up gourmet dinner with a pedophile Cardinal doesn't register as even a blip on the Pizzagate/QAnon radar screen should tell you all you need to know about how deep the nation's brain worms have burrowed.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:05 PM on May 10, 2018 [108 favorites]
That a covered-up gourmet dinner with a pedophile Cardinal doesn't register as even a blip on the Pizzagate/QAnon radar screen should tell you all you need to know about how deep the nation's brain worms have burrowed.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:05 PM on May 10, 2018 [108 favorites]
WaPo, In bid to reveal secret memo, GOP congressman plans to seek federal audit of Mueller probe
Meanwhile, Trump is in Indiana leading a crowd in chants of "drain the swamp" and decrying lobbyists and "corrupt Washington politics." Michael Cohen is laughing his ass off somewhere. He's moved on to explaining that people are "saying Merry Christmas again." It is May. May.
Now he's on a truly epic rant about embassy construction and real estate. It ends with him suggesting an "extension" for his Presidency to match how long he was originally told construction of a new Jerusalem embassy would take to build, but the media wouldn't like that, but "actually they would be happy, because when I'm not here, their ratings are going to sink, so they would be happy." [Clip]
And he teased a health care plan "coming out in the next four weeks," presumably this nonsense Pence has been working on.
----
Politico, previewing tomorrow's drug price speech Trump's drug plan to boost competition, aims to lower patient costs
posted by zachlipton at 5:20 PM on May 10, 2018 [41 favorites]
A prominent House Republican plans to ask a federal financial watchdog to audit the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, opening a new front of GOP attack on the secretive probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible ties to President Trump’s campaign.The cravenness of these people is astonishing.
The pending request — from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), an outspoken Trump defender who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus as well as a House oversight subcommittee — appears to be mainly calibrated to force the disclosure of a three-page Justice Department memo spelling out the authorized scope of Mueller’s investigation.
Meadows, speaking Thursday during a taping of C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” that is to air Sunday, said he believed the audit is required under federal law and could not be completed without an unredacted copy of the memo written in August 2017 by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.
Meanwhile, Trump is in Indiana leading a crowd in chants of "drain the swamp" and decrying lobbyists and "corrupt Washington politics." Michael Cohen is laughing his ass off somewhere. He's moved on to explaining that people are "saying Merry Christmas again." It is May. May.
Now he's on a truly epic rant about embassy construction and real estate. It ends with him suggesting an "extension" for his Presidency to match how long he was originally told construction of a new Jerusalem embassy would take to build, but the media wouldn't like that, but "actually they would be happy, because when I'm not here, their ratings are going to sink, so they would be happy." [Clip]
And he teased a health care plan "coming out in the next four weeks," presumably this nonsense Pence has been working on.
----
Politico, previewing tomorrow's drug price speech Trump's drug plan to boost competition, aims to lower patient costs
President Donald Trump on Friday will unveil a sweeping strategy for lowering drug prices that aims to reshape Medicare, boost competition and pressure foreign governments that the White House believes are “freeloading” off of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, two senior administration officials said Thursday nightSo Trump's big idea to lower drug costs is not to use the government's buying power to negotiate lower prices, but rather to whine about "free ride" foreign countries that do negotiate and get lower prices. As far as what good that would do: "The officials did not detail how they planned to get higher prices overseas, nor how that would in turn lower the cost of drugs in the U.S." Even if foreign countries somehow paid more, it's hard for me to fathom how that could possibly cause drug companies to lower their prices in the US, seeing as that's not how markets work anywhere.
....
But what the administration officials pitched during a call with reporters as “the most comprehensive” drug price plan in presidential history will stop short of radically overhauling the health care system by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate with drug makers — a step that Trump once endorsed on the campaign trail but later backed off.
“We are talking about something different,” one senior administration official said. “We’re not calling for Medicare negotiation in the way Democrats have called for.”
posted by zachlipton at 5:20 PM on May 10, 2018 [41 favorites]
That a covered-up gourmet dinner with a pedophile Cardinal doesn't register as even a blip on the Pizzagate/QAnon radar screen should tell you all you need to know about how deep the nation's brain worms have burrowed.
The conspiracy theory types are all absolutely uninterested in any kind of real word, actually verifiable conspiratorial behavior. In part it's because they are all right wing nuts so people on their "team" being up to no good doesn't suit them, but I think to extent it's because they like being part of a special secret club of special secret knowledge, and if you can just point at someone and say "oh yeah, that's guys a crook up to his neck in Russian mob money who is blatantly involved in a cover up of their abusive behavior towards women" or whatever it takes all the fun out of it for them.
posted by Artw at 5:23 PM on May 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
The conspiracy theory types are all absolutely uninterested in any kind of real word, actually verifiable conspiratorial behavior. In part it's because they are all right wing nuts so people on their "team" being up to no good doesn't suit them, but I think to extent it's because they like being part of a special secret club of special secret knowledge, and if you can just point at someone and say "oh yeah, that's guys a crook up to his neck in Russian mob money who is blatantly involved in a cover up of their abusive behavior towards women" or whatever it takes all the fun out of it for them.
posted by Artw at 5:23 PM on May 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
The conspiracy theory types are all absolutely uninterested in any kind of real word, actually verifiable conspiratorial behavior. In part it's because they are all right wing nuts so people on their "team" being up to no good doesn't suit them, but I think to extent it's because they like being part of a special secret club of special secret knowledge
I remember in High Weirdness By Mail the compiler noted that having what they think is "insider knowledge" and having special sooper-sekrit access that the sheeple out there don't, is what keeps cranks going. (And as I've said, we're now living in a world ruled by the High Weirdness kooks.)
It's a malign version of kids' clubhouses, or being part of a fandom. Talking in fanspeak with fellow Dr. Who or Harry Potter fans is harmless fun. The right-wing conspiracy version...not so much.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
I remember in High Weirdness By Mail the compiler noted that having what they think is "insider knowledge" and having special sooper-sekrit access that the sheeple out there don't, is what keeps cranks going. (And as I've said, we're now living in a world ruled by the High Weirdness kooks.)
It's a malign version of kids' clubhouses, or being part of a fandom. Talking in fanspeak with fellow Dr. Who or Harry Potter fans is harmless fun. The right-wing conspiracy version...not so much.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
It ends with him suggesting an "extension" for his Presidency to match how long he was originally told construction of a new Jerusalem embassy would take to build
You know, just tossing a trial balloon out there, haha only serious. Forget Mueller and impeachment, this guy's not planning to leave office at all, he's just trying to figure out how to sell it.
posted by mrgoat at 5:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
You know, just tossing a trial balloon out there, haha only serious. Forget Mueller and impeachment, this guy's not planning to leave office at all, he's just trying to figure out how to sell it.
posted by mrgoat at 5:35 PM on May 10, 2018 [30 favorites]
Totally normal thing for a grown man to say. Good to see Graydon Carter* is still living rent-free in Trump's head.
Aaron Rupar (ThinkProgress)
TRUMP: "We put our large beautiful hands (?) on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance."
VIDEO
Graydon Carter mocked Trump as a "short-fingered vulgarian" 30 years ago in Spy magazine.
posted by chris24 at 5:44 PM on May 10, 2018 [35 favorites]
Aaron Rupar (ThinkProgress)
TRUMP: "We put our large beautiful hands (?) on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance."
VIDEO
Graydon Carter mocked Trump as a "short-fingered vulgarian" 30 years ago in Spy magazine.
posted by chris24 at 5:44 PM on May 10, 2018 [35 favorites]
One of Republicans’ top vote suppressors gets caught saying the quiet part out loud
As governor, Republican Pat McCrory signed the most comprehensive voter suppression law in the nation. Indeed, this law was arguably the most aggressive attempt any state made to keep black voters away from the polls since the Jim Crow era. As a federal appeals court that struck the law down explained, state lawmakers studied racial voting patterns within the state, and then “enacted legislation restricting all — and only — practices disproportionately used by African Americans.”posted by T.D. Strange at 6:10 PM on May 10, 2018 [39 favorites]
...
“We’ve become a very segregated political system in Charlotte-Mecklenburg,” an agitated McCrory claimed in the opening of his radio show Wednesday. “The Democratic Party controls every political body in Charlotte-Mecklenburg,” and “the Black Political Caucus has total control over the Democratic Party.”
...“All primaries,” McCrory claimed, are “determined by the Black Political Caucus,” and this group “totally abandoned the white male Democratic sheriff.” “And not only did the Black Political Caucus bail on him,” the ex-governor continued, “every political leader — the mayor, Lyles, did not peep a word during this election.”
...
In 2016, when the fate of North Carolina’s voter suppression law was pending before the Supreme Court, McCrory’s lawyers made the improbable claim that provisions of the voter suppression law would actually increase black turnout (this claim was severely undercut by new data gathered during the 2016 election). As governor, in other words, McCrory tried to sell his voter suppression law as good for black people.
Now that he’s no longer in public office, however, McCrory appears more comfortable telling people how he really feels about allowing black people to gain political power.
"We don't have to worry about [AG Jeff] Sessions," @ChuckGrassley tells me on his effort to pass criminal justice reform that, unlike a new House effort, includes changing mandatory minimums. "You don't have to know why. We just don't have to worry about him."
Cool; as a citizen of Iowa I regard myself as needing to know why and will be asking my Senator's office in the morning
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:39 PM on May 10, 2018 [43 favorites]
Cool; as a citizen of Iowa I regard myself as needing to know why and will be asking my Senator's office in the morning
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:39 PM on May 10, 2018 [43 favorites]
Loony Left Uodate: The DSA released two big websites today, THE NATIONAL DESIGN COMMITTEE with art and resciurces for people and chapters across the country and NYC TECH ACTION WORKING GROUP, a central location for tech related socialist actions and organizing - related The Internet We Want
I remember a year ago when something like the national design committee was just a big idea in a brainstorming chart and now it’s REAL
posted by The Whelk at 6:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [52 favorites]
I remember a year ago when something like the national design committee was just a big idea in a brainstorming chart and now it’s REAL
posted by The Whelk at 6:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [52 favorites]
*starts scanning things in to the national design committee while holding sheets of watercolor paper like bales of wheat and looking forward into the glorious tomorrow*
posted by The Whelk at 7:01 PM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 7:01 PM on May 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
Everyone who insisted John Kelly was a voice of reason should be shunned.
On the administration's recently announced "zero tolerance" policy that calls for separating families who cross the border illegally and prosecuting themposted by zachlipton at 7:27 PM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
Let me step back and tell you that the vast majority of the people that move illegally into United States are not bad people. They're not criminals. They're not MS13. ... But they're also not people that would easily assimilate into the United States into our modern society. They're overwhelmingly rural people. In the countries they come from, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-grade educations are kind of the norm. They don't speak English; obviously that's a big thing. ... They don't integrate well; they don't have skills. They're not bad people. They're coming here for a reason. And I sympathize with the reason. But the laws are the laws. ... The big point is they elected to come illegally into the United States, and this is a technique that no one hopes will be used extensively or for very long.
Here's the fact sheet on Trump's drug pricing plan, to be announced tomorrow. I think Novartis got what it paid for: "Other countries use socialized healthcare to command unfairly low prices from U.S. drug makers."
Telling other countries to spend more on drugs is a. not going to be well-received or result in them randomly paying more, and b. not going to magically make drug companies charge Americans less.
Even if I'm somehow successful in getting my neighbor's rent raised, my landlord isn't going to lower mine as a result.
posted by zachlipton at 7:37 PM on May 10, 2018 [38 favorites]
Telling other countries to spend more on drugs is a. not going to be well-received or result in them randomly paying more, and b. not going to magically make drug companies charge Americans less.
Even if I'm somehow successful in getting my neighbor's rent raised, my landlord isn't going to lower mine as a result.
posted by zachlipton at 7:37 PM on May 10, 2018 [38 favorites]
But they're also not people that would easily assimilate into the United States into our modern society. They're overwhelmingly rural people.
Oh. Like Republicans?
posted by kirkaracha at 7:40 PM on May 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
Oh. Like Republicans?
posted by kirkaracha at 7:40 PM on May 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
Even if foreign countries somehow paid more, it's hard for me to fathom how that could possibly cause drug companies to lower their prices in the US, seeing as that's not how markets work anywhere.
I'm starting to think that if it weren't for the massive money laundering operation that kept him afloat, Trump would probably be broke and homeless somewhere, as he is a phenomenally shitty businessman.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:47 PM on May 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
I'm starting to think that if it weren't for the massive money laundering operation that kept him afloat, Trump would probably be broke and homeless somewhere, as he is a phenomenally shitty businessman.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:47 PM on May 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
Was Scott Pruitt Catholic? He was not. He is, Southern Baptist Evangelical. I went for information on his faithical views but got hypmotize by the picture at the top of the article. I am no closer to solving for his character.
posted by petebest at 7:52 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by petebest at 7:52 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Post version of the Sec. Nielsen story, Trump unloads on Homeland Security secretary in lengthy immigration tirade, has a twist. it says her colleageus say she didn't threaten to quit, but:
He really thinks we can close the border. And had to be told why that would be bad.
The numbers also aren't true. 50K combines total apprehensions by the border patrol and the total number of people found inadmissible at southern border crossings. The latter category (12-13K people/month) aren't trying to cross illegally. This continues the White House trend of conflating people entering illegally with asylum claimants who present themselves at border crossings (even as CBP is dreadfully slow to process asylum claims at the ports). This is fundamentally because they don't consider people coming to the border to legally claim asylum to be legitimate, so they lie and pretend the law doesn't exist.
posted by zachlipton at 7:54 PM on May 10, 2018 [53 favorites]
Trump lashed out at his Cabinet, and Nielsen in particular, when told that the number of people arrested for illegally crossing the Mexico border topped 50,000 for the second consecutive month. The blowup lasted more than 30 minutes, according to a person with knowledge of what transpired, as Trump’s face reddened and he raised his voice, saying Nielsen needed to “close down” the border.This explains a somewhat odd sentence in the Times version of the story: "When members of his cabinet pointed out that the country relies on day-laborers who cross the border each day, Mr. Trump said that is fine, but continued to complain, one person said."
“Why don’t you have solutions? How is this still happening?” he said, adding later, “We need to shut it down. We’re closed.”
...
Trump’s tirade went on so long that many present began fidgeting in their seats and flashing grimaces, White House aides said. Eventually, the topic moved on to health care, bringing relief to many in the room.
He really thinks we can close the border. And had to be told why that would be bad.
The numbers also aren't true. 50K combines total apprehensions by the border patrol and the total number of people found inadmissible at southern border crossings. The latter category (12-13K people/month) aren't trying to cross illegally. This continues the White House trend of conflating people entering illegally with asylum claimants who present themselves at border crossings (even as CBP is dreadfully slow to process asylum claims at the ports). This is fundamentally because they don't consider people coming to the border to legally claim asylum to be legitimate, so they lie and pretend the law doesn't exist.
posted by zachlipton at 7:54 PM on May 10, 2018 [53 favorites]
$12 lettuce, here we come!
posted by rhizome at 8:12 PM on May 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 8:12 PM on May 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
People believe in conspiracy theories because all conspiracy theories are simple to understand. To regular folks, conspiracy theories are convoluted, arbitrary, dumb-on-it's-face, wacky-assed garbage. They might be complicated, but they're never complex. Conspiracy theory fans are comforted by having one or two easy explanations that explain everything. People with even the minimum of curiosity know there're lots of complex reasons underlying anything of consequence.
To just scratch the surface of how many factors go into e.g., the fluoridation of tap water as a municipal policy: there's science (chemistry, medicine, statistics, epidemiology, environmental considerations), there's economics (pricing, sourcing, hiring, testing at every stage), and of course there's the politics (speeches, white papers, newspaper columns, votes, appointments)... Each of those sub-factors having it's own fractal complexity to boot.
Do everyday folks think about all that when they turn on the tap? No. My point is this: only absolute fools think that their water was fluoridated so that the Soviets could use their TVs to shoot X-rays to peek at their undies. Or that you can't really go to real jail if the flag in your courtroom has a gold fringe. Or pizza basements. Or that Donald Trump is shrewd.
That kind of shit is only believed by people who won't think for more than one measly second. They don't consider nuance because nuance upsets them. They replace contemplation with feeling, and inquiry with conviction. Why? I don't think that their minds are cognitively incapable. I think it's because they can't stand to admit ignorance long enough to learn even one damn thing. It's a stark blinding fear of appearing foolish to anyone, ever, so they double down, over and over again. Then there's the malicious exploiters, like Bannon, who weaponize them.
These idjits are having their golden age with the current administration.
posted by wires at 8:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
To just scratch the surface of how many factors go into e.g., the fluoridation of tap water as a municipal policy: there's science (chemistry, medicine, statistics, epidemiology, environmental considerations), there's economics (pricing, sourcing, hiring, testing at every stage), and of course there's the politics (speeches, white papers, newspaper columns, votes, appointments)... Each of those sub-factors having it's own fractal complexity to boot.
Do everyday folks think about all that when they turn on the tap? No. My point is this: only absolute fools think that their water was fluoridated so that the Soviets could use their TVs to shoot X-rays to peek at their undies. Or that you can't really go to real jail if the flag in your courtroom has a gold fringe. Or pizza basements. Or that Donald Trump is shrewd.
That kind of shit is only believed by people who won't think for more than one measly second. They don't consider nuance because nuance upsets them. They replace contemplation with feeling, and inquiry with conviction. Why? I don't think that their minds are cognitively incapable. I think it's because they can't stand to admit ignorance long enough to learn even one damn thing. It's a stark blinding fear of appearing foolish to anyone, ever, so they double down, over and over again. Then there's the malicious exploiters, like Bannon, who weaponize them.
These idjits are having their golden age with the current administration.
posted by wires at 8:15 PM on May 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
contraption: "Are there more of those than there are people who will look at Manchin's capitulation and just give up on the whole mid-term in disgust? His opponent got 30% of the primary vote so there seem to be plenty of people in WV who would are tired of him and would like to see that seat move left, aren't they more likely to stay home the more he votes like a Republican?"
Calling back to this - given the geographical distribution of the votes against Manchin in the primary, there's a strong chance that a lot of these were protest votes from people who actually think Manchin is too *liberal* (remember that, for historic reasons, WV has a lot of quite far right people registered as Democrats).
Additionally, there were a significant number of undervotes; i.e., people voted for other races, but did not vote for Senator. That's another indicator that people didn't like either the left or the centrist choice.
In short, the primary provided very little reason to think West Virginia is hungry for a leftist, and considerable reason to think that Manchin is the furthest left position electable.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
Calling back to this - given the geographical distribution of the votes against Manchin in the primary, there's a strong chance that a lot of these were protest votes from people who actually think Manchin is too *liberal* (remember that, for historic reasons, WV has a lot of quite far right people registered as Democrats).
Additionally, there were a significant number of undervotes; i.e., people voted for other races, but did not vote for Senator. That's another indicator that people didn't like either the left or the centrist choice.
In short, the primary provided very little reason to think West Virginia is hungry for a leftist, and considerable reason to think that Manchin is the furthest left position electable.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on May 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
I have no idea if Manchin would lose if he voted against Gina Haspel. There are probably aren't all that many single-votes that make or break a seat for a Senator. But Manchin has managed to hold on as a Democrat in the Trumpiest state in the country so he probably understands his constituents better than I do.
But there's literally no reason to think that what West Virginia is hungering for is a progressive Democrat. It's like the Republicans in California deciding that they could capture the Senate seat there if they only nominated somebody Trumpy enough. Maybe someone who has spent time in jail for beating up immigrants or something. That's just... not reading the state.
posted by Justinian at 8:29 PM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
But there's literally no reason to think that what West Virginia is hungering for is a progressive Democrat. It's like the Republicans in California deciding that they could capture the Senate seat there if they only nominated somebody Trumpy enough. Maybe someone who has spent time in jail for beating up immigrants or something. That's just... not reading the state.
posted by Justinian at 8:29 PM on May 10, 2018 [24 favorites]
If only he's get the border closed for 2-3 weeks during peak harvest season. Nightly news with pictures of rotting lettuce and zero crime, but hey.
Are you seriously suggesting that undocumented immigrants commit 100% of the crime?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 8:33 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Are you seriously suggesting that undocumented immigrants commit 100% of the crime?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 8:33 PM on May 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Kelly is evidence that people like Juan Pablo Andrade and Cesar Subervi aren't the only ones living with cognitive dissonance.
Hey, this sounds familiar:
Because [these] immigrants often came to industrial cities from rural, uneducated areas, they were only able to work low-skill jobs, which usually involved manual labor.
Who's being described here...Mexicans? Haitians? People from "shithole countries"? Whoops, nope -- that would be 19th Century Irish Immigrants, many of whom settled in Boston. Hey, John Kelly is from Boston! And Irish-American!
Assimilation is a hell of a drug, especially the aspirational assimilation that leads to that "I got mine; screw everyone else" attitude. (And as the child of an immigrant who had the equivalent of a 5th grade education and was raised on a farm, a hearty Fuck That Shit to John Kelly.)
posted by camyram at 8:34 PM on May 10, 2018 [74 favorites]
Hey, this sounds familiar:
Because [these] immigrants often came to industrial cities from rural, uneducated areas, they were only able to work low-skill jobs, which usually involved manual labor.
Who's being described here...Mexicans? Haitians? People from "shithole countries"? Whoops, nope -- that would be 19th Century Irish Immigrants, many of whom settled in Boston. Hey, John Kelly is from Boston! And Irish-American!
Assimilation is a hell of a drug, especially the aspirational assimilation that leads to that "I got mine; screw everyone else" attitude. (And as the child of an immigrant who had the equivalent of a 5th grade education and was raised on a farm, a hearty Fuck That Shit to John Kelly.)
posted by camyram at 8:34 PM on May 10, 2018 [74 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 Senate:
** 2018 Senate:
-- WV: Murderer Don Blankenship says he will be opposing GOP nominee Patrick Morrisey. If he actually takes some action to back this up, it would be a huge boon for Dems.** 2018 House:
-- OH: Gov Kasich is declining to endorse GOP nominee DeWine until he gets a committment to support Medicaid expansion.
-- Politico: How gerrymandering could backfire on the GOP.** Odds & ends:
-- Sabato: Reminder that the House generic ballot has been pretty darn stable.
-- Weigel: Myth-busting some hot takes on this week's primaries.posted by Chrysostom at 8:48 PM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
-- Looks like an initiative to establish an independent redistricting commission in Utah has qualified for the ballot in November. UT could easily support a blue district around SLC.
-- MD gov: Race left in flux after death of Kevin Kamenetz, who was a top three Dem candidate and leading in fundraising.
-- OH gov: PPP poll has Dem Cordray leading GOPer DeWine, 44-39 [MOE: +/- 3.9%]. Now, this is an internal, in the sense that the Ohio Democratic Party paid for it. But it's by a reputable pollster who has released all the crosstabs, and it has a pretty highTrump approval (48/47), so it's probably pretty fair.
NYT, Service Meant to Monitor Inmates’ Calls Could Track You, Too
Thousands of jails and prisons across the United States use a company called Securus Technologies to provide and monitor calls to inmates. But the former sheriff of Mississippi County, Mo., used a lesser-known Securus service to track people’s cellphones, including those of other officers, without court orders, according to charges filed against him in state and federal court.posted by zachlipton at 9:53 PM on May 10, 2018 [26 favorites]
The service can find the whereabouts of almost any cellphone in the country within seconds. It does this by going through a system typically used by marketers and other companies to get location data from major cellphone carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, documents show.
Between 2014 and 2017, the sheriff, Cory Hutcheson, used the service at least 11 times, prosecutors said. His alleged targets included a judge and members of the State Highway Patrol. Mr. Hutcheson, who was dismissed last year in an unrelated matter, has pleaded not guilty in the surveillance cases.
...
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, wrote in a letter this week to the Federal Communications Commission that Securus confirmed that it did not “conduct any review of surveillance requests.” The senator said relying on customers to provide documentation was inadequate. “Wireless carriers have an obligation to take affirmative steps to verify law enforcement requests,” he wrote, adding that Securus did not follow those procedures.
Wait - did that article just say that marketers can track any cell phone within seconds, and this scandal comes from a corrupt sheriff horning in on that power?
posted by msalt at 10:26 PM on May 10, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by msalt at 10:26 PM on May 10, 2018 [40 favorites]
In the article, there's some stuff in there about easily abusable opt-in consent without any kind of audit mechanism being required for the marketing stuff, so basically yeah.
posted by zachlipton at 10:36 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:36 PM on May 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
> Looks like an initiative to establish an independent redistricting commission in Utah has qualified for the ballot in November. UT could easily support a blue district around SLC.
FYI the Clean Missouri initiative petition just submitted 346K signatures (160K needed, so they should be comfortably over the minimum).
Clean Missouri proposes open records, limits on the politician/lobbyist revolving door, strict limits on lobbyist gifts, lower campaign contribution limits, and anti-gerrymandering restrictions.
Among other things, fairness and competitiveness as required criteria for new district maps--meaning that districts should be designed so that political parties can turn their vote percentage into a reasonably corresponding proportion of elected officials.
So right now in Missouri 6 of 8 Congressional districts are held by Republicans. By the fair/competitive criteria, that should become either 4/8 or 5/8 rather than 6/8. So in a really fair redistricting Republicans should lose AT LEAST one congressional seat, maybe two.
Republicans currently hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the state General Assembly--so majorities of more than 67%.
It should be maybe 55%/45% rather than ie, 72%/28%--the current Missouri House split.
I predict that Clean Missouri is going to win overwhelmingly at the ballot box in November, and the subsequent redistricting and elections and going to be really, really interesting.
Stay tuned.
In related and baffling developments, the highly funded Right-to-Work (ie, anti-union) constitutional amendment somehow failed to obtain enough signatures to get on the ballot. And Governor Greitens is planning to leave all 4 proposed ballot initiatives on the November ballot. They are 3 marijuana initiatives & the Clean Missouri. His option is to move them to the August primaries rather than the November general election.
So leaving them on the November ballot simultaneously boosts their chances of passage by quite a bit and also is likely to drive Democratic turnout in November's General Election, boosting Ds & hurting Rs.
Greitens revenge on the General Assembly that is planning to impeach him is the leading theory for this move.
posted by flug at 10:46 PM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
FYI the Clean Missouri initiative petition just submitted 346K signatures (160K needed, so they should be comfortably over the minimum).
Clean Missouri proposes open records, limits on the politician/lobbyist revolving door, strict limits on lobbyist gifts, lower campaign contribution limits, and anti-gerrymandering restrictions.
Among other things, fairness and competitiveness as required criteria for new district maps--meaning that districts should be designed so that political parties can turn their vote percentage into a reasonably corresponding proportion of elected officials.
So right now in Missouri 6 of 8 Congressional districts are held by Republicans. By the fair/competitive criteria, that should become either 4/8 or 5/8 rather than 6/8. So in a really fair redistricting Republicans should lose AT LEAST one congressional seat, maybe two.
Republicans currently hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the state General Assembly--so majorities of more than 67%.
It should be maybe 55%/45% rather than ie, 72%/28%--the current Missouri House split.
I predict that Clean Missouri is going to win overwhelmingly at the ballot box in November, and the subsequent redistricting and elections and going to be really, really interesting.
Stay tuned.
In related and baffling developments, the highly funded Right-to-Work (ie, anti-union) constitutional amendment somehow failed to obtain enough signatures to get on the ballot. And Governor Greitens is planning to leave all 4 proposed ballot initiatives on the November ballot. They are 3 marijuana initiatives & the Clean Missouri. His option is to move them to the August primaries rather than the November general election.
So leaving them on the November ballot simultaneously boosts their chances of passage by quite a bit and also is likely to drive Democratic turnout in November's General Election, boosting Ds & hurting Rs.
Greitens revenge on the General Assembly that is planning to impeach him is the leading theory for this move.
posted by flug at 10:46 PM on May 10, 2018 [51 favorites]
So Trump's big idea to lower drug costs is not to use the government's buying power to negotiate lower prices, but rather to whine about "free ride" foreign countries that do negotiate and get lower prices. As far as what good that would do: "The officials did not detail how they planned to get higher prices overseas, nor how that would in turn lower the cost of drugs in the U.S." Even if foreign countries somehow paid more, it's hard for me to fathom how that could possibly cause drug companies to lower their prices in the US, seeing as that's not how markets work anywhere.
This will be fun. It's hard to imagine America having enough leverage anywhere to force nationalised healthcare to buy pharmaceuticals at the price American companies would prefer, given that some countries have gone so far as to cancel patents on drugs they needed and couldn't get at a price they could accept.
posted by Merus at 12:06 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
This will be fun. It's hard to imagine America having enough leverage anywhere to force nationalised healthcare to buy pharmaceuticals at the price American companies would prefer, given that some countries have gone so far as to cancel patents on drugs they needed and couldn't get at a price they could accept.
posted by Merus at 12:06 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
In short, the primary provided very little reason to think West Virginia is hungry for a leftist
But there's literally no reason to think that what West Virginia is hungering for is a progressive Democrat.
I certainly wasn't saying Swearingen would have had a better shot than Manchin, just that her decent showing seems to indicate that there's a substantial slice of the electorate that want someone to his left, and that it seems pretty likely to me that he could get more votes trying to turn those people out than he could muster from the right by being the deciding vote for the torturer nominated by the openly corrupt rogue president. The people who would have voted R, but change their minds based on that seem like they must be a small demographic compared to left-leaning folks who can't be arsed because the Dem is acting more Republican than McCain.
posted by contraption at 12:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
But there's literally no reason to think that what West Virginia is hungering for is a progressive Democrat.
I certainly wasn't saying Swearingen would have had a better shot than Manchin, just that her decent showing seems to indicate that there's a substantial slice of the electorate that want someone to his left, and that it seems pretty likely to me that he could get more votes trying to turn those people out than he could muster from the right by being the deciding vote for the torturer nominated by the openly corrupt rogue president. The people who would have voted R, but change their minds based on that seem like they must be a small demographic compared to left-leaning folks who can't be arsed because the Dem is acting more Republican than McCain.
posted by contraption at 12:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
This will be fun. It's hard to imagine America having enough leverage anywhere to force nationalised healthcare to buy pharmaceuticals at the price American companies would prefer, given that some countries have gone so far as to cancel patents on drugs they needed and couldn't get at a price they could accept.
I try to keep in mind that Trump has never been a leader. The only thing he brought to the table is his CAMPAIGN STYLE, and indeed, now that he's won everything he says and does is -- more campaigning.
In that context, this is exactly what you'd expect. A campaign promise, with no actual details, and it appears not even grounding in reality. IIRC, the half life of this stuff is like a week, so in 2 weeks it'll be undetectable, and in a month totally forgotten.
posted by mikelieman at 1:04 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
I try to keep in mind that Trump has never been a leader. The only thing he brought to the table is his CAMPAIGN STYLE, and indeed, now that he's won everything he says and does is -- more campaigning.
In that context, this is exactly what you'd expect. A campaign promise, with no actual details, and it appears not even grounding in reality. IIRC, the half life of this stuff is like a week, so in 2 weeks it'll be undetectable, and in a month totally forgotten.
posted by mikelieman at 1:04 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's hard to imagine America having enough leverage anywhere to force nationalised healthcare to buy pharmaceuticals at the price American companies would prefer, given that some countries have gone so far as to cancel patents on drugs they needed and couldn't get at a price they could accept.
The UK is quite possibly going to need a trade deal with the US on fire sale terms. I'm not sure even we would take the hit of accepting a big increase in the NHS budget in return for literally no extra value at all.
posted by jaduncan at 1:06 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
The UK is quite possibly going to need a trade deal with the US on fire sale terms. I'm not sure even we would take the hit of accepting a big increase in the NHS budget in return for literally no extra value at all.
posted by jaduncan at 1:06 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump here demonstrating his innovative "badly laid carpet" theory of pricing: push down a bump in one place, and it pops up in another.
posted by Buck Alec at 2:12 AM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Buck Alec at 2:12 AM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
Note, welfare state in the original and legitimate sense of "a state having the goal of providing for the common welfare of its citizenry," not the later Republican boogeyman sense of "poor people who look and act different from you are mooching off you"
Since Republicans claim to revere the Constitution, it's remarkable -- by which I mean, remarkably dishonest -- that they seem to overlook the Preamble specifying this very goal.
posted by Gelatin at 3:25 AM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Since Republicans claim to revere the Constitution, it's remarkable -- by which I mean, remarkably dishonest -- that they seem to overlook the Preamble specifying this very goal.
posted by Gelatin at 3:25 AM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Republicans claim to revere the Constitution, but what people do means a whole lot more than what they say.
We focus on how they responded to Barack Obama's race, for legit and understandable reasons. But I think the reason that the people who really have their hands on the levers of power in the Republican party hated and feared him so much is that he is an actual, honest-to-God Constitutional scholar. They knew and know full well that their aims are directly contrary to those principles.
posted by Sublimity at 3:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
We focus on how they responded to Barack Obama's race, for legit and understandable reasons. But I think the reason that the people who really have their hands on the levers of power in the Republican party hated and feared him so much is that he is an actual, honest-to-God Constitutional scholar. They knew and know full well that their aims are directly contrary to those principles.
posted by Sublimity at 3:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
But there's literally no reason to think that what West Virginia is hungering for is a progressive Democrat.
‘He’s JFK With Tattoos and a Bench Press’
Paratrooper Richard Ojeda is redefining what it means to be a Democrat in a deeply red state.
posted by nikodym at 4:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
‘He’s JFK With Tattoos and a Bench Press’
Paratrooper Richard Ojeda is redefining what it means to be a Democrat in a deeply red state.
posted by nikodym at 4:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
Trump here demonstrating his innovative "badly laid carpet" theory of pricing: push down a bump in one place, and it pops up in another.
Or in this case creating a bump somewhere else will cause this bump to shrink. His chess is one dimension higher than an incompetent carpet layer.
posted by duoshao at 4:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Or in this case creating a bump somewhere else will cause this bump to shrink. His chess is one dimension higher than an incompetent carpet layer.
posted by duoshao at 4:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
just that her decent showing seems to indicate that there's a substantial slice of the electorate that want someone to his left
There's no way of knowing from the vote numbers how many people voted for Swearingen because she was to the left of Manchin and how many did so despite being to the left of Manchin or did so not knowing that she was to the left of Manchin. If a registered Democrat in WV is pissed because Manchin isn't supporting Trump enough, their only option to "say so" that day was to vote for Swearingen.
If there are surveys with likes/dislikes about the candidates you could pull the information you want from that, but I would be surprised if there were.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:03 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
There's no way of knowing from the vote numbers how many people voted for Swearingen because she was to the left of Manchin and how many did so despite being to the left of Manchin or did so not knowing that she was to the left of Manchin. If a registered Democrat in WV is pissed because Manchin isn't supporting Trump enough, their only option to "say so" that day was to vote for Swearingen.
If there are surveys with likes/dislikes about the candidates you could pull the information you want from that, but I would be surprised if there were.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:03 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nunes and Gowdy have gone somewhere to collectively change their underwear. <WaPost
Whatever they were told/saw yesterday has dramatically changed their tune on demanding and threatening the DOJ. LOL.
posted by rc3spencer at 5:26 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
Whatever they were told/saw yesterday has dramatically changed their tune on demanding and threatening the DOJ. LOL.
posted by rc3spencer at 5:26 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
That kind of shit is only believed by people who won't think for more than one measly second. They don't consider nuance because nuance upsets them. They replace contemplation with feeling, and inquiry with conviction. Why? I don't think that their minds are cognitively incapable. I think it's because they can't stand to admit ignorance long enough to learn even one damn thing. It's a stark blinding fear of appearing foolish to anyone, ever, so they double down, over and over again. Then there's the malicious exploiters, like Bannon, who weaponize them.
These idjits are having their golden age with the current administration.
Except there actually is a very large very complex well documented conspiracy to allow lead and other toxins into drinking water almost everywhere in the United States.
posted by srboisvert at 5:33 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
These idjits are having their golden age with the current administration.
Except there actually is a very large very complex well documented conspiracy to allow lead and other toxins into drinking water almost everywhere in the United States.
posted by srboisvert at 5:33 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Even if I'm somehow successful in getting my neighbor's rent raised, my landlord isn't going to lower mine as a result.
The point of forcing Canada and Mexico to raise drug prices is not to save US citizens money, it's to get them to stop complaining about unfairly high drug prices. Also, of course, it benefits investors, but that's just a happy side effect, I'm sure.
The problem they're having though is that Canada is looking at socializing even more of the Pharma sector. We currently socialize in-hospital costs, which are very roughly 1/3 of all drug costs. There are several proposals out there to go to a national pharmacare program which would cover the rest. And that means single-bargaining on all drug prices for ~35m customers.
So part of this bluster is directed at Canada, but I don't think anyone is really listening. IP protection (and so drug pricing) was one of the articles under renegotiation during NAFTA, but the US seems to have given that up now too in their rush to get things done.
posted by bonehead at 5:42 AM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
The point of forcing Canada and Mexico to raise drug prices is not to save US citizens money, it's to get them to stop complaining about unfairly high drug prices. Also, of course, it benefits investors, but that's just a happy side effect, I'm sure.
The problem they're having though is that Canada is looking at socializing even more of the Pharma sector. We currently socialize in-hospital costs, which are very roughly 1/3 of all drug costs. There are several proposals out there to go to a national pharmacare program which would cover the rest. And that means single-bargaining on all drug prices for ~35m customers.
So part of this bluster is directed at Canada, but I don't think anyone is really listening. IP protection (and so drug pricing) was one of the articles under renegotiation during NAFTA, but the US seems to have given that up now too in their rush to get things done.
posted by bonehead at 5:42 AM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
US acts against currency network it says has Iran links which is ironic since the president has been one of the more notorious sources of currency for the Iranian National Guard himself. < New Yorker on Ivanka's Azerbaijan project.
posted by rc3spencer at 6:00 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 6:00 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
In the latest instalment of Alexander Torshin and the NRA, NPR reports: Documents Reveal How Russian Official Courted Conservatives In U.S. Since 2009
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:14 AM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
Kremlin-linked Russian politician Alexander Torshin traveled frequently between Moscow and various destinations in the United States to build relationships with figures on the American right starting as early as 2009, beyond his previously known contacts with the National Rifle Association.With Torshin now facing US sanctions, CNN reported last month that the NRA is quietly reviewing documents concerning their ties to him.
Documents newly obtained by NPR show how he traveled throughout the United States to cultivate ties in ways well beyond his formal role as a member of the Russian legislature and later as a top official at the Russian central bank. These are steps a former top CIA official believes Torshin took in order to advance Moscow's long-term objectives in the United States, in part by establishing common political interests with American conservatives.
"Putin and probably the Russian intelligence services saw [Torshin's connections] as something that they could leverage in the United States," said Steve Hall, a retired CIA chief of Russian operations. "They reach to reach out to guy like Torshin and say, 'Hey, can you make contact with the NRA and some other conservatives... so that we can have connectivity from Moscow into those conservative parts of American politics should we need them?' And that's basically just wiring the United States for sound, if you will, in preparation for whatever they might need down the road."
Torshin's trips took him to Alaska, where he requested a visit with former Gov. Sarah Palin; to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.; to Nashville, where he was an election observer for the 2012 presidential race; and to every NRA convention, in various American cities, between 2012 and 2016.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:14 AM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
In the latest instalment of Alexander Torshin and the NRA, NPR reports: Documents Reveal How Russian Official Courted Conservatives In U.S. Since 2009
I've said it before, but I can remember when conservatives used to call liberals dupes of Moscow.
posted by Gelatin at 6:24 AM on May 11, 2018 [35 favorites]
I've said it before, but I can remember when conservatives used to call liberals dupes of Moscow.
posted by Gelatin at 6:24 AM on May 11, 2018 [35 favorites]
Yeah but that was before Moscow was the capital of an ethnonationalist authoritarian state.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [33 favorites]
Iran’s supreme leader reveals private letter Trump sent to Arab allies.
posted by zarq at 6:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by zarq at 6:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [25 favorites]
Or rather, a oligarchical ethnonationalist fascist right-wing authoritarian state rather than a socialist authoritarian state. You guys know what I'm trying to say.
I mean, none of this is that surprising to me given what I know about modern Russia and modern American conservatism. Two peas in a pod. Same goals, same tactics, same idols. I'm really just surprised it took this long for American conservatives to slough off the last of the "Russia Bad" feels left over from the Cold War.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:34 AM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
I mean, none of this is that surprising to me given what I know about modern Russia and modern American conservatism. Two peas in a pod. Same goals, same tactics, same idols. I'm really just surprised it took this long for American conservatives to slough off the last of the "Russia Bad" feels left over from the Cold War.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:34 AM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
But there's literally no reason to think that what West Virginia is hungering for is a progressive Democrat.
‘He’s JFK With Tattoos and a Bench Press’
Paratrooper Richard Ojeda is redefining what it means to be a Democrat in a deeply red state.
A Trump voter who is toxic masculinity personified with a class consciousness?
As a woman — you know, the core of the Democratic Party? — that is fucking terrifying, and I want no goddamn part of it.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [45 favorites]
‘He’s JFK With Tattoos and a Bench Press’
Paratrooper Richard Ojeda is redefining what it means to be a Democrat in a deeply red state.
A Trump voter who is toxic masculinity personified with a class consciousness?
As a woman — you know, the core of the Democratic Party? — that is fucking terrifying, and I want no goddamn part of it.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [45 favorites]
Fox news host Charles V. Payne on Twitter:
My Apology to Senator McCain and his Family
“This morning on a show I was hosting, a guest made a very false and derogatory remark about Senator John McCain. At the time, I had the control room in my ear telling me to wrap the segment, and did not hear the comment.
I regret I did not catch this remark, as it should have been challenged. As a proud military veteran and son of a Vietnam Vet these words neither reflect my or the network’s feelings about Senator McCain, or his remarkable service and sacrifice to this country.”
Charles V. Payne
Bet they invite McInerney back for future segments/interviews, though.
posted by zarq at 6:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
My Apology to Senator McCain and his Family
“This morning on a show I was hosting, a guest made a very false and derogatory remark about Senator John McCain. At the time, I had the control room in my ear telling me to wrap the segment, and did not hear the comment.
I regret I did not catch this remark, as it should have been challenged. As a proud military veteran and son of a Vietnam Vet these words neither reflect my or the network’s feelings about Senator McCain, or his remarkable service and sacrifice to this country.”
Charles V. Payne
Bet they invite McInerney back for future segments/interviews, though.
posted by zarq at 6:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
$12 lettuce, here we come!
Already happening with Maryland jumbo lump crab meat. From the Baltimore Sun, Crab crisis: Maryland seafood industry loses 40 percent of work force in visa lottery:
Already happening with Maryland jumbo lump crab meat. From the Baltimore Sun, Crab crisis: Maryland seafood industry loses 40 percent of work force in visa lottery:
Maryland's seafood industry is in crisis: Nearly half of the Eastern Shore’s crab houses have no workers to pick the meat sold in restaurants and supermarkets.From the WaPo, Many Maryland watermen deny the crab crisis is Trump’s fault. Except it is.
They failed to get visas for their mostly Mexican workforce, including many women who have been coming north to Maryland for crab season for as long as two decades. The Trump administration for the first time awarded them this year in a lottery, instead of on a first-come, first-served basis.
For the most part, though, the very folks in trouble on the Eastern Shore refuse to see the connection.posted by peeedro at 6:47 AM on May 11, 2018 [74 favorites]
“There are different sides to it.”
“Finger-pointing won’t help.”
“Immigration has to be legal.”
“He’s the best president we’ve had in a long time.”
Those are all things that residents of this enclave said when I asked them about the anti-immigration policies damaging their livelihoods.
The only thing he brought to the table is his CAMPAIGN STYLE, and indeed, now that he's won everything he says and does is -- more campaigning.
To be fair, he started his re-election campaign on Inauguration Day, so he is campaigning.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:49 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
To be fair, he started his re-election campaign on Inauguration Day, so he is campaigning.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:49 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Re: Trump's Middle-East businessmanning
“A couple of days ago, Trump wrote a letter to the leaders of the Arab world. We have that letter,” the ayatollah said. “In the letter, he says I have spent $7 trillion on you, you have to do [what I say]. You spent this money to rule over Iraq and Syria. You couldn’t. To hell with it. He says you should do it and says Iran 'should' do it, too.”
. . . The dollar figure is inaccurate: Trump is thought to be referring to a study from Brown University that included future costs not only for the wars in Iraq and Syria but also in Afghanistan and such expenses as veterans' care for nearly 40 more years. . . .
It is not clear how Iran's supreme leader found out about the letter, the official said. Theodore Karasik, a senior adviser with Washington-based Gulf State Analytics, said it was “significant because the content tells the supreme leader what Iran is about to face from the U.S.” and suggested that the letter could have been passed on by a regional power such as Kuwait, Qatar, Oman or Jordan or even an outside power like Russia.
There's that name again! Russia! Russia! Russia!
/Jan
posted by petebest at 6:53 AM on May 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
“A couple of days ago, Trump wrote a letter to the leaders of the Arab world. We have that letter,” the ayatollah said. “In the letter, he says I have spent $7 trillion on you, you have to do [what I say]. You spent this money to rule over Iraq and Syria. You couldn’t. To hell with it. He says you should do it and says Iran 'should' do it, too.”
. . . The dollar figure is inaccurate: Trump is thought to be referring to a study from Brown University that included future costs not only for the wars in Iraq and Syria but also in Afghanistan and such expenses as veterans' care for nearly 40 more years. . . .
It is not clear how Iran's supreme leader found out about the letter, the official said. Theodore Karasik, a senior adviser with Washington-based Gulf State Analytics, said it was “significant because the content tells the supreme leader what Iran is about to face from the U.S.” and suggested that the letter could have been passed on by a regional power such as Kuwait, Qatar, Oman or Jordan or even an outside power like Russia.
There's that name again! Russia! Russia! Russia!
/Jan
posted by petebest at 6:53 AM on May 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
Bet they invite McInerney back for future segments/interviews, though.
CNN's Brian Stelter @brianstelter: "A Fox spokeswoman tells me that Thomas McInerney will no longer be invited on Fox Biz or Fox News as a guest... https://mailchi.mp/cnn/rs-may-10-2018 …"
We'll see if Fox makes an official statement (and if the ban sticks).
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:54 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
CNN's Brian Stelter @brianstelter: "A Fox spokeswoman tells me that Thomas McInerney will no longer be invited on Fox Biz or Fox News as a guest... https://mailchi.mp/cnn/rs-may-10-2018 …"
We'll see if Fox makes an official statement (and if the ban sticks).
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:54 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
Funny how insulting McCain is a bridge to far, but being a racist birther, which McInerney also is, wasn't.
posted by chris24 at 7:17 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 7:17 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
It's telling that Trump sees America's military hegemony as basically a Mafia style protection racket and is upset that there isn't a flow of cash coming to the USA from the places it "protects".
Not only does it show Trump's inherently gangster view of the world, but also his incredibly limited understanding of macroeconomics. The US **IS** getting massive economic benefits from its military hegemony. Not in the form of kowtowing foreign dignitaries offering up bundles of cash while they praise America's might, but in the form of those trade deals that Trump keeps deriding.
Especially in the form of the trade imbalance he seems to hate. America getting more goods than it sends out. That trade imbalance is the US absorbing more of the world's resources than its neighbors. All in return for an export of cash, which in turn makes the US dollar the default world reserve currency and gives the US even more trade advantage.
All that is happening not because the other countries really like America, but because of America's military hegemony and as a sort of unspoken quid pro quo for the Pax Americana that exists. It's basically the Mafia shakedown Trump wants, just a lot less overt.
Which is why his kicking at the foundations of NATO and other alliances, his obsession with pulling American soldiers out of various countries, and his assault on various incredibly pro-America biased trade deals is so amazing. The man who has explicitly (and very foolishly) said he wants payment for America's military presence overseas is demolishing the means by which the payment already exists and is being made.
One consequence of this is that the PRC is expanding into the power and credibility vacuum the US is leaving, and by all appearances this is purely opportunistic rather than the result of any planning on Xi's part. He's simply exploiting the weaknesses that Putin created but which Russia is simply incapable of exploiting itself.
Trump breaks the Iran deal, thus demonstrating to the world that America's word is no good and that America is not going to hold up its end of any agreements, and there's Xi, presenting China as the stable rock the world needs.
Xi's recent ascension to President for Life (despite not being officially named as such) might not please the democratic sensibilities of some nations, but it does present a more stable alternative to the American system where every four years there's the chance of another Trump taking office and ripping up every trade deal that exists.
In this, if nothing else, Trump really is unique and different from prior Republicans. Junior may not have understood the intricacies of the US hegemony, but Real President Cheney did, and Junior obeyed Cheney. Trump though has no Real President, or rather he's got a whole shifting cast of wannabe Real Presidents who try to drag him in competing directions and as a result he mostly just lashes out with whatever drivel his rotting brain can produce.
Result is that Trump is simultaneously fucking up by saying the quiet part loud and humiliating world leaders by drawing attention to the way they're paying the US protection money, **AND** by demanding open protection money while destroying the mechanisms that deliver overt protection money. It's wrong and foolhardy on every level and every detail is as foolhardy and wrong as the whole. It's fractally stupid.
posted by sotonohito at 7:23 AM on May 11, 2018 [137 favorites]
Not only does it show Trump's inherently gangster view of the world, but also his incredibly limited understanding of macroeconomics. The US **IS** getting massive economic benefits from its military hegemony. Not in the form of kowtowing foreign dignitaries offering up bundles of cash while they praise America's might, but in the form of those trade deals that Trump keeps deriding.
Especially in the form of the trade imbalance he seems to hate. America getting more goods than it sends out. That trade imbalance is the US absorbing more of the world's resources than its neighbors. All in return for an export of cash, which in turn makes the US dollar the default world reserve currency and gives the US even more trade advantage.
All that is happening not because the other countries really like America, but because of America's military hegemony and as a sort of unspoken quid pro quo for the Pax Americana that exists. It's basically the Mafia shakedown Trump wants, just a lot less overt.
Which is why his kicking at the foundations of NATO and other alliances, his obsession with pulling American soldiers out of various countries, and his assault on various incredibly pro-America biased trade deals is so amazing. The man who has explicitly (and very foolishly) said he wants payment for America's military presence overseas is demolishing the means by which the payment already exists and is being made.
One consequence of this is that the PRC is expanding into the power and credibility vacuum the US is leaving, and by all appearances this is purely opportunistic rather than the result of any planning on Xi's part. He's simply exploiting the weaknesses that Putin created but which Russia is simply incapable of exploiting itself.
Trump breaks the Iran deal, thus demonstrating to the world that America's word is no good and that America is not going to hold up its end of any agreements, and there's Xi, presenting China as the stable rock the world needs.
Xi's recent ascension to President for Life (despite not being officially named as such) might not please the democratic sensibilities of some nations, but it does present a more stable alternative to the American system where every four years there's the chance of another Trump taking office and ripping up every trade deal that exists.
In this, if nothing else, Trump really is unique and different from prior Republicans. Junior may not have understood the intricacies of the US hegemony, but Real President Cheney did, and Junior obeyed Cheney. Trump though has no Real President, or rather he's got a whole shifting cast of wannabe Real Presidents who try to drag him in competing directions and as a result he mostly just lashes out with whatever drivel his rotting brain can produce.
Result is that Trump is simultaneously fucking up by saying the quiet part loud and humiliating world leaders by drawing attention to the way they're paying the US protection money, **AND** by demanding open protection money while destroying the mechanisms that deliver overt protection money. It's wrong and foolhardy on every level and every detail is as foolhardy and wrong as the whole. It's fractally stupid.
posted by sotonohito at 7:23 AM on May 11, 2018 [137 favorites]
West Virginians I've met have variety of political views. (I live in a neighboring state, so I've met quite a few of them.)
Claiming that West Virginia Democrats who voted for Swearengin must not have known she had progressive views, or that maybe it was some kind of protest vote against Manchin for not being Trumpy enough, seems like a really convoluted attempt to interpret the results in a way that's consistent with outsiders stereotypes about people from the state.
The most straightforward way to understand the primary results is that a majority of Democrats in WV were reasonably happy with the incumbent, Manchin, but a minority prefered Swearengin. Poking around the map a bit, it looks like Swearengin's strongest support was around Morganstown and in Jefferson County. Morganstown is the home of West Virginia University, and Jefferson County is an exurb of DC. These are precisely the parts of the state where you'd expect to find the highest density of liberal Democrats.
posted by nangar at 7:33 AM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Claiming that West Virginia Democrats who voted for Swearengin must not have known she had progressive views, or that maybe it was some kind of protest vote against Manchin for not being Trumpy enough, seems like a really convoluted attempt to interpret the results in a way that's consistent with outsiders stereotypes about people from the state.
The most straightforward way to understand the primary results is that a majority of Democrats in WV were reasonably happy with the incumbent, Manchin, but a minority prefered Swearengin. Poking around the map a bit, it looks like Swearengin's strongest support was around Morganstown and in Jefferson County. Morganstown is the home of West Virginia University, and Jefferson County is an exurb of DC. These are precisely the parts of the state where you'd expect to find the highest density of liberal Democrats.
posted by nangar at 7:33 AM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Funny how insulting McCain is a bridge too far, but being a racist birther, which McInerney also is, wasn't.
Trump did both, and look how far that got him.
posted by zakur at 7:36 AM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump did both, and look how far that got him.
posted by zakur at 7:36 AM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Black activist jailed for his Facebook posts speaks out about secret FBI surveillance, Sam Levin, The Guardian
Investigators began monitoring Balogun, whose legal name is Christopher Daniels, after he participated in an Austin, Texas, rally in March 2015 protesting against law enforcement, special agent Aaron Keighley testified in court.posted by mcdoublewide at 7:40 AM on May 11, 2018 [54 favorites]
The FBI, Keighley said, learned of the protest from a video on Infowars, a far-right site run by the commentator Alex Jones, known for spreading false news and conspiracy theories.
The reference to Infowars stunned Balogun: “They’re using a conspiracy theorist video as a reason to justify their tyranny? That is a big insult.”
Crab crisis: Maryland seafood industry loses 40 percent of work force in visa lottery:
When an industry is made up of 40% people from a country with a far lower cost of living, coming for the jobs, while unemployment exists in many communities at extremely high rates, that is actually a huge, huge problem, aside from Trump's shenanigans.
What that says is that at least one industry - and probably more - have adapted to the fact that US citizens have a lot of workplace protections and costs associated, by simply not hiring US citizens so they can get away with paying the people involved in the work less. Or so they don't have to train the workers. Or provide them with benefits. Or they can't unionize. The H2B visa is supposed to pay the prevailing wage - but if the overwhelming majority of people in a certain job position are foreign workers, then the industry sets the prevailing wage, and the industry is able to set the wage at far under what it would be forced to pay American workers in order to do the "tedious manual labor".
It is quite possible - and I would say, even probable - that current food costs massively reflect these "shortcuts". That the labor-intensive and difficult business of crab actually should cost far more. Someone upthread was mentioning a 12$ lettuce - and maybe that's even right.
I don't think we should focus on the people who are coming here because our businesses rely on them. But I do think that we should take a hard look at businesses that can only operate because of visas.
posted by corb at 7:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [87 favorites]
When an industry is made up of 40% people from a country with a far lower cost of living, coming for the jobs, while unemployment exists in many communities at extremely high rates, that is actually a huge, huge problem, aside from Trump's shenanigans.
What that says is that at least one industry - and probably more - have adapted to the fact that US citizens have a lot of workplace protections and costs associated, by simply not hiring US citizens so they can get away with paying the people involved in the work less. Or so they don't have to train the workers. Or provide them with benefits. Or they can't unionize. The H2B visa is supposed to pay the prevailing wage - but if the overwhelming majority of people in a certain job position are foreign workers, then the industry sets the prevailing wage, and the industry is able to set the wage at far under what it would be forced to pay American workers in order to do the "tedious manual labor".
It is quite possible - and I would say, even probable - that current food costs massively reflect these "shortcuts". That the labor-intensive and difficult business of crab actually should cost far more. Someone upthread was mentioning a 12$ lettuce - and maybe that's even right.
I don't think we should focus on the people who are coming here because our businesses rely on them. But I do think that we should take a hard look at businesses that can only operate because of visas.
posted by corb at 7:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [87 favorites]
Claiming that West Virginia Democrats who voted for Swearengin must not have known she had progressive views
Literally nobody has said this, and if you are referring to my previous comment you should read it again, because it does not say that.
seems like a really convoluted attempt
It's not an attempt at anything and is only a reflection of the fact that I've spent God-only-knows how many hours looking at elections-related surveys over my career and by this point have a decent sense for how weird and perverse voters can seem.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:42 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Literally nobody has said this, and if you are referring to my previous comment you should read it again, because it does not say that.
seems like a really convoluted attempt
It's not an attempt at anything and is only a reflection of the fact that I've spent God-only-knows how many hours looking at elections-related surveys over my career and by this point have a decent sense for how weird and perverse voters can seem.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:42 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Our entire food production system right now relies on exploitative working conditions
...exploitative conditions that, if you think about it, extend all the way down into the soil microbiome.
But the system is economically efficient so I guess that's all right.
posted by flabdablet at 7:58 AM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
...exploitative conditions that, if you think about it, extend all the way down into the soil microbiome.
But the system is economically efficient so I guess that's all right.
posted by flabdablet at 7:58 AM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
I do think that we should take a hard look at businesses that can only operate because of visas.
No question about it. See also "Take Our Jobs, Please". Just a few months ago there was more reporting about California produce rotting in the fields.
It's always been about the employers. Certain employers have been thinking they'd have access to this vulnerable, pliable labor force forever, because their friends in the Chamber of Commerce have their back.
My disgust and aggravation, let me show you them.
posted by GrammarMoses at 7:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
No question about it. See also "Take Our Jobs, Please". Just a few months ago there was more reporting about California produce rotting in the fields.
It's always been about the employers. Certain employers have been thinking they'd have access to this vulnerable, pliable labor force forever, because their friends in the Chamber of Commerce have their back.
My disgust and aggravation, let me show you them.
posted by GrammarMoses at 7:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
...exploitative conditions that, if you think about it, extend all the way down into the soil microbiome.
Funnily enough(*), the current drought conditions in Nebraska and Iowa have been causing "brown-out" conditions recently, with the combination of high winds, spring tilling, and blowing dust.
The weather people are very careful to remind us that this is NOT "The Dust Bowl", but the first Dust Bowl wasn't a "Dust Bowl" at first either.
(*) Actual humor not guaranteed. Results may vary.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:13 AM on May 11, 2018 [24 favorites]
Funnily enough(*), the current drought conditions in Nebraska and Iowa have been causing "brown-out" conditions recently, with the combination of high winds, spring tilling, and blowing dust.
The weather people are very careful to remind us that this is NOT "The Dust Bowl", but the first Dust Bowl wasn't a "Dust Bowl" at first either.
(*) Actual humor not guaranteed. Results may vary.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:13 AM on May 11, 2018 [24 favorites]
Swearingen took a third of the vote among registered Dems, that showed up to the polls, for a primary, before a midterm. That's a relatively informed and engaged group to start with. I get that lots of registered Dems in WV are holdovers, and I can imagine that some would be uninformed or vindictive or meta-strategic enough to vote for the more progressive candidate when what they really want is someone more Republican than the moderate incumbent.
What's hard for me to imagine is that within that weird group, there is a large enough subset that will stick with Manchin in the general if only he votes with Trump a convincing amount of the time, such that it's worthwhile for him to pander to them while alienating any actual contemporary Democrats who might be on the fence about voting in the midterm at all.
Maybe it's true, I'm a neophyte here and certainly have no special knowledge of WV, and people more in the know than I seem to think so. It just continues to boggle me, and I have a nagging suspicion that people in the know continue to undervalue the "didn't bother voting last time" bloc.
posted by contraption at 8:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
What's hard for me to imagine is that within that weird group, there is a large enough subset that will stick with Manchin in the general if only he votes with Trump a convincing amount of the time, such that it's worthwhile for him to pander to them while alienating any actual contemporary Democrats who might be on the fence about voting in the midterm at all.
Maybe it's true, I'm a neophyte here and certainly have no special knowledge of WV, and people more in the know than I seem to think so. It just continues to boggle me, and I have a nagging suspicion that people in the know continue to undervalue the "didn't bother voting last time" bloc.
posted by contraption at 8:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I do think that we should take a hard look at businesses that can only operate because of visas.
It's piecemeal of our whole economy. For the last 30 years or so lower and middle class wages have remained stagnant (while the upper 5% have seen a wage explosion). Quality of life hasn't suffered because prices for goods (e.g. food, clothes, etc.) have dropped dramatically. The price drop is because we are buying goods made from basically slave labor. It's not just a business or two. It's almost anything we buy. We're trapped in that if we bought goods made from workers making a living wage the prices of everything would be absurd.
posted by xammerboy at 8:28 AM on May 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
It's piecemeal of our whole economy. For the last 30 years or so lower and middle class wages have remained stagnant (while the upper 5% have seen a wage explosion). Quality of life hasn't suffered because prices for goods (e.g. food, clothes, etc.) have dropped dramatically. The price drop is because we are buying goods made from basically slave labor. It's not just a business or two. It's almost anything we buy. We're trapped in that if we bought goods made from workers making a living wage the prices of everything would be absurd.
posted by xammerboy at 8:28 AM on May 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
nangar: "Poking around the map a bit, it looks like Swearengin's strongest support was around Morganstown and in Jefferson County. Morganstown is the home of West Virginia University, and Jefferson County is an exurb of DC. These are precisely the parts of the state where you'd expect to find the highest density of liberal Democrats."
She did second best in Mingo County, which is where you might expect to find about the lowest concentration of liberal Democrats. That's also where you saw tons of blank ballots for Senate.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:32 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
She did second best in Mingo County, which is where you might expect to find about the lowest concentration of liberal Democrats. That's also where you saw tons of blank ballots for Senate.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:32 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
contraption: What's hard for me to imagine is that within that weird group, there is a large enough subset that will stick with Manchin in the general if only he votes with Trump a convincing amount of the time, such that it's worthwhile for him to pander to them while alienating any actual contemporary Democrats who might be on the fence about voting in the midterm at all.
I believe you're thinking about it at a more detailed level than a fair number of voters (all around the whole country, not just in WV) do. It's not an if-then logical structure whereby these voters expect Manchin to support X, reject Y, and stick with Trump at least Z% of the time. It's about Manchin's fears (possibly unfounded, I have no idea) that his actions can be fodder for attack ads. Regarding Haspel in particular, the ads would only touch on torture (oops, "enhanced interrogation") at the most superficial level possible; they'll just say Haspel was "tough" and kept us "safe", that stopping any nominee is "obstruction", and at least some low-information voters will be swayed.
But again, those voters might be very outnumbered. People do often persue the wrong constituencies out of tunnel vision.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:36 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I believe you're thinking about it at a more detailed level than a fair number of voters (all around the whole country, not just in WV) do. It's not an if-then logical structure whereby these voters expect Manchin to support X, reject Y, and stick with Trump at least Z% of the time. It's about Manchin's fears (possibly unfounded, I have no idea) that his actions can be fodder for attack ads. Regarding Haspel in particular, the ads would only touch on torture (oops, "enhanced interrogation") at the most superficial level possible; they'll just say Haspel was "tough" and kept us "safe", that stopping any nominee is "obstruction", and at least some low-information voters will be swayed.
But again, those voters might be very outnumbered. People do often persue the wrong constituencies out of tunnel vision.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:36 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
"What's the Matter With West Virginia?"
posted by Chrysostom at 8:38 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:38 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
For the last 30 years or so lower and middle class wages have remained stagnant (while the upper 5% have seen a wage explosion). Quality of life hasn't suffered because prices for goods (e.g. food, clothes, etc.) have dropped dramatically. The price drop is because we are buying goods made from basically slave labor. It's not just a business or two. It's almost anything we buy. We're trapped in that if we bought goods made from workers making a living wage the prices of everything would be absurd.
Only if we don't correct for the top 1% siphoning off all the value added to the economy by everyone else's labor.
posted by Gelatin at 8:39 AM on May 11, 2018 [43 favorites]
Only if we don't correct for the top 1% siphoning off all the value added to the economy by everyone else's labor.
posted by Gelatin at 8:39 AM on May 11, 2018 [43 favorites]
Anyway, this is not to defend Manchin's Haspel vote. Maybe he's wrong that he needed to do it electorally, or maybe he's just a bad person who thinks torture is cool. But it's certain that a) he's still better than Morrisey would be, and b) he's won statewide election five times as a Democrat while the state has moved massively right.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:44 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:44 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
'Keep America Great': After year in office, Trump unveils 2020 campaign slogan
posted by kirkaracha at 8:48 AM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
Less than two years after Donald Trump promised to make America great, he seemed to declare mission accomplished on Saturday, revealing that his reelection slogan will be "Keep America Great!"He leaked the slogan last year.
...
"We can't say 'Make America Great Again,' because I already did that," Trump said before thousands of supporters in an airplane hanger.
Halfway through his interview with The Washington Post, Trump shared a bit of news: He already has decided on his slogan for a reelection bid in 2020.I dispute the premise.
“Are you ready?” he said. “ ‘Keep America Great,’ exclamation point.”
“Get me my lawyer!” the president-elect shouted.
Two minutes later, one arrived.
“Will you trademark and register, if you would, if you like it — I think I like it, right? Do this: ‘Keep America Great,’ with an exclamation point. With and without an exclamation. ‘Keep America Great,’ ” Trump said.
“Got it,” the lawyer replied.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:48 AM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
The Most Unlikely D.A. In America -- He’s a biker attorney who specialized in getting small-time defendants off. He’s considered a gang member by Texas police. And now he’s the county’s chief prosecutor. Can Mark Gonzalez change the system?
posted by Chrysostom at 8:51 AM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:51 AM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Less than two years after Donald Trump promised to make America great, he seemed to declare mission accomplished
It's been done, and it proved premature then, too.
posted by Gelatin at 8:53 AM on May 11, 2018
It's been done, and it proved premature then, too.
posted by Gelatin at 8:53 AM on May 11, 2018
If you translate “great” as “pay constant, worshipful attention to the Orange Duce”, it all makes sense.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:56 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:56 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
FBI Warned of Spy Links To Oligarch Who Paid Cohen (NPR via PoliticalWire)
“The FBI warned four years ago that a foundation controlled by the Russian oligarch who allegedly reimbursed Donald Trump’s personal lawyer might have been acting on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services,” NPR reports.
“FBI Special Agent in Charge Lucia Ziobro wrote an unusual column in the Boston Business Journal in April of 2014 to warn that a foundation controlled by Russian energy baron Viktor Vekselberg might be part of a Moscow spying campaign that sought to siphon up American science and technology.”
Guys I'm beginning to wonder if Russian mob money and the Russian state Intelligence apparatus played a decisive role in the election of a wholly unfit racist former reality-show host.*
*not wondering. Everybody knows it was the fnords.
posted by petebest at 8:58 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
“The FBI warned four years ago that a foundation controlled by the Russian oligarch who allegedly reimbursed Donald Trump’s personal lawyer might have been acting on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services,” NPR reports.
“FBI Special Agent in Charge Lucia Ziobro wrote an unusual column in the Boston Business Journal in April of 2014 to warn that a foundation controlled by Russian energy baron Viktor Vekselberg might be part of a Moscow spying campaign that sought to siphon up American science and technology.”
Guys I'm beginning to wonder if Russian mob money and the Russian state Intelligence apparatus played a decisive role in the election of a wholly unfit racist former reality-show host.*
*not wondering. Everybody knows it was the fnords.
posted by petebest at 8:58 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
> “Finger-pointing won’t help.”
“Finger-pointing” in this context = “taking five minutes to use my almost non-existent critical thinking skills to examine the causes and effects pertinent to my current situation, which may cause me to question the wisdom of the racist policies of the president and party I support, and I can’t have that”
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [22 favorites]
“Finger-pointing” in this context = “taking five minutes to use my almost non-existent critical thinking skills to examine the causes and effects pertinent to my current situation, which may cause me to question the wisdom of the racist policies of the president and party I support, and I can’t have that”
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [22 favorites]
Tweet: So apparently in regards to the whole Schneiderman deal, the reports were made years ago but never pursued and instead sent to Trump/Cohen to use as leverage over Schneiderman.
posted by localhuman at 9:01 AM on May 11, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by localhuman at 9:01 AM on May 11, 2018 [32 favorites]
Yes, when someone decries "finger-pointing" (or "playing the blame game") they almost always obviously mean they just don't want to recognize their own side is at fault.
Cognitive dissonance is a hell of a drug.
posted by Gelatin at 9:02 AM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
Cognitive dissonance is a hell of a drug.
posted by Gelatin at 9:02 AM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
Loyalty, unease in Trump’s Midwest
posted by kirkaracha at 9:08 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
In this region, the Trump presidency is viewed as both reassuring and exhausting, a welcome poke in the eye at elites and the Washington power structure coupled with endless and often self-inflicted distractions. What is also apparent is that, 16 months into Trump’s presidency, many voters here have recalibrated their feelings and intensity of support for the man they backed in 2016.It's a nice in-depth look from the Washington Post. I know, white Trump voters, yadda yadda yadda, but there are some interesting perspectives.
This report traces the long arc of those changing perceptions, from the initial recognition of Trump as an unforeseen political force to the expectations during the early weeks of his presidency, and then through various chapters of chaos, dysfunction and policy changes. The story is told through the voices of the voters — and the degree to which the reservations are now stated more explicitly than they were in early 2017.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:08 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
I mentioned it upthread by my current state house race is turning out to be kind of a referendum on how far you can get with this kind of low-info-targeted non-issue feelgood buzz-phrase don't-point-fingers nonsense campaign.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:10 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:10 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
If the tweet referenced above is true, and Trump/Cohen have been collecting Kompromat on others since 2013, the whole idea that he and Russia have Kompromat on large portions of the Republican party becomes much less of a theory.
posted by localhuman at 9:11 AM on May 11, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by localhuman at 9:11 AM on May 11, 2018 [40 favorites]
b) he's won statewide election five times as a Democrat while the state has moved massively right.
He's pro-life/anti-choice. Fought against gay marriage (and incidentally, was against gay people serving in the military.) He's sued the EPA and is known for being opposed to their regulations and other initiatives, for obvious reasons. He has been saying he'd like to repeal much of the ACA since it became law. He supports Trump's wall.
These were/are all Republican positions. He's held them (other than about the wall) for years. So while the state has shifted right he's gone on voting the way he always has. The state has shifted to the right to meet him. Note that Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller were not as conservative as Manchin.
He keeps getting voted into office because of those stances, and also because West Virginians aren't stupid. The state takes in more federal money than it pays in taxes and they know that they need someone with enough seniority in the Senate to fight for them in budget battles. They also know that Republicans and Democrats will have to woo Manchin if they want his support on close votes. That means a greater likelihood of concessions for WV.
On the good side: he used to have an "A" rating from the NRA, but it looks like they've stopped donating to him since 2012, when he supported background checks after Sandy Hook.
Surprisingly enough, he also came out against Trump's ban of trans servicemembers from the military.
But in any other state, and especially in any blue state, his positions would be held by a Republican, and he'd run as one.
posted by zarq at 9:15 AM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
He's pro-life/anti-choice. Fought against gay marriage (and incidentally, was against gay people serving in the military.) He's sued the EPA and is known for being opposed to their regulations and other initiatives, for obvious reasons. He has been saying he'd like to repeal much of the ACA since it became law. He supports Trump's wall.
These were/are all Republican positions. He's held them (other than about the wall) for years. So while the state has shifted right he's gone on voting the way he always has. The state has shifted to the right to meet him. Note that Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller were not as conservative as Manchin.
He keeps getting voted into office because of those stances, and also because West Virginians aren't stupid. The state takes in more federal money than it pays in taxes and they know that they need someone with enough seniority in the Senate to fight for them in budget battles. They also know that Republicans and Democrats will have to woo Manchin if they want his support on close votes. That means a greater likelihood of concessions for WV.
On the good side: he used to have an "A" rating from the NRA, but it looks like they've stopped donating to him since 2012, when he supported background checks after Sandy Hook.
Surprisingly enough, he also came out against Trump's ban of trans servicemembers from the military.
But in any other state, and especially in any blue state, his positions would be held by a Republican, and he'd run as one.
posted by zarq at 9:15 AM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
"We can't say 'Make America Great Again,' because I already did that," Trump said
Jonathan Chait: Trump Has Now Broken Every One of His Economic Populist Promises
Jonathan Chait: Trump Has Now Broken Every One of His Economic Populist Promises
Donald Trump ran for president as an economic populist. This fact has been largely forgotten, buried by the flurry of bizarre and outrageous actions, and activists on both sides have had little reason to bring it up. Conservatives have pushed the administration to forget its unorthodox gestures and follow Paul Ryan’s lead. Progressives have emphasized the racist and sexist nature of Trump’s appeal. But Trump’s ability to distance himself from his party’s economic brand formed a decisive element of his appeal. Voters actually saw Trump as more moderate than any Republican presidential candidate since 1972. And he has violated every one of his promises.posted by monospace at 9:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times: Wow: A lawyer is claiming that 2 of Eric Schneiderman's alleged victims contacted him in 2013. He says he advised them not to call prosecutors. Instead he says he went to a journalist who then talked to... Donald Trump. And then, the lawyer says, Michael Cohen called him about it
@realDonaldTrump in 2013, while Trump University was being sued by the State of New York: Weiner is gone, Spitzer is gone - next will be lightweight A.G. Eric Schneiderman. Is he a crook? Wait and see, worse than Spitzer or Weiner
Donald Trump has evaded justice not only with carrots, but with sticks. He has a kompromat operation of his very own.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [61 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump in 2013, while Trump University was being sued by the State of New York: Weiner is gone, Spitzer is gone - next will be lightweight A.G. Eric Schneiderman. Is he a crook? Wait and see, worse than Spitzer or Weiner
Donald Trump has evaded justice not only with carrots, but with sticks. He has a kompromat operation of his very own.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [61 favorites]
Top AT&T executive forced out as company says it made a 'big mistake' hiring Michael Cohen
The CEO of AT&T on Friday told his employees that the company made a "big mistake" by hiring Michael Cohen to get insider insight into the Trump administration — a decision said to have cost a top exec his job.
In a memo to staff obtained by Reuters, Randall Stephenson said AT&T made a "serious misjudgment" by paying Cohen as much as $600,000 via Cohen's company Essential Consultants LLC.
Stephenson also said Bob Quinn, AT&T's chief lobbyist who oversaw Cohen's contract with the company, would retire. Citing a person familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported that Quinn was forced out.
posted by Twain Device at 9:23 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
The CEO of AT&T on Friday told his employees that the company made a "big mistake" by hiring Michael Cohen to get insider insight into the Trump administration — a decision said to have cost a top exec his job.
In a memo to staff obtained by Reuters, Randall Stephenson said AT&T made a "serious misjudgment" by paying Cohen as much as $600,000 via Cohen's company Essential Consultants LLC.
Stephenson also said Bob Quinn, AT&T's chief lobbyist who oversaw Cohen's contract with the company, would retire. Citing a person familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported that Quinn was forced out.
posted by Twain Device at 9:23 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
So apparently in regards to the whole Schneiderman deal, the reports were made years ago but never pursued and instead sent to Trump/Cohen to use as leverage over Schneiderman.
Bloomberg: Trump Was Told of Schneiderman Assaults Years Ago, Lawyer Says
Bloomberg: Trump Was Told of Schneiderman Assaults Years Ago, Lawyer Says
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was informed about allegations of sexual misconduct by then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman around 2013, according to a letter filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday.posted by monospace at 9:24 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
“Get me my lawyer!” the president-elect shouted.
Seems like that might be a more appropriate campaign slogan.
posted by maurice at 9:27 AM on May 11, 2018 [83 favorites]
Seems like that might be a more appropriate campaign slogan.
posted by maurice at 9:27 AM on May 11, 2018 [83 favorites]
Donald Trump has evaded justice not only with carrots, but with sticks. He has a kompromat operation of his very own.
The other reason to be glad that D misconduct results in resignations: a newly uncompromised NY AG.
posted by jaduncan at 9:29 AM on May 11, 2018 [44 favorites]
The other reason to be glad that D misconduct results in resignations: a newly uncompromised NY AG.
posted by jaduncan at 9:29 AM on May 11, 2018 [44 favorites]
So apparently in regards to the whole Schneiderman deal, the reports were made years ago but never pursued and instead sent to Trump/Cohen to use as leverage over Schneiderman.
Ronan Farrow, one of the authors of the original New Yorker exposé, says no dice:
posted by schadenfrau at 9:30 AM on May 11, 2018 [64 favorites]
Ronan Farrow, one of the authors of the original New Yorker exposé, says no dice:
Nope. None of our leads came via Trump people, and we had no knowledge of Gleason. No surprise there were other investigations—legit ones and political smears—as allegations were so widespread. But ours didn’t flow from any of that. Women in the story were all Dems, incidentally.And incidentally, this is your daily reminder that it doesn’t fucking matter if Trump or the Russians or Satan himself tipped off anyone to Schneiderman’s abuses, because Schneiderman is still an abuser and needed to fucking go. And that women aren’t going to forget who on the “left” keeps revealing that they don’t actually think women are people.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:30 AM on May 11, 2018 [64 favorites]
Jane Mayer, too: Just to be clear: not one source for our story on Schneiderman has any ties to Trump or Michael Cohen. Our sources all are deeply opposed to Trump and deeply disappointed that Schneiderman let them and their Cause down.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 9:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [35 favorites]
Trump blackmailing Schneiderman does nothing to elevate Schneiderman, and Schneiderman's crimes do nothing to elevate Trump. They were both awful men committing serious crimes and undermining justice.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:34 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:34 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
I didn't intend to mean that the allegations had no basis or that Schneiderman isn't a horrible future felon.
It is also very possible that Ronan and Jane had different sources from the ones that ended up having their complaints forwarded to Trump/Cohen.
posted by localhuman at 9:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
It is also very possible that Ronan and Jane had different sources from the ones that ended up having their complaints forwarded to Trump/Cohen.
posted by localhuman at 9:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
A lawyer is claiming that 2 of Eric Schneiderman's alleged victims contacted him in 2013. He says he advised them not to call prosecutors. Instead he says he went to a journalist who then talked to... Donald Trump. And then, the lawyer says, Michael Cohen called him about it.
The question is why would the lawyer advise ... that ... and the only possible answer (I think?) is Trump/Cohen paid the lawyer to bring them dirt.
He has a kompromat operation of his very own.
Yeah, surely there are other Trump informants. Lots probably.
posted by notyou at 9:39 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
The question is why would the lawyer advise ... that ... and the only possible answer (I think?) is Trump/Cohen paid the lawyer to bring them dirt.
He has a kompromat operation of his very own.
Yeah, surely there are other Trump informants. Lots probably.
posted by notyou at 9:39 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
A lawyer is claiming that 2 of Eric Schneiderman's alleged victims contacted him in 2013. He says he advised them not to call prosecutors. Instead he says he went to a journalist who then talked to... Donald Trump. And then, the lawyer says, Michael Cohen called him about it.
So could Cohen, if not Trump himself, be vulnerable to blackmail or extortion charges in New York State?
posted by Gelatin at 9:46 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
So could Cohen, if not Trump himself, be vulnerable to blackmail or extortion charges in New York State?
posted by Gelatin at 9:46 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
He has a kompromat operation of his very own.
And it all lives (or lived) in Michael Cohen's file cabinets.
This shit is certifiably bananas.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:47 AM on May 11, 2018 [44 favorites]
It's a nice in-depth look from the Washington Post. I know, white Trump voters, yadda yadda yadda, but there are some interesting perspectives.
Jeebus Hux Christ, the lengths white dudes will go to to avoid considering anyone's perspectives but their own. The main thing I took away from that article is that it's a perfect case study in white male privilege. First guy totally perplexed why his gay friend would split from him over his Trump vote when Pence is the most virulently anti-gay politician out there. And a union guy! If he's really concerned about economic recovery, he should know better than to keep drinking the trickle-down Kool-Aid! When has management ever passed tax cuts on to the workers just out of the kindness of their hearts? Second guy who lived very comfortably as a teacher for 40 years, now voting for the party that makes sure current teachers will never have that option. He complains that his cohort are finding it harder to afford the basics, let alone any occasional indulgences, but that's the experience of like 90% of millennials all over the country, and an economic policy that focuses solely on improving life for his rural neighbors--most of which probably own real estate, which is more than a lot of urban and even suburban millennials can ever hope for--isn't going to solve those problems. The "young businessman" who claimed Trump ran on economics and avoided social issues? Cool. I guess relegating immigrants, non-Xtians, LGBTQ people, and women to second-class citizenship is purely economic, and really easy not to see with your white privilege blinders on. The other dude saying he hated Obama basically because he didn't feel adequately catered-to. That 60-year-old white men had been forgotten when the vast vast vast majority of positions of power are held by and for the benefit of 60-year-old white men who view the rest of us as instruments.
It's all so damn exhausting.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 9:50 AM on May 11, 2018 [86 favorites]
Jeebus Hux Christ, the lengths white dudes will go to to avoid considering anyone's perspectives but their own. The main thing I took away from that article is that it's a perfect case study in white male privilege. First guy totally perplexed why his gay friend would split from him over his Trump vote when Pence is the most virulently anti-gay politician out there. And a union guy! If he's really concerned about economic recovery, he should know better than to keep drinking the trickle-down Kool-Aid! When has management ever passed tax cuts on to the workers just out of the kindness of their hearts? Second guy who lived very comfortably as a teacher for 40 years, now voting for the party that makes sure current teachers will never have that option. He complains that his cohort are finding it harder to afford the basics, let alone any occasional indulgences, but that's the experience of like 90% of millennials all over the country, and an economic policy that focuses solely on improving life for his rural neighbors--most of which probably own real estate, which is more than a lot of urban and even suburban millennials can ever hope for--isn't going to solve those problems. The "young businessman" who claimed Trump ran on economics and avoided social issues? Cool. I guess relegating immigrants, non-Xtians, LGBTQ people, and women to second-class citizenship is purely economic, and really easy not to see with your white privilege blinders on. The other dude saying he hated Obama basically because he didn't feel adequately catered-to. That 60-year-old white men had been forgotten when the vast vast vast majority of positions of power are held by and for the benefit of 60-year-old white men who view the rest of us as instruments.
It's all so damn exhausting.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 9:50 AM on May 11, 2018 [86 favorites]
It's blackmail all the way down.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:50 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:50 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
He has a kompromat operation of his very own.
And it all lives (or lived) in Michael Cohen's file cabinets.
Which means Mueller has all of it.
posted by Gelatin at 9:51 AM on May 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
And it all lives (or lived) in Michael Cohen's file cabinets.
Which means Mueller has all of it.
posted by Gelatin at 9:51 AM on May 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
I'd like to know if Trump ever offered to drop the whole Birtherism thing in exchange for some Obama Administration goodies.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:54 AM on May 11, 2018
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:54 AM on May 11, 2018
The "young businessman" who claimed Trump ran on economics and avoided social issues?
Economics like "Mexico will pay for the wall" and "American steel for American infrastructure" and healthcare being a "lot less expensive" for everyone?
Which economic issues does he think the president is doing so great on, that it's worth crushing everyone who's not a cis white Christian male?
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:56 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Economics like "Mexico will pay for the wall" and "American steel for American infrastructure" and healthcare being a "lot less expensive" for everyone?
Which economic issues does he think the president is doing so great on, that it's worth crushing everyone who's not a cis white Christian male?
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:56 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Donald Trump having a journalist informant giving him dirt on the New York AG would be insane enough if it was something that happened since the Mueller investigation started, but 2013? Holy shit does that raise some questions.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:57 AM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 9:57 AM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
I wonder what happens if Mueller's team comes across a trove of dossiers filled with information that can be used to smear other politicians. Do they have to ignore that? It's not related to the investigation. It's not a crime to have the information. On the other hand, it's not like this information should be protected as having to do with another client's interests. If you search someone's house and it's filled with evidence of unrelated crimes committed by other people, I would think you could act on that? If there's evidence that Cohen was blackmailing people on Trump's behalf is that actionable? Just curious about what we'll never know.
posted by xammerboy at 9:58 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 9:58 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Photo of the week: Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, leafs through a Persian-language translation of "Fire and Fury," the explosive campaign expose by @MichaelWolffNYC, at the Tehran book fair today, then posts a picture of it to his @Instagram page.
posted by monospace at 9:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by monospace at 9:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
If you search someone's house and it's filled with evidence of unrelated crimes committed by other people, I would think you could act on that?
Assuming it's not privileged, Mueller could direct other investigators to take a look at it. That's how he referred the Cohen case to the US Attorney in the Southern District of New York.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:02 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Assuming it's not privileged, Mueller could direct other investigators to take a look at it. That's how he referred the Cohen case to the US Attorney in the Southern District of New York.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:02 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
One interesting fact from "Pod Save America" on the Cohen business. I didn't realize that the business payments to Cohen were larger, by far, than to any other lobbyist.
Someone really needs to write an article listing all the things one needs to believe in order to believe these payments weren't straight up bribes. I still don't think a large percentage of the country is getting it.
posted by xammerboy at 10:03 AM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
Someone really needs to write an article listing all the things one needs to believe in order to believe these payments weren't straight up bribes. I still don't think a large percentage of the country is getting it.
posted by xammerboy at 10:03 AM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
Do they have to ignore that? It's not related to the investigation.
They're not allowed to leak it to the general public. They don't have to ignore it; it was turned up as potential evidence in relation to a legitimate case. They can probably turn it over to whatever authorities have the right to seek prosecution:
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:06 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
They're not allowed to leak it to the general public. They don't have to ignore it; it was turned up as potential evidence in relation to a legitimate case. They can probably turn it over to whatever authorities have the right to seek prosecution:
The legislative history indicates that “a court is not defined as an ‘agency’ nor is it intended to be a ‘person’ for purposes of [the Privacy Act],” and that the Act was “not designed to interfere with access to information by the courts.”The Privacy Act is a complex law with nuanced exceptions; there's no simple answer beyond "they can't tell CNN what they found about people." But that info doesn't go away, and it can be requested in other court cases. Whether it's granted depends on those nuances.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:06 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
I still don't think a large percentage of the country is getting it.
Well so far there's no certain link between those payments and Trump himself. The story lately has been that Cohen, acting on his own, went out there and drummed up some consulting contracts, making promises he had no hope of keeping, 'cause that's the kind of grifter he is.
We'll see how long that survives.
posted by notyou at 10:08 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well so far there's no certain link between those payments and Trump himself. The story lately has been that Cohen, acting on his own, went out there and drummed up some consulting contracts, making promises he had no hope of keeping, 'cause that's the kind of grifter he is.
We'll see how long that survives.
posted by notyou at 10:08 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
There are not a ton of good explanations for why that journalist would think "Donald Trump needs to hear about this!" in 2013, and "He is an actual Russian intelligence asset" is one of them. Like, the Evgeny Buryakov spy ring was operating in NYC at that time and dirt on the AG would be super useful for that.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:10 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 10:10 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Every once in a while I get these epiphany moments where something happens and I think “holy shit are the Republicans fucked” and it feels brand new all over again
Like a brief flashback to a blissful trip, almost?
And then I immediately think, oh wait, if they’re this fucked they will absolutely try to take the republic down with them
Until the cycle repeats
Wheeee!
posted by schadenfrau at 10:14 AM on May 11, 2018 [30 favorites]
Like a brief flashback to a blissful trip, almost?
And then I immediately think, oh wait, if they’re this fucked they will absolutely try to take the republic down with them
Until the cycle repeats
Wheeee!
posted by schadenfrau at 10:14 AM on May 11, 2018 [30 favorites]
A major part of Republican philosophy is reflected in Reagan's remark that "government is the problem". In electing Donald Trump, they have done more to promote this belief than they could ever have dreamed possible.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
What I wonder is this - does that lawyer have any potential trouble ahead of him for telling the victims not to call prosecutors, and not reporting it himself?
posted by azpenguin at 10:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 10:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Well so far there's no certain link between those payments and Trump himself. The story lately has been that Cohen, acting on his own, went out there and drummed up some consulting contracts, making promises he had no hope of keeping, 'cause that's the kind of grifter he is.
Counterpoint: "Well, you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen."
posted by mikelieman at 10:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Counterpoint: "Well, you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen."
posted by mikelieman at 10:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
No, there's actually a very good explanation: Schniederman was investigating and going after Trump University in 2013, which was open and public knowledge. That's a lot simpler than believing that Trump and a journalist and were both intelligence assets.
Also, it's the New York Post. They're a Republican rag with a very loyal Wall Street following and they haaaaaate Schneiderman. They've run a couple of dozen (usually breathless) stories since the news broke about him.
Considering the close relationship Trump had with them over the years, it's no surprise they kept him informed of goings-on that he could potentially use to his advantage.
posted by zarq at 10:24 AM on May 11, 2018 [15 favorites]
Also, it's the New York Post. They're a Republican rag with a very loyal Wall Street following and they haaaaaate Schneiderman. They've run a couple of dozen (usually breathless) stories since the news broke about him.
Considering the close relationship Trump had with them over the years, it's no surprise they kept him informed of goings-on that he could potentially use to his advantage.
posted by zarq at 10:24 AM on May 11, 2018 [15 favorites]
And Trump has been a regular - often anonymous - source to the NY Post since the 80s. Of course they look out for one another. (Now consider how he could leverage his relationship with Maggie Haberman and Philip Rucker to receive insider tips on what they hear in D.C.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:27 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:27 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's piecemeal of our whole economy. For the last 30 years or so lower and middle class wages have remained stagnant (while the upper 5% have seen a wage explosion). Quality of life hasn't suffered because prices for goods (e.g. food, clothes, etc.) have dropped dramatically. The price drop is because we are buying goods made from basically slave labor. It's not just a business or two. It's almost anything we buy. We're trapped in that if we bought goods made from workers making a living wage the prices of everything would be absurd.
The stagnation of wages is the effect of deliberate anti-inflation monetary policy - which is a political issue of sorts though monetary policy is ostensibly independent. Inflation is basically workers being able demand more pay.
Anti-inflationary policy is a big giant gift to people who have money. It is a state promise that their money will retain its full current value even if they do nothing productive with it. It is also a promise that any return on investment will be profit rather than requiring active investing and productivity to maintain the value of savings. We have built a huge dependent system around this. Retirement benefits are based on it. State and local budgets are based on it.
It's a major reason why there is runaway wealth at the upper percentiles. Basically we incentivize Scrooge.
posted by srboisvert at 10:28 AM on May 11, 2018 [60 favorites]
The stagnation of wages is the effect of deliberate anti-inflation monetary policy - which is a political issue of sorts though monetary policy is ostensibly independent. Inflation is basically workers being able demand more pay.
Anti-inflationary policy is a big giant gift to people who have money. It is a state promise that their money will retain its full current value even if they do nothing productive with it. It is also a promise that any return on investment will be profit rather than requiring active investing and productivity to maintain the value of savings. We have built a huge dependent system around this. Retirement benefits are based on it. State and local budgets are based on it.
It's a major reason why there is runaway wealth at the upper percentiles. Basically we incentivize Scrooge.
posted by srboisvert at 10:28 AM on May 11, 2018 [60 favorites]
A major part of Republican philosophy is reflected in Reagan's remark that "government is the problem". In electing Donald Trump, they have done more to promote this belief than they could ever have dreamed possible.
This is your semi-regular reminder that P. J. O'Rourke wrote that "Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it" back in 1991.
(It's also interesting to note that while that sentence is arguably true, the first half of O'Rpourke's quip -- "The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn" -- is not a fair cop at all. Democrats simply assert that government can improve the lives of its citizens, which is both true -- as exemplified by Obamacare -- and a notion that Republicans work overtime to obscure -- again, as exemplified by Obamacare.)
posted by Gelatin at 10:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
This is your semi-regular reminder that P. J. O'Rourke wrote that "Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it" back in 1991.
(It's also interesting to note that while that sentence is arguably true, the first half of O'Rpourke's quip -- "The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn" -- is not a fair cop at all. Democrats simply assert that government can improve the lives of its citizens, which is both true -- as exemplified by Obamacare -- and a notion that Republicans work overtime to obscure -- again, as exemplified by Obamacare.)
posted by Gelatin at 10:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [37 favorites]
West Virginia Republican Said Teachers Won’t “Have Any Significant Effect” On Elections. Then They Voted Him Out
(the Intercept, but still of interest)
posted by Chrysostom at 11:08 AM on May 11, 2018 [32 favorites]
(the Intercept, but still of interest)
posted by Chrysostom at 11:08 AM on May 11, 2018 [32 favorites]
Based on the full letter, this Gleason guy seems of kind with Davidson, the lawyer who misdirected Daniels and other accusers. Gleason's reasons for funneling these complaints to a conservative reporter seem just as BS as Davidson's, notwithstanding it was a different era (2013!) and his valid points about the difficulties of prosecuting the prosectors. As far as I can tell, he submitted this letter in order to prevent further details of his discussions with Cohen from coming out, presumably to protect himself against all the nasty details of what he said to Cohen about how to contain these accusations (and he also attacks Avenatti as "reckless" along the way). So on first read, it seems like Gleason is probably just another player in the vast machine engineered to redirect these women from legal pathways towards lawyers and journalists who bottle it all up -- possibly to be used as kompromat later when circumstances permit.
posted by chortly at 11:12 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by chortly at 11:12 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Black activist jailed for his Facebook posts speaks out about secret FBI surveillance, Sam Levin, The Guardian
Keighley made no mention of Balogun’s specific actions at the rally, but noted the marchers’ anti-police statements, such as “oink oink bang bang” and “the only good pig is a pig that’s dead”. The agent also mentioned Balogun’s Facebook posts calling a murder suspect in a police officer’s death a “hero” and expressing “solidarity” with the man who killed officers in Texas when he posted: “They deserve what they got.”Meanwhile, the state representative and former Trump campaign official here in NH who in 2016 publicly called for Hillary Clinton to be “put in the firing line and shot for treason” not only hasn't been arrested, jailed, or even prosecuted, but is still in office, not only faced no repercussions from the Republican Party but rather ran (unsuccessfully) for Speaker of the House last year, and was of course invited to the White House.
Keighley, however, later admitted the FBI had no evidence of Balogun making any specific threats about harming police.
[...]
But since his release one week ago, Balogun has also been forced to confront the harsh reality of life post-incarceration: he lost his vehicle, job and home; his son was forced to move and transfer schools and Balogun missed much of the first year of his newborn daughter’s life.
posted by XMLicious at 11:13 AM on May 11, 2018 [51 favorites]
NPR posted the full transcript of their Kelly interview (why is Kelly doing an interview with NPR in the first place? Because it's the one thing Trump won't hear?).
Also what the hell is this?
Even though people say that's cruel and heartless to take a mother away from her children?"Put into foster care or whatever." I remember when Republicans at least claimed to be compassionate. Similarly:
I wouldn't put it quite that way. The children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever. But the big point is they elected to come illegally into the United States and this is a technique that no one hopes will be used extensively or for very long.
So did you disagree with the decision by your successor Secretary Nielsen that Salvadorans and Hondurans and Haitians who've been here a very long time should have been allowed a path to citizenship?"I don't give a shit" whether you throw these people who have been here for decades out of the country. Charming guy.
I did not talk to her about it. But let me go back to ... Duke, one more time. My phone call to her was I don't give a shit what you decide. Just make a decision. We were at the point we needed to make a decision on that particular group of people. She seemed to be incapable of making it. I just called and said I don't care what you do. Just do something. They stay or they go. ...
In fact, she was in the office here on her last day apologizing for however that story get out. But anyway.
Also what the hell is this?
But after about six weeks in a job one of the reporters said to me, "Look you were our worst nightmare. This place was a clown show before you showed up. We didn't think this president would last a year [or] 18 months. Now that you're here, there's order to the place. The leaks all but went away. So, sorry but you got to go." So here I am, sitting, still here.posted by zachlipton at 11:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
So how do folks square the circle that on the one hand Manchin is necessary because WV wouldn't support a democrat with leftist policies while, on the other hand, teachers agitating for workers' rights managed to oust a right-wing incumbent?
posted by narwhal at 11:17 AM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by narwhal at 11:17 AM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
I wouldn't put it quite that way. The children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever. But the big point is they elected to come illegally into the United States
Applying for asylum is a legal process, and yet Trump's INS still separated parents -- of refugees -- from their children.
Kelly is attempting to portray almost all immigration, at least by Those People, as inherently illegitimate. NPR let him get away with it. We shouldn't.
posted by Gelatin at 11:20 AM on May 11, 2018 [65 favorites]
Applying for asylum is a legal process, and yet Trump's INS still separated parents -- of refugees -- from their children.
Kelly is attempting to portray almost all immigration, at least by Those People, as inherently illegitimate. NPR let him get away with it. We shouldn't.
posted by Gelatin at 11:20 AM on May 11, 2018 [65 favorites]
They voted for a slightly more moderate pro-labor Republican in a district primary. I think that's pretty orthogonal to a statewide general.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:21 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:21 AM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
A major part of Republican philosophy is reflected in Reagan's remark that "government is the problem". In electing Donald Trump, they have done more to promote this belief than they could ever have dreamed possible.
It's all too easy for "government is the problem" to morph into "government is the enemy" in the wrong hands. And here we are.
posted by scalefree at 11:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's all too easy for "government is the problem" to morph into "government is the enemy" in the wrong hands. And here we are.
posted by scalefree at 11:22 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
(why is Kelly doing an interview with NPR in the first place? Because it's the one thing Trump won't hear?).
Because NPR is unthreatening to the point of controlled opposition.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:26 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
Because NPR is unthreatening to the point of controlled opposition.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:26 AM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
via @natemcdermott:
TPUSA's Charlie Kirk on the subject of joking about John McCain's brain cancer:
"I have worked with Kelly Sadler. She is a wonderful person, loyal to @realDonaldTrump, and a loving mother. Whether she said the joke or not is irrelevant. What matters more is the sanctimonious virtue signaling mob that demands firings. This has got to stop. Kelly should stay!"
TPUSA's Charlie Kirk on the subject of joking about Sarah Huckabee Sanders's smoky-eye look:
"The left pretends to be for woman's empowerment, then brutally attacks high ranking women for their looks and appearances if they happen to be conservatives."
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:27 AM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
TPUSA's Charlie Kirk on the subject of joking about John McCain's brain cancer:
"I have worked with Kelly Sadler. She is a wonderful person, loyal to @realDonaldTrump, and a loving mother. Whether she said the joke or not is irrelevant. What matters more is the sanctimonious virtue signaling mob that demands firings. This has got to stop. Kelly should stay!"
TPUSA's Charlie Kirk on the subject of joking about Sarah Huckabee Sanders's smoky-eye look:
"The left pretends to be for woman's empowerment, then brutally attacks high ranking women for their looks and appearances if they happen to be conservatives."
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:27 AM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
A Dusty Congressman Tried to Reclaim Rep. Maxine Waters' Time; It Didn't Go Well
Hello and welcome to another edition of America's favorite game show, They Really Tried It, with your host, Representative Maxine Waters. Today's contestant is Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania (R) who, on Tuesday, took it upon himself to point his finger at Rep. Waters, shake it like a Polaroid picture, and tell her to stop talking about discrimination.Rep. Kelly even tried a little rhyming:
...
Rep. Kelly...really thought that he could take it upon himself to tell Rep Waters, well, anything. Well, audience, we have the results and it turns out, he could not.
...
An unseen congressman tried to interrupt Rep. Waters. That was a mistake. Then the chair interrupted Waters, asking her to direct his remarks to him. "I respect the chair but don't stop me in the middle when you didn't stop him in the middle, and so I will continue."
...
Kelly, it seems, asked her if she would yield the rest of her time, which is both a parliamentary procedure and also completely laughable. Rep. Waters' response: "Having said that, I reserve the balance of my time. I do not yield. Not one second. Not one second to you. Not one second!"
And we are trying to make sure we're making America great every day in every way and the best way to to that is to stop talking about discrimination and start talking about the nation. We're coming together as a people in spite of what you say.posted by kirkaracha at 11:30 AM on May 11, 2018 [49 favorites]
Women can be horrible people too. Sadler isn't being attacked for being a woman, she's being exposed as a horrible person & held accountable for that. Being a woman isn't some kind of protection from accountability.
posted by scalefree at 11:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 11:31 AM on May 11, 2018 [23 favorites]
So how do folks square the circle that on the one hand Manchin is necessary because WV wouldn't support a democrat with leftist policies while, on the other hand, teachers agitating for workers' rights managed to oust a right-wing incumbent?
The vote was 5,787 to 3,749. Manchin won the last election 391,669 to 236,620.
posted by Candleman at 11:32 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
The vote was 5,787 to 3,749. Manchin won the last election 391,669 to 236,620.
posted by Candleman at 11:32 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
She is a wonderful person, loyal to @realDonaldTrump
I know what those words mean, but they don't make any sense when you use them together like that.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:32 AM on May 11, 2018 [19 favorites]
I know what those words mean, but they don't make any sense when you use them together like that.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:32 AM on May 11, 2018 [19 favorites]
NPR is unthreatening to the point of controlled opposition.
It's really a sweet setup when you think about it. The de facto state media is independent enough to maintain deniability while spouting frothing propaganda obviously designed to support to the regime, while the official, actually-beholden-to-government-funding-and-influence state media postures as unbiased, is popularly understood to be liberal, yet somehow always ends up subtly supporting the regime in their coverage.
posted by contraption at 11:34 AM on May 11, 2018 [23 favorites]
It's really a sweet setup when you think about it. The de facto state media is independent enough to maintain deniability while spouting frothing propaganda obviously designed to support to the regime, while the official, actually-beholden-to-government-funding-and-influence state media postures as unbiased, is popularly understood to be liberal, yet somehow always ends up subtly supporting the regime in their coverage.
posted by contraption at 11:34 AM on May 11, 2018 [23 favorites]
The most shocking realization, however, is one that affects us directly: The West as we once knew it no longer exists. Our relationship to the United States cannot currently be called a friendship and can hardly be referred to as a partnership. President Trump has adopted a tone that ignores 70 years of trust. He wants punitive tariffs and demands obedience. It is no longer a question as to whether Germany and Europe will take part in foreign military interventions in Afghanistan or Iraq. It is now about whether trans-Atlantic cooperation on economic, foreign and security policy even exists anymore. The answer: No. It is impossible to overstate what Trump has dismantled in the last 16 months. Europe has lost its protective power. It has lost its guarantor of joint values. And it has lost the global political influence that it was only able to exert because the U.S. stood by its side. And what will happen in the remaining two-and-a-half years (or six-and-a-half years) of Trump's leadership? There is plenty of time left for further escalation.
posted by infini at 11:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by infini at 11:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
The Times has now talked to Gleason. Lawyer for 2 Women Who Say They Were Schneiderman Victims Talked to Michael Cohen
posted by zachlipton at 11:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Mr. Gleason said in an interview that Mr. Cohen had told him that if Mr. Trump were to run for and be elected governor of New York, he would help bring to light the women’s accusations about Mr. Schneiderman. There had been deep animus between Mr. Trump and Mr. Schneiderman ever since Mr. Schneiderman filed a $40 million civil fraud lawsuit against Trump University in August 2013.To be clear, Schneiderman needs to be investigated and prosecuted for serious crimes regardless of what Cohen knew, and Jane Mayer is obviously not a shill for Trump. And I can certainly understand why the women may have wanted to talk to a lawyer but not come forward publicly in 2013. But this is messed up.
Mr. Gleason’s accusations came to light in the letter, filed to Kimba M. Wood, the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the Cohen investigation.
Mr. Gleason also said in the interview, without offering details or corroborating evidence, that he had told elected officials of his concerns about Mr. Schneiderman’s abusive behavior nearly five years ago, but was rebuffed.
Mr. Gleason refused to identify the officials, and said that the women were not among the four who came forward this week in an article in The New Yorker about Mr. Schneiderman’s physical assaults on his former companions.
“The highest levels of our state and city government were well aware of Eric Schneiderman,” he said.
...
Mr. Gleason said that Mr. Trump’s Twitter attack was directly prompted by his conversation with Mr. Cohen.
“That tweet that Trump sent out about Schneiderman,” Mr. Gleason said, “my conversation with Cohen happened shortly before that.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:35 AM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
The children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever.
I'm a foster parent and in my county, at least, the number one state goal of foster care is reunifying kids and parents. It's not cryogenic storage for inconvenient children.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:37 AM on May 11, 2018 [98 favorites]
I'm a foster parent and in my county, at least, the number one state goal of foster care is reunifying kids and parents. It's not cryogenic storage for inconvenient children.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:37 AM on May 11, 2018 [98 favorites]
Mueller Probing Donors to Trump Inauguration
“Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has questioned several witnesses about millions of dollars in donations to President Trump’s inauguration committee last year, including questions about donors with connections to Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” sources with direct knowledge told ABC News.
In Fire and Fury there's a little vignette about Inauguration . . . manager? Tom Barrack being offered a position in Trump's cabinet and giving it a hell-no because of the possibility of investigation into his finances. I believe there was a recent report that he, too, had danced with Mueller in the pale moonlight.
Probably coincidence.
posted by petebest at 11:37 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
“Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has questioned several witnesses about millions of dollars in donations to President Trump’s inauguration committee last year, including questions about donors with connections to Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” sources with direct knowledge told ABC News.
In Fire and Fury there's a little vignette about Inauguration . . . manager? Tom Barrack being offered a position in Trump's cabinet and giving it a hell-no because of the possibility of investigation into his finances. I believe there was a recent report that he, too, had danced with Mueller in the pale moonlight.
Probably coincidence.
posted by petebest at 11:37 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
Chrysostom - thanks for linking to that great article about Texas D.A. Mark Gonzalez.
I've paid so little attention to public attorneys most of my life, but just this year I've seen San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filing the lawsuit over Trump's executive order to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities (along with Santa Clara's attorney), and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón proactively removing past marijuana convictions from people's records, and news from here and there about other things city attorneys (and state Attorneys General!) are doing to fight the good fight and stand up for what's right, and actively promote justice ... it just warms my heart, and reminds me so clearly about how important local politics are, especially in dark times. (And I'm reminded that CA Senator Kamala Harris was District Attorney in San Francisco! And did some good things when she held that office.)
Mark Gonzalez talks about a childhood where the bills sometimes went unpaid and taking cold showers on freezing mornings; needing a new direction when his plans to work at the refinery fell through because the refinery closed; getting inspired to become a lawyer when he pled guilty to DUI at 19, having no representation, and then saw a defense attorney get someone out of a similar charge; making good money as a defense attorney for minorities fighting marijuana charges ... and then deciding to run for D.A. because he wanted to make a difference.
I need to read things like this. Thank you, Chrysostom. (And P.S. to all U.S. voters - remember to pay attention to your state and city races, especially for Attorney General and District Attorney!)
posted by kristi at 11:39 AM on May 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
I've paid so little attention to public attorneys most of my life, but just this year I've seen San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filing the lawsuit over Trump's executive order to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities (along with Santa Clara's attorney), and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón proactively removing past marijuana convictions from people's records, and news from here and there about other things city attorneys (and state Attorneys General!) are doing to fight the good fight and stand up for what's right, and actively promote justice ... it just warms my heart, and reminds me so clearly about how important local politics are, especially in dark times. (And I'm reminded that CA Senator Kamala Harris was District Attorney in San Francisco! And did some good things when she held that office.)
Mark Gonzalez talks about a childhood where the bills sometimes went unpaid and taking cold showers on freezing mornings; needing a new direction when his plans to work at the refinery fell through because the refinery closed; getting inspired to become a lawyer when he pled guilty to DUI at 19, having no representation, and then saw a defense attorney get someone out of a similar charge; making good money as a defense attorney for minorities fighting marijuana charges ... and then deciding to run for D.A. because he wanted to make a difference.
I need to read things like this. Thank you, Chrysostom. (And P.S. to all U.S. voters - remember to pay attention to your state and city races, especially for Attorney General and District Attorney!)
posted by kristi at 11:39 AM on May 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
This isn't remotely exculpatory of Schneiderman -- it's yet more evidence that he had a long history of abuse -- but it does raise the question of who else Trump & Cohen had dirt on and who else they might be trying to blackmail ('leverage over' is perhaps a bit polite).
Just spitballing here, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. have both repeatedly acted in inexplicably conservative ways over the years since then.
posted by msalt at 11:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
Just spitballing here, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. have both repeatedly acted in inexplicably conservative ways over the years since then.
posted by msalt at 11:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
Let's check on the market's reaction to Trump's plan to lower drug prices:
posted by zachlipton at 11:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [38 favorites]
Biotechs = way upYeah. Drug prices aren't going down. I guess Novartis got its money's worth.
Pharma = way up
posted by zachlipton at 11:41 AM on May 11, 2018 [38 favorites]
Mr. Gleason also said in the interview, without offering details or corroborating evidence, that he had told elected officials of his concerns about Mr. Schneiderman’s abusive behavior nearly five years ago, but was rebuffed.
Fucking Cuomo and BdB both. Count on it.
I want all of their heads.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:42 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Fucking Cuomo and BdB both. Count on it.
I want all of their heads.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:42 AM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
And in fact, this summer I'll be taking classes for my foster care licensing on such topics as:
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
- Attachment (included the grieving and trauma children experience after separation)
- Maintaining family connectedness
- "Partners in Permanency" - how to help achieve protection and permanence for children and their families
- Effects of Fostering on the Family - learning how to handle the secondary trauma foster families experience when a child leaves their home
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
AND Cy Vance, as per msalt.
This is all so terrible, but again: if Donald fucking Trump ends up bringing down every asshole in NY by virtue of his singular, wheezing, bumbling incompetence, I will...
I don’t know what I’ll do. I literally cannot conceive of that feeling, or how I will cope with it.
But I want to.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
This is all so terrible, but again: if Donald fucking Trump ends up bringing down every asshole in NY by virtue of his singular, wheezing, bumbling incompetence, I will...
I don’t know what I’ll do. I literally cannot conceive of that feeling, or how I will cope with it.
But I want to.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
The move to elect progressive DAs across the US in major cities -- which are heavily Democratic if not further left, and where racist law enforcement takes its biggest toll -- is one of the most under-reported stories in politics. HUGE implications, not just because of direct results, but because DAs are historically the most effective stepping stone to political office.
Larry Krasner in Philadelphia
Shaun King's nationwide campaign for reformer DAs
Longform: The New Reformer DAs
Elect one near you today!!
posted by msalt at 11:46 AM on May 11, 2018 [38 favorites]
Larry Krasner in Philadelphia
Shaun King's nationwide campaign for reformer DAs
Longform: The New Reformer DAs
Elect one near you today!!
posted by msalt at 11:46 AM on May 11, 2018 [38 favorites]
Not an area of expertise for me but offhand this looks like a mixed bag of
good, bad & indifferent ideas. No idea where it lands on the balance.
President Donald J. Trump’s Blueprint To Lower Drug Prices
posted by scalefree at 11:49 AM on May 11, 2018
good, bad & indifferent ideas. No idea where it lands on the balance.
President Donald J. Trump’s Blueprint To Lower Drug Prices
posted by scalefree at 11:49 AM on May 11, 2018
This is all so terrible, but again: if Donald fucking Trump ends up bringing down every asshole in NY by virtue of his singular, wheezing, bumbling incompetence, I will...
I don’t know what I’ll do. I literally cannot conceive of that feeling, or how I will cope with it.
What if we made the cake with some sort of unpleasant icing?
posted by Mayor West at 11:55 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
I don’t know what I’ll do. I literally cannot conceive of that feeling, or how I will cope with it.
What if we made the cake with some sort of unpleasant icing?
posted by Mayor West at 11:55 AM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
Politico: Giuliani: Cohen not Trump’s lawyer anymore ‘as far as we know’
"If we don't look into the box to see if the radioactive element has randomly slipped him $10, the Michael Cohen can be said to be simultaneously in a state of lawyering and unlawyering."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:57 AM on May 11, 2018 [68 favorites]
"If we don't look into the box to see if the radioactive element has randomly slipped him $10, the Michael Cohen can be said to be simultaneously in a state of lawyering and unlawyering."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:57 AM on May 11, 2018 [68 favorites]
zachlipton: Here's the fact sheet on Trump's drug pricing plan, to be announced tomorrow. I think Novartis got what it paid for: "Other countries use socialized healthcare to command unfairly low prices from U.S. drug makers."
Telling other countries to spend more on drugs is a. not going to be well-received or result in them randomly paying more, and b. not going to magically make drug companies charge Americans less.
Even if I'm somehow successful in getting my neighbor's rent raised, my landlord isn't going to lower mine as a result.
Wow - Trump has crab mentality, and is trying to dictate national and international policy with that mindset.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:01 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Telling other countries to spend more on drugs is a. not going to be well-received or result in them randomly paying more, and b. not going to magically make drug companies charge Americans less.
Even if I'm somehow successful in getting my neighbor's rent raised, my landlord isn't going to lower mine as a result.
Wow - Trump has crab mentality, and is trying to dictate national and international policy with that mindset.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:01 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
The children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever.
I'm a foster parent and in my county, at least, the number one state goal of foster care is reunifying kids and parents. It's not cryogenic storage for inconvenient children.
It's not the foster care that is frightening. It is the "or whatever".
The man is completely blasé about his massive ignorance of the negatives of how a policy he is actively pushing will actually play out.
People should just append "or whatever?" to everything he ever says from now on.
posted by srboisvert at 12:04 PM on May 11, 2018 [54 favorites]
I'm a foster parent and in my county, at least, the number one state goal of foster care is reunifying kids and parents. It's not cryogenic storage for inconvenient children.
It's not the foster care that is frightening. It is the "or whatever".
The man is completely blasé about his massive ignorance of the negatives of how a policy he is actively pushing will actually play out.
People should just append "or whatever?" to everything he ever says from now on.
posted by srboisvert at 12:04 PM on May 11, 2018 [54 favorites]
Politico: Giuliani: Cohen not Trump’s lawyer anymore ‘as far as we know’
This is interesting because of another thing that happened this morning. Avanatti posted the text of an email from Cohen to Davidson dated February 22, 2018. Cohen says he's heard that Clifford is looking for a new lawyer and makes it clear that the "side letter agreement" (the bit with the names) shouldn't be shared with anyone else without his permission.
Cohen signs his email:
This is interesting because of another thing that happened this morning. Avanatti posted the text of an email from Cohen to Davidson dated February 22, 2018. Cohen says he's heard that Clifford is looking for a new lawyer and makes it clear that the "side letter agreement" (the bit with the names) shouldn't be shared with anyone else without his permission.
Cohen signs his email:
Micahel D. Cohen, Esq.A couple months ago. That makes it clear that Cohen considered himself serving as Trump's personal attorney even as he was racking up payments from companies to advise them on Trump. The subject line is notable too:
Personal Attorney to
President Donald J. Trump
And BTW, look at the subject line Mr. Cohen drafted. He has claimed in the case that DD was never a party to the NDA. But he specifically described it as the "PP vs DD NDA" in this email (his words).posted by zachlipton at 12:05 PM on May 11, 2018 [22 favorites]
Giuliani: Cohen not Trump’s lawyer anymore ‘as far as we know’
In most states, the test for whether an attorney-client relationship exists depends either primarily or entirely on (1) whether the client thinks the attorney-client relationship exists, and (2) whether that belief is reasonable.
So, this carries some weight: "Well, you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen."
posted by craven_morhead at 12:05 PM on May 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
In most states, the test for whether an attorney-client relationship exists depends either primarily or entirely on (1) whether the client thinks the attorney-client relationship exists, and (2) whether that belief is reasonable.
So, this carries some weight: "Well, you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen."
posted by craven_morhead at 12:05 PM on May 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
Remember when the Schniederman news first broke, Don Jr immediately gloated "There is a tweet for everything!" and quoted his father's 2013 "Wait and see, worse than Spitzer or Weiner" tweet. He did this despite the fact that even before this newest info, it suggested apparent foreknowledge rather than a man with good hunches or whatever the hell Jr expected us to infer.
So it's not a good look, yet a frustrating aspect is knowing just how many people would see absolutely nothing wrong with keeping that kind of information to oneself for extortionist purposes. Aside from viewing politics as a team sport, that's because their whole attention is on the perpetrator, with the victims as basically props in the story. "Oh, I'm supposed to feel sorry for Schneiderman?" they'll say. "Well I don't -- if anything, what Trump did was merciful! He could have exposed him sooner!" Yeah, no shit. Meanwhile it's probable at least some women would have suffered less if Cohen or Trump had done something with the info. It's hard to imagine them doing so, but the unimaginability of non-scummy behavior is not an excuse for scummy people.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
So it's not a good look, yet a frustrating aspect is knowing just how many people would see absolutely nothing wrong with keeping that kind of information to oneself for extortionist purposes. Aside from viewing politics as a team sport, that's because their whole attention is on the perpetrator, with the victims as basically props in the story. "Oh, I'm supposed to feel sorry for Schneiderman?" they'll say. "Well I don't -- if anything, what Trump did was merciful! He could have exposed him sooner!" Yeah, no shit. Meanwhile it's probable at least some women would have suffered less if Cohen or Trump had done something with the info. It's hard to imagine them doing so, but the unimaginability of non-scummy behavior is not an excuse for scummy people.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Schneiderman is a piece of filth, and Trump is too for basically using knowledge of women’s suffering for his own greed and corruption.
posted by gucci mane at 12:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 12:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
He just can't help himself. It's a compulsion with him. He has to throw in that taunt.
@atrupar Trump, without any sense of irony, just denounced the "middle men" who "became very, very rich" off prescription drugs. #EssentialConsultantsLLC
posted by scalefree at 12:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
@atrupar Trump, without any sense of irony, just denounced the "middle men" who "became very, very rich" off prescription drugs. #EssentialConsultantsLLC
posted by scalefree at 12:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
their whole attention is on the perpetrator, with the victims as basically props in the story.
There's a saying something like, "In the game of patriarchy, women aren't the opposing team, we're the ball."
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:28 PM on May 11, 2018 [76 favorites]
There's a saying something like, "In the game of patriarchy, women aren't the opposing team, we're the ball."
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:28 PM on May 11, 2018 [76 favorites]
Europe has lost its protective power. It has lost its guarantor of joint values. And it has lost the global political influence that it was only able to exert because the U.S. stood by its side. And what will happen in the remaining two-and-a-half years (or six-and-a-half years) of Trump's leadership? There is plenty of time left for further escalation.
posted by infini at 11:35 AM on May 11 [7 favorites +] [!]
We watched the slow-motion trainwreck happen over time, flowing logically from the steps taken in plain sight. Back in the dusty old days, conservatives/right wingers were staunchly pro-Europe and supported NATO and generally warmly approved of our strongest allies there. Then it became clear that Europe was routinely putting the lie to the evolving story that conservatives were telling: that public schools couldn't be good, that healthcare couldn't be provided to everyone, that universal safety nets were a drain on society and high worker wages dragged the economy down. They had no choice but to start the demonization of all things European, by sneering at their culture and telling horror stories about their government programs and high taxes. Shortly thereafter, we began to see some on the right oddly admiring of this new president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. It was subtle at first, but during the Obama presidency, Putin began to be lionized as a counterexample to the tentativeness and political correctness that the right wing ascribed to our first black, foreign-born president. It's not clear when Putin himself decided to jump in and accelerate this process, but I suspect it didn't take him too long to notice the phenomenon and, like a good spy who can recognize an asset, quickly mount an attack to that would take advantage of these trends by encouraging the adulation of Trump and disparaging all things European. I'm not sure Putin expected to be as successful as he has been in taking over the QEII that is US foreign policy any more than the 9/11 highjackers expected to be able to topple the World Trade Center towers.
But he was and here we are.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by infini at 11:35 AM on May 11 [7 favorites +] [!]
We watched the slow-motion trainwreck happen over time, flowing logically from the steps taken in plain sight. Back in the dusty old days, conservatives/right wingers were staunchly pro-Europe and supported NATO and generally warmly approved of our strongest allies there. Then it became clear that Europe was routinely putting the lie to the evolving story that conservatives were telling: that public schools couldn't be good, that healthcare couldn't be provided to everyone, that universal safety nets were a drain on society and high worker wages dragged the economy down. They had no choice but to start the demonization of all things European, by sneering at their culture and telling horror stories about their government programs and high taxes. Shortly thereafter, we began to see some on the right oddly admiring of this new president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. It was subtle at first, but during the Obama presidency, Putin began to be lionized as a counterexample to the tentativeness and political correctness that the right wing ascribed to our first black, foreign-born president. It's not clear when Putin himself decided to jump in and accelerate this process, but I suspect it didn't take him too long to notice the phenomenon and, like a good spy who can recognize an asset, quickly mount an attack to that would take advantage of these trends by encouraging the adulation of Trump and disparaging all things European. I'm not sure Putin expected to be as successful as he has been in taking over the QEII that is US foreign policy any more than the 9/11 highjackers expected to be able to topple the World Trade Center towers.
But he was and here we are.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [45 favorites]
Courthouse News: Manafort Attorney Seeks to Keep Documents Under Seal "An attorney for Paul Manafort asked a federal judge Friday to keep several documents under seal while he considered whether to toss criminal charges against the former Trump campaign chairman. The request was entered in a federal court in Virginia, one of two venues where Manafort will stand trial later this year, by Manafort attorney Kevin Downing. The documents Downing would like kept under seal include warrants, affidavits, return slips, inventory lists and lease agreements, are already redacted in part, that were filed along with an April 30 memorandum." (Maybe after Judge Ellis dressed down Mueller's team, Manafort's lawyers are hoping for more favorable rulings over their defense tactics.)
Incidentally, after the D.C. judge's rejection of Mueller's request for a delay in the Internet Research Agency/Concord Management trial last Friday, the lawyers for "Putin's Cook" entered a not-guilty plea on Wednesday (Politico).
Oh, and Giuliani told AP that Trump probably won't decide whether he will sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller until after the president's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month. "He said that the demands on Trump's time meant that his legal team had 'not done a lot' in terms of preparing the president for a possible in-person interview."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Incidentally, after the D.C. judge's rejection of Mueller's request for a delay in the Internet Research Agency/Concord Management trial last Friday, the lawyers for "Putin's Cook" entered a not-guilty plea on Wednesday (Politico).
Oh, and Giuliani told AP that Trump probably won't decide whether he will sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller until after the president's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month. "He said that the demands on Trump's time meant that his legal team had 'not done a lot' in terms of preparing the president for a possible in-person interview."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Re Schneiderman, Trump and blackmail: Not just corrupt, but corrupt and stupid. Like something out of a Jackie Collins novel with the corrupt gangster blackmailing the equally corrupt movie producer. And this is now our government. We've gone from upstanding no-drama Obama to...this. "Drain The Swamp" lolsob.
Thankfully, Barbara Underwood, the new AG, doesn't seem the type to be a blackmailable scumbag. I hope she, and/or whoever succeeds her, will keep up the good work on investigating this merry crew of scum and villainy. (And, as mentioned above, there's plenty more AG's in other states and cities who could also bring charges to bear against Trump.)
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Thankfully, Barbara Underwood, the new AG, doesn't seem the type to be a blackmailable scumbag. I hope she, and/or whoever succeeds her, will keep up the good work on investigating this merry crew of scum and villainy. (And, as mentioned above, there's plenty more AG's in other states and cities who could also bring charges to bear against Trump.)
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Does anyone know why Barbara Underwood has not been mentioned as a permanent replacement for Schneiderman?
posted by msalt at 12:34 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by msalt at 12:34 PM on May 11, 2018
Does anyone know why Barbara Underwood has not been mentioned as a permanent replacement for Schneiderman?
Preet Bharara on his podcast Thursday said Underwood should be the appointment until the election. He specifically said he would not accept an appointment, although he left the door open to running in November for the full term.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Preet Bharara on his podcast Thursday said Underwood should be the appointment until the election. He specifically said he would not accept an appointment, although he left the door open to running in November for the full term.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Foreign Policy, Top State Department Nuclear Expert Announces Resignation After Trump Iran Deal Exit. I mean, it's not like we need any proliferation experts at this particular point in time.
@lachlan: Tom Steyer's super PAC is out with a cheery new ad for Mother's Day warning moms that their conservative kids are turning into Nazis
I'm far from convinced it's an effective ad at all, but it's a hell of a thing.
Meanwhile, Sanders is refusing to apologize to McCain or say anything about Sadler's comments at all, though she eventually acknowledges Sadler still has a job.
And this is a hell of a spin job. @atrupar: OMG -- Sanders says payments AT&T made to Michael Cohen's shell company is actually "evidence that Trump is draining the swamp" because AT&T's merger hasn't been approved yet
posted by zachlipton at 12:38 PM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
@lachlan: Tom Steyer's super PAC is out with a cheery new ad for Mother's Day warning moms that their conservative kids are turning into Nazis
I'm far from convinced it's an effective ad at all, but it's a hell of a thing.
Meanwhile, Sanders is refusing to apologize to McCain or say anything about Sadler's comments at all, though she eventually acknowledges Sadler still has a job.
And this is a hell of a spin job. @atrupar: OMG -- Sanders says payments AT&T made to Michael Cohen's shell company is actually "evidence that Trump is draining the swamp" because AT&T's merger hasn't been approved yet
posted by zachlipton at 12:38 PM on May 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
President Donald J. Trump’s Blueprint To Lower Drug Prices
Not an area of expertise for me but offhand this looks like a mixed bag of
good, bad & indifferent ideas. No idea where it lands on the balance.
This plan was written by HHS Secretary Alex Azar, former president of Eli Lilly and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. Gottlieb has received millions of dollars working for over 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Vertex Pharmaceuticals which charges over $250,000 per year for a cystic fibrosis drug.
Trump's "Blueprint" will be about as effective at reducing drug prices as BE BEST.
posted by JackFlash at 12:40 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Not an area of expertise for me but offhand this looks like a mixed bag of
good, bad & indifferent ideas. No idea where it lands on the balance.
This plan was written by HHS Secretary Alex Azar, former president of Eli Lilly and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. Gottlieb has received millions of dollars working for over 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Vertex Pharmaceuticals which charges over $250,000 per year for a cystic fibrosis drug.
Trump's "Blueprint" will be about as effective at reducing drug prices as BE BEST.
posted by JackFlash at 12:40 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Foreign Policy, Top State Department Nuclear Expert Announces Resignation After Trump Iran Deal Exit. I mean, it's not like we need any proliferation experts at this particular point in time.
Speaking of which...
The U.S. military wants more plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads.
Speaking of which...
The U.S. military wants more plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is concerned that the government isn’t moving quickly enough to ramp up American production of the plutonium cores that trigger nuclear warheads, as the Trump administration proceeds with a $1 trillion overhaul of the nation’s nuclear force.posted by scalefree at 12:48 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Questioning about production of the warhead cores is likely to figure into a testimony that Energy Secretary Rick Perry was slated to give Thursday to the Senate Armed Services Committee, a rare appearance by the top energy official at the Senate body that oversees the military.
Plutonium cores are often called plutonium pits because they rest inside nuclear bombs like pits inside stone fruits.
At issue is the Pentagon’s demand that the National Nuclear Security Administration — overseen by the Department of Energy — be able to produce 80 plutonium pits a year by 2030 to sustain the military’s nuclear weapons. Roughly the size of a grapefruit, plutonium pits that trigger warheads sometimes need to be replaced as they degrade or end up destroyed during evaluation.
I've talked before about the racism baked into Michigan's Medicaid work requirement plan. The Post crunched the numbers, and it's even worse than I thought. Michigan’s GOP has a plan to shield some people from Medicaid work requirements. They’re overwhelmingly white.
The graph in the article makes it clear:
posted by zachlipton at 12:52 PM on May 11, 2018 [60 favorites]
The graph in the article makes it clear:
Group facing work requirements [706K people] is:The plan operates at a county level, so even if you live in Detroit or Flint, where the unemployment rate is above 8.5%, you're not exempt because the county you live in has an overall lower unemployment rate, whether not not you could possibly get to a job in another part of the county.
-- 57% white
-- 23% black
Group that'd be exempted [29K people] is:
-- 85% white
-- 1.2% (!) black
posted by zachlipton at 12:52 PM on May 11, 2018 [60 favorites]
Gonna give you a precise transcript of this because it's spectacular:
Q: This week the CEOs of AT&T and Novartis both said that they thought it was a mistake for their companies to work with the President's lawyer. Does the President think it was a mistake for his lawyer to work with them?posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:03 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Sarah Sanders, boldly declining to use the standard "I'll have to refer you to outside counsel" line: I think this further proves that the President's not going to be influenced by special interests. This is actually the definition of 'Draining the Swamp', something the President talked about repeatedly during the campaign, and for anything beyond that I would direct you to the President's outside counsel.
Q: Uh... explain in what way this is the definition of 'Draining the Swamp'.
Sarah Sanders: I think it's pretty clear that the Department of Justice opposed the merger and certainly the President or his Administration has not been influenced by any outside special interest.
msalt: "Does anyone know why Barbara Underwood has not been mentioned as a permanent replacement for Schneiderman?"
I have seen her mentioned. Obviously, there are other interested folks, too.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:03 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have seen her mentioned. Obviously, there are other interested folks, too.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:03 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
So if I'm following the SHS argment correctly, it's that the executive branch obviously resisted being influenced in any way, or else Novartis and AT&T would be telling the world that paying Cohen was the best investment they'd ever made, rather than a mistake.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:10 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:10 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I've talked before about the racism baked into Michigan's Medicaid work requirement plan. The Post crunched the numbers, and it's even worse than I thought. Michigan’s GOP has a plan to shield some people from Medicaid work requirements. They’re overwhelmingly white.
That would seem to be a sure-fire case for seeking to stay that law based on equal protection grounds? Though with this SCOTUS, who knows?
posted by Gelatin at 1:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
That would seem to be a sure-fire case for seeking to stay that law based on equal protection grounds? Though with this SCOTUS, who knows?
posted by Gelatin at 1:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Hah, SHS' comments re: Cohen's fees from AT&T and Novartis. Everyone knows Trump never delivers on his end of the deal.
posted by notyou at 1:15 PM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by notyou at 1:15 PM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
It's within the realm of possibility that the Executive Branch simply asked for more money than AT&T and Novartis were willing to pay.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:21 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:21 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Help me out here. Is there any evidence that the money given to Cohen by these companies ended up in the hands of Trump, his family, or his company in some fashion? Not speculation, but some reliable report or evidence.
posted by runcibleshaw at 1:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 1:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
OK, guys, I figured it out. I fell and bumped my head after drinking too much celebrating Hillary's win on election night and I've been in a coma nightmare ever since. Can I please wake up now?
posted by kirkaracha at 1:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 1:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
In case you needed something to get you fired up to get you through this Friday afternoon: Counties In Southern Illinois Declare That They Are Gun Sanctuaries (NPR, May 11, 2018)
This is all because "those liberals" want to take away country folks' bump stocks, and require that anyone who buys an assault weapon is at least 21 years old, and force gun dealers to get a state license. You know, stuff that really impinges on their rights to defend their homes, and hunt turkeys and deer and such. Because younger people need assault weapons, and everyone needs bump stocks, which they should be able to purchase from anyone at any time.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
Bryan Kibler, state's attorney for Effingham County, which passed a resolution stating objections to certain proposed gun-related legislation [and] It went further, declaring sanctuary status for firearms. It was Kibler's idea to use the sanctuary terminology.Bryan Kibler, Illinois Crisis Actor.
KIBLER: It kind of became kind of an aspect of a larger culture war that we're just playing our little part with it.
Mony Ruiz-Velasco has long worked on immigrants' rights issues in the Chicago area. She says the resolutions being passed stand in stark contrast to other sanctuary efforts.Emphasis mine, to highlight the toxic conservative double-speak used here.
MONY RUIZ-VELASCO: The policies that we work on with the community have a very different focus and a very different intent. In some ways, I think it is a twisted version of it. We are disappointed to see that adoption of our language and co-opting of our language.
This is all because "those liberals" want to take away country folks' bump stocks, and require that anyone who buys an assault weapon is at least 21 years old, and force gun dealers to get a state license. You know, stuff that really impinges on their rights to defend their homes, and hunt turkeys and deer and such. Because younger people need assault weapons, and everyone needs bump stocks, which they should be able to purchase from anyone at any time.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
Is there any evidence that the money given to Cohen by these companies ended up in the hands of Trump, his family, or his company in some fashion?
The money was paid to the same Cohen-owned LLC which paid hush money to Stormy Daniels right before the election. The money benefited Trump even if it was never transferred to the Trump Organization.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:27 PM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
The money was paid to the same Cohen-owned LLC which paid hush money to Stormy Daniels right before the election. The money benefited Trump even if it was never transferred to the Trump Organization.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:27 PM on May 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
Of course, it's obvious to me that the the word "mistake" was used by Novartis with regard to legality/ethics, not accomplishment or lack of it. (Whether the deal paid off is only tangentially relevant, in the same way that the electoral success of Russian collusion is only tangentially relevant to that wrongness.) And I think that's obvious to Sanders also, she's just lying as usual.
A genuine drain-the-swamp president would have fired Cohen the instant he learned about this (if we want to pretend he learned it the same day everyone else did). In fact, considering how he's made a show of "returning" his presidential paycheck to the government... pretending to "catch" Cohen and AT&T would have been a darkly brilliant way for him to pick up the credibility so many are eager to grant him. Lucky thing he's too craven/etc for that kind of chess move.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
A genuine drain-the-swamp president would have fired Cohen the instant he learned about this (if we want to pretend he learned it the same day everyone else did). In fact, considering how he's made a show of "returning" his presidential paycheck to the government... pretending to "catch" Cohen and AT&T would have been a darkly brilliant way for him to pick up the credibility so many are eager to grant him. Lucky thing he's too craven/etc for that kind of chess move.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Bryan Kibler, state's attorney for Effingham County,...
Please, writers, just stop it. I can't take it anymore.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
Please, writers, just stop it. I can't take it anymore.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
Please, writers, just stop it. I can't take it anymore.
Effingham is, of course, mere miles away from the Embarras River (though locals will make sure to tell you it's pronounced EM-bra).
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Effingham is, of course, mere miles away from the Embarras River (though locals will make sure to tell you it's pronounced EM-bra).
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Is there any evidence that the money given to Cohen by these companies ended up in the hands of Trump, his family, or his company in some fashion?
Not yet -- they're going with Cohen just thought it up and did it, Colonel Kurtz-style.
But it's early days.
posted by notyou at 1:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not yet -- they're going with Cohen just thought it up and did it, Colonel Kurtz-style.
But it's early days.
posted by notyou at 1:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Effingham IL is home to one of if not the largest cross in America, so it's not surprising to see some culture-warrior crap flowing from there.
Also there is or was a Ramada Express there right next to a Steak n Shake so one could pull in after a hard day's drive from D/FW or Toronto, get the dog settled, and then walk over to Steak n Shake to get some Steak to go, possibly n some Shake for afters.
Also also one time we had stopped there or possibly Vandalia and I think we were checking in and there was a trucker talking about the storms in the area and how there had been -- because he seriously sounded like the guy in Sling Blade -- tornaders and now we occasionally mention them french-fried tornaders.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:40 PM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Also there is or was a Ramada Express there right next to a Steak n Shake so one could pull in after a hard day's drive from D/FW or Toronto, get the dog settled, and then walk over to Steak n Shake to get some Steak to go, possibly n some Shake for afters.
Also also one time we had stopped there or possibly Vandalia and I think we were checking in and there was a trucker talking about the storms in the area and how there had been -- because he seriously sounded like the guy in Sling Blade -- tornaders and now we occasionally mention them french-fried tornaders.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:40 PM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Is there any evidence that the money given to Cohen by these companies ended up in the hands of Trump, his family, or his company in some fashion?
Not yet -- they're going with Cohen just thought it up and did it, Colonel Kurtz-style.
But it's early days.
posted by notyou at 1:39 PM on May 11 [+] [!]
It's not direct proof, but the reason I suspect that money went largely to Trump is that Cohen took out a personal loan to pay off Stephanie Clifford. If that money was still in EC LLC's bank account or invested on its behalf, just paying it from that account, or, alternatively, the LLC taking out a loan based on solid assets, would make more sense. I assume that the LLC is simply a passthrough to the Trump organization.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:44 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
MetaFilter: french-fried tornaders
posted by reductiondesign at 1:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by reductiondesign at 1:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's within the realm of possibility that the Executive Branch simply asked for more money than AT&T and Novartis were willing to pay.
AT&T maybe, but it seems like Novartis got what they were looking for what with Trump's plan to reduce [the difference in] drug prices [between the US and other countries].
posted by duoshao at 1:52 PM on May 11, 2018
AT&T maybe, but it seems like Novartis got what they were looking for what with Trump's plan to reduce [the difference in] drug prices [between the US and other countries].
posted by duoshao at 1:52 PM on May 11, 2018
It's not direct proof, but the reason I suspect that money went largely to Trump is that Cohen took out a personal loan to pay off Stephanie Clifford. If that money was still in EC LLC's bank account or invested on its behalf, just paying it from that account, or, alternatively, the LLC taking out a loan based on solid assets, would make more sense. I assume that the LLC is simply a passthrough to the Trump organization.
Also, you have to look at a timeline (bring out the red string!). The signed contracts (and payments?) to Stormy Daniels happened mid Oct 2016, but Cohen was contracting with Novartis (and ATT?) in Spring 2017, right? It makes sense to me that Essential Consultants was really cash poor prior to the election, and then used to collect bribe money once the election occurred, possibly to pay off the "incurred debts" from other payoffs.
I'm going off on memory here, but it would be nice to to have a timeline of the inflow/outflows of EC LLC. I bet Mueller's string board(s) is AMAZING
posted by Hermeowne Grangepurr at 1:59 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Also, you have to look at a timeline (bring out the red string!). The signed contracts (and payments?) to Stormy Daniels happened mid Oct 2016, but Cohen was contracting with Novartis (and ATT?) in Spring 2017, right? It makes sense to me that Essential Consultants was really cash poor prior to the election, and then used to collect bribe money once the election occurred, possibly to pay off the "incurred debts" from other payoffs.
I'm going off on memory here, but it would be nice to to have a timeline of the inflow/outflows of EC LLC. I bet Mueller's string board(s) is AMAZING
posted by Hermeowne Grangepurr at 1:59 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Counties In Southern Illinois Declare That They Are Gun Sanctuaries
Cool, let's just send all the country's guns there to let them safely roam free away from everybody.
posted by jason_steakums at 2:06 PM on May 11, 2018 [66 favorites]
Cool, let's just send all the country's guns there to let them safely roam free away from everybody.
posted by jason_steakums at 2:06 PM on May 11, 2018 [66 favorites]
Of course I'll never forget that day I got home from school and my Mom sat me down to tell me they'd brought my gun to a nice farm upstate where it could play with all the other guns all day
posted by saturday_morning at 2:13 PM on May 11, 2018 [82 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 2:13 PM on May 11, 2018 [82 favorites]
It turns out "Drain" the swamp was meant in the same way a financial dom means it.
posted by goHermGO at 2:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by goHermGO at 2:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
FFS, can they just choose something other than guns to have their culture war over? There's plenty of things less dangerous than guns to rally around in this stupid symbolic tribalism. Pick truck nutz. I promise, I will personally oppose, cry about, and act triggered (their version, not the real thing) and upset about truck nutz. I will support legislation banning tuck nutz that they can all get heated up about. I promise I will play my part in the performance.
That's right: gun-loving conservatives, just reach-around and give it up on the guns, and we can still make this work. I promise, we can still argue about something. I know that's all you really want. I will Come For Your Nutz.
posted by mrgoat at 2:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [38 favorites]
That's right: gun-loving conservatives, just reach-around and give it up on the guns, and we can still make this work. I promise, we can still argue about something. I know that's all you really want. I will Come For Your Nutz.
posted by mrgoat at 2:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [38 favorites]
Help me out here. Is there any evidence that the money given to Cohen by these companies ended up in the hands of Trump, his family, or his company in some fashion? Not speculation, but some reliable report or evidence.
I think we only know that Cohen deposited payments for his consultancy work to the same account he used to make payments on Trump's behalf to Stormy Daniels.
Now, is it normal to use the same account for your personal lawyer business and your consultancy's? No. Is it normal to "funnel" payments through a third party? No. Is it believable that Novartis was getting healthcare expertise from Cohen? Aerospace? Communications? No. Is it believable these businesses coincidentally hired Cohen just when major decisions affecting their companies were before the government? No. Is it believable this was a consultancy fee when it's much bigger than any other consultancy's fees? No.
Suppose we do come to know. Mueller may know. There are still 3.4 million dollars worth of payments we know nothing about. Will Trump's goose be cooked then? No. There's nothing illegal about this. Companies giving money to a politician is free speech.
posted by xammerboy at 2:48 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
I think we only know that Cohen deposited payments for his consultancy work to the same account he used to make payments on Trump's behalf to Stormy Daniels.
Now, is it normal to use the same account for your personal lawyer business and your consultancy's? No. Is it normal to "funnel" payments through a third party? No. Is it believable that Novartis was getting healthcare expertise from Cohen? Aerospace? Communications? No. Is it believable these businesses coincidentally hired Cohen just when major decisions affecting their companies were before the government? No. Is it believable this was a consultancy fee when it's much bigger than any other consultancy's fees? No.
Suppose we do come to know. Mueller may know. There are still 3.4 million dollars worth of payments we know nothing about. Will Trump's goose be cooked then? No. There's nothing illegal about this. Companies giving money to a politician is free speech.
posted by xammerboy at 2:48 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
I called the DC office of my Senator, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), to ask what he meant when he was quoted by journalist Matt Laslo as saying "We don't have to worry about [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions... You don't have to know why. We just don't have to worry about him." The staffer said that the Senator had not made any clarifying remarks regarding the statement. I said that I would like to know what he meant because, since the Attorney General had recused himself from the Special Counsel's Russia investigation, the President might be trying to replace him with someone who could undermine or end the Special Counsel's investigation, and that, since this might determine whether the country is governed by a President or a King above the law, whether we live in a Democracy or an Autocracy in which the leader has free rein to engage in criminality, it would be best if the Senator chose not to drop playfully coquettish hints about the matter as if he is playing a marvelously fun game. I was thanked and my message will be passed along
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:59 PM on May 11, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:59 PM on May 11, 2018 [64 favorites]
Suppose we do come to know. Mueller may know. There are still 3.4 million dollars worth of payments we know nothing about. Will Trump's goose be cooked then? No. There's nothing illegal about this. Companies giving money to a politician is free speech.
Citation needed. As mentioned upthread, though Citizens United equated money with speech, it didn't entirely gut campaign finance law. Just mostly.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Citation needed. As mentioned upthread, though Citizens United equated money with speech, it didn't entirely gut campaign finance law. Just mostly.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's true I don't know for sure if it would be legal. I am not a lawyer. I'll look into it.
posted by xammerboy at 3:11 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by xammerboy at 3:11 PM on May 11, 2018
I bet Mueller's string board(s) is AMAZING
This is Mueller's string board.
posted by eclectist at 3:16 PM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
This is Mueller's string board.
posted by eclectist at 3:16 PM on May 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
Of course I'll never forget that day I got home from school and my Mom sat me down to tell me they'd brought my gun to a nice farm upstate where it could play with all the other guns all day
I've got bad news. They flushed your gun down the toilet.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
I've got bad news. They flushed your gun down the toilet.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Bryan Kibler, state's attorney for Effingham County,...
It's named after Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham. He was a British officer who resigned his commission in protest against the war against the colonies. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon for "what the fuck?"
posted by kirkaracha at 3:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's named after Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham. He was a British officer who resigned his commission in protest against the war against the colonies. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon for "what the fuck?"
posted by kirkaracha at 3:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
BuzzFeed, The Trump Administration Just Rolled Back Rules That Protect Transgender Prisoners
The Trump administration on Friday rolled back rules that allowed transgender inmates to use facilities that match their gender identity, including cell blocks and bathrooms, thereby reversing course on an Obama administration effort to protect transgender prisoners from sexual abuse and assault.posted by zachlipton at 3:42 PM on May 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
The Bureau of Prisons now “will use biological sex” to make initial determinations in the type of housing transgender inmates are assigned, according to a notice posted Friday evening that modifies the previous policy.
“The designation to a facility of the inmate’s identified gender would be appropriate only in rare cases,” the new Transgender Offender Manual now says.
Does anyone know why Barbara Underwood has not been mentioned as a permanent replacement for Schneiderman?
My opinion is that Underwood is overqualified and should be on the Supreme Court.
posted by mikelieman at 3:50 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
My opinion is that Underwood is overqualified and should be on the Supreme Court.
posted by mikelieman at 3:50 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wouldn’t it be nice if progressives would stop minimizing this pay Cohen for access scandal as political business as usual?
And of course the New York Times
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:50 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
And of course the New York Times
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:50 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Wouldn’t it be nice if progressives would stop minimizing this pay Cohen for access scandal as political business as usual? Here’s a chance to get the fuckers on a stake and shift business as usual.
Politico Playbook Can Fuck Right Off
posted by contraption at 3:53 PM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
Politico Playbook Can Fuck Right Off
posted by contraption at 3:53 PM on May 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
The transgender rules in prison are going to lead to rapes and deaths, and their blood is on the hands of this administration.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 3:55 PM on May 11, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 3:55 PM on May 11, 2018 [49 favorites]
Totally normal behavior for the head of a federal watchdog agency, This man runs a federal agency near Washington — from his home in Dallas (WaPo). Of course there's excessive spending on an office he never uses, and here's how conducted himself before he was running the agency:
Concerns about McWatters’s teleworking surfaced during a board meeting in February 2016, almost a year before he became the agency’s leader.posted by peeedro at 3:57 PM on May 11, 2018 [23 favorites]
McWatters was complaining that his colleagues had not adopted a wording change he had proposed, at 6 p.m. the night before, to a rule they were considering. He suggested they should be more flexible, particularly because “from the perspective of a practicing lawyer, 6 o’clock is practically the middle of the day,” a transcript and video of the meeting show.
Deborah Matz, then the chair, and Rick Metsger, then the vice chairman, bridled at the criticism.
“Perhaps if you came to the office more than three days a month and got your briefing more than two days in advance of our meeting, we’d be able to have discussions about issues in a timely fashion,” Matz, a Democrat, told McWatters.
There may be no infrastructure bill coming this year, but that's not stopping us from having Infrastructure Week next week. Trump has proclaimed National Transportation Week (as is typical) and there will be infrastructure events across the country.
Be sure to have your cake vendors on standby.
posted by zachlipton at 4:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Be sure to have your cake vendors on standby.
posted by zachlipton at 4:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
The Trump Organization: a loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires and baby
posted by kirkaracha at 4:36 PM on May 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:36 PM on May 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
It appears Trump is ramping up cruelty as a political play. There is no reason to rip families, some fleeing oppressive regimes or gangs, apart at the border. There is no reason to force a transgender person in prison to use a men's bathroom. This is pointless, traumatizing, cruelty. This moves Trump up from possible buffoon to definite evil.
posted by xammerboy at 4:44 PM on May 11, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 4:44 PM on May 11, 2018 [25 favorites]
Forcing a transgender person in prison to use a men's bathroom would be fantastic if that person were a transgender man.
posted by medusa at 4:59 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by medusa at 4:59 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
...they're also not people that would easily assimilate into the United States into our modern society. They're overwhelmingly rural people. In the countries they come from, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-grade educations are kind of the norm. They don't speak English; obviously that's a big thing. ... They don't integrate well; they don't have skills.
Jennifer Mendelsohn
Deep dive tk, but here is the 1910 census showing Kelly's great-grandfather Giuseppe Pedalino and his second wife Concetta. (Kelly's great-grandma died in 1898.)
He was a wagon driver. She was illiterate and could not speak English 10 years after arrival.
CENSUS REPORT
- Here's John Kelly's maternal grandmother Teresa as a child in the 1900 census.
Her father, a day laborer named John DeMarco had been here for 18 years.
He had not become a citizen. He could not read, write, or speak English.
CENSUS REPORT
- The 1930 census shows those great-grandparents living with their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, one of whom was Kelly's mother.
John DeMarco had been here for 47 years and was not an American citizen ("AL"). Crescenza had been here for 37 years and spoke no English.
CENSUS REPORT
---
Rural, illiterate, no skills, didn't speak English, didn't learn English, didn't assimilate, and came via chain migration complete with anchor baby.
posted by chris24 at 5:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [147 favorites]
Jennifer Mendelsohn
Deep dive tk, but here is the 1910 census showing Kelly's great-grandfather Giuseppe Pedalino and his second wife Concetta. (Kelly's great-grandma died in 1898.)
He was a wagon driver. She was illiterate and could not speak English 10 years after arrival.
CENSUS REPORT
- Here's John Kelly's maternal grandmother Teresa as a child in the 1900 census.
Her father, a day laborer named John DeMarco had been here for 18 years.
He had not become a citizen. He could not read, write, or speak English.
CENSUS REPORT
- The 1930 census shows those great-grandparents living with their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, one of whom was Kelly's mother.
John DeMarco had been here for 47 years and was not an American citizen ("AL"). Crescenza had been here for 37 years and spoke no English.
CENSUS REPORT
---
Rural, illiterate, no skills, didn't speak English, didn't learn English, didn't assimilate, and came via chain migration complete with anchor baby.
posted by chris24 at 5:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [147 favorites]
This moves Trump up from possible buffoon to definite evil.
(1) Buffoonery and definite evil are far from mutually exclusive. To the contrary, they're very typically comorbid: Himmler as a failed chicken farmer with a telepathic connection to hollow-earth gnomes, etc etc etc.
(2) Sadism has always, always been central to Trumps policy fantasies and he's been pushing cruelty forever. As some definitely-not-prophetic writer might have said, the only emotions he's capable of recognizing are fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. There's no change here, it's just a particularly good day for him.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:03 PM on May 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
(1) Buffoonery and definite evil are far from mutually exclusive. To the contrary, they're very typically comorbid: Himmler as a failed chicken farmer with a telepathic connection to hollow-earth gnomes, etc etc etc.
(2) Sadism has always, always been central to Trumps policy fantasies and he's been pushing cruelty forever. As some definitely-not-prophetic writer might have said, the only emotions he's capable of recognizing are fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. There's no change here, it's just a particularly good day for him.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:03 PM on May 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
> It appears Trump is ramping up cruelty as a political play.I've been thinking about that a lot recently; along with conspirational thinking, I think it's central to his appeal to a particular voting bloc. Zakariah Johnson said it very well yesterday:
Trump's power is based on performative cruelty. That is what his supporters voted for: not for any policy, and not for any other principle than to do the worst thing to people outside the fold at every opportunity. He is loathsome, but he's also keeping his promises.posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 5:04 PM on May 11, 2018 [53 favorites]
It appears Trump is ramping up cruelty as a political play.
No doubt. He needs to keep the base motivated and distracted from his crimes.
posted by duoshao at 5:08 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
No doubt. He needs to keep the base motivated and distracted from his crimes.
posted by duoshao at 5:08 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
If you want to read about why they're having problems manufacturing plutonium cores here's an FPP for you.
It's not just the cores. Apparently we just plain forgot how to make certain components of nuclear weapons, for instance an exotic material called FOGBANK, which may or may not be a super light aerogel that turns into a plasma under the right conditions. Yeah there's an FPP for that too. Go figure.
posted by scalefree at 5:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's not just the cores. Apparently we just plain forgot how to make certain components of nuclear weapons, for instance an exotic material called FOGBANK, which may or may not be a super light aerogel that turns into a plasma under the right conditions. Yeah there's an FPP for that too. Go figure.
posted by scalefree at 5:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm going off on memory here, but it would be nice to to have a timeline of the inflow/outflows of EC LLC. I bet Mueller's string board(s) is AMAZING
He probably uses something like i2 Analyst's Notebook.
posted by scalefree at 5:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
He probably uses something like i2 Analyst's Notebook.
posted by scalefree at 5:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Is there any evidence that the money given to Cohen by these companies ended up in the hands of Trump, his family, or his company in some fashion?
Welp, maybe it's coming.
Michael Avenatti
In 2017-18 - Why was Mr. Cohen paying Demeter Direct Inc. in Los Angeles large sums of money from his Essential Consultants LLC account? Keep attacking me Mr. Giuliani and @foxnews. Please. #Basta
Kyle Griffin (MSNBC)
The first Google hit for Demeter Direct Inc. brings you to a website that says "site under construction....please come back later."
posted by chris24 at 5:19 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Welp, maybe it's coming.
Michael Avenatti
In 2017-18 - Why was Mr. Cohen paying Demeter Direct Inc. in Los Angeles large sums of money from his Essential Consultants LLC account? Keep attacking me Mr. Giuliani and @foxnews. Please. #Basta
Kyle Griffin (MSNBC)
The first Google hit for Demeter Direct Inc. brings you to a website that says "site under construction....please come back later."
posted by chris24 at 5:19 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Rural, illiterate, no skills, didn't speak English, didn't learn English, didn't assimilate, and came via chain migration complete with anchor baby.
This is like when Tomi Lehren's great-grandfather was revealed to be an illegal immigrant who literally forged his immigration paper. There's no such thing as a "pure" or "original" American story*, and no "right" kind of immigrant, everyone has these instances in their tree. We didn't even have immigration laws for 200+ years. When they pretend like today's immigrants are somehow coming the "wrong" way, or unworthy, it's not about legality, it's about maintaining white supremacy and political control. That's it.
*- except, you know, actual Native Americans.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:20 PM on May 11, 2018 [60 favorites]
This is like when Tomi Lehren's great-grandfather was revealed to be an illegal immigrant who literally forged his immigration paper. There's no such thing as a "pure" or "original" American story*, and no "right" kind of immigrant, everyone has these instances in their tree. We didn't even have immigration laws for 200+ years. When they pretend like today's immigrants are somehow coming the "wrong" way, or unworthy, it's not about legality, it's about maintaining white supremacy and political control. That's it.
*- except, you know, actual Native Americans.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:20 PM on May 11, 2018 [60 favorites]
Rural, illiterate, no skills, didn't speak English, didn't learn English, didn't assimilate, and came via chain migration complete with anchor baby.
The WaPo has the same info in an article if anyone doesn't do tweets, How John Kelly's family history compares to the immigrants he wants to keep from entering.
posted by peeedro at 5:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
The WaPo has the same info in an article if anyone doesn't do tweets, How John Kelly's family history compares to the immigrants he wants to keep from entering.
posted by peeedro at 5:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
The Cybersecurity 202: The Facebook ad dump shows the true sophistication of Russia’s influence operation (WaPo):
posted by peeedro at 5:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
The 3,500 ads purchased by the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency, or IRA, were funneled with laser precision to narrow categories of social media users.Also interesting, from Michael McFaul, US Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, The smear that killed the ‘reset’: Putin needed an American enemy. He picked me.
My colleague Tony Romm reports that the troll farm used Facebook's targeting tools to deliver the Russian-fed propaganda to a range of specific user groups, from black or gay users to fans of Fox News. He writes: “In many cases, the Kremlin-tied ads took multiple sides of the same issue. Accounts like United Muslims of America urged viewers in New York in March 2016 to ‘stop Islamophobia and the fear of Muslims.’ That same account, days later, crafted an open letter in another ad that accused [Hillary] Clinton of failing to support Muslims before the election."
Long before most Americans learned of Russia’s campaign to influence our 2016 presidential election, I personally experienced the power of the Kremlin’s techniques. The hallmarks of its new style were already evident: There could be no such thing as win-win outcomes with the United States; Russia’s domestic agenda (not NATO expansion, missile defense disputes or Syria) would drive its policy. Putin reversed the progress we’d made over three years almost overnight, because it was convenient for him to do so.Fake news, bogus Twitter accounts, edited tapes, accusations of pedophilia.
I had become ambassador to advance the reset, and instead I presided over its demise. But it was not because we changed our policy. It was because Putin changed Russia’s.
posted by peeedro at 5:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Maybe Demeter Direct Inc. is DD?
posted by vac2003 at 5:41 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by vac2003 at 5:41 PM on May 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Demeter Direct's website was definitely active as recently as September.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:43 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:43 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'd put betting money on Demeter Direct being Keith Davidson. Hypothetical conjecture time. They had a racket going with playing both sides of settling hush-hush cases. Cohen wanting to get an updated contact list from him after he got raided is... something. Trump being a mark of such cases, or just taking advantage of his help, and probably getting in on it, or being the ring-leader of a blackmail/extortion racket is his thing. Casinos, hotels, wired for such occasions.
posted by chainlinkspiral at 5:56 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by chainlinkspiral at 5:56 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Demeter Direct's web site said the site was maintained by a company named Alkatek. Alkatek's domain name is registered to an organization in Seoul.
posted by duoshao at 5:59 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by duoshao at 5:59 PM on May 11, 2018
The incredibly vague copy on Alkatek's website is good for a laugh.
(Edited to correct alkatek spelling)
posted by mabelstreet at 6:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
(Edited to correct alkatek spelling)
posted by mabelstreet at 6:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
waitingtoderail's link to the archive.org archive of Demeter Direct's site shows them touting a client list including Chrysler, Dodge, FedEx, Verizon, Walmart, Sony, Jeep, and Union Bank. (Sorry, I've never heard of Drink Blocks.)
Plus a whole slew of social media accounts: Facebook, Twotter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Flickr, and Instagram. (None of them seem to work, but that may just be something that broke in the archiving process.)
Huh.
posted by kristi at 6:05 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Plus a whole slew of social media accounts: Facebook, Twotter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Flickr, and Instagram. (None of them seem to work, but that may just be something that broke in the archiving process.)
Demeter Direct Inc. is a privately held, U.S.-based corporation headquartered in Los Angeles, California and a network of consulting partners in over 15 countries across the globe. Demeter will be your gateway and bridge to doing business in international markets.Although the 2012 archive says "Demeter Direct is a supplier of products from all over the world, including Australia. We specialise in providing products to daily deals websites across Australia."
Huh.
posted by kristi at 6:05 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
And according to Whois, the demeterdirect.com domain is registered to Bella Destinee. Though interestingly, the contact information is different than the registration information for Bella Destinee's domain.
posted by duoshao at 6:05 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by duoshao at 6:05 PM on May 11, 2018
Alkatech is on the twitter. It says they are in Irvine, CA. They also promote this book.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:06 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:06 PM on May 11, 2018
Avanetti, this morning:
Let this serve as formal notice - there is significantly more evidence and facts to come relating to Mr. Cohen's dealings and Mr. Trump's knowledge and involvement. You can come clean now or wait to be outed. Your choice. We have only just begun...#Basta
His legal skills paired with her award-winning adult film directing is a pretty powerful combination. I'd like this to be over faster, but she's in control, and ... I think I like it. #teamStormy
posted by Dashy at 6:08 PM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
Let this serve as formal notice - there is significantly more evidence and facts to come relating to Mr. Cohen's dealings and Mr. Trump's knowledge and involvement. You can come clean now or wait to be outed. Your choice. We have only just begun...#Basta
His legal skills paired with her award-winning adult film directing is a pretty powerful combination. I'd like this to be over faster, but she's in control, and ... I think I like it. #teamStormy
posted by Dashy at 6:08 PM on May 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
Bella Destinee looks like a legit event/wedding planning company.
posted by duoshao at 6:11 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by duoshao at 6:11 PM on May 11, 2018
And the California Business Search (sorry, that's just the search, I think, but enter "demeter direct" and you should get it) gets us 3 PDFs - 2009 Articles of Incorporation, and Statement of Information from 2016 and 2017; the last two say Demeter Direct's business is "Retail - Korean Food".
posted by kristi at 6:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kristi at 6:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
@realDonaldTrump: Why doesn’t the Fake News Media state that the Trump Administration’s Anti-Trust Division has been, and is, opposed to the AT&T purchase of Time Warner in a currently ongoing Trial. Such a disgrace in reporting!
So AT&T and Time Warner are in the middle of litigation with the government (a ruling is expected next month) over the merger, and they repeatedly sought to argue that the administration had political motives for blocking it, arguments largely disallowed by the judge. Trump tweeting in the middle of that is an interesting choice, as is describing an independent agency that is supposed to make these decisions without political interference in such terms.
And on preview, I guess Giuliani's taking this strategy to 11.
posted by zachlipton at 6:17 PM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
So AT&T and Time Warner are in the middle of litigation with the government (a ruling is expected next month) over the merger, and they repeatedly sought to argue that the administration had political motives for blocking it, arguments largely disallowed by the judge. Trump tweeting in the middle of that is an interesting choice, as is describing an independent agency that is supposed to make these decisions without political interference in such terms.
And on preview, I guess Giuliani's taking this strategy to 11.
posted by zachlipton at 6:17 PM on May 11, 2018 [26 favorites]
According to the California Business Search website posted by kristi, Demeter Direct's business registration lists the same address on Wilshire Blvd as Bella Destinee lists on it's website.
[edited to add that that building on Wilshire is pretty big, so this is not maybe very meaningful]
posted by duoshao at 6:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
[edited to add that that building on Wilshire is pretty big, so this is not maybe very meaningful]
posted by duoshao at 6:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
NYT, Trump Tirade Is Culmination of Immigration Frustration
posted by zachlipton at 6:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [57 favorites]
Mr. Trump’s fury at Ms. Nielsen was a long time coming, White House officials said. They described it as part of the president’s longstanding desire to close the United States’ borders and part of his increasing belief that his administration is moving too slowly to make good on the central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.It's quite clear that Trump considers asylum, which is international and domestic law, to be one of the "loopholes" in immigration law he rails against. He wants a wall and insists everyone must enter legally, yet is furious at the people who legally present themselves at the border for admission. It's almost like his objection is to the people and not the process.
The courts and Congress have resisted his demands, and even his own staff keeps telling him no. As a result, the president brings up the issue constantly, in private and public, as if the power of persuasion can change the reality on the ground.
...
Hard-liners on immigration say Mr. Trump’s anger is partly explained by a suspicion inside the West Wing that Ms. Nielsen, who served on the Homeland Security Council in the George W. Bush administration, is not sufficiently committed to Mr. Trump’s agenda of tougher immigration policies.
In testimony to a congressional committee on Tuesday, the day before the president’s tirade at the cabinet meeting, Ms. Nielsen urged people seeking asylum to present themselves at United States ports of entry rather than trying to sneak into the country.
Aides say she was trying to send a strong message about not breaking the law. But many hard-line conservatives viewed her statement as an invitation to asylum seekers, many of whom end up living in the United States for years while their claims are adjudicated.
posted by zachlipton at 6:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [57 favorites]
This has been making the rounds and is quite the story, not least because it comes from the unlikely source of NJ Advance Media. It seems there are multiple Seychelles meetings. Erin Banco, The Trump Russia probe is expanding, as Mueller looks into new meetings in Seychelles: exclusive
posted by zachlipton at 7:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is examining a series of previously unreported meetings that took place in 2017 in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, as part of its broader investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, according to two sources briefed on the investigation.It's certainly more in the "raises questions" category than proof of anything specific, but the bit that Mueller is specifically investigating these is notable.
The sources said several of those meetings took place around the same time as another meeting in the Seychelles between Erik Prince, founder of the security company Blackwater, Kirill Dmitriev, the director of one of Russia's sovereign wealth funds, and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the effective ruler of the United Arab Emirates (also known as "MBZ"). Details of that earlier meeting were first reported by the Washington Post last year.
...
Flight records and financial documents obtained by this reporter over twelve months, as well as interviews with parliamentary and aviation officials in the Seychelles, paint a scene out of a Hollywood thriller.
Wealthy and politically-connected individuals from across the globe -- from Russia, France, Saudi Arabia and South Africa -- land in the Seychelles for meetings that take place as a part of a larger gathering hosted by MBZ, according to an individual briefed on the matter, who also requested anonymity. Many of them fly in on private jets and several do not clear customs. Some check into the Four Seasons Hotel while others arrive and stay on their yachts.
posted by zachlipton at 7:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
Jon Swaine (Guardian):
Company is registered with CA regulators as a Korean food retailer. Now-offline website says it’s a business consultancy. Woman on the site registration info first denied any knowledge when I called, then said she couldn’t talk to me. Seems legit!
posted by chris24 at 7:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [23 favorites]
Company is registered with CA regulators as a Korean food retailer. Now-offline website says it’s a business consultancy. Woman on the site registration info first denied any knowledge when I called, then said she couldn’t talk to me. Seems legit!
posted by chris24 at 7:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [23 favorites]
Please let Demeter Direct lead back to Devin Nunes. I don't ask for much from the cake deity, but give us this one.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:36 PM on May 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:36 PM on May 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
In 1998, Donald Trump offered me $1 million to play either Serena or Venus Williams - John McEnroe
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:42 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:42 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I assume that the LLC is simply a passthrough to the Trump organization.
It might have been even more useful to Trump if it took in illegal funds and then used them for illegal ends, without touching Trump Org on paper.
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:50 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
It might have been even more useful to Trump if it took in illegal funds and then used them for illegal ends, without touching Trump Org on paper.
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:50 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Mueller Asked Ford for Record of Conversations with Cohen (PoliticalWire)
Special counsel Robert Mueller has requested records from Ford Motor Company about a conversation the company had with Michael Cohen in January 2017 during which Cohen offered his consulting services — which the automaker swiftly rejected, the Wall Street Journal reports. (CNN link)
I'm sure Mr. Sez Who was the only Trump, er, as-oh-she-it, to uh, y'know put the friggin screws to uh big, like, companies an shit. *sniff* Guy's a friggin geenyus.
posted by petebest at 8:01 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Special counsel Robert Mueller has requested records from Ford Motor Company about a conversation the company had with Michael Cohen in January 2017 during which Cohen offered his consulting services — which the automaker swiftly rejected, the Wall Street Journal reports. (CNN link)
I'm sure Mr. Sez Who was the only Trump, er, as-oh-she-it, to uh, y'know put the friggin screws to uh big, like, companies an shit. *sniff* Guy's a friggin geenyus.
posted by petebest at 8:01 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ah ha ha, so they're going to get his pitch!
posted by rhizome at 8:09 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 8:09 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Head of Demeter Direct tells CNN he worked for Cohen in Korea Aerospace deal
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:31 PM on May 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:31 PM on May 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
Korea Aerospace Industries (and Foods, I guess) say they hired Cohen to help them conform to global accounting standards.
"The payment was all legal based on the contract. KAI is doing its best to comply with accounting regulations that are up to global standards," the company said in a statement earlier this week.
A spokesperson clarified that KAI did not have direct contact with Cohen at the time, and that the company had worked with several firms in the US and South Korea to ensure compliance with global accounting standards.
Hired Cohen. To help be in compliance with global. accounting. standards.
Okay. In a probably-somehow-related story, Real Swell Guy Jason Chaffetz transferred $270,000 from his defunct Congressional campaign account to his PAC. Which is illegal. "Paperwork error" his lawyer says. Sure, whynot.
posted by petebest at 8:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [30 favorites]
"The payment was all legal based on the contract. KAI is doing its best to comply with accounting regulations that are up to global standards," the company said in a statement earlier this week.
A spokesperson clarified that KAI did not have direct contact with Cohen at the time, and that the company had worked with several firms in the US and South Korea to ensure compliance with global accounting standards.
Hired Cohen. To help be in compliance with global. accounting. standards.
Okay. In a probably-somehow-related story, Real Swell Guy Jason Chaffetz transferred $270,000 from his defunct Congressional campaign account to his PAC. Which is illegal. "Paperwork error" his lawyer says. Sure, whynot.
posted by petebest at 8:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [30 favorites]
MeFi fave Maggie Haberman on Trump
I also think that some of this is about the personal, right? I do think that a) Cohen has insisted that the affair claim was false, and b) he has insisted that just because a story is false doesn’t mean it’s not damaging. I do think he was operating from the perspective that this was harmful to Melania Trump and harmful to the president, then the candidate, and he wanted to try to spare [them]. That’s actually the lens that I look at this from, that Cohen was trying to spare Trump embarrassment and Melania Trump pain, because if we are being honest, most people at that point did not think Trump was going to win in October of 2016, including Trump.
posted by benzenedream at 9:17 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
I also think that some of this is about the personal, right? I do think that a) Cohen has insisted that the affair claim was false, and b) he has insisted that just because a story is false doesn’t mean it’s not damaging. I do think he was operating from the perspective that this was harmful to Melania Trump and harmful to the president, then the candidate, and he wanted to try to spare [them]. That’s actually the lens that I look at this from, that Cohen was trying to spare Trump embarrassment and Melania Trump pain, because if we are being honest, most people at that point did not think Trump was going to win in October of 2016, including Trump.
posted by benzenedream at 9:17 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
That’s actually the lens that I look at this from
Extry extry, Maggie Haberman selects most unimaginably charitable and forgiving lens in order to see no evil, read all about it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [70 favorites]
Extry extry, Maggie Haberman selects most unimaginably charitable and forgiving lens in order to see no evil, read all about it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:25 PM on May 11, 2018 [70 favorites]
growabrain, I've often said that the Internet is as close as computers have ever got to justifying their own existence.
That monologue is as close as Bill Maher has ever got to justifying his.
posted by flabdablet at 10:57 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
That monologue is as close as Bill Maher has ever got to justifying his.
posted by flabdablet at 10:57 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
The more that comes out about the NK summit the more it sounds like NK is on board for a deal very similar to the Iran deal. There is no way for TrumpCo to sell one as a triumph of diplomacy which the US should ratify through Congress and the other as the worst deal of all time which the US has violated for no good reason without being completely hypocritical.
But being hypocritical has never been a thing they care about so it appears to be exactly what they will do. They're gonna scratch out the name "Iran" and write "North Korea" over it on the treaty and ask anyone who points out the hypocrisy why they hate Trump so much they aren't applauding his success. That's what is about to happen!
The last bunch of NK tests appeared to fizzle without the full warheads triggering properly. Maybe NK determined that constructing truly thermonuclear devices with any consistent success is beyond their capabilities and really are going to give up something they can't actually do? Because there's no way even TrumpCo would accept a "deal" where NK doesn't fully disarm rather than simply cease working on further advancement? Right? Right?!?
posted by Justinian at 11:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
But being hypocritical has never been a thing they care about so it appears to be exactly what they will do. They're gonna scratch out the name "Iran" and write "North Korea" over it on the treaty and ask anyone who points out the hypocrisy why they hate Trump so much they aren't applauding his success. That's what is about to happen!
The last bunch of NK tests appeared to fizzle without the full warheads triggering properly. Maybe NK determined that constructing truly thermonuclear devices with any consistent success is beyond their capabilities and really are going to give up something they can't actually do? Because there's no way even TrumpCo would accept a "deal" where NK doesn't fully disarm rather than simply cease working on further advancement? Right? Right?!?
posted by Justinian at 11:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Make anyone a bet, if it hasn’t already been explicitly made (it was suggested upthread but I wanna put money on it) Cohen’s consulting firm is, genuinely, a pass-through directly
To Trump’s pockets. This is the obvious conclusion once you apply Because Occam’s Stupid Razor.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
To Trump’s pockets. This is the obvious conclusion once you apply Because Occam’s Stupid Razor.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
The whole NK cool-down could be just bribery, too.
I’ve basically been wondering how much of that missing Iraq war billions of dollars is sitting in a CIA black ops account somewhere, waiting for Pompeo to go offer some of it to Kim on Trump’s behalf in exchange for a summit meeting and a few months of good PR.
I suspect Kim is like most dictators dealing with sanctions, and would be happy to make nice for a while in exchange for a billion in hard currency, funneled through a Grand Caymans bank, all nice and off the books.
posted by darkstar at 12:55 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
I’ve basically been wondering how much of that missing Iraq war billions of dollars is sitting in a CIA black ops account somewhere, waiting for Pompeo to go offer some of it to Kim on Trump’s behalf in exchange for a summit meeting and a few months of good PR.
I suspect Kim is like most dictators dealing with sanctions, and would be happy to make nice for a while in exchange for a billion in hard currency, funneled through a Grand Caymans bank, all nice and off the books.
posted by darkstar at 12:55 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mr. Trump’s fury at Ms. Nielsen was a long time coming, White House officials said. They described it as part of the president’s longstanding desire to close the United States’ borders and part of his increasing belief that his administration is moving too slowly to make good on the central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.
This is something I think we have yet to confront. For an authoritarian regime to succeed its control has to be as much about preventing its people from leaving as it is about outsiders entering. When Trump says he wants to close the borders I have to believe he ultimately means in both directions.
posted by scalefree at 1:15 AM on May 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
This is something I think we have yet to confront. For an authoritarian regime to succeed its control has to be as much about preventing its people from leaving as it is about outsiders entering. When Trump says he wants to close the borders I have to believe he ultimately means in both directions.
posted by scalefree at 1:15 AM on May 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
That’s actually the lens that I look at this from, that Cohen was trying to spare Trump embarrassment and Melania Trump pain, because if we are being honest, most people at that point did not think Trump was going to win in October of 2016, including Trump.
Yes, noted hothouse flower Donald Trump, a man famous for being easily embarrassed. Can anyone name a single incident in this entire sordid Gordian knot of an affair where Trump has exhibited the slightest degree of embarrassment or shame? Ever? Maggie's really misreading the room on this one.
posted by scalefree at 1:20 AM on May 12, 2018 [17 favorites]
Yes, noted hothouse flower Donald Trump, a man famous for being easily embarrassed. Can anyone name a single incident in this entire sordid Gordian knot of an affair where Trump has exhibited the slightest degree of embarrassment or shame? Ever? Maggie's really misreading the room on this one.
posted by scalefree at 1:20 AM on May 12, 2018 [17 favorites]
T.D. Strange: Please let Demeter Direct lead back to Devin Nunes. I don't ask for much from the cake deity, but give us this one.
That's not how it works. You don't ask things from the cake deity. You publicly make a statement such as 'There is no connection between Demeter Direct and Devin Nunes, and if I'm wrong, I'll eat my words on a cake.' Then when the connection comes to light, you bake a cake and write your incorrect statement on it, and eat it to celebrate your wrongness.
Sorry to be a rulemonger, but in order for these things to be even remotely effective, proper protocol must be observed.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:23 AM on May 12, 2018 [121 favorites]
That's not how it works. You don't ask things from the cake deity. You publicly make a statement such as 'There is no connection between Demeter Direct and Devin Nunes, and if I'm wrong, I'll eat my words on a cake.' Then when the connection comes to light, you bake a cake and write your incorrect statement on it, and eat it to celebrate your wrongness.
Sorry to be a rulemonger, but in order for these things to be even remotely effective, proper protocol must be observed.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:23 AM on May 12, 2018 [121 favorites]
This is something I think we have yet to confront. For an authoritarian regime to succeed its control has to be as much about preventing its people from leaving as it is about outsiders entering. When Trump says he wants to close the borders I have to believe he ultimately means in both directions.
Or that right now he doesn't want the "wrong kind" of people coming in. But then later he'd get off on not letting anyone leave, even if that wasn't his end game.
posted by sebastienbailard at 2:11 AM on May 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
Or that right now he doesn't want the "wrong kind" of people coming in. But then later he'd get off on not letting anyone leave, even if that wasn't his end game.
posted by sebastienbailard at 2:11 AM on May 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah I don't think he's capable of that kind of long term strategic thinking. But it's more or less an inevitable progression. It's an intrinsic element of authoritarian control. Sooner or later he will get there.
posted by scalefree at 2:26 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 2:26 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
This is adorable.
@MartynMcL (The Scotsman): EXCLUSIVE: @realDonaldTrump's Scottish firm is directly profiting from his administration - Trump Turnberry received thousands of pounds last month from the US State Dept to host a 'VIP' trip at the Ayrshire resort. My @TheScotsman story:posted by pjenks at 4:17 AM on May 12, 2018 [44 favorites]The payment, sanctioned last month by the US State Department, represents the first time one of Mr Trump’s Scottish businesses has received direct federal funding from his own government.
In news for conspiracy theorists, PK2 Entertainment, the website also linked to the same address and person (Mark Ko) as Demeter...
Anthony Citrano
This is probably nothing, but front-loading a Cyrillic subset of the site's fonts is EXTREMELY unusual for a monolingual US-based site.
CODE SCREENSHOT
---
And Alkatek, who built both sites, tweeted this last year. The only time they've ever tweeted MAGA or mentioned Trump.
alkatek
A financial svc biz in #SoCal just signed up for our #DigitalMarketing services. Now, that's how you handle #TROPICALSTORMDON! #MAGA
posted by chris24 at 5:07 AM on May 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
Anthony Citrano
This is probably nothing, but front-loading a Cyrillic subset of the site's fonts is EXTREMELY unusual for a monolingual US-based site.
CODE SCREENSHOT
---
And Alkatek, who built both sites, tweeted this last year. The only time they've ever tweeted MAGA or mentioned Trump.
alkatek
A financial svc biz in #SoCal just signed up for our #DigitalMarketing services. Now, that's how you handle #TROPICALSTORMDON! #MAGA
posted by chris24 at 5:07 AM on May 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
Stephenson also said Bob Quinn, AT&T's chief lobbyist who oversaw Cohen's contract with the company, would retire. Citing a person familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported that Quinn was forced out.
American Oversight
AT&T Exec Bob Quinn just retired this morning following the Cohen payments scandal. Documents we uncovered show Quinn had a private dinner with Trump FCC Chair Ajit Pai just one month after AT&T hired Cohen. We are demanding answers. https://www.americanoversight.org/document/fcc-calendars-communications-isps-regarding-net-neutrality
SCREENSHOT OF FOIA'D SCHEDULE
posted by chris24 at 5:37 AM on May 12, 2018 [52 favorites]
American Oversight
AT&T Exec Bob Quinn just retired this morning following the Cohen payments scandal. Documents we uncovered show Quinn had a private dinner with Trump FCC Chair Ajit Pai just one month after AT&T hired Cohen. We are demanding answers. https://www.americanoversight.org/document/fcc-calendars-communications-isps-regarding-net-neutrality
SCREENSHOT OF FOIA'D SCHEDULE
posted by chris24 at 5:37 AM on May 12, 2018 [52 favorites]
A Tiny State-Legislature Race That Represents the Future of the Democratic Party
Here in this tiny race is the larger, existential battle over the future of the Democratic Party that is taking place across the country. Will it be centrist, establishment candidates who lead the much-anticipated “blue wave,” or will progressive insurgents sweep them aside? In Texas, Tennessee, California, and Hawaii, a Democratic electorate is pushing back against the Democratic machine’s support of the old guard. Many, like Lee, see the Democratic Party’s faith in centrists, like Costa, as having already failed; the increasingly radical right means that there’s no meaningful middle in which to meet.posted by octothorpe at 6:05 AM on May 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
Another Holocaust denier is running for US Congress
posted by XMLicious at 6:18 AM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 6:18 AM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah I don't think he's capable of that kind of long term strategic thinking. But it's more or less an inevitable progression. It's an intrinsic element of authoritarian control. Sooner or later he will get there.
And what makes me furious is how easy it would be for him to do so. All it would take is an administrative expansion of the no-fly list--pursuant to standards adopted by the Obama administration that failed to attract much attention outside of the ACLU. Right now, the standard to put someone on the no-fly list is that there must be a "reasonable suspicion" that they are a "suspected terrorist." Not a reasonable suspicion that they are an ACTUAL terrorist, which might require real evidence, but a reasonable suspicion someone else (who? dunno--the rule is written passively) suspects them of being a terrorist. And worse yet, in the ACLU litigation the Obama administration claimed the right to use First-Amendment-protected activity (speech and religious practice) as evidence to support that "reasonable suspicion." And no one gets notified up front that they are on the list (it used to be that they didn't get notified at all, but the ACLU won the right to get notification upon demand from their client who had been denied boarding). More on the ACLU litigation here.
But yeah, all it would take to selectively close the border is to put your political enemies on the no-fly list,
posted by Emera Gratia at 6:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
And what makes me furious is how easy it would be for him to do so. All it would take is an administrative expansion of the no-fly list--pursuant to standards adopted by the Obama administration that failed to attract much attention outside of the ACLU. Right now, the standard to put someone on the no-fly list is that there must be a "reasonable suspicion" that they are a "suspected terrorist." Not a reasonable suspicion that they are an ACTUAL terrorist, which might require real evidence, but a reasonable suspicion someone else (who? dunno--the rule is written passively) suspects them of being a terrorist. And worse yet, in the ACLU litigation the Obama administration claimed the right to use First-Amendment-protected activity (speech and religious practice) as evidence to support that "reasonable suspicion." And no one gets notified up front that they are on the list (it used to be that they didn't get notified at all, but the ACLU won the right to get notification upon demand from their client who had been denied boarding). More on the ACLU litigation here.
But yeah, all it would take to selectively close the border is to put your political enemies on the no-fly list,
posted by Emera Gratia at 6:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
Pat Davis: "F*ck the NRA"
It's interesting that the TV company says they aren't legally allowed to censor the ad. Are TV companies allowed to refuse to air the ad, or are there rules about allowing equal time for candidates regardless of content?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:22 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's interesting that the TV company says they aren't legally allowed to censor the ad. Are TV companies allowed to refuse to air the ad, or are there rules about allowing equal time for candidates regardless of content?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:22 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pat Davis: "F*ck the NRA"
One of the suggested videos after was George Carlin riffing on Wayne LaPierre's name as inappropriate for a NRA spokesMAN. While I understand that that vein of humor is problematical today, he *IS* punching down on performative masculinity, so I find it appropriate.
posted by mikelieman at 6:40 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
One of the suggested videos after was George Carlin riffing on Wayne LaPierre's name as inappropriate for a NRA spokesMAN. While I understand that that vein of humor is problematical today, he *IS* punching down on performative masculinity, so I find it appropriate.
posted by mikelieman at 6:40 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
alkatek
A financial svc biz in #SoCal just signed up for our #DigitalMarketing services. Now, that's how you handle #TROPICALSTORMDON! #MAGA
Spit-balling here, but I believe that one of the Mueller team's issues is dealing with the fact that after the election, EVERY TWO-BIT GRIFTER bought the RNC's mailing list of suckers and **EVERYONE** was pitching Donald Trump. I think this is going to be the point where Mueller decides that following up on the exponential explosion of subjects, means he pulls back and goes deeper on the targets. As this continues, every two-bit grifter is going to get connected, but I'm skeptical that they're material.
posted by mikelieman at 6:45 AM on May 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
A financial svc biz in #SoCal just signed up for our #DigitalMarketing services. Now, that's how you handle #TROPICALSTORMDON! #MAGA
Spit-balling here, but I believe that one of the Mueller team's issues is dealing with the fact that after the election, EVERY TWO-BIT GRIFTER bought the RNC's mailing list of suckers and **EVERYONE** was pitching Donald Trump. I think this is going to be the point where Mueller decides that following up on the exponential explosion of subjects, means he pulls back and goes deeper on the targets. As this continues, every two-bit grifter is going to get connected, but I'm skeptical that they're material.
posted by mikelieman at 6:45 AM on May 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
They described it as part of the president’s longstanding desire to close the United States’ borders and part of his increasing belief that his administration is moving too slowly to make good on the central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.
This is, frankly, insane, even for an authoritarian. It's like saying a sea-captain has a "longstanding desire to capsize the boat."
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:51 AM on May 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
This is, frankly, insane, even for an authoritarian. It's like saying a sea-captain has a "longstanding desire to capsize the boat."
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:51 AM on May 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
On the other hand, the sea captain in question was elevated because a bunch of mutineers liked his "capsize the boat" policy.
posted by biogeo at 6:57 AM on May 12, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 6:57 AM on May 12, 2018 [30 favorites]
When even the king of both sides/access/horserace journalism begins to state the obvious...
Axios (Mike Allen): The public case against Trump
Axios (Mike Allen): The public case against Trump
One thing is true of all major political scandals: What we know in the moment is but a tiny, obscured, partial view of the full story later revealed by investigators.posted by chris24 at 7:11 AM on May 12, 2018 [91 favorites]
Why it matters: That’s what makes the Trump-Russia drama all the more remarkable. Forget all we don’t know. The known facts that even Trump’s closest friends don’t deny tell a damning tale that would sink most leaders.
Here's a guide that Jim VandeHei and I put together to the known knowns of Russia:
- We know Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chair, has been indicted on 32 counts, including conspiracy and money laundering. We know he made millions off shady Russians and changed the Republican platform to the benefit of Russia.
- We know that the U.S. intelligence community concluded, in a report released in January 2017, that Russian President Vladimir Putin “ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election,” to “denigrate” Hillary Clinton and with “a clear preference for ... Trump.”
- We know that in May 2016, Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat Russia had political dirt on Hillary. "About three weeks earlier," according to the N.Y. Times, "Papadopoulos had been told that Moscow had thousands of emails that would embarrass Mrs. Clinton."
- We know that in June 2016, Trump’s closest aides and family members met at Trump Tower with a shady group of Russians who claimed to have dirt on Hillary. The meeting was billed as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
- We know the Russian lawyer who helped set it up concealed her close ties to Putin government.
- We know that in July 2016, Trump said: "“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 [Hillary] emails that are missing,” and urged their publication.
- We know that on Air Force One a year later, Trump helped his son, Don Jr., prepare a misleading statement about the meeting. We know top aides freaked out about this.
- We know Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting.
- We know Michael Flynn, former national security adviser and close campaign aide, lied to Vice President Pence and FBI about his Russia-related chats. We know he’s now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller. We know Trump initially tried to protect Flynn with loyalty and fervency rarely shown by Trump to others.
- We know that during the transition, Jared Kushner spoke with the Russian ambassador "about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow." We know Kushner omitted previous contacts with Russians on his disclosure forms.
- We know Trump initially lied about why he fired James Comey, later admitting he was canned because of the “Russia thing.”
- We know Michael Cohen was a close adviser and lawyer, the fixer and secret-keeper. We know Trump seethed when the FBI raided Cohen's office.
- We know that in January 2016, just before Republicans began voting, Michael Cohen tried to restart a Trump Tower project in Moscow.
- We know Mueller questioned a Russian oligarch who made payments to Cohen who used the money to pay off a porn star who allegedly had an affair with Trump.
- We know that oligarch was a bad enough dude that the Trump administration sanctioned him.
Here's a guide that Jim VandeHei and I put together to the known knowns of Russia
What's needed is a version of this with about half the word count and disseminated where the Fox News/Infowars followers will see it.... As a way of counteracting Kelly and Pence's recent "let's wrap it up" bit where they imply that nothing's been found.
posted by duoshao at 7:28 AM on May 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
What's needed is a version of this with about half the word count and disseminated where the Fox News/Infowars followers will see it.... As a way of counteracting Kelly and Pence's recent "let's wrap it up" bit where they imply that nothing's been found.
posted by duoshao at 7:28 AM on May 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
all it would take to selectively close the border is to put your political enemies on the no-fly list
English-language coverage of China's social credit system says that it's used to restrict travel by train as well as air travel.
posted by XMLicious at 7:46 AM on May 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
What's needed is a version of this with about half the word count and disseminated where the Fox News/Infowars followers will see it.... As a way of counteracting Kelly and Pence's recent "let's wrap it up" bit where they imply that nothing's been found.
I don't disagree, but for my reading, that IS the short version!
posted by mikelieman at 7:47 AM on May 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't disagree, but for my reading, that IS the short version!
posted by mikelieman at 7:47 AM on May 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't disagree, but for my reading, that IS the short version!
The target audience has an um... shorter attention span.
I really wonder why I don't see major media organizations posting this kind of "here's where we are" briefing sheet and keeping them updated.
posted by duoshao at 7:53 AM on May 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
The target audience has an um... shorter attention span.
I really wonder why I don't see major media organizations posting this kind of "here's where we are" briefing sheet and keeping them updated.
posted by duoshao at 7:53 AM on May 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
This is probably nothing, but front-loading a Cyrillic subset of the site's fonts is EXTREMELY unusual for a monolingual US-based site.
Extremely suspicious, yes. The thread goes on to quibble if the loading of a theoretically-unused font was just the detritus of lazy copy/pasting from a google fonts template. Possibly.
Okay, let's see . . . unusual system configuration associated with both Russia and Trump . . 2017 timefraaaame . . Ah. That's 2d20 +10 hp credibility damage. Oh, plus the Cohen modifier.
*rolls*
Ooohhhh. Sssssssth. Tough luck, low-level criminal enterprise.
posted by petebest at 7:54 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
Extremely suspicious, yes. The thread goes on to quibble if the loading of a theoretically-unused font was just the detritus of lazy copy/pasting from a google fonts template. Possibly.
Okay, let's see . . . unusual system configuration associated with both Russia and Trump . . 2017 timefraaaame . . Ah. That's 2d20 +10 hp credibility damage. Oh, plus the Cohen modifier.
*rolls*
Ooohhhh. Sssssssth. Tough luck, low-level criminal enterprise.
posted by petebest at 7:54 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
Russian Ads Focused Mainly on Race (USA Today via PoliticalWire)
USA Today: “The Russian company charged with orchestrating a wide-ranging effort to meddle in the 2016 presidential election overwhelmingly focused its barrage of social media advertising on what is arguably America’s rawest political division: race.”
“While some ads focused on topics as banal as business promotion or Pokémon, the company consistently promoted ads designed to inflame race-related tensions.
The chickens of the past coming home for extreme roosting.
posted by petebest at 8:06 AM on May 12, 2018 [28 favorites]
USA Today: “The Russian company charged with orchestrating a wide-ranging effort to meddle in the 2016 presidential election overwhelmingly focused its barrage of social media advertising on what is arguably America’s rawest political division: race.”
“While some ads focused on topics as banal as business promotion or Pokémon, the company consistently promoted ads designed to inflame race-related tensions.
The chickens of the past coming home for extreme roosting.
posted by petebest at 8:06 AM on May 12, 2018 [28 favorites]
None of what follows may be new to you, but I was intrigued by this excerpt from the article linked by Jason_Steakums above about Russian spies operating in NYC:
Of course I began to wonder if Trump was the would-be operator of Moscow casinos and Felix Sater, native Russian speaker also known for cooperating with IC operations and champion of Trump-branded projects worldwide via Bayrock, might be the confidential source. Per Wikipedia, in early August, 2014 Trump Plaza was on the brink of closure and Trump sued to have his name taken off the building because of its rundown condition; it closed on September 16th and Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for bankruptcy for the fourth time. The Trump Taj Mahal was also still open; it would not close until October 10, 2016.
If it was Sater, he may have pulled off the neat trick of simultaneously cooperating with the FBI while also sending a message to Putin that Trump was willing to deal, perhaps continuing communications established during the Miss Universe trip the previous November. Of course if the casinos were already laundering Russian money (recall that in 2015 the Trump Taj was fined $10 million for Bank Secrecy Act violations by FinCEN), explaining why they inexplicably lost money, having Trump run casinos in Russia would make no sense. And the FBI tapes include Burykov saying the notion was "some sort of fucking nonsense," to which his codependent replied, "It's unclear... Casino, Russia, like, some sort of setup. Trap of some sort. I can't understand what the point is."
Burykov was released from prison on March 31, 2017 after serving 26 months (sentenced to 30 months) and wasconveniently promptly deported by ICE.
posted by carmicha at 8:31 AM on May 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
The complaint said Buryakov was also monitored by the FBI agents in conversations with a confidential source who "posed as the representative of a wealthy investor." This source allegedly told Buryakov their employer wanted to work with his bank "to develop casinos in Russia."This snippet sent me down a rabbit hole of reading the original complaint (the one that detailed Burykov's efforts to turn someone later identified as Carter Page, of whom he said, "I think he is an idiot who forgot who I am" in a conversation recorded by the FBI). The gambit mentioned above included taking Burykov on a tour of Atlantic City casinos on August 8, 2014 and then meeting in the confidential source's office so he could present a PowerPoint show detailing the proposed Russian casino venture. Since Burykov's cover was a position with Vnesheconombank (whose executives met with Jared Kushner in December, 2016 but I digress) the investment angle made sense for both his overt and covert jobs. The confidential source also offered Burykov US government documents detailing planned sanctions target, which he delivered two weeks later on August 28, 2014.
Of course I began to wonder if Trump was the would-be operator of Moscow casinos and Felix Sater, native Russian speaker also known for cooperating with IC operations and champion of Trump-branded projects worldwide via Bayrock, might be the confidential source. Per Wikipedia, in early August, 2014 Trump Plaza was on the brink of closure and Trump sued to have his name taken off the building because of its rundown condition; it closed on September 16th and Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for bankruptcy for the fourth time. The Trump Taj Mahal was also still open; it would not close until October 10, 2016.
If it was Sater, he may have pulled off the neat trick of simultaneously cooperating with the FBI while also sending a message to Putin that Trump was willing to deal, perhaps continuing communications established during the Miss Universe trip the previous November. Of course if the casinos were already laundering Russian money (recall that in 2015 the Trump Taj was fined $10 million for Bank Secrecy Act violations by FinCEN), explaining why they inexplicably lost money, having Trump run casinos in Russia would make no sense. And the FBI tapes include Burykov saying the notion was "some sort of fucking nonsense," to which his codependent replied, "It's unclear... Casino, Russia, like, some sort of setup. Trap of some sort. I can't understand what the point is."
Burykov was released from prison on March 31, 2017 after serving 26 months (sentenced to 30 months) and was
posted by carmicha at 8:31 AM on May 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
Loony leftist events report: tonight! Come to the Bingo for Books Though Bars In Brooklyn! There’s beer! There’s fabulous prizes! There’s De-alienation caused by capital! Friday! It’s the DSA Teacher Happy hour! Mingle and commiserate with other education workers!
posted by The Whelk at 8:45 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 8:45 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
octothorpe: "A Tiny State-Legislature Race That Represents the Future of the Democratic Party"
Yeah, the primaries in PA this week will be interesting. Pittsburgh has a long tradition of ethnic-based political families that are usually Democrats in name only, and several of the current ones could be turfed out by progressives.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:56 AM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yeah, the primaries in PA this week will be interesting. Pittsburgh has a long tradition of ethnic-based political families that are usually Democrats in name only, and several of the current ones could be turfed out by progressives.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:56 AM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
A lot of friends and comrades are working in that Pittsburgh race. PA is punching above its weight these days. Strong potential for change.
posted by The Whelk at 9:00 AM on May 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:00 AM on May 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
Daily Beast: Don’t Mess With This Muslim From Texas—He Just Got Elected! | In a north Texas city of 50,000, a Pakistani immigrant just won a seat on the City Council. Not that there weren’t those trying to block him.
tl;dr: Muslim Dem wins in face of bigoted rhetoric from Tea Party types.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 AM on May 12, 2018 [52 favorites]
tl;dr: Muslim Dem wins in face of bigoted rhetoric from Tea Party types.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 AM on May 12, 2018 [52 favorites]
Greetings from PA 21. Dom Costa seems to have inflicted a series of self-owns past two weeks and Innamorato signs are proliferating at a rapid clip here in the 21st district (we've got ours out!). I live in Costa's actual neighborhood and the only people with Costa signs are the Democratic committee people, the first responders (of which there are several), and the people who two years ago had Trump signs out. Which are all Costa's prime demo, so no surprises there. I canvassed for Innamorato last month and it was rough going, but Costa has been demonstrating that he's literally never had to run a campaign since he won his first primary 8 years ago. His campaign office is staffed by the scions of other old school Pittsburgh political families and it's clearly not a brain trust. I'm not counting any chickens because this district is not accustomed to competitive races and the vast majority just don't pay attention, but it's been nice to see that jagoff sweat a bit.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:16 AM on May 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:16 AM on May 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
Of course I began to wonder if Trump was the would-be operator of Moscow casinos and Felix Sater, native Russian speaker also known for cooperating with IC operations and champion of Trump-branded projects worldwide via Bayrock, might be the confidential source.
I'm kinda wondering if Felix Sater has been stringing Trump and the Russians along the whole time as part of an investigation into Russian mob money laundering and he just happened to already be in place as an FBI asset when the presidential campaign started so he kept on doing his thing and reporting back to DOJ the whole time. I think what makes me skeptical about it is that Sater's work as an informant is so totally out in the open so why would anybody involved in shady business let him in, but I mean... the Trump team are idiots. So it's totally possible. Trump just needs to think he's the one pulling one over on the Feds by coopting their guy, and Donald Trump is convinced he's the kind of charismatic genius who could do that.
Maybe he's the source that DOJ was protecting from Nunes and Gowdy and learning about that is why they immediately backed off after that recent meeting. Not a whole hell of a lot that Nunes-level meddling can do in the face of years of evidence predating the campaign from a source right in the inner circle.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:20 AM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm kinda wondering if Felix Sater has been stringing Trump and the Russians along the whole time as part of an investigation into Russian mob money laundering and he just happened to already be in place as an FBI asset when the presidential campaign started so he kept on doing his thing and reporting back to DOJ the whole time. I think what makes me skeptical about it is that Sater's work as an informant is so totally out in the open so why would anybody involved in shady business let him in, but I mean... the Trump team are idiots. So it's totally possible. Trump just needs to think he's the one pulling one over on the Feds by coopting their guy, and Donald Trump is convinced he's the kind of charismatic genius who could do that.
Maybe he's the source that DOJ was protecting from Nunes and Gowdy and learning about that is why they immediately backed off after that recent meeting. Not a whole hell of a lot that Nunes-level meddling can do in the face of years of evidence predating the campaign from a source right in the inner circle.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:20 AM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sarah Sanders was angry not at the gloating at McCain's approaching death but by the fact that it leaked, and was also angered in her expectation that this anger would leak. We know this because it leaked.
Axios: Inside the room: White House flare-up over McCain leak
At yesterday’s meeting of the White House communications team — in the wake of a leak from the prior meeting of a callous remark about John McCain’s brain cancer — a visibly upset and furious Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the group: “I am sure this conversation is going to leak, too. And that’s just disgusting,” according to a source in the room.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:20 AM on May 12, 2018 [79 favorites]
Axios: Inside the room: White House flare-up over McCain leak
At yesterday’s meeting of the White House communications team — in the wake of a leak from the prior meeting of a callous remark about John McCain’s brain cancer — a visibly upset and furious Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the group: “I am sure this conversation is going to leak, too. And that’s just disgusting,” according to a source in the room.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:20 AM on May 12, 2018 [79 favorites]
a visibly upset and furious Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the group: “I am sure this conversation is going to leak, too. And that’s just disgusting,” according to a source in the room who spoke to us on condition of anonymity us not mentioning their peals of laughter.
posted by fullerine at 9:30 AM on May 12, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by fullerine at 9:30 AM on May 12, 2018 [42 favorites]
A little summing up on Mr Cohen´s recent shenanigans.
“So I’m warning you, tread very fucking lightly, because what I’m going to do to you is going to be fucking disgusting,” he told the reporter. “You understand me?”
For past criminal behaviour see Rolling Stone
posted by adamvasco at 9:34 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
“So I’m warning you, tread very fucking lightly, because what I’m going to do to you is going to be fucking disgusting,” he told the reporter. “You understand me?”
For past criminal behaviour see Rolling Stone
posted by adamvasco at 9:34 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
English-language coverage of China's social credit system says that it's used to restrict travel by train as well as air travel.
Meanwhile, over here in Brexitland, Liam Fox - who is running around the globe putting together those great trade deals for which we are paying in blood - has signed an MoU with Tencent for 'cultural and digital' cooperation. The knitting together has begun.
posted by Devonian at 9:34 AM on May 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm kinda wondering if Felix Sater has been stringing Trump and the Russians along the whole time as part of an investigation into Russian mob money laundering and he just happened to already be in place as an FBI asset when the presidential campaign started so he kept on doing his thing and reporting back to DOJ the whole time.
If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.
posted by carmicha at 9:35 AM on May 12, 2018 [31 favorites]
If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.
posted by carmicha at 9:35 AM on May 12, 2018 [31 favorites]
Meanwhile, over here in Brexitland, Liam Fox - who is running around the globe putting together those great trade deals for which we are paying in blood - has signed an MoU with Tencent for 'cultural and digital' cooperation. The knitting together has begun.
Wow. This is actually worse than I'd imagined his deals would be. I'd envisioned merely uselessly low value replacements for the single market, but he's actually delivering massively unhelpful totalitarian engagement in the lives of UK nationals.
posted by jaduncan at 9:41 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wow. This is actually worse than I'd imagined his deals would be. I'd envisioned merely uselessly low value replacements for the single market, but he's actually delivering massively unhelpful totalitarian engagement in the lives of UK nationals.
posted by jaduncan at 9:41 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
I was just thinking its been too long since we had a reminder that Chaffetz was a garbage human who deliberately wheeled in on a government-paid scooter paid for by government health care in order to deny everyone else government-paid helath care.
posted by Yowser at 10:08 AM on May 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 10:08 AM on May 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
Joe Donnelly says he’ll support Gina Haspel for CIA director.
That's plenty of Democratic votes to confirm a war criminal.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
That's plenty of Democratic votes to confirm a war criminal.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
Not that we need more proof of Kelly's vileness, but...
Manu Raju (CNN)
NPR: Do the president's inaccurate statements ... from the number of people he believes voted illegally, to the size of the inauguration crowd, or to the payments to the lawyer regarding Stormy Daniels — make your job harder?
Kelly: "You know, I'm not so sure they're inaccurate."
posted by chris24 at 10:40 AM on May 12, 2018 [50 favorites]
Manu Raju (CNN)
NPR: Do the president's inaccurate statements ... from the number of people he believes voted illegally, to the size of the inauguration crowd, or to the payments to the lawyer regarding Stormy Daniels — make your job harder?
Kelly: "You know, I'm not so sure they're inaccurate."
posted by chris24 at 10:40 AM on May 12, 2018 [50 favorites]
On AI technology, Tencent and Babylon Health, a leading UK-based AI healthcare provider, signed a collaboration agreement to offer AI health consultation service on WeChat
yeah there's literally zero chance this will end up being an absolute privacy-invading fiasco that somehow manages to worsen the functionality of the NHS while also underserving patients in the name of austerity, this is an entirely totally great idea
posted by halation at 10:42 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
yeah there's literally zero chance this will end up being an absolute privacy-invading fiasco that somehow manages to worsen the functionality of the NHS while also underserving patients in the name of austerity, this is an entirely totally great idea
posted by halation at 10:42 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Twitter's not having any of John Kelly's anti-immigrant mess.
posted by Rykey at 11:02 AM on May 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 11:02 AM on May 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
Giuliani Opens His Mouth Again, Says Trump Denied AT&T-Time Warner Merger
posted by kirkaracha at 11:38 AM on May 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
In an interview with HuffPost, Giuliani implied that Trump personally intervened to block the merger between Time Warner and AT&T, which the White House has vociferously denied. The comment was meant as a defense of the president in the wake of revelations, first brought to light by Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti, that Trump fixer Michael Cohen had been paid by AT&T for consulting work after Trump’s election.So...AT&T paid our fixer a bribe but we didn't do what they bribed us for? #drainTheSwamp
“Whatever lobbying was done didn’t reach the president,” Giuliani said. “He did drain the swamp … The president denied the merger. They didn’t get the result they wanted.”
posted by kirkaracha at 11:38 AM on May 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
AT&T paid our fixer a bribe but we didn't do what they bribed us for?
Well, AT&T paid their bribe, but Time Warner refused to sell CNN so...
From the Hill, back in February...
Well, AT&T paid their bribe, but Time Warner refused to sell CNN so...
From the Hill, back in February...
In November, conflicting reports suggested AT&T and Time Warner were being asked to sell CNN as part of their proposed merger, in order to avoid monopoly regulations. Speculation that Trump sought to influence negotiations by zeroing in on CNN hammered the ongoing talks between the government and the companies.posted by OnceUponATime at 12:01 PM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
The White House and Makan Delrahim, the DOJ's antitrust chief, denied that the administration took a position in the merger review.
However, the DOJ ultimately sued to block the AT&T-Time Warner deal under antitrust law.
NYT, Suspicions, Demands and Threats: Devin Nunes vs. the Justice Dept.
posted by zachlipton at 12:26 PM on May 12, 2018 [31 favorites]
Yet Mr. Trump seized on its findings to declare that he had been vindicated. And now, department officials said they were fearful that Mr. Nunes and his allies were seeking a repeat performance. More troubling, the officials said, is that Mr. Nunes’s actions suggest that he is more interested in courting conflict than understanding the case.As the article notes, Paul Ryan could stop this anytime he wants.
In the middle of another records dispute last month, Mr. Nunes threatened to hold Mr. Rosenstein in contempt or even try to impeach him if the Justice Department did not grant access to a nearly complete copy of a document used to open the Russia investigation in the summer of 2016, as well as material related to the wiretap of the Trump campaign aide, Carter Page. Mr. Rosenstein acquiesced and handed over the documents, but despite Mr. Nunes’s repeated demands, he never read them, according to an official familiar with the matter.
In another meeting, Mr. Rosenstein felt he was outright misled by Mr. Nunes’s staff. Mr. Rosenstein wanted to know whether Kashyap Patel, an investigator working for Mr. Nunes who was the primary author of the disputed memo, had traveled to London the previous summer to interview a former British spy who had compiled a salacious dossier about Mr. Trump, according to a former federal law enforcement official familiar with the interaction.
Mr. Patel was not forthcoming during the contentious meeting, the official said, and the conversation helped solidify Mr. Rosenstein’s belief that Mr. Nunes and other allies in Congress were not operating in good faith.
posted by zachlipton at 12:26 PM on May 12, 2018 [31 favorites]
Axios: Inside the room: White House flare-up over McCain leak
Jonathan Swan (Axios):
At one point, per a source in the room, White House strategic communications director Mercedes Schlapp interjected with a word of support for Sadler:
“You can put this on the record... I stand with Kelly Sadler.”
STORY LINK
---
You might be old enough to remember Schlapp and her CPAC head husband "storming" out of the WHCD because of Wolf's lack of decorum.
On their way to the after party.
posted by chris24 at 1:49 PM on May 12, 2018 [51 favorites]
Jonathan Swan (Axios):
At one point, per a source in the room, White House strategic communications director Mercedes Schlapp interjected with a word of support for Sadler:
“You can put this on the record... I stand with Kelly Sadler.”
STORY LINK
---
You might be old enough to remember Schlapp and her CPAC head husband "storming" out of the WHCD because of Wolf's lack of decorum.
On their way to the after party.
posted by chris24 at 1:49 PM on May 12, 2018 [51 favorites]
After decades of ‘gay panic defence’ in court, US states slowly begin to ban tactic
The tactic leaves LGBT people vulnerable in legal proceedings at a time when protections for transgender people are rolled back
(a legal defense for murder, so trigger warning obviously)
posted by XMLicious at 1:59 PM on May 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
The tactic leaves LGBT people vulnerable in legal proceedings at a time when protections for transgender people are rolled back
(a legal defense for murder, so trigger warning obviously)
posted by XMLicious at 1:59 PM on May 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
Thanks for posting that (After decades of ‘gay panic defence’ in court, US states slowly begin to ban tactic), XMLicious.
I actually had to reread it a couple of times to find out which states:
Progress is possible.
posted by kristi at 2:30 PM on May 12, 2018 [38 favorites]
I actually had to reread it a couple of times to find out which states:
California became the first state to outlaw the gay panic defence in 2014 and a prohibition in Illinois went into effect at the start of this year. Bans have been advocated or formally proposed in states including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Georgia, Washington, New Jersey and New York.I just learned, just this week, that CA Senator Kamala Harris took this on in 2006, when she was San Francisco District Attorney, as described in The Advocate, Prosecutors call for end to "gay panic" legal defenses:
Prosecutors in San Francisco on Thursday called for limiting the use of "gay panic" defenses in criminal trials. On the second day of a two-day national conference devoted to debate of the legal strategy, in which defense attorneys claim their clients' crimes are justified because of fear or anger toward their victims' sexual orientation, prosecutors said such a rationale is no longer acceptable, the Associated Press reports. "The suggestion that criminal conduct is mitigated by bias or prejudice is inappropriate," San Francisco district attorney Kamala Harris, who organized the conference, told the AP. "We can't outlaw it, but we can combat it." Bills designed to counter "gay panic" defenses are currently pending in both California and New York. They would require judges to instruct juries that a defendant's prejudice against his victim cannot affect their deliberations.That 2014 bill passed in California was co-sponsored by Harris when she was a state legislator.
Progress is possible.
posted by kristi at 2:30 PM on May 12, 2018 [38 favorites]
Why are Pharma stocks soaring after Trump announces plans to lower drug costs? Gee, it's almost like they heard he has no plan at all...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/us/politics/trump-prescription-drugs-plan.html
President Trump vowed on Friday to “bring soaring drug prices back down to earth” by promoting competition among pharmaceutical companies, and he suggested that the government could require drugmakers to disclose prices in their ubiquitous television advertising.
But he dropped the popular and populist proposals of his presidential campaign, opting not to have the federal government directly negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare. And he chose not to allow American consumers to import low-cost medicines from abroad.
He would instead give private entities more tools to negotiate better deals on behalf of consumers, insurers and employers.
-------
His proposals hardly put a scare into the system he criticized.
Ronny Gal, a securities analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, said the president’s speech was “very, very positive to pharma,” and he added, “We have not seen anything about that speech which should concern investors” in the pharmaceutical industry.
Shares of several major drug and biotech companies rose immediately after the speech, as did the stocks of pharmacy benefit managers, the “middlemen” who Mr. Trump said had gotten “very, very rich.” The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 2.7 percent on Friday. CVS Health, which manages pharmacy benefits for many insurers and employers, finished up 3.2 percent.
posted by xammerboy at 2:39 PM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/us/politics/trump-prescription-drugs-plan.html
President Trump vowed on Friday to “bring soaring drug prices back down to earth” by promoting competition among pharmaceutical companies, and he suggested that the government could require drugmakers to disclose prices in their ubiquitous television advertising.
But he dropped the popular and populist proposals of his presidential campaign, opting not to have the federal government directly negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare. And he chose not to allow American consumers to import low-cost medicines from abroad.
He would instead give private entities more tools to negotiate better deals on behalf of consumers, insurers and employers.
-------
His proposals hardly put a scare into the system he criticized.
Ronny Gal, a securities analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, said the president’s speech was “very, very positive to pharma,” and he added, “We have not seen anything about that speech which should concern investors” in the pharmaceutical industry.
Shares of several major drug and biotech companies rose immediately after the speech, as did the stocks of pharmacy benefit managers, the “middlemen” who Mr. Trump said had gotten “very, very rich.” The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 2.7 percent on Friday. CVS Health, which manages pharmacy benefits for many insurers and employers, finished up 3.2 percent.
posted by xammerboy at 2:39 PM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted. These threads don't need to be a place to give airtime to every shitty horrible random bigot.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:40 PM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:40 PM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
So....regardless of what President Trump does, whether trying to lower drug prices for Americans or opening a much needed dialogue with N. Korea, he will be trashed on here. I'm not sure what he could possibly do to earn some respect from the NYTimes and the Democratic party. I watched his speech yesterday, and he seemed genuinely determined to use his power to lower drug prices. Not sure how that could be construed in a negative way. I feel less and less aligned with the Democratic Party. Enough already.
NYTimes comment in response to Trump announcing he will NOT fulfill his campaign promise of allowing Medicare to negotiate drug pricing, instead making vague claims that prices will drop by making companies more competitive. This is why we have Trump.
posted by xammerboy at 2:52 PM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
NYTimes comment in response to Trump announcing he will NOT fulfill his campaign promise of allowing Medicare to negotiate drug pricing, instead making vague claims that prices will drop by making companies more competitive. This is why we have Trump.
posted by xammerboy at 2:52 PM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Our administration has provided more than a million documents; we've fully cooperated in it, and in the interest of the country, I think it's time to wrap it up," Pence said in an interview.
MSNBC has a devastating mash-up of Pence's interview and Nixon saying almost exactly the same things during Watergate.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:55 PM on May 12, 2018 [87 favorites]
MSNBC has a devastating mash-up of Pence's interview and Nixon saying almost exactly the same things during Watergate.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:55 PM on May 12, 2018 [87 favorites]
Stupid Watergate: now with lines straight from Nixon!
Pence: It's been about a year since this investigation began.
Nixon: One year of Watergate is enough.
Pence: Our administration has been fully cooperating.
Nixon: I have provided to the special prosecutor voluntarily a great deal of material.
Pence: Our administration's provided over a million documents.
Nixon: I believe that I have provided all the material that he needs to conclude his investigation.
Pence: In the interest of the country I think it's time to wrap it up.
Nixon: I believe the time has come.
Pence: I would very respectfully encourage--
Nixon: That investigation--
Pence: To bring their work to conclusion.
Nixon: To an end.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:14 PM on May 12, 2018 [71 favorites]
Pence: It's been about a year since this investigation began.
Nixon: One year of Watergate is enough.
Pence: Our administration has been fully cooperating.
Nixon: I have provided to the special prosecutor voluntarily a great deal of material.
Pence: Our administration's provided over a million documents.
Nixon: I believe that I have provided all the material that he needs to conclude his investigation.
Pence: In the interest of the country I think it's time to wrap it up.
Nixon: I believe the time has come.
Pence: I would very respectfully encourage--
Nixon: That investigation--
Pence: To bring their work to conclusion.
Nixon: To an end.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:14 PM on May 12, 2018 [71 favorites]
Atlantic: Iran Hawks Are the New Iraq Hawks
posted by triggerfinger at 5:41 PM on May 12, 2018 [50 favorites]
The parallels between that moment and this one are uncanny. In both cases, American leaders feared that a longtime Middle Eastern adversary was breaking free of the fetters that had previously restrained it. In both cases, American leaders pursued a more confrontational policy, which they buttressed with frightening statements about the regime’s nuclear program. In both cases, international inspectors contradicted those alarmist claims. In both cases, America’s European allies defended the inspectors and warned of the chaos America’s confrontational policy might bring. In both cases, hawks in America and Israel responded by trying to discredit the inspection regime. And in both cases, two leaders of that effort were John Bolton and Benjamin Netanyahu.@PeterBeinart I supported the Iraq War. A mentor died in it. My sister-in-law left her toddler to serve in it. I wrote 2 books grappling w/ how I got it so wrong. I never thought people like Bolton + Netanyahu could pull off a campaign of lies like that again. They have.
posted by triggerfinger at 5:41 PM on May 12, 2018 [50 favorites]
Arlington VA Delegate and Democratic House Whip Alfonso Lopez appears to have threatened and called the cops on latino activists for asking him about his consulting work for ICE at an Arlington County Indivisible meeting tonight.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:20 PM on May 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:20 PM on May 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
"At yesterday’s meeting of the White House communications team — in the wake of a leak from the prior meeting of a callous remark about John McCain’s brain cancer — a visibly upset and furious Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the group: “I am sure this conversation is going to leak, too. And that’s just disgusting,” according to a source in the room."
Later, Jonathan Swan said "five sources in the room" leaked the details of this meeting.
I don't know that this means anything in the long run: I trust Uncle Mueller for long run analysis and illegality behavior retribution.
But, oh, goddess, do I love these leaking staffers: I want to buy them all the beers. These are good Americans who see some shit is wrong and are telling the rest of us. As they should.
Five, FIVE, sources?! You ain't no CJ Gregg, SHS! That's for damn sure!
posted by blessedlyndie at 7:37 PM on May 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
Later, Jonathan Swan said "five sources in the room" leaked the details of this meeting.
I don't know that this means anything in the long run: I trust Uncle Mueller for long run analysis and illegality behavior retribution.
But, oh, goddess, do I love these leaking staffers: I want to buy them all the beers. These are good Americans who see some shit is wrong and are telling the rest of us. As they should.
Five, FIVE, sources?! You ain't no CJ Gregg, SHS! That's for damn sure!
posted by blessedlyndie at 7:37 PM on May 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
These are good Americans who see some shit is wrong and are telling the rest of us.
These are the same racists and authoritarians who just don’t like the fact that people are saying the quiet parts loudly. None of them deserve anything except their own day in court.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 7:53 PM on May 12, 2018 [25 favorites]
These are the same racists and authoritarians who just don’t like the fact that people are saying the quiet parts loudly. None of them deserve anything except their own day in court.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 7:53 PM on May 12, 2018 [25 favorites]
Mod note: Please don't keep reposting the same chatty comments over and over; we moderate these politics threads more strictly to keep chatter and metacommentary out. Please see this thread if you need more information.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 8:26 PM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 8:26 PM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Donald Trump, Biblical Prophet.
@joshtpm Judge Jeanine: Trump fulfilled biblical prophecy by moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
posted by scalefree at 10:35 PM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
@joshtpm Judge Jeanine: Trump fulfilled biblical prophecy by moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
posted by scalefree at 10:35 PM on May 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
There are very few references to embassies in the Bible. I couldn't find a relevant one in the Hebrew scriptures, but on reflection I believe Judge Jeanine must be referring to Jesus' Parable of the Talents (Luke 19), which begins:
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:17 AM on May 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
‘A certain man of birth went on to a far country, to take to himself a kingdom, and to return, 13 and having called ten servants of his own, he gave to them ten pounds, and said unto them, Do business — till I come; 14 and his citizens were hating him, and did send an embassy after him, saying, We do not wish this one to reign over us. 15 And it came to pass, on his coming back, having taken the kingdom, that he commanded these servants to be called to him, to whom he gave the money, that he might know what any one had done in business[…]I'm not sure that this could fairly be described as a prophecy, but it certainly describes Trump pretty accurately.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:17 AM on May 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Delaware Becomes First State to Ban Child Marriage
"Child Marriage" in this context referring to a marriage involving anyone who is a minor. Evidently both chambers of the New Jersey legislature passed a similar bill last year but Chris Christie vetoed it.
It's an interesting bit of historical symmetry here, since according to this 1895 New York Times article in the late 19th century Delaware was the last state where the age of consent for intercourse was below 10, at 7.
posted by XMLicious at 12:59 AM on May 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
"Child Marriage" in this context referring to a marriage involving anyone who is a minor. Evidently both chambers of the New Jersey legislature passed a similar bill last year but Chris Christie vetoed it.
It's an interesting bit of historical symmetry here, since according to this 1895 New York Times article in the late 19th century Delaware was the last state where the age of consent for intercourse was below 10, at 7.
posted by XMLicious at 12:59 AM on May 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
XMLicious, thanks for those links. As for the first one, good for Delaware:
Delaware’s laws governing child marriage were last updated in 2007 to remove a so-called “pregnancy exception.” The law previously compelled court clerks to issue a marriage license if a minor was pregnant.
Ken Boulden, a clerk of the peace in Delaware, fought to change the law more than a decade ago after he was asked to approve a marriage between a pregnant 14-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man.
“What I was statutorily required to do was — since the mother was there to sign and give the permission — I was supposed to grant them a marriage license and perform the ceremony,” he said in an interview with the FRONTLINE Dispatch.*
Boulden, who says he has performed more than 15,000 marriages throughout his career, said he couldn’t bring himself to marry the couple. So, he asked them to return a few days later. By then, he had alerted the police, who were on hand to arrest the man for statutory rape.
From the 2nd:
He declared, further, that this society had urgent need to pronounce itself on the subject of the so-called age of consent laws. Girls are deemed capable of controlling property only at their majority, but States decide not so with their persons. In four States the age of consent is fixed at the shockingly low age of ten years, in four others at twelve, in three at thirteen, and so on, increasing, except in Delaware, where the original statute pertaining to the crime of rape is still unrepealed, fixing the age at seven years. These so-called age of consent statutes, which discriminate against girlhood and favor immoral men, are a disgrace to the several States of the Union. (1895)
Favoring immoral men has been a known issue for quite a while now.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:04 AM on May 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
Delaware’s laws governing child marriage were last updated in 2007 to remove a so-called “pregnancy exception.” The law previously compelled court clerks to issue a marriage license if a minor was pregnant.
Ken Boulden, a clerk of the peace in Delaware, fought to change the law more than a decade ago after he was asked to approve a marriage between a pregnant 14-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man.
“What I was statutorily required to do was — since the mother was there to sign and give the permission — I was supposed to grant them a marriage license and perform the ceremony,” he said in an interview with the FRONTLINE Dispatch.*
Boulden, who says he has performed more than 15,000 marriages throughout his career, said he couldn’t bring himself to marry the couple. So, he asked them to return a few days later. By then, he had alerted the police, who were on hand to arrest the man for statutory rape.
From the 2nd:
He declared, further, that this society had urgent need to pronounce itself on the subject of the so-called age of consent laws. Girls are deemed capable of controlling property only at their majority, but States decide not so with their persons. In four States the age of consent is fixed at the shockingly low age of ten years, in four others at twelve, in three at thirteen, and so on, increasing, except in Delaware, where the original statute pertaining to the crime of rape is still unrepealed, fixing the age at seven years. These so-called age of consent statutes, which discriminate against girlhood and favor immoral men, are a disgrace to the several States of the Union. (1895)
Favoring immoral men has been a known issue for quite a while now.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:04 AM on May 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
When Spies Hack Journalism, Scott Shane, Washington reporter for the NYTimes, reflects on the new reality.
This quandary is raised with emotional force by my colleague Amy Chozick in her new book about covering Hillary Clinton. She recounts reading a New York Times story about the Russian hack of the Democrats that said The Times and other outlets, by publishing stories based on the hacked material, became “a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence.” She felt terrible, she reports, because she thought she was guilty as charged.posted by mumimor at 2:37 AM on May 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
Others hurried to reassure Ms. Chozick that she and hundreds of other reporters who covered the leaked emails were simply doing their jobs. “The primary question a journalist must ask himself is whether or not the information is true and relevant,” wrote Jack Shafer, the media critic for Politico, “and certainly not whether it might make Moscow happy.”
I happened to have written the sentence that distressed Ms. Chozick, and I don’t find either her mea culpa or Mr. Shafer’s championing of the old rules fully satisfying. For reporters, withholding valuable information from the public is anathema. But in a world in which foreign intelligence services hack, leak and fabricate, journalists will have to use extreme caution and extra transparency.
Hypothetically, a public hack/leak of a political party's data could have revealed some extremely horrific stuff. I'm not sure I'd consider it the media's job to keep quiet if someone had hacked RNC emails and it explicitly showed, like, an extensive money-laundering operation for the mob, or Actual Pizzagate. (Although in that case reporters wouldn't be the only ones on the job; some sort of criminal justice response would also happen, one hopes.)
So in some ways it seems like I care about the issue in proportion to the newsworthiness of the hacked data itself, and thus the handling of the DNC material was frustrating because there was next-to-no "there" there while media acted otherwise. At the same time, law enforcement is supposed to follow standard procedures for uncovering even the most damning evidence. Yes, the apologists for Russia-Lago may have twisted the meaning of "fruit of the poisoned tree" beyond anything reasonable, but it is still a valuable doctrine in general.
Basically, for me at least, it's a true dilemma.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:55 AM on May 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
So in some ways it seems like I care about the issue in proportion to the newsworthiness of the hacked data itself, and thus the handling of the DNC material was frustrating because there was next-to-no "there" there while media acted otherwise. At the same time, law enforcement is supposed to follow standard procedures for uncovering even the most damning evidence. Yes, the apologists for Russia-Lago may have twisted the meaning of "fruit of the poisoned tree" beyond anything reasonable, but it is still a valuable doctrine in general.
Basically, for me at least, it's a true dilemma.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:55 AM on May 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
In theory, it's a dilemma, but in practice, less so.
Someone did hack the RNC and didn't release them, which IMO begged more than one question. But none of those journalists who spend endless words on "her emails" and the DNC hack asked any questions about the RNC hack and why it wasn't released by the Russians who released the DNC mails. They didn't question their sources or how those sources might have an agenda. That's not a dilemma, it's just bad journalism.
The NYTimes especially seems to have totally abandoned all pretense of a critical and analytical journalistic practice during the election, and they have a huge responsibility for how that went. The contributed to the sense even among educated people that Clinton is a typical lying and corrupt politician, which she truly isn't. And they continue to contribute to the normalization of Trump which is specially damning because of their status as one of the world's most important newspapers, which is quoted far and wide.
Yesterday, I heard a radio show about the Iran situation. The journalist who was hosting the show was clearly following the lead of the Times, but luckily he had brought in two experts, who started out politely, but in the end both said directly that it makes no sense treating the Trump administration like a normal administration since there is no method or idea or even consistency from day to day. One could hear the journo gasping at this breach of good taste and "fairness", but they were adamant. Such a relief.
posted by mumimor at 5:58 AM on May 13, 2018 [57 favorites]
Someone did hack the RNC and didn't release them, which IMO begged more than one question. But none of those journalists who spend endless words on "her emails" and the DNC hack asked any questions about the RNC hack and why it wasn't released by the Russians who released the DNC mails. They didn't question their sources or how those sources might have an agenda. That's not a dilemma, it's just bad journalism.
The NYTimes especially seems to have totally abandoned all pretense of a critical and analytical journalistic practice during the election, and they have a huge responsibility for how that went. The contributed to the sense even among educated people that Clinton is a typical lying and corrupt politician, which she truly isn't. And they continue to contribute to the normalization of Trump which is specially damning because of their status as one of the world's most important newspapers, which is quoted far and wide.
Yesterday, I heard a radio show about the Iran situation. The journalist who was hosting the show was clearly following the lead of the Times, but luckily he had brought in two experts, who started out politely, but in the end both said directly that it makes no sense treating the Trump administration like a normal administration since there is no method or idea or even consistency from day to day. One could hear the journo gasping at this breach of good taste and "fairness", but they were adamant. Such a relief.
posted by mumimor at 5:58 AM on May 13, 2018 [57 favorites]
Regarding the moving of the embassy to Jerusalem, and how some people might cheer that on: centering the world on Jerusalem is part of Dispensationalism, and anything that is a step in that direction is hastening the return of Christ to rule over the Earth for 1000 years.
In other words this a foghorn, not a dog whistle, for many Evangelicals, and one reason they cheer Trump on.
posted by snortasprocket at 6:08 AM on May 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
In other words this a foghorn, not a dog whistle, for many Evangelicals, and one reason they cheer Trump on.
posted by snortasprocket at 6:08 AM on May 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
The NYTimes especially seems to have totally abandoned all pretense...
Oh look, it's another NYT article blaming the left for the awfulness of the right.
Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web
Oops. That's Wednesday's.
Here's the new NYT article correctly criticizing the left... for the right's issues?
How the Online Left Fuels the Right
Oh sorry, that's yesterday's.
Ah, here's today's article saying Trump is really the left's fault.
Liberals, You’re Not as Smart as You Think You Are
posted by chris24 at 6:20 AM on May 13, 2018 [110 favorites]
Oh look, it's another NYT article blaming the left for the awfulness of the right.
Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web
Oops. That's Wednesday's.
Here's the new NYT article correctly criticizing the left... for the right's issues?
How the Online Left Fuels the Right
Oh sorry, that's yesterday's.
Ah, here's today's article saying Trump is really the left's fault.
Liberals, You’re Not as Smart as You Think You Are
posted by chris24 at 6:20 AM on May 13, 2018 [110 favorites]
The NYT concluded that the only problem with their 2016 election coverage was that they weren’t Brietbart.
Cancel your subscriptions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:40 AM on May 13, 2018 [44 favorites]
Cancel your subscriptions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:40 AM on May 13, 2018 [44 favorites]
Ah, yes, in that final link, we see the old "you're pushing the Right away by telling them they're wrong". As a rhetorical strategy, I understand the time and place for the language of deference--when, indeed, you should let things slide, when there are too many small arguments to get in the way of the larger one.
This is not one of those times. At this moment the Right in this country is not just wrong, they're Fucking Wrong. And they need to hear it.
Alexander argues liberals are causing too much "resentment." Who are the true snowflakes here?
posted by Room 101 at 6:43 AM on May 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
This is not one of those times. At this moment the Right in this country is not just wrong, they're Fucking Wrong. And they need to hear it.
Alexander argues liberals are causing too much "resentment." Who are the true snowflakes here?
posted by Room 101 at 6:43 AM on May 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
Liberals, You’re Not as Smart as You Think You Are
Even better, Alexander wrote basically the same article in 2015.
Jon Stewart, Patron Saint of Liberal Smugness
And 2010.
Why are liberals so condescending?
posted by chris24 at 6:45 AM on May 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
Even better, Alexander wrote basically the same article in 2015.
Jon Stewart, Patron Saint of Liberal Smugness
And 2010.
Why are liberals so condescending?
posted by chris24 at 6:45 AM on May 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
Who are the true snowflakes here?
Adam Serwer (Atlantic)
Liberals are too sensitive. Also, if a liberal says something I don’t like I’m going to become a nazi.
posted by chris24 at 6:47 AM on May 13, 2018 [108 favorites]
Adam Serwer (Atlantic)
Liberals are too sensitive. Also, if a liberal says something I don’t like I’m going to become a nazi.
posted by chris24 at 6:47 AM on May 13, 2018 [108 favorites]
“The primary question a journalist must ask himself is whether or not the information is true and relevant,” wrote Jack Shafer, the media critic for Politico, “and certainly not whether it might make Moscow happy."
Wow.
I've often reflected upon how different professions value truth in different ways (to lie in science is a cardinal sin, for example), but perhaps the most important word here is relevant. The DNC emails were perhaps true, but, compared to the Moscow hack, they were not even remotely relevant. That is the choice that the NYTimes made, and they chose poorly.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 6:47 AM on May 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
Wow.
I've often reflected upon how different professions value truth in different ways (to lie in science is a cardinal sin, for example), but perhaps the most important word here is relevant. The DNC emails were perhaps true, but, compared to the Moscow hack, they were not even remotely relevant. That is the choice that the NYTimes made, and they chose poorly.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 6:47 AM on May 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
From his 2010 version of the article:
posted by octothorpe at 6:59 AM on May 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
Race doubtless played a significant role in the shift of Deep South whites to the Republican Party during and after the 1960s. But the liberal narrative has gone essentially unchanged since then -- recall former president Carter's recent assertion that opposition to Obama reflects racism -- even though survey research has shown a dramatic decline in prejudiced attitudes among white Americans in the intervening decades.This hasn't really aged well, has it?
posted by octothorpe at 6:59 AM on May 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
Ah, yes, in that final link, we see the old "you're pushing the Right away by telling them they're wrong".
Meanwhile, Alexander is a professor at UVa in Charlottesville, where Nazis murdered one, tried to kill dozens more, and attacked scores with clubs, fired guns, etc. just nine months ago.
But the left with their mean words is the real issue.
posted by chris24 at 7:02 AM on May 13, 2018 [55 favorites]
Meanwhile, Alexander is a professor at UVa in Charlottesville, where Nazis murdered one, tried to kill dozens more, and attacked scores with clubs, fired guns, etc. just nine months ago.
But the left with their mean words is the real issue.
posted by chris24 at 7:02 AM on May 13, 2018 [55 favorites]
I just really can't grok why "please be decent, people" makes one out to be an eggshell plaintiff, is a signifier of weakness.
posted by angrycat at 7:14 AM on May 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 7:14 AM on May 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Is there literally anything that the right says (consistently, systematically, as a veritable op-ed chorus) about the left that isn’t 100 percent projection?
posted by Etrigan at 7:18 AM on May 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 7:18 AM on May 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
Sometimes, when a right-winger accuses the left of the exact same things they do, they’re consciously aware of what they’re doing. In which case, it’s technically not projection, but rather an abuse tactic.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:34 AM on May 13, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:34 AM on May 13, 2018 [48 favorites]
To be fair, opinion pieces aren't reporting, and I actually like to be able to read conservative opinion pieces without having to pay for a conservative newspaper. (I do keep a conservative weekly, but it is driving me crazy and I think I have to end that subscription).
But, I think many journalists and editors are obsessed with "the news" to the point of detriment. The way journalism is taught and discussed and organized, news reporting is at the top of the journalistic hierarchy. And since the emergence of CNN and other 24 hour news channels, reporting the news has not really been a viable business model for printed media, something they somehow seem to find very difficult to accept. In theory, the internets should be a way those old media could get back on the news-track, but there are reasons it doesn't work that way. One of them is that in normal times (not the time we are at now), there is just not that much news. But in order to be able to serve 24h news, you need a 24h news staff, who cost a lot and will have little to do most of the time. So the "news" are often not very newsworthy. And anyway, the news in any form or shape won't get anyone buying subscriptions or ads. Look, even CNN has all sorts of features and other programming, including editorials.
This identity and economic crisis of the old media doesn't directly explain why the editors at the NYTimes and thousands of other media around the world preferred "butter emails" to "the Manchurian candidate" as newsworthy headlines. Or back in the day that those same media uncritically accepted the Bush lies about Iraq. But in a way it does: access journalism is far cheaper than investigative journalism, it's easier, and it feels cool while you are at it, meeting important people and being friendly with them on their planes. You get to go on TV shows, too.
Finally, there is a huge misunderstanding of the term "critical" — even some smart people, and certainly a lot of journalists think that being critical is the same as being negative. And that misunderstanding seeps into and poisons the concept of "fairness", so the political reporter will feel obliged by "fairness" to be more negative about a better candidate and less negative about an obvious crook and demagogue, even though that is rubbish. Or "we must remember to report on the negative aspects of immigration lest we could be blamed of bias" (actual words from the idiot editor of a far-left publication I once worked at). This misunderstanding of a very basic rule of reporting leads to failure all the way down, not just in terms of reporting, and political discourse, but also — again — to loss of readers and advertisers.
posted by mumimor at 7:37 AM on May 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
But, I think many journalists and editors are obsessed with "the news" to the point of detriment. The way journalism is taught and discussed and organized, news reporting is at the top of the journalistic hierarchy. And since the emergence of CNN and other 24 hour news channels, reporting the news has not really been a viable business model for printed media, something they somehow seem to find very difficult to accept. In theory, the internets should be a way those old media could get back on the news-track, but there are reasons it doesn't work that way. One of them is that in normal times (not the time we are at now), there is just not that much news. But in order to be able to serve 24h news, you need a 24h news staff, who cost a lot and will have little to do most of the time. So the "news" are often not very newsworthy. And anyway, the news in any form or shape won't get anyone buying subscriptions or ads. Look, even CNN has all sorts of features and other programming, including editorials.
This identity and economic crisis of the old media doesn't directly explain why the editors at the NYTimes and thousands of other media around the world preferred "butter emails" to "the Manchurian candidate" as newsworthy headlines. Or back in the day that those same media uncritically accepted the Bush lies about Iraq. But in a way it does: access journalism is far cheaper than investigative journalism, it's easier, and it feels cool while you are at it, meeting important people and being friendly with them on their planes. You get to go on TV shows, too.
Finally, there is a huge misunderstanding of the term "critical" — even some smart people, and certainly a lot of journalists think that being critical is the same as being negative. And that misunderstanding seeps into and poisons the concept of "fairness", so the political reporter will feel obliged by "fairness" to be more negative about a better candidate and less negative about an obvious crook and demagogue, even though that is rubbish. Or "we must remember to report on the negative aspects of immigration lest we could be blamed of bias" (actual words from the idiot editor of a far-left publication I once worked at). This misunderstanding of a very basic rule of reporting leads to failure all the way down, not just in terms of reporting, and political discourse, but also — again — to loss of readers and advertisers.
posted by mumimor at 7:37 AM on May 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Stop saying the Trump era is ‘not normal’ or ‘not who we are.’ We’ve been here before. (Carlos Lozada, WaPo)
Review of The Soul of America by Jon Meacham and Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America by James Fallows and Deborah Fallows
Review of The Soul of America by Jon Meacham and Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America by James Fallows and Deborah Fallows
The horror with which many citizens regard the Trump presidency is premised, in part, on the notion that its challenges are unprecedented and its morality antithetical to long-standing national values. So “normalizing” President Trump has become a mortal sin, and “that’s not who we are” a rallying cry for those who view today’s anti-democratic and nativist compulsions as aberrations along that long arc toward justice.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:42 AM on May 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
Except this is normal. And it is who we are.
Meanwhile, Alexander is a professor at UVa in Charlottesville, where Nazis murdered one, tried to kill dozens more, and attacked scores with clubs, fired guns, etc. just nine months ago.
Looks like the Nazi connection is deeper:
Looks like the Nazi connection is deeper:
@lagadoprojector: Congrats on the New York Times for publishing the ravings of a low-key "just-asking-questions" Holocaust-denier. This will surely own the libs.posted by zombieflanders at 8:51 AM on May 13, 2018 [62 favorites]
The “Intellectual Dark Web,” explained: what Jordan Peterson has in common with the alt-right
posted by Artw at 9:01 AM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:01 AM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Liberals, You’re Not as Smart as You Think You Are
See. A right-wing conservative got you to waste five minutes of your life reading his click bait, thereby proving his point.
The only way to win is not to play. The New York Times is garbage and the Washington Post isn't much better.
posted by JackFlash at 9:05 AM on May 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
See. A right-wing conservative got you to waste five minutes of your life reading his click bait, thereby proving his point.
The only way to win is not to play. The New York Times is garbage and the Washington Post isn't much better.
posted by JackFlash at 9:05 AM on May 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
John McCain: man who served his country. By helping extend John Bolton’s political career.
Asked about the McCain remark, John Bolton tells @jaketapper how McCain helped him when his nomination to become ambassador was in trouble, with no political upside for McCain. “I’ll never forget it. I’ll be grateful forever. And I wish his family nothing but the best.”
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:10 AM on May 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Asked about the McCain remark, John Bolton tells @jaketapper how McCain helped him when his nomination to become ambassador was in trouble, with no political upside for McCain. “I’ll never forget it. I’ll be grateful forever. And I wish his family nothing but the best.”
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:10 AM on May 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!
The Commerce Dept imposed the ban (on purchases of components/tech made by US companies) last month after determining that ZTE had violated both the Iran and NK sanctions regimes, and lied about it during the settlement discussions that began in 2016.
Your transactionalist chief executive at work.
posted by notyou at 9:30 AM on May 13, 2018 [72 favorites]
The Commerce Dept imposed the ban (on purchases of components/tech made by US companies) last month after determining that ZTE had violated both the Iran and NK sanctions regimes, and lied about it during the settlement discussions that began in 2016.
Your transactionalist chief executive at work.
posted by notyou at 9:30 AM on May 13, 2018 [72 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!
I thought ZTE phones were banned at military bases because of fears the Chinese government was forcing backdoors into the chipsets?
posted by bluecore at 9:41 AM on May 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
I thought ZTE phones were banned at military bases because of fears the Chinese government was forcing backdoors into the chipsets?
posted by bluecore at 9:41 AM on May 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
In addition to the intentional violations of NK-Iran sanctions and lying about it, just three months ago Trump's own FBI Director and the heads of other intelligence agencies said hell no to ZTE. And Tom Cotton, R senator from Arkansas and rabid Trumpette, introduced a new bill to ban the government from working with any companies that use them.
posted by chris24 at 9:41 AM on May 13, 2018 [39 favorites]
U.S. intelligence agencies have issued a stern warning to Americans: Do not buy smartphones made by Chinese tech companies Huawei or ZTE. Top officials from the CIA, NSA, FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that the Chinese smartphone makers posed a security threat to American customers.But America First.
FBI Director Chris Wray explained why it is an issue for companies and local governments to use Huawei or ZTE products and services. There is a risk of letting any company "beholden to foreign governments" inside the country's telecommunications infrastructure, he said. Huawei is a global leader in networking equipment, and the government has previously blocked it from selling technology to some federal agencies. "It provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information," Wray said. "And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage." [...]
Cotton introduced a bill last week that would prohibit the government from contracting with companies that use Huawei or ZTE products. It's a companion bill to the "Defending U.S. Government Communications Act" put forth in the House last month. In 2013, Congress passed a law that prevented some federal agencies from buying tech from these firms without approval.
posted by chris24 at 9:41 AM on May 13, 2018 [39 favorites]
The only way to win is not to play. The New York Times is garbage and the Washington Post isn't much better.
posted by JackFlash at 9:05 AM on May 13 [7 favorites +] [!]
The bulk of right-wingers long ago abandoned news outlets like the NYT and WaPo as hopelessly biased against them. The NYT, especially, has responded by becoming more "friendly" to their viewpoints. Those not on the right have doggedly clung to these mainstream outlets as the right abandoned them, but we will eventually abandon them, too, as they no longer can function as sentinels of agreed-upon common wisdom about the facts that underpin reality, because they deprecate that very function in their op-ed policies. The garbage opinions that they allow to appear on their pages besmirch us all.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:04 AM on May 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 9:05 AM on May 13 [7 favorites +] [!]
The bulk of right-wingers long ago abandoned news outlets like the NYT and WaPo as hopelessly biased against them. The NYT, especially, has responded by becoming more "friendly" to their viewpoints. Those not on the right have doggedly clung to these mainstream outlets as the right abandoned them, but we will eventually abandon them, too, as they no longer can function as sentinels of agreed-upon common wisdom about the facts that underpin reality, because they deprecate that very function in their op-ed policies. The garbage opinions that they allow to appear on their pages besmirch us all.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:04 AM on May 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Politics Twitter has basically two possible explanations for the ZTE insanity:
1) Trump blew past a "Do Not C̶o̶n̶g̶r̶a̶t̶u̶l̶a̶t̶e̶ Agree On ZTE" cheat sheet on his call with Xi.
or
2) Trump accidentally revealed some influence peddling because he's too stupid not to be obvious, because he definitely didn't get this idea from Fox.
@emptywheel (Marcy Wheeler, NatSec expert)
So yeah, Trump said something crazy abt ZTE. But unlike his normal ranting this one is interesting bc it suggests an info channel that shouldn't be there. It's not, I assume, Fox and Friends. Right, @MattGertz?
@RayRedacted (InfoSec expert)
To suddenly be concerned about Chinese jobs being lost because of US enforcement protecting our national secrets is bewilderingly bizarre. What prompted this sudden 180 degree change?
@emptywheel
Yup, we agree. Bc Trump has no filter, this is actually a data point that may reveal direct influence peddling Trump doesn't know enough to keep hidden.
posted by chris24 at 10:09 AM on May 13, 2018 [82 favorites]
1) Trump blew past a "Do Not C̶o̶n̶g̶r̶a̶t̶u̶l̶a̶t̶e̶ Agree On ZTE" cheat sheet on his call with Xi.
or
2) Trump accidentally revealed some influence peddling because he's too stupid not to be obvious, because he definitely didn't get this idea from Fox.
@emptywheel (Marcy Wheeler, NatSec expert)
So yeah, Trump said something crazy abt ZTE. But unlike his normal ranting this one is interesting bc it suggests an info channel that shouldn't be there. It's not, I assume, Fox and Friends. Right, @MattGertz?
@RayRedacted (InfoSec expert)
To suddenly be concerned about Chinese jobs being lost because of US enforcement protecting our national secrets is bewilderingly bizarre. What prompted this sudden 180 degree change?
@emptywheel
Yup, we agree. Bc Trump has no filter, this is actually a data point that may reveal direct influence peddling Trump doesn't know enough to keep hidden.
posted by chris24 at 10:09 AM on May 13, 2018 [82 favorites]
Thank $OrganizingPrinciple our Predisent has finally focused on saving Chinese jobs. #MCGA!
posted by petebest at 10:18 AM on May 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by petebest at 10:18 AM on May 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Why does the media keep using "Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford" every time they mention her name?
posted by growabrain at 10:20 AM on May 13, 2018
posted by growabrain at 10:20 AM on May 13, 2018
Why does the media keep using "Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford" every time they mention her name?
Maybe because "Stormy" is such a cornball name that they can't help themselves
posted by thelonius at 10:30 AM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Maybe because "Stormy" is such a cornball name that they can't help themselves
posted by thelonius at 10:30 AM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Remember, Kushner is selling investor visas to the Chinese party elite, and there's no way Trump isn't getting a cut of that. TrumpOrg has an obvious payoff for restoring ZTE's ability to do business with the US government.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:32 AM on May 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:32 AM on May 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
Hurting from low sales and Trump tariffs, Harley Davidson will close its Kansas City plant (Rebekah Entralgo, ThinkProgress)
Harley-Davidson claims there is no connection between the shuttering of the Kansas City factory and the opening of an assembly plant in Thailand. . . .
Just over a year ago, President Donald Trump met with Harley-Davidson executives and union representatives to ensure them that he would make it easier to create more jobs and factories in the United States. . . . Trump’s tariffs, ironically enough, are only hurting Harley-Davidson even more.
Soybeans, Corn, Boeing, Ag Labor, Newspapers, Harley-Davidson . . . Those darned librul tarriffs.
posted by petebest at 10:33 AM on May 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
Harley-Davidson claims there is no connection between the shuttering of the Kansas City factory and the opening of an assembly plant in Thailand. . . .
Just over a year ago, President Donald Trump met with Harley-Davidson executives and union representatives to ensure them that he would make it easier to create more jobs and factories in the United States. . . . Trump’s tariffs, ironically enough, are only hurting Harley-Davidson even more.
Soybeans, Corn, Boeing, Ag Labor, Newspapers, Harley-Davidson . . . Those darned librul tarriffs.
posted by petebest at 10:33 AM on May 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
Avenatti's tweeting riddles again...
@MichaelAvenatti: Warning ignored. So here it goes.posted by pjenks at 10:34 AM on May 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
December 12, 2016 - Trump Tower. Details to follow...[images of Cohen, Flynn, ??? from Trump Tower lobby]@nycsouthpaw: What kind of odds can I get for Gulen kidnapping meeting?
Remember, Kushner is selling investor visas to the Chinese party elite, and there's no way Trump isn't getting a cut of that.
China also greenlit a bunch of Trademarks for Ill Toupée, that they had previously rejected, last year.
A criminal Predisent can make a boatload of money with these penny-ante crooked deals.
posted by petebest at 10:38 AM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
China also greenlit a bunch of Trademarks for Ill Toupée, that they had previously rejected, last year.
A criminal Predisent can make a boatload of money with these penny-ante crooked deals.
posted by petebest at 10:38 AM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
For all the bluster of the Trump administration, the sanctions against ZTE might be the only bombastic move that's actually been justified. I don't necessarily agree with the stance that we should ban all foreign telecommunications equipment (given that we export a ton of the stuff ourselves, it puts us in an awkward position), but they were also flagrantly dishonest in their dealings with the US (again, an awkward position given our current reality, but nevertheless this is one situation where the US easily had the moral high-ground).
Reversing course on this one is beyond bizarre.
posted by schmod at 10:48 AM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Reversing course on this one is beyond bizarre.
posted by schmod at 10:48 AM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Reversing course on this one is beyond bizarre.
Unless, of course, there's some quid pro quo involved. It might be a financial kickback, or it might just be a few hours of telling our addlepated TV president what a brave, smart, handsome leader he is.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:03 AM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Unless, of course, there's some quid pro quo involved. It might be a financial kickback, or it might just be a few hours of telling our addlepated TV president what a brave, smart, handsome leader he is.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:03 AM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
I don’t know if I’ve seen it spelled out in so many words, but the NK developments must be China trying to prop up a wounded, ineffectual Trump while they advance their agenda on all fronts?
posted by Rumple at 11:30 AM on May 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Rumple at 11:30 AM on May 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Harley-Davidson claims there is no connection between the shuttering of the Kansas City factory and the opening of an assembly plant in Thailand.
Harley's big problem is that the bikes they manufacture are only desired by the shrinking American baby boomer market, tariffs aren't stopping them from designing a globally competitive product. However, many of the large motorcycle manufacturers are investing big in Thailand because of favorable tax incentives and better access to Thailand and the rest of the rapidly growing ASEAN market. What could have really helped H-D was the TPP, but TPP Pullout Spurred Harley’s ‘Plan B’ Factory in Thailand.
posted by peeedro at 11:41 AM on May 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Harley's big problem is that the bikes they manufacture are only desired by the shrinking American baby boomer market, tariffs aren't stopping them from designing a globally competitive product. However, many of the large motorcycle manufacturers are investing big in Thailand because of favorable tax incentives and better access to Thailand and the rest of the rapidly growing ASEAN market. What could have really helped H-D was the TPP, but TPP Pullout Spurred Harley’s ‘Plan B’ Factory in Thailand.
posted by peeedro at 11:41 AM on May 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Betsy DeVos fills Education Department with former for-profit college executives, and surprise, surprise, unit investigating for-profit college fraudulent and predatory practices is dismantled.
posted by mubba at 12:05 PM on May 13, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by mubba at 12:05 PM on May 13, 2018 [64 favorites]
@parkermolloy screenshotting at least four versions of that dumb op ed by the same guy.
posted by Artw at 1:55 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:55 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Not sure what to make of this but it's there so we should get to discussing it.
CNN poll: Democrats' 2018 advantage is nearly gone.
CNN poll: Democrats' 2018 advantage is nearly gone.
Washington (CNN)The generic congressional ballot has continued to tighten, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with the Democrats' edge over Republicans within the poll's margin of sampling error for the first time this cycle.posted by scalefree at 2:14 PM on May 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
About six months out from Election Day, 47% of registered voters say they back the Democratic candidate in their district, 44% back the Republican. Voters also are divided almost evenly over whether the country would be better off with the Democrats in control of Congress (31%) or with the GOP in charge (30%). A sizable 34% -- including nearly half of independent voters (48%) -- say it doesn't matter which party controls Congress.
The Democrats' advantage in the generic ballot dipped from 16 points in February to six points in March to just three points now. The party's advantage has waned among enthusiastic voters as Republican enthusiasm has grown (in March, 36% of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters said they were very enthusiastic about voting; that's up to 44% in the new poll), but the Democrats still have a double-digit lead among those most excited to vote this fall (53% of those who are very enthusiastic about voting say they'd back the Democrat in their district vs. 41% who say they favor the GOP candidate). Those enthusiastic voters also say by a 10-point margin that the nation would be better off with Democrats in control of Congress than Republicans.
@jaketapper A source familiar with the phone call tells me that after @kellysadler45 apologized to @MeghanMcCain for the “joke” about @SenJohnMcCain dying of brain cancer, Meghan told her she needed to apologize publicly and asked her if she would do so. Sadler said she would.
She has not.
posted by scalefree at 2:20 PM on May 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
She has not.
posted by scalefree at 2:20 PM on May 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
I still don't understand how we are supposed to square this supposedly tightening generic ballot with the special election results that, if anything, have been moving toward Democrats, plus the fact that Paul Ryan and so many others have been spooked into retirement during the period of "tightening".
posted by saturday_morning at 2:21 PM on May 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 2:21 PM on May 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
I thought that we'd know by now not to trust one poll. The RCP average is still at +6.1 Democrats.
posted by octothorpe at 2:26 PM on May 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 2:26 PM on May 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
@scalzi
It's interesting to me that almost exactly six years after its publication, there are *still* dudes willfully misreading my "Lowest Difficulty Setting" piece as a) an attack on straight white dudes, b) suggesting their lives can't be difficult.posted by scalefree at 2:28 PM on May 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
I say "willfully misreading" because the piece itself explicitly says that life can still be difficult, even on the lowest difficulty setting. You have to really work at not reading that part, or to think it doesn't mean what it says. But I suppose some dudes are determined.
This is why, honestly, the most cogent disagreements to and criticisms of that piece have come from the left, not the right -- the critics from the left have been (generally) more apt to engage with what the piece says, rather than what they want it to say to be aggrieved.
(Also, on the off chance you've not actually read the piece I'm discussing: https://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/ …. Perhaps more relevant now under the current US administration than when it was written.)
The most important factor is the enthusiasm gap. We haven't seen anything like it (favoring Dems) in my long lifetime. And as I've said multiple times before, what the Democratic Party and all its factions have to do to take back the country is to make voting easier and bullet-proof and ratfuck-proof for their voters.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:29 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:29 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
I thought that we'd know by now not too trust one poll. The RCP average is still at +6.1 Democrats.
Didn't say we should trust it. Just it's a thing to discuss, CNN being a major poller & all.
posted by scalefree at 2:32 PM on May 13, 2018
Didn't say we should trust it. Just it's a thing to discuss, CNN being a major poller & all.
posted by scalefree at 2:32 PM on May 13, 2018
This article is from 4 days ago and the poll is from 8 days ago. Since then an Economist poll has come out with a 9 point D lead and a Morning Consult poll with a 7 point lead. RCP average is still 6 points as is the 538 average.
@Nate_Cohn (NYT)
There's nothing weird about the volatility in individual generic ballot polls. The MoE on the 'margin' is quite large--generally +/- 6, even more.
The generic ballot average, on the other hand, has been pretty stable for months and still seems stable today.
---
Two things I've seen on Twitter regarding the huge advantage Ds have in the specials and the perhaps tightening lead in the generic:
1) Generic is national measure and as we found out in 2016 painfully, national polls don't always reflect the realities of specific states or districts which are polled much less frequently and generally not as accurately (not the large, premier firms, etc.).
2) We may be returning to a pre-2012 election model where there's less of a tie between presidential vote and House.
@Nate_Cohn
Over the 1000+ special/general House elections in Dem-held seats in the Obama era, Republicans ran >20 pts ahead of district partisanship in a Dem-held seat just 4 times.
Democrats have pulled it off 3 times in 7 shots in '17/18
- On the other hand, it happened 31 times in 06/08. And in a way, that's really the big question right now: is this an Obama-era election year, with a very strong relationship between congressional and presidential vote choice? Or is it more like a pre-Obama election?
- House elections before 2012 had a much larger incumbency bonus and a weaker relationship w/pres vote. If '17 is more like that, it would reconcile much of the apparent genballot v. special election gap
- In fact, in '06 Dems did just as well in GOP-held open seats as Dems have in specials in '18 (14 pts ahead of partisanship), but won the PV by 8 points and only flipped 31 seats. So there's potentially no contradiction at all
- A pre-12 incumbency bonus and weaker pvi-congressional vote relationship would also make it much easier to imagine Democratic holds in WV/IN/MO-SEN, etc.
posted by chris24 at 2:32 PM on May 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
@Nate_Cohn (NYT)
There's nothing weird about the volatility in individual generic ballot polls. The MoE on the 'margin' is quite large--generally +/- 6, even more.
The generic ballot average, on the other hand, has been pretty stable for months and still seems stable today.
---
Two things I've seen on Twitter regarding the huge advantage Ds have in the specials and the perhaps tightening lead in the generic:
1) Generic is national measure and as we found out in 2016 painfully, national polls don't always reflect the realities of specific states or districts which are polled much less frequently and generally not as accurately (not the large, premier firms, etc.).
2) We may be returning to a pre-2012 election model where there's less of a tie between presidential vote and House.
@Nate_Cohn
Over the 1000+ special/general House elections in Dem-held seats in the Obama era, Republicans ran >20 pts ahead of district partisanship in a Dem-held seat just 4 times.
Democrats have pulled it off 3 times in 7 shots in '17/18
- On the other hand, it happened 31 times in 06/08. And in a way, that's really the big question right now: is this an Obama-era election year, with a very strong relationship between congressional and presidential vote choice? Or is it more like a pre-Obama election?
- House elections before 2012 had a much larger incumbency bonus and a weaker relationship w/pres vote. If '17 is more like that, it would reconcile much of the apparent genballot v. special election gap
- In fact, in '06 Dems did just as well in GOP-held open seats as Dems have in specials in '18 (14 pts ahead of partisanship), but won the PV by 8 points and only flipped 31 seats. So there's potentially no contradiction at all
- A pre-12 incumbency bonus and weaker pvi-congressional vote relationship would also make it much easier to imagine Democratic holds in WV/IN/MO-SEN, etc.
posted by chris24 at 2:32 PM on May 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Those not on the right have doggedly clung to these mainstream outlets as the right abandoned them, but we will eventually abandon them, too, as they no longer can function as sentinels of agreed-upon common wisdom about the facts that underpin reality, because they deprecate that very function in their op-ed policies.
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
posted by kirkaracha at 2:38 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
posted by kirkaracha at 2:38 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Speaking of voting, Texas early voting for the May 22 runoffs, starts tomorrow. Not all counties have run off elections. If you haven't been inundated with flyers, and you're not sure if your area is having elections, you can visit the Texas Secretary of state website.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 2:41 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 2:41 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
I used to believe that conservatives were primarily driven by money. I found that wasn't true when I would explain that a lot of healthcare, housing solutions, food programs, etc. save money. There is a healthcare solution in place now. It's called go to the emergency room when your situation is life threatening and the costs to society will be enormous. Free, pro-active healthcare could save society a lot of money. Cheaper and better healthcare? There's no downside to this.
But they don't want healthcare because they don't want someone getting something for "free". They would rather pay more money, have less themselves, deny someone a basic necessity, than give away a "hand-out". It's hate and stupidity. If a community work program could change this, I would go for it.
You have missed the key motivation.
Republicans really want people to beg them for help. They love it.
Then they can buy their way into heaven by dropping a few singles into a bowl and feel big.
posted by srboisvert at 2:46 PM on May 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
But they don't want healthcare because they don't want someone getting something for "free". They would rather pay more money, have less themselves, deny someone a basic necessity, than give away a "hand-out". It's hate and stupidity. If a community work program could change this, I would go for it.
You have missed the key motivation.
Republicans really want people to beg them for help. They love it.
Then they can buy their way into heaven by dropping a few singles into a bowl and feel big.
posted by srboisvert at 2:46 PM on May 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
White House leakers leak about leaking
This White House leaks like there’s no tomorrow.posted by scalefree at 2:52 PM on May 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
The big picture: The leaks come in all shapes and sizes: small leaks, real-time leaks, weaponized leaks, historical leaks. Sensitive Oval Office conversations have leaked, and so have talks in cabinet meetings and the Situation Room. You name it, they leak it.
My colleague Mike Allen, who has spent nearly 20 years covering the White House, says we learn more about what's going on inside the Trump White House in a week than we did in a year of the George W. Bush presidency.
This White House leaks so much that meetings called to bemoan leaks begin with acknowledgement the bemoaning will be leaked, which is promptly leaked...by several leakers in a smallish room.
Why does this White House leak like it’s going out of style? I reached out to some of the Trump administration’s most prolific leakers — people who have been wonderful sources to me (and, I assume, plenty of other reporters) — to get them to explain the draw.
The thing about saying "The RCP/538 average is still D+6" or whatever is that it is simultaneously true and a bit misleading. Because "still" implies there hasn't been a change. That D+5.8 average on 538 represents a real tightening over the last few months. Which matters. The difference between D+5.8 and D+8 is "only" a touch over 2 points but, historically, would be the difference between flipping the House and not flipping the House. Plus the trendline is going the wrong way and has been for 3 months. 5.8 today was 6.8 two weeks ago and 7.8 several months ago.
This isn't to imply doom and gloom. The specials, which is where the rubber has met the road, have been much more Democratic than the generic ballot. That's why we keep seeing tweets/articles trying to reconcile the two. But let's not kid ourselves. Trump is at his strongest approval since just after the inauguration and it's still trending upwards. The generic is as low as its been in ages and still trending downwards.
Still 6 months to go, specials are looking strong (though we haven't seen any since the most current round of approval rise and generic tightening), work our asses off, etc. But facts are facts and the polling is weak for Democrats right now compared to what it used to be and has been trending weaker for months.
posted by Justinian at 2:52 PM on May 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
This isn't to imply doom and gloom. The specials, which is where the rubber has met the road, have been much more Democratic than the generic ballot. That's why we keep seeing tweets/articles trying to reconcile the two. But let's not kid ourselves. Trump is at his strongest approval since just after the inauguration and it's still trending upwards. The generic is as low as its been in ages and still trending downwards.
Still 6 months to go, specials are looking strong (though we haven't seen any since the most current round of approval rise and generic tightening), work our asses off, etc. But facts are facts and the polling is weak for Democrats right now compared to what it used to be and has been trending weaker for months.
posted by Justinian at 2:52 PM on May 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
No, it's not an Onion/Clickhole story:
Israeli football club renames itself Beitar Trump Jerusalem after 'courageous' president (The Guardian)posted by hangashore at 2:54 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
...It is unsurprising that the club has supported Trump’s divisive move. It is the only club in the Israeli Premier League never to have signed an Arab player and some sections of its fanbase have a reputation for racism.
When the club signed two Chechen Muslims in 2013, the players were verbally abused and spat at by fans. The club’s offices were later set on fire, by fans apparently angry at the Chechens’ arrival.
My own interpretation on the generic is that we've seen the Democratic support remain fairly constant since January while the Republican has been slooooowly creeping upward. To me that obviously means that some Republicans are coming home rather than Democrats switching. And that's what we saw in the Presidential election too. Republicans might not be huge fans of Trump and they might flirt with supporting someone else.... but they don't. So Republicans coming home is inevitable.
I really want to see the switch from Registered Voter models to Likely Voter models as it may start picking up the up-until-now apparent enthusiasm gap. Does anyone know when the generic ballots tend to switch to LV? Chrysostom?
posted by Justinian at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I really want to see the switch from Registered Voter models to Likely Voter models as it may start picking up the up-until-now apparent enthusiasm gap. Does anyone know when the generic ballots tend to switch to LV? Chrysostom?
posted by Justinian at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
@bendreyfuss (MoJo)
If they don’t win the House back this November, I think it might be more of a gut punch to Democrats than when Trump actually won. Not to say the expectation of winning the House that Gerrymandering Built is irrational, but it’s sooo baked in at this point
-- NYMag (Ed Kilgore): Is the 2018 Democratic Wave Receding? --
@gelliottmorris (Crosstab)
Retweeted Ben Dreyfuss
This is the right take (if I’m reading it correctly), but let’s talk about that article claiming the Democratic wave is receding. Oh boy...
- Best evidence of REAL change in the wave is in actual voter behavior. If Democrats stop posting gains in special elections over time, they should worry more. Of course, they haven’t (yet?). These claims are almost all based on declining D margin in the generic ballot, which...
- ... is mostly an artifact of how wide you take your averages. Monthly Democratic margin in generic ballot polling has been between 7 and 9 percentage points since October of 2017. Combine with special elections, the wave looks nearly as tall as it did in March.
- I think this has less to do with the actual data and more with media conventional wisdom — which (as time has told) settles on outcomes with more blind certainty and spins the wheel 180° when they perceive the winds as shifting.
- Nevertheless, Dems have been between 52 and 65% to take the House majority since January. A lot of this has to do with predicting what the national environment will be in Nov, not where it is today. Too many ppl overlooking very important transformation. http://2018.thecrosstab.com
- Kilgore’s subtly acknowledges that there’s wide uncertainty in the House forecasts. Heck yeah there is! If only he realized that that very uncertainty prevents him from making claims about the wave oscillating wildly. The range of outcomes has barely changed since last year.
- Read more about combining special elections and the generic ballot here: http://www.thecrosstab.com/2018/05/01/generic-vs-specials/
posted by chris24 at 3:11 PM on May 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
If they don’t win the House back this November, I think it might be more of a gut punch to Democrats than when Trump actually won. Not to say the expectation of winning the House that Gerrymandering Built is irrational, but it’s sooo baked in at this point
-- NYMag (Ed Kilgore): Is the 2018 Democratic Wave Receding? --
@gelliottmorris (Crosstab)
Retweeted Ben Dreyfuss
This is the right take (if I’m reading it correctly), but let’s talk about that article claiming the Democratic wave is receding. Oh boy...
- Best evidence of REAL change in the wave is in actual voter behavior. If Democrats stop posting gains in special elections over time, they should worry more. Of course, they haven’t (yet?). These claims are almost all based on declining D margin in the generic ballot, which...
- ... is mostly an artifact of how wide you take your averages. Monthly Democratic margin in generic ballot polling has been between 7 and 9 percentage points since October of 2017. Combine with special elections, the wave looks nearly as tall as it did in March.
- I think this has less to do with the actual data and more with media conventional wisdom — which (as time has told) settles on outcomes with more blind certainty and spins the wheel 180° when they perceive the winds as shifting.
- Nevertheless, Dems have been between 52 and 65% to take the House majority since January. A lot of this has to do with predicting what the national environment will be in Nov, not where it is today. Too many ppl overlooking very important transformation. http://2018.thecrosstab.com
- Kilgore’s subtly acknowledges that there’s wide uncertainty in the House forecasts. Heck yeah there is! If only he realized that that very uncertainty prevents him from making claims about the wave oscillating wildly. The range of outcomes has barely changed since last year.
- Read more about combining special elections and the generic ballot here: http://www.thecrosstab.com/2018/05/01/generic-vs-specials/
posted by chris24 at 3:11 PM on May 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
A followup to Avenatti's cryptic earlier tweet.
Michael Avenatti
Why was Ahmed Al-Rumaihi meeting with Michael Cohen and Michael Flynn in December 2016 and why did Mr. Al-Rumaihi later brag about bribing administration officials according to a sworn declaration filed in court?
---
Ahmed Al-Rumaihi runs a division of the Qatar investment fund that bought the 19% stake in Rosneft. And is a former Qatari diplomat/spy.
posted by chris24 at 3:18 PM on May 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
Michael Avenatti
Why was Ahmed Al-Rumaihi meeting with Michael Cohen and Michael Flynn in December 2016 and why did Mr. Al-Rumaihi later brag about bribing administration officials according to a sworn declaration filed in court?
---
Ahmed Al-Rumaihi runs a division of the Qatar investment fund that bought the 19% stake in Rosneft. And is a former Qatari diplomat/spy.
posted by chris24 at 3:18 PM on May 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
And this Mother Jones article from Dan Friedman, who figured it out earlier today, but wonders what Avenatti is suggesting.
posted by pjenks at 3:26 PM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by pjenks at 3:26 PM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
RCP average is still 6 points as is the 538 average
A new report says Democrats need to win the popular vote by 11 points to retake the House
Dan Friedman, Mother Jones: Qatari Investor Accused in Bribery Plot Appears With Michael Cohen in Picture Posted by Stormy Daniel’s Lawyer
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:27 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
A new report says Democrats need to win the popular vote by 11 points to retake the House
“The Brennan Center’s conclusion that Democrats would need to win 11 percent more votes than Republicans is flawed,” said Dave Wasserman, an elections analyst and the US House editor of the Cook Political Report. Wasserman estimates Democrats need to win the popular vote by about 7 percent to clinch a slim majority.why did Mr. Al-Rumaihi later brag about bribing administration officials
Dan Friedman, Mother Jones: Qatari Investor Accused in Bribery Plot Appears With Michael Cohen in Picture Posted by Stormy Daniel’s Lawyer
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:27 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Mr Al-Rumaihi sounds like a very nice man and he should get on well with Mr Cohen and the US president.
Al-Rumaihi became incensed and loudly screamed at Mr. Kwatinetz and threatened his life and his family noting ‘You don’t know who I know in L.A. and what they’re capable of. You should think of your safety and the safety of you and your family,'” the suit, filed by celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, said.
The lawsuit alleges that exchange came after Qatari investors failed to pay $4 million of an agreed-upon $11.5 million investment into 15 percent of the Big3 (which values the league at $76.7 million.)
Big3 Quagmire Includes Everyone From Trump And Ice Cube To Qatari Royals And Bannon.
posted by adamvasco at 3:44 PM on May 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
Al-Rumaihi became incensed and loudly screamed at Mr. Kwatinetz and threatened his life and his family noting ‘You don’t know who I know in L.A. and what they’re capable of. You should think of your safety and the safety of you and your family,'” the suit, filed by celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, said.
The lawsuit alleges that exchange came after Qatari investors failed to pay $4 million of an agreed-upon $11.5 million investment into 15 percent of the Big3 (which values the league at $76.7 million.)
Big3 Quagmire Includes Everyone From Trump And Ice Cube To Qatari Royals And Bannon.
posted by adamvasco at 3:44 PM on May 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
For reporters, withholding valuable information from the public is anathema. But in a world in which foreign intelligence services hack, leak and fabricate, journalists will have to use extreme caution and extra transparency.
“Withholding from the voters” is an aggressively stupid framing, if not deliberatey deceitful. This was reporting about bulk emails that wikileaks had already made publicly available, for free. No US media had the ability to withhold them from voters.
But news is as much editorial selection, emphasis and analysis as reprinting data. What the NYT was withholding was reporting on Trump’s denials of his sex scandals.
There were, what, 14 separate and credible accusations of sexual abuse against Trump. Reporters should have been fact checking all of the women’s stories and Trump’s denials, looking for corroborating or contradictory witnesses and evidence, and looking for more allegations. It was a HUGE story, or should have been.
Instead, their lead stories every day were often dull and inconsequential details from the latest batch of emails which were clearly leaked to dominate the news cycle. Every editor in Washington should have been fired before the election even arrived.
posted by msalt at 4:02 PM on May 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
“Withholding from the voters” is an aggressively stupid framing, if not deliberatey deceitful. This was reporting about bulk emails that wikileaks had already made publicly available, for free. No US media had the ability to withhold them from voters.
But news is as much editorial selection, emphasis and analysis as reprinting data. What the NYT was withholding was reporting on Trump’s denials of his sex scandals.
There were, what, 14 separate and credible accusations of sexual abuse against Trump. Reporters should have been fact checking all of the women’s stories and Trump’s denials, looking for corroborating or contradictory witnesses and evidence, and looking for more allegations. It was a HUGE story, or should have been.
Instead, their lead stories every day were often dull and inconsequential details from the latest batch of emails which were clearly leaked to dominate the news cycle. Every editor in Washington should have been fired before the election even arrived.
posted by msalt at 4:02 PM on May 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
On the "Stormy Daniels whose real name is Stephanie Clifford" naming thing, sex workers on Twitter are irritated
Lorelei Lee: actors frequently have professional names that aren't their birth names. The media never feels the need to say "Reginald Kenneth Dwight, better known as Elton John" - for exampleposted by spamandkimchi at 4:05 PM on May 13, 2018 [81 favorites]
Maggie McNeill: This right here. Nobody ever said "John Wayne, whose real name is Marion Morrison..."
Also, the phrase "real name" is a backhanded slur. Nobody implies OTHER performers' stage names are "fake".
The WaPo looks at Mueller investigation, ‘Buckle up’: As Mueller probe enters second year, Trump and allies go on war footing; there's not much new in there but some details are lol-worthy:
The president vents to associates about the FBI raids on his personal attorney Michael Cohen — as often as “20 times a day,” in the estimation of one confidant — and they frequently listen in silence, knowing little they say will soothe him. Trump gripes that he needs better “TV lawyers” to defend him on cable news and is impatient to halt the “witch hunt” that he says undermines his legitimacy as president. And he plots his battle plans with former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, his new legal consigliere.posted by peeedro at 4:08 PM on May 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
[...]
The two men huddled for five hours May 6 at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, Giuliani said, eating a Cobb salad (Giuliani) and a well-done burger (Trump) with half a bun in service to his health.
“I do that, too, sometimes,” Giuliani said about the half-bun. “It’s a good way to do it.”
Pro-Trump Pastor Who Claims Islam Is a “Cult” Picked to Lead Prayer at Opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem
posted by kirkaracha at 4:15 PM on May 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
An anti-gay, pro-Trump pastor from Dallas will give the opening prayer Monday night at the introduction ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Pastor Robert Jeffress, a Fox News contributor and supporter of President Donald Trump, will add to the controversy surrounding the diplomatically awkward event.Sounds like a great pick for opening an embassy in the city with the third holiest site in Islam.
Jeffress, who serves as an informal faith adviser to Trump, has maligned most world religions and condemned homosexuality, while on Fox he spouts biblical justifications for Trump’s agenda. Jeffress told Fox News that he would be giving the opening prayer at the ceremony Monday. It’s unsurprising, because when it comes to picking people for important jobs, Trump tends to go with people who are both loyal and appear frequently on television.
...
Jeffress also provides religious cover for Trump’s policies and views. On immigration, where other Christian leaders have called for compassion toward immigrants, particularly undocumented people brought here as children, Jeffress has defended Trump. “The Bible also says that God’s the one who established nations and its borders,” Jeffress said on “Fox & Friends” last September. God “is not necessarily an open borders guy.” When Trump said he didn’t want immigrants from “shithole” countries coming to the United States, Jeffress said he disagreed with the president’s “vocabulary” but that Trump was “right on target in his sentiment.”
posted by kirkaracha at 4:15 PM on May 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
Also, the phrase "real name" is a backhanded slur. Nobody implies OTHER performers' stage names are "fake".
I sympathize on this front, but the assertion here isn't remotely true. Check out a New York Times Google search for proof. Everyone from Buckwheat Zydeco and Jay Z to Pelé and Black Panther gets the "whose real name is" treatment sooner or later in the Times.
That said, I've been railing against this practice for years. Especially in The New York Times, it has come off as a way to look down one's spectacles at rap artists. Should be "whose legal name is" when required. But it's not new, and not something they bring out solely to humiliate sex workers.
posted by Mothlight at 4:43 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
I sympathize on this front, but the assertion here isn't remotely true. Check out a New York Times Google search for proof. Everyone from Buckwheat Zydeco and Jay Z to Pelé and Black Panther gets the "whose real name is" treatment sooner or later in the Times.
That said, I've been railing against this practice for years. Especially in The New York Times, it has come off as a way to look down one's spectacles at rap artists. Should be "whose legal name is" when required. But it's not new, and not something they bring out solely to humiliate sex workers.
posted by Mothlight at 4:43 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
That said, I've been railing against this practice for years. Especially in The New York Times, it has come off as a way to look down one's spectacles at rap artist
I knew someone being lightly profiled in the Times who goes by a stage name and didn’t want thier legal name used (cause the internet is awful) and argued a lot with the writer, hitting the argument “Well you couldn’t refer to Angela Jolie as Ann Voight would you?” And apparently they did find the one time they referred to her that way so the issue was dropped.
It still sucks, let people use what name they want.
posted by The Whelk at 4:55 PM on May 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
I knew someone being lightly profiled in the Times who goes by a stage name and didn’t want thier legal name used (cause the internet is awful) and argued a lot with the writer, hitting the argument “Well you couldn’t refer to Angela Jolie as Ann Voight would you?” And apparently they did find the one time they referred to her that way so the issue was dropped.
It still sucks, let people use what name they want.
posted by The Whelk at 4:55 PM on May 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
There’s a very valid reason newspapers are very careful about citing identities and including ages in typical stories. Concerns about misidentification and the various libel-proximate issues make it essential that when stories quote or identify people they’re sure they’re accurate such that someone doesn’t get mistakenly identified. But being jerkwads about insisting on this when writing about celebrities is just dopey. Nobody is going to think that the Stormy Daniels down the block in Boisie who bags groceries in the Wawa is the one being quoted about the President’s penis. There’s no chance that some other Jay-Z is going to file suit against you because you mentioned a past drug deal in your huge profile about his joint tour with Beyoncé.
posted by phearlez at 5:25 PM on May 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by phearlez at 5:25 PM on May 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
For reporters, withholding valuable information from the public is anathema. But in a world in which foreign intelligence services hack, leak and fabricate, journalists will have to use extreme caution and extra transparency.
Or when a president's legal team leaks Mueller's questions and you can't be bothered to ask why or determine their authenticity? If you want to hold yourself to a higher standard, fine, but that's not the problem. How about just thinking twice before you publish something? How about brushing up on basic journalism skills and ethics?
posted by xammerboy at 5:26 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Or when a president's legal team leaks Mueller's questions and you can't be bothered to ask why or determine their authenticity? If you want to hold yourself to a higher standard, fine, but that's not the problem. How about just thinking twice before you publish something? How about brushing up on basic journalism skills and ethics?
posted by xammerboy at 5:26 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Trump Tweet: So sad to see the Terror Attack in Paris. At some point countries will have to open their eyes & see what is really going on. This kind of sickness & hatred is not compatible with a loving, peaceful, & successful country! Changes to our thought process on terror must be made.
8:03 PM - 13 May 2018
Of course he is completely blind to the White terrorists in this country.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:49 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
8:03 PM - 13 May 2018
Of course he is completely blind to the White terrorists in this country.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:49 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Why Mueller Has to Expose Trump’s Crooked Business Empire
posted by Artw at 5:50 PM on May 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:50 PM on May 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
> I really want to see the switch from Registered Voter models to Likely Voter models as it may start picking up the up-until-now apparent enthusiasm gap.
Most pollsters screen likely voters based on past voting behavior. This means that most of them will only count people who voted in the last midterm elections in 2014. Pollsters that use more complex screening methods will weight responses from people who voted in 2014 higher than those from other people.
We're going to have to look carefully at how specific pollsters are screening likely voters in the run up to the 2018 midterms. Pay particularly close attention to Quinnipiac and anything Ann Selzer releases. Quinnipiac seems to give a lot of weight to intention to vote in weighting their responses. (Though I wish they were more transparent about this.) They accurately predicted the outcome of the Virginia governor's race last November when most other pollsters were showing a really close race. Selzer, somewhat famously, doesn't believe in turnout modeling and just asks voters what they're planning to do. She's also really scrupulous in making sure she calls enough cell-phone users. She's regarded as one of the best pollsters in the country. Bloomberg usually contracts with her to do polling in the run-up to major elections.
The higher Democratic turnout we've been seeing in recent elections messes with most pollsters likely voter models. We need to keep a close eye on how different pollsters are screening for likely voters and whether those methods of screening make sense.
posted by nangar at 6:06 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Most pollsters screen likely voters based on past voting behavior. This means that most of them will only count people who voted in the last midterm elections in 2014. Pollsters that use more complex screening methods will weight responses from people who voted in 2014 higher than those from other people.
We're going to have to look carefully at how specific pollsters are screening likely voters in the run up to the 2018 midterms. Pay particularly close attention to Quinnipiac and anything Ann Selzer releases. Quinnipiac seems to give a lot of weight to intention to vote in weighting their responses. (Though I wish they were more transparent about this.) They accurately predicted the outcome of the Virginia governor's race last November when most other pollsters were showing a really close race. Selzer, somewhat famously, doesn't believe in turnout modeling and just asks voters what they're planning to do. She's also really scrupulous in making sure she calls enough cell-phone users. She's regarded as one of the best pollsters in the country. Bloomberg usually contracts with her to do polling in the run-up to major elections.
The higher Democratic turnout we've been seeing in recent elections messes with most pollsters likely voter models. We need to keep a close eye on how different pollsters are screening for likely voters and whether those methods of screening make sense.
posted by nangar at 6:06 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
@michaelavenatti: Why was Ahmed Al-Rumaihi meeting with Michael Cohen and Michael Flynn in December 2016 and why did Mr. Al-Rumaihi later brag about bribing administration officials according to a sworn declaration filed in court?
Sounds like Qatar hired Essential Consultants LLC?
posted by xammerboy at 6:14 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Sounds like Qatar hired Essential Consultants LLC?
posted by xammerboy at 6:14 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
There's an ongoing schism in the QAnon community. Alex Jones and Jerome Corsi are now claiming that Q is either a Clinton cutout/Deep State mole (Carter Page is floated as a possible culprit) or has been compromised (presumably being held in the basement of a pizzeria). There are now pro and anti QAnon camps, with the Infowars loyalists tearing away. The infighting that has lately been consuming the alt-right, with all the top Nazis now hating each other, has reached the conspiracist wing of the crankosphere. It's pretty great.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:20 PM on May 13, 2018 [58 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:20 PM on May 13, 2018 [58 favorites]
Why Mueller Has to Expose Trump’s Crooked Business Empire
All this shit was known before 2016 too, its been semi-public for decades. The NYT could've run 600 straight days of front page stories on Trump's mountain of business corruption. They made the editorial decision not to.
But in a world in which foreign intelligence services hack, leak and fabricate, journalists will have to use extreme caution and extra transparency.
They inarguably do not even try to do this. They quote the president himself daily as "a source close to the president", reprinting his lies without challenge or disclosure. They wake up each and every day and quote Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a credible source both on and off the record, with no mention or regard for the truth value of any of her statements from the previous day. They rush over to soothe her fee fees when Michelle Wolfe made her mascara run and leap to her defense on twitter. We need a world where our journalists show "extreme caution and extra transparency". The vast majority of journalists we actually have show neither, and routinely cast all caution and any semblance of transparency aside to maintain access to the people in power who treat us all with utter contempt.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:21 PM on May 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
All this shit was known before 2016 too, its been semi-public for decades. The NYT could've run 600 straight days of front page stories on Trump's mountain of business corruption. They made the editorial decision not to.
But in a world in which foreign intelligence services hack, leak and fabricate, journalists will have to use extreme caution and extra transparency.
They inarguably do not even try to do this. They quote the president himself daily as "a source close to the president", reprinting his lies without challenge or disclosure. They wake up each and every day and quote Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a credible source both on and off the record, with no mention or regard for the truth value of any of her statements from the previous day. They rush over to soothe her fee fees when Michelle Wolfe made her mascara run and leap to her defense on twitter. We need a world where our journalists show "extreme caution and extra transparency". The vast majority of journalists we actually have show neither, and routinely cast all caution and any semblance of transparency aside to maintain access to the people in power who treat us all with utter contempt.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:21 PM on May 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
All this shit was known before 2016 too, its been semi-public for decades.
This is why I canceled my NYT subscription recently. This is their hometown beat where they have access to major players and people in the know. So where is the investigative reporting from NYT?
posted by duoshao at 6:28 PM on May 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
This is why I canceled my NYT subscription recently. This is their hometown beat where they have access to major players and people in the know. So where is the investigative reporting from NYT?
posted by duoshao at 6:28 PM on May 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
Donald Trump and Sean Hannity Like to Talk Before Bedtime
The call to the White House comes after ten o’clock most weeknights, when Hannity is over. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Sean Hannity broadcasts live at 9 p.m. on Fox News.posted by kirkaracha at 6:30 PM on May 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
...
Trump and Hannity don’t usually speak in the morning, which the president spends alone, watching TV and tweeting. During the first months of the administration in particular, the tweets launched at the beginning of the day landed like bitchy little grenades directed at the programming and personalities that angered him on MSNBC and CNN. “Early on, usually we could count on the president watching Morning Joe first thing, at 6 a.m.,” one White House official told me. “He’d watch an hour of that. Then he’d move on to New Day for a segment or two. Then he’d move on to Fox.”
Senior staffers worried about this pattern of behavior: By the time his day was formally under way with the daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office — scheduled as late as 11 a.m. — the whole world was often thrown off course, wondering whether there were “tapes” of his conversations with a fired FBI director (May 12, 2017, 8:26 a.m.) or if a TV host had been “bleeding badly from a face-lift” at Mar-a-Lago (June 29, 2017, 8:58 a.m.).
With the hope of calming him down, then–chief of staff Reince Priebus and then–press secretary Sean Spicer began a subtle campaign. “It got to the point that they were just like, ‘We need to get him off these channels and onto Fox & Friends or else we’re going to be chasing down this crazy-train bullshit from MSNBC and CNN all day,’ ” one former White House official said.
...
More than most politicians, Trump abides by the Groucho Marx law of fraternization. He inherently distrusts anyone who chooses to work for him, seeking outside affirmation as often as possible from as vast and varied a group as he can muster — but Hannity is at the center. Generally, the feeling is that Sean is the leader of the outside kitchen cabinet,” one White House official said, echoing other staffers (current and removed). I was told by one person that Hannity “fills the political void” left by Steve Bannon, a statement Bannon seemed to agree with: “Sean Hannity understands the basic issues of economic nationalism and ‘America First’ foreign policy at a deeper level than the august staff of Jonathan Chait and the fuckin’ clowns at New York Magazine,” he said. The White House official assessed the influence of White House officials and other administration personnel as exactly equal to that of Fox News.
The NYT could've run 600 straight days of front page stories on Trump's mountain of business corruption. They made the editorial decision not to.
QFMFT but they're not alone; corporate news across the spectrum, the GOP in its entirety, and those government officials who aid and abet this man have sold us all out to a crime-infested, incompetent "leader". In part, no doubt, because they are implicated somehow - even if it's just as an indefensibly crude public relations arm of this oleaginous regime. (Hi Maggie!)
posted by petebest at 6:49 PM on May 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
QFMFT but they're not alone; corporate news across the spectrum, the GOP in its entirety, and those government officials who aid and abet this man have sold us all out to a crime-infested, incompetent "leader". In part, no doubt, because they are implicated somehow - even if it's just as an indefensibly crude public relations arm of this oleaginous regime. (Hi Maggie!)
posted by petebest at 6:49 PM on May 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
There's an ongoing schism in the QAnon community. Alex Jones and Jerome Corsi are now claiming that Q is either a Clinton cutout/Deep State mole (Carter Page is floated as a possible culprit) or has been compromised (presumably being held in the basement of a pizzeria).
I suppose it's too much to hope for that this is some kind of way for the cranks to fit the possibility of a reality where Trump goes down on charges into their worldview. "We were right, but QAnon failed us, also who's QAnon and what's a pizzeria, anyways have you heard how the Deep State is going after President Pence?"
posted by jason_steakums at 7:04 PM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I suppose it's too much to hope for that this is some kind of way for the cranks to fit the possibility of a reality where Trump goes down on charges into their worldview. "We were right, but QAnon failed us, also who's QAnon and what's a pizzeria, anyways have you heard how the Deep State is going after President Pence?"
posted by jason_steakums at 7:04 PM on May 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
It disturbs me how much we've (that's the national we not the Metafilter we) normalized the fact that it would take a 6+ percent Democratic popular vote victory to capture a simple majority in the House.
Can you imagine if the situation were the opposite? Can you imagine the constant and extremely loud drumbeat of outrage on FOX and AM radio if the Democrats had so gerrymandered the House that the only way the Republicans could win is by getting a 6 point or bigger margin of victory? There'd probably be actual, genuine, armed revolution going on if that was the case.
I don't really believe the claim that the Democrats wouldn't benefit from or watch a left leaning version of FOX News. It seems to be centered around a sort of snooty belief that we're just better and more intellectual than the Republicans and I suspect that's not really true.
We've got billionaires theoretically on our side, maybe we could convince them to fund a left wing version of FOX as an experiment? Just to see if it changes anything?
posted by sotonohito at 7:04 PM on May 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
Can you imagine if the situation were the opposite? Can you imagine the constant and extremely loud drumbeat of outrage on FOX and AM radio if the Democrats had so gerrymandered the House that the only way the Republicans could win is by getting a 6 point or bigger margin of victory? There'd probably be actual, genuine, armed revolution going on if that was the case.
I don't really believe the claim that the Democrats wouldn't benefit from or watch a left leaning version of FOX News. It seems to be centered around a sort of snooty belief that we're just better and more intellectual than the Republicans and I suspect that's not really true.
We've got billionaires theoretically on our side, maybe we could convince them to fund a left wing version of FOX as an experiment? Just to see if it changes anything?
posted by sotonohito at 7:04 PM on May 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
I don't really believe the claim that the Democrats wouldn't benefit from or watch a left leaning version of FOX News. It seems to be centered around a sort of snooty belief that we're just better and more intellectual than the Republicans and I suspect that's not really true.
Nicole Hemmer, Vox: Breitbart of the Left destined to fail:
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:17 PM on May 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Nicole Hemmer, Vox: Breitbart of the Left destined to fail:
Why has the fight for liberal broadcasting been such a struggle? Because liberal innovators have reverse-engineered conservative media without addressing the underlying need that those right-wing outlets meet. Right-wing media thrives in large part because conservatives do not trust other news sources. They have been trained for generations, stretching back to the 1950s, to view news media as inherently ideological, and to reject nonconservative sources.Hemmer's article talks about Air America, which was supposed to be a left-wing Fox and failed. Liberals and Democrats don't distrust the mainstream media, which means you can pry the New York Times and Washington Post out of their cold dead hands. It's really hard to herd liberals into news enclaves. Sorta kinda seriously, tell 'em to bring $5 and join Metafilter!
...
The habit of consuming right-wing media has long been part of conservatives’ political identity. There is no real analogue to this phenomenon on the left. Yes, critics on the left have attacked mainstream media as being too conservative, too corporate — Manufacturing Consent, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s 1988 book, is a model of the genre. But that has never been a core liberal belief. Setting aside debates about why that is the case, it is the key difference between how the right and the left understand media, and why left-wing media has struggled so much. Liberals simply haven’t cultivated the same appetite for ideological news.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:17 PM on May 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
I don't really believe the claim that the Democrats wouldn't benefit from or watch a left leaning version of FOX News. It seems to be centered around a sort of snooty belief that we're just better and more intellectual than the Republicans and I suspect that's not really true.
We've got billionaires theoretically on our side, maybe we could convince them to fund a left wing version of FOX as an experiment? Just to see if it changes anything?
The enemy's training camps make the enemy's soldiers, I think. We don't want a populace desperately tearing itself apart out of terror. We don't want to hollow out the vulnerable or gullible and fill them with hatred just so they'll be motivated. I agree that we'd likely get more engagement out of the people who fell into that stuff, but the price is unacceptable. One of the primary things that makes the left different from and better than the right is that the left gives a shit about people, even if they aren't currently voting left.
posted by IAmUnaware at 7:54 PM on May 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
We've got billionaires theoretically on our side, maybe we could convince them to fund a left wing version of FOX as an experiment? Just to see if it changes anything?
The enemy's training camps make the enemy's soldiers, I think. We don't want a populace desperately tearing itself apart out of terror. We don't want to hollow out the vulnerable or gullible and fill them with hatred just so they'll be motivated. I agree that we'd likely get more engagement out of the people who fell into that stuff, but the price is unacceptable. One of the primary things that makes the left different from and better than the right is that the left gives a shit about people, even if they aren't currently voting left.
posted by IAmUnaware at 7:54 PM on May 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
I think a popular left alternative to Fox News would probably push a version of Democratic policy that benefits the owners of the platform and end up being kind of an own goal.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:00 PM on May 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 8:00 PM on May 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Unless we're talking building a media empire from the ground up as a co-op or something, which, I'm very much on board with that idea. But media companies very much speak with the voice of the company, so you'd have to be so very careful in how that's set up.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:03 PM on May 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 8:03 PM on May 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
It reminds me of the attempts to replicate The Daily Show, only conservative. Just didn't work.
I guess, in a way, late night comedy TV is the Fox News of the left. It only really works from one side of the political spectrum, in ways that are tied up in the fundamentals of the worldview.
posted by DebetEsse at 8:30 PM on May 13, 2018 [53 favorites]
I guess, in a way, late night comedy TV is the Fox News of the left. It only really works from one side of the political spectrum, in ways that are tied up in the fundamentals of the worldview.
posted by DebetEsse at 8:30 PM on May 13, 2018 [53 favorites]
Max Fisher, reading between the lines on Pompeo's comments on North Korea today:
Deal taking shape:posted by zachlipton at 8:33 PM on May 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
• "Getting rid of chem/bio" to mean dismantling whatever stockpile DPRK declares
• Dismantle ICBMs; keep nukes & intermediate-range missiles
• Partial USFK withdrawal
• Little or no inspections/monitoring/verification
• US + UNSC sanction relief
In plain English:
• North Korea as a permanent nuclear power that can strike its neighbors, but not the mainland US
• NK can always break back out to an ICBM that can reach the US
• NK gives up most chem/bio weapons (sorta like Syria)
• Little or no way to know if NK cheats
This is probably where we'll end up with Iran, maybe sometime in the early 2020s, if the Trump admin succeeds in blowing up the JCPOA. Iran breaks out, we spend a decade pretending we can wish their program away, then we accept it as reality. Just like we did with North Korea. Whatever North Korea deal gets reached, the things that'll get the attention are USFK reduction and NK dismantlement pledges. The things that really matter – but will get ignored — are inspections and monitoring. That's what we got from JCPOA before we threw it in the toilet.
Much of the US political system and foreign policy community, as a way to oppose the JCPOA, spent the last five years arguing that arms control verification is meaningless or outright bad. So now there'll be little pressure for including it in any North Korea deal. Good job team!
I know nobody wants to hear this but North Korea is not giving up its nuclear deterrent — it's just not — so any viable deal will need to accept that deterrent. That's just reality. Expectations need to be set waaaaaaaaay lower than they were going into talks on the Iran deal.
Perhaps more concerning, we may need to accept that the United States no longer has a sufficiently functioning political system to uphold any agreement as complex as the JCPOA, particularly if it is negotiated by a Democratic administration, as any such agreement is likely to be. Honestly, the American partisan dynamics that make the world's lone superpower seemingly incapable of forging long-term agreements — particularly arms control agreements — worries me a lot more than whatever painful compromises might get made for a North Korea deal.
It's looking increasingly like the chickenhawks took a good long look at Iran and North Korea and decided on which one would probably be a more fun war to throw other people's kids into. And they're handling everything else about both situations with the same amount of care and thought, too.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:45 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:45 PM on May 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Everything's up for grabs so the president can get a win, Penalties against China telecom giant ZTE become a bargaining chip as White House, Chinese officials discuss potential trade deal (WaPo):
The White House and senior Chinese officials are discussing a targeted economic deal that would relax severe penalties on ZTE, a major Chinese telecom company, in exchange for unspecified demands from President Trump, two people briefed on the discussions said Sunday.posted by peeedro at 8:48 PM on May 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
The talks are fluid, and President Trump has shown a willingness to veer between extremes in how he interacts with Beijing. But Trump said Sunday on Twitter that he wanted federal regulators to take the unusual step of relaxing penalties on ZTE, even though the Chinese company has been accused of illicitly shipping goods to North Korea and Iran.
What Trump didn’t reveal publicly is how much the company has become a bargaining chip as the White House tries to extract trade-related concessions from China while pushing for cooperation on sanctions against Iran and North Korea, the people said.
“I do that, too, sometimes,” Giuliani said about the half-bun. “It’s a good way to do it.”
I think we seriously have to consider that masochism and self-abasement might now be key parts of GOP ideology
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:08 PM on May 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
I think we seriously have to consider that masochism and self-abasement might now be key parts of GOP ideology
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:08 PM on May 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
WSJ, Michael Cohen’s D.C. Consulting Career: Scattershot, With Mixed Success
posted by zachlipton at 9:33 PM on May 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
Mr. Cohen’s pitch was blunt. He would tell prospective clients—large corporations worried about their lack of connections to President Donald Trump’s administration—that he didn’t know who was advising them, but that the companies “should fire them all,” a person familiar with Mr. Cohen’s approach said. “I have the best relationship with the president on the outside, and you need to hire me,” Mr. Cohen told them, according to this person.Cohen went on to whine that Squire Patton Boggs wasn't paying him enough and about his own lack of access to Trump.
Mr. Cohen repeatedly pitched Uber, which said no, citing Mr. Cohen’s ownership of New York taxi medallions as a potential conflict of interest with the ride-hailing firm, a person close to the company said. He modified his pitch in response those objections, reminding the company he was “the president’s lawyer,” this person said.
The company, this person said, was “bemused.”
Severe losses on his New York City taxi investments had, in fact, fueled Mr. Cohen’s desire to make money from his ties to the president. A friend described his financial situation as “precarious” and said Mr. Cohen was having trouble maintaining his family’s upscale Manhattan lifestyle.
...
In January, Mr. Cohen signed two of the wealthy donors to the president’s inaugural committee as his clients: AT&T and the investment management firm Columbus Nova. AT&T had donated $2 million to the inauguration; Columbus Nova CEO Andrew Intrater had donated $250,000. Mr. Cohen solicited Mr. Intrater’s donation, according to a person involved in the inauguration.
...
Less than a month after the inauguration, Felix Sater, who had worked with Mr. Cohen on a failed plan for a Trump-branded tower in Moscow, introduced Mr. Cohen to Robert Armao, a consultant and businessman with connections in Washington and in foreign governments, Mr. Armao recalled.
Mr. Armao had previously discussed with Mr. Sater a deal involving refurbishing Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Mr. Sater also hoped to ship excess energy to former Soviet bloc countries. Mr. Sater had considered bringing in Mr. Cohen because of his connections to the president.
...
A friend of Mr. Cohen said that Squire Patton Boggs worked “hand in hand” with Mr. Cohen, and the firm’s leaders “paraded him around like a model” for many of their clients.
...
In March, Mr. Cohen confided in friends he felt undervalued by Mr. Trump and questioned whether he should continue his work as lawyer for the president, said a person familiar with the matter. About a week later, Mr. Cohen’s ambivalence seemed to have vanished. He called associates seeking contributions for a legal-defense fund for White House aides who had been subpoenaed by investigators, the person said. A person familiar with the fund said Mr. Cohen was never asked to raise money for it, and didn’t do so.
posted by zachlipton at 9:33 PM on May 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
If you want a left wing Breitbart, there’s garbage like Salon and Counterpunch. However, like Breitbart, they are clickbaity garbage.
posted by chrchr at 9:58 PM on May 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by chrchr at 9:58 PM on May 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Justinian: "I really want to see the switch from Registered Voter models to Likely Voter models as it may start picking up the up-until-now apparent enthusiasm gap. Does anyone know when the generic ballots tend to switch to LV? Chrysostom?"
That's a great question, and I don't know the answer. I'll try and find out.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:47 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
That's a great question, and I don't know the answer. I'll try and find out.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:47 PM on May 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
we may need to accept that the United States no longer has a sufficiently functioning political system to uphold any agreement as complex as the JCPOA, particularly if it is negotiated by a Democratic administration, as any such agreement is likely to be
I've deleted multiple responses to this because I get angry and start ranting. It's absolutely true. But it's not just true about foreign policy. I ranted about it before, but note that Democrats let... hell, encouraged... Republicans to pass a spending bill that was bigger than the one that Obama passed trying to stop the second Great Depression. While we're at full employment! While the economy is booming!
Republicans do everything they can to sabotage the country while Democrats are in power but Democrats do what they can to help the country when Republicans are in power. The perverse incentive that creates for voters should be obvious. If Trump weren't a narcissistic asshole with the brainpower of a sponge the Republicans could take advantage of this disparity and cement power for years.
posted by Justinian at 10:49 PM on May 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
I've deleted multiple responses to this because I get angry and start ranting. It's absolutely true. But it's not just true about foreign policy. I ranted about it before, but note that Democrats let... hell, encouraged... Republicans to pass a spending bill that was bigger than the one that Obama passed trying to stop the second Great Depression. While we're at full employment! While the economy is booming!
Republicans do everything they can to sabotage the country while Democrats are in power but Democrats do what they can to help the country when Republicans are in power. The perverse incentive that creates for voters should be obvious. If Trump weren't a narcissistic asshole with the brainpower of a sponge the Republicans could take advantage of this disparity and cement power for years.
posted by Justinian at 10:49 PM on May 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
FYI, on the calendar for tomorrow:
* State legislative specials in AL (2) and PA (3)
* Primaries in ID, NE, OR, PA.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:51 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
* State legislative specials in AL (2) and PA (3)
* Primaries in ID, NE, OR, PA.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:51 PM on May 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
This is your regular reminder when discussing Michael Cohen that he is the lawyer who went to law school, where they presumably teach you about laws, subsequently passed the bar, where they presumably ask you about laws, and, in furtherance of his law career, where he is paid money to know about laws, went on national television and told everyone that it’s not against the law to rape your wife.
Narrator voice: it is.
Also, this whole Fox and Friends presidency really freaks me out. I’ve only made three FPPs here. The very first one was an article in Mother Jones, written by Kevin Drum, entitled Daniel Ellsberg on the Limits of Knowledge. It’s basically an excerpt from Ellsberg’s book, Secrets. I think about that article a lot lately. Relevant quote (Ellsburg’s advice to Kissinger in 1968 about the many security clearances Kissinger was about to get):
“First, you’ll be exhilarated by some of this new information, and by having it all — so much! incredible! — suddenly available to you. But second, almost as fast, you will feel like a fool for having studied, written, talked about these subjects, criticized and analyzed decisions made by presidents for years without having known of the existence of all this information, which presidents and others had and you didn’t, and which must have influenced their decisions in ways you couldn’t even guess.”
So what I think about all the time lately is that Fox and Friends don’t have those security clearances. Sean Hannity doesn’t have those security clearances. The president doesn’t read briefings without pictures or his name in them. So... who exactly is getting this important information? Shouldn’t whatever this data is be used in making important decisions? Ideally before the decisions are tweeted out to the world by the president?
(As far as the Chinese telecom business, I really don’t understand that tweet, by the way. Like, since when did your rabid followers suddenly care about creating jobs in China? Why are you bragging about that like it’s MAGA? I do not understand.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:34 AM on May 14, 2018 [47 favorites]
Narrator voice: it is.
Also, this whole Fox and Friends presidency really freaks me out. I’ve only made three FPPs here. The very first one was an article in Mother Jones, written by Kevin Drum, entitled Daniel Ellsberg on the Limits of Knowledge. It’s basically an excerpt from Ellsberg’s book, Secrets. I think about that article a lot lately. Relevant quote (Ellsburg’s advice to Kissinger in 1968 about the many security clearances Kissinger was about to get):
“First, you’ll be exhilarated by some of this new information, and by having it all — so much! incredible! — suddenly available to you. But second, almost as fast, you will feel like a fool for having studied, written, talked about these subjects, criticized and analyzed decisions made by presidents for years without having known of the existence of all this information, which presidents and others had and you didn’t, and which must have influenced their decisions in ways you couldn’t even guess.”
So what I think about all the time lately is that Fox and Friends don’t have those security clearances. Sean Hannity doesn’t have those security clearances. The president doesn’t read briefings without pictures or his name in them. So... who exactly is getting this important information? Shouldn’t whatever this data is be used in making important decisions? Ideally before the decisions are tweeted out to the world by the president?
(As far as the Chinese telecom business, I really don’t understand that tweet, by the way. Like, since when did your rabid followers suddenly care about creating jobs in China? Why are you bragging about that like it’s MAGA? I do not understand.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:34 AM on May 14, 2018 [47 favorites]
Sounds like a great pick for opening an embassy in the city with the third holiest site in Islam.
You don't think the anti-gay, pro-Trump Fox News evangelical has some interesting views on Jews too? Let's see how good a pick this is.
Five seconds of searching later:
Also:
Not even surprised.
posted by jaduncan at 12:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
You don't think the anti-gay, pro-Trump Fox News evangelical has some interesting views on Jews too? Let's see how good a pick this is.
Five seconds of searching later:
I think part of the problem is we’re in this consumer mentality as a church where we have the idea that our job is to build as big of a church as we possible can. And if we get into that idea and fall into that trap, then we say then we can’t say anything that’s going to offend people, why, if we preach that homosexuality is an abomination to God we better not preach that because that’s going to offend the gays or people who know gay people, if we tell people what the Bible says that every other religion in the world is wrong: Islam is wrong, it is a heresy from the pit of Hell; Mormonism is wrong, it is a heresy from the pit of Hell; Judaism, you can’t be saved being a Jew, you know who said that by the way, the three greatest Jews in the New Testament, Peter, Paul, and Jesus Christ, they all said Judaism won’t do it, it’s faith in Jesus Christ."So that's nice.
Also:
“Jerusalem has been the object of the affection of both Jews and Christians down through history and the touchstone of prophecy, but most importantly, God gave Jerusalem — and the rest of the Holy Land — to the Jewish people."I'm not going to go further down this rabbit hole, because the belief that Jews are essentially heathens that are cannon fodder for Biblical prophesy is a depressingly common source of a mixture of evangelical support for Israel and anti-Semitism in one exciting bundle.
Not even surprised.
posted by jaduncan at 12:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
(As far as the Chinese telecom business, I really don’t understand that tweet, by the way. Like, since when did your rabid followers suddenly care about creating jobs in China? Why are you bragging about that like it’s MAGA? I do not understand.)
This is a thing everybody is very reluctant to accept, that despite his slogan Trump has no loyalty, not even a twisted one, to America. What he has is a loyalty to money & its sources. If those sources are Russian or Chinese, that is where his loyalties lie for as long as their money is streaming towards him. As a narcissist who can only comprehend atomic (as in unitary not nuclear) transactions, as soon as the transaction (the side directed at him at least) is complete he loses loyalty to its source. He is the personification of greed.
posted by scalefree at 1:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
This is a thing everybody is very reluctant to accept, that despite his slogan Trump has no loyalty, not even a twisted one, to America. What he has is a loyalty to money & its sources. If those sources are Russian or Chinese, that is where his loyalties lie for as long as their money is streaming towards him. As a narcissist who can only comprehend atomic (as in unitary not nuclear) transactions, as soon as the transaction (the side directed at him at least) is complete he loses loyalty to its source. He is the personification of greed.
posted by scalefree at 1:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
So what I think about all the time lately is that Fox and Friends don’t have those security clearances. Sean Hannity doesn’t have those security clearances. The president doesn’t read briefings without pictures or his name in them. So... who exactly is getting this important information?
Putin is. (Only half joking).
And on this side of the Atlantic, May and Merkel and Macron are looking at their security briefings and feeling more and more like Benjamin's Angel of History.
posted by mumimor at 2:25 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Putin is. (Only half joking).
And on this side of the Atlantic, May and Merkel and Macron are looking at their security briefings and feeling more and more like Benjamin's Angel of History.
posted by mumimor at 2:25 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
“First, you’ll be exhilarated by some of this new information, and by having it all — so much! incredible! — suddenly available to you. But second, almost as fast, you will feel like a fool for having studied, written, talked about these subjects, criticized and analyzed decisions made by presidents for years without having known of the existence of all this information, which presidents and others had and you didn’t, and which must have influenced their decisions in ways you couldn’t even guess.”
So what I think about all the time lately is that Fox and Friends don’t have those security clearances.
I also find it a grim contrast in that everyone involved understood that the new officeholder would naturally have intellectual curiosity and, I guess, some ability for introspective self-assessment.
posted by jaduncan at 2:36 AM on May 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Sounds like a great pick for opening an embassy in the city with the third holiest site in Islam.
Mitt Romney
Robert Jeffress says “you can’t be saved by being a Jew,“ and “Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.” He’s said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.
posted by chris24 at 3:21 AM on May 14, 2018 [57 favorites]
Mitt Romney
Robert Jeffress says “you can’t be saved by being a Jew,“ and “Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.” He’s said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.
posted by chris24 at 3:21 AM on May 14, 2018 [57 favorites]
Jeffress has history with Mitt, having apparently refused to apologise to him for the Mormonism comment when he originally made it.
posted by jaduncan at 3:33 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jaduncan at 3:33 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
And the other pastor who will be at the embassy opening? John Hagee.
You may remember him from 2008 when John McCain rejected his endorsement when it came out that he'd called Hitler a "half-breed Jew" sent by God as a "hunter" to drive all Jews to “the only home God ever intended for the Jews to have. Israel.”
posted by chris24 at 3:37 AM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
You may remember him from 2008 when John McCain rejected his endorsement when it came out that he'd called Hitler a "half-breed Jew" sent by God as a "hunter" to drive all Jews to “the only home God ever intended for the Jews to have. Israel.”
posted by chris24 at 3:37 AM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
Before Obama was elected in 2008 it came out that his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, was both a fervent critic of the US and arguably an antisemite. Obama repudiated him, which was both politically necessary and, I think, the right thing to do. But this this isn't a matter of someone's old pastor being racist; these are current members of presidentially-appointed bodies being called upon to speak at official ceremonies. Of course there won't be any outrage from the people who criticised Obama; it was all performative nonsense for the benefit of the rubes.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:23 AM on May 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:23 AM on May 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
The U.S. ambassador to Israel was just on npr. Transcript not up yet, but it was full pants on head crazy.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 4:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 4:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Like, since when did your rabid followers suddenly care about creating jobs in China? Why are you bragging about that like it’s MAGA? I do not understand.
Everything he does is MAGA, by default. Over on T_D, they've taken to calling him 'GEOTUS,' not POTUS, since he is God-Emperor, not just a President; if every place on earth is owned and ruled by GEOTUS, everywhere is America, and anything he does is Making It Great. So great is his job-creating omnipotence that it reaches beyond the boundaries of the US, and other nations are both envious and needy, requiring his favour and grace. If Trump can Make China Great, it's evidence he's more powerful than Xi, since obviously Xi can't do it on his own.
Maybe eventually they'll ask where the jobs in America are, but they're currently at a point where pictures of Trump looking unhinged and unwell are being praised as evidence of his virility, because they're pictures of Trump, and Trump is great, so it's probably gonna be a while.
posted by halation at 5:06 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Everything he does is MAGA, by default. Over on T_D, they've taken to calling him 'GEOTUS,' not POTUS, since he is God-Emperor, not just a President; if every place on earth is owned and ruled by GEOTUS, everywhere is America, and anything he does is Making It Great. So great is his job-creating omnipotence that it reaches beyond the boundaries of the US, and other nations are both envious and needy, requiring his favour and grace. If Trump can Make China Great, it's evidence he's more powerful than Xi, since obviously Xi can't do it on his own.
Maybe eventually they'll ask where the jobs in America are, but they're currently at a point where pictures of Trump looking unhinged and unwell are being praised as evidence of his virility, because they're pictures of Trump, and Trump is great, so it's probably gonna be a while.
posted by halation at 5:06 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Where did this whole "God-Emperor" thing start? It's a disturbing/fascinating/confusing title to put on anybody, much less the President of the USA.
posted by baltimoretim at 5:09 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by baltimoretim at 5:09 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Has the actual embassy moved yet? I would think the security concerns and actually finding a building big enough in Jerusalem would take years to sort out?
posted by PenDevil at 5:12 AM on May 14, 2018
posted by PenDevil at 5:12 AM on May 14, 2018
Where did this whole "God-Emperor" thing start?
I mean, it's the internet, so GEOTUS is the kind of thing that's just an ironic jokey meme... right up until the point where it's not. It's probably either a Dune reference or a Warhammer 40K reference.
posted by halation at 5:14 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
I mean, it's the internet, so GEOTUS is the kind of thing that's just an ironic jokey meme... right up until the point where it's not. It's probably either a Dune reference or a Warhammer 40K reference.
posted by halation at 5:14 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's happening Monday evening local time. The Guardian is live blogging the event. 25 Palestinian protesters have already been killed by the IDF. One Israeli solder injured.
This is shaping up to be a sickening event.
posted by michswiss at 5:18 AM on May 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
This is shaping up to be a sickening event.
posted by michswiss at 5:18 AM on May 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
Perhaps more concerning, we may need to accept that the United States no longer has a sufficiently functioning political system to uphold any agreement as complex as the JCPOA, particularly if it is negotiated by a Democratic administration, as any such agreement is likely to be. Honestly, the American partisan dynamics that make the world's lone superpower seemingly incapable of forging long-term agreements — particularly arms control agreements — worries me a lot more than whatever painful compromises might get made for a North Korea deal.
Fisher correctly diagnoses the problem, then refuses to take the final step. Republicans have now blown up two nuclear arms control agreements, Bush pulled out of the Agreed Framework just like Trump pulled out of the JCPOA. It's never been Democrats reneging on Republican international agreements. This is not "American partisan dynamics", that's "both sides do it" in the fogen policy thesaurus. Both sides don't. Republicans have allowed both North Korea, and now likely Iran, to become nuclear powers that threaten the US mainland. When and if one or both of them nuke Los Angeles, it won't be because a Democratic administration reimposed sanctions out of spite for its domestic political opponents.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:40 AM on May 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
Fisher correctly diagnoses the problem, then refuses to take the final step. Republicans have now blown up two nuclear arms control agreements, Bush pulled out of the Agreed Framework just like Trump pulled out of the JCPOA. It's never been Democrats reneging on Republican international agreements. This is not "American partisan dynamics", that's "both sides do it" in the fogen policy thesaurus. Both sides don't. Republicans have allowed both North Korea, and now likely Iran, to become nuclear powers that threaten the US mainland. When and if one or both of them nuke Los Angeles, it won't be because a Democratic administration reimposed sanctions out of spite for its domestic political opponents.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:40 AM on May 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
I am so angry right now. Everyone of the deaths today outside of Jerusalem or in Palestine are blood on Trumps hands. I know he won't care, but he has to be held to account.
posted by michswiss at 5:40 AM on May 14, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by michswiss at 5:40 AM on May 14, 2018 [52 favorites]
halation It's definitely a 40k reference, including occasional photoshopped images of Trump's face into art of the 40k God Emperor of Mankind's body. Dune is far too lefty environmentalist Muslim for them to get into.
Even before Trump there was a largeish far right wing fandom of the 40k universe who were disturbingly into the Fascist and theocratic nature of the setting's Imperium of Man and arguing that it was a great idea for how to organize things.
Basically the so called "Dark Enlightenment" only reduced slogans from a game and wikkid kewl pictures of space marines.
This group was part of the early online presence for Trump, and their imagery was adopted by the later arrivals.
I doubt enough of them have the patience to read books.
posted by sotonohito at 5:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Even before Trump there was a largeish far right wing fandom of the 40k universe who were disturbingly into the Fascist and theocratic nature of the setting's Imperium of Man and arguing that it was a great idea for how to organize things.
Basically the so called "Dark Enlightenment" only reduced slogans from a game and wikkid kewl pictures of space marines.
This group was part of the early online presence for Trump, and their imagery was adopted by the later arrivals.
I doubt enough of them have the patience to read books.
posted by sotonohito at 5:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
This is Pepe foreign policy.
posted by angrycat at 5:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 5:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
The U.S. ambassador to Israel was just on npr. Transcript not up yet, but it was full pants on head crazy.
I heard some crazy-talk on NPR today. One of the promoters of the move was citing the Bible as the legal justification for Israel's claim on Jerusalem. Frankly, I would like to depose BOTH parties to that contract before commenting further.
Additionally, since it seems that Israel has de-facto declared a one-state solution, I look forward to nationwide elections where everyone within the borders of Greater Israel gets a vote on consent to be governed by the current government.
posted by mikelieman at 5:55 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
I heard some crazy-talk on NPR today. One of the promoters of the move was citing the Bible as the legal justification for Israel's claim on Jerusalem. Frankly, I would like to depose BOTH parties to that contract before commenting further.
Additionally, since it seems that Israel has de-facto declared a one-state solution, I look forward to nationwide elections where everyone within the borders of Greater Israel gets a vote on consent to be governed by the current government.
posted by mikelieman at 5:55 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
Jonathan Swan at Axios: "White House leakers leak about leaking"
posted by OnceUponATime at 6:16 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Leaking is information warfare; it's strategic and tactical — strategic to drive narrative, tactical to settle scores,” the source said.I just watched "Get Me Roger Stone," so I'm thinking these "leaking is information warfare" guys learned it from him.
Another former administration official said grudges have a lot to do with it. "Any time I leaked, it was out of frustration with incompetent or tone-deaf leadership,” the former official said.“Bad managers almost always breed an unhappy workplace, which ultimately results in pervasive leaking," the former official added. "And there has been plenty of all those things inside this White House. Some people use leaking to settle personal scores, or even worse to attack the President, but for me it was always to make a point about something that I felt was being unjustly ignored by others."
Be smart: To any would-be leakers who are considering the practice, I'm also told leaking is pretty fun. Give me a call if you'd like to try it out.
posted by OnceUponATime at 6:16 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Re. this “God-Emperor” stuff...I can’t even begin to imagine having standards for intelligence, morality, physical fitness, charisma, etc. that were so atrophied that I could look at someone like Donald Trump and declare him a living exemplar of the best of humanity...but I guess racism and sexism are the beer goggles of fascist politics.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:21 AM on May 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:21 AM on May 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
Trump’s Hard-Line Israel Position Exports U.S. Culture War Abroad
posted by Artw at 6:22 AM on May 14, 2018
posted by Artw at 6:22 AM on May 14, 2018
Christian Zionism primer on wikipedia. America's Little Death Cult That Could.
posted by rc3spencer at 6:24 AM on May 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 6:24 AM on May 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
In Warhammer 40K the God Emperor is a withered corpse entombed on a golden throne artificially kept alive for thousands of years by the daily sacrifices of a thousand people. In Dune he's a giant worm. Which one is more accurate?
posted by PenDevil at 6:27 AM on May 14, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 6:27 AM on May 14, 2018 [45 favorites]
"Leaking is information warfare; it's strategic and tactical — strategic to drive narrative, tactical to settle scores,” the source said.
Hi Steve Bannon!
posted by chris24 at 6:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Hi Steve Bannon!
posted by chris24 at 6:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
From here, it looks as if America doesn't think that it needs a foreign policy. After all, it's so special, so powerful, that the international world is divided into two components: "international" and "American". Foreign policies should only be a concern of foreign countries.
I used to see this strand of American exceptionalism as pure propaganda. But this *administration is getting high on its own supply.
Of course we can point to the Federalist Papers in which the founders of America explained that they proposed a federal republican form of government with the benefit of having a foreign policy, thereby ensuring the existence of the Union and, ${DEITIES} forbid, derive strength from alliance with nations of the world. It seems that this sort of Union hasn't been there for a while.
posted by runcifex at 6:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
I used to see this strand of American exceptionalism as pure propaganda. But this *administration is getting high on its own supply.
Of course we can point to the Federalist Papers in which the founders of America explained that they proposed a federal republican form of government with the benefit of having a foreign policy, thereby ensuring the existence of the Union and, ${DEITIES} forbid, derive strength from alliance with nations of the world. It seems that this sort of Union hasn't been there for a while.
posted by runcifex at 6:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Horrifyingly that this embassy stunt now has a body count, 40 plus at the moment, is probably seen as a positive by the people backing it.
posted by Artw at 6:43 AM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:43 AM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr leading in Iraq's election
Sadr is one of the few Shia leaders to keep a distance from Iran, and instead shares Saudi interest in countering Iranian influence in Iraq. Sadr sought to broaden his regional support, meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah last year.posted by XMLicious at 6:45 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
The cleric made his name leading two revolts against US forces in Iraq, drawing support from poor neighbourhoods of Baghdad and other cities. Washington called the Mehdi Army, the Shia militia loyal to Sadr, the biggest threat to Iraq's security. Sadr rebranded the militia as the Peace Brigades in June 2014.
Sadr leads the al-Sairoon Coalition (The Marchers) that brings together his Sadrist Movement and the Iraqi Communist Party. The coalition has pushed an anti-corruption and anti-sectarian campaign.
[...]
No one group is expected to win the 165 seats required for an outright majority. Instead, the bloc that wins the most seats will have to bring together a majority by getting the support of smaller alliances.
@realDonaldTrump
Big day for Israel. Congratulations!
Tweeted atop a growing pile of corpses. The blood's on his hands. When the USA has its own "big day," he'll be just as upset.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Big day for Israel. Congratulations!
Tweeted atop a growing pile of corpses. The blood's on his hands. When the USA has its own "big day," he'll be just as upset.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Jonathan Swan at Axios: "White House leakers leak about leaking"
"The most common substantive leaks are the result of someone losing an internal policy debate," a current senior administration official told me. "By leaking the decision, the loser gets one last chance to kill it with blowback from the public, Congress or even the President."posted by kirkaracha at 6:55 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Otherwise," the official added, "you have to realize that working here is kind of like being in a never-ending 'Mexican Standoff.' Everyone has guns (leaks) pointed at each other and it's only a matter of time before someone shoots. There's rarely a peaceful conclusion so you might as well shoot first."
Tomorrow is Nakba, the anniversary of the beginning of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.
60 years, and my people are still being murdered in cold blood on the international stage. My family has been in business in Gaza since the Romans were in control. My family's orchards and olive groves have been bulldozed. Their estates and houses were confiscated and given to Europeans without recompense. One of my cousins is 50 years old and has lived in a concentration camp since he was born.
This crop of Israeli politicians are no better than Nazis, and shame of this genocide is on the hands of everyone who supports them.
Today's casualties already include children. More than 900 injured, 50+ dead, and video of snipers shooting at five year old girls. The blood of these children will fuel an intifada that never end until the right of return is allowed.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:56 AM on May 14, 2018 [113 favorites]
60 years, and my people are still being murdered in cold blood on the international stage. My family has been in business in Gaza since the Romans were in control. My family's orchards and olive groves have been bulldozed. Their estates and houses were confiscated and given to Europeans without recompense. One of my cousins is 50 years old and has lived in a concentration camp since he was born.
This crop of Israeli politicians are no better than Nazis, and shame of this genocide is on the hands of everyone who supports them.
Today's casualties already include children. More than 900 injured, 50+ dead, and video of snipers shooting at five year old girls. The blood of these children will fuel an intifada that never end until the right of return is allowed.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:56 AM on May 14, 2018 [113 favorites]
Looks like the passive voice is gonna be working overtime today:
@nytimesworld: Dozens of Palestinians have died in protests as the U.S. prepares to open its Jerusalem Embassy"Have died" wtf?
@Martin_Indyk: Bittersweet moment as Israelis celebrate and Palestinians demonstrate, and die (death toll just mounted to 37!). Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem is a joyous occasion but it did not have to be a zero-sum game. Like it or not, there is another people in the Promised Land.Well, I'll let others take Indyk to task for this one:
@mattyglesias: Wow why are all these demonstrators dying? Are they really sick or something or did someone shoot them?posted by zombieflanders at 6:56 AM on May 14, 2018 [91 favorites]
@ashleyfeinberg: "demonstrate, and die" ah yes, the spontaneous death of demonstrators, the cause of which no one may ever know
@dylanmatt: Another way to look at this is that the US and Israel caused the deaths of 37 people for no reason
@DavidKlion: It's cowardly to phrase it this way. If you can't name the act, you have no moral authority to complain about it, and you're not absolved of your deep complicity.
Remember when control of the Virginia House came down to picking a Republican's name out of a hat? Va. election officials assigned 26 voters to the wrong district. It might’ve cost Democrats a pivotal race.
Pretty incredible how these little "mistakes" always work in Republican favor.
Oh, and yes, the 26 voters were black.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [91 favorites]
Pretty incredible how these little "mistakes" always work in Republican favor.
Oh, and yes, the 26 voters were black.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [91 favorites]
Kushner:
posted by jaduncan at 7:16 AM on May 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
President Trump was very clear that his decision and today’s celebration do not reflect a departure from our strong commitment to lasting peace. A peace that overcomes the conflicts of the past in order to give our children a brighter and more boundless future.Say, maybe that status quo could have been maintained by not pointlessly moving the US Embassy there and causing just under 50 deaths so far?
[...]
The United States recognising the sensitivity surrounding Jerusalem, a city that means so much to so many. Jerusalem is a city unique in the history of civilisation. No other place on earth can claim significance to three major religions. Each day Jews pray at the Western Hall. Muslims bow in prayer at Al Asqa mosque, and Christians worship at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. That is why President Trump has called many times, including right now, on all parties to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem’s Holy sites.
posted by jaduncan at 7:16 AM on May 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
@nytimesworld: Dozens of Palestinians have died in protests as the U.S. prepares to open its JerusalemEmbassy
NB: that is the Twitter feed of "NY Times World." The main NYT Twitter has "Breaking News: Israel responded with rifle fire to a mass attempt by Palestinians to cross a border fence, killing at least 28, Palestinian officials said."
Current headline on actual NYT homepage: "Israel Kills at Least 41 as Palestinians Try to Cross Border."
posted by neroli at 7:16 AM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
NB: that is the Twitter feed of "NY Times World." The main NYT Twitter has "Breaking News: Israel responded with rifle fire to a mass attempt by Palestinians to cross a border fence, killing at least 28, Palestinian officials said."
Current headline on actual NYT homepage: "Israel Kills at Least 41 as Palestinians Try to Cross Border."
posted by neroli at 7:16 AM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
Bittersweet? holy hell. Bittersweet!?!? I can't even. What kind of monster would describe this as bittersweet? I can't imagine even the worst of war criminals using the word to describe such an outcome. I'm just flabbergasted by this turn of phrase. Am I having a stroke or did this guy just say it was bittersweet that people were being killed in protests today?
posted by some loser at 7:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by some loser at 7:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
> Am I having a stroke or did this guy just say it was bittersweet that people were being killed in protests today?
I don't think these protesters register to him as "people" at all.
posted by Tevin at 7:28 AM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
I don't think these protesters register to him as "people" at all.
posted by Tevin at 7:28 AM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
Also I bet Trump is just salivating over the prospect of having illegal border crossing become a capital crime requiring no trial to punish. Look for this policy to be floated in a speech by this turd soon, citing Israel as precedent.
posted by some loser at 7:29 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by some loser at 7:29 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
No other place on earth can claim significance to three major religions
Off the top of my head Córdoba is an obvious counterexample to this and I'm sure there are several more. It's not like the only place Christians, Jews and Muslims ever lived was Jerusalem.
posted by dis_integration at 7:35 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Off the top of my head Córdoba is an obvious counterexample to this and I'm sure there are several more. It's not like the only place Christians, Jews and Muslims ever lived was Jerusalem.
posted by dis_integration at 7:35 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Bittersweet? holy hell. Bittersweet!?!? I can't even. What kind of monster would describe this as bittersweet? I can't imagine even the worst of war criminals using the word to describe such an outcome. I'm just flabbergasted by this turn of phrase. Am I having a stroke or did this guy just say it was bittersweet that people were being killed in protests today?
Indyk responded to criticism of his tweet by posting the dictionary definition of "bittersweet." So uh...
posted by skymt at 7:53 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Indyk responded to criticism of his tweet by posting the dictionary definition of "bittersweet." So uh...
posted by skymt at 7:53 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
'Bittersweet,' indeed.
Hoping that there is some international response to calls for medical aid; there are so many injuries that facilities in Gaza are 'near breaking point.' And none of this -- none of this! -- had to happen.
posted by halation at 8:01 AM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
Hoping that there is some international response to calls for medical aid; there are so many injuries that facilities in Gaza are 'near breaking point.' And none of this -- none of this! -- had to happen.
posted by halation at 8:01 AM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
No war but class war.
posted by The Whelk at 8:02 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 8:02 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Schumer: In a long overdue move, we have moved our embassy to Jerusalem. Every nation should have the right to choose its capital. I sponsored legislation to do this two decades ago, and I applaud President Trump for doing it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:03 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:03 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Israeli forces have killed 41 Palestinians and wounded at least 900 in Gaza, health officials said, as troops fired bullets at residents protesting against the Monday opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem........Around 60 miles away in an affluent neighbourhood of Jerusalem, Washington’s ambassador, David Friedman, stated o cheers and a standing ovation “Today’s historic event is attributed to the vision, courage, and moral clarity of one person to whom we owe an enormous and eternal debt of gratitude: President Donald J Trump.”
No Israeli has been harmed since the protests began on 30 March.
posted by adamvasco at 8:03 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
No Israeli has been harmed since the protests began on 30 March.
posted by adamvasco at 8:03 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Every nation should have the right to choose its capital.
Including Palestine?
posted by kirkaracha at 8:07 AM on May 14, 2018 [72 favorites]
Including Palestine?
posted by kirkaracha at 8:07 AM on May 14, 2018 [72 favorites]
Oh, fuck you, Chuck.
posted by biogeo at 8:09 AM on May 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 8:09 AM on May 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
This is horrifying. :(
Trump was the catalyst. But the people to blame are the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who have happily allowed this situation to fester and come to this point. This was entirely avoidable, and both sides have refused to take steps that would have brought peace to the region.
posted by zarq at 8:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
Trump was the catalyst. But the people to blame are the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who have happily allowed this situation to fester and come to this point. This was entirely avoidable, and both sides have refused to take steps that would have brought peace to the region.
posted by zarq at 8:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
Current headline on actual NYT homepage: "Israel Kills at Least 41 as Palestinians Try to Cross Border."
I woke up to a whole lot of stunned and horrified voices on Twitter this morning and went hunting down headlines to find out why. All the while, I kept having this added little twist of dread, because I kept wondering: Wait, are they reacting to the nightmare in Israel, or is there some other horror show I haven't seen yet?
And I hate how credible that dread is. There is no rock bottom.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:12 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I woke up to a whole lot of stunned and horrified voices on Twitter this morning and went hunting down headlines to find out why. All the while, I kept having this added little twist of dread, because I kept wondering: Wait, are they reacting to the nightmare in Israel, or is there some other horror show I haven't seen yet?
And I hate how credible that dread is. There is no rock bottom.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:12 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'd really appreciate it if the Democrats would just stop hurting themselves.
Seriously Chuck? You had to go out of your way to praise Trump for an event that has so far resulted in Israeli military forces murdering 50+ people?
I mean, I get that Schumer is Jewish, but fuck, 80% of Jewish Americans oppose the move yet here he is pandering to the 20%. Is he really devoted to this on religious grounds, or is he just an asshole? Why not just let Trump own the tragedy without grabbing some of the blame for himself and (by extension) all Democrats?
Again 80% of Jewish Americans oppose moving the embassy to Jerusalem. And I kinda doubt the 20% who favored it were voting Democratic or could be swayed to vote Democratic if only Schumer would applaud the murder of enough Palestinians.
It isn't as if the Democrats were in danger of losing the Jewish vote if they did the right thing for a change.
posted by sotonohito at 8:14 AM on May 14, 2018 [68 favorites]
Seriously Chuck? You had to go out of your way to praise Trump for an event that has so far resulted in Israeli military forces murdering 50+ people?
I mean, I get that Schumer is Jewish, but fuck, 80% of Jewish Americans oppose the move yet here he is pandering to the 20%. Is he really devoted to this on religious grounds, or is he just an asshole? Why not just let Trump own the tragedy without grabbing some of the blame for himself and (by extension) all Democrats?
Again 80% of Jewish Americans oppose moving the embassy to Jerusalem. And I kinda doubt the 20% who favored it were voting Democratic or could be swayed to vote Democratic if only Schumer would applaud the murder of enough Palestinians.
It isn't as if the Democrats were in danger of losing the Jewish vote if they did the right thing for a change.
posted by sotonohito at 8:14 AM on May 14, 2018 [68 favorites]
Seth Abramsom (who I know metafilter doesn't like) has an interesting series of Tweets featuring Rosneft, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Trump Tower, Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, Steele document, Sergey Gorkov, Jared, carter Page and more ****head asplodes***
posted by adamvasco at 8:15 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 8:15 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Re: bittersweet, remember that the extreme millennial (theology sense, not the generation) fundamentalists in the U.S. believe that the U.S. embassy must be relocated to Jerusalem as part of the fulfillment of Biblical prophesy to usher in the apocalypse. The deaths of dozens of civilian protesters may be genuinely saddening for them, but they're necessary to fulfill what they believe to be God's plan. Their belief system is irrational, anti-humanist, and hypocritically trivializes the value of human lives. If you understand this, the idea that someone with these beliefs (which I do not know if this particular commentator has) would describe the deaths of protesters as "bittersweet" makes perfect sense.
It is also a monstrously evil thing to believe.
posted by biogeo at 8:22 AM on May 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
It is also a monstrously evil thing to believe.
posted by biogeo at 8:22 AM on May 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
Is he really devoted to this on religious grounds, or is he just an asshole?
Sociopathy is a contagion and centrism/neoliberalism is the vector.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sociopathy is a contagion and centrism/neoliberalism is the vector.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
see we made too many jokes on whether you is taking notes on a motherfucking criminal conspiracy
posted by angrycat at 8:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 8:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
Seth Abramsom (who I know metafilter doesn't like) has an interesting series of Tweets...
Interesting stuff. But if this is true why did Trump and co. later gang up agains the Qataris?
posted by duoshao at 8:39 AM on May 14, 2018
Interesting stuff. But if this is true why did Trump and co. later gang up agains the Qataris?
posted by duoshao at 8:39 AM on May 14, 2018
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman, Lt Col Jonathan Conricus:
posted by jaduncan at 8:39 AM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
“As of now, no one has crossed the fence,” he said, adding there had been “several” attempts.I'm going to just reflect on the sheer amount of criticism that the British Army (rightly) took for Bloody Sunday. We are currently at about three times the numbers of dead in a single day. It is an utter meatgrinder, and looks especially illegal given the clear imbalance between threat and response.
He said one Israeli soldier had been “slightly wounded by shrapnel” but he did not have details. “Our troops have not taken any sustained direct fire,” he added.
posted by jaduncan at 8:39 AM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
Interesting stuff. But if this is true why did Trump and co. later gang up agains the Qataris?
Saudis offered a better deal
posted by mumimor at 8:41 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Saudis offered a better deal
posted by mumimor at 8:41 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Israeli troops are slaughtering men, women, children, journalists, and medics; all the while Bibi, the Trumps, Sheldon Adelson, Chuck Schumer, and even the goddamn director of the ADL are grinning and celebrating. These people are more ghoulish than Jewish, and I'm ashamed and angry to have to share even the slightest bit of cultural connection with them.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 8:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [64 favorites]
Off the top of my head Córdoba is an obvious counterexample to this and I'm sure there are several more. It's not like the only place Christians, Jews and Muslims ever lived was Jerusalem.
I would offer an additional, contemporary example. Queens, New York.
posted by mikelieman at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
I would offer an additional, contemporary example. Queens, New York.
posted by mikelieman at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
T.D. Strange: "Remember when control of the Virginia House came down to picking a Republican's name out of a hat? Va. election officials assigned 26 voters to the wrong district. It might’ve cost Democrats a pivotal race.
Pretty incredible how these little "mistakes" always work in Republican favor.
Oh, and yes, the 26 voters were black."
I get how it's fun to blame everything on Republican malfeasance. And it's true that the original sin here is that the Republican gerrymander split precincts across districts. But it's clear that incompetence (or more charitably, a confusing process) is the root cause here. The GOP spokesman is not wrong when he points out Democrats were in charge of implementation at key points.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Pretty incredible how these little "mistakes" always work in Republican favor.
Oh, and yes, the 26 voters were black."
I get how it's fun to blame everything on Republican malfeasance. And it's true that the original sin here is that the Republican gerrymander split precincts across districts. But it's clear that incompetence (or more charitably, a confusing process) is the root cause here. The GOP spokesman is not wrong when he points out Democrats were in charge of implementation at key points.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
...all the while Bibi, the Trumps, Sheldon Adelson, Chuck Schumer, and even the goddamn director of the ADL are grinning and celebrating.
Sort of like...oh, I dunno...someone jumping for joy at the surrender of France?
posted by Thorzdad at 8:53 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sort of like...oh, I dunno...someone jumping for joy at the surrender of France?
posted by Thorzdad at 8:53 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sotonohito, I wrote this in a politics thread back in December.
--
Jerusalem is considered the holiest city to religious Jews. It is also the place where the Holy Temple was built, and where the Western Wall now remains.
The Temple and Jerusalem are mentioned rather extensively in Orthodox Jewish prayers, including in the Amidah, which is a core daily prayer. Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews all recite some version of the Amidah, either daily or on the Sabbath. Conservative Judaism also includes mention of the Temple and Jerusalem in prayers, psalms and songs. Many of those prayers include the hope of rebuilding of the Temple as place of worship. In addition, four fast days [(holidays)] are based around either the destruction of the Temple or the events that led up to its destruction. All Jewish religious sects include mention of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple in their special holiday prayers. On Yom Kippur especially. [Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.]
In addition, the story of King David is described in the Torah (Samuel and Psalms.) He fought to capture Jerusalem and build the Holy Temple in ancient times.
--
It's really hard to overstate the city's significance in Jewish theology and culture. I mean, there are Jewish songs and prayers and poetry about the city. This is not a new phenomenon. It's been a part of Judaism for eons, and those of us who were raised in Jewish religious households would be aware of it.
None of this justifies the idiotic embassy move, the overall occupation or today's awful tragedy. This should never, ever have happened. No one should be celebrating what is happening or praising those responsible. It is ghoulish, horrifying and utterly insane to celebrate the deaths of people who are so desperate, without hope and pushed to the brink that they would walk into bullets and kill themselves, goaded to their deaths by ideological extremists.
But I am sure Schumer believes what he is saying, and it's not pandering.
posted by zarq at 8:55 AM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
--
Jerusalem is considered the holiest city to religious Jews. It is also the place where the Holy Temple was built, and where the Western Wall now remains.
The Temple and Jerusalem are mentioned rather extensively in Orthodox Jewish prayers, including in the Amidah, which is a core daily prayer. Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews all recite some version of the Amidah, either daily or on the Sabbath. Conservative Judaism also includes mention of the Temple and Jerusalem in prayers, psalms and songs. Many of those prayers include the hope of rebuilding of the Temple as place of worship. In addition, four fast days [(holidays)] are based around either the destruction of the Temple or the events that led up to its destruction. All Jewish religious sects include mention of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple in their special holiday prayers. On Yom Kippur especially. [Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.]
In addition, the story of King David is described in the Torah (Samuel and Psalms.) He fought to capture Jerusalem and build the Holy Temple in ancient times.
--
It's really hard to overstate the city's significance in Jewish theology and culture. I mean, there are Jewish songs and prayers and poetry about the city. This is not a new phenomenon. It's been a part of Judaism for eons, and those of us who were raised in Jewish religious households would be aware of it.
None of this justifies the idiotic embassy move, the overall occupation or today's awful tragedy. This should never, ever have happened. No one should be celebrating what is happening or praising those responsible. It is ghoulish, horrifying and utterly insane to celebrate the deaths of people who are so desperate, without hope and pushed to the brink that they would walk into bullets and kill themselves, goaded to their deaths by ideological extremists.
But I am sure Schumer believes what he is saying, and it's not pandering.
posted by zarq at 8:55 AM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
Executive Director of Doctors Without Borders: Most of our wounded patients in #Gaza say they have nothing to lose, no hope, no jobs. They tell our @msf staff that they just want 2 go back & die at protest sites. Some returning 2 demonstrations w/ casts, on crutches, or w/ external fixators holding together shattered bones.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 8:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [49 favorites]
I see that Jared and Ivanka are there, to be expected as Trump surrogates. But what is Treasury Secretary Mnuchin doing there as the person officially unveiling the the US seal? It this another "total eclipse of the sun" event he just couldn't pass up?
posted by JackFlash at 9:00 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 9:00 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
52 dead, thousands wounded.
This is murder and attempted murder.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:01 AM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
This is murder and attempted murder.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:01 AM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
Trump was the catalyst. But the people to blame are the Israeli and Palestinian leaders,
The government of the State of Israel owns this 100%. The fiction that the Palestinian leaders have ever had agency, and that the "Two State Solution" was actually on the table has been laid bare by the Israeli Government's declaration that Palestine was their capitol, and there is only one state, From The River To The Sea.
Mind you, I'm not opposed as long as everyone within those borders is a Citizen of the State of Israel, and gets a vote to decide "Consent of the Governed"
posted by mikelieman at 9:06 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
The government of the State of Israel owns this 100%. The fiction that the Palestinian leaders have ever had agency, and that the "Two State Solution" was actually on the table has been laid bare by the Israeli Government's declaration that Palestine was their capitol, and there is only one state, From The River To The Sea.
Mind you, I'm not opposed as long as everyone within those borders is a Citizen of the State of Israel, and gets a vote to decide "Consent of the Governed"
posted by mikelieman at 9:06 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
But what is Treasury Secretary Mnuchin doing there as the person officially unveiling the the US seal? It this another "total eclipse of the sun" event he just couldn't pass up?
Arranging financing for the rebuilding of the temple? That should lock-up the evangelical vote in November.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:07 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Arranging financing for the rebuilding of the temple? That should lock-up the evangelical vote in November.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:07 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
I know this is less talk about current action than commentary, but I have to express somewhere how incredibly sad and angry I am by what is happening right now in Israel and Palestine. I lived there a long time ago, in the 80s during the intifada. It seemed even then that there was so much more hope for peace and a real two state solution than there is right now. I hate Trump and Netanyahu for what they are wreaking on the Palestinians. It is a clear crime against human rights and I don't know how any of the people complicit with these crimes, especially Israelis, can live with themselves.
posted by Sophie1 at 9:09 AM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 9:09 AM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
Mnuchin is Jewish, and also evil. This seems like the place to be for anyone who meets those criteria.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
But what is Treasury Secretary Mnuchin doing there as the person officially unveiling the the US seal?
Actual answer: I would imagine he was sent because he's Jewish.
posted by jaduncan at 9:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Actual answer: I would imagine he was sent because he's Jewish.
posted by jaduncan at 9:10 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
It is a clear crime against human rights and I don't know how any of the people complicit with these crimes, especially Israelis, can live with themselves.
Short answer, and I know it's not satisfactory, "The world is full of assholes"
I clearly remember one thanksgiving dinner in the late 80's with the in-laws where my father-in-law's brother ( uncle-in-law? ), waxed poetically about using neutron bombs on the Palestinians, so the land wouldn't be ruined.
Also, "Racism". "Racist Assholes", I guess.
posted by mikelieman at 9:14 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Short answer, and I know it's not satisfactory, "The world is full of assholes"
I clearly remember one thanksgiving dinner in the late 80's with the in-laws where my father-in-law's brother ( uncle-in-law? ), waxed poetically about using neutron bombs on the Palestinians, so the land wouldn't be ruined.
Also, "Racism". "Racist Assholes", I guess.
posted by mikelieman at 9:14 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sort of like...oh, I dunno...someone jumping for joy at the surrender of France?
Let's not.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:21 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Let's not.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:21 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
The fiction that the Palestinian leaders have ever had agency
This is garbage and any student of the process would be aware of it. The Palestinians were offered peace plans over the years. Not all of them were done in good faith but some certainly were. They were given a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and then used the area as a platform to launch thousands of missiles into Israel, attempt in-person terror attacks (bombings, shootings, knife attacks) against Israeli civilian targets and even attempted to create tunnels through the border to invade neighboring Israeli towns.
That was their choice. Whether such actions can be considered justified or not, let's not create some fantasy bullshit lie which says they were forced into it. No one forces anyone to fire thousands of rockets into a neighboring territory at civilians.
Israel's hands are not clean. But this has never been a one-sided conflict.
Hamas leadership said this last week.: ""What's the problem with hundreds of thousands breaking through?" he asked. The border fence, he said, was not a "sacred cow." They encouraged today's tragedy.
And Israel helped create the conditions in which it was possible. None of their hands are clean.
posted by zarq at 9:23 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
This is garbage and any student of the process would be aware of it. The Palestinians were offered peace plans over the years. Not all of them were done in good faith but some certainly were. They were given a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and then used the area as a platform to launch thousands of missiles into Israel, attempt in-person terror attacks (bombings, shootings, knife attacks) against Israeli civilian targets and even attempted to create tunnels through the border to invade neighboring Israeli towns.
That was their choice. Whether such actions can be considered justified or not, let's not create some fantasy bullshit lie which says they were forced into it. No one forces anyone to fire thousands of rockets into a neighboring territory at civilians.
Israel's hands are not clean. But this has never been a one-sided conflict.
Hamas leadership said this last week.: ""What's the problem with hundreds of thousands breaking through?" he asked. The border fence, he said, was not a "sacred cow." They encouraged today's tragedy.
And Israel helped create the conditions in which it was possible. None of their hands are clean.
posted by zarq at 9:23 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
Actual answer: I would imagine he was sent because he's Jewish.
There are surely other Jewish people in the federal government, so I would expect that him having a position that would probably seem especially "jewy" to a bigoted ignorant fuckwit played into the decision made by a bigoted ignorant fuckwit.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
There are surely other Jewish people in the federal government, so I would expect that him having a position that would probably seem especially "jewy" to a bigoted ignorant fuckwit played into the decision made by a bigoted ignorant fuckwit.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
(As far as the Chinese telecom business, I really don’t understand that tweet, by the way. Like, since when did your rabid followers suddenly care about creating jobs in China? Why are you bragging about that like it’s MAGA? I do not understand.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:34 AM on May 14 [28 favorites +] [!]
Think of it like a football team. If Brett Favre plays for the Packers and you're a Vikings fan, he is the devil. But if he moves from the Packers to the Vikings, he's a conquering hero. If Trump rails against the Chinese taking advantage of us by selling us cheap phones and computers, then we hate them. But if Trump magnanimously creates more jobs for the Chinese, we love them. Trump is the team, and team identity is paramount. Everything else is just fan memorabilia.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:34 AM on May 14 [28 favorites +] [!]
Think of it like a football team. If Brett Favre plays for the Packers and you're a Vikings fan, he is the devil. But if he moves from the Packers to the Vikings, he's a conquering hero. If Trump rails against the Chinese taking advantage of us by selling us cheap phones and computers, then we hate them. But if Trump magnanimously creates more jobs for the Chinese, we love them. Trump is the team, and team identity is paramount. Everything else is just fan memorabilia.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
The Palestinians were offered peace plans over the years. Not all of them were done in good faith but some certainly were. They were given a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and then used the area as a platform to launch thousands of missiles into Israel, attempt in-person terror attacks (bombings, shootings, knife attacks) against Israeli civilian targets and even attempted to create tunnels through the border to invade neighboring Israeli towns.
That was their choice. Whether such actions can be considered justified or not, let's not create some fantasy bullshit lie which says they were forced into it.
(emphasis mine)
Not sure characterizing literally all of "The Palestinians" as choosing to reject peace plans and launch terrorist acts is the best way to approach this discussion, like, ever. Much less while dozens of them are being murdered.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:27 AM on May 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
That was their choice. Whether such actions can be considered justified or not, let's not create some fantasy bullshit lie which says they were forced into it.
(emphasis mine)
Not sure characterizing literally all of "The Palestinians" as choosing to reject peace plans and launch terrorist acts is the best way to approach this discussion, like, ever. Much less while dozens of them are being murdered.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:27 AM on May 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
Looks like mostly positive rulings handed down by the Supreme Court this morning:
posted by Chrysostom at 9:29 AM on May 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
SCOTUS today held as follows:No rulings yet in gerrymandering cases or Masterpiece Cake.
* States can legalize sports betting, as the federal prohibition on state laws authorizing sports betting violates the anticommandeering rule (opinion in Murphy v. NCAA here);
* Judge's wiretap orders that authorized interception outside court's territorial jurisdiction were not facially insufficient (opinion in Dahda v. U.S. here);
* Defense attorney in capital case cannot concede defendant's guilt over defendant's express objection (opinion in McCoy v. La. here);
* Under the Fourth Amendment, driver of rental vehicle can challenge a search of the vehicle even if he is not listed as an authorized driver on rental agreement (opinion in Byrd v. U.S. here);
* A challenge to a federal district-wide policy of shackling defendants during pretrial proceedings is moot (opinion in U.S. v. Sanchez-Gomez here).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:29 AM on May 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
I'm talking about leadership. Not the entire country's civilian population.
posted by zarq at 9:29 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by zarq at 9:29 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Thanks for clarifying, that makes much more sense.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lazaruslong at 9:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cmon guys, this is not an Israel Palestine thread and with God's help it never will be
posted by saturday_morning at 9:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 9:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
We're veering into general I/P contentiousness here, guys. Can we stick to the current outrage?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:31 AM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
He believes that the Administration is “deliberately avoiding creating records.”
However, they are setting them, though not in a good way.
posted by Stoneshop at 9:32 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
However, they are setting them, though not in a good way.
posted by Stoneshop at 9:32 AM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Actual answer: I would imagine he was sent because he's Jewish.
There are surely other Jewish people in the federal government, so I would expect that him having a position that would probably seem especially "jewy" to a bigoted ignorant fuckwit played into the decision made by a bigoted ignorant fuckwit.
Jared and Ivanka? Not like Trump would send Schumer.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:33 AM on May 14, 2018
There are surely other Jewish people in the federal government, so I would expect that him having a position that would probably seem especially "jewy" to a bigoted ignorant fuckwit played into the decision made by a bigoted ignorant fuckwit.
Jared and Ivanka? Not like Trump would send Schumer.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:33 AM on May 14, 2018
Jared and Ivanka are there.
posted by Sophie1 at 9:34 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 9:34 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Think of it like a football team. If Brett Favre plays for the Packers and you're a Vikings fan, he is the devil. But if he moves from the Packers to the Vikings, he's a conquering hero. If Trump rails against the Chinese taking advantage of us by selling us cheap phones and computers, then we hate them. But if Trump magnanimously creates more jobs for the Chinese, we love them. Trump is the team, and team identity is paramount. Everything else is just fan memorabilia.
Which politician corresponds to the Brett Favre whose Packers jersey and Vikings jersey are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:36 AM on May 14, 2018
Which politician corresponds to the Brett Favre whose Packers jersey and Vikings jersey are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:36 AM on May 14, 2018
Sorry. I'm at home with my kid (we're both sick with a stomach bug) and I have spent the last three hours trying not to cry in front of her. I don't mean to take my anguish out on the thread. This entire situation is awful and heartbreaking. I cannot believe so many innocent people have been killed and injured. And that those monsters are fucking celebrating. :(
posted by zarq at 9:37 AM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by zarq at 9:37 AM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
Given the current situation it's important for us all to be careful and precise about who we're criticizing.
Do we all agree that:
1) Right-wing shitheads can be found in every nationality
2) Right-wing shitheads of many nationalities, including Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians, are responsible for today's atrocities
3) Non-right-wingers can also be found in every nationality
4) Non-right-wingers are largely not responsible (or at least less actively responsible) for today's atrocities
posted by biogeo at 9:37 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Do we all agree that:
1) Right-wing shitheads can be found in every nationality
2) Right-wing shitheads of many nationalities, including Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians, are responsible for today's atrocities
3) Non-right-wingers can also be found in every nationality
4) Non-right-wingers are largely not responsible (or at least less actively responsible) for today's atrocities
posted by biogeo at 9:37 AM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
(I only meant that I expect that Mnuchin being the Official Money-Handler Of The United States, in addition to being Jewish, played into Trump sending him)
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:38 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
SecretAgentSockpuppet: The U.S. ambassador to Israel was just on npr. Transcript not up yet, but it was full pants on head crazy.
Linked for convenience - that's an interview with bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, who was announced as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for ambassador to Israel back in Dec. 16, 2016. As noted in that Time article, titled "Why Jerusalem Isn't Recognized as Israel's Capital," opens by stating
Yes, let's wait for the right time to finish that plan, this probably isn't the right time to start a peace process. Maybe wait for the death toll to reach more than 100? 200? That's sure to motivate people to come together.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:42 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Linked for convenience - that's an interview with bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, who was announced as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for ambassador to Israel back in Dec. 16, 2016. As noted in that Time article, titled "Why Jerusalem Isn't Recognized as Israel's Capital," opens by stating
The appointment of Friedman, who once compared a Jewish lobby group to concentration camp prisoner-guards, is a controversial one and some liberal Jewish groups in the U.S. as well as a senior Palestinian cleric have openly denounced the decision.And here he is, saying that the peace plan that he, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt (who worked two doors down from Donald Trump — separated from his boss by only a supply closet and the office of Trump’s longtime assistant, Rhona Graff) are simply "waiting for the right time; it's really seizing the right opportunity" release ... something? Papers? With writings? Then he says "I think we're still working on it."
Yes, let's wait for the right time to finish that plan, this probably isn't the right time to start a peace process. Maybe wait for the death toll to reach more than 100? 200? That's sure to motivate people to come together.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:42 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
zarq, I hope you and the kid feel better soon. If it helps, remember Mister Rogers's advice to look for the helpers. Remember there are good folks on both sides of the I/P divide that are working together to bring peace and understanding, despite the best efforts of people like Netanyahu. The headlines out of Jerusalem are awful, but they are not the only story of what's happening there. Things are very bad right now, but there are people on the ground in Israel and Palestine working to make it better.
posted by biogeo at 9:44 AM on May 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 9:44 AM on May 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
5) In addition to comedy, RWSs also really do not understand how music works:
@valmcdermid: "I suspect Leonard Cohen will be birling in his box like a peerie at having Hallelujah co-opted for the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.."
posted by Buntix at 9:46 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
@valmcdermid: "I suspect Leonard Cohen will be birling in his box like a peerie at having Hallelujah co-opted for the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.."
posted by Buntix at 9:46 AM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
1) Right-wing shitheads can be found in every nationality
2) Right-wing shitheads of many nationalities, including Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians, are responsible for today's atrocities
3) Non-right-wingers can also be found in every nationality
4) Non-right-wingers are largely not responsible (or at least less actively responsible) for today's atrocities
I mean, I'm perfectly happy labeling Schumer a right-wing shithead but I'm not sure if this is the best opportunity to push the overton window.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
2) Right-wing shitheads of many nationalities, including Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians, are responsible for today's atrocities
3) Non-right-wingers can also be found in every nationality
4) Non-right-wingers are largely not responsible (or at least less actively responsible) for today's atrocities
I mean, I'm perfectly happy labeling Schumer a right-wing shithead but I'm not sure if this is the best opportunity to push the overton window.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
In addition to comedy, RWSs also really do not understand how music works
We've known conservatives don't listen to the lyrics at least since Reagan's embrace of "Born in the USA."
posted by Gelatin at 9:51 AM on May 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
We've known conservatives don't listen to the lyrics at least since Reagan's embrace of "Born in the USA."
posted by Gelatin at 9:51 AM on May 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
birling in his box like a peerie
What does this mean?
I'm guessing it means "[spinning] in his [coffin] like a [something]," but beyond that I'm stumped.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:54 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
What does this mean?
I'm guessing it means "[spinning] in his [coffin] like a [something]," but beyond that I'm stumped.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:54 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Folks like Schumer are why I put in the "largely not responsible" loophole.
posted by biogeo at 9:56 AM on May 14, 2018
posted by biogeo at 9:56 AM on May 14, 2018
"Peerie" is a top.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:05 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:05 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
birling in his box like a peerie
What does this mean?
Yeah, I've only heard peerie as an adjective.
posted by orrnyereg at 10:05 AM on May 14, 2018
What does this mean?
Yeah, I've only heard peerie as an adjective.
posted by orrnyereg at 10:05 AM on May 14, 2018
I'm guessing it means "[spinning] in his [coffin] like a [something]," but beyond that I'm stumped.
Yep. A 'Peerie' is a child's toy, a small spinning top. They're shaped kinda like pears, as you can see. (And 'a pear-shaped top,' or 'a pear-y top,' in a Scottish accent, becomes 'peerie.')
posted by halation at 10:05 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yep. A 'Peerie' is a child's toy, a small spinning top. They're shaped kinda like pears, as you can see. (And 'a pear-shaped top,' or 'a pear-y top,' in a Scottish accent, becomes 'peerie.')
posted by halation at 10:05 AM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
US opens embassy in Jerusalem: Which countries attended?
posted by adamvasco at 10:13 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 10:13 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Good of the Serbs to show up.
posted by Mocata at 10:19 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Mocata at 10:19 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
An Islamophobic former FBI agent, who provides counterterrorism training to members of US law enforcement, has been secretly filmed telling police officers that Muslim students at American universities pose a threat of "jihad" and that a prominent civil rights group is a front for "terrorist" organisations.
As he was being secretly filmed in Maricopa County, Arizona, Guandolo said: "I was speaking three or four times a week with Jeff Sessions up to the election and after the election, before the inauguration.
John Guandolo is a conspiracy theorist who has stated publicly that Muslim Americans should not have the same rights as other citizens.
posted by adamvasco at 10:20 AM on May 14, 2018 [51 favorites]
As he was being secretly filmed in Maricopa County, Arizona, Guandolo said: "I was speaking three or four times a week with Jeff Sessions up to the election and after the election, before the inauguration.
John Guandolo is a conspiracy theorist who has stated publicly that Muslim Americans should not have the same rights as other citizens.
posted by adamvasco at 10:20 AM on May 14, 2018 [51 favorites]
sotonohito: "I'd really appreciate it if the Democrats would just stop hurting themselves."
I think you know better than most that Democrats are not fucking up a strategic game, they just have a lot policiesthat are inimical to human life we don't care for.
posted by TypographicalError at 10:25 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think you know better than most that Democrats are not fucking up a strategic game, they just have a lot policies
posted by TypographicalError at 10:25 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
the potential public relations nightmare this is going to be.
Instead we have the public relations nightmare when the cover-up fails...
posted by mikelieman at 10:28 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Instead we have the public relations nightmare when the cover-up fails...
posted by mikelieman at 10:28 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
John Guandolo is a conspiracy theorist who has stated publicly that Muslim Americans should not have the same rights as other citizens.
The Muslims of Early America
The Muslims of Early America
No matter how anxious people may be about Islam, the notion of a Muslim invasion of this majority Christian country has no basis in fact. Moreover, there is an inconvenient footnote to the assertion that Islam is anti-American: Muslims arrived here before the founding of the United States — not just a few, but thousands.posted by kirkaracha at 10:46 AM on May 14, 2018 [41 favorites]
They have been largely overlooked because they were not free to practice their faith. They were not free themselves and so they were for the most part unable to leave records of their beliefs. They left just enough to confirm that Islam in America is not an immigrant religion lately making itself known, but a tradition with deep roots here, despite being among the most suppressed in the nation’s history.
...
The story of Islam in early America is not merely one of isolated individuals. An estimated 20 percent of enslaved Africans were Muslims, and many sought to recreate the communities they had known.
...
Islam is part of our common history — a resilient faith not just of the enslaved, but of Arab immigrants in the late 19th century, and in the 20th century of many African-Americans reclaiming and remaking it as their own. For generations, its adherents have straddled a nation that jolts from promises of religious freedom to events that give the lie to those promises.
It's about 730p in Gaza right now. Crowds are sort of dispersing away from the fence, but not really leaving. Count so far, 52 dead, over 2100 injured. Not counting today's casualties, since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 90 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded close to 10,500 people. The medical facilities cannot handle the casualties. If Egypt doesn't open a border and let people through to hospitals there, the body count is going to go much higher.
Also, Jared Kushner’s controversial comment about Gaza during Embassy opening saying “as we have seen from the protests of the last month & even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem & not part of the solution” was omitted from official White House transcript. Because of course it was.
Tomorrow is #Nakba70. Wednesday begins Ramadan. Protests are likely to be overwhelming tomorrow, and I would not be surprised to see a large anti-American protests in other Arab countries.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
Also, Jared Kushner’s controversial comment about Gaza during Embassy opening saying “as we have seen from the protests of the last month & even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem & not part of the solution” was omitted from official White House transcript. Because of course it was.
Tomorrow is #Nakba70. Wednesday begins Ramadan. Protests are likely to be overwhelming tomorrow, and I would not be surprised to see a large anti-American protests in other Arab countries.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
@ddale8: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says he told Chinese officials that there is no “mad cow” issue with US beef: Both he and Trump both eat lots of that beef, and “there are no signs of mental instability.”
Please make all this stop.
posted by zachlipton at 10:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [107 favorites]
Please make all this stop.
posted by zachlipton at 10:49 AM on May 14, 2018 [107 favorites]
Don Blankenship is still running Cocaine Mitch ads saying "It's not over"
He can't run as an independent, but I don't think the West Virginia sore loser law would stop him from running a write in campaign.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:50 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
He can't run as an independent, but I don't think the West Virginia sore loser law would stop him from running a write in campaign.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:50 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Interesting stuff. But if this is true why did Trump and co. later gang up agains the Qataris?
It’s right there in the fine print.
“All Trump bribes can be superseded by yet larger bribes. All bribes are final and no refunds will be given. Thank you for your business!”
posted by msalt at 10:51 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
It’s right there in the fine print.
“All Trump bribes can be superseded by yet larger bribes. All bribes are final and no refunds will be given. Thank you for your business!”
posted by msalt at 10:51 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Amid Political Disarray, Pence Reaches for Control of G.O.P.
posted by mumimor at 10:51 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 10:51 AM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Don Blankenship is still running Cocaine Mitch ads saying "It's not over"
How about he runs a few of those in Kentucky, too?
posted by Gelatin at 10:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
How about he runs a few of those in Kentucky, too?
posted by Gelatin at 10:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
@valmcdermid: "I suspect Leonard Cohen will be birling in his box like a peerie at having Hallelujah co-opted for the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.."
I bet they were using the Christian lyrics by Cloverton or (less likely) the Catholic lyrics by Kelley Mooney.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:55 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
I bet they were using the Christian lyrics by Cloverton or (less likely) the Catholic lyrics by Kelley Mooney.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:55 AM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
I bet they were using the Christian lyrics by Cloverton or (less likely) the Catholic lyrics by Kelley Mooney.
Clicks links. Barfs.
posted by mumimor at 10:58 AM on May 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Clicks links. Barfs.
posted by mumimor at 10:58 AM on May 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says he told Chinese officials that there is no “mad cow” issue with US beef: Both he and Trump both eat lots of that beef, and “there are no signs of mental instability.”
Given the accumulating evidence for a prional transmission of Alzheimers and other neurodegenerative disorders there actually is a pretty decent chance that Trump and Ross's brain worms are in fact literal, adding another layer of irony.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Given the accumulating evidence for a prional transmission of Alzheimers and other neurodegenerative disorders there actually is a pretty decent chance that Trump and Ross's brain worms are in fact literal, adding another layer of irony.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:59 AM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
This jumped out at me from that NYT article. Just... what?
And Mr. Pence has been intimately involved in planning for the 2020 campaign: He joined Mr. Trump for the meeting where the president told Brad Parscale, a digital strategist in the 2016 election, that he would manage the 2020 race. Mr. Pence stood behind Mr. Parscale, rubbing his shoulders, as Mr. Trump spoke.
posted by Aubergine at 11:02 AM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
And Mr. Pence has been intimately involved in planning for the 2020 campaign: He joined Mr. Trump for the meeting where the president told Brad Parscale, a digital strategist in the 2016 election, that he would manage the 2020 race. Mr. Pence stood behind Mr. Parscale, rubbing his shoulders, as Mr. Trump spoke.
posted by Aubergine at 11:02 AM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
>Mr. Pence stood behind Mr. Parscale, rubbing his shoulders, as Mr. Trump spoke.
Ah, yes--an ancient presidential tradition dating all the way back to 2006.
posted by flug at 11:12 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Ah, yes--an ancient presidential tradition dating all the way back to 2006.
posted by flug at 11:12 AM on May 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is also interesting Pence news. Fox News says that Corey Lewandowski is leaving Trump's America First PAC to work for Pence's leadership PAC instead, supposedly with Trump's blessing. Pence does seem to be slowly trying to concentrate more power.
We also learned that "Trump advisors" would try to make themselves sound like Lewandowski when speaking on background so he'd get blamed.
posted by zachlipton at 11:17 AM on May 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
We also learned that "Trump advisors" would try to make themselves sound like Lewandowski when speaking on background so he'd get blamed.
posted by zachlipton at 11:17 AM on May 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
Democrats are not fucking up a strategic game, they just have a lot policies that are inimical to human life we don't care for.
Yeah I have to occasionally remind myself that although many Democrats are genuinely leftist, the Democratic Party as an institution is thoroughly centrist and pro business, and most of its "baffling" "inexplicably stupid" "self-defeating" own-goals turn out to actual goals when viewed through a clarifying lens.
Mr. Pence stood behind Mr. Parscale, rubbing his shoulders, as Mr. Trump spoke.
How is Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" relevant to...wait, what?
posted by xigxag at 11:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
Yeah I have to occasionally remind myself that although many Democrats are genuinely leftist, the Democratic Party as an institution is thoroughly centrist and pro business, and most of its "baffling" "inexplicably stupid" "self-defeating" own-goals turn out to actual goals when viewed through a clarifying lens.
Mr. Pence stood behind Mr. Parscale, rubbing his shoulders, as Mr. Trump spoke.
How is Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" relevant to...wait, what?
posted by xigxag at 11:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
Judge Napolitano: Mueller has no duty to show his cards
I want to hate Judge Nap, but he's consistently defending the rule of law on Fox when hardly anybody else does (apart from the half hour when they let Shep Smith out of his hutch) and that's quite a service to perform.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
I want to hate Judge Nap, but he's consistently defending the rule of law on Fox when hardly anybody else does (apart from the half hour when they let Shep Smith out of his hutch) and that's quite a service to perform.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:26 AM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
I think this is actually, accidentally, the rare perfect occasion to play “Hallelujah.”
Those “Christian” versions, though... As much as they’re a complete affront to art, I’ll give the vandals points for actually understanding what Cohen’s lyrics definitely aren’t. I can see those versions perhaps being not the senseless paint-rollering of a masterpiece they appear to be, but rather a resigned, sighing service to the many, many morons who insist on having that song played at their weddings, christenings, funerals, etc. and simply will not accept “What are you, stupid?” for an answer. Perhaps.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:36 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Those “Christian” versions, though... As much as they’re a complete affront to art, I’ll give the vandals points for actually understanding what Cohen’s lyrics definitely aren’t. I can see those versions perhaps being not the senseless paint-rollering of a masterpiece they appear to be, but rather a resigned, sighing service to the many, many morons who insist on having that song played at their weddings, christenings, funerals, etc. and simply will not accept “What are you, stupid?” for an answer. Perhaps.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:36 AM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, was president of a non-profit that donated money to a far-right Jewish group which may or maynot have been on a U.S. State Department designated terrorist list.
posted by adamvasco at 11:40 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 11:40 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
AFP, Trump Indonesia project latest stop on China's Belt and Road
posted by zachlipton at 11:41 AM on May 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
A billion-dollar Indonesian real estate development with ties to Donald Trump has become the latest project in China's globe-spanning Belt and Road infrastructure project -- just as Washington and Beijing are tussling over trade.Raj Shah was just asked about this and punted to the Trump Organization. He went on to not know anything about Jeffress' belief that Jews are going to hell.
A subsidiary of Chinese state-owned construction firm Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) signed a deal with Indonesia's MNC Land to build a theme park outside Jakarta as part of the ambitious project, the company said in a statement Thursday.
The deal is the latest to raise questions about the extent of Trump's financial exposure to Beijing.
The park -- expected to be backed with up to $500 million in Chinese government loans -- is part of an "integrated lifestyle resort", known as MNC Lido City.
The project includes Trump-branded hotels, residences and a golf course, as well as other hotel, shopping and residential developments.
posted by zachlipton at 11:41 AM on May 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
T.D. Strange: "He can't run as an independent, but I don't think the West Virginia sore loser law would stop him from running a write in campaign."
That's my understanding - he can't be a party's candidate, but he could run as a pure write-in.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:44 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's my understanding - he can't be a party's candidate, but he could run as a pure write-in.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:44 AM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Big GOP donors not donating this year because the tax law wasn't slanted *enough* towards them.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
Pence does seem to be slowly trying to concentrate more power.
Remember before the elections when Don Jr said that Trump would basically be nothing more than a rah-rah cheerleader, spewing out a racist speech every now and again and the VP would be expected to do all the actual heavy lifting in the administration? Trump is probably breathing a sigh of relief when Pence came and offered to to take some of the load off.
posted by PenDevil at 11:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Remember before the elections when Don Jr said that Trump would basically be nothing more than a rah-rah cheerleader, spewing out a racist speech every now and again and the VP would be expected to do all the actual heavy lifting in the administration? Trump is probably breathing a sigh of relief when Pence came and offered to to take some of the load off.
posted by PenDevil at 11:47 AM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Those “Christian” versions, though... As much as they’re a complete affront to art, I’ll give the vandals points for actually understanding what Cohen’s lyrics definitely aren’t. I can see those versions perhaps being not the senseless paint-rollering of a masterpiece they appear to be, but rather a resigned, sighing service to the many, many morons who insist on having that song played at their weddings, christenings, funerals, etc. and simply will not accept “What are you, stupid?” for an answer. Perhaps.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:36 AM on May 14 [2 favorites +] [!]
I think many Christians just can't stand that such a deeply beautiful and spiritual song has lyrics that are antithetical to their light-n-easy fairytale version of religion. So, of course, they have to mess it up. It's just what Christians do.
Edited to add an elided word.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:48 AM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 11:36 AM on May 14 [2 favorites +] [!]
I think many Christians just can't stand that such a deeply beautiful and spiritual song has lyrics that are antithetical to their light-n-easy fairytale version of religion. So, of course, they have to mess it up. It's just what Christians do.
Edited to add an elided word.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:48 AM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
In GOP sour grapes news aside from Blankenship:
* IN - Messer wouldn't attend a unity rally with nominee Braun.
* WV - Jenkins still hasn't endorsed nominee Morrisey.
* OH - Gibbons has filed a defamation suit against nominee Renacci, and also tweeted to followers that "this is not the end."
posted by Chrysostom at 11:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
* IN - Messer wouldn't attend a unity rally with nominee Braun.
* WV - Jenkins still hasn't endorsed nominee Morrisey.
* OH - Gibbons has filed a defamation suit against nominee Renacci, and also tweeted to followers that "this is not the end."
posted by Chrysostom at 11:52 AM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
Big GOP donors not donating this year because the tax law wasn't slanted *enough* towards them.
Well, that explains earlier noises about Republicans going back to the tax cut well in advance of the midterms. I thought the official excuse of "giving the middle class a reason to be excited about voting Republican" smelled fishy.
posted by Gelatin at 11:56 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Well, that explains earlier noises about Republicans going back to the tax cut well in advance of the midterms. I thought the official excuse of "giving the middle class a reason to be excited about voting Republican" smelled fishy.
posted by Gelatin at 11:56 AM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Pence does seem to be slowly trying to concentrate more power.
Keep saying the words, "President Pence" and "Pence's Puppet" where Trump can hear them. I'm sure that Pence, unlike Kasich, was thrilled to have the opportunity to be in charge of "foreign and domestic policy;" you can blame most of the Title IX rollbacks and the homophobic and transphobic policies on him - it's not that Trump isn't those things, but he doesn't actually give a damn what the laws say as long as he can hire whoever he wants, which means, "whoever will work for 30% lower than current market rates."
Pence has an agenda that's not "get rich and famous." The only way to impede that agenda right now is to make sure Trump knows the public is aware who's pulling his strings.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
Keep saying the words, "President Pence" and "Pence's Puppet" where Trump can hear them. I'm sure that Pence, unlike Kasich, was thrilled to have the opportunity to be in charge of "foreign and domestic policy;" you can blame most of the Title IX rollbacks and the homophobic and transphobic policies on him - it's not that Trump isn't those things, but he doesn't actually give a damn what the laws say as long as he can hire whoever he wants, which means, "whoever will work for 30% lower than current market rates."
Pence has an agenda that's not "get rich and famous." The only way to impede that agenda right now is to make sure Trump knows the public is aware who's pulling his strings.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
@markknoller: First Lady Melania Trump underwent "embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition" this morning at @WRBethesda. WH statement says "the procedure was successful and there were no complications." She will likely remain in the hospital for the rest of the week.
posted by zachlipton at 12:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Trump Indonesia project is latest stop on China’s Belt and Road
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:23 PM on May 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
The park – expected to be backed with up to US$500 million in Chinese government loans – is part of an “integrated lifestyle resort”, known as MNC Lido City.Surely none of that $500 million was payment for lifting sanctions on ZTE.
The project includes Trump-branded hotels, residences and a golf course, as well as other hotel, shopping and residential developments.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:23 PM on May 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
Big GOP donors not donating this year because the tax law wasn't slanted *enough* towards them.
Oh my God I needed that laugh
posted by schadenfrau at 12:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Oh my God I needed that laugh
posted by schadenfrau at 12:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
@markknoller: First Lady Melania Trump underwent "embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition" this morning at @WRBethesda. WH statement says "the procedure was successful and there were no complications." She will likely remain in the hospital for the rest of the week.
Trump stayed in the White House during the operation. Haven't seen anything about him visiting her yet.
posted by scalefree at 12:51 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Trump stayed in the White House during the operation. Haven't seen anything about him visiting her yet.
posted by scalefree at 12:51 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Bigoted Pastors Bless New U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem
posted by zachlipton at 1:00 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Dallas megachurch, kept the faith and concluded his mega-controversial benediction over the spanking new United States Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel, with “in the spirit of Jesus Our Lord. Amen.”Jared Yates Sexton had a disturbing thread the other day: In writing this book it’s becoming more and more obvious how conservative messaging played on white evangelical fears of Revelation to paint Barack Obama as the antichrist.
The Israelis in the crowd traded uncomfortable glances, but the vast majority of Americans populating the temporary stands cheered and repeated after him, Ay-Men!
...
Jeffress does not limit his intolerance to Jews and Mormons and Muslims. He has suggested that the Catholic Church was misled by Satan.
He claimed President Barack Obama was “paving the way” for the Antichrist.
The “the dark dirty secret of Islam,” Jeffress offers, is “a heresy from the pit of hell,” and “a religion that promotes pedophilia.”
But American evangelicals have a long history viewing Jews in particular as a vehicle for their own redemption. A vocal demimonde of pro-Israel Trump evangelicals, many analysts believe, carried Trump past the finish line in 2016, and the very small subset of Republican Jewish Coalition members, for whom the opening ceremony was nothing less than a victory parade, are inclined to set aside any discomfort they may feel for the sake of fostering political partnerships.
posted by zachlipton at 1:00 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
Haaretz, Chemi Shalev, Messianic U.S.-Israel Axis Showcased at Jerusalem Embassy Ceremony Is Gut-punch for Most American Jews
The more the casualties in Gaza mounted, the more those assembled at the site of the new American embassy in Jerusalem seemed arrogant, detached and mainly devoid of compassion. As more and more reports and tweets came in about the mounting casualties in Gaza’s day of bloodshed, the worst since the 2014 Protective Edge operation, the more the claim that the embassy move could actually help achieve peace seemed both cynical and ridiculous.posted by zachlipton at 1:05 PM on May 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
...
At the same time, the makeup and participants in the Israeli-American Jerusalem hoopla made clear – if there were any doubts – that Netanyahu and his colleagues couldn’t care less these days about international public opinion. Israel has only one king, and his name is Donald Trump. He is Israel’s salvation and his word – or at least his benefactor Sheldon Adelson’s – is the bond that fuses Jerusalem and Washington together. The participation of pastors John Hagee and Robert Jeffress in the ceremony accentuated this new axis of fundamentalist, messianic End-Times-adoring elements that increasingly dominate ties between the two countries. Hagee once described Adolf Hitler as God’s hunter and Jeffress consigned unrepentant Jews to hell, but in the era of Trump-Netanyahu, old-style aversion to Jews is cast aside for the sake of unqualified support for Israel’s rejectionist, settler-dominated agenda. A shared hostility to Islam, which Jeffress once depicted as a religion of pedophiles, underpins the ties that bind the two countries together.
...
For most American Jews, especially those who still see themselves as supporters of Israel, the ceremony was nothing less than a punch in the gut. Not only do they consider Hagee and Jeffress beyond the pale, but the tumultuous standing ovation that preceded Trump’s videotaped greetings highlighted the growing schism between Israel and the largest Jewish Diaspora. For American liberals, Jews and non-Jews alike, there is no more incriminating evidence of their distance from Netanyahu’s Israel and its steady veer toward the rabid right than Israel’s adoring embrace of a president who is seen as a clear and present threat to the enlightened values they cherish.
Jared Yates Sexton had a disturbing thread the other day: In writing this book it’s becoming more and more obvious how conservative messaging played on white evangelical fears of Revelation to paint Barack Obama as the antichrist.
Off-by-one error
posted by benzenedream at 1:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
Off-by-one error
posted by benzenedream at 1:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
Trump is Becoming the President His Voters Wanted
Nate Silver says:posted by tonycpsu at 1:09 PM on May 14, 2018 [62 favorites]Trump's approval rating, 42.4 percent, is his highest in more than a year in our tracking. (Since 5/4/17, which was before he fired Comey.)Matt Yglesias responds:
I kind of feel like if Trump could just avoid saying or doing anything at all for the next three months he could get over 50% pretty easily.Yglesias misses the point. Trump is gaining ground precisely because he seems like an activist president now. Until the tax bill was passed late in 2017, Trump seemed inept and stymied. Now, to sensible people like us, he still seems inept (when he's not malign), but the rest of the country (i.e., the majority of white voters, adding up to somewhat more than 40% of the public as a whole) sees him as fully in charge and making stuff happen. [...]
America, I'm afraid, is getting used to Trump's bull-in-a-china-shop style. We may have reached the moment I've been afraid we'd reach, when Trump seems like a reassuring Republican presence to much of the white electorate, while the rest of us foresee the disastrous nature of what he's setting in motion but can't get our fellow citizens to see it. It's possible that voters will be unsettled by the unrest on the Israeli border and (soon) elsewhere. It's possible that, after nearly seventeen straight years of war, Americans aren't ready for a military conflict with Iran. But I think the Trump presidency is more likely to resemble the George W. Bush presidency: What we see clearly as terrible misjudgment now won't seem that way to most Americans for years.
WaPo, Scott Pruitt requested and received 24/7 security starting on his first day at EPA. Remember how Pruitt needed so much security because he was supposedly getting lots of threats? Turns out he asked for it on his first day on the job. The inspector general’s office, the people who are supposed to be in charge of investigating threats, had nothing to do with the decision.
posted by zachlipton at 1:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
white evangelical fears of Revelation
If only it were fear. They're looking forward to it, asking for it, demanding it.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [35 favorites]
If only it were fear. They're looking forward to it, asking for it, demanding it.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [35 favorites]
Mental Wimp: I think many Christians just can't stand that such a deeply beautiful and spiritual song has lyrics that are antithetical to their light-n-easy fairytale version of religion.
Wait until they hear Frank Turner's new CD, featuring the song "Make America Great Again" (YT video here)!
Wait until they hear Frank Turner's new CD, featuring the song "Make America Great Again" (YT video here)!
Well I know I'm just an ignorant Englishmanposted by wenestvedt at 1:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
But I'd like to make America great again
So if you'll forgive my accent and the cheek of it
Here's some suggestions from the special relationship
Let's make America great again
By making racists ashamed again
Let's make compassion in fashion again
Let's make America great again
Well I've been fortunate to go 'round the continent
From California through the midwest and Providence
And I've mostly only encountered common sense
Hospitality and warmth from Americans
But I wish it was a bit less significant
The program and the name of the President
Because it seems to me the truth is self-evident
You fought our king to be independent
....
But I think the Trump presidency is more likely to resemble the George W. Bush presidency: What we see clearly as terrible misjudgment now won't seem that way to most Americans for years.
And then we'll decide that actually, we like him after all
posted by BungaDunga at 1:16 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
And then we'll decide that actually, we like him after all
posted by BungaDunga at 1:16 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Tim Mak of NPR: Reporting for radio is different than for print. Sound quality matters.
Then there are distractions.
Here's a transcript of an interview I did with former Trump aide Sam Nunberg.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:29 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Then there are distractions.
Here's a transcript of an interview I did with former Trump aide Sam Nunberg.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:29 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Defying Republicans, Senate Democrats schedule vote to save net neutrality -- Democrats force Senate to vote this week—FCC repeal would take effect on June 11. (Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica, May 14, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 1:33 PM on May 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
The US Senate is scheduled to vote Wednesday, May 16 on whether to reverse the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of net neutrality rules.Of course, the chances of it getting past the the House, where Republicans hold a 236-193 majority, are slim, but this requires votes, and records of those votes.
Republican senators were hoping to avoid the vote, but Democrats are using a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to force the full Senate to vote. The CRA resolution would nullify the FCC's December 2017 vote to deregulate broadband and kill net neutrality rules and would prevent the FCC from taking similar actions in the future.
...
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced last week that his repeal of net neutrality rules will take effect on June 11.
There are 50 senators, including one Republican, who have pledged to vote to prevent the net neutrality repeal. That may be enough to get the resolution through the Senate Wednesday because of the cancer-related absence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
posted by filthy light thief at 1:33 PM on May 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
The quote from the Medecins Sans Frontiers on the Gaza protestors going back to die
Even if the protestors are being whipped up by extremists/are extremists, they are desperate young people trapped in a place where "over 90 per cent of the water in Gaza has been deemed unfit for human consumption."
Erdan you asshole, the deaths of those young Palestinians are not something to dismiss. Erdan you asshole, you are basically saying "the only good Indian is a dead Indian."
Erdan you asshole, people are already dying in Gaza even without the Israeli military shooting at them:
"Most of our wounded patients in #Gaza say they have nothing to lose, no hope, no jobs. They tell our @msf staff that they just want 2 go back & die at protest sites"In contrast to this statement:
Israel's "Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said on Monday that the death toll in the Gaza protests "doesn't indicate anything – just as the number of Nazis who died in the world war doesn't make Nazism something you can explain or understand."has broken my heart.
Even if the protestors are being whipped up by extremists/are extremists, they are desperate young people trapped in a place where "over 90 per cent of the water in Gaza has been deemed unfit for human consumption."
Erdan you asshole, the deaths of those young Palestinians are not something to dismiss. Erdan you asshole, you are basically saying "the only good Indian is a dead Indian."
Erdan you asshole, people are already dying in Gaza even without the Israeli military shooting at them:
In 2015 in Gaza neonatal mortality rates were 21 per 1000 compared to 3 in Israel. The statistics are equally grim for maternal deaths. In the West Bank and Gaza the ratio was 31 per 100,000 whilst in Israel it was 2. Neonatal intensive care units have become overcrowded in the face of maternal malnutrition and rising rates of premature and low-weight babies.posted by spamandkimchi at 1:46 PM on May 14, 2018 [69 favorites]
But I think the Trump presidency is more likely to resemble the George W. Bush presidency: What we see clearly as terrible misjudgment now won't seem that way to most Americans for years.
And then we'll decide that actually, we like him after all
And then, as or after he leaves office, he'll be so widely regarded as a foulup and an embarrassment that the Republican Base will have to pretend to be a new "grass roots" movement, just as the so-called Tea Party were basically the minority set of Republicans who still believed George W. Bush did a good job.
posted by Gelatin at 1:46 PM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
And then we'll decide that actually, we like him after all
And then, as or after he leaves office, he'll be so widely regarded as a foulup and an embarrassment that the Republican Base will have to pretend to be a new "grass roots" movement, just as the so-called Tea Party were basically the minority set of Republicans who still believed George W. Bush did a good job.
posted by Gelatin at 1:46 PM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible. With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!
Wait. Are the leaks fake or traitorous?
posted by zachlipton at 1:52 PM on May 14, 2018 [54 favorites]
Wait. Are the leaks fake or traitorous?
posted by zachlipton at 1:52 PM on May 14, 2018 [54 favorites]
The President has already acknowledged that he regards all negative coverage as "fake".
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:03 PM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:03 PM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
For most American Jews, especially those who still see themselves as supporters of Israel, the ceremony was nothing less than a punch in the gut.
Gut punch? I highly doubt that any Jew who has paid even the slightest attention to anything related to Israel, evangelicals and the American right wing over the last 10+ years would find this as anything other than business as usual. The evangelical cult's obsession with Jews and our place as future converted Christians in their mythological Biblical apocalypse is certainly not unfamiliar to us. Their creepy bullshit is covered on mainstream and Jewish media on a regular basis. The Dominionist infiltration of Republicans, Congress, the military and conservative politics is well-documented. The President's white supremacist leanings have been well-publicized. These pastors are already known for their hatred of non-Christians -- for their personal definition of "Christians."
Israel's tourism board and right wing conservatives have gone out of their way for years to embrace a dispensationalist cult whose "love" for us is based on prophecy rather than politics.
For American liberals, Jews and non-Jews alike, there is no more incriminating evidence of their distance from Netanyahu’s Israel and its steady veer toward the rabid right than Israel’s adoring embrace of a president who is seen as a clear and present threat to the enlightened values they cherish.
Most things Netanyahu says are evidence of this. It's been this way for many years. He fearmongered against Arab Israelis in the last election. We all are familiar with that tactic from 2004's American Presidential election. His government's policies are evidence as well. Right wing Jews know that he embraces Trump as a President who gives him free rein. Most of the rest of us are also aware of it and abhor him for it.
A schism between the left wing diaspora and Zionists has been coming for a long time. Very slowly. I'm not sure what the tipping point will be, but I doubt this is it. We have been living with neocon, Islamophobic, politically-conservative Jews as neighbors for decades. And its far too easy to justify protecting one's borders. To point to Palestinians doing something they shouldn't have done under any circumstances, blame them for it and note that other countries might have acted similarly under such circumstances. Such justifications won't acknowledge the harsh realities of Israel's culpability and present a more nuanced, fuller picture of what has happened. All they have to do is invoke a fear of invasion and the agreeable chorus will allow themselves to be preached to.
Simplifying what's happening to the point of ignorant stupidity is endemic to both sides.
posted by zarq at 2:11 PM on May 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
Gut punch? I highly doubt that any Jew who has paid even the slightest attention to anything related to Israel, evangelicals and the American right wing over the last 10+ years would find this as anything other than business as usual. The evangelical cult's obsession with Jews and our place as future converted Christians in their mythological Biblical apocalypse is certainly not unfamiliar to us. Their creepy bullshit is covered on mainstream and Jewish media on a regular basis. The Dominionist infiltration of Republicans, Congress, the military and conservative politics is well-documented. The President's white supremacist leanings have been well-publicized. These pastors are already known for their hatred of non-Christians -- for their personal definition of "Christians."
Israel's tourism board and right wing conservatives have gone out of their way for years to embrace a dispensationalist cult whose "love" for us is based on prophecy rather than politics.
For American liberals, Jews and non-Jews alike, there is no more incriminating evidence of their distance from Netanyahu’s Israel and its steady veer toward the rabid right than Israel’s adoring embrace of a president who is seen as a clear and present threat to the enlightened values they cherish.
Most things Netanyahu says are evidence of this. It's been this way for many years. He fearmongered against Arab Israelis in the last election. We all are familiar with that tactic from 2004's American Presidential election. His government's policies are evidence as well. Right wing Jews know that he embraces Trump as a President who gives him free rein. Most of the rest of us are also aware of it and abhor him for it.
A schism between the left wing diaspora and Zionists has been coming for a long time. Very slowly. I'm not sure what the tipping point will be, but I doubt this is it. We have been living with neocon, Islamophobic, politically-conservative Jews as neighbors for decades. And its far too easy to justify protecting one's borders. To point to Palestinians doing something they shouldn't have done under any circumstances, blame them for it and note that other countries might have acted similarly under such circumstances. Such justifications won't acknowledge the harsh realities of Israel's culpability and present a more nuanced, fuller picture of what has happened. All they have to do is invoke a fear of invasion and the agreeable chorus will allow themselves to be preached to.
Simplifying what's happening to the point of ignorant stupidity is endemic to both sides.
posted by zarq at 2:11 PM on May 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
Israel's "Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said on Monday that the death toll in the Gaza protests "doesn't indicate anything – just as the number of Nazis who died in the world war doesn't make Nazism something you can explain or understand."You fucker, an entire generation of Jewish intellectuals who survived the Holocaust spent the rest of their lives explaining and understanding Nazism. It's thanks to their hard work, their insight, and their humanity that we now have a template for recognizing and understanding fascism whenever it rears its ugly head again. That you are so eager to erase the great work of their lives shows whose side you're really on.
posted by biogeo at 2:12 PM on May 14, 2018 [116 favorites]
And then we'll decide that actually, we like him after all
The real Wall was the one we built in our hearts along the way.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:16 PM on May 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
The real Wall was the one we built in our hearts along the way.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:16 PM on May 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
At some point between 2015 and 2017, Gilad Erdan became a horrible human being.
posted by zarq at 2:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by zarq at 2:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Re. "A billion-dollar Indonesian real estate development with ties to Donald Trump has become the latest project in China's globe-spanning Belt and Road infrastructure project "
The American Center for the Belt and Road Initiative recently met at the Trump hotel DC.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 2:20 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
The American Center for the Belt and Road Initiative recently met at the Trump hotel DC.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 2:20 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
The Gaza Ministry of Health has released the names of 43 of the 55 dead from today's Great Return March. Of the 43 victims, at least six were below the age of 18, including one girl. 14-year-old Ezz Eldin Alsamaak is the youngest. He's the fourth picture from the left, all dapper in his suit and tie. He should be going to prom, not the ground. All of the dead are under 40. One of the dead was Fadi Abu Salmi who'd lost both his legs in Israeli prison after the first intifada. Israeli snipers shot him in his wheelchair. All of them lived their entire lives under occupation. All of them were unarmed.
Of the more than 2000 wounded, so far we know that at least 200 were below the age of 18, 78 were women, and 11 were journalists. Thirty-nine of them are in a critical condition.
The Irish Times has a good piece on how the Nakba has impacted one family, and perhaps illustrates why return is so important to the Palestinians.
Also, the Palestinian Return Centre in the UK has released this film, which attempts to illustrate the Balfour agreement and how the agreement appeared to the Palestinians who weren't consulted about it before Britain carved up Palestine and gave it away. It's a bit BBC overwrought, even for me, but I'll be honest, I'm having a rough day, so I may not be a good judge of film at this moment.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 2:55 PM on May 14, 2018 [51 favorites]
Of the more than 2000 wounded, so far we know that at least 200 were below the age of 18, 78 were women, and 11 were journalists. Thirty-nine of them are in a critical condition.
The Irish Times has a good piece on how the Nakba has impacted one family, and perhaps illustrates why return is so important to the Palestinians.
Also, the Palestinian Return Centre in the UK has released this film, which attempts to illustrate the Balfour agreement and how the agreement appeared to the Palestinians who weren't consulted about it before Britain carved up Palestine and gave it away. It's a bit BBC overwrought, even for me, but I'll be honest, I'm having a rough day, so I may not be a good judge of film at this moment.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 2:55 PM on May 14, 2018 [51 favorites]
Friends without benefits: how Europe was wrongfooted by Trump over Iran
From the Guardian. It's a depressing read but if I were to single out a sentence, it'd be the last one: The absence of a plan became evident in a phone conversation over the weekend between Pompeo and European foreign ministers, in which the US secretary of state asked his counterparts: “How do you see the future?”
The European response, summed up by one diplomat, was: “You broke this. What’s your plan?”
posted by mumimor at 3:03 PM on May 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
From the Guardian. It's a depressing read but if I were to single out a sentence, it'd be the last one: The absence of a plan became evident in a phone conversation over the weekend between Pompeo and European foreign ministers, in which the US secretary of state asked his counterparts: “How do you see the future?”
The European response, summed up by one diplomat, was: “You broke this. What’s your plan?”
posted by mumimor at 3:03 PM on May 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
The Greitens case got dropped. Local feeling is that everyone involved: the ex-wife, the ex-husband, the governor, the circuit attorney, the lawyers etc. are all terrible people and could be shot out of a cannon towards the sun and we'd be happier.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 3:05 PM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 3:05 PM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
Kansas City Star, Circuit attorney drops Greitens case, asks for special prosecutor to refile charge
posted by zachlipton at 3:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
In a stunning development, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on Monday dropped her prosecution of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in the face of the defense team’s plan to call her to the stand.What a clusterfuck. You can also read about Joe Hodes, the chairman of the St. Louis Republican Central Committee, who wound up on the panel for jury selection and thought he could be a fair juror, though he acknowledged it would look "very fishy" (he was sent home).
Gardner’s office asked the court to appoint a special prosecutor to refile the felony invasion-of-privacy charge.
Jim Bennett, the governor’s attorney, rejected the notion that charges would necessarily be refiled and called for the judge to unseal all the documents in the case.
posted by zachlipton at 3:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Politico, Ukrainian politician behind controversial peace proposal to appear in Mueller probe
In surely unrelated news, a massive storm is headed toward Washington tonight, with the NWS warning of damaging winds, large hail, and "possibly an isolated tornado."
posted by zachlipton at 3:14 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
A Ukrainian politician who communicated with Trump associates about a controversial plan to resolve Ukraine’s conflict with Kremlin-backed rebels said Monday that he has been called to testify before a grand jury connected to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.This was the "peace plan" that involved leasing Crimea to Russia for 50 years.
Andrii Artemenko said he could not provide details of his upcoming appearance before the grand jury, which he said is scheduled for Friday. But he said he assumed he would be asked about the peace plan, about which he communicated with Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney, in early 2017.
“I received the subpoena last week,” Artemenko told POLITICO by telephone, adding that he intended to comply with the request. He said he would appear in person.
In surely unrelated news, a massive storm is headed toward Washington tonight, with the NWS warning of damaging winds, large hail, and "possibly an isolated tornado."
posted by zachlipton at 3:14 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
The Onion Nails it as usual
The Onion article posted at 1:05 PM*
At 1:57 PM
@AnnCoulter retweets @nytimes
----------------
The Onion are trying valiantly, but no matter how brutal and absurdist their satire they are still only 52 minutes ahead of the brutality and absurdity of the actual reality of the real actual fascists.
* UK time.
posted by Buntix at 3:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [61 favorites]
The Onion article posted at 1:05 PM*
At 1:57 PM
@AnnCoulter retweets @nytimes
Breaking News: Israel responded with rifle fire to a mass attempt by Palestinians to cross a border fence, killing at least 28, Palestinian officials saidWith the comment: "Can we do that?"
----------------
The Onion are trying valiantly, but no matter how brutal and absurdist their satire they are still only 52 minutes ahead of the brutality and absurdity of the actual reality of the real actual fascists.
* UK time.
posted by Buntix at 3:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [61 favorites]
With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!
I want to revisit how goddamned bonkers it is that in full view of the entirety of humanity he's accusing current members of his own inner circle of treason.
Also worth remembering for when we're tutted at for calling these people traitors. They call themselves traitors! Listen to them!
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:30 PM on May 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
I want to revisit how goddamned bonkers it is that in full view of the entirety of humanity he's accusing current members of his own inner circle of treason.
Also worth remembering for when we're tutted at for calling these people traitors. They call themselves traitors! Listen to them!
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:30 PM on May 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
The European response, summed up by one diplomat, was: “You broke this. What’s your plan?”
France, the UK and Germany – the European parties to the JPCOA – had spent months negotiating with US diplomats over these issues, in the hope of saving the agreement.posted by kirkaracha at 3:32 PM on May 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
After painstaking to-and-fro talks, the Europeans thought they were close to a compromise text with the Americans, at least on missiles and regional issues.
But Trump gave the impression during his 24 April meeting with Macron that he was not even aware those negotiations had been taking place. It was also clear that even after years of campaigning against the Iran agreement, the US president did not know what was in it.
Greitens admits using secret texting app with staff but says he didn’t violate laws
There's no evidence he violated the law, anyway. The whole point of using Confide is that it "prevents anyone from saving, forwarding, printing or taking a screenshot of the text". I suppose it wouldn't stop someone using a camera or second phone to take a picture of the screen, but you don't use it to send messages to your enemies: you use it to communicate with your cronies and henchpeople. There's good reason to think Trump's circle used similar applications.
This is going to be a huge problem going forward, and not just when there's reason to think the underlying behaviour is criminal. We have laws about official records for all sorts of reasons, but the chief one is that the institution of government needs a memory that outlasts any particular politician or staffer and allows them to be replaced. You can see why corrupt politicians hate this duty: it not only preserves evidence of wrongdoing but it weakens their grip.
I don't know whether First Amendment concerns come into play here, but there has to be a way of preventing this behaviour. You can't stop people talking privately, but IMO every call, email, and message between officials and staffers ought to be kept as an official record; and the use of these applications should be viewed as an offense in itself.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
There's no evidence he violated the law, anyway. The whole point of using Confide is that it "prevents anyone from saving, forwarding, printing or taking a screenshot of the text". I suppose it wouldn't stop someone using a camera or second phone to take a picture of the screen, but you don't use it to send messages to your enemies: you use it to communicate with your cronies and henchpeople. There's good reason to think Trump's circle used similar applications.
This is going to be a huge problem going forward, and not just when there's reason to think the underlying behaviour is criminal. We have laws about official records for all sorts of reasons, but the chief one is that the institution of government needs a memory that outlasts any particular politician or staffer and allows them to be replaced. You can see why corrupt politicians hate this duty: it not only preserves evidence of wrongdoing but it weakens their grip.
I don't know whether First Amendment concerns come into play here, but there has to be a way of preventing this behaviour. You can't stop people talking privately, but IMO every call, email, and message between officials and staffers ought to be kept as an official record; and the use of these applications should be viewed as an offense in itself.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
The Greitens case got dropped
So, he gets away with it and impeachment will go down now too without the impetus of criminal charges, because Republicans. Greitens is just a test run on the state level for Republicans to do nothing when Mueller's report finally hits. Hell, Greitens 2024 presidential run just got a huge lift.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:52 PM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
So, he gets away with it and impeachment will go down now too without the impetus of criminal charges, because Republicans. Greitens is just a test run on the state level for Republicans to do nothing when Mueller's report finally hits. Hell, Greitens 2024 presidential run just got a huge lift.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:52 PM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
What happened to all the rape allegations? Did they get diluted down into this and then dropped?
posted by Artw at 3:56 PM on May 14, 2018
posted by Artw at 3:56 PM on May 14, 2018
Sounds to me like Greitens raised a "conflict of interest" defense, so the person with that conflict dropped the charges, and wants someone without this conflict to refile them, to prevent a mistrial due to the conflict.
posted by Windopaene at 4:22 PM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 4:22 PM on May 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
On NPR I heard a Palestianian person of some authority and influence being interviewed and he kept emphasizing that over 40 peaceful protesters had been killed.
As is always the case when the strong employ violence against the weak, the interviwer was desperate to blame the victims. Was it not true, she asked, that some protesters had thrown bottles or stones? The interviewee reiterated that over 40 people had been killed including six children, all for engaging in peaceful protest which was enshrined by the UN as the right of all people.
And then she asked a question that really gets to the heart of the issue of power, violence, and who we think of as justified in using violence. She asked him if he would say that, going forward, all protest **MUST** be peaceful.
There we have laid bare the agenda of the media in all cases like this. Their purpose is entirely to lay the blame for violence on the victims. No one would ever ask an Israeli official if, going forward, all dealings with Palestinians must be peaceful. Or even if, going forward, Israeli snipers must not shoot children. Violence meted out by the powerful is always justified, always acceptable, always right, always proper and just. The only question the media has is whether or not the victims of that violence will submit to it without resistance.
We see the same dynamic playing out in the USA every time a black man is murdered by a police officer. The question is never whether the police must stop murdering black people, the question is always whether the protesters will pledge to be peaceful.
And, alongside that, an effort to paint the victim as deserving of his fate. Just as the NPR interviewer wanted to divert the discussion to hypothetical thrown rocks, so too when a black man is killed by the police the media always wants to talk about their criminal record (if any) or speculated criminal activities if no criminal record exists, or at the very least how imposing and frightening the victim was.
But always the message is the same: when the powerful decree that the powerless must suffer and die they are justified, and the powerless are not justified in even protesting their fate.
zarq At some point between 2015 and 2017, Gilad Erdan became a horrible human being.
I sympathize with that view, but I'm not at all sure it's right.
I don't think it is necessarily true that Erdan is a horrible human being. At least not in the sense of being universally horrible.
We'd like to think so, to imagine that a guy like him must kick puppies for fun and be horrible in all respects. Some people are like that, but not very many. And it's certainly possible that Erdan is one of those sort of people.
But I'll bet he isn't.
The problem is that he's simply able, like a whole lot of humans are, to think of some people as not being people. He brought up Nazis, and I'd argue that most Nazis were also not horrible universally. They "merely" were capable of thinking that Jews weren't really people. Just like Erdan is capable of thinking of Palestinians as not really people. Just like the American slaveowners were capable of thinking that black people weren't really people, or that a great many American people were able to think that native Americans weren't really people.
What's really horrifying about Erdan is that I'm sure he's kind to (Israeli) children, and loves his family, and thinks puppies are cute. That he is **NOT** a horrible person, universally, but rather a perfectly ordinary person in most respects who also happens to basically be in favor of genocide.
I have no idea how to deal with that.
posted by sotonohito at 4:23 PM on May 14, 2018 [91 favorites]
As is always the case when the strong employ violence against the weak, the interviwer was desperate to blame the victims. Was it not true, she asked, that some protesters had thrown bottles or stones? The interviewee reiterated that over 40 people had been killed including six children, all for engaging in peaceful protest which was enshrined by the UN as the right of all people.
And then she asked a question that really gets to the heart of the issue of power, violence, and who we think of as justified in using violence. She asked him if he would say that, going forward, all protest **MUST** be peaceful.
There we have laid bare the agenda of the media in all cases like this. Their purpose is entirely to lay the blame for violence on the victims. No one would ever ask an Israeli official if, going forward, all dealings with Palestinians must be peaceful. Or even if, going forward, Israeli snipers must not shoot children. Violence meted out by the powerful is always justified, always acceptable, always right, always proper and just. The only question the media has is whether or not the victims of that violence will submit to it without resistance.
We see the same dynamic playing out in the USA every time a black man is murdered by a police officer. The question is never whether the police must stop murdering black people, the question is always whether the protesters will pledge to be peaceful.
And, alongside that, an effort to paint the victim as deserving of his fate. Just as the NPR interviewer wanted to divert the discussion to hypothetical thrown rocks, so too when a black man is killed by the police the media always wants to talk about their criminal record (if any) or speculated criminal activities if no criminal record exists, or at the very least how imposing and frightening the victim was.
But always the message is the same: when the powerful decree that the powerless must suffer and die they are justified, and the powerless are not justified in even protesting their fate.
zarq At some point between 2015 and 2017, Gilad Erdan became a horrible human being.
I sympathize with that view, but I'm not at all sure it's right.
I don't think it is necessarily true that Erdan is a horrible human being. At least not in the sense of being universally horrible.
We'd like to think so, to imagine that a guy like him must kick puppies for fun and be horrible in all respects. Some people are like that, but not very many. And it's certainly possible that Erdan is one of those sort of people.
But I'll bet he isn't.
The problem is that he's simply able, like a whole lot of humans are, to think of some people as not being people. He brought up Nazis, and I'd argue that most Nazis were also not horrible universally. They "merely" were capable of thinking that Jews weren't really people. Just like Erdan is capable of thinking of Palestinians as not really people. Just like the American slaveowners were capable of thinking that black people weren't really people, or that a great many American people were able to think that native Americans weren't really people.
What's really horrifying about Erdan is that I'm sure he's kind to (Israeli) children, and loves his family, and thinks puppies are cute. That he is **NOT** a horrible person, universally, but rather a perfectly ordinary person in most respects who also happens to basically be in favor of genocide.
I have no idea how to deal with that.
posted by sotonohito at 4:23 PM on May 14, 2018 [91 favorites]
McClatchy, $1 million mystery gift to inauguration traced to conservative legal activists
Leonard Leo has emerged at the center of an awful lot of shit lately. He helped plan and went on Pruitt's trip to Rome. The Trump administration has pretty much handed over the job of picking judicial candidates to Leo and the Federalist Society; Leo . He's at the center of an effort by the Koch brothers to buy George Mason University and its Antonin Scalia Law School (an effort GMU was all too happy to help with, as revealed by the emails they fought to keep secret). This asshole is everywhere.
posted by zachlipton at 4:35 PM on May 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
One of the largest contributions to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee in 2016 appears to have been orchestrated by a set of powerful conservative legal activists who have since been put in the driver’s seat of the administration’s push to select and nominate federal judges.Here's a helpfully convoluted graph of how all the pieces fit together.
The $1 million inaugural gift came from a Northern Virginia company called BH Group, LLC. Unlike other generous corporate inaugural donors, like Bank of America and Dow Chemical, though, BH Group was a cipher, and likely was set up solely to prevent disclosure of the actual donor's name.
Almost nothing is known about the company, including who runs it or its reason for being beyond writing a seven-figure check on Dec. 22, 2016, almost a month before Trump was sworn in.
While the source of the money used to make the gift was masked from the public, a trail of clues puts the contribution at the doorstep of some of the same actors — most notably Leonard Leo, an executive vice president at the conservative Federalist Society — who have helped promote Trump’s mission, and that of his White House counsel, Don McGahn, to fill judicial vacancies as quickly as he can with staunchly conservative, preferably young jurists.
Leonard Leo has emerged at the center of an awful lot of shit lately. He helped plan and went on Pruitt's trip to Rome. The Trump administration has pretty much handed over the job of picking judicial candidates to Leo and the Federalist Society; Leo . He's at the center of an effort by the Koch brothers to buy George Mason University and its Antonin Scalia Law School (an effort GMU was all too happy to help with, as revealed by the emails they fought to keep secret). This asshole is everywhere.
posted by zachlipton at 4:35 PM on May 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
@maggieNYT: Sometimes the person yelling the most about leakers is doing the leaking, which was the takeaway people had from the DO NOT CONGRATULATE incident
So that's not really subtle.
Also, can we all just agree that quoting the damn President of the United States as a senior administration official or "source familiar" is unethical and that anyone who does it isn't fit to write the copy on the back of bags of dog food?
posted by zachlipton at 4:38 PM on May 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
So that's not really subtle.
Also, can we all just agree that quoting the damn President of the United States as a senior administration official or "source familiar" is unethical and that anyone who does it isn't fit to write the copy on the back of bags of dog food?
posted by zachlipton at 4:38 PM on May 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
Conservative Columnist: ‘These Are Soulless People Working For A Soulless President’; Jennifer Rubin:
These are soulless people working for a soulless President. The President of the United States doesn’t have a purpose higher than himself, and therefore the people who work for him do not have a higher purpose. They do not see themselves as custodians of the public good. They are there to advance their own careers, to as you say settle scores, it's all about a me, me, me philosophy. So the notion that you should rise above the day to day requirements of this president, who never apologizes for anything, because he can never be wrong, is something completely alien to them. They do not think that you ever apologize for anything, no matter how egregious.posted by kirkaracha at 4:40 PM on May 14, 2018 [31 favorites]
What happened to all the rape allegations? Did they get diluted down into this and then dropped?
He was never actually charged with rape, the charges were based on Missouri's revenge porn privacy law, then the details came out and it became clear he should've been charged with legitimate rape.
Sounds to me like Greitens raised a "conflict of interest" defense
Well, his lawyers pulled an underhanded trick in making a motion to call the prosecutor as a witness, to question her about hiring a private investigator they say perjured himself. This is really hard to assess from newspaper reporting, but calling the prosecutor and the judge agreeing is pretty far from "standard criminal procedure".
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:42 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
He was never actually charged with rape, the charges were based on Missouri's revenge porn privacy law, then the details came out and it became clear he should've been charged with legitimate rape.
Sounds to me like Greitens raised a "conflict of interest" defense
Well, his lawyers pulled an underhanded trick in making a motion to call the prosecutor as a witness, to question her about hiring a private investigator they say perjured himself. This is really hard to assess from newspaper reporting, but calling the prosecutor and the judge agreeing is pretty far from "standard criminal procedure".
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:42 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
On the one hand Greitens sounds like a scumbag who belongs in jail. On the other hand I am generally predisposed to believing the worst of prosecutors looking to secure convictions at any cost. So right now I don't know what to believe. Hopefully an independent prosecutor will figure this out.
posted by Justinian at 4:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 4:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
What happened to all the rape allegations? Did they get diluted down into this and then dropped?
No receipts
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:52 PM on May 14, 2018
No receipts
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:52 PM on May 14, 2018
Also worth noting this is just the rape 'scandal', there's a whole separate felony case over the donor list, but what's a little campaign finance fraud among Republicans when the President is literally pocketing hundreds of millions in direct payments? Like I said, this is the test run for Trump.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:57 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:57 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
So right now I don't know what to believe.
We just want two things here. One, Eric Greitens to stop being governor and two, for the ex-husband to let his sordid divorce drama go.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:57 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
We just want two things here. One, Eric Greitens to stop being governor and two, for the ex-husband to let his sordid divorce drama go.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:57 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sarah Kendzior
Two points on Greitens:
1) He is charged with two felonies. One is dismissed pending special prosecutor. The second one stands, and is considered harder to beat.
2) Special session on impeachment is Friday. Both MO Dems and GOP have sought impeachment since January.
posted by chris24 at 5:31 PM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
Two points on Greitens:
1) He is charged with two felonies. One is dismissed pending special prosecutor. The second one stands, and is considered harder to beat.
2) Special session on impeachment is Friday. Both MO Dems and GOP have sought impeachment since January.
posted by chris24 at 5:31 PM on May 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
Raj Shah: Dead Palestinians are “propoganda attempt” by Hamas (said from WH podium)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:42 PM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:42 PM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Raj also referred to Gaza as “southern Israel”.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Michael Avenatti is using Trump tactics to battle Trump, a strategy that comes with risks
On the whole, I think Avenatti has done a whole lot of good. His dribbles of information have maintained public attention even as so many Trump scandals just drift away, often within minutes. At the same time, he's a lawyer who is supposed to represent his client, not a #Resistance warrior, and there's a danger in conflating the two.
posted by zachlipton at 6:30 PM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
To become one of Trump’s chief adversaries, Avenatti has carved a Trumpian path. He taunts his opponents. He uses Twitter to make explosive accusations. And he is omnipresent on cable news.See also Matt Ford on Michael Avenatti isn’t a liberal hero. He’s a lawyer.
Yet Avenatti’s tactics and visibility carry risks that could undermine his ability to represent his client, who is suing longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen and the president to be released from a nondisclosure agreement. Scrutiny of his business record and of his motives has provided grist for distracting headlines in recent days. And his publication last week of Cohen’s banking history — hard-to-get information touching on some of the most sensitive issues before the White House — could jeopardize his ability to represent Daniels in court, some experts say.
On the whole, I think Avenatti has done a whole lot of good. His dribbles of information have maintained public attention even as so many Trump scandals just drift away, often within minutes. At the same time, he's a lawyer who is supposed to represent his client, not a #Resistance warrior, and there's a danger in conflating the two.
posted by zachlipton at 6:30 PM on May 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
@MichaelCBender: “From King David’s time to our own, President Trump has now etched his name into the ineffaceable story of Jerusalem.”—Vice President Pence, at the Israeli embassy tonight in Washington.
brb, vomiting
posted by zachlipton at 6:38 PM on May 14, 2018 [41 favorites]
brb, vomiting
posted by zachlipton at 6:38 PM on May 14, 2018 [41 favorites]
At the same time, he's a lawyer who is supposed to represent his client, not a #Resistance warrior, and there's a danger in conflating the two.
I think you're right that there is a danger in conflating the two. I don't think that necessarily means he should avoid conflating the two. We're way deep into uncharted territory - I'll take what I can get right now.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:39 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
I think you're right that there is a danger in conflating the two. I don't think that necessarily means he should avoid conflating the two. We're way deep into uncharted territory - I'll take what I can get right now.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:39 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Remember when Biden compared Obama to an ancient king while both wearing tan suits?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:40 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:40 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
There's a decent argument that David and Trump have similar views on women, though David never got into Trump's "never apologize" thing.
posted by zachlipton at 6:45 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 6:45 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!... low energy. Couldn’t hack it.
posted by infinitewindow at 6:51 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by infinitewindow at 6:51 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wow, the Bible is...salacious.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:52 PM on May 14, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:52 PM on May 14, 2018
@MichaelCBender: “From King David’s time to our own, President Trump has now etched his name into the ineffaceable story of Jerusalem.”—Vice President Pence, at the Israeli embassy tonight in Washington.
A Grotesque Spectacle in Jerusalem
A Grotesque Spectacle in Jerusalem
Trump has empowered what’s worst in Israel, and as long as he is president, it may be that Israel can kill Palestinians, demolish their homes and appropriate their land with impunity. But some day, Trump will be gone. With hope for a two-state solution nearly dead, current trends suggest that a Jewish minority will come to rule over a largely disenfranchised Muslim majority in all the land under Israel’s control. A rising generation of Americans may see an apartheid state with a Trump Square in its capital and wonder why it’s supposed to be our friend.posted by T.D. Strange at 6:54 PM on May 14, 2018 [45 favorites]
This article gives the scoop on Greitens' all-star legal team. No expense is being spared there.
One point that some local observers made when this legal team was brought on board, is that this is clearly a "keep Greitens out of prison" legal team. That is, this isn't work to smooth over political ramifications or even prevent impeachment. Rather, it's a full court press to keep the governor out of prison.
So, every legal development on the Greitens case, keep that in mind. They're not trying to save his political career, or help the Republican Party in the state. They're trying to keep him out of prison.
Like with this recent maneuver, if a special prosecutor re-files the case, it will stretch out well into the summer if not through the fall. From a political perspective, that's the worst possible outcome--a complete disaster. His fellow party members would have him to have a trial, a short one, hopefully win it--but either way, get it over and done with NOW.
Fighting this tooth & nail with every legal tool at their disposal is likely to s-t-r-e-t-c-h everything out over a long period of time. Keep in mind that there are at least two more prosecutions pending and both are more difficult/serious from Greitens' viewpoint than this one.
Affect on Greitens' potential impeachment--special session set to start this Friday at 6:30pm--is impossible to guess at this point. The actual charges are just one super-small technical issue within a large mass of possibly impeachable issues, but if the case is dismissed and not refiled the PR effect may be much bigger than the small scope of the case's legal issues would indicate.
tl;dr: Stock up on popcorn, 'cause this one's going to last a while.
posted by flug at 7:04 PM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
One point that some local observers made when this legal team was brought on board, is that this is clearly a "keep Greitens out of prison" legal team. That is, this isn't work to smooth over political ramifications or even prevent impeachment. Rather, it's a full court press to keep the governor out of prison.
So, every legal development on the Greitens case, keep that in mind. They're not trying to save his political career, or help the Republican Party in the state. They're trying to keep him out of prison.
Like with this recent maneuver, if a special prosecutor re-files the case, it will stretch out well into the summer if not through the fall. From a political perspective, that's the worst possible outcome--a complete disaster. His fellow party members would have him to have a trial, a short one, hopefully win it--but either way, get it over and done with NOW.
Fighting this tooth & nail with every legal tool at their disposal is likely to s-t-r-e-t-c-h everything out over a long period of time. Keep in mind that there are at least two more prosecutions pending and both are more difficult/serious from Greitens' viewpoint than this one.
Affect on Greitens' potential impeachment--special session set to start this Friday at 6:30pm--is impossible to guess at this point. The actual charges are just one super-small technical issue within a large mass of possibly impeachable issues, but if the case is dismissed and not refiled the PR effect may be much bigger than the small scope of the case's legal issues would indicate.
tl;dr: Stock up on popcorn, 'cause this one's going to last a while.
posted by flug at 7:04 PM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
Trying to get a handle on what is going on with the Palestinian protests, injuries, and deaths, I found this video from Al Jazeera. It gives a Palestinian spokesperson a good amount of time to make his case, same for an Israeli spokesperson, some perspective from an academic who studies Israeli/Palestinian relations, and some video of protests and Israeli response.
I don't know that we need to hash out right/wrong or argue the various points on this on this thread but, I for one would welcome any good information sources--accurate information about what is going on and why. As near as I can tell it is Israeli sharpshooters shooting across the border into Palestinian territory and killing people because they don't like them hanging around near the border and protesting, plus they think that certain people are associated with Hamas so they're just fair game if they happen to see them.
posted by flug at 7:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
I don't know that we need to hash out right/wrong or argue the various points on this on this thread but, I for one would welcome any good information sources--accurate information about what is going on and why. As near as I can tell it is Israeli sharpshooters shooting across the border into Palestinian territory and killing people because they don't like them hanging around near the border and protesting, plus they think that certain people are associated with Hamas so they're just fair game if they happen to see them.
posted by flug at 7:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
So, just spitballing here. Do you suppose they know who he is, what kind of man, embodiment of the 7 Deadly Sins (Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath and Sloth) he is & accept that he's a shoe-in for the Antichrist & support him anyway, believing they're somehow following God's Will by installing him & initiating the Rapture & Armageddon? I half buy that he is & I'm an atheist.
posted by scalefree at 7:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 7:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
Fair enough that it shouldn't be posted here, you can look up 2 Thessalonians in your own Bible or just plug it into Google.
posted by scalefree at 7:20 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 7:20 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Do you suppose they know who he is
i very much suppose they think they’re morally justified by their religion in their continued attempts to literally destroy the planet -- trump being their agent for the reason you identify. my dad said plenty of things when i was a child that he disclaims now while joyfully embracing every evil and disgusting development.
posted by polyhedron at 7:23 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
i very much suppose they think they’re morally justified by their religion in their continued attempts to literally destroy the planet -- trump being their agent for the reason you identify. my dad said plenty of things when i was a child that he disclaims now while joyfully embracing every evil and disgusting development.
posted by polyhedron at 7:23 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 Senate:
Reminder that we have five specials tomorrow and four states with primaries. DKE preview here and races to watch here.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:28 PM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
** 2018 Senate:
-- WV: WPA Intelligence poll has Morrisey up 46-44 on Manchin [MOE: +/- 4.9%]. Two possible notes of caution: WPA is a GOP shop (though it doesn't look like they ran this for anyone), and this is the first non-primary poll in forever, so hard to say where this falls on the range of outcomes. Hopefully we see more soon.** Odds & ends:
-- MO: TJP Strategies poll has McCaskill up 48-44 on Hawley [MOE: +/- 3.27%]. Also notable, gov Greitens approval at 34/53.
-- More on GOP Senate post-primary infighting.
-- ElectProject points out that the problem in Virginia with mis-assigned voters is actually dismayingly common.===
-- NYT: Race to replace Schneiderman as NY AG is a free-for-all.
Reminder that we have five specials tomorrow and four states with primaries. DKE preview here and races to watch here.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:28 PM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
Not sure if I called it here but I did elsewhere.
Is Mike Pompeo backing off Trump’s demand that North Korea get rid of its nukes?
Is Mike Pompeo backing off Trump’s demand that North Korea get rid of its nukes?
President Trump has assured us he'll drive a hard bargain with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and he set the goal posts firmly at Kim's getting rid of his nuclear weapons. Asked last month what he meant when he said “denuclearization,” Trump said: “It means they get rid of their nukes — very simple.”posted by scalefree at 7:29 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sounded a somewhat different tune Sunday.
The newly installed top U.S. diplomat at times seemed to echo Trump's hard line. He reiterated on “Fox News Sunday” that Trump's goal was “the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.” Pompeo confirmed when asked by “Face the Nation” that the goal was “total, full, complete” denuclearization. Asked whether that meant “dismantling,” “getting rid of the centrifuges, stopping all enrichment, getting inspectors on the ground,” Pompeo confirmed all of it.
But at different points, he also appeared to suggest that a deal might come up shy of making North Korea get rid of all of its current nukes. He said on both shows that the objective was to prevent North Korea from having the capability to strike the United States with a nuclear weapon. And he explicitly called for its getting rid of missiles, without saying the same about existing warheads.
i very much suppose they think they’re morally justified by their religion in their continued attempts to literally destroy the planet
So White American Evangelicalism is basically a fucking death cult, right? That’s what we’re dealing with? Like they envy ISIS?
posted by schadenfrau at 7:37 PM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
So White American Evangelicalism is basically a fucking death cult, right? That’s what we’re dealing with? Like they envy ISIS?
posted by schadenfrau at 7:37 PM on May 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
my family’s mormon, but that’s where i’m at yes
posted by polyhedron at 7:43 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by polyhedron at 7:43 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
So White American Evangelicalism is basically a fucking death cult, right? That’s what we’re dealing with? Like they envy ISIS?
I don't think all of it is by any stretch of the imagination. But I do think there may be something deeply corrupt at its heart that's going along with it for the sake of achieving their goal of being proved right.
posted by scalefree at 7:45 PM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't think all of it is by any stretch of the imagination. But I do think there may be something deeply corrupt at its heart that's going along with it for the sake of achieving their goal of being proved right.
posted by scalefree at 7:45 PM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
If by "envy ISIS" you mean "wish they had an Evangelical version of ISIS" then yes, that jibes with the Evangelicals I know. They think their spiritual job is to hasten the return of Christ, and for that to happen, certain other things have to happen, so anything that resembles that happening is unalloyed good.. no matter how many people (not like them) die in the process.
They ALSO believe that they'll be taken bodily to Heaven before the really bad stuff starts, and in the mean time, material gain (money, possessions, authority over others) is a sign of God's favor, so the better off they make themselves (by whatever means), the better people they are.
Oh, and yes, the Republic of Gilead (minus the infertility) really IS their ideal social construct.
Pointing out that NONE of this has any solid Biblical foundation, and that most of it is specifically OPPOSED by Jesus' own words... well, it makes them a bit testy.
posted by Kelrichen at 7:48 PM on May 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
They ALSO believe that they'll be taken bodily to Heaven before the really bad stuff starts, and in the mean time, material gain (money, possessions, authority over others) is a sign of God's favor, so the better off they make themselves (by whatever means), the better people they are.
Oh, and yes, the Republic of Gilead (minus the infertility) really IS their ideal social construct.
Pointing out that NONE of this has any solid Biblical foundation, and that most of it is specifically OPPOSED by Jesus' own words... well, it makes them a bit testy.
posted by Kelrichen at 7:48 PM on May 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Preach it, Brother.
@MeetThePress WATCH: "This is me being a moralist" - @esglaude, on Gaza #MTPDaily
posted by scalefree at 7:49 PM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
@MeetThePress WATCH: "This is me being a moralist" - @esglaude, on Gaza #MTPDaily
posted by scalefree at 7:49 PM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
White American Evangelicalism is basically a fucking death cult, right?
I remember sitting in church in the early eighties listening to the pastor talk about how they had to be in the world but not of it because (later I learned) a lot of their beliefs are gnostic heresies. I guess at some point they decided it wasn't enough to be separate from the world but instead to burn it down. Death to Sophia instead of cherishing her.
So yeah death cult seems accurate.
posted by winna at 7:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
I remember sitting in church in the early eighties listening to the pastor talk about how they had to be in the world but not of it because (later I learned) a lot of their beliefs are gnostic heresies. I guess at some point they decided it wasn't enough to be separate from the world but instead to burn it down. Death to Sophia instead of cherishing her.
So yeah death cult seems accurate.
posted by winna at 7:50 PM on May 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
CHRIST IS IN ALL OF US YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES
WHAT YOU DO UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE YOU DO UNTO ME
it’s like all they read was leviticus and a really shitty translation of paul
posted by dogheart at 7:54 PM on May 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
WHAT YOU DO UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE YOU DO UNTO ME
it’s like all they read was leviticus and a really shitty translation of paul
posted by dogheart at 7:54 PM on May 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
Mod note: We've been around this topic many times, so let's call it good on the "is evangelicalism a death cult" thing.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:55 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:55 PM on May 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
What's really horrifying about Erdan is that I'm sure he's kind to (Israeli) children, and loves his family, and thinks puppies are cute. That he is **NOT** a horrible person, universally, but rather a perfectly ordinary person in most respects who also happens to basically be in favor of genocide.
I have no idea how to deal with that.
Be like Hannah's mum, you mustn't let it get to you then registered letters.
(Also always raise radical children who walk out).
DIG was relatededly a good show on this topic.
posted by Buntix at 8:00 PM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have no idea how to deal with that.
Be like Hannah's mum, you mustn't let it get to you then registered letters.
(Also always raise radical children who walk out).
DIG was relatededly a good show on this topic.
posted by Buntix at 8:00 PM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
A rising generation of Americans may see an apartheid state with a Trump Square in its capital and wonder why it’s supposed to be our friend.
I think it's going to be REALLY FUCKING IMPORTANT moving forward to distinguish between people who happen to be Jewish and NitwitYahoo and his persecution of Palestinians. I can definitely see the alt-right and naked nazis using the confusion of "persecution is bad" and "anti-semitism is bad" and "Isreal is a jewish state" to their advantage in recruiting.
Add into that the Hamas contingent isn't innocent in the least and it's like people need the five part lecture series on How Western Civs Fucked The Middle East Forever before they're exposed to five seconds of right wing talking points.
posted by Slackermagee at 8:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
I think it's going to be REALLY FUCKING IMPORTANT moving forward to distinguish between people who happen to be Jewish and NitwitYahoo and his persecution of Palestinians. I can definitely see the alt-right and naked nazis using the confusion of "persecution is bad" and "anti-semitism is bad" and "Isreal is a jewish state" to their advantage in recruiting.
Add into that the Hamas contingent isn't innocent in the least and it's like people need the five part lecture series on How Western Civs Fucked The Middle East Forever before they're exposed to five seconds of right wing talking points.
posted by Slackermagee at 8:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
@joshrogin On the new U.S. embassy plaque, "Donald J. Trump" is in a larger font size than "Jerusalem, Israel"
posted by scalefree at 8:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 8:15 PM on May 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
When you've lost South Africa:
@jacobinmag South Africa has withdrawn its Ambassador to Israel following today’s massacre in #Gaza.
posted by scalefree at 8:35 PM on May 14, 2018 [63 favorites]
@jacobinmag South Africa has withdrawn its Ambassador to Israel following today’s massacre in #Gaza.
posted by scalefree at 8:35 PM on May 14, 2018 [63 favorites]
Also, do other U.S. embassies' signs say the name of the President who was in office at the time the embassy opened?
Check comments to the original tweet, there's several examples. This is definitely the odd man out.
posted by scalefree at 8:37 PM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Check comments to the original tweet, there's several examples. This is definitely the odd man out.
posted by scalefree at 8:37 PM on May 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I for one would welcome any good information sources--accurate information about what is going on and why. As near as I can tell it is Israeli sharpshooters shooting across the border into Palestinian territory and killing people because they don't like them hanging around near the border and protesting, plus they think that certain people are associated with Hamas so they're just fair game if they happen to see them.
I understand that the IDF's rules of engagement allow them to engage with anyone armed within 300 meters of the border fence, and with anyone approaching closer than 100 meters. This is because there are tens of thousands of people making mock (but sometimes real) attacks on the fence and the IDF wants to stymie any mass attack before it starts. There are Israeli farms and villages a few hundred meters away and if Hamas' cadres reached there they'd either massacre or kidnap them: they're holding two Israelis hostage right now.
Hamas, for their part, want martyrs. As in "a million martyrs are marching to Jerusalem". According to some analysts this is because Hamas is running out of options to maintain control in Gaza: the Palestinian Authority is cutting back on their subsidies, and their attack tunnels (which are a big symbolic thing) have been stymied by Israel.
It's important to keep in mind that Hamas' participation means that this is by definition not a peaceful protest. Hamas' theology, enshrined in their founding documents, says that Muslims cannot negotiate with non-Muslims – particularly Jews. This is why they're no longer part of the Palestine Authority (i.e., the internationally recognised representative of the Palestinians, presently ruling the West Bank). If Hamas were willing to accept anything other than an armed struggle culminating in the conquest of Israel they wouldn't be cooped up in Gaza; they'd be ruling in Ramallah.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:37 PM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
I understand that the IDF's rules of engagement allow them to engage with anyone armed within 300 meters of the border fence, and with anyone approaching closer than 100 meters. This is because there are tens of thousands of people making mock (but sometimes real) attacks on the fence and the IDF wants to stymie any mass attack before it starts. There are Israeli farms and villages a few hundred meters away and if Hamas' cadres reached there they'd either massacre or kidnap them: they're holding two Israelis hostage right now.
Hamas, for their part, want martyrs. As in "a million martyrs are marching to Jerusalem". According to some analysts this is because Hamas is running out of options to maintain control in Gaza: the Palestinian Authority is cutting back on their subsidies, and their attack tunnels (which are a big symbolic thing) have been stymied by Israel.
It's important to keep in mind that Hamas' participation means that this is by definition not a peaceful protest. Hamas' theology, enshrined in their founding documents, says that Muslims cannot negotiate with non-Muslims – particularly Jews. This is why they're no longer part of the Palestine Authority (i.e., the internationally recognised representative of the Palestinians, presently ruling the West Bank). If Hamas were willing to accept anything other than an armed struggle culminating in the conquest of Israel they wouldn't be cooped up in Gaza; they'd be ruling in Ramallah.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:37 PM on May 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
The protest couldn't have gone better for Trump, Netanyahu, or Hamas if they'd written it out. All of these people have said there will never be a one state solution and that even peaceful two state solutions are not possible. The protesters showed they are probably right.
posted by xammerboy at 8:54 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 8:54 PM on May 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible. With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!
There's a certain black comedy in knowing how many of the leaks come from Trump. Traitor and coward, you say?
posted by jaduncan at 9:00 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
There's a certain black comedy in knowing how many of the leaks come from Trump. Traitor and coward, you say?
posted by jaduncan at 9:00 PM on May 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
ACLU: Last week, global online-advertising giants Google and Facebook announced that they will no longer accept advertising from bail bonds agencies. In a blog post, Google said its decision to block bail bond ads is part of a broader effort to protect users from damaging content — the same reason it had recently banned ads for payday loans.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 PM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 PM on May 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
I think it's outrageous that media report Trump's statements as if they were unauthorised statements made by unnamed staffers. They shouldn't grant that right to any official, but when it's coming from the President it is, by definition, not a leak: it's an official statement made by a coward.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:05 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:05 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
The Guardian, Hundreds arrested as activists pick up where Martin Luther King left off
Also meanwhile, the Protect and Serve Act, which could result in 10-year sentences for attempted injury of a police officer, is moving rapidly towards a vote in the House.
posted by zachlipton at 9:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
Hundreds of low-wage workers, faith leaders, civil rights organizers and liberal activists were arrested in demonstrations in Washington and outside statehouses across the US on Monday as they resumed the work Martin Luther King left unfinished.Meanwhile, A Jury Acquitted The First Group To Stand Trial On Inauguration Rioting Charges. Prosecutors Are Trying Again.
Fifty years after King launched the Poor People’s Campaign against economic inequality, militarism and racial injustice, demonstrators revived that fight, kicking off 40 days of nonviolent action.
The new effort, The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is being led by co-chairs William Barber, a pastor at Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and Liz Theoharis, an ordained minister and anti-poverty campaigner from New York City.
Also meanwhile, the Protect and Serve Act, which could result in 10-year sentences for attempted injury of a police officer, is moving rapidly towards a vote in the House.
posted by zachlipton at 9:08 PM on May 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
Village Voice's Roy Edroso plays with the Intellectual Dark Web the way a small boy plays with a hill of ants using a magnifying glass & a beam of sunlight.
Conservatives Cheer the Latest Right-Wing Supergroup, the Intellectual Dark Web Not even Thanos would dare marginalize this group
posted by scalefree at 9:09 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
Conservatives Cheer the Latest Right-Wing Supergroup, the Intellectual Dark Web Not even Thanos would dare marginalize this group
The Age of Trump has conservative intellectuals in an embarrassing predicament: Trump has either turned conservatism into, or revealed conservatism to be, nothing but a gigantic grift, so who needs conservative intellectuals? When Republican tax cuts are such a brazen payoff to the super-rich that even tax-hating voters don’t believe it will ever trickle down, and when Michael Cohen taking obvious bribes from AT&T and Novartis exemplifies “draining the swamp,” how could anyone listen to a right-wing pencil-neck talk about conservative policy without laughing?It only gets better from there. Read.
But don’t worry about the pencil-necks, they’ve found a way around this dilemma by escalating the decades-long culture war, diverting their audiences’ attention from the real issues with little melodramas in which conservatives are oppressed by Black Panther, Wonder Woman, and Shakespeare in the Park (boo!), then are rescued at the last minute by right-wing stars like Kid Rock and Kanye West (hurray!).
And now conservatives even have their own Wingnut Avengers for their Infinity Culture War: the Dark Intellectual Web, a group of conservatives and crypto-conservatives whose unifying principle seems to be that liberals are mean and therefore out of step with the millions of Americans who have never heard of the Dark Intellectual Web.
posted by scalefree at 9:09 PM on May 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
I follow a number of immigration experts, and it's surprising there haven't been more alarm bells over this. Dara Lind, Jeff Sessions is exerting unprecedented control over immigration courts — by ruling on cases himself.
Most significantly, one of the cases Sessions has referred to himself concerns whether victims of private, rather than state, violence are eligible for asylum. Current law can allow for certain asylum claims by people who are persecuted by private actors, such as domestic violence victims and those fleeing gang violence. This has been a key mechanism for Central American asylum claims, and Sessions could be trying to stop them.
Sessions wants to give himself even more power to refer cases to himself, even in instances where prosecutors don't appeal.
posted by zachlipton at 9:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [72 favorites]
That’s not a metaphor. Sessions has stepped into the immigration system in an unprecedented manner: giving himself and his office the ability to review, and rewrite, cases that could set precedents for a large share of the hundreds of thousands of immigrants with pending immigration court cases, not to mention all those who are arrested and put into the deportation process in future.Yep. That's an actual thing the Attorney General is allowed to do, because the entire immigration court system operates under DOJ rather than as part of the judiciary. Oh, and Sessions' office won't tell the public what the cases even are in detail, so nobody can file amicus briefs with their arguments.
He’s doing this by taking cases from the Board of Immigration Appeals — the Justice Department agency that serves as a quasi-appellate body for immigration court cases — and referring them to himself to issue a decision instead.
Sessions isn’t giving lawyers much information about what he’s planning. But he’s set himself up, if he wants, to make it radically harder for immigration judges to push cases off their docket to be resolved elsewhere or paused indefinitely — and to close the best opportunity that tens of thousands of asylum seekers, including most Central Americans, have to stay in the United States. And he might be gearing up to extend his involvement even further, by giving himself the authority to review a much bigger swath of rulings issued in the immigration court system.
Most significantly, one of the cases Sessions has referred to himself concerns whether victims of private, rather than state, violence are eligible for asylum. Current law can allow for certain asylum claims by people who are persecuted by private actors, such as domestic violence victims and those fleeing gang violence. This has been a key mechanism for Central American asylum claims, and Sessions could be trying to stop them.
Sessions wants to give himself even more power to refer cases to himself, even in instances where prosecutors don't appeal.
posted by zachlipton at 9:18 PM on May 14, 2018 [72 favorites]
This clip posted above by scalefree absolutely deserves a look. For those who don't/can't get the video, my rough transcript:
Horse race journalism is a disease. We need more people like Prof. Glaude attempting to cure it.
posted by biogeo at 9:24 PM on May 14, 2018 [108 favorites]
EDDIE S. GLAUDE (Professor of African American studies and religion): It's important that the foreign policy is generating uncertainty, deep uncertainty, that's cascading chaos...The clip drives home how rarely we see the human beings on news commentary shows talk like human beings with human emotions. It's also sad that Glaude felt he had to apologize for speaking the truth in that moment, and deflect it as being a "moralist."
[crosstalk]
OTHER COMMENTATOR: But the foreign policy is not what the Congressmembers of the House and Senate are campaigning on right now. They need to campaign on domestic issues where they have a stance. So while Donald Trump is doing this and may look for a deflection, it's not necessarily going to help the midterms.
GLAUDE: [Abandoning commentator-tone, sounding heartbroken] All that's important, and all of those babies are dead. All of those people are dead. They're dead. And we're talking about racehorses, I mean the politics. I mean there are a lot of folks who are dead today. For what?! I'm sorry, this is me being a moralist, I suppose.
KATY TUR (host): No, I understand, and the White House today, their response today was this is Hamas's fault and they're using them for tools for propaganda.
GLAUDE: That's like saying the children in the Children's March of Birmingham, it was their fault that Bull Connor attacked them.
Horse race journalism is a disease. We need more people like Prof. Glaude attempting to cure it.
posted by biogeo at 9:24 PM on May 14, 2018 [108 favorites]
Sessions wants to give himself even more power to refer cases to himself, even in instances where prosecutors don't appeal.
This doesn't just let him keep people out, it would also allow him to admit people without forcing them to go through normal channels. They could just officially claim asylum, and he coukd "rule" on their case. Unless he already has the power to admit people arbitrarily?
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:32 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
This doesn't just let him keep people out, it would also allow him to admit people without forcing them to go through normal channels. They could just officially claim asylum, and he coukd "rule" on their case. Unless he already has the power to admit people arbitrarily?
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:32 PM on May 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Attorney General already has the authority to parole immigrants into the country, so I'd say it's mainly about keeping people out/deporting people who are here rather than letting people in. If he does what people fear, it would be an attack on the asylum system though.
posted by zachlipton at 9:42 PM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 9:42 PM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
There's also a terrifying draft policy change circulating that would deem legal immigrants "public charges" if they accepted even more than de minimis amounts of non-cash government benefits they're entitled to, such as Medicaid, subsidized ACA plans, CHIP, food stamps, and even refundable tax credits like EITC (they've magnanimously excluded some things like pubic schools and disaster relief).
This plan could put immigrant parents in the horrible situation of forgoing health care for their children (including US citizen children) to be able to obtain permanent residency.
posted by zachlipton at 9:53 PM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
This plan could put immigrant parents in the horrible situation of forgoing health care for their children (including US citizen children) to be able to obtain permanent residency.
posted by zachlipton at 9:53 PM on May 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
He’s been complaining about administrative judges slow walking cases and I suppose this is more of a threat to get them to pick up the pace, although yeah, it’s Sessions, maybe he’ll staff up and make a bunch of decisions himself.
There’ll be a pile of lawsuits if he actually takes this step, what with the Constitution’s “persons” language and due process.
Man oh man I hope we can get these creeps out of office soon.
posted by notyou at 9:55 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
There’ll be a pile of lawsuits if he actually takes this step, what with the Constitution’s “persons” language and due process.
Man oh man I hope we can get these creeps out of office soon.
posted by notyou at 9:55 PM on May 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Mod note: Couple comments deleted. Having today's Israel/Palestine stuff in here has been an awkward compromise that we've pursued because a separate thread isn't a great idea; I don't see that changing. The only way to make it workable is to ask folks to stick to offering links to factual info, but not digging into intractable debates in here about the rights and wrongs of this incredibly awful situation.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:07 PM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:07 PM on May 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
When you've lost South Africa
This is actually a long time coming. The ANC at it's last national conference passed a motion to move down in diplomatic relations with SA from the full ambassadorial level.
posted by PenDevil at 12:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
This is actually a long time coming. The ANC at it's last national conference passed a motion to move down in diplomatic relations with SA from the full ambassadorial level.
posted by PenDevil at 12:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's important to keep in mind that Hamas' participation means that this is by definition not a peaceful protest.
I seriously doubt that everyone trapped in the Gaza Ghetto to be a member of Hamas' army. I know if I was trapped in an open-air prison like them, I'd try like hell to escape.
posted by mikelieman at 1:19 AM on May 15, 2018 [39 favorites]
I seriously doubt that everyone trapped in the Gaza Ghetto to be a member of Hamas' army. I know if I was trapped in an open-air prison like them, I'd try like hell to escape.
posted by mikelieman at 1:19 AM on May 15, 2018 [39 favorites]
This is way up thread, but mumimor linked to a NYT article about Pence taking over power. The NYT devoted nearly 1800 words to horserace bullshit. Just like the political shows and so-called news shows are devoted to horserace bullshit. Until somebody like Professor Glaude interrupts business as usual to point out the human cost of business as usual. I want an end to horserace coverage of politics and political events. We will never get it, but I want it. I ran across a blog by a graduate student named Sarah that has an interesting take on this:
What if, instead of horse-race journalism where pundits try to predict who will win, our media environment was governed by “public journalism” or “civic journalism” – with reporters asking who should win?
This question seems to fly in the face of common understandings of “good” journalism. Good journalism should be neutral, non-biased, and fact based. By tackling an inherently biased question such as “who should win,” a journalist cannot possibly meet appropriate ethical standards.
Yet, that’s not an entirely accurate take on the situation.
I love quoting Bent Flyvbjerg’s modified proverb: “power is knowledge” – that is, as Flyvbjerg argues, those with power define what counts as knowledge and fundamentally shape reality with their power.
In Rationality and Power, Flyvbjerg meticulously documents how power shapes knowledge throughout the planning process for a new transit hub in Aalborg. The initial list of proposed sites indicates one as most promising, numerous studies confirm the promise of that site and the problems with other sites. Yet – that “promising” site was, in fact, pre-selected by elites and all the research in which that option naturally rises to the top as the best choice is carefully, artfully curated to ensure that decision.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:49 AM on May 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
What if, instead of horse-race journalism where pundits try to predict who will win, our media environment was governed by “public journalism” or “civic journalism” – with reporters asking who should win?
This question seems to fly in the face of common understandings of “good” journalism. Good journalism should be neutral, non-biased, and fact based. By tackling an inherently biased question such as “who should win,” a journalist cannot possibly meet appropriate ethical standards.
Yet, that’s not an entirely accurate take on the situation.
I love quoting Bent Flyvbjerg’s modified proverb: “power is knowledge” – that is, as Flyvbjerg argues, those with power define what counts as knowledge and fundamentally shape reality with their power.
In Rationality and Power, Flyvbjerg meticulously documents how power shapes knowledge throughout the planning process for a new transit hub in Aalborg. The initial list of proposed sites indicates one as most promising, numerous studies confirm the promise of that site and the problems with other sites. Yet – that “promising” site was, in fact, pre-selected by elites and all the research in which that option naturally rises to the top as the best choice is carefully, artfully curated to ensure that decision.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:49 AM on May 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
Two Millennial Socialists Could Take Down a Pittsburgh Political Dynasty
posted by octothorpe at 4:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
In Conversation: Elizabeth Warren and Robert Reich (Youtube video 27min)
Sen. Warren tells a fun story (I hadn't heard before) about finagling a bill for (over the counter sale of) hearing aids through the Senate, past in the House and having it signed into law. (First five minutes).
After that they discuss monopolies, money in politics, income inequality and minimum wage (nothing too new but the conversational style of two teachers who understand history and modern day problems just hashing stuff out ... I found it enjoyable).
posted by phoque at 4:38 AM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
Sen. Warren tells a fun story (I hadn't heard before) about finagling a bill for (over the counter sale of) hearing aids through the Senate, past in the House and having it signed into law. (First five minutes).
After that they discuss monopolies, money in politics, income inequality and minimum wage (nothing too new but the conversational style of two teachers who understand history and modern day problems just hashing stuff out ... I found it enjoyable).
posted by phoque at 4:38 AM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
Sadly, I'm still undecided in at least two races here in western PA. I like the idea of voting in some young, more progressive blood for state legislature but I also like Jake Wheatley who's been very responsive to my neighborhood over the years. I'm also confused about lt. governor because in the past, I've supported Braddock mayor John Fetterman but I'm annoyed that he endorsed Costa over the DSA candidate Summer Lee for the legislative district over there.
posted by octothorpe at 4:56 AM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:56 AM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Michael Avenatti is using Trump tactics to battle Trump, a strategy that comes with risks
...Yet Avenatti’s tactics and visibility carry risks that could undermine his ability to represent his client, who is suing longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen and the president to be released from a nondisclosure agreement. Scrutiny of his business record and of his motives has provided grist for distracting headlines in recent days.
Translation: Once again the so-called "liberal media," desperate for "balance," takes its cues from right-wing media and opposition research, regardless of whether it's actually relevant. See also: Whitewater, Benghazi, Butteremails, Jade Helm, that stupid conversation on the tarmac, etc. etc.).
posted by Gelatin at 5:18 AM on May 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
...Yet Avenatti’s tactics and visibility carry risks that could undermine his ability to represent his client, who is suing longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen and the president to be released from a nondisclosure agreement. Scrutiny of his business record and of his motives has provided grist for distracting headlines in recent days.
Translation: Once again the so-called "liberal media," desperate for "balance," takes its cues from right-wing media and opposition research, regardless of whether it's actually relevant. See also: Whitewater, Benghazi, Butteremails, Jade Helm, that stupid conversation on the tarmac, etc. etc.).
posted by Gelatin at 5:18 AM on May 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
Inside Trump’s ‘Big Data’ Strategy for 2020 (Axios via Politicalwire)
Jonathan Swan: “Trump reelection campaign manager Brad Parscale starts with 18 million email addresses and phone numbers (‘hard contacts’) of likely Trump voters, and has a goal of doubling that that to 30 million to 40 million by Election Day 2020 — roughly half of the votes Trump needs. (He got 63 million in 2016.)”
“Parscale plans to spend $1 million per month for the rest of ’18 on digital prospecting, with hopes to increase that next year. The campaign says it has had great success recruiting Trump supporters with ads on AOL (an older, Trump-friendly demographic), Bing, Facebook, Google and conservative news sites.”
Bing is still around? Huh. An older, Trump-friendly demographic eh.
posted by petebest at 5:20 AM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Jonathan Swan: “Trump reelection campaign manager Brad Parscale starts with 18 million email addresses and phone numbers (‘hard contacts’) of likely Trump voters, and has a goal of doubling that that to 30 million to 40 million by Election Day 2020 — roughly half of the votes Trump needs. (He got 63 million in 2016.)”
“Parscale plans to spend $1 million per month for the rest of ’18 on digital prospecting, with hopes to increase that next year. The campaign says it has had great success recruiting Trump supporters with ads on AOL (an older, Trump-friendly demographic), Bing, Facebook, Google and conservative news sites.”
Bing is still around? Huh. An older, Trump-friendly demographic eh.
posted by petebest at 5:20 AM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Meanwhile, Putin is personally driving a big dump truck across the newly finished bridge connecting Russia to Crimea.
Via Lucian Kim, NPR Moscow correspondent
posted by pjenks at 5:30 AM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Via Lucian Kim, NPR Moscow correspondent
posted by pjenks at 5:30 AM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
octothorpe: "I'm also confused about lt. governor because in the past, I've supported Braddock mayor John Fetterman but I'm annoyed that he endorsed Costa over the DSA candidate Summer Lee for the legislative district over there."
I'm on the fence there, too. Fetterman has always struck me as a little "all hat, no cattle." It's been hard to find good info on the alternatives, though.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:51 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm on the fence there, too. Fetterman has always struck me as a little "all hat, no cattle." It's been hard to find good info on the alternatives, though.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:51 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
the newly finished bridge connecting Russia to Crimea.
From last year:
Putin’s Shadow Cabinet and the Bridge to Crimeaposted by XMLicious at 5:59 AM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Why the Russian President’s childhood judo partner is leading the country’s most ambitious construction project.
The Crimean bridge is different from many of Rotenberg’s other state ventures, in that he is not expected to make much money from it. “This project is not about profits,” one banker in Moscow, who specializes in transportation and infrastructure, told me. He was matter-of-fact about how Rotenberg ended up in charge: “The bridge had to be built, and everyone else was refusing. It was the only possible solution.”
[...but...]
According to the logic of the Putin era, corruption is stealing without actually doing anything. Personal enrichment is seen as the proper reward for a completed project.
Putin in command of something large, orange and usually full of worthless crap, you tell me?
posted by Buck Alec at 6:24 AM on May 15, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Buck Alec at 6:24 AM on May 15, 2018 [34 favorites]
Putin successfully completed an infrastructure project (at least in terms of something actually getting built) and got to personally drive a truck like a big boy instead of sitting behind the wheel and going "vroom vroom"? Poor Donny.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:25 AM on May 15, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 6:25 AM on May 15, 2018 [30 favorites]
I found these responses to a candidate questionnaire very helpful in deciding on the PA Lt. Governor race. It was put together by Indivisible Berks. (My choice is Ahmad but I've met Fetterman and think he'd do a fine job as well.)
posted by mcduff at 6:27 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by mcduff at 6:27 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I had lunch with a friend who is an elected official of a town in Paul Costa's district and got a bunch of poop on those races (which I traded for 21st district poop). Paul Costa and Fetterman are buds, Costa does shit for Braddock as a result while not doing that same shit for other similar towns in his district (such as the one my friend serves). Fetterman is a bit long on hat, short on cattle. My friend is not really a huge fan (she doesn't dislike him, she just sees the difference between the fantasy and reality, as it were).
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
If anyone is able to track down a list of DSA approved folks in the PA primary today, I'd be much obliged. Coming up short at the moment.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:55 AM on May 15, 2018
posted by lazaruslong at 6:55 AM on May 15, 2018
After the recent especially horrible gyrations of the newsvortex, here's the new venting thread:
Fucking Fuck XI. (I couldn't come up with a witty sequel title. "The Fucks Awaken"? "For a Few Fucks More"? I just don't know.)
Fuck this news cycle, though.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:58 AM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Fucking Fuck XI. (I couldn't come up with a witty sequel title. "The Fucks Awaken"? "For a Few Fucks More"? I just don't know.)
Fuck this news cycle, though.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:58 AM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Spike Lee on the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally :
And we have a guy in the White House — I’m not gonna say his fucking name — who defined that moment not just for Americans but the world, and that motherfucker was given the chance to say we are about love, not hate. And that motherfucker did not denounce the motherfucking Klan, the alt-right, and those Nazis motherfuckers. It was a defining moment, and he could have said to the world, not just the United States, that we were better than that.posted by kirkaracha at 7:05 AM on May 15, 2018 [104 favorites]
...
We look to our leaders. They give us direction to make moral decisions. And I like to say this is not just something that pertains to the United States of America, this bullshit has gone over the world. This right-wing bullshit is not just America, it is all over the world, and we have to wake up. We can’t be silent. It’s not a black, white, or brown [problem], it’s everybody. We all live on this planet, and this guy in the White House has the nuclear code. I go to bed thinking about it. I’ve seen the “football,” that attache case. My wife and I gave a benefit for President Obama in the second term, and I saw the attache case in the car. That is not science fiction, that shit is real. And that motherfucker has the nuclear code! They got the guy in North Korea, the other guy in Russia, what the fuck is going on?
...
Please excuse me for some profane words but the shit that’s going on, it makes you want to curse. Thank you.
Awesome, thanks cjelli! I'm going to vote after work today.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:38 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lazaruslong at 7:38 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'd like to make a quick plug to ask my fellow Minnesotans to call our governor today. He "wants to study the language" of an anti-protest bill that unfortunately passed the House and Senate. That means he needs to hear from us!
Brief summary from the Guardian is here.
The governor's number is 651.201.3400.
Script:
I am [Name] a constituent from [zip]. I am calling to ask Governor Dayton to veto the anti-protest bill that has passed the House and Senate. We have a constitutional right to assemble as a community and these bills are a clear effort to infringe upon that right. Thank you for your time.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:55 AM on May 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
Brief summary from the Guardian is here.
The governor's number is 651.201.3400.
Script:
I am [Name] a constituent from [zip]. I am calling to ask Governor Dayton to veto the anti-protest bill that has passed the House and Senate. We have a constitutional right to assemble as a community and these bills are a clear effort to infringe upon that right. Thank you for your time.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:55 AM on May 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
Nikki Haley at the U.N.: Palestinians are putting swastikas on their kites! (Security Council emergency meeting livestream)
The Trump administration must have had to really pray over whether to declare that there was "violence on many sides, on many sides" in that case. It must have been really bittersweet for them to entirely blame the Palestinians, probably hurt Trump more than it hurt them.
posted by XMLicious at 8:19 AM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Trump administration must have had to really pray over whether to declare that there was "violence on many sides, on many sides" in that case. It must have been really bittersweet for them to entirely blame the Palestinians, probably hurt Trump more than it hurt them.
posted by XMLicious at 8:19 AM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
A have a small pet peeve regarding when a news-or-similar source says "It's Not From the Onion!" and the story that follows is merely wild/unbelievable, or perhaps "Wow, that's really outrageous, but it sounds about right for these fuckers".
The Onion makes stuff up, but it doesn't just make stuff up, it tells jokes, and jokes are creations that follow certain principles to work. It's like describing every terrible/sad event as something a tragic novelist might write. End of peeve.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:34 AM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Onion makes stuff up, but it doesn't just make stuff up, it tells jokes, and jokes are creations that follow certain principles to work. It's like describing every terrible/sad event as something a tragic novelist might write. End of peeve.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:34 AM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
Today's lead editorial in Haaretz: Stop The Bloodbath
In the furthest place possible from the embassy opening in Jerusalem and the crowds celebrating Netta Barzilai’s victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, tens of thousands of desperate people without a present or future tried to cry for help. A series of broadcasts this week by Israel Television News shows the extent of the disaster that faces the two million besieged and trapped people in Gaza. The pictures are heartbreaking and horrific, and they are the real reason for the protest at the fence. Lethal weapons won’t deter young people who have nothing left to lose. There is no dispute over Israel’s right to defend its border, but this does not mean it has the right to do whatever it pleases to those who try to cross it.posted by zombieflanders at 8:40 AM on May 15, 2018 [52 favorites]
Israel bears responsibility, although not exclusively, for the Gazan disaster. The 2005 withdrawal did not absolve Israel of its responsibility, certainly so long as it suffocates Gaza with a blockade.
The people on both sides of the fence are the same age. On one side are armed Israeli soldiers – whose lives are not in danger most of the time and none of whom have been injured – who are free people, citizens of their country, with their future ahead of them. Facing them are young Gazans, in general unarmed, unprotected, the vast majority unemployed, and hopeless as long as the siege continues. Most of them go to the fence demonstrations simply to cry out and express their despair
The IDF is responsible for preventing and deterring infiltration into Israeli territory, but the solution really lies in the Prime Minister’s Office. He must seriously examine the readiness of Hamas to negotiate a cease-fire with Israel, and announce steps to reduce the blockade considerably and allow those seriously wounded to be treated in Israel.
Exclusive: how rightwing groups wield secret 'toolkit' to plot against US unions
posted by Artw at 8:54 AM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:54 AM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
On the DSA-PA front, it may be worth noting that for lt. governor, at least here in Pittsburgh, John Fetterman is the only remaining candidate who actually sought DSA endorsement, and the DSA declined to give it after meeting with him.
I'm told by a friend that the entire situation with Fetterman was pretty hostile on both sides. Informally, my local DSA friends seem to be leaning toward Nina Ahmad, but obviously that's not the same as an organization endorsement.
posted by Stacey at 9:00 AM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
I'm told by a friend that the entire situation with Fetterman was pretty hostile on both sides. Informally, my local DSA friends seem to be leaning toward Nina Ahmad, but obviously that's not the same as an organization endorsement.
posted by Stacey at 9:00 AM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump Admin. Blocked Toxic Chemicals Study Fearing 'Public Relations Nightmare'
posted by adamvasco at 9:35 AM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 9:35 AM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
Translation: Once again [Michael Avenatti] the so-called "liberal media," desperate for "balance," takes its cues from right-wing media and opposition research, regardless of whether it's actually relevant. See also: Whitewater, Benghazi, Butteremails, Jade Helm, that stupid conversation on the tarmac, etc. etc.).
Except that disclosing that companies made million dollar plus payments to the president's lawyer while major policy decisions affecting them was on the table is real news. It may be an attention getting strategy, it may be tangential to his case against the president, but those are real bombshells. I even get that quid quo pro goes on all the time in many guises, and that what these companies did is not necessarily technically illegal, but it's not just smoke. The country's on fire.
posted by xammerboy at 9:39 AM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
Except that disclosing that companies made million dollar plus payments to the president's lawyer while major policy decisions affecting them was on the table is real news. It may be an attention getting strategy, it may be tangential to his case against the president, but those are real bombshells. I even get that quid quo pro goes on all the time in many guises, and that what these companies did is not necessarily technically illegal, but it's not just smoke. The country's on fire.
posted by xammerboy at 9:39 AM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
Haley walked out of the UN meeting as soon as representative from Palestine began speaking, but not before claiming that "[n]o country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has."
Just your daily reminder that Nikki Haley isn't any sort of iconoclast, she's just another murderous, bigoted monster in an administration filled with them.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:42 AM on May 15, 2018 [109 favorites]
Just your daily reminder that Nikki Haley isn't any sort of iconoclast, she's just another murderous, bigoted monster in an administration filled with them.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:42 AM on May 15, 2018 [109 favorites]
Kind of surprised they didn't but John Bolton front and center as searching for "the real source of instability".
posted by Artw at 9:44 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 9:44 AM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Revealed: Ecuador spent millions on spy operation for Julian Assange
Just...what?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:45 AM on May 15, 2018 [31 favorites]
Just...what?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:45 AM on May 15, 2018 [31 favorites]
Did you ever have that shitty dude who you let sleep on your couch as a favor for a "couple days, until I get my shit together," and then he ends up living there for what seems like forever and you spend "at least $5m (£3.7m) into a secret intelligence budget to protect [him] while he had visits from Nigel Farage, members of European nationalist groups and individuals linked to the Kremlin[?]"
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:53 AM on May 15, 2018 [58 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:53 AM on May 15, 2018 [58 favorites]
A key quote from the Guardian article linked by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon: But the documents showed the way in which the relationship between Assange and his hosts deteriorated over time.
In an extraordinary breach of diplomatic protocol, Assange hacked into the communications system within the embassy and had his own satellite internet access, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous. By penetrating the embassy’s firewall, Assange was able to access and intercept the official and personal communications of staff, the source claimed.
As for why the government's espionage happened at all, it looks like the purpose may have cut in two directions? Like, both done out of a sense of protecting Assange from harm (they worked out a whole escape plan for him in case the UK tried forcible extraction)... and a concern that he and visitors could plot something together. Lots more facts waiting to unravel here.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:54 AM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
In an extraordinary breach of diplomatic protocol, Assange hacked into the communications system within the embassy and had his own satellite internet access, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous. By penetrating the embassy’s firewall, Assange was able to access and intercept the official and personal communications of staff, the source claimed.
As for why the government's espionage happened at all, it looks like the purpose may have cut in two directions? Like, both done out of a sense of protecting Assange from harm (they worked out a whole escape plan for him in case the UK tried forcible extraction)... and a concern that he and visitors could plot something together. Lots more facts waiting to unravel here.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:54 AM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Over more than five years, Ecuador put at least $5m (£3.7m) into a secret intelligence budget that protected the WikiLeaks founder while he had visits from Nigel Farage, members of European nationalist groups and individuals linked to the Kremlin.
Other guests included hackers, activists, lawyers and journalists.
Smells subpoenaey!
posted by petebest at 9:57 AM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Other guests included hackers, activists, lawyers and journalists.
Smells subpoenaey!
posted by petebest at 9:57 AM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'd like to make a quick plug to ask my fellow Minnesotans to call our governor today. He "wants to study the language" of an anti-protest bill that unfortunately passed the House and Senate. That means he needs to hear from us!
Brief summary from the Guardian is here.
The governor's number is 651.201.3400.
Thanks, Emmy Rae! I agree completely and left my message.
posted by Emmy Noether at 10:06 AM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Brief summary from the Guardian is here.
The governor's number is 651.201.3400.
Thanks, Emmy Rae! I agree completely and left my message.
posted by Emmy Noether at 10:06 AM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Daily 202: Trump supporters suffer unintended consequences of his policies (James Hohmann, WaPo)
One of four examples:
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:07 AM on May 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
One of four examples:
-- Small business owners who voted for Trump might be forced to shut down because the president is making it harder for them to hire guest workers.All tactics, no strategy. It's not just Trump supporters who suffer unintended consequences. Pretty much everyone around the world.
...
[Eddie Devine, owner of a landscaping business] thinks the Trump administration’s stifling of guest-worker programs has more to do with racism than economics. ‘I think there’s a war on brown people,’ he said.
“But what makes him most angry is that Trump’s properties in Florida and New York have used 144 H-2B workers since 2016. ‘I want to know why it’s OK for him to get his workers, but supporters like me don’t get theirs,’ Devine said.”
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:07 AM on May 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
“But what makes him most angry is that Trump’s properties in Florida and New York have used 144 H-2B workers since 2016. ‘I want to know why it’s OK for him to get his workers, but supporters like me don’t get theirs,’ Devine said.”Because he never saw you as a supporter. He saw you as a mark.
posted by biogeo at 10:18 AM on May 15, 2018 [82 favorites]
Well, I voted. Ahmad for LG, everything else was uncontested. It was pretty weird to see my own name on the ballot.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:22 AM on May 15, 2018 [77 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:22 AM on May 15, 2018 [77 favorites]
In further Pennsylvania politics, the editor of Pittsburgh's alt weekly, the City Paper, was fired this morning. Why? Because the City Paper is owned by the Butler [County] Eagle, who has Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-A Cave Full of Winged Mammals Producing Guano) as a client. Daryl Metcalfe is a complete nutbar and the lowest of low-hanging "get a lot of this asshole" fruit for political journalists. If you were writing a local newspaper (and this dude is local--Butler Co. is Pittsburgh exurbs), you'd have to go out of your way to not talk about this guy's many shenanigans. You may know Rep. Metcalfe from such top hits as "Another male politician touched me a creepily specific number of times and now I have Gay Cooties" and "White nationalists aren't racists, how very dare you!"
Anyway, that now leaves one Pittsburgh newspaper not in the hands of conservative snowflakes, which is fucking wild for a region with twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:23 AM on May 15, 2018 [31 favorites]
Anyway, that now leaves one Pittsburgh newspaper not in the hands of conservative snowflakes, which is fucking wild for a region with twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:23 AM on May 15, 2018 [31 favorites]
Eschewing torture isn't a "hard call" at all, and shouldn't take the view that in hindsight it wasn't beneficial to repudiate it. Haspel's letter, far from securing her confirmation, should only serve to confirm the moral bankruptcy she showed when she refused to declare the practice immoral. (Ron Howard narrator voice: It is immoral.)
posted by Gelatin at 10:29 AM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 10:29 AM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
Anyway, that now leaves one Pittsburgh newspaper not in the hands of conservative snowflakes, which is fucking wild for a region with twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans.
Kevin M. Kruse [via Twitter]: Liberal billionaires are talking up space exploration and impeachment billboards as the only way to rid themselves of all their pesky excess cash. But, you know, propping up local newspapers *might* just be a better use of that money.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:29 AM on May 15, 2018 [63 favorites]
Kevin M. Kruse [via Twitter]: Liberal billionaires are talking up space exploration and impeachment billboards as the only way to rid themselves of all their pesky excess cash. But, you know, propping up local newspapers *might* just be a better use of that money.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:29 AM on May 15, 2018 [63 favorites]
I am extremely angry about this City Paper situation. Charlie Deitch seemed like a good guy who was generally on the side of right - I appreciated the way he handled the "oops, our article on women tattoo artists accidentally included a Nazi" debacle a few months back, for example. Settling in to write an angry letter or two for all the good it will do.
posted by Stacey at 10:31 AM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Stacey at 10:31 AM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Two pieces of good news from Louisiana:
* The felon enfranchisement bill that passed the House the other day cleared a Senate committee and is now on to the Senate floor. This has had some surprising GOP support, so it may actually happen.
* LA has an unusual Jim Crow-era law that allows felony convictions without a unanimous jury. The legislature is placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot to move to requiring unanimity. This one also has bipartisan backing.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:39 AM on May 15, 2018 [40 favorites]
* The felon enfranchisement bill that passed the House the other day cleared a Senate committee and is now on to the Senate floor. This has had some surprising GOP support, so it may actually happen.
* LA has an unusual Jim Crow-era law that allows felony convictions without a unanimous jury. The legislature is placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot to move to requiring unanimity. This one also has bipartisan backing.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:39 AM on May 15, 2018 [40 favorites]
That lines up uncomfortably neatly with Trump's anti-Iran rhetoric last week, and with Bolton in the White House it's not great to see Haley describing Iran as a uniquely bad actor that is the 'common thread' to problems in the region.
Iran's leadership probably ought to start looking for Trump branded real estate developments to invest in.
With Michael Cohen no longer available for laundry services, they can just ship those pallets of cash Obama gave them a while back.
posted by notyou at 10:42 AM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Iran's leadership probably ought to start looking for Trump branded real estate developments to invest in.
With Michael Cohen no longer available for laundry services, they can just ship those pallets of cash Obama gave them a while back.
posted by notyou at 10:42 AM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
LA has an unusual Jim Crow-era law that allows felony convictions without a unanimous jury.
Unsurprisingly, this has always been an obvious and calculated way to make sure that white people can convict black people and refuse to convict white people entirely within the confines of Louisiana and federal law.
posted by Etrigan at 10:49 AM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Unsurprisingly, this has always been an obvious and calculated way to make sure that white people can convict black people and refuse to convict white people entirely within the confines of Louisiana and federal law.
posted by Etrigan at 10:49 AM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
We haven't been big on discussing the whole calling Congress thing lately, but there's a ton going on this week that's of significant interest:
Gina Haspel's nomination to run the CIA - Senate vote tomorrow
Net Neutrality - Senate vote tomorrow
Protect and Serve Act - House vote this week
Farm Bill - House votes tomorrow. Things to oppose include ACA sabotage in the form of association health plans and work requirements for SNAP ("food stamps").
Make your views known.
posted by zachlipton at 10:51 AM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
Gina Haspel's nomination to run the CIA - Senate vote tomorrow
Net Neutrality - Senate vote tomorrow
Protect and Serve Act - House vote this week
Farm Bill - House votes tomorrow. Things to oppose include ACA sabotage in the form of association health plans and work requirements for SNAP ("food stamps").
Make your views known.
posted by zachlipton at 10:51 AM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
I'd like to make a quick plug to ask my fellow Minnesotans to call our governor today. He "wants to study the language" of an anti-protest bill that unfortunately passed the House and Senate. That means he needs to hear from us!
Brief summary from the Guardian is here.
The governor's number is 651.201.3400.
Script:
I am [Name] a constituent from [zip]. I am calling to ask Governor Dayton to veto the anti-protest bill that has passed the House and Senate. We have a constitutional right to assemble as a community and these bills are a clear effort to infringe upon that right. Thank you for your time.
I called the governor! The staffer was particularly soothing.
Bear in mind, if you're from Minnesota, that this bill is absolutely going to be used to single out activists of color, probably with a view to bankrupting and taking out anti-police-violence groups and water protectors.
posted by Frowner at 10:51 AM on May 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
Brief summary from the Guardian is here.
The governor's number is 651.201.3400.
Script:
I am [Name] a constituent from [zip]. I am calling to ask Governor Dayton to veto the anti-protest bill that has passed the House and Senate. We have a constitutional right to assemble as a community and these bills are a clear effort to infringe upon that right. Thank you for your time.
I called the governor! The staffer was particularly soothing.
Bear in mind, if you're from Minnesota, that this bill is absolutely going to be used to single out activists of color, probably with a view to bankrupting and taking out anti-police-violence groups and water protectors.
posted by Frowner at 10:51 AM on May 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
he never saw you as a supporter. He saw you as a mark.
Now there's a T shirt slogan if ever I saw one. BUYER'S REMORSE on the front and that on the back. And the fact that it's perfectly clear what it's about without ever mentioning the T word is excellent as well.
posted by flabdablet at 10:52 AM on May 15, 2018 [46 favorites]
Now there's a T shirt slogan if ever I saw one. BUYER'S REMORSE on the front and that on the back. And the fact that it's perfectly clear what it's about without ever mentioning the T word is excellent as well.
posted by flabdablet at 10:52 AM on May 15, 2018 [46 favorites]
WaPo, Trump administration preparing to shelter migrant children on military bases
posted by zachlipton at 10:58 AM on May 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
The Trump administration making preparations to warehouse migrant children on military bases, according to Defense Department communications, the latest sign the government is moving forward with plans to split up families who cross the border illegally.Separating families at the border is also the kind of thing that could be added to the above list of things to call Congress about.
According to an email notification sent to Pentagon staffers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will make site visits at four military installations in Texas and Arkansas during the next two weeks to evaluate their suitability for child shelters.
The bases would be used to hold minors under age 18 who arrive at the border without an adult relative or after the government has separated them from their parents. HHS is the government agency responsible for providing minors with foster care until another adult relative can assume custody.
The email characterized the site visits as a preliminary assessment. “No decisions have been made at this time,” it states.
posted by zachlipton at 10:58 AM on May 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
Gonzales moves ratings in five races, all towards Dems:
MI-11 | Tilt R => Tossup
NJ-02 | Tossup => Tilt D
NJ-11 | Tossup => Tilt D
NC-09 | Likely R => Tilt R
OH-12 (special) | Likely R => Tilt R
posted by Chrysostom at 11:01 AM on May 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
MI-11 | Tilt R => Tossup
NJ-02 | Tossup => Tilt D
NJ-11 | Tossup => Tilt D
NC-09 | Likely R => Tilt R
OH-12 (special) | Likely R => Tilt R
posted by Chrysostom at 11:01 AM on May 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
Hastening the End of the World to Own The Libs
posted by tonycpsu at 11:07 AM on May 15, 2018 [90 favorites]
How do right-wingers decide which policies to support? It's simple: They support whatever infuriates or actively harms their political enemies -- and they don't care what happens to society as a whole. They support President Trump's saber-rattling in the Middle East because it enrages their domestic enemies and inflames the region -- but they assume no harm will personally come to themselves as a result of the policies. They like loose gun laws that result in increased American bloodshed, because they know they won't die in the high-crime cities they never visit, and they assume their kids will never die in a school shooting or a gun suicide. They like voter ID laws because they can easily obtain birth certificates and driver's licenses, so who cares what the laws do to democracy in America? They're fine with police brutality against non-whites because they're white and so they don't have to worry about it. They want Obamacare repealed because most of them have employer-paid insurance or Medicare, and who cares what happens to America when other people can't afford to stay well?(Emphasis & minor spelling/typo correction mine.)
Pre-millennial [dispensationalism] is the ultimate right-wing religious belief: Let's do what we can to make the end of the world arrive sooner, even though other people will go to hell, because we won't. We don't care about the majority of our fellow humans -- all we care about is ourselves and our tribe. We'll happily make things catastrophic for everyone else if it means we can get what we want.
That's really the definition of modern conservatism.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:07 AM on May 15, 2018 [90 favorites]
Separating families at the border is also the kind of thing that could be added to the above list of things to call Congress about.
This is the thing (of all the things, I know, but we each have our own threshold) that makes me fish shaking angry right now. Aside from calling my legislators, is there anything else at all I can do (from really far away from the US/Mexico border) to help these families? A legal aid fund? Anything?
posted by anastasiav at 11:11 AM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
This is the thing (of all the things, I know, but we each have our own threshold) that makes me fish shaking angry right now. Aside from calling my legislators, is there anything else at all I can do (from really far away from the US/Mexico border) to help these families? A legal aid fund? Anything?
posted by anastasiav at 11:11 AM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
A report from Senate Dems on the Judiciary Committee about how Trump is stacking the courts with help from his Republican pals.
I know it is 61 pages long, but on page 3 there is a 1 page summary.
I think I'll call Amy Klobuchar's office to say "thank you" for this.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:16 AM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
I know it is 61 pages long, but on page 3 there is a 1 page summary.
I think I'll call Amy Klobuchar's office to say "thank you" for this.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:16 AM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
Pre-millennial [dispensationalism] is the ultimate right-wing religious belief: Let's do what we can to make the end of the world arrive sooner, even though other people will go to hell, because we won't. We don't care about the majority of our fellow humans -- all we care about is ourselves and our tribe. We'll happily make things catastrophic for everyone else if it means we can get what we want.
For a long time I believed this is what was meant by "Immentizing the Eschaton" but in fact it's the opposite. The former is, as described, trying to create hell on earth to bring about the prophesied end of the world. The latter is trying to create heaven on earth, to render the prophesied end of the world obsolete.
It drives a lot of current evangelical thinking. If I asked my parents what should be done about global warming, disease, famine, war, fake news, they'd likely say it doesn't matter because Jesus is coming back soon.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:26 AM on May 15, 2018 [36 favorites]
For a long time I believed this is what was meant by "Immentizing the Eschaton" but in fact it's the opposite. The former is, as described, trying to create hell on earth to bring about the prophesied end of the world. The latter is trying to create heaven on earth, to render the prophesied end of the world obsolete.
It drives a lot of current evangelical thinking. If I asked my parents what should be done about global warming, disease, famine, war, fake news, they'd likely say it doesn't matter because Jesus is coming back soon.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:26 AM on May 15, 2018 [36 favorites]
The former is, as described, trying to create hell on earth to bring about the prophesied end of the world. The latter is trying to create heaven on earth, to render the prophesied end of the world obsolete.
Heaven for white wealthy sociopaths could of course just be hell for everybody else.
posted by Artw at 11:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
Heaven for white wealthy sociopaths could of course just be hell for everybody else.
posted by Artw at 11:28 AM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
Daily Best, Woodruff, Trump Administration Rule Would Keep More Undocumented Kids Apart From Their Relatives
A proposed rule could make it much harder for undocumented immigrant children who come to the United States to stay with their relatives.posted by zachlipton at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
Currently, when unaccompanied children arrive at the border—the bulk of whom flee violent, dangerous countries and look for asylum in the U.S.—they usually go into the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS then tries to find parents or relatives who can care for them while their immigration proceedings move forward. Those people are called sponsors. And if HHS can’t find sponsors for the children, they stay in foster care or shelters.
Last week, however, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule that would have Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) check the immigration status of sponsors looking to care for these children, as well as the immigration status of any other adults who live in the sponsors’ homes. The rule would have ICE get biometric data—potentially meaning fingerprints or retinal scans—of those individuals.
Because the relatives of undocumented children are sometimes themselves undocumented, immigrant rights advocates warn that the new rule could put some potential sponsors in fear of deportation, discouraging them from coming forward to take in unaccompanied children.
@W7VOA: #DPRK threatens to cancel Kim summit with @POTUS over #ROK-US military drills.
Who knew ending the Korean war could be so hard?
posted by zachlipton at 11:36 AM on May 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
Who knew ending the Korean war could be so hard?
posted by zachlipton at 11:36 AM on May 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
How do right-wingers decide which policies to support? It's simple: They support whatever infuriates or actively harms their political enemies -- and they don't care what happens to society as a whole. ... they assume no harm will personally come to themselves as a result of the policies ... Let's do what we can to make the end of the world arrive sooner, even though other people will go to hell, because we won't.
I used to believe Republicans were secretly self-serving, and whatever positions they claimed to occupy about freedom, states rights, taxation, government services, etc, were all just a ruse to increase their own well-being, especially the rich ones. I've since come around on that, to realize the importance of ideology as its own motivation independent of self-interest. In some ways, it's yet another projection of the logic of the left onto the right: we do make many decisions out of self-interest, many of them collective self-interest, but just because we are juggling a complex balance of principles and self-interest all the time doesn't mean that's how the other side work. In many ways, they are these days much more ideological than we are.
Partly that's because they have the freedom to be so because so few policies -- positive or negative -- have the power to affect them very much in the short term. But even that understates the power of ideology, as does the blogspot post above. The left's ideology means that we are often willing to forego our own personal self-interests in order to help the needy or lift collective welfare, and do things that directly hurt ourselves (such as voting to raise our own taxes) in order to further these ideals. But the right is, if anything, even more motivated in this way. They don't do it just out of self-interest, and they don't do it just when it won't harm them. They desire and vote for things that will actively harm themselves, often severely, because they believe in it: defunding programs for the poor, including poor whites; cutting healthcare; deregulating guns and drugs that kill them by the thousands; destabilizing the world moving us ever closer to nuclear armageddon; abetting global warming; etc. Sure, on many of these issues Republicans are too ignorant to even have coherent factual opinions, but not all of them, and even incoherent opinions count as deliberate acts when you deliberately continue to avoid the facts. Self-interest, and even non-self-harm, is not enough to describe the power of ideology on the left or the right, but these days, especially the right. They consistently vote for far more things that directly harm their personal self-interests than the left does these days, and we shouldn't overlook the power of those ideas.
posted by chortly at 11:39 AM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
I used to believe Republicans were secretly self-serving, and whatever positions they claimed to occupy about freedom, states rights, taxation, government services, etc, were all just a ruse to increase their own well-being, especially the rich ones. I've since come around on that, to realize the importance of ideology as its own motivation independent of self-interest. In some ways, it's yet another projection of the logic of the left onto the right: we do make many decisions out of self-interest, many of them collective self-interest, but just because we are juggling a complex balance of principles and self-interest all the time doesn't mean that's how the other side work. In many ways, they are these days much more ideological than we are.
Partly that's because they have the freedom to be so because so few policies -- positive or negative -- have the power to affect them very much in the short term. But even that understates the power of ideology, as does the blogspot post above. The left's ideology means that we are often willing to forego our own personal self-interests in order to help the needy or lift collective welfare, and do things that directly hurt ourselves (such as voting to raise our own taxes) in order to further these ideals. But the right is, if anything, even more motivated in this way. They don't do it just out of self-interest, and they don't do it just when it won't harm them. They desire and vote for things that will actively harm themselves, often severely, because they believe in it: defunding programs for the poor, including poor whites; cutting healthcare; deregulating guns and drugs that kill them by the thousands; destabilizing the world moving us ever closer to nuclear armageddon; abetting global warming; etc. Sure, on many of these issues Republicans are too ignorant to even have coherent factual opinions, but not all of them, and even incoherent opinions count as deliberate acts when you deliberately continue to avoid the facts. Self-interest, and even non-self-harm, is not enough to describe the power of ideology on the left or the right, but these days, especially the right. They consistently vote for far more things that directly harm their personal self-interests than the left does these days, and we shouldn't overlook the power of those ideas.
posted by chortly at 11:39 AM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
But just "believing in it" and voting against their own self-interest isn't the end of the story. They do it in order to actively promote harm, full stop. I can't really think of a left equivalent where liberals support a platform that causes active harm to a demographic just for the sake of it. The left votes to raise taxes, but the goal isn't to punish anyone, it's to fund society in a progressive fashion for everyone's benefit.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:42 AM on May 15, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 11:42 AM on May 15, 2018 [20 favorites]
Sen. Warner says he'll vote for Haspel. Fuuuuuuuucccccckkkkk.
posted by zachlipton at 11:44 AM on May 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:44 AM on May 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
@W7VOA: #DPRK threatens to cancel Kim summit with @POTUS over #ROK-US military drills.
Well, there goes Trump's Nobel Peace Prize.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:47 AM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Well, there goes Trump's Nobel Peace Prize.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:47 AM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Internment camps for children, GOP stacked court judges, torturer CIA Director. I really wish I had followed through on being Canadian by now. Damn.
posted by rc3spencer at 11:48 AM on May 15, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 11:48 AM on May 15, 2018 [25 favorites]
> But just "believing in it" and voting against their own self-interest isn't the end of the story. They do it in order to actively promote harm, full stop.
Yeah, this. Witness the jiggery-pokery going on with the work requirements for Medicaid. This isn't about principle / ideology -- they're perfectly fine to draw benefits, and to increase the amount of bureaucracy necessary to make sure they get those benefits while their political enemies lose theirs.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:58 AM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yeah, this. Witness the jiggery-pokery going on with the work requirements for Medicaid. This isn't about principle / ideology -- they're perfectly fine to draw benefits, and to increase the amount of bureaucracy necessary to make sure they get those benefits while their political enemies lose theirs.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:58 AM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Got some bad news, rc3spencer.
(Don't get me wrong, my possession of a Canadian passport is still one of the only things keeping me on the functioning side of anxiety these days.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:59 AM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
(Don't get me wrong, my possession of a Canadian passport is still one of the only things keeping me on the functioning side of anxiety these days.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:59 AM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Heitkamp also coming out for Haspel. We're just nowhere.
posted by zachlipton at 12:01 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:01 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
I share your feelings about Haspel but I don't think there was ever a realistic chance of her nomination failing so... I don't actually feel disappointed? Maybe that's a symptom of becoming numb to the everyday outrages because they are so common now.
posted by Justinian at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Got some bad news, rc3spencer.
Looking at New Zealand really hard now.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Looking at New Zealand really hard now.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Called it, flood gates are open for torture like its 2002. Only one missing is Feinstein, so, good job there, Senator De Leon.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Remember, Democrats stand for something - unless there’s a reason not to like looking tough or appealing to racists or whatevs.
posted by Artw at 12:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
I share your feelings about Haspel but I don't think there was ever a realistic chance of her nomination failing so
There was, if Democrats voted against her. McCain is incapacitated, and Rand Paul is still on record against. This is one where Democrats affirmatively provided the deciding votes. They could have defeated her, and choose torture instead.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [58 favorites]
There was, if Democrats voted against her. McCain is incapacitated, and Rand Paul is still on record against. This is one where Democrats affirmatively provided the deciding votes. They could have defeated her, and choose torture instead.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [58 favorites]
I guess the whole "destroyed videotape evidence of torture" thing just warrants a big meh from DC
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
GOP Georgia governor candidate bringing 'Deportation Bus Tour' to state's sanctuary cities
Includes candidate's ad with the actual vehicle; at the end of his pitch: "If you're as tired as I am with politicians that do nothing but talk, and you want to see this bus full of illegals, vote [name]."
Ethnic cleansing has been a winning GOP campaign promise and as it continues to succeed conceptually in politics but not yet so much in policy the base increasingly demands that it kreep into physicality. Plans to turn military bases into child concentration camps are great and all to them, but undesirable races are still in their living space and they want to see the suffering. They demand the spectacle. If official promises aren't fulfilled, candidates and their voters will invent their own "Deportation Bus." This looks less like a slippery slope and more like a precipice.
Trump administration preparing to shelter migrant children on military bases
Look at the language. The Washington Post could didn't have to use the word "shelter" in the headline. "Concentrate" and "imprison" are both accurate but so is the milder "intern," and even "warehouse," which is used in the body of the article itself, would be appropriate for the headline. But they chose to use the safe and pleasant "shelter" for the part that people's eyes go to. And that's why it's important to work on your community, your local politics and local media, personal relationships, things you can have some control over, if you want to try and prevent suffering on the ground: distant and weakening institutions like the Post will let it happen. The words will be shelter, transportation, evacuation, resettlement. We've been here before.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [69 favorites]
Includes candidate's ad with the actual vehicle; at the end of his pitch: "If you're as tired as I am with politicians that do nothing but talk, and you want to see this bus full of illegals, vote [name]."
Ethnic cleansing has been a winning GOP campaign promise and as it continues to succeed conceptually in politics but not yet so much in policy the base increasingly demands that it kreep into physicality. Plans to turn military bases into child concentration camps are great and all to them, but undesirable races are still in their living space and they want to see the suffering. They demand the spectacle. If official promises aren't fulfilled, candidates and their voters will invent their own "Deportation Bus." This looks less like a slippery slope and more like a precipice.
Trump administration preparing to shelter migrant children on military bases
Look at the language. The Washington Post could didn't have to use the word "shelter" in the headline. "Concentrate" and "imprison" are both accurate but so is the milder "intern," and even "warehouse," which is used in the body of the article itself, would be appropriate for the headline. But they chose to use the safe and pleasant "shelter" for the part that people's eyes go to. And that's why it's important to work on your community, your local politics and local media, personal relationships, things you can have some control over, if you want to try and prevent suffering on the ground: distant and weakening institutions like the Post will let it happen. The words will be shelter, transportation, evacuation, resettlement. We've been here before.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [69 favorites]
They support President Trump's saber-rattling in the Middle East because it enrages their domestic enemies and inflames the region -- but they assume no harm will personally come to themselves as a result of the policies.
I'd add that in large part they feel fairly confident in their ability to kick the underpinnings of the world order without consiquence because they've grown up in a stable world. To them it's normal, just the way things are, and the incredibly hard work that is ongoing to keep up that false "normal" is almost never seen and never appreciated. Why should they worry that they might kick off WWIII? There hasn't been a world war in their lifetimes, and whatever we grow up with as children is what we assume is normative.
Just like all of us, they have the feeling that a lack of open warfare between major powers, a world filled with mostly free trade, and a world with America as the dominant (only) superpower is normal. It's difficult to imagine a different world.
Most of us are able to recognize that our world order is a precarious balancing act above an abyss. But if you're less thoughtful, less historically aware, it's easy to imagine that the world will always go on as it has been and that if the liberals get outraged when you saw at the diplomatic support beams that hold up the world order then you should keep going because liberal tears are your only real metric for political success.
Like Trump, they see those diplomatic ties as an impediment, not a support structure. Why should America care about diplomatic repercussions? We've got the biggest economy and the biggest military!
Like the unnamed staffer (COUGH*KARLROVE*COUGH) in the infamous reality based community quote, they are confident that America is sufficiently strong that it needs no one and nothing else.
And of course his base eats it up. They too believe in American invulnerability. They too believe that there is no downside to ripping up treaties and insulting allies. It pisses off the liberals, so it's good, and what's the worst that could happen? A few foreigners get upset? So what? It isn't like they can do anything about it!
posted by sotonohito at 12:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [40 favorites]
I'd add that in large part they feel fairly confident in their ability to kick the underpinnings of the world order without consiquence because they've grown up in a stable world. To them it's normal, just the way things are, and the incredibly hard work that is ongoing to keep up that false "normal" is almost never seen and never appreciated. Why should they worry that they might kick off WWIII? There hasn't been a world war in their lifetimes, and whatever we grow up with as children is what we assume is normative.
Just like all of us, they have the feeling that a lack of open warfare between major powers, a world filled with mostly free trade, and a world with America as the dominant (only) superpower is normal. It's difficult to imagine a different world.
Most of us are able to recognize that our world order is a precarious balancing act above an abyss. But if you're less thoughtful, less historically aware, it's easy to imagine that the world will always go on as it has been and that if the liberals get outraged when you saw at the diplomatic support beams that hold up the world order then you should keep going because liberal tears are your only real metric for political success.
Like Trump, they see those diplomatic ties as an impediment, not a support structure. Why should America care about diplomatic repercussions? We've got the biggest economy and the biggest military!
Like the unnamed staffer (COUGH*KARLROVE*COUGH) in the infamous reality based community quote, they are confident that America is sufficiently strong that it needs no one and nothing else.
The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."Junior at least was somewhat restrained by Real President Cheney who may have been a warmongering asshole but at least had an understanding of the real world. Trump has no such restraint, he is instead surrounded by people who urge on his belief in American invulnerability.
And of course his base eats it up. They too believe in American invulnerability. They too believe that there is no downside to ripping up treaties and insulting allies. It pisses off the liberals, so it's good, and what's the worst that could happen? A few foreigners get upset? So what? It isn't like they can do anything about it!
posted by sotonohito at 12:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [40 favorites]
Trump completely fictionalizes reality. And too many people believe him.
posted by puddledork at 12:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by puddledork at 12:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Look at the language. The Washington Post could didn't have to use the word "shelter" in the headline. "Concentrate" and "imprison" are both accurate but so is the milder "intern," and even "warehouse," which is used in the body of the article itself, would be appropriate for the headline.
Thanks for pointing that out. In the article they say something like "they will be provided with opportunities for recreation and education". Just like at the nice prisons!
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
Thanks for pointing that out. In the article they say something like "they will be provided with opportunities for recreation and education". Just like at the nice prisons!
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
Theft of North Korean secrets may have pushed Kim Jong Un into talks The ultimate insider has made off with North Korea's cyber intelligence, counterintelligence and nuclear secrets, causing people to think that's why Kim Jong Un met with South Korea's leader.
posted by scalefree at 12:16 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 12:16 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
How do right-wingers decide which policies to support? It's simple: They support whatever infuriates or actively harms their political enemies -- and they don't care what happens to society as a whole.
It's been a while since I quoted cleek's Law:
posted by Gelatin at 12:16 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
It's been a while since I quoted cleek's Law:
Today’s conservatism is the opposite of what liberals want today, updated daily....or pointed out that he codified it back in 2010.
posted by Gelatin at 12:16 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
McCain is incapacitated, and Rand Paul is still on record against. This is one where Democrats affirmatively provided the deciding votes. They could have defeated her, and choose torture instead.
Pro-Trump Group Is Spending $1 Million to Get Democrats to Vote for Gina Haspel
Pro-Trump Group Is Spending $1 Million to Get Democrats to Vote for Gina Haspel
America First Policies, a group best known for employing an open racist as a key staffer, will run digital and TV ads targeting Democrats in three red states: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, according to Politico Playbook [...]posted by Atom Eyes at 12:17 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Last week, America First also announced a $500,000 ad buy against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
Playbook also reported that the ads “were going to go up in Indiana, but Joe Donnelly announced he would vote for Haspel’s nomination.” Sometimes, you don’t even have to run ads to get cowardly Democrats to do what you want!
"they will be provided with opportunities for recreation and education"
The single women and the girls make themselves comfortable in their living quarters.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
The single women and the girls make themselves comfortable in their living quarters.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
I think Congress has the power to exercise oversight of the CIA like Queen Elizabeth has the power to withhold Royal Assent from bills passed by Parliament.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 12:20 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 12:20 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
The single women and the girls make themselves comfortable in their living quarters.
That was my first thought, too.
posted by mumimor at 12:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
That was my first thought, too.
posted by mumimor at 12:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
In the interest of accuracy, I went back to find the actual quote:
Children held in HHS custody spend an average of 45 days in the government’s care, the HHS official said, and they are provided with educational and recreational opportunities.
So it's actually not a commitment for the future. It's a comment on what is currently happening.
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Children held in HHS custody spend an average of 45 days in the government’s care, the HHS official said, and they are provided with educational and recreational opportunities.
So it's actually not a commitment for the future. It's a comment on what is currently happening.
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
T.D. Strange: "There was, if Democrats voted against her. McCain is incapacitated, and Rand Paul is still on record against. This is one where Democrats affirmatively provided the deciding votes. They could have defeated her, and choose torture instead."
You've also said Paul would never be a No if he was the deciding vote. You can't have it both ways.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:31 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
You've also said Paul would never be a No if he was the deciding vote. You can't have it both ways.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:31 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
DER SPIEGEL: You are a strong supporter of Gina Haspel's nomination as CIA director, although she was deeply involved in the torture program on CIA "black sites." Why is she the right candidate?
Hayden: Who else you got? By merit alone she's a very good and wonderful choice.
DER SPIEGEL: She helped destroy video tapes of the torture interrogations.
Hayden: First of all, we don't define it as torture. And second, she didn't destroy evidence. She was a key member of our counterterrorism center for extended periods of time.
posted by infini at 12:35 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Hayden: Who else you got? By merit alone she's a very good and wonderful choice.
DER SPIEGEL: She helped destroy video tapes of the torture interrogations.
Hayden: First of all, we don't define it as torture. And second, she didn't destroy evidence. She was a key member of our counterterrorism center for extended periods of time.
posted by infini at 12:35 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Forcing him be the deciding vote is far better than providing Democratic bipartisan endorsement of torture, again. Maybe he would flip again, he probably would have, but make him do it. Instead now Paul can safely vote against Haspel and continue to pretend to have the moral high ground, knowing she will be confirmed by Democrats and he won't have to answer to pressure from the Trump/FOX complex.
But I know better than to expect concerted strategic action, much less a moral stand.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
But I know better than to expect concerted strategic action, much less a moral stand.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
assuming for a second that...Haspel's nomination was voted down -- odds are we'd be having this same conversation again in a month, except maybe with Trump's pro-torture golfing buddy whose main loyalty is to Trump rather than to the CIA.
Yeah but theoretically* it'd be even easier for Democrats to vote down someone even worse.
*Assumes spines not in evidence.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:43 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
Yeah but theoretically* it'd be even easier for Democrats to vote down someone even worse.
*Assumes spines not in evidence.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:43 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
GOP Georgia governor candidate bringing 'Deportation Bus Tour' to state's sanctuary cities
Georgia does not have any sanctuary cities. It is against the law to be a sanctuary city, and no city has declared itself to be one. The three towns this asshole with his obscene bus will be visiting tomorrow are:
Clarkston: Home of one of the largest refugee populations in the US. Obviously, refugees settled by the State Dept are by definition legal immigrants, but since when do facts matter.
Decatur: A wealthy liberal enclave adjacent to Atlanta that our lieutenant governor (also running for governor) keeps campaigning against for being a sanctuary city. Yes, his entire campaign is "I hate Decatur".
Athens: Home of the University of Georgia (and Michael Stipe). Republicans can never go wrong bashing academics.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:45 PM on May 15, 2018 [46 favorites]
Georgia does not have any sanctuary cities. It is against the law to be a sanctuary city, and no city has declared itself to be one. The three towns this asshole with his obscene bus will be visiting tomorrow are:
Clarkston: Home of one of the largest refugee populations in the US. Obviously, refugees settled by the State Dept are by definition legal immigrants, but since when do facts matter.
Decatur: A wealthy liberal enclave adjacent to Atlanta that our lieutenant governor (also running for governor) keeps campaigning against for being a sanctuary city. Yes, his entire campaign is "I hate Decatur".
Athens: Home of the University of Georgia (and Michael Stipe). Republicans can never go wrong bashing academics.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:45 PM on May 15, 2018 [46 favorites]
[Philadelphia] DA Cy Vance Jr. : "Effective August 1st, my office will decline to prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases."
posted by zombieflanders at 12:52 PM on May 15, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 12:52 PM on May 15, 2018 [55 favorites]
Josh Rogin, China gave Trump a list of crazy demands, and he caved to one of them
posted by zachlipton at 12:53 PM on May 15, 2018 [38 favorites]
After top Trump officials went to Beijing last month, the Chinese government wrote up a document with a list of economic and trade demands that ranged from the reasonable to the ridiculous. On Sunday, President Trump caved to one of those demands before the next round of negotiations even starts, undermining his own objectives for no visible gain.The article goes on to cite other demands from China, several of which are hilarious (we should drop our investigations into IP violations by China and instead strengthen protection of Chinese IP in the US).
The Chinese proposal is entitled, “Framework Arrangement on Promoting Balanced Development on Bilateral Trade,” and I obtained an English version of the document, which is the Chinese government’s negotiating position heading into the next round of talks. That round begins this week when Xi Jinping’s special economic envoy Liu He returns to town.
Bullet point 5 is entitled, “Appropriately handling the ZTE case to secure global supply chain.”
“Having noted China’s great concern about the case of ZTE, the U.S. will listen attentively to ZTE’s plea, consider the progress and efforts ZTE has made in compliance management and announce adjustment to the export ban,” the document states.
...
Trump is signaling he’s willing to give up the one piece of leverage that is actually getting the Chinese government’s attention before receiving anything concrete in return. That’s not only bad negotiating. It also sends the message that the United States doesn’t have the stomach for the larger economic battles with China to come.
posted by zachlipton at 12:53 PM on May 15, 2018 [38 favorites]
Cy Vance is the DA of Manhattan, not Philadelphia.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:56 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:56 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
Damnit, I had him mixed up with an actual decent person (Larry Krasner) in my head.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 12:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm pretty sure by now everyone knows what everyone's position is on this type of thing. Do we really need to thrash it out yet again?
posted by Chrysostom at 1:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 1:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
But just "believing in it" and voting against their own self-interest isn't the end of the story. They do it in order to actively promote harm, full stop.
Believe me, I know.
posted by chortly at 1:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Believe me, I know.
posted by chortly at 1:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mod note: Agreed, one deleted; enough.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, Republicans have confirmed 4 federal circuit court judges in the past two days. Obama was able to confirm 2 circuit court judges in all of 2015 and 2016.
posted by Justinian at 1:12 PM on May 15, 2018 [54 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:12 PM on May 15, 2018 [54 favorites]
If I'm not mistaken, although Trump only picked one of the five Chinese proposals (for now), he went further than requested. Or perhaps more precisely, he saw through the subtext and jumped to the point.
The document asks that the USA "listen attentively to ZTE’s plea, consider the progress and efforts ZTE has made" and then "announce adjustment to the export ban", but Donald tweeted he would help "give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast". I'm picturing a lawyer patting his wallet and quietly whispering "Maybe you can consider leniency? Obviously it's your call, but--" and the judge yells back so the court can hear, "You want all the charges dropped? No problem!"
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:16 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
The document asks that the USA "listen attentively to ZTE’s plea, consider the progress and efforts ZTE has made" and then "announce adjustment to the export ban", but Donald tweeted he would help "give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast". I'm picturing a lawyer patting his wallet and quietly whispering "Maybe you can consider leniency? Obviously it's your call, but--" and the judge yells back so the court can hear, "You want all the charges dropped? No problem!"
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:16 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Remember upthread where I covered the "peace plan" that is in the works by: bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, Jared Kushner and long-term Trump employee (chief attorney overseeing large transactions for the Trump Organization)-turned special representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt?
Well, Jared is a busy boy -- he's also working to shepherd a watered-down prison reform bill through the Senate. Prison reform is near and dear to his heart, because his own father went to prison, and "Kushner regularly visited him inside bars" (fun fact - the prison reform bill, which is much less impressive than what was in the works in the Obama years, one of his own priorities, now includes transmuting sentences for good behavior from time in prison to time in halfway-houses, just like the experience of Charles Kushner -- funny coincidence there, isn't it?)
posted by filthy light thief at 1:28 PM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
Well, Jared is a busy boy -- he's also working to shepherd a watered-down prison reform bill through the Senate. Prison reform is near and dear to his heart, because his own father went to prison, and "Kushner regularly visited him inside bars" (fun fact - the prison reform bill, which is much less impressive than what was in the works in the Obama years, one of his own priorities, now includes transmuting sentences for good behavior from time in prison to time in halfway-houses, just like the experience of Charles Kushner -- funny coincidence there, isn't it?)
posted by filthy light thief at 1:28 PM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff fires back at Trump for his ZTE capitulation:
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:32 PM on May 15, 2018 [73 favorites]
Our intelligence agencies have warned that ZTE technology and phones pose a major cyber security threat. You should care more about our national security than Chinese jobs.He was even blunter on CNN today: "[...]I can't imagine China going forward with this transaction helping a Trump branded property in Indonesia to the tune of half a billion if the president continued the sanctions on ZTE. It's hard to imagine. [...] I certainly view this as a violation of the Emolument Clause, yes, and many others as well, both foreign in terms of, you know, the business effort to expand the Trump Organization[….] It should never be permitted that there's even a question about whether this foreign transaction is driving U.S. policy and this is exactly what the Emolument Clause is designed to prevent."
China backs Trump project in Indonesia to tune of $500 million. Trump backs China with fix for ZTE, a company that has cheated on Iran and North Korea sanctions and poses a cyber threat to U.S.
Today’s swamp level: White House now completely submerged.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:32 PM on May 15, 2018 [73 favorites]
WaPo, Trump administration preparing to shelter migrant children on military bases
Better quick takes on this:
Trump admin is preparing to put migrant children in warehouses on military bases after separating them from their families.
This is aggressive cruelty.
Add to this the punishing/ threatening of legal immigrants for using any type of benefits - ACA, emergency Medicare, even the EITC tax credit.
We have been on this course a long time, toward the sick, fascist orgy occurring now. It accelerated under W Bush, with Fatherland, I mean Homeland Security, torture, Guantanomo, the abridgment of privacy rights (even while the right-wing gun fetishists were getting their automatic weapons back), ICE. And not even going into the treatment of so many citizens born here.
posted by NorthernLite at 1:34 PM on May 15, 2018 [39 favorites]
Better quick takes on this:
Trump admin is preparing to put migrant children in warehouses on military bases after separating them from their families.
This is aggressive cruelty.
Add to this the punishing/ threatening of legal immigrants for using any type of benefits - ACA, emergency Medicare, even the EITC tax credit.
We have been on this course a long time, toward the sick, fascist orgy occurring now. It accelerated under W Bush, with Fatherland, I mean Homeland Security, torture, Guantanomo, the abridgment of privacy rights (even while the right-wing gun fetishists were getting their automatic weapons back), ICE. And not even going into the treatment of so many citizens born here.
posted by NorthernLite at 1:34 PM on May 15, 2018 [39 favorites]
White supremacist Matthew Heimbach is being held in Louisville Metro Corrections jail Tuesday after a judge revoked his probation.
Need more jailed assholes. One once-prominent Nazi locked up for 38 days is equivalent to eating a single potato chip right about now.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
Need more jailed assholes. One once-prominent Nazi locked up for 38 days is equivalent to eating a single potato chip right about now.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
In an extraordinary breach of diplomatic protocol, Assange hacked into the communications system within the embassy and had his own satellite internet access, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous. By penetrating the embassy’s firewall, Assange was able to access and intercept the official and personal communications of staff, the source claimed.
"You can't find a bus that he won't throw you under given half a chance." - A former roommate of Julian's.
posted by scalefree at 1:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
"You can't find a bus that he won't throw you under given half a chance." - A former roommate of Julian's.
posted by scalefree at 1:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
CNN, In leaky West Wing, not even a phone ban can stop embarrassing disclosures
----
@cmarinucci: New! from White House: Trump Wed will meet w CA leaders and public officials "who oppose CA's illegal and unconstitutional sanctuary policies that release criminal illegal aliens into public communities,'' to talk "shared efforts to...restore community safety.”
The list of attendees include such luminaries as the Mayor of Barstow. While I'd never knock Barstow's lovely qualities, other parts of the state have transit systems that can move its entire population in under a half hour. Note also Orange County trying to play it both ways by sending a deputy sheriff.
posted by zachlipton at 1:55 PM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
The White House banned the use of personal cell phones in the West Wing in January. It was an idea first floated by chief of staff John Kelly when he replaced Reince Priebus last July, but one he didn't implement until months into his tenure. Officials publicly maintained that the ban was because of national security reasons, but multiple staffers said privately that they were under the impression it was carried out in hopes of limiting leaks to reporters.Who are these men in suits?
Kelly was agitated when a memo he wrote outlining the new policy quickly leaked to media outlets, a source familiar with his reaction said.
...
Officials now either leave their personal devices in their cars, or, when they arrive for work each morning, deposit them in lockers that have been installed at West Wing entrances. Each locker has a key, which official said take a little jiggling to remove. The staffer puts their phone in the locker, locks it and hangs on to the key until the end of the day when it's time to reclaim their device.
Sources said it's common to find several staffers huddled around the lockers throughout the day, perusing their neglected messages. The lockers buzz and chirp constantly from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The ban isn't based on an honor system. Sweeps are carried out to track down personal devices that have made it past the lobby and into the building. According to sources who are familiar with the sweeps, men dressed in suits and carrying large handheld devices have been seen roaming the halls of the West Wing, moving from room to room, scouring the place for devices that aren't government-issued. If one is detected, one of the men will ask those in the room if someone forgot to put their phone away.
In the early days of the ban, staffers would forget, or didn't realize that the ban included Apple watches. But if no one says they have a phone, the men begin searching the room.
----
@cmarinucci: New! from White House: Trump Wed will meet w CA leaders and public officials "who oppose CA's illegal and unconstitutional sanctuary policies that release criminal illegal aliens into public communities,'' to talk "shared efforts to...restore community safety.”
The list of attendees include such luminaries as the Mayor of Barstow. While I'd never knock Barstow's lovely qualities, other parts of the state have transit systems that can move its entire population in under a half hour. Note also Orange County trying to play it both ways by sending a deputy sheriff.
posted by zachlipton at 1:55 PM on May 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
Meanwhile, Republicans have confirmed 4 federal circuit court judges in the past two days. Obama was able to confirm 2 circuit court judges in all of 2015 and 2016.
And this is where not just elections, but decisions made on who to fund and where, have consequences. I'm thinking of the abandonment of Howard Dean's 50-state strategy, which I think is the biggest mistake Dems have made in the past 15 or so years. I recall reading somewhere that the rationale behind this was: if we have the Presidency, we have the judiciary including the Supreme Court, and we have to prioritize. And we all know how neglecting Congress and down-ballot races came around to bite us in the butt from Merrick Garland onward. There comes a time when you need Congress on your side, especially now that the Rs are taken over by extremists and they are not going to reach across the aisle to cooperate.
I'm very glad to see that turning around now, but it's unfortunate that it took a crisis (the election of a wanna-be Mussolini) to wake us up.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:56 PM on May 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
And this is where not just elections, but decisions made on who to fund and where, have consequences. I'm thinking of the abandonment of Howard Dean's 50-state strategy, which I think is the biggest mistake Dems have made in the past 15 or so years. I recall reading somewhere that the rationale behind this was: if we have the Presidency, we have the judiciary including the Supreme Court, and we have to prioritize. And we all know how neglecting Congress and down-ballot races came around to bite us in the butt from Merrick Garland onward. There comes a time when you need Congress on your side, especially now that the Rs are taken over by extremists and they are not going to reach across the aisle to cooperate.
I'm very glad to see that turning around now, but it's unfortunate that it took a crisis (the election of a wanna-be Mussolini) to wake us up.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:56 PM on May 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
@mattzap: JUST IN: Judge in D.C. denies Manafort motion to dismiss charges. Says "the indictment falls squarely within that portion of the authority granted to the Special Counsel," and it was "logical and appropriate" for investigators looking at coordination to focus on him.
Here's the judge's order.
posted by zachlipton at 1:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [58 favorites]
Here's the judge's order.
posted by zachlipton at 1:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [58 favorites]
> JUST IN: Judge in D.C. denies Manafort motion to dismiss charges. Says "the indictment falls squarely within that portion of the authority granted to the Special Counsel," and it was "logical and appropriate" for investigators looking at coordination to focus on him.
Is this where we play the sad trombone sound? Because I want to play the sad trombone sound for Paul Manafort.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:02 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
Is this where we play the sad trombone sound? Because I want to play the sad trombone sound for Paul Manafort.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:02 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
This denial is from Judge Amy Berman in the DC US District Court (who has been skeptical of Manafort's side in prior rulings). Mueller has a second federal case against Manafort in Virginia, in which Judge T.S. Ellis was recently skeptical of the Government's approach.
posted by pjenks at 2:06 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by pjenks at 2:06 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Infowars’ attempt to hijack and exploit the wild conspiracy theory that is QAnon is backfiring. Alex Jones fed a growing monster. Now the monster is trying to eat him.
posted by scalefree at 2:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 2:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
This is interesting, from the Judge's order:
posted by pjenks at 2:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
The second reason Manafort’s motion fails is that the Department of Justice promulgated the Special Counsel Regulations for its own internal management, and they do not create any substantive rights for the benefit of individuals under investigation. This means that Manafort cannot predicate a motion to dismiss on the regulations.So Manafort's whole argument for getting the case dismissed --- because Mueller was overreaching his mandate --- is specious because those are just rules for "internal management", not law.
posted by pjenks at 2:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
[Philadelphia Manhattan] DA Cy Vance Jr. : "Effective August 1st, my office will decline to prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases."
Great! But why wait until August 1st?
posted by msalt at 2:15 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Great! But why wait until August 1st?
posted by msalt at 2:15 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
WaPo OpEd, Paul Waldman, Why Democrats can’t win the ‘respect’ of Trump voters
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:17 PM on May 15, 2018 [93 favorites]
... In the world Republicans have constructed, a Democrat who wants to give you health care and a higher wage is disrespectful, while a Republican who opposes those things but engages in a vigorous round of campaign race-baiting is respectful. The person who’s holding you back isn’t the politician who just voted to give a trillion-dollar tax break to the wealthy and corporations, it’s an East Coast college professor who said something condescending on Twitter.I hope this eventually becomes accepted wisdom, even among the campaign consultant set. Stop cringing.
So what are Democrats to do? The answer is simple: This is a game they cannot win, so they have to stop playing.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:17 PM on May 15, 2018 [93 favorites]
Trump: What kind of president do you think I am?
Schiff: We’ve already established that. Now we’re just haggling over the price.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [37 favorites]
Schiff: We’ve already established that. Now we’re just haggling over the price.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [37 favorites]
@W7VOA: #DPRK threatens to cancel Kim summit with @POTUS over #ROK-US military drills.
They're going further than that. They've suspended the NK-SK talks that already started.
North Korea casts doubt on Trump summit, suspends talks with South.
They're going further than that. They've suspended the NK-SK talks that already started.
North Korea casts doubt on Trump summit, suspends talks with South.
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Wednesday threw into question an unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for next month, denouncing military exercises between South Korea and the United States as a provocation and calling off high-level talks with Seoul.posted by scalefree at 2:22 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
A report on North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency angrily attacked the “Max Thunder” air combat drills, which it said involved U.S. stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, and appeared to mark a break in months of warming ties between North and South Korea and between Pyongyang and Washington.
Looks like Xi has studied his history. Back in 1915 Japan sent the Chinese government a list of demands as the starting point for negotiations. It's kind of (in)famous in East Asian history. It illustrated the sudden switch in the East Asian power hierarchy which had previously had China on the top and Japan as an also ran. The Twenty-One Demands worked out quite well for Japan despite huffing, puffing, boycotts, and estranging Western allies.
China was loud and vocal in its objection to the demands and their high handed nature, Europe (correctly) saw it as Japan encroaching on their colonial territory. And in the immediate term the result wasn't so great for Japan (decreased trade with China, weakened European alliances). But in the longer term it worked out very well. It established Japan as a player in the colonial game equal to the European powers, the trade with China bounced back, it weakened China's image both internally and externally, and it set the stage for splitting Manchuko off from China's rule. Oh, and Japan got around 4/5 of what they'd demanded.
If Xi wasn't recalling the Twenty One Demands and considering how he's immune to much of the pushback Japan got I'd be very surprised. He's already facing a trade war with America, its doubtful that his high handed tone in that message will make it worse and it seems that he's seen through Trump's bluster to the coward hiding behind all the bravado and realized that pushing Trump hard makes him back down. Further, Trump has alienated America's allies worldwide so it's unlikely that China will face even mild criticism for its slap in the face to the US.
All across the world people are noting that Xi demanded concessions from Trump, and Trump not only gave Xi what he wanted, but more. Xi's prestige worldwide is going to go up, and internally he's gained even more stability and security for his rule.
Xi is seeing how far he can go, how much he can displace the US, and the answer is turning out to be that he can go further than he'd ever dreamed possible.
posted by sotonohito at 2:25 PM on May 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
China was loud and vocal in its objection to the demands and their high handed nature, Europe (correctly) saw it as Japan encroaching on their colonial territory. And in the immediate term the result wasn't so great for Japan (decreased trade with China, weakened European alliances). But in the longer term it worked out very well. It established Japan as a player in the colonial game equal to the European powers, the trade with China bounced back, it weakened China's image both internally and externally, and it set the stage for splitting Manchuko off from China's rule. Oh, and Japan got around 4/5 of what they'd demanded.
If Xi wasn't recalling the Twenty One Demands and considering how he's immune to much of the pushback Japan got I'd be very surprised. He's already facing a trade war with America, its doubtful that his high handed tone in that message will make it worse and it seems that he's seen through Trump's bluster to the coward hiding behind all the bravado and realized that pushing Trump hard makes him back down. Further, Trump has alienated America's allies worldwide so it's unlikely that China will face even mild criticism for its slap in the face to the US.
All across the world people are noting that Xi demanded concessions from Trump, and Trump not only gave Xi what he wanted, but more. Xi's prestige worldwide is going to go up, and internally he's gained even more stability and security for his rule.
Xi is seeing how far he can go, how much he can displace the US, and the answer is turning out to be that he can go further than he'd ever dreamed possible.
posted by sotonohito at 2:25 PM on May 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
To give space for feedback before it goes into effect, basically: from the full press statement:
I have long speculated that the reason for New York's lag in recreational marijuana was to give NYPD's #1 Excuse For Hassling Kids as long a run as possible.
posted by mikelieman at 2:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
I have long speculated that the reason for New York's lag in recreational marijuana was to give NYPD's #1 Excuse For Hassling Kids as long a run as possible.
posted by mikelieman at 2:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
... In the world Republicans have constructed, a Democrat who wants to give you health care and a higher wage is disrespectful, while a Republican who opposes those things but engages in a vigorous round of campaign race-baiting is respectful. The person who’s holding you back isn’t the politician who just voted to give a trillion-dollar tax break to the wealthy and corporations, it’s an East Coast college professor who said something condescending on Twitter.
So what are Democrats to do? The answer is simple: This is a game they cannot win, so they have to stop playing.
I was thinking about this the other day and one of the things Trump voters go on and on about is how you know that Trump is genuine. He speaks his mind. He means what he says. He is genuine.
We have somehow reached the point as a society where the only thing many people feel they can trust is the open expression of hate. Everything else is treated as disingenuous. It's as if we have been inoculated against our better nature.
posted by srboisvert at 2:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [54 favorites]
So what are Democrats to do? The answer is simple: This is a game they cannot win, so they have to stop playing.
I was thinking about this the other day and one of the things Trump voters go on and on about is how you know that Trump is genuine. He speaks his mind. He means what he says. He is genuine.
We have somehow reached the point as a society where the only thing many people feel they can trust is the open expression of hate. Everything else is treated as disingenuous. It's as if we have been inoculated against our better nature.
posted by srboisvert at 2:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [54 favorites]
DA Cy Vance Jr. : "Effective August 1st, my office will decline to prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases."
There's also a cool new program announced today in San Francisco in partnership with Code for America's Clear My Record effort to automagically generate petitions to expunge or reduce marijuana convictions, with a goal of doing 250,000 statewide. The software identifies eligible convictions and prepares the paperwork for bulk filing in court.
posted by zachlipton at 2:31 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
There's also a cool new program announced today in San Francisco in partnership with Code for America's Clear My Record effort to automagically generate petitions to expunge or reduce marijuana convictions, with a goal of doing 250,000 statewide. The software identifies eligible convictions and prepares the paperwork for bulk filing in court.
posted by zachlipton at 2:31 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
We have somehow reached the point as a society where the only thing many people feel they can trust is the open expression of hate. Everything else is treated as disingenuous.
This is closely linked to the concept of "virtue signaling." Nobody actually has virtue, they just pretend to so other people who pretend to goodness will see the signaler as one of them. Only evil is authentic, and thus to be authentic you must be evil.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:33 PM on May 15, 2018 [59 favorites]
This is closely linked to the concept of "virtue signaling." Nobody actually has virtue, they just pretend to so other people who pretend to goodness will see the signaler as one of them. Only evil is authentic, and thus to be authentic you must be evil.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:33 PM on May 15, 2018 [59 favorites]
Bunch of Republican politicians plus Alex Jones are all going apeshit about a story from a local TV news channel in Minnesota (Fox 9) about a fraud scheme involving several day cares run by Somali immigrants. (They are suspected of taking state child care subsidies for kids they weren't actually caring for).
That, at least, is the factual core of the report, but it's wrapped in baseless speculation about the extent of the scheme (could it be half of the state's whole daycare subsidy program?!) and what happens to the money (could it be shipped back to Somalia in suitcases full of cash, which are intercepted by terrorists who take a cut?!)
If you actually read the article carefully the answers to those questions are 1. the reporters have no idea and 2. The reporters have no idea. But you have to really pay attention to notice that because of the heavy-handed innuendo. I would like to publicly debunk the story here, so if any of you come across it being wielded by right wingers (or on Trump's twitter account tomorrow) insisting that it is proof that we need a Muslim ban, you can snap back.
The reporters say, "Search warrants obtained by the Fox 9 Investigators show each one of the suspect centers has received several million dollars in childcare assistance funds." Okay, but over what time period, and how much of that was fraudulent, as opposed to legitimate?
The story cites "government insiders" who "believe" the scam is costing the state $100 million per year. Not "have evidence" just "believe" -- so this is still speculation. And the reporters cite a named source who does NOT believe that number, which would be half of all daycare subsidies, is right. ""I don't think half sounds credible," Johnson said.""
So in the end, the reporters simply don't know at all how much daycare fraud is costing the state.
Then they start talking about cash leaving the airport. The amount of cash leaving the airport (legally, declared in luggage) has gone up from $14 million in 2015 to $100 million in 2017. Well that is interesting, but what does that have to do with the daycares?
"The money is usually headed to the Middle East, Dubai and points beyond."
Okay, but is any of it going to Somalia?
Apparently the reporters have no evidence that it is. Instead they start talking about flights leaving Seattle, and explain that cash coming through the Seattle airport and destined for Somalia is being sent by companies that do money transfers that way because it's impossible to wire money to Somalia.
So is there anything illegal about those suitcases leaving MSP? Not as far as the reporters know. Is any of it going to Somalia? Not as far as the reporters know. Is any of it coming from those daycare centers suspected of fraud? Not as far as the reporters know.
Yet many people who read this story are going to come away thinking the answer is "yes" to all of those questions. That's because the story is written in a deliberately confusing and misleading style, with tons of pure speculation worked in among the facts.
Here's a Minnesota Public Radio story: Fox 9 reporting on day care fraud called into question
A statement from Rep. Ilhan Omar: 'Villifying an entire community ... does not serve justice'
A statement from the Minnesota Department of Human Services: '$100 million is not a credible number'
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:38 PM on May 15, 2018 [41 favorites]
That, at least, is the factual core of the report, but it's wrapped in baseless speculation about the extent of the scheme (could it be half of the state's whole daycare subsidy program?!) and what happens to the money (could it be shipped back to Somalia in suitcases full of cash, which are intercepted by terrorists who take a cut?!)
If you actually read the article carefully the answers to those questions are 1. the reporters have no idea and 2. The reporters have no idea. But you have to really pay attention to notice that because of the heavy-handed innuendo. I would like to publicly debunk the story here, so if any of you come across it being wielded by right wingers (or on Trump's twitter account tomorrow) insisting that it is proof that we need a Muslim ban, you can snap back.
The reporters say, "Search warrants obtained by the Fox 9 Investigators show each one of the suspect centers has received several million dollars in childcare assistance funds." Okay, but over what time period, and how much of that was fraudulent, as opposed to legitimate?
The story cites "government insiders" who "believe" the scam is costing the state $100 million per year. Not "have evidence" just "believe" -- so this is still speculation. And the reporters cite a named source who does NOT believe that number, which would be half of all daycare subsidies, is right. ""I don't think half sounds credible," Johnson said.""
So in the end, the reporters simply don't know at all how much daycare fraud is costing the state.
Then they start talking about cash leaving the airport. The amount of cash leaving the airport (legally, declared in luggage) has gone up from $14 million in 2015 to $100 million in 2017. Well that is interesting, but what does that have to do with the daycares?
"The money is usually headed to the Middle East, Dubai and points beyond."
Okay, but is any of it going to Somalia?
Apparently the reporters have no evidence that it is. Instead they start talking about flights leaving Seattle, and explain that cash coming through the Seattle airport and destined for Somalia is being sent by companies that do money transfers that way because it's impossible to wire money to Somalia.
So is there anything illegal about those suitcases leaving MSP? Not as far as the reporters know. Is any of it going to Somalia? Not as far as the reporters know. Is any of it coming from those daycare centers suspected of fraud? Not as far as the reporters know.
Yet many people who read this story are going to come away thinking the answer is "yes" to all of those questions. That's because the story is written in a deliberately confusing and misleading style, with tons of pure speculation worked in among the facts.
Here's a Minnesota Public Radio story: Fox 9 reporting on day care fraud called into question
A statement from Rep. Ilhan Omar: 'Villifying an entire community ... does not serve justice'
A statement from the Minnesota Department of Human Services: '$100 million is not a credible number'
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:38 PM on May 15, 2018 [41 favorites]
Doug Jones will vote against Haspel, thus disproving the idea that you can't oppose torture if you're in a vulnerable seat, an excuse Warner doesn't even have. "We must choose leaders that consistently embody our highest ideals, rather than our darkest moments."
posted by zachlipton at 2:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [82 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [82 favorites]
I've spent the last few days trying to focus on stuff outside the news: writing, career stuffs, family stuffs, hell even a game of Civ. That wasn't me deliberately trying to escape the news; life just shook out that way. I was still aware of the Gaza horror show yesterday and such. But now I'm looking at headlines and chatter here about Haspel and more on Gaza and using military bases as internment camps, and the impact of it all is jarring as hell.
And what gets me most about it? That bit from Trump shouting triumphantly about saving Chinese jobs. Because I'm totally fine with Chinese people working, whatever, but this is a company that is in trouble for straight-up spying on us, and Trump is looking to save their jobs...and his supporters still won't care. Doesn't matter how much he shouted about America First and taking care of American jobs. They'll be fine with this. Because it's Trump and it's their side and they don't care.
There really is no point in trying to get through to his supporters. None. They don't care.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [42 favorites]
And what gets me most about it? That bit from Trump shouting triumphantly about saving Chinese jobs. Because I'm totally fine with Chinese people working, whatever, but this is a company that is in trouble for straight-up spying on us, and Trump is looking to save their jobs...and his supporters still won't care. Doesn't matter how much he shouted about America First and taking care of American jobs. They'll be fine with this. Because it's Trump and it's their side and they don't care.
There really is no point in trying to get through to his supporters. None. They don't care.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [42 favorites]
when someone is caught red-handed paying trump off, perhaps they'll care, if that someone is a foreigner or an enemy, even
the question isn't if he's that corrupt, he is - the question is whether he'll get caught and whether these people even care
"yeah, we lit our farts near the gas pump - well, no, we didn't think about it ..."
i just feel like a wave of banal evil is taking over the world with its toxic gas and the children are playing with matches the governments and propagandists are handing them
posted by pyramid termite at 3:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
the question isn't if he's that corrupt, he is - the question is whether he'll get caught and whether these people even care
"yeah, we lit our farts near the gas pump - well, no, we didn't think about it ..."
i just feel like a wave of banal evil is taking over the world with its toxic gas and the children are playing with matches the governments and propagandists are handing them
posted by pyramid termite at 3:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
There really is no point in trying to get through to his supporters. None. They don't care.
Fuck his supporters. There are tons more people who don't vote at all. Focus on getting them to vote instead of trying to persuade the unpersuadable.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:07 PM on May 15, 2018 [53 favorites]
Fuck his supporters. There are tons more people who don't vote at all. Focus on getting them to vote instead of trying to persuade the unpersuadable.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:07 PM on May 15, 2018 [53 favorites]
It’s A Good Time To Be A Reporter Covering Trump If You Like Money And Going On TV (Steven Perlberg, BuzzFeed)
When it comes to television, attitudes within print media have shifted — most notably, the New York Times opened up its newsroom for a Showtime documentary and inked a deal with FX for a weekly show. Reporters at the Times and Washington Post often appear from the pop-up studios in their own newsrooms, allowing them to be near their desks while in the mania of deadline pressure but also plopping a big logo and bustling newsroom behind them (something that news organizations have come to recognize offers branding potential).posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
There are other factors at work. “Let’s be honest, DC is the most careerist, thirstiest town of climbers that there is,” said one reporter with a network contributorship. “You have all these print journalists who have decided that TV is not a lesser thing as soon as they were invited to be on it.”
For TV networks, the arms race for political talent has turned the daily White House press briefing into a career launching pad like it’s never been before. (American Urban Radio Networks’ April Ryan and Playboy’s Brian Karem, fixtures in the briefing room, are now both CNN contributors.) But the feeding frenzy has also irked some reporters who work for the TV networks full-time, since the quest for airtime has become more crowded by outsiders.
In re daycare fraud: If fraud and graft are good enough for the POTUS and his cabinet, why can't these theoretical daycare providers get a cut? So some immigrants committed some kind of crime, big fucking deal. Put Trump, Jared and Ivanka in jail, then we'll talk.
Fuck a bunch of this racist paranoia. Somali people are part of Minnesota and anyone who tries to come for my neighbors and fellow Minnesotans is trying to come for me.
posted by Frowner at 3:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
Fuck a bunch of this racist paranoia. Somali people are part of Minnesota and anyone who tries to come for my neighbors and fellow Minnesotans is trying to come for me.
posted by Frowner at 3:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
There’s so much going on a fairly straightforward pay for play scandal involving Coumo is getting buried
posted by The Whelk at 3:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 3:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
Russiagate Is An American Story — What the Mueller investigation continually reveals is the extent of everyday corruption in US business and politics [David Klion, BuzzFeed]
In July 2017, Joshua Yaffa reported from Moscow for the New Yorker on what reputable Russian journalists made of the Trump-Russia story. “I spoke to more than a half-dozen of them, all of whom found themselves in some way bemused, frustrated, or disappointed in the way that the US press has covered Putin and Russia,” Yaffa wrote. The interviewees accused the US media, not inaccurately, of fomenting conspiracy theories, exaggerating Vladimir Putin’s degree of control over the Russian state, jumping to conclusions about the identity and motivations of Russian hackers, and other journalistic failures. But conspicuously, none of them seemed to have much to say about the scandal itself.posted by Atom Eyes at 3:22 PM on May 15, 2018 [37 favorites]
And why would they? The truth is that most of what Russiagate entails took place in the United States, and most of the important characters in the story are American. What the Mueller investigation continually reveals is the extent of everyday corruption in US business and politics — corruption that often connects to Russian actors but is also distinctly American in origin.
I'm really afraid of what Trump will agree to in order to ensure he gets that summit with Kim. Look how much he and his supporters have counted on this to give him a big "win." He has a an unpopular tax cut, an embassy in Jerusalem and lasting peace between North and South Korea to boast about. At this point, Trump wants this more than Kim and I'm sure that the leader of North Korea can figure that out.
Jim Sciutto
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Jim Sciutto
WH responds to reported NK threat to cancel summit: “We are aware of the South Korean media report. The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies.” – @PressSecEh, North Korea/South Korea...so hard to tell those guys apart. This White House doesn't sweat the small stuff.
In fact, this is not a "South Korean media report". Statement came from North Korean state media, KCNA, which speaks for Pyongyang.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
I think we're about due for a scoop o'clock. We certainly deserve a good one right now.
posted by azpenguin at 3:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 3:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'm really afraid of what Trump will agree to in order to ensure he gets that summit with Kim. Look how much he and his supporters have counted on this to give him a big "win."
I can also see him just coasting on the idea that he got the summit to almost happen and the imaginary deal that he definitely would have brokered and it was all Kim's fault that it didn't happen so whaddya gonna do. It's the lazy way out and I feel like that's pretty appealing to him.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:38 PM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
I can also see him just coasting on the idea that he got the summit to almost happen and the imaginary deal that he definitely would have brokered and it was all Kim's fault that it didn't happen so whaddya gonna do. It's the lazy way out and I feel like that's pretty appealing to him.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:38 PM on May 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
I can also see him just coasting on the idea that he got the summit to almost happen and the imaginary deal that he definitely would have brokered and it was all Kim's fault that it didn't happen so whaddya gonna do. It's the lazy way out and I feel like that's pretty appealing to him.
Sure but then Kim & Moon both get to take free hits until he responds. And his response will be after his style, that is to say awkward, lying & stupid.
posted by scalefree at 4:05 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sure but then Kim & Moon both get to take free hits until he responds. And his response will be after his style, that is to say awkward, lying & stupid.
posted by scalefree at 4:05 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Moon at least was willing to play suck up to the Moron when peace was in the offing. But now, with it lying in shambles at his feet? Not so much.
posted by scalefree at 4:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 4:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Police Realizing That SESTA/FOSTA Made Their Jobs Harder; Sex Traffickers Realizing It's Made Their Job Easier
posted by Artw at 4:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:11 PM on May 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
CNN, Qatari investor confirms he attended Trump Tower meetings in 2016. This is confirmation that Ahmed Al-Rumaihi met with various transition officials on December 16, 2016, including one where "Michael Cohen briefly popped in" (but supposedly didn't meet Flynn). So why were Qatari investment officials meeting with the transition team?
The government of Qatar just said they'll kick in $100K to keep the DC Metro open an extra hour to accommodate the Capitols game, if you're curious how far their lobbying effort is going.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail, which used to shill for Trump but has been running a bunch of increasingly ridiculous stories lately (previously) is now claiming Michael Cohen asked Al-Rumaihi for millions of dollars, which he would funnel to members of the Trump family.
I don't begin to know what's going on with this Al-Rumaihi story. It's got weird pieces in the Daily Mail nobody can confirm, court filings by Ice Cube, Avenatti posting pictures. Somebody is trying to push this narrative hard, weirdly, and none of it makes any sense.
posted by zachlipton at 4:17 PM on May 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
The government of Qatar just said they'll kick in $100K to keep the DC Metro open an extra hour to accommodate the Capitols game, if you're curious how far their lobbying effort is going.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail, which used to shill for Trump but has been running a bunch of increasingly ridiculous stories lately (previously) is now claiming Michael Cohen asked Al-Rumaihi for millions of dollars, which he would funnel to members of the Trump family.
I don't begin to know what's going on with this Al-Rumaihi story. It's got weird pieces in the Daily Mail nobody can confirm, court filings by Ice Cube, Avenatti posting pictures. Somebody is trying to push this narrative hard, weirdly, and none of it makes any sense.
posted by zachlipton at 4:17 PM on May 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
I think we're about due for a scoop o'clock.
You rang? NYT, Justice Department and F.B.I. Are Investigating Cambridge Analytica
You rang? NYT, Justice Department and F.B.I. Are Investigating Cambridge Analytica
The Justice Department and the F.B.I. are investigating Cambridge Analytica, the now-defunct political data firm, and have sought to question former employees and banks that handled its business, according to an American official and other people familiar with the inquiry.posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on May 15, 2018 [25 favorites]
Prosecutors have questioned potential witnesses in recent weeks, telling them that there is an open investigation into Cambridge Analytica — which worked on President Trump’s election and other Republican campaigns in 2016 — and “associated U.S. persons.” But the prosecutors provided few other details, and the inquiry appears to be in its early stages, with investigators seeking an overview of the company and its business practices.
...
“I can confirm that I’ve been contacted by the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice, and answered preliminary questions,” Mr. Wylie said in a brief interview. “We plan to meet again to provide substantive answers to the investigators.”
...
It was not clear whether the investigation is tied to the inquiry being led by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, who is examining whether Mr. Trump or any of his associates aided Russia’s effort to interfere in the presidential election. Prosecutors from Mr. Mueller’s team questioned at least two Cambridge executives last December in Washington, according to one company official.
The employee, who asked to remain anonymous to describe confidential internal matters, added that the inquiry appeared to be perfunctory. There have been no other concrete signs from Mr. Mueller’s team that Cambridge is a focus of their efforts.
> Judge in D.C. denies Manafort motion to dismiss charges. Says "the indictment falls squarely within that portion of the authority granted to the Special Counsel," and it was "logical and appropriate" for investigators looking at coordination to focus on him.
So if you recall, this is the same judge who, when this issue was argued in court, asked a couple of probing questions in court about the extent of the special counsel's jurisdiction. This led to Trump tweets on the topic along lines of 'judge confirms Mueller investigation illegitimate' and about whole week of blarg-blarg-blarging about how Mueller was overstepping his authority.
Headline: Judge raises doubts about scope of Mueller’s authority
I believe it was on the thread here where someone made the comment that very often judges will ask this type of question because they're exploring the issue (asking questions is their job, dur) but a few probing questions of this type is no indication of the way they will finally rule.
So can we have a new headline and Trump tweet now? Judge strongly confirms scope of Mueller's authority.
posted by flug at 4:23 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
So if you recall, this is the same judge who, when this issue was argued in court, asked a couple of probing questions in court about the extent of the special counsel's jurisdiction. This led to Trump tweets on the topic along lines of 'judge confirms Mueller investigation illegitimate' and about whole week of blarg-blarg-blarging about how Mueller was overstepping his authority.
Headline: Judge raises doubts about scope of Mueller’s authority
I believe it was on the thread here where someone made the comment that very often judges will ask this type of question because they're exploring the issue (asking questions is their job, dur) but a few probing questions of this type is no indication of the way they will finally rule.
So can we have a new headline and Trump tweet now? Judge strongly confirms scope of Mueller's authority.
posted by flug at 4:23 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
So if you recall, this is the same judge who, when this issue was argued in court, asked a couple of probing questions in court about the extent of the special counsel's jurisdiction.
No it wasn't; that was Ellis in Virginia. This is Jackson in DC. There are two cases pending.
posted by Justinian at 4:29 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
No it wasn't; that was Ellis in Virginia. This is Jackson in DC. There are two cases pending.
posted by Justinian at 4:29 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
It was both of them, though Ellis is the one who really seems to have taken on board republican talking points.
posted by Artw at 4:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
We have somehow reached the point as a society where the only thing many people feel they can trust is the open expression of hate. Everything else is treated as disingenuous.It's a very totalitarian argument: if enemies of the regime engage in virtue signalling, then appearing to have virtues is ipso-facto to be an enemy of the regime. Is there any doubt that anti-racists, for instance, will be assumed to be anti-Trump? I mean, they probably would be, but who on the right would even see the need to prove it?
This is closely linked to the concept of "virtue signaling." Nobody actually has virtue, they just pretend to so other people who pretend to goodness will see the signaler as one of them.
This explains the paradox wherein people will indignantly deny being racist without feeling the need to justify their behaviour: justification would mean virtue signalling, which is effectively a show of disloyalty to everybody (e.g., their relatives; and e.g., Trump) who doesn't join in with the signalling. We've already seen the next step, too: look at the sympathy with which the media has covered Trump's racist supporters. Their willingness to publicly express their racism demonstrates their authenticity, which means that we should listen to them. Because virtue signals are a sign of superiority and are therefore bad, while hate signals are a sign of vulnerability, which we must treat respectfully.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:39 PM on May 15, 2018 [19 favorites]
Joe Bernstein, The Newest Star Of The Trump Movement Ran A Trump-Bashing Publication — Less Than Two Years Ago
Yet Owens, suddenly a new face of the American right, was less than two years ago the CEO of an online publication that frequently mocked then-candidate Trump, including conducting a mock “investigation” into his penis size. (The story determined that it was likely very small.) And in a 2015 column for the site lambasting conservative Republicans, Owens wrote that it was “good news” that the “Republican Tea Party...will eventually die off (peacefully in their sleep, we hope.)”posted by zachlipton at 4:40 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Indeed, the speed with which Owens has gone from running a frequently anti-Trump, anti-conservative website to being one of the President’s most prominent new supporters illustrates the wild land grab still going on for influence in the pro-Trump ecosystem.
Owens did not immediately respond to requests for comment via email and Twitter, though she did stress in tweets earlier today that the writers for the site, called Degree180, were young. She also described the reporter as a "despicable creature."
(She also accused BuzzFeed News, falsely, of "threatening" the former writers for the site.)
...
And though the site bashed Trump with some regularity, at least one of Owens’ posts was consistent with her future fame. Her first story for the site, from July 13, was called “Kanye Rants the Truth.”
Speaking of the way news misleads people, I've spent the last several days with my mom, and she is a "have the TV on all the time" type person. She's 74, has a PhD, and hates Trump. But I see her being constantly misled by what she hears. Like CNN promotes a story: "Is the blue wave going to be more of a blue trickle?" Well, we've talked about that a little bit here, and I think concluded there's really no cause to think that, or at least to be able to predict future voting behavior with any accuracy at this point. In other words, Betteridge's law of headlines.
But then my mom, a few hours later over dinner will say, "Well, I heard that the Democrats actually aren't going to win the midterms, that the blue wave isn't happening." In her mind, she heard that question and it's now a fact. To back it up she says "oh the Democrats lost a bunch of primaries they were supposed to win." So I had to parse that for her and explain that Democrats can't lose a primary because PRIMARY. Etc, etc.
After the last several days I think there is something really destructive about TV news and the way that mostly older people consume it. It's full of half-truths and baseless speculation, with talking heads giving opinion as fact, and most people can't feel their way through in the limited amount of time and energy they have to devote to it. My mom prides herself on staying informed. She has WaPo alerts coming into her phone all the time. And she still doesn't have a basic understanding of what a lot of the stuff she hears MEANS.
posted by threeturtles at 4:44 PM on May 15, 2018 [122 favorites]
But then my mom, a few hours later over dinner will say, "Well, I heard that the Democrats actually aren't going to win the midterms, that the blue wave isn't happening." In her mind, she heard that question and it's now a fact. To back it up she says "oh the Democrats lost a bunch of primaries they were supposed to win." So I had to parse that for her and explain that Democrats can't lose a primary because PRIMARY. Etc, etc.
After the last several days I think there is something really destructive about TV news and the way that mostly older people consume it. It's full of half-truths and baseless speculation, with talking heads giving opinion as fact, and most people can't feel their way through in the limited amount of time and energy they have to devote to it. My mom prides herself on staying informed. She has WaPo alerts coming into her phone all the time. And she still doesn't have a basic understanding of what a lot of the stuff she hears MEANS.
posted by threeturtles at 4:44 PM on May 15, 2018 [122 favorites]
After the last several days I think there is something really destructive about TV news and the way that mostly older people consume it. It's full of half-truths and baseless speculation, with talking heads giving opinion as fact, and most people can't feel their way through in the limited amount of time and energy they have to devote to it.
Threeturtles: I think you make a really good point. And it's a good reminder that it's not just Fox-watching conservatives who have the news on All. The. Damn. Time. What is the allure, anyway? Whatever happened to watching the soaps, or Oprah, or reruns of Friends, or what have you?
I think there is a certain pride in being "well informed" and "knowing what goes on in the world" among older people especially, and things are different than in the 60's and 70's, when there were only a few news channels, most of them local to wherever you were, and they came on in the evening. You couldn't watch the news all day unless they broke in with a special report for something very serious. Now, of course, and starting with CNN, you can get the news 24/7, all day every day if that is what you want.
So, in tandem with many older folks being conditioned to be passive consumers (as a poster pointed out in a previous politics thread) - you get elderly people who seem to be absolutely addicted to the news. They have to have it on and don't seem to twig that you can, in fact, turn off the news and watch something else. Or read a book. Or go outside for some fresh air. Or play solitaire. And it's bad enough when the news is CNN, but when it's Fox...need I say more?
Maybe we need to revive the 80's and 90's "turn off the damn TV" campaigns but for older people, not kids, this time.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 4:55 PM on May 15, 2018 [36 favorites]
Threeturtles: I think you make a really good point. And it's a good reminder that it's not just Fox-watching conservatives who have the news on All. The. Damn. Time. What is the allure, anyway? Whatever happened to watching the soaps, or Oprah, or reruns of Friends, or what have you?
I think there is a certain pride in being "well informed" and "knowing what goes on in the world" among older people especially, and things are different than in the 60's and 70's, when there were only a few news channels, most of them local to wherever you were, and they came on in the evening. You couldn't watch the news all day unless they broke in with a special report for something very serious. Now, of course, and starting with CNN, you can get the news 24/7, all day every day if that is what you want.
So, in tandem with many older folks being conditioned to be passive consumers (as a poster pointed out in a previous politics thread) - you get elderly people who seem to be absolutely addicted to the news. They have to have it on and don't seem to twig that you can, in fact, turn off the news and watch something else. Or read a book. Or go outside for some fresh air. Or play solitaire. And it's bad enough when the news is CNN, but when it's Fox...need I say more?
Maybe we need to revive the 80's and 90's "turn off the damn TV" campaigns but for older people, not kids, this time.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 4:55 PM on May 15, 2018 [36 favorites]
KC Star: Why the dropped invasion of privacy charge is bad news for Gov. Eric Greitens
Featuring this quote from the top two Republicans in state Senate: "“the governor has lost the moral authority and the ability to lead the state going forward, and we reaffirm our call that he resign immediately."
posted by Chrysostom at 5:07 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
Featuring this quote from the top two Republicans in state Senate: "“the governor has lost the moral authority and the ability to lead the state going forward, and we reaffirm our call that he resign immediately."
posted by Chrysostom at 5:07 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
And there’s that heartbreaking comment in the Siri thread about being a phone service worker also means being a part time therapist cause people out there are so *lonely* and grab onto any human connection, even for fixing a banking error.
The U.S is a uniquely lonely and alienated place, often by design, and our older population even more so. 24/7 Cable news is absolutely causing problems in this way.
(Which is why, as I say, I think the social part of democratic socialism is important. Bingo nights! Picnics! A regular meeting place! Happy hours! Craft nights! We j9ke about it being Left Church, but as Rosie M. Banks said, union halls used to fill the role on the left that churches did on the right ....)
posted by The Whelk at 5:19 PM on May 15, 2018 [70 favorites]
The U.S is a uniquely lonely and alienated place, often by design, and our older population even more so. 24/7 Cable news is absolutely causing problems in this way.
(Which is why, as I say, I think the social part of democratic socialism is important. Bingo nights! Picnics! A regular meeting place! Happy hours! Craft nights! We j9ke about it being Left Church, but as Rosie M. Banks said, union halls used to fill the role on the left that churches did on the right ....)
posted by The Whelk at 5:19 PM on May 15, 2018 [70 favorites]
Certainly, if you look back at the late 19th century - another time of big societal changes and high levels of partisanship - the parties were like an entire *ecosystem.* You went to the Democratic grocer or the Republican barber.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:22 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 5:22 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Certainly, if you look back at the late 19th century - another time of big societal changes and high levels of partisanship - the parties were like an entire *ecosystem.* You went to the Democratic grocer or the Republican barber.
Wait. This is post-Civil War?
So like, the Gilded Age?
I would much rather we be in the tail end of the...oh wait. That would mean there’s a Great Depression coming.
Goddammit you just can’t win
posted by schadenfrau at 5:44 PM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Wait. This is post-Civil War?
So like, the Gilded Age?
I would much rather we be in the tail end of the...oh wait. That would mean there’s a Great Depression coming.
Goddammit you just can’t win
posted by schadenfrau at 5:44 PM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Rosie M. Banks: Things are different than in the 60's and 70's, when there were only a few news channels, most of them local to wherever you were, and they came on in the evening. You couldn't watch the news all day unless they broke in with a special report for something very serious.
I'm 30, so cable news has existed as long as I remember. But my own news consumption has increased significantly for a distinct but similar reason, which is difficulty recalibrating my internal sense of newsworthiness. The set of events happening now which probably would have been huge a decade ago is larger than anyone can reasonably consume.
In both cases, it's like the superstimulus phenomenon, where an organism evolves a reasonable response to something in the environment, and then has a disproportionate response when that thing occurs with more intensity or frequency than before. (If something tastes sweet, it's probably fruit, which is healthy, so you should eat it up and eat some more! Unless a devious bastard invents Pop Tarts…)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:48 PM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
I'm 30, so cable news has existed as long as I remember. But my own news consumption has increased significantly for a distinct but similar reason, which is difficulty recalibrating my internal sense of newsworthiness. The set of events happening now which probably would have been huge a decade ago is larger than anyone can reasonably consume.
In both cases, it's like the superstimulus phenomenon, where an organism evolves a reasonable response to something in the environment, and then has a disproportionate response when that thing occurs with more intensity or frequency than before. (If something tastes sweet, it's probably fruit, which is healthy, so you should eat it up and eat some more! Unless a devious bastard invents Pop Tarts…)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:48 PM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
Their willingness to publicly express their racism demonstrates their authenticity, which means that we should listen to them.
as a musician, i think authenticity is one of the most overrated and ill-defined concepts by which to judge something - it can cover a lot of sins, it can confuse a lot of hard questions, it can be misleading and self-congratulating in a deceitful way - it's a lot like a college student with an expensive taylor or martin guitar professing to uphold the tradition of true folk music as opposed to that factory rat kid with the shitty squier guitar and amp playing that phony commercial rock music ... (or maybe it's the other way around - but that's not what i'm debating here)
well, who is good? who is right? who is touching people's hearts and minds and making the world a better place? do we need to know who is hidden behind that curtain? do we prefer the insincere who still do good to the sincere lout who is screwing everything up? how do we know that anyone in the high reaches of the public eye isn't a packaged commodity that we are being massaged to believe? and what of those who would rather be lied to than told the truth?
but of course, without belief in authenticity we become cynical - and more than people who are signalling virtue, we are signalling the spectacles we prefer
it's a first world problem i guess, as in other parts of the world the question is becoming who gets killed and who's doing the killing - which is as authentic as it can be
no, we need something other than authenticity, don't we?
posted by pyramid termite at 5:50 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
as a musician, i think authenticity is one of the most overrated and ill-defined concepts by which to judge something - it can cover a lot of sins, it can confuse a lot of hard questions, it can be misleading and self-congratulating in a deceitful way - it's a lot like a college student with an expensive taylor or martin guitar professing to uphold the tradition of true folk music as opposed to that factory rat kid with the shitty squier guitar and amp playing that phony commercial rock music ... (or maybe it's the other way around - but that's not what i'm debating here)
well, who is good? who is right? who is touching people's hearts and minds and making the world a better place? do we need to know who is hidden behind that curtain? do we prefer the insincere who still do good to the sincere lout who is screwing everything up? how do we know that anyone in the high reaches of the public eye isn't a packaged commodity that we are being massaged to believe? and what of those who would rather be lied to than told the truth?
but of course, without belief in authenticity we become cynical - and more than people who are signalling virtue, we are signalling the spectacles we prefer
it's a first world problem i guess, as in other parts of the world the question is becoming who gets killed and who's doing the killing - which is as authentic as it can be
no, we need something other than authenticity, don't we?
posted by pyramid termite at 5:50 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
You know what I need? The Allegheny County board of elections website to update in a timlier manner. I'm here for all your PA Primary early return needs and the two DSA-backed Western PA State Assembly candidates (Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato) are coming out strong with 20% and 11% of precincts reporting so far. The GOP Gubenatorial Crazy-Off is neck-and-neck between the two dudes (I have heard from friends that the third candidate, a woman, is perhaps slightly less crazy--though I am sure still loathsome--but because female, is generally ignored.) Cross your fingers and stay tuned, sports fans! I'll report back with results if they happen before I go to bed, unless Chrysostom beats me to the punch.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:03 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:03 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
FWIW, Ellsworth (the slightly less crazy woman) also had a lot less money, so she was never seen to be seriously in the race.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:04 PM on May 15, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 6:04 PM on May 15, 2018
Well I'm in and waiting on the 7th, where very early returns look good for Susan Wild.
I still, still have ptsd from those *%*\¥^ NYT speedometers from election night(mare) 2016.
posted by Dashy at 6:13 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
I still, still have ptsd from those *%*\¥^ NYT speedometers from election night(mare) 2016.
posted by Dashy at 6:13 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Daily 202: Trump supporters suffer unintended consequences of his policies (James Hohmann, WaPo)
I forgot to include the very first line of the column when I posted it upthread:
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:15 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
I forgot to include the very first line of the column when I posted it upthread:
THE BIG IDEA: President Trump sometimes seems impervious to the second and third order consequences of his decisions.Sometimes?
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:15 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
Wow, at 25% in, (super crazy) Mango is actually leading (regular crazy) Wagner in the PA gubernatorial.
Wagner is basically the GOP's only shot at knocking off gov Wolf, so.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:22 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wagner is basically the GOP's only shot at knocking off gov Wolf, so.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:22 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
I want to go to sleep but not as badly as I want to know if Summer and Sara are going to knock both Costas out of the Dem race*. Count faster!
*not out of the race entirely, of course, given that Dom’s also running as a write-in Republican candidate
posted by Stacey at 6:28 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
*not out of the race entirely, of course, given that Dom’s also running as a write-in Republican candidate
posted by Stacey at 6:28 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sometimes?
Are we sure they don't mean First?
posted by scalefree at 6:30 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Are we sure they don't mean First?
posted by scalefree at 6:30 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
With 50% reporting, NE-02 is tight as a drum. Fewer than 200 votes separating Ashford and Eastman. This is one of the few classic moderate vs leftist primaries - Ashford is former Republican who lost in 2016 by 1%.
An Eastman victory would certainly be a test case for the opposing "candidates need to fit the district" vs "voters will respond to actual red meat left policies" worldviews.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:32 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
An Eastman victory would certainly be a test case for the opposing "candidates need to fit the district" vs "voters will respond to actual red meat left policies" worldviews.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:32 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Stacey, I think you're good to go get some sack time. Sara and Summer are both crushing it and the GOP primary in the 21st only has 156 total write-ins (Dom would need at least 300 to run on the Republican ticket) with 75% and 80% reporting.
Heads up, DCCC. Take a look at what is happening here.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:32 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Heads up, DCCC. Take a look at what is happening here.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:32 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
@gelliottmorris: #BREAKING in AL #SD26 special election, Democrat "Coach" David Burkette wins the seat by an 80 percentage point margin. This is a massive 40 point swing from partisan lean in the seat, the seventh largest in all specials since 2016.
I've seen this retweeted three times now because of the big swing, and I haven't followed the race at all. Does anyone know what happened here?
posted by zachlipton at 6:36 PM on May 15, 2018 [20 favorites]
I've seen this retweeted three times now because of the big swing, and I haven't followed the race at all. Does anyone know what happened here?
posted by zachlipton at 6:36 PM on May 15, 2018 [20 favorites]
Looks like Dom's up to 203, so it's hard to say if he pulls off that write-in effort.
I would say, re: DCCC, this proves that we can get lefty people in safe Dem seats. That's a real thing, and we should do it! But it's different from saying we can elect lefty folks in purple to red seats, like NE-02. That remains to be seen, I think.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:36 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
I would say, re: DCCC, this proves that we can get lefty people in safe Dem seats. That's a real thing, and we should do it! But it's different from saying we can elect lefty folks in purple to red seats, like NE-02. That remains to be seen, I think.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:36 PM on May 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Not sure about AL SD-26, zachlipton. I know the other AL race only had like a 1% swing so (shrug guy). Will have the numbers up shortly.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:37 PM on May 15, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 6:37 PM on May 15, 2018
NYT calls PA HD-34 for DSA-endorsed Summer Lee. 67-33 over incumbent conservative Dem Paul Costa.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [34 favorites]
> Looks like Dom's up to 203, so it's hard to say if he pulls off that write-in effort.
I rather like the idea of beating him twice, actually. Once to force him to acknowledge that he's a sore loser, and the second time to show everyone that a great candidate and a strong progressive message can win here.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:45 PM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
I rather like the idea of beating him twice, actually. Once to force him to acknowledge that he's a sore loser, and the second time to show everyone that a great candidate and a strong progressive message can win here.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:45 PM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Sara Innamorta, also DSA backed and a card carrying member, won the PA21 house primary
Democracy is coming to the USA
posted by The Whelk at 6:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [53 favorites]
Democracy is coming to the USA
posted by The Whelk at 6:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [53 favorites]
Yeah, just waiting to see if Costa pulls off the write-in thing, still 4 precincts out.
Also, the two Philly DSA endorsed folks are basically tied in their races.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:50 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, the two Philly DSA endorsed folks are basically tied in their races.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:50 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm in the crazy 10-Democrat-deep PA-05 primary, and I don't see how this gets called tonight. I am glad that Joe Hoeffel seems to have performed badly in PA-04. Would be nice if PA-05 could also nominate a woman for congress, but Rich Lazer is perfectly fine. Not my first choice, but he did rack up the endorsements.
posted by gladly at 6:50 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gladly at 6:50 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
NYT has called PA GOP Senate for Lou Barletta, about 60-40. Believe it or not, Barletta (longtime hardliner on immigration) was the LESS extreme candidate.
Bob Casey was unopposed for the Dem nomination.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:52 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Bob Casey was unopposed for the Dem nomination.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:52 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's nuts! If someone would have told me two years ago that all three Costas would get turfed out in a single year, I would have said you were nuts and clearly unfamiliar with Western PA politics. I was just looking at the pricinct breakdowns for the 21st and here in my ward it was decided by 16 votes. But her support out in the suburban part of the district (where she's actually from) is also very strong. There are only a few scattered precincts giving it to Costa.
I agree with Tony, too. Let Dom run as a Republican. He won't win and he'll look like the sorest loser in history.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:55 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
I agree with Tony, too. Let Dom run as a Republican. He won't win and he'll look like the sorest loser in history.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:55 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
I think there are actually a couple of more Costas lurking around in various positions.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Only 27% reporting for PA-12, but it looks like openly gay candidate Dan Smith gets to try to take out Daryl "Snowflake McRacist" Metcalfe, whose gay-hayting antics have brought national headlines and embarrassment to the people of this district who keep sending him back to Harrisburg.
posted by dirigibleman at 7:00 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by dirigibleman at 7:00 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
Metcalfe is one of the worst people in the universe. Send Dan Smith a couple of bucks here.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
AP calls GOP PA governor for Scott Wagner, 42-38-19. Surprisingly close second for Mango, who is a bomb thrower, and could conceivably try to undermine Wagner.
Incumbent Dem governor Wolf was unopposed.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:08 PM on May 15, 2018
Incumbent Dem governor Wolf was unopposed.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:08 PM on May 15, 2018
In related news, Metcalfe managed to get the chief editor of the Pittsburgh City Paper fired for being too critical of him today.
posted by octothorpe at 7:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 7:08 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
And yet I've been assured that the real threat to the first amendment is college students who shout mean things at racists.
posted by zachlipton at 7:13 PM on May 15, 2018 [51 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 7:13 PM on May 15, 2018 [51 favorites]
Madeline Dean decisively wins PA-04 Dem nomination, with 77%. The district is strongly Dem, this will finally break the all-male monopoly of reps from PA.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
Check the graphic. I understand Mueller is on the case.
@TheBeatWithAri After running a cheap campaign Trump spent nearly double the amount of Obama's 2009 inauguration:
posted by scalefree at 7:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
@TheBeatWithAri After running a cheap campaign Trump spent nearly double the amount of Obama's 2009 inauguration:
posted by scalefree at 7:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
And they still couldn't pay enough actors to show up and pack the mall...
posted by Sublimity at 7:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Sublimity at 7:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
This is a district adjacent to me, but I emailed PTV to see if they would run a campaign for Kathy Ellis. I went camping in this district last weekend and holy hell did I miss my bubble in STL. Arcadia Valley can do better. Pro: It encompasses SEMO Con: The Bootheel.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:19 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:19 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
In something of a surprise, in the PA LG Dem primary, lefty-but-not-DSA-endorsed Braddock mayor John Fetterman has unseated scandal plagued incumbent LG Mike Stack.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
In the NE Dem Senate primary, Lincoln city councillor Jane Raybould won handily.
On the GOP side, incumbent Deb Fischer won over token opposition.
Fischer is not terribly popular, but it's Nebraska.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:31 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
On the GOP side, incumbent Deb Fischer won over token opposition.
Fischer is not terribly popular, but it's Nebraska.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:31 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
With 97% in, looks like Philly DSA-endorsed Elizabeth Fiedler has won in PA HD-184, 51-37.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:38 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:38 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
God, Trump is gonna give them everything for nothing just so he doesn't look even more like a fool, isn't he. We're gonna be lucky if he doesn't let them annex Rhode Island.
posted by Justinian at 7:40 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:40 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
BREAKING: KCNA says North Korea will "reconsider" summit with Trump if U.S. insists on it giving up nuclear program, says it will never give up its nuclear program in exchange for economic trade with the United States
Nobody knew the Koreas could be so complicated.
posted by chris24 at 7:40 PM on May 15, 2018 [34 favorites]
Nobody knew the Koreas could be so complicated.
posted by chris24 at 7:40 PM on May 15, 2018 [34 favorites]
Uhhh what? NYT, Tantalizing Testimony From a Top Trump Aide Sets Off a Search for Proof
The White House official had a startling assertion: He thought he had received an email in the first half of 2016 alerting the Trump campaign that Russia had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.posted by zachlipton at 7:44 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Testifying behind closed doors on Capitol Hill in late March, the official, John K. Mashburn, said he remembered the email coming from George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the campaign who was approached by a Russian agent, sometime before the party conventions — and well before WikiLeaks began publishing messages stolen in hackings from Democrats.
Such an email could have proved explosive, providing evidence that at least one high-ranking Trump campaign official was alerted to Russia’s meddling, raising questions about which advisers knew and undercutting President Trump’s denials of collusion.
But two months after Mr. Mashburn testified, investigators for the Senate Judiciary Committee have not found any such message. The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, was also searching for similar emails, according to a person familiar with a request for documents that his investigators sent to the Trump campaign. The campaign, which has examined its emails and other documents, also cannot find the message, and officials do not believe it exists.
...
Counterintelligence experts say that uncovering what occurred during an event like the 2016 election could take years, if not decades, to understand.
It sorta seems like the President’s new pals Xi and Kim led him out on a limb and have now begun sawing it off.
posted by notyou at 7:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by notyou at 7:47 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
In PA HD-168, it appears that Philly DSA-endorsed Kristin Seale has prevailed, 51-49.
If that holds, that means 4 of the 5 candidates endorsed by either Philly or the national DSA in PA state House primaries have won.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:49 PM on May 15, 2018 [26 favorites]
If that holds, that means 4 of the 5 candidates endorsed by either Philly or the national DSA in PA state House primaries have won.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:49 PM on May 15, 2018 [26 favorites]
zachlipton quoting NYT: Testifying behind closed doors on Capitol Hill in late March, the official, John K. Mashburn, said he remembered the email coming from George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the campaign who was approached by a Russian agent, sometime before the party conventions — and well before WikiLeaks began publishing messages stolen in hackings from Democrats. ... But two months after Mr. Mashburn testified, investigators for the Senate Judiciary Committee have not found any such message.
Could Mashburn just have misremembered the source of the Rob Goldstone email to Donald Jr? Everything he says seems to describe that to a tee (other than his naming Papadopoulos). And given that we already live in a post "He just tweeted it out" world, I don't understand why the article says "Such an email could have proved explosive, providing evidence that at least one high-ranking Trump campaign official was alerted to Russia’s meddling, raising questions about which advisers knew and undercutting President Trump’s denials of collusion."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:53 PM on May 15, 2018
Could Mashburn just have misremembered the source of the Rob Goldstone email to Donald Jr? Everything he says seems to describe that to a tee (other than his naming Papadopoulos). And given that we already live in a post "He just tweeted it out" world, I don't understand why the article says "Such an email could have proved explosive, providing evidence that at least one high-ranking Trump campaign official was alerted to Russia’s meddling, raising questions about which advisers knew and undercutting President Trump’s denials of collusion."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:53 PM on May 15, 2018
t sorta seems like the President’s new pals Xi and Kim led him out on a limb and have now begun sawing it off.
I have this image in my head of Kim and Xi sitting in lawnchairs, on a dock and laughing as they reel in their catch.
posted by Jalliah at 7:53 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
I have this image in my head of Kim and Xi sitting in lawnchairs, on a dock and laughing as they reel in their catch.
posted by Jalliah at 7:53 PM on May 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
In PA-14, Rick "Porn Stache" Saccone has lost again to state Sen Reschenthaler.
I'm especially pleased by this as Reschenthaler is my state Senator and he's useless. This sets up a special election in PA SD-37; district went 51-45 Trump, so it's not out of reach for a flip.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
I'm especially pleased by this as Reschenthaler is my state Senator and he's useless. This sets up a special election in PA SD-37; district went 51-45 Trump, so it's not out of reach for a flip.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
The Democratic primary for PA-05 wasn't nearly as close as I thought it would be. NYT calls it for Mary Gay Scanlon. So, there will be another woman aside from Dean (Scanlon's opponent is also a woman) in the PA Congressional delegation.
posted by gladly at 7:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by gladly at 7:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump still gets to keep his Nobel Prize though, right?
posted by scalefree at 7:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 7:58 PM on May 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Oh, and we have a final in that PA HD-21 - there were only 280 write-in votes on the GOP side, so conservaDem Dom Costa will not appear as the GOP candidate.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:59 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:59 PM on May 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
🎉🌹🚩🍞🎉
posted by The Whelk at 8:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 8:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
It appears Dems have dodged a bullet in PA-07, where Susan Wild looks to have edged Trump-loving "Democrat" Morganelli.
We might see 4-5 women from PA come November! Quite a change from zero.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
We might see 4-5 women from PA come November! Quite a change from zero.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:04 PM on May 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
> John K. Mashburn said he remembered the email coming from George Papadopoulos [...] Such an email could have proved explosive, providing evidence that at least one high-ranking Trump campaign official was alerted to Russia’s meddling ... But two months after Mr. Mashburn testified, investigators for the Senate Judiciary Committee have not found any such message.
BUT HIS EMAILS!
(I will say, given all the things that have been demonstrated not to work starting with the 2016 election, Trump's Mirror is a hell of a thing.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
BUT HIS EMAILS!
(I will say, given all the things that have been demonstrated not to work starting with the 2016 election, Trump's Mirror is a hell of a thing.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:09 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
And what about the hostages? Is he going to give them back?
posted by scalefree at 8:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 8:10 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
> Surely none of that $500 million was payment for lifting sanctions on ZTE.
more on ZTE chatter and links to indonesia (w/1MDB overtones?): Did Trump blink on China to help ZTE, or his own business?
posted by kliuless at 8:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
more on ZTE chatter and links to indonesia (w/1MDB overtones?): Did Trump blink on China to help ZTE, or his own business?
posted by kliuless at 8:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Today’s conservatism is the opposite of what liberals want today, updated daily.
This is certainly true for the base, but that's just to keep them snowed while the donors and the GOP lawmakers they pay for move their regressive agenda forward.
posted by duoshao at 8:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is certainly true for the base, but that's just to keep them snowed while the donors and the GOP lawmakers they pay for move their regressive agenda forward.
posted by duoshao at 8:18 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
OK so the Korea situation's falling apart. But at least Jared's on the case in the...oh damn.
posted by scalefree at 8:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 8:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Matt Fuller, Conservatives Cook Up Farm Bill Gambit to Get Vote On Hardline Immigration Bill
In conclusion, Paul Ryan is bad at his job.
posted by zachlipton at 8:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
House Freedom Caucus leaders are pushing a legislative gambit this week in which roughly a dozen conservatives offer their support for the farm bill in exchange for a vote on a hardline immigration bill. The scheme would at least temporarily kill an effort from moderate Republicans to pass an immigration plan palatable to Democrats.So the Freedom Caucus wants to kill the discharge petition, because there's at least some hope it could lead to a DACA deal, in favor of the Goodlatte bill, which likely doesn't have the votes in the House and surely doesn't have the votes in the Senate. So basically they just want to kill any immigration deal at all. In exchange, they're willing to play games with the farm bill. Ryan needs their votes on the farm bill because they've loaded it up with so much awful crap (e.g. work requirements for food stamps) that few Democrats will touch it, and even some moderate Republicans have issues.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) emerged from a meeting with the conservative group late Tuesday night, telling reporters that they had not taken an official position on making a vote on the immigration bill a condition of their support for the farm bill. But Meadows said a “significant number” of conservatives would be “moved” if leadership promised a vote on the hardline immigration bill authored by Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), which is also known as the “Goodlatte bill.”
...
Meadows noted it was his understanding that voting on the Goodlatte bill would effectively kill a discharge petition that Republicans who favor a fix to the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals or DACA program have been pushing. The discharge petition could be used to force a vote on a number of immigration proposals if 218 members sign on. (Moderate Republicans are using the Goodlatte bill as a vehicle for a rule that allows different immigration proposals to get a vote, including one they and Democrats prefer.)
In conclusion, Paul Ryan is bad at his job.
posted by zachlipton at 8:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
PA-01 goes to Scott Wallace, who is fairly lefty. His grandfather was Henry Wallace, FDR's VP!
posted by Chrysostom at 8:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
Bolton two weeks ago: Libya denuclearization model for North Korea
North Korea today: If the Trump administration fails to recall the lessons learned from the past when the DPRK-U.S. talks had to undergo twists and setbacks owing to the likes of Bolton and turns its ear to the advice of quasi-"patriots" who insist on Libya mode and the like, prospects of upcoming DPRK-U.S. summit and overall DPRK-U.S. relations will be crystal clear
North Korea's statement is worth reading. It turns out they paid attention to what happened in Libya and Iraq, and would prefer not to follow the same path.
@nktpnd: If @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo take one thing from this, it's that the North Korean regime has explicitly rejected "complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization," despite the Panmunjom Declaration S3.4 mention of "complete denuclearization."
They also say "We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past and we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him."
And a direct play for Trump's ego and Nobel ambitions: "If President Trump follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, he will be recorded as more tragic and unsuccessful president than his predecessors, far from his initial ambition to make unprecedented success."
In a way, this is just getting back to the realistic place we always thought we were: they'll talk, but they're not giving up their nuclear weapons. There's still the frightening prospect that Trump will accept a deal that attempts to control their ability to strike the US (with no verifiability) while leaving them with nukes to threaten our allies
posted by zachlipton at 8:35 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
North Korea today: If the Trump administration fails to recall the lessons learned from the past when the DPRK-U.S. talks had to undergo twists and setbacks owing to the likes of Bolton and turns its ear to the advice of quasi-"patriots" who insist on Libya mode and the like, prospects of upcoming DPRK-U.S. summit and overall DPRK-U.S. relations will be crystal clear
North Korea's statement is worth reading. It turns out they paid attention to what happened in Libya and Iraq, and would prefer not to follow the same path.
@nktpnd: If @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo take one thing from this, it's that the North Korean regime has explicitly rejected "complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization," despite the Panmunjom Declaration S3.4 mention of "complete denuclearization."
They also say "We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past and we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him."
And a direct play for Trump's ego and Nobel ambitions: "If President Trump follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, he will be recorded as more tragic and unsuccessful president than his predecessors, far from his initial ambition to make unprecedented success."
In a way, this is just getting back to the realistic place we always thought we were: they'll talk, but they're not giving up their nuclear weapons. There's still the frightening prospect that Trump will accept a deal that attempts to control their ability to strike the US (with no verifiability) while leaving them with nukes to threaten our allies
posted by zachlipton at 8:35 PM on May 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
Wow, looks like Eastman has defeated Ashford in NE-02 by 163 votes. That's within the margin where Ashford could request a recount (which would be June 13).
posted by Chrysostom at 8:39 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:39 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
In Oregon governor, incumbent Dem Kate Brown won easily against token opposition.
On the GOP side, Knute Buehler won fairly handily. Buehler is pro-choice, and is seen as the only hope Republicans have in this race.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
On the GOP side, Knute Buehler won fairly handily. Buehler is pro-choice, and is seen as the only hope Republicans have in this race.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
SPECIAL ELECTION RESULTS WRAPUP
tl;dr: 3 very solid seats unchanged, 1 GOP pickup in a seat that was clearly just a legacy Dem downballot, and 1 Dem pickup in a Trump district.
==
GOP HOLD in Alabama House 4:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 1 point.
HD-04 was uncontested in 2014 (AL House are 4 year terms)
GOP lead in the Alabama House is extended to 72-32 (1 vacancy).
===
Dem HOLD in Alabama Senate 26:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 36 points.
SD-26 was uncontested in 2014
GOP lead in the Alabama Senate is reduced to 26-8.
===
GOP GAIN in Pennsylvania House 48:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 4 points.
vs 2016 HD-48 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 28 points.
===
GOP HOLD in Pennsylvania House 68:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 0 points.
vs 2016 HD-68 result margin: Dem improvement of about 11 points.
===
Dem GAIN in Pennsylvania House 178:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 4 points.
vs 2016 HD-178 result margin: Dem improvement of about 23 points.
GOP lead in the Pennsylvania House is unchanged at 120-82 (1 vacancy).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:19 PM on May 15, 2018 [25 favorites]
tl;dr: 3 very solid seats unchanged, 1 GOP pickup in a seat that was clearly just a legacy Dem downballot, and 1 Dem pickup in a Trump district.
==
GOP HOLD in Alabama House 4:
Moore [R] 67.3%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Healy [D] 20.2%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 1 point.
HD-04 was uncontested in 2014 (AL House are 4 year terms)
GOP lead in the Alabama House is extended to 72-32 (1 vacancy).
===
Dem HOLD in Alabama Senate 26:
Burkette [D] 89.6%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Johnson [R] 10.3%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 36 points.
SD-26 was uncontested in 2014
GOP lead in the Alabama Senate is reduced to 26-8.
===
GOP GAIN in Pennsylvania House 48:
O'Neal [R] 54.8%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Mitchell [D] 43.7%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 4 points.
vs 2016 HD-48 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 28 points.
===
GOP HOLD in Pennsylvania House 68:
Owlett [R] 76.6%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Heath [D] 23.4%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 0 points.
vs 2016 HD-68 result margin: Dem improvement of about 11 points.
===
Dem GAIN in Pennsylvania House 178:
Tai [D] 50.4%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Thomas [R] 49.6%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 4 points.
vs 2016 HD-178 result margin: Dem improvement of about 23 points.
GOP lead in the Pennsylvania House is unchanged at 120-82 (1 vacancy).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:19 PM on May 15, 2018 [25 favorites]
Dem primary in PA-05 was actually a bit of a rout; Mary Gay Scanlon, a lawyer in a pro bono law firm and member of a local school board, took almost a third of all votes, more than twice as many as the second-place candidate. I think this is actually a good sign: she was generally perceived to be the front-runner, but the race was strongly contested, and the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that it is on track to have been the most expensive primary in the country this year, with several of the candidates raising significant funds. On the policy front, most of the candidates ran on broadly similar platforms: economic justice, reducing corporate influence in politics, single-payer healthcare or Medicare for all, and free public early childhood education. If Scanlon was able to organize and fund a campaign successful enough to claim such an overwhelming victory over the other primary candidates despite being broadly similar on a policy basis, I think that bodes well for her campaigning skills in the general election.
(For what it's worth, I voted for Molly Sheehan, a biomedical engineer, to support science and evidence-based policy. But most of the candidates seemed like good choices, and I'm looking forward to voting for Scanlon in the general.)
posted by biogeo at 9:24 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
(For what it's worth, I voted for Molly Sheehan, a biomedical engineer, to support science and evidence-based policy. But most of the candidates seemed like good choices, and I'm looking forward to voting for Scanlon in the general.)
posted by biogeo at 9:24 PM on May 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Jesus Christ, Nebraska has screwed up their reporting, and NE-02 result is still unclear.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:30 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:30 PM on May 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
So I read the North Korea statement basically telling Bolton “f*ck you and the horse you rode in on.” At this rate, I figure they'll get Trump to pull all US forces out of SK in exchange for putting his name on the Ryugyong Hotel.
posted by azpenguin at 9:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 9:37 PM on May 15, 2018 [25 favorites]
I mean, on the plus side, now that Trump does whatever North Korea wants, maybe he'll fire Bolton.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
In Idaho governor, progressive Paulette Jordan has won in a surprise romp over establishment candidate Balukoff. If elected (which, probably not, given it's Idaho), she'd be the first Native American to serve as a governor.
On the GOP side, still up in the air between LG Little, doctor/developer Ahlquist, and Congressman/huge asshole Labrador.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:46 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
On the GOP side, still up in the air between LG Little, doctor/developer Ahlquist, and Congressman/huge asshole Labrador.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:46 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
At this rate, I figure they'll get Trump to pull all US forces out of SK in exchange for putting his name on the Ryugyong Hotel.
Even less: magic beans he is told will grow into Ryugyong Hotels with his name on them
posted by XMLicious at 9:50 PM on May 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
@WonkVJ: Can't remember who I told--I think Bloomberg Monday--but basically the inconsistency of terms and demands coming out of the US allows North Korea to pick and choose what they want as a deal. It appears Kim Gye-Gwan is picking and choosing Pompeo 2 over Bolton and other Pompeos
The thread goes on to list the many conflicting things members of the administration have said about their negotiating position, sometimes including contradictory things in the same statement. Given the failure of the US government to have a consistent position, it's hardly surprising that North Korea has decided to choose the position most advantageous to them.
But I do think, as Chrysostom says, there's a good case that their statement is best directed at Trump, not Bolton. Trump has made it clear that he wants a Nobel. North Korea is telling him that he'd better leave Bolton at home if he wants any chance at a medal, which is a pretty good way to control the parameters of the negotiations before they start.
posted by zachlipton at 9:54 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
The thread goes on to list the many conflicting things members of the administration have said about their negotiating position, sometimes including contradictory things in the same statement. Given the failure of the US government to have a consistent position, it's hardly surprising that North Korea has decided to choose the position most advantageous to them.
But I do think, as Chrysostom says, there's a good case that their statement is best directed at Trump, not Bolton. Trump has made it clear that he wants a Nobel. North Korea is telling him that he'd better leave Bolton at home if he wants any chance at a medal, which is a pretty good way to control the parameters of the negotiations before they start.
posted by zachlipton at 9:54 PM on May 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
Okay, NE-02 is now definitively Eastman (the progressive), by about 1200 votes, so outside recount range.
She's got her work cut out for her, hope this works out.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
She's got her work cut out for her, hope this works out.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:14 PM on May 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
It's pretty standard for North Korea to pull out and then back into negotiations more or less randomly to ratchet up leverage. What appears to be different this time, is that Trump more or less went all in immediately by declaring to the world he is owed a Nobel during the opening gambit. Basically, Trump put his presidential credibility at stake in the game before it even started, giving Kim incredible leverage.
A side note: It's surreal to see Bolton involved in these negotiations. He's the guy that walked away from an inspections agreement with North Korea during the Bush years. He's arguably the person most to blame for North Korea developing nuclear weapons.
posted by xammerboy at 10:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [70 favorites]
A side note: It's surreal to see Bolton involved in these negotiations. He's the guy that walked away from an inspections agreement with North Korea during the Bush years. He's arguably the person most to blame for North Korea developing nuclear weapons.
posted by xammerboy at 10:26 PM on May 15, 2018 [70 favorites]
"We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past and we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him."
On this we can agree. Oh, John. Turns out you should have left that walrus under your nose behind after all.
posted by scalefree at 10:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
On this we can agree. Oh, John. Turns out you should have left that walrus under your nose behind after all.
posted by scalefree at 10:41 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
In conclusion, Paul Ryan is bad at his job.
This of course assumes that Ryan isn't personally in favour of hard-line stances on immigration.
posted by jaduncan at 10:49 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Two members of the @DemSocialists knocked off two longtime Dem incumbents in primaries tonight; Dom & Paul Costa, members of a longtime Pittsburgh political dynasty. Wins were sweeping across the districts. Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato should easily win generals
posted by The Whelk at 10:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 10:57 PM on May 15, 2018 [48 favorites]
And in the last major race of the night, GOP nom in ID gov goes to LG Brad Little with 37.5% in a three way race. He's probably the most mainstream of the candidates (for Idaho values of mainstream).
posted by Chrysostom at 11:02 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:02 PM on May 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Are you kidding? It took journalists this long to discover Degree180?
Are any journalists actually doing journalism anymore?
posted by Yowser at 11:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Are any journalists actually doing journalism anymore?
posted by Yowser at 11:21 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
(aside: Degree180 wasn't anti-conservative, and she stiffed the writer "interns". I hear they later died of exposure.)
posted by Yowser at 11:22 PM on May 15, 2018
posted by Yowser at 11:22 PM on May 15, 2018
I linked this piece in a UK thread, but it's actually about US politics, and its message is relevant: Why Democrats Can't Win The 'Respect' of Trump Voters
posted by Merus at 12:42 AM on May 16, 2018 [81 favorites]
The right has a gigantic media apparatus that is devoted to convincing people that liberals disrespect them, plus a political party whose leaders all understand that that idea is key to their political project and so join in the chorus at every opportunity...A chaser Twitter thread with a good followup:
So what are Democrats to do? The answer is simple: This is a game they cannot win, so they have to stop playing. Know at the outset that no matter what you say or do, Republicans will cry that you’re disrespecting good heartland voters. There is no bit of PR razzle-dazzle that will stop them. Remember that white Republicans are not going to vote for you anyway, and their votes are no more valuable or virtuous than the votes of any other American...
Finally — and this is critical — never stop telling voters how Republicans are screwing them over. The two successful Democratic presidents of recent years were both called liberal elitists, and they countered by relentlessly hammering the GOP over its advocacy for the wealthy. And it worked.
And it's not just right-wing media. "Mainstream" media like CNN etc. have adopted pretty much the same caricature. They know that "arrogant liberal mocks salt-of-the-earth diner guy" stories are catchy. They sell. They pop. Everybody knows the caricature already...I think this is the power of groups like the DSA, who have shrugged their shoulders and gone to grab that brass ring. They're not going to get on TV. CNN and the NYT is never going to give them a soft-focus piece, because as much as we'd like it otherwise, these organisations are not actually in the business of representing the world as it is. Instead, they're leading by example and doing the grunt work, fixing problems individually, visibly and credibly.
Actual liberals exist on cable news almost entirely as phantasms, discussed in absentia by panels consisting of nonpartisan mainstream journos and right-wingers ("balance" in cable news). They -- esp the non-white, non-male kind -- are rarely allowed to speak for themselves.
posted by Merus at 12:42 AM on May 16, 2018 [81 favorites]
I've been looking for a piece like this to give to friends for a while. The sectarianism within Islam today is a very modern construct. So modern that a middle-aged lady like myself can clearly remember when it didn't exist. Now it clearly does, but it needs to be seen for what it is: Iran, Saudi Arabia and Modern Hatreds/NYTimes
By Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel
Mr. Hashemi and Mr. Postel are co-editors of “Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East.”
posted by mumimor at 12:42 AM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
By Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel
Mr. Hashemi and Mr. Postel are co-editors of “Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East.”
posted by mumimor at 12:42 AM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
From PA Senate 43 - Take note Jay Costa, you better start moving left or we're coming for you too.
Actually fuck that, let's primary him too in 2020.
posted by XhaustedProphet at 12:52 AM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Actually fuck that, let's primary him too in 2020.
posted by XhaustedProphet at 12:52 AM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
As for sectarianism, per se, it’s been around a long time in the Muslim world (Shiites, Sunnis and Ibadites have been pretty serious about their sectarian distinctions for many centuries). But I agree that it seems to be more of an issue recently, in the US anyway.
I wonder if it’s related to the fact that Muslim sectarianism is now becoming fashionable for mainstream media outlets to notice. I can recall 25 years ago when the concept of there being Shiite and Sunni Muslims was almost never mentioned on television, nor any of the other historical distinctions, to the point that there was virtually no context given at all for why there are different factions among Muslims in the Middle East, why Iraq and Iran were at war, why Turks and Kurds were at odds, etc.
Our main exposure to the Middle East was limited to the Iran hostage crisis and oil embargo of the 70s, and watching Lawrence of Arabia.
The old saw is that the US learns about the geography of other countries by going to war there. I suspect that our recent forays into Iraq and Afghanistan, and the aftershocks of 9-11, are making it more compelling to learn about the dynamics of the Middle East, including the sectarian dynamics that have existed for a long time, and which we are definitely inflaming.
posted by darkstar at 1:07 AM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wonder if it’s related to the fact that Muslim sectarianism is now becoming fashionable for mainstream media outlets to notice. I can recall 25 years ago when the concept of there being Shiite and Sunni Muslims was almost never mentioned on television, nor any of the other historical distinctions, to the point that there was virtually no context given at all for why there are different factions among Muslims in the Middle East, why Iraq and Iran were at war, why Turks and Kurds were at odds, etc.
Our main exposure to the Middle East was limited to the Iran hostage crisis and oil embargo of the 70s, and watching Lawrence of Arabia.
The old saw is that the US learns about the geography of other countries by going to war there. I suspect that our recent forays into Iraq and Afghanistan, and the aftershocks of 9-11, are making it more compelling to learn about the dynamics of the Middle East, including the sectarian dynamics that have existed for a long time, and which we are definitely inflaming.
posted by darkstar at 1:07 AM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
They know that "arrogant liberal mocks salt-of-the-earth diner guy" stories are catchy.
At some point they appear to have lost track of the distinction between salt-of-the-earth and salting the earth.
posted by flabdablet at 2:26 AM on May 16, 2018 [65 favorites]
At some point they appear to have lost track of the distinction between salt-of-the-earth and salting the earth.
posted by flabdablet at 2:26 AM on May 16, 2018 [65 favorites]
Regarding the "elitism" thing, I often wonder if the simple fact that Trump doesn't friggin' pay workers could have been pushed in to more voters' brains in 2016. Probably not. His response when Hillary brought up an example was "Maybe he didn't do a good job!" and apparently that was enough of an excuse. The underlying problem was certain people having already decided they personally identified with Trump, so they never imagine themselves as the ones getting stiffed, only as the ones doing the stiffing, and to them that feels good.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:00 AM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:00 AM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Josh Smith (Retuers): BREAKING: KCNA says North Korea will "reconsider" summit with Trump if U.S. insists on it giving up nuclear program, says it will never give up its nuclear program in exchange for economic trade with the United States
It's like 'The Art of the Deal' is a work of fiction.
posted by PenDevil at 4:19 AM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
It's like 'The Art of the Deal' is a work of fiction.
posted by PenDevil at 4:19 AM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
They personally identified with Trump, so they never imagine themselves as the ones getting stiffed, only as the ones doing the stiffing, and to them that feels good.
Indeed, 'feels good' was an early co-opted Pepe meme for the nazis.
posted by rc3spencer at 4:21 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Indeed, 'feels good' was an early co-opted Pepe meme for the nazis.
posted by rc3spencer at 4:21 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Just for the truthiness of it, let us once again share in those universal human emotions that remind us we all share a home on this planet together: "We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past and we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him."
Indeed.
/symbolic_gesture
posted by petebest at 5:08 AM on May 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
Indeed.
/symbolic_gesture
posted by petebest at 5:08 AM on May 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
There was a whole series of TV ads during the election featuring workers Trump had stiffed, who lost their businesses and had their lives ruined as a result. That information was way way out there.
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:21 AM on May 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:21 AM on May 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
As for sectarianism, per se, it’s been around a long time in the Muslim world (Shiites, Sunnis and Ibadites have been pretty serious about their sectarian distinctions for many centuries). But I agree that it seems to be more of an issue recently, in the US anyway.
Good of them to finally notice sectarian divides. Bet their brains would explode if they realized there are so many flavors of Shiaism or that there are different Schools of Jurisprudence. I know way more about Christianity and to an extent Judaism then most non-academic Christians know about Islam.
posted by nikitabot at 5:36 AM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Good of them to finally notice sectarian divides. Bet their brains would explode if they realized there are so many flavors of Shiaism or that there are different Schools of Jurisprudence. I know way more about Christianity and to an extent Judaism then most non-academic Christians know about Islam.
posted by nikitabot at 5:36 AM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Pat Ryan is the D candidate for Congress in NY19. This is a very good ad.
@PatRyanNY19
Imagine a country where our kids aren't afraid to go to school, where our parents know their children are safe, where our teachers don’t hide their students in the dark, and where our leaders put kids first -- not gun manufacturers. We can and must do better. #EnoughIsEnough
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 5:58 AM on May 16, 2018 [45 favorites]
@PatRyanNY19
Imagine a country where our kids aren't afraid to go to school, where our parents know their children are safe, where our teachers don’t hide their students in the dark, and where our leaders put kids first -- not gun manufacturers. We can and must do better. #EnoughIsEnough
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 5:58 AM on May 16, 2018 [45 favorites]
Aiden Pink: Jared And Ivanka Blessed By Israeli Rabbi Who Compared Black People To Monkeys
posted by zombieflanders at 6:01 AM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
During a sermon in March on how to properly say a blessing, Yosef used the Hebrew word “kushi,” which was used in the Bible but is now considered a derogatory term for black people.Not really all that surprising that they're palling around with racists and misogynists that hate their fellow Jews, especially anyone to their left. After all, Bibi has a long and dirty history of racism going all the way back to his political roots studying at the feet of Jim Crow-era conservatives--including noted Klansman Fred Trump--all the way up to calling African refugees "infiltrators" just a couple of weeks ago. And then, of course, there's his own failson of a a failson, who like his dad is also a good friend to the Klan, anti-Semites, and actual Nazis; as well as a virulent misogynist and braggart about his dad's corruption (which to Bibi is, not coincidentally, "fake news").
“You can’t make the blessing on every ‘kushi’ you see — in America you see one every five minutes, so you make it only on a person with a white father and mother,” he said, according to the Times of Israel. ”How do would you know? Let’s say you know! So they had a monkey as a son, a son like this, so you say the blessing on him.”
The ADL said in a tweet at the time that the remarks were “utterly unacceptable.” Yosef’s office responded that he was merely citing the Talmud, which also has similar language about other animals like elephants.
Yosef had also attracted criticism for other comments in the past few years, such as implying in 2017 that secular women behave like animals because of their immodest dress and claiming in 2016 that according to Jewish law, non-Jews are forbidden from living in Israel.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:01 AM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Lachlan Markay:
4:04 PM: Emin Agalarov calls Don Jr. to discuss Veselnitskaya meeting
4:27: Don. Jr has a four minute call with someone at a blocked number
4:31: Don Jr. calls back Agalarov
He told Senate investigators he didn't remember who was on that second call
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:44 AM on May 16, 2018 [70 favorites]
4:04 PM: Emin Agalarov calls Don Jr. to discuss Veselnitskaya meeting
4:27: Don. Jr has a four minute call with someone at a blocked number
4:31: Don Jr. calls back Agalarov
He told Senate investigators he didn't remember who was on that second call
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:44 AM on May 16, 2018 [70 favorites]
Man, a lot of people seem to die over adoption policy.
Bill Browder
BREAKING: Elena Gremina, writer of play One Hour Eighteen Minutes about the murder of Sergei Magnitsky, found dead in Moscow at the age of 61. This is 6 weeks after her husband Mikhail Ugarov director of same play died. ‘Heart attacks’ in both cases. LINK
posted by chris24 at 6:45 AM on May 16, 2018 [79 favorites]
Bill Browder
BREAKING: Elena Gremina, writer of play One Hour Eighteen Minutes about the murder of Sergei Magnitsky, found dead in Moscow at the age of 61. This is 6 weeks after her husband Mikhail Ugarov director of same play died. ‘Heart attacks’ in both cases. LINK
posted by chris24 at 6:45 AM on May 16, 2018 [79 favorites]
Cambridge Analytica whistleblowers in front of Senate Judiciary (PBS Newshour Link)
Scott Pruitt lying his ass off to appropriations subcommittee (CSPAN Link)
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:31 AM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Scott Pruitt lying his ass off to appropriations subcommittee (CSPAN Link)
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:31 AM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Merus: And it's not just right-wing media. "Mainstream" media like CNN etc. have adopted pretty much the same caricature. They know that "arrogant liberal mocks salt-of-the-earth diner guy" stories are catchy. They sell. They pop. Everybody knows the caricature already...
See also NPR's interview with Chrissy Houlahan, where David Greene asks if she stands with or against Nancy Pelosi, and she pivots to say "this is only a question the media is asking, this question doesn't really come up in Pennsylvania because folks don't care about that kind of inside baseball." After the interview Green shares a chuckle with Kelsey Snow, and says "she didn't answer the Pelosi question." Instead, she focuses on matters that are important to her constituents, including affordable health care.
BECAUSE NO ONE CARES LIKE YOU, GREEN. Did you not hear her words?
And before that, Houlahan also pushes back against the idea that there are people in her community actually support Trump, in part because the GOP tax scam hurts Pennsylvania and people like ACA, contrary to Green's hypothetical Trump fan.
Instead of talking about how Houlahan will be better for Pennsylvania than her GOP rival, NPR was pushing the "Democrats are mired in in-fighting!" story.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:36 AM on May 16, 2018 [30 favorites]
See also NPR's interview with Chrissy Houlahan, where David Greene asks if she stands with or against Nancy Pelosi, and she pivots to say "this is only a question the media is asking, this question doesn't really come up in Pennsylvania because folks don't care about that kind of inside baseball." After the interview Green shares a chuckle with Kelsey Snow, and says "she didn't answer the Pelosi question." Instead, she focuses on matters that are important to her constituents, including affordable health care.
BECAUSE NO ONE CARES LIKE YOU, GREEN. Did you not hear her words?
And before that, Houlahan also pushes back against the idea that there are people in her community actually support Trump, in part because the GOP tax scam hurts Pennsylvania and people like ACA, contrary to Green's hypothetical Trump fan.
Instead of talking about how Houlahan will be better for Pennsylvania than her GOP rival, NPR was pushing the "Democrats are mired in in-fighting!" story.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:36 AM on May 16, 2018 [30 favorites]
I realize the problem is the convenience of News Tropes - the short-hand for "catchy" stories:
- Liberal Coastal Elites vs Salt Of The Earth Miners/ Farmers/ Blue Collar Types
- The Party Is Defeating Itself (potentially works for both parties, and can be used to drum up a dramatic fire where there's just a puff of smoke)
- Politics Needs An Outsider, which pairs well with
- Long-Term Political Types Are Corrupt (her emails! vs kooky Trump [tells it like it is/is new to all this PC politicking]), and also
- Unbalanced Race Is Actually Closer Than You Think, which can also be a variant on
- Both Sides Have Valid Points And Vocal Supporters (just don't ask for both sides to get coverage that represents the percentage of supporters, or the amount of science to back one claim vs another, because that would be biased)
Stories with nuance, or that lack drama, are hard to sell with catchy headlines, or get blasted by vocal critics for bias (even when the bias one of reality vs fiction or fantasy), and there are 24 hours in each day to make your headlines count (and the ad buys pay out), so let's keep it lively.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:52 AM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
- Liberal Coastal Elites vs Salt Of The Earth Miners/ Farmers/ Blue Collar Types
- The Party Is Defeating Itself (potentially works for both parties, and can be used to drum up a dramatic fire where there's just a puff of smoke)
- Politics Needs An Outsider, which pairs well with
- Long-Term Political Types Are Corrupt (her emails! vs kooky Trump [tells it like it is/is new to all this PC politicking]), and also
- Unbalanced Race Is Actually Closer Than You Think, which can also be a variant on
- Both Sides Have Valid Points And Vocal Supporters (just don't ask for both sides to get coverage that represents the percentage of supporters, or the amount of science to back one claim vs another, because that would be biased)
Stories with nuance, or that lack drama, are hard to sell with catchy headlines, or get blasted by vocal critics for bias (even when the bias one of reality vs fiction or fantasy), and there are 24 hours in each day to make your headlines count (and the ad buys pay out), so let's keep it lively.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:52 AM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
A year ago last week, Mystery: President delays leaving Air Force One for forty-five minutes
"He was just working on something." says Kushner.
Working on Obstruction! Pics tell the tale - no tie=gillty.
posted by petebest at 7:57 AM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
"He was just working on something." says Kushner.
Working on Obstruction! Pics tell the tale - no tie=gillty.
posted by petebest at 7:57 AM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Fascinating 1A Joshua Johnson interview with reporters on Trump voters. Lots of insight into professed Trump 2020 voters here.
posted by rc3spencer at 7:57 AM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 7:57 AM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
CA whistleblower and dyed hair crewcut wearer Chris Wylie before the Sen Jud Committee.
Committee seems taken aback by his candor at informatively answering every single question, often in one succinct sentence.
posted by rc3spencer at 8:06 AM on May 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
Committee seems taken aback by his candor at informatively answering every single question, often in one succinct sentence.
posted by rc3spencer at 8:06 AM on May 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
It's hard to view this release of materials as anything other than Chuck Grassley punting the whole thing to Robert Mueller.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:08 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:08 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Net Neutrality vote is today, too. It's a wonderful day for CSPAN and air conditioning.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:17 AM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:17 AM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
Watching Chris Wylie explain consent to Senator Cornyn is amazing.
posted by mdonley at 8:19 AM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by mdonley at 8:19 AM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
"Hey let's check to see if that frog's jumped out yet"
(looks into boiling pot of frog broth and frog bones)
538 shows highest average Trump approval since May 3rd 2017
Poll: Voters more confident in Trump on North Korea
A combined 50 percent of voters have either “a lot” or “some” confidence in Trump to handle North Korea, the poll shows. Last month, 47 percent had a lot or some measure of confidence in Trump. There has been a steady increase in the percentage of voters who have a lot of confidence in Trump: from 24 percent in March, to 28 percent in April, to 31 percent in the new poll. At the same time, the percentage of voters who say they have “no confidence at all” in Trump ticked down — from 34 percent last month, to 30 percent in the new survey.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:19 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
(looks into boiling pot of frog broth and frog bones)
538 shows highest average Trump approval since May 3rd 2017
Poll: Voters more confident in Trump on North Korea
A combined 50 percent of voters have either “a lot” or “some” confidence in Trump to handle North Korea, the poll shows. Last month, 47 percent had a lot or some measure of confidence in Trump. There has been a steady increase in the percentage of voters who have a lot of confidence in Trump: from 24 percent in March, to 28 percent in April, to 31 percent in the new poll. At the same time, the percentage of voters who say they have “no confidence at all” in Trump ticked down — from 34 percent last month, to 30 percent in the new survey.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:19 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
There’s a new ObamaCare repeal bill:
RED ALERT: The White House and conservative groups are unveiling a new health care repeal bill this month. We obtained the summary document. They will make a push to pass a budget resolution soon in order to ram this bill through with GOP votes. The public blowback must be massive and immediate. This bill will attempt to bribe @lisamurkowski and @SenatorCollins. Flood their phones. Let them know as U.S. Senators they should care about the sick and poor in ALL states. #mepoliticsposted by T.D. Strange at 8:32 AM on May 16, 2018 [52 favorites]
COLLINS 202-224-2523
MURKOWSKI 202-224-6665
This bill absolutely guts protections for people with pre-existing conditions. It makes junk plans permanent and includes the CRUZ AMENDMENT to waive ACA protections. This bill repeals the Medicaid expansion and slashes ACA funding by **20-25%.** Worse, it uses some of the money to pay for tax shelters for the wealthy (HSAs). It gets much worse. Right now 100% of ACA funding goes toward lower-income and lower middle class people. This bill takes a 20-25% smaller pie for this population and cuts it again by at least 15% — even allowing states to slash it by up to **50%**!!! All told, by 1) slashing the total pie and then 2) spreading that smaller pie up the income scale, cuts for lower-income and lower middle class people range from 32% to 62%. This is crippling and savage. It gets much worse. If a state chooses to spend its block grant on Medicaid, this bill REQUIRES the state to allow healthy people to cash out their benefit. It puts a giant thumb on the scale for states to choose junk private insurance over Medicaid. This bill engineers a MASSIVE redistribution of funding across all states, causing WIDESPREAD disruption. It targets blue states for massive cuts, funneling the money to red states and Alaska and Maine. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. The timing may slip a little, but have no doubt: they are going to make a push. Whether Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins bite is up to you!
Imagine a country where our kids aren't afraid to go to school, where our parents know their children are safe, where our teachers don’t hide their students in the dark, and where our leaders put kids first -- not gun manufacturers. We can and must do better. #EnoughIsEnough
And our schools are fully funded, and the military has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.
Which slogan, by the way, goes back as far as I can remember, indicating that starving social spending in favor of the military is nothing new, nor successful policy. Althoug they couldn't quite bring themselves to say so, yesterday's NPR piece on the rising trend of teacher's strikes made clear that current funding models are unjustifiably inadequate.
NPR also acknowledged, if not emphasized, that the dispute is about far more than teacher pay. But come to that, it never asked why teachers need to hold a second job just to make ends meet, anyway.
posted by Gelatin at 8:35 AM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
And our schools are fully funded, and the military has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.
Which slogan, by the way, goes back as far as I can remember, indicating that starving social spending in favor of the military is nothing new, nor successful policy. Althoug they couldn't quite bring themselves to say so, yesterday's NPR piece on the rising trend of teacher's strikes made clear that current funding models are unjustifiably inadequate.
NPR also acknowledged, if not emphasized, that the dispute is about far more than teacher pay. But come to that, it never asked why teachers need to hold a second job just to make ends meet, anyway.
posted by Gelatin at 8:35 AM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
RED ALERT: The White House and conservative groups are unveiling a new health care repeal bill this month. We obtained the summary document. They will make a push to pass a budget resolution soon in order to ram this bill through with GOP votes. The public blowback must be massive and immediate. This bill will attempt to bribe @lisamurkowski and @SenatorCollins. Flood their phones. Let them know as U.S. Senators they should care about the sick and poor in ALL states. #mepolitics
Is this one where we should call senators who are not our senators?
posted by Frowner at 8:50 AM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is this one where we should call senators who are not our senators?
posted by Frowner at 8:50 AM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well so far they don't yet have a budget resolution to slip this new repeal in through reconciliation, so maybe it's too early for the RED ALERT claxons?
posted by notyou at 8:56 AM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 8:56 AM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
cjelli: The Senate will probably vote on rescinding the FCC's rule repealing Net Neutrality today. Susan Collins is joining with every Democrat to take a stand on this issue, and with McCain absent from the Senate there's a good chance of the vote passing 50-49. It's unclear, and unlikely, that a similar vote can pass the House so this is probably moot but passing it in the Senate would certainly be better than not passing it in the Senate, even if only for the rhetorical value heading into the midterms.
Emphasis mine, because the rhetorical value is not only for the Senate, but also the House. Net Neutrality has had bipartisan public support for a long time. Some 83% of voters who self-identified as “very conservative” were concerned about the possibility of ISPs having the power to “influence content” online in 2014, and that number dropped ... to 73% of Republicans in June 2017. So getting representatives for the Senate AND House on the record here is FANTASTIC for the midterms.
Rust Moranis: Poll: Voters more confident in Trump on North Korea
Reality: North Korea Summit With Trump In Doubt Because Of Military Exercises (NPR, May 15, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 9:16 AM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Emphasis mine, because the rhetorical value is not only for the Senate, but also the House. Net Neutrality has had bipartisan public support for a long time. Some 83% of voters who self-identified as “very conservative” were concerned about the possibility of ISPs having the power to “influence content” online in 2014, and that number dropped ... to 73% of Republicans in June 2017. So getting representatives for the Senate AND House on the record here is FANTASTIC for the midterms.
Rust Moranis: Poll: Voters more confident in Trump on North Korea
Reality: North Korea Summit With Trump In Doubt Because Of Military Exercises (NPR, May 15, 2018)
North Korea said it is canceling high-level talks with South Korea planned for Wednesday at their shared border area because of ongoing military exercises between the South and the United States.It's unclear whether the drills were the issue, or the hard line on no nukes. And what this actually means is pretty vague:
The talks were scheduled for Seoul and Pyongyang to follow up on the agreement struck by the two Korean leaders at their historic summit last month.
The South Korean government says the decision is "regrettable" and calls on North Korea to resume the dialogue.
Later North Korea's first vice foreign minister, Kim Kye Gwan, went further, saying in another statement that Pyongyang has no interest in a summit with Washington "driving us into a corner and making a one-sided demand" for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
...
While North Korea did not object to another set of of annual exercises that took place this spring, in March and April, the scale of Max Thunder and the bombers amid peace talks invites particular ire. North Korea sees them as particularly threatening to its security and the drills as a rehearsal for invasion.
"The reality is this could mean a lot of things ranging from 1) nothing, to 2) DPRK [North Korea's] domestic politics to 3) a warning shot about all the US maximum pressure talk to 4) a real change in DPRK intentions," tweeted Vipin Narang, an MIT professor who specializes in nuclear strategy.North Korea: not the least unstable actor in this exchange, only because we have Trump.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:16 AM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Fake it till you make it. Video at link.
@atrupar Sarah Sanders on North Korea threatening to pull out of summit: "This is something we fully expected. The president is very used to & ready for tough negotiations & if they want to meet, we'll be ready. If they don't, that's ok too & we'll continue w/campaign of maximum pressure"
posted by scalefree at 9:18 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
@atrupar Sarah Sanders on North Korea threatening to pull out of summit: "This is something we fully expected. The president is very used to & ready for tough negotiations & if they want to meet, we'll be ready. If they don't, that's ok too & we'll continue w/campaign of maximum pressure"
posted by scalefree at 9:18 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
"Goalposts? What goalposts? I don't see any goalposts around here & I certainly am not carrying any as I say this. Can somebody help me with these not-at-all goalposts? They're kind of heavy."
posted by scalefree at 9:22 AM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 9:22 AM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
"We haven't seen anything, we haven't heard anything. We'll see what happens. Time will tell." –Pres. Donald J. Trump on NK just now.
posted by scalefree at 9:27 AM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 9:27 AM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Max Thunder: Maximum Pressure -- Bravado level: twelve (because we already went to 11 and that wasn't enough).
Speaking of maximum pressure: FDA to start naming names of pharma companies blocking cheaper generics -- Commissioner Gottlieb hopes the list will discourage bad behavior. (Beth Mole for Ars Technica, May 16, 2018)
Now let's watch those stock prices before and after - will they drop in a sell-off, or will they go up as "savvy businesses" who do what they can to minimize market saturation and maximize profits by preventing generic options from being fully tested and vetted? And better yet, which companies does Gottlieb have in his portfolio, or which were ones he disinvested himself from in the past?
posted by filthy light thief at 9:27 AM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
Speaking of maximum pressure: FDA to start naming names of pharma companies blocking cheaper generics -- Commissioner Gottlieb hopes the list will discourage bad behavior. (Beth Mole for Ars Technica, May 16, 2018)
The Food and Drug Administration plans this week to effectively begin publicly shaming brand-name drug companies that stand in the way of competitors trying to develop cheaper generic drugs.By the way, this is the same Dr. Gottlieb who had promised to divest himself from several health care companies and recuse himself for one year from decisions involving those businesses, and who was seen as a "moderate" choice by Trump, when another option was a Libertarian who wanted to do away with the agency all together. He's a real tough guy here, listing company names on the internet! The shame, oh the shame!
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told reporters on Monday and Tuesday that the agency will unveil a website on Thursday, May 17 that names names of such companies. More specifically, the website will publicly reveal the identity of 50 branded drugs and their makers that have blocked generic development. The website will also be updated “on a continuous basis” to list additional names.
Now let's watch those stock prices before and after - will they drop in a sell-off, or will they go up as "savvy businesses" who do what they can to minimize market saturation and maximize profits by preventing generic options from being fully tested and vetted? And better yet, which companies does Gottlieb have in his portfolio, or which were ones he disinvested himself from in the past?
posted by filthy light thief at 9:27 AM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
President Trump demonstrates an as yet hidden talent, morphing into all three of the fabled sanzaru, the Three Wise Monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil & speak no evil. Truly he is a Holy Man.
posted by scalefree at 9:33 AM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 9:33 AM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Russia favored Trump in 2016, Senate panel says, breaking with House GOP
The Senate Intelligence Committee has determined that the intelligence community was correct in assessing that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election with the aim of helping then-candidate Donald Trump, contradicting findings House Republicans reached last month.posted by kirkaracha at 9:35 AM on May 16, 2018 [48 favorites]
“Our staff concluded that the [intelligence community’s] conclusions were accurate and on point,” the panel’s vice chairman, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), said Wednesday in a joint statement with Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), its chairman. “The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton,” Warner continued.
There's a ton coming out of these transcripts.
We have two witnesses contradicting Kushner's assertion he left the Trump Tower meeting early. Indeed, Jared became "infuriated" that Veselnitskaya kept talking about sanctions instead of delivering dirt on Clinton.
Emin trying to get Trump to go to his father's birthday in Moscow by offering a meeting with Putin.
Goldstone testified that Don Jr. started off the meeting saying "I believe you have some information for us."
Unlike House Intel, the Senate Intel committee agreed that Russia interfered with the aim of helping Trump win.
An Agalarov employee testified that Agalarov "secretly requested" a meeting between Trump and Putin at the Miss Universe pageant through a government official he believed to be Dimitri Peskov.
After Trump Tower meeting became public, an unknown person emailed Ike Kaveladze (one of the participants) asking why Trump Jr.'s statement was "admitting to collusion."
And yet more evidence that Don Jr's initial explanations for the meeting were entirely a lie.
----
And by the skin of our teeth, the Senate just voted to open debate on Net Neutrality. Actual vote expected later today, call.
posted by zachlipton at 9:38 AM on May 16, 2018 [65 favorites]
We have two witnesses contradicting Kushner's assertion he left the Trump Tower meeting early. Indeed, Jared became "infuriated" that Veselnitskaya kept talking about sanctions instead of delivering dirt on Clinton.
Emin trying to get Trump to go to his father's birthday in Moscow by offering a meeting with Putin.
Goldstone testified that Don Jr. started off the meeting saying "I believe you have some information for us."
Unlike House Intel, the Senate Intel committee agreed that Russia interfered with the aim of helping Trump win.
An Agalarov employee testified that Agalarov "secretly requested" a meeting between Trump and Putin at the Miss Universe pageant through a government official he believed to be Dimitri Peskov.
After Trump Tower meeting became public, an unknown person emailed Ike Kaveladze (one of the participants) asking why Trump Jr.'s statement was "admitting to collusion."
And yet more evidence that Don Jr's initial explanations for the meeting were entirely a lie.
----
And by the skin of our teeth, the Senate just voted to open debate on Net Neutrality. Actual vote expected later today, call.
posted by zachlipton at 9:38 AM on May 16, 2018 [65 favorites]
Sleepy Rex Tillerson apparently subtweeting Trump in his VMI commencement speech.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:43 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:43 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
I don´t think Americas political shambles can be sorted out until such time as the mainstream media starts doing reporting and journalism rather than obfuscation and infotainment. In America's news headlines, Palestinians die mysterious deaths.
posted by adamvasco at 9:46 AM on May 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 9:46 AM on May 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
Politico, Republicans wrangle over DACA in tense private meeting
Also, here's a giant crowd of North Carolina teachers who walked out and are at the state capitol today.
posted by zachlipton at 9:47 AM on May 16, 2018 [37 favorites]
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy warned centrist Republicans that their effort to force a vote to protect Dreamers could cost the party its House majority and empower Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.----
In a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning, the California Republican told rank-and-file members to “put your phones down” and listen, according to a GOP source in the room. The prospects of Republicans keeping the House are improving, he said, and “if the election was today, we win.”
But McCarthy cautioned that “we cannot disrupt ourselves,” saying in no uncertain terms that a “discharge petition” to force votes on such a controversial issue six months out from an election would do just that. Passing a bipartisan immigration bill that the base hates, McCarthy argued, would depress Republican turnout, and possibly cost the party the House.
GOP “intensity levels are still not there, and discharge petitions release the power of the floor that the American people gave us the responsibly to hold,” McCarthy said, according to the source present. “When you release that power, the majority goes to Nancy.”
He added: “If you want to depress intensity, this is the No. 1 way to do it. We can debate internally but don’t let someone else like Nancy decide our future.”
Supporters of the discharge petition pushed back on McCarthy during the conference meeting. According to another source in the room, Reps. Jeff Denham of California and Carlos Curbelo of Florida defended their move by arguing that leadership promised months ago that they’d address DACA. Indeed, Curbelo and several other Republicans who have signed onto the petition had held back on forcing the issue because they believed leadership would eventually move on something.
Also, here's a giant crowd of North Carolina teachers who walked out and are at the state capitol today.
posted by zachlipton at 9:47 AM on May 16, 2018 [37 favorites]
Trump's financial disclosure dropped.
Note on the front page: "Note 3 to Part 8: OGE has concluded that the information related to the payment made by Mr. Cohen is required to be reported and the information provided meets the disclosure requirement for a reportable liability."
posted by zachlipton at 10:10 AM on May 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
Note on the front page: "Note 3 to Part 8: OGE has concluded that the information related to the payment made by Mr. Cohen is required to be reported and the information provided meets the disclosure requirement for a reportable liability."
posted by zachlipton at 10:10 AM on May 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
Dear Uncertain Immigrants in America: your fate is being kicked down the road because the GOP has made you an easy target for their base, and in doing so, cannot do anything to help you until they win re-election. Maybe in 2019 the GOP can do something about the DREAMers, or you know, maybe not.
Please don't make this about you, it's all about them. Let them retain their power, so that they can ensure you're powerless until it's politically advantageous for them to change that.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:11 AM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Please don't make this about you, it's all about them. Let them retain their power, so that they can ensure you're powerless until it's politically advantageous for them to change that.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:11 AM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
And if you like a good mystery, the New York Times has a doozy for you: Medical Mystery: Something Happened to U.S. Health Spending After 1980. Here's a kooky theory or two:
posted by filthy light thief at 10:16 AM on May 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
The lack of universal health coverage and less safety net support for low-income populations could have something to do with it, [Sherry Glied, an economist and a dean at New York University] speculated. “The most efficient way to improve population health is to focus on those at the bottom,” she said. “But we don’t do as much for them as other countries.”Really, it's a head-scratcher as to how our free-market approach to so many of these related issues didn't control costs and increase life expectancy. A real hum-dinger. We probably weren't free enough in our market.
The effectiveness of focusing on low-income populations is evident from large expansions of public health insurance for pregnant women and children in the 1980s. There were large reductions in child mortality associated with these expansions. “Those reductions were much larger for poor children than for richer children,” Ms. Currie said.
A report by RAND shows that in 1980 the United States spent 11 percent of its G.D.P. on social programs, excluding health care, while members of the European Union spent an average of about 15 percent. In 2011 the gap had widened to 16 percent versus 22 percent.
Although this is a modest divergence over time, Mr. Anderson says it could be significant nonetheless. “Social underfunding probably has more long-term implications than underinvestment in medical care,” he said. For example, “if the underspending is on early childhood education — one of the key socioeconomic determinants of health — then there are long-term implications.”
Slow income growth could also play a role because poorer health is associated with lower incomes. “It’s notable that, apart from the richest of Americans, income growth stagnated starting in the late 1970s,” Mr. Cutler said.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:16 AM on May 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
Trump's financial disclosure dropped.
That is just 100 pages of business gobbledeegook to me but 565 LLCs as "positions held outside the United States government"? That's totally normal. Man of the people, just a regular guy.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:17 AM on May 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
That is just 100 pages of business gobbledeegook to me but 565 LLCs as "positions held outside the United States government"? That's totally normal. Man of the people, just a regular guy.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:17 AM on May 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
"In the interest of transparency, while not required to be disclosed as "reportable liabilities" on Part 8, in 2016 expenses were incurred by one of Donald J. Trump 's attorneys, Michael Cohen. Mr. Cohen sought reimbursement of those expenses and Mr. Trump fully reimbursed Mr. Cohen in 2017. The category of value would be $100,00 - $250,000 and the interest rate would be zero."
Seems like they tried to get away with claiming the loan to Cohen didn't need to be reported yet they listed it anyway in a footnote, and OGE made a public point of disagreeing, while saying the footnote was good enough.
@ddale8: So 1) Trump denies involvement in Cohen payment to Daniels 2) Giuliani admits Trump reimbursed Cohen 3) Trump says Giuliani just started, doesn’t know what he’s talking about, will “get his facts straight” 4) Trump files official form acknowledging he reimbursed Cohen. It’s like lie ping-pong
posted by zachlipton at 10:25 AM on May 16, 2018 [43 favorites]
Seems like they tried to get away with claiming the loan to Cohen didn't need to be reported yet they listed it anyway in a footnote, and OGE made a public point of disagreeing, while saying the footnote was good enough.
@ddale8: So 1) Trump denies involvement in Cohen payment to Daniels 2) Giuliani admits Trump reimbursed Cohen 3) Trump says Giuliani just started, doesn’t know what he’s talking about, will “get his facts straight” 4) Trump files official form acknowledging he reimbursed Cohen. It’s like lie ping-pong
posted by zachlipton at 10:25 AM on May 16, 2018 [43 favorites]
More on the North Carolina teachers' march. Estimates so far are between 15,000 and 20,000 marchers. "The North Carolina Association of Educators, which organized the event, is demanding state legislators raise both teacher pay and per-pupil spending to the national average in the next four years and to freeze corporate tax cuts until that happens. Their platform also calls for a statewide $1.9 billion school construction bond referendum placed on the ballot."
The "and per-pupil spending" part is really getting brushed over by a lot of people, so I want to emphasize it. This is not just about teacher pay, it's about the slow strangulation of public education itself.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:30 AM on May 16, 2018 [68 favorites]
The "and per-pupil spending" part is really getting brushed over by a lot of people, so I want to emphasize it. This is not just about teacher pay, it's about the slow strangulation of public education itself.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:30 AM on May 16, 2018 [68 favorites]
Really, it's a head-scratcher as to how our free-market approach to so many of these related issues didn't control costs and increase life expectancy. A real hum-dinger. We probably weren't free enough in our market.
Regardless of how far to the left Democratic politicians choose to run, they need to realize that validating Republican rhetoric by accepting its premises was a serious mistake. Republicans pretend that the economic plight of loyal Americans and Trump supporters is thanks to Democrats spending money on Those People; Democrats need to point out that Republicans have basically been in control of the economy since 1980, and free-market policies do not bring prosperity for all -- only for some.
Tax cuts for the rich don't work. Leaving the poor to fend for themselves doesn't work. Austerity in social programs doesn't work. Abstinence education doesn't work. Slashing regulations doesn't work.
Whatever Republican policy it is, we've tried it, and it doesn't work.
We're the richest country in the world, and that prosperity should be enjoyed by all, not just the 1%.
posted by Gelatin at 10:31 AM on May 16, 2018 [94 favorites]
Regardless of how far to the left Democratic politicians choose to run, they need to realize that validating Republican rhetoric by accepting its premises was a serious mistake. Republicans pretend that the economic plight of loyal Americans and Trump supporters is thanks to Democrats spending money on Those People; Democrats need to point out that Republicans have basically been in control of the economy since 1980, and free-market policies do not bring prosperity for all -- only for some.
Tax cuts for the rich don't work. Leaving the poor to fend for themselves doesn't work. Austerity in social programs doesn't work. Abstinence education doesn't work. Slashing regulations doesn't work.
Whatever Republican policy it is, we've tried it, and it doesn't work.
We're the richest country in the world, and that prosperity should be enjoyed by all, not just the 1%.
posted by Gelatin at 10:31 AM on May 16, 2018 [94 favorites]
The temporarily embarrassed millionaires hate spending money on Those People. I don't know how that would ever change.
posted by GrammarMoses at 10:45 AM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by GrammarMoses at 10:45 AM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
filthy light thief: Really, it's a head-scratcher as to how our free-market approach to so many of these related issues didn't control costs and increase life expectancy. A real hum-dinger. We probably weren't free enough in our market.
Missing from that article: the fact that the US is only one of two countries that allows direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads (interesting article on the first such ad in 1983, and why prohibiting such ads now is a battle at all).
Prescription drug costs are up; So are TV ads promoting them (Bruce Horovitz and Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News via USA Today, March 16, 2017)
posted by filthy light thief at 10:46 AM on May 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
Missing from that article: the fact that the US is only one of two countries that allows direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads (interesting article on the first such ad in 1983, and why prohibiting such ads now is a battle at all).
Prescription drug costs are up; So are TV ads promoting them (Bruce Horovitz and Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News via USA Today, March 16, 2017)
Spending on such commercials grew 62% since 2012, even as ad spending for most other product types was flat.Emphasis mine, because HOW IS THIS STILL A THING.
“Pharmaceutical advertising has grown more in the past four years than any other leading ad category,” said Jon Swallen, chief research officer at Kantar Media, a consulting firm that tracks multimedia advertising. It exceeded $6 billion last year, with television picking up the lion’s share, according to Kantar data. Shows such as the major network’s evening news programs, the CBS comedy Mike & Molly and ABC’s daytime drama General Hospital are heavy with drug ads, the Kantar data shows.
But the proliferation of drug advertisements has generated new controversy, in part because the ads inevitably promote high-priced drugs, some of which doctors say have limited practical utility for the average patient-viewer. The cost of Lyrica, the drug Ries was asked about for her mom, is about $400 for 60 capsules, for example. Critics say the ads encourage patients to ask their doctors for expensive, often marginal — and sometimes inappropriate — drugs that are fueling spiraling health care spending.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:46 AM on May 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
@AriMelber: NEW: Ethics office sending letter to Rod Rosenstein stating that Michael Cohen's payment on behalf of Trump was a debt and may be relevant to "any inquiry" Rosenstein may be pursuing.
In other words, Trump didn't report the debt on last year's filing, and OGE thinks DOJ should be aware of that, just in case they happen to be investigating anything related. I know we're all exhausted and jaded, but a government agency referring the President's financial disclosure to the Justice Department seems like a big deal.
I hope he's looking into where the rest of the money Giuliani mentioned went too.
posted by zachlipton at 10:50 AM on May 16, 2018 [55 favorites]
In other words, Trump didn't report the debt on last year's filing, and OGE thinks DOJ should be aware of that, just in case they happen to be investigating anything related. I know we're all exhausted and jaded, but a government agency referring the President's financial disclosure to the Justice Department seems like a big deal.
I hope he's looking into where the rest of the money Giuliani mentioned went too.
posted by zachlipton at 10:50 AM on May 16, 2018 [55 favorites]
And back to the grim times of Trump: Apartments Are Stocked, Toys Donated. Only the Refugees Are Missing. (Liz Robbins and Miriam Jordan for New York Times, May 16, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:00 AM on May 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
The flow of refugees to the United States has slowed nearly to a halt, demonstrating that what President Trump’s administration could not achieve by executive order, it is accomplishing by bureaucracy.That's not just bureaucracy - that's intentional complications in bureaucracy.
The administration has cut the staff that conducts clearance interviews overseas, intensified the screening process for refugees, and for those people it characterizes as high-risk, doubled the number who need to be screened. As a result, if the trickle of refugees admitted continues at its current pace, just 20,000 are projected to enter the United States by the end of this year, the lowest figure since the resettlement program was created with passage of the Refugee Act in 1980.
“Every stage in the process works like the assembly line in a factory — each station knows exactly what to do and how to do the hand-off to the next step,” said Barbara Strack, who retired in January as the chief of the Refugee Affairs Division at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. “This fiscal year,” she added, “the administration essentially ‘broke’ the assembly line in multiple places at the same time.”Intentional sabotage. (Emphasis all mine)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:00 AM on May 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
Booker currently all out of bubble gum during the Wylie hearing
posted by angrycat at 11:07 AM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 11:07 AM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
NYT, A Secret Mission, a Code Name and Anxiety: Inside the Early Days of the F.B.I.’s Trump Investigation. There's a ton in here, including the FBI's codename for the investigation ("Crossfire Hurricane") and a comparison of Comey's statements about the Clinton investigation with their silence about the Trump investigation, but the article also takes the extraordinary step of trying to grapple, in news copy, with the Times own reporting "Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia":
posted by zachlipton at 11:11 AM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
After months of investigation, Mr. Papadopoulos remained largely a puzzle. And agents were nearly ready to close their investigation of Mr. Flynn, according to three current and former officials. (Mr. Flynn rekindled the F.B.I.’s interest in November 2016 by signing an op-ed article that appeared to be written on behalf of the Turkish government, and then making phone calls to the Russian ambassador that December.)But even that seems to be obscuring things. How can you say there's "no public evidence" given what we're reading just today about the Trump Tower meeting, given Papadopoulos, given Don Jr's contacts with WikiLeaks, given "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," given "Russia: If you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing" ? There may not be public evidence explicitly saying campaign officials directed the hacking, but there are plenty of connections.
In late October, in response to questions from The Times, law enforcement officials acknowledged the investigation but urged restraint. They said they had scrutinized some of Mr. Trump’s advisers but had found no proof of any involvement with Russian hacking. The resulting article, on Oct. 31, reflected that caution and said that agents had uncovered no “conclusive or direct link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government.”
The key fact of the article — that the F.B.I. had opened a broad investigation into possible links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign — was published in the 10th paragraph.
A year and a half later, no public evidence has surfaced connecting Mr. Trump’s advisers to the hacking or linking Mr. Trump himself to the Russian government’s disruptive efforts. But the article’s tone and headline — “Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia” — gave an air of finality to an investigation that was just beginning.
posted by zachlipton at 11:11 AM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
The flow of refugees to the United States has slowed nearly to a halt,
Yup. I’m currently volunteering with International Rescue Committee in the Bay Area, and helping to resettle a family. We waited months for one to arrive, and they said that approved refugee families were down significantly. We had purchased items and donation money waiting for months.
posted by greermahoney at 11:13 AM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yup. I’m currently volunteering with International Rescue Committee in the Bay Area, and helping to resettle a family. We waited months for one to arrive, and they said that approved refugee families were down significantly. We had purchased items and donation money waiting for months.
posted by greermahoney at 11:13 AM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
The flow of refugees to the United States has slowed nearly to a halt, demonstrating that what President Trump’s administration could not achieve by executive order, it is accomplishing by bureaucracy.
Let us never forget that many refugees seeking shelter in the United States are not simply unfortunate victims of a natural disaster, but rather displaced by acts of other humans such as wars and famines, some of which are the direct or indirect results of United States policy. A refugee from Iraq, for example, may need to seek shelter here because we wrecked his country.
We owe it to refugees to offer shelter out of a moral commitment to humanity -- I vaguely recall Jesus Christ giving specific instructions on the matter -- but to many, our obligation runs much, much deeper.
posted by Gelatin at 11:14 AM on May 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
Let us never forget that many refugees seeking shelter in the United States are not simply unfortunate victims of a natural disaster, but rather displaced by acts of other humans such as wars and famines, some of which are the direct or indirect results of United States policy. A refugee from Iraq, for example, may need to seek shelter here because we wrecked his country.
We owe it to refugees to offer shelter out of a moral commitment to humanity -- I vaguely recall Jesus Christ giving specific instructions on the matter -- but to many, our obligation runs much, much deeper.
posted by Gelatin at 11:14 AM on May 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
THE BIG IDEA: President Trump sometimes seems impervious to the second and third order consequences of his decisions.
Impervious, yes, owing to his cocooned ensconcement in wealth and the wealthy, but mostly just oblivious.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:15 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Impervious, yes, owing to his cocooned ensconcement in wealth and the wealthy, but mostly just oblivious.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:15 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Team Trump's Official Line: We Tried to Collude But She Didn't Have the Goods!
...they took the meeting because a bizarre intermediary, Rob Goldstone—a music publicist friend of a Russian oligarch's son—promised them Veselnitskaya had dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of "Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”posted by kirkaracha at 11:17 AM on May 16, 2018 [43 favorites]
Meanwhile, everyone in Trump's orbit has lied incessantly about the meeting, including that there were an additional five people there, among them a Russian-American lobbyist who was once part of a Soviet counterintelligence unit. And we recently learned—definitively—that Veselnitskaya is quite close to the Kremlin indeed.
...
It has never occurred to anyone involved here that maybe they should emphasize they were not working against the American national interest during their campaign to run the country. The idea that there might be things you should not do even though they are to your own immediate benefit has never registered for a member of the Trump clan.
...
What the transcripts really cement, however, is how outlandish the protests against the various investigations into Russian collusion have become. What serious observer, looking at all this, is still wondering whether the Trump campaign was ready and willing to accept help from Russia, a geopolitical adversary, to defeat an American rival?Would anyone with integrity, or the slightest bit of shame, really call this a "Witch Hunt"? The only real questions remaining concern whether laws were broken in the process.
Gelatin: We're the richest country in the world, and that prosperity should be enjoyed by all, not just the 1%.
I'm sure there's more at play in each state, but I love the fact that California is the 3rd largest state in terms of land area, but has 11+ million more people than then the next most populous state, Texas, the second largest state. With 71% of the population of California, Texas touts its "business-friendly" status as a reason it's the 2nd largest economy in the US, but California's economy is not just stronger in terms of total figures, but is better per capita: ~$70,000 per capita for CA, vs ~$56,490 pc for TX, or a 20% decrease from California's figure.
I bring this all up because people bitch about how heavily regulated California is, but it's still doing better, per capita than business-friendly Texas, which tells me that you can't incentivize your way to prosperity. And while California's prosperity is definitely felt equally by all people, you could argue that some of their "business killing" regulations are felt by all, like their stricter air quality requirements and the new requirement that new homes and low-rise apartment buildings include solar panels are a benefit to the general public.
(I realize that there are a myriad of factors as to why California is as prosperous as it is, from a lengthy coast with more temperate climates, to prosperity drawing prosperity, but the gap is significant and startling.)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:17 AM on May 16, 2018 [57 favorites]
I'm sure there's more at play in each state, but I love the fact that California is the 3rd largest state in terms of land area, but has 11+ million more people than then the next most populous state, Texas, the second largest state. With 71% of the population of California, Texas touts its "business-friendly" status as a reason it's the 2nd largest economy in the US, but California's economy is not just stronger in terms of total figures, but is better per capita: ~$70,000 per capita for CA, vs ~$56,490 pc for TX, or a 20% decrease from California's figure.
I bring this all up because people bitch about how heavily regulated California is, but it's still doing better, per capita than business-friendly Texas, which tells me that you can't incentivize your way to prosperity. And while California's prosperity is definitely felt equally by all people, you could argue that some of their "business killing" regulations are felt by all, like their stricter air quality requirements and the new requirement that new homes and low-rise apartment buildings include solar panels are a benefit to the general public.
(I realize that there are a myriad of factors as to why California is as prosperous as it is, from a lengthy coast with more temperate climates, to prosperity drawing prosperity, but the gap is significant and startling.)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:17 AM on May 16, 2018 [57 favorites]
The Daily 202: The far left is winning the Democratic civil war - James Hohmann, Wapo
THE BIG IDEA: Tuesday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Democratic moderates.posted by ZeusHumms at 11:25 AM on May 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
The success of very liberal candidates in primaries across four states is causing a new bout of heartburn among party strategists in Washington, who worry about unelectable activists thwarting their drive for the House majority. But it also reflects a broader leftward lurch among Democrats across the country since President Trump took office.
(I realize that there are a myriad of factors as to why California is as prosperous as it is, from a lengthy coast with more temperate climates, to prosperity drawing prosperity, but the gap is significant and startling.)
Sure, and anyone who'd grump about that without acknowledging the role oil plays in TX's success is being disingenuous.
You can always hit any such person with the fact that despite this supposed business-friendly environment, California's got 25% more manufacturing profits than Texas when measured by GDP.
posted by phearlez at 11:30 AM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Sure, and anyone who'd grump about that without acknowledging the role oil plays in TX's success is being disingenuous.
You can always hit any such person with the fact that despite this supposed business-friendly environment, California's got 25% more manufacturing profits than Texas when measured by GDP.
posted by phearlez at 11:30 AM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
(I realize that there are a myriad of factors as to why California is as prosperous as it is, from a lengthy coast with more temperate climates, to prosperity drawing prosperity, but the gap is significant and startling.)
And "business friendly" I'm pretty sure is always aspirational. California doesn't need to tout business-friendliness, and in the main "business friendly" means "we're willing to fuck our residents over because that's all we have to offer."
posted by rhizome at 11:33 AM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
And "business friendly" I'm pretty sure is always aspirational. California doesn't need to tout business-friendliness, and in the main "business friendly" means "we're willing to fuck our residents over because that's all we have to offer."
posted by rhizome at 11:33 AM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
> The success of very liberal candidates in primaries across four states is causing a new bout of heartburn among party strategists in Washington
Fuck you, party strategists.
And following on from Zach's comment above:
> How can you say there's "no public evidence" given what we're reading just today about the Trump Tower meeting, given Papadopoulos, given Don Jr's contacts with WikiLeaks, given "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," given "Russia: If you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing" ?
I have this nagging worry that this gang was so incompetent that there isn't even a decent cover-up. This is it, in all it tawdry dipshittery: a ham-fisted attempt at collusion, cheap corruption, penny-ante bribery, with a couple of foreign agents (Manafort, Flynn) up to their eyeballs in treason thrown into the mix. And when the Mueller reports finally arrive, the liberal media will lead the charge with "Investigating Donald Trump, Independent Counsel Sees No Clear Link to Russia (aside from what we already knew)".
The solution, of course, is political, starting with taking back the House and the Senate this fall.
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:34 AM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Fuck you, party strategists.
And following on from Zach's comment above:
> How can you say there's "no public evidence" given what we're reading just today about the Trump Tower meeting, given Papadopoulos, given Don Jr's contacts with WikiLeaks, given "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," given "Russia: If you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing" ?
I have this nagging worry that this gang was so incompetent that there isn't even a decent cover-up. This is it, in all it tawdry dipshittery: a ham-fisted attempt at collusion, cheap corruption, penny-ante bribery, with a couple of foreign agents (Manafort, Flynn) up to their eyeballs in treason thrown into the mix. And when the Mueller reports finally arrive, the liberal media will lead the charge with "Investigating Donald Trump, Independent Counsel Sees No Clear Link to Russia (aside from what we already knew)".
The solution, of course, is political, starting with taking back the House and the Senate this fall.
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:34 AM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
a government agency referring the President's financial disclosure to the Justice Department seems like a big deal.
Walter Shaub (former Director, Office Gov. Ethics)
This is tantamount to a criminal referral. OGE has effectively reported the president to DOJ for potentially committing a crime. Dave Apol comes through in the end!!
Eric Columbus (Obama Justice Dept)
Let’s be clear what this is: the Trump-appointed acting head of the Office of Government Ethics just wrote DOJ to flag that Trump may have committed a crime by not disclosing his Stormy payment to Cohen in last year’s financial disclosure.
posted by chris24 at 11:35 AM on May 16, 2018 [75 favorites]
Walter Shaub (former Director, Office Gov. Ethics)
This is tantamount to a criminal referral. OGE has effectively reported the president to DOJ for potentially committing a crime. Dave Apol comes through in the end!!
Eric Columbus (Obama Justice Dept)
Let’s be clear what this is: the Trump-appointed acting head of the Office of Government Ethics just wrote DOJ to flag that Trump may have committed a crime by not disclosing his Stormy payment to Cohen in last year’s financial disclosure.
posted by chris24 at 11:35 AM on May 16, 2018 [75 favorites]
zachlipton: But even that seems to be obscuring things. How can you say there's "no public evidence" given what we're reading just today about the Trump Tower meeting, given Papadopoulos, given Don Jr's contacts with WikiLeaks, given "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," given "Russia: If you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing" ?
Your pullquote includes it's own strained-to-breaking logic:
The second paragraph indicates that the title is too terse:
Oh fuck, and then there are Her Emails:
Let's jump ahead to paragraphs 8, 9, 10 and 11:
Looping back, paragraph 10 is not a key fact of the article, but rather the paragraph that justifies the title, where earlier paragraphs refute the title and support Reid (is he one of the vague and unnamed Hillary Clinton supporters?). Remember, back in that second paragraph, it is clear that the law enforcement investigations were ongoing and not yet concluded, so it seems pretty strange that NYT would want to come out and state "Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia" without a qualifier or to to indicate that there's still a (pretty fucking good) chance that they could find something.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:35 AM on May 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Your pullquote includes it's own strained-to-breaking logic:
The resulting article, on Oct. 31, reflected that caution and said that agents had uncovered no “conclusive or direct link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government.”How is that a key fact, and not something that contradicts the headline? Here's the article as it is today: Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia
The key fact of the article — that the F.B.I. had opened a broad investigation into possible links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign — was published in the 10th paragraph.
The second paragraph indicates that the title is too terse:
Law enforcement officials say that none of the investigations so far have found any conclusive or direct link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government. And even the hacking into Democratic emails, F.B.I. and intelligence officials now believe, was aimed at disrupting the presidential election rather than electing Mr. Trump.So far? That's like saying, in the middle of an open murder investigation with a ton of clues, that there's no clear sign that it was actually a murder.
Oh fuck, and then there are Her Emails:
Hillary Clinton’s supporters, angry over what they regard as a lack of scrutiny of Mr. Trump by law enforcement officials, pushed for these investigations. In recent days they have also demanded that James B. Comey, the director of the F.B.I., discuss them publicly, as he did last week when he announced that a new batch of emails possibly connected to Mrs. Clinton had been discovered.FUCK. I'm back into tragic flash-backs of how fucking tilted this was towards Trump and away from Clinton. Was it only Clinton supporters who were pissed that Comey said "there are more emails, details TBD"? And the narrative here indicates that Trump probably isn't at fault, while Clinton is possibly connected to new emails -- note the different emphasis here, even where nothing is known yet for certain.
Let's jump ahead to paragraphs 8, 9, 10 and 11:
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, responded angrily on Sunday with a letter accusing the F.B.I. of not being forthcoming about Mr. Trump’s alleged ties with Moscow.So NYT undercut Reid's statement with vague "intelligence officials" and oddly no links to other interviews or articles, only to undermine their own paragraph 10 with paragraph 11, unless we're playing a game of semantics by stating that Manafort is A) was not currently "in [Trump's] business or political circle," or B) Manafort was not "linked ... directly to Russia’s election operations."
“It has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisers, and the Russian government — a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States, which Trump praises at every opportunity,” Mr. Reid wrote. “The public has a right to know this information.”
F.B.I. officials declined to comment on Monday. Intelligence officials have said in interviews over the last six weeks that apparent connections between some of Mr. Trump’s aides and Moscow originally compelled them to open a broad investigation into possible links between the Russian government and the Republican presidential candidate. Still, they have said that Mr. Trump himself has not become a target. And no evidence has emerged that would link him or anyone else in his business or political circle directly to Russia’s election operations.
At least one part of the investigation has involved Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman for much of the year. Mr. Manafort, a veteran Republican political strategist, has had extensive business ties in Russia and other former Soviet states, especially Ukraine, where he served as an adviser to that country’s ousted president, Viktor F. Yanukovych.
Looping back, paragraph 10 is not a key fact of the article, but rather the paragraph that justifies the title, where earlier paragraphs refute the title and support Reid (is he one of the vague and unnamed Hillary Clinton supporters?). Remember, back in that second paragraph, it is clear that the law enforcement investigations were ongoing and not yet concluded, so it seems pretty strange that NYT would want to come out and state "Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia" without a qualifier or to to indicate that there's still a (pretty fucking good) chance that they could find something.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:35 AM on May 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
...Though he’s been one of the dominant figures in American politics for the last year, Mueller doesn’t give interviews, hold press conferences, or make speeches. Avid followers of the Russia investigation’s twists and turns may have noticed that news outlets keep using the same photos of him over and over again. That’s because he hasn’t been seen in public since last June, save for an eagle-eyed Twitter user who spotted him at a downtown D.C. crosswalk in March. This relatively blank slate allows Americans to project their own beliefs and biases onto the former FBI director...
posted by growabrain at 11:38 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 11:38 AM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Kremlin Used NRA to Help Trump in 2016, Senate Report Says: Documents suggest Moscow funneled money to Trump through the gun group, according to the judiciary committee
The Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that the Russian government apparently used the National Rifle Association to help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016.posted by chris24 at 11:39 AM on May 16, 2018 [45 favorites]
Documents suggest the Kremlin used the NRA to offer the campaign a back channel to Moscow—including a potential meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin—and might have secretly funded Trump’s campaign, the committee said. One of the Russians named in the report even bragged she was part of the Trump campaign’s communications with Russia, The Daily Beast reported last year.
The NRA spent a record $30 million on Trump and the FBI is reportedly investigating whether any of the money came from Russia. U.S. law prohibits foreign money to be spent on elections.
Two Russian nationals figure prominently in the alleged scheme: Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Kremlin’s central bank, and his then-deputy Maria Butina.
Torshin met Donald Trump Jr. at the NRA’s 2016 convention in Tennessee and hosted an NRA delegation in Moscow in 2015. Torshin was previously accused by Spanish investigators of laundering money for Russian mobsters, an allegation he denied. (Last month he was sanctioned by the U.S.)
Butina founded a pro-gun group in Russia before coming to the United States in 2015 when she immediately began ingratiating herself in conservative circles. Butina started a business with NRA member and GOP activist Paul Erickson.
In May 2016, the same month Torshin met Trump Jr. at the NRA convention, Erickson emailed a Trump advisor about setting up a meeting between the candidate and Putin.
A refugee from Iraq, for example, may need to seek shelter here because we wrecked his country.
Add to that list Guatemala and Nicaragua. Not to mention the people in Mexico displaced by the violence caused by the 253,000 firearms which cross the border south each year.
posted by Omon Ra at 11:40 AM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Add to that list Guatemala and Nicaragua. Not to mention the people in Mexico displaced by the violence caused by the 253,000 firearms which cross the border south each year.
posted by Omon Ra at 11:40 AM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
NYT, Service Meant to Monitor Inmates’ Calls Could Track You, Too
Remember six days ago when we read about Securus, which can track cell phones all over the country with minimal controls to prevent abuse? Yeah. Quick update there.
Hacker Breaches Securus, the Company That Helps Cops Track Phones Across the US
posted by zachlipton at 11:42 AM on May 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
Remember six days ago when we read about Securus, which can track cell phones all over the country with minimal controls to prevent abuse? Yeah. Quick update there.
Hacker Breaches Securus, the Company That Helps Cops Track Phones Across the US
The hacker who breached Securus provided Motherboard with several internal company files. A spreadsheet allegedly from a database marked “police” includes over 2,800 usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, and hashed passwords and security questions of Securus users, stretching from 2011 up to this year. A hash is a cryptographic representation of a piece of data, meaning a company doesn’t need to store the password itself. But the hashes themselves were created using the notoriously weak MD5 algorithm, meaning attackers could learn a user’s real password in many cases. Indeed, some of the passwords have seemingly been cracked and included in the spreadsheet. It is not immediately clear if the hacker that provided the data to Motherboard cracked these alleged passwords or if Securus stored them this way itself.Motherboard confirmed the data appears legitimate. The Intercept reported another Securus hack in 2015.
posted by zachlipton at 11:42 AM on May 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
The President of the EU's European Council has no more fucks to give.
Donald Tusk
Looking at latest decisions of @realDonaldTrump someone could even think: with friends like that who needs enemies. But frankly, EU should be grateful. Thanks to him we got rid of all illusions. We realise that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.
posted by chris24 at 11:47 AM on May 16, 2018 [72 favorites]
Donald Tusk
Looking at latest decisions of @realDonaldTrump someone could even think: with friends like that who needs enemies. But frankly, EU should be grateful. Thanks to him we got rid of all illusions. We realise that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.
posted by chris24 at 11:47 AM on May 16, 2018 [72 favorites]
The success of very liberal candidates in primaries across four states is causing a new bout of heartburn among party strategists in Washington
Since a lot of what is being reported in that article is local to me, I am really feeling the need to push back against some generalizations being presented here.
John Fetterman has HUGE name recognition in Pennsylvania. The slate of Lt. Governors was full of people no one had ever heard of, an incumbent who is so corrupt the Governor smacked him down, and Fetterman, who's been in goddamn Levi's commercials. Him winning statewide office was just a matter of time. (And he is way more establishment-friendly than one might first assume and was not DSA endorsed.)
Dom Costa, as outlined copiously upthread, is not the type of Democrat that any "party strategist" should be getting behind, ever. He way outstayed his welcome in a district that has had a massive demographic shift towards younger, more progressive, more educated households in the past decade. We're not talking a Joe Manchin in West Virginia situation. Dom Costa's district includes what a lot of national press articles refer to as "Pittsburgh's Brooklyn." This is as safe a Blue seat as can be imagined. The primary is the election. Republicans don't run anyone. If you can't elect a progressive in this district without people freaking the fuck out, then I don't even know.
PA HD 34 (Summer Lee) is another safe safe ultra-safe Blue district. There literally has not been a Republican in that seat in my lifetime. Paul Costa was less of an egregious DINO than his cousin, but it's not a big stretch to imagine that the many black voters of HD 34 would get fired up and engaged by a young black woman running to unseat an establishment white dude. (HD34 at ~25% black may not seem like an especially black district, but Western PA just in general is super white--Allegheny Co. as a whole is only 13% black--so by comparison, it is.)
I went on to Twitter this morning to see national journalists tweeting about these wins (esp. Innamorato and Lee) and so much hangwringing in the replies about BUT CAN THEY WIN THE GENERAL???!?!? Yinz, sit the hell down and read Wikipedia for one hot second.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:54 AM on May 16, 2018 [52 favorites]
Since a lot of what is being reported in that article is local to me, I am really feeling the need to push back against some generalizations being presented here.
John Fetterman has HUGE name recognition in Pennsylvania. The slate of Lt. Governors was full of people no one had ever heard of, an incumbent who is so corrupt the Governor smacked him down, and Fetterman, who's been in goddamn Levi's commercials. Him winning statewide office was just a matter of time. (And he is way more establishment-friendly than one might first assume and was not DSA endorsed.)
Dom Costa, as outlined copiously upthread, is not the type of Democrat that any "party strategist" should be getting behind, ever. He way outstayed his welcome in a district that has had a massive demographic shift towards younger, more progressive, more educated households in the past decade. We're not talking a Joe Manchin in West Virginia situation. Dom Costa's district includes what a lot of national press articles refer to as "Pittsburgh's Brooklyn." This is as safe a Blue seat as can be imagined. The primary is the election. Republicans don't run anyone. If you can't elect a progressive in this district without people freaking the fuck out, then I don't even know.
PA HD 34 (Summer Lee) is another safe safe ultra-safe Blue district. There literally has not been a Republican in that seat in my lifetime. Paul Costa was less of an egregious DINO than his cousin, but it's not a big stretch to imagine that the many black voters of HD 34 would get fired up and engaged by a young black woman running to unseat an establishment white dude. (HD34 at ~25% black may not seem like an especially black district, but Western PA just in general is super white--Allegheny Co. as a whole is only 13% black--so by comparison, it is.)
I went on to Twitter this morning to see national journalists tweeting about these wins (esp. Innamorato and Lee) and so much hangwringing in the replies about BUT CAN THEY WIN THE GENERAL???!?!? Yinz, sit the hell down and read Wikipedia for one hot second.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:54 AM on May 16, 2018 [52 favorites]
ZeusHumms: The success of very liberal candidates in primaries across four states is causing a new bout of heartburn among party strategists in Washington, who worry about unelectable activists thwarting their drive for the House majority.
Two words: Tea Party.
Three words: House Freedom Caucus, the more conservative end of the GOP, who held the line against spending bills and rebelled against trade priorities of leaders. Just imagine if there's a similar band of leftist rabble-rouses who re-shape the Democratic party and shift it farther left!
Now imagine a focus on GOTV, ensuring a broader right to vote, reduced disenfranchisement, and a return to unions, and we could really push the arc of the moral universe towards justice for all.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:55 AM on May 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
Two words: Tea Party.
Three words: House Freedom Caucus, the more conservative end of the GOP, who held the line against spending bills and rebelled against trade priorities of leaders. Just imagine if there's a similar band of leftist rabble-rouses who re-shape the Democratic party and shift it farther left!
Now imagine a focus on GOTV, ensuring a broader right to vote, reduced disenfranchisement, and a return to unions, and we could really push the arc of the moral universe towards justice for all.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:55 AM on May 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
Going through the Senate Judiciary Committee's released documents today, MSNBC's Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1 has turned up several pieces of evidence that cry out for further investigation:
The notes that Paul Manafort took during the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. https://bit.ly/2GpI3Eaposted by Doktor Zed at 11:56 AM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]Bill browder [sic]In July 2015, Rob Goldstone emailed Trump's longtime personal assistant, inviting Trump to Aras Agalarov's birthday party in Moscow.
Offshore - Cyprus
133m shares
Companies
Not invest - loan
Value in Cyprus as inter
Illici [sic]
Active sponsors of RNC
Browder hired Joanna Glover
Tied into Cheney
Russian adoption by American families
When rebuffed, Goldstone adds: "unless maybe he would welcome a meeting with President Putin which Emin would set up" https://bit.ly/2rLr4Hi
Ike Kaveladze says that Don Jr. asked Rinat Akhmetshin and Natalia Veselnitskaya "if they got anything on Hillary" during the Trump Tower meeting. (Page 45) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdU3_KJX0AI8JFx.jpg
Scaramucci emailed Rob Goldstone in July 2017 (after Goldstone was reported to have attended the Trump Tower meeting): " I just wanted to drop you a line to say if you ever need to pick my brains then my door is always open." https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdU8ynGXUAA6bCz.jpg
Senate Judiciary Democrats: "In its investigation so far, the Committee has found evidence of multiple contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials or their intermediaries, including offers of assistance and purported overtures from Vladimir Putin."
I wonder if it’s related to the fact that Muslim sectarianism is now becoming fashionable for mainstream media outlets to notice. I can recall 25 years ago when the concept of there being Shiite and Sunni Muslims was almost never mentioned on television, nor any of the other historical distinctions, to the point that there was virtually no context given at all for why there are different factions among Muslims in the Middle East, why Iraq and Iran were at war, why Turks and Kurds were at odds, etc....
posted by darkstar at 1:07 AM on May 16 [1 favorite +] [!]
Yeah, I remember a President who had the gall to invade a Muslim country without understanding that.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:57 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by darkstar at 1:07 AM on May 16 [1 favorite +] [!]
Yeah, I remember a President who had the gall to invade a Muslim country without understanding that.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:57 AM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
growabrain: This relatively blank slate allows Americans to project their own beliefs and biases onto the former FBI director...
Related: The Untold Story of Robert Mueller's Time in Combat -- Robert Mueller’s job is to make sense of how Russia hacked the 2016 election. But to make sense of Mueller, you have to revisit some of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam. (Garrett M. Graff for Wired, May 15, 2018)
The article is compiled from stories, some of them not previously told, by Vietnam veterans about Mueller's activities in the war, and reading into those recollections about what to expect from Mueller in his work now.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Related: The Untold Story of Robert Mueller's Time in Combat -- Robert Mueller’s job is to make sense of how Russia hacked the 2016 election. But to make sense of Mueller, you have to revisit some of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam. (Garrett M. Graff for Wired, May 15, 2018)
The article is compiled from stories, some of them not previously told, by Vietnam veterans about Mueller's activities in the war, and reading into those recollections about what to expect from Mueller in his work now.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
And when the Mueller reports finally arrive, the liberal media will lead the charge with "Investigating Donald Trump, Independent Counsel Sees No Clear Link to Russia (aside from what we already knew)".
The solution, of course, is political, starting with taking back the House and the Senate this fall.
Think of how the House investigation went, with Devin Nunes obviously using his position toobstruct justice on behalf of provide cover for Trump, and the minority Democrats still issuing some excellent minority reports that basically begin with "the Republicans won't let us release everything we know, but here's what we can tell you."
if and when the Democrats take the majority, and the chair if the investigating committees, the situation will not be at all reversed. The Democrats know the weak spots, know where to look, and know what they want to tell the American people about the nearly overt corruption and treason of the entire Trump team.
The Republicans simply will not be in a position to rebut. What are they going to do, issue a minority report that says "Nuh-uh"? "No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet," maybe?
posted by Gelatin at 12:05 PM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
The solution, of course, is political, starting with taking back the House and the Senate this fall.
Think of how the House investigation went, with Devin Nunes obviously using his position to
if and when the Democrats take the majority, and the chair if the investigating committees, the situation will not be at all reversed. The Democrats know the weak spots, know where to look, and know what they want to tell the American people about the nearly overt corruption and treason of the entire Trump team.
The Republicans simply will not be in a position to rebut. What are they going to do, issue a minority report that says "Nuh-uh"? "No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet," maybe?
posted by Gelatin at 12:05 PM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
The Daily 202: The far left is winning the Democratic civil war - James Hohmann, Wapo
THE BIG IDEA: Tuesday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Democratic moderates.
The success of very liberal candidates in primaries across four states is causing a new bout of heartburn among party strategists in Washington, who worry about unelectable activists thwarting their drive for the House majority. But it also reflects a broader leftward lurch among Democrats across the country since President Trump took office.
Oh, fuck this "electability" bullshit. Fuck it in the ear. If someone gets elected, then they are, by definition, "electable." Remember all the fretting about Barack Hussein Obama and how unelectable he was? Well, he was so electable, he got elected twice!
And remember how we won with "electable" snooze-fests Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry? Oh, wait.
I don't know how much of this is a kind of post-Reagan party-wide PTSD, and how much is shorthand for "our Big Donors are going to shit their pants and our consultant class is afraid they will be put out of work."
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:06 PM on May 16, 2018 [101 favorites]
THE BIG IDEA: Tuesday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Democratic moderates.
The success of very liberal candidates in primaries across four states is causing a new bout of heartburn among party strategists in Washington, who worry about unelectable activists thwarting their drive for the House majority. But it also reflects a broader leftward lurch among Democrats across the country since President Trump took office.
Oh, fuck this "electability" bullshit. Fuck it in the ear. If someone gets elected, then they are, by definition, "electable." Remember all the fretting about Barack Hussein Obama and how unelectable he was? Well, he was so electable, he got elected twice!
And remember how we won with "electable" snooze-fests Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry? Oh, wait.
I don't know how much of this is a kind of post-Reagan party-wide PTSD, and how much is shorthand for "our Big Donors are going to shit their pants and our consultant class is afraid they will be put out of work."
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:06 PM on May 16, 2018 [101 favorites]
I just saw the excellent Ruth Bader Ginsberg documentary over the weekend.
They showed many clips from her confirmation hearing, including Orrin Hatch saying lots of nice things about her.
She was confirmed 96-3.
I am sad.
posted by Melismata at 12:09 PM on May 16, 2018 [32 favorites]
They showed many clips from her confirmation hearing, including Orrin Hatch saying lots of nice things about her.
She was confirmed 96-3.
I am sad.
posted by Melismata at 12:09 PM on May 16, 2018 [32 favorites]
@JenniferJJacobs: Scoop: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has been excluded from talks tomorrow with China’s top economic envoy, I’m told. WH is annoyed with him lately for what they think is unprofessional behavior.
Yeah. Place is otherwise full of professionalism except when Navarro is around.
posted by zachlipton at 12:16 PM on May 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
Yeah. Place is otherwise full of professionalism except when Navarro is around.
posted by zachlipton at 12:16 PM on May 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
From that list of notes Manafort made in the Trump Tower meeting, who are the "active sponsors of RNC"?
posted by gucci mane at 12:33 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 12:33 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mueller's breathing down Roger Stone's neck, Reuters reports: Mueller Issues Grand Jury Subpoenas To Trump Adviser's Social Media Consultant
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:35 PM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued two subpoenas to a social media expert who worked for longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone during the 2016 presidential election campaign.Mueller's indifference to interviewing Stone is freaking him out.
The subpoenas were delivered late last week to lawyers representing Jason Sullivan, a social media and Twitter specialist Stone hired to work for an independent political action committee he set up to support Trump, Knut Johnson, a lawyer for Sullivan, told Reuters on Tuesday.[...]
According to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation, Mueller also has been probing whether anyone associated with the Trump campaign may have helped Assange or the Russians time or target the release of hacked emails and other social media promoting Trump or critical of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.[...]
Stone on Tuesday repeated his public denials that he had an inside track to WikiLeaks or others who hacked or published Democratic Party and Clinton-related emails and said no one from Mueller’s team has tried to contact him.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:35 PM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
In the interest of transparency, while not required to be disclosed as "reportable liabilities" on Part 8, in 2016 expenses were incurred by one of Donald J. Trump 's attorneys, Michael Cohen. Mr. Cohen sought reimbursement of those expenses and Mr. Trump fully reimbursed Mr. Cohen in 2017. The category of value would be $100,00 - $250,000 and the interest rate would be zero.
These guys just can't stop incriminating themselves. A loan with an interest rate of zero is a big red flag for the IRS. The IRS requires that loans be "structured in a business-like manner" and that includes interest rates that reflect current market conditions. This is to prevent sham transactions that are made to avoid income taxes. If Cohen loaned money to Trump, as Trump now claims, then failure to declare interest income or pay taxes on the imputed interest is tax evasion.
posted by JackFlash at 12:36 PM on May 16, 2018 [39 favorites]
These guys just can't stop incriminating themselves. A loan with an interest rate of zero is a big red flag for the IRS. The IRS requires that loans be "structured in a business-like manner" and that includes interest rates that reflect current market conditions. This is to prevent sham transactions that are made to avoid income taxes. If Cohen loaned money to Trump, as Trump now claims, then failure to declare interest income or pay taxes on the imputed interest is tax evasion.
posted by JackFlash at 12:36 PM on May 16, 2018 [39 favorites]
Please let these criminals get taken down on tax evasion.
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
The Senate just voted for net neutrality. Onto the House!
Public pressure works. Phone calls work.
The House is voting soon on work requirements for food stamps, if you'd like to make your views known about that.
posted by zachlipton at 12:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [89 favorites]
Public pressure works. Phone calls work.
The House is voting soon on work requirements for food stamps, if you'd like to make your views known about that.
posted by zachlipton at 12:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [89 favorites]
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has been excluded from talks tomorrow with China’s top economic envoy
Imagine that. They are excluding the guy who wrote the xenophobic and inflammatory book "Death by China". The book that Jared stumbled across while perusing Amazon because Trump asked him to find out more about China and led to Trump inviting Navarro into the administration.
First Kim blackballs Bolton and now China blackballs Navarro. The Dealmaker in Chief, indeed.
posted by JackFlash at 12:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Imagine that. They are excluding the guy who wrote the xenophobic and inflammatory book "Death by China". The book that Jared stumbled across while perusing Amazon because Trump asked him to find out more about China and led to Trump inviting Navarro into the administration.
First Kim blackballs Bolton and now China blackballs Navarro. The Dealmaker in Chief, indeed.
posted by JackFlash at 12:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Trump still refusing to grasp the whole idea of the independence of the Justice Department, now calling for the prosecution of the Mayor of Oakland.
@jdawsey1: "You talk about obstruction of justice, I would recommend that you look at obstruction of justice for the mayor [of Oakland], Jeff," Trump just said to a stonefaced Jeff Sessions, per pool report.
@cmarinucci: Trump asks @jeffsessions to explore obstruct of justice charge re Oakland Mayor @LibbySchaff: "You had 1000 people, together..many of these were illegals..& she informed them, & they all fled..I would reocmmend you look into obstruction of justice for the mayor of Oakland, Jeff."
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
@jdawsey1: "You talk about obstruction of justice, I would recommend that you look at obstruction of justice for the mayor [of Oakland], Jeff," Trump just said to a stonefaced Jeff Sessions, per pool report.
@cmarinucci: Trump asks @jeffsessions to explore obstruct of justice charge re Oakland Mayor @LibbySchaff: "You had 1000 people, together..many of these were illegals..& she informed them, & they all fled..I would reocmmend you look into obstruction of justice for the mayor of Oakland, Jeff."
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
soren_lorensen: "Since a lot of what is being reported in that article is local to me, I am really feeling the need to push back against some generalizations being presented here. "
Well said. That article was a *very* poor analysis, IMHO.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well said. That article was a *very* poor analysis, IMHO.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
> Well said. That article was a *very* poor analysis, IMHO.
Democrats Need to Run on Issues! ... Wait, Not Those Issues!
Democrats Need to Run on Issues! ... Wait, Not Those Issues!
Good Lord, what does this "far left" candidate stand for?posted by tonycpsu at 12:55 PM on May 16, 2018 [55 favorites][Eastman] built her campaign around “Medicare for All” ...So radical! [...]
Eastman advocated for universal background checks to buy guns, raising taxes and decriminalizing marijuana.
Why would Wild do something so reckless as run against a fellow Democrat from the left?Morganelli, who opposes abortion rights and “sanctuary cities,” was attacked relentlessly on the airwaves for speaking positively about Trump and tweeting that he was open to taking a job in the administration during the transition.Oh. [...]
Beating Republicans is good. Progressive ideas are also good. Let's just keep fighting.
I think it's known I'm in the "pick your battles" camp, but THESE are the battles to have picked! We're not talking North Dakota Senate race here.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:58 PM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:58 PM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
From the Sullivan subpoena article:
Sullivan told Reuters that he heads Cyphoon.com, a social media firm, and “worked on the Trump campaign serving as Chief Strategist directly to Roger J. Stone Jr.”
“Welcome To The Age of Weaponized Social Media,” said a strategy document Sullivan prepared for Stone and seen by Reuters. He described a “system” he devised for creating Twitter “swarms” as “an army of sophisticated, hyper-targeted direct tweet automation systems driven by outcomes-based strategies derived from REAL-TIME actionable insights.”
For example, at 6:43 a.m. local time on Election Day in 2016, Trump tweeted, “TODAY WE MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN”. Trump’s message soon was retweeted more than 343,000 times, and in an interview last year, Sullivan told Reuters that the swarm helped overcome a surge in pro-Clinton social media postings and boost voter turnout for Trump.
This is describing a botnet, yes?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:06 PM on May 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
Sullivan told Reuters that he heads Cyphoon.com, a social media firm, and “worked on the Trump campaign serving as Chief Strategist directly to Roger J. Stone Jr.”
“Welcome To The Age of Weaponized Social Media,” said a strategy document Sullivan prepared for Stone and seen by Reuters. He described a “system” he devised for creating Twitter “swarms” as “an army of sophisticated, hyper-targeted direct tweet automation systems driven by outcomes-based strategies derived from REAL-TIME actionable insights.”
For example, at 6:43 a.m. local time on Election Day in 2016, Trump tweeted, “TODAY WE MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN”. Trump’s message soon was retweeted more than 343,000 times, and in an interview last year, Sullivan told Reuters that the swarm helped overcome a surge in pro-Clinton social media postings and boost voter turnout for Trump.
This is describing a botnet, yes?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:06 PM on May 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
Justinian: "I really want to see the switch from Registered Voter models to Likely Voter models as it may start picking up the up-until-now apparent enthusiasm gap. Does anyone know when the generic ballots tend to switch to LV? Chrysostom?"
I asked Elliott Morris from the Crosstab - he said most generic ballot polling will be switched to likely voter by October.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
I asked Elliott Morris from the Crosstab - he said most generic ballot polling will be switched to likely voter by October.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
The article is compiled from stories, some of them not previously told, by Vietnam veterans about Mueller's activities in the war, and reading into those recollections about what to expect from Mueller in his work now.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:02 PM on May 16 [4 favorites +] [!]
Cue the swiftboat ads...
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 12:02 PM on May 16 [4 favorites +] [!]
Cue the swiftboat ads...
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
@sahilkapur: Trump: "We're taking people out of the country — you wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals." He says the U.S. has "the dumbest laws on immigration in the world."
Narrator: they are fucking people
posted by zachlipton at 1:13 PM on May 16, 2018 [96 favorites]
Narrator: they are fucking people
posted by zachlipton at 1:13 PM on May 16, 2018 [96 favorites]
"We're taking people out of the country — you wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals."
The historical comparison you're thinking about right now is appropriate.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:19 PM on May 16, 2018 [150 favorites]
The historical comparison you're thinking about right now is appropriate.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:19 PM on May 16, 2018 [150 favorites]
Every single person who was in that room and didn't push back on "These are animals" is complicit and every bit as racist as he is.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:19 PM on May 16, 2018 [113 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:19 PM on May 16, 2018 [113 favorites]
From that list of notes Manafort made in the Trump Tower meeting, who are the "active sponsors of RNC"?
A very good question. The FEC's data for the Republican National Committee for 2015-2016 is topped by Trump's own Make America Great Again Committee and Trump Victory, but familiar names such as Peter Thiel, Robert Mercer, and Len Blavatnik head up the individual contributors (and further down, there's Elliott Broidy and Steve Wynn).
For the Republican National Convention, the day before the event Time reported on why we don't know who's funding the Republican Convention:
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:20 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
A very good question. The FEC's data for the Republican National Committee for 2015-2016 is topped by Trump's own Make America Great Again Committee and Trump Victory, but familiar names such as Peter Thiel, Robert Mercer, and Len Blavatnik head up the individual contributors (and further down, there's Elliott Broidy and Steve Wynn).
For the Republican National Convention, the day before the event Time reported on why we don't know who's funding the Republican Convention:
When the Republican National Convention begins in Cleveland on Monday, it will be the first time in four decades that a major political party’s nominating convention is underwritten nearly exclusively with private cash—funneled in from the same billionaires, corporate lobbyists and Super PACs whose influence over politics Trump has enthusiastically lambasted from the stump.When the FEC finally released the donor list two months afterward, the biggest names going into the event were Sheldon G. Adelson ($1.5M), AT&T ($1.27M, inc. gifts and services), American Petroleum Institute ($1M), Bank of America ($1M), the City of Cleveland ($1M).
The RNC’s near total dependence on private money is the direct result of a series of recent federal rule changes that eliminated public funding for conventions and made it easier for parties to rake in unlimited sums of private cash, with no extra oversight.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:20 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
I asked Elliott Morris from the Crosstab - he said most generic ballot polling will be switched to likely voter by October.
First, thanks. Second, how am I supposed to make it through 5 more months of this?!?
posted by Justinian at 1:22 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
First, thanks. Second, how am I supposed to make it through 5 more months of this?!?
posted by Justinian at 1:22 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
The success of very liberal candidates in primaries across four states is causing a new bout of heartburn among party strategists in Washington
Once again heartburn comes from things that I find delicious.
posted by srboisvert at 1:28 PM on May 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Once again heartburn comes from things that I find delicious.
posted by srboisvert at 1:28 PM on May 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
The way that the administration is justifying Israel gunning down kids and other people in Gaza, including a guy in a wheelchair, feels very uncomfortably of a piece with the conversation about the border with Mexico.
posted by angrycat at 1:29 PM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 1:29 PM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
I like this framing.
Brian Fung (WaPo):
Sen. Kennedy explains to @TonyRomm why he voted for the #netneutrality CRA: "It was a fairly close call, but I'll tell you what it comes down to: the extent to which you trust your cable company. If you trust your cable company, you're not going to like my vote today."
posted by chris24 at 1:33 PM on May 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
Brian Fung (WaPo):
Sen. Kennedy explains to @TonyRomm why he voted for the #netneutrality CRA: "It was a fairly close call, but I'll tell you what it comes down to: the extent to which you trust your cable company. If you trust your cable company, you're not going to like my vote today."
posted by chris24 at 1:33 PM on May 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
Trump: "We're taking people out of the country — you wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals." He says the U.S. has "the dumbest laws on immigration in the world."
From the perspective of him and his supporters, that's because the US allows immigration at all.
posted by Gelatin at 1:35 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
From the perspective of him and his supporters, that's because the US allows immigration at all.
posted by Gelatin at 1:35 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Goebbels:
....the Jews are after all human beings too. We never denied that, just as we never denied the humanity [humanness] of murders, child rapists, thieves and pimps...
Trump:
These aren't people. These are animals.
So Trump just sunk below Goebbels.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 1:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [83 favorites]
....the Jews are after all human beings too. We never denied that, just as we never denied the humanity [humanness] of murders, child rapists, thieves and pimps...
Trump:
These aren't people. These are animals.
So Trump just sunk below Goebbels.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 1:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [83 favorites]
"These aren't people. These are animals."
That's an absolutely shocking thing for anyone, much less POTUS, to say. Dehumanization is the first step to justifying killing.
posted by Justinian at 1:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [90 favorites]
That's an absolutely shocking thing for anyone, much less POTUS, to say. Dehumanization is the first step to justifying killing.
posted by Justinian at 1:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [90 favorites]
The only real questions remaining concern whether laws were broken
I'm confused by one thing. I think taking a meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary is a crime itself. I don't understand why Trump Jr. hasn't been nailed on this alone. Also, now that multiple witnesses say Jared freaked out during the meeting over its content, doesn't that seriously undercut his saying he didn't know what the meeting was about?
posted by xammerboy at 1:43 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
I'm confused by one thing. I think taking a meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary is a crime itself. I don't understand why Trump Jr. hasn't been nailed on this alone. Also, now that multiple witnesses say Jared freaked out during the meeting over its content, doesn't that seriously undercut his saying he didn't know what the meeting was about?
posted by xammerboy at 1:43 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
I want to hear a detailed White House explanation about whether unlawful immigrant Melania Trump is a person or an animal
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [44 favorites]
Let's look at the votes on net neutrality, shall we?
Every single Democratic Senator voted to restore net neutrality.
Every single vote against was a Republican.
The three Republicans who voted for net neutrality:
Collins, Susan M. (Republican - Maine)
Kennedy, John (Republican - Louisiana)
Murkowski, Lisa (Republican - Arkansas)
I will be sending thank-you faxes tonight to my own two senators and to these three legislators who did the right thing.
... And, I'm sorry, but:
posted by kristi at 1:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Every single Democratic Senator voted to restore net neutrality.
Every single vote against was a Republican.
The three Republicans who voted for net neutrality:
Collins, Susan M. (Republican - Maine)
Kennedy, John (Republican - Louisiana)
Murkowski, Lisa (Republican - Arkansas)
I will be sending thank-you faxes tonight to my own two senators and to these three legislators who did the right thing.
... And, I'm sorry, but:
Sen. Kennedy explains to @TonyRomm why he voted for the #netneutrality CRA: "It was a fairly close call, but I'll tell you what it comes down to: the extent to which you trust your cable company. If you trust your cable company, you're not going to like my vote today."Thank you for your vote, Senator, but actually, I LOVE and trust my internet provider (I don't have cable), but not everyone gets to choose a company like Sonic. For me, it's not about whether I trust my own provider; it's about EVERYONE, and about the fact that it shouldn't come down to trust, it should be a matter of law that everyone gets fair accesss to essential services.
posted by kristi at 1:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Which is all fine and good (I've heard great things about Sonic as an ISP) but his quote is great framing for the NN debate.
posted by azpenguin at 1:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 1:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'm just gonna drop this & let folks marvel over the glory of its weirdness.
Trump lawyer blasts Giuliani, asks if Cohen was a “mob" fixer
Trump lawyer blasts Giuliani, asks if Cohen was a “mob" fixer
In a Beat exclusive, Trump lawyer Jay Goldberg attacks Trump’s other lawyer, Rudy Giuliani saying Giuliani was not “the right person” for Trump to hire and there were “much better people” to get for “negotiating with Mueller.” Goldberg also blasting Giuliani for taking the spotlight, trying to “aggrandize himself”, a charge he also lays on Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti. Goldberg notes that any possible “wrongdoing” that occurred while he was Trump’s lawyer was kept from him, but suggests that Michael Cohen’s self-described role as a “fixer” for Trump could relate to the influence of the “mob” in “building trades”.posted by scalefree at 1:54 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
"These aren't people. These are animals."
That's an absolutely shocking thing for anyone, much less POTUS, to say. Dehumanization is the first step to justifying killing.
Pretty soon our collective comments will look like Animal Farm.
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:55 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
That's an absolutely shocking thing for anyone, much less POTUS, to say. Dehumanization is the first step to justifying killing.
Pretty soon our collective comments will look like Animal Farm.
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:55 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sure, there are some great and trustworthy ISPs out there. But Kennedy didn't say ISP, he said cable company, and I'll be damned if I'd ever trust any of them.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Ah. Axios with the Navarro situation: Peter Navarro explodes at Steven Mnuchin
posted by zachlipton at 1:57 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
On the Trump delegation's trip to China two weeks ago, Navarro "blew up" at Mnuchin over his decision to participate in one-on-one talks with his Chinese counterpart Liu He. Navarro — a hardliner against China — cursed at Mnuchin and fumed about being shut out of the talks, the sources said. "It stems from his belief that Mnuchin is steering them down the wrong path, policy-wise, with China," said a source familiar with their interactions.Given what the boss says, I shudder to think what behavior could actually count as unprofessional in this White House.
On the same trip, Navarro also blew up at Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, according to a source with direct knowledge.
...
China's top trade negotiator Liu He is visiting Washington this week for talks aimed at striking a deal with the U.S. to avoid a trade war. Meanwhile, Navarro and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer have been concerned about Mnuchin leading Trump towards a deal that would give up on punishing China with aggressive tariffs for its theft of U.S. intellectual property.
posted by zachlipton at 1:57 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
To understand the future sainthood of Drump, just look at George W Bush:
George W Bush spent a decade as the record-holder for the worst US president in modern history: a stupid man who weaponized a lie to start a pointless war that rages to this day, the "Heck of a Job, Brownie" president, the "You forgot Poland" president, the "Freedom Fries" president, the torture president, the mass surveillance president, the climate denier, the chimp-faced coked up draft dodger who was a modern hereditary princeling -- probably not even much fun to have a beer with.
But today, GWB is largely rehabilitated: he gets gallery shows for his shitty paintings, cuddles Michelle Obama in public, and is remembered as a statesman who seems talented, measured and statesmanlike when contrasted with the eternal dumpster fire of Donald J Trump.
posted by growabrain at 2:00 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
George W Bush spent a decade as the record-holder for the worst US president in modern history: a stupid man who weaponized a lie to start a pointless war that rages to this day, the "Heck of a Job, Brownie" president, the "You forgot Poland" president, the "Freedom Fries" president, the torture president, the mass surveillance president, the climate denier, the chimp-faced coked up draft dodger who was a modern hereditary princeling -- probably not even much fun to have a beer with.
But today, GWB is largely rehabilitated: he gets gallery shows for his shitty paintings, cuddles Michelle Obama in public, and is remembered as a statesman who seems talented, measured and statesmanlike when contrasted with the eternal dumpster fire of Donald J Trump.
posted by growabrain at 2:00 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
I think taking a meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary is a crime itself.
I've posted this before, but briefly:
The Russians offering the Trump Campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton is in violation of 52 USC 30121.
Now, a case can be made that by not reporting the Russian criminals to the FBI, they furthered the Russian's criminal scheme, in violation of 18 USC 2, and 18 USC 371 ( Conspiracy )
Then the Trump campaign lied about it, in violation of 18 USC 1001.
From Mueller's POV, that's the low hanging fruit, and he's been diving deepen into the participants. Manafort, and I think no-one can tell how long investigating Kushner and Don Jr's activities will take.
posted by mikelieman at 2:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
I've posted this before, but briefly:
The Russians offering the Trump Campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton is in violation of 52 USC 30121.
Now, a case can be made that by not reporting the Russian criminals to the FBI, they furthered the Russian's criminal scheme, in violation of 18 USC 2, and 18 USC 371 ( Conspiracy )
Then the Trump campaign lied about it, in violation of 18 USC 1001.
From Mueller's POV, that's the low hanging fruit, and he's been diving deepen into the participants. Manafort, and I think no-one can tell how long investigating Kushner and Don Jr's activities will take.
posted by mikelieman at 2:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
I called the DC office of my Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to note that the President had said that illegal immigrants were not people but animals, and asked whether the Senator had issued a statement regarding whether illegal immigrants were people or animals. I was informed that he had not. I asked whether the Senator had issued a statement as to whether Melania Trump, who entered the country on a tourist visa but proceeded to work as a professional model, was a person or animal. I was informed that he had not, but the staffer noted that Melania Trump was now a US citizen. I asked if this implied that that the First Lady was a person, and the staffer said she wasn't saying that; she was merely saying that the First Lady was a US Citizen. Pressed, the staffer agreed with me that US Citizens were necessarily human beings. I asked whether illegal immigrants were people, and the staffer said she was unable to issue a statement on that matter since the Senator had not done so. I said that I believed that Melania Trump was currently a person and had therefore likely been a person since birth, even when she was an illegal immigrant. I noted that even Joseph Goebbels had been unwilling to label his ethnic enemies as non-humans, and that Senator Grassley's preferred candidate for the most powerful job in the world was therefore worse than the Nazi's PR guy, and that the staffer was helping Nazis take over the country. I was thanked and my message will be passed along
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:03 PM on May 16, 2018 [185 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:03 PM on May 16, 2018 [185 favorites]
Trump's comments today are reprehensible. They're also part of a broader pattern, and are absolutely in line with the way Trump has spoken in the past: if the White House tries to spin this as a one-off comment, remember that it wasn't.
Definitely a pattern. The state of California found the man he's talking about here, José Inez García Zárate, to only be guilty of being in possession of a firearm (though a federal case is pending). Previous similar remarks would be from 1989 (and then in 2016!), when a certain real estate magnate bought full page ads calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five. The men were later acquitted, but that didn't stop candidate Trump from going on about it almost two decades later.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:04 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Definitely a pattern. The state of California found the man he's talking about here, José Inez García Zárate, to only be guilty of being in possession of a firearm (though a federal case is pending). Previous similar remarks would be from 1989 (and then in 2016!), when a certain real estate magnate bought full page ads calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five. The men were later acquitted, but that didn't stop candidate Trump from going on about it almost two decades later.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:04 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
This is just to note that the President of the United States calling people being deported from the U.S. "animals" is, as of this writing, not considered sufficiently newsworthy to be included on the front pages of CNN, the NY Times, the Washington Post, CBS News, etc..
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:15 PM on May 16, 2018 [59 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:15 PM on May 16, 2018 [59 favorites]
>But today, GWB is largely rehabilitated
The appearance might seem that way given our current environment, but by my read he's just kind of a soft-headed cousin getting pats on the head.
posted by rhizome at 2:16 PM on May 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
The appearance might seem that way given our current environment, but by my read he's just kind of a soft-headed cousin getting pats on the head.
posted by rhizome at 2:16 PM on May 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Painting pictures and attending occasional chummy meetups with other first families is precisely the lane GWB should be in. What's the problem
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:21 PM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:21 PM on May 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
The three Republicans who voted for net neutrality:You might want to send Senator Murkowski's thank you note to Alaska (AK), not Arkansas (AR)..
Collins, Susan M. (Republican - Maine)
Kennedy, John (Republican - Louisiana)
Murkowski, Lisa (Republican - Arkansas)
I will be sending thank-you faxes tonight to my own two senators and to these three legislators who did the right thing.
I was down at her local office yesterday, registering my "vote to restore net neutrality" sentiments and I know that many other constituents have been lobbying on this issue as well; I believe there was even a small rally in support of net neutrality in Anchorage. Since the Trump administration began I've spent a lot more time than I would want going down to that office and (politely) haranguing her staff. Gosh it would be nice to go back to an administration that doesn't want to tear the country apart..
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:22 PM on May 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
GWB is staying home and making crappy paintings and not much else. He's not forgiven, he's just not a raging trash fire threatening to kill us all, so we are wisely saving our energy to deal with the dude who is those things.
Much as you don't worry about mice in your garage when there's a grizzly bear clawing through your front door. It's about priorities.
posted by emjaybee at 2:22 PM on May 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
Much as you don't worry about mice in your garage when there's a grizzly bear clawing through your front door. It's about priorities.
posted by emjaybee at 2:22 PM on May 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
Let us remember that illegal entry isn't even a criminal act, unlike, say, breaching the domestic and foreign emoluments clause and obstructing justice and accepting campaign donations from a foreign government and bribery and conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse and conspiracy against the United States
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:31 PM on May 16, 2018 [53 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:31 PM on May 16, 2018 [53 favorites]
CNN, Giuliani: Mueller's team told Trump's lawyers they can't indict a president
posted by zachlipton at 2:34 PM on May 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has informed President Donald Trump's attorneys that they have concluded that they cannot indict a sitting president, according to the President's lawyer.Those are the Justice Department guidelines, though there's dispute over them, particularly over acts that occurred prior to becoming President, but it's unclear to me why Mueller's team would say this, if they even did (we don't exactly have a reliable narrator here) or more importantly, why Giuliani would be arguing "they can't indict" rather than "he didn't commit any crimes."
"All they get to do is write a report," Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN. "They can't indict. At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling, they acknowledged that to us."
That conclusion is likely based on longstanding Justice Department guidelines. It is not about any assessment of the evidence Mueller's team has compiled.
posted by zachlipton at 2:34 PM on May 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
"All they get to do is write a report," Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN. "They can't indict. At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling, they acknowledged that to us."
And this is the exact moment Mueller decided to indict.
posted by mikelieman at 2:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
And this is the exact moment Mueller decided to indict.
posted by mikelieman at 2:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug: The state of California found the man he's talking about here, José Inez García Zárate, to only be guilty of being in possession of a firearm (though a federal case is pending).
The way the right wing has used the death of Kathryn Steinle is so, so infuriating when you consider that basically nobody disputes the killing was accidental (the bullet ricocheted, but I'm sure there's a Breitbart article about how Zárate is actually some kind of ballistic dynamics mastermind). Yet (for obvious reasons) the same people are the first to pooh-pooh gun safety as an issue. (They literally post themselves on social media with guns tucked in their pants to make the libs cry.) Death by mistaken discharge of a firearm happens literally every day in this country, so using the awful tragedy to make a point about immigration of all things is straight-up Nazi behavior.
And having read up on the incident, I regret to say it wasn't just Trump and Cruz with their Kate's Law bullshit. Hillary Clinton and Diane Feinstein joined in by saying Zárate should have been deported before this happened. Well, at that point in time, he had a bunch of felonies, but all were about making/selling drugs. One can argue whether or not that merited deportation in itself. But saying prior deportation should have happened specifically because of the tragedy is just not rational, because unless I'm mistaken, Zárate's history didn't indicate future violence (or more specifically, that he was somehow bound to shoot someone by mistake some day). You might as well make a big speech about how his parents should have chosen never to give birth to him, like they should have just known.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:40 PM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
The way the right wing has used the death of Kathryn Steinle is so, so infuriating when you consider that basically nobody disputes the killing was accidental (the bullet ricocheted, but I'm sure there's a Breitbart article about how Zárate is actually some kind of ballistic dynamics mastermind). Yet (for obvious reasons) the same people are the first to pooh-pooh gun safety as an issue. (They literally post themselves on social media with guns tucked in their pants to make the libs cry.) Death by mistaken discharge of a firearm happens literally every day in this country, so using the awful tragedy to make a point about immigration of all things is straight-up Nazi behavior.
And having read up on the incident, I regret to say it wasn't just Trump and Cruz with their Kate's Law bullshit. Hillary Clinton and Diane Feinstein joined in by saying Zárate should have been deported before this happened. Well, at that point in time, he had a bunch of felonies, but all were about making/selling drugs. One can argue whether or not that merited deportation in itself. But saying prior deportation should have happened specifically because of the tragedy is just not rational, because unless I'm mistaken, Zárate's history didn't indicate future violence (or more specifically, that he was somehow bound to shoot someone by mistake some day). You might as well make a big speech about how his parents should have chosen never to give birth to him, like they should have just known.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:40 PM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Sure, there are some great and trustworthy ISPs out there. But Kennedy didn't say ISP, he said cable company, and I'll be damned if I'd ever trust any of them.
I'd trust them but unfortunately it is only available in my "Ultra platinum plus bundle" customer package which includes sports trust as well and they simply haven't paid me the hundreds of dollars a month I charge for it. There is also a good possibility they will make unreasonable use of my trust, beyond what an average corporation does, so I would be forced to charge them per nano-trust surcharges for the sake of fairness to my other corporate Ultra platinum plus bundle customers. Plus I will run commercials in the middle of all my trusts.
posted by srboisvert at 2:40 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
I'd trust them but unfortunately it is only available in my "Ultra platinum plus bundle" customer package which includes sports trust as well and they simply haven't paid me the hundreds of dollars a month I charge for it. There is also a good possibility they will make unreasonable use of my trust, beyond what an average corporation does, so I would be forced to charge them per nano-trust surcharges for the sake of fairness to my other corporate Ultra platinum plus bundle customers. Plus I will run commercials in the middle of all my trusts.
posted by srboisvert at 2:40 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
"All they get to do is write a report," Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN. "They can't indict. At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling, they acknowledged that to us."
I can imagine that all they said to him was: "according to justice department guidelines, we cannot indict a sitting president" and left it there. That doesn't mean they won't try (although Mueller is pretty by the book so maybe he wont).
But really, Mueller will not and cannot save us. This is a political question, one of impeachment.
I mean maybe they can indict the president. Can you arrest him? Would the secret service allow you to arrest him? Would there be a gunbattle between the FBI and the Secret Service? What if he pardons himself? Can he do that? We're about as sure as that as we are about whether he can be indicted.
Congress is in the driver's seat here when it comes to consequences.
posted by dis_integration at 2:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
I can imagine that all they said to him was: "according to justice department guidelines, we cannot indict a sitting president" and left it there. That doesn't mean they won't try (although Mueller is pretty by the book so maybe he wont).
But really, Mueller will not and cannot save us. This is a political question, one of impeachment.
I mean maybe they can indict the president. Can you arrest him? Would the secret service allow you to arrest him? Would there be a gunbattle between the FBI and the Secret Service? What if he pardons himself? Can he do that? We're about as sure as that as we are about whether he can be indicted.
Congress is in the driver's seat here when it comes to consequences.
posted by dis_integration at 2:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
@atrupar: Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan nearly starts crying talking about how people are mean to ICE agents
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
And having read up on the incident, I regret to say it wasn't just Trump and Cruz with their Kate's Law bullshit. Hillary Clinton and Diane Feinstein joined in
with nothing remotely equivalent, thanks.
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
with nothing remotely equivalent, thanks.
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Goldberg notes that any possible “wrongdoing” that occurred while he was Trump’s lawyer was kept from him, but suggests that Michael Cohen’s self-described role as a “fixer” for Trump could relate to the influence of the “mob” in “building trades”.
posted by scalefree at 1:54 PM on May 16 [8 favorites +] [!]
Wait. Is Goldberg trying to help or hurt Trump? Sometimes I'm not sure whether Trump's hangers-on even know they difference.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:43 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 1:54 PM on May 16 [8 favorites +] [!]
Wait. Is Goldberg trying to help or hurt Trump? Sometimes I'm not sure whether Trump's hangers-on even know they difference.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:43 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
it's unclear to me why Mueller's team would say this
Probably to encourage Trump to talk to them. "Look, he has nothing to worry about, he can't be indicted as President anyway."
Similar to "Don't worry, he's not a target! Just a subject."
I think it makes a ton of sense to say you can't indict a sitting president, actually. As the head of the executive branch, he'd be in charge of the justice department that is prosecuting him! And then too, what if he gets convicted? Is he supposed to fulfill the duties of the office from jail?
No, I think the due process for the president is, first impeachment, and THEN indictment. I retain hope that a truly damning Mueller report COULD lead to impeachment, though I'm not as hopeful as I was back in early 2017. But it's not the fault of justice department regulations or of the constitution if Republican law makers are derelict in their duty. It is their job to impeach a criminal president so that he CAN be indicted.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:44 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Probably to encourage Trump to talk to them. "Look, he has nothing to worry about, he can't be indicted as President anyway."
Similar to "Don't worry, he's not a target! Just a subject."
I think it makes a ton of sense to say you can't indict a sitting president, actually. As the head of the executive branch, he'd be in charge of the justice department that is prosecuting him! And then too, what if he gets convicted? Is he supposed to fulfill the duties of the office from jail?
No, I think the due process for the president is, first impeachment, and THEN indictment. I retain hope that a truly damning Mueller report COULD lead to impeachment, though I'm not as hopeful as I was back in early 2017. But it's not the fault of justice department regulations or of the constitution if Republican law makers are derelict in their duty. It is their job to impeach a criminal president so that he CAN be indicted.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:44 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
"These aren't people. These are animals."
This will not raise any eyebrows because it is essentially a policy statement. (Warning: sexual abuse/rape)
posted by Regal Ox Inigo at 2:44 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
This will not raise any eyebrows because it is essentially a policy statement. (Warning: sexual abuse/rape)
posted by Regal Ox Inigo at 2:44 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mean maybe they can indict the president.
I cannot believe this is a guideline that is meant to be imposed in all circumstances. For instance, if Trump did, indeed, shoot someone on 5th Avenue, nobody is going to claim that he cannot be charged with murder. Well, okay, the trufans probably would, but nobody sane could really defend the idea that he can do anything while in office without fear of consequences.
Also, I don't think there's any reason he couldn't be indicted once he's out of office...
posted by suelac at 2:47 PM on May 16, 2018
I cannot believe this is a guideline that is meant to be imposed in all circumstances. For instance, if Trump did, indeed, shoot someone on 5th Avenue, nobody is going to claim that he cannot be charged with murder. Well, okay, the trufans probably would, but nobody sane could really defend the idea that he can do anything while in office without fear of consequences.
Also, I don't think there's any reason he couldn't be indicted once he's out of office...
posted by suelac at 2:47 PM on May 16, 2018
Uh, from the "Manafort's notes at the Trump Tower meeting" above,
Tied into Cheney
Okay did you guys hear the scary music there too?
That's one ingredient Panghazi-gate could do without. Cheney. Ugh
/shudders
posted by petebest at 2:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Tied into Cheney
Okay did you guys hear the scary music there too?
That's one ingredient Panghazi-gate could do without. Cheney. Ugh
/shudders
posted by petebest at 2:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
If we reach a point where it's an actual debate whether Mueller can indict Trump for known crimes or just report them to Congress, Junior has been indicted, Kushner indicted, Stone indicted, etc. etc.. Trump will be basically an unindicted co-conspirator as much of his family and campaign/admin are arrested. Shit will be so crazy that whether there's an actual Trump indictment maybe won't matter so much.
posted by chris24 at 2:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 2:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
...why Giuliani would be arguing "they can't indict" rather than "he didn't commit any crimes."
I think the "he didn't commit any crimes" ship sailed when they started talking openly about who would or wouldn't "flip." You can't flip on someone if you don't know about crimes they committed.
posted by contraption at 2:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
I think the "he didn't commit any crimes" ship sailed when they started talking openly about who would or wouldn't "flip." You can't flip on someone if you don't know about crimes they committed.
posted by contraption at 2:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
From Mueller's POV, that's the low hanging fruit, and he's been diving deepen into the participants. Manafort, and I think no-one can tell how long investigating Kushner and Don Jr's activities will take.At a certain point, you need to stop looking for signs of arson, and start extinguishing the fire.
As much as I'd love for Mueller to get to the bottom of this, I'll settle for getting these people out of office as soon as we have enough evidence to solidly make that case, even if it means that others entangled in the web might get away...
posted by schmod at 2:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
>I asked whether the Senator had issued a statement as to whether Melania Trump, who entered the country on a tourist visa but proceeded to work as a professional model, was a person or animal. I was informed that he had not, but the staffer noted that Melania Trump was now a US citizen. I asked if this implied that that the First Lady was a person, and the staffer said she wasn't saying that; she was merely saying that the First Lady was a US Citizen.
"So the First Lady was given a path to citizenship after jumping the queue, is that right? Shouldn't others here who made the same mistake be given the same opportunity?"
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:52 PM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
"So the First Lady was given a path to citizenship after jumping the queue, is that right? Shouldn't others here who made the same mistake be given the same opportunity?"
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:52 PM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Wait. Is Goldberg trying to help or hurt Trump? Sometimes I'm not sure whether Trump's hangers-on even know they difference.
Goldberg is trying to help Goldberg, by putting as much distance between him and those accused of misconduct as he possibly can. This is an indication that he is in fact, a real lawyer.
posted by mikelieman at 2:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Goldberg is trying to help Goldberg, by putting as much distance between him and those accused of misconduct as he possibly can. This is an indication that he is in fact, a real lawyer.
posted by mikelieman at 2:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan nearly starts crying talking about how people are mean to ICE agents
Rudolph Hess got pretty emotional at Nuremberg testifying about how disrespected his fuhrer had been by some.
posted by rc3spencer at 2:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Rudolph Hess got pretty emotional at Nuremberg testifying about how disrespected his fuhrer had been by some.
posted by rc3spencer at 2:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
I cannot believe this is a guideline that is meant to be imposed in all circumstances.
Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
posted by mikelieman at 2:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
'...what about this rule about not meddling?’ said Magrat.(emphasis mine)
'Ah,’ said Nanny. She took the girl’s arm. ‘The thing is,’ she explained, ‘as you progress in the Craft, you’ll learn there is another rule. Esme’s obeyed it all her life.’
‘And what’s that?’
'When you break rules, break ‘em good and hard,’ said Nanny, and grinned a set of gums that were more menacing than teeth.
posted by mikelieman at 2:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
Daily Beast on Navaro, Trump Advisers Steve Mnuchin and Peter Navarro Got Into a Profanity-Laced ‘Screaming Match’ on the China Trip
The following day, Mnuchin, according to two sources, held a closed-door meeting with his Chinese counterpart, without the other U.S. officials. Later that day, after he caught wind of Mnuchin’s move, Navarro exploded at the Treasury secretary. The confrontation devolved into several minutes of sniping, swearing, several “fucks,” and insults hurled between the two men. The confrontation happened on the lawn in front of the building where the talks were being conducted, according to a person familiar with what took place.posted by zachlipton at 2:57 PM on May 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
But it doesn't (as noted) leave them with writing a report: it leaves them with multiple guilty pleas, already, multiple charges already filed, cases already pending, subpoenas still being issued, and future indictments likely still in the pipeline. And a report.
Worth noting: Those guidelines don't prevent indicting the son, daughter, and son-in-law of the President, nor does it prevent a real close look as to whether the FLOTUS's citizenship is invalid due to material lies on her prior application for a green card.
posted by mikelieman at 3:00 PM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Worth noting: Those guidelines don't prevent indicting the son, daughter, and son-in-law of the President, nor does it prevent a real close look as to whether the FLOTUS's citizenship is invalid due to material lies on her prior application for a green card.
posted by mikelieman at 3:00 PM on May 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
You know, in my deepest dislike of W, I never thought him cruel. I will say that for him. Dumb as a sack of hammers, but not cruel.
posted by angrycat at 3:01 PM on May 16, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 3:01 PM on May 16, 2018 [30 favorites]
But it doesn't (as noted) leave them with writing a report: it leaves them with multiple guilty pleas, already, multiple charges already filed, cases already pending, subpoenas still being issued, and future indictments likely still in the pipeline. And a report.
And that Trump CAN be indicted once he's out of office. At a minimum the (probable) financial crimes will be waiting and prosecutable at the state level to avoid pardon issues.
Plus any financial crimes that involve Trump and family will most likely destroy the Trump Organization whether or not they can currently indict the president for them. He'd be facing financial ruin even if he can stay in office.
posted by chris24 at 3:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
And that Trump CAN be indicted once he's out of office. At a minimum the (probable) financial crimes will be waiting and prosecutable at the state level to avoid pardon issues.
Plus any financial crimes that involve Trump and family will most likely destroy the Trump Organization whether or not they can currently indict the president for them. He'd be facing financial ruin even if he can stay in office.
posted by chris24 at 3:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
@frankthorp: JUST IN: @JeffFlake: "“I will vote ‘no' on the Gina Haspel nomination."
He announces now that it seems like there are enough Democratic votes for his not to matter. What a joke.
posted by zachlipton at 3:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
He announces now that it seems like there are enough Democratic votes for his not to matter. What a joke.
posted by zachlipton at 3:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
Deportation Bus Tour's started strong. 10 protesters for every supporter and the bus is currently doubling as a protective shell for one Bad Hombre.
Raw Story: WATCH: GOP ‘deportation bus’ candidate cowers as protesters swarm his racist vehicle
@zach_hudson
Protesters keeping @williamsforga cowering inside his "deportation bus" in Clarkston, Georgia. He sure talks tough until he's surrounded by protesters, now he's hiding inside his racist bus #gagov
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:09 PM on May 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
Raw Story: WATCH: GOP ‘deportation bus’ candidate cowers as protesters swarm his racist vehicle
@zach_hudson
Protesters keeping @williamsforga cowering inside his "deportation bus" in Clarkston, Georgia. He sure talks tough until he's surrounded by protesters, now he's hiding inside his racist bus #gagov
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:09 PM on May 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
> You know, in my deepest dislike of W, I never thought him cruel.
Maybe not as outwardly cruel as Cheney or Bolton, but cruel enough to go along with the cruel kids.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
Maybe not as outwardly cruel as Cheney or Bolton, but cruel enough to go along with the cruel kids.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
"Almost too stupid to be evil" was the bumper sticker.
posted by hydrophonic at 3:18 PM on May 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by hydrophonic at 3:18 PM on May 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
Remember when I said I thought there's a leak at FINCEN and that's where Cohen's bank records came from? Seems like that's true, and it's way weirder. Ronan Farrow, Missing Files Motivated the Leak of Michael Cohen’s Financial Records
posted by zachlipton at 3:22 PM on May 16, 2018 [54 favorites]
Last week, several news outlets obtained financial records showing that Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, had used a shell company to receive payments from various firms with business before the Trump Administration. In the days since, there has been much speculation about who leaked the confidential documents, and the Treasury Department’s inspector general has launched a probe to find the source. That source, a law-enforcement official, is speaking publicly for the first time, to The New Yorker, to explain the motivation: the official had grown alarmed after being unable to find two important reports on Cohen’s financial activity in a government database. The official, worried that the information was being withheld from law enforcement, released the remaining documents.(They may have been hidden from most investigators due to their sensitivity.)
The payments to Cohen that have emerged in the past week come primarily from a single document, a “suspicious-activity report” filed by First Republic Bank, where Cohen’s shell company, Essential Consultants, L.L.C., maintained an account. The document detailed sums in the hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to Cohen by the pharmaceutical company Novartis, the telecommunications giant A.T. & T., and an investment firm with ties to the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
The report also refers to two previous suspicious-activity reports, or SARs, that the bank had filed, which documented even larger flows of questionable money into Cohen’s account. Those two reports detail more than three million dollars in additional transactions—triple the amount in the report released last week. Which individuals or corporations were involved remains a mystery. But, according to the official who leaked the report, these SARs were absent from the database maintained by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. The official, who has spent a career in law enforcement, told me, “I have never seen something pulled off the system. . . . That system is a safeguard for the bank. It’s a stockpile of information. When something’s not there that should be, I immediately became concerned.” The official added, “That’s why I came forward.”
Seven former government officials and other experts familiar with the Treasury Department’s FinCEN database expressed varying levels of concern about the missing reports. Some speculated that FinCEN may have restricted access to the reports due to the sensitivity of their content, which they said would be nearly unprecedented. One called the possibility “explosive.” A record-retention policy on FinCEN’s Web site notes that false documents or those “deemed highly sensitive” and “requiring strict limitations on access” may be transferred out of its master file. Nevertheless, a former prosecutor who spent years working with the FinCEN database said that she knew of no mechanism for restricting access to SARs. She speculated that FinCEN may have taken the extraordinary step of restricting access “because of the highly sensitive nature of a potential investigation. It may be that someone reached out to FinCEN to ask to limit disclosure of certain SARs related to an investigation, whether it was the special counsel or the Southern District of New York.” (The special counsel, Robert Mueller, is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. The Southern District is investigating Cohen, and the F.B.I. raided his office and hotel room last month.)
Whatever the explanation for the missing reports, the appearance that some, but not all, had been removed or restricted troubled the official who released the report last week. “Why just those two missing?” the official, who feared that the contents of those two reports might be permanently withheld, said. “That’s what alarms me the most.”
posted by zachlipton at 3:22 PM on May 16, 2018 [54 favorites]
I have friends who were in Clarkston today. They said it was pretty amazing--the turnout of protesters and the fragility of Williams. He actually was cowering in his giant RV campaign bus, not in the deportation bus.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:23 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 3:23 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
> You know, in my deepest dislike of W, I never thought him cruel.
Around 150,000 dead and 3 million displaced people in Iraq probably beg to differ.
posted by Omon Ra at 3:25 PM on May 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
Around 150,000 dead and 3 million displaced people in Iraq probably beg to differ.
posted by Omon Ra at 3:25 PM on May 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
You know, in my deepest dislike of W, I never thought him cruel. I will say that for him. Dumb as a sack of hammers, but not cruel.
I wouldn't go quite that far, it's just that things got worse with Trump. We're merely distracted, he still sucks. That said, he's fratboy cruel rather than Himmler cruel, like Bolton and Cheney are.
posted by rhizome at 3:28 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
I wouldn't go quite that far, it's just that things got worse with Trump. We're merely distracted, he still sucks. That said, he's fratboy cruel rather than Himmler cruel, like Bolton and Cheney are.
posted by rhizome at 3:28 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
The best part of the photo on the left is how you can see the word "Fearless" on the front of the bus he's too afraid to get out of.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:30 PM on May 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:30 PM on May 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
From today's vote to restore net neutrality:
Manchin, Joe, III (D - WV): YEA
Capito, Shelley Moore (R - WV): NAY
Donnelly, Joe (D - IN): YEA
Young, Todd (R - IN): NAY
Tester, Jon (D - MT): YEA
Daines, Steve (R - MT): NAY
McCaskill, Claire (D - MO): YEA
Blunt, Roy (R - MO): NAY
Something to keep in mind when considering the question of whether to support red state Democrats.
posted by Justinian at 3:30 PM on May 16, 2018 [67 favorites]
Manchin, Joe, III (D - WV): YEA
Capito, Shelley Moore (R - WV): NAY
Donnelly, Joe (D - IN): YEA
Young, Todd (R - IN): NAY
Tester, Jon (D - MT): YEA
Daines, Steve (R - MT): NAY
McCaskill, Claire (D - MO): YEA
Blunt, Roy (R - MO): NAY
Something to keep in mind when considering the question of whether to support red state Democrats.
posted by Justinian at 3:30 PM on May 16, 2018 [67 favorites]
Also in Farrow's article. Cohen transferred more than a million dollars from Essential Consultants to two new Morgan Stanley accounts. Morgan Stanley filed a SAR identifying the transactions as possible signs of "bribery or gratuity” and “suspicious use of third-party transactors (straw-man)." First Republic's compliance department noted that the Essential Consultants transfers did not appear to involve real estate consulting, as Cohen claimed, as "a significant portion of the target account deposits continue to originate from entities that have no apparent connection to real estate or apparent need to engage Cohen as a real estate consultant."
Broidy's story doesn't hold up either:
Broidy's story doesn't hold up either:
Broidy has said that Cohen and another lawyer, Keith Davidson, worked out a deal in which Broidy would pay $1.6 million to a former Playboy model he had impregnated. Broidy appears to have paid both lawyers for arranging the deal. The City National report shows that Broidy funnelled the payments through Real Estate Attorneys’ Group, a legal corporation. Broidy seems to have paid Davidson two hundred thousand dollars, and to have sent three payments, of $62,500 each, to Cohen—one to the Essential Consultants account and two to the account of Michael D. Cohen and Associates.posted by zachlipton at 3:32 PM on May 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
A representative for Broidy said that this description of the payments was “not correct,” and that “Mr. Broidy is not going to detail his payments for legal services to Mr. Cohen.” The representative added, “Mr. Broidy did not pay Mr. Davidson.” However, the City National report shows that on November 30, 2017, a wire of two hundred thousand dollars was received by the Real Estate Attorneys’ Group from Broidy. Then, on December 5, 2017, two hundred thousand dollars were transferred from Real Estate Attorneys’ Group to an account belonging to Keith M. Davidson and Associates.
But, according to the official who leaked the report, these SARs were absent from the database maintained by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. The official, who has spent a career in law enforcement, told me, “I have never seen something pulled off the system. . . . That system is a safeguard for the bank. It’s a stockpile of information. When something’s not there that should be, I immediately became concerned.” The official added, “That’s why I came forward.”
Agatha's stream is missing.
posted by rhizome at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Agatha's stream is missing.
posted by rhizome at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Wait. Is Goldberg trying to help or hurt Trump? Sometimes I'm not sure whether Trump's hangers-on even know they difference.
I have absolutely no idea. On a scale of 1-10 the weirdness here can only be measured using Derek Smalls' "this goes to 11" metric.
posted by scalefree at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2018
I have absolutely no idea. On a scale of 1-10 the weirdness here can only be measured using Derek Smalls' "this goes to 11" metric.
posted by scalefree at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2018
This is a good time to acknowledge that there is no scale. It can always get better and it can always get worse.
posted by rhizome at 3:41 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 3:41 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
> In America's news headlines, Palestinians die mysterious deaths.
A Canadian doctor who was part of a clearly identified medical team near the demonstrations and was shot in the leg by Israeli Defense Forces. He was clearly identified as part of a medical team and standing in a location with other well-identified medical team members distant from any other people at the time.
18 paramedics were wounded that day, and one killed, per the article.
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau condemned what he called "excessive use of force."
Two journalists have been killed by Israeli Defense forces so far. Reaction from Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists
Israeli Defense Forces spokespeople have claimed that "Our soldiers precisely targeted the specific terrorists" and that "The use of snipers was against specific people who were specific perpetrators of violence".
Haaretz has an article about an top Israeli Defense Forces spokesman doing his best to explain the situation. The Times of Israel has a pretty well-balanced journalistic round-up of the situation.
posted by flug at 3:45 PM on May 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
A Canadian doctor who was part of a clearly identified medical team near the demonstrations and was shot in the leg by Israeli Defense Forces. He was clearly identified as part of a medical team and standing in a location with other well-identified medical team members distant from any other people at the time.
18 paramedics were wounded that day, and one killed, per the article.
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau condemned what he called "excessive use of force."
Two journalists have been killed by Israeli Defense forces so far. Reaction from Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists
Israeli Defense Forces spokespeople have claimed that "Our soldiers precisely targeted the specific terrorists" and that "The use of snipers was against specific people who were specific perpetrators of violence".
Haaretz has an article about an top Israeli Defense Forces spokesman doing his best to explain the situation. The Times of Israel has a pretty well-balanced journalistic round-up of the situation.
posted by flug at 3:45 PM on May 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
Holy crap. The Washington Post is confirming the Qatar story that's been developing through the Daily Mail and the Intercept's reporting: Trump's personal attorney solicited $1 million from government of Qatar
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, solicited a payment of at least $1 million from the government of Qatar in late 2016, in exchange for access to and advice about the then-incoming administration, according to several people with knowledge of the episode.posted by zachlipton at 3:49 PM on May 16, 2018 [57 favorites]
The offer, which Qatar declined, came on the margins of a Dec. 12 meeting that year at Trump Tower between the Persian Gulf state’s foreign minister and Michael Flynn, who became Trump’s first national security adviser. Stephen K. Bannon, who became chief White House strategist, also attended, the people said.
...
Cohen’s offer to Qatar came as he was bragging to others that he could make millions from consulting on Trump and that foreign governments would be interested in having his expertise. At the time, Cohen was also angling, unsuccessfully, as it turned out, to enter the White House, telling associates that he might become counsel or chief of staff.
As Cohen collected clients, he texted associates articles that described him as Trump’s “fixer” and asked them to spread them around.
Jeff Flake is voting no on Haspel.
But this was never in play.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
But this was never in play.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Tusk has never had any fucks to give
That's not Tusk (President of the European Council). It's Juncker (President of the European Commission).
And yes it has been suggested to merge the two roles to avoid such confusion.
posted by roolya_boolya at 3:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
That's not Tusk (President of the European Council). It's Juncker (President of the European Commission).
And yes it has been suggested to merge the two roles to avoid such confusion.
posted by roolya_boolya at 3:51 PM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
> Trump's personal attorney solicited $1 million from government of Qatar
a total aside, but the unicode rendering got munged at my end so now he's Trumpâs in my book
posted by mrzarquon at 3:52 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
a total aside, but the unicode rendering got munged at my end so now he's Trumpâs in my book
posted by mrzarquon at 3:52 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
The reporting is now that Trump's team inquired with Mueller as to his position on indicting a sitting President because they plan to argue the following: In order to subpoena the President they need to be investigating a serious crime of Trump's and not simply crimes of those around him. And since Mueller says he can't bring charges against the President he therefore should not be allowed to subpoena the President.
My expert legal analysis of this argument: lol
posted by Justinian at 3:55 PM on May 16, 2018 [40 favorites]
My expert legal analysis of this argument: lol
posted by Justinian at 3:55 PM on May 16, 2018 [40 favorites]
> I have this nagging worry that this gang was so incompetent that there isn't even a decent cover-up. This is it, in all it tawdry dipshittery: a ham-fisted attempt at collusion, cheap corruption, penny-ante bribery
I've mentioned before that this is one of my "favorite" photos illustrating what politics--at its worst--is really all about.
It's one of our local state representatives, in his office, reaching out to grab a big wad of cash--a bribe.
Sometimes we imagine there is a lot of sophistication to it--winks, nods, secret bank transfers to shell corporations, all made under a nice soft blanket of plausible deniability. People are trying to maintain at least a facade of honesty and fairness.
But some times--many times--it's nothing more than a greedy hand reaching out to grab a big wad of cash.
Simple as that.
posted by flug at 4:08 PM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
I've mentioned before that this is one of my "favorite" photos illustrating what politics--at its worst--is really all about.
It's one of our local state representatives, in his office, reaching out to grab a big wad of cash--a bribe.
Sometimes we imagine there is a lot of sophistication to it--winks, nods, secret bank transfers to shell corporations, all made under a nice soft blanket of plausible deniability. People are trying to maintain at least a facade of honesty and fairness.
But some times--many times--it's nothing more than a greedy hand reaching out to grab a big wad of cash.
Simple as that.
posted by flug at 4:08 PM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
What I meant was not in terms of scale of awfulness, that W was better than Trump. Maybe ultimately Trump will do less damage if we're extremely lucky. But I never felt that cruelty was Bush's animating principle. Like, Trump watches Shark Week as foreplay. That kind of thing.
posted by angrycat at 4:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 4:11 PM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
I wonder how accurate Oliver Stone's "W" is, because it meshes pretty well with what appears to animate him AFAICT.
posted by rhizome at 4:15 PM on May 16, 2018
posted by rhizome at 4:15 PM on May 16, 2018
Until this Qatar news, there were two major areas of concern (that I know of) in the question whether Trump has violated the emoluments clause. One is if paying directly for a service/good can be an "emolument" (it's been argued by apologists that a fair exchange of value doesn't count — the hotel room or whatever cancels out the dollars, and there's nothing left to influence the president's decisions). The other is whether or not governments that have made any decisions which benefit Trump (particularly China) were doing so are part of a quid pro quo (still unknown, I think, but the situation obviously looks fishy).
This new revelation adds a third area, a question whose only possible answer would be "Yes, obviously yes, no doubt whatsoever": Did the president know about this? Ignorance is just about the only excuse I can imagine (the other being "Qatar turned down the offer, so who cares?"). Otherwise, we're talking about blatant pay for play, which I'm pretty sure is the one big thing that clause is meant to prevent. (I mean, unless they want to say "Pay for play isn't an emolument because it's a fair exchange of value!" and I honestly would be disappointed if one of them doesn't mangle logic that badly.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:21 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
This new revelation adds a third area, a question whose only possible answer would be "Yes, obviously yes, no doubt whatsoever": Did the president know about this? Ignorance is just about the only excuse I can imagine (the other being "Qatar turned down the offer, so who cares?"). Otherwise, we're talking about blatant pay for play, which I'm pretty sure is the one big thing that clause is meant to prevent. (I mean, unless they want to say "Pay for play isn't an emolument because it's a fair exchange of value!" and I honestly would be disappointed if one of them doesn't mangle logic that badly.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:21 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Eichenwald on his Bush, Gog and Magog story.
posted by rc3spencer at 4:23 PM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 4:23 PM on May 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
But I never felt that cruelty was Bush's animating principle.
Before this POTUS43 topic thoroughly derails our POTUS45 news, the tabloid the Star ran this story back in 1999: George W. Bush in Torture Scandal (archived here):
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:27 PM on May 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Before this POTUS43 topic thoroughly derails our POTUS45 news, the tabloid the Star ran this story back in 1999: George W. Bush in Torture Scandal (archived here):
Presidential candidate George W. Bush once led a Yale fraternity that barbarically branded its new members on their backsides with a red-hot metal rod as part of a sadistic hazing practice.Bush also had a penchant for illegal hits in college rugby (photo), so I'm going to assume a streak of cruelty lurks beneath Dubya's faux-folksiness. With Trump, however, naked cruelty is part of his political makeup.
“I got branded and I didn’t like it one bit,” Professor Bradford Lee of the elite Naval War College in Newport, R.I.-an ex-football player and onetime member of Bush’s Delta Epsilon Kappa fraternity-told STAR in an exclusive interview. “It did burn,” he says, recalling the terrifying experience. “I think I still have the mark on me.”
Bush, the oldest son of former President George Bush, is now the runaway front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. His campaign stresses responsible individual behavior, family values and compassion for one’s fellow citizens. But a STAR investigation has revealed that he was president of Delta Epsilon Kappa when the hazing scandal broke in the campus newspaper in the late ’60s-leading to the fraternity being fined and the branding practice halted.
Amazingly, Bush, now the governor of Texas, defended the illegal torture of the young fraternity pledges at the time as a harmless prank-insisting that it was comparable to “only a cigarette burn” which left “no scarring mark physically or mentally.” But others said the branding resulted in a second-degree burn that left a half-inch scab in the shape of the Greek letter Delta.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:27 PM on May 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Neal Katyal on indicting Trump:
And an argument that it's all about the class of corruption:
@MattZeitlin: If Cohen had started the "Middle East Policy and Economics Institute" or something and put a former deputy secretary of state and an admiral on its board of directors, he could have asked for $10 million from Qatar and no one would have batted an eye
posted by zachlipton at 4:29 PM on May 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
1. Don't forget the context: it's pretty incredible that we are having a conversation involving law enforcement officials about whether Trump can be indicted. That's astounding.Speaking of emoluments, a Trump Organization lawyer signed paperwork last May to create "T Retail LLC." Trump earned $107K in less than two months, and there's speculation it comes from selling crap with his name on it.
2. And don’t forget the source: Giuliani. He’s not exactly a stickler for details.
3. Context may really matter here. Why did Mueller say this? Is it because Trump’s lawyers said they were thinking of taking 5th Am priv against self incrimination, and Mueller said there can be no "incrimination"?
4. If so, the DOJ policy against indictment of a sitting President may actually hurt Trump, and be an argument against his ability to stay silent. It might be a way to ferret out truth.
5. The reporting is clearly incomplete. The Special Counsel regs, which I drafted, do NOT say DOJ policy must always be followed. They say that a Special Counsel can ask Acting AG (Rod Rosenstein) for permission to depart from DOJ policy and rules.
6. If Mueller has the goods on Trump, as I’ve said before, I think he will ask Acting AG to indict. The regs put a thumb on the scale in favor of Mueller doing so. If Rosenstein says no, it triggers a report to Congress-both majority and minority parties.
7. Otherwise, there is not necessarily such a report about these matters. The Special Counsel regulations dispensed with the "final report" requirement in the Independent Counsel Act. Reports are permissible, but not mandatory (but they are when Special Counsel overruled).
8. So I do not see this story as good for President Trump, in any way. END
And an argument that it's all about the class of corruption:
@MattZeitlin: If Cohen had started the "Middle East Policy and Economics Institute" or something and put a former deputy secretary of state and an admiral on its board of directors, he could have asked for $10 million from Qatar and no one would have batted an eye
posted by zachlipton at 4:29 PM on May 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
"I don't mind a parasite. I object to a cut-rate one."
posted by kirkaracha at 4:38 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:38 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Yahoo News, Michael Cohen’s efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow went on longer than he has previously acknowledged
posted by zachlipton at 4:45 PM on May 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
Prosecutors and congressional investigators have obtained text messages and emails showing that President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was working on a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow far later than Cohen has previously acknowledged. The communications show that, as late as May 2016, around the time Trump was clinching the Republican nomination, Cohen was considering a trip to Russia to meet about the project with high-level government officials, business leaders and bankers.I know we say this every day, but there has really been a five-alarm scandal every half hour all day today, and we will never ever scratch the surface of most of them.
Cohen has said that, beginning in September 2015, he worked with a Russian-born developer named Felix Sater to build a luxury hotel, office, and apartment complex called Trump World Tower Moscow. In a statement to Congress, Cohen claimed he gave up on the project in late January 2016 when he determined the “proposal was not feasible for a variety of business reasons and should not be pursued further.”
However, Yahoo News has learned that text messages and emails that Sater provided to the government seem to contradict Cohen’s version of events. The communications show Cohen was discussing the deal until at least May 2016.
...
The emails and texts described to Yahoo News, which have not previously been made public, show Sater and Cohen continued discussing the deal into 2016. Sater was explicit that high level figures in Russia needed to be involved because a project of this magnitude could not be completed without Putin’s approval. Around the start of that year, Cohen became frustrated because Sater had not been able to set up the necessary meetings. Cohen swore at Sater and said he would make his own high-level contacts in Russia.
...
The pair continued talking between January and May of 2016 when Sater began pressing Cohen to travel to Russia to work on the deal. Sater encouraged Cohen to go to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in mid-June 2016. Sater presented the event as an opportunity for Cohen to meet top Russian officials, business leaders, and bankers in one place. He obtained an invitation for Cohen, who indicated he was considering the trip, but ultimately said any travel to Russia would have to take place after the Republican convention, which took place in July 2016.
posted by zachlipton at 4:45 PM on May 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
If Cohen had started the "Middle East Policy and Economics Institute" or something and put a former deputy secretary of state and an admiral on its board of directors, he could have asked for $10 million from Qatar and no one would have batted an eye
This is literally how it's done, although I think $10 million is a stretch. More established political players wouldn't have done anything so gauche, though: they would have already had friendly "think tanks" or other bodies to which they could direct donations, secure in the knowledge that they would be appointed to the board after they left politics. Cohen and the other Trumpistas are the nouveaux riches of politics and they lack both these connections and the level of trust that would let them defer immediate gratification in exchange for a long-term payoff.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
This is literally how it's done, although I think $10 million is a stretch. More established political players wouldn't have done anything so gauche, though: they would have already had friendly "think tanks" or other bodies to which they could direct donations, secure in the knowledge that they would be appointed to the board after they left politics. Cohen and the other Trumpistas are the nouveaux riches of politics and they lack both these connections and the level of trust that would let them defer immediate gratification in exchange for a long-term payoff.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Perhaps the inartfulness of these schemes is from lack of guile, resources, networks, etc. But I also think Cohen, Trump and the rest actively prefer this kind of grift to something subtler. These folks like playing cops and robbers, for its own sake, not just for the money. And I'm talking about both roles, masochistic criminal and sadistic authoritarian. It's the only kind of life that makes sense to them.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:08 PM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:08 PM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Politico, U.S., Mexican officials to discuss asylum pact
posted by zachlipton at 5:15 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
President Donald Trump has criticized Mexico for not doing enough to stop the flow of Central American migrants toward the U.S. — but an asylum deal under discussion this week could change that.I can't imagine why Mexico would agree to such a deal unless they got some pretty big carrots in return (there are some considerations for the upcoming Mexican elections discussed in the article), but the effort to push the problem of asylum-seekers off on Mexico could be devastating to migrants and would mean the US turning its back on yet more refugees. If this happens, things could also get really interesting if Mexico doesn't stick to the deal after a change in government, given our proclivity to rip up deals we don't like.
Officials from the Trump administration and the Mexican government will meet Thursday and Friday to discuss a possible “safe third country” agreement, according to two sources, one from the Homeland Security Department and one from the Mexican government.
Under such a pact, migrants would be required to seek asylum in Mexico if they passed through that country en route to the U.S. The U.S. and Canada inked a similar deal in 2002.
posted by zachlipton at 5:15 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
It’s been [14] days since a high-profile departure from the Trump administration.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 5:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
I know we say this every day, but there has really been a five-alarm scandal every half hour all day today, and we will never ever scratch the surface of most of them.
Exhausted but not surprised, zachlipton, since, as you pointed out yourself, this is actually no-joke Infrastructure Week. [real]
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Exhausted but not surprised, zachlipton, since, as you pointed out yourself, this is actually no-joke Infrastructure Week. [real]
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Is infrastructureweek.org the official website for Infrastructure Week? Because...
The 6th annual National Infrastructure Week is a national week of events; media coverage; and education and issue advocacy to elevate infrastructure as a critical issue impacting America's economy, society, security and future.
6th annual?????? how many years has it been?
posted by gucci mane at 5:54 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
The 6th annual National Infrastructure Week is a national week of events; media coverage; and education and issue advocacy to elevate infrastructure as a critical issue impacting America's economy, society, security and future.
6th annual?????? how many years has it been?
posted by gucci mane at 5:54 PM on May 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
the "Freedom Fries" president
Then-Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is responsible for that bit of crap.
He was later disgraced for something I can't remember.
posted by jgirl at 6:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Then-Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is responsible for that bit of crap.
He was later disgraced for something I can't remember.
posted by jgirl at 6:02 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Not too contribute to the derail, but the WaPo style section had an article about the rehabilitation of GWB that basically said he's the only living republican president that can put on a tux and show up at a fundraiser and not say anything that will offend half the guests. Trump has set the bar so low that being humble and decent in public is all Bush has to do to get good press, Donald Trump may be the best thing that ever happened to George W. Bush:
George W. Bush received three standing ovations last week, the first for the mere mention of his name.posted by peeedro at 6:10 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Bush was in town for the Atlantic Council’s annual fundraiser, where he received the Distinguished International Leadership Award from the influential think tank. More than 800 guests from 70 countries — including former presidents, prime ministers and military leaders — gave the 43rd president a warm, enthusiastic welcome.
He was introduced via video by former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who said, “Ultimately, true leadership requires being, deep down, a good person.”
Bush responded with vintage Dubya: self-deprecating jokes, references to his mom and dad, and highlighting the importance of global diplomacy — specifically his administration’s work on the AIDS crisis. “I’m honored to get this award,” he told the audience. “I’d really like to dedicate it to the generosity of the American people and ask you to spread the word about what this great compassionate nation has done.”
He did not mention Iraq, nor did anyone else on this night of celebration.
Bob Ney went down in the Abramoff scandal and got two and a half years in prison.
posted by EarBucket at 6:14 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by EarBucket at 6:14 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Deportation Bus Tour's started strong. 10 protesters for every supporter and the bus is currently doubling as a protective shell for one Bad Hombre.
Raw Story: WATCH: GOP ‘deportation bus’ candidate cowers as protesters swarm his racist vehicle
@zach_hudson
Protesters keeping @williamsforga cowering inside his "deportation bus" in Clarkston, Georgia. He sure talks tough until he's surrounded by protesters, now he's hiding inside his racist bus
I live in GA and for some reason immigration has become the go to issue for Republican gubernatorial candidates. Every single one is flooding the airways with ads talking about the flood of criminals swarming over our borders, encouraged by liberals and their sanctuary cities. And this is an agricultural state that depends on cheap labor for much of its productivity. When they are not being racists, they are sucking up to the NRA, as in this example, in which our current secretary of state aims a gun at a potential date for his teenaged daughter.
posted by TedW at 6:23 PM on May 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
The rehabilitation of W has a lot of parallels with the endorsements and defenses of the various #metoo perpetrators and abusers. "Matt Laurer was so nice to me" "I never saw this Charlie Rose" "Dr. Ronny was a good doctor", etc. Ones ability to put on a pleasant, even affable and warm face for one audience does not preclude committing monstrous acts in another context.
George Bush may well be the most personally likable Republican alive and an OK painter. He also caused the unnecessary and illegal deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Our society elites are always willing to overlook the later as long as the former is true, because to do otherwise would expose their own complicity in the later. It's one reason why abuse continues for decades, and the reason why Bush is not sitting in a cell in the Hague.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:24 PM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
George Bush may well be the most personally likable Republican alive and an OK painter. He also caused the unnecessary and illegal deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Our society elites are always willing to overlook the later as long as the former is true, because to do otherwise would expose their own complicity in the later. It's one reason why abuse continues for decades, and the reason why Bush is not sitting in a cell in the Hague.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:24 PM on May 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
Mod note: Folks, the W derail is getting out of hand. Let's let it drop if it's not immediately topical.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:27 PM on May 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:27 PM on May 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
'Not Pure Enough': An Ultra-Conservative State Nominates a Pragmatist for Governor
posted by jgirl at 6:37 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 6:37 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
NY Times: A Lawyer for Payday Lenders Is Confirmed for F.T.C. Job:
posted by notyou at 6:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
WASHINGTON — The new director of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection unit, a watchdog with broad investigative powers over private companies, stands out even in an administration prone to turning over regulatory authority to pro-industry players.[...]
The director, Andrew M. Smith, has recently represented Facebook, Uber and Equifax — all companies with matters before the commission — and plans to recuse himself from dozens of cases now that he has been confirmed for the post.
And in 2012, Mr. Smith was also part of the legal team that defended AMG Services, the payday lender founded by the convicted racketeer Scott Tucker, whose predatory practices against impoverished borrowers eventually led to a $1.3 billion court-ordered settlement, the biggest in the commission’s history.
Asked whether he had second thoughts about representing companies that had helped Mr. Tucker bilk vulnerable people out of millions of dollars, he said: “I think all lawyers think about that. I was a part of a team at MoFo, and I think that everyone deserves a good defense.” He said the Native American firms he represented believed they were helping people.("MoFo" is Morrison & Foerster, the law firm he was working for at the time. And, to be fair, Mr. Smith did do a stint as a lawyer at the FTC in the 2000s, so this isn't necessarily a total abdication to industry, just a likely one. )
Mr. Smith also declined to name other companies on his recusal list. He said many were banks, and were thus typically not regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. He added that he would still stay busy at the agency because there were many companies that were not on his list. “It’s a big world and the F.T.C. has very broad jurisdiction,” he said.
posted by notyou at 6:39 PM on May 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Idaho's outgoing Governor is Butch Otter?!? I live near one of the west coast colonies of otters, and NONE of them are "Libertarian business-oriented Republicans".
Second place in the Republican Primary had a fairly good name to succeed Otter: Raúl Labrador...
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Second place in the Republican Primary had a fairly good name to succeed Otter: Raúl Labrador...
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Something I wonder about these days is just how many other people are out there doing basically the same crimes as Cohen, Trump, Manafort, and the rest of that crew on behalf of other rich assholes, who could easily be indicted if our criminal justice system gave half as much of a shit about financial crimes, corruption, money laundering, and influence-peddling as it did about black teenagers smoking weed. The Trump hangers-on seem like incredible idiots, but there's no way they're the only people doing this who are also extremely stupid and/or blatant, since they got away with it for years and years before drawing the eye of the authorities.
posted by Copronymus at 6:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [86 favorites]
posted by Copronymus at 6:53 PM on May 16, 2018 [86 favorites]
Morrison & Foerster is a legitimate mainstream law firm who've taken on more than one large case pro bono that I'm aware of that really was pro bono, ie in the public interest. Not that a good firm couldn't have a bad apple, just that his entire career wasn't spent like Cohen's, preying on people.
posted by scalefree at 6:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 6:56 PM on May 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
>Conservatives Cook Up Farm Bill Gambit to Get Vote On Hardline Immigration Bill
Forty seven other outrages distracted me from commenting on this. Either an injustice happens to immigrants, or an injustice happens to people who need food stamps. There's no good choice.
For the last few years a significant portion of my research has been funded by the Farm Bill. Not only has this benefitted my stakeholders (small nursery owners) and resulted in scientific discoveries, but the funding has allowed me to hire students from the local college as interns and teach them how to do research. My first intern just got a science-related job. The second just got a scholarship that will pay for her masters degree. The third is pre-med. My new student started this Monday and has been a joy to have around. Despite the multiple horrors, I thought at least I was training the next generation of scientists. Now I have to wonder if I am for or against the Farm Bill.
posted by acrasis at 6:59 PM on May 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
Forty seven other outrages distracted me from commenting on this. Either an injustice happens to immigrants, or an injustice happens to people who need food stamps. There's no good choice.
For the last few years a significant portion of my research has been funded by the Farm Bill. Not only has this benefitted my stakeholders (small nursery owners) and resulted in scientific discoveries, but the funding has allowed me to hire students from the local college as interns and teach them how to do research. My first intern just got a science-related job. The second just got a scholarship that will pay for her masters degree. The third is pre-med. My new student started this Monday and has been a joy to have around. Despite the multiple horrors, I thought at least I was training the next generation of scientists. Now I have to wonder if I am for or against the Farm Bill.
posted by acrasis at 6:59 PM on May 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
Morrison & Foerster is a legitimate mainstream law firm who've taken on more than one large case pro bono that I'm aware of that really was pro bono, ie in the public interest. Not that a good firm couldn't have a bad apple, just that his entire career wasn't spent like Cohen's, preying on people.
So is Squire Patton Boggs linked hand in hand with Cohen this week though. You can't really tell much of anything just by looking at the name of a Biglaw firm, they all have hundreds or thousands of lawyers and tentacles in every area of law. One practice area may be a leader in human rights work while another partner at the same firm is representing a private equity placement for a dictator and another is working on a corporate rebrand of a tobacco conglomerate.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
So is Squire Patton Boggs linked hand in hand with Cohen this week though. You can't really tell much of anything just by looking at the name of a Biglaw firm, they all have hundreds or thousands of lawyers and tentacles in every area of law. One practice area may be a leader in human rights work while another partner at the same firm is representing a private equity placement for a dictator and another is working on a corporate rebrand of a tobacco conglomerate.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Something I wonder about these days is just how many other people are out there doing basically the same crimes as Cohen, Trump, Manafort, and the rest of that crew on behalf of other rich assholes, who could easily be indicted if our criminal justice system gave half as much of a shit about financial crimes, corruption, money laundering, and influence-peddling as it did about black teenagers smoking weed.
I feel like a standard line of pushback against the cancellation of Mueller's investigation should be that Republicans felt even the ridiculously tiny crime of selling single cigarettes could be punished with a lethal arrest. You want to be the party of Law and Order then you have to stop whining about the pursuit of Law and Order. I also feel like interviewers should be saying "So your saying your plan is to get off on a technicality?" every time a Trump lawyer opines.
posted by srboisvert at 8:10 PM on May 16, 2018 [57 favorites]
I feel like a standard line of pushback against the cancellation of Mueller's investigation should be that Republicans felt even the ridiculously tiny crime of selling single cigarettes could be punished with a lethal arrest. You want to be the party of Law and Order then you have to stop whining about the pursuit of Law and Order. I also feel like interviewers should be saying "So your saying your plan is to get off on a technicality?" every time a Trump lawyer opines.
posted by srboisvert at 8:10 PM on May 16, 2018 [57 favorites]
"We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past and we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him."
And a direct play for Trump's ego and Nobel ambitions: "If President Trump follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, he will be recorded as more tragic and unsuccessful president than his predecessors, far from his initial ambition to make unprecedented success."
I agree with, uh...North Korea. Because that's who I am now. Just a person who is in agreement with North Korea.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:21 PM on May 16, 2018 [49 favorites]
And a direct play for Trump's ego and Nobel ambitions: "If President Trump follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, he will be recorded as more tragic and unsuccessful president than his predecessors, far from his initial ambition to make unprecedented success."
I agree with, uh...North Korea. Because that's who I am now. Just a person who is in agreement with North Korea.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:21 PM on May 16, 2018 [49 favorites]
Giuliani's big defense: "When I ran against them they were looking for dirt on me every day. That's what you do. Maybe you shouldn't but you do. Nothing illegal about that. And even if it comes from a Russian or a German or an American, it doesn't matter. And they never used it is the main thing. Never used it. They rejected it. If there was collusion with the Russians, they would’ve used it."
Never used what? Giuliani's the only one saying there's an "it" there.
And they did, of course, use hacked material extensively.
posted by zachlipton at 8:29 PM on May 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
Never used what? Giuliani's the only one saying there's an "it" there.
And they did, of course, use hacked material extensively.
posted by zachlipton at 8:29 PM on May 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
Giuliani's cut from the same cloth as Trump in a lot of ways, like when he's speaking off the cuff.
posted by rhizome at 8:45 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 8:45 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
The White House is discussing replacements for homeland security chief Kirstjen Nielsen
Names being discussed inside the White House include Tom Cotton [screaming in head], energy secretary Rick Perry [quieter screaming in head], and Thomas Homan [vomiting in head], the retiring head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one of these people said.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:46 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Names being discussed inside the White House include Tom Cotton [screaming in head], energy secretary Rick Perry [quieter screaming in head], and Thomas Homan [vomiting in head], the retiring head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one of these people said.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:46 PM on May 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Whistleblower Leaked Damning Cohen Financial Documents Because They Were Disappearing From Government Financial Crimes Database
Perfectly normal government behavior.
posted by benzenedream at 9:44 PM on May 16, 2018 [44 favorites]
Perfectly normal government behavior.
posted by benzenedream at 9:44 PM on May 16, 2018 [44 favorites]
much of what has been reported over the last week is derived from a SARS filed by First Republic Bank, where’s Cohen’s Essential Consultants had an account. The report referenced two previous SARS filed by the bank, which, according to the New Yorker’s source, were now missing from the financial database of suspicious transactions maintained by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FINCEN
There's no chance that FRB doesn't still have those SARS. So as weird as this is, and what is going on must be investigated, the data must still exist. I'm sure Mueller and/or SDNY has it.
posted by Justinian at 9:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
There's no chance that FRB doesn't still have those SARS. So as weird as this is, and what is going on must be investigated, the data must still exist. I'm sure Mueller and/or SDNY has it.
posted by Justinian at 9:47 PM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wow WTF Giuliani? You just admitted that your client committed a serious crime more or less to fit in and that you did, too!
Geez Louise. See, the American Project is not premised on your ability to win the race to the bottom. It’s premised on our collective ability, via an agreed upon process, to prevent your effort from killing us all.
Goddam man!
posted by notyou at 10:04 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Geez Louise. See, the American Project is not premised on your ability to win the race to the bottom. It’s premised on our collective ability, via an agreed upon process, to prevent your effort from killing us all.
Goddam man!
posted by notyou at 10:04 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
At this point it seems like Mueller cares less about flipping Cohen versus just throwing the book at him with rail gun velocity because he has it coming because he is a long time bad guy. Same with Manafort. They’re capital ships of a shadowy crime syndicate that need to be sunk and trump is just another higher tonnage vessel already dead to rights without needing to give concessions to major assholes. That’s my hope anyway.
My hope is that this metaphor continues, perhaps in the form of a Sid Meier video game.
posted by notyou at 10:06 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
My hope is that this metaphor continues, perhaps in the form of a Sid Meier video game.
posted by notyou at 10:06 PM on May 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
From one of the Twitter threads: “I got a ticket for jaywalking. My lawyer, Giuliani, pled it down to 1st Degree Homicide”
posted by XMLicious at 10:12 PM on May 16, 2018 [82 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 10:12 PM on May 16, 2018 [82 favorites]
That Flipping Michael Cohen link is worth the click! (Lawfare)
posted by notyou at 10:20 PM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:20 PM on May 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
So the FTC is hiring a literal mofo now? And I'm supposed to believe this is reality?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:34 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:34 PM on May 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
My hope is that this metaphor continues, perhaps in the form of a Sid Meier video game.
I knew mind worms where involved somehow
posted by The Whelk at 10:46 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
I knew mind worms where involved somehow
posted by The Whelk at 10:46 PM on May 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
“If our leaders seek to conceal the truth, or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom. A responsibility of every American citizen to each other is to preserve and protect our freedom by recognizing what truth is and is not, what a fact is and is not, and begin by holding ourselves accountable to truthfulness, and demand our pursuit of America's future be fact-based.” - Rex Tillerson
I know it's not enough from him, but what's happening today does feel Orwellian. It's like people are lining up of their own accord to see the films telling them they've always been at war with Eurasia / Oceania.
posted by xammerboy at 10:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
I know it's not enough from him, but what's happening today does feel Orwellian. It's like people are lining up of their own accord to see the films telling them they've always been at war with Eurasia / Oceania.
posted by xammerboy at 10:48 PM on May 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
So this is kind of...huge.
Cambridge Analytica shared data with Russia: whistleblower.
Cambridge Analytica shared data with Russia: whistleblower.
Political consulting group Cambridge Analytica used Russian researchers and shared data with companies linked to Russian intelligence, a whistleblower told a congressional hearing on interference in the 2016 US election Wednesday.posted by scalefree at 11:03 PM on May 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
Christopher Wylie, who leaked information on the British-based firm's hijacking of data on millions of Facebook users, told a Senate panel he believes Russian intelligence services had access to data harvested by the consultancy.
Wylie told the panel that Russian-American researcher Aleksandr Kogan, who created an application to harvest Facebook user profile data, was working at the same time on Russian-funded projects, including "behavioral research."
"This means that in addition to Facebook data being accessed in Russia, there are reasonable grounds to suspect that CA may have been an intelligence target of Russian security services...(and) that Russian security services may have been notified of the existence of CA's Facebook data," Wylie said in his written testimony.
Wylie added that Cambridge Analytica "used Russian researchers to gather its data, (and) openly shared information on 'rumor campaigns' and 'attitudinal inoculation'" with companies and executives linked to the Russian intelligence agency FSB.
It might be easier if we just made a list of people who weren't compromised by Russian intelligence.
posted by runcibleshaw at 11:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 11:42 PM on May 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
From National Treasure Rebecca Solnit, in Lithub yesterday: The Coup Has Already Happened (So What Are We Doing to Do About It?).
The current situation of the United States is obscene, insane, and incredible. If someone had pitched it for a thriller novel or film a few years ago, they would’ve been laughed out of whatever office their proposal made it to because fiction ought to be plausible. It isn’t plausible that a solipsistic buffoon and his retinue of petty crooks made it to the White House, but they did and there they are, wreaking more havoc than anyone would have imagined possible, from environmental laws to Iran nuclear deals. It is not plausible that the party in control of the federal government is for the most part a kleptomaniac criminal syndicate.posted by jokeefe at 11:55 PM on May 16, 2018 [63 favorites]
It isn’t plausible that a solipsistic buffoon and his retinue of petty crooks made it to the White House, but they did and there they are, wreaking more havoc than anyone would have imagined possible, from environmental laws to Iran nuclear deals..Look, I'm sure that Ms. Solnit is just trying to stress how extraordinarily destructive the Trump administration is turning out to be but still, I'm having none of this "more than anyone would have imagined possible" shit.. Because if we manage somehow to pull ourselves away from the abyss I am not going to settle for "well nobody could have foreseen that" as an excuse from anybody. We let too many people get away with that after the Iraq war and look where it's got us.
There were no shortage of predictions of how catastrophic a Trump presidency would be and many of them have been pretty spot on. Meanwhile, those on the right who are enabling him for partisan advantage or to placate their own base are determined not just to deny but to actively bury any evidence of just how badly things are going. Sorry, but this time around nobody gets to court Trump and his army of despicable bigots and then later plead that nobody could have foreseen what was going to happen..
I'm probably not going to be around to see the eventual judgment of history; I want these people driven out of politics and public life in shame during my lifetime and while I may ultimately have to settle for less I'm not going to concede that up front.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:23 AM on May 17, 2018 [104 favorites]
Nobody could have predicted that empowering racist nationalism and an active hate of the mechanisms of governmental oversight, the rule of law and the very concept of universal human rights could have negative consequences!
posted by jaduncan at 12:59 AM on May 17, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 12:59 AM on May 17, 2018 [29 favorites]
Well, American schools, primary and collegiate, have essentially taught the general principle that all (or at least most) human progress has come from white, English-speaking cis males who are rewarded with fame, fortune and status, and who fits this profile better than Donald J. Trump?
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:41 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:41 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hey, look, scandalous pandering to the industry in the Trump administration. Well, I never...
Trump Officials Shut Down a Climate Advisory Committee Because It Had Too Many Scientists
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:44 AM on May 17, 2018 [85 favorites]
Trump Officials Shut Down a Climate Advisory Committee Because It Had Too Many Scientists
“It only has one member from industry, and the process to gain more balance would take a couple of years to accomplish,” Kelly wrote in a June 13 email.Remember those Saturday morning cartoons? With ridiculous villains like Slimey McGarbagedump, the King of Trash, who wanted to bury Earth under a mountain of pollution just because they liked poisonous fumes so much? Remember when those seemed like outlandish caricatures?
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:44 AM on May 17, 2018 [85 favorites]
Henhouse dismantled for lack of foxes.
posted by uncleozzy at 2:54 AM on May 17, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 2:54 AM on May 17, 2018 [64 favorites]
The Solnit piece is very much worth a read, and I'm a little thrown by any suggestion that it somehow demonstrates naivite or is letting anyone off the hook. Yes, most of the present circumstances are foreseeable given the election of Trump, but she's quite obviously referring to the basic unthinkability of the whole shebang, repeating a sentiment seen in these threads several dozen times a day. If you feel unsurprised by stuff, that's fine, but my own shock still hasn't worn off. Both states of being are truly valid, I believe, and neither reaction inherently means one is primed for less or more action or preparedness.
Regardlessness, the piece is more a summary of present events than a description of how unusual they are. Here's a really key excerpt, regarding something I don't think I've seen mentioned here.
There are so many threads in this tangle involving women and how to shut them up. Deripaska—whose money apparently went to Cohen’s slush fund—took Sergei Prikhodko, Russia’s deputy prime minister, on an August 2016 cruise on his yacht with a very young paid female companion on board who goes by the name Nastya Rybka. Rybka shared a video she recorded of the two of them discussing the US election and says she has 16 hours more of recordings containing valuable information for the Mueller investigation. The Putin regime found the video—and an opposition candidate’s interpretation of it—so significant that the government attempted to shut down YouTube in Russia. Rybka is currently imprisoned in Thailand on prostitution charges. The New York Times reports that earlier this year she said, “If America gives me protection, I will tell everything I know. I am afraid to go back to Russia. Some strange things can happen.” The US seems disinclined to take her or take a look at her evidence.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:05 AM on May 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
Regardlessness, the piece is more a summary of present events than a description of how unusual they are. Here's a really key excerpt, regarding something I don't think I've seen mentioned here.
There are so many threads in this tangle involving women and how to shut them up. Deripaska—whose money apparently went to Cohen’s slush fund—took Sergei Prikhodko, Russia’s deputy prime minister, on an August 2016 cruise on his yacht with a very young paid female companion on board who goes by the name Nastya Rybka. Rybka shared a video she recorded of the two of them discussing the US election and says she has 16 hours more of recordings containing valuable information for the Mueller investigation. The Putin regime found the video—and an opposition candidate’s interpretation of it—so significant that the government attempted to shut down YouTube in Russia. Rybka is currently imprisoned in Thailand on prostitution charges. The New York Times reports that earlier this year she said, “If America gives me protection, I will tell everything I know. I am afraid to go back to Russia. Some strange things can happen.” The US seems disinclined to take her or take a look at her evidence.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:05 AM on May 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
“It only has one member from industry, and the process to gain more balance would take a couple of years to accomplish,” Kelly wrote in a June 13 email. "With any luck, we'll all be in prison or day drinking and sleeping under overpasses before then," he added.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:05 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:05 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
For the one-year anniversary of Mueller's appointment, Trump tweeted this morning: "Congratulations America, we are now into the second year of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History...and there is still No Collusion and No Obstruction. The only Collusion was that done by Democrats who were unable to win an Election despite the spending of far more money!"
MSNBC's Kyle Griffin notes:
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:10 AM on May 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
MSNBC's Kyle Griffin notes:
Mueller and his team have:For color reporting, CNN has put together as much as it can about the day-to-day business of the famously leak-proof team: Hot Pockets, mismatched chairs and a critical mission: Inside year one of the Mueller investigation.
• Issued 8 indictments covering 19 individuals and 3 businesses
• Secured 5 guilty pleas
• 2 criminal cases headed to trial
• 1 one individual already serving a prison sentence
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:10 AM on May 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
The Mueller team eats hot pockets? This changes everything! We're going to have to start writing our words on hot pockets.
posted by medusa at 5:15 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by medusa at 5:15 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
A little more from Jared Sexton:The disturbing reason Trump’s evangelical base is thrilled to see violence in Gaza.
For Trump’s most fanatical supporters, this is all part of the struggle against the Antichrist. Believe me, I know.
Blood and tumult in the Middle East are reasons to rejoice.
They don’t see chaos as the smoke unfurls in the afternoon sky. They see glory.
posted by adamvasco at 5:21 AM on May 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
For Trump’s most fanatical supporters, this is all part of the struggle against the Antichrist. Believe me, I know.
Blood and tumult in the Middle East are reasons to rejoice.
They don’t see chaos as the smoke unfurls in the afternoon sky. They see glory.
posted by adamvasco at 5:21 AM on May 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Solnit piece is very much worth a read, and I'm a little thrown by any suggestion that it somehow demonstrates naivite or is letting anyone off the hook.
Seconded. Read the Solnit piece before snarking.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:34 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Seconded. Read the Solnit piece before snarking.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:34 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
...why Giuliani would be arguing "they can't indict" rather than "he didn't commit any crimes."
I think the "he didn't commit any crimes" ship sailed when they started talking openly about who would or wouldn't "flip." You can't flip on someone if you don't know about crimes they committed.
I said a week ago that even Trump's defenders no longer seem to be arguing from the position of "he's actually innocent," but rather "there's nothing we can do about it." The Trump team has been acting as if they know he's guilty since the beginning, as Josh Marshall pointed out, but it's absolutely astonishing that the President's own defenders seem now to take the public stance that his guilt is a given.
Democrats would do well to point out this fact -- the president's own defenders don't bother pretending he's innocent -- often. Every time Trump tweets, they should respond "He sure acts guilty, doesn't he?"
posted by Gelatin at 5:39 AM on May 17, 2018 [48 favorites]
I think the "he didn't commit any crimes" ship sailed when they started talking openly about who would or wouldn't "flip." You can't flip on someone if you don't know about crimes they committed.
I said a week ago that even Trump's defenders no longer seem to be arguing from the position of "he's actually innocent," but rather "there's nothing we can do about it." The Trump team has been acting as if they know he's guilty since the beginning, as Josh Marshall pointed out, but it's absolutely astonishing that the President's own defenders seem now to take the public stance that his guilt is a given.
Democrats would do well to point out this fact -- the president's own defenders don't bother pretending he's innocent -- often. Every time Trump tweets, they should respond "He sure acts guilty, doesn't he?"
posted by Gelatin at 5:39 AM on May 17, 2018 [48 favorites]
the other rhetorical trick Giuliani is doing here is re-focusing the framing of the Mueller probe on Trump personally -- here's the pullquote in context:
"The Justice Department memos going back to before Nixon say that you cannot indict a sitting president, you have to impeach him. Now there was a little time in which there was some dispute about that...
Interesting, one "little time" when there was some dispute about that was Watergate, when it became increasingly clear that the President was at the head of a criminal conspiracy, with a wide pattern of illegal acts including many of the same crimes that Trump seems to have committed, like money laundering and obstruction of justice.
Of course, selling out the country to the Russians was one misdeed Nixon never went near.
posted by Gelatin at 5:45 AM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
"The Justice Department memos going back to before Nixon say that you cannot indict a sitting president, you have to impeach him. Now there was a little time in which there was some dispute about that...
Interesting, one "little time" when there was some dispute about that was Watergate, when it became increasingly clear that the President was at the head of a criminal conspiracy, with a wide pattern of illegal acts including many of the same crimes that Trump seems to have committed, like money laundering and obstruction of justice.
Of course, selling out the country to the Russians was one misdeed Nixon never went near.
posted by Gelatin at 5:45 AM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
Of course, selling out the country to the Russians was one misdeed Nixon never went near.
He just sold out the lives of servicemen in Vietnam sabotaging the 1968 peace talks and then proceeded to sell the
manufacturing heartland up the river to China.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:59 AM on May 17, 2018 [23 favorites]
He just sold out the lives of servicemen in Vietnam sabotaging the 1968 peace talks and then proceeded to sell the
manufacturing heartland up the river to China.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:59 AM on May 17, 2018 [23 favorites]
Democrats would do well to point out this fact -- the president's own defenders don't bother pretending he's innocent -- often. Every time Trump tweets, they should respond "He sure acts guilty, doesn't he?"
Maybe a stronger approach would be to start every sentence about 45 with the assertion that he is guilty, e.g. "Trump's guilt makes everything he says a lie."
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:59 AM on May 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
Maybe a stronger approach would be to start every sentence about 45 with the assertion that he is guilty, e.g. "Trump's guilt makes everything he says a lie."
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:59 AM on May 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
KMOV - Vandals spray racist slurs, symbols on Jefferson County man's van
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
There's no chance that FRB doesn't still have those SARS. So as weird as this is, and what is going on must be investigated, the data must still exist. I'm sure Mueller and/or SDNY has it.
That's what I'd bet, too, but the possibility that Mnuchin's Treasury didn't throw them down the memory hole nonetheless exists.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported: Treasury Watchdog Declines Request for Mnuchin Recusal Probe—Groups cite potential conflict of interest in Treasury secretary overseeing agencies aiding Russia investigation "The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General said late Wednesday it won’t pursue a request to probe whether Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin should recuse himself from federal investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Democratic lawmakers, public-interest groups and left-leaning nonprofits have questioned in recent months whether Mr. Mnuchin’s role as former Trump campaign finance chairman created a conflict of interest now that he is the secretary overseeing two agencies aiding federal investigators."
More alarmingly from @MSNBC:
That's what I'd bet, too, but the possibility that Mnuchin's Treasury didn't throw them down the memory hole nonetheless exists.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported: Treasury Watchdog Declines Request for Mnuchin Recusal Probe—Groups cite potential conflict of interest in Treasury secretary overseeing agencies aiding Russia investigation "The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General said late Wednesday it won’t pursue a request to probe whether Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin should recuse himself from federal investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Democratic lawmakers, public-interest groups and left-leaning nonprofits have questioned in recent months whether Mr. Mnuchin’s role as former Trump campaign finance chairman created a conflict of interest now that he is the secretary overseeing two agencies aiding federal investigators."
More alarmingly from @MSNBC:
In January, @RepMaxineWaters says she asked Treasury Sec. Mnuchin if he was ever asked to destroy or obscure records related to the president, or his associates. His response?posted by Doktor Zed at 7:19 AM on May 17, 2018 [56 favorites]
"None. No response. He did not answer us at all." #inners
You Are Jonathan Chait's Enemy
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:31 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:31 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
zachlipton: "All they get to do is write a report," Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN. "They can't indict. At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling, they acknowledged that to us."
But that's why Mueller team[ed] up with New York attorney general in Manafort probe (Josh Dawset for Politico, 08/30/2017)
posted by filthy light thief at 7:36 AM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
But that's why Mueller team[ed] up with New York attorney general in Manafort probe (Josh Dawset for Politico, 08/30/2017)
The cooperation is the latest indication that the federal probe into President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is intensifying. It also could potentially provide Mueller with additional leverage to get Manafort to cooperate in the larger investigation into Trump’s campaign, as Trump does not have pardon power over state crimes.And unstated, I'm assuming he doesn't get a fancy "but I'm the president" pass from state crimes, either, but IANAL.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:36 AM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
I for one can absolutely imagine a future where Trump is criminally arrested, tried, convicted... and continues to govern from prison (maybe state, maybe federal) for lack of either impeachment- or 25th-amendment-based removal. I grant such a situation way less than a 1% chance, but not the trivial .000001% I'd consider for just about any other POTUS.
There's quasi-precedent in a Massachusetts governor, James Michael Curley, whose leadership had all the standard hallmarks of early-20th-century corrupt boss-system politics. His Wikipedia page says some of his elected office happened while he was in prison, though it seems to contradict itself on whether, at the time, he was the mayor of Boston or just a city alderman.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:08 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
There's quasi-precedent in a Massachusetts governor, James Michael Curley, whose leadership had all the standard hallmarks of early-20th-century corrupt boss-system politics. His Wikipedia page says some of his elected office happened while he was in prison, though it seems to contradict itself on whether, at the time, he was the mayor of Boston or just a city alderman.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:08 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
And now, for some crocodile tears,
Cohen: "I just can't take this anymore" [TPM]
posted by Twain Device at 8:20 AM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Cohen: "I just can't take this anymore" [TPM]
posted by Twain Device at 8:20 AM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
In response to Trump's declaration of violence at an all time high along the Mexican border, I performed an analysis of violent crime in the five U.S. cities of 100,000 or more along the Mexican borders. Take home point: violent crime is way down, in general bettering the overall U.S. decline over the same period of time. (The statistics available only go to 2014).
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:20 AM on May 17, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:20 AM on May 17, 2018 [44 favorites]
It's crunch time for preparing 2019 Medicare Advantage rate filings (due at the start of June), so the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have a weekly conference call / Q&A for health insurance actuaries working on filings. On this morning's call, someone asked them to clarify which portions of Trump's prescription drug announcement are executive orders taking effect in 2019 vs what are proposals or require legislation. CMS's response: Just rate in accordance with the previously released final call letter and bid instructions, and any changes would come through normal regulatory channels. Seems like that's shorthand for "We have no idea".
posted by bassooner at 8:29 AM on May 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by bassooner at 8:29 AM on May 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
ICE claimed a Dreamer was “gang-affiliated” and tried to deport him. A federal judge ruled that ICE was lying.
In February 2017, shortly after President Donald Trump unleashed immigration agents to amp up arrests and deportations, ICE agents went to Ramirez’s father’s house in Seattle to arrest him. (The father is undocumented, and brought Ramirez to the U.S. illegally as a child.) While there, they encountered Ramirez and asked him whether he was “legally here.” He responded that he was—a truthful statement given his DACA status, which he had renewed the previous May. Yet ICE officers detained him anyway. They took him to a processing center, where, once again, he told them that he had a work permit.posted by T.D. Strange at 8:48 AM on May 17, 2018 [66 favorites]
“It doesn’t matter,” an agent responded, “because you weren’t born in this country.”
ICE then interrogated Ramirez, fingerprinted and booked him, confiscated his work permit, sent him to a detention center, and placed him in removal proceedings. It also purported to revoke his DACA status, subjecting him to imminent deportation.
It's linked to in the article, but just to highlight it. This is the case where ICE officers doctored his statement to make it look like he admitted to gang affiliation. This is beyond ICE lying, they fabricated evidence and somebody needs to go to jail for this.
posted by papercrane at 9:00 AM on May 17, 2018 [114 favorites]
posted by papercrane at 9:00 AM on May 17, 2018 [114 favorites]
"These aren't people. These are animals."
Goes along with Trump bragging about successfully identifying a camel in his dementia test.
posted by JackFlash at 9:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Goes along with Trump bragging about successfully identifying a camel in his dementia test.
posted by JackFlash at 9:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sometimes I think to myself, "It is not within my power to save the whole world, but I can do my part to help the people right in front of me, and even if I'm not always successful those people may feel a little better for being cared about."
The ICE agents in this Ramirez case must have thought, "I can't ratfuck the whole process but I can do my part to bully and intimidate the immigrant right in front of me, and even if it doesn't always make it through court, at least some people got hurt."
ICE needs to be purged and have their entire purpose redefined. And have their name changed while we're at it. What are you? Bond villains?
posted by Horkus at 9:09 AM on May 17, 2018 [36 favorites]
The ICE agents in this Ramirez case must have thought, "I can't ratfuck the whole process but I can do my part to bully and intimidate the immigrant right in front of me, and even if it doesn't always make it through court, at least some people got hurt."
ICE needs to be purged and have their entire purpose redefined. And have their name changed while we're at it. What are you? Bond villains?
posted by Horkus at 9:09 AM on May 17, 2018 [36 favorites]
Trump tweeted this morning: "Congratulations America, we are now into the second year of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History...and there is still No Collusion and No Obstruction. The only Collusion was that done by Democrats who were unable to win an Election despite the spending of far more money!"
Just yesterday, Trump's very own handpicked FBI Director said this.
Just yesterday, Trump's very own handpicked FBI Director said this.
Leahy: You said at your confirmation hearing that the Russian investigation was not a witch hunt. You’ve been there now 10 mos, you’re far more immersed in the details of the FBI. Is that still your opinion?posted by chris24 at 9:10 AM on May 17, 2018 [38 favorites]
Wray: Yes.
Is anyone in any part of the government providing oversight on ICE or investigating their criminal activity? If not, how do we get them to start doing that?
posted by runcibleshaw at 9:17 AM on May 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 9:17 AM on May 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
DHS. Kirstjen Nielsen. Good luck with that.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:22 AM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:22 AM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Is anyone in any part of the government providing oversight on ICE or investigating their criminal activity? If not, how do we get them to start doing that?
Republicans have made it clear that they won't provide meaningful oversight, so elect Democrats.
posted by Gelatin at 9:23 AM on May 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Republicans have made it clear that they won't provide meaningful oversight, so elect Democrats.
posted by Gelatin at 9:23 AM on May 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Does anyone have a list at hand of ICE outrages (their handling of Ramirez being the latest)?
posted by cybertaur1 at 9:24 AM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by cybertaur1 at 9:24 AM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is anyone in any part of the government providing oversight on ICE or investigating their criminal activity?
Democratic Senators seem to be doing what little they can - for example: Feinstein, Harris call for probe of ICE after employee resigns.
Once Democrats have the majority again, those of us who are their constituents must keep up the pressure to investigate and prosecute ALL illegal and unethical acts of the current administration. It'll be a gigantic task, but we, as a country, need to do it.
posted by kristi at 9:31 AM on May 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
Democratic Senators seem to be doing what little they can - for example: Feinstein, Harris call for probe of ICE after employee resigns.
Once Democrats have the majority again, those of us who are their constituents must keep up the pressure to investigate and prosecute ALL illegal and unethical acts of the current administration. It'll be a gigantic task, but we, as a country, need to do it.
posted by kristi at 9:31 AM on May 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
Absent Democratic control of a chamber of Congress or DHS itself, the oversight would come from the DHS Inspector General. I'm not aware of any investigation by the IG into ICE lying so they can deport people, but there is a recent report identifying abuses at detention facilities.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:32 AM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:32 AM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Kushner Companies to receive financial lifeline from Qatar-linked company.
posted by a complicated history at 10:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by a complicated history at 10:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
Happy Muellerversary traitors
posted by growabrain at 10:05 AM on May 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 10:05 AM on May 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
Speaking of CMS actuaries, Trump’s Plan for Cheaper Health Insurance Could Have Hidden Costs
posted by zachlipton at 10:06 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Trump administration estimated the extra cost to the federal government at $96 million to $168 million a year.The rule would allow skimpy short-term health insurance plans to last just under a year.
But the chief actuary, whose independence is protected by federal law, estimates that the rule proposed by the administration could increase federal spending by $1.2 billion next year and by a total of $38.7 billion over 10 years.
posted by zachlipton at 10:06 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
U.S. citizen questioned by Border Patrol in Havre for speaking Spanish
Two US citizens were held for half an hour by Border Patrol at a gas station in small town Montana, quite far from the Canadian border. On video, they're told that they were suspicious because they were speaking Spanish in an area where people don't usually speak Spanish. The organization later defended the action. That's it: speaking the country's de-facto second language is enough to have your rights suspended while thugs look for an excuse to bust you.
If it's necessary to have a Border Patrol in the future (not convinced), the example of the dissolution of ICE should be severe enough to put the fear of God in them.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:23 AM on May 17, 2018 [61 favorites]
Two US citizens were held for half an hour by Border Patrol at a gas station in small town Montana, quite far from the Canadian border. On video, they're told that they were suspicious because they were speaking Spanish in an area where people don't usually speak Spanish. The organization later defended the action. That's it: speaking the country's de-facto second language is enough to have your rights suspended while thugs look for an excuse to bust you.
If it's necessary to have a Border Patrol in the future (not convinced), the example of the dissolution of ICE should be severe enough to put the fear of God in them.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:23 AM on May 17, 2018 [61 favorites]
BuzzFeed, Anthony Cormier and Jason Leopold, The crazy true story of Trump Moscow. It's a long read on how Cohen and Sater (who Trump basically denied knowing during the campaign) continued to press for the tower well into the campaign (i.e. Cohen trying to get Trump to Moscow after the convention), and some tantalizing hints of the connection between the project and the election:
posted by zachlipton at 10:25 AM on May 17, 2018 [33 favorites]
Even before the appointment of Mueller as special counsel in May 2017, FBI agents investigating Russia’s interference in the election learned that Cohen was in frequent contact with foreign individuals about Trump Moscow — and that some of these individuals had knowledge of or played a role in 2016 election meddling, according to two FBI agents. The agents declined to name those individuals. Both agents have detailed knowledge about the bureau’s work on the collusion investigation that predated Mueller’s appointment.It's got Sater talking to former GRU, financing from sanctioned banks, Sater getting furious when Trump denied knowing him (and Cohen pushing him to not deny it), Cohen getting furious at Sater, encrypted self-destructing messaging, all sorts of nonsense in incredible detail. Well worth reading in full.
In public statements, Cohen has said that he informed Trump the deal was dead in January 2016, but new records show he was still working on it with Sater at least into June. In May, six weeks before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Sater asked Cohen when he and Trump would go to Moscow. In a text message, Cohen replied: “MY trip before Cleveland. Trump once he becomes the nominee after the convention.”
...
“Everything will be negotiated and discussed not with flunkies but with people who will have dinner with Putin and discuss the issues and get a go-ahead,” Sater wrote to Cohen on Nov. 3. “My next steps are very sensitive with Putin’s very, very close people. We can pull this off.”
...
On Dec. 17, Cohen forwarded a Google alert to Sater. Putin had described Trump as “talented” and “a very colorful man.” Cohen wrote: “Now is the time. Call me.”
...
Cohen wrote back that day: “MY trip before Cleveland. Trump once he becomes the nominee after the convention.”
posted by zachlipton at 10:25 AM on May 17, 2018 [33 favorites]
Radical, feminist, socialist, and black: The new PA state rep Summer Lee
posted by The Whelk at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
Buzzfeed: Republicans Know Their Voters Are Going To Be Mad They Didn’t Repeal Obamacare, So They’re Trying AgaiN
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
From there it would be in the hands of Congress. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is proposing that Congress dedicate August — when members are supposed to be back home in their districts — to repeal. He laid out a plan to pass a budget bill as the vehicle because it triggers a special process that would allow the Senate to repeal Obamacare with 50 votes instead of the usually needed 60.They’re really going to try this again, and looking for the 2019 reconciliation instructions to pass it with 50.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
WaPo, ICE just abandoned its dream of “extreme vetting” software that could predict whether a foreign visitor would become a terrorist
posted by zachlipton at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told tech-industry contractors last summer they wanted a system for their “Extreme Vetting Initiative” that could automatically mine Facebook, Twitter and the broader Internet to determine whether a visitor might commit criminal or terrorist acts or was a “positively contributing member of society.”So how much time money did we spend finding out that there's no such thing as a magic AI box sitting on the shelf that can figure out whether someone is a terrorist? And how a hundred million bucks worth of contractors going to do the job either?
But ICE quietly dropped the machine-learning requirement from its request in recent months, opting instead to hire a contractor that can provide training, management and human personnel who can do the job. Federal documents say the contract is expected to cost more than $100 million and be awarded by the end of the year.
...
An ICE official briefed on the decision-making process said the agency found there was no “out-of-the-box” software that could deliver the quality of monitoring the agency wanted.
posted by zachlipton at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
Sarah Sanders just read a prepared document defending Trump's statement that they are not people and saying that "calling them animals isn't enough" before walking off. Apparently Trump is now about to give some kind of unexpected statement and take questions.
Never could get the hang of Thursdays.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:44 AM on May 17, 2018 [47 favorites]
Never could get the hang of Thursdays.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:44 AM on May 17, 2018 [47 favorites]
On current actions on ICE - I just now got an email update from Sen. Kamala Harris about a new bill that she and Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced, the Detention Oversight Not Expansion (DONE) Act, "which would increase oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, and halt funds for construction or expansion of new facilities."
From her email:
posted by kristi at 10:45 AM on May 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
From her email:
The DONE Act would:If you don't have something more pressing to call your legislators about, you might call and let them know you're aware of this bill, you support it, and you'd like to see it voted on as soon as possible.By introducing this bill, Senator Harris is demanding accountability and the accordance of basic human rights to those being held in immigration detention facilities. Just last month, Senator Harris, Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) led a group of their colleagues in a letter urging Senate Appropriators to reduce funding for the Administration’s “reckless immigration enforcement operations.” In the letter, the senators highlight the threat that such operations, including an increase in Border Patrol and ICE agents, detention beds, and wall funding pose to Dreamers who are at risk of the Administration’s arbitrary decision to end DACA.
- Prohibit funds being used in order to expand immigration detention facilities.
- Require the DHS Office of Inspector General to conduct unannounced inspections of all immigration detention facilities to ensure compliance with national standards, focusing on the health, safety, and care of detainees, especially as it relates to pregnant women.
- Require the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties conduct investigations, and submit a report of its findings to Congress.
Human rights, are exactly that, a right, not a privilege. This should apply when it comes to ensuring that those individuals being held in immigration detention facilities are treated fairly and with dignity.
posted by kristi at 10:45 AM on May 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
Ron Johnson is proposing that Congress dedicate August — when members are supposed to be back home in their districts — to repeal.
Senator Johnson may not be aware of this (?!?) but health care is one of the Democrats' strongest issues. I can't imagine why he thinks putting it back in the headlines just before the midterms would be a good move.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:54 AM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
Senator Johnson may not be aware of this (?!?) but health care is one of the Democrats' strongest issues. I can't imagine why he thinks putting it back in the headlines just before the midterms would be a good move.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:54 AM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
GOP lawmaker says rocks falling into ocean to blame for rising sea levels
Mo Brooks sits with Gohmert in the overlap zone of the "dumbest congressmen" vs "evillest congressmen" Venn diagram.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
Mo Brooks sits with Gohmert in the overlap zone of the "dumbest congressmen" vs "evillest congressmen" Venn diagram.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:04 AM on May 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
This is unexpectedly rational if it still falls a bit short on perspective:
Trump voters warn him not to fire special counsel Mueller: 'People would be suspicious'.
Trump voters warn him not to fire special counsel Mueller: 'People would be suspicious'.
BROOKFIELD, Wis. - They see the Russia investigation as President Donald Trump does, as a witch hunt that has expanded far beyond its initial mandate with the explicit aim of delegitimizing or perhaps even overturning his 2016 election victory.posted by scalefree at 11:09 AM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yet these most steadfast of Trump supporters who gathered here Tuesday night as part of a focus group evaluating public opinion said the president ought not fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, a view shared by the Trump critics around the table.
"People would be suspicious," said Betsy Novak, 55, a greenhouse worker who voted for Trump.
"It [would be] hiding something," said Curt Hetzel, 48, a shipping and receiving manager who also voted for Trump.
"Politically, it would be a terrible idea," said yet another Trump backer, Sam Goldner, 25, a warehouse manager.
These three were among the 12 men and women assembled for a two-hour focus group in this Milwaukee suburb, a perennial suburban swing area in a state that helped propel Trump to a surprise victory and is home to competitive Senate and gubernatorial contests this fall.
In Everything Continues To Get Stupider news:
Show Starring Avenatti and Scaramucci Is Being Pitched to Television Executives
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:11 AM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
Show Starring Avenatti and Scaramucci Is Being Pitched to Television Executives
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:11 AM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
These three were among the 12 men and women assembled for a two-hour focus group in this Milwaukee suburb
Heh. I was in an earlier screening for what was probably this group, but didn't make it through because I didn't claim lockstep affiliation with either party.
Sounds like that result was probably good for my health.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:13 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Heh. I was in an earlier screening for what was probably this group, but didn't make it through because I didn't claim lockstep affiliation with either party.
Sounds like that result was probably good for my health.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:13 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
GIULIANI SAYS FBI 'POSSIBLY' HAD A SPY IN TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN TEAM.
Rudy Giuliani appears to have bought into the theory there was an FBI informant placed inside the Donald Trump campaign in 2016.posted by scalefree at 11:16 AM on May 17, 2018
Speaking in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Wednesday, the president's recently appointed lawyer initially said he did not know if there had been a mole in the Trump campaign. However he later came back to the subject, suggesting there may have been.
“What they did with [Paul] Manafort, what they did with Michael Cohen, all the illegitimate things they’ve done—possibly placing a spy in the Trump campaign,” Giuliani said, referencing the Bureau carrying out raids on Manafort and Cohen, as well as the new favoured theory that says there was an informant in the campaign team.
bassooner: Seems like that's shorthand for "We have no idea".
This is the message on SO MANY FRONTS from career government officials, in various ways. Qualified statements about the longevity of programs, policies and goals, lots of "for now" or "at present" included to indicate uncertainty without saying "this could go away at the whim of a giant toddler."
Protip: don't laugh when someone who works for the census says a the end of a discussion of what could happen with the next census "all depends on if Congress doesn't just end the census." That is a real fear, and I feel like a jerk for my outburst that was meant as laughter at the dark reality we all live in now.
And a final anecdote of how fucking petty this administration is: the successful TIGER grant program was rebranded BUILD, because TIGER was an Obama thing, and BUILD is totally Donald. Same program, with even more funding, because Congress tripled the FFY 17 budget for FFY 2018, after Trump tried to kill the program in 2017. Helluva leader there.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:22 AM on May 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
This is the message on SO MANY FRONTS from career government officials, in various ways. Qualified statements about the longevity of programs, policies and goals, lots of "for now" or "at present" included to indicate uncertainty without saying "this could go away at the whim of a giant toddler."
Protip: don't laugh when someone who works for the census says a the end of a discussion of what could happen with the next census "all depends on if Congress doesn't just end the census." That is a real fear, and I feel like a jerk for my outburst that was meant as laughter at the dark reality we all live in now.
And a final anecdote of how fucking petty this administration is: the successful TIGER grant program was rebranded BUILD, because TIGER was an Obama thing, and BUILD is totally Donald. Same program, with even more funding, because Congress tripled the FFY 17 budget for FFY 2018, after Trump tried to kill the program in 2017. Helluva leader there.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:22 AM on May 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
Sarah Sanders just read a prepared document defending Trump's statement that they are not people and saying that "calling them animals isn't enough" before walking off. Apparently Trump is now about to give some kind of unexpected statement and take questions.
The line being pushed by Trump's inner circle is that what he meant was MS-13. Given the news about ICE falsifying evidence, that may not play as well as they hope.
posted by scalefree at 11:23 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
The line being pushed by Trump's inner circle is that what he meant was MS-13. Given the news about ICE falsifying evidence, that may not play as well as they hope.
posted by scalefree at 11:23 AM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
scalefree: “What they did with [Paul] Manafort, what they did with Michael Cohen, all the illegitimate things they’ve done—possibly placing a spy in the Trump campaign,” Giuliani said, referencing the Bureau carrying out raids on Manafort and Cohen, as well as the new favoured theory that says there was an informant in the campaign team.
Option 1: people realized Trump and Co were corrupt and compromised for a LONG TIME, possibly in part because Donald Trump Called on Russia to Find Hillary Clinton’s Missing Emails (NYT, July 27, 2016, with a helpful embedded video)
Option 2: there was a mole that leaked details.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:24 AM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
Option 1: people realized Trump and Co were corrupt and compromised for a LONG TIME, possibly in part because Donald Trump Called on Russia to Find Hillary Clinton’s Missing Emails (NYT, July 27, 2016, with a helpful embedded video)
Option 2: there was a mole that leaked details.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:24 AM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
filthy light thief: "Protip: don't laugh when someone who works for the census says a the end of a discussion of what could happen with the next census "all depends on if Congress doesn't just end the census." That is a real fear, and I feel like a jerk for my outburst that was meant as laughter at the dark reality we all live in now. "
Unless we're into full blown "no rule of law whatsoever" territory, the census is constitutionally mandated.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:27 AM on May 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Unless we're into full blown "no rule of law whatsoever" territory, the census is constitutionally mandated.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:27 AM on May 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Show Starring Avenatti and Scaramucci Is Being Pitched to Television Executives
What's that you say? Trump has connections in the TV world? And it would be great if Avenatti had a distraction that took him out of the courtroom?
posted by rhizome at 11:28 AM on May 17, 2018
What's that you say? Trump has connections in the TV world? And it would be great if Avenatti had a distraction that took him out of the courtroom?
posted by rhizome at 11:28 AM on May 17, 2018
They’re really going to try this again, and looking for the 2019 reconciliation instructions to pass it with 50.
I'm not sure the Senate wants to use reconciliation for ACA repeal (vs more tax cuts for their donors). But here are all of the provisions of the last repeal attempt that did/didn't pass the Byrd Rule. And here's a good overview of the Byrd Rule along with a rundown of how the parliamentarian applied it to the tax bills last year.
posted by melissasaurus at 11:29 AM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm not sure the Senate wants to use reconciliation for ACA repeal (vs more tax cuts for their donors). But here are all of the provisions of the last repeal attempt that did/didn't pass the Byrd Rule. And here's a good overview of the Byrd Rule along with a rundown of how the parliamentarian applied it to the tax bills last year.
posted by melissasaurus at 11:29 AM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Thank goodness Trump is 100% innocent, so any such spy had nothing interesting or incriminating to give to the FBI, and therefore is nothing to worry about.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:30 AM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 11:30 AM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Unless we're into full blown "no rule of law whatsoever" territory, the census is constitutionally mandated.
So is the ban on emoluments.
posted by toxic at 11:30 AM on May 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
So is the ban on emoluments.
posted by toxic at 11:30 AM on May 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
Unless we're into full blown "no rule of law whatsoever" territory
Nah, that's in like 3 months. This is more "rule of law gradually fading like Michael J Fox from a photo in Back To The Future" territory.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:30 AM on May 17, 2018 [29 favorites]
Nah, that's in like 3 months. This is more "rule of law gradually fading like Michael J Fox from a photo in Back To The Future" territory.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:30 AM on May 17, 2018 [29 favorites]
The census as we know it isn't specifically spelled out in the Constitution. What it says is: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct."
They have to measure the population of each state, but that doesn't have to be through the census as we know it. That procedure is defined by law.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:32 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
They have to measure the population of each state, but that doesn't have to be through the census as we know it. That procedure is defined by law.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:32 AM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Unless we're into full blown "no rule of law whatsoever" territory, the census is constitutionally mandated.
It is, but if it's not actually funded, I'm not sure what the courts would do. Hold Congress in contempt until they funded it, I guess? The saga of Washington State's McCleary decision (ordering the state to fully-fund schools) is one way that sort of thing can play out.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:32 AM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
It is, but if it's not actually funded, I'm not sure what the courts would do. Hold Congress in contempt until they funded it, I guess? The saga of Washington State's McCleary decision (ordering the state to fully-fund schools) is one way that sort of thing can play out.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:32 AM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
GIULIANI SAYS FBI 'POSSIBLY' HAD A SPY IN TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN TEAM.
Renato Mariotti
What this means is that someone within the Trump campaign was so concerned about what was taking place that he or she worked with law enforcement to help their investigation. How is this helpful to Trump?
@goldengateblond
Kind of standard for the FBI to embed informants in criminal enterprises, dumdum.
posted by chris24 at 11:35 AM on May 17, 2018 [55 favorites]
Renato Mariotti
What this means is that someone within the Trump campaign was so concerned about what was taking place that he or she worked with law enforcement to help their investigation. How is this helpful to Trump?
@goldengateblond
Kind of standard for the FBI to embed informants in criminal enterprises, dumdum.
posted by chris24 at 11:35 AM on May 17, 2018 [55 favorites]
@joshrigin: Trump has a less than complete understanding of what happened in Libya: “If you look at Libya, that would be total decimation. That’s what we planned to do and that’s what we did.”
@davidnakamura: Trump throws John Bolton under the bus: "The Libya model is not a model we have at all with North Korea. ,... With Kim Jong Un, he'd be there, running his country." Trump says the Libya model where the country is "decimated ... will take place if we don’t make a deal. If we make a deal, I believe Kim Jong Un would be very very happy."
What? I mean this is gibberish. The Libya model is where they give up nukes. That it ended poorly for Gadaffi is why Kim won’t do that. And as much as it’s gibberish, it’s clearly a threat to blow up North Korea.
posted by zachlipton at 11:37 AM on May 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
@davidnakamura: Trump throws John Bolton under the bus: "The Libya model is not a model we have at all with North Korea. ,... With Kim Jong Un, he'd be there, running his country." Trump says the Libya model where the country is "decimated ... will take place if we don’t make a deal. If we make a deal, I believe Kim Jong Un would be very very happy."
What? I mean this is gibberish. The Libya model is where they give up nukes. That it ended poorly for Gadaffi is why Kim won’t do that. And as much as it’s gibberish, it’s clearly a threat to blow up North Korea.
posted by zachlipton at 11:37 AM on May 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
It seemed like (surprise?) Trump had conflated Libyan nuke deal under Bush, with Qaddafi's fall in recent years. Or maybe he just doesn't know. Maybe it's lies. It's probably lies.
posted by rc3spencer at 11:41 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 11:41 AM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** OH-12 special: PPP poll has GOPer Balderson up 45-43 on Dem O'Connor [MOE: +/- 3.9%].
** 2018 House:
** OH-12 special: PPP poll has GOPer Balderson up 45-43 on Dem O'Connor [MOE: +/- 3.9%].
** 2018 House:
-- PA-17: Inside the progressive effort to take down Keith Rothfus.** 2018 Senate:
-- Sabato state of the race article (tl;dr: still about 50/50).
-- PA: PA GOP worried that new nom Barletta isn't cutting it.** Odds & ends:
-- IN: Gravis poll has Braun up 47-46 on Donnelly [MOE: +/- 4.9%].
-- TN: Vanderbilt poll finds Dem nominee Bredesen with high favorables among independents, and even among Republicans.
-- McConnell says Senate is in play, names nine states as battlegrounds: AZ, NV, TN, MT, ND, MO, IN, WV, FL. Notably does not mention WI or OH.
-- GA gov: SurveyUSA poll has Abrams leading Evans in the Dem primary, 43-24 [MOE: +/- 3.5%]. Both candidates run tight with likely GOP nom, LG Cagle. Cagle leads Abrams 46-41, Evans 45-41.posted by Chrysostom at 11:46 AM on May 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
-- Colorado voters will have two anti-gerrymandering measures on the ballot, establishing an independent redistricting commission.
Judge rules defamation suit against Trump by Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos can continue.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:47 AM on May 17, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:47 AM on May 17, 2018 [48 favorites]
@nahaltoosi: Trump doesn't know what the "Libyan model" is. What's amazing about this is that it gives the North Koreans evidence that the US views the "Libya model" as one that involves regime change. And then Trump went on to suggest that (his view of) the model may apply if there's no deal, so if you're North Korea now it's like WTF?
When Bolton said “Libya model,” he clearly meant denuclearization circa 2003. Now Trump thinks it means killing Kim. So the message we’ve just managed to send is that we want regime change no matter what they do. How is that going to lead to a Nobel?
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on May 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
When Bolton said “Libya model,” he clearly meant denuclearization circa 2003. Now Trump thinks it means killing Kim. So the message we’ve just managed to send is that we want regime change no matter what they do. How is that going to lead to a Nobel?
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on May 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
** OH-12 special: PPP poll has GOPer Balderson up 45-43 on Dem O'Connor [MOE: +/- 3.9%].
Which is actually a pretty great poll for Ds despite being behind. Before he resigned, Tiberi won the seat in 2016 by 37 points. Trump won it by 20.
posted by chris24 at 12:02 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Which is actually a pretty great poll for Ds despite being behind. Before he resigned, Tiberi won the seat in 2016 by 37 points. Trump won it by 20.
posted by chris24 at 12:02 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trump doesn't know what the "Libyan model" is.
Bet you five bucks he thinks it's Iman.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:04 PM on May 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
Bet you five bucks he thinks it's Iman.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:04 PM on May 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
Yeah, I think OH-12 special will almost certainly be another significant Dem overperformance, just a question whether they can quite pull off the upset.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:05 PM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:05 PM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
@jimsciutto: The President of the United States just pledged "very strong protections" to a brutal #NorthKorean dictator to remain in power as part of any deal. That is a remarkable thing. What, if anything, has Kim pledged the US?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:06 PM on May 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:06 PM on May 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
I just heard the tail end of the Fresh Air interview with Evan Osnos about his New Yorker article, "Trump vs. The Deep State".
Terry Gross asked Osnos about Trump's "jokes" about a third term and Li's lifetime reign. Osnos said that these comments had actually prodded administration sources into speaking with him, because they do not think Trump is joking.
posted by dogrose at 12:08 PM on May 17, 2018 [63 favorites]
Terry Gross asked Osnos about Trump's "jokes" about a third term and Li's lifetime reign. Osnos said that these comments had actually prodded administration sources into speaking with him, because they do not think Trump is joking.
posted by dogrose at 12:08 PM on May 17, 2018 [63 favorites]
I mean, Giuliani keeps running around talking about how Mueller can’t indict him while he’s in office. That makes staying in office sound rather appealing.
posted by zachlipton at 12:10 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:10 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Census' will happen because the Constitution requires a population count to happen. Whether or not 'the Census' in 2020 accurately reports the American population is, unfortunately, more of a question than it should be.
And by design. Fucking up the census helps Republicans, because it’s very easy and comparatively cheap to count white suburbs with predictable cookie cutter housing tracts, and much more difficult to accurately count cities, transient populations, marginal English speakers, multi-family households, and college students, and basically every Democratic leaning population.
The reason they don’t want to count everyone is doing so accurately would take electoral power away from already over represented white Republicans. It’s intentional, not incompetence.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:11 PM on May 17, 2018 [48 favorites]
And by design. Fucking up the census helps Republicans, because it’s very easy and comparatively cheap to count white suburbs with predictable cookie cutter housing tracts, and much more difficult to accurately count cities, transient populations, marginal English speakers, multi-family households, and college students, and basically every Democratic leaning population.
The reason they don’t want to count everyone is doing so accurately would take electoral power away from already over represented white Republicans. It’s intentional, not incompetence.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:11 PM on May 17, 2018 [48 favorites]
If memory serves me correctly, when the Census Bureau proposed supplementing the head count with statistical sampling, Republicans howled that an actual enumeration was Constitutionally mandated.
Not that Republican hypocrisy is surprising. Republican hypocrisy is part of the point -- accepting the obvious contradiction signals membership in the tribe, as Orwell pointed out, and also signals contempt for liberals by overtly refusing to argue in good faith.
posted by Gelatin at 12:21 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Not that Republican hypocrisy is surprising. Republican hypocrisy is part of the point -- accepting the obvious contradiction signals membership in the tribe, as Orwell pointed out, and also signals contempt for liberals by overtly refusing to argue in good faith.
posted by Gelatin at 12:21 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
: "“What they did with [Paul] Manafort, what they did with Michael Cohen, all the illegitimate things they’ve done—possibly placing a spy in the Trump campaign,” Giuliani said, referencing the Bureau carrying out raids on Manafort and Cohen, as well as the new favoured theory that says there was an informant in the campaign team."
Because of the FBI's un-BRO behaviour my client is totally going to jail for crimes he committed.
posted by Mitheral at 12:44 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Because of the FBI's un-BRO behaviour my client is totally going to jail for crimes he committed.
posted by Mitheral at 12:44 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Haspel confirmed.
posted by Melismata at 12:48 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 12:48 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
One thing that came out of Giuliani's interview last night is that he's working for Trump for free. Because we know how well that worked out when Manafort showed up. If Trump's not paying for it, he, and by extension, the country, is the product being sold...
Also whatever this means: @NYCityAlerts: BREAKING: Rudy Giuliani is involved in a accident with pedicab in midtown at 49th Street and 8th Avenue.
(apparently no injuries)
posted by zachlipton at 1:00 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Also whatever this means: @NYCityAlerts: BREAKING: Rudy Giuliani is involved in a accident with pedicab in midtown at 49th Street and 8th Avenue.
(apparently no injuries)
posted by zachlipton at 1:00 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Warner, Nelson, Donnelly, Manchin, Heitkamp, and Shaheen all like torture more than they like their voters. Psychopathy is not limited to the GOP.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:04 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:04 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
The location suggests that Rudy Giuliani is, unusually, currently not the least popular midtown racist.
posted by jaduncan at 1:04 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 1:04 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
These Democrats have decided to cede any moral authority on torture.
Sen. Joe Manchin (West Virginia)
Sen. Joe Donnelly (Indiana)
Sen. Mark Warner (Virginia)
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota)
Sen. Bill Nelson (Florida)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)
The entirety of our governance is complicit in these crimes (cw, torture).
Hard to believe anyone could say the following with a straight face, but hey, Mark Warner proved us wrong:
Sen. Joe Manchin (West Virginia)
Sen. Joe Donnelly (Indiana)
Sen. Mark Warner (Virginia)
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota)
Sen. Bill Nelson (Florida)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)
The entirety of our governance is complicit in these crimes (cw, torture).
Hard to believe anyone could say the following with a straight face, but hey, Mark Warner proved us wrong:
“I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the president, who will speak truth to power if this president orders her to do something illegal or immoral, like a return to torture,” he said in a Senate speech before the vote.posted by Existential Dread at 1:07 PM on May 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
Field report: My mom just told me the following story about her Pennsylvania primary experience, and I paraphrase it here. "Helen Tai knocked on the door to ask for my vote. I told her that my husband and I were disgusted enough to switch parties, from Republican to Democratic, and that we'd be happy to vote for her in the special election. She was so nice! And she told us her story and I was really impressed, and did vote for her on Tuesday. She said that hearing about our party switch just made her day." Then, unbelievably, "I just think that we need more feminist women in office!" [N.B.: Years ago threatened to disown me for taking a women's studies class.] Mom and Dad have been Republicans for almost 50 years, because, as they explained it, that was the only game in town. To hear her pulling for a Democratic woman now? My heart just grew three sizes today. Give 'em Helen!
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:11 PM on May 17, 2018 [149 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:11 PM on May 17, 2018 [149 favorites]
No collision, but the pedicab had its cover up...
posted by uosuaq at 1:11 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by uosuaq at 1:11 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
I am just relieved McCaskill wasn't on that list. Maybe she did a trade.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
In my city, if you open a car passenger door and someone/thing hits you, you are automatically liable (even if the biker totally wasn't paying attention). Wonder what the fine is.
posted by Melismata at 1:19 PM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 1:19 PM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wonder what the fine is.
It's a $150 fine, but since you can literally kill someone by dooring them in NYC and face no charges, probably the worst Giuliani can expect from this is some people yelling at him on Twitter.
posted by halation at 1:29 PM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
It's a $150 fine, but since you can literally kill someone by dooring them in NYC and face no charges, probably the worst Giuliani can expect from this is some people yelling at him on Twitter.
posted by halation at 1:29 PM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
One thing that came out of Giuliani's interview last night is that he's working for Trump for free.
My theory about this and about why all of the other people around Trump haven’t fled when it seemed like a sensible move: They’re just all in too deep. They’re guilty of criminal conspiracy, money laundering, election interference, or some combination of these things, and they know it, so they’re trying to get and stay as close as possible to the nexus of power in order to create the feeling that they can control the ultimate outcome. Getting in front of those cameras combats their unaccustomed and uncomfortable sensation of powerlessness.
Note that this is not the same as actually having any control over the ultimate outcome.
posted by Andrhia at 1:38 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
My theory about this and about why all of the other people around Trump haven’t fled when it seemed like a sensible move: They’re just all in too deep. They’re guilty of criminal conspiracy, money laundering, election interference, or some combination of these things, and they know it, so they’re trying to get and stay as close as possible to the nexus of power in order to create the feeling that they can control the ultimate outcome. Getting in front of those cameras combats their unaccustomed and uncomfortable sensation of powerlessness.
Note that this is not the same as actually having any control over the ultimate outcome.
posted by Andrhia at 1:38 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Gina Haspel is a horrific choice because of both her participation in torture and her part in the cover up. And yet, I have some mixed feelings about this, because voting her down would mean that a man who is equally complicit (if perhaps not so personally involved) would get the job.
And there is a pattern, clearly seen in the 2016 campaign, where women who play by the rules long enough to finally get to a position of power are attacked viciously for doing the exact same things that men have done and continue to do. And those attacks often come from male competitors who are equally or more guilty of the exact same offenses.
posted by msalt at 1:40 PM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
And there is a pattern, clearly seen in the 2016 campaign, where women who play by the rules long enough to finally get to a position of power are attacked viciously for doing the exact same things that men have done and continue to do. And those attacks often come from male competitors who are equally or more guilty of the exact same offenses.
posted by msalt at 1:40 PM on May 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
@sahilkapur: Trump: "We're taking people out of the country — you wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals." He says the U.S. has "the dumbest laws on immigration in the world."
I'm behind on the thread, but...just yesterday my mom got to reunite with the woman who cleaned our house for nearly twenty years. She now has her green card, but her son who has lived here for most of his life was recently deported back to Honduras. In Honduras her brother was kidnapped for ransom and despite the family in the US getting the money together to pay, he was found dead a few days later. So she's terrified for her son, who was just working in a car wash when ICE raided it.
This is a family we've known for a long time. They're super nice, hard-working, compassionate people who just want to build a safe life for themselves and their kids. I can't express how much the rhetoric of this monster and the entire GOP sickens me.
posted by threeturtles at 1:48 PM on May 17, 2018 [68 favorites]
I'm behind on the thread, but...just yesterday my mom got to reunite with the woman who cleaned our house for nearly twenty years. She now has her green card, but her son who has lived here for most of his life was recently deported back to Honduras. In Honduras her brother was kidnapped for ransom and despite the family in the US getting the money together to pay, he was found dead a few days later. So she's terrified for her son, who was just working in a car wash when ICE raided it.
This is a family we've known for a long time. They're super nice, hard-working, compassionate people who just want to build a safe life for themselves and their kids. I can't express how much the rhetoric of this monster and the entire GOP sickens me.
posted by threeturtles at 1:48 PM on May 17, 2018 [68 favorites]
msalt, you make a good point, but I'm not sure what the alternative is for us. If Haspel were rejected, it's not like Trump would try to appoint someone good as an alternative. He'll never nominate someone who would do a good job. So do we just advocate total intransigence? Because that's what the GOP wants, a government that fails to do anything at all. So I don't see any good options to advocate for, only various flavors of bad.
posted by rikschell at 1:51 PM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 1:51 PM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
rikschell: So do we just advocate total intransigence? Because that's what the GOP wants, a government that fails to do anything at all.
Total intransigence when choosing, say, a Secretary of Transportation? Probably not.
For the CIA? Well ideally the CIA gets fully abolished by the next Democratic administration anyway
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:55 PM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
Total intransigence when choosing, say, a Secretary of Transportation? Probably not.
For the CIA? Well ideally the CIA gets fully abolished by the next Democratic administration anyway
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:55 PM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
And there is a pattern, clearly seen in the 2016 campaign, where women who play by the rules long enough to finally get to a position of power are attacked viciously for doing the exact same things that men have done and continue to do. And those attacks often come from male competitors who are equally or more guilty of the exact same offenses.
I draw the line at torture. Torture is absolute disqualifier, it's a horrific crime for which Haspel and others should have been prosecuted.
So do we just advocate total intransigence?
For torturers, absolutely. The CIA isn't a function of government where failure to have leadership would damage common people. If the CIA ceased to function effectively, quite frankly, the amount of death and misery in the world would go down. There's a widely traveled twitter joke about liberals which I think is apropos here. The answer is not to hire women torturers instead of men. The answer is a flat NO TORTURERS IN POWER.
posted by Existential Dread at 1:56 PM on May 17, 2018 [43 favorites]
I draw the line at torture. Torture is absolute disqualifier, it's a horrific crime for which Haspel and others should have been prosecuted.
So do we just advocate total intransigence?
For torturers, absolutely. The CIA isn't a function of government where failure to have leadership would damage common people. If the CIA ceased to function effectively, quite frankly, the amount of death and misery in the world would go down. There's a widely traveled twitter joke about liberals which I think is apropos here. The answer is not to hire women torturers instead of men. The answer is a flat NO TORTURERS IN POWER.
posted by Existential Dread at 1:56 PM on May 17, 2018 [43 favorites]
To me, Haspel wasn't about fighting the Trump agenda, but drawing a line in the sand against torture – showing that we still remember the shit they pulled, and that it is disqualifying to torture people and cover it up. If Trump had nominated a rapist to lead the CIA, I don't think we'd be arguing over whether it's really worth blocking that confirmation because anybody else he nominates would also be a terrible person.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:56 PM on May 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:56 PM on May 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
I have some mixed feelings about this, because voting her down would mean that a man who is equally complicit (if perhaps not so personally involved) would get the job.
"Equally complicit" is pretty much just Jose Rodriguez, and he's making more as a private spook.
posted by rhizome at 1:57 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Equally complicit" is pretty much just Jose Rodriguez, and he's making more as a private spook.
posted by rhizome at 1:57 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Nthing the responses to what to do about Gina Haspel. If total intransigence were an option in the case of the CIA, we should take it, until someone is nominated who isn't a) a torturer or b) a protector of torturers. Remember, the CIA is not your friend.
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:01 PM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:01 PM on May 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
More House drama. Republican Immigration Fight Derails Food Stamp Bill. A bunch of Freedom Caucus folks won't vote for the farm bill unless they get a vote on the Goodlatte bill (which can't pass), and it's the usual Ryan squeeze: some moderates and essentially all Democrats are opposed because the bill is too cruel to poor people, while conservatives are opposed because they want to be cruel to immigrants.
McCarthy says YOLO they'll vote on it Friday anyway, and I wouldn't think having the thing go up in flames on the floor is a great strategy for someone who wants to become Speaker, but it's not like there's any urgency on the farm bill, so we'll see what happens I guess. They're also fighting about sugar subsidies, which could derail them too, and I honestly cannot bring myself to care how much candy costs as compared to whether people go hungry or immigrants get deported, so whatever.
Meanwhile, GOP moderates are just about there on the DACA discharge petition despite McCarthy's last-ditch effort to convince them to stop by saying this will screw their party over in the midterms.
posted by zachlipton at 2:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
McCarthy says YOLO they'll vote on it Friday anyway, and I wouldn't think having the thing go up in flames on the floor is a great strategy for someone who wants to become Speaker, but it's not like there's any urgency on the farm bill, so we'll see what happens I guess. They're also fighting about sugar subsidies, which could derail them too, and I honestly cannot bring myself to care how much candy costs as compared to whether people go hungry or immigrants get deported, so whatever.
Meanwhile, GOP moderates are just about there on the DACA discharge petition despite McCarthy's last-ditch effort to convince them to stop by saying this will screw their party over in the midterms.
posted by zachlipton at 2:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Does anyone have a good site or social media stream that tracks ICE's abuses?
I found this on the ACLU's site, but it isn't as up to date as what I read about in MeFi threads.
The latest report on how many Trump supporters still like him and think he's delivering on his agenda makes me really, really want to do follow-up investigations with the people who responded. What are they reading/watching, how do they respond when presented with counter-arguments, how do they perform on implicit bias tests, that kind of thing.
Because some of the responses USAT picked for inclusion certainly support the idea that "stigginit" to liberals, immigrants from the "wrong" countries, the international community and others is certainly important to some Trump supporters, others just...don't even seem to see the same reality as most of the rest of us, and I'd love to know more about how/why.
posted by lord_wolf at 2:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I found this on the ACLU's site, but it isn't as up to date as what I read about in MeFi threads.
The latest report on how many Trump supporters still like him and think he's delivering on his agenda makes me really, really want to do follow-up investigations with the people who responded. What are they reading/watching, how do they respond when presented with counter-arguments, how do they perform on implicit bias tests, that kind of thing.
Because some of the responses USAT picked for inclusion certainly support the idea that "stigginit" to liberals, immigrants from the "wrong" countries, the international community and others is certainly important to some Trump supporters, others just...don't even seem to see the same reality as most of the rest of us, and I'd love to know more about how/why.
posted by lord_wolf at 2:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, GOP moderates are just about there on the DACA discharge petition despite McCarthy's last-ditch effort to convince them to stop by saying this will screw their party over in the midterms.
This may not be a particularly effective pitch to people who don't see much hope for their majority next year no matter what, and are much more concerned with saving their own seats than minimizing the overall loss. Especially since they, but not the Freedom Caucus nitwits, stand to be swing votes in a Democratic-controlled House looking for ways to pass legislation that can beat a Senate filibuster.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:28 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
This may not be a particularly effective pitch to people who don't see much hope for their majority next year no matter what, and are much more concerned with saving their own seats than minimizing the overall loss. Especially since they, but not the Freedom Caucus nitwits, stand to be swing votes in a Democratic-controlled House looking for ways to pass legislation that can beat a Senate filibuster.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:28 PM on May 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Sessions has ruled in the first immigration case he referred to himself (why the hell is this an actual thing?). He's generally ended administrative closure, which could lead to the reopening of potentially hundreds of thousands of closed cases in cases where immigration judges have taken proceedings off their dockets, often while immigrants peruse other avenues to resolve their status (such as filing petitions with USCIS).
posted by zachlipton at 2:28 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:28 PM on May 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Reuters, Exclusive: Manafort's former son-in-law cuts plea deal, to cooperate with government: sources
posted by zachlipton at 2:32 PM on May 17, 2018 [36 favorites]
The former son-in-law of Paul Manafort, the one-time chairman of President Donald Trump’s campaign, has cut a plea deal with the Justice Department that requires him to cooperate with other criminal probes, two people with knowledge of the matter said.The investigation into his dealings in LA started a few months before Mueller was appointed.
The guilty plea agreement, which is under seal and has not been previously reported, could add to the legal pressure on Manafort, who is facing two indictments brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
...
Yohai’s agreement, which was concluded early this year, included him pleading guilty to misusing construction loan funds and to a count related to a bank account overdraft.
While the deal was cut with Brown’s office, the federal government “can ask for help at any time,” said one of the people familiar with the matter.
posted by zachlipton at 2:32 PM on May 17, 2018 [36 favorites]
China buys record amount of Russian soybeans after canceling US orders over Trump threats
MRGA.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:44 PM on May 17, 2018 [66 favorites]
MRGA.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:44 PM on May 17, 2018 [66 favorites]
WATCH: GOP ‘deportation bus’ candidate cowers as protesters swarm his racist vehicle
Update: the bus broke down on the interstate "after water somehow entered the fuel tank."
"Somehow." I'm thinking the kids in Georgia are all right.
posted by zachlipton at 2:59 PM on May 17, 2018 [98 favorites]
Update: the bus broke down on the interstate "after water somehow entered the fuel tank."
"Somehow." I'm thinking the kids in Georgia are all right.
posted by zachlipton at 2:59 PM on May 17, 2018 [98 favorites]
And there is a pattern, clearly seen in the 2016 campaign, where women who play by the rules long enough to finally get to a position of power are attacked viciously for doing the exact same things that men have done and continue to do.
Torture and destruction of evidence (to protect torturers) is pretty fucking far from playing by the rules.
posted by This time is different. at 3:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
Torture and destruction of evidence (to protect torturers) is pretty fucking far from playing by the rules.
posted by This time is different. at 3:12 PM on May 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
LawfareBlog: Can the Presidency Trump a Special Counsel Subpoena?
The possibility that Special Counsel Robert Mueller might issue a subpoena to President Trump to compel him to testify before a federal grand jury has, understandably, provoked questions: Can the President be forced to testify if he refuses to give Mueller an interview voluntarily? What has the Supreme Court said on the subject? And if the staring match between Team Trump and Team Mueller becomes litigation, who is likely to win?posted by scalefree at 3:21 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
The bottom line, in our view, is that Mueller would probably prevail if and when a battle over a grand-jury subpoena makes its way into court. But it is not a sure thing, and the president has plausible arguments available to him that a court would have to work through before enforcing a subpoena for his testimony.
By far the most important precedent here is United States v. Nixon—the landmark 1974 Supreme Court decision in which an 8-0 court held that President Nixon could be forced to comply with a subpoena to produce some of the previously undisclosed “Watergate tapes” to Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski. Jaworksi sought to use the tapes as evidence in the criminal case against the so-called “Watergate seven” (a case in which Nixon himself was an unindicted co-conspirator). Nixon has some caveats (more on these below), but its analytical framework is the starting point for any discussion of a subpoena to the president.
@realDonaldTrump
Tomorrow, the House will vote on a strong Farm Bill, which includes work requirements. We must support our Nation’s great farmers!
Motherfucker just throws "work requirements" in there as if taking food away from the poor has anything to do with supporting farmers. The base doesn't care that Trump's ruining our agriculture in a dozen ways as long as they get their sadistic spectacle.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:54 PM on May 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
Tomorrow, the House will vote on a strong Farm Bill, which includes work requirements. We must support our Nation’s great farmers!
Motherfucker just throws "work requirements" in there as if taking food away from the poor has anything to do with supporting farmers. The base doesn't care that Trump's ruining our agriculture in a dozen ways as long as they get their sadistic spectacle.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:54 PM on May 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
There's no chance that FRB doesn't still have those SARS. So as weird as this is, and what is going on must be investigated, the data must still exist. I'm sure Mueller and/or SDNY has it.
Odds of this have gone up.
CNN's MJ Lee reports:
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:59 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Odds of this have gone up.
CNN's MJ Lee reports:
FinCEN spox statement in light of New Yorker story on suspicious activity reports (per @ShimonPro): "Under longstanding procedures, FinCEN will limit access to certain SARs when requested by law enforcement authorities in connection with an ongoing investigation."Naturally, the Treasury is looking into the leak of the SAR ("improperly disclosed"), but that doesn't explain why one was available but the others are blocked.
More important context via @ShimonPro: According to a source familiar, in these instances, FinCEN limits access to the SAR but *does not delete or remove it from the database.*
This all appears to suggests these financial records were restricted — not missing. The law enforcement official in the New Yorker story thought they were missing.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:59 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
@allinwithchris: Exclusive footage obtained by All In... Bill Gates dishes on his meetings with Donald Trump. More tonight at 8PM ET.
@chrislhayes: Bill Gates says that in *both* meetings he had with Trump, Trump asked if HPV and HIV were the same thing.
I'm not sure why this is exclusive footage rather than Gates just straight-up telling us this, but here we are.
posted by zachlipton at 4:03 PM on May 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
@chrislhayes: Bill Gates says that in *both* meetings he had with Trump, Trump asked if HPV and HIV were the same thing.
I'm not sure why this is exclusive footage rather than Gates just straight-up telling us this, but here we are.
posted by zachlipton at 4:03 PM on May 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
NY Court Rules Zervos Can Move Forward With Trump Defamation Lawsuit
posted by scalefree at 4:17 PM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York court said Thursday that former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos can proceed with her defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, at least for now.Elsewhere* Josh explains that Trump was miked the entire time he was on set:
The ruling by the Supreme Court’s appellate division means Zervos’ lawyers can press ahead with a demand for Trump campaign documents and other records while they await another appeals court decision that is likely months away.
Trump’s lawyers had asked to put the case on ice until appeals judges decide whether to dismiss it or postpone it past his presidency. That’s likely to take at least until fall.
“We look forward to proving Ms. Zervos’s claim that (the) defendant lied when he maliciously attacked her for reporting his sexually abusive behavior,” said her lawyer, Mariann Wang.
Zervos, a California restaurateur, appeared on Trump’s former show, “The Apprentice,” in 2006. She says he subjected her to unwanted groping and kisses when she sought career advice in 2007.
[...]
The attorneys have issued a subpoena for any unaired “Apprentice” footage that features Zervos or Trump talking about her or discussing other female contestants in a sexual or inappropriate way.
But after this conversation, I understood that there’s considerably more material than I at least would have understood. In typical reality show fashion, the contestants were mic’d up literally 24/7. Like they slept with mics on. But apparently on the days when the show was shooting Trump himself was permanently mic’d up as well. Not 24/7 like the other contestants. But on the stretches of days when they were shooting he was mic’d up through the day and all of that was recorded. Those recordings all still exist — assuming Burnett hasn’t destroyed them since 2016.*Fair use excerpt courtesy Talking Points Memo Prime Access; apparently TPM goofed & made the full text of a Prime story available in their RSS feed.
The chatter described to me was about what you’d expect, a sort of lo-fi version of the “Access Hollywood” tape, with constant evaluations of female contestants’ bodies, random trash talk and — interestingly — the same kind of impulsive behavior we’ve come to associate with President Trump. Apparently, he would frequently upend the plans for the show’s story arc by firing the “wrong” person. This last part actually makes me think vaguely better of Trump. But that’s another matter.
posted by scalefree at 4:17 PM on May 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
If he did know he'll lie and say he doesn't remember is just what I expect Giuliani to be publicly implying.
Allen Smith (BI):
Giuliani told me he'd be surprised if Trump knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.
But, if the president did know, Giuliani said: "I would be surprised if he could remember"
https://read.bi/2ItnEQs
posted by chris24 at 4:22 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
Allen Smith (BI):
Giuliani told me he'd be surprised if Trump knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.
But, if the president did know, Giuliani said: "I would be surprised if he could remember"
https://read.bi/2ItnEQs
posted by chris24 at 4:22 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
TPM racks up yet another exclusively reported Trumpist scandal. Just in case anybody was starting to feel sympathy towards former SecState Rex Tillerson:
State Dept. Probing Reassignment Of Career Officials To Menial Jobs.
State Dept. Probing Reassignment Of Career Officials To Menial Jobs.
The State Department Inspector General is looking into why senior career officials who worked on Obama administration priorities like refugee resettlement and closing the Guantanamo Bay prison were temporarily reassigned to menial work processing Freedom of Information Act requests, the IG’s office confirmed to TPM on Thursday — reviewing whether the reassignments were politically motivated.posted by scalefree at 4:26 PM on May 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
In January, Reps. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD) called for an investigation after whistleblowers at the State Department shared what the lawmakers called “credible allegations that the State Department has required high-level career civil servants, with distinguished records serving administrations of both parties, to move to performing tasks outside of their area of substantive expertise.”
[...]
Beginning last October, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ordered a “FOIA surge,” shifting hundreds of State Department workers away from their regular duties to process Freedom of Information Act requests as part of an effort to address the agency’s massive backlog. The “surge” was extended this January.
[...]
State Department employees transferred to FOIA duty told The New Yorker that they felt the reassignments were “designed to demoralize” the career officials. A U.S. ambassador told CNN that the transfers were the career equivalent of being banished to “Siberia.”
The White House has released a video in which they laugh about how they treat the press and hate CNN and covfefe in an effort to get into the Yanny/Laurel thing.
So that's officially over now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:29 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
So that's officially over now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:29 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
I think they just invented the concept of a bacterial video.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:40 PM on May 17, 2018 [82 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:40 PM on May 17, 2018 [82 favorites]
Kellyanne Conway in that obscenity: "It's Laurel. But I could deflect and divert to Yanny if you need me to."
Get it? Her job's to destroy truth itself in the service of criminals and traitors with the power to destroy civilization! Hahahahaha
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:45 PM on May 17, 2018 [64 favorites]
Get it? Her job's to destroy truth itself in the service of criminals and traitors with the power to destroy civilization! Hahahahaha
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:45 PM on May 17, 2018 [64 favorites]
Every time this White House tries to mimic the self-deprecating humor of other administrations, they only show just how gross and cynical they really are.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:49 PM on May 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:49 PM on May 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
So Rudy just throws his door open, into traffic, and a pedicab runs into it? I think he just lost his NYC card.
posted by box at 5:01 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 5:01 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was heartened to learn that I was not the only person to read yesterday's NYT story and think that they were burying a blockbuster confession in the middle of a news story. Besides, I don't think I've ever seen Wonkette linked in this thread.
posted by kemrocken at 5:18 PM on May 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by kemrocken at 5:18 PM on May 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
"I think they just invented the concept of a bacterial video."
Pray they don't move on to prion videos...
posted by bz at 5:53 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Pray they don't move on to prion videos...
posted by bz at 5:53 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Phil Klay for The New Yorker: The Lesson of Eric Greitens and the Navy SEALs Who Tried to Warn Us
“What we were afraid of is that, eighteen months from now, you’ve got candidate Greitens, former Navy seal, running for President,” Paul Holzer, a former seal who worked on the campaign for one of Greitens’s gubernatorial-primary opponents, John Brunner, told me. But Greitens, who used his military background to create a public image of honor, courage, and leadership, was largely able to deflect their criticism.
Interesting stuff in here. (TW: Includes discussion of the charges against Greitens, which include sexual assault/abuse/should-be-charged-with-rape.)
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:54 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
“What we were afraid of is that, eighteen months from now, you’ve got candidate Greitens, former Navy seal, running for President,” Paul Holzer, a former seal who worked on the campaign for one of Greitens’s gubernatorial-primary opponents, John Brunner, told me. But Greitens, who used his military background to create a public image of honor, courage, and leadership, was largely able to deflect their criticism.
Interesting stuff in here. (TW: Includes discussion of the charges against Greitens, which include sexual assault/abuse/should-be-charged-with-rape.)
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:54 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
(Not to abuse the edit window: should probably be "allegations" against Greitens rather than "charges." Although God knows it should be charges, too.)
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:06 PM on May 17, 2018
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:06 PM on May 17, 2018
NYT: The attorney general of New Jersey said on Thursday that federal education officials had stopped cooperating on issues involving fraudulent activities at for-profit colleges, and requested that the Education Department renew its investigations into the institutions or hand them over to the state.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:20 PM on May 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:20 PM on May 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
I just donated $10 to Wonkette for that article.
posted by triggerfinger at 6:25 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by triggerfinger at 6:25 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
And now my skin's crawling.
@yashar Bill Gates: "When I first talked to him (Trump) it was a little scary how much he knew about my daughter's appearance. Melinda (Gates) didn't like that too much."
For context, Gates said Trump met his daughter (who is an equestrian) at a horse show.
posted by scalefree at 7:22 PM on May 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
@yashar Bill Gates: "When I first talked to him (Trump) it was a little scary how much he knew about my daughter's appearance. Melinda (Gates) didn't like that too much."
For context, Gates said Trump met his daughter (who is an equestrian) at a horse show.
posted by scalefree at 7:22 PM on May 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
So, earlier today, Trump tweeted, "Wow, word seems to be coming out that the Obama FBI “SPIED ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WITH AN EMBEDDED INFORMANT.” Andrew McCarthy says, “There’s probably no doubt that they had at least one confidential informant in the campaign.” If so, this is bigger than Watergate!" (Actually, he misspelled that as "imbedded" and had to delete the tweet and post a new one forty-five minutes later.)
Washington Post places this outburst in the context of the concerted unmasking efforts by Team Trump: ‘Bigger than Watergate’: Trump Joins Push by Allies to Expose Role of an FBI Source
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:35 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Washington Post places this outburst in the context of the concerted unmasking efforts by Team Trump: ‘Bigger than Watergate’: Trump Joins Push by Allies to Expose Role of an FBI Source
Trump’s attorney, former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, said in an interview with The Washington Post that the president believes some law enforcement officials have been conspiring against him.But of course it wouldn't be a news story about the Trump White House without anonymous sources spreading dirt:
“The prior government did it, but the present government, for some reason I can’t figure out, is covering it up,” Giuliani said, adding that confirmation of an informant could render the Mueller investigation “completely illegitimate.”
Giuliani said Trump believes it is time for the Justice Department to release classified documents about the origin of the Russia probe, requested by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), that are expected to contain details about the confidential source.
“It’s ridiculous,” Giuliani said. “You guys in the press should have them. I don’t know why the current attorney general and the current director of the FBI want to protect a bunch of renegades that might amount to 20 people at most within the FBI.”[...]
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray testified Wednesday before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that the FBI takes seriously its responsibilities to Congress, but said the bureau also has important responsibilities to people who provide information to agents.
“The day that we can’t protect human sources is the day the American people start becoming less safe,” Wray said. “Human sources in particular who put themselves at great risk to work with us and with our foreign partners have to be able to trust that we’re going to protect their identities and in many cases their lives and the lives of their families.”
The source is a U.S. citizen who has provided information over the years to both the FBI and the CIA, as The Post previously reported, and aided the Russia investigation both before and after Mueller’s appointment in May 2017, according to people familiar with his activities.[...]
Trump’s allies believe outing the source and revealing details about his or her work for the FBI could help them challenge the investigation and, potentially, provide cause for removing Mueller or his overseer, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has been conferring with Trump — in three or more calls a week — communicating concerns that the Justice Department is hiding worrisome information about the elements of the probe, according to people familiar with their discussions.[...]On Twitter, Robert Costa adds, "person close to Trump tonight calls after reading Post story, worries that DOJ-POTUS-Congress situation is a 'tinderbox.' Says Kelly and McGahn trying best to calm the tensions, but outside allies are pushing for a showdown, especially as blogs + cable speculate about source..."
Inside the West Wing, Trump often complains about the Mueller investigation, with episodic bouts that can be “all-encompassing,” according to a former senior administration official. Trump often talks with his advisers about ways he can fight back against what he views as an encroaching probe — and he sees allies in Congress as more credible surrogates than his own staff, the official said.
Trump often agrees with Meadows and at times has encouraged him and other allies to go on television news shows and, in the words of a senior administration official, “beat the drums.”
White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has complained to some colleagues that such conversations between Trump and Meadows and other House allies are not always helpful, according to the former official.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has told the president on several occasions that he should stop talking about the Russia probe, according to an official familiar with their conversations. “You’re not guilty, don’t act like it,” Ryan would say, and Trump would agree, but then the president would go right back to venting about the investigation, according to this official.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:35 PM on May 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Underscoring the seriousness of this looming confrontation between the Trump White House, the Capitol Hill Trumpists, and the DoJ, the WaPo reports: "The stakes are so high that the FBI has been working over the past two weeks to mitigate the potential damage if the source’s identity is revealed, according to several people familiar with the matter. The bureau is taking steps to protect other live investigations that the person has worked on and is trying to lessen any danger to associates if the informant’s identity becomes known, said these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence operations."
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:43 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:43 PM on May 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Find a friendly state government to house the person, Ecuador style?
posted by Slackermagee at 7:58 PM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Slackermagee at 7:58 PM on May 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
I take confidential informant to mean that someone in the campaign came to the FBI with information of possible criminal activity. If that person is still giving them information in ongoing investigations, then Trump basically has a mole. This is pretty uncharted territory, but I think if you have evidence of wrongdoing, you're in the clear to follow that trail, even if that wrongdoer is the president, especially when what's at stake is a foreign power installing that president.
posted by xammerboy at 8:10 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 8:10 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
This is like the mob whining to the press about stool pigeons.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:14 PM on May 17, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:14 PM on May 17, 2018 [45 favorites]
Im curious... is there a scenario in which the FBI would NOT be allowed to have a confidential informant providing information into a criminal investigation conducted on US soil?
posted by some loser at 8:14 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by some loser at 8:14 PM on May 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
Depends on what you mean by "not allowed", I believe. To my understanding there are certainly cases where someone wouldn't meet the standards required to be an informant for the FBI (the guidelines are set by the AG) but there wouldn't be a case where a credible source was against the law or anything. So I think what Nunes&TrumpCo want is to find out who the source is so they can attack his or her (but come on, it's a dude) credibility and say that the FBI investigation is a witchhunt based on a non-credible source that should not have been allowed.
I have no doubt they would gin up some way in which the informant didn't meet the AG's guidelines. Even if they met the guidelines.
posted by Justinian at 8:51 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have no doubt they would gin up some way in which the informant didn't meet the AG's guidelines. Even if they met the guidelines.
posted by Justinian at 8:51 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
NYT, Trump Administration to Tie Health Facilities’ Funding to Abortion Restrictions
posted by zachlipton at 8:54 PM on May 17, 2018 [44 favorites]
Clinics that provide abortions or even discuss the procedure with their patients would lose federal funding under a new Trump administration rule that takes direct aim at Planned Parenthood, according to two White House officials and other people briefed on the matter.Heck of a job, Ivanka.
The rule, which is to be announced Friday, is a top priority of social conservatives and is the latest move by President Trump to impose curbs on abortion rights, in this case by withholding money from any facility that even raises the possibility of an abortion with patients.
The policy would be a return to one instituted in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan that required abortion services to have a “physical separation” and “separate personnel” from other family planning activities. It is often described as a domestic gag rule because it would also bar caregivers at facilities that receive family planning funds from providing any information to patients about an abortion or where to receive one.
posted by zachlipton at 8:54 PM on May 17, 2018 [44 favorites]
I think that this page is the AG's policy on the use of informants by the FBI. As you can see they are quite detailed. You can't just find Joe Rando in a dark alley and base your case on him with no oversight.
posted by Justinian at 8:54 PM on May 17, 2018
posted by Justinian at 8:54 PM on May 17, 2018
Sorry, is the Trump Crime Family trying to claim that it's not fair that someone is telling the FBI about their crimes?
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:57 PM on May 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:57 PM on May 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
NYT, An Aggrieved Trump Wants Better Press, and He Blames Leaks for Not Getting It
posted by zachlipton at 9:05 PM on May 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
A senior White House official insisted that some of the procedures were meant to keep information secure, not stanch leaks, but other precautionary steps were taken in response to staff carelessness that fueled Mr. Trump’s sense of being undermined. In one case, a crackdown came after a junior aide was found to be taping meetings with Mr. Trump and playing them to impress friends, according to several people familiar with the episode.They're threatening to fire the leaker, but not Sadler who said the thing. It's a bit of an odd story given Trump's own propensity for leaking—it does allude to him being called the "leaker in chief" during the campaign, but doesn't mention how often, say, he happens to call up the article's lead author to speak off the record. And it's hard to square him being "careful of what he says over the phone, and always has been" with the Access Hollywood tape and the purported Apprentice tapes, where it seems he was happy to say whatever was on his mind when he had a microphone attached.
...
Tim O’Brien, a journalist who wrote a book about Mr. Trump, said he believed the president developed a sense that there are “these outside forces that will take your stuff away, and you’ve got to be paranoid,” in part from watching his father, Fred, get pummeled in hearings over allegations that he misused federal housing program funds.
But it goes beyond Mr. Trump’s view of government, and extends to what he eats and who comes near him.
The president is careful of what he says over the phone, and always has been, according to long-serving advisers. Former aides say Mr. Trump has a longtime fear of having his food contaminated. On occasions when they would leave Trump Tower together before the campaign, the first lady, Melania Trump, stuffed hospital-grade microbial wipes into her Hermes bags to make sure Mr. Trump can properly de-germ his hands. And on the eve of the president’s inauguration, the soon-to-be first couple had sheets and food delivered from the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue to Blair House, according to two people familiar with what took place.
posted by zachlipton at 9:05 PM on May 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
I think that this page is the AG's policy on the use of informants by the FBI. As you can see they are quite detailed. You can't just find Joe Rando in a dark alley and base your case on him with no oversight.
Right. It basically says it's up to the FBI and the DOJ (for high-level CIs) to determine who is suitable and sign off on it, according to the criteria in the guidelines, which is mostly concerned with identifying the person and what kind of information they have access to. So by definition, if a person is a high-level CI, both the FBI and DOJ have found them to be suitable according to the aforementioned guidelines and have signed off. No one else appears to have the authority to dispute it after the fact, since no one else has authority to decide who is suitable except the aforementioned DOJ and FBI. So the answer to my question seems to be: there is no such scenario, because they could not be a CI unless they were approved by the FBI and DOJ (in high level cases, only the FBI is required in non-high-level cases.)
posted by some loser at 9:30 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Right. It basically says it's up to the FBI and the DOJ (for high-level CIs) to determine who is suitable and sign off on it, according to the criteria in the guidelines, which is mostly concerned with identifying the person and what kind of information they have access to. So by definition, if a person is a high-level CI, both the FBI and DOJ have found them to be suitable according to the aforementioned guidelines and have signed off. No one else appears to have the authority to dispute it after the fact, since no one else has authority to decide who is suitable except the aforementioned DOJ and FBI. So the answer to my question seems to be: there is no such scenario, because they could not be a CI unless they were approved by the FBI and DOJ (in high level cases, only the FBI is required in non-high-level cases.)
posted by some loser at 9:30 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Gosh, I bet the FBI are glad that they don't have Hillary running the government! Good thing they threw the election to Trump, now they don't have to answer to someone with girl cooties.
posted by medusa at 9:36 PM on May 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by medusa at 9:36 PM on May 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Buzzfeed (which seems to have some pretty solid Treasury sources) reports: Sources Say Cohen Financial Records Not Missing, Just Restricted—Three sources told BuzzFeed News that Treasury Department officials have taken the highly unusual step of restricting access to suspicious activity reports.
"Records pertaining to the financial activities of President Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen are not missing from a government database; rather Treasury Department officials have taken the highly unusual step of restricting access to them even from certain law enforcement agencies, according to three sources familiar with the matter. [...] [T]hree sources familiar with the matter said that access to Cohen’s SARs has merely been limited, not removed. They added that limiting access is rare and must have come from the top of the Treasury Department."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:45 PM on May 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
"Records pertaining to the financial activities of President Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen are not missing from a government database; rather Treasury Department officials have taken the highly unusual step of restricting access to them even from certain law enforcement agencies, according to three sources familiar with the matter. [...] [T]hree sources familiar with the matter said that access to Cohen’s SARs has merely been limited, not removed. They added that limiting access is rare and must have come from the top of the Treasury Department."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:45 PM on May 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
It seems like it is completely reasonable for Mueller's investigation to have those records put under restricted access, and for someone who couldn't get to them to assume something unethical was going on. It really feels like the most likely possibility.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:51 PM on May 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:51 PM on May 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
The president is careful of what he says over the phone, and always has been, according to long-serving advisers.
Going by, among others, a recent Fox phone 'interview', I must say that this is a definition of 'careful' of which I was not previously aware.
posted by Stoneshop at 11:26 PM on May 17, 2018 [74 favorites]
Going by, among others, a recent Fox phone 'interview', I must say that this is a definition of 'careful' of which I was not previously aware.
posted by Stoneshop at 11:26 PM on May 17, 2018 [74 favorites]
It seems like it is completely reasonable for Mueller's investigation to have those records put under restricted access, and for someone who couldn't get to them to assume something unethical was going on. It really feels like the most likely possibility.
I don't see any evidence to strongly prefer one over the other. We know Mueller is eminently cautious, sure. But Mnuchin has shown himself capable of skirting or breaking the law to cover for Trump's crimes. The only question is, would he have been aware of the SARs to know their value to Mueller? That gives a small edge to Mueller but not a large one I think.
posted by scalefree at 11:45 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
I don't see any evidence to strongly prefer one over the other. We know Mueller is eminently cautious, sure. But Mnuchin has shown himself capable of skirting or breaking the law to cover for Trump's crimes. The only question is, would he have been aware of the SARs to know their value to Mueller? That gives a small edge to Mueller but not a large one I think.
posted by scalefree at 11:45 PM on May 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but are we not coming up on the 5th day of hospitalization for what is generally an outpatient procedure? I am concerned. Like, that's not sarcasm. I hope she's ok.
posted by Justinian at 11:46 PM on May 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 11:46 PM on May 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
She went in for a Donaldectomy
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:27 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:27 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: Tomorrow, the House will vote on a strong Farm Bill, which includes work requirements.
The main requirement for farm work, for at least a century, has been Latino immigrants to do the work. There is a shortage of them right now. I wonder why, @realDonaldTrump?
posted by msalt at 1:55 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
The main requirement for farm work, for at least a century, has been Latino immigrants to do the work. There is a shortage of them right now. I wonder why, @realDonaldTrump?
posted by msalt at 1:55 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
How can a single person be that inept at his job?
Oh, and he also called MS-13 members "animals" again, and said to Jens Stoltenberg "You don't have that where you come from". Yes, that Jens Stoltenberg that was prime minister of Norway when Anders Breivik murdered 77 people in an anti-immigratant-inspired killing spree.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:30 AM on May 18, 2018 [54 favorites]
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he doubts high-stakes trade negotiations with China will succeed.I mean... basic diplomacy. Basic. Just... just not saying everything that is going through your head unfiltered.
"Will that be successful? I tend to doubt it," the president told reporters during an appearance with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. "The reason I doubt it is because China has become very spoiled. The European Union has become very spoiled. Other countries have become very spoiled, because they always got 100 percent of whatever they wanted from the United States."
"But we can't allow that to happen anymore," Trump added.
Oh, and he also called MS-13 members "animals" again, and said to Jens Stoltenberg "You don't have that where you come from". Yes, that Jens Stoltenberg that was prime minister of Norway when Anders Breivik murdered 77 people in an anti-immigratant-inspired killing spree.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:30 AM on May 18, 2018 [54 favorites]
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but are we not coming up on the 5th day of hospitalization for what is generally an outpatient procedure? I am concerned. Like, that's not sarcasm. I hope she's ok.
And has her husband even gone to visit her once? This is not normal.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:17 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
And has her husband even gone to visit her once? This is not normal.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:17 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
And Trump's awake and tweeting back at Fox anchors again: "“Apparently the DOJ put a Spy in the Trump Campaign. This has never been done before and by any means necessary, they are out to frame Donald Trump for crimes he didn’t commit.” David Asman @LouDobbs @GreggJarrett Really bad stuff!"
"A Spy in the Trump Campaign" sounds like the crappy basic-cable thriller version of this administration, yet this is how the current occupier of the Oval Office presents himself to the world—and likely how he sees everything.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
"A Spy in the Trump Campaign" sounds like the crappy basic-cable thriller version of this administration, yet this is how the current occupier of the Oval Office presents himself to the world—and likely how he sees everything.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
And has her husband even gone to visit her once? This is not normal.
He has, twice. But of course it was reported as Trump visits Melania for second straight day like it was some huge accomplishment. Lowest bar ever as usual.
posted by chris24 at 4:21 AM on May 18, 2018 [14 favorites]
He has, twice. But of course it was reported as Trump visits Melania for second straight day like it was some huge accomplishment. Lowest bar ever as usual.
posted by chris24 at 4:21 AM on May 18, 2018 [14 favorites]
Lachlan Markay (DailyBeast)
"Actually, MS-13 gangbangers are still human beings" is not the hill to die on imho
William Dailey (Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Director, Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith & Reason)
Retweeted Lachlan Markay
Golgotha was the hill to die on, and the fella who did was making that point, among others.
posted by chris24 at 4:36 AM on May 18, 2018 [118 favorites]
"Actually, MS-13 gangbangers are still human beings" is not the hill to die on imho
William Dailey (Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Director, Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith & Reason)
Retweeted Lachlan Markay
Golgotha was the hill to die on, and the fella who did was making that point, among others.
posted by chris24 at 4:36 AM on May 18, 2018 [118 favorites]
Crucifixions were reserved for enemies of the state, low life criminals (the desperate poor), and escaped slaves. Jesus's crime is told as insurrection, calling himself 'King'.
posted by rc3spencer at 4:54 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 4:54 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Apparently the DOJ put a Spy in the Trump Campaign. This has never been done before and by any means necessary, they are out to frame Donald Trump for crimes he didn’t commit.” David Asman @LouDobbs @GreggJarrett Really bad stuff!"
Watch Chris Cuomo make Rudy look ridiculous on this.
CNN - New Day
Rudy Giuliani on President Trump's claims that there was an "informant" in the Trump campaign: "I don't know for sure, nor does the President, if there really was one”
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 5:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Watch Chris Cuomo make Rudy look ridiculous on this.
CNN - New Day
Rudy Giuliani on President Trump's claims that there was an "informant" in the Trump campaign: "I don't know for sure, nor does the President, if there really was one”
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 5:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Clinics that provide abortions or even discuss the procedure with their patients would lose federal funding under a new Trump administration rule that takes direct aim at Planned Parenthood, according to two White House officials and other people briefed on the matter.
Is there any way this rule would stand up to a First Amendment challenge?
posted by Gelatin at 5:50 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
Is there any way this rule would stand up to a First Amendment challenge?
posted by Gelatin at 5:50 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
David Frum
Trying to wrap my head around the claim that it somehow reflects badly on Obama that Trump's campaign was so riddled with agents of foreign powers that FBI felt compelled to investigate.
Asha Rangappa (former FBI CI Special Agent, Editor - Just Security)
Retweeted David Frum
EXACTLY. First, there is no such thing as an "informant" in a counterintelligence investigation – the FBI is not trying to find evidence of a crime. It is trying to assess the national security threat posed by suspected foreign agents. The campaign had at least FOUR. 1/
- If the FBI had a source (or "asset") talk to suspected agents, it was using a *less* intrusive means to assess the threat. They COULD have gone gangbusters and just had FBI agents interview them. But that would have been more public and placed campaign under cloud of suspicion.
- If POTUS is truly innocent of collusion, he would be glad that FBI was trying to neutralize Russia's attempt who were trying to infiltrate his campaign. What he and his supporters are trying to say is that the FBI should have just let Russia continue its operation.
posted by chris24 at 5:59 AM on May 18, 2018 [59 favorites]
Trying to wrap my head around the claim that it somehow reflects badly on Obama that Trump's campaign was so riddled with agents of foreign powers that FBI felt compelled to investigate.
Asha Rangappa (former FBI CI Special Agent, Editor - Just Security)
Retweeted David Frum
EXACTLY. First, there is no such thing as an "informant" in a counterintelligence investigation – the FBI is not trying to find evidence of a crime. It is trying to assess the national security threat posed by suspected foreign agents. The campaign had at least FOUR. 1/
- If the FBI had a source (or "asset") talk to suspected agents, it was using a *less* intrusive means to assess the threat. They COULD have gone gangbusters and just had FBI agents interview them. But that would have been more public and placed campaign under cloud of suspicion.
- If POTUS is truly innocent of collusion, he would be glad that FBI was trying to neutralize Russia's attempt who were trying to infiltrate his campaign. What he and his supporters are trying to say is that the FBI should have just let Russia continue its operation.
posted by chris24 at 5:59 AM on May 18, 2018 [59 favorites]
So with this "SPAI IN MY CAMPAGIN, it seems we've moved on from "NO COLLUSION" to "THE COLLUSION YOU SEE WAS A SET UP"
Bold move Cotton....
posted by Twain Device at 6:08 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Bold move Cotton....
posted by Twain Device at 6:08 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
So with this "SPAI IN MY CAMPAGIN, it seems we've moved on from "NO COLLUSION" to "THE COLLUSION YOU SEE WAS A SET UP"
Just as shifting to "they're trying to frame me!" is an admission that there's considerable evidence of guilt.
posted by Gelatin at 6:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Just as shifting to "they're trying to frame me!" is an admission that there's considerable evidence of guilt.
posted by Gelatin at 6:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
The president is careful of what he says over the phone, and always has been
He probably talks about how careful he is all the time, and when you spend enough time with a narcissist sometimes you start to believe what they say in their endlessly repetitive monologues. Or you act like you do to get on their good side. Being "the most careful" is a way of thinking you're shrewder than everyone else, and it doesn't matter if it's true in practice; it's all a performance. And he's just as half-assed and un-self-aware about it as he is about everything else.
Melania and the hospital-grade hand wipes is all part of this Narcissist Theater -- a million years ago (or last July - I can't believe I actually Googled this*) there was a video of an aide spraying Trump's hands with hand sanitizer at a dinner or something. Immediately after which, Trump shook someone else's hand. I mean, that's not how using hand sanitizer before a meal works? Again, it's all a (bad) performance.
*I notice these things because I have a wonky immune system and can't eat in a restaurant without getting out the mini hand sanitizer and the intensity of the eyerolling I did at the media going on about the evidence of Trump's "germophobia" was memorable.
posted by camyram at 6:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
He probably talks about how careful he is all the time, and when you spend enough time with a narcissist sometimes you start to believe what they say in their endlessly repetitive monologues. Or you act like you do to get on their good side. Being "the most careful" is a way of thinking you're shrewder than everyone else, and it doesn't matter if it's true in practice; it's all a performance. And he's just as half-assed and un-self-aware about it as he is about everything else.
Melania and the hospital-grade hand wipes is all part of this Narcissist Theater -- a million years ago (or last July - I can't believe I actually Googled this*) there was a video of an aide spraying Trump's hands with hand sanitizer at a dinner or something. Immediately after which, Trump shook someone else's hand. I mean, that's not how using hand sanitizer before a meal works? Again, it's all a (bad) performance.
*I notice these things because I have a wonky immune system and can't eat in a restaurant without getting out the mini hand sanitizer and the intensity of the eyerolling I did at the media going on about the evidence of Trump's "germophobia" was memorable.
posted by camyram at 6:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
So with this "SPAI IN MY CAMPAGIN, it seems we've moved on from "NO COLLUSION" to "THE COLLUSION YOU SEE WAS A SET UP"
This is from years ago yesterday morning...
Aaron Blake (WaPo)
A collusion denial play, in 7 acts
1. No communication w Russia
2. No communication *we're aware of*
3. No *planned* communication
4. Planned meeting, but not re: campaign
5. Was re: campaign, but no good info
6. Collusion isn't crime
7. No info was used
---
...but needs an 8 already.
8. Collusion was entrapment/a set up.
posted by chris24 at 6:13 AM on May 18, 2018 [74 favorites]
This is from years ago yesterday morning...
Aaron Blake (WaPo)
A collusion denial play, in 7 acts
1. No communication w Russia
2. No communication *we're aware of*
3. No *planned* communication
4. Planned meeting, but not re: campaign
5. Was re: campaign, but no good info
6. Collusion isn't crime
7. No info was used
---
...but needs an 8 already.
8. Collusion was entrapment/a set up.
posted by chris24 at 6:13 AM on May 18, 2018 [74 favorites]
The president is careful of what he says over the phone, and always has been, according to long-serving advisers.
‘This deal will make me look terrible’: Full transcripts of Trump’s calls with Mexico and Australia
posted by kirkaracha at 6:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
‘This deal will make me look terrible’: Full transcripts of Trump’s calls with Mexico and Australia
posted by kirkaracha at 6:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
GOP candidate films herself confronting transgender woman using bathroom
posted by Artw at 6:36 AM on May 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:36 AM on May 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
Watch Chris Cuomo make Rudy look ridiculous on this.
The "Good" Cuomo brother. Their sister is no slouch, either. Turns out that Andrew is the disappointment, despite being Governor.
posted by mikelieman at 6:38 AM on May 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
The "Good" Cuomo brother. Their sister is no slouch, either. Turns out that Andrew is the disappointment, despite being Governor.
posted by mikelieman at 6:38 AM on May 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
We already knew that Trump kept calling the foreign leaders by first name while they referred to him as "Mr. President" or "President Trump", but there's something about seeing it over and over in the transcript that really drives it home.
He kept using first names like a bad car salesman. "The thing, Bob, is that this car, Bob, is a great car for you, Bob, because I know your first name, Bob, and I'm going to keep repeating it, Bob, until you buy the car, Bob."
I don't know if it was just disrespect for foreign leaders, ingrained salesmanship training, or what, but other than his petulance and total lack of diplomacy the names really stood out.
posted by sotonohito at 7:08 AM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
He kept using first names like a bad car salesman. "The thing, Bob, is that this car, Bob, is a great car for you, Bob, because I know your first name, Bob, and I'm going to keep repeating it, Bob, until you buy the car, Bob."
I don't know if it was just disrespect for foreign leaders, ingrained salesmanship training, or what, but other than his petulance and total lack of diplomacy the names really stood out.
posted by sotonohito at 7:08 AM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
Clinics that provide abortions or even discuss the procedure with their patients would lose federal funding under a new Trump administration rule that takes direct aim at Planned Parenthood, according to two White House officials and other people briefed on the matter.
Is there any way this rule would stand up to a First Amendment challenge?
Almost certainly. The First Amendment does not guarantee government funding of your speech, nor that government funding of organizations must be blind to the content of those organizations' speech.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:12 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Is there any way this rule would stand up to a First Amendment challenge?
Almost certainly. The First Amendment does not guarantee government funding of your speech, nor that government funding of organizations must be blind to the content of those organizations' speech.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:12 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Rudy Giuliani on President Trump's claims that there was an "informant" in the Trump campaign: "I don't know for sure, nor does the President, if there really was one”
And now Trump's doubled down on Twitter: "Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president. It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a “hot” Fake News story. If true - all time biggest political scandal!"
It's hard to tell who's worse, Giuliani as a lawyer or Trump as a client.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
And now Trump's doubled down on Twitter: "Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president. It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a “hot” Fake News story. If true - all time biggest political scandal!"
It's hard to tell who's worse, Giuliani as a lawyer or Trump as a client.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
Changes afoot at Fox News, trying to avoid discrimination lawsuits. Vanity Fair:
"They kicked Ollie North out and put in a prayer room." - Joni Mitchell first drafts
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:26 AM on May 18, 2018 [113 favorites]
According to sources, Fox News recently installed a “meditation room” complete with Muslim prayer rugs in Ollie North’s office in the network’s Washington bureau. (Earlier this month, North left Fox to become the president of the National Rifle Association.) Staffers now attend mandatory sexual harassment training, and the employee intranet includes a section for gender-transition policies and guidelines. “People are terrified. They kicked Ollie North out and put in a prayer room. We’ve got a new trans policy. You’re not allowed to be transphobic,” one source said. Other changes that would have been alien in the Ailes era include the creation of a workforce and diversity council. “People’s heads are blowing up,” one insider said.Special snowflakes in need of a safe space.
"They kicked Ollie North out and put in a prayer room." - Joni Mitchell first drafts
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:26 AM on May 18, 2018 [113 favorites]
msalt: The main requirement for farm work, for at least a century, has been Latino immigrants to do the work. There is a shortage of them right now. I wonder why, @realDonaldTrump?
Even if people other than Latinos wanted those jobs (they don't), The U.S. Birth Rate Is At Its Lowest In 30 Years (NPR, May 17, 2018), and it's not likely to start growing any time soon.
Related: Breaking With Trump's GOP, Koch Brothers Praise Democrats On Immigration (NPR, May 17, 2018)
In conclusion, the Koch brothers are a land of contrasts.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:34 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Even if people other than Latinos wanted those jobs (they don't), The U.S. Birth Rate Is At Its Lowest In 30 Years (NPR, May 17, 2018), and it's not likely to start growing any time soon.
Related: Breaking With Trump's GOP, Koch Brothers Praise Democrats On Immigration (NPR, May 17, 2018)
For the first time, the LIBRE Initiative — the Hispanic outreach arm of the Koch network — is putting money behind efforts to praise Democrats on the federal level, and doing so with control of Congress on the line in the midterm elections.The article is more skewed than the audio, with the written article pitching the libertarian Koch brothers as "going rogue," where the audio segment (transcript) opens by describing the Koch brothers as "billionaire libertarians who have spent massive amounts of money to support Republican candidates and causes over the years, pushing a pro-business, small-government agenda." The audio also highlights the fact that
...
In recent years the Koch network has pursued issues such as criminal justice reform, letting terminally ill patients try experimental medical interventions, and protecting DREAMers — immigrants in the U.S. who were brought to the country as children — which draws interest from both sides of the aisle.
"Even when Congress agrees that action is required, members tend to focus on petty differences rather than getting the job done," James Davis, a senior official in the Koch network, wrote in a recent op-ed (on CNN). "Our fervent hope is that even isolated agreements won't just advance good policy but will also help tear down the walls of mistrust and bitterness that have degraded our politics and turned Americans against one another."
The LIBRE Initiative's new effort takes place within that context. They will send mailers to more than 100,000 homes, thanking Democrats and Republicans for their work on a legislative fix for DREAMers.
they were a big fan of the tax cuts that were supported exclusively by Republicans in the House and Senate, and they're going to be using that as a central message in their midterm push over the next six months.Where the written article glosses over that detail. Still, the Koch bros have enough money to fund a wide range of efforts, including a study that confirmed that humans were responsible for global warming (Bill Gates also funded the study, FWIW).
In conclusion, the Koch brothers are a land of contrasts.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:34 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Manu Raju of CNN: The informant Trump has been railing about was NOT planted inside the campaign to provide information to investigators, US officials tell @ShimonPro @LauraAJarrett @jimsciutto. Informant was an American but no other details.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:42 AM on May 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:42 AM on May 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
It seems just dead obvious to me that the informant was Felix Sater.
posted by rocketman at 7:45 AM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by rocketman at 7:45 AM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
Felix Sater who is a childhood friend of Michael Cohen and has worked closely on multiple projects with Trump since 2006.
posted by chris24 at 7:50 AM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 7:50 AM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
> It seems just dead obvious to me that the informant was Felix Sater.
It's an older code, sir, but it checks out.
posted by komara at 7:52 AM on May 18, 2018 [56 favorites]
SATER
FELIX
TRUMP
OPERA
ROTASIt's an older code, sir, but it checks out.
posted by komara at 7:52 AM on May 18, 2018 [56 favorites]
Here's a good backgrounder on Sater from the Independent, in case anyone needs a refresher.
posted by Mothlight at 7:55 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Mothlight at 7:55 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
Felix Sater, the only Trump advisor who you can mention to Trump himself and watch him shut up immediately.
posted by rc3spencer at 7:55 AM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 7:55 AM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
One of my ADAPT sisters is trans. She's paralyzed because of an attempted murder; somebody stabbed her a bunch of times, she barely survived. Somebody tried to kill her because she was trans. She avoids getting arrested because of how trans people are treated in jail. This woman is mother fucking bad ass and has been through hell.
Maybe I'm having an overly optimistic morning, but I feel like if these fuckers at FOX just had a ten minute conversation with this woman, it'd be like the Death of Ivan Illyich or some shit, where people just realize that their lives are predicated on bullshit and peace out.
posted by angrycat at 7:58 AM on May 18, 2018 [59 favorites]
Maybe I'm having an overly optimistic morning, but I feel like if these fuckers at FOX just had a ten minute conversation with this woman, it'd be like the Death of Ivan Illyich or some shit, where people just realize that their lives are predicated on bullshit and peace out.
posted by angrycat at 7:58 AM on May 18, 2018 [59 favorites]
A White House aide taped meetings with Trump so he could replay it to impress his friends.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:09 AM on May 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:09 AM on May 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
Among the multiple oh-geez things Trump apparently discussed with Bill Gates, one that's been overlooked by headlines (partly because it's not novel for Trump, and party because it lacks titillation) is vaccine denialism.
Gates: “In both of those two meetings he asked me if vaccines weren’t a bad thing because he was considering a commission to look into ill-effects of vaccines. And somebody, Robert Kennedy Jr., was advising him that vaccines were causing bad things, and I said, ‘No, that is a dead end, that would be a bad thing. Do not do that.'”
Also something much more harmless but still face-palmy: "He went up and talked to Jen and was being super nice. And then around 20 minutes later, he flew in on a helicopter to the same place. So clearly he had been driven away, and he wanted to make a grand entrance on a helicopter.”
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [42 favorites]
Gates: “In both of those two meetings he asked me if vaccines weren’t a bad thing because he was considering a commission to look into ill-effects of vaccines. And somebody, Robert Kennedy Jr., was advising him that vaccines were causing bad things, and I said, ‘No, that is a dead end, that would be a bad thing. Do not do that.'”
Also something much more harmless but still face-palmy: "He went up and talked to Jen and was being super nice. And then around 20 minutes later, he flew in on a helicopter to the same place. So clearly he had been driven away, and he wanted to make a grand entrance on a helicopter.”
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [42 favorites]
He's tweeting preemptive thoughts and prayers during another school shooting.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I lost track, did we already have this story in these threads? Seems almost narrated by Felix Sater, and may cast some light on his motivations, if he is the mysterious informant? The Definitive Story Of How Trump’s Team Worked The Trump Moscow Deal During The Campaign
I'm gonna throw a bunch of other links in here which I am also not sure if we've already discussed, just in case we haven't. In case we have, though, to avoid wasting space if some of these are duplicates I'll skip my usual long attribution and block quotes.
Sater-related:
-Trump associate [Sater] received more than $21M in Kazakh oligarchs' alleged money laundering scheme
Direct links to reports and press released recently issued by Senate committees:
-Preliminary Findings About Trump Campaign’s Effort
to Obtain Incriminating Information on Secretary
Clinton from Russia at Trump Tower Meeting - Judiciary
-Russian Targeting of Election Infrastructure During the 2016 Election:
Summary of Initial Findings and Recommendations - Intelligence
-Press release: Senate Intel Completes Review of Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian Activities in the 2016 U.S. Elections
Cambridge Analytica:
-Cambridge Analytica shared data with Russia: whistleblower
-Whistleblower: Bannon wanted to suppress black vote
-Ex-Trump aide Bannon promoted 'culture war': Cambridge Analytica whistleblower
Things Mueller is doing:
-As Mueller probes Seychelles meetings, details emerge about Russian plane: exclusive
-Mueller sends subpoenas to consultant for Roger Stone super PAC
-Exclusive: Manafort's former son-in-law cuts plea deal, to cooperate with government - sources
Qatar:
-Qatari investor confirms he attended Trump Tower meetings in 2016
-Kushners Near Deal With Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:28 AM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
“Fuck me, I thought to myself. All that work for nothing,” Sater told BuzzFeed News.But I'm not convinced it's Sater. Sater was not really part of the campaign, that we know of. And while he seems like the type to flip on his partners in crime and provide info to the FBI once caught, he doesn't really seem like the type of patriot to inform on his benefactors while there is still a chance of a big payday.
He poured himself a big glass of scotch, he recalled, and lit a cigar.
I'm gonna throw a bunch of other links in here which I am also not sure if we've already discussed, just in case we haven't. In case we have, though, to avoid wasting space if some of these are duplicates I'll skip my usual long attribution and block quotes.
Sater-related:
-Trump associate [Sater] received more than $21M in Kazakh oligarchs' alleged money laundering scheme
Direct links to reports and press released recently issued by Senate committees:
-Preliminary Findings About Trump Campaign’s Effort
to Obtain Incriminating Information on Secretary
Clinton from Russia at Trump Tower Meeting - Judiciary
-Russian Targeting of Election Infrastructure During the 2016 Election:
Summary of Initial Findings and Recommendations - Intelligence
-Press release: Senate Intel Completes Review of Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian Activities in the 2016 U.S. Elections
Cambridge Analytica:
-Cambridge Analytica shared data with Russia: whistleblower
-Whistleblower: Bannon wanted to suppress black vote
-Ex-Trump aide Bannon promoted 'culture war': Cambridge Analytica whistleblower
Things Mueller is doing:
-As Mueller probes Seychelles meetings, details emerge about Russian plane: exclusive
-Mueller sends subpoenas to consultant for Roger Stone super PAC
-Exclusive: Manafort's former son-in-law cuts plea deal, to cooperate with government - sources
Qatar:
-Qatari investor confirms he attended Trump Tower meetings in 2016
-Kushners Near Deal With Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:28 AM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
216 Things Don Jr. Doesn’t Know About The Meeting
posted by growabrain at 8:31 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 8:31 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
No detail on his specific condition, but Skripal seems to have recovered enough to be released from hospital.
BBC: Ex-spy Sergei Skripal discharged after poisoning
Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko welcomed the news that Mr Skripal had been discharged, and repeated his demand for consular access to the former spy and his daughter. At a news conference at his official residence in London, Mr Yakovenko said: "We are happy that he is all right." The Russian ambassador has previously claimed the UK is violating international law by not granting access to the Skripals. "If they don't want our assistance, that's fine, but we want to see them physically," he said.
Ambassador Yakovenko: "I only want to give Mr. Skripal a nice cup of tea and allow him the chance to smell the flower pinned to my jacket."
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:49 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
BBC: Ex-spy Sergei Skripal discharged after poisoning
Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko welcomed the news that Mr Skripal had been discharged, and repeated his demand for consular access to the former spy and his daughter. At a news conference at his official residence in London, Mr Yakovenko said: "We are happy that he is all right." The Russian ambassador has previously claimed the UK is violating international law by not granting access to the Skripals. "If they don't want our assistance, that's fine, but we want to see them physically," he said.
Ambassador Yakovenko: "I only want to give Mr. Skripal a nice cup of tea and allow him the chance to smell the flower pinned to my jacket."
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:49 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
He's tweeting preemptive thoughts and prayers during another school shooting.
@davidhogg111: Get ready for two weeks of media coverage of politicians acting like they give a shit when in reality they just want to boost their approval ratings before midterms.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:59 AM on May 18, 2018 [46 favorites]
@davidhogg111: Get ready for two weeks of media coverage of politicians acting like they give a shit when in reality they just want to boost their approval ratings before midterms.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:59 AM on May 18, 2018 [46 favorites]
> 216 Things Don Jr. Doesn’t Know About The Meeting
Don't miss this one - 216 marginally different ways of saying no.
And these guys have the gall to ... to ... [head explodes].
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:00 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Don't miss this one - 216 marginally different ways of saying no.
And these guys have the gall to ... to ... [head explodes].
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:00 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
@joshtpm Lol. I’ve never seen a guest trying to talk over a video clip showing they’re lying. But Rudy gave it a shot.
posted by scalefree at 9:06 AM on May 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 9:06 AM on May 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
The farm bill just failed in the House because the Freedom Caucus demanded a vote on the odious Goodlatte "immigration" bill, which trades temporary relief for Dreamers to completely destroy the rest of the immigration system.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:14 AM on May 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:14 AM on May 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
Also Trump surprise nominated Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to be the actual VA Secretary...apparently without discussing it at all with Wilkie, who was in the room to accept Trump's stunt donation of his Presidential salary.
Such smooth. Much oiled. Big machine.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:17 AM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
Such smooth. Much oiled. Big machine.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:17 AM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
Love the WaPo breaking news alert:
"In major embarrassment to GOP, House fails to pass Farm Bill in face of conservative Republican showdown."
posted by chris24 at 9:17 AM on May 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
"In major embarrassment to GOP, House fails to pass Farm Bill in face of conservative Republican showdown."
posted by chris24 at 9:17 AM on May 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
Inside the Massive U.S. 'Border Zone' -- All of Michigan, D.C., and a large chunk of Pennsylvania are part of the area where Border Patrol has expanded search and seizure rights. Here's what it means to live or travel there. (Tanvi Misra for City Lab, May 14, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 9:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
That’s striking because the border zone is home to 65.3 percent of the entire U.S. population, and around 75 percent of the U.S. Hispanic population, according to a CityLab analysis based on data from location intelligence company ESRI. This zone, which hugs the entire edge of the United States and runs 100 air miles inside, includes some of the densest cities—New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. It also includes all of Michigan and Florida, and half of Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to a prior rough analysis by Will Lowe (data on Github!), a data scientist at MIT.I feel safer already.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
That Don Jr. list. Oh man.
posted by zarq at 9:27 AM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
100. On whether he has a home phone: “I don’t even know the number of it.”The idea that he's a feckless moron isn't exactly a stretch. But he's avoiding a ton of questions he should be able to answer.
101. On whether he knows if he used his home phone for campaign purposes: “No.”
102. On whether anyone contacted him on WhatsApp about campaign matters: “I don’t believe so, but I’ll go back and check.”
103. On who his dad’s lawyers are: “I don’t know.”
104. On whether White House Counsel Don McGahn helped draft his statement: “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
105. On whether presidential lawyer Ty Cobb helped draft his statement: “I don’t know.”
posted by zarq at 9:27 AM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
This zone, which hugs the entire edge of the United States and runs 100 air miles inside, includes some of the densest cities—New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
At first I thought, "Philadelphia isn't anywhere close to the border", but then I looked at the map and realized that I had forgotten about the sea border. Never thought about the fact that when I lived on the coast of New Jersey that I was "near the border".
posted by runcibleshaw at 9:29 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
At first I thought, "Philadelphia isn't anywhere close to the border", but then I looked at the map and realized that I had forgotten about the sea border. Never thought about the fact that when I lived on the coast of New Jersey that I was "near the border".
posted by runcibleshaw at 9:29 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
from the BBC coverage of the latest school shooting:
Shortly after the shooting began in the town of about 13,000 residents, a man carrying an American flag, wearing a Trump hat, and carrying a pistol on his hip approached news cameras.
The man, who did not give his name, said his goal was to "get to the school. Make America great again."
Another man then told reporters "we need prayers".
"This idiot is walking down the street with a damned pistol on his side where we just had kids get shot," he said referring to the other man.
"I'm a guns rights person. I have guns. But this idiot is walking down here and saying he needs to make America great again. That's not what America needs."
Indeed, second man. Indeed.
posted by TwoStride at 9:29 AM on May 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
Shortly after the shooting began in the town of about 13,000 residents, a man carrying an American flag, wearing a Trump hat, and carrying a pistol on his hip approached news cameras.
The man, who did not give his name, said his goal was to "get to the school. Make America great again."
Another man then told reporters "we need prayers".
"This idiot is walking down the street with a damned pistol on his side where we just had kids get shot," he said referring to the other man.
"I'm a guns rights person. I have guns. But this idiot is walking down here and saying he needs to make America great again. That's not what America needs."
Indeed, second man. Indeed.
posted by TwoStride at 9:29 AM on May 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
Is the shooting they're tweeting about the one at Trump Doral golf course? I'm stuck at an auto shop with OANN on, and they reported on it, and I had to Google to see if it was true. NY Times has a story on it. But I would have thought Tromp would be a lot more... tweety about someone shouting "anti-trump" theories and shooting at good golf course.
I see now there's a high school shooting in Texas as well.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 9:30 AM on May 18, 2018
3rd school shooting in the past week, apparently. This is America.
posted by Artw at 9:31 AM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:31 AM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
NJ Advance:
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:35 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
A Russian plane linked to the country's government flew into the Seychelles the day prior to a 2017 meeting now under review by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, according to the airport flight data obtained by NJ Advance Media.
Much speculation has centered on one particular meeting that took place between Erik Prince, founder of the security company Blackwater, Kirill Dmitriev, the director of one of Russia's sovereign wealth funds, and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the effective ruler of the United Arab Emirates (also known as "MBZ").
Few details have emerged about the contents of the meetings. Last year, the Washington Post described this meeting in its reporting as an attempt by the U.S. to set up a backchannel with Russia . Prince, in a testimony with the House Intelligence Committee in December, described his meeting on the island as a chance encounter.
...
The Russian aircraft in question departed from Moscow and landed in the Seychelles at 4:21 p.m. Jan. 10, 2017, according to the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority -- one day before Prince arrived on the island. The aircraft carried six passengers, including flight crew.
Two individuals familiar with the aircraft's purchasing history said the aircraft is owned by Andrei Skoch, a Russian billionaire who made his fortune in the mining business and is now a deputy in the Russian State Duma, the country's legislative body. The individuals requested to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to give out private aircraft owner information.
It is unclear if Skoch was on the aircraft, but employees at the Seychelles airport and the Four Seasons Hotel told NJ Advance Media that the plane's passengers stayed at the resort during their time on the island. The hotel was the setting of meetings among Prince, UAE representatives and Dmitriev, according to Prince's testimony with the House Intelligence Committee in December 2017. (The Daily Beast reported last week Prince has also been interviewed by Mueller).
What makes Skoch a particularly interesting figure in the ongoing drama? The U.S. Treasury Department in April placed him on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list, a list that blocks an individual's assets and prohibits people from the U.S. from doing business with them.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:35 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
"I'm a guns rights person. I have guns. But this idiot is walking down here and saying he needs to make America great again. That's not what America needs."
cool... so they're having a wee little disagreement about whether america needs guns or prayers more. i imagine there is some third person hovering in the background waiting to shove his oar in: "guys, what about 'thoughts?'"
posted by logicpunk at 9:36 AM on May 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
cool... so they're having a wee little disagreement about whether america needs guns or prayers more. i imagine there is some third person hovering in the background waiting to shove his oar in: "guys, what about 'thoughts?'"
posted by logicpunk at 9:36 AM on May 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
Twelve hours later and the Washington Post is still using that "Bigger Than Watergate" headline. I used to write headlines and I'm just astounded they're giving such credibility to Trump's desperate (and false) ranting and raving. Grrrr.
posted by martin q blank at 9:41 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by martin q blank at 9:41 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Talking point from Pence and Trump seems to be that they are “with” people, which i guess is the new thoughts and prayers and has the benefit of being a untrue as well as meaningless - they are in no way “with” people metaphorically, emotionally, or on any level, and especially not physically where you imagine they might have been useful as some kind of distraction or sheild whilst everyone else runs the other way. Really doubt that’s what they want or mean.
posted by Artw at 9:44 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:44 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
Talking point from Pence and Trump seems to be that they are “with” people, which i guess is the new thoughts and prayers and has the benefit of being a untrue as well as meaningless
It's significant in that it reveals how discredited the "thoughts and prayers" mantra is. If they changed their rhetoric, it's a tacit acknowledgment the criticism is effective.
posted by Gelatin at 9:47 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
It's significant in that it reveals how discredited the "thoughts and prayers" mantra is. If they changed their rhetoric, it's a tacit acknowledgment the criticism is effective.
posted by Gelatin at 9:47 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
> Twelve hours later and the Washington Post is still using that "Bigger Than Watergate" headline. I used to write headlines and I'm just astounded they're giving such credibility to Trump's desperate (and false) ranting and raving. Grrrr.
I think this is a rare instance of the Republicans' media manipulation instincts failing them. When I see "Watergate", I think "disgraced Republican president Nixon". Maybe Trump just can't help himself, and even his scandal has to be the biggest, but "Bigger than Watergate" just makes me wonder what new Republican wrongdoing has been uncovered.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:52 AM on May 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
I think this is a rare instance of the Republicans' media manipulation instincts failing them. When I see "Watergate", I think "disgraced Republican president Nixon". Maybe Trump just can't help himself, and even his scandal has to be the biggest, but "Bigger than Watergate" just makes me wonder what new Republican wrongdoing has been uncovered.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:52 AM on May 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
Also Trump surprise nominated Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to be the actual VA Secretary...apparently without discussing it at all with Wilkie
This really happened: "I'll be informing him in a little while -- he doesn’t know this yet -- that we're going to be putting his name up for nomination to be Secretary of the Veterans Administration. Fantastic. I'm sorry that I ruined the surprise."
The VA is the second largest department in the government and is responsible for providing care to around nine million veterans. This is not how you pick someone to run it.
posted by zachlipton at 10:04 AM on May 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
This really happened: "I'll be informing him in a little while -- he doesn’t know this yet -- that we're going to be putting his name up for nomination to be Secretary of the Veterans Administration. Fantastic. I'm sorry that I ruined the surprise."
The VA is the second largest department in the government and is responsible for providing care to around nine million veterans. This is not how you pick someone to run it.
posted by zachlipton at 10:04 AM on May 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
US politics has been somewhat unpredictable in recent years, but we can remain confident that the President isn't getting out of this pickle by using the phrase "bigger than Watergate".
On that note, I just watched "All The President's Men" for the first time and I can't recommend it enough. In this time of trial, it's a feel-good movie for all the family.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:06 AM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
On that note, I just watched "All The President's Men" for the first time and I can't recommend it enough. In this time of trial, it's a feel-good movie for all the family.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:06 AM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
Daniel Dale (Toronto Star)
For all the "Democrats need a message other than being anti-Trump" talk: new analysis finds he's been mentioned in just 27% of Dem campaign ads for Congress this year; over the same period in 2014, Obama was mentioned in about 60% of Republican ads:
posted by chris24 at 10:09 AM on May 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
For all the "Democrats need a message other than being anti-Trump" talk: new analysis finds he's been mentioned in just 27% of Dem campaign ads for Congress this year; over the same period in 2014, Obama was mentioned in about 60% of Republican ads:
posted by chris24 at 10:09 AM on May 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
RedOrGreen: The Post's reporter Aaron Blake pretty much said exactly that in a chat just now:
Q: "Bigger than Watergate"
That's not necessarily something the Trump side should be touting, considering Nixon's fate. (Unless you're Roger Stone, who thinks Nixon got a raw deal, I suppose).
A: Aaron Blake
That was what I kept thinking when I read that quote. And then today Trump compared the possibility of Trump testifying to Martha Stewart ... who made false statements and committed obstruction of justice.
I'll accept your take, because it lowers my blood pressure...
posted by martin q blank at 10:10 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Q: "Bigger than Watergate"
That's not necessarily something the Trump side should be touting, considering Nixon's fate. (Unless you're Roger Stone, who thinks Nixon got a raw deal, I suppose).
A: Aaron Blake
That was what I kept thinking when I read that quote. And then today Trump compared the possibility of Trump testifying to Martha Stewart ... who made false statements and committed obstruction of justice.
I'll accept your take, because it lowers my blood pressure...
posted by martin q blank at 10:10 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
This really happened: "I'll be informing him in a little while -- he doesn’t know this yet -- that we're going to be putting his name up for nomination to be Secretary of the Veterans Administration. Fantastic. I'm sorry that I ruined the surprise."
All hail President Reality TeeVee. I'd buy that for a dollar!
posted by Existential Dread at 10:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
All hail President Reality TeeVee. I'd buy that for a dollar!
posted by Existential Dread at 10:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
@shannonrwatts: Interviewer: “Was there a part of you that was like, ‘This could not happen at my school?’”
Santa Fe High School student: “No. It’s been happening everywhere. I’ve always felt it would eventually happen here, too.”
@slpng_giants: This is so tragic. But what is even more tragic is that within hours, redditors will say this girl is the shooter, InfoWars will say she’s a crisis actor, Breitbart will say she’s got a political agenda and Fox will say she’s just a girl so we shouldn’t be listening to her.
@cwarzel: what this tweet gets at — that i feel so much — is that everyone knows their roles now when this awful shit happens. all the machines (outrage, hate, trolling, politicians, breathless live media coverage) are well-oiled
It's just the same damn thing. Nothing moves; everybody just does their thing and waits to go back to their places for the next one.
posted by zachlipton at 10:14 AM on May 18, 2018 [85 favorites]
Santa Fe High School student: “No. It’s been happening everywhere. I’ve always felt it would eventually happen here, too.”
@slpng_giants: This is so tragic. But what is even more tragic is that within hours, redditors will say this girl is the shooter, InfoWars will say she’s a crisis actor, Breitbart will say she’s got a political agenda and Fox will say she’s just a girl so we shouldn’t be listening to her.
@cwarzel: what this tweet gets at — that i feel so much — is that everyone knows their roles now when this awful shit happens. all the machines (outrage, hate, trolling, politicians, breathless live media coverage) are well-oiled
It's just the same damn thing. Nothing moves; everybody just does their thing and waits to go back to their places for the next one.
posted by zachlipton at 10:14 AM on May 18, 2018 [85 favorites]
Re Don Jr: are there examples of people being prosecuted for perjury or false statements on the basis that they claimed not to recall something that they obviously did recall?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:16 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:16 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Man shows up to site of Santa Fe High School shooting with American flag, Trump hat and gun
"What was going through your head when you found out that this was going on?" one reporter asked the man
"Get to the school, make America great again," he responded.
"By doing what? What was your plan of action?" she continued.
"Offering support," he said. "Just, 'God bless y'all' will go a long way right now for a lot of people."
posted by Artw at 10:18 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
"What was going through your head when you found out that this was going on?" one reporter asked the man
"Get to the school, make America great again," he responded.
"By doing what? What was your plan of action?" she continued.
"Offering support," he said. "Just, 'God bless y'all' will go a long way right now for a lot of people."
posted by Artw at 10:18 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
zombieflanders: @davidhogg111: Get ready for two weeks of media coverage of politicians acting like they give a shit when in reality they just want to boost their approval ratings before midterms.
I like Hogg, but this is too glib -- it's very easy to stretch the sentiment to include literally all statements and actions that favor gun control. I'll grant that he definitely can't endorse one party over the other (that would sacrifice more in credibility than it would gain in energizing), and perhaps not pick favorite individual leaders. But he can and should endorse one worldview over others, and make it clear that it's not somehow impossible for a politician to truly follow that worldview, rather than feed the equal-opportunity cynicism that this particular area of politics often attracts.
A better phrasing might have been "they just want to stop their approval ratings from floundering", because the main problem we'll see is pro-gun politicians giving mild, temporary lip service to control, not candidates who pretend to be strongly in favor of it as part of some devious scheme. (If we reach the point where that's happening, it will be a good thing because it indicates a major shift in the floor -- at least some of the supposed pandering will spill into action, a positive version of how the Tea Party politicians became high on their own supply.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:21 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I like Hogg, but this is too glib -- it's very easy to stretch the sentiment to include literally all statements and actions that favor gun control. I'll grant that he definitely can't endorse one party over the other (that would sacrifice more in credibility than it would gain in energizing), and perhaps not pick favorite individual leaders. But he can and should endorse one worldview over others, and make it clear that it's not somehow impossible for a politician to truly follow that worldview, rather than feed the equal-opportunity cynicism that this particular area of politics often attracts.
A better phrasing might have been "they just want to stop their approval ratings from floundering", because the main problem we'll see is pro-gun politicians giving mild, temporary lip service to control, not candidates who pretend to be strongly in favor of it as part of some devious scheme. (If we reach the point where that's happening, it will be a good thing because it indicates a major shift in the floor -- at least some of the supposed pandering will spill into action, a positive version of how the Tea Party politicians became high on their own supply.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:21 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Too glib for a child who is probably suffering severe PTSD right now? It reads as remarkably restrained to me.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:23 AM on May 18, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:23 AM on May 18, 2018 [62 favorites]
I haven't caught up yet since this morning, but I'd left The Untold Story of Robert Mueller's Time in Combat open in my browser and just finished reading it now (please forgive me if I'd found it via the last thread, but I searched and didn't find it):
The obligatory teaser pull-quote, after his first battle leading Marines as an untrusted newbie Ivy-league lieutenant:
In Mueller We Trust.
posted by Dashy at 10:34 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
The obligatory teaser pull-quote, after his first battle leading Marines as an untrusted newbie Ivy-league lieutenant:
For Mueller, the battle had proved both to him and his men that he could lead. “The minute the shit hit the fan, he was there,” Maranto says. “He performed remarkably. After that night, there were a lot of guys who would’ve walked through walls for him.”but really, go read it. Wonderful writing, and history that deserves retold.
In Mueller We Trust.
posted by Dashy at 10:34 AM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Mueller's Anniversary Gift For The President
posted by growabrain at 10:35 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 10:35 AM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
WaPo, with another thing Trump learning he can't just do because he's mad at a newspaper: Trump personally pushed postmaster general to double rates on Amazon, other firms
posted by zachlipton at 10:49 AM on May 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages, according to three people familiar with their conversations, a dramatic move that probably would cost these companies billions of dollars.He's had multiple meetings with the postmaster general to discuss this obviously pressing matter.
Brennan has so far resisted Trump’s demand, explaining in multiple conversations occurring this year and last that these arrangements are bound by contracts and must be reviewed by a regulatory commission, the three people said. She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries.
posted by zachlipton at 10:49 AM on May 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages, according to three people familiar with their conversations, a dramatic move that probably would cost these companies billions of dollars.While I suspect that that will get very little attention it's actually one of the most flagrantly scandalous things that he's done yet, at least that can be proven and directly tied to him personally. Using the office of the presidency to pressure a department of the government to punish your personal enemies for their publishing of political news should be a GIANT scandal. The WaPo, of course, can't be the paper to lead the charge on this one but the rest of the media SHOULD be all over this because it's a pretty direct challenge to freedom of the press.
Somehow I doubt they will be, though, but I would be more than happy for them to not disappoint me on this..
posted by Nerd of the North at 10:58 AM on May 18, 2018 [116 favorites]
President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages, according to three people familiar with their conversations, a dramatic move that probably would cost these companies billions of dollars.
This alone should lead to his impeachment. And it's probably number 397 on that list.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:01 AM on May 18, 2018 [93 favorites]
This alone should lead to his impeachment. And it's probably number 397 on that list.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:01 AM on May 18, 2018 [93 favorites]
Mental Whimp exactly and on point, in a normal non-post 2016 year, this alone would be the scandal of the year.
posted by rc3spencer at 11:03 AM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 11:03 AM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
C'mon guys, he's talking Amazon, not the Post. It's not like he's tweeted 11 times explicitly linking them or anything.
posted by chris24 at 11:05 AM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 11:05 AM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
It has been _0_ hours since the last Trump disaster.
posted by Melismata at 11:06 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 11:06 AM on May 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
C'mon guys, he's talking Amazon, not the Post. It's not like he's tweeted 11 times explicitly linking them or anything.
It's also like judges don't look past his lawyers' denials in court to Trump's tweets to get a true sense of his state of mind. His people told the courts his travel ban wasn't a Muslim ban, and the courts found several times that his tweets showed it was.
posted by Gelatin at 11:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's also like judges don't look past his lawyers' denials in court to Trump's tweets to get a true sense of his state of mind. His people told the courts his travel ban wasn't a Muslim ban, and the courts found several times that his tweets showed it was.
posted by Gelatin at 11:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
It seems just dead obvious to me that the informant was Felix Sater.
I thought that too, at first, but then it dawned on me: the informant is TRUMP HIMSELF.
Mueller's not content to take down some two-bit mobbed up real estate developer. He flipped that guy long ago. He's going for the boss himself: Putin.
posted by msalt at 11:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
I thought that too, at first, but then it dawned on me: the informant is TRUMP HIMSELF.
Mueller's not content to take down some two-bit mobbed up real estate developer. He flipped that guy long ago. He's going for the boss himself: Putin.
posted by msalt at 11:11 AM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages
Republicans: The Pro-Business Party!
posted by valkane at 11:13 AM on May 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
Republicans: The Pro-Business Party!
posted by valkane at 11:13 AM on May 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
WaPo, with another thing Trump learning he can't just do because he's mad at a newspaper: Trump personally pushed postmaster general to double rates on Amazon, other firms
New Yorker financial writer Adam Davidson @adamdavidson sounded the alarm over Trump's Amazon attacks back in March*:
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [104 favorites]
New Yorker financial writer Adam Davidson @adamdavidson sounded the alarm over Trump's Amazon attacks back in March*:
I know we're all numb, but this is very serious. This is not just a comment. It is an important economic act that is restructuring our economy.* This was only four megathreads ago, but it's worth linking to again, in full.
Trump is making clear that companies that publicly praise him can get billion dollar deals from govt agencies. Companies that don't will face billion dollar charges and costly regulation. This is an open negotiation and a clear message. Trump will transfer wealth to those who praise him and take it from those who don't. He will do this in macroeconomically significant amounts.
This is not some theoretical possibility. This is happening. Right now. In this tweet (and countless other ways). Trump is offering deals. And businesses are going to take them. (e.g., (link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/technology/silicon-valley-trump.html) Countries in which companies succeed or fail because of their relationship with the leader are poorer, more violent and unstable, more unequal. More everything bad. The U.S. and all nations have always, of course, had some degree of corruption. But not like this. Look at the DoJ AT&T/Time Warner case, the Amazon attacks, etc. This is a restructuring of our economy, happening before our eyes into what economists and political scientists call a rentier state.
The only question, now, is the degree to which it will grow. Think of a world in which companies can profit and thrive by being sycophants and great companies are crushed by being honest. Think of the Scott Pruitts and Ben Carsons of the world amassing great wealth and Steve Jobs shunted aside. Of course, there are reasonable questions about Amazon and its impact on the economy and decent reasons to be skeptical of big mergers. But if we can't trust the process or, worse, we know the process is rigged, then we can't have those important discussions.
I have spent a lot of time in rentier states--Iraq, Haiti, Azerbaijan, Syria, Kuwait. The corruption flows all the way down. When mediocre sycophantic companies thrive, mediocre sycophants are in charge everywhere and smart, capable people are crushed. When businesspeople spend more time thinking about flattering the leader and less about serving their customers, there are fewer and worse jobs available, less wealth, less stability.
Please, let's all pay very, very close attention to business leaders flattering the big man, government contracts going to them. Consumers (and voters) still do have a huge say in this. If Trump were never President, stopping this slide towards rent-seeking would still be a central challenge of our age.
BUT Trump is really, really bad in new and unique ways.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:19 AM on May 18, 2018 [104 favorites]
The fallout from the Farm Bill's failure? Improved chances for an immigration discharge petition on a DACA friendly bill.
Jamie Dupree
Just back from the Speaker's Lobby and around the hallways off the House floor - Legislative Nerd Thread on Farm Bill
2/ Farm Bills have failed before. But this was a GOP setback on a variety of levels
3/ "No" votes by Freedom Caucus members have only intensified bad feelings inside House GOP
4/ Multiple Republicans say this will only insure success of discharge petition on DACA/immigration
5/ Talks continue to find some legislative sweet spot on a new GOP immigration bill
6/ But there is widespread anger at Freedom Caucus for bringing down the Farm Bill over immigration
7/ Members said there was a deal last night with the Freedom Caucus on scheduling of Goodlatte bill vote
8/ Backers of the DACA/immigration discharge petition are even more confident they will now have the votes
9/ Once they get to 218 - and that could happen as soon as next week - that starts the clock on a likely June showdown
10/ The hard truth for GOP leaders is they have nowhere near 218 for what the President wants to support
IN SUM - Farm bill fails, Freedom Caucus makes more GOP enemies, still no deal on immigration, June showdown more likely
posted by chris24 at 11:21 AM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
Jamie Dupree
Just back from the Speaker's Lobby and around the hallways off the House floor - Legislative Nerd Thread on Farm Bill
2/ Farm Bills have failed before. But this was a GOP setback on a variety of levels
3/ "No" votes by Freedom Caucus members have only intensified bad feelings inside House GOP
4/ Multiple Republicans say this will only insure success of discharge petition on DACA/immigration
5/ Talks continue to find some legislative sweet spot on a new GOP immigration bill
6/ But there is widespread anger at Freedom Caucus for bringing down the Farm Bill over immigration
7/ Members said there was a deal last night with the Freedom Caucus on scheduling of Goodlatte bill vote
8/ Backers of the DACA/immigration discharge petition are even more confident they will now have the votes
9/ Once they get to 218 - and that could happen as soon as next week - that starts the clock on a likely June showdown
10/ The hard truth for GOP leaders is they have nowhere near 218 for what the President wants to support
IN SUM - Farm bill fails, Freedom Caucus makes more GOP enemies, still no deal on immigration, June showdown more likely
posted by chris24 at 11:21 AM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
It's hard to tell who's worse, Giuliani as a lawyer or Trump as a client.
The phrase that keeps coming to my mind about those two is folie à deux.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:29 AM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
The phrase that keeps coming to my mind about those two is folie à deux.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:29 AM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
2018 has been deadlier for schoolchildren than service members
posted by Artw at 11:31 AM on May 18, 2018 [77 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:31 AM on May 18, 2018 [77 favorites]
2018 has been deadlier for schoolchildren than service members
And as an inevitable and predictable result of Republican policy.
posted by Gelatin at 11:32 AM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
And as an inevitable and predictable result of Republican policy.
posted by Gelatin at 11:32 AM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
Chicago Daily News columnist Mike Royko, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968:
Maybe it's time to change the words to our song, to bring it up to date and capture the national spirit:posted by non canadian guy at 11:41 AM on May 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
Oh, say can you see by the pawn shop's dim light
What a swell .38 with its pearl handle gleaming.
In a gun catalog is a telescope sight;
I'll send for it quick, while the sirens are screaming.
And the TV's white glare, the shots ripping in air
Give proof through the night that our guns are still there.
Oh, don't you ever try to take my guns away from me
Because the right to shoot at you is what I mean by liberty.
And why not? We should glorify the gun. It is our national symbol. Who owns an eagle? How many of us have ever seen an eagle? But guns —we have 100,000,000 of them in private circulation. Maybe there are as many bibles around as guns, but their impact doesn't show.
Stupid Watergate continues...
Jay Rosen (NYU journalism prof & media critic)
NIXON: The Post is going to have damnable, damnable problems out of this one. They have a television station.
JOHN DEAN: That's right, they do.
NIXON: And they're going to have to get it renewed.
H.R. HALDEMAN: They've got a radio station, too.
NIXON: Does that come up, too?
posted by chris24 at 11:46 AM on May 18, 2018 [29 favorites]
Jay Rosen (NYU journalism prof & media critic)
NIXON: The Post is going to have damnable, damnable problems out of this one. They have a television station.
JOHN DEAN: That's right, they do.
NIXON: And they're going to have to get it renewed.
H.R. HALDEMAN: They've got a radio station, too.
NIXON: Does that come up, too?
posted by chris24 at 11:46 AM on May 18, 2018 [29 favorites]
Foreign Policy, Trump Lawyer Met With Qatari Government Official Days Before FBI Raid
President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, who made millions over the past 18 months soliciting funds from clients seeking entree and influence at the White House, met with a senior Qatari official in Florida last month, just days before the FBI raided Cohen’s home and office, according to two sources familiar with the matter.posted by zachlipton at 11:58 AM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
The sources would not say what was discussed at the meeting with Qatar’s minister of economy and commerce, Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani. But the Washington Post reported this week that Cohen had offered his services to a different Qatari official at a meeting in December 2016, promising access to the White House in exchange for $1 million.
The Qatari turned down the offer at the time, according to the report.
2018 has been deadlier for schoolchildren than service members
Just in case anyone in your life starts in with "That's because schoolchildren are in so-called 'gun-free zones'!" -- so are servicemembers, for the most part. Servicemembers don't walk around with their firearms. They are issued to them only when needed, and taken back immediately after, and ammunition is transported separately and issued at the exact moment it is needed, and taken back immediately after. And if a servicemember's commander wants to suspend their access to that weapon for any reason whatsoever, that commander can do that. I have done this myself.
If they want to compare schoolchildren and servicemembers, then let's do that. Let's hold the entire country to the same standards of vetting, training, accounting, and issuing weapons that we hold the military to.
I fucking dare us to do that.
posted by Etrigan at 12:01 PM on May 18, 2018 [120 favorites]
Just in case anyone in your life starts in with "That's because schoolchildren are in so-called 'gun-free zones'!" -- so are servicemembers, for the most part. Servicemembers don't walk around with their firearms. They are issued to them only when needed, and taken back immediately after, and ammunition is transported separately and issued at the exact moment it is needed, and taken back immediately after. And if a servicemember's commander wants to suspend their access to that weapon for any reason whatsoever, that commander can do that. I have done this myself.
If they want to compare schoolchildren and servicemembers, then let's do that. Let's hold the entire country to the same standards of vetting, training, accounting, and issuing weapons that we hold the military to.
I fucking dare us to do that.
posted by Etrigan at 12:01 PM on May 18, 2018 [120 favorites]
In the shitshow of yesterday, I don't think this was mentioned, but the House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to block Trump from lifting sanctions on ZTE.
posted by chris24 at 12:07 PM on May 18, 2018 [74 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 12:07 PM on May 18, 2018 [74 favorites]
"Here's a photo of schoolchildren using what limited political capital they have to beg not to be shot and killed. They were later shot and killed."
posted by Artw at 12:08 PM on May 18, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:08 PM on May 18, 2018 [44 favorites]
Meanwhile, in New Jersey: Local dildo scandal may put GOP seats in play
posted by Chrysostom at 12:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [14 favorites]
2018 has been deadlier for schoolchildren than service members
posted by Artw at 11:31 AM on May 18 [29 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
If only we valorized our children as much as we valorized our military. *sad face*
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:31 AM on May 18 [29 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
If only we valorized our children as much as we valorized our military. *sad face*
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
It seems like Matt Pearce of the LA Times is recycling some tired Columbine-esque "he wore trench coats every day" tropes, which I fervently hope does not get traction. The correlation is not whether this shooter liked to wear black or liked horror movies or heavy metal, it's whether he was radicalized in online spaces by white supremacists.
posted by Existential Dread at 12:32 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Existential Dread at 12:32 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
Local dildo scandal may put GOP seats in play
Kudos to the headline writer. A+ work.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:39 PM on May 18, 2018 [49 favorites]
Kudos to the headline writer. A+ work.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:39 PM on May 18, 2018 [49 favorites]
@TomNamako: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says there are too many entrances and exits to schools, and that is why shootings are able to happen. "Had there been one single entrance possibly for every student, maybe he would have been stopped."
He's blaming doors for school shootings now. Doors.
He went on to say they should stagger the start time of school days to accommodate getting everyone though his single door with a guard. [video]
posted by zachlipton at 12:39 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
He's blaming doors for school shootings now. Doors.
He went on to say they should stagger the start time of school days to accommodate getting everyone though his single door with a guard. [video]
posted by zachlipton at 12:39 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
Uh huh. Tell that to the survivors of the Cocoanut Grove fire.
posted by Melismata at 12:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 12:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
Another posting the same day showed a black trenchcoat with a variety of occult and World War II pins on it.
...including an Iron Cross.
posted by Artw at 12:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
...including an Iron Cross.
posted by Artw at 12:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says there are too many entrances and exits to schools
Guns don't kill people, reasonable fire codes do.
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [89 favorites]
Guns don't kill people, reasonable fire codes do.
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [89 favorites]
"Had there been one single entrance possibly for every student, maybe he would have been stopped."
that's...
i mean... setting aside the fire hazard issue, and the 'staggered start time' issue...
...like, the shooter is just gonna come in through/block the one door, then, and no one's gonna be able to get past to get out, you unmitigated shithead
posted by halation at 12:43 PM on May 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
that's...
i mean... setting aside the fire hazard issue, and the 'staggered start time' issue...
...like, the shooter is just gonna come in through/block the one door, then, and no one's gonna be able to get past to get out, you unmitigated shithead
posted by halation at 12:43 PM on May 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
Further brilliant commentary from Texas leadership:
posted by Existential Dread at 12:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [72 favorites]
School shooter "didn't have the courage to commit suicide" as he had expressed the desire to do in a journal, according to @GovAbbott.So now we're actively encouraging people to commit suicide as the 'courageous' choice? This desperation to blame anything but guns is a sickness.
posted by Existential Dread at 12:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [72 favorites]
Doors. Are you fucking kidding me. You know what makes it really easy to kill a bunch of people in a building? Not enough doors for people to flee through.
I swear, we're at the point of a horrible caper movie where a dumb guy has to give a fake name and he just looks around and says "I'm Mister... Door... stein." And the NRA and its ghouls are going to say "Nice to meet you, Mr. Doorstein!" and shake his hand and pretend that they've found the real problem.
posted by Etrigan at 12:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
I swear, we're at the point of a horrible caper movie where a dumb guy has to give a fake name and he just looks around and says "I'm Mister... Door... stein." And the NRA and its ghouls are going to say "Nice to meet you, Mr. Doorstein!" and shake his hand and pretend that they've found the real problem.
posted by Etrigan at 12:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
Setting up more convenient chokepoints for the killer to exploit certainly is a bold move from this tactical genius.
posted by Artw at 12:47 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:47 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
I've been in and out of a lot of schools in the past 15 years and almost all of them lock all doors but one during the school day. The school my kid goes to has a zillionty doors (it's a historic schoolhouse of days of yore) but they are all locked during the school day. If you try to go out one, you can, but an alarm will sound (it would be a fire hazard otherwise, obvs). If you try to go in those doors, they are locked. Pretty much every school, old and new buildings, I've been in for years has had this same set-up.
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [40 favorites]
@TomNamako: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says there are too many entrances and exits to schools, and that is why shootings are able to happen. "Had there been one single entrance possibly for every student, maybe he would have been stopped."
The magical thinking people indulge in to avoid the horrors Republican policies inflict on us is simply astounding.
It there's only one door, a shooter can pick people off as they try to escape, and also make things harder for police.
Limited exits to public places has been shown to be a horrible idea again and again and again.
posted by Gelatin at 12:55 PM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
The magical thinking people indulge in to avoid the horrors Republican policies inflict on us is simply astounding.
It there's only one door, a shooter can pick people off as they try to escape, and also make things harder for police.
Limited exits to public places has been shown to be a horrible idea again and again and again.
posted by Gelatin at 12:55 PM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
Incredible that they want to ban doors but can’t imagine banning guns.
posted by Autumnheart at 12:57 PM on May 18, 2018 [79 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 12:57 PM on May 18, 2018 [79 favorites]
Trump did lash out at that fire marshal in Colorado for not allowing (non-existent) thousands of supporters in over his event's fire capacity in 2016. Apparently revisiting Triangle Shirtwaist reforms are part of the Republican platform now.
posted by Quindar Beep at 12:59 PM on May 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Quindar Beep at 12:59 PM on May 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
Dan Patrick is a wretched piece of work for so many reasons - he's the one who was pressuring the hell out of the Lege to pass a bathroom bill here. It's insult to injury today that he's being given a national platform for his idiotic drivel. It's a shitty day for this Texan, I'm heartbroken by the news and embarrassed by our "leaders."
posted by marshmallow peep at 1:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by marshmallow peep at 1:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Incredible that they want to ban doors but can’t imagine banning guns.
They can so imagine it, which is why they're flailing so very desperately to think of anything else, no matter how ridiculous.
Guns don't kill people, reasonable fire codes do.
Flagged as fantastic.
posted by Gelatin at 1:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
They can so imagine it, which is why they're flailing so very desperately to think of anything else, no matter how ridiculous.
Guns don't kill people, reasonable fire codes do.
Flagged as fantastic.
posted by Gelatin at 1:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Limited exits to public places has been shown to be a horrible idea again and again and again.
Not to mention the Pulse Nightclub and the Station fire (Great White).
posted by rhizome at 1:01 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
Not to mention the Pulse Nightclub and the Station fire (Great White).
posted by rhizome at 1:01 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
never thought i'd see a republican willing to go toe-to-toe with the National Door Association. truly we've reached a tipping point.
posted by logicpunk at 1:02 PM on May 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by logicpunk at 1:02 PM on May 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
Just like with the national conversation about arming teachers, any time we spend talking about how ridiculous it is to ban doors is time we don't spend talking about real solutions to gun control. Watch the tactic work its magic again.
posted by scrowdid at 1:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by scrowdid at 1:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
To elaborate, in the past dozen or so mass shootings, recall that heading off calls for a ban on guns has been one of the first thing on the NRA crowd's minds -- after the hypocritical "thoughts and prayers," of course. Obama, for example, called for dialogue about possible solutions, but never a ban on guns.
That's the first thing that occurs to them when the horror of their pro-gun policies manifests itself yet again.
posted by Gelatin at 1:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
That's the first thing that occurs to them when the horror of their pro-gun policies manifests itself yet again.
posted by Gelatin at 1:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
No, I like where Patrick and Abbott are going with this.
Let's start with a single entrance/exit point.
Then we can build up walls around the schools for even more safety. Maybe top the walls with barbed wire to deter would be assailants.
For extra, extra security, we should also remove windows, put up a central tower in the playground that gives school resource officers oversights of the entire school. I guess we'd need to give them high-powered rifles for even more good ol' American safety and security.
Then we collect all the kids cell phones so they aren't distracted by Fortwatch or Facewitter or whatever the current craze is. If they need to make calls, we'll let them use a single payphone maintained by a company that has experience with this sort of thing. I know there've been complaints about the rates they charge, but that'll prevent the kids from spending too much time on the phone, amirite?
Finally, we should start this refitting program in the poorer urban areas. After all, liberals are always complaining about the neglected infrastructure in those places. And since these new schools would be so much safer, we could even start sending students from other schools there. I'm sure we could come up with some way to identify exactly which ones we would want to send immediately.
/hamburger
posted by lord_wolf at 1:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
Let's start with a single entrance/exit point.
Then we can build up walls around the schools for even more safety. Maybe top the walls with barbed wire to deter would be assailants.
For extra, extra security, we should also remove windows, put up a central tower in the playground that gives school resource officers oversights of the entire school. I guess we'd need to give them high-powered rifles for even more good ol' American safety and security.
Then we collect all the kids cell phones so they aren't distracted by Fortwatch or Facewitter or whatever the current craze is. If they need to make calls, we'll let them use a single payphone maintained by a company that has experience with this sort of thing. I know there've been complaints about the rates they charge, but that'll prevent the kids from spending too much time on the phone, amirite?
Finally, we should start this refitting program in the poorer urban areas. After all, liberals are always complaining about the neglected infrastructure in those places. And since these new schools would be so much safer, we could even start sending students from other schools there. I'm sure we could come up with some way to identify exactly which ones we would want to send immediately.
/hamburger
posted by lord_wolf at 1:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
You forgot about the individual "study rooms."
posted by rhizome at 1:15 PM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 1:15 PM on May 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
Just like with the national conversation about arming teachers, any time we spend talking about how ridiculous it is to ban doors is time we don't spend talking about real solutions to gun control. Watch the tactic work its magic again.
We already know what the real solutions are and are more than willing to implement them. It’s the other side wasting time and allowing people to continue to murder and be murdered so they don’t lose their profit margin.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:17 PM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
New from Reuters...
Special Counsel subpoenas another Stone aide in Russia probe - sources
Special Counsel subpoenas another Stone aide in Russia probe - sources
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed a key assistant of long-time Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone, two people with knowledge of the matter said, the latest sign that Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election is increasingly focusing on Stone.posted by chris24 at 1:21 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
The subpoena was recently served on John Kakanis, 30, who has worked as a driver, accountant and operative for Stone. Kakanis has been briefly questioned by the FBI on the topics of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the WikiLeaks website, its founder Julian Assange, and the hacker or hackers who call themselves Guccifer 2.0, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said.
Mueller has not scheduled a grand jury appearance for Kakanis, the person said.
Not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing but that photo of the kids who died is being disappeared from the Internet. Twitter & Google are both deleting it.
posted by scalefree at 1:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 1:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Here the photo is, up and available: https://twitter.com/AmyALaPorte/status/997536083675090944
posted by reductiondesign at 1:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by reductiondesign at 1:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ann Dowd also has some strong words for Sarah Huckabee Sanders
From my experience, Lydia is a straightforward person with a low tolerance for confusion and nonsense. Had she been offered the job of press secretary for the present administration, she most likely would have turned it down. Also, Lydia has the comfort of believing that everything she says and does is in service to God. Ms. Sanders has no such luxury.posted by kirkaracha at 2:05 PM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
Dylan Scott, Vox: Who is the freeloader: the working poor on food stamps — or corporations that don’t pay them enough? Sen. Sherrod Brown has a plan to tax corporations that don’t pay their workers enough.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:09 PM on May 18, 2018 [71 favorites]
... an alternative plan by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) asks a pretty straightforward one: Is the problem that people aren’t working enough? Or is it that they don’t receive a high enough wage or generous enough benefits from their employer?Maybe it should be phrased only in terms of active agents: "Is the problem that people aren't working enough, or that employers aren't paying enough?"
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:09 PM on May 18, 2018 [71 favorites]
Dylan Scott, Vox: Who is the freeloader: the working poor on food stamps — or corporations that don’t pay them enough? Sen. Sherrod Brown has a plan to tax corporations that don’t pay their workers enough.
This highlights the contradiction of the supposed free-market GOP. If a company can't cut it without paying the true cost of labor it takes to run the business, then the magic, wise, and infallible invisible hand should be allowed to take that company out and be replaced by one that can. If the overpaid geniuses at the top can't figure out how run their business in way that will pay labor a fair rate, then they should be replaced by people who can.
But we know better. The GOP is no more for free-market economics than they are for Christianity. Their real motives are hidden behind those smoke-screens, and those motives are simply maintaining the status quo of white male privilege.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:19 PM on May 18, 2018 [47 favorites]
This highlights the contradiction of the supposed free-market GOP. If a company can't cut it without paying the true cost of labor it takes to run the business, then the magic, wise, and infallible invisible hand should be allowed to take that company out and be replaced by one that can. If the overpaid geniuses at the top can't figure out how run their business in way that will pay labor a fair rate, then they should be replaced by people who can.
But we know better. The GOP is no more for free-market economics than they are for Christianity. Their real motives are hidden behind those smoke-screens, and those motives are simply maintaining the status quo of white male privilege.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:19 PM on May 18, 2018 [47 favorites]
> ... an alternative plan by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) asks a pretty straightforward one: Is the problem that people aren’t working enough? Or is it that they don’t receive a high enough wage or generous enough benefits from their employer?
Atrios responds: Raise the Damn Minimum Wage
Atrios responds: Raise the Damn Minimum Wage
This is a constant maddening Dem approach to policy. Basically there's meaningful opposition (and probably some intellectual agreement with this opposition) to a very simple idea. So someone comes up with a much more complicated solution to achieve essentially the same thing (but not really because it's really complicated) premised on the idea that maybe they can sneak that idea through because the lobbyists won't notice. Then you still don't get your complicated solution - or at least by the time it does get through the lobbyists it's even shittier - and you don't even get credit for campaigning on a simple idea.posted by tonycpsu at 2:30 PM on May 18, 2018 [37 favorites]
This idea that you can use tax policy and incentives to like, trick cooperations into acting in the best interest, has been falling flat on its face for 40 years.
posted by The Whelk at 3:12 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 3:12 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
Uber and Facebook ads aim to counter 'avalanche of smear'
I've noticed lately that between Uber and Facebook and Wells Fargo I've had a lot of corporations apologizing in Hulu ads lately, and while of course I don't believe that they'll change for one second, I do kind of wish that part of regular sentencing for corporate crime and civil settlements was for bad actor companies to be forced to take out ad buys admitting to their wrongdoing in straightforward language written by the prosecution or wronged party and approved by the judge. That's the kind of corporate apology ad I could get behind.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
I've noticed lately that between Uber and Facebook and Wells Fargo I've had a lot of corporations apologizing in Hulu ads lately, and while of course I don't believe that they'll change for one second, I do kind of wish that part of regular sentencing for corporate crime and civil settlements was for bad actor companies to be forced to take out ad buys admitting to their wrongdoing in straightforward language written by the prosecution or wronged party and approved by the judge. That's the kind of corporate apology ad I could get behind.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
The protesting students Paul Ryan had arrested
posted by Artw at 3:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
So this is fascinating if maddening.
@LandonSchnabel After Parkland, we started studying why some people aren't open to considering gun control. We found Christian nationalism is key.
After today's tragedy, we decided to post an early preprint to hopefully help move this important conversation forward: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/3ag7k
@LandonSchnabel After Parkland, we started studying why some people aren't open to considering gun control. We found Christian nationalism is key.
After today's tragedy, we decided to post an early preprint to hopefully help move this important conversation forward: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/3ag7k
Gun Control in the Crosshairs: Christian Nationalism and Opposition to Stricter Gun Lawsposted by scalefree at 3:35 PM on May 18, 2018 [47 favorites]
Abstract
Despite increasingly frequent mass shootings and a growing dissatisfaction with current gun laws, American opposition to federal gun legislation remains strong. We show that opposition to stricter gun control is closely linked to Christian nationalism, a religious cultural framework that mandates a symbiotic relationship between Christianity and civil society. Using data from a national population-based survey, we show that Christian nationalism is an exceptionally strong predictor of opposition to the federal government enacting stricter gun laws. In fact, of all the variables we considered only general political orientation has more predictive power than Christian nationalism. We propose that the gun control debate is complicated by deeply held moral and religious schemas that discussions focused solely on rational public safety calculations do not sufficiently address. For the substantial proportion of American society who are Christian nationalists, gun rights are God-given and sacred. Consequently, attempts to reform existing gun laws must attend to the deeper cultural and religious identities that undergird Americans’ beliefs about gun control.
We show that opposition to stricter gun control is closely linked to Christian nationalism, a religious cultural framework that mandates a symbiotic relationship between Christianity and civil society.
"Christian nationalism" has proven itself to be white nationalist first, Christian second. It should be named as such.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:44 PM on May 18, 2018 [59 favorites]
"Christian nationalism" has proven itself to be white nationalist first, Christian second. It should be named as such.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:44 PM on May 18, 2018 [59 favorites]
Would also accept “Evangelical White Supremacy” or “Republicans”.
posted by Artw at 3:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
I believe that's in another paper.
posted by scalefree at 3:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 3:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
That symbiotic relationship allows them to claim the podium with "Thoughts and Prayers", because the solution obviously isn't reducing the risk of unlicensed people owning unregistered firearms, but more of their religion imposed as law.
I believe the correct response should be, "Save your thoughts and prayers for when you're in church on Sunday, we got real work to do right now"
posted by mikelieman at 4:04 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I believe the correct response should be, "Save your thoughts and prayers for when you're in church on Sunday, we got real work to do right now"
posted by mikelieman at 4:04 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
There’s currently a massive impromptu Latin festival taking place in the street in front of Aaron Schlossberg’s apartment building. Facebook Live video.
posted by EarBucket at 4:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by EarBucket at 4:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
I'm very proud of my own Representative who tweeted, Thoughts and prayers are not enough. It is long past time for action. I hope all the House hears that. Action = 1; thoughts-n-prayers = 0
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 4:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 4:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
There’s a mariachi band getting ready to serenade him right now.
posted by EarBucket at 4:11 PM on May 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by EarBucket at 4:11 PM on May 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's a shitty day for this Texan, I'm heartbroken by the news and embarrassed by our "leaders."
This might make your day a little brighter. I work for a hospital where some of the injured are being treated.
The shooting occurred between 7:30 and 7:45.
By 10 a.m., blast e-mail went out saying there would be a blood drive today, tomorrow and Sunday.
Today's blood drive started at 11 a.m. We do not have a dedicated place to donate blood, so we partnered with another hospital to have their blood bank bus come down for the drive. That hospital's nearest location is minimum 40 minute drive. So, in two hours they were able to coordinate three spontaneous blood drives.
Our hospital also closed down a specialty clinic so the doctors could assist with the Santa Fe injured. That particular clinic is constantly busy and a huge profit center for the hospital. (They may have closed more clinics. This one I was walking by on way to other work and thought something was wrong because there were no patients in the waiting room. In 3+ years of working here, I have never seen less than 6 patients waiting whenever I walk by.)
I planned on giving blood at 1 p.m. when I got back from lunch. At that time, the line was at least 30 deep. I counted. I went back at 2:30 right as they were scheduled to close and it was still 30 deep.
They did not close at 2:30. They finally had to shut down because they ran out of supplies to take blood donations.
Let me say that again: They finally had to shut down because they ran out of supplies to take blood donations.
In addition to the three blood drives this weekend, another has been created for next weekend and one scheduled for three weeks from now has been moved up to next week. (Those are at a different location.)
This is all pretty amazing already, right? Check this out. Our location has blood drives roughly every quarter. Ours just happened to fall last week. So, all of the super-committed give blood every chance they can? They could not give today. The ones that gave today were the ones that are scared of needles or don't want to be inconvenienced and on and on and on.
We have our fair share of shittyleadership people, but damn if our communities don't rise to a challenge. (See: Dickinson, which is just up the road from Santa Fe and one of the most flooded areas b/c of Harvey.)
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:17 PM on May 18, 2018 [91 favorites]
This might make your day a little brighter. I work for a hospital where some of the injured are being treated.
The shooting occurred between 7:30 and 7:45.
By 10 a.m., blast e-mail went out saying there would be a blood drive today, tomorrow and Sunday.
Today's blood drive started at 11 a.m. We do not have a dedicated place to donate blood, so we partnered with another hospital to have their blood bank bus come down for the drive. That hospital's nearest location is minimum 40 minute drive. So, in two hours they were able to coordinate three spontaneous blood drives.
Our hospital also closed down a specialty clinic so the doctors could assist with the Santa Fe injured. That particular clinic is constantly busy and a huge profit center for the hospital. (They may have closed more clinics. This one I was walking by on way to other work and thought something was wrong because there were no patients in the waiting room. In 3+ years of working here, I have never seen less than 6 patients waiting whenever I walk by.)
I planned on giving blood at 1 p.m. when I got back from lunch. At that time, the line was at least 30 deep. I counted. I went back at 2:30 right as they were scheduled to close and it was still 30 deep.
They did not close at 2:30. They finally had to shut down because they ran out of supplies to take blood donations.
Let me say that again: They finally had to shut down because they ran out of supplies to take blood donations.
In addition to the three blood drives this weekend, another has been created for next weekend and one scheduled for three weeks from now has been moved up to next week. (Those are at a different location.)
This is all pretty amazing already, right? Check this out. Our location has blood drives roughly every quarter. Ours just happened to fall last week. So, all of the super-committed give blood every chance they can? They could not give today. The ones that gave today were the ones that are scared of needles or don't want to be inconvenienced and on and on and on.
We have our fair share of shitty
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:17 PM on May 18, 2018 [91 favorites]
President Trump filed his required financial disclosure forms with OGE yesterday, and the forms are currently under review.
The Washington Post's diligent David Fahrenthold has dived into them and filed a preliminary story: In new financial disclosure, Trump reports apparent payment through his personal attorney to adult-film star
Turnberry in Scotland, he notes, is up an impressive 87% annually. Last year the Guardian reported that Trump's Scottish golf resorts had suffered heavy losses—"In all, Trump Turnberry owes Trump £112m ($146m), the accounts for its parent company Golf Recreation Scotland show, nearly double the £63m it owed him the previous year."
And of course last year Glenn Simpson testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Fusion GPS specifically looked into Trump's golf courses while doing campaign oppo research and concluded, simply, "That they were not profitable entities."
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:55 PM on May 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
The Washington Post's diligent David Fahrenthold has dived into them and filed a preliminary story: In new financial disclosure, Trump reports apparent payment through his personal attorney to adult-film star
In new financial-disclosure documents, President Trump reported reimbursing his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, more than $100,000 last year — an apparent reference to the $130,000 that Cohen paid just before the 2016 election, to ensure the silence of an adult-film actress who claimed she’d had an affair with Trump.What's potentially more significant, in light of Fahrenthold's groundbreaking investigation about the Trump Org's cash-based buying spree in the past decade, is this brief mention of some of those properties abroad: "Trump’s golf courses in Scotland and Ireland — which had lost money reliably since he bought them — reported substantial increases in revenue last year." On Twitter, he follows up: "The Trump golf empire, for instance, produces abt as much revenue per month as before. The biggest increases in golf revenue came where Trump needed them most: his money-losing golf resorts overseas, for which he paid all-cash."
The information was included as a footnote in the 92-page form filed with the Office of Government Ethics. The ethics agency said it had concluded Trump should list a debt to Cohen in the “liabilities” section of his financial statement. It also notified the Justice Department, which enforces a law against willfully omitting information from these forms.
Turnberry in Scotland, he notes, is up an impressive 87% annually. Last year the Guardian reported that Trump's Scottish golf resorts had suffered heavy losses—"In all, Trump Turnberry owes Trump £112m ($146m), the accounts for its parent company Golf Recreation Scotland show, nearly double the £63m it owed him the previous year."
And of course last year Glenn Simpson testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Fusion GPS specifically looked into Trump's golf courses while doing campaign oppo research and concluded, simply, "That they were not profitable entities."
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:55 PM on May 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
@Kevinliptakcnn: Sarah Sanders says the school safety commission Trump founded after Parkland has been "activated" today to "start that conversation up again." Will have a meeting early next week.
@mkraju: Commission created to study the issue of gun violence - effectively punting on difficult decisions - has been “activated today to start that conversation up again,” per Sanders. Parkland shooting occurred in February.
We're just not even pretending anymore. Create a commission to avoid doing anything, have it not do anything, forget it ever existed, then "activate" it again when compelled to say something.
posted by zachlipton at 5:09 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
@mkraju: Commission created to study the issue of gun violence - effectively punting on difficult decisions - has been “activated today to start that conversation up again,” per Sanders. Parkland shooting occurred in February.
We're just not even pretending anymore. Create a commission to avoid doing anything, have it not do anything, forget it ever existed, then "activate" it again when compelled to say something.
posted by zachlipton at 5:09 PM on May 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
@kylegriffin1 [full statement behind link]: Wow. Mark Warner: "It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst potentially illegal, for members of Congress to use their positions to learn the identity of an FBI source for the purpose of undermining the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our election."
posted by zachlipton at 5:12 PM on May 18, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 5:12 PM on May 18, 2018 [32 favorites]
North Korea Summit With Trump In Doubt Because Of Military Exercises (NPR, May 15, 2018)
And now Trump has blinked before even a week has passed: U.S. Scrapped Training Exercise With South Korea Involving B-52s (Wall Street Journal, because of course the Trump "U.S. officials" leaked this scoop to a Murdoch outlet)
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:13 PM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
And now Trump has blinked before even a week has passed: U.S. Scrapped Training Exercise With South Korea Involving B-52s (Wall Street Journal, because of course the Trump "U.S. officials" leaked this scoop to a Murdoch outlet)
A planned training exercise involving U.S. B-52 bombers and South Korean planes was scrapped earlier this week after the South Korean government expressed concerns that it could generate tensions before the summit meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to U.S. officials.Kim Jong Un has President Trump right where he wants him, says #nevertrump conservative Max Boot in the Washington Post.
The move follows repeated assertions by the Trump administration that it is keeping up a campaign of maximum economic and military pressure until North Korea gives up its nuclear-weapons programs and that the U.S. hasn’t changed the scope of its exercises.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:13 PM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
@MarkWarner I want answers about the Trump Administration’s failure to implement sanctions against Russia that Congress passed last year.
These sanctions aren’t optional. They’re the law of the land, and the President is required to follow them. Period.
Senate Democrats Call For Multi-Agency Probe Into Russia Sanctions Delay. Three top Senate Democrats are done waiting for the Trump administration to complete their implementation of congressionally mandated Russia sanctions.
These sanctions aren’t optional. They’re the law of the land, and the President is required to follow them. Period.
Senate Democrats Call For Multi-Agency Probe Into Russia Sanctions Delay. Three top Senate Democrats are done waiting for the Trump administration to complete their implementation of congressionally mandated Russia sanctions.
Three top senators on Friday requested rare multi-agency inspector-general investigations into the Trump administration’s failure to fully implement congressionally mandated sanctions against Russia.posted by scalefree at 5:21 PM on May 18, 2018 [49 favorites]
In a letter addressed to the inspectors general of the State Department, Treasury Department and Intelligence Community, the Democratic lawmakers said the administration has not complied with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed overwhelmingly and signed into law last year in part to punish Russia for its election-meddling and its incursions into eastern Europe.
“Several mandatory provisions of the law have not been implemented by the administration, despite strong evidence that actions taken by or on behalf of the Russian government are in violation of the CAATSA sanctions law and applicable executive orders codified by CAATSA,” wrote Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
Kim Jong Un has President Trump right where he wants him, says #nevertrump conservative Max Boot in the Washington Post.
My question is, after spending so much time excoriating Obama for not pushing the Iran deal through Congress, will Trump submit the deal that NK hands him to Congress? And if it is completely shitty and Trump submits it anyway will Republicans in Congress capitulate and pass it simply to avoid making the President look bad?
I'd say "probably not" and "probably" respectively. Somehow this will be different and not require Congress and Obama is still evil for not going through Congress, but if Trump does submit it the Republicans will pass it even if it requires hanging a picture of Dear Leader up above Paul Ryan's head in the House.
posted by Justinian at 5:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
My question is, after spending so much time excoriating Obama for not pushing the Iran deal through Congress, will Trump submit the deal that NK hands him to Congress? And if it is completely shitty and Trump submits it anyway will Republicans in Congress capitulate and pass it simply to avoid making the President look bad?
I'd say "probably not" and "probably" respectively. Somehow this will be different and not require Congress and Obama is still evil for not going through Congress, but if Trump does submit it the Republicans will pass it even if it requires hanging a picture of Dear Leader up above Paul Ryan's head in the House.
posted by Justinian at 5:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
@MarkWarner I want answers about the Trump Administration’s failure to implement sanctions against Russia that Congress passed last year.
These sanctions aren’t optional. They’re the law of the land, and the President is required to follow them. Period.
"No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet."
No one who voted for Trump after he said those words deserves to have their opinion about politics taken seriously.
posted by Gelatin at 5:28 PM on May 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
These sanctions aren’t optional. They’re the law of the land, and the President is required to follow them. Period.
"No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet."
No one who voted for Trump after he said those words deserves to have their opinion about politics taken seriously.
posted by Gelatin at 5:28 PM on May 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
@MarkWarner I want answers about the Trump Administration’s failure to implement sanctions against Russia
Wow, Warner pivoting fast and loose as possible away from endorsing torture this very week. #angryvirginian
posted by rc3spencer at 5:29 PM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Wow, Warner pivoting fast and loose as possible away from endorsing torture this very week. #angryvirginian
posted by rc3spencer at 5:29 PM on May 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
These sanctions aren’t optional. They’re the law of the land, and the President is required to follow them. Period.
I think those rules were obsoleted decades ago when Ronald Reagan got off without a scratch after trading arms to Iran and giving the proceeds to the Contras, both actions which were contrary to "the law of the land".
posted by JackFlash at 5:33 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
I think those rules were obsoleted decades ago when Ronald Reagan got off without a scratch after trading arms to Iran and giving the proceeds to the Contras, both actions which were contrary to "the law of the land".
posted by JackFlash at 5:33 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Greitens Watch: Attorney general says Greitens illegally hired private impeachment attorneys
Meanwhile, the special impeachment session of the legislature was gaveled in today.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:41 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Meanwhile, the special impeachment session of the legislature was gaveled in today.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:41 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think those rules were obsoleted decades ago when Ronald Reagan got off without a scratch after trading arms to Iran and giving the proceeds to the Contras, both actions which were contrary to "the law of the land".
Personally I don't want to give up on calling out their bullshit and fighting to enforce the law of the land. Autocrats count on learned helplessness to consolidate their power.
posted by chris24 at 5:43 PM on May 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
Personally I don't want to give up on calling out their bullshit and fighting to enforce the law of the land. Autocrats count on learned helplessness to consolidate their power.
posted by chris24 at 5:43 PM on May 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
The manager of the Houston Astros has had enough of this thoughts and prayers shit.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 5:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Wow. NYT, F.B.I. Used Informant to Investigate Russia Ties to Campaign, Not to Spy, as Trump Claims
posted by zachlipton at 6:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [36 favorites]
In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign. The informant, an American academic who teaches in Britain, made contact late that summer with one campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, according to people familiar with the matter. He also met repeatedly in the ensuing months with the other aide, Carter Page, who was also under F.B.I. scrutiny for his ties to Russia.More on Flynn and Page too. I mean if the Times knows everything and left a mountain of clues, so much for it being a secret.
The role of the informant is at the heart of the newest battle between top law enforcement officials and Mr. Trump’s congressional allies over the F.B.I.’s most politically charged investigations in decades. The lawmakers, who say they are concerned that federal investigators are abusing their authorities, have demanded documents from the Justice Department about the informant.
Law enforcement officials have refused, saying that handing over the documents would imperil both the source’s anonymity and safety. The New York Times has learned the source’s identity but typically does not name informants to preserve their safety.
Democrats say the Republicans’ real aim is to undermine the special counsel investigation. Senior law enforcement officials have also privately expressed concern that the Republicans are digging into F.B.I. files for information they can weaponize against the Russia inquiry.
...
F.B.I. officials concluded they had the legal authority to open the investigation after receiving information that Mr. Papadopoulos was told that Moscow had compromising information on Mrs. Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails,” months before WikiLeaks released stolen messages from Democratic officials. As part of the operation, code-named Crossfire Hurricane, the F.B.I. also began investigating Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his future national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn.
...
The informant is well known in Washington circles, having served in previous Republican administrations and as a source of information for the C.I.A. in past years, according to one person familiar with the source’s work.
F.B.I. agents were seeking more details about what Mr. Papadopoulos knew about the hacked Democratic emails, and one month after their Russia investigation began, Mr. Papadopoulos received a curious message. The academic inquired about his interest in writing a research paper on a disputed gas field in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, a subject of Mr. Papadopoulos’s expertise.
The informant offered a $3,000 honorarium for the paper and a paid trip to London, where the two could meet and discuss the research project.
...
Mr. Papadopoulos replied that he had no insight into the Russian campaign — despite being told months earlier that the Russians had dirt on Mrs. Clinton in the form of thousands of her emails. His response clearly annoyed the informant, who tried to press Mr. Papadopoulos about what he might know about the Russian effort, according to the person.
The assistant also raised the subject of Russia and the Clinton emails during a separate conversation over drinks with Mr. Papadopoulos, and again he denied he knew anything about Russian attempts to disrupt the election.
posted by zachlipton at 6:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [36 favorites]
Wow, Warner pivoting fast and loose as possible away from endorsing torture this very week.
And while it's great that Warner supports enforcing the sanctions law, you know what else was "the law of the land"? Not torturing people. (Notwithstanding any number of John Yoo Ivy-League-Grade-Moon-Law-based opinions.)
posted by mubba at 6:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
And while it's great that Warner supports enforcing the sanctions law, you know what else was "the law of the land"? Not torturing people. (Notwithstanding any number of John Yoo Ivy-League-Grade-Moon-Law-based opinions.)
posted by mubba at 6:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
The New York Times has learned the source’s identity but typically does not name informants to preserve their safety.
Mmmmkay, but they're totally cool with publishing full identifying information that completely compromises the source. Gotcha NYT.
posted by medusa at 6:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [41 favorites]
Mmmmkay, but they're totally cool with publishing full identifying information that completely compromises the source. Gotcha NYT.
posted by medusa at 6:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [41 favorites]
NYT, F.B.I. Used Informant to Investigate Russia Ties to Campaign, Not to Spy, as Trump Claims
Note that the Feds leaked to the NYT about one informant, but this morning, Giuliani told CNN's Chris Cuomo that the Trump team has been told that there were two government informants embedded in the Trump campaign. If this were a le Carré novel, the Bureau might have decided to blow the cover of the most obvious informant in order to maintain the other's secrecy. On the other hand, if this were a le Carré novel, the entire plot would have to be rewritten in order to be plausible.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
Note that the Feds leaked to the NYT about one informant, but this morning, Giuliani told CNN's Chris Cuomo that the Trump team has been told that there were two government informants embedded in the Trump campaign. If this were a le Carré novel, the Bureau might have decided to blow the cover of the most obvious informant in order to maintain the other's secrecy. On the other hand, if this were a le Carré novel, the entire plot would have to be rewritten in order to be plausible.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
I think there's a strange thing here where the Times gave an absurd amount of detail, but it's also a case where Papadopoulos and Page (and apparently Flynn) already know who the informant is. If those guys know, seems like the cat is out of the bag whether you print the name in the paper or not.
posted by zachlipton at 6:29 PM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 6:29 PM on May 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Carter Page is going to be running his dumb mouth with a name any minute.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
We show that opposition to stricter gun control is closely linked to Christian nationalism, a religious cultural framework that mandates a symbiotic relationship between Christianity and civil society. Using data from a national population-based survey, we show that Christian nationalism is an exceptionally strong predictor of opposition to the federal government enacting stricter gun laws.Hmm....
They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.Looks like Obama was wrong, but only because everywhere he said "or" he should have said "and."
posted by biogeo at 6:39 PM on May 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
The Post knows who he is too (and they identify him as a he). Seems like he's pretty much exposed, and I hope he (and everyone he's spoken to) are ok.
posted by zachlipton at 6:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 6:42 PM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
New Evidence Shows the Vegas Shooter Was Probably a Far-Right Extremist, but No One Will Say It
posted by zombieflanders at 6:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [66 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 6:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [66 favorites]
They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
And they're still pissed off about it! That was over 10 years ago. And you what? Respond by doing the exact things he observed? I guess you showed him!
posted by kirkaracha at 6:50 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
And they're still pissed off about it! That was over 10 years ago. And you what? Respond by doing the exact things he observed? I guess you showed him!
posted by kirkaracha at 6:50 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
NYT: White House Keeps Details of Melania Trump’s Health Under Wraps
The first lady's four days in to a typically one-day recovery for a claimed procedure to treat an unnamed condition, and the WH will not disclose her location. Very normal. There are worrying rumors.
The West Wing would not say whether she remained at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington. Neither would the East Wing. A spokesman with the Secret Service declined to confirm the first lady’s whereabouts. And the public affairs office at Walter Reed did not respond to a request for comment. [...] The president visited Mrs. Trump for the first three days of her stay at Walter Reed, stopping on Wednesday for a photo op with wounded soldiers. But on Thursday, the White House offered no further details on Mrs. Trump’s health, and Mr. Trump did not visit. According to a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail the president’s travel plans, a weekend trip to Camp David had been canceled and Mr. Trump had plans to stay in Washington.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:53 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
The first lady's four days in to a typically one-day recovery for a claimed procedure to treat an unnamed condition, and the WH will not disclose her location. Very normal. There are worrying rumors.
The West Wing would not say whether she remained at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington. Neither would the East Wing. A spokesman with the Secret Service declined to confirm the first lady’s whereabouts. And the public affairs office at Walter Reed did not respond to a request for comment. [...] The president visited Mrs. Trump for the first three days of her stay at Walter Reed, stopping on Wednesday for a photo op with wounded soldiers. But on Thursday, the White House offered no further details on Mrs. Trump’s health, and Mr. Trump did not visit. According to a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail the president’s travel plans, a weekend trip to Camp David had been canceled and Mr. Trump had plans to stay in Washington.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:53 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
By the way, it seems like Democratic presidential candidates always have to have at least one misstatement or inarticulately-worded phrase than endangers their campaign (usually taken out of context and distorted), but Trump gets a pass on the never-ending river of shit that flows from his mouth.
Dean: Yeah!
Gore: *Sigh.*/"Lockbox"
Kerry: "I voted before it before I voted against it."
Obama: Cling to this, bitches.
Clinton: "Deplorables"/"We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, right?"
posted by kirkaracha at 6:53 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
Dean: Yeah!
Gore: *Sigh.*/"Lockbox"
Kerry: "I voted before it before I voted against it."
Obama: Cling to this, bitches.
Clinton: "Deplorables"/"We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, right?"
posted by kirkaracha at 6:53 PM on May 18, 2018 [17 favorites]
How has the FBI source not already been identified by a dedicated civilian stringboarder? Between the NYT and WaPo pieces, that’s an astonishing amount of identifying information.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 7:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 7:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Um, Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller seems to have reported the informant's identity back in March and again yesterday and is now running around on Twitter complaining he's not getting enough credit.
Seems like the cat is no longer in the same time zone as the bag.
posted by zachlipton at 7:01 PM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
Seems like the cat is no longer in the same time zone as the bag.
posted by zachlipton at 7:01 PM on May 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
The name is all over Twitter now.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:03 PM on May 18, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:03 PM on May 18, 2018
The Post's story has been updated, and this bit is new. First, Page seems to be admitting he got duped, which is an extremely Page thing to do:
Page was one of three Trump advisers who the FBI informant contacted in the summer and fall of 2016 for brief talks and meetings that largely centered on foreign policy, according to people familiar with the encounters.Also, he apparently tried to speak to Clovis:
“There has been some speculation that he might have tried to reel me in,” Page, who had numerous encounters with the informant, told The Post in an interview. “At the time, I never had any such impression.”
In late summer, the professor met with Trump campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis for coffee in Northern Virginia, offering to provide foreign-policy expertise to the Trump effort.posted by zachlipton at 7:04 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
...
In late August 2016, the professor reached out to Clovis, asking if they could meet somewhere in the Washington area, according to Clovis’s attorney, Victoria Toensing.
“He said he wanted to be helpful to the campaign” and lend the Trump team his foreign-policy experience, Toensing said.
Clovis, an Iowa political figure and former Air Force officer, met the source and chatted briefly with him over coffee, on either Aug. 31 or Sept. 1, at a hotel cafe in Crystal City, she said. Most of the discussion involved him asking Clovis his views on China.
“It was two academics discussing China,” Toensing said. “Russia never came up.”
The professor asked Clovis if they could meet again, but Clovis was too busy with the campaign. After the election, the professor sent him a note of congratulations, Toensing said.
From that Daily Caller story:
Halper’s September 2016 outreach to Papadopoulos wasn’t his only contact with Trump campaign members. The 73-year-old professor, a veteran of three Republican administrations, met with two other campaign advisers, The Daily Caller News Foundation learned.
This has been on the internet for almost two months? What the fuck?
posted by reductiondesign at 7:11 PM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
Halper’s September 2016 outreach to Papadopoulos wasn’t his only contact with Trump campaign members. The 73-year-old professor, a veteran of three Republican administrations, met with two other campaign advisers, The Daily Caller News Foundation learned.
This has been on the internet for almost two months? What the fuck?
posted by reductiondesign at 7:11 PM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
The kicker on the Daily Caller story (which, as a sign of how segregated left/right twitter is and now nobody knows what to do with articles revealing the source's name even though it's obviously not a secret anymore, nobody seems to be talking about) is the writers' cruelest twist yet:
In an ironic twist given the Russia probe’s focus on election meddling, Halper was also linked to a Reagan-era scandal dubbed “Briefing-gate.”posted by zachlipton at 7:16 PM on May 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
Halper was one of several Reagan White House officials linked to the scandal, which involved campaign briefing materials stolen from Carter’s campaign. Prior to the 1980 election, stolen Carter-campaign briefing papers containing classified information ended up in the hands of Reagan’s campaign officials.
The theft was not revealed until 1983. Halper was not directly implicated in stealing the documents, but he was identified as one of the campaign advisers who handled and disseminated them.
New Evidence Shows the Vegas Shooter Was Probably a Far-Right Extremist, but No One Will Say It
This sort of thing is why this article about today's school shooter angers me so much.
Business Insider: Court document shows the gunman in the Santa Fe high-school shooting confessed to the killings.
First, it says:
It then goes on to say:
Thoughts and Prayers, people. Thoughts and Prayers. Except, I don't pray, so how about just a thought. Lock your fucking guns up and keep them away from kids, and lets maybe make it a little more onerous to purchase new ones and to continue owning the ones that already exist. Just a thought.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
This sort of thing is why this article about today's school shooter angers me so much.
Business Insider: Court document shows the gunman in the Santa Fe high-school shooting confessed to the killings.
First, it says:
A Facebook page belonging to Pagourtzis appeared to be taken down on Friday, but screenshots published by some news outlets indicated he went by the nickname Dimitri and had posted photos of a T-shirt that read "Born to Kill."[1] Note that this "trenchcoat" displayed Nazi paraphernalia, although it's pretty obvious that this guy was a Columbine fetishist, and I will not be surprised when it's revealed in a day or two that this nutbag idolized Harris & Klebold; right down to the methods and tactics used in his own little rampage.
An Instagram account that also appeared to belong to Pagourtzis was taken down as well, but screenshots posted by BuzzFeed News showed that the account followed multiple gun-enthusiast accounts, as well as President Donald Trump and his family members.
One student, Dustin Severin, told the local TV station KPRC that shortly before the shooting he saw Pagourtzis in the hallway wearing his usual trench coat[1], despite the heat.
Pagourtzis was frequently bullied by coaches and didn't have many friends, Severin said.
It then goes on to say:
Abbott said Friday that the major complication in the investigation so far is that Pagourtzis displayed few red flags before his alleged rampage. The photo of the "Born to Kill" T-shirt is so far considered the only concrete warning sign that Pagourtzis would act out violently, Abbott said.If the highlighted things above aren't already "red-flags", then what we're considering a "red-flag" is actually an indicator that it's too late. Perhaps we need to start with some "yellow-flags".
"One of the frustrating things in the early status of this case is unlike Parkland, unlike Sutherland Springs, there were not these types of warning signs," he said, referring to previous deadly shootings in Florida and Texas. "We have what are often categorized as red-flag warnings. And here, the red-flag warnings were either non-existent or very imperceptible."
Thoughts and Prayers, people. Thoughts and Prayers. Except, I don't pray, so how about just a thought. Lock your fucking guns up and keep them away from kids, and lets maybe make it a little more onerous to purchase new ones and to continue owning the ones that already exist. Just a thought.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion
Oh my god. Years later, Palin’s bat-shit rant makes a tiny bit more sense. I had no idea she was referencing Obama. I was a sweet, summer child.
posted by greermahoney at 7:27 PM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh my god. Years later, Palin’s bat-shit rant makes a tiny bit more sense. I had no idea she was referencing Obama. I was a sweet, summer child.
posted by greermahoney at 7:27 PM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
NYT, F.B.I. Used Informant to Investigate Russia Ties to Campaign, Not to Spy, as Trump Claims
So Flynn is too cozy with a Russian woman in February 2014 – so much so that two different intelligence assets are concerned and he's reported for it – and he's then forced to resign by the Obama administration April of 2014. Supposedly - according to Colin Powell hearsay - for being an abusive bad manager but there's never been a public or facial reason. Gotta wonder if this had anything to do with it.
posted by chris24 at 7:32 PM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
The informant also had contacts with Mr. Flynn, the retired Army general who was Mr. Trump’s first national security adviser. The two met in February 2014, when Mr. Flynn was running the Defense Intelligence Agency and attended the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, an academic forum for former spies and researchers that meets a few times a year.
According to people familiar with Mr. Flynn’s visit to the intelligence seminar, the source was alarmed by the general’s apparent closeness with a Russian woman who was also in attendance. The concern was strong enough that it prompted another person to pass on a warning to the American authorities that Mr. Flynn could be compromised by Russian intelligence, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Two years later, in late 2016, the seminar itself was embroiled in a scandal about Russian spying. A number of its organizers resigned over what they said was a Kremlin-backed attempt to take control of the group.
So Flynn is too cozy with a Russian woman in February 2014 – so much so that two different intelligence assets are concerned and he's reported for it – and he's then forced to resign by the Obama administration April of 2014. Supposedly - according to Colin Powell hearsay - for being an abusive bad manager but there's never been a public or facial reason. Gotta wonder if this had anything to do with it.
posted by chris24 at 7:32 PM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
@Kevinliptakcnn: Sarah Sanders says the school safety commission Trump founded after Parkland has been "activated" today to "start that conversation up again." Will have a meeting early next week.
@mkraju: Commission created to study the issue of gun violence - effectively punting on difficult decisions - has been “activated today to start that conversation up again,” per Sanders. Parkland shooting occurred in February.
We're just not even pretending anymore. Create a commission to avoid doing anything, have it not do anything, forget it ever existed, then "activate" it again when compelled to say something.
The latest addition to Trump Administration's Infrastructure Weak.
posted by srboisvert at 7:34 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
@mkraju: Commission created to study the issue of gun violence - effectively punting on difficult decisions - has been “activated today to start that conversation up again,” per Sanders. Parkland shooting occurred in February.
We're just not even pretending anymore. Create a commission to avoid doing anything, have it not do anything, forget it ever existed, then "activate" it again when compelled to say something.
The latest addition to Trump Administration's Infrastructure Weak.
posted by srboisvert at 7:34 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Exclusive: Special Counsel subpoenas another Stone aide in Russia probe - sources
The subpoena was recently served on John Kakanis, 30, who has worked as a driver, accountant and operative for Stone.
Kakanis has been briefly questioned by the FBI on the topics of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the WikiLeaks website, its founder Julian Assange, and the hacker or hackers who call themselves Guccifer 2.0, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said. . . .
During the 2016 Republican primaries, a Stone political action committee paid more than $130,000 to an entity called “Citroen Associates” for “voter fraud research and documentation” and “research services consulting,” according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Florida state records identify the owner of Citroen Associates as John P. Kakanis.
Probably a coincidence.
posted by petebest at 7:35 PM on May 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
The subpoena was recently served on John Kakanis, 30, who has worked as a driver, accountant and operative for Stone.
Kakanis has been briefly questioned by the FBI on the topics of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the WikiLeaks website, its founder Julian Assange, and the hacker or hackers who call themselves Guccifer 2.0, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said. . . .
During the 2016 Republican primaries, a Stone political action committee paid more than $130,000 to an entity called “Citroen Associates” for “voter fraud research and documentation” and “research services consulting,” according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Florida state records identify the owner of Citroen Associates as John P. Kakanis.
Probably a coincidence.
posted by petebest at 7:35 PM on May 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
Mmmmkay, but they're totally cool with publishing full identifying information that completely compromises the source. Gotcha NYT.
For the sake of privacy let's call her Lisa S... no that's too obvious, let's say L. Simpson.
The name is out in the open now. I don't understand how this is fundamentally different than the outing of Valerie Plame. Nunes et al deserve to go to jail.
posted by Justinian at 7:41 PM on May 18, 2018 [35 favorites]
For the sake of privacy let's call her Lisa S... no that's too obvious, let's say L. Simpson.
The name is out in the open now. I don't understand how this is fundamentally different than the outing of Valerie Plame. Nunes et al deserve to go to jail.
posted by Justinian at 7:41 PM on May 18, 2018 [35 favorites]
I don’t understand any of this. The Trump folks knew all along they were approached by someone with US government ties who pressed them for information on Russia stuff. Once Flynn knows the source’s identity, surely it’s compromised to all hell even before it makes its way to Chuck Ross?
posted by zachlipton at 8:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:00 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
@joshtpm:
The other thing that is clear is the luck and special treatment Trump had at basically every turn through this long drama. The use of an informant to talk to key advisors rather than agents was precisely to prevent the public from learning about the probe & tilting the election.
2/ One other point implicit but little discussed. The free public discussion about the Clinton probe and the extreme secrecy around the Russia probe were both to a significant degree driven by the fact that the former was fundamentally unserious and the latter obviously grave.
posted by chris24 at 8:04 PM on May 18, 2018 [76 favorites]
The other thing that is clear is the luck and special treatment Trump had at basically every turn through this long drama. The use of an informant to talk to key advisors rather than agents was precisely to prevent the public from learning about the probe & tilting the election.
2/ One other point implicit but little discussed. The free public discussion about the Clinton probe and the extreme secrecy around the Russia probe were both to a significant degree driven by the fact that the former was fundamentally unserious and the latter obviously grave.
posted by chris24 at 8:04 PM on May 18, 2018 [76 favorites]
The name is out in the open now. I don't understand how this is fundamentally different than the outing of Valerie Plame. Nunes et al deserve to go to jail.
The pardoning of Scooter Libby was, in retrospect, a direct public promise to Nunes.
posted by benzenedream at 8:14 PM on May 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
The pardoning of Scooter Libby was, in retrospect, a direct public promise to Nunes.
posted by benzenedream at 8:14 PM on May 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
The FBI sure had a lot of informants inside the Trump campaign when James Comey decided to say nothing about it and instead attack Clinton again 9 days before the election.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:21 PM on May 18, 2018 [57 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:21 PM on May 18, 2018 [57 favorites]
Apparently, it's this guy. The details in this thread alone, including his family name, made it pretty easy to find.
posted by michswiss at 8:28 PM on May 18, 2018
posted by michswiss at 8:28 PM on May 18, 2018
The name Stefan Halper is already out there, and we’re discussing him at length. Is there a reason that we’re not using his name?
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 8:35 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 8:35 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Given the history of deaths surrounding whistleblowers that target Putin, I think a fair amount of hesitancy in naming a whistleblower is a pretty natural reaction even after the name is widely known.
posted by wobumingbai at 8:44 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by wobumingbai at 8:44 PM on May 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
I don’t understand any of this.
Me neither. I wish this was on Netflix so they'd dump all the episodes at once.
posted by theodolite at 8:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [41 favorites]
Me neither. I wish this was on Netflix so they'd dump all the episodes at once.
posted by theodolite at 8:48 PM on May 18, 2018 [41 favorites]
We’re way past National Nightmare and deep into Bat Country.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:03 PM on May 18, 2018 [45 favorites]
Good luck painting this guy as a liberal spy:
Halper worked in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush administrations, was an assistant to Alexander Haig, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney, and is currently Director of American Studies at the Department of Politics, University of Cambridge.
posted by xammerboy at 9:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
Halper worked in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush administrations, was an assistant to Alexander Haig, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney, and is currently Director of American Studies at the Department of Politics, University of Cambridge.
posted by xammerboy at 9:46 PM on May 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
That reads to me like he was an agent sent by #nevertrumper royalty.
posted by rhizome at 9:56 PM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 9:56 PM on May 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
It doesn't really matter what his credentials are for the Trump base and every elected Republican, the only concern now is protecting Trump and their stolen election by any means necessary.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:10 PM on May 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
Watch Rudy Giuliani Melt Down When He's Shown a Rebuttal By...Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani joined CNN's Chris Cuomo Friday morning to suggest there was no way a sitting president could be compelled to testify. He then promptly melted down when Cuomo played back a clip of Giuliani saying the opposite when the president in question was Bill Clinton.posted by kirkaracha at 10:24 PM on May 18, 2018 [112 favorites]
“That’s really unfair!” Giuliani said. “That’s extremely unfair what you’re doing right now! This is the reason people don’t come on this show!” In a novel and fairly effective strategy, Giuliani tried to just talk over the clip showcasing his obvious hypocrisy. We can probably expect this to become the norm among presidential defenders. For reference, when asked in the clip what would happen if the president is subpoenaed to testify, Giuliani answered, "You gotta do it."
Artw’s linked article led me to another on the Atlantic website:
The Birth of a New American Aristocracy, by Matthew Stewart.
I strongly encourage folks to read it if you can spare a few minutes. It not only discusses in detail many of the socioeconomic factors at play in the 2016 election, but also has an excellent, broader contextualization of income inequality, social mobility, race, privilege, and the delusions of meritocracy as it’s manifested in our society.
Compelling reading and worth sharing, I think.
posted by darkstar at 11:12 PM on May 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
The Birth of a New American Aristocracy, by Matthew Stewart.
I strongly encourage folks to read it if you can spare a few minutes. It not only discusses in detail many of the socioeconomic factors at play in the 2016 election, but also has an excellent, broader contextualization of income inequality, social mobility, race, privilege, and the delusions of meritocracy as it’s manifested in our society.
Compelling reading and worth sharing, I think.
posted by darkstar at 11:12 PM on May 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
@darkstar: agreed! That article is fantastic. Looks like @MythMaker created an FPP for folks interested in pursuing a deeper conversation. :)
posted by narwhal at 11:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by narwhal at 11:18 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Eh, who leaked Halper’s name? It must have been the Trump crew.
posted by notyou at 11:30 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by notyou at 11:30 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yes, for an administration (and a House committee) so concerned about leaks all the time, I'm sure they will be thoroughly outraged by this.
I mean, forget all that pre-classified memo BS, we're talking leaked identity of an undercover intel source which could not only jeopardize ongoing investigations, but could put the individual in personal danger.
Counting down the seconds until DJT calls for the head of the leaker... [crickets]
posted by p3t3 at 11:43 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
I mean, forget all that pre-classified memo BS, we're talking leaked identity of an undercover intel source which could not only jeopardize ongoing investigations, but could put the individual in personal danger.
Counting down the seconds until DJT calls for the head of the leaker... [crickets]
posted by p3t3 at 11:43 PM on May 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Reeves’ Dream Hoarders is an excellent read as well.
posted by rc3spencer at 2:47 AM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rc3spencer at 2:47 AM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Definitive Story Of How Trump’s Team Worked The Trump Moscow Deal During The Campaign.
New thread please,
posted by adamvasco at 6:29 AM on May 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
New thread please,
posted by adamvasco at 6:29 AM on May 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
chris24: "In the shitshow of yesterday, I don't think this was mentioned, but the House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to block Trump from lifting sanctions on ZTE."
I'll be really interesting to see the progress of the Cheeto's resort now.
posted by Mitheral at 7:59 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'll be really interesting to see the progress of the Cheeto's resort now.
posted by Mitheral at 7:59 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
If there's no Quid does he still get the Quo?
posted by scalefree at 8:11 AM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 8:11 AM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, I'm no pro at this but I'd think not.
posted by Slackermagee at 8:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Slackermagee at 8:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted - there's a separate thread about the Stewart 9.9% article, better to take discussion of it over there.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
> There’s a mariachi band getting ready to serenade him right now.
Video of Aaron Schlossberg sprinting through NY, trying to get away from reporters. (via Deadspin)
posted by christopherious at 9:06 AM on May 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
Video of Aaron Schlossberg sprinting through NY, trying to get away from reporters. (via Deadspin)
posted by christopherious at 9:06 AM on May 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
Schlossberg is so subtle about trying to get a photo of the paparazzi. Looks like he's found a new career.
posted by Yowser at 9:40 AM on May 19, 2018
posted by Yowser at 9:40 AM on May 19, 2018
> Watch Rudy Giuliani Melt Down When He's Shown a Rebuttal By...Rudy Giuliani
I really wish more journalists would hurry up and learn this One Weird Trick to interviewing narcissistic pathological liars. If you're going to ask Trump about something you know he's said in the past and will lie about presently, bring a fucking video clip. The guy always retreats to "I'll believe it when I see it" when he's cornered, so bring a fucking video clip! There's no excuse not to have these kinds of materials ready with today's technology and social media.
posted by Arson Lupine at 9:41 AM on May 19, 2018 [92 favorites]
I really wish more journalists would hurry up and learn this One Weird Trick to interviewing narcissistic pathological liars. If you're going to ask Trump about something you know he's said in the past and will lie about presently, bring a fucking video clip. The guy always retreats to "I'll believe it when I see it" when he's cornered, so bring a fucking video clip! There's no excuse not to have these kinds of materials ready with today's technology and social media.
posted by Arson Lupine at 9:41 AM on May 19, 2018 [92 favorites]
CNN doesn't really care. If they did, they would have kept Giuliani's mic cut. Instead, they let him succeed.
posted by Yowser at 9:44 AM on May 19, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 9:44 AM on May 19, 2018 [15 favorites]
CNN doesn't really care. If they did, they would have kept Giuliani's mic cut. Instead, they let him succeed.
The objective, always the objective, is eyeballs. An old clip, however relevant & true, doesn't keep eyeballs on the screen the way Rudy's reaction to that clip does.
posted by scalefree at 10:07 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
The objective, always the objective, is eyeballs. An old clip, however relevant & true, doesn't keep eyeballs on the screen the way Rudy's reaction to that clip does.
posted by scalefree at 10:07 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
And don’t miss the riff track of him hiding behind his umbrella.
Oh my god, that was amazing. I really needed that. I strongly recommend viewing that for anyone who needs a bit of catharsis right now.
posted by biogeo at 10:11 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Oh my god, that was amazing. I really needed that. I strongly recommend viewing that for anyone who needs a bit of catharsis right now.
posted by biogeo at 10:11 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
For another example of the unintended effects of Trump's "America First" diplomacy and attempted sabotage of the Iran deal, the FT reports that wary EU powers are finding common ground with the Kremlin: "Russia’s diplomatic standing has in recent months been at rock bottom. But the twin visits [by Merkel and Macron] show that it could be rising from the depths, dragged upwards by Donald Trump’s decision to quit the international nuclear agreement with Iran and impose new sanctions on Tehran. [...] Mr Putin is clearly relishing the opportunity to show he is a more dependable partner than Mr Trump, who has shown disregard for traditional alliances. 'Putin feels himself to be the temporary winner in this new situation,' said Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee. 'He can’t quite believe his luck.'"
With Merkel and Putin putting up a united front in Soichi on their trans–Baltic Sea Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline against US and Ukrainian objections and Macron looking forward to a meeting with Putin during his St Petersburg's annual International Economic Forum, Trump's managing to indirectly boost Putin's fortunes on the international stage.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:20 AM on May 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
With Merkel and Putin putting up a united front in Soichi on their trans–Baltic Sea Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline against US and Ukrainian objections and Macron looking forward to a meeting with Putin during his St Petersburg's annual International Economic Forum, Trump's managing to indirectly boost Putin's fortunes on the international stage.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:20 AM on May 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Another meeting? Good lord.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
2nd Trump Tower meeting through Nader? Oooops. Nader is already cooperating with Special Counsel. Methinks Jr will be facing jail time before this is done.
posted by rc3spencer at 10:35 AM on May 19, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 10:35 AM on May 19, 2018 [18 favorites]
Speaking of Schlossberg, this article arguing that he shouldn't be sanctioned or disbarred really angered me. The core problem with the argument is that the author only thinks that Schlossberg did one reprehensible thing - be a bigot; but in reality, he did two. And it's that second thing - threaten to wield the force of the state illegitimately against these individuals - that is in fact perfectly legitimate grounds for punishment from the NYS Bar. Hell, he actually makes the case for this in his own piece:
It is telling that the author does not consider a lawyer threatening to falsely (remember, Schlossberg has no idea what the status of these individuals is, so he has no actual reason to call ICE) wield the power of the state against individuals that he has shown racial animus to does not fall under "bringing ill repute to the court system and the practice of law", because from where I sit, it does exactly that.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:41 AM on May 19, 2018 [52 favorites]
Notably, Espaillat and Diaz’s letter does not cite the specific provision of New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct that they believe he violated. That’s because there probably isn’t one. Had Schlossberg committed a crime, he could have been disciplined, but it does not appear that his conduct rises to the level of criminal harassment. If he had engaged in racism within his law practice, he could also be sanctioned, but his outburst occurred at a public restaurant.(Emphasis mine.)
That leaves a catch-all clause that prohibits attorneys from engaging in “any … conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s fitness as a lawyer.” This rule was not designed to capture racist rants in public—it is more commonly used to sanction attorneys who bring ill repute to the court system and the practice of law. Had Schlossberg invoked his law firm in order to intimidate the Fresh Kitchen employees, the discipline committee might have a case. His diatribe alone, though, likely does not violate this rule.
It is telling that the author does not consider a lawyer threatening to falsely (remember, Schlossberg has no idea what the status of these individuals is, so he has no actual reason to call ICE) wield the power of the state against individuals that he has shown racial animus to does not fall under "bringing ill repute to the court system and the practice of law", because from where I sit, it does exactly that.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:41 AM on May 19, 2018 [52 favorites]
This August Trump Tower meeting revelation makes the January 2017 Seychelles meetings, with Prince, Nader and MBZ among others, look even fishier.
posted by carmicha at 10:49 AM on May 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 10:49 AM on May 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
Somebody filed a Boston 311 complaint today about some offensive graffiti in the Brighton neighborhood.
posted by adamg at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by adamg at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, extolled his company’s ability to give an edge to a political campaign; by that time, the firm had already drawn up a multimillion-dollar proposal for a social media manipulation effort to help elect Mr. Trump.
Joel Zamel is the Australian-born Israeli founder of Wikistrat, already questioned by Mueller. Wikistrat seems to be basically the private contract intelligence service of the UAE.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:12 AM on May 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
Joel Zamel is the Australian-born Israeli founder of Wikistrat, already questioned by Mueller. Wikistrat seems to be basically the private contract intelligence service of the UAE.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:12 AM on May 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
Also this new report says Stephen Miller was there, that's the first time I believe he's been tied to direct knowledge of collusion. Better call Saul Rudy, Stephen.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:16 AM on May 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:16 AM on May 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
Dangit, I was just last night starting to formulate a theory that Stephen Miller was the FBI mole.
posted by rhizome at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
MAKE AMERICA RUSSIA, QATAR, SAUDI ARABIA, and UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GREAT AGAIN
posted by Barack Spinoza at 11:24 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 11:24 AM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
A little news roundup from the WaPo:
A perk for friends of the Zinkes: Guided tours through National Park Service sites:
posted by peeedro at 11:25 AM on May 19, 2018 [21 favorites]
A perk for friends of the Zinkes: Guided tours through National Park Service sites:
A personalized visit to Joshua Tree National Park. A spin through the West Wing, guided by White House staffers. And a trip to the top of the Lincoln Memorial, which is closed to the public.HUD Secretary Ben Carson doubles down on dismantling Obama-era fair-housing policies:
Such VIP tours of National Park Service sites, some at the height of the tourist season, came at the request of either Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke or his wife, Lola, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Several excursions were scheduled specifically for friends and acquaintances.
...
In the past 14 months, according to documents obtained in separate FOIA requests by The Washington Post and the advocacy group Western Values Project, the Zinkes have arranged for special tours of the Lincoln Memorial, including areas where the public is not allowed. At taxpayer expense, they took a yacht broker — who once sold Lola Zinke a boat — on a work trip to California’s Channel Islands National Park. An aide said the secretary described the man as one of three guests who were “subject matter experts” and could offer “personal testimony” about the area.
The Trump administration is doubling down on its efforts to undo Obama-era fair-housing policies in the wake of a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had wrongfully suspended a requirement that communities address barriers to racial integration.Melania Trump released from hospital, returns to White House in ‘high spirits’
HUD on Friday evening announced that it is withdrawing a computer assessment tool that provides communities with data and maps to help them gauge neighborhood segregation.
The tool, developed during the Obama administration, was meant to help communities comply with a little-enforced provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act that compelled local governments to use federal dollars to end residential segregation.
posted by peeedro at 11:25 AM on May 19, 2018 [21 favorites]
NoxAeternum: The core problem with the argument is that the author only thinks that Schlossberg did one reprehensible thing - be a bigot; but in reality, he did two. And it's that second thing - threaten to wield the force of the state illegitimately against these individuals - that is in fact perfectly legitimate grounds for punishment from the NYS Bar.
There’s a phenomenon called the Al Capone Model of Sexual Harassment, whereby harassers are likely also guilty of non-sexual misdeeds, so when you catch the office harasser, you probably also caught the guy who’s acted selfishly in other ways — berated colleagues, lied to bosses, etc
Alexandra Erin has pointed out an unfortunate flipside of this, that sexual wrongdoing often creates an strange aura of non-judgement around someone’s bad actions. People are hesitant to touch the issue at all, and thus the bad actor can paradoxically have a better chance of avoiding punishment than they might if their actions had zero to do with sex/sexism. A man who spends company money on an overly lavish dinner and hotel room for himself is one thing, and he’ll get in trouble. But if he did it as part of some improper advances to a female coworker, well, the situation becomes “Who’s to say when flirting crosses a line, really?” and “He’s married, so it’s a personal matter with his wife”… and he gets away with it.
The same goes for racism, and Erin draws the connection to a woman asking for online advice about her racist boyfriend: In this letter, the letter writer is not "allowed" by her partner to interact with members of another race, even when it's in the course of her job. I feel like if he was just losing it over her talking to other men at work, she would recognize that as a huge red flag itself. But because him not wanting her to take meetings with her coworkers comes under the heading of ~*The Race Thing*~, it, too, becomes just this complicated flaw that has a lot of different sides and who can really say.
The public opinion of Schlossberg is probably higher than it would be if he weren’t racist, and had just threatened strangers with police action for no apparent reason at all. Obviously a lot of support for him is base-level personal identification from fellow racists. But part of it is the second-level sense of duty others hold to “neutrality”, and absorption of cultural messages that racism (sorry, “racially charged” stuff) is one of those things you gotta stay neutral on, at any cost. "This is the canary in the coal mine for everyone's rights!" they say, after the canary has mutated into a two-ton beast currently eating the miners.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:44 AM on May 19, 2018 [38 favorites]
There’s a phenomenon called the Al Capone Model of Sexual Harassment, whereby harassers are likely also guilty of non-sexual misdeeds, so when you catch the office harasser, you probably also caught the guy who’s acted selfishly in other ways — berated colleagues, lied to bosses, etc
Alexandra Erin has pointed out an unfortunate flipside of this, that sexual wrongdoing often creates an strange aura of non-judgement around someone’s bad actions. People are hesitant to touch the issue at all, and thus the bad actor can paradoxically have a better chance of avoiding punishment than they might if their actions had zero to do with sex/sexism. A man who spends company money on an overly lavish dinner and hotel room for himself is one thing, and he’ll get in trouble. But if he did it as part of some improper advances to a female coworker, well, the situation becomes “Who’s to say when flirting crosses a line, really?” and “He’s married, so it’s a personal matter with his wife”… and he gets away with it.
The same goes for racism, and Erin draws the connection to a woman asking for online advice about her racist boyfriend: In this letter, the letter writer is not "allowed" by her partner to interact with members of another race, even when it's in the course of her job. I feel like if he was just losing it over her talking to other men at work, she would recognize that as a huge red flag itself. But because him not wanting her to take meetings with her coworkers comes under the heading of ~*The Race Thing*~, it, too, becomes just this complicated flaw that has a lot of different sides and who can really say.
The public opinion of Schlossberg is probably higher than it would be if he weren’t racist, and had just threatened strangers with police action for no apparent reason at all. Obviously a lot of support for him is base-level personal identification from fellow racists. But part of it is the second-level sense of duty others hold to “neutrality”, and absorption of cultural messages that racism (sorry, “racially charged” stuff) is one of those things you gotta stay neutral on, at any cost. "This is the canary in the coal mine for everyone's rights!" they say, after the canary has mutated into a two-ton beast currently eating the miners.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:44 AM on May 19, 2018 [38 favorites]
If it turns out that the Saudi, UAE and Israeli governments ALL conspired along with Russia to undermine our elections and install a Republican US President, the next Democratic administration must fundamentally reassess our relationships with all of our "allies" in the middle east. Foreign interference can't go unanswered, or it invites more. Not even from our alleged closest "allies".
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:54 AM on May 19, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:54 AM on May 19, 2018 [56 favorites]
The former top broadband adviser to FCC chairman Ajit Pai has been arrested on charges that she tricked investors into pouring $250 million into a phony fiber-optic scheme.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 11:57 AM on May 19, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 11:57 AM on May 19, 2018 [61 favorites]
The company, which employed several Israeli former intelligence officers, specialized in collecting information and shaping opinion through social media.
I wonder if this Joel Zamel/Wikistrat is connected at all to Black Cube
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:02 PM on May 19, 2018
I wonder if this Joel Zamel/Wikistrat is connected at all to Black Cube
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:02 PM on May 19, 2018
Melania Trump released from hospital, returns to White House in ‘high spirits’
To welcome her, @RealDonaldTrump tweeted: "Great to have our incredible First Lady back home in the White House. Melanie is feeling and doing really well. Thank you for all of your prayers and best wishes!" It took less than ten minutes to correct the misspelling of her name, which is quite swift by that Twitter account's standards.
What's the betting that she stayed an extra few days in the hospital just to avoid him and this is his petty revenge? This is where the razors of Hanlon and Trump collide...
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:04 PM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
To welcome her, @RealDonaldTrump tweeted: "Great to have our incredible First Lady back home in the White House. Melanie is feeling and doing really well. Thank you for all of your prayers and best wishes!" It took less than ten minutes to correct the misspelling of her name, which is quite swift by that Twitter account's standards.
What's the betting that she stayed an extra few days in the hospital just to avoid him and this is his petty revenge? This is where the razors of Hanlon and Trump collide...
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:04 PM on May 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
If Only!
Trump did it and he’s going down for a host of crimes, and some of them have nothing to do with Russia
posted by growabrain at 12:19 PM on May 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
Trump did it and he’s going down for a host of crimes, and some of them have nothing to do with Russia
posted by growabrain at 12:19 PM on May 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
This August Trump Tower meeting revelation makes the January 2017 Seychelles meetings, with Prince, Nader and MBZ among others, look even fishier.
And vice versa.
posted by carmicha at 12:51 PM on May 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
And vice versa.
posted by carmicha at 12:51 PM on May 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
> He’s going to be drafted for the farm team at Leavenworth. He’s going down.
Stuff like that is a fun read and all, but I'm sticking by my conviction that no matter what does or doesn't happen, Trump will never spend a day in jail. I'd bet every penny I own on it.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:10 PM on May 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
Stuff like that is a fun read and all, but I'm sticking by my conviction that no matter what does or doesn't happen, Trump will never spend a day in jail. I'd bet every penny I own on it.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:10 PM on May 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
The Card Cheat: I'd bet every penny I own on it.
Pssst. Over here.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:13 PM on May 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Pssst. Over here.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:13 PM on May 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Putin feels himself to be the temporary winner in this new situation
Russia's making out like a bandit over Trump's Iran policies. Uncertainty over Iran has driven up oil prices, so Russia will certainly be preparing for an economic boom.
posted by duoshao at 1:21 PM on May 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Russia's making out like a bandit over Trump's Iran policies. Uncertainty over Iran has driven up oil prices, so Russia will certainly be preparing for an economic boom.
posted by duoshao at 1:21 PM on May 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
That Trump Moscow story adamvasco linked above is just so incredibly fishy, it's like a parody spy movie.
There's no way that project was ever realistic, and everyone involved are doing weird stuff. Ivanka in Putin's chair was already strange, in the context it's far stranger. And that is just a little clickbaity detail in the whole story of bad actors pretending at something to cover something else. Sater seems to be a double agent or something, Cohen is clearly not just Trump's fixer but also a low-life mobster; the Russians involved including Putin seem to be enjoying the whole spectacle as an elaborate joke. It's telling that Trump Jr. is freaked out by it all, describing it as a “scary place” to do business because of what he saw as inherent corruption in Russia. Really Jr. ? Since when have you been scared of corruption? What else is scary over there? I hope one day we will get the whole story, but we probably won't.
posted by mumimor at 1:23 PM on May 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
There's no way that project was ever realistic, and everyone involved are doing weird stuff. Ivanka in Putin's chair was already strange, in the context it's far stranger. And that is just a little clickbaity detail in the whole story of bad actors pretending at something to cover something else. Sater seems to be a double agent or something, Cohen is clearly not just Trump's fixer but also a low-life mobster; the Russians involved including Putin seem to be enjoying the whole spectacle as an elaborate joke. It's telling that Trump Jr. is freaked out by it all, describing it as a “scary place” to do business because of what he saw as inherent corruption in Russia. Really Jr. ? Since when have you been scared of corruption? What else is scary over there? I hope one day we will get the whole story, but we probably won't.
posted by mumimor at 1:23 PM on May 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
...it seems like Democratic presidential candidates always have to have at least one misstatement or inarticulately-worded phrase than endangers their campaign (usually taken out of context and distorted), but Trump gets a pass on the never-ending river of shit that flows from his mouth.
We should remember in retrospect, lest there was even any question at the time, that a huge chunk of the voting public are unambigously confirmed now as people who wouldn't even blink or tap the breaks at a public figure who overtly appeals to white supremacy, describes a plan that matches the cover story for the Holocaust but for immigrants,† and justifies several of the things he's planning by citing as a positive precedent the wartime executive orders for rounding up Asian-American citizens and placing them in concentration camps‡ after years of bellyaching from the right about how minor rule tweaks by Obama with executive orders were incipient tyranny.
† Still lots of racism left for non-immigrant Jews, of course
‡ "concentration camps" being a term actually used for what he was doing by FDR as well as subsequent presidents
I think people supporting Democrats convinced themselves in the past that gaffes were pivotal in frustrating electoral ambitions when in fact the voters who were ready to hand the rest of us over to fascists at most needed the barest of excuses to support jingoistic authoritarian plutocracy and not much of anything could have been done to appease them. It doesn't make for as good a narrative but turnout and making sure every election at every level is genuinely contested are the keys.
Unrelatedly, here's Steve Pinker a few months ago interviewed by Steven Sackur on BBC's HardTalk a few months ago telling a bunch of satisfying but optimistic just-so stories about the Enlightenment, the Trump administration, and a bunch of other stuff. (Related to a book he's written about the Enlightenment.)
posted by XMLicious at 3:04 PM on May 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
> Watch Rudy Giuliani Melt Down When He's Shown a Rebuttal By...Rudy Giuliani
This technique was kind of typical for the Daily Show, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why the networks haven't adopted it. Showing hypocrisy and lying so clearly and dramatically would draw incredible ratings. (and btw, be service to the truth or whatevs.)
posted by klarck at 3:25 PM on May 19, 2018 [36 favorites]
This technique was kind of typical for the Daily Show, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why the networks haven't adopted it. Showing hypocrisy and lying so clearly and dramatically would draw incredible ratings. (and btw, be service to the truth or whatevs.)
posted by klarck at 3:25 PM on May 19, 2018 [36 favorites]
I assume they're too scared of losing 'access' to make it a routine. Too bad though: like yourself, I feel like it'd draw great ratings. People love this stuff.
posted by mordax at 3:28 PM on May 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by mordax at 3:28 PM on May 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
I think people supporting Democrats convinced themselves in the past that gaffes were pivotal in frustrating electoral ambitions when in fact the voters who were ready to hand the rest of us over to fascists at most needed the barest of excuses to support jingoistic authoritarian plutocracy and not much of anything could have been done to appease them. It doesn't make for as good a narrative but turnout and making sure every election at every level is genuinely contested are the keys.
I agree with this. I note that Obama was elected, gaffes or no gaffes, and both Gore and Kerry lost despite being """"electable"""". If a sigh or misstated word can make Democratic voters stay home, then we've got bigger problems than candidate gaffes. Turnout is the key. Democrats have been winning in the midterms so far because when we vote, we win. Treating our voters like they're timid forest creatures ready to flee at the drop of a leaf and have to be gently coaxed to the polls is self-defeating.
Johnny Unbeatable doesn't exist.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:28 PM on May 19, 2018 [38 favorites]
I agree with this. I note that Obama was elected, gaffes or no gaffes, and both Gore and Kerry lost despite being """"electable"""". If a sigh or misstated word can make Democratic voters stay home, then we've got bigger problems than candidate gaffes. Turnout is the key. Democrats have been winning in the midterms so far because when we vote, we win. Treating our voters like they're timid forest creatures ready to flee at the drop of a leaf and have to be gently coaxed to the polls is self-defeating.
Johnny Unbeatable doesn't exist.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:28 PM on May 19, 2018 [38 favorites]
If Only!
Trump did it and he’s going down for a host of crimes, and some of them have nothing to do with Russia
posted by growabrain at 12:19 PM on May 19
Link ded
posted by lalochezia at 4:37 PM on May 19, 2018
Link ded
Seems to be working fine here, but Archive Link
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:53 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seems to be working fine here, but Archive Link
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:53 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
justifies several of the things he's planning by citing as a positive precedent the wartime executive orders for rounding up Asian-American citizens and placing them in concentration camps
He also favorably cited Eisenhower's Operation Wetback.
But not how the operation let Mexican workers stay in the US so farmers and ranchers could continue to exploit them.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:55 PM on May 19, 2018
He also favorably cited Eisenhower's Operation Wetback.
But not how the operation let Mexican workers stay in the US so farmers and ranchers could continue to exploit them.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:55 PM on May 19, 2018
Conservative lawyer and Kellyanne spouse George Conway is feeling salty today.
Ari Fleischer
I trust Mueller to pursue the truth, but his hirings create the appearance of bias:
82% of his lawyers are Ds. 71% of them have contributed money to D candidates/causes.
Mueller’s lawyers donated $80,257. Ds got 77,507 (97%) while Rs got $2,750 (3%).
National Review: The Mueller Probe: A Year-Old Hyperpartisan Circus
George Conway
Replying to @AriFleischer
Nope. His hirings show that he hired lawyers. And lawyers overwhelmingly tend, especially in the elite ranks, to be liberal Democrats.
LATimes: The political donations made by Robert Mueller's team are not evidence of bias
---
Retweeted Ken Dilanian
There was an informant and that "also happens to debunk Trump's narrative that there was a spy in his campaign." Trump's ability to get his opponents -- and Dilanian is an active opponent, not a journalist here -- to self-beclown is amazing.
George Conway
Replying to @instapundit
I’m sorry, did the Trump campaign have an office in Cambridgeshire? I must have missed that.
posted by chris24 at 5:20 PM on May 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
Ari Fleischer
I trust Mueller to pursue the truth, but his hirings create the appearance of bias:
82% of his lawyers are Ds. 71% of them have contributed money to D candidates/causes.
Mueller’s lawyers donated $80,257. Ds got 77,507 (97%) while Rs got $2,750 (3%).
National Review: The Mueller Probe: A Year-Old Hyperpartisan Circus
George Conway
Replying to @AriFleischer
Nope. His hirings show that he hired lawyers. And lawyers overwhelmingly tend, especially in the elite ranks, to be liberal Democrats.
LATimes: The political donations made by Robert Mueller's team are not evidence of bias
---
@KenDilanianNBC: The fact that the FBI ran an informant at three Trump aides is news. The reporters who dug it out are to be commended. It also happens to debunk Trump’s narrative that there was a spy in his campaign. Details of this investigation are worthy subjects of reporting. Truth matters.Instapundit
Retweeted Ken Dilanian
There was an informant and that "also happens to debunk Trump's narrative that there was a spy in his campaign." Trump's ability to get his opponents -- and Dilanian is an active opponent, not a journalist here -- to self-beclown is amazing.
George Conway
Replying to @instapundit
I’m sorry, did the Trump campaign have an office in Cambridgeshire? I must have missed that.
posted by chris24 at 5:20 PM on May 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
"Great to have our incredible First Lady back home in the White House. Melanie is feeling and doing really well."
Still Negging After All These Years
posted by clawsoon at 5:20 PM on May 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
Still Negging After All These Years
posted by clawsoon at 5:20 PM on May 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
Still Negging After All These Years
While that appears to be an off-the-cuff observation, it is worth remembering that "negging" is a fundamental part of Trump's core personality. Thus, he elevates himself. ( long dissertation on malignant narcissism omitted )
posted by mikelieman at 5:25 PM on May 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
While that appears to be an off-the-cuff observation, it is worth remembering that "negging" is a fundamental part of Trump's core personality. Thus, he elevates himself. ( long dissertation on malignant narcissism omitted )
posted by mikelieman at 5:25 PM on May 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
Ipsos shows Republicans with a +1 lead in the generic ballot today. One poll, blah blah, etc. But it is noteworthy in that so far as I can tell this is the first generic ballot poll out of many hundreds (counting rolling trackers) to show the Republicans with the generic ballot lead since the day Trump was inaugurated. So that's a thing. I think outrage fatigue must have set in hard.
posted by Justinian at 5:35 PM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 5:35 PM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I assume they're too scared of losing 'access' to make it a routine. Too bad though: like yourself, I feel like it'd draw great ratings. People love this stuff.
What’s more, the loss of media “access” to liars is a good thing. If lying liars don’t want to give an interview or make a tv appearance because they are afraid a real journalist will call them on their lies or are pissed because a journalist has actually done so, then that just reduces the number of liars appearing in the media and lies told to the public.
Let the shills, flacks and bald-faced liars take their lies back to Galt’s Gulch of Media Inaccessibility in a fit of pique. When they cede the media to the truth-tellers, society wins.
And this goes double for the lying liars that populate the White House, and lie on the reg. Seriously, as someone mentioned above, the fact that the President of the United States gets to speak anonymously, “on background” or whatever, is a violation of everything that journalistic integrity should hold dear.
posted by darkstar at 5:41 PM on May 19, 2018 [44 favorites]
What’s more, the loss of media “access” to liars is a good thing. If lying liars don’t want to give an interview or make a tv appearance because they are afraid a real journalist will call them on their lies or are pissed because a journalist has actually done so, then that just reduces the number of liars appearing in the media and lies told to the public.
Let the shills, flacks and bald-faced liars take their lies back to Galt’s Gulch of Media Inaccessibility in a fit of pique. When they cede the media to the truth-tellers, society wins.
And this goes double for the lying liars that populate the White House, and lie on the reg. Seriously, as someone mentioned above, the fact that the President of the United States gets to speak anonymously, “on background” or whatever, is a violation of everything that journalistic integrity should hold dear.
posted by darkstar at 5:41 PM on May 19, 2018 [44 favorites]
Ipsos shows
Goddammit trigger warning please
posted by schadenfrau at 5:45 PM on May 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
Goddammit trigger warning please
posted by schadenfrau at 5:45 PM on May 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
Damn it, Justinian went and resurrected the JCPL.
posted by rp at 6:20 PM on May 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by rp at 6:20 PM on May 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
Chris Hayes' new podcast on the middle east with Dexter Filkens is a good explainer of the current state of play in the middle east right now in light of today's Israel/Saudi/UAE bombshell.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:29 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:29 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Foreign interference can't go unanswered, or it invites more. Not even from our alleged closest "allies".
FWIW, today Netanyahu appeared on Judge Jeannie's show on FOX.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:36 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
FWIW, today Netanyahu appeared on Judge Jeannie's show on FOX.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:36 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Politico, Ukrainian politician behind controversial peace proposal to appear in Mueller probe
Just to update, Politico followed up with this article: Mueller Probes Ukrainian Who Pitched Peace Plan to White House
This sounds like Artemenko's signalling like mad to Team Trump about what's about to go down...
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:42 PM on May 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Just to update, Politico followed up with this article: Mueller Probes Ukrainian Who Pitched Peace Plan to White House
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has been meeting over the last year with a Ukrainian lawmaker at the center of a controversial plan to end his country’s conflict with Russia, pressing him for details about interactions with Trump administration officials.One of the members of Congress we know Artemenko met with is Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Moscow). "A spokesman for Rohrabacher told POLITICO that the congressman met with Artemenko on Jan. 23, 2017, as chair of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee focused on Europe and Eurasia. ‘But by now the man blends with all the others and little if anything of consequence came out of the meeting,’ the spokesman said, adding that Rohrabacher ‘does not expect to meet with Mueller’s team.’"
Andrii Artemenko told POLITICO that FBI agents had peppered him with “assorted questions” over “at least” two interviews about his “meetings, dealings and the questions discussed with various levels of the American political establishment.”
“These included congressmen, senators and representatives of the White House administration,” he added in a telephone conversation on Friday, after a meeting with members of the Mueller team.
While Artemenko declined to offer the names of specific people the FBI asked about, the details shed new light on the work of the special counsel, who is spearheading an investigation into Russia’s attempts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and whether the Trump campaign aided in these efforts.
In total, Artemenko said, he was presented with a list of more than 140 questions and is now scheduled to appear under oath before a grand jury on June 1.[...]
“I’m cooperating, I’m very transparent, I’m open for any kind of question,” Artemenko told POLITICO.[...]
Artemenko declined to comment on whether Flynn, or possibly Trump, figured among the “White House representatives” that Mueller’s investigators had brought up.
However, he did say the FBI agents asked him a “wide circle of questions” that touched on Russia.
This sounds like Artemenko's signalling like mad to Team Trump about what's about to go down...
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:42 PM on May 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Coming back around on my previous comment about "Red Flags" w.r.t. the Santa Fe school shooter (because we're not likely to get a dedicated thread unless we sadly give in to current events and just start a "School Shootings Megathread")
Texas school shooter killed girl who turned down his advances and embarrassed him in class, her mother says
How. Many. Fucking. Red. Flags. Do. You. Need?
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:44 PM on May 19, 2018 [61 favorites]
Texas school shooter killed girl who turned down his advances and embarrassed him in class, her mother says
How. Many. Fucking. Red. Flags. Do. You. Need?
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:44 PM on May 19, 2018 [61 favorites]
Misogyny is basically a precursor to all white male violence at this point. Like how they used to say psychopaths would torture small animals? Except we care more about small animals than women and girls so I doubt anyone will care enough about toxic masculinity for it to become an official red flag.
posted by supercrayon at 7:16 PM on May 19, 2018 [67 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 7:16 PM on May 19, 2018 [67 favorites]
FWIW, today Netanyahu appeared on Judge Jeannie's show on FOX.
At this point Netanyahu is basically the 52nd Republican Senator to the right of Tom Cotton, and Democrats like Schumer who continue to cozy up to him need to start answering for it within the party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:19 PM on May 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
At this point Netanyahu is basically the 52nd Republican Senator to the right of Tom Cotton, and Democrats like Schumer who continue to cozy up to him need to start answering for it within the party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:19 PM on May 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
Republicans are upset about a hyper-partisan investigation of the President?
Huh. Are they all just hopeless ignorant bastards? Hopelessly ill-informed? Since Fog News is their religion, I'mma go with that, but let's be clear the door is wide-open on boring tiny-penis evility as well. Jake Tapper or who ever's interviewing these manglers of decency should just lean out and slap the shit out of them.
"Mueller's hired Democrat to be mean to President"
"No! *slap* Bad Rudy! Quit destroying America! No!"
posted by petebest at 7:27 PM on May 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Huh. Are they all just hopeless ignorant bastards? Hopelessly ill-informed? Since Fog News is their religion, I'mma go with that, but let's be clear the door is wide-open on boring tiny-penis evility as well. Jake Tapper or who ever's interviewing these manglers of decency should just lean out and slap the shit out of them.
"Mueller's hired Democrat to be mean to President"
"No! *slap* Bad Rudy! Quit destroying America! No!"
posted by petebest at 7:27 PM on May 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
'The Day that We Can't Protect Human Sources': The President and the House Intelligence Committee Burn an Informant (Quinta Jurecic, Benjamin Wittes | Lawfareblog)
To wit, what happens when the Chairman of the House intelligence committee and the President of the United States team up to out an FBI informant over the strenuous objection of the bureau and the Department of Justice—and manage to get the job done? And what happens when they do so for frankly political reasons: to protect the president from a properly predicated counterintelligence investigation involving the activity of an adversary foreign power?posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:28 PM on May 19, 2018 [55 favorites]
These questions should be the stuff of conspiratorial Hollywood movies. They are, in fact, the stuff of this week’s news.
The quote from the Lawfare article that amazes me is this one:
posted by zachlipton at 7:42 PM on May 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
Then there’s the message it sends to the Edward Snowdens and Philip Agees of the world—the ones who are still in government and thinking about making or engineering potentially dangerous disclosures, for whatever reason. The message is this: Why not do it? The president and the House intelligence committee chairman are helping to out intelligence assets, after all. If the elected leadership of the country isn’t concerned about risks to intelligence sources, why should you take those risks seriously when calculating whether to release sensitive information? If an FBI informant isn’t safe from Nunes and Trump, is it really just that Edward Snowden has to remain in exile in Moscow?I never thought I'd see Lawfare, the clubhouse of the national security set, even come around to this view. They're certainly not condoning public whistleblowing, as can be seen by lumping Snowden and Agee together, but the idea that they could even wrap their heads around the concept is an amazing step for Lawfare.
posted by zachlipton at 7:42 PM on May 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
And what happens when they do so for frankly political reasons: to protect the president from a properly predicated counterintelligence investigation involving the activity of an adversary foreign power?
It's all part of the process of replacing "the Deep State" with their own "shallow tyranny".
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:32 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's all part of the process of replacing "the Deep State" with their own "shallow tyranny".
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:32 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
I guess for the "good guy with a gun" and "armed society is a polite society" theories to kick in, you need more guns than... Texas?
posted by ctmf at 8:33 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 8:33 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) has become the 24th Senator to sponsor S.1278, which would grant full statehood to the District of Columbia.
posted by schmod at 8:56 PM on May 19, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by schmod at 8:56 PM on May 19, 2018 [62 favorites]
Netinyahu is facing down hard time for corruption. Now that Turkey has announced it wants to get nuked first, he will abscond to a friendly country with lax extradition treaties, while a moderate coalition takes over. Otherwise Turkey gets nuked first.
Israel can absolutely hold its own against all comers, even without US and EU help. This is... less than ideal.
Is there an understatement emoji? One is warranted there.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:58 PM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
Israel can absolutely hold its own against all comers, even without US and EU help. This is... less than ideal.
Is there an understatement emoji? One is warranted there.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:58 PM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think people supporting Democrats convinced themselves in the past that gaffes were pivotal in frustrating electoral ambitions when in fact the voters who were ready to hand the rest of us over to fascists at most needed the barest of excuses to support jingoistic authoritarian plutocracy and not much of anything could have been done to appease them.
I think it's important that gaffes are media-driven. As we saw in the 2016 election, the right-wing media will misrepresent any soundbyte from a non-Republican politician as evidence of their fundamental mendacity, and the mainstream media will faithfully represent that as being equivalent to the Republican candidate being a fraud to avoid being called 'biased'.
posted by Merus at 10:22 PM on May 19, 2018 [30 favorites]
I think it's important that gaffes are media-driven. As we saw in the 2016 election, the right-wing media will misrepresent any soundbyte from a non-Republican politician as evidence of their fundamental mendacity, and the mainstream media will faithfully represent that as being equivalent to the Republican candidate being a fraud to avoid being called 'biased'.
posted by Merus at 10:22 PM on May 19, 2018 [30 favorites]
The lead story in the P-D is basically PR for a local hospital letting us know they can treat pediatric gunshot victims.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 12:10 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 12:10 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
TRIGGER WARNING*:
At Santa Fe High School, my daughter phoned: I'm hiding in a closet. I love you, Mom. Mother's account of what it is like to be living your normal morning and have it shattered into a complete nightmare. Then this article turns to her daughter who was hiding in the closet of the classroom for the entire shooting as the gunman killed her teachers and peers in her art class. Those hiding in the closet with her were not unscathed as he fired shots and taunted them through the door. This was her family's day, Friday.
*Trigger warning because their account is horrific, then it pushes past that. But we should all read it. We should all know what fellow Americans are experiencing and do as much as we can to change it.
This was 30 minutes from my house. I have friends who are art teachers at schools nearby. I work with people who live in this community.
Our police chief, who may have marched with some of these kids as they Marched For Our Lives just a few months ago, Art Acevedo has had it (facebook post):
"Today I spent the day dealing with another mass shooting of children... I know some of you have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I've hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views...[this is] a time for prayers, action and the asking of God's forgiveness for our inaction, especially the elected officials that ran to the cameras today, acted in a solemn manner, called for prayers, and will once again do absolutely nothing."
Who were those elected officials? Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, who blames doors, should read the above account on how doors factored in this shooting. And Senator Ted Cruz, who is practically reanimated out of NRA money. They all showed up on this same Friday while this family was experiencing what the article describes.
posted by dog food sugar at 1:15 AM on May 20, 2018 [83 favorites]
At Santa Fe High School, my daughter phoned: I'm hiding in a closet. I love you, Mom. Mother's account of what it is like to be living your normal morning and have it shattered into a complete nightmare. Then this article turns to her daughter who was hiding in the closet of the classroom for the entire shooting as the gunman killed her teachers and peers in her art class. Those hiding in the closet with her were not unscathed as he fired shots and taunted them through the door. This was her family's day, Friday.
*Trigger warning because their account is horrific, then it pushes past that. But we should all read it. We should all know what fellow Americans are experiencing and do as much as we can to change it.
This was 30 minutes from my house. I have friends who are art teachers at schools nearby. I work with people who live in this community.
Our police chief, who may have marched with some of these kids as they Marched For Our Lives just a few months ago, Art Acevedo has had it (facebook post):
"Today I spent the day dealing with another mass shooting of children... I know some of you have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I've hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views...[this is] a time for prayers, action and the asking of God's forgiveness for our inaction, especially the elected officials that ran to the cameras today, acted in a solemn manner, called for prayers, and will once again do absolutely nothing."
Who were those elected officials? Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, who blames doors, should read the above account on how doors factored in this shooting. And Senator Ted Cruz, who is practically reanimated out of NRA money. They all showed up on this same Friday while this family was experiencing what the article describes.
posted by dog food sugar at 1:15 AM on May 20, 2018 [83 favorites]
I assume they're too scared of losing 'access' to make it a routine.
The media should realise that that wouldn't be a big deal as long as they keep access to the leakers.
And given that a good chunk of the WH staff appears to have been recruited via Colander LLC they're not going to run out of that anytime soon.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:59 AM on May 20, 2018
The media should realise that that wouldn't be a big deal as long as they keep access to the leakers.
And given that a good chunk of the WH staff appears to have been recruited via Colander LLC they're not going to run out of that anytime soon.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:59 AM on May 20, 2018
the asking of God's forgiveness for our inaction, especially the elected officials that ran to the cameras today, acted in a solemn manner, called for prayers, and will once again do absolutely nothing
And I'm gobsmacked at the tone deafness of anybody who would deck themselves out in a flag-based costume and red, white and blue balloons - or even worse, a MAGA hat and a fucking gun (!!?) - before turning up to offer "comfort", given that the nation and administration identified by those symbols has yet again and right then demonstrated its unwillingness and/or incompetence to act in any meaningful way to prevent these obscenities. That's not comfort, that's just a whole bonus serving of Fuck You.
Also worth noting that the obviously useless response so consistently recommended by the clown car - armed officers in schools - proved yet again to be every bit as useless as it was obviously always going to be, despite the fact that the armed officer in question did run toward the shooter instead of hanging about outside. Poor bloke just ended up getting shot for his bravery.
posted by flabdablet at 4:50 AM on May 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
And I'm gobsmacked at the tone deafness of anybody who would deck themselves out in a flag-based costume and red, white and blue balloons - or even worse, a MAGA hat and a fucking gun (!!?) - before turning up to offer "comfort", given that the nation and administration identified by those symbols has yet again and right then demonstrated its unwillingness and/or incompetence to act in any meaningful way to prevent these obscenities. That's not comfort, that's just a whole bonus serving of Fuck You.
Also worth noting that the obviously useless response so consistently recommended by the clown car - armed officers in schools - proved yet again to be every bit as useless as it was obviously always going to be, despite the fact that the armed officer in question did run toward the shooter instead of hanging about outside. Poor bloke just ended up getting shot for his bravery.
posted by flabdablet at 4:50 AM on May 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick: Texas school shooter killed girl who turned down his advances and embarrassed him in class, her mother says
How. Many. Fucking. Red. Flags. Do. You. Need?
Much (though not all) of the Muslim terrorism that I've heard about has the same red flag: It's about being allowed to force women into sexual relationships. That's a major common thread of modern terrorism all around the world. I think we can lump peaceable Westerners and peaceable Muslims (and peaceable Western Muslims) together, and we can lump misogynistic terrorists together. Taliban and this guy: On the same side. Their most important belief, the one that inspires their violence, is the same.
posted by clawsoon at 5:32 AM on May 20, 2018 [39 favorites]
How. Many. Fucking. Red. Flags. Do. You. Need?
Much (though not all) of the Muslim terrorism that I've heard about has the same red flag: It's about being allowed to force women into sexual relationships. That's a major common thread of modern terrorism all around the world. I think we can lump peaceable Westerners and peaceable Muslims (and peaceable Western Muslims) together, and we can lump misogynistic terrorists together. Taliban and this guy: On the same side. Their most important belief, the one that inspires their violence, is the same.
posted by clawsoon at 5:32 AM on May 20, 2018 [39 favorites]
Tess Owens, Vice News: What exactly is Betsy DeVos’ school safety commission doing?
After Friday’s shooting at a Texas high school, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos quickly put out a statement offering her prayers for those affected by the massacre. She also highlighted the efforts of the federal commission on school safety, formed in March in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.posted by ZeusHumms at 5:46 AM on May 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
But despite DeVos’s words, it’s unclear what — if anything — the commission has actually been doing over the last two months, and a variety of groups involved in school safety say they’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of action and transparency.
Much (though not all) of the Muslim terrorism that I've heard about has the same red flag: It's about being allowed to force women into sexual relationships. That's a major common thread of modern terrorism all around the world. I think we can lump peaceable Westerners and peaceable Muslims (and peaceable Western Muslims) together, and we can lump misogynistic terrorists together. Taliban and this guy: On the same side. Their most important belief, the one that inspires their violence, is the same.
This assumes that terrorism is not a rational response to political violence itself, rather is a reflection of some irrational hatred not motivated to satisfy some clearly defined goal. Most people who study terrorism do not believe that to be the case.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 6:02 AM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
This assumes that terrorism is not a rational response to political violence itself, rather is a reflection of some irrational hatred not motivated to satisfy some clearly defined goal. Most people who study terrorism do not believe that to be the case.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 6:02 AM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the World’s most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!
....At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren’t looking at the corruption...
...in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got $145,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife $700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam.
---
Collussion. Nope, probably didn't find that non-existent word. Collusion however...
And nice when he says people who don't support him aren't "real Americans."
posted by chris24 at 6:25 AM on May 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the World’s most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!
....At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren’t looking at the corruption...
...in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got $145,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife $700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam.
---
Collussion. Nope, probably didn't find that non-existent word. Collusion however...
And nice when he says people who don't support him aren't "real Americans."
posted by chris24 at 6:25 AM on May 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
@nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the World’s most expensive Witch Hunt
That's funny, I don't see anything about Whitewater in the paper.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:31 AM on May 20, 2018 [48 favorites]
That's funny, I don't see anything about Whitewater in the paper.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:31 AM on May 20, 2018 [48 favorites]
$20,000,000 Witch Hunt
Whitewater: 2,982 days. $70 million.
Iran/Contra: 2,420 days. $46 million.
Watergate: 784 days. $16 million.
Mueller: 368 days. $10 million.
And boy, Mueller has spent a lot in the last five days. May 15th...
@realDonaldTrump
Can you believe that with all of the made up, unsourced stories I get from the Fake News Media, together with the $10,000,000 Russian Witch Hunt (there is no Collusion), I now have my best Poll Numbers in a year. Much of the Media may be corrupt, but the People truly get it!
posted by chris24 at 6:48 AM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
Whitewater: 2,982 days. $70 million.
Iran/Contra: 2,420 days. $46 million.
Watergate: 784 days. $16 million.
Mueller: 368 days. $10 million.
And boy, Mueller has spent a lot in the last five days. May 15th...
@realDonaldTrump
Can you believe that with all of the made up, unsourced stories I get from the Fake News Media, together with the $10,000,000 Russian Witch Hunt (there is no Collusion), I now have my best Poll Numbers in a year. Much of the Media may be corrupt, but the People truly get it!
posted by chris24 at 6:48 AM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
This assumes that terrorism is not a rational response to political violence itself.... Most people who study terrorism do not believe that to be the case.
Have you met any young men recently? Believing that any of them are motivated by reason seems to be quite a leap.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 7:00 AM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Have you met any young men recently? Believing that any of them are motivated by reason seems to be quite a leap.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 7:00 AM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Mod note: Just a reminder that we don't really have the bandwidth here to do these sprawling dissections / debates on the causes of terrorism, violence in young men, etc., so let's rein it back in on POTUS, WH news. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 7:04 AM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 7:04 AM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Coming in late on Giuliani talking over the CNN clip, but... if this becomes a common technique among interviewees, could the news networks not just use subtitles?
posted by Epixonti at 7:10 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Epixonti at 7:10 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
In advance of the Sunday morning political talk shows, former US Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub @waltshaub had this exchange with someone from the New York Times:
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:20 AM on May 20, 2018 [44 favorites]
Nothing like getting heckled in a green room at 730am by a Sr. NYT editor for expressing indecorous outrage over possible collusion with foreign powers, former foreign intelligence agents & Erik “Blackwater” Prince...because we mustn’t offend the delicate sensibilities of doilies(Shaub isn't naming him so as not to give him publicity.)
Correction: Senior Correspondent, not editor.
He didn’t like that I had responded to a remark that accepting $2M of campaign-related help from a foreign govt is totally normal and is just the “underbelly of politics” by saying it would not be the underbelly of politics but the underbelly of the criminal world. Poor doilies.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the delicate doilies whose hands are sore from the wringing over whether we’re being polite enough in objecting to the assault on our republic. Thoughts and prayers.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:20 AM on May 20, 2018 [44 favorites]
Shaub goes on to say it was in a green room this morning to Mike McIntire, figure out which NYT political reporter was on CNN right around the same time as Shaub this morning and that's who it was.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:37 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:37 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
if this becomes a common technique among interviewees, could the news networks not just use subtitles?
In order to prevent this becoming a common technique among interviewees, it ought to be standard practice for network news producers to exercise the control they already have over whose microphone is live to stymie all attempts by anybody to talk over anything ever. There is no reason at all why televised discussion should not always go out with audio from only one participant at a time. People getting all peeved and talking over each other isn't good TV, it's really annoying TV.
I for one would have very much enjoyed watching Giuliani's sour little puss getting crosser and crosser in the inset picture as it dawned on him that nobody outside the studio could hear the squawks he was using to try to drown out the recorded clip of Earlier Giuliani. Quite the lost opportunity there for CNN, methinks.
posted by flabdablet at 7:41 AM on May 20, 2018 [54 favorites]
In order to prevent this becoming a common technique among interviewees, it ought to be standard practice for network news producers to exercise the control they already have over whose microphone is live to stymie all attempts by anybody to talk over anything ever. There is no reason at all why televised discussion should not always go out with audio from only one participant at a time. People getting all peeved and talking over each other isn't good TV, it's really annoying TV.
I for one would have very much enjoyed watching Giuliani's sour little puss getting crosser and crosser in the inset picture as it dawned on him that nobody outside the studio could hear the squawks he was using to try to drown out the recorded clip of Earlier Giuliani. Quite the lost opportunity there for CNN, methinks.
posted by flabdablet at 7:41 AM on May 20, 2018 [54 favorites]
Remember Giuliani's audio was muted for a short time then was reactivated. It would not surprise me in the least if they muted him and some executive told them to unmute him. Remember this is corporate owned media. They love their tax cuts.
posted by Fleebnork at 8:02 AM on May 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by Fleebnork at 8:02 AM on May 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
chris24: One other point implicit but little discussed. The free public discussion about the Clinton probe and the extreme secrecy around the Russia probe were both to a significant degree driven by the fact that the former was fundamentally unserious and the latter obviously grave.
Hahahahahahaha .... except the former was treated as grave enough to warrant BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: NEW EMAILS FOUND, MAY BE IMPORTANT, TBD!
Letter to Congress From F.B.I. Director on Clinton Email Case (Oct. 28, 2016, via New York Times)
And if Trump's possible misdeeds were so fucking grave, if Russian actors were suspected to be in tampering with the election, WHY NOT WARN THE VOTING PUBLIC? Oh right, Mitch McConnell put party before country.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:27 AM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
Hahahahahahaha .... except the former was treated as grave enough to warrant BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: NEW EMAILS FOUND, MAY BE IMPORTANT, TBD!
Letter to Congress From F.B.I. Director on Clinton Email Case (Oct. 28, 2016, via New York Times)
In the letter, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, said that new emails had surfaced in a case unrelated to the closed investigation into whether Hillary Clinton or her aides had mishandled classified information, and that the messages “appear to be pertinent to the investigation.”Yup, total nothingburger to drop ELEVEN DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.
And if Trump's possible misdeeds were so fucking grave, if Russian actors were suspected to be in tampering with the election, WHY NOT WARN THE VOTING PUBLIC? Oh right, Mitch McConnell put party before country.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:27 AM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
Yes, the way the CNN producer cranked up Giuliani's mic so that his true complicity could be hidden in order to produce a juicy sound clip should have been called out by journalists, not from the peanut gallery here on some small web site.
posted by Yowser at 8:32 AM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 8:32 AM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
Good grief, those tweets from Trump this morning reek with desperation. I can practically smell the flop sweat through the Internet.
posted by Sublimity at 8:33 AM on May 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Sublimity at 8:33 AM on May 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
Good grief, those tweets from Trump this morning reek with desperation. I can practically smell the flop sweat through the Internet.
Oh, the flop sweat continued.
@realDonaldTrump
Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party. Don’t worry about Dems FISA Abuse, missing Emails or Fraudulent Dossier!
@realDonaldTrump
What ever happened to the Server, at the center of so much Corruption, that the Democratic National Committee REFUSED to hand over to the hard charging (except in the case of Democrats) FBI? They broke into homes & offices early in the morning, but were afraid to take the Server?
@realDonaldTrump
....and why hasn’t the Podesta brother been charged and arrested, like others, after being forced to close down his very large and successful firm? Is it because he is a VERY well connected Democrat working in the Swamp of Washington, D.C.?
posted by chris24 at 8:38 AM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh, the flop sweat continued.
@realDonaldTrump
Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party. Don’t worry about Dems FISA Abuse, missing Emails or Fraudulent Dossier!
@realDonaldTrump
What ever happened to the Server, at the center of so much Corruption, that the Democratic National Committee REFUSED to hand over to the hard charging (except in the case of Democrats) FBI? They broke into homes & offices early in the morning, but were afraid to take the Server?
@realDonaldTrump
....and why hasn’t the Podesta brother been charged and arrested, like others, after being forced to close down his very large and successful firm? Is it because he is a VERY well connected Democrat working in the Swamp of Washington, D.C.?
posted by chris24 at 8:38 AM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Byron Tau (WSJ)
Trump associate Roger Stone tells NBC he may have criminal exposure on some "extraneous crime, pertaining to my business" and that he is prepared to be indicted by Mueller. Says they won't find any collusion.
VIDEO
Quinta Jurecic (Lawfare)
Retweeted Byron Tau
"There's a good chance I may have committed some light treason"
posted by chris24 at 8:57 AM on May 20, 2018 [63 favorites]
Trump associate Roger Stone tells NBC he may have criminal exposure on some "extraneous crime, pertaining to my business" and that he is prepared to be indicted by Mueller. Says they won't find any collusion.
VIDEO
Quinta Jurecic (Lawfare)
Retweeted Byron Tau
"There's a good chance I may have committed some light treason"
posted by chris24 at 8:57 AM on May 20, 2018 [63 favorites]
Andrew Restuccia, Politico: How Trump changed everything for The Onion
POLITICO: What is the goal of your political coverage? What’s the underlying thing that you want to get across when you write about Trump world?posted by ZeusHumms at 9:12 AM on May 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
[Editor-In-Chief Chad] Nackers: I think it all comes down to “tu stultus es,” which means, “you are dumb.” It’s our take on everything, that all of it is kind of stupid. I think humanity goes through these cycles of just being kind of awful. It’s part of the reason why problems exist for generations — because people are kind of abusive and it lives on. On a small scale, if someone is emotionally or physically abusive to someone, that next generation is going to be emotionally or physically abusive. And I think in the larger scale, humanity has just been so abusive that we’re locked into these awful cycles and it’s just impossible to get out of. Because no matter what, there’s no fix for this stuff until we can get far enough along to escape it somehow.
The saga of the VA Democratic House whip who called the police on latino activists pressing him on consulting work for ICE is still going on:
Alfonso Lopez Requested Police Presence at Indivisible Event, Days Before Protesters Arrived. This contradicts the official statement put out by Indivisible Arlington.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:35 AM on May 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Alfonso Lopez Requested Police Presence at Indivisible Event, Days Before Protesters Arrived. This contradicts the official statement put out by Indivisible Arlington.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:35 AM on May 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Good grief, those tweets from Trump this morning reek with desperation. I can practically smell the flop sweat through the Internet.
I was thinking "less flop sweat and more normal Brainworms Sunday tweeting," but he's still at it:
@realDonaldTrump
The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia - so now they’re looking at the rest of the World. Oh’ great!
Oh' boy, Something might be up.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:22 AM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I was thinking "less flop sweat and more normal Brainworms Sunday tweeting," but he's still at it:
@realDonaldTrump
The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia - so now they’re looking at the rest of the World. Oh’ great!
Oh' boy, Something might be up.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:22 AM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Colluding with the Saudis, or the UAE, or yes, even with Israel, is still treason.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:24 AM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:24 AM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
Welp, here we go. Clearly Mueller has him really freaked.
@realDonaldTrump
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
posted by chris24 at 10:43 AM on May 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
posted by chris24 at 10:43 AM on May 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
round 2813 of The Nixon Tapes But It's Broadcast Live to the Entire Planet
posted by theodolite at 10:43 AM on May 20, 2018 [38 favorites]
round 2813 of The Nixon Tapes But It's Broadcast Live to the Entire Planet
posted by theodolite at 10:43 AM on May 20, 2018 [38 favorites]
After Friday’s shooting at a Texas high school, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos quickly put out a statement offering her prayers for those affected by the massacre. She also highlighted the efforts of the federal commission on school safety, formed in March in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Intense scrutiny is having an effect. They have dropped the obvious false pretense of thoughts accompanying their prayers.
posted by srboisvert at 10:52 AM on May 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
Intense scrutiny is having an effect. They have dropped the obvious false pretense of thoughts accompanying their prayers.
posted by srboisvert at 10:52 AM on May 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
I am having considerable difficulty in finding the vocabulary to describe each new layer of batshit insanity 45 is exhibiting. I have run out of English. There literally are no words. And words are my business. This is distressing.
posted by Devonian at 10:52 AM on May 20, 2018 [47 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 10:52 AM on May 20, 2018 [47 favorites]
And Mueller adds another count of obstruction to his list.
Seriously, ordering DOJ to investigate itself in its investigation into him is his biggest interference since firing Comey.
posted by chris24 at 10:55 AM on May 20, 2018 [38 favorites]
Seriously, ordering DOJ to investigate itself in its investigation into him is his biggest interference since firing Comey.
posted by chris24 at 10:55 AM on May 20, 2018 [38 favorites]
This is another one of those cases where this single statement alone should undo a regular presidency.
posted by Archelaus at 11:13 AM on May 20, 2018 [58 favorites]
posted by Archelaus at 11:13 AM on May 20, 2018 [58 favorites]
Coincidentally, Melinia returned from the hospital. The current freak out makes you think if she's been trying to talk to him about the future of their child and herself should he go to prison. "Can they seize the Trusts" seems to be a real concern these days. I do not think she's so foolish as to not have independent legal advice.
posted by mikelieman at 11:13 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 11:13 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
I made a post pulling together some of the threads on Santa Fe and misogyny if anyones wants to talk about that elsewhere.
posted by Artw at 11:16 AM on May 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:16 AM on May 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
Seriously how hard is it to go "I welcome the extra scrutiny of the FBI in making sure that our elections are fair and will cooperate with them 100% to show America that I ran a clean campaign." and then work to kill the investigation through backroom deals and boring bureaucratic technicalities while keeping a good public face, like I'm sure every even marginally competent advisor has been telling him. He's so bad at this. Thankfully.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:19 AM on May 20, 2018 [55 favorites]
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
Seriously how hard is it to go "I welcome the extra scrutiny of the FBI in making sure that our elections are fair and will cooperate with them 100% to show America that I ran a clean campaign." and then work to kill the investigation through backroom deals and boring bureaucratic technicalities while keeping a good public face, like I'm sure every even marginally competent advisor has been telling him. He's so bad at this. Thankfully.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:19 AM on May 20, 2018 [55 favorites]
Is this his longest (word count) twitter freakout? I'm starting to wonder if the Russia thing is smaller than something that he did with these other countries, based on his reaction.
posted by bootlegpop at 11:20 AM on May 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by bootlegpop at 11:20 AM on May 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
Tommy Vietor (Pod Save America)
This is crossing a massive red line. Trump is forcing DOJ to conduct a politicized investigation - something he himself conceded he shouldn’t do. Someone in the Republican Party needs to stand up to this bullshit right now.
@nycsouthpaw
The idea that the Obama DOJ was investigating the Trump campaign’s now well-established secret meetings with a foreign adversary for political purposes but FORGOT TO MENTION IT UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION doesn’t make sense on its face and we don’t have to pretend otherwise.
Benjamin Wittes (Brookings, Lawfare)
I normally ignore presidential tweets. This one requires attention, because it could genuinely produce a crisis with the Justice Department and the FBI. Here’s an explanatory thread that may (or may not) be useful. /1/
2/ The President in this tweet announces that he will tomorrow formally demand of the Justice Department a specific investigation—to wit, one about whether the DOJ and FBI spied on the Trump campaign and if the Obama administration demanded such action of them.
3/ There is no doubt that he has the constitutional authority to make this demand.
4/ There is also no doubt in my mind that neither the attorney general (who is recused anyway) nor the deputy attorney general nor the FBI director can in good conscience comply with such an order. And I don’t believe they will.
5/ This is a nakedly corrupt attempt on the part of the President to derail an investigation of himself at the expense of a human source to whose protection the FBI and DOJ are committed. See @qjurecic and my piece on this from yesterday. Lawfare: 'The Day that We Can't Protect Human Sources': The President and the House Intelligence Committee Burn an Informant
6/ So if the President really gives Rod Rosenstein or Chris Wray an order (as opposed to Twitter bluster) demanding a particular investigation not properly predicated under FBI/DOJ guidelines for this overtly political purpose, I believe both men will resign rather than comply.
7/ In other words, this tweet is different from other Trump craziness tweets. It’s one that promises a specific action on a specific date (tomorrow) with respect to a specific agency that will, if it takes place, precipitate a showdown.
8/ Trump is a wuss, so he may well back down. He was going to fire Rosenstein, and he wussed out. He was going to fire Mueller and he wussed out. So I don’t want to overstate this. There’s lots of ways this could peter out. But this tweet is no joke.
9/ As Quinta and I wrote yesterday, “Don’t underestimate this episode. It will have a long tail and big consequences—all of them terrible.” Those consequences, if you believe the President, may start tomorrow.
posted by chris24 at 11:20 AM on May 20, 2018 [68 favorites]
This is crossing a massive red line. Trump is forcing DOJ to conduct a politicized investigation - something he himself conceded he shouldn’t do. Someone in the Republican Party needs to stand up to this bullshit right now.
@nycsouthpaw
The idea that the Obama DOJ was investigating the Trump campaign’s now well-established secret meetings with a foreign adversary for political purposes but FORGOT TO MENTION IT UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION doesn’t make sense on its face and we don’t have to pretend otherwise.
Benjamin Wittes (Brookings, Lawfare)
I normally ignore presidential tweets. This one requires attention, because it could genuinely produce a crisis with the Justice Department and the FBI. Here’s an explanatory thread that may (or may not) be useful. /1/
2/ The President in this tweet announces that he will tomorrow formally demand of the Justice Department a specific investigation—to wit, one about whether the DOJ and FBI spied on the Trump campaign and if the Obama administration demanded such action of them.
3/ There is no doubt that he has the constitutional authority to make this demand.
4/ There is also no doubt in my mind that neither the attorney general (who is recused anyway) nor the deputy attorney general nor the FBI director can in good conscience comply with such an order. And I don’t believe they will.
5/ This is a nakedly corrupt attempt on the part of the President to derail an investigation of himself at the expense of a human source to whose protection the FBI and DOJ are committed. See @qjurecic and my piece on this from yesterday. Lawfare: 'The Day that We Can't Protect Human Sources': The President and the House Intelligence Committee Burn an Informant
6/ So if the President really gives Rod Rosenstein or Chris Wray an order (as opposed to Twitter bluster) demanding a particular investigation not properly predicated under FBI/DOJ guidelines for this overtly political purpose, I believe both men will resign rather than comply.
7/ In other words, this tweet is different from other Trump craziness tweets. It’s one that promises a specific action on a specific date (tomorrow) with respect to a specific agency that will, if it takes place, precipitate a showdown.
8/ Trump is a wuss, so he may well back down. He was going to fire Rosenstein, and he wussed out. He was going to fire Mueller and he wussed out. So I don’t want to overstate this. There’s lots of ways this could peter out. But this tweet is no joke.
9/ As Quinta and I wrote yesterday, “Don’t underestimate this episode. It will have a long tail and big consequences—all of them terrible.” Those consequences, if you believe the President, may start tomorrow.
posted by chris24 at 11:20 AM on May 20, 2018 [68 favorites]
After Friday’s shooting at a Texas high school, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos quickly put out a statement offering her prayers for those affected by the massacre. She also highlighted the efforts of the federal commission on school safety, formed in March in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Two months ago, Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts asked DeVos about said committee and asked DeVos to discuss the committee and its sense of urgency.
Since the Parkland mass murders, the committee of four has met twice. TWICE.
It would appear that stopping kids from being murdered at school is not considered very urgent.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 11:26 AM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
Two months ago, Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts asked DeVos about said committee and asked DeVos to discuss the committee and its sense of urgency.
Since the Parkland mass murders, the committee of four has met twice. TWICE.
It would appear that stopping kids from being murdered at school is not considered very urgent.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 11:26 AM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
Not sure if this is related to the ongoing Russian shenanigans but the UK has not renewed Roman Abromovich's visa in it's usual timely manner forcing him to return to Russia while his application gets reviewed. Whether this is fallout from the Skripal affair or just the Home Office treating immigrants with it's now post-Brexit meanness is left as an exercise for the reader.
posted by PenDevil at 11:32 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by PenDevil at 11:32 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Carrie Cordero (Lawfare, Fmr USDOJ & IC national security lawyer)
The Department of Justice doesn't open investigations for political puposes, which is what the president says today he will order tomorrow. There are rules. And I'm convinced there are people left in this government who will follow them.
George Conway retweeted this
posted by chris24 at 11:42 AM on May 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
The Department of Justice doesn't open investigations for political puposes, which is what the president says today he will order tomorrow. There are rules. And I'm convinced there are people left in this government who will follow them.
George Conway retweeted this
posted by chris24 at 11:42 AM on May 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
The saga of the VA Democratic House whip who called the police on latino activists pressing him on consulting work for ICE is still going onI don't quite feel like the headline-dumps here are doing this story full justice, and that Alfonso Lopez is being cast in an unfairly negative light. Requesting for police to be present at a town-hall meeting is a lot different than "calling the cops," and this group of protestors have frankly done plenty to give Lopez legitimate concern for his safety.
Lopez is my delegate. I'm not happy about the work he did in the past... That being said, I'm having a really difficult time sympathizing with his opponents -- the work that Lopez did for ICA-Farmville has been public knowledge ever since he did it (and was properly indicated on financial disclosures), and hasn't been an issue in any primary election since then. The protests have mainly taken the form of shouting at others at town-hall meetings (and public confrontations) until police needed to be involved, which is then filmed and used as further evidence of Lopez's wrongdoing. A few of these public confrontations took place while his children were present.
Lopez is Latino himself, and the child of an undocumented immigrant. He is the founder of the Virginia Latino Caucus, and has a fairly strong pro-immigration voting record. The town-halls being disrupted were held by Indivisible Arlington, a far-left Progressive organization with strong pro-immigration and pro-civil rights stances. I don't want to downplay the concerns of his detractors, but this really doesn't seem like the best venue for this level of outrage.
posted by schmod at 11:46 AM on May 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
Chris Geidner (Legal Editor, Buzzfeed)
The president is "demand[ing]" that DOJ conduct a particular investigation. (More to come, obviously.)
- In other instances when Trump or the Hill have been pushing for more action, Sessions and Rosenstein have either referred the issue to the Inspector General or assigned a particular US attorney to review the matter.
- As others have noted, here's the last time Trump "hereby demand[ed]" an investigation —>
Sasha Samberg-Champion
As disturbing as this is, there are all kinds of ways that bureaucratically savvy DOJ officials can formally satisfy such a demand without doing any real damage.
posted by chris24 at 11:48 AM on May 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
The president is "demand[ing]" that DOJ conduct a particular investigation. (More to come, obviously.)
- In other instances when Trump or the Hill have been pushing for more action, Sessions and Rosenstein have either referred the issue to the Inspector General or assigned a particular US attorney to review the matter.
- As others have noted, here's the last time Trump "hereby demand[ed]" an investigation —>
@realDonaldTrump: I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it. Politico: Photo contradicts Pelosi's statement about not meeting Kislyak---
Sasha Samberg-Champion
As disturbing as this is, there are all kinds of ways that bureaucratically savvy DOJ officials can formally satisfy such a demand without doing any real damage.
posted by chris24 at 11:48 AM on May 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow
1) Sean Spicer said his tweets are "considered official statements by the President of the United States." So did the Justice Department in a court filing. So presumably a tweet would be an official demand.
2) If they're official statements, wouldn't editing or deleting tweets violate the Presidential Records Act?
3) Remember when presidents used to work on the weekends?
posted by kirkaracha at 12:07 PM on May 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
1) Sean Spicer said his tweets are "considered official statements by the President of the United States." So did the Justice Department in a court filing. So presumably a tweet would be an official demand.
2) If they're official statements, wouldn't editing or deleting tweets violate the Presidential Records Act?
3) Remember when presidents used to work on the weekends?
posted by kirkaracha at 12:07 PM on May 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
Following his Washington Post article on Trump's extended Twitter tirade today—Trump Says He Will Call For Justice Department To Probe Whether Fbi Surveilled His Campaign For ‘Political Purposes’—Robert Costa @costareports adds:
But hey, Jon Favreau @ jonfavs observes, "On the bright side, Mueller’s obstruction of justice case just got a lot stronger!"
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:11 PM on May 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
This is the moment DOJ has been waiting for. A presidential demand, following what had been discussions and subpoenas with Congress.Earlier today, the WSJ had reported, "Rudy Giuliani said Mr. Trump could be 'walking into a trap' unless federal prosecutors make clear the role played by the suspected informant and whether the person compiled any 'incriminating information' about Mr. Trump’s associates. [...] Mr. Giuliani in the interview said before agreeing to talk, the Trump team would seek to learn more about what he described as a breach of the campaign’s 'private communications.'"
The specifics of the demand/letter from POTUS will be important. Will the president ask for a general probe? Or, will he call on DOJ to declassify and/or release certain materials on the Counter Intel process and sourcing?
President Trump has been talking with Giuliani all weekend about next steps on DOJ/secret FBI source, Giuliani tells WashPost just now. Long chat by phone Sat night, another convo 6:30 a.m. Sunday...
Giuliani to WashPost, Sunday: “I don’t see why [DOJ] would oppose this. They may want to put some strictures on it, like it has to be confidential or they don’t give the name but they give the information. If they don’t want to do anything, it’s a serious problem."
Why Giuliani matters here: he says he's telling the president to avoid doing a Mueller interview until the DOJ reveals more about its activities. So the president is being advised on this source/FBI front not just by Kelly/McGahn + lawmakers but his own personal legal team."
But hey, Jon Favreau @ jonfavs observes, "On the bright side, Mueller’s obstruction of justice case just got a lot stronger!"
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:11 PM on May 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
Giuliani says the obstruction part of the Mueller probe will be wrapped up by September; why do journalists take anything Giuliani says as having any factual basis?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:18 PM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:18 PM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Giuliani to WashPost, Sunday: “I don’t see why [DOJ] would oppose this.
Well, there's that whole policy thing where you don't want to tip off the targets of the investigation, and refrain from public comment. You *know* that Mueller's team has literally nothing to say outside a courtroom.
posted by mikelieman at 1:24 PM on May 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well, there's that whole policy thing where you don't want to tip off the targets of the investigation, and refrain from public comment. You *know* that Mueller's team has literally nothing to say outside a courtroom.
posted by mikelieman at 1:24 PM on May 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yowser:Yes, the way the CNN producer cranked up Giuliani's mic so that his true complicity could be hidden in order to produce a juicy sound clip should have been called out by journalists, not from the peanut gallery here on some small web site.
Sublimity: Good grief, those tweets from Trump this morning reek with desperation. I can practically smell the flop sweat through the Internet.
I think the flop sweat reveal is just as strong with Giuliani trying to shout down his own video, and obviously this was apparent to people who watched. Potting up his mic was not only electric TV, but it gave him rope to hang himself with.
The only thing I would change would have been, after the clip, call Giuliani out on trying to shout over it, and rewind it and try again. In fact, repeat this sequence as many times as he wants to, underlining how desperate and censorious his maneuver is. If he eats up all the time you can spare, tell the audience that the full clip will be available on your website, tweet it out, and release a video starting with the video and then showing G's shout downs.
posted by msalt at 1:52 PM on May 20, 2018 [37 favorites]
Sublimity: Good grief, those tweets from Trump this morning reek with desperation. I can practically smell the flop sweat through the Internet.
I think the flop sweat reveal is just as strong with Giuliani trying to shout down his own video, and obviously this was apparent to people who watched. Potting up his mic was not only electric TV, but it gave him rope to hang himself with.
The only thing I would change would have been, after the clip, call Giuliani out on trying to shout over it, and rewind it and try again. In fact, repeat this sequence as many times as he wants to, underlining how desperate and censorious his maneuver is. If he eats up all the time you can spare, tell the audience that the full clip will be available on your website, tweet it out, and release a video starting with the video and then showing G's shout downs.
posted by msalt at 1:52 PM on May 20, 2018 [37 favorites]
Mueller Plans to Wrap Up Obstruction Inquiry Into Trump by Sept. 1, Giuliani Says
With a blaring red "BREAKING NEWS" tag, reprinting Giuliani's claims in the headline verbatim.
The fourth sentence says: "Mr. Giuliani’s comments were an apparent attempt to publicly pressure Mr. Mueller amid their interview negotiations."
Maybe there's your actual headline, New York Times.
Cancel your subscriptions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:00 PM on May 20, 2018 [75 favorites]
With a blaring red "BREAKING NEWS" tag, reprinting Giuliani's claims in the headline verbatim.
The fourth sentence says: "Mr. Giuliani’s comments were an apparent attempt to publicly pressure Mr. Mueller amid their interview negotiations."
Maybe there's your actual headline, New York Times.
Cancel your subscriptions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:00 PM on May 20, 2018 [75 favorites]
John Brennan (fmr CIA Director)
Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trump’s self-serving actions.
---
Ali H. Soufan (fmr FBI)
The President cannot order, demand, or communicate with DOJ, particularly in matters relating to pending investigations or criminal or civil cases. Our country is on a crossroad. Let us pray Sessions and Rosenstein respond courageously.
Gen Michael Hayden (fmr CIA and NSA Director)
Retweeted Ali H. Soufan
Let the record show that on this I agree with Ali Soufan
posted by chris24 at 2:18 PM on May 20, 2018 [59 favorites]
Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trump’s self-serving actions.
---
Ali H. Soufan (fmr FBI)
The President cannot order, demand, or communicate with DOJ, particularly in matters relating to pending investigations or criminal or civil cases. Our country is on a crossroad. Let us pray Sessions and Rosenstein respond courageously.
Gen Michael Hayden (fmr CIA and NSA Director)
Retweeted Ali H. Soufan
Let the record show that on this I agree with Ali Soufan
posted by chris24 at 2:18 PM on May 20, 2018 [59 favorites]
The fourth paragraph is also fun:
posted by zachlipton at 2:32 PM on May 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
“You don’t want another repeat of the 2016 election where you get contrary reports at the end and you don’t know how it affected the election,” Mr. Giuliani said.The GOP is admitting Comey could have swung the election now?
posted by zachlipton at 2:32 PM on May 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Mueller Plans to Wrap Up Obstruction Inquiry Into Trump by Sept. 1, Giuliani Says
A noun, a verb, and 9/1
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:37 PM on May 20, 2018 [61 favorites]
A noun, a verb, and 9/1
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:37 PM on May 20, 2018 [61 favorites]
As disturbing as this is, there are all kinds of ways that bureaucratically savvy DOJ officials can formally satisfy such a demand without doing any real damage.
If I were Rosenstein, I'd be very tempted to respond to Trump's "demand" by expanding Mueller's mandate to include the various investigations requested by the President.
posted by carmicha at 2:40 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
If I were Rosenstein, I'd be very tempted to respond to Trump's "demand" by expanding Mueller's mandate to include the various investigations requested by the President.
posted by carmicha at 2:40 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
So it looks like they're going to push it to the existing IG investigation to placate Trump but also kind of punt on it.
Jonathan Swan (Axios)
BREAKING: DoJ's Sarah Isgur Flores: The Department has asked the Inspector General to expand the ongoing review of the FISA application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election. As always, the Inspector General will consult with the appropriate U.S. Attorney if there is any evidence of potential criminal conduct. The Deputy Attorney General issued the following statement: “If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.”
posted by chris24 at 2:43 PM on May 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Jonathan Swan (Axios)
BREAKING: DoJ's Sarah Isgur Flores: The Department has asked the Inspector General to expand the ongoing review of the FISA application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election. As always, the Inspector General will consult with the appropriate U.S. Attorney if there is any evidence of potential criminal conduct. The Deputy Attorney General issued the following statement: “If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.”
posted by chris24 at 2:43 PM on May 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
@pwnallthethings (NatSec/InfoSec)
In retrospect, v clever to jump ahead of the "official" request tomorrow. Kudos to whoever thought of that in ODAG.
posted by chris24 at 2:47 PM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
In retrospect, v clever to jump ahead of the "official" request tomorrow. Kudos to whoever thought of that in ODAG.
posted by chris24 at 2:47 PM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Deputy Attorney General issued the following statement: “If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.”
Note the article "a presidential campaign", which (1) makes it less about Trump's and (2) potentially brings Clinton's into this rolling fiasco—something Trump absolutely doesn't want.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:52 PM on May 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
Note the article "a presidential campaign", which (1) makes it less about Trump's and (2) potentially brings Clinton's into this rolling fiasco—something Trump absolutely doesn't want.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:52 PM on May 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
It seems Rosenstein is basically trying the strategy some tweeted earlier.
Sasha Samberg-Champion
As disturbing as this is, there are all kinds of ways that bureaucratically savvy DOJ officials can formally satisfy such a demand without doing any real damage.
Chris Geidner (Legal Editor, Buzzfeed)
In other instances when Trump or the Hill have been pushing for more action, Sessions and Rosenstein have either referred the issue to the Inspector General or assigned a particular US attorney to review the matter.
posted by chris24 at 2:54 PM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sasha Samberg-Champion
As disturbing as this is, there are all kinds of ways that bureaucratically savvy DOJ officials can formally satisfy such a demand without doing any real damage.
Chris Geidner (Legal Editor, Buzzfeed)
In other instances when Trump or the Hill have been pushing for more action, Sessions and Rosenstein have either referred the issue to the Inspector General or assigned a particular US attorney to review the matter.
posted by chris24 at 2:54 PM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
"This Trump guy is clean as a whistle, we can't find a thing on him. But I hate him so much! Let's get a guy who served in four different GOP administrations to spy on him and then not tell anyone about it. Ha ha ha! I'm from Kenya." - Obama
posted by theodolite at 2:56 PM on May 20, 2018 [98 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 2:56 PM on May 20, 2018 [98 favorites]
I think it's wrong to humor Trump for reasons others have gone into but, yeah, Rosenstein's statement is easily read as applying to Russian and/or Trumpian interference as well as Trump's crazy claims. I guess this is what being a survivor looks like.
It's really a no win situation. Humor Trump and undermine the rule of law or resign and let Trump get a toady in there to oversee Mueller and undermine the rule of law.
posted by Justinian at 2:56 PM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's really a no win situation. Humor Trump and undermine the rule of law or resign and let Trump get a toady in there to oversee Mueller and undermine the rule of law.
posted by Justinian at 2:56 PM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Humor Trump and undermine the rule of law, or resign and let Trump get a toady in there to oversee Mueller and undermine the rule of law.
Yep.
Josh Marshall
I would caution people who say they’re waiting for someone to finally quit. At the DOJ and associated law enforcement and intelligence agencies, having someone quit is likely not at all a good thing right now.
Tom Nichols (NeverTrump)
I was just thinking this. Worse even if this a ploy to try to trigger resignations.
Josh Marshall
Exactly. The key people are already deeply compromised, have made themselves complicit in DJT's bad acts. But they have also resisted or refused demands to commit further bad acts. Having those people leave is not a good thing.
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on May 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
Yep.
Josh Marshall
I would caution people who say they’re waiting for someone to finally quit. At the DOJ and associated law enforcement and intelligence agencies, having someone quit is likely not at all a good thing right now.
Tom Nichols (NeverTrump)
I was just thinking this. Worse even if this a ploy to try to trigger resignations.
Josh Marshall
Exactly. The key people are already deeply compromised, have made themselves complicit in DJT's bad acts. But they have also resisted or refused demands to commit further bad acts. Having those people leave is not a good thing.
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on May 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
The reason the FBI started the Trump probe pretty is already out in the open: Papodopolous got drunk and boasted to the Australian ambassador that the Russians were giving them dirt and the ambassador, suitably horrified, notified the US?
posted by PenDevil at 3:05 PM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 3:05 PM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
Matthew Miller (MSNBC Justice analyst, ex-DOJ)
A political compromise by Rosenstein that seeks to head off further escalation, but it is still a dangerous step in the wrong direction. The IG shouldn’t be pursuing political charges made by the president based on zero evidence.
- Rosenstein keeps surrendering important DOJ equities in an attempt to buy time for Mueller, and we won’t know until it’s over whether what he gave up was worth it or if it even will work.
posted by chris24 at 3:06 PM on May 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
A political compromise by Rosenstein that seeks to head off further escalation, but it is still a dangerous step in the wrong direction. The IG shouldn’t be pursuing political charges made by the president based on zero evidence.
- Rosenstein keeps surrendering important DOJ equities in an attempt to buy time for Mueller, and we won’t know until it’s over whether what he gave up was worth it or if it even will work.
posted by chris24 at 3:06 PM on May 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
- Rosenstein keeps surrendering important DOJ equities in an attempt to buy time for Mueller, and we won’t know until it’s over whether what he gave up was worth it or if it even will work.
This is basically where I'm at. Rosenstein could be compromising himself, DOJ, and the rule of law in general for basically nothing except a few more months on the job or he could be fighting a brave rearguard action to preserve what he can however he can until Mueller's reckoning arrives. And there is literally no way for us to know which is true.
posted by Justinian at 3:08 PM on May 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
This is basically where I'm at. Rosenstein could be compromising himself, DOJ, and the rule of law in general for basically nothing except a few more months on the job or he could be fighting a brave rearguard action to preserve what he can however he can until Mueller's reckoning arrives. And there is literally no way for us to know which is true.
posted by Justinian at 3:08 PM on May 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
All Rosenstein has to do is say "Sure," and then wait for Trump to forget he even asked about it.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:10 PM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:10 PM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
Benjamin Wittes (Brookings, Lawfare): I normally ignore presidential tweets. This one requires attention, because it could genuinely produce a crisis with the Justice Department and the FBI. Here’s an explanatory thread that may (or may not) be useful. /1/
Josh Marshall
It is telling how quickly this thread became moot. Rosenstein already complied. He did so in a way he likely sees as doing as little damage as possible. But he nonetheless complied within hours of the tweet.
John Rosevear (Motley Fool)
I suspect that it’s all about buying time at this point.
Josh Marshall
I do suspect Rosenstein sees this as a way to table the issue. Give it to the IG and let him find what he finds. Presumably there’s nothing there and if there is there is. But it still confirms that for now President can start an investigation for transparently political purposes on a whim and the DOJ immediately complies.
posted by chris24 at 3:13 PM on May 20, 2018 [42 favorites]
Josh Marshall
It is telling how quickly this thread became moot. Rosenstein already complied. He did so in a way he likely sees as doing as little damage as possible. But he nonetheless complied within hours of the tweet.
John Rosevear (Motley Fool)
I suspect that it’s all about buying time at this point.
Josh Marshall
I do suspect Rosenstein sees this as a way to table the issue. Give it to the IG and let him find what he finds. Presumably there’s nothing there and if there is there is. But it still confirms that for now President can start an investigation for transparently political purposes on a whim and the DOJ immediately complies.
posted by chris24 at 3:13 PM on May 20, 2018 [42 favorites]
Lawfare's Susan Hennessey @Susan_Hennessey writes, "This feels like DOJ's attempt to punt the issue, but is actually a dangerous concession."
So, is our best-case scenario to let Rosenstein and Sessions kick the can down the road and hope that some real leverage on Trump will emerge between Mueller and the Mid-Terms (worst new punk rock D.C. band name)?
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:14 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
So, is our best-case scenario to let Rosenstein and Sessions kick the can down the road and hope that some real leverage on Trump will emerge between Mueller and the Mid-Terms (worst new punk rock D.C. band name)?
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:14 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
I think our best case scenario is that they kick the can down the road and after November the House and/or Senate puts the brakes on Trump's rush to authoritarianism. Clearly the Republicans are not up to the task, I can only hope that the Democrats will be if we can get them a majority.
posted by sotonohito at 3:16 PM on May 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by sotonohito at 3:16 PM on May 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
Honestly, this feels like the kind of thing the IG should be reviewing -- using an informant to probe a major party presidential campaign is an extraordinary step, and there should be confirmation that it's being done without political motivation and with appropriate safeguards in place. But starting that investigation in response to the former candidate's transparent demand to stymie any possible discovery of corruption in his campaign is fraught, to put it mildly.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:23 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:23 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
What has our timeline come to when Bill Kristol is making perfect sense? "In America, a president can order that a thing be done if he’s executing a law or acting within his discretion. And a president can urge or request something be done. But an American president doesn’t “demand” a thing be done. Demands are the way of autocrats, thugs and children."
Part of the danger to acquiescing to Trump's tweet - not a formal request or an official order, just a tweet - is that he's an opportunistic adversary, not a strategic one. Behind his blustering, he's probing for weaknesses and disadvantages in his opponents. Placating him in the short term may lead to losing significantly in the long. Every tactical retreat Rosenstein makes bureacratically could eventually box him in politically.
By the way, during all the commotion Giuliani stirred up this week, Ty Cobb wound up his work at the White House and officially left, unnoticed, on Friday. And we've heard absolutely nothing from/about Emmet Flood.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:46 PM on May 20, 2018 [33 favorites]
Part of the danger to acquiescing to Trump's tweet - not a formal request or an official order, just a tweet - is that he's an opportunistic adversary, not a strategic one. Behind his blustering, he's probing for weaknesses and disadvantages in his opponents. Placating him in the short term may lead to losing significantly in the long. Every tactical retreat Rosenstein makes bureacratically could eventually box him in politically.
By the way, during all the commotion Giuliani stirred up this week, Ty Cobb wound up his work at the White House and officially left, unnoticed, on Friday. And we've heard absolutely nothing from/about Emmet Flood.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:46 PM on May 20, 2018 [33 favorites]
Rosenstein could be compromising himself, DOJ, and the rule of law in general for basically nothing except a few more months on the job or he could be fighting a brave rearguard action to preserve what he can however he can until Mueller's reckoning arrives. And there is literally no way for us to know which is true.
I imagine Rosenstein also doesn't know. Only history will tell.
Of course, the reality is that this shouldn't be in Rosenstein's hands. Congress should impeach, immediately. But they won't, because the GOP is now rotten to its core.
posted by biogeo at 3:48 PM on May 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
I imagine Rosenstein also doesn't know. Only history will tell.
Of course, the reality is that this shouldn't be in Rosenstein's hands. Congress should impeach, immediately. But they won't, because the GOP is now rotten to its core.
posted by biogeo at 3:48 PM on May 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
because the GOP is now rotten to its core.
Yeah, that's why I found John Brennan's earlier tweet interesting. He's called out Trump numerous times but has never before mentioned Ryan or McConnell.
Yeah, that's why I found John Brennan's earlier tweet interesting. He's called out Trump numerous times but has never before mentioned Ryan or McConnell.
John Brennan (fmr CIA Director): Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trump’s self-serving actions.posted by chris24 at 3:54 PM on May 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
What has our timeline come to when Bill Kristol is making perfect sense? "In America, a president can order that a thing be done if he’s executing a law or acting within his discretion. And a president can urge or request something be done. But an American president doesn’t “demand” a thing be done. Demands are the way of autocrats, thugs and children."
Part of the danger to acquiescing to Trump's tweet - not a formal request or an official order, just a tweet - is that he's an opportunistic adversary, not a strategic one. Behind his blustering, he's probing for weaknesses and disadvantages in his opponents. Placating him in the short term may lead to losing significantly in the long. Every tactical retreat Rosenstein makes bureacratically could eventually box him in politically.
This cannot be emphasized enough. In his eagerness to head off some Executive hanky-panky by Trump, Rosenstein preemptively handed Trump a major victory in installing authoritarian rule on America. Now he doesn't even need to produce even a bogus, backwards, filled-with-obvious-lies rationale for what he wants Rosenstein to do.
Presidents are not empowered to act by fiat but that's the ultimate expression of malignant narcissism, to be able to do whatever the hell they want at any time without having to give any justification. That's what Trump's always trying to do & in this case at least it's what Rosenstein let him do.
What he should have done is forced Trump to give a rationale & at least try to express it in terms of the Constitution. Then it could be evaluated for merit & Trump would be the one constrained not Rosenstein. It puts his narcissism on the defensive, a place he never wants to be in.
posted by scalefree at 4:30 PM on May 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
Part of the danger to acquiescing to Trump's tweet - not a formal request or an official order, just a tweet - is that he's an opportunistic adversary, not a strategic one. Behind his blustering, he's probing for weaknesses and disadvantages in his opponents. Placating him in the short term may lead to losing significantly in the long. Every tactical retreat Rosenstein makes bureacratically could eventually box him in politically.
This cannot be emphasized enough. In his eagerness to head off some Executive hanky-panky by Trump, Rosenstein preemptively handed Trump a major victory in installing authoritarian rule on America. Now he doesn't even need to produce even a bogus, backwards, filled-with-obvious-lies rationale for what he wants Rosenstein to do.
Presidents are not empowered to act by fiat but that's the ultimate expression of malignant narcissism, to be able to do whatever the hell they want at any time without having to give any justification. That's what Trump's always trying to do & in this case at least it's what Rosenstein let him do.
What he should have done is forced Trump to give a rationale & at least try to express it in terms of the Constitution. Then it could be evaluated for merit & Trump would be the one constrained not Rosenstein. It puts his narcissism on the defensive, a place he never wants to be in.
posted by scalefree at 4:30 PM on May 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
What he should have done is forced Trump to give a rationale & at least try to express it in terms of the Constitution.
The problem is that the Constitution is silent on this issue. DOJ is executive branch and so theoretically the President is the ultimate authority over its actions. There is no constitutional bar to Trump ordering it to do legal stuff. The bar to doing so is a norm and the threat of Congressional oversight. Trump doesn't care about norms; in fact he relishes trampling them. And Republicans in Congress have not only abdicated their oversight function but are fully complicit.
But as I said the Constitution is silent here.
posted by Justinian at 4:39 PM on May 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
The problem is that the Constitution is silent on this issue. DOJ is executive branch and so theoretically the President is the ultimate authority over its actions. There is no constitutional bar to Trump ordering it to do legal stuff. The bar to doing so is a norm and the threat of Congressional oversight. Trump doesn't care about norms; in fact he relishes trampling them. And Republicans in Congress have not only abdicated their oversight function but are fully complicit.
But as I said the Constitution is silent here.
posted by Justinian at 4:39 PM on May 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
I think RR played it smart with a quick and bland pivot to the IG. It takes the wind out of Trump's sails, and promises very little. I agree that that RR can't predict the long-term, but soft and squishy is better than righteous rigidity in this instance.
posted by feste at 4:53 PM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by feste at 4:53 PM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Just gotta make it to the mid terms.
I remarked after 11/16 to a friend and former prof that the next couple of years would be a profound test of the genius of the American System (the redirection of base self interest to public good via competition mediated by the law), and boy howdy.
posted by notyou at 5:08 PM on May 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
I remarked after 11/16 to a friend and former prof that the next couple of years would be a profound test of the genius of the American System (the redirection of base self interest to public good via competition mediated by the law), and boy howdy.
posted by notyou at 5:08 PM on May 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
Trump Says He Will Call For Justice Department To Probe Whether Fbi Surveilled His Campaign For ‘Political Purposes’
At least we weren't alone in being thrown into agitation by Trump's tweets today, though sharing that condition with Team Trump isn't optimal:
And, quite apart from White House directives, who knows what Trump's Monday morning tweets will bring? (We're going to need a new thread before then.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:17 PM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
At least we weren't alone in being thrown into agitation by Trump's tweets today, though sharing that condition with Team Trump isn't optimal:
In emails and phone calls Sunday afternoon, GOP lawmakers close to Trump conferred and tried to interpret his position. They wondered, in particular, whether he would forcefully demand the Justice Department hand over documents to Congress or whether he would simply push the department to eventually share more information from its ongoing probes led by its inspector general, according to three people familiar with the discussions.Lawfare's Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic helpfully summarizes this: "so basically the president made an announcement that could potentially precipitate a constitutional crisis and no one, including his own congressional allies and staffers, knows what he means"
There was also concern among Trump-aligned lawmakers that White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and White House counsel Donald McGahn may be trying to “water down” the president’s position as a way of avoiding a potential crisis over highly sensitive materials that Justice has long been wary of releasing, according to one person close to those Republicans.
“What’s in the letter on Monday and what it tells DOJ to do is going to be everything for us. Not the tweets,” said the person, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk about a topic the person was not authorized to discuss publicly.
And, quite apart from White House directives, who knows what Trump's Monday morning tweets will bring? (We're going to need a new thread before then.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:17 PM on May 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
Just gotta make it to the mid terms.
Just making it isn't enough. We have to win one house. And I mean HAVE to if we want to preserve democracy. Nothing is guaranteed. Ds won in VA by 9 points and don't control the legislature. We need to fight like it's the last fair(ish) election we'll have because it might be.
G. Elliott Morris (Crosstab)
Really underrated threat of a popular vote - seat majority split in the U.S. House come November. There’s a nearly 1-in-3 chance of Republicans losing the popular vote and winning control of the chamber.
2018.thecrosstab.com
posted by chris24 at 5:20 PM on May 20, 2018 [34 favorites]
Just making it isn't enough. We have to win one house. And I mean HAVE to if we want to preserve democracy. Nothing is guaranteed. Ds won in VA by 9 points and don't control the legislature. We need to fight like it's the last fair(ish) election we'll have because it might be.
G. Elliott Morris (Crosstab)
Really underrated threat of a popular vote - seat majority split in the U.S. House come November. There’s a nearly 1-in-3 chance of Republicans losing the popular vote and winning control of the chamber.
2018.thecrosstab.com
posted by chris24 at 5:20 PM on May 20, 2018 [34 favorites]
I'd also just like to say that you cannot hereby demand something tomorrow. Hereby literally means "right now by this proclamation". The tweet itself is the demand by fact of the "hereby".
This from the MAGA "if you come to America speak English" leader.
posted by srboisvert at 5:46 PM on May 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
This from the MAGA "if you come to America speak English" leader.
posted by srboisvert at 5:46 PM on May 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
Anna Fifield (WaPo Tokyo Bureau Chief)
Trump administration official on North Korea: “It doesn’t look like they want to denuclearize at all.”
Entire North Korea expert community: “No shit, Sherlock.”
Trump, South Korean leader commiserate over upcoming summit
posted by chris24 at 5:57 PM on May 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Trump administration official on North Korea: “It doesn’t look like they want to denuclearize at all.”
Entire North Korea expert community: “No shit, Sherlock.”
Trump, South Korean leader commiserate over upcoming summit
posted by chris24 at 5:57 PM on May 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Pretty rapid response to Guiliani's "deadline," via Reuters
A source familiar with the probe called the Sept. 1 deadline “entirely made-up” and “another apparent effort to pressure the special counsel to hasten the end of his work.”posted by pjenks at 6:00 PM on May 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
We could just change most all headlines based on statements by the President and his allies to: "Lying Liars Lie. Details Unimportant."
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:02 PM on May 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:02 PM on May 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
pyramid termite: if that kind of split between popular vote and seats continues, it will eat away at the legitimacy of our government - and something tells me that not only are the republicans willing to do this to win, but it may actually be a goal of theirs to ruin the government's reputation and standing
I don't know if it's a Republican plan, so much as they are perfectly willing to take advantage of this flaw in the American electoral system after the fact. These aren't very bright guys, etc. but if they can run with this they will. Chaos is a ladder!
sotonohito: I've no idea what could be done if it happened, and I doubt anything immediately drastic and dramatic would happen, but I can't help but fear if we continue with a dictatorial and vindictive government by minority it will not end well for America.
I agree 100%, and this has been worrying me as well. I live in (very blue) California, and I've always maintained that Trump and Co. might bluster, but they are going to handle us with kid gloves because fifth largest world economy. I worry more for people living in pockets of blue (like college towns) in red states because I think this bad-case scenario is going to affect them the most, as well as POC, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations. I don't think people will meekly accept being told "no" and - I don't know what will happen but chances are it won't be pretty.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 6:02 PM on May 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
I don't know if it's a Republican plan, so much as they are perfectly willing to take advantage of this flaw in the American electoral system after the fact. These aren't very bright guys, etc. but if they can run with this they will. Chaos is a ladder!
sotonohito: I've no idea what could be done if it happened, and I doubt anything immediately drastic and dramatic would happen, but I can't help but fear if we continue with a dictatorial and vindictive government by minority it will not end well for America.
I agree 100%, and this has been worrying me as well. I live in (very blue) California, and I've always maintained that Trump and Co. might bluster, but they are going to handle us with kid gloves because fifth largest world economy. I worry more for people living in pockets of blue (like college towns) in red states because I think this bad-case scenario is going to affect them the most, as well as POC, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations. I don't think people will meekly accept being told "no" and - I don't know what will happen but chances are it won't be pretty.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 6:02 PM on May 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
A split between the popular vote and control of the House is not terribly unusual. For example, some of you may remember the fucking election of two thousand and twelve.
posted by chrchr at 6:33 PM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by chrchr at 6:33 PM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Will Bunch (Philly.com): How the Trump family sold U.S. foreign policy to the highest bidder
The Times scoop on Trump’s dealings with the Saudis and UAE is the puzzle piece that finally brings the big picture into focus. As Trump’s unlikely 2016 campaign drew closer to the White House, it triggered a mad dash to sell American foreign policy to the highest bidder — and some of the world’s worst autocrats stepped up to the plate. What happened next is arguably tantamount to treason. What is beginning to take shape is the outlines of a scandal that threatens to be worse than Watergate on a massive scale, that would make Richard Nixon’s crimes truly seem like “a third-rate burglary” in comparison.posted by monospace at 7:30 PM on May 20, 2018 [71 favorites]
A shadowy network of computer hackers in Eastern Europe and experts in psywar techniques used illegal methods — including voter suppression aimed at African Americans — to essentially steal a U.S. presidential election decided by a mere 100,000 or so votes in a few key states. Meanwhile, the foreign countries that backed this enterprise and their billionaire allies also found myriad ways to financially support America’s new ruling junta — dangling real estate deals, hiring Trump allies, booking big parties at Trump hotels, giving millions to Trump’s inauguration that no one can now account for — in ways that have built a bonfire out of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
And here’s the worst part: The sudden trashing of long-standing American policy objectives — like the Iran deal or delaying any move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem until a true Israel-Palestinian peace deal — risks war on large scale. People could die in the name of keeping 666 Fifth Ave. and the Trump Organization afloat. Arguably, some already are.
Rueters: A source familiar with the probe called the Sept. 1 deadline “entirely made-up” and “another apparent effort to pressure the special counsel to hasten the end of his work.”
NYT: Mueller Probe To End September 1. End Story.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:50 PM on May 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
NYT: Mueller Probe To End September 1. End Story.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:50 PM on May 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
I was AFK all day; when I first looked about an hour ago, Google News had a whole section on the probe ending on Sept. 1. I wondered WTF that was about, since I also saw the Trump tweetantrum had borne fruit, so I came here to find out what the heck was happening. That whole section is gone from Google News now.
posted by yhbc at 7:59 PM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by yhbc at 7:59 PM on May 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Because Trump still serves a purpose for the GOP simply as distraction, this scoop Politico filed on Friday risks getting buried:
Ryan-Linked Group Raised $24.6M From Anonymous Donor "American Action Network, the nonprofit group closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, raised a record $41.9 million amid the GOP push to repeal Obamacare and restructure the tax code — more than half of which came from one donor, according to a tax filing obtained by POLITICO. [...] The eight-figure donation by itself almost eclipsed AAN’s previous fundraising high for an entire fiscal year. The group brought in $27.5 million from July 2010 to June 2011." (i.e. the year after Citizens United v. FEC)
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:15 PM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
Ryan-Linked Group Raised $24.6M From Anonymous Donor "American Action Network, the nonprofit group closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, raised a record $41.9 million amid the GOP push to repeal Obamacare and restructure the tax code — more than half of which came from one donor, according to a tax filing obtained by POLITICO. [...] The eight-figure donation by itself almost eclipsed AAN’s previous fundraising high for an entire fiscal year. The group brought in $27.5 million from July 2010 to June 2011." (i.e. the year after Citizens United v. FEC)
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:15 PM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
I think the IG referral may be brilliant bureaucratic jiu-jitsu by Rosenstein and his staff (a subordinate made the announcement today).
First, by responding with an equally toothless public pronouncement, they hold serve on Trump. He may never actually file any paperwork, having "gotten what he wants," allowing them to follow suit.
More importantly, as Doktor Zed noted earlier, the announced order speaks of any presidential campaign, not just Trump's. So if they do go ahead with actual orders, the IG will also have been instructed to look into whether the rogue NY office FBI agents leaked to Giuliani, and whether Comey's public reopening of the Clinton emails was designed to influence the election. That's not something RR or his staff could have gotten away with ordering directly.
posted by msalt at 9:04 PM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
First, by responding with an equally toothless public pronouncement, they hold serve on Trump. He may never actually file any paperwork, having "gotten what he wants," allowing them to follow suit.
More importantly, as Doktor Zed noted earlier, the announced order speaks of any presidential campaign, not just Trump's. So if they do go ahead with actual orders, the IG will also have been instructed to look into whether the rogue NY office FBI agents leaked to Giuliani, and whether Comey's public reopening of the Clinton emails was designed to influence the election. That's not something RR or his staff could have gotten away with ordering directly.
posted by msalt at 9:04 PM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
runcibleshaw:We could just change most all headlines based on statements by the President and his allies to: "Lying Liars Lie. Details Unimportant.”
This really is a core challenge for today’s news media. It’s like an equivalent to the challenge of fully reconciling gravitation and quantum mechanics.
Some people lack credibility but don’t deserve it anyway (e.g various cranks), so media can rightly ignore them. Others lack credibility they do deserve (e.g climate scientists that the general public considers perhaps 50% right), so media ought to shine a better spotlight on them.
But how do you deal with people who have lots of credibility (thanks to their positions of power), but don’t deserve it at all, because of a history of lying? It goes beyond the need to use the word “lie” in headlines, a habit I’m glad we’re seeing more of these days (but not enough). There needs to be a new convention for headlines to say “We can’t verify this one, but there’s way more reason to think it’s bogus than not, mostly because this person lies constantly.”
And then, if possible, you want to somehow shut up the many people who will say “Why did Politician X get the Tag of Untrustworthiness, but not Politician Y? What's the algorithm here?”, which can be harder to answer than “Why did you say X’s statement was false?”
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:31 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
This really is a core challenge for today’s news media. It’s like an equivalent to the challenge of fully reconciling gravitation and quantum mechanics.
Some people lack credibility but don’t deserve it anyway (e.g various cranks), so media can rightly ignore them. Others lack credibility they do deserve (e.g climate scientists that the general public considers perhaps 50% right), so media ought to shine a better spotlight on them.
But how do you deal with people who have lots of credibility (thanks to their positions of power), but don’t deserve it at all, because of a history of lying? It goes beyond the need to use the word “lie” in headlines, a habit I’m glad we’re seeing more of these days (but not enough). There needs to be a new convention for headlines to say “We can’t verify this one, but there’s way more reason to think it’s bogus than not, mostly because this person lies constantly.”
And then, if possible, you want to somehow shut up the many people who will say “Why did Politician X get the Tag of Untrustworthiness, but not Politician Y? What's the algorithm here?”, which can be harder to answer than “Why did you say X’s statement was false?”
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:31 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
“We can’t verify this one, but there’s way more reason to think it’s bogus than not, mostly because this person lies constantly.”
In the distant past, it wouldn't have made it past the first editor. Which explains for me why Rudy's lie worked. The old "while truth is still lacing up their trainers." problem.
posted by mikelieman at 10:07 PM on May 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
In the distant past, it wouldn't have made it past the first editor. Which explains for me why Rudy's lie worked. The old "while truth is still lacing up their trainers." problem.
posted by mikelieman at 10:07 PM on May 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think "claim" and "claims" can do a lot of the heavy lifting here in the headlines. If you're not going to verify facts from a minimum of two independent sources, then the the "fact" being reported is the claim itself. You can leave it up to your readers whether the source of the claim is trustworthy. In this case, Rudy Giuliani. Example headline: Giuliani Claims Moon is Made of Cheese.
posted by runcibleshaw at 10:27 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 10:27 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
You can leave it up to your readers whether the source of the claim is trustworthy.
No, you can't. You really can't.
If you and your editors think someone like Giuliani or Trump is lying, that's the damn story and they should headline with "Giuliani Makes Unsubstantiated Claim Moon is Made of Cheese", subhead - Giuliani, with a history of untruthful statements in these areas, claimed the Moon is Made out of Cheese to support a Trump Org/Russia moonbase conspiracy, and lay out context, motivation, and previous lies in the article.
Right now we just have horserace/he-said she-said stenography where bad actors have been pumping out lies and distorted framing ... stuff as part of organized smear/propaganda/disinformation campaigns. And when the damn journalists repeat those lies the damn readers walk away thinking "Huh, Obama's probably a Muslim from Nigeria or something". Even if the journalists ritually tack in a statement down in paragraph n-minus-2 from the smeared party.
See also related stuff with journalists not pointing out lies or laying out context when regurgitating Republican tax or climate talking points.
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:05 AM on May 21, 2018 [99 favorites]
No, you can't. You really can't.
If you and your editors think someone like Giuliani or Trump is lying, that's the damn story and they should headline with "Giuliani Makes Unsubstantiated Claim Moon is Made of Cheese", subhead - Giuliani, with a history of untruthful statements in these areas, claimed the Moon is Made out of Cheese to support a Trump Org/Russia moonbase conspiracy, and lay out context, motivation, and previous lies in the article.
Right now we just have horserace/he-said she-said stenography where bad actors have been pumping out lies and distorted framing ... stuff as part of organized smear/propaganda/disinformation campaigns. And when the damn journalists repeat those lies the damn readers walk away thinking "Huh, Obama's probably a Muslim from Nigeria or something". Even if the journalists ritually tack in a statement down in paragraph n-minus-2 from the smeared party.
See also related stuff with journalists not pointing out lies or laying out context when regurgitating Republican tax or climate talking points.
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:05 AM on May 21, 2018 [99 favorites]
"In other news, the Dow rose 37 points in light trading, and of course President Trump blathered some more bullshit on Twitter. Here's Dave with the sports..."
posted by msalt at 12:31 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by msalt at 12:31 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Right now we just have horserace/he-said she-said stenography where bad actors have been pumping out lies and distorted framing ... stuff as part of organized smear/propaganda/disinformation campaigns. And when the damn journalists repeat those lies the damn readers walk away thinking "Huh, Obama's probably a Muslim from Nigeria or something". Even if the journalists ritually tack in a statement down in paragraph n-minus-2 from the smeared party.
See also related stuff with journalists not pointing out lies or laying out context when regurgitating Republican tax or climate talking points.
It's also crucial to note that the liars aren't stupid. The lies are generally designed to fit with beliefs that the audience already hold, or to validate and launder opinions that would otherwise be unacceptable via false evidence (hello, Cadillac-driving welfare queen/'activist' judges/man-hating feminists/people coming to take your jobs whilst inexplicably not expanding overall economic activity). It is therefore essential to point out that they are untrue rather than reinforce explicit or implicit biases.
posted by jaduncan at 4:17 AM on May 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
See also related stuff with journalists not pointing out lies or laying out context when regurgitating Republican tax or climate talking points.
It's also crucial to note that the liars aren't stupid. The lies are generally designed to fit with beliefs that the audience already hold, or to validate and launder opinions that would otherwise be unacceptable via false evidence (hello, Cadillac-driving welfare queen/'activist' judges/man-hating feminists/people coming to take your jobs whilst inexplicably not expanding overall economic activity). It is therefore essential to point out that they are untrue rather than reinforce explicit or implicit biases.
posted by jaduncan at 4:17 AM on May 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
Robert E Kelly (BBC Dad, Korea expert)
Thoughts on Moon’s meeting with Trump tomorrow:
1) It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea’s willingness to deal. Moon will probably get an earful over that.
2) Moon likely exaggerated this to tie Trump to a diplomatic track to prevent him from backsliding into last year’s war-threats which scared the daylights out of South Koreans. If Trump were less vain and had allowed his national security staff to vet the NK offer, he might have learned this. But instead, he accepted the NK summit offer 45 minutes after he was told of it, without even telling the White House staff, and then drank his own kool-aid watching Fox telling him for weeks that he deserved a Nobel. Now comes the hang-over.
3) Flattering Trump into diplomacy is likely also why Moon’s government credited Trump with driving NK to negotiation through maximum pressure and suggested that Trump receive a Nobel peace prize.
4) It is an open secret in Korea that this was just flattering Trump to prevent him from starting a war. No one actually believes it. My students & colleagues laugh at the suggestion. No one thought the western media wd actually start seriously debating it. Trump is loathed here.
5) The problem, of course, is that none of this Trump-whispering is true: NK is not going to denuclearize; NK was not driven to negotiate by maximum pressure (they chose to negotiate, because they established nuclear deterrence with the US mainland); and Trump does not deserve a Nobel, because, well, I am pretty sure that threatening national genocide at the United Nations – ‘totally destroy North Korea’ – is a disqualifier.
6) The great irony, which US conservative media will never admit of course, is that Trump actually drove SK to the table, not NK. Trump scared SKs so much last year, that Moon’s approval rating has shot up into the 80s%, even though he won with just 41% a year ago, and approval of the summit process is in the 90s%. So if you are a NK hawk, Trump's rhetoric last year made things worse, not better, by scaring up a dovish consensus for Moon to make concessions and keep Trump at bay.
7) At this point, the best thing to do would be to postpone the summit until greater common ground among the 3 players can be found and let experts on the issues hammer out some consensus. But Moon likely opposes that because any delay could open political space for Bolton, and Trump likely desperately wants this summit for the TV, attn, & a political 'win' he can market at home to change the story f/ his scandals & blunt a looming blue wave. So the summit will prolly still happen, even tho, scarily, w/ 3 weeks to go, no1 really knows how it will unfold
posted by chris24 at 4:30 AM on May 21, 2018 [61 favorites]
Thoughts on Moon’s meeting with Trump tomorrow:
1) It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea’s willingness to deal. Moon will probably get an earful over that.
2) Moon likely exaggerated this to tie Trump to a diplomatic track to prevent him from backsliding into last year’s war-threats which scared the daylights out of South Koreans. If Trump were less vain and had allowed his national security staff to vet the NK offer, he might have learned this. But instead, he accepted the NK summit offer 45 minutes after he was told of it, without even telling the White House staff, and then drank his own kool-aid watching Fox telling him for weeks that he deserved a Nobel. Now comes the hang-over.
3) Flattering Trump into diplomacy is likely also why Moon’s government credited Trump with driving NK to negotiation through maximum pressure and suggested that Trump receive a Nobel peace prize.
4) It is an open secret in Korea that this was just flattering Trump to prevent him from starting a war. No one actually believes it. My students & colleagues laugh at the suggestion. No one thought the western media wd actually start seriously debating it. Trump is loathed here.
5) The problem, of course, is that none of this Trump-whispering is true: NK is not going to denuclearize; NK was not driven to negotiate by maximum pressure (they chose to negotiate, because they established nuclear deterrence with the US mainland); and Trump does not deserve a Nobel, because, well, I am pretty sure that threatening national genocide at the United Nations – ‘totally destroy North Korea’ – is a disqualifier.
6) The great irony, which US conservative media will never admit of course, is that Trump actually drove SK to the table, not NK. Trump scared SKs so much last year, that Moon’s approval rating has shot up into the 80s%, even though he won with just 41% a year ago, and approval of the summit process is in the 90s%. So if you are a NK hawk, Trump's rhetoric last year made things worse, not better, by scaring up a dovish consensus for Moon to make concessions and keep Trump at bay.
7) At this point, the best thing to do would be to postpone the summit until greater common ground among the 3 players can be found and let experts on the issues hammer out some consensus. But Moon likely opposes that because any delay could open political space for Bolton, and Trump likely desperately wants this summit for the TV, attn, & a political 'win' he can market at home to change the story f/ his scandals & blunt a looming blue wave. So the summit will prolly still happen, even tho, scarily, w/ 3 weeks to go, no1 really knows how it will unfold
posted by chris24 at 4:30 AM on May 21, 2018 [61 favorites]
Steven Portnoy (ABC)
Joe DiGenova tells @wmalnews the move by Rosenstein to pass informant investigation to IG is “too cute by half,” and should infuriate Trump.
posted by chris24 at 4:36 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Joe DiGenova tells @wmalnews the move by Rosenstein to pass informant investigation to IG is “too cute by half,” and should infuriate Trump.
posted by chris24 at 4:36 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
You asked for miracles Theo. I give you the F̶B̶I̶ GOP.
Politico: Blankenship to wage third-party bid after losing primary
Politico: Blankenship to wage third-party bid after losing primary
West Virginia coal baron and former prisoner Don Blankenship announced on Monday that he plans to launch a long-shot third-party Senate bid after finishing a distant third in this month’s Republican primary.posted by chris24 at 5:14 AM on May 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
Blankenship said he would run in the general election as the Constitution Party nominee. But he would need to overcome a “sore loser” law in West Virginia that prevents failed candidates in a main-party primary from refiling to run in the general election under another party’s banner.
Blankenship said he’s prepared to challenge that law in court if needed. If he’s successful, his move that could hurt the GOP’s prospects of unseating Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin in November.
From Saturday: It doesn't really matter what his credentials are for the Trump base and every elected Republican, the only concern now is protecting Trump and their stolen election by any means necessary.
First of all, quoted for truth. Second, isn't it about time Democrats start routinely referring to the 2016 election as stolen?
That's the truth Trump and his co-conspirators are so desperate to cover up. Trump needs to protect his ego by pretending his squeaker of a win was a Massive Landslide Victory, but it's increasingly clear the Russians tilted it just enough, and the Trump campaign -- no, the Republican apparatus -- helped them.
The 2016 election was stolen. Neither Trump nor Pence are legitimate. This is the ugly truth they're fighting to hide.
posted by Gelatin at 5:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [47 favorites]
First of all, quoted for truth. Second, isn't it about time Democrats start routinely referring to the 2016 election as stolen?
That's the truth Trump and his co-conspirators are so desperate to cover up. Trump needs to protect his ego by pretending his squeaker of a win was a Massive Landslide Victory, but it's increasingly clear the Russians tilted it just enough, and the Trump campaign -- no, the Republican apparatus -- helped them.
The 2016 election was stolen. Neither Trump nor Pence are legitimate. This is the ugly truth they're fighting to hide.
posted by Gelatin at 5:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [47 favorites]
On the morning he heads to CIA headquarters for Haspel's swearing in, Trump quotes nutjob Dan Bongino in a three tweet rant against former CIA Director John Brennan.
Of course earlier this month, the WH touted Brennan's support for Haspel.
@realDonaldTrump
“John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community. He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of American’s faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the top of the FBI. Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump. We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossier...he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the Dossier, which they then used to start an investigation about Trump. It is that simple. This guy is the genesis of this whole Debacle. This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation. Brennan has disgraced himself, he’s worried about staying out of Jail.” Dan Bongino
posted by chris24 at 6:01 AM on May 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Of course earlier this month, the WH touted Brennan's support for Haspel.
@realDonaldTrump
“John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community. He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of American’s faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the top of the FBI. Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump. We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossier...he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the Dossier, which they then used to start an investigation about Trump. It is that simple. This guy is the genesis of this whole Debacle. This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation. Brennan has disgraced himself, he’s worried about staying out of Jail.” Dan Bongino
posted by chris24 at 6:01 AM on May 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Somebody’s panicking, but it ain’t John Brennan.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:10 AM on May 21, 2018 [46 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:10 AM on May 21, 2018 [46 favorites]
The 2016 election was stolen. Neither Trump nor Pence are legitimate. This is the ugly truth they're fighting to hide.
Or Gorsuch. 2/3 of our government is a criminal junta, and the other 1/3 are conspirators.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:20 AM on May 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
Or Gorsuch. 2/3 of our government is a criminal junta, and the other 1/3 are conspirators.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:20 AM on May 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
The 2016 election was stolen. Neither Trump nor Pence are legitimate. This is the ugly truth they're fighting to hide.
I think this is totally wrong headed and exactly the reason why some on the left are tired of the focus on the Russia stuff. The election wasn’t stolen for any legitimate sense of stolen. This isn’t LBJ getting false ballot counts from corrupt counties and paying $5 a vote to steal his senate seat. The American people voted in key states for Donald Trump despite everything they knew about him because they wanted him to be president! It’s literally their fault if they’re gullible racist rubes who were suckered by a half baked propaganda campaign that seems to have involved the assistance of the Russian state. It’s a crime and it’s impeachable but it’s not election theft. Stolen election implies that the vote was not legitimate. But it was. Millions and millions of people voted for him because they wanted to and we have to come to terms with that if we’re ever going to escape this catastrophe
posted by dis_integration at 6:31 AM on May 21, 2018 [72 favorites]
I think this is totally wrong headed and exactly the reason why some on the left are tired of the focus on the Russia stuff. The election wasn’t stolen for any legitimate sense of stolen. This isn’t LBJ getting false ballot counts from corrupt counties and paying $5 a vote to steal his senate seat. The American people voted in key states for Donald Trump despite everything they knew about him because they wanted him to be president! It’s literally their fault if they’re gullible racist rubes who were suckered by a half baked propaganda campaign that seems to have involved the assistance of the Russian state. It’s a crime and it’s impeachable but it’s not election theft. Stolen election implies that the vote was not legitimate. But it was. Millions and millions of people voted for him because they wanted to and we have to come to terms with that if we’re ever going to escape this catastrophe
posted by dis_integration at 6:31 AM on May 21, 2018 [72 favorites]
that seems to have involved the assistance of the Russian state
Nice.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:39 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Nice.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:39 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
The American people voted in key states for Donald Trump despite everything they knew about him
And some key things they didn't know about him. See Michael Cohen, Trump Tower meetings, FBI hiding investigations, dubious NYT headlines, Kushner and Sessions meetings with Kislyak, Erik Prince plotting, Manafort machinations, bogus medical report dictated by Trump himself, unreleased tax returns, McConnell interference, Bannon/Mercer utilization of CA, Steele Dossier, Mike Flynn as a foreign agent, etc, etc, etc . . .
posted by rc3spencer at 6:49 AM on May 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
And some key things they didn't know about him. See Michael Cohen, Trump Tower meetings, FBI hiding investigations, dubious NYT headlines, Kushner and Sessions meetings with Kislyak, Erik Prince plotting, Manafort machinations, bogus medical report dictated by Trump himself, unreleased tax returns, McConnell interference, Bannon/Mercer utilization of CA, Steele Dossier, Mike Flynn as a foreign agent, etc, etc, etc . . .
posted by rc3spencer at 6:49 AM on May 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
Millions and millions of people voted for him because they wanted to and we have to come to terms with that if we’re ever going to escape this catastrophe
Yes, this is true. Its truth, however, need be no bar to other things being equally true. Just as we oughtn't blind ourselves to the manifest fact that many millions of our compatriots are racists and misogynists, and voted from their racism and misogyny, we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand regarding the unprecedented interference of foreign powers in the American presidential election of 2016.
posted by adamgreenfield at 7:05 AM on May 21, 2018 [44 favorites]
Yes, this is true. Its truth, however, need be no bar to other things being equally true. Just as we oughtn't blind ourselves to the manifest fact that many millions of our compatriots are racists and misogynists, and voted from their racism and misogyny, we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand regarding the unprecedented interference of foreign powers in the American presidential election of 2016.
posted by adamgreenfield at 7:05 AM on May 21, 2018 [44 favorites]
kirkaracha: Watch Rudy Giuliani Melt Down When He's Shown a Rebuttal By...Rudy Giuliani
klarck: This technique was kind of typical for the Daily Show, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why the networks haven't adopted it
It's a lot of work to maintain, let alone search and pull up, such archives. As of 2013, they relied on massive-scaled DVRs with advanced search features. Also note the client list at that time: "popular shows like The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, The Soup, and tons of others are customers" -- no "news" programs. They could have in-house gear set up to pull archives, or maybe they don't because 1) the only reality is the one before the viewers right at that very moment, and 2) as mordax wrote: I assume they're too scared of losing 'access' to make it a routine.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:06 AM on May 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
klarck: This technique was kind of typical for the Daily Show, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why the networks haven't adopted it
It's a lot of work to maintain, let alone search and pull up, such archives. As of 2013, they relied on massive-scaled DVRs with advanced search features. Also note the client list at that time: "popular shows like The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, The Soup, and tons of others are customers" -- no "news" programs. They could have in-house gear set up to pull archives, or maybe they don't because 1) the only reality is the one before the viewers right at that very moment, and 2) as mordax wrote: I assume they're too scared of losing 'access' to make it a routine.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:06 AM on May 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
msalt More importantly, as Doktor Zed noted earlier, the announced order speaks of any presidential campaign, not just Trump's. So if they do go ahead with actual orders, the IG will also have been instructed to look into whether the rogue NY office FBI agents leaked to Giuliani, and whether Comey's public reopening of the Clinton emails was designed to influence the election.
I think you're giving well known Republican hack Rod Rosenstein **VASTLY** too much credit here. He joined Starr in the endless Whitewater investigation.
It's nice to imagine that a decent person might use the vagueness of Trump's order to do jujitsu and turn it on him, but it seems completely unrealistic. The only reason Rosenstein hasn't simply fired Mueller is because he's afraid it might make him look bad, not because he isn't a POS who wants to keep Trump in power and smear every Democrat he can.
Again, remember that Rosenstein was deeply involved in the Whitewater investigation, he is not our friend or even our ally of convenience. He may be dismayed by Trump's crudity, but he won't do anything to endanger the Republican hegemony.
posted by sotonohito at 7:11 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
I think you're giving well known Republican hack Rod Rosenstein **VASTLY** too much credit here. He joined Starr in the endless Whitewater investigation.
It's nice to imagine that a decent person might use the vagueness of Trump's order to do jujitsu and turn it on him, but it seems completely unrealistic. The only reason Rosenstein hasn't simply fired Mueller is because he's afraid it might make him look bad, not because he isn't a POS who wants to keep Trump in power and smear every Democrat he can.
Again, remember that Rosenstein was deeply involved in the Whitewater investigation, he is not our friend or even our ally of convenience. He may be dismayed by Trump's crudity, but he won't do anything to endanger the Republican hegemony.
posted by sotonohito at 7:11 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Illegitimate 5-4 decision by the Gorsuch Court: Employers can enforce arbitration agreements barring class actions by workers.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:15 AM on May 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:15 AM on May 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
I assume they're too scared of losing 'access' to make it a routine.
Megyn Kelly used the videotape technique at the republican primary debate before the Iowa caucuses and two things happened; Trump skipped that debate (and I'm inclined to believe without any evidence other than Trump's fixation on Hillary "getting the debate questions" or whatever that he was tipped off), and Megyn Kelly no longer works for Fox. So journalists might lose more than access, they might lose their job.
posted by peeedro at 7:24 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Megyn Kelly used the videotape technique at the republican primary debate before the Iowa caucuses and two things happened; Trump skipped that debate (and I'm inclined to believe without any evidence other than Trump's fixation on Hillary "getting the debate questions" or whatever that he was tipped off), and Megyn Kelly no longer works for Fox. So journalists might lose more than access, they might lose their job.
posted by peeedro at 7:24 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Megyn Kelly no longer works for Fox. So journalists might lose more than access, they might lose their job.
You might want to research what else was going on with Megyn Kelly in 2016; it might suggest she's no longer at Fox for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with her use of old videotapes.
posted by adamg at 7:28 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
You might want to research what else was going on with Megyn Kelly in 2016; it might suggest she's no longer at Fox for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with her use of old videotapes.
posted by adamg at 7:28 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
Megyn Kelly no longer works for Fox.
Megan left Fox for a $69 million three year deal at NBC.
posted by chris24 at 7:33 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
Megan left Fox for a $69 million three year deal at NBC.
posted by chris24 at 7:33 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
chris24: Someone in the Republican Party needs to stand up to this bullshit right now.
Hahahahahahahahaha .... Ohohohohohoho.... As stated by John Whitbeck, the chairman of Virginia's Republican Party, on NPR on May 2nd: "If the Democrats take the House, they will impeach this president. And it's coming, if they have the majority." Until then, buckle up! (Emphasis mine, natch.)
But seriously, maybe Rosenstein can say he's getting investigation tips from Betsy DeVos and her federal commission on school safety and convene meetings once in a while, particularly when Trump asks "how's that commission going?" "Oh great, sir, we're meeting again ... tomorrow."
posted by filthy light thief at 7:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Hahahahahahahahaha .... Ohohohohohoho.... As stated by John Whitbeck, the chairman of Virginia's Republican Party, on NPR on May 2nd: "If the Democrats take the House, they will impeach this president. And it's coming, if they have the majority." Until then, buckle up! (Emphasis mine, natch.)
But seriously, maybe Rosenstein can say he's getting investigation tips from Betsy DeVos and her federal commission on school safety and convene meetings once in a while, particularly when Trump asks "how's that commission going?" "Oh great, sir, we're meeting again ... tomorrow."
posted by filthy light thief at 7:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Politico has launched the Women Rule Candidate Tracker, which will track how women’s political representation is changing — or isn’t changing — in the 2018 midterm elections. More women are running for office than ever: 600 women either ran for office this year, are currently running for office, or have said they'll run for U.S. House, Senate or Governor.
As of May 16, 80 women had advanced in primary elections, 444 women are awaiting primaries and 76 women have lost.
posted by zarq at 7:46 AM on May 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
As of May 16, 80 women had advanced in primary elections, 444 women are awaiting primaries and 76 women have lost.
posted by zarq at 7:46 AM on May 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
Politico: Bernie’s army in disarray. "The Sanders-inspired grass-roots group ‘Our Revolution’ is flailing, an extensive review by POLITICO shows, fueling concerns about a potential 2020 bid."
posted by zarq at 7:49 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by zarq at 7:49 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Oh, and we need to get the right Dems in the house: see attorney Lizzie Pannill Fletcher and writer Laura Moser -- Moser is team #ImpeachASAP, while Fletcher is #WaitForMuellerToFinishAndWeighOurOptions, in line with DCCC, who "[Went] Nuclear, [Slammed] Democratic Candidate [Moser] as Corrupt for Same Behavior It Engages in Regularly" (The Intercept, Feb. 22, 2018). Fletcher and Moser are going to have a primary run-off tomorrow, March 22, 2018.
On the topic of picking the right candidate, I got a robo-call asking if I wanted to vote for a communist, to which I said "yes, please!" -- probably not the reaction they wanted in what sounded like a smear campaign using some very low quality audio of the "communist" candidate saying ... something? I couldn't hear and I hung up.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
On the topic of picking the right candidate, I got a robo-call asking if I wanted to vote for a communist, to which I said "yes, please!" -- probably not the reaction they wanted in what sounded like a smear campaign using some very low quality audio of the "communist" candidate saying ... something? I couldn't hear and I hung up.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Todd Zwillich
MS-13 “animals” has gone from a presidential utterance to White House doctrine. This WH press release on “what you need to know about the violent animals of MS-13” calls them animals 8 times.
PRESS RELEASE
posted by chris24 at 7:57 AM on May 21, 2018 [42 favorites]
MS-13 “animals” has gone from a presidential utterance to White House doctrine. This WH press release on “what you need to know about the violent animals of MS-13” calls them animals 8 times.
PRESS RELEASE
posted by chris24 at 7:57 AM on May 21, 2018 [42 favorites]
Mark Penn: Stopping Robert Mueller to protect us all
When did former Clinton adviser Mark Penn go all MAGA hat?
posted by octothorpe at 8:04 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
When did former Clinton adviser Mark Penn go all MAGA hat?
posted by octothorpe at 8:04 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
When did former Clinton adviser Mark Penn go all MAGA hat?
2002?
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:05 AM on May 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
2002?
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:05 AM on May 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
I thought he was still working for Hillary in 2008? His advice was terrible but he wasn't a wingnut back than.
posted by octothorpe at 8:06 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 8:06 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
monospace: Will Bunch (Philly.com): How the Trump family sold U.S. foreign policy to the highest bidder
...
And here’s the worst part: The sudden trashing of long-standing American policy objectives — like the Iran deal or delaying any move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem until a true Israel-Palestinian peace deal — risks war on large scale. People could die in the name of keeping 666 Fifth Ave. and the Trump Organization afloat. Arguably, some already are.
Arguably? Sure, we'll go with that. At least 60 people are dead in Gaza, but that's not only because of the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which overturned decades of US foreign policy -- it was also Israel's choice to use live rounds against protesters.
And there was the Trump administration decision announced on May 4 to cancel temporary protected status (TPS) for some 57,000 Hondurans who have been allowed to live in the United States since Hurricane Mitch ravaged the country in 1998. The decision also affects more than 50,000 children of TPS holders born in the US. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen focused her determination narrowly on Honduras’s recovery from the environmental disaster, ignoring the country’s current woes, where people are gunned down for standing up to the local government and/or criminal groups. Sending people back to Honduras is going to increase the death tolls there.
Those are just the two major instances that come to mind right now.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:07 AM on May 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
...
And here’s the worst part: The sudden trashing of long-standing American policy objectives — like the Iran deal or delaying any move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem until a true Israel-Palestinian peace deal — risks war on large scale. People could die in the name of keeping 666 Fifth Ave. and the Trump Organization afloat. Arguably, some already are.
Arguably? Sure, we'll go with that. At least 60 people are dead in Gaza, but that's not only because of the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which overturned decades of US foreign policy -- it was also Israel's choice to use live rounds against protesters.
And there was the Trump administration decision announced on May 4 to cancel temporary protected status (TPS) for some 57,000 Hondurans who have been allowed to live in the United States since Hurricane Mitch ravaged the country in 1998. The decision also affects more than 50,000 children of TPS holders born in the US. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen focused her determination narrowly on Honduras’s recovery from the environmental disaster, ignoring the country’s current woes, where people are gunned down for standing up to the local government and/or criminal groups. Sending people back to Honduras is going to increase the death tolls there.
Those are just the two major instances that come to mind right now.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:07 AM on May 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
At least 60 people are dead in Gaza, but that's not only because of the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which overturned decades of US foreign policy -- it was also Israel's choice to use live rounds against protesters.
And why did Jared and Ivanka have to attend the opening ceremony that touched off this violence? Kushner's family foundation donated to West Bank settlements (WaPo), and the Kushner Companies have extensive financial ties to Israel (NYT).
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:17 AM on May 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
And why did Jared and Ivanka have to attend the opening ceremony that touched off this violence? Kushner's family foundation donated to West Bank settlements (WaPo), and the Kushner Companies have extensive financial ties to Israel (NYT).
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:17 AM on May 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
>>> When did former Clinton adviser Mark Penn go all MAGA hat?
>> 2002?
> I thought he was still working for Hillary in 2008? His advice was terrible but he wasn't a wingnut back than.
Oh, wasn't he?
If I had to pick one flaw that Hillary Clinton had - both the Clintons, I think - it was excessive loyalty to their friends and supporters who should have been cut off long ago.
For example, a ruthless politician would have dumped Huma Abedin the instant her husband got caught up in teen sexting. It's obviously - obviously - not Huma's fault, but Clinton was loyal to her and look what it got her. Weiner's laptop was the late-breaking final straw, thank you Comey with your fucking rectitude and fear that the Republicans would be mean to you.
Likewise, Mark Penn - should have been dumped a long long time ago, and the fact that he was still anywhere near Hillary as recently as 2008 is just political malpractice.
(The compare-and-contrast of Clinton's misplaced loyalty to Trump's total absence of any scruples or morals is just too obvious.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:24 AM on May 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
>> 2002?
> I thought he was still working for Hillary in 2008? His advice was terrible but he wasn't a wingnut back than.
Oh, wasn't he?
If I had to pick one flaw that Hillary Clinton had - both the Clintons, I think - it was excessive loyalty to their friends and supporters who should have been cut off long ago.
For example, a ruthless politician would have dumped Huma Abedin the instant her husband got caught up in teen sexting. It's obviously - obviously - not Huma's fault, but Clinton was loyal to her and look what it got her. Weiner's laptop was the late-breaking final straw, thank you Comey with your fucking rectitude and fear that the Republicans would be mean to you.
Likewise, Mark Penn - should have been dumped a long long time ago, and the fact that he was still anywhere near Hillary as recently as 2008 is just political malpractice.
(The compare-and-contrast of Clinton's misplaced loyalty to Trump's total absence of any scruples or morals is just too obvious.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:24 AM on May 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
This WH press release on “what you need to know about the violent animals of MS-13” calls them animals 8 times.
Increasingly cruel performative dehumanization by underlings and sycophant functionaries in an attempt to align themselves with a distant, lazy and narcissistic dictator. Absolutely textbook working towards the Führer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:25 AM on May 21, 2018 [43 favorites]
Increasingly cruel performative dehumanization by underlings and sycophant functionaries in an attempt to align themselves with a distant, lazy and narcissistic dictator. Absolutely textbook working towards the Führer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:25 AM on May 21, 2018 [43 favorites]
Mark Penn: Stopping Robert Mueller to protect us all
Meanwhile, Clinton will endorse Cuomo over Nixon.
I thought he was still working for Hillary in 2008? His advice was terrible but he wasn't a wingnut back than.
Well, he was pretty racist. His strategy for Clinton's 2008 primary bid was built around the claim that Obama's "roots to basic American values and culture are at best limited" and that he was not "at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values."
posted by This time is different. at 8:26 AM on May 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Meanwhile, Clinton will endorse Cuomo over Nixon.
I thought he was still working for Hillary in 2008? His advice was terrible but he wasn't a wingnut back than.
Well, he was pretty racist. His strategy for Clinton's 2008 primary bid was built around the claim that Obama's "roots to basic American values and culture are at best limited" and that he was not "at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values."
posted by This time is different. at 8:26 AM on May 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
How involved was he with the PUMA shit? Because that had a ton of proto-MAGAisms to it.
posted by Artw at 8:30 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:30 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
And why did Jared and Ivanka have to attend the opening ceremony that touched off this violence?
This isn't rocket science. They're religious Jews. To many of our people, Jerusalem as capital of Israel is an extremely important subject. It's a part of our religious and cultural heritage.
The city's place (and specifically rebuilding the "City of Gold" is a part of our religion. It's in our prayers, modern and ancient songs, and a part of some of our holidays. Jewish kids sing a song about rebuilding Jerusalem when they observe the Passover seder. The phrase "Next Year in Jerusalem" dates back to the 15th Century.
My mother (born in America, 6th generation American) literally cried over the embassy being moved to Jerusalem. Happily. Her family (also all Americans) fought in the war for Israel's independence, and then again in the Six Day War.
It's not a big deal to every Jew. But to many, it's a Very Big Deal. Understanding that doesn't require conspiracy theories. Just a little basic knowledge.
posted by zarq at 8:37 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
This isn't rocket science. They're religious Jews. To many of our people, Jerusalem as capital of Israel is an extremely important subject. It's a part of our religious and cultural heritage.
The city's place (and specifically rebuilding the "City of Gold" is a part of our religion. It's in our prayers, modern and ancient songs, and a part of some of our holidays. Jewish kids sing a song about rebuilding Jerusalem when they observe the Passover seder. The phrase "Next Year in Jerusalem" dates back to the 15th Century.
My mother (born in America, 6th generation American) literally cried over the embassy being moved to Jerusalem. Happily. Her family (also all Americans) fought in the war for Israel's independence, and then again in the Six Day War.
It's not a big deal to every Jew. But to many, it's a Very Big Deal. Understanding that doesn't require conspiracy theories. Just a little basic knowledge.
posted by zarq at 8:37 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
HRC’s campaign in 2008 was all about activating the party’s WWC, which she mostly did, and which was Penn’s idea. Penn was also famously blamed for the campaign’s confusion over how primary delegates were allocated: they thought it was winner take all rather than proportional.
Still, it’s strange to see him taking such a strong MAGA line here.
posted by notyou at 8:40 AM on May 21, 2018
Still, it’s strange to see him taking such a strong MAGA line here.
posted by notyou at 8:40 AM on May 21, 2018
I think you're giving well known Republican hack Rod Rosenstein **VASTLY** too much credit here. He joined Starr in the endless Whitewater investigation.
I see this as being entirely consistent with a AD&D "lawful" alignment. It can be partisan or non-partisan but right now I am cool with having someone who has displayed a relentless pursuit in the past, no matter how absurd it was, in charge of the current investigation.
posted by srboisvert at 8:49 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
I see this as being entirely consistent with a AD&D "lawful" alignment. It can be partisan or non-partisan but right now I am cool with having someone who has displayed a relentless pursuit in the past, no matter how absurd it was, in charge of the current investigation.
posted by srboisvert at 8:49 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
This WH press release on “what you need to know about the violent animals of MS-13” calls them animals 8 times.
I just got a new LG TV and was browsing the digital channels when I came across something called LifeZette. It moved from very short bit of volcano coverage to some video bites of Trump meeting in California and a narrator "clarifying" that he wasn’t calling ALL immigrants animals...just suspected gangsters. That was how they left it, suspected gangsters and not convicted gangsters". It was all pretty slick and the cushion of human interest stories around it made it surprisingly palatable.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:51 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I just got a new LG TV and was browsing the digital channels when I came across something called LifeZette. It moved from very short bit of volcano coverage to some video bites of Trump meeting in California and a narrator "clarifying" that he wasn’t calling ALL immigrants animals...just suspected gangsters. That was how they left it, suspected gangsters and not convicted gangsters". It was all pretty slick and the cushion of human interest stories around it made it surprisingly palatable.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:51 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I think you're giving well known Republican hack Rod Rosenstein **VASTLY** too much credit here. He joined Starr in the endless Whitewater investigation.
Clinton-era Republicans were looking for any excuse to do what they wanted; Trump-era Republicans do what they want and then try to find an excuse.
posted by Etrigan at 8:54 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Clinton-era Republicans were looking for any excuse to do what they wanted; Trump-era Republicans do what they want and then try to find an excuse.
posted by Etrigan at 8:54 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
I just got a new LG TV and was browsing the digital channels when I came across something called LifeZette.
Owned and founded by noted sieg-heiler Laura Ingraham.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:56 AM on May 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
Owned and founded by noted sieg-heiler Laura Ingraham.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:56 AM on May 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
As stated by John Whitbeck, the chairman of Virginia's Republican Party, on NPR on May 2nd: "If the Democrats take the House, they will impeach this president. And it's coming, if they have the majority."
Republicans made possible impeachment an issue under George W. Bush, too, prompting Nancy Pelosi to make an unfortunate own-goal by preemptively taking impeachment off the table, notwithstanding any information that may emerge.
I'm sure Whitbeck is trying to rally the Republican base with his comments, but I'm also sure he also hopes Democrats will promise to do no such thing, and they must not make such a promise.
The proper response should be: "Only Republicans are talking about impeachment. Funny, that. We Democrats promise to investigate the President and provide sorely lacking oversight, unlike our Republican colleagues who seem overly concerned with helping the Trump administration with a cover-up."
posted by Gelatin at 8:57 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Republicans made possible impeachment an issue under George W. Bush, too, prompting Nancy Pelosi to make an unfortunate own-goal by preemptively taking impeachment off the table, notwithstanding any information that may emerge.
I'm sure Whitbeck is trying to rally the Republican base with his comments, but I'm also sure he also hopes Democrats will promise to do no such thing, and they must not make such a promise.
The proper response should be: "Only Republicans are talking about impeachment. Funny, that. We Democrats promise to investigate the President and provide sorely lacking oversight, unlike our Republican colleagues who seem overly concerned with helping the Trump administration with a cover-up."
posted by Gelatin at 8:57 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
zachlipton: NYT, Service Meant to Monitor Inmates’ Calls Could Track You, Too (May 10, 2018)
zachlipton: Remember six days ago when we read about Securus, which can track cell phones all over the country with minimal controls to prevent abuse? Yeah. Quick update there.
Hacker Breaches Securus, the Company That Helps Cops Track Phones Across the US (May 16, 2018)
Meanwhile, FCC investigates site that let most US mobile phones’ location be exposed -- Wyden: mobile phone companies', contractors' view of security is "negligent." (Cyrus Farivar for Ars Technica, May 19, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:59 AM on May 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
zachlipton: Remember six days ago when we read about Securus, which can track cell phones all over the country with minimal controls to prevent abuse? Yeah. Quick update there.
Hacker Breaches Securus, the Company That Helps Cops Track Phones Across the US (May 16, 2018)
Meanwhile, FCC investigates site that let most US mobile phones’ location be exposed -- Wyden: mobile phone companies', contractors' view of security is "negligent." (Cyrus Farivar for Ars Technica, May 19, 2018)
The Federal Communications Commission has taken preliminary steps to examine the actions of LocationSmart, a southern California company that has suddenly found itself under intense public and government scrutiny for allowing most American cell phones’ locations to be easily accessed.*Tosses phones into trash, buys string and cans, Morse code equipment*
As Ars reported Thursday, LocationSmart identifies the locations of phones connected to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon, often to an accuracy of a few hundred yards, reporter Brian Krebs said. While the firm claims it provides the location-lookup service only for legitimate and authorized purposes, Krebs reported that a demo tool on the LocationSmart website could be used by just about anyone to surreptitiously track the real-time whereabouts of just about anyone else.
"I can confirm the matter has been referred to the Enforcement Bureau," wrote FCC spokesman Neil Grace in a Friday afternoon email to Ars.
LocationSmart has not responded to Ars' direct questions, but it did send a statement saying that the company "strives to bring secure operational efficiencies to enterprise customers."
The demo tool that was once available has been yanked from the company’s public website.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:59 AM on May 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
Ye gods, I just imagined how ugly the next Presidential debates are going to be. I hope the Democratic nominee takes the opportunity of addressing Trump to his face to tear Trump's ego to tiny little hand-sized shreds, and brooks no nonsense like "No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet."
posted by Gelatin at 9:20 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 9:20 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Mod note: A few comments removed, y'all please think for a damn minute whether "let's sort out Jews and Zionism once and for all" makes any goddam sense to lapse into in a catchall thread and pull yourselves up short next time.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:23 AM on May 21, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:23 AM on May 21, 2018 [62 favorites]
I just imagined how ugly the next Presidential debates are going to be.
The next presidential debate will be as ugly as the next full presidential press conference, in that it will never again happen.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:24 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
The next presidential debate will be as ugly as the next full presidential press conference, in that it will never again happen.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:24 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
They could have in-house gear set up to pull archives, or maybe they don't because 1) the only reality is the one before the viewers right at that very moment, and 2) as mordax wrote: I assume they're too scared of losing 'access' to make it a routine.
I feel like you're ignoring a bigger danger to them: the fact that this tactic can almost certainly be applied to their own pundits with equal effect. All these cable news network employ odious people, often many, who will tailor their horeseshit to whatever their cause is at the moment. Even if that wouldn't be embarrassing to the owner class, the various hosts are likely aware that they're not going to be at that network through retirement and may be sitting in the other chair to pay their bills in future years.
posted by phearlez at 9:27 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
I feel like you're ignoring a bigger danger to them: the fact that this tactic can almost certainly be applied to their own pundits with equal effect. All these cable news network employ odious people, often many, who will tailor their horeseshit to whatever their cause is at the moment. Even if that wouldn't be embarrassing to the owner class, the various hosts are likely aware that they're not going to be at that network through retirement and may be sitting in the other chair to pay their bills in future years.
posted by phearlez at 9:27 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
kirkaracha: Watch Rudy Giuliani Melt Down When He's Shown a Rebuttal By...Rudy GiulianiIt's a text search of closed captioning files, time-indexed to the source material.
klarck: This technique was kind of typical for the Daily Show, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why the networks haven't adopted it
filthy light thief: It's a lot of work to maintain, let alone search and pull up, such archives. As of 2013, they relied on massive-scaled DVRs with advanced search features.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:44 AM on May 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Mod note: Another few comments removed. Folks, reload to make sure you're not responding to deleted stuff. rc3spencer, you don't have to agree with moderation but you do need to cut it out in the thread once a mod asks folks to do so; I'm not gonna keep playing whack-a-mole in here.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:55 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:55 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sweden distributes 'be prepared for war' leaflet to all 4.8m homes
posted by Artw at 9:59 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:59 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Gonzales changes ratings in 19 House races, all towards Dems:
CA-07 (D - Bera) | Likely D => Soild Dposted by Chrysostom at 10:18 AM on May 21, 2018 [30 favorites]
FL-13 (D - Crist) | Likely D => Solid D
IA-01 (R - Blum) | Tilt R => Toss-up
ME-02 (R - Poliquin) | Likely R => Leans R
NJ-05 (D - Gottheimer) | Tilts D => Leans D
NJ-07 (R - Lance) | Leans R => Tilts R
NM-02 (R - open) | Likely R => Leans R
PA-17 (Rothfus/Lamb) | Tilts R => Toss-up
VA-07 (R - Brat) | Likely R => Leans R
AR-02 (R - Hill) | Solid R => Likely R
CA-04 (R - McClintock) | Solid R => Likely R
GA-07 (R - Woodall) | Solid R => Likely R
IN-02 (R- Walorski) | Solid R => Likely R
MI-07 (R - Walberg) | Solid R => Likely R
NJ-03 (R - McArthur) | Solid R => Likely R
OH-01 (R - Chabot) | Solid R => Likely R
OH-14 (R - Joyce) | Solid R => Likely R
TX-21 (R - open) | Solid R => Likely R
WV-03 (R - open) | Solid R => Likely R
Some links:
What Mueller Will Do Next
Trump has always been jumping to the defense of male abusers
It’s a Small World of Trump Lawyers
The Swamp Thickens
How Trump changed everything for The Onion
posted by growabrain at 10:27 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
What Mueller Will Do Next
Trump has always been jumping to the defense of male abusers
It’s a Small World of Trump Lawyers
The Swamp Thickens
How Trump changed everything for The Onion
posted by growabrain at 10:27 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Chrysostom, it seems like most of the individual races you post ratings about have continued to tilt more D than before.
At the same time, the generic ballot polls have been somewhere between stable to tilting towards R. Do you (or anyone else) have thoughts about this discrepancy? Is this normal behavior for individual races vs generic polls?
posted by nat at 10:29 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
At the same time, the generic ballot polls have been somewhere between stable to tilting towards R. Do you (or anyone else) have thoughts about this discrepancy? Is this normal behavior for individual races vs generic polls?
posted by nat at 10:29 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Adam Serwer, There Is Only One Trump Scandal: The myriad Trump scandals can obscure the fact that they’re all elements of one massive tale of corruption.
There’s the ongoing special-counsel investigation into whether the Trump campaign aided a Russian campaign to aid Trump’s candidacy and defeat his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton; there’s the associated inquiry into whether the president obstructed justice when he fired former FBI Director James Comey, whom he had asked not to investigate his former national-security adviser; there are the president’s hush-money payments to women with whom he allegedly had extramarital affairs, made through his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and facilitated by corporate cash paid to influence the White House; there is his ongoing effort to interfere with the Russia inquiry and politicize federal law enforcement; there are the foreign governments that seem to be utilizing the president’s properties as vehicles for influencing administration policy; there’s the emerging evidence that Trump campaign officials sought aid not only from Russia, but from other foreign countries, which may have affected Trump’s foreign policy; there are the ongoing revelations of the president’s Cabinet officials’ misusing taxpayer funds; there is the accumulating evidence that administration decisions are made at the behest of private industry, in particular those in which Republican donors have significant interests.posted by zachlipton at 10:31 AM on May 21, 2018 [88 favorites]
The preceding wall of text may appear to some as an abridged list of the Trump administration’s scandals, but this is an illusion created by the perception that these are all separate affairs. Viewed as such, the various Trump scandals can seem multifarious and overpowering, and difficult to fathom.
There are not many Trump scandals. There is one Trump scandal. Singular: the corruption of the American government by the president and his associates, who are using their official power for personal and financial gain rather than for the welfare of the American people, and their attempts to shield that corruption from political consequences, public scrutiny, or legal accountability.
Pompeo gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation today, here's the transcript, where he demanded a dozen things from Iran to lift sanctions. In other words, there's no plan here other than "tell Iran to stop doing all the bad things" and declare it's entirely their fault when they don't.
posted by zachlipton at 10:40 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:40 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
There are not many Trump scandals. There is one Trump scandal. Singular: the corruption of the American government by the president and his associates, who are using their official power for personal and financial gain rather than for the welfare of the American people, and their attempts to shield that corruption from political consequences, public scrutiny, or legal accountability.
In other words, the Republican Party is bringing back the spoils system, which America rejected as hopelessly corrupt some time ago. May we soon do the same with the Republican Party.
posted by Gelatin at 10:40 AM on May 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
In other words, the Republican Party is bringing back the spoils system, which America rejected as hopelessly corrupt some time ago. May we soon do the same with the Republican Party.
posted by Gelatin at 10:40 AM on May 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
ABC News has learned President Trump will meet today at the White House with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. The meeting is scheduled for 3pm. I'm told this "demand" will be a topic of discussion
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
That arbitration decision is quite possibly the worst thing to happen to the American workforce in a century.
The leopards eating faces party wins again.
posted by Yowser at 10:45 AM on May 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
The leopards eating faces party wins again.
posted by Yowser at 10:45 AM on May 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
Millions and millions of people voted for him because they wanted to and we have to come to terms with that if we’re ever going to escape this catastrophe
Yes, this is true. Its truth, however, need be no bar to other things being equally true. Just as we oughtn't blind ourselves to the manifest fact that many millions of our compatriots are racists and misogynists, and voted from their racism and misogyny, we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand regarding the unprecedented interference of foreign powers in the American presidential election of 2016.
Electing him, however dumb a decision, still implies a functioning democracy, not the travesty of corruption that each day reveals. "Foreign powers interfered" masks how the red carpet was rolled out and the empty coffers filled.
posted by infini at 10:47 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yes, this is true. Its truth, however, need be no bar to other things being equally true. Just as we oughtn't blind ourselves to the manifest fact that many millions of our compatriots are racists and misogynists, and voted from their racism and misogyny, we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand regarding the unprecedented interference of foreign powers in the American presidential election of 2016.
Electing him, however dumb a decision, still implies a functioning democracy, not the travesty of corruption that each day reveals. "Foreign powers interfered" masks how the red carpet was rolled out and the empty coffers filled.
posted by infini at 10:47 AM on May 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Statement from Vice President Mike Pence on Venezuela’s Elections
Venezuela’s election was a sham – neither free nor fair. The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela.
Is that a criticism or a compliment, Mike?
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
Venezuela’s election was a sham – neither free nor fair. The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela.
Is that a criticism or a compliment, Mike?
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
nat: "Chrysostom, it seems like most of the individual races you post ratings about have continued to tilt more D than before.
At the same time, the generic ballot polls have been somewhere between stable to tilting towards R. Do you (or anyone else) have thoughts about this discrepancy? Is this normal behavior for individual races vs generic polls?"
I think there's a couple of things at work here:
1) The ratings outfits are temperamentally conservative. The safe bet - especially early on - is to assume incumbents get re-elected. This usually happens! And if you've been in the biz for a while, you've seen a whole lot of potential upsets talked up that don't happen. So it's unsurprising to see the raters start out at basically no change and move from there. There's clearly going to be *some* move left, and these moves reflect that.
2) The ratings outfits are using a somewhat different data base than the strictly poll-based folks. The poll-based guys (538, the Crosstab, RCP) are basically looking at the generic ballot and any House district polls (we don't see a ton of these). The ratings outfits take that into mind, but are also looking district by district at things like fundraising, candidate strength, any internecine party fights, etc.
You might look at a given district, and based on it having gone Trump by 20 points, figure pretty safe GOP hold. But then if it turns out the Dem is a war hero, and the incumbent is tied up in a corruption scandal, maybe you have it more like toss-up. So, as we have gotten closer to Election Day, these types of factors become more clear (and primaries are happening, so we lock in who the actual opponents are). And, so far, they are seeing these factors favoring Dems in a good number of races.
3) There is a legitimate mystery at this point on the generic ballot behavior versus special election results. Special elections do not feature an incumbent, of course, but they're still outpacing (on average) what the equivalent generic ballot would be. Could be related to outsize Dem enthusiasm, but not clear. Generic ballot polls are still mostly registered voter rather than likely voter, which may play in. It's definitely still keeping an eye on the generic average, but we will need to see if historic patterns continue.
Basically, the ratings outfits (Cook/Sabato/Gonzales) are pretty good at this. Harry Enten found that the Cook ratings as of April of election year had had this accuracy since the 2006 cycle:
Also, FWIW, Elliott Morris at the Crosstab has looked at the generic over an extended period, and so far, this year's polls have fairly closely tracked historic patterns. If that holds true, we're near a peak for the White House party, and it will drift towards the Dems over the rest of the summer.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
At the same time, the generic ballot polls have been somewhere between stable to tilting towards R. Do you (or anyone else) have thoughts about this discrepancy? Is this normal behavior for individual races vs generic polls?"
I think there's a couple of things at work here:
1) The ratings outfits are temperamentally conservative. The safe bet - especially early on - is to assume incumbents get re-elected. This usually happens! And if you've been in the biz for a while, you've seen a whole lot of potential upsets talked up that don't happen. So it's unsurprising to see the raters start out at basically no change and move from there. There's clearly going to be *some* move left, and these moves reflect that.
2) The ratings outfits are using a somewhat different data base than the strictly poll-based folks. The poll-based guys (538, the Crosstab, RCP) are basically looking at the generic ballot and any House district polls (we don't see a ton of these). The ratings outfits take that into mind, but are also looking district by district at things like fundraising, candidate strength, any internecine party fights, etc.
You might look at a given district, and based on it having gone Trump by 20 points, figure pretty safe GOP hold. But then if it turns out the Dem is a war hero, and the incumbent is tied up in a corruption scandal, maybe you have it more like toss-up. So, as we have gotten closer to Election Day, these types of factors become more clear (and primaries are happening, so we lock in who the actual opponents are). And, so far, they are seeing these factors favoring Dems in a good number of races.
3) There is a legitimate mystery at this point on the generic ballot behavior versus special election results. Special elections do not feature an incumbent, of course, but they're still outpacing (on average) what the equivalent generic ballot would be. Could be related to outsize Dem enthusiasm, but not clear. Generic ballot polls are still mostly registered voter rather than likely voter, which may play in. It's definitely still keeping an eye on the generic average, but we will need to see if historic patterns continue.
Basically, the ratings outfits (Cook/Sabato/Gonzales) are pretty good at this. Harry Enten found that the Cook ratings as of April of election year had had this accuracy since the 2006 cycle:
* Solid seats are won more than 99% of the time by the party favored in the solid seat at this point.We can presume they only get *more* accurate as we get closer. Not perfect, but pretty good.
* Likely seats are won about 85% of the time by the party favored at this point.
* Leans are won about 70% of the time by the party favored at this point.
* Tossups are won only 45% of the time by the party who currently holds the seat at this point. (That is, they aren't true tossups. They're actually slightly more likely to go the other party!)
Also, FWIW, Elliott Morris at the Crosstab has looked at the generic over an extended period, and so far, this year's polls have fairly closely tracked historic patterns. If that holds true, we're near a peak for the White House party, and it will drift towards the Dems over the rest of the summer.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:53 AM on May 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
At the same time, the generic ballot polls have been somewhere between stable to tilting towards R. Do you (or anyone else) have thoughts about this discrepancy?
One poll showed a generic ballot at R+1. Others have consistently shown a D advantage. Models that try to capture the state of a race may use a moving average of polls and as more polls come in (usually reflecting that D advantage) the average gets pushed farther towards D.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:54 AM on May 21, 2018
One poll showed a generic ballot at R+1. Others have consistently shown a D advantage. Models that try to capture the state of a race may use a moving average of polls and as more polls come in (usually reflecting that D advantage) the average gets pushed farther towards D.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:54 AM on May 21, 2018
Electing him, however dumb a decision, still implies a functioning democracy, not the travesty of corruption that each day reveals. "Foreign powers interfered" masks how the red carpet was rolled out and the empty coffers filled.
Nearly three million more people voted for Hillary Clinton, even as the Republican Party benefited from unprecedented efforts at gerrymandering and voter obstruction that gave them an unfair edge in the Electoral College (to say nothing of Congress) even before the Russians and James Comey put their respective thumbs on the scale for Trump.
Trump's election was not legitimate, nor did it reflect the will of the American people. It reflected the will of the Republican Party, its backers, and the Russians -- but I repeat myself.
It's ironic that far from getting Trump off the hook for his dirty dealings, his election seems likely to blow everything wide open. The information in the public domain right now is at least as bad as Watergate -- though not in the way Trump imagines. As I've said before, his own defenders have pretty much dropped even the pretense that Trump might actually be innocent -- they know he's guilty, and they have to wonder where they will wind up when he takes the fall.
Prison, one hopes. We must not make the mistake of letting bygones be bygones again.
posted by Gelatin at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
Nearly three million more people voted for Hillary Clinton, even as the Republican Party benefited from unprecedented efforts at gerrymandering and voter obstruction that gave them an unfair edge in the Electoral College (to say nothing of Congress) even before the Russians and James Comey put their respective thumbs on the scale for Trump.
Trump's election was not legitimate, nor did it reflect the will of the American people. It reflected the will of the Republican Party, its backers, and the Russians -- but I repeat myself.
It's ironic that far from getting Trump off the hook for his dirty dealings, his election seems likely to blow everything wide open. The information in the public domain right now is at least as bad as Watergate -- though not in the way Trump imagines. As I've said before, his own defenders have pretty much dropped even the pretense that Trump might actually be innocent -- they know he's guilty, and they have to wonder where they will wind up when he takes the fall.
Prison, one hopes. We must not make the mistake of letting bygones be bygones again.
posted by Gelatin at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
You might look at a given district, and based on it having gone Trump by 20 points, figure pretty safe GOP hold. But then if it turns out the Dem is a war hero, and the incumbent is tied up in a corruption scandal, maybe you have it more like toss-up.
Thanks to Trump, pretty much every Republican incumbent is tied up in a corruption scandal.
posted by Gelatin at 11:06 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Thanks to Trump, pretty much every Republican incumbent is tied up in a corruption scandal.
posted by Gelatin at 11:06 AM on May 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
That arbitration decision is quite possibly the worst thing to happen to the American workforce in a century.
This is truly a disaster, but not an unmitigated one. That is, SCOTUS didn't rule that companies have a fundamental constitutional right to enforce arbitration agreements. It ruled that Congressional law as it currently stands supersedes the National Labor Relations Act. So, to fight this, we won't need a Constitutional amendment, we need to vote for members of Congress who will pass legislation protecting the bargaining rights of workers.
posted by xigxag at 11:07 AM on May 21, 2018 [42 favorites]
This is truly a disaster, but not an unmitigated one. That is, SCOTUS didn't rule that companies have a fundamental constitutional right to enforce arbitration agreements. It ruled that Congressional law as it currently stands supersedes the National Labor Relations Act. So, to fight this, we won't need a Constitutional amendment, we need to vote for members of Congress who will pass legislation protecting the bargaining rights of workers.
posted by xigxag at 11:07 AM on May 21, 2018 [42 favorites]
xigxag: "This is truly a disaster, but not an unmitigated one."
Yeah, a lot of our bad labor situation is due to Congress not doing anything to help labor, even under Democratic control. Taft-Hartley has been around for a very long time now.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:13 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yeah, a lot of our bad labor situation is due to Congress not doing anything to help labor, even under Democratic control. Taft-Hartley has been around for a very long time now.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:13 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Pompeo's 12 points... whether they are reasonable or not, 1-4 seem pretty basic. End their nuclear program and provide proof.
5 also seems like a basic demand.
But man, oh man, 6-12 are never, ever going to happen. Even if Iran somehow declared that they were going to stop the funding terrorism all over the world, as they have since at least 1979, how would they ever prove it?
posted by zarq at 11:14 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
5 also seems like a basic demand.
But man, oh man, 6-12 are never, ever going to happen. Even if Iran somehow declared that they were going to stop the funding terrorism all over the world, as they have since at least 1979, how would they ever prove it?
posted by zarq at 11:14 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
I turned that Atlantic link (Only one scandal) into a
NEW THREAD!
Thanks zachlipton.
posted by carsonb at 11:19 AM on May 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
NEW THREAD!
Thanks zachlipton.
posted by carsonb at 11:19 AM on May 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
1-4 are full on Iraq playbook and it’s disingenuous to pretend otherwise. No attempt to comply or show that they have already complied will be found acceptable despite any amount of evidence.
posted by Artw at 11:25 AM on May 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:25 AM on May 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
xigxag: "we need to vote for members of Congress who will pass legislation protecting the bargaining rights of workers."
Is this black humor? If you find such a politician, please let us know.
posted by TypographicalError at 11:29 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is this black humor? If you find such a politician, please let us know.
posted by TypographicalError at 11:29 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Here's a couple:
Bernie Sanders introducing bill for major overhaul of labor law, let workers unionize via card check, ban “right to work,” legalize secondary boycotts, & expand labor law definition of employee. Co-sponsored by Warren, Harris, Gillibrand, Brown.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:33 AM on May 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Bernie Sanders introducing bill for major overhaul of labor law, let workers unionize via card check, ban “right to work,” legalize secondary boycotts, & expand labor law definition of employee. Co-sponsored by Warren, Harris, Gillibrand, Brown.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:33 AM on May 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
‘Commie killer’ Daniel Borden enters plea, is found guilty
posted by Artw at 11:35 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:35 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
NEW THREAD!
NEW THREAD!
NEW THREAD!
posted by reductiondesign at 11:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
NEW THREAD!
NEW THREAD!
posted by reductiondesign at 11:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
it's really hard to read Pompeo's speech as anything other than an attempt to lay the groundwork for American military involvement in Iran with the aim of toppling the Iranian government
Shouldn't we maybe finish up the two wars we're got going on with Iran's neighbors before we start a new one? Afghanistan: 17 years and counting. Iraq: 15 years and counting.
I just know this new war is going to be the best one ever! #MAGA
posted by kirkaracha at 11:43 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Shouldn't we maybe finish up the two wars we're got going on with Iran's neighbors before we start a new one? Afghanistan: 17 years and counting. Iraq: 15 years and counting.
I just know this new war is going to be the best one ever! #MAGA
posted by kirkaracha at 11:43 AM on May 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
No attempt to comply or show that they have already complied will be found acceptable despite any amount of evidence.
The current administration would probably believe a report from US inspectors. I don't think they'd trust anyone else.
The precedent for what you're referring to is actually pre-Iraq War. Iran's disbanded chemical weapons factory and the other aspects of its CW program were opened to international inspection after they ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The US spent the 90's and 00's claiming (evidence-free) that Iran had an active CW program.
I think Pompeo is a moron who works for an even bigger moron, and they're collectively trying to destabilize an actual, moderate Iranian regime. They're going to succeed, too. Iran's people aren't going to let Rouhani stay in power if their economy gets worse. So it's awful and dangerous all-around. But on the other hand, Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism for decades. The threat that they could one day soon be able to send suitcase-sized nukes anywhere in the world is a possibility we should take seriously, at the very least.
The problem is, we were. And then our Schmuck-in-Chief destroyed the deal.
Because he's an insecure racist who is trying desperately to undo the work of an actual, qualified President who publicly humiliated him at the Correspondent's Dinner one night.
posted by zarq at 11:52 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
The current administration would probably believe a report from US inspectors. I don't think they'd trust anyone else.
The precedent for what you're referring to is actually pre-Iraq War. Iran's disbanded chemical weapons factory and the other aspects of its CW program were opened to international inspection after they ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The US spent the 90's and 00's claiming (evidence-free) that Iran had an active CW program.
I think Pompeo is a moron who works for an even bigger moron, and they're collectively trying to destabilize an actual, moderate Iranian regime. They're going to succeed, too. Iran's people aren't going to let Rouhani stay in power if their economy gets worse. So it's awful and dangerous all-around. But on the other hand, Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism for decades. The threat that they could one day soon be able to send suitcase-sized nukes anywhere in the world is a possibility we should take seriously, at the very least.
The problem is, we were. And then our Schmuck-in-Chief destroyed the deal.
Because he's an insecure racist who is trying desperately to undo the work of an actual, qualified President who publicly humiliated him at the Correspondent's Dinner one night.
posted by zarq at 11:52 AM on May 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Another piece tries to pull back the curtain on Mueller's team and tactics: Inside Mueller’s FBI team -- A POLITICO investigation reveals new details about the agents powering the special counsel probe. (Josh Gerstein for Politico, May 17, 2018)
Uplifting news from California: California rebukes Trump with health care push for immigrants -- The proposal sets up another clash between blue-state Democrats and the president. (Victoria Colliver for Politico, May 21, 20180
posted by filthy light thief at 12:22 PM on May 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
Uplifting news from California: California rebukes Trump with health care push for immigrants -- The proposal sets up another clash between blue-state Democrats and the president. (Victoria Colliver for Politico, May 21, 20180
California is poised to become the first state in the nation to offer full health coverage to undocumented adults even as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown by separating families at the border.Thanks, California, for treating people with dignity, better serving the people in your state, and challenging the rest of the country to respond.
The proposal — which would build on Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2015 decision to extend health coverage to all children, regardless of immigration status — is one of the most daring examples yet of blue-state Democrats thumbing their nose at President Donald Trump as they pursue diametrically opposed policies, whether on immigration, climate change, legalized marijuana or health care.
...
Democrats say they want to build on the coverage gains made under Obamacare by targeting the state’s nearly 3 million remaining uninsured — about 60 percent of whom are undocumented immigrants and 1.2 million of whom would qualify for the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, based on their incomes. Companion bills in the state Assembly and Senate have easily passed their respective health committees with party-line votes.
...
California already provides emergency and pregnancy-related Medi-Cal benefits for undocumented immigrants to the tune of about $1.7 billion annually. The $3 billion for full Medi-Cal benefits assumes that all eligible adults would enroll in the program over 12 months, which is unlikely.
Micah Weinberg, president of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, said the cost debate must take into account the measure’s broader benefits, including increased worker productivity and improved community health.
“Since most undocumented immigrants are productive members of society, it would, of course, be much better to give them all a path to citizenship and immediately naturalize them to make it easier for them to buy regular health insurance,” Weinberg said. “But just because we have bad immigration policy does not mean we shouldn’t have good health policy. And truly universal coverage is good health policy.”
posted by filthy light thief at 12:22 PM on May 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
zarq: "The problem is, we were. And then our Schmuck-in-Chief destroyed the deal. "
This is the really problem with any proposed US-Iran deal; the US lacks any credibility. And you can't even prop it up with a multilateral deal because that is what the Cheeto pulled out of.
posted by Mitheral at 2:52 PM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
This is the really problem with any proposed US-Iran deal; the US lacks any credibility. And you can't even prop it up with a multilateral deal because that is what the Cheeto pulled out of.
posted by Mitheral at 2:52 PM on May 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
This is the really problem with any proposed US-Iran deal; the US lacks any credibility
Which is probably the point. Or it's something we don't recognize as credibility. Regardless, "credibility" is not currently a substantive critique, so we're going to have to figure something else out.
posted by rhizome at 4:10 PM on May 21, 2018
Which is probably the point. Or it's something we don't recognize as credibility. Regardless, "credibility" is not currently a substantive critique, so we're going to have to figure something else out.
posted by rhizome at 4:10 PM on May 21, 2018
Legitimate is a subset of credible, but the key is perhaps in that relationship.
posted by rhizome at 8:00 PM on May 21, 2018
posted by rhizome at 8:00 PM on May 21, 2018
And don’t miss the riff track of him hiding behind his umbrella.
Oh my god, that was amazing. I really needed that. I strongly recommend viewing that for anyone who needs a bit of catharsis right now.
posted by biogeo at 10:11 AM on May 19 [6 favorites +] [!]
Citizen acts like a dick to immigrants, gets hounded night and day by the media. President does it and gets normalized.
posted by Mental Wimp at 5:35 PM on May 22, 2018
Oh my god, that was amazing. I really needed that. I strongly recommend viewing that for anyone who needs a bit of catharsis right now.
posted by biogeo at 10:11 AM on May 19 [6 favorites +] [!]
Citizen acts like a dick to immigrants, gets hounded night and day by the media. President does it and gets normalized.
posted by Mental Wimp at 5:35 PM on May 22, 2018
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posted by zarq at 12:44 AM on May 9, 2018 [19 favorites]